The Business Planning Institute, LLC

Business Plan Reviews

It is very rare to find unanimous agreement among entrepreneurs, consultants, investors and professional business plan writers on virtually anything. But one subject that gets an almost universal nod from these disparate groups is the recommendation that you should always - always - always - have someone review your business plan before it's submitted to an investor or loan officer.

Ideally, the individual(s) reviewing your plan should be someone who is not directly involved in the new business venture. They should be knowledgeable and most importantly they must be brutally honest. A family member or close friend may not be objective.

It is also important that you give the individual who will be reviewing your plan some idea of what they should be looking for. While it is important to correct mistakes, typos, grammatical errors and syntax problems, you also want your reviewer to delve a little deeper and more closely examine a variety of issues that are critical to the success of your plan:

• Have you clearly and concisely described the opportunity?
• Have you quantified the market size, stage and key market drivers?
• Does your plan clearly articulate what makes your business model different, better, unique?
• Are your business strategies consistent with your business model?
• Are your financial projections a logical extension of your strategies?
• Are your funding requirements adequate and realistic?
• Have you acknowledged or footnoted your sources of information?
• Will your marketing plan create adequate exposure and demand for your product?
• Will your distribution channels adequately and cost effectively reach your target demographic?
• Do you have research data to backup your market analysis?
• Do you really understand the strengths of your competitors?
• Are the financial statements reasonable, verifiable and well presented?
• Are your financial statements consistent with the rest of your plan?
• Have your established a level of confidence that you can meet your objectives?
• Have you chosen a management team that is up to the task?
• Does your plan flow and is there a natural progression from one section to the next?
• Is your business plan compelling?

If your plan misses the mark on one or more of these points, you want to know before your plan get in the hands of an investor or loan officer. A professionally trained business plan analyst can help you identify the weaknesses in your plan and can offer insights into how improvements can be made. Considering the relatively low cost of these services, this additional step is an exceptional bargain that can make a tremendous difference in how your plan is received.