ChApter 9 | EDITING AND FINALIzING YOUR BUSINESS PLAN | 167
Let Your Plan Rest
Put your completed and organized business
plan aside for a day or two. You want to
come back to it as fresh as possible.
Assess the overall business message
of your proposal. Does it make sense?
Would you lend money on the strength of
it? Can you make it more convincing by
strengthening some of its sections? Can
you document all your claims? If someone
asks you to elaborate on your plan, are you
ready with facts and figures?
Check for consistency one more time.
Your plan should say the same things
in the financial section that it says in
the business description, and so on. For
example, if Antoinette says she will do free
alterations, she must budget enough money
for a sewing machine.Final Details
Your plan needs a neat and businesslike
appearance to give the best impression.
If you are using a word processor, make
sure it has a laser or letter-quality printer.
Most low-cost dot matrix printers do not
produce acceptable results. It should be
placed in a three-hole binder or folio.
What about visuals, charts, colors, and
so forth? Simply watch the sophistication
level of your business plan. If you’re
going to market a new laser printer,
your plan will include elaborate visuals
that demonstrate your product’s abilities
as well as your ability to compete in asophisticated market. On the other hand,
if you’re planning to establish a bait and
tackle shop on Pier 37, your plan won’t
need fancy graphs and charts.
As one of the last steps, number the
pages of the plan and place the numbers
in the Table of Contents. If your report is
thick, use divider pages with colored tabs
to mark each major section, so readers can
find what they want quickly.
It may seem obvious, but good writing,
good organization, and good spelling can
make all the difference. If you’re uncertain
about your plan, have it reviewed by a
professional writer. If you don’t know a
reasonably priced experienced writer,
check the local newspaper, an ad agency,
or the English department at the local high
school or college. For a modest fee, you
may well be able to improve your work
substantially. But don’t go overboard—just
make sure that your writing is clear and to
the point.
You may want to check out a word
processing service in your area if you
haven’t already done so. Some of these
services can offer effective and inexpensive
ways to improve the visual appeal of your
plan at a reasonable price. Also, they may
be able to offer suggestions about binding
your final plan. But above all, remember
that your plan’s content will speak the
loudest. Don’t make your document so
fancy that it detracts from the message or
suggests that you like to spend too much
in inappropriate places.