Business Plans

Looking for actual business plans for inspiration? Writing a business plan can go a long way in helping you better understand your competition and the market you’re operating in more broadly, illuminate consumer trends and preferences, potential disruptions and other insights that aren’t always plainly visible.

This situation is complicated by the fact that many venture capitalists will refuse to sign an NDA before looking at a business plan, lest it put them in the untenable position of looking at two independently developed look-alike business plans, both claiming originality.

The extent to which a business plan includes costs and overheads activities and resources (eg., production, research and development, warehouse, storage, transport, distribution, wastage, shrinkage, head office, training, bad debts, etc) depends on the needs of the business and the purpose of the plan.

However, as such a crucial piece to your overall business plan, you’ll want to be sure it contains all the necessary details, is well-researched, and will show readers that you’re knowledgable about your specific market and your business’s role in that market.

Terence Channon , the Managing Director of the Saltmines Group which helps early stage projects with technical support, offers businesses to create a compelling video showing their product, customer acquisition results and team instead of a standard business plan, saying that it is a way better to show your product in action than just screenshots or stock images.