The Business Plan 175
Although it is usually desirable to speed up the timing of a new venture’s launch, prepa-
rations often take longer than expected, particularly when the firm needs some other
organization or set of individuals to act before it can move on to the next scheduled task.
Slack should be built into the schedule whenever possible.
Appendixes. This discussion of the elements of the business plan has suggested that cer-
tain items, exhibits, and documentation belong in an appendix, so these plans may have
a number of appendixes. A partial list of possible appendix sections is shown below.^26
- A photograph or a drawing of the product (if appropriate), including title and
labels if necessary. If the product or process is highly technical and investors are like-
ly to have the technical section reviewed by a consulting engineer, the entire tech-
nical section should be under separate cover.
- A photograph or drawing of the intended location and physical layout (if appro-
priate), annotated if necessary
- Sales and profitability forecasts in chart form
- Market surveys and documentation of size and nature of market
- Sample advertisements, brochures, and telemarketing protocols
- Sample press releases
- Price lists, catalogues, and mailing lists (just the titles of the lists, not all the con-
tents)
- All detailed and footnoted financial statements, including income statements, cash
flow statements, balance sheets, break-even calculations, and table of start-up costs
- Fixed-asset acquisition schedule
- Individual and corporate tax returns
- Résumés of founders, board members, and key individuals
- Letters of recommendation or character references
- Any additional information deemed appropriate
CRITIQUING THE PLAN
Although the entrepreneur has attempted, in writing the business plan, to answer all
conceivable questions, readers can still find problems. Investors and other professionals
will continue to ask questions and critique the proposal as they read it, and they usual-
ly want additional information when they meet the entrepreneur in person. It is impos-
sible to answer all the questions raised by the plan or even to anticipate what they may
be. However, readers will apply some general criteria and will usually express four spe-
cific major concerns which the entrepreneur will have to address in detail.^27
General Criteria
The four general criteria that evaluators employ to judge a plan are used both by busi-
ness professionals and in student business plan competitions. These criteria are:
- Comprehensiveness: The plan must cover all relevant topics and issues. Using a
template helps to do this. When one section of a template does not apply, the writer
simply includes a page with the topic heading and notes that the section is “Not
