A business planning consultant can act as a coach, first assessing the job to be done, and then recommending who is best to do it. The business plan should be a compilation of work between the vision and goals of the entrepreneur, the technical understanding and expertise of his or her accountant and other professionals, a consensus of employees or others, and the research and writing abilities of the business planning consultant. The consultant should meet with all parties involved, talk about what is needed for the plan, and use all the resources available to get the work done as quickly and cost effectively as possible. It is the consultant’s responsibility in the process to take all the pieces and make the final plan into a readable, accessible document that will stand up to investor/lender scrutiny.

My final caveats:

• Don’t pay more than a few thousand dollars for a plan unless you are looking for capital of well over $1 million. I have heard more than a few horror stories by people who have hired university professors assuming they are the experts (they aren’t) and paying tens of thousand of dollars for a poorly written or incomplete plan. Ask your banker for business planning consultant recommendations, or better yet, talk with someone who had a good experience having a business plan written for them. It is reasonable for a consultant to expect you to pay half of the fee up front and the other half at the completion of the plan. And you can’t hold the consultant r
  Legal Secretary
  According to a recent article at a top web site for employment searches in reference to legal secretary work, job growth for legal secretaries will grow at an average rate and many positions will be available as many experienced workers either retire or transfer to other occupations. This is of course is good news to you if you are interested in becoming a legal secretary.If you are new to this field and you want to be successful without wasting a lot of money as with anything you should do your research and find out as much information as you can before spending a lot of money or going to a school. Just because you go to a school this does not mean that you will learn the things that you need to know in order to become successful in this field. In fact, many legal secretaries and legal word processors did not necessarily go to school. Let me be clear. One does not become a legal secretary by chance. You will have to concentrate on typing speed, your knowledge of Microsoft Word and how to gain employment by registering at employment agencies for work.Also, there are some things that make legal secretarial work different than just being a secretary. One very important thing when working in law firms is
  If you are just starting a company and looking for funding, or looking for additional funding for growth, you will need to develop a traditional business plan. Creating a business plan is a business hurdle that entrepreneurs seem to dread. Do you do it yourself? Do you hire someone to do it? How do you get it done quickly, but without spending too much money on it? Will what you do yourself be adequate to get funding?

  In this article I will discuss the pros and cons of do-it-yourself business planning versus having a business planning consultant do it for you or with you.

  The Do It Yourself Business Plan

  Particularly if you are seeking capital of less than $200,000, consider creating the plan yourself after taking a class or reading some books or getting some coaching for someone who has written successful business plans.

  Consider taking a three-hour business planning class through SCORE or the local Small Business Development Center. Even if you decide afterwards not to write your own plan, you will have a much better idea of what you want out of the process and what to expect.

  There are some good reasons for an entrepreneur to do the business plan:

  • First of all, because you can. If you’ve read sample business plans and find their accounting jargon intimidating, you are not alone. But as long as you can clearly get your message across and have other people such as you accountant look at the plan before it goes to lenders or others, you can do this work yourself.

  • It is in learning the business planning process that you develop analytical thinking skills necessary to run your business with an intimate understanding of your own business model. Going through the planning process is an invaluable business experience.

  • You need to know the plan inside and out and really understand the variables involved. You are the one who will be asked the tough questions by potential investors or lenders, such as “What will you do if only half your expected revenue comes in?” or “What will you do if you find out that direct mail is not working for you as your primary marketing tool?”

  Outsourcing the Business Plan Process

  Entrepreneurs are fire fighters. One of the most important jobs of an entrepreneur is to manage time, and do those things that you are best skilled to do. Many entrepreneurs decide to hire someone else to do their business plans, often because they have an urgent need for the funding and can’t afford the learning curve to be able to develop a high-quality plan that will meet the needs of lenders or investors.

  In addition, if your funding requirements are more than $500,000 my recommendation is to get some professional help with this project, even if you do some of it yourself.

