If this is true, then why bother writing a business plan at all? What’s the value of planning and why do investors want them if they know the plan will shortly be outdated? As entrepreneur and investor Steve Blank likes to say, “No business plan survives first contact with a customer.” After all, they’ve spent years, and often decades, hearing business pitches, reading business plans, investing in companies, and watching them both succeed and fail. There’s no such thing as a perfect business plan and investors know this. What do investors want to see in a business plan? A complete financial plan is part of any business plan, so investing a little time here will serve you well. They want to know how your business will function from a financial standpoint - what is typically called your “ business model.” They’ll also want to know what it will take for your business to be profitable and where you anticipate spending money to grow the business. After all, nothing could be worse than arriving at an investor meeting and then getting a request for a business plan and not having one ready.īeyond understanding your business strategy, investors will also want to understand your financial forecasts. And, if an investor does ask for your business plan, then you’re prepared and ready to hand it over.

A business plan provides the structure for thinking through these things and documents your answers so you’re prepared for the inevitable questions investors will ask about your business.Įven if investors never ask to see your business plan, the work you’ve done to prepare it will ensure that you can intelligently answer the questions you’ll get. When you put together a business plan, you have to spend time thinking about things like your target market, your sales, and marketing strategy, the problem you solve for your customers, and who your key competitors are. Having a business plan shows that you’ve done the homework of thinking through how your business will work and what goals you’re trying to achieve. It’s the knowledge that you’ve generated by going through the process that’s important.

The business plan document itself isn’t what’s important to investors. Why do investors want to see a business plan? But the process of putting together a business plan will ensure that you’ve thought through every aspect of your business and you’re ready to answer any questions that come up during the fundraising process. It’s true - not all investors will ask to see your business plan. You need to practice your pitch and be ready to intelligently answer any number of questions about your business.Ī key to making this entire process much easier is to invest a little time and write a business plan. You need lists of investors to reach out to and you need to be prepared for your investor meetings to increase your chances of getting funded.

Raising money for your business is a major effort.

The best business plan