Business Planning (Assigned School Work)

Thurman, Rich. 2013. SmallBusinessCommunity.org

            According to the CPA Corporation, a business plan is, "a formal document which describes the business, details the goals of the business, and describes how those goals will be attained as well as the risk factors that may present problems." Business plans are essential in the world of business. In most cases, the single factor that determines the longevity and success of a particular business depends entirely on its planning. These statements should be clear, concise, and updated regularly. I’ve gathered additional information about this topic that I'd like to present, regarding two individuals who are thought to be experts in this field, Guy Kawasaki and Tim Berry.  

            According to his official website, Guy Kawasaki is the “chief evangelist of Canva, a graphics-design online service, and an executive fellow at the Haas School of Business at U.C. Berkeley.” His previous employers are Google and Apple. According to Visser (2014), Kawasaki views the “executive summary as the most important part of a business plan. You should spend eighty percent of your effort on writing a great executive summary and twenty percent on the rest of the plan” (¶9). It’s been said that investors typically view the executive summary first. Due to this, it is imperative that businesses capture the attention of the investors with the executive summary in order to lure them into having any remote interest in reviewing the rest of the business plan. Kawasaki has written twelve books, including How to Write a Business Plan, in which Tim Berry was hired to be his business plan expert.

2014. The 3 Bottom Lines.com

            According to entrepreneur.com, Tim Berry is the “chairman of Palo Alto Software, which produces business-planning software. He founded Bplans.com, is co-founder of HavePresence.com, wrote The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan,” and has been regarded by some as the Obi-wan Kenobi of business planning. Berry has found much success in the way that he disseminates his expertise. He is paid to speak at conferences, seminars, schools, and businesses to share his knowledge of business planning. Essentially, he’s created a business plan about business planning (I appreciate the irony and ingenuity in that) that includes what he calls the PRRR cycle (plan-run-review-revise). 

            A business plan is basically a résumé that is handed to potential investors of a business. These two men have extensive knowledge in that field and can assist you in writing you own. Focus on your executive summary and always plan, run, review, and revise. I know I will.

References

CPA Corporation. 2014. How to make a business plan. The 3 Bottom Lines.com. Retrieved on October 5, 2014 from http://www.the3bottomlines.com/how-to-write-a-business-plan/

Guy Kawasaki.com. 2014. About section. Retrieved on October 5, 2014 from http://www.guykawasaki.com/about/

Thurman, Rich. 2013. What is a business plan? Small Business Community.org. Retrieved on October 5, 2014 from http://smallbusinesscommunity.org/tag/business-plan/

Tim Berry.com. 2014. About section. Retrieved on October 5, 2014 from http://timberry.com/business-plan-expert/

Visser, Casandra. 2014. Making a business plan: what 10 experts have to say about creating a winning plan. Entrepreneur Magazine. Retrieved on October 5, 2014 from http://www.entrepreneurmag.co.za/advice/business-plans/business-plan-advice/making-a-business-plan-what-10-experts-have-to-say-about-creating-a-winning-plan/