Sounds Like a Plan
Find out how to make bank with a powerful business plan.
Turning a business plan into profit is the forte of Edward G.
Rogoff, associate professor of management and a director at the
Lawrence N. Field Center for Entrepreneurship at the Zucklin School
of Business at Baruch College in New York City. Rogoff recently
spoke with Entrepreneur about Bankable Business Plans, his new book.
Your book teaches entrepreneurs how to secure financing with
their business plans. Is this element often overlooked?
Edward G. Rogoff: Most of the material that's
available doesn't focus on that. What is thisplan telling
people about this business that will make them want to invest
money? You develop the concept and you test its feasibility. Does
it seem reasonable that this business would be profitable?
Ultimately, the plan's going to get financing if it works for
other people.
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What should the business plan look like in terms of its
presentation?
Rogoff: It has to be very clear from the table of
contents, the executive summary [and] the way the financials are
prepared that you're addressing the needs of the reader. I
think the ones that look like they were generated by a computer or
a template are generally an immediate turnoff. A business plan is
the entrepreneur's story. And because the entrepreneur is
unique, even if the business is not unique, the plan has to be.
How can entrepreneurs avoid being overwhelmed when writing
their business plans?
Rogoff: They have to realize it's a process, and it
involves thinking, testing ideas and stewing over things for a
while. Accept the fact that it's going to take some time.