How to Write Up a Business Plan for Investors

If you need to learn how to write up a business plan for investors, you must ensure that you have a sound business plan and a good business idea that you’re passionate about. A business plan is an essential element for entrepreneurs seeking to raise funding for their businesses. Further, business owners tend to solely tailor the plan to investors. However, where they go wrong is overlooking the management benefits associated with planning. With that, entrepreneurs seeking funding can accomplish several key things. First, a business plan presents a solid plan to potential investors while helping small business owners crystalize their goals and plans.

In addition, it allows investors to hold entrepreneurs accountable for any financial benchmarks that would need to be met. In a way, business plans are a solid way to get introduced to the world of finance. Having a plan alone would not secure funding, but drafting one increases your changes of attracting investors. Also, such a plan helps you obtain funds in a quicker fashion. Before reaching out to investors, however, you must know what you’re after and where the money would be utilized.

  • Note: You must justify the amounts you’re requesting and you must include specifics.

Key Planning Measures

Investors will not simply issue money with no notion of where the money will go. Therefore, you must make all your plans concrete and present them in a professional manner. You may also ask for more than needed in hopes that negotiations would bring down the amount you truly need, or at least something that’s close to your desired amount.

  • Note: You must maintain credibility since you’ll need additional funding in the future as your business expands.

If you fail to use the money wisely, you would not get additional funding going forward, and you could damage your wider credibly with the investment community. The last thing you want is a spurned investor spreading bad word-of-mouth about your finance endeavors. The goal is to provide a reason why your plan is crucial, and that increases your chances of getting more investors interested.

  • Note: Avoid random ideas in your business plans. Include well-thought ideas so investors will take you seriously.

Moreover, you should take some time to ensure your company can succeed before seeking investment funds. For most people, desires on where they would like to go are not as vital as a company’s ability to take you there.

In other words, choosing the wrong business will take you in the wrong direction, and investors will see that you’re heading down the wrong path. Before drafting a business plan, make sure that your business idea and model inspires your passions, and you must leave no stone unturned when it comes to crafting a good plan. One of the most valuable aims of a business plan is to assist in deciding if the venture is the right course for you.

Many business owners fail to get beyond the planning stages. To move above the planning step, you must test your idea against the following two factors:

  • The plan must make economic sense.
  • The plan must conform to your lifestyle, and you must be passionate about the issue.

Assessing Potential

Before drafting a business plan, ask yourself the following questions to see if your business model has potential. The goal is to help you decide how your proposal matches your objectives and goals. There are no right or wrong answers.

  • What type of initial investment does my business mandate?
  • How much control would I be willing to allow investors to have?
  • When could investors, including myself, expect a decent return on the investment?
  • When will the company produce profit?
  • Could I devote myself to the company full-time and produce the necessary financial resources when necessary?
  • What would the projected profits be over time as the company operates?
  • What are my chances of failure?
  • What happens if my company fails?
  • Do I have an alternate plan in place in case the company fails?

Executive Summary

When trying to win funding, spend some additional time on your executive summary. Since investors and bankers receive a great deal of business plans, they may refer to the executive summary for an over-arching idea of what you’re presenting. If you fail to seize their interest in the summary, start over and draft another one.

To learn how to write up a business plan for investors, you can post your job on UpCounsel’s website. UpCounsel’s attorneys will offer more information on drafting a suitable business plan, and they will review any documents you have on file that require the eyes of a legal expert. In addition, they will guide you through the proper registration and maintenance procedures if you are registering a business entity for the first time.