What to Avoid In Your Business Plan

What to Avoid in Your Business Plan

You’ve got all the ideas down on paper, and it’s time to actually write out that business plan that is just sure to get lenders and investors from all over the world to just start cutting you checks. If your idea is that great, maybe you’ll be lucky and your business plan won’t matter as much. But unless you’ve come up with something akin to the wheel, you’re going to need a little help in making your idea sound worthy to investors.

What it comes down to is that what you don’t write is nearly as important as what you do write. Try to remember that most of the people you will be targeting with this business plan have read hundreds, if not thousands, of business plans. They likely think they’ve seen it all, and it’s up to you to convince them that they haven’t. So don’t make your plan look like all the rest.

And just how do you do that?  There are a number of ways, but the most important might be to avoid clichés in your writing. The point of this business plan is to give potential investors specific details and information. Writing in clichés is the number one way to drive a reader crazy, because these clichés don’t mean anything without knowledge or action behind them.

So, don’t just say your team will employ “synergy” to get the job done. That’s a big buzzword, and maybe you think it sounds awesome, but what does it mean? How will your team work together cohesively to make your business a success? Be specific. Opening your dictionary and finding a word like “synergy” doesn’t make you a better business person, and it certainly doesn’t make you more attractive to investors. If anything, it makes you annoying unless you can back it up with a plan. As Mark Twain said, “Don’t use a five-dollar word when a fifty-cent word will do.”

As another example, don’t tell investors that you intend to “think outside the box” or that you are the “next big thing.” Again, these are vague phrases that don’t have a lot of meaning unless you can prove exactly how you will do or be those things. And avoid superlatives like “best” or “better,” unless you can back up exactly how your business will live up to those generic terms. You have to quantify exactly how this will be the case, too. Don’t just say that your product will be better than the market leader unless there is some real evidence to back that up.

You want to stand out, don’t you? Well, as great as your idea might be, it’s unlikely that you will get anywhere if you give the readers of your business plan the same old thing that they’ve read a thousand times. Hit them with something new, but don’t just pat yourself on the back for coming up with some amazing new phrase; make sure that, at the end of the day, your new phrase means something with regard to your business. Potential investors aren’t looking for hilarious new entries for a slang dictionary. They’re looking for something into which they can confidently put some money. Back up those words with thoughtful research and action, and you’ll go far.

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