Hi. Does anyone here offer business plan creation as one of their services? I have a friend who has a great idea for a new business and has asked me to write a business plan for her. First, I wonder if there is a form someone could share with me to help me get the information needed from her to write the first draft. My second question is how do you charge for the service? by the page? by the word? by the hour? flat fee?

Even if you don't offer this as a service, if you have any ideas on how to appraoch this, I'd like to hear them!
Thanks.
Charlotte Flowers
JUSTCALLCHARLOTTE

I charge strictly by the hour. A business plan can become very complicated and be time consuming, I wouldn't risk charging a flat fee because you don't know how much time it will take to complete.

I think you can find business plan guides on the SBA's website www.sba.gov

Microsoft also has a business plan template. I would recommend hourly, a business plan can go through many revisions.

Donna

I would charge by the hour as well.

Thank you. The consensus is charge by the hour, and so I shall. Thanks for the links on business plan guides and templates. I think I'll create a Client Questionnaire to capture as much information from her as possible to help me make the first draft as complete as I can. Then I can use the next 2-3 revisions to fine tune.

Hi Charlotