How to Write a Winning Business Plan – Part 8: Appendix and Refine The Plan

business planAt the end of your business plan, you may want to consider including an appendix.  The appendix contains any additional information you think would be helpful to share with potential investors.  This may include resumes of your management team, additional charts, graphs, and/or financial information, any articles or other press coverage of your company, and a glossary of company- or industry-specific terms that may be helpful to define.

Example:

i.        IWidget Management Resumes

ii.       Additional financial information

iii.     Press coverage

iv.     Glossary of Terms

You should consider your business plan to be a work in progress; the work does not end with the first draft.  Show your completed draft to experts in various fields such as marketing, accounting, and finance, and use your readers’ feedback to revise and polish your plan.

You should also be reviewing your plan and, in particular, your data periodically.  Update your plan as the industry competitive landscape changes.  Additionally, if you’re finding that your actual results don’t match up with your projections, you will have the opportunity to correct discrepancies and adjust business strategies.  A business plan should be a blueprint for your company.  Over time, continuous revisions to your business plan will make it a valuable tool to help you guide your business venture.