Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning (Paperback)

~ Timothy J. Berry (Author) "About 10 years ago, I was having lunch with Professor James March, a business school professor whose class I'd enjoyed a few years earlier, as..." (more)
Key Phrases: Business Plan Pro, Pick Your Plan, The Mini-Plan (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Everybody in business should have this book. You're not going to find a simpler, better, or easier to follow book..." -- Jim Blasingame,The Small Business Advocate, 10/7/98

Product Description

A practical, step-by-step guide to developing a business plan,
written by a leading expert, this book puts the emphasis on real business plans
that focus on concrete and measurable results. Covers all the basics including
what to include in a plan, where to find information, and an excellent simple
guide to business numbers that stands out for its explanation of cash flow. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 314 pages
• Publisher: Palo Alto Software (November 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0966489144
• ISBN-13: 978-0966489149
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,020,069 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A practical, easy-to-put-into-action business plan resource, June 7, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Hurdle: the book on Business Planning (Paperback)

This is the most pragmatic, easy to understand, and easy to follow book for creating a business plan I have found yet. "Hurdle" is designed for those that want to benefit from what a business plan can offer their business. The chapter "About Business Numbers" is the best I have read to understand the numbers behind a business and how they relate to the business plan. A quick read, a great resource, and a sound business investment. After reading "Hurdle", I wouldn't plan without it.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Book on BP I have ever read, January 17, 2002

By	S. Nascimento (Corona, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This was a very easy and clear read. The best book on business planning that I have ever read. It's refreshing to know that you don't need a MBA to read and write a clear business plan. Great examples and figures throughout.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Why couldn't this business plan book have talked at least a little about how to research and write a marketing plan?, January 10, 2008

By	Jeff Lippincott "www.Jlippin.com" (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Hurdle: The Book on Business Planning (Paperback)

This book was pretty good. It is currently in its 5th edition, and acts as a marketing tool for the author's software called Business Plans Pro. In fact, this book comes free with the software if you purchase it. Personally, I am not a fan of business plan software because I think it allows the user to think of a business plan as artwork rather than a research paper assignment. But that's just me.

As business plan books go, this is a good one. It is well outlined, well written, and informative. It includes the following six parts:

1. Fundamentals
2. Tell Your Story
3. Gathering Information
4. Forecasting
5. Financial Analysis
6. Strategy and Tactics

It also includes two sample business plans, a workbook for helping to prepare a business plan, and a glossary of business plan terms. I especially liked the price since I found it as a free download off the Internet last week. 3.2 MB in size, but the price was right.

Anyway, I had a few problems with the book. Business plans are supposed to be handbooks that tell entrepreneurs how to turn their business models on paper into business models functioning in the real world. And a business model is a profit model that is a system that allows the business owner to extract cash from her customers while creating a profit that she can live on. Anybody in business knows that if they don't have customers, then they don't have a business. And anybody who stays in business knows that they have to have a sound marketing plan that finds prospects for their business that can be converted into customers. This book is lacking because it does not cover how to research a marketing plan or to write one. For me, this was a BIG problem.

Funny thing is that at Figure 12-1 in the book there is a sample Marketing Expense Budget. Why did the author include this exhibit without explaining somewhere in the book how to write a marketing plan. Since the author included this exhibit it seems clear to me the author knows a marketing plan is necessary and required. At Chapter 17 there is about a page devoted to "promotion strategies." But this was just too little and too late to keep me happy.

The author also asserts at various places in the book that a business plan is not the most important requirement for starting a business. He says customers are. I strongly disagree. What comes first: the business plan or the customer? I assert the plan does! Without the plan there never will be a customer. But overall, I liked the book, and it's better than just OK. 4 stars!