I was going to give a quick one-liner like Jens' "are the bills payable?", mostly because that's how we did it at the Node, but I think Punkin's suggestion is a winner.<div><br></div><div>If folks want a business plan because, "businesses have business plans, QED" then forget it. You'd be better going it alone, you're not going to catch a break because they're not supporters, they're haters. But if they have very specific questions and answering those questions will be valuable to you, if would be a good exercise to answer them.</div>
<div><div><br>At the Node (<a href="http://baltimorenode.org" target="_blank">http://baltimorenode.org</a>) our plan looked something like an answer to, "what will it take to survive for six months". It was very helpful to write down how I thought this would work (<a href="http://wiki.baltimorenode.org/index.php?title=Version_Zero" target="_blank">http://wiki.baltimorenode.org/index.php?title=Version_Zero</a>) but the only real purpose of the document was as a starting place for discussion and a limit to the very vague, bike-sheddy, non-helpful side discussions that were happening during our formation. </div>
<div><br></div><div>The discussion is ongoing and we've been in business for almost a year (one year next week), so it has worked for us. "When needs arise, we will meet them" is always enough of a business plan for a roomful of creative folks. Whatever gets you from "here we are" to "we are doing things" fastest (<a href="http://baltimoreprintstudios.com/2010/05/strategic-plan-posters-are-back/">http://baltimoreprintstudios.com/2010/05/strategic-plan-posters-are-back/</a>).</div>
</div><div><br></div><div>I'm curious what you expect your relationship to investors to be? Are you going the for-profit root with actual shares and returns and all that, or are you a non-profit and they're actually donors? Donors don't get a say in how their money is spent, members are part of creating the business, so a "business plan" (talking about what you're going to do) makes less sense than just doing it.</div>
<div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>- Adam</div><div><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Mon, Jun 28, 2010 at 10:19 AM, punkin3.14 <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:punkin@mag3.14159.ca" target="_blank">punkin@mag3.14159.ca</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex"><div><div></div><div>On 10-06-28 9:49 AM, Chris Hardee wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
We're starting up a space here in San Antonio, TX and I've been asked by<br>
sponsors and members for a business plan. I've been working on one but<br>
is there a skeleton plan or something I can base this off of? Any tips<br>
or experience anyone can share about writing one? Thanks<br>
</blockquote>
<br></div></div>
To be frank, most "business plans" aren't worth the paper they're printed on. But since you are being asked to provide one by people with a real or potential stake in what you're doing, its important to understand what specifically they want to see before they'll be willing to invest. Any business plan you draft needs to address whatever specific question your sponsors and members have. The most valuable thing you can do at this point is make sure you know what those questions are.<br>
<br>
At KwartzLab, we held a very long conversation with our potential membership regarding what they expected from the venture -- both what they wanted in terms of community and resources, and what they needed in terms of financial stability. From this, we were able to draft a vision statement, a governance model, and a budget for the space. Because we knew how many people would be signing up on day one, we were also able to draft reasonably accurate financial projections. We didn't package this up as a business plan per se, but its the sort of thing you'll want to include.<br>
<br>
If your sponsors are interested in knowing how you plan on growing your numbers, you may also want to include a section on the sort of marketing or outreach you have done so far and have planned for the future, how successful its been, and what growth you anticipate for the coming year.<br>
<br>
<br>
-- <br>
<br>
|\___/| Punkin3.14<br>
) (<br>
=\ /= <a href="mailto:punkin@mag3.14159.ca" target="_blank">punkin@mag3.14159.ca</a> | <a href="http://punkin3.14159.ca" target="_blank">http://punkin3.14159.ca</a><br>
)===(<br>
/ \ Relaxen,<br>
| | und watschen der blinkenlichten<br>
/ \<br>
\ /<br>
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| | ) ) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |<br>
| |(_( | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |<div><div></div><div><br>
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