Frequently Asked Questions

At any stage of enterprise life cycle (including startup) a solo-entrepreneur like you needs to get out of their head as it becomes increasingly filled with business minutiae. Very often, as minutiae-mania gathers momentum, you begin to loose focus on important management issues...then serious 'problems' begin to arise. If fortunate, you can turn to a family member or friend to help with solutions, but eventually that resource runs out of patience...and the minutiae and troublesome business issues continue to mount. My business coaching is an offer to be your 'thinking partner'. Methodically, we work together to step back from the time-consuming 'busy-work' and discover the root-cause of the most critical problems first and the incremental solutions. Very soon, positive results begin showing up in key performance areas as minutiae-mania subsides. Business Coaching engagements are for a minimum of 3 months. Normally there is 1 one-hour coaching session scheduled every 1 or 2 weeks. (Pricing Information)

The primary benefits I provide are the dedicated level of individual client attention coupled with my high level of experience. I dedicate 100% personal attention to only one client at a time...no juggling mutiple business plans. I don't use business planning assitants/MBA students or content copy/paste, or fill-in-the-template techniques to speed the work at the expense of my 100% guaranteed quality output. My related business planning experience is extensive (30+ years): 20-year high-tech product management and business planning career in Canada, Silicon Valley, and SE Asia. Started BizPlanPlus in Bali in 2010 as a solo-consultant with business plan clients around the world. I repatriated to Vancouver, BC in 2021 and introduced BizPlanPlus to its new Canadian home.

In my Free 30 Minute Assessment with you, I gather all the top level information I need to determine the scope-of-work involved to prepare your business plan. I verbally commit to the fees for my work, get your approval, then follow-up by email with the written scope-of-work and fees in a BizPlanPlus agreement. You are required to pay 50% of the agreed fees at this point in order for work to begin. I start by gathering all the known internal information you have determined or collected. All of this input is reevaluated and utilized as required. I simultaneously undertake all the external research required (e.g product/service, market opportunity, industry factors, competition, internal and external risk assessment, etc.) The following outline represents the logical topics addressed by all good business plans, but can be adapted as needed to increase the impact of the plan's story narrative. Executive Summary (Produced after all the other sections are completed) Situation Analysis Product and Services Description Proposed Business 'Model' Industry Overview Market Opportunity Competitor Analysis SWOT Analysis (Strengths/Weaknesses/Opportunities/Threats) Marketing Plan Operations Plan Financial Projections and Plan You are able to see exactly how the business plan is coming together and make on-page comments through the use of 24/7 available document-sharing on Google Docs for the plan's narrative, and Google Sheets for the included Financial Statements. Our meetings during the business planning process are 'as-required'. Once a first draft of the plan is finished you pay the remaining 50% of the business plan fees. After any last-minute edits I turn the Google version into final copies (hard and soft copy) for your use with investors/lenders. When included, a business plan 'Pitch-Deck' it is prepared at this time. Professional graphic design enhancement of your plan or pitch deck will be done at this point, for a separate fee based on how elaborate the design work is.

I charge a fixed fee for a Business Plan (it includes Financial Projections). My fee is determined by: The scope-of-work...the tasks and documents you require help with. The sophistication and requirements of your investor audience. The extent and quality of your existing materials, including earlier business plan drafts, financial projections, market research, competitor analysis, etc. The clarity of your 'business model', marketing, sales and operations strategy, financial plans, etc. Your ability to participate in preparing the business plan, and the financial modeling. The complexity of your industry, market and business model. The availability of good primary and secondary research information. The requested timing...'rush work' requires a premium fee. Because of these factors, the fees for a typical project...the preparation of an investor-quality business plan, financial forecasting, and investor presentation 'pitch deck', can range from a height of tens of thousands of dollars for companies wanting VC (venture capital) investment to narrowly a few thousand dollars for smaller enterprises wanting bank loans or regular investor funding. If you are considering 'price shopping', remember price alone is not the whole story. You wouldn't decide to buy one car versus another based on price alone – because, you know there are lots more competing features and benefits to consider.

I sometimes make informal introductions to potential investors or investment advisors/brokers. In general, I advise my clients to use advisors/brokers approved by the IIROC (Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada) the self-regulatory organization that oversees all investment dealers.

The short answer is "no". No business plan writer can honestly guarantee investor funding. An impressive plan is essential, but the plan by itself doesn't ensure you will raise money. Ultimately, you control how well you present to investors, and how convinced they are with your response to their questions. I will advise you, but it’s your well-prepared business plan plus 'you' that collectively convince investors to fund your business.