photo credit: bank68.org
I’ve had the opportunity to help entrepreneurs write their business plans and present them to a panel of business leaders from the community who decide whether or not the entrepreneur can gain additional funding. The entrepreneur works hard on market research, presents a business plan and then presents the business venture to the panel.
I’ve recently been asked to become part of the panel that decides whether or not the entrepreneur should receive additional funding. I’ve had the benefit of knowing both sides of the process and I’ve learned a few things that help me decide whether or not the funding should be approved. There are a few things I look at when I see the business plan.
Some of the things I look at are:
The name of the business.
Source: Success.com
- Does it give me an indication as to what the business provides?
- Does it have a nice flow?
The Executive Summary
Source: Ideacrossing.org
- Has the business been described clearly?
- Has the target market been defined?
- Has the owner qualified his experience and reason for starting this venture?
- Have the Cash Flow numbers been calculated in a way that sort of matches the approximate target market?
If all goes well on the Executive Summary, I skip past the Sales & Marketing plan, the Operational plan, and go right to the end of the document, The Financial plan. In the Financial plan, I focus on the Forecast for the Cash Flow for in Year 1. The Cash Flow is something I spend a lot of time on trying to understand, how the money will come in and out of the business. I spend the most time trying to predict if the revenue indicates that there was a direct link to marketing. How much money did the owner spend in January for marketing? How did she get sales in January that doubled from December if the marketing budget stayed the same? I ask questions that have a strong focus on how the sale will be acquired.
photo credit: bank68.org
The Cash Flow
- How will you achieve a steady revenue year round?
- Do you know what seasonality is like in your industry? Do you know the busy seasons?
- How much will you spend on marketing? In your slow season?
- Have you covered the costs of running a business? Have you sold products or services that you haven ‘t ordered yet?
Then from these parts of the plan, I decide whether or not to read the plan with a fine toothed comb. It’s important to get someone to proofread your plan. The best part of the review process is meeting the entrepreneur and hearing their reasons for opening the business as well as seeing their faces.
The plan is a form of trust that is relayed to your investors but it also helps the entrepreneur gain focus and confidence .
When I meet the entrepreneur, I look at the following in the presentation:
Positivity in Presenting
Source: startups.co.uk
- How does the entrepreneur great the panel? (even when they are nervous!)
- How does he talk about his business? Do their eyes light up?
- How does she present herself?
- How does he handle the tough questions? Are they positive in the response?
I hope these things I look for will give you some insight when you are presenting. Every investor or panel member is different, so keep that in mind, if you can’t convince me, remember, you’re an entrepreneur : you will find the “yes”.
priyatronsgard 