Tim BerryTim Berry

Tim Berry

Founder and Chairman

Tim Berry is the founder of Palo Alto Software, a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. Tim is the originator of Lean Business Planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning. His full biography is available on his blog.

Recent Articles Published by Tim Berry

funding

How to Handle Business Rejection by Investors in 10 Steps

Are you pursuing funding and unable to convince investors? Learn how to handle business rejection and better prepare your business to pitch to investors. Read more »

funding

9 Steps to Handle Business Loan Rejection

Did your lender reject your loan application? You’re not alone. Here are the nine steps to take to successfully reapply and get funding. Read more »

planning

15 Ways to Use and Get Incredible Value From a Business Plan

Learn about the many ways you can use your business plan to successfully start, manage, grow, and fund your business. Read more »

planning

How to Write a Business Plan Outline [2022 Guide & Format]

Not sure where to start with your business plan? Start with the following 7 sections in this industry-standard business plan outline. Read more »

managing

What is CRM? Customer Relationship Management Explained

What is a customer management system and is it right for your business? Learn everything you need to know about CRM and how to choose one. Read more »

planning

How to Conduct a Plan Vs Actual Analysis With Spreadsheets

Conducting a plan vs actual analysis can better help you track, refine and update your forecasts and budgets. Here's how to do it with Excel. Read more »

funding

How to Get Funding for Your Business — Startup Financing Explained

Are you starting to explore funding options for your businesses? Here's a breakdown of different funding options and what may work for you. Read more »

starting

How to Calculate Startup Costs + Examples — 2023 Guide

What will it cost to start your business? Read on to learn how to accurately estimate startup costs and get your business off the ground. Read more »

planning

How to Write the Competition Section of Your Business Plan

No matter what your business is, you do have competition that you need to understand. So, how do you evaluate your competition? Here's how. Read more »

planning

How to Write a Mission Statement With 10 Inspiring Examples

A good mission statement defines what your company does for customers, employees, and owners. Here's how to write one. Read more »

managing

How Plan Vs Actual Comparison Helps You Manage Your Business

Plan vs actual is the review and adjustment of forecasts based on real-world results. But why is this important and how is it done? Read on to find out. Read more »

planning

How to Create an Accurate Restaurant Sales Forecast in 2022

The best way to explain how to create a restaurant sales forecast is to run through an example. Read on to learn how to build your own sales forecast. Read more »

planning

How to Forecast Sales

Sales forecasting is easier than you think. It’s not about guessing the future correctly, it’s about educated assumptions. Learn how to best forecast sales. Read more »

planning

11 Common Business Plan Mistakes to Avoid in 2023

Planning is essential when starting or managing a business. But it's easy to make mistakes. Here are the most common mistakes you need to avoid. Read more »

planning

The Difference Between Cash and Profits

Profits are not the same as cash, and understanding the difference between them is a vital part of running a successful business. Read on to find out why. Read more »

starting

Should You Start a Business? Test Your Idea First

Have a business idea you're sure is a winner? You'll want to test it first. Find out how to test if your idea is viable and if you should start a business. Read more »

planning

How to Forecast Cash Flow

Your business may be profitable, but it can still fail if you run out of cash. Learn how to forecast cash flow to avoid unforeseen cash flow problems. Read more »

managing

How to Conduct a Market Analysis in a Crisis

Understanding your potential market, competition, and customers is necessary for business planning, but how do you conduct a market analysis in a crisis? Read more »

managing

Turn What-if to What-Now: The Importance of Scenario Analysis

Scenario analysis is looking at what might happen and developing a plan for how to act. Find out why this is so vital and how you can do it your business. Read more »

planning

How to Write an Effective Executive Summary

An executive summary is a brief introduction to a business plan. A winning executive summary grabs your reader’s attention and describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights. Read more »