  Some reasons to consider hiring a consultant:

  • It will get done! Business planning is done much faster with someone who knows the process. Every entrepreneur has good intentions about getting plans completed, but months later they still haven’t done all the work. Planning should be high priority work, but it is hard to get to when customer calls and employee problems require immediate attention. The sooner the plan is completed, the sooner funding can be attained. And the price of hiring the consultant will be small in comparison with the increases in growth and profitability of the business.

  • It will get done in a way financial professionals will respect. Business planning is done better by someone who knows how finance people look at plans and what they will and won’t question. Once you’ve been through the business plan process many times, you know what it takes to get funding - what to emphasize and what to play down.

  • The consultant’s objectivity will allow for non-emotionally-based projections and expectations for the business. A consultant will be much more objective in the process and question your assumptions, making it less likely that the business will have problems after the funding comes in.

  No matter what, don’t let a business planning consultant talk you into putting any information into your plan that you aren’t comfortable with. If it doesn’t look right to you, it probably isn’t. It is your business, and you will be stuck with the plan long after you’ve paid the consultant’s bill. Make sure it is the plan that you want, one that matches your goals and objectives, and captures the way you look at business and the spirit of your company.

  If you do decide to hire a business planning consultant, here are some of the important questions to ask to make sure you get the greatest value from your investment:

  1. How many business plans have you written for my type of business? How many of them were funded?

  2. How much time will you need of mine during the planning process?

  3. When will the plan be completed, and how many drafts should I expect to see and have the opportunity to comment on?

  4. Will you be writing the plan yourself or do you have associates who do the work with you?

  5. Will there be an opportunity for you to present the plan or for me to present the plan to my other advisors before the final draft is done?

  6. How do you work in collaboration with my partners and advisors so their input is taken into consideration during the writing of the plan?

  7. Do you do the market research and the financial spreadsheets, or are those things done separately (and charged for separately)?

  8. Does your price include revisions or customization for certain types of funding (to include different information needed by investors versus lenders)?

  9. Does your price include coaching to prepare me to talk with lenders or make financing presentations?

  10. Will I have an electronic version as well as a hard copy version of the final plan (so I can make changes later if I need to)?

  The Optimum Solution: A Blended Approach

  At best, the planning process should not be at either end of the spectrum, but squarely in the middle. In my experience, plans that win funding come from a true collaboration between a skilled consultant/facilitator and the entrepreneur’s team of employees and advisors.

  A business planning consultant can act as a coach, first assessing the job to be done, and then recommending who is best to do it. The business plan should be a compilation of work between the vision and goals of the entrepreneur, the technical understanding and expertise of his or her accountant and other professionals, a consensus of employees or others, and the research and writing abilities of the business planning consultant. The consultant should meet with all parties involved, talk about what is needed for the plan, and use all the resources available to get the work done as quickly and cost effectively as possible. It is the consultant’s responsibility in the process to take all the pieces and make the final plan into a readable, accessible document that will stand up to investor/lender scrutiny.

  My final caveats:

  • Don’t pay more than a few thousand dollars for a plan unless you are looking for capital of well over $1 million. I have heard more than a few horror stories by people who have hired university professors assuming they are the experts (they aren’t) and paying tens of thousand of dollars for a poorly written or incomplete plan. Ask your banker for business planning consultant recommendations, or better yet, talk with someone who had a good experience having a business plan written for them. It is reasonable for a consultant to expect you to pay half of the fee up front and the other half at the completion of the plan. And you can’t hold the consultant re
    Job Interviewing Tips
    There seem to be too many people in the world that are interested in giving tips and advice that you do not want, or even care to waste the time hearing them. Why? Because opinions are like bad breath – everybody gets it from time to time, and everyone else seems to love to point out when yours stinks! There are plenty of decent tips for you to successfully complete a proper job interview (and land that one perfect job you have been searching for your whole life!). There is going to be one big stipulation – YOU need to decide what works for you!There is one big tip that is overlooked. That is – being prepared for the future! Say you DO get the job. What next? Usually the “what next” becomes several references from previous co-workers or friends. It may behoove you to do this before you get the position applying for. Usually, three references are required, and none can be from relatives. Granted, relatives may know you better than most, but employers have found that relatives may also exaggerate and blatantly LIE about the applicant – just to “help” the applicant get the job.An excellent example of a reference, is one I received from a previous co-worker. She wrote: “(My name) is quite possibly one of t
    usiness planning process that you develop analytical thinking skills necessary to run your business with an intimate understanding of your own business model. Going through the planning process is an invaluable business experience.

