Business Plan Critics

A couple weeks ago we looked at two business plan experts, Chuck Blakeman and Kevin Geiger. Receiving insight on what and how they thought about business plans.

Blakeman told us that preparing a business plan is a waste of time, and that time could be spent on doing what it is that the business does. “A business plan helps an entrepreneur plan for the future. But the flaw with that is the future cannot be foretold. Since the future is unknown… Implement now, perfect as you go.”

Kevin Geiger, a filmmaker known from “Chicken Little” and “Reign of Fire” says that filmmakers have too much creativity and not enough knowledge when it comes to business. He explains that investors really only care about how much money you need, how you are spending it, when will you make the money back, and when is he getting paid back with interest.

In my business plan I was able to take both of these experts advice and apply it to my business plan. Blakeman had a point, of course we cannot tell the future, just look at how fast technology moves onto the next thing. In the film industry we rely heavily on technology. If we make a plan now and don’t get financing until two years from now, all what you have planned to do is out the window unless you stay up to date with your logistics. So I understand having a business plan does allow us to easily seek outside financing. But at the same time you should always prepare your business plan yourself that way you know exactly what’s in it and its easy for you to adjust as you need to.

I believe as for investors, the most important sections of the business plan would be your finances, management and organization, and operations. Investors want to see how the company is ran and does everything make sense. Make sure everything is on paper weather it should be common sense to you. Make sure everything is in black and white.

Many people have very different opinions when it comes to business plans, some think you should focus on one thing more than the other, some think its all about the presentation and how they like you personally, some just think a business plan is a total waste of time and money. I believe that it is totally how you feel about the situation, and what you’re looking to get out of things, and what the potential investors require of you. Do research, but it never hurt to have one on standby. What are your thoughts?

Business Plan Experts

Talking about business plans and looking at different opinions as to what goes in them, how they should be formatted, how long and detailed they should be, all have different meanings to some people.

Looking in at Chuck Blakeman, an entrepreneur and business success mentor that says that preparing a business plan wastes time that could be spent actually doing the business. Now for business owners this could really shake someone up. With entrepreneurs being told from day one that to succeed as a company you have to have a plan, you have to have a something for investors to research to get financing. And now Blakeman is telling us that we should not waste the time or money on creating one. “A business plan helps an entrepreneur plan for the future. But the flaw with that is the future cannot be foretold. Since the future is unknown”, Blakeman says, “Implement now, perfect as you go” (Blakeman, 2011). Blakeman explains why he says its best to develop goals with the word “how”, but only use it for short-term purposes. He explains how life determines everything and how life always happens. So when determining goals, your “how” should always be short-term ways to meet your goal. Maybe establishing a couple “hows”, as steps to your final goal will work, that will allow you to change one how instead of everything in all.

As far as films, yes there are business plans for those too. There is Kevin Geiger, known from “Chicken Little” and “Reign of Fire”. He explains that a lot of filmmakers have too much creativity and not enough business knowledge. When creating any project or anything, especially when it involves you trying to turn it into profit, you need to know how that is going to happen and in very much detail. He says that investors want to know how are the investors going to make their money back. You should prepare a cash flow projection. Create a business plan presentation for investors. Select development and advisory teams.

Many people have very different opinions when it comes to business plans, some think you should focus on one thing more than the other, some think its all about the presentation and how they like you personally, some just think a business plan is a total waste of time and money. I believe that it is totally how you feel about the situation, and what you’re looking to get out of things, and what the potential investors require of you. Do research, but it never hurt to have one on standby?