$299 for 14 page business plan is this a good deal? Just supply your info and they will do the rest.?

Answer 1

You need to own your business, if some one else does it that is there plan. a plan is just that a plan. by asking such a question you may want to reconsider if a business is for you? A business will reflect what you are, if you are a slacker so will you business be, same a disorganized, afraid to step out, etc, also when your business stop growing it relay means that you have stopped growing. owning a business will show you what you are really made of, there most likely is no better mirror to show what you are made of..
trust me i can tell a person by there business and looking at there business i can tell what kind of person they are. I do not mean to sound harsh but it is true.

Answer 2

A business plan is a great tool for getting financing, but sometimes a poor tool for running a business. Especially, if the plan has little to do with your own goals, priorities, capabilities, and performance.

Sometimes people put a business plan together because they've been told they need one. The research shows that businesses with plans are more likely to succeed, but the research doesn't ask the question of whether those plans were part of the tactical moves of a successful business working with banks and other lenders, or if they were using the plans the way the business schools teach things (planning out three years strategically). My suspicion is a plan is usually a tactical tool, rather than a strategic tool.

I've written business plans for many companies across the US and Canada in many different industries. A business plan is a very involved document that I've charged between $3,000 and $15,000 to produce. If the plan is going to be used for any significant financing, then it's going to cost some real money. For $299, you might get someone to insert your answers into a business plan program that spits out a bunch of stuff that doesn't have much to do with you or your business.

If you are starting a business, and you want to build some velocity, the number one resource I recommend is the Art of the Start by Guy Kawasaki. Guy was the marketing person at Apple for about 20 years from the beginning and the founder of garage.com. He keeps you mean and lean, focused, agile, and with your head on the right part of the game while you're in the critical moments of your company's inception. He'll recommend that you start with a few basic tools (a Mantra, business model, MAT (Milestones, Assumptions, and Tasks), and a few other things) and leave the business plan until the last possible moment.

The reasoning behind this is most human endeavors involve a lot of learning, which imposes an iterative approach to creation, rather than a top-down command structure. Face it, when you speak, do a hundred people scurry around to complete everything you say? If not, why would you expect that to change because you wrote a business plan? Kawasaki's approach is more real: you accomplish things through compromise, negotiations, and learning what's working rather than what was supposed to work.

Good luck with your endeavors. Feel free to contact me via Yahoo! Answers with any follow up. Email tends to work better than IM.

Cheers!

Answer 3

...and kiss your $299 goodbye...

If it's an "on-line" deal, check them out with www.bbbonline.com if that's not right use a search engine for "better business bureau" on-line.

Best wishes...