  • You need to know the plan inside and out and really understand the variables involved. You are the one who will be asked the tough questions by potential investors or lenders, such as “What will you do if only half your expected revenue comes in?” or “What will you do if you find out that direct mail is not working for you as your primary marketing tool?”

  Outsourcing the Business Plan Process

  Entrepreneurs are fire fighters. One of the most important jobs of an entrepreneur is to manage time, and do those things that you are best skilled to do. Many entrepreneurs decide to hire someone else to do their business plans, often because they have an urgent need for the funding and can’t afford the learning curve to be able to develop a high-quality plan that will meet the needs of lenders or investors.

  In addition, if your funding requirements are more than $500,000 my recommendation is to get some professional help with this project, even if you do some of it yourself.

  Some reasons to consider hiring a consultant:

  • It will get done! Business planning is done much faster with someone who knows the process. Every entrepreneur has good intentions about getting plans completed, but months later they still haven’t done all the work. Planning should be high priority work, but it is hard to get to when customer calls and employee problems require immediate attention. The sooner the plan is completed, the sooner funding can be attained. And the price of hiring the consultant will be small in comparison with the increases in growth and profitability of the business.

  • It will get done in a way financial professionals will respect. Business planning is done better by someone who knows how finance people look at plans and what they will and won’t question. Once you’ve been through the business plan process many times, you know what it takes to get funding - what to emphasize and what to play down.

  • The consultant’s objectivity will allow for non-emotionally-based projections and expectations for the business. A consultant will be much more objective in the process and question your assumptions, making it less likely that the business will have problems after the funding comes in.

  No matter what, don’t let a business planning consultant talk you into putting any information into your plan that you aren’t comfortable with. If it doesn’t look right to you, it probably isn’t. It is your business, and you will be stuck with the plan long after you’ve paid the consultant’s bill. Make sure it is the plan that you want, one that matches your goals and objectives, and captures the way you look at business and the spirit of your company.

  If you do decide to hire a business planning consultant, here are some of the important questions to ask to make sure you get the greatest value from your investment:

  1. How many business plans have you written for my type of business? How many of them were funded?

  2. How much time will you need of mine during the planning process?

  3. When will the plan be completed, and how many drafts should I expect to see and have the opportunity to comment on?

  4. Will you be writing the plan yourself or do you have associates who do the work with you?

  5. Will there be an opportunity for you to present the plan or for me to present the plan to my other advisors before the final draft is done?

  6. How do you work in collaboration with my partners and advisors so their input is taken into consideration during the writing of the plan?

  7. Do you do the market research and the financial spreadsheets, or are those things done separately (and charged for separately)?

  8. Does your price include revisions or customization for certain types of funding (to include different information needed by investors versus lenders)?

  9. Does your price include coaching to prepare me to talk with lenders or make financing presentations?

  10. Will I have an electronic version as well as a hard copy version of the final plan (so I can make changes later if I need to)?

  The Optimum Solution: A Blended Approach

  At best, the planning process should not be at either end of the spectrum, but squarely in the middle. In my experience, plans that win funding come from a true collaboration between a skilled consultant/facilitator and the entrepreneur’s team of employees and advisors.

