StartupJournal.com has a story today that is a first hand account of an entrepreneur and how he created and uses his business plan. What this entrepreneur does and what many fail to do is revisit the plan on a monthly basis to keep his business on track. All businesses should do this.
The only thing that I have to disagree with in the article is the author’s opinion on business plan software. Granted, I’m biased. Unfortunately, I don’t believe he gave software a fair representation. He characterizes software as “fill in the blank” and “cookie-cutter.” While some software may be like this, not all software packages are. Several packages (including Business Plan Pro) include detailed instructions and examples that guide you through every step of the plan. I have yet to find a free template online that does that. In addition, the financials created by a software package are guaranteed to be error free. Creating your own spreadsheets on the other hand is open to extreme errors. I can’t tell you the number of times I have seen home-grown business plan financials that would never stand up to the critical eyes of a banker or investor.
Well, enough of my rant. It’s a good article and worth reading.
Read the article at StartupJournal.com
Noah is currently the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. You can follow Noah on Twitter.
