Hi Frank; Just want to ditto (agree) with everything you have just said.
On Mon, 2007-10-08 at 15:44 -0600, Frank Cox wrote: > On Mon, 8 Oct 2007 16:16:56 -0500 (CDT) > Katherine Logan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > My husband and I are planning to start a business, and we are looking for > > free open source business plan writing software and marketing plan software > > that we can use as a template for Open Office, so we don't have to waste > > our budget on the commercial software. > > Check with your local economic development commission -- they quite likely > have resources that you will find very useful when planning and establishing > your business. (Some even offer low-interest loans and personal consulting > by retired professionals at little-to-no cost.) > > Many banks also offer booklets of advice and what their loan officers and > whatnot are looking for in a business plan. > > By creating your own business plan and marketing plan "from scratch", you will > have a much better understanding of what you are actually planning to do and > how you intend to accomplish that goal, which is the major objective of a > business plan. I don't think you need special software for that. > > Knowing what you are doing is half of the battle. I have read in many > different places that approximately 80% of small businesses fail within the > first 5 years, and from what I see around me I can agree with that statement. > Everyone that I know who has his own business has gone through the same thing, > regardless of what his actual business is -- you get into a sort of a cash > crunch at somewhere around the two-year mark. If you can survive that, then > things start looking better and after about five years you are pretty much > assured of being around for the long haul absent outside factors that are > beyond your control. > > Now having said that, even though I have my own business I have never written > a > business plan in my life. So what do I know.... > I have written 80 -90 business plans in my career (as a consultant). You, Frank, have the most important issues covered. The U.S. and Canadian Federal Governments have strong business plan guides. Most other jurisdiction do as well. The best way, as you said, is to get one of these guides, but write the Business Plan yourself using a spreadsheet and a word processor. My experience is, in spite of the requirement for "just the facts, ma'am", sexy the finished product with pictures and colour, and find a simple story line or plot by which to thread the various parts of the plan together -- helps keep them reading. -- Regards Bill --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] For additional commands, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
