Those who say that a business plan should be only "x" number of pages are fools and one should stay away from them. Why? Because the reality if that good business plan needs to be just as long as it is, and no longer. No concern should be made about the length, other than attention paid to writing style, because the key is to indicate the management strength of the company in the plan.

Those who sell "software" and fill in the blank services are fine for simple sole propreitorships seeking low amounts of funding. However, for businesses seeking "signficant" funding ($250k plus) through loans or equity financing especially, a plan specifically prepared for the business is the only way to go.

My consultancy has written hundreds of business plans over the years, and by far the vast majority have been funded. I generally don't say much about the success because in fact there's only been two out of hundreds that haven't worked. Very few have come in under 120 pages words and projections included. I looked at some of the plans on the archive and the projections for most are unacceptable for use in the United States for any amount of significant funding. Why? Because they aren't prepared according to GAAP and are merely pro formas.

I don't need to give the details of the differences here, however, let me just say anyone with a spreadsheet software can do pro formas, but do they mean anything? Generally they do not. The numbers used are generally anal extractions and not based on research and reality. GAAP projections for a five year period are a minimum requirement in my experience and opinion.

Hope this helps.

Kent Capener

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http://www.capenerconsulting.com
Solutions For Small Business