Business Plan or BUST! Book Review by Brandt Smith
A while back I received a request to participate in the launch of a book on business plans. At first I was a bit leery. I tend to favor short business plans that focus on your key metrics (customer and market based). Also, I am always considering our community at Wealth and Wisdom. I get approached by people all the time but rarely find someone that I would be willing to work with.
Then I got a copy of the book and started reading it. I was surprised at how thorough a job Dan Boudreau did with his book. It was 400 pages of crafting a business plan. The end result is an in depth 25 page business plan that is more than adequate for any company. The other thing that impressed me was that Dan included a fast track business plan. This 7 page document is perfect for most entrepreneurs.
Other business planning tools have come up short
One frustration I’ve had with other business planning books and tools is that they always come up short. Often they don’t give you enough detail to build a business plan. One book I read said to do market research but didn’t include any tools or instructions. Needless to say I didn’t do the market research!
Another frustration is that the books and tools are inflexible. Unless it can be easily adapted to your market and needs you are wasting your time.
Business Plan or BUST! gets around this with the sheer scope of detail it provides. While this can initially be overwhelming in the end it will be needed. He takes you by the hand and goes through it step by step. This begins in the planning stage as he provides tools and the process to prepare for your business plan.
While I found this to be comforting I can see how it would frustrate others. I’m analytical so I’m looking for details. A pragmatic may be put off by how far in depth Dan goes. That being said, by the end of their business plan even the most pragmatic entrepreneur will be thankful for the depth of information and tools. Also, Dan writes in a way that is down to earth. This is written by an entrepreneur not an academic trying to impress you with his extensive vocabulary!
Other tools
Dan’s website includes tools and forms to help make your business planning easier. What this means is that you won’t have to create them from scratch. This is a huge timesaver.
He also has a blog that provides great info. It provides great info from an angle I see nowhere else.
What about the one page business plan? One area I see lacking is a one page business plan. Many entrepreneurs don’t need financing and their markets, products, and services shift quickly. Others have several micro businesses and a full fledged business plan (for each) would be overkill. In these cases what is needed is a one page plan that focuses on the market, marketing strategy, and the customer. It is a living document that is used to frame day to day decisions.
This is an area that Dan plans on addressing in the next edition of Business Plan or BUST!, but I would not recommend waiting. It is a minor deficiency and a one page plan can be easily written.
Business Plan or BUST! is an excellent resource for the one page plan. You can pick and choose what sections of the book are applicable. The final document may be one page but you still need a lot of supporting information, forms, and documents. You basically distill a mid length-market focused-business plan to one page.
http://blog.wealth-and-wisdom.com/2008/11/16/book-review-business-plan-or-bust/