An Exporter? Who, Me?

by: NC

(NC)—If you're a small- to medium-sized business with a potential market for your product abroad, you may profit from making a move into exporting.

Your first reaction may be "Me, an exporter?" but it isn't as farfetched as you may think. Even if your company is relatively small, there may be a market for your product or service outside of Canada. In fact, 90 per cent of Canadian exporters have annual export sales of less than $1 million. What's important is having the right product or service, a commitment to succeed, and a sound strategy.

The best export strategies are built on the foundation of an up-to-date and comprehensive business plan. If yours isn't as current as it should be, you might consider refining it with the help of the resources offered by BusinessGateway.ca. Located at www.businessgateway.ca, this Web site provides lots of free tips, advice and tools, all related to starting, running and developing your business.

Take your business plan, for example. It should enable you to:

• identify the strengths and weaknesses of your company;

• establish your objectives and strategies, and analyse your company's performance with respect to them;

• determine your cash needs so you can approach banks and investors with confidence; and

• communicate your intentions to employees and investors.

If your plan falls short in any of these areas, check out the free, Interactive Business Planner, located in the Tools section of the site. It covers everything your plan will need, including:

• identifying the types of information required in your plan;

• locating information on basics such as marketing and costing; and

• preparing financial projections for your business.

Once you're satisfied with your business plan, you can return to the Tools section and use the Interactive Export Planner. It's similar to the Business Planner, but also covers issues such as:

• adapting your products or services to a foreign market;

• getting an overview of the targeted export market;

• creating a market entry strategy and an export implementation plan; and

• preparing financial plans related to the targeted export market.

And don't forget to use the Exporting link on the BusinessGateway.ca home page. It will point you to other essential sources of information that can help your company find business opportunities around the world. Once you take the leap, you may discover that export success is a lot closer than you ever imagined!

Raising Capital for Your Business – How Long Does it Take?

by: Dave Lavinsky

Most companies vastly underestimate the time commitment necessary to successfully complete a financing. In actuality, a company seeking financing needs to budget between 500 to 1000 work-hours to the capital-raising process, spread out over a 6-9 month time period.

The key processes in the capital-raising process include 1) perfecting the business plan, offering memorandum, and other company due diligence materials, 2) developing a comprehensive, targeted prospective investor list, 3) contacting this list and responding to investor due diligence requests, and 4) negotiating the transaction.

Completing the business plan typically requires at least 200 hours of work. This time is dedicated to conducting the market research to validate the opportunity, developing a comprehensive financial model, determining the most effective way to lay out the business strategy, and actually writing and proofing the business plan.

The next step, developing a comprehensive, targeted prospective investor list is also very time consuming. There are thousands of potential investors, each of which has very different tastes regarding the types of ventures that interest them. Some invest by market sector (e.g., healthcare vs. telecommunications), stage (seed stage vs. later stage), geography, or a combination of these. Many hours must be dedicated to determine which investors are the right fit for your venture. This process involves creating a master investor list, visiting each investor’s website to view investment criteria and past investments, and determining who is the right contact at the firm.

To see how easily the time adds up, consider that only about 25% of prospective investors who show an initial interest in a transaction actually progress to detailed company due diligence. Only about 10% of this 25% actually progress to a bonafide offer of funds, of which only 25% of these actually result in an investment transaction. So completing a financing transaction requires, on average, contacting approximately 160 pre-qualified prospective investors.

The due diligence process, where investors scrutinize the investment, can also be very time consuming for the company. Investors often request many documents, some of which can be easily retrieved from files (e.g., prior tax returns), while others may take more time to prepare (e.g., additional market analysis, customer lists with past purchases, contact information, etc.). Finally, negotiating a transaction can take a significant amount of time depending upon the complexity of the transaction and number of parties involved.

Too many companies fail to raise capital since they are unaware of the significant time requirements to do so. Those firms who understand these requirements and budget accordingly are the ones most likely to persevere and end up with the capital they need.

The Management Team Section of the Business Plan – Don’t Just Include Resumes

by: Dave Lavinsky

Even the best new concept or existing plan will fail if executed poorly. The Management Team section of the business plan must prove to the investor why the key company personnel are "eminently qualified" to execute on the business model.


