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 Business Plan Development
The Services: Develop business plans for start-up, small- and mid-
size companies on a fixed-price or hourly basis. A well-designed business plan can mean high profits and sustained business development.
The Market: Start-ups, small businesses are candidates for help building and editing a business plan, a task with which few managers are comfortable. At some point, every company needs a business plan for funding – whether venture capital or a bank loan, investors and lenders insist on a clear and concise picture of where the business is now, how the funds will be used, and where the business will be in the future.
The Engagement: A business plan engagement consists of interviewing management, accountants, perhaps customers, and preparing a written description of the current and future states of the business, its products, markets and resources, as well as a financial forecast. This requires both a written description and, a financial model created in a tool like Microsoft Excel.
Full Time / Part Time: Unlike many consulting engagements, much of the writing and analysis for a business plan can be done in your own office, with phone calls and a few visits to the client site. It can easily be started part time, and there is enough business to make it a full-time practice, although business plan development fits will with many other consulting engagements.
Primary Qualifications: Experience in accounting, budgeting, management, banking or finance is desirable, but not mandatory. If you have a background as a freelance writer, copyrighter, or experience in marketing, these skills can help you write business plans as well. As you can surmise, the bulk of business plan development is writing. The ability to write concisely and clearly is key. Another required skill set is basic math and a rudimentary understanding of spreadsheets.
Alternative Qualifications: A business plan is a marketing document to investors and lenders. Copy writing, development and development marketing collaterals is a helpful alternative background. Here, analytical and communication skills are key – the ability to extract information from the client, edit, shrink, and rephrase it. Boiling 100 pages of material into 20 pithy pages is a high-demand talent.
If CC&B Solutions can be of assistance to you, don't hesitate to give us call.
"A man's heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."
Proverbs 16:9
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