Book Review: Business Plan Secrets Revealed
by Art Turner
Published on this site: November 23rd, 2005 - See
more articles from this month
The key to successfully starting any business is a good business
plan. In his ebook, "Business Plan Secrets Revealed,"
Mike Elia walks you through the business plan process step-by-step:
from gathering the evidence you'll use to build your plan
to delivering your plan to qualified investors.
His book provides the basic information you need to write
a business plan. But its real focus is revealing how to communicate
your plan to investors and convince them that your business
is their best investment choice.
When I first opened Business Plan Secrets Revealed, my heart
sank. You see, I had promised Mike I would read his book completely
before writing a review. And Business Plan Secrets Revealed
is no ordinary ebook with one sentence paragraphs, large fonts
and hefty margins. It's crammed full of information!
But as I began to read, I was pleasantly surprised. Mike's
writing style is engaging and practical, and his explanations
simplify difficult concepts. Throughout the book, I felt as
though a friend was sitting with me on the back porch, matter-of-factly
explaining exactly how to do something. It's the kind of simple
practicality that you can achieve only when you fully understand
a subject.
Mike's clear understanding of business planning concepts
results from experience spanning more than 20 years. Mike
helps business owners buy, sell and finance their businesses.
He has overseen manufacturing and sales locations in more
than nine countries. He is a CPA, holds a Masters in Business
Administration, and has served as Chief Financial Officer
of two publicly held companies.
Business Plan Secrets Revealed starts with tips for collecting
and organizing the information you'll need. From the beginning,
Mike concentrates on overcoming your biggest single challenge--bridging
the investor confidence gap. In the chapter "Show Me the Numbers," Mike provides some of the
clearest explanations of business financial statements that
I've ever read If concepts like stockholders' equity or statements
of cash flow make your eyes glaze over, then your salvation
has arrived.
Later chapters of Business Plan Secrets Revealed really deliver
on Mike's promise to help you communicate your business plan
effectively. There are complete instructions on writing your
business plan, including how to get your plan opened and read,
and how to avoid nine common writing mistakes. He explains
how choosing the right design can make your business plan
easier to read. Mike wraps things up by telling you how to prepare for
critical face-to-face time with investors, including developing
a 60-second, to-the-point, verbal pitch for your business.
Tips on finding investors and a resources section complete
the book.
I must admit that several times as I was reading, I would
ask myself, "Do I really need this much business plan?"
This is not a fill-in-the-blanks-and-print-it-out business
plan solution. But then I realized--if I'm serious about succeeding,
then I do need to know as much as possible about my business
up front. Before I've started spending money. Before I put
myself on the line out in the market.
By the way, I did make it through the whole book. And I confirmed
that Mike delivers what he promises on the title page: he
teaches you how to quickly gather evidence, build a case for
your business, and write a readable plan that attracts investors and makes your business the most appealing investment
choice. Even if you already own other business planning resources,
I highly recommend Business Plan Secrets Revealed.
You can learn more about Business Plan Secrets Revealed
at
http://selfemploymentstation.com/bpsecrets.html.
Art Turner has been self-employed for over 23 years.
He is also the creator of http://selfemploymentstation.com,
a destination filled with info on business startups, freelancing,
consulting, working from home and self employment.
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