The Management Team section should include biographies of key team members and detail their responsibilities. It is important that these biographies are not merely resumes that include the educational backgrounds and previous job titles and responsibilities of the team members. Rather, biographies should highlight the most relevant past positions that the individuals have held and specific successes in each. These successes could include launching and growing new businesses or managing divisions of established companies.


Team member biographies should be tailored to the company's growth stage. For instance, a start-up company should emphasize its management's success launching and growing companies. A more mature company should emphasize how team members have successfully operated within the framework of larger enterprises.


Depending upon the stage of the company, key functional areas may be missing from the team. This is acceptable provided that the plan clearly defines the roles that these individuals will play and identifies the key characteristics of the individuals that will be hired. However, it is generally not favorable if personnel are missing for ultra-critical roles. For example, a plan that is fundamentally a marketing play should not seek financing without a stellar marketing team.


The Management Team section should also include biographies of the company's Advisory Board and/or Board of Directors. While having well-known advisors/board members adds credibility to the business plan, it is highly effective to explain how these advisors will directly impact the company through strategic advice and/or providing conduits to key clients, partners, suppliers, etc.


In summary, the Management Team section of the business plan is an opportunity to prove to investors that your company has the necessary talent to succeed. Rather than waste this opportunity by merely showing employee resumes, which could be included in the Appendix, the section should be used to explain precisely how the team is uniquely qualified to execute the venture in its present state.

As President of www.growthink.com, Dave Lavinsky has helped the company become one of the premier business plan development firms. Since its inception, Growthink has developed over 200 business plans. Growthink clients have collectively raised over $750 million in financing, launched numerous new product and service lines and gained competitive advantage and market share.

Restaurant Business Plan Software Considerations

by: Angie Noack

Whether you are an entrepreneur looking to start your first restaurant, or you have been working in the service industry for a long time, restaurant business plan software can help you create a streamlined business plan that will improve your chances of funding. Here are few things to keep in mind when comparing various packages.

Your needs - Various business plan software packages are geared toward different sizes of restaurant business and different levels of funding needs. Make sure the software does what you need it to do. Don’t go overboard on a program that offers more than you need.

Feedback - Make sure to get in touch with other people who have used the software before and get their feedback. The more reputable restaurant business plan software vendors will provide testimonials and contact information of previous customers. Make sure to compare. Keep an eye out for positive comments about ease of use.

If you have been in the restaurant business already, you probably have a number of contacts you can network with for information. Ask other restaurant owners you trust if there was a software program they used or have heard good things about. Word of mouth recommendations can often provide valuable leads.

Support – Make certain your software vendor offers full support for their programs. Many top vendors offer 24/7 online and toll free support for their programs. When weighing benefits, this is an important factor to take into consideration. You want to be assured you can get the software to work.

Cost – Once you’ve narrowed your choices down by the above benefits, it is time to consider costs. Check different vendors, as there can often be a large difference in prices between vendors for the same title. Make certain to factor in shipping and handling costs and delivery time of your restaurant business plan software when comparing prices.

Once you’ve chosen and installed your software, it’s time to get to work creating the business plan for your restaurant. If you have any trouble, be sure to get in touch with the vendor’s support as soon as possible. Good luck with your new business venture!

Developing a Business Plan = Developing a Succesful Business

by: Anthony Jewell

Whether you are starting up a new business or you already have an established company, the importance of a business plan may be over looked. Yes, they can take some time to draw up but just think of your business plan as a map of a country. Without the details and information on this map, trying to navigate yourself around a country will usually end up leaving you lost. Probably travelling the same routes over and over again, taking you 2-3 times longer to find your way(if you do every find your way).

A detailed business plan could mean your success in business. Consider this. How can you take your company in the right direction, developing the methods you need to succeed if you do not know what you are trying to accomplish. It would be like building a house with no plans and trying to put the roof on first. Yes, you may be successful in building the roof but your house will be missing some essential pieces. You may not miss these pieces at first, but down the line(especially when the winter comes) you are going to be wishing you built those walls too!

A business plan plots a course for your business to follow. It allows you to determine and realize your growth but more importantly what steps are needed to be token to achieve this. It helps you figure out the materials you need in place so that you can first build a strong infrastructure for your business. Another great thing about a business plan is that like any map it can be changed over time to represent the lay of the land. Which allows you to make any changes that need to be made to your route and to help you navigate them better.

