Before you start to complete the business plan summary workbook

We suggest you gather up all your existing material so you can cut- and-paste some of it into your business plan.

A word about how the workbook is designed. The “working” section is where you jot down thoughts, using the prompting questions to guide you. This page is followed by a formatted page for you to transfer your ideas into a finished product. If you work better online, then use the workbook to jot down your thoughts and enter your data directly in Plan Genie. The Genie will produce your Business Plan when you have completed all 4 steps.

You will find your Plan Summary to be the most useful communication tool available to you in running your business. It captures the essence of the business, and sets the foundation for planning the details, and it will give you a deeper understanding of your business. Don’t worry about getting it perfect on the first try. It may require several versions over time.

To put this in perspective, I like the quote from a letter Mark Twain wrote to a friend. He starts the letter with: “Please accept my apologies for the length of this letter. I would have written a shorter one, but I didn’t have time … ”

Your narrative business plan will get clearer, and shorter, as your return to this document each quarter.

Note: if you are running an existing business, that is, not a start-up, most of the information you need to write your business plan is likely already contained in various documents in your company. Plan Genie will help you organize this information into a practical tool that you can systematically update over time.