A typical venture capitalist firm manages somewhere in the vicinity of 250 million dollars. It takes that money and puts it into promising companies that will hopefully net their customers substantial returns.
Do you want to be one of the companies that a venture capitalist firm invests in?
If you do, you’re going to want to whip up a business plan for investors that’s going to get them to take notice.
The problem with that is whipping up business plans is a lot easier said than done. In order to make sure that your business plan fully captures who you are and captivates those that read it, consider leaning on these 7 tips.
1. Know Your Audience
Understanding who your audience is is paramount to creating a successful business plan.
If the firm that you’re looking to attract attention from is attracted to young organizations that feature bold visions, that’s how you’re going to want to structure your plan. If you’re trying to attract the attention of a more conservative firm that prefers a dryer approach to showcasing business data, you’ll want to go that route.
At the end of the day, it’s people that are going to make the decision on whether or not your company is worth their money. Understanding how to best impress those people is key to finding success.
2. Make Your Vision Clear
No matter who your audience is, one of the primary things that they’re going to want to take away from your business plan is what your vision is.
How is your company going to impact the world? What is that impact going to mean for your customers and for the people that have a financial stake in your organization?
Making clear what the pot of gold is at the end of the rainbow is paramount to getting investors salivating at the possibilities.
You’ll want to at very least broad stroke your vision at the beginning of your plan.
3. Include Quantitative and Qualitative Data
The newbie business person is going to lean heavily on qualitative data when creating their business plan. They’re going to tout how everyone they talk to says that there’s a market for what their company is selling.
While qualitative data is a great way to frame stories, most people don’t want to sink millions of dollars into purely qualitative assertions. They’re going to want to see clinically-backed research that supports your claims with samples conducted, percentages tabulated and mathematically sound results.
Make sure that you have a good data-person on staff that can provide this information when making a business plan for investors.
4. Set Goals For Year 1, 3, 5 and 10
Setting goals is important in a business plan because it gives readers milestones that they can use to predict where you’ll come in at as your company grows. As a matter of fact, the more milestones you can spell out, the better your investors are going to feel that you’ve thought out your business’s trajectory.
We feel that the optimal amount of year-related goals to spell out in a plan are year 1, 3, 5 and 10 goals.
Those time periods are becoming increasingly commonplace in business plans and increasingly expected by investors.
5. Presentation Matters
You can write the greatest book in the world but if you chose to scribble it out on toilet paper, nobody is going to read it.
The same is true for business plans.
People that are going to read your plan have likely read hundreds of plans similar to yours over the course of the week. Why should they give you the time of day?
In order to really stand out, you’ll want to make sure that your plan is professionally bound or bindered. You’ll also want to make sure that it includes ample visuals that’ll keep readers from falling asleep as they pour over the information you’ve laid out.
6. Keep Revisiting Your Plan
A business plan for investors isn’t just a business plan for investors. We understand how that might seem counterintuitive but it’s true.
Your business plan is also a valuable document for you and your team. It helps you steer the ship (so to speak) towards where you want things to go.
Keep revisiting your business plan to see if you’re on track to meet the goals that you’ve laid out. If tweaks need to be made, make them. If those tweaks need to be communicated with your company’s stakeholders — communicate changes.
7. Get Some Advice From Professionals
No amount of reading articles on how to craft business plans is going to substitute the value somebody that’s practiced in creating plans can bring to your plan ambitions.
Per that fact, if you really want to knock your plan out of the park, check out this site or other companies that are locally based and get some plan consulting help.
While business consultants cost money, their expertise could lead you to secure a lucrative investment.
Our Final Thoughts on Creating a Business Plan for Investors
Creating a business plan for investors can be a daunting process. You’re literally creating a single document through which all of your ideas will get judged.
Our advice is to take a deep breath, follow our tips above and do your best.
Rejection is part of the business game and the faster that you get comfortable with it, the better you’re going to do as an entrepreneur.
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