In the air between Taipei and Vancouver…

So, you are ready to write your business plan. You make yourself a pot of coffee or tea, you open your favorite word processor, and you look at a blank page. You feel like a writer and you start typing:

“2008. A man, in his own thoughts, is looking through the glass wall of his office. He sees the waves of a turquoise sea, softly dying on a white sand beach. The palm tree leaves are gently moving with the rhythm of the soft wind and the sunset is so magnificent. The man decides to go take a walk on the beach, then he smiles, realizing that he is looking at a video clip in his office, on the 18th floor of a downtown building.”

This is actually a true opening paragraph of an Executive Summary of a business plan I read few years ago (exactly as it was written!). I am sure you get the point… I am demonstrating what “not” to do. I don’t believe that word processors are the tool to write a business plan. Writing paragraphs forces you to choose a style and to “color” your story right from the start. A paragraph contains, on average, 50% more words than bulleted concise text that are not related to what you are trying to say but are required to make complete sentences and links between those sentences. Writing paragraphs forces you to concentrate on the art of writing instead on your business.

Here’s a my process for writing a business plan:

It’s a Slide World!
First and foremost, I start with a deck of slides that will grow as I move forward. PowerPoint slides are the ultimate summary tool. The format forces me to get to the essence of what I have to say (limited real estate on a slide) and it forces me to be more visual with charts, graphs and lists. I strongly suggest not to use adjectives to fill in the blanks (state-of-the-art, huge, amazing, best, world-class, cutting-edge, etc.). I also try not to write what I think or worse, what I am convinced of. Investors want facts, references and a business case.

Executive Summary
I begin with the Executive Summary. I create 10 to 15 slides that get to the heart of what I am trying to achieve. When I think I have something, the earlier the better, I go and pitch it. I even tell the audience I am presenting to that I am in a validation phase and I am looking for feedback to improve my plan. I have never met anyone that would not accept to help me, when asked. I narrow the presentation down to make sure it doesn’t last more than 15 to 20 minutes. Why? This is typically the amount of time you get when you pitch for the first time to a VC. If they like it, you can talk for an hour, if not, you are done.

Business Plan
As I work on the Executive Summary, it triggers ideas of how to more deeply explain things and I slowly add slides to my Business Plan presentation on the side. At the end of the exercise, it gives me about 50 to 60 slides with all the typical sections of a business plan. I then use this presentation when I get to second or third meetings, when I have 90 minutes to present. The same initial investors that helped me with my draft Executive Summary have also provided support to validate my plan.

A 25-page Word Document?
I have to admit that, at times, I have ended up needing a 25-page formal business plan, depending on the investor. If so, I have mastered my pitch and given it at least 20 times so writing the plan is much easier than starting from scratch. So I make myself an espresso or a green tea, open my favorite word processor, and look at a blank page. I feel like a writer and I start typing. But sitting next to me, I have all my Business Plan slides. What’s left? I simply type the language around the slide content that I would say in a meeting.