Business Plan Pro 2006 now can help you determine your planning strategy, whether it be to sell your business, go public, or simply stay the course and grow. Whichever direction you choose, you will have the full suite of tools available to create your finished business plan.

http://tenonline.org/sref/jg3.html

Read that article and if you follow it to a "T" then you won't need to buy any software. I followed that outline and wrote up my business plan, then went to SCORE to have them review it and they said it was the best they have seen in years.. (no kidding.. they really did).

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Chris Horne
Enterprise Data Management Solutions
http://www.edmscorp.com

Pardon the bad reference to A Box of Chocolates, however, if you use the software your plan will scream "written with BP software" and "amateur". Plan written with this software stand out like sore thumbs. Sorry, but most professional financial people, i.e. investors, venture captialists, etc., simply toss them in the round file. Why? Because 99.9% of the people using the software simply try to fill the blank with something -- usually wrong, or ill conceived. The outline suggested is a good one, however, if you would like to know how to complete it with the right information, may I be so bold as to suggest my own ebook "How to Write Your Own Business Plan Like A Professional", subtitled "Complete A to Z Guide for Start ups and Small Business". It's 80 pages bookmarked by topic and you'll not find another book on the market that is as complete and helpful as this one. And it's only $20 at ebookmall.com. Here's a direct link:
http://www.ebookmall.com/ebooks/show...ID=65878&DID=8
Hope this helps.

Kent Capener

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

Tell me a little more about the business itself. What are your intentions of the business plan (getting investment from vc's, bank loan, a grant?).

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http://www.growthink.com
Growthink offers strategic business plan development, investment banking, and market research services to emerging and middle market companies.

Thanks for your help. I will scrap the buying the software and write my own business plan instead.

Yep, the software is certainly a time saver but of course you can do it yourself too. Some people have told me that the excercise of doing it yourself helps you learn more about the fundimentals than if you have software or hire it out.

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Peter T Davis
Frixer, Inc.
Helping people make profitible businesses on the web.

I used Palo Alto 2003 to write my business plan and I thought it was pretty good. There was a few things that I would have changed, but for the most part it did what I needed it to do. Palo Alto holds your hand through the business plan writing process. It is very cookie-cutter and will scream "writen using software", but if it motivates you to write one at all, it is worth every penny. I would use Palo Alto as a template to get started, then customise your business plan to suit your needs. Pay close attention to the break-even areas. You need to know how much you need to make to turn a profit. "It is hard to hit the bullseye if you can't see the target!"

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Best of Luck,
OhioDave

This is the best piece of advice I have seen in ages

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If you need a business plan for your small business then write a business plan with ease at Teneric Business Plans

The latest version is Business Plan Pro 2005.

For a business that isn't seeking venture capital or other direct investments, using business plan management and organization software is a cost-effective solution to the problem of time. I've always held the opinion that a business plan is primarily for your usage; thus, what your plan looks like is completely irrelevant to the objective of the plan. Like most things, the importance of good content outweighs the benefits and risks of everything else. Substance over style not style over substance.

If your business requires funding external to immediate resources, business plan management and organization software retains beneficial attributes. If you're concerned with style, simply export to a Word document, an Excel workbook, an Acrobat PDF file, an RTF document, an HTML Web page, or a PowerPoint presentation and modify the formatting to your heart's content. If you're still concerned with style, hire a design studio or freelance graphic designer to use the content readily available in your business plan as content for a professionally designed multi-page document.

If you're going to use your business plan, software like Business Plan Pro 2005 provides great benefit.

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Morgan Ramsay
President, Heretic
www.hereticdesigns.com
Heretic engineers strategic branding solutions and marketing collateral.

I have looked at the bplans software. I think it is a starting point as for the sections and some verbage.

I don't have enough experience to speak about the effectiveness of one when presented to investors/banks

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