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“Ten Major Mistakes To Avoid In Preparing Business Plans, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”

Written by: Glenn Ebersole

Article Overview: How many times have you heard about a business failure and one of the keys to that failure was lack of planning and/or a poor business plan? I was recently interviewed for a business publication story on business failures and the relationship of those failures to poor or no planning and to poor business plans. Every business should have a business plan. And the business plan must avoid several major mistakes that make a business plan a “poor” business plan. Here are ten (10) major mistakes to avoid when preparing business plans, according to Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach.

“Ten Major Mistakes To Avoid In Preparing Business Plans, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”

“Ten Major Mistakes To Avoid In Preparing Business Plans, According To Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach”
By: J. Glenn Ebersole, Jr., Chief Executive of J. G. Ebersole Associates and The Renaissance Group ™

How many times have you heard about a business failure and one of the keys to that failure was lack of planning and/or a poor business plan? I was recently interviewed for a business publication story on business failures and the relationship of those failures to poor or no planning and to poor business plans. Every business should have a business plan. And the business plan must avoid several major mistakes that make a business plan a “poor” business plan. Here are ten (10) major mistakes to avoid when preparing business plans, according to Your Strategic Thinking Business Coach.

Mistake #1: The business plan is poorly written and contains errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar and style. The business plan is a reflection of your image and a poorly written plan presents a poor image. Careful reviews of the document must be done to ensure there are no errors.

Mistake #2: The business plan presentation is haphazard and inconsistent. The business plan presentation is another expression of your image and inconsistent margins, missing page numbers, incomplete charts and tables without headings, or a missing table of contents will all convey a negative image to the reader.

Mistake #3: The business plan is incomplete. There are many guidelines and templates to use for business plans and they will provide guidance on the areas to include in your business plan. The business plan should include statements of the vision and mission of your business; the core values or guiding principles by which you conduct your business; SWOT analysis; information on the customers, products and services; marketing and sales information; a profile of your management team; analysis of competition; and detailed financial projections (e.g. monthly cash flow and income statements, as well as annual balance sheets--going out at least three years to five years.

Mistake #4: The business plan is too vague. The plan must include specific information.

Mistake #5: The business plan is too detailed. One good way to ensure that the plan does not contain too much detail is to organize your plan into an executive summary (1 or 2 pages); the actual business plan narrative (e.g. 10 to 15 pages); and then an appendix with as many pages of details as is necessary.

Mistake #6: The business plan includes unproven or unrealistic assumptions. Critical assumptions must be highlighted and some sort of rationalization for them must be clearly presented. Poor business plans attempt to hide assumptions throughout the plan. And you need to check your assumptions against established benchmarks or some other acceptable standard.

Mistake #7: The business plan does not include adequate research. Make sure your facts are truly facts. The good business plan will include some numbers, charts and statistics to back up any assumptions or projections you make.

Mistake #8: You make statements that indicate there's no risk involved in your new venture. Let’s face it; there is really no such thing as a "no risk" business. There are always risks. You must understand the risks and present them along with a discussion of how you will minimize or mitigate the risks in your business plan.

Mistake #9: You make statements that indicate your business will have no competition. Savvy business people and investors know there is always competition, which could be direct or indirect. So acknowledge and define the competition in your business plan.

Mistake #10: The business plan lacks the benefits of strategic thinking, a strategic plan and a strategic action plan. A good business plan has strategic elements and a strategic action plan to meet the goals and objectives that will make your business a success.

If you avoid these ten (10) mistakes when preparing your business plan, you will be well on your way to preparing a good business plan. However, there are a few more actions you can take to ensure the development of a good business plan. I would recommend that you get feedback from various sources such as non-competing business owners, potential investors or financial institutions, other professional experts, and some nonprofit organizations that offer advice (e.g. SCORE).

And another suggestion is to seek and hire a professional that you trust to help guide you through the entire process, fill in knowledge gaps, provide additional, unbiased feedback, and package your plan in an attractive, professional format. Writing a business plan is hard work--many people spend a long time writing their plan. A strategic thinking business coach would be one such professional to consider as your guide and facilitator.

If you would like to learn more about the preparing solid business plans and how a strategic thinking business coach can serve as your guide and facilitator in that process, please contact Glenn Ebersole today through his website at www.businesscoach4u.com or by email at jgecoach@aol.com

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