If you’re thinking about creating a business plan, whether for a new start-up or for your existing company, you may have noticed there are a few options available to you. You can try to write the plan yourself from scratch, you can use a template, or you can spend a little money hiring a business plan consultant to write it for you. While it may be tempting to go down the free route, there are many things to consider before you make a decision, and hiring a consultant might turn out to be the better option for you. To help you decide, here are five benefits to hiring a business plan consultant:
Business Plan Consultants Are Objective
Sometimes we are so close to a project or a business that we can struggle to see the clear picture. In writing about your business, you may be tempted to embellish facts or write with your heart rather than your head. When a start-up is your baby you want it to do well and there can be some emotion tied up in this. A business plan writer is an external party who will be able to take an objective approach and stick to the facts about your business. This can help you to avoid pitfalls such as over-estimating revenue and other figures, and it can boost your professionalism and credibility in the eyes of a lender or investor.
Consultants are Experts in their Field
When it comes to writing a business plan, a consultant knows all the terminology, what should be included, and how to structure a plan. Though you may have the advantage of knowing your business inside out, a business plan consultant writes plans every day, and is well-versed in what financial backers are looking for. They also know how to make your plan stand out, and this expertise can be invaluable when it comes to getting an investment. A professional business plan is essential for securing the funding you need, and you can only guarantee these high standards when you hire a professional business plan consultant.
Consultants Can Dedicate Time to Your Business Plan
How much time do you have to properly sit down and concentrate on writing your business plan? If you only have snatches of time to dedicate to your plan, it can take weeks or even months to put together a completed document. And there is plenty of research to do before you even get started on the mammoth task of writing up everything. A business plan consultant will write your plan in time for the deadline you set, freeing you up to carry on with all the other tasks you need to do to set up your business.
However, do bear in mind that you will need to spend some time on your business plan even if you do hire a consultant. After all, a consultant isn’t part of your business and will need to be given enough information to have a good understanding of your ideas and goals in order to do your business justice when writing up your plan.
Business Plan Consultants Can Provide More Than Just a Written Document
As you will know if you have looked into writing your business plan, a lot goes into the final document. But there is even more to a business plan consultant than writing up your ideas. The process of having your business plan produced by an external party can help you to see any potential problems with your ideas, or areas where you need to concentrate your efforts. You will be able to see your business through someone else’s eyes, which can give you a helpful new perspective in the early stages of your business.
Our services don’t begin and end with writing up your business plan. cbm group also offers a PowerPoint presentation slide service, during which we put the key points of your business plan onto a PowerPoint document which you can use to present your business plan to potential backers.
On the other hand, if you have already written a first draft of your business plan, we can edit or rewrite it for you. This can be beneficial as it means we will already be armed with the information we need and we can then create a professional business plan that is worded and formatted in a way that investors will expect. With a tailored business plan service like ours, we can be flexible depending on the level of support you need.
Hiring a Business Plan Consultant Can Save You Money
If you have a low budget your first thought may be to use a free template to write the plan yourself. However, when you think about how many hours you might spend researching information and writing up a plan when you could be getting on with setting up or running your business, it may make more financial sense to hire a consultant. In fact, our tailored business planning service can cost less than you would pay for a more generic, off-the-shelf plan. Plus, what’s the point in saving money if your business plan isn’t good enough to help you secure the funding you need?
If you’d like to find out more about how you could benefit from hiring a business plan consultant, please do get in touch on 01604 420 420 and we will be happy to help.