GUEST ARTICLE: Business Plans Don't Work?

By Urban Miyares, President
Disabled Businesspersons Association

The “business plan.”  That one document most hate to tackle and everyone asks for, but few actually know how to read.

Go ahead and ask any successful business owner in your community if they ever began their business by first writing a business plan.   Think you will be surprise at how many said they didn’t.

Business plans, like businesses, come in all shapes, sizes, and formats.  There are business plans for evaluations; ones to map out a marketing or product concept; and then there are plans designed as a management tool and ones to test a theory. And then there is that one, most often drafted document:  the plan or proposal to raise money – the financial business plan.

If you’ve ever attempted to draft a business plan for your proposed or existing venture, you probably found it a difficult and intimidating document to write.   Hopefully the following will be of assistance and make the process easier and less threatening.

Business plans are important documents, as they are a working demonstration of your understanding of business (not necessarily your product or service), and a demonstration of your understanding of the industry your business is in.  It’s a roadmap or plan on how you envision the business to move forward and address challenges surely ahead.  It’s you and your business’ résumé.

However, most business plans are works of fiction, especially for a proposed or start-up venture.  Far too many business plans are not worth the paper they are written on, mainly because the plan’s author doesn’t know (first of all) how a business plan is read, which is completely different than that of reading any other printed work; and, secondly, one assumes that one-size-fits-all when developing a business planning document, not realizing that each plan needs to be slanted to address the reader’s specific interest, needs, and requirements to make an intelligent business decision.   Business plans just don’t work, in most instances.

How “The Great American Novel” (the Business Plan) Is Constructed.

Having read thousands of business  plans over the years, and having written far more plans than I would like to admit to, understanding how sophisticated lenders, investors, and professionals in the trade read a plan should help you better understand the proper workings of this important document.

A business or investment professional often reads a business plan in 10-minutes or less, whether the plan or proposal is 5 pages in length, or 105 pages long.

First is the Executive Summary, a 1- to 3-page overview of the entire plan  and beginning with a brief statement (generally 25 words or less) about the proposed business,  its organizational structure and who the owner is, location, market and product/service, ending with the (primary)  NAICAS number of the industry the business is in.   (Visit www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/ for information on NAICS and what your business’ number is.)   Then, following in the Executive Summary is a short paragraph for each of the chapters or sections within the document... e.g., industry, business, management, marketing, and financial.  

Know Who Will Read Your Plan And What They are Able To Do

The plan needs to be written or slanted to meet the requirements and lending/investment criteria  of the reader, as a well-drafted business plan is a never-ending document, slanted to a specific reader, and often requires a rewriting to meet the (new) requirements of a second interested party.

Thus, a business plan writing for vocational rehabilitation or social Security is entirely different than one written for a banker.  And one written for your local bank is often quite different than one drafted for a SBA loan guarantee.  And when presenting your plan to a private investor, each investor often has different requirements and motives in seeking an investment … and it is not always the financial return on investment which the potential investor is seeking.

How A Business Plan Is Read

Ever open up a book, read only the first few pages or first chapter, and then jump to the end of the book to find out the ending?   This is basically how professionals in the field of business plan analysis and sophisticated investors read a plan.   They read the plan’s Executive Summary first, mainly to identify your NAICS number (if not included, they will give your plan a NAICS number, based on what they believe it is, rig ht or wrong) and how much money you need.  From this, they go directly to the Financial Section – avoiding all your wonderful copy in-between.   Next, they will go to their favorite financial resource containing the previous year’s income tax returns of businesses having the same NAICS number as that identified in the business plan.   Comparing the (NAICS’) industry’s financial norm to that identified in the plan’s Financial Section, the reader is seeking to first find out if the proposed business is financially in-line with the industry’s report of other like start-up ventures.   If not, the reader then looks for a Financial Assumptions to see if the plan’s writer has clearly identified and validated “why” the variation.   If this is not done, the plan is instantly declined/rejected.

To find out what your industry’s financial norm is, contact Rick Management Associates (www.RMAhq.com) and read their  latest “Annual Statement Studies” publication, which is available  at your local Small Business Development center, SBA office, or from your commercial banker), subscribe to Dun and Bradstreet (www.dnb.com) research, or contact your business’ trade association for their research study on the business financials of members.

That’s it, no need to read on.  No need to consider your plan.  Your plan won’t work…as you have demonstrated you know little to nothing about the industry and your proposed business.   Business is first about numbers, and your numbers just don’t match what others in the industry are doing … or you’ve failed to explain and justify why your numbers will be different.

