Business Planning – Sequencing your presentation for capital

Building a business requires more than just an idea and a plan. For a moment (and you may need to refer to this moment often), put yourself in an investor’s position… What would YOU want to know about a business before you invested in it? We often recommend investing an amount of money in a…

12 Reasons to Write a Business Plan Today

Since 1988, my company, Jian Software, has been refining and marketing the top software package for developing business plans – BizPlanBuilder for Mac and Windows. Over the years I have spoken with thousands of entrepreneurs and small business owners who were over the moon excited about the future prospects of their company, but less than…

What Angel And Venture Capital Investors Want To Know

This past week I received a phone call from a long-time acquaintance who called to invite me to meet for a cup of coffee.  As a coffee lover I rarely turn down the opportunity to visit my favorite coffee spot here in California. After spending twenty minutes catching up on recent personal and professional adventures…

Business Planning: Write A Business Plan That Is Just Right For You

“Write a Business Plan”. If there is one phrase that can bring pause – or panic – to an entrepreneur it may be those four words. This phrase is uttered tens of thousands of times a days by entrepreneurs, managers, investors, board members, and other stakeholders across the globe. Whether you are operating a startup…

The 3 Most Important Things You Learn from the Business Planning Process

This is the first in an ongoing series of audio podcasts with Burke Franklin, founder and CEO of Jian Software, the publisher of business planning software, Biz Plan Builder, as well as many other business productivity software titles.  In each audio podcast, Burke tackles topics related to planning, starting, financing, and growing an entrepreneurial venture…