From the category archives:
I hope it doesn’t seem like total self promotion — I’ve tried to avoid that as much as possible on this blog — but hey, tomorrow Palo Alto Software is going to give away thousands of copies of Business Plan Pro (and not a light version, the upscale, premier version) for free to Oregonians who [...]
{ 4 comments }
wRich irony: 37signals, publisher of Basecamp, the leading web app for project management, ought to know better than anybody that real business planning is a process, not a plan. After all, they do the kind of nuts and bolts management that makes that happen. Instead, however, Matt of 37signals posted the planning fallacy last week:
If [...]
{ 15 comments }
I’ve posted here before on BizEquity, the “Zillow of small business valuation” site offering quick estimates of business valuation.
BizEquity founder Tom Taulli — a true expert in the field — has added some interesting new tools for the site. Most notably, a valuation wizard that can take your inputs and give you a quick and [...]
{ 0 comments }
There was a nice piece in Small Biz Labs yesterday, in which Steve King notes that you should have a business plan whether or not you expect investors to read it. He offers this summary in that post:
In my opinion, the best way to prepare for the pitch process is to develop a business [...]
{ 0 comments }
Interesting question, which came to me via Twitter: “Does a business plan have an ideal length?”
It reminds me: I was about five years old when my granddad first asked me how long a person’s legs should be. His answer was “long enough to reach the ground.” He liked that.
And I borrow from him when I [...]
{ 4 comments }
I was the planning consultant to Apple Computer’s Latin America group from 1982 until 1991 or 1992, the end of the relationship being a bit hard to define as I was called on steadily more by Apple Japan and less by Apple Latin America.
The challenge came in the spring of 1985. The annual business plan [...]
{ 0 comments }
I was reviewing files when I discovered this one – a nice summary of business planning the way it ought to be. This is almost two years old now, so the SBTV series is newer, but I still like this as a good summary of my ideas on business planning. It was created a year before I wrote [...]
{ 2 comments }
Most venture contests deal with three elements: the business plan, the pitch presentation, and the question and answer session. Where does the plan itself stand, in the mix? What I’ve gathered from 13 years of judging graduate level business venture contests is the following:
The best business plan isn’t always the best venture.
The best venture usually has [...]
{ 2 comments }
Isn’t this about as dumb as saying a screenplay doesn’t matter because the audience won’t read it:
Small businesses seeking financing from venture-capital firms need not worry about writing up a solid business plan, since it doesn’t sway funding decisions anyway, concludes a new study by researchers at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School [...]
{ 8 comments }
New in My Videos: Tips for Business Plan Competitions
President and founder of Palo Alto Software. Founder of bplans.com. Most recent book is The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan.
For more info click here ...
To contact me click here ...
Please follow me on 
Up and Running Planning Demystified
This fresh take on the planning process is my first book for Entrepreneur Press.
My step-by-step guide to starting a new business fast.
My business plan software has been the #1 best-seller for nearly a decade.
Use the Duct Tape Marketing method to create a marketing action plan and grow your business.
Manage incoming customer email easily with our low-cost Web email management tool.