Like a résumé, the business plan should first be written to open the door and get the reader’s interest to (a.) demonstrate that you know and understand the industry and your business’ arena, (b) convince the reader that it’s worth their time to read the pages between the Executive Summary and the Financials, and (c) entice the reader to invite you back either for another interview or to address specific questions they may have about the business, before making a final decision.

So, when writing the next Best Seller (your business plan), , a tip (that many business people experienced in attracting funds through a business plan do is outline each chapter of the plan first; then concentrate on completing  the Financial Section, keeping in-line with the industry’s financial norms.  And if the numbers pencils out favorably, then get emotional and work on honing up the various chapters of the plan, if needed.  The finishing touch, just like the jacket of a book, is a well-crafted and concise Executive Summary … your plan’s marketing or sales piece … your résumé.

Good writing and much success with your current or next venture.

- Urban Miyares

Urban Miyares is president of the volunteer-driven Disabled Businesspersons Association, a charitable organization he founded in 1985.  An entrepreneur with a disability for more than four decades, Urban has been a principal in a venture capital groups, is an investor in small businesses, and has helped the enterprising disabled attract millions of dollars in financial assistance over the years.   He currently conducts workshops and seminars nationwide on self-employment and business for entrepreneurs with disabilities, vocational rehabilitation specialists, career development counselors, business consultants, and others in the trade. To contact Urban Miyares, email Urban@DisabledBusiness.com.
 

Focus on the ability...

We, as an enlightened society (and I use that term loosely), are conditioned from a very young age to believe in “taking care of those less fortunate”.  It’s that type of thinking that needs to be overcome.  It’s very difficult (and callous) to tell someone who is working ahead with good intentions, to get their head out of their ass.  Stop selling the disability and focus on the ability. 

Nancy mentioned “isms” a number of times.  To me, the only difference between racism and the treatment of disability, is one comes from hate while the other comes from compassion.  That’s a hard thing to challenge.  You can attend all the disability sensitivity training workshops in the world but until you come to grips with your own biases you will never be a true ally to the disabled.  Remove the term disabled from your vocabulary.

I am concerned that the sympathetic and compassion viewpoint traps one into seeing the “disabled person” rather then the “person”.  I have worked hard all of my life to get people past the point of seeing me as a “Terry the man” rather than “Terry the disabled man”.  To me nothing is more complimentary then a buddy calling to see if I want to join him and some buddies to go to a some place for an evening’s entertainment and, when we arrive and discover the place is not accessible, my buddy’s response tends to be “we keep forgetting about the wheelchair”.  To me, that’s a compliment and they are seeing me for me, not the disability.

- Terry Wiens, www.futurefocus.info     

I do find that there are groups that I am more uneasy with (about what I should say or how to approach a situation) both in a disability context also and with some other cultures. An example would be that I often feel uneasy around folks with some of the mobility problems. "Should I offer to help them or let them do it on there own?" Until you know them this can often be a problem, mainly in how they react to it. If I am in a group that is speaking another language (e.g. Spanish) and not the one I know (English), I can feel just as uncomfortable.

Having worked with diversity groups for years within our organization, there have been times I do feel very left out trying to represent Disabilities - and it is a hard one to get across that a disability can happen to anyone at any time - Regardless of race, creed, religion, gender, orientation.........

- Jim Holroyd, Forest Dispatcher, Siuslaw National Forest
 

  More Information: http://deafdigest.com/comics/

2009 I-NABIR CONFERENCE

"Sharing Skills – Building Confidence"

November 1 – 3, 2009 ~ Washington, DC

The 2009 Inter-National Association of Business, Industry, and Rehabilitation Conference will offer opportunities to establish, strengthen and enliven our connections with peers, with employers, and with job seekers with disabilities. Plan to join us as we explore new and fresh approaches to job development and to serving people with emerging disabilities and barriers.

  More Information Here: http://www.inabir.org/conference.html 

Employing Outstanding Individuals with Disabilities

“Strategies on Inclusion, Recruitment and Retention”

November 5, 2009 ~ Toronto, Ontario

Learn strategies for employing people with disabilities from a global perspective through speakers from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Attend workshops that provide information on employing people with disabilities, accommodations, and retention. Hear of the hurdles people with disabilities encounter in the labour market and how barriers can be removed. Network with employers that are dedicated to diversity and inclusion.