While you are developing your business plan you will see that it will start to show you what you will need to do to be successful. Including such things as materials needed, your timeline and projected numbers for your business. It also will show your projected income and losses, as well as how your business will do in the first months and year(s) of operations. This information is priceless.

Another important factor of a business plan is that it will show you how you need to grow. You may wonder why this is so important? Simple. It falls right under you developing a marketing plan and picking out areas/markets for you to advertise in to grow your business. Without knowing where your business is going, there will be no way for you to develop an accurate marketing plan. These two things go hand and hand with each other.

So remember whether your business has been around for days, weeks months, years or is just an idea in your head. Develop a business plan which will help you develop a successful business.

Describing Intellectual Property in Your Business Plan

by: Dave Lavinsky

Most companies that are worthy of raising venture capital have proprietary Intellectual Property (IP). In fact, the quality of the IP and the management team are often the two most important aspects of a venture capitalist’s investment decision. The challenge that many ventures face, however, is that most investors will not sign non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), and NDAs are critical to maintaining the proprietary nature of the IP. This article details the appropriate strategy for addressing proprietary IP in your business plan in order to attract investor attention while retaining the confidentiality of your inventions.

Focus on the Benefits of and Applications of the IP: The business plan should not discuss the confidential aspects of the IP. Rather, the plan should discuss the benefits of the IP. Remember that even the most amazing of technologies will not excite investors unless it has tangible benefits to customers.

The business plan first needs to discuss the products and services into which the IP will be integrated. It then must detail the benefits that these products and services have to customers and differentiate them from competitive products. When applicable, it is helpful to include non-confidential drawings and backup materials of the products and services in the Appendix.

Focus on Customer Needs and the Relevant Market Size: The business plan must also discuss how the benefits of the IP fulfill a large customer need. To accomplish this, the plan needs to detail customer wants and needs and prove that the company’s offerings specifically meet these needs.

Secondly, the plan needs to discuss the marketplace in which the IP is offered and the size of this marketplace. Critical to this analysis is determining the relevant market size. The relevant market size equals a company’s sales if it were to capture 100% of its specific niche of the market. For example, a medical device’s market size would not be the trillion dollar healthcare market, but rather the sales of all competing medical devices.

Focus on Competition and Competitive Differentiation: Your business plan must also prove that your IP is better than competitive inventions. In identifying competitors, note that listing no or few competitors has a negative connotation. It implies that there may not be a large enough customer need to support the company’s products and/or services. On the other hand, should there be too many competitors, then the market may be too saturated to support the profitability of a new entrant. The answer -- any company that also serves the customer needs that you serve should be considered a competitor.

The business plan should detail both the positive and negative aspects of competitors’ IP and products/services and validate that your offerings are either superior in general, or are superior in serving a specific customer niche.

Prove that you can Execute on the Opportunity: As importantly as proving the quality of the IP and that a vast market exists for its applications, the business plan most prove that the company can successfully execute on the opportunity.

The plan should detail the company’s past accomplishments, including descriptions and dates when prior funding rounds were received, products and services were launched, revenue milestones were reached, key partnerships were executed, etc.

When a company is a complete start-up, and no milestones have been accomplished, the plan should focus on past accomplishments of the management team as an indicator of the company’s ability to execute successfully.

Results: Getting Investors to Sign the NDA: If you are able to convince the prospective investor that the IP is integrated into a product/service which yields real customer benefits in a large market, then the investor will take the quality of the invention for granted when reviewing the plan. Later, during the due diligence process, the investor will review the actual technology. At this point, a discussion regarding signing an NDA would be appropriate.

Keys to a Good Business Plan

by: Anthony Jewell

A business plan is a very important part of any business. It is usually drawn up before the business launches, but can also be developed after a business has already taken off. A good plan can take some time to develop but the effort you put into it will be well worth it to make your business succeed. Not many people know exactly what goes into a good business plan. What alot don't realize is that each business plan is unique to each business. Just because a Candy Shop's business plan is successful for them doesn't mean it will be successful for a Webhosting business. Though the design of the business plan may be similar, it is truly the details inside that make it work.