  A business planning consultant can act as a coach, first assessing the job to be done, and then recommending who is best to do it. The business plan should be a compilation of work between the vision and goals of the entrepreneur, the technical understanding and expertise of his or her accountant and other professionals, a consensus of employees or others, and the research and writing abilities of the business planning consultant. The consultant should meet with all parties involved, talk about what is needed for the plan, and use all the resources available to get the work done as quickly and cost effectively as possible. It is the consultant’s responsibility in the process to take all the pieces and make the final plan into a readable, accessible document that will stand up to investor/lender scrutiny.

  My final caveats:

  • Don’t pay more than a few thousand dollars for a plan unless you are looking for capital of well over $1 million. I have heard more than a few horror stories by people who have hired university professors assuming they are the experts (they aren’t) and paying tens of thousand of dollars for a poorly written or incomplete plan. Ask your banker for business planning consultant recommendations, or better yet, talk with someone who had a good experience having a business plan written for them. It is reasonable for a consultant to expect you to pay half of the fee up front and the other half at the completion of the plan. And you can’t hold the consultant r
    It Could Happen to You
    This is a true story.I was 25 years old when I answered an ad in the Toronto Star one day.It read "GROUND FLOOR OPPORTUNITY". The content of the ad basically discussed the fact that the company was new,willing to train managers in every facet of the business and would promote successful candidates into their own office.As well they had large ,international intentions.I walked into a cramped ,shabby interior of an office smack dab in the heart of Chinatown but what struck me was the energy of the place and the confidence of the gentleman who interviewed me ( unbeknownst to me at the time but he was a millionaire by the age of 30).I was hired on a 100% commission plan only and thus I entered the world of telemarketing selling paper rolls and ribbons for POS,cash registers and credit card machines.It was a classic boiler room only the business was a legitimate model through and through.However,hustle and attitude were the vernacular of the day.These gentlemen had run businesses before but their forte was strictly a direct sales platform where their peopel were independent brokers and every deal was cash on the barrelhead.The one big gaffe that they were committing and it proved to be a valuable lesson
    y work, but it is hard to get to when customer calls and employee problems require immediate attention. The sooner the plan is completed, the sooner funding can be attained. And the price of hiring the consultant will be small in comparison with the increases in growth and profitability of the business.

  • It will get done in a way financial professionals will respect. Business planning is done better by someone who knows how finance people look at plans and what they will and won’t question. Once you’ve been through the business plan process many times, you know what it takes to get funding - what to emphasize and what to play down.

  • The consultant’s objectivity will allow for non-emotionally-based projections and expectations for the business. A consultant will be much more objective in the process and question your assumptions, making it less likely that the business will have problems after the funding comes in.

  No matter what, don’t let a business planning consultant talk you into putting any information into your plan that you aren’t comfortable with. If it doesn’t look right to you, it probably isn’t. It is your business, and you will be stuck with the plan long after you’ve paid the consultant’s bill. Make sure it is the plan that you want, one that matches your goals and objectives, and captures the way you look at business and the spirit of your company.

  If you do decide to hire a business planning consultant, here are some of the important questions to ask to make sure you get the greatest value from your investment:

  1. How many business plans have you written for my type of business? How many of them were funded?

  2. How much time will you need of mine during the planning process?

  3. When will the plan be completed, and how many drafts should I expect to see and have the opportunity to comment on?

  4. Will you be writing the plan yourself or do you have associates who do the work with you?

  5. Will there be an opportunity for you to present the plan or for me to present the plan to my other advisors before the final draft is done?

  6. How do you work in collaboration with my partners and advisors so their input is taken into consideration during the writing of the plan?

  7. Do you do the market research and the financial spreadsheets, or are those things done separately (and charged for separately)?

  8. Does your price include revisions or customization for certain types of funding (to include different information needed by investors versus lenders)?

  9. Does your price include coaching to prepare me to talk with lenders or make financing presentations?

  10. Will I have an electronic version as well as a hard copy version of the final plan (so I can make changes later if I need to)?