  More Information Here: www.joininfo.ca/Toronto/Conference2009/

COSD 10th Annual National Conference

November 8 – 9, 2009 ~ Dallas, TX

COSD's 10th Annual National Conference will host important opinion leaders who will bring actionable and usable ideas applicable for both higher education and employers. The conference will reshape our thinking about disability as an important component of diversity.

  More Information Here: www.cosdonline.org/2009-cosd-annual-national-conference

Think College Capacity Building Institute

November 8, 2009 ~ Washington, DC

This Capacity Building Institute will offer UCEDDs strategies and resources that can be used to support the development and implementation of postsecondary education options for people with developmental disabilities within their states.  Participants in this day-long training will be eligible to receive a $15,000 mini-grant to support statewide planning or development/implementation of a PSE initiative in their state, through a competitive RFP process.

  Contact Cate Weir at Cathryn.weir@umb.edu for more information

15TH Annual National (Canada) Supported Employment Conference

“Building the CASE”

November 11 – 13, 2009 ~ Moncton, NB  

The CASE conference attracts leaders in the field year after year, and is highly valued as a high quality networking and professional development event. Conference Highlights

•        International Speaker Sean Wiltshire opens the conference
•        Former and present Members of Parliament, and past president of Canadian
          Chamber of Commerce, join us as conference keynote speakers
•        Increased focus on policy and employer involvement
•        Over 400 YEARS of collective experience in Supported Employment offered by 
          workshop presenters!

  More Information Here: http://supportedemployment.ca/en/conference

28th Annual Perspectives on Employment of Persons with Disabilities Conference

December 9-11, 2009 ~ Bethesda, Maryland

The source for information and insight on disability employment issues in the federal government for more than 25 years. Get an edge in recruiting, hiring and retaining qualified federal employees with disabilities. Attend to find the latest information on personnel policies and practices, developments in technology, legal updates, and resources that will help your agency achieve its goals.

  More Information Here: www.graduateschool.edu/Conferences/Perspectives/index.php

CAREERS Conference 2010

January 25 - 27, 2010 ~ Madison, Wisconsin

The Careers Conference is hosted by the Center on Education and Work, part of the School of Education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. It is one of the largest and most comprehensive events of its kind, featuring top quality professional development.

  More Information Here: www.cew.wisc.edu/careersConf/default.aspx

2010 Community Futures Treaty Seven Disability Conference

February 17 & 18, 2009 ~ Calgary, Alberta

Focusing on First Nations / Aboriginal issues, Community Futures Treaty Seven Promotes best practices in disability employment and marketing. Mark your calendars so you don’t miss out on this fabulous opportunity to connect with friends, colleagues and business partners.  A full program that includes Keynote Speaker Shayn R. Anderson, as well as Interactive Workshops, Break-out Sessions, and Information Career Fair, Artisans and Dinner & Banquet with entertainment.

  More Information Here: www.t7edc.com/CFT7DisabilityConference.htm

The Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities

April 12-13, 2010 ~ Honolulu, Hawaii

With its beginnings dating back to 1985, the Pacific Rim International Conference on Disabilities has evolved into one of the top rated international educational offerings for and from persons with disabilities, family members, researchers, service providers, policymakers, community leaders, advocates, and nationally recognized professionals in the various disciplines in the diverse field of disabilities.

  More Information Here: www.pacrim.hawaii.edu/

21st Annual APSE National Conference

June 8 - 10, 2010 ~ Atlanta, GA

"Employment First: Not Just a Slogan"

Watch for more details on our exciting 2010 Annual Conference in Atlanta. With the enthusiasm and commitments made at the 2009 conference, we will continue to the conversations and "rally" to move Employment for All onto everyone's agenda. Over the next few months we will be seeking candidates for speakers and service awards.  Be sure to get involved!

  More Information Here: www.apse.org/training/conference.cfm

National ADA Symposium

June 20 – 23, 2009  ~ Denver, CO

For the past fourteen years, thousands of individuals from across the United States have attended National ADA Symposiums to learn the latest information available on ADA regulations and guidelines, find solutions to their specific issues, and network with others in their areas of expertise. You will not find a better conference on implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act than the National ADA Symposium 

  More Information Here: www.adasymposium.org/

USBLN Conference 2010

Sept 19 – 22, 2009  ~ Chicago, IL

The preeminent national event for business, community leaders and BLN affiliates that have an interest in hiring, retaining and marketing to people with disabilities.

  Mark your calendars... STAY TUNED!