There can be many ways to approach the writing and editing of a business plan. We will discuss some of the basics about the structure and content of a good plan. One of the keys to creating a great plan that meets the needs of investors, banks, and even grant providers, is to make sure that you understand your business well, whether it’s a start-up company or one that has been in operation for many years. Professional business plan consultants help owners, directors and founders to develop a better understanding of their business in order to assist in providing answers to questions that will create a solid business and financial plan for any purpose.
Business Plan Templates and Outlines
Most experienced business owners strongly recommend hiring a professional plan writing company to create a business plan. They have learned a lot in all their years in business and know that it is important to hire experts in their fields. Companies that are reputable and have been creating plans for many years are the best options. Often, when someone attempts to create their own plan, it can take months to complete if it even gets completed at all! Professionals know how to move through a plan template or outline and fill it in with pertinent and well-written information.
So, what are the key sections of a great plan document? Well, there are many opinions to this as well as ways to approach it, but there are definitely some key ‘ingredients’ to a solid plan. A great plan features all the typical main sections, but also has many refinements not found in the average plan. The main sections recommended include a clean, well-designed cover page, table of contents, cover letter, executive summary, business overview, sales and marketing section, operations section, HR section, action plan and financial section with tables for – at the very minimum – expenses, revenue, and cash flow projections. Within these sections, a professional writer creates many headings and lots of writing that describes every aspect of the business in very good detail. On average, most business plans end up being about 25 to 35 pages in length.
Plan Creation Process
Typically, the process for creating a business plan goes like this: The client discusses their business with the writer and pays a deposit. The writer starts immediately on the business plan by creating an initial layout and inputting all the known information. This is followed by compiling a list of basic questions for the client to answer in point-form related to the details of the business. These questions are usually easy to answer within a day or two because clients already know the basics about their business. The writer then receives the answers and uses the information to create sentences and paragraphs and fill in the plan’s content. Once the written parts are done, the writer will work with the business owner and a financial expert on the financial tables that will go at the end of the plan.
Timelines
Timelines vary greatly for creating a plan depending on the writer’s experience, the business type, the detail required, and how much industry and market research is necessary. There may also be other factors. In most cases, however, a detailed plan can be created within 2-3 weeks.
Plan Costs
Business plan writers and companies charge very different amounts for their services, ranging from as little as $500 to as much as $5000 or more. A good pricing model is based on the factors mentioned earlier, such as length, complexity, research required, etc. Generally, $500 is not enough for a plan because of the many hours that go into creating one, and $5000 is way too much for clients to pay. That being said, a good, well-written and professional document of about 30 pages in length should be more in the range of $900 to $1500. This pricing structure is very reasonable considering that most of the work can take more than 50 hours to complete. In terms of an hourly rate, most professionals charge between $25 to $35 per hour.