Here is an example outline of a business I developed for Logo2D.com . This will give you an idea of some of the subjects that go into a good business plan:

1.0 Executive Summary
1.1 Objectives
1.2 Mission
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2.0 Company Summary
2.1 Company Ownership
2.2 Company History (for ongoing companies) or
Start-up Plan (for new companies)
2.3 Company Locations and Facilities
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3.0 Products and Services
3.1 Product and Service Description
3.2 Business Advertising Program
3.3 Sourcing and Fulfillment
3.4 Technology
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4.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary
4.1 Customers, Target Market & New Technology
4.2 Competitive Edge
4.3 Marketing
4.4 Main Competitors
4.5 Strategic Alliances
4.6 Milestones
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5.0 Web Plan Summary
5 Development Information
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6.0 Management Summary
6.1 Organizational Structure
6.2 Personnel Plan
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7.0 Financial Plan
7.1 Break-even Analysis
7.2 Projected Profit and Loss
7.3 Projected Balance Sheet
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As you can see it seems a little complex, but the best thing to do is to break it down into parts. Usually each category(Category 1-7) will remain the same on most business plans. Some categories may be added in or taken out all together. The key is to provide as much essential data as possible. For example on Number 5.0 - Web Plan Summary. You business plan mike look something like this:

Part: 5.0 Web Plan Summary
5 Development Information
Logo2D.com has already developed the necessary tools for business including:
- Business Identity
Our logo is unique to us, displaying a eye appealing, unique symbol that when seen can be easily recognized as Logo2D.com creating brand labelling.
- Ecommerce service
Logo2D.com features a fully operational ecommerce website system that allows products to be added through an admin section on the site. It also has the ability to take, receive and process orders, remove sold products, creating promotional offers and coupons/vouchers and also displaying featured products on the front page of the website. Also included in the ecommerce program is an area to add, create and manage website ads placed on the Logo2D.com.
- Website development
All graphics for the website development have already been developed, coded and integrated into the ecommerce system. The website is live and taking orders on www.Logo2D.com
- Products
Development needed products(such as logos) have already be developed and an inventory of over 150 products are on the website at any given time. As soon as logo is sold(as well as during down times) a new logo/new logos are being developed to the highest of quality and added back onto the website.
- Marketing Material
Marketing plan and materials are in the works.

As you can see from above what details are given have already been researched and found out. There aren't any comments from a personnel stand point, just facts that have proven. You can also project different areas of your business plan but you will have to do some research on this as well. So when you are developing your business plan you want to deal with facts and information you already have or can get(not comments or guesses).

When developing a good business plan, research is definitely key. The effort you put into it will determine the effort you will put into your business.

In Business Planning, Competition is Good

by: Dave Lavinsky

When developing the competition section of your business plan, companies must define competition correctly, select the appropriate competitors to analyze, and explain its competitive advantages.

To start, companies must align their definition of competition with investors. Investors define competition as any service or product that a customer can use to fulfill the same need(s) as the company fulfills. This includes firms that offer similar products, substitute products and other customer options (such as performing the service or building the product themselves). Under this broad definition, any business plan that claims there are no competitors greatly undermines the credibility of the management team.

In identifying competitors, companies often find themselves in a difficult position. On one hand, they want to show that they are unique (even under the investors’ broad definition) and list no or few competitors. However, this has a negative connotation. If no or few companies are in a market space, it implies that there may not be a large enough customer need to support the company’s products and/or services.

Business plans must detail direct and, when applicable, indirect competitors. Direct competitors are those that serve the same target market with similar products and services. Indirect competitors are those that serve the same target market with different products and services, or a different target market with similar products and services.

After identifying competitors, the business plan must describe them. In doing so, the plan must also objectively analyze each competitor’s strengths and weaknesses and the key drivers of competitive differentiation in the marketplace.

Perhaps most importantly, the competition section must describe the company’s competitive advantages over the other firms, and ideally how the company’s business model creates barriers to entry. “Barriers to entry” are reasons why customers will not leave once acquired.

In summary, too many business plans want to show how unique their venture is and, as such, list no or few competitors. However, this often has a negative connotation. If no or few companies are in a market space, it implies that there may not be a large enough customer need to support the venture's products and/or services. In fact, when positioned properly, including successful and/or public companies in a competitive space can be a positive sign since it implies that the market size is big. It also gives investors the assurance that if management executes well, the venture has substantial profit and liquidity potential.