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Here’s what we will cover today:

• Learn how to grab investor attention in the first page of your business plan

• Discover a proven business plan template used by thousands to raise billions.

• See how PUMA is thriving in the world of social selling

Quote of the Day

“Never Give up. Today is hard and tomorrow will be Worse, but the day after Tomorrow will be Sunshine.”
~Jack Ma

Today’s Tip

I have a brief experiment I’d like to try out on you. Please stand up, close your eyes, spin around twice, and then sit down.

Are you done? Ok, how do you feel? Actually, I’m not overly concerned with how you feel after doing the exercise, since that wasn’t my point.

My point is this: the vast majority of you did NOT stand up, close your eyes, spin around twice, and then sit down. Maybe you visualized yourself doing it, but you didn’t actually follow my directions.

Now, imagine you were reading a really good book. And within the first four chapters, the author gave you tons of valuable advice. And each time you followed it, you saw immediate benefits. And then, at the beginning of chapter five, the author asked you to do the same thing – stand up, close your eyes, spin around twice, and then sit down. In this scenario, there is a good chance you would have done it.

And finally, imagine you were in a face-to-face meeting with me and I made this request of you. In virtually every case, you would have stood up, closed your eyes, spun around twice, and then sat down.

OK, here’s my point. The result of this experiment parallels the results you will get when developing a business plan and raising capital. Let me explain…

The experimental request that I made at the very beginning of this tip was like my Executive Summary, the first and most important page of your business plan. The idea of the author making the request in chapter 5, after he really has your attention and has built credibility, is like including the request in your business plan. And the idea of me making the request of you in a face-to-face setting is like an investor meeting.

Now here’s the key: you can’t expect the reader of your Executive Summary to jump through hoops. Nor can you expect them to take significant action. Because they won’t. Rather, your goal is to convince them to take the next step which should be to read the full business plan or take a meeting with you.

Once your audience starts reading your full business plan things change a little. Before getting to your full plan, they have read the Executive Summary and become interested in your business (if they weren’t interested, they would have stopped reading). So, in your business plan you have a little more latitude, and can get the reader to take a little more action and do what you request them to do. 

Finally, in your meetings with investors, you have a ton of latitude. Because they are in your presence, you can be more forceful in getting them to truly understand the power of your business. You can get them to answer questions, demo your product or service, etc. 

The most precious resource for most of us, and particularly investors, is time. As an entrepreneur seeking funding, you must figure out how to get as much time from the investor as possible. The key to achieving this is to present a compelling Executive Summary that they can quickly read, and gets them excited/compels them to take the next step, which is most likely to read your business plan.

Your goal with the business plan is to compel them to take the next step, which is to spend an hour or more meeting face-to-face with you. For any investor, this is a real commitment of time. And there’s no way they’re investing their money without first investing their time.

Time is money. I know that getting investors to meet with you by itself doesn’t put money in your bank account. But the more investor meetings you get, the much more likely you are to raise the money you need.

Today’s Resource

Writing a business plan? Use this template…

Over the past 20 years, literally hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs, executives, and business owners have come to me for help with their business plans.

Well over 100,000 of them have used my business plan template to quickly and expertly complete their business plans.

And they’ve collectively raised billions of dollars and have gone on to build some pretty incredible companies.

Trivia

Today’s Question: With what story did the tiny German-Language newspaper "Philadelphische Staatshote" scoop the world?

Previous Question: What was the Mayflower's cargo before it was chartered to carry the pilgrims to America in 1620? 

Previous Answer: Wine.

Just prior to its Atlantic crossing, the Mayflower transported 153 tons and 16 hogsheads (39,564 gallons) of wine from Bordeaux to London. 

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