  The Optimum Solution: A Blended Approach

  At best, the planning process should not be at either end of the spectrum, but squarely in the middle. In my experience, plans that win funding come from a true collaboration between a skilled consultant/facilitator and the entrepreneur’s team of employees and advisors.

  A business planning consultant can act as a coach, first assessing the job to be done, and then recommending who is best to do it. The business plan should be a compilation of work between the vision and goals of the entrepreneur, the technical understanding and expertise of his or her accountant and other professionals, a consensus of employees or others, and the research and writing abilities of the business planning consultant. The consultant should meet with all parties involved, talk about what is needed for the plan, and use all the resources available to get the work done as quickly and cost effectively as possible. It is the consultant’s responsibility in the process to take all the pieces and make the final plan into a readable, accessible document that will stand up to investor/lender scrutiny.

  My final caveats:

  • Don’t pay more than a few thousand dollars for a plan unless you are looking for capital of well over $1 million. I have heard more than a few horror stories by people who have hired university professors assuming they are the experts (they aren’t) and paying tens of thousand of dollars for a poorly written or incomplete plan. Ask your banker for business planning consultant recommendations, or better yet, talk with someone who had a good experience having a business plan written for them. It is reasonable for a consultant to expect you to pay half of the fee up front and the other half at the completion of the plan. And you can’t hold the consultant r
    Dutch Disease: How One Industry Causes National Economic Downturn
    Dutch Disease gets its name from an economic phenomenon seen in Holland. The discovery of natural gas reserves in Holland in the 1960s led to a slump in other sectors like manufacturing. Dutch Disease is the recession that hits other sectors when one industry dominates, or increases its exports.Causes of Dutch Disease: The major cause of the Dutch Disease was the discovery of natural gas in Holland. Dutch Disease normally leads to a country’s currency appreciating in value. Since the value of the currency rises, manufacturing sector no longer remains competitive, leading to a slump in the manufacturing sector. This results in manufacturing jobs moving to other countries.Results of Dutch Disease: The Dutch Disease causes a rise in imports and decrease in exports, since the high value of currency makes manufacturing and other sectors non-viable. The high cost of production makes the goods less competitive from the good manufactured by other countries.Dutch Disease: Economic Model The economic model to explain Dutch Disease was developed by W Max Corden and Peter Neary in the 1980s. According to them, the parties involved include the non-traded goods sector and the traded good sector. Of the tra
    ue from your investment:

    1. How many business plans have you written for my type of business? How many of them were funded?

    2. How much time will you need of mine during the planning process?

    3. When will the plan be completed, and how many drafts should I expect to see and have the opportunity to comment on?

    4. Will you be writing the plan yourself or do you have associates who do the work with you?

    5. Will there be an opportunity for you to present the plan or for me to present the plan to my other advisors before the final draft is done?

    6. How do you work in collaboration with my partners and advisors so their input is taken into consideration during the writing of the plan?

    7. Do you do the market research and the financial spreadsheets, or are those things done separately (and charged for separately)?

    8. Does your price include revisions or customization for certain types of funding (to include different information needed by investors versus lenders)?

    9. Does your price include coaching to prepare me to talk with lenders or make financing presentations?

    10. Will I have an electronic version as well as a hard copy version of the final plan (so I can make changes later if I need to)?

    The Optimum Solution: A Blended Approach

    At best, the planning process should not be at either end of the spectrum, but squarely in the middle. In my experience, plans that win funding come from a true collaboration between a skilled consultant/facilitator and the entrepreneur’s team of employees and advisors.

    A business planning consultant can act as a coach, first assessing the job to be done, and then recommending who is best to do it. The business plan should be a compilation of work between the vision and goals of the entrepreneur, the technical understanding and expertise of his or her accountant and other professionals, a consensus of employees or others, and the research and writing abilities of the business planning consultant. The consultant should meet with all parties involved, talk about what is needed for the plan, and use all the resources available to get the work done as quickly and cost effectively as possible. It is the consultant’s responsibility in the process to take all the pieces and make the final plan into a readable, accessible document that will stand up to investor/lender scrutiny.

