July 25, 2008, Newsletter Issue #7: Pay or Do It Yourself Business Planning.

Tip of the Week

Tailored business plans can cost a few hundred dollars or thousands of dollars, but that does not mean that you HAVE to purchase a tailored business plan.

You may want to purchase a tailored business plan if you have done the recommended Web research and are still not sure how to proceed. You may want to purchase a business plan consultant if you are looking at high up front capital (this is found especially in manufacturing and financing industries).

You may NOT want to purchase a tailored business plan if you are developing a service industry, or a small business that does not require a massive up front investment.

The decision to choose a writer or consultant for your business plan should be based on the following questions:

Do you have the TIME to write a business plan?
Do you have the ABILITY to write a business plan?
Do you lack the MONEY to pay for a business plan?

If you answered yes to any of the above, do not hire a consultant. Instead, search for simple, easy to navigate templates and outlines that will assist you. If you find that the business plan is taking too much of your time, energy, and ability, then look into hiring a consultant. Many will be happy to simply edit your business plan at a reduced price.

There is a plethora of business plan outlines and templates that are free and located on the Internet. A simple search in any search engine will bring you literally hundreds of thousands of consultants, templates, outlines, and so forth.

The Small Business Administration has several guides to writing the business plan at http://www.sba.gov/index.html

The Center For Business Planning has several business plan templates I have enjoyed using
http://www.businessplans.org/

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