Page 172 - Business Plans that Work A Guide for Small Business

Conclusion • 161

dors and providers and also helped identify key issues to include in the
Franchise Disclosure Document for lower fees than if he had arranged it
through the phone book. Entrepreneurs who engage constituencies are
more likely to move the business forward than are paranoid entrepre-
neurs who believe everybody is out to steal their idea.
It is even possible to talk to your competitors by attending trade
shows. As soon as Dan started to investigate franchising as a growth
strategy, he started attending trade shows. Through these events he met
many entrepreneurs who were trying to franchise their concepts, as well
as potential franchisees. This helped him better understand the franchise
model. What kinds of fees to charge, what kinds of support the franchi-
sees expect, how much it costs to support franchisees, and so forth. At
trade shows, you’ll find that people are open about their businesses, even
competitors. As such, you can gain deep insight into your competition’s
business and strategy. The key is to view the business planning process
as one of gathering information that will help you move the business
forward and succeed.
As we are writing this book (fall of 2010), Lazybones continues to
make progress toward growing their business. As noted, they have five
company stores and are on track to start franchising later this year. They
have streamlined their reporting mechanisms between the stores and cor-
porate, and they have learned how to hire managers at these different
stores. Business planning will help you gain that deep understanding nec-
essary to convincingly articulate your vision and get buy-in from inves-
tors, customers, team members, and so forth.

Next Steps If You Need Funding

Once you have a strong draft of your business plan, you are in a better
position to seek outside funding. However, most investors, whether they
are venture capitalists, angels, friends, or family, do not want to see your
full, completed plan, at least not initially. What they want is often a de-
hydrated plan (5–10 pages) and 5–10 PowerPoint slides. Many investors
will ask you to email them the summary and slides in advance of them
possibly asking you in for a meeting. They want something short and
concise to get a sense of the opportunity (is the market large and growing?
does the entrepreneur have an exciting and sensible approach to the mar-
ket? etc.), a good sense of the team (are you capable of executing on the