How to Write a Successful Business Plan for Investors?
A well-thought-out business plan has numerous benefits. It can attract talent, establish milestones, determine financial needs, and provide an overall better picture of the company, its marketing strategy, and its competitors. It’s also an essential tool for attracting investors. Done right, it does more than just detail what you want with regards to funding.
Your business plan should get potential investors excited about your idea and the opportunity to be a part of it. But how do you do this? Read on to learn how you can write a business plan that will help you obtain the funding you need to get your venture off the ground – and perhaps a little more.
How to Write a Successful Business Plan for Investors?
Questions to Answer
Your investors will have several questions that need to be answered in order to determine whether your venture is worth their money. These include the following:
- What initial investment do you require?
- How much of your business are you willing to relinquish in exchange for the funding?
- When and how will the investors get a return?
- When and how will your business turn a profit?
- How likely is your business to succeed, and what will happen if it doesn’t?
Ensure that these questions are answered in a clear and concise manner. Don’t let important information get lost in a jumble of words. Your investors want maximum value in exchange for the least amount of their time, which is something your business plan will serve as a good indicator of.
Executive Summary
This is a summary of the main ideas included in the rest of your plan, which is why it’s better to write it last. It should include a mission statement, product summary, next steps, opportunity summary, and vision statement. Aim to explain each point in one to two sentences.
Investment Opportunity
The investment opportunity section is where you detail your goals and how you plan to achieve them. The most important question to answer here is why. Include the key factors that prove your venture is the right opportunity.
Another related section to include is the market opportunity. This should provide an insight as to why you’re pursuing the venture in the first place, the problem your product/service solves, and why now is the time to do it.
Alternatives
A good business plan takes time to put together and you may require funding sooner than that. Fortunately, there is a range of other funding sources you can seek in the meantime. This includes crowdfunding, peer-to-peer lending, and small business loans, which you can learn more about here.
Important Sections
There are a number of additional sections to include in your plan, namely the team overview, company synopsis, revenue model, company milestones and industry analysis. You should also detail your target audience, who they are, and why they want your product/service. A financial overview should also be included.
Conclusion
Make sure that your plan is complete and that you can back up anything you’ve put on paper if you’re asked for more details. You should also spend more time on the executive summary, as it will serve as the first impression to the reader.
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