    My final caveats:

    • Don’t pay more than a few thousand dollars for a plan unless you are looking for capital of well over $1 million. I have heard more than a few horror stories by people who have hired university professors assuming they are the experts (they aren’t) and paying tens of thousand of dollars for a poorly written or incomplete plan. Ask your banker for business planning consultant recommendations, or better yet, talk with someone who had a good experience having a business plan written for them. It is reasonable for a consultant to expect you to pay half of the fee up front and the other half at the completion of the plan. And you can’t hold the consultant r
      Be Prepared for the Unexpected
      How long has it been since you last had to search for a new job? These days it’s not at all unusual to change careers or jobs several times in a lifetime. The idea of retiring from the same company after a lifetime of service is much less a reality in today’s world than it was a couple of decades ago. The likelihood of unexpectedly losing your job is greatly increased today due to a number of different factors such as corporate downsizing, technological evolution, and globalization just to name a few. Being thrust into a job search can be a rude awakening and an eye opening experience. Ideally a job seeker should already be prepared for the unexpected with an up-to-date resume and versed in good communication skills. The reality is most people don’t have a current resume much less know how to effectively converse with a prospective employer. This lack of preparedness intensifies the stress and fear that comes with being unemployed. Having current documents and sharpened interviewing skills will greatly increase your sense of control over the situation and relieve some of the stress. The process of writing your resume will highlight to you the skills you have acquired and the challenges you have
      repreneur’s team of employees and advisors.

      A business planning consultant can act as a coach, first assessing the job to be done, and then recommending who is best to do it. The business plan should be a compilation of work between the vision and goals of the entrepreneur, the technical understanding and expertise of his or her accountant and other professionals, a consensus of employees or others, and the research and writing abilities of the business planning consultant. The consultant should meet with all parties involved, talk about what is needed for the plan, and use all the resources available to get the work done as quickly and cost effectively as possible. It is the consultant’s responsibility in the process to take all the pieces and make the final plan into a readable, accessible document that will stand up to investor/lender scrutiny.

      My final caveats:

      • Don’t pay more than a few thousand dollars for a plan unless you are looking for capital of well over $1 million. I have heard more than a few horror stories by people who have hired university professors assuming they are the experts (they aren’t) and paying tens of thousand of dollars for a poorly written or incomplete plan. Ask your banker for business planning consultant recommendations, or better yet, talk with someone who had a good experience having a business plan written for them. It is reasonable for a consultant to expect you to pay half of the fee up front and the other half at the completion of the plan. And you can’t hold the consultant responsible if you don’t get funding based on the plan – too much is based on your own credit and management skills.

      • Don’t expect to get a finished plan that is a roadmap of everything you need to do to have a successful business. That isn’t the purpose of the business planning process. A traditional business plan is intended only to document your strategies for the business very briefly – but well enough to get funding. If you are hoping for something that will tell you how to market or how many people you need to hire, you will have to start with a deep strategic planning process, and probably buy lots of consulting time to get you going.

      • Don’t expect a great a business plan from a poor business model. If your costs are too high to make your business profitable, the business planning process will help you discover that. Then it will be up to you to make the hard decisions about changing your costs structure to make the business work. The business planning consultant is a skilled professional, not a miracle worker. A good business plan can help you highlight your strengths and minimize your weaknesses, but it cannot make an unworkable business model into a thriving business.

      And one final thought: Don’t go on to start a business or make changes in your current business if everything in the business planning process tells you it won’t work. Things don’t get better out in the real world if they don’t work on paper. Deal with the weaknesses – get more training, consider product redevelopment, or have a home-based business to reduce costs until you can sustain the rent for an office. Businesses fail finally because they’ve run out of money. If your plan tells you that you can’t make enough money to make the business work for the long run, pay attention to that reality.