Subject category:
Strategy and General Management
Published by:
London Business School
Version: August 2002
Abstract
The purpose of this note is three-fold: (1) to provide a set of guidelines on how to write a business plan; (2) to highlight what a prospective investor or banker is and not looking for in such a plan; and (3) to provide a summary checklist of the attributes of good business plans. The note does not provide a magic formula to be followed. Indeed, business plans produced to a set formula lack authenticity and credibility. Ideally, the business plan should be your plan, conveying the distinctive character both of the venture and its proponents. That is why you should retain overall responsibility for writing it, not somebody else. By all means seek help with the plan but do not commission someone else to write the whole thing for you. Use this note as your guide or aide memoir.
About
Abstract
The purpose of this note is three-fold: (1) to provide a set of guidelines on how to write a business plan; (2) to highlight what a prospective investor or banker is and not looking for in such a plan; and (3) to provide a summary checklist of the attributes of good business plans. The note does not provide a magic formula to be followed. Indeed, business plans produced to a set formula lack authenticity and credibility. Ideally, the business plan should be your plan, conveying the distinctive character both of the venture and its proponents. That is why you should retain overall responsibility for writing it, not somebody else. By all means seek help with the plan but do not commission someone else to write the whole thing for you. Use this note as your guide or aide memoir.