The Complete Book of Business Plans (Small Business Sourcebooks) [ILLUSTRATED] (Paperback)

by Joseph A. Covello (Author), Brian J. Hazelgren (Author) "About one million new businesses are started each year in America..." (more)
Key Phrases: Home Improvements, Small Business Administration, Sample Business Plan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Your company must have a business plan if you expect to succeed in today's tough business world. To help make that first step a giant step, this inspired guide will show you how to write a winning business plan, eliminate the frustration of starting a new business, expand your current enterprise--or even get cash out of your existing business!

Joseph A.Covello and Brian J. Hazelgren, authors of the highly successful Your First Business Plan, reveal the secrets of creating a powerful, winning business plan based on their more than two decades of combined experience writing business plans. Follow their proven methods--help your business succeed now!

Discover How To:
--Take total control of your business
--Dramatically improve your profits
--Provide the critical elements required by investors, lenders and buyers
--Develop your unique selling advantage
--Raise capital in any economy
--Operate a profitable enterprise with one powerful management tool
--Stay ahead of your competition--always
--Make your business plan the heart and soul of your operation

You'll Be Able to Create Powerful--
--Market Analyses
--Selling Concepts
--Marketing Strategies
--Financial Presentations
--Management Systems
--Product Advantages

Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.; illustrated edition edition (January 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0942061411
• ISBN-13: 978-0942061413
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #393,320 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 75 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not great, July 10, 2001

By	Tim Schmidt (Washington) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book is far from complete. It has some very basic information about creating a business plan, asks you pertinent questions regarding creating your plan, and has 11 pretty poor examples.

I originally bought the book for a Business Plan Writing Class. It was a new book for the instructor and he abandon using it after the second week. It does not provide details in any area of business planning, and though it asks you questions to get you thinking in the correct way, does not provide guidance on how to answer the questions or what areas are important for different types of plans. Furthermore, the questions are not structured in a way that actually helps you formulate a useable business plan. The “101 questions” remind me to a employment application or high school written exam.

One of the reasons the instructor selected the book was for the examples. Upon closer examination however, they are really bad business plans that do not provide the depth required in the "real world." The plans are very simplistic. They might pass for someone getting an SBA loan or for internal management use, but a VC or other sophisticated financier would immediately throw any of these plans away. Even the formatting of the plans are bad; they look like they were written on a typewriter twenty years ago!

The book offers little to no advice on how to write your plan for different target audiences, what elements are important for different types of businesses, and because its examples are so incomplete, they give someone without prior exposure to business plans a false idea of what your financier is really looking for. ...

77 of 86 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best "how to" manual on business planning, June 14, 1999

By A Customer

I have read dozens of books on business planning and this is by far the best. I have encouraged all of my clients to read this book and they have all benefited from the information. Hazelgren writes clearly and with great business sense. Covello's financial examples are also helpful.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EXCELLENT - a must have at this price, December 12, 2002

By	IPWatchdog "IPWatchdog" (Northern Virginia) - See all my reviews

I am an intellectual property attorney and law professor. I frequently have the opportunity to talk to entrepreneurs and individuals interested in start up advise. I ALWAYS recommend this book to people who are new to business plans. The book has some sample business plans in the back. Truthfully these sample plans are not all that good, but do provide some idea of the proper layout and format of a business plan. The reason I like this book so much is because of the detailed questions it forces readers to ask themselves. The majority of the book is set up like a workbook, and asks highly detailed questions that must be answered before writing can begin. These questions will also force the would be entrepreneur to think of and address a series of questions that many first timers would forget or not even know to ask or consider. This book is probably not for people who have been through the process, but for those who are doing it themselves and/or doing it for the first time buying this book is money well spent!