DON'T DO THAT!

A business plan consultant may be part of the answer, but certainly should not take the place of you (the business owner) being the main architect of your business plan.

The business planning process is one of the most valuable training experiences a business owner or manager can have. Once you've completed a formal business plan, YOU will be the expert of YOUR business.

In fact, at that point you might even be ready to start a second business as a business plan consultant yourself!

Site Testimonial   "This website is an endless source of energy and inspiration when you need to face important decisions in life or in business. Or if you just need to improve your existing leadership skills. Everybody needs a resource like this. A great big Thank You!"   - Stephan Boutboul

We strongly suggest you utilize our free Business Planning Toolkit to get you started.

This is YOUR business plan - and YOUR business - that we are talking about, right?

If the business planning process is to be useful, it must reflect your unique ideas and vision, not just those of an outside business plan consultant.

Please do not misunderstand our message here. A business plan consultant - should you choose to hire one, can be an extremely valuable PARTNER and COACH.

However, make certain that your business plan does not reflect more of who your business plan consultant is than it does about who you are.

Protect and stay true to YOUR vision.

As you review the business planning tools section of this site, please remember that "business planning" is NOT a task. True business planning is an on-going and never-ending PROCESS.

The process of business planning is continuous. Over time your plan will change, as does all things in life.

You will need to review and revise your business plan regularly so that you, the business leader, stay on top of your ever-changing marketplace.

The GREAT news is that the process of business planning is empowering, rewarding and even FUN!

FUN? I can hear you saying, "How in the heck is this going to be fun?"

ANSWER: Because once you understand all the important pieces of a business plan, and you APPLY that knowledge to YOUR business - you will be a better business leader, a more successful individual, and let's face it - IT'S FUN TO BE SUCCESSFUL!

We will continue to work enthusiastically to provide valuable business planning tools to our visitors.

As you’ll soon see, the tools presented here are yours to use free of charge.

We do hope you will take a minute to provide us with your personal feedback about how these business planning tools have helped you to improve your business results. (Maybe you will tell us that after learning so much about how to create a business plan, you have started a second business as a business plan consultant!)

Right now, let’s quickly discuss what you can do to ensure your time here is maximized. You want quality business planning tools and resources, without paying thousands for a business plan consultant, correct?

IMPORTANT – PLEASE REMEMBER! You will receive the most value from our siteby remembering “The Three L’s”. Don’t worry, “The Three L’s” are very simple, but extremely important. ”The Three L’s” stand for:

1. LISTEN
   Keep an open mind. Consider how each business planning tool may be used by you to improve your business.


2. LEARN
   Increase your library of business planning resources. Plan your strategy clearly.


3. LEAD
   Create the business environment you desire. Introduce your vision daily. Communicate your expectations clearly. Support and coach your employees in good faith. Consistently hold all team members accountable.

Now then, just so you know what to expect going forward. We have a lot of material to cover in the business planning tools section of our site. No doubt, a business plan consultant might start getting sweaty palms at this point. ;-)

We will address all the key components of your business plan and provide additional resources you can use immediately to support your business.

By the way, a typical business plan consultant might not provide you with a sample business plan until AFTER you wrote your first check! Not here, it's all yours for the taking.

In addition, we will provide many additional tools for you regarding business financing options, key financial analysis, and some great discussion regarding how you can create your core business support team (ie. legal, accounting, tax and insurance). All great tools you can use, and a lot more!

Would a typical business plan consultant do all that for free? There we go picking on the business plan consultant again - sorry about that. Truth is, we just hate to see good money go to waste on a professional business plan consultant when we are completely convinced that YOU CAN DO THIS!

Just keep the following in mind:

We strongly believe that the more high quality tools and resources you become familiar with, the more successful you will be.

There are many business planning software products on the market. Our research does suggest that these tools in general are well worth the money you pay for them.

Let's face it, if you have never written a business plan before, you will benefit greatly from any tool that helps walk you through the process.

However, before buying anything from anyone, take some time to review the various tools that we have provided below.

Review in detail the Business Planning Toolkit. This will give you a specific example of the kind of information that must be addressed in your business plan. See exactly what a good business plan consultant would recommend, at no cost at all!

Consult the link on Financial Statements and Ratios. We've done all the work to provide the key financial information that any good business plan consultant would ask for.

We've provided a ton of GREAT information and tools for anyone making important business decisions.

In the following links, we will provide additional details, as well as many more valuable business-planning resources.

NOTE: We have worked hard to provide many high quality business planning tools for your immediate use. Every business plan consultant within earshot is very nervous about what we are providing to you free of charge. Please continue to check back here often to ensure you receive all of our new tools as they are added.

Here is where you get the tools that no business plan consultant wants you to see. Feel free to help yourself!