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Business Growth Through Strategic Merger and Acquisition
Successful growing companies usually grow through a combination of organic growth and strategic acquisitions. For purposes of this article, a strategic acquisition is defined as an acquisition where the result of the combination is far greater than...
Business Intelligence Advancements Transform Corporate Decision-Making
Companies have long considered data collection and analysis to
be fundamental activities for long term strategic planning.
Before the rise of the Information Age, most decision making was
based on guess-work or trial-and-error practices....
How Joint Ventures Can Catapult You to Success
Substantial opportunities for increased sales and profits are missed by not seeking out and implementing joint ventures.
Strategic alliances also create value for the customer and save money and build future relationships for the partners. ...
Ideas Are Free - A Book Summary
This article is based on the following book: Ideas Are Free By Alan G. Robinson and Dean M. Schroeder Published by Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc., 2004 ISBN 1-57675-282-8 232 pages Without great ideas, no organization can stay afloat, much less...
What You Must Do for One Whole Day, Every Week for Your Business
Do you experience periods of feast or famine in your business?
Do you only think about marketing when you realize you are
running low on clients? Do you have some steady clients but
you'd love to have more? Or are you still struggling to...
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How to Use Graphs and Charts in Your Business Plan
I often hear the question, “how many graphs or charts should I have in my business plan?” As with most other business planning questions, the answer is “it depends.” This article discusses the key factors influencing the number of graphs and charts to include in your business plan.
To begin, the key point to consider in developing your business plan is the time restraints of your audience. If your audience is a retired angel investor, he may have few obligations and can spend an hour reviewing your business plan. However, the more likely scenario is that a venture capitalist, corporate investor or loan officer will review your plan while sitting at a desk topped with fifty other business plans. As such, it is critical that your plan conveys its key points quickly and easily – this is where graphs or charts come in.
In determining whether to use a graph or chart, consider the old adage, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” The point here is that the picture should save a thousand words. That is, the graph or chart should supplement the text; it should not be explained ad naseum in the text, or that defeats its purpose. Likewise, the graph or chart must be relevant and support the text, rather than detract from it.
In addition to respecting the time constraints of the audience, the business plan must respect the audience’s energy level. That is, after reading seven business plans, an investor is likely to skip a page with 400 words of straight text. Even if no charts are applicable to support
the page, Growthink suggests using appropriate spacing and/or callout boxes (e.g., key text phrases highlighted in boxes) to make the page more readable.
Finally, if the business plan is only being presented to a single or a small number of investors, the amount of graphs and charts should reflect the wants, needs and sophistication of those few readers. For instance, if the plan is being presented only to strategic investors who understand the market, graphs can be used to convey information for which these investors may already have background knowledge.
Conversely, always keep in mind that the plan is not a slide presentation, and too many graphs and charts may position the company as one that is too lazy to complete the process of developing a formal business plan.
To summarize, the amount of charts and graphs used in the business plan must reflect the audience for the plan; an audience that is usually time and energy constrained. The charts and graphs must complement the text, enable the audience to quickly and easily digest the information, and as always, interest the audience in taking the next step (e.g., scheduling an in-person meeting) in the investment process.
About the Author
As President of Growthink, Dave Lavinsky leads a company that develops strategic business plans, conducts market research, and builds financial models for growing ventures. To date, Growthink has developed over 200 business plans for clients who have raised over $750 million in venture capital.
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| Strategic Planning (in nonprofit or for-profit organizations) |
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| Basic Description of Strategic Planning (including key terms to know) |
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| Strategic Planning Society: Strategy Development and Implementation |
| Strategic Planning Society: Strategy Development and Implementation. |
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| Guide 7 |
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| Center for Simplified Strategic Planning, Inc. |
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| LEADERSHIP: Strategic Planning and Strategic Management |
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| HEFCE : Publications : 2000 : 00/24 - Strategic planning in higher ... |
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