BP-Start: business plan online

When you are going to hire a specialist in business planning or a consulting firm to have a business plan written for you, consider these tips:

It is not all about money

Do not think that the more expensive services are the higher quality business plans you'll have. Despite the fact that your company only starts working and there is almost always a financial deficit, do not try to save money on a business plan: the chances of your project to succeed will be much higher if your business plan is written by a competent expert.

If you do not know what a business plan should look like or what each part is aimed at, you need much more than a cheap writer can offer. In addition, a competent author knows that the amount of work required to write a business plan will depend largely on the research completed by an entrepreneur. And such an author will not tell you what the final price is if he has not found that out yet.

High-quality writing

Ask for previous business plan samples to evaluate the quality of writing, its form or its author. The sample should be clear, concise and there should be no typos, spelling mistakes or grammatical errors. The author must be able to provide you with certain parts of a business plan as an example. Of course, in this case names and confidential information must be edited. If a writer has created financial models as well, ask for samples and make sure everything is done correctly.

Previous success

It would be great, if a business planning expert or consultant could show you successful projects, a rich reference list and give you examples of successful projects they have written business plans for. It is important to see a series of successful business plans rather than just a few successful projects.

References

An expert or consultant must provide references from previous clients who would be happy to recommend him (or her) regardless of whether the business itself failed or succeeded. It often happens that a business failed to flourish though a business plan was perfect.

Cooperation

An author must have his own understanding of how cooperation works best. This should include becoming familiar with a client, doing research and study, then going through checkpoints, where projects are discussed and then accepted or rejected. Stay away from authors who are ready to take on any job. This shows that he does not take his job seriously and therefore the quality of his work is quite dubious.

Here are some tips to create a good cover page for your business plan.

1. Company name
The first page of the business plan must include a company name. It is traditionally placed in the upper or middle part of the page in a larger font than the rest of the text. The reader must know the name of the company.

2. Company logo and colour scheme
It is best to have a business plan cover page made of high quality material. You can make your cover page look attractive by adding a high-quality image of your company logo with a certain type of font and colour scheme. A hard cover always catches readers' attention. Business plans with an unattractive logo or colour scheme can produce a repulsive effect.

3. Name and Date
When was the plan written? And what is it – a business plan, a summary or a feasibility study? The third important component of a cover is the title of a document and the date when it was created. It is worth noting that the name and the date of a business plan should not be printed as large as the company name.

4. Less is more
A summary highlights the key points of a business plan. There is no need to write the same thing on the cover. It is also unwise to put too much graphics on the cover as in this case information is difficult to comprehend. Simplicity, clarity and persuasiveness are the three main objectives of a perfect title page of a business plan.

5. Information about the CEO of a company
Who is the reader to contact, if he wants to know more? CEO name and contact information should be on the front page of the plan, showing its readers who represents the plan.