The Successful Business Plan: Secrets and Strategies (Successful Business Plan Secrets and Strategies, 3rd ed) [Paperback]

Rhonda Abrams (Author), Eugene Kleiner (Foreword)

Book Description

Series: Successful Business Plan Secrets and Strategies, 3rd ed | Publication Date: February 1, 2000

This completely updated third edition of Rhonda Abrams' best-seller is a complete, step-by-step guide to researching and writing a knock-out business plan. Required reading at America's top business schools, it's been called "the entrepreneur's bible," having helped thousands of successful business people get the funding they need to launch their businesses. With a foreword by renowned venture capitalist Eugene Kleiner, THE SUCCESSFUL BUSINESS PLAN is packed with insider tips on writing and formatting a business plan that will stand out from the crowd.

Book features:

-- 99 worksheets help you get started quickly, taking you through every critical section of a successful business plan
-- A fully-written sample business plan offers guidance on length, style, formatting and language
-- Special chapters address issues of concern for service, manufacturing, retail, and Internet companies
-- The Abrams Method of Flow-Through Financials helps make easy work of number crunching-even if you're a numbers novice
-- A special chapter on classes and competitions help students prepare a winning business plan
--Nearly 200 insider secrets from top venture capitalists and successful business owners and CEOs reveal what most impresses funders

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

This number-one selling business planning guide in the U.S. includes expert help, worksheets to jumpstart the process, a sample business plan, tips on impressing funders, winning tips for competitions, and more. Used in the top business schools throughout the nation, including Stanford; M.I.T.; University of Denver; Hass School of Business, UC Berkeley; and Cornell. Hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs have used this book to launch their businesses.

Named by Inc. and Forbes magazines as one of the top ten essential books for small business, this fully revised and updated fifth edition of Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies is a complete, step-by-step guide to researching and writing a business plan to get your company funded!

With a foreword by legendary venture capitalist John Doerr, Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies is packed with insider tips and insightful advice on writing and formatting a business plan that will stand out from the crowd.

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

From the Publisher

Now you can find what venture capitalists and bankers really want to see before they fund a company. Gives you their personal tips and insights for successful business plan development. The sample business plan provides a guideline for you to follow in writing your own plan. Breaks the chore down into easy-to-manage steps, so you can end up with a fundable proposal. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 409 pages
• Publisher: Planning Shop; 3rd ed. edition (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966963520
• ISBN-13: 978-0966963526
• Product Dimensions: 10.5 x 8.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #393,896 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Business Plans

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 68 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Business Planning Book, PERIOD., December 28, 1999

By 

The Marginal Way "Paul P." (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies (Paperback)

I have read a lot of them and written a lot of them... business plans and bus planning books. This is BY FAR the best book available. It has depth and the detail needed to write a SERIOUS business plan. The only reason it has been criticized in reviews here is that it has a lot of detail and requires WORK. If you want the Daffy Duck business plan book (don't want to work), go elsewhere. If you want to get money (are willing to work), buy this book and do it from cover to cover. A MUST HAVE BOOK.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, some flaws...but not enough to lose stars, June 8, 2003

By 

Blurb "Joker" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies (Paperback)

This book was well organized and some of the worksheets were a little hard to use but its still one of the better books I've looked at. The worksheets I had problems with were the financial planners. Some of them were not well explained and therefore hard to use. Overall, the book was very thorough and hopefully it will help my plans for starting a business go through.

Pros:
-The sample plans were the strongest part of the book because it allowed you to see how the worksheets were put together.

-Very thorough book.

-Leaves nothing out in terms of how to write a business plan and then how to get the money.

Cons:
-The book fell apart on me after reading through it a few times. For such a high quality text I expect a better put together book.

-Some of the financials were not matching other sections of the sample plan to see how it was put together overall.

-Some of the worksheets especially the financials were not well explained.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good starting point and reference, July 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies (Paperback)

I have probably purchased 5 business plan books over the last year. I have also purchased a couple of business plan software programs (both unsatisfactory). None can be considered a definitive "best" book or resource. Each one has strengths and weaknesses, and anyone searching for a drop-in guide should re-think their goals. Abrams book, on the whole, is certainly one of the better business plan books. The advise and focus of the content are very salient to anyone out there looking for OPM.