Hi,
I'm pleased to hear that this article was so helpful to you! I also changed the title to hopefully not seem so spammy
I am working on an upcoming newsletter article which speaks about business planning again and does a quicky review/recommendation of a suite of products that might be helpful to those of you who are doing that now or in the future. I haven't compared it to bplan.com - that will be something I need to do!
Here is a sneak peek of what I wrote.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The hardest part of planning a business is starting with a blank computer screen. I should know – that is what I faced when I decided that SOHO It Goes! was going to be an intentional business, unlike my first venture. I’ve systematically grown the business by following that plan, but I’ve often hesitated to encourage other businesses to do the same because it was such a grueling process the way I did it. I really believe it is important and that micro businesses and solo entrepreneurs can benefit greatly from a plan even if they are not looking for a loan. A plan is extremely important if you want to succeed – and we all want that, right? The end DOES justify the means, but it has not been easy to convince people to take the time to do it.
I recently learned there is a better way than writing a business plan from scratch: the . As I poured over their many products, I thought I would write a review about the product but found myself simply overwhelmed by all the available information. So, with my mini-review, I hope that whether you have already attempted a business plan for your business, or have put it off, you at least check it out to see the features for yourself. I might redo my entire business and marketing plan just to be sure I did not leave anything out, as I’m sure I did.
Think of it this way - instead of that blank screen, you can write a business plan with a screen full of options and just turn off the ones you do not need. and all of the other JIAN products integrate with Microsoft Office. The planning process starts out with planning tools, surveys, and assessments. It includes complete plan prototypes for the most common types of businesses – making it much easier to edit something that is already written correctly than start from scratch. Each plan contains a complete outline of every possible business and marketing plan section you could ever need, and you simply turn on and off the parts, you do not need.
What I especially like is that it guides you through the toughest part (for me, anyway!) – the financials. There are three levels of financial plans, depending on your needs (seeking venture capital, loans, or not). It includes dozens of intricately entwined financial spreadsheets and supporting documents, which automatically calculate and update themselves throughout the business plan. In addition, the product comes with forms, letters, templates, supporting documents such as non-disclosure agreements, cover letters to banks, press release, feedback surveys – and tons more.
Since I was only making a quick review fly by of the product, I didn't delve into deeply but what I saw was impressive in that it provides so much to start with, which you can customize to your own needs, and TONS of guidance. But what really blew my mind was the price – you get all of these things, plus $700 worth of additional information, advice, e-books, and other downloadable goodies, for only $99.00! Even the most cash strapped start up business would love that price. And, in addition to the Biz Plan Builder, there is a Marketing Plan Builder, Publicity Builder, and sets of business agreements you can purchase and use, too.
$99.00 for a fully loaded business planning tool – it doesn't do it all for you, and it still takes work, but it eliminates the most common excuses for not planning your business!
