78 | HOW TO WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN
QUiCK PLAN
If you’ve chosen the quick plan
method to prepare a business plan (see
Introduction), you need to read and complete
only this section of Chapter 5: “Draft Your
Business Accomplishment Resume.”
Introduction ..........................................................................................................................................
In this chapter you’ll draft two important
documents for your business plan:
• a special business accomplishment resume
that focuses on those abilities you’ll
need to start or expand your business,
and
• a financial statement, which details the
value of your material possessions.
Draft Your Business Accomplishment Resume .................................................................
Investors and lenders want to be certain
that you have the experience, education,
and desire to make your business a
success. Your resume shows your backers
that you can achieve your objectives. This
isn’t a traditional resume that lists past jobs
and the years or months you held each.
More correctly, you’ll develop a statement
of everything you have accomplished that
has a direct bearing on your business
objectives.
Although you may not have owned or
expanded a business before, you have
accomplished some demanding tasks that
are similar to the tasks you’ll undertake
when you begin your business. But don’t
fool yourself into thinking that good
credentials alone will get a loan from the
first person you approach. When it comes
right down to it, few people will part
with their money unless they also have
a positive feeling about you as a person.
Your task is to get them to trust and like
you as a businessperson.
If you’re like most people, your glowing
accomplishments are sprinkled with
past mistakes and failures. Everybody
makes mistakes, including your backers.
Be honest in your resume but don’t go
overboard. You don’t need to give a litany
of every sin you have committed, including
the time you skipped algebra class in the
seventh grade. Only provide details of
your errors when they’re relevant to your
business plan. For example, if you ran a
business for five years and eventually went
bankrupt, you’ll need to mention that.
Be prepared to talk with prospective
investors and lenders about everything you
present in your resume. The best way to
build trust in a financial relationship is to
communicate with full disclosure. The worst
thing you can do is to lie about or try to
cover up a negative. (See Chapter 10 for
suggestions about how to discuss your past
mistakes.)
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s
deal with the important, positive informa-
tion: How do you demonstrate that you’re
qualified to run a business? As with any-
thing else, there are some tricks to writing
a resume that will interest a potential
investor.