How to Write a Business Plan [Paperback]

Mike McKeever (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 1413305628 | ISBN-13: 978-1413305623 | Publication Date: January 22, 2007 | Edition: 8th

Everything you need to create a business forecast that potential investors can embrace!

Thinking of starting a business or raising money to expand an existing one? This popular book will show you how to write the business plan and loan package necessary to finance your business and make it work.

With How to Write a Business Plan, you'll learn how to:

evaluate the profitability of your business idea

estimate operating expenses

prepare cash flow

create profit and loss forecasts

determine assets, liabilities and net worth

find potential sources of financing (up-to-date sources provided)

think first before borrowing from friends and relatives

present your plan to lenders and investors

How to Write a Business Plan now provides a CD-ROM with spreadsheets that help you determine and forecast cash flow, financial statements, sales revenue, and profit and loss. It also provides three sample business plans you can modify for your own use.

The 8th edition is completely updated, providing all-new resources, both online and off.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An essential book to help entrepreneurs..."

"Shows how to write a sound business plan, including strategies for: Evaluating the profitability of a business idea; estimating operating expenses ... finding potential sources of financing; and presenting a plan to lenders." BusinessLIFE -- Dallas Morning News

"Anyone who starts or operates a small business without a business plan takes a needless risk of either failure or no growth. Here's an easy-to-follow book that takes the reader step-by-step ... to get the budding entrepreneur off to a successful business start-up." -- San Francisco Examiner

"This outstanding handbook presents a step-by-step guide to writing a professional, sound business plan." -- Library Journal

"When starting your own business, it's important to know that in legal terms, anything you don't know can hurt you.... If you can't afford a lawyer, consider reading... How to Write a Business Plan." -- Upscale

A thorough self-help book that will lead you through the process. Examples and worksheets will help you present a convincing financial opportunity to banks and investors in a format they understand." -- Home Office Computing

Review

"A thorough self-help book that will lead you through the process. Examples and worksheets will help you present a convincing financial opportunity to banks and investors in a format they understand." --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 273 pages
• Publisher: NOLO; 8th edition (January 22, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1413305628
• ISBN-13: 978-1413305623
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.1 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #503,788 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #45 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Raising Capital
  • #54 in Books > Business & Investing > Small Business & Entrepreneurship > Business Plans

More About the Author

Mike McKeever has a B.A. in Economics from Whittier College, a Master's in Economics from the London (England) School of Economics and has done post-graduate work in financial analysis at the USC Business School. Mike has taught classes at numerous community colleges in entrepreneurship and small business management. Author of How to Write a Business Plan, he has published articles on entrepreneurship for Dow Jones publications, the Sloan Publications Business Journal and numerous newspapers and periodicals. Currently, Mike runs a company, Business Plan Workshop, in which his business plan book features prominently.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Deceiving Title, Probably Great for the Right Person, October 25, 2000

By 

Christa Hill (Paris France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Business Plan (Paperback)

I was disappointed with this book because I had thought it would be broader and relate to all kinds of businesses. But this book is very specific to the entrepreneur starting up his or her own business, only. Its examples are mostly of home-based businesses or small sole proprietorships. The writing is sometimes condescending and assumes you know nothing whatsoever about finances and investments (which may be good for some readers). It includes several chapters of additional information for start-up companies which take up a significant portion of the book and have little or nothing at all to do with writing a business plan. I feel like this book is mistitled and would be better named, "Mike's Guide to Founding and Funding your Own Business."

41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE Business Plan 101 Primer!!!, September 1, 2002

By 

entrepreneuHER "entrepreneuHER" (Mid-South USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Write a Business Plan (Paperback)

If you are a biz start-up novice and aren't sure what you need to do to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper in a logical, well-organized manner...you need this book. If you have a business plan to write and think you might get hung up on the finance section...you need this book. If you have an idea for a business and don't know what to do next...get this book.

While this book may not be for the MBA grad, it is for the entrepreneur who is breaking on the scene with a dream that they have to make happen. How to Write a Business Plan must have used as it's mantra, "baby steps, baby steps in the right direction." Take a project that can be overwhelming and use this book to go through the process in manageable steps.

Napoleon Hill said it and so did Robert Kiyosaki...every successful business starts with an idea. Are you ready...why just sit there thinking about your great idea...why not go ahead and make it happen?!?

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Easy steps for writing a business plan without need for software, October 1, 2005

By 

Catherine Gallanti "www.cosmicessence.com" (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Write a Business Plan (Paperback)

I gravitated towards this book after realizing that my business idea did not fit easily within any of the prepackaged business plan software. The idea of writing the financial forcasting projections and tables on my own was quite daunting, but following this book I not only understood how to write the plan, but learned a great deal about small business financials in the process. I had use the software in the past and I had not learned a thing. Here, for the first time I actually understood why a good business plan is important, aside from being a tool for getting people to lend you money, as an actual tool to making the business work. I highly recommend this book to anybody that wants to learn a bit more about financial planning before setting out to accomplish their dream. Personally I am very grateful to have found this book, as it made a hard job easy to do. Thanks Mike, your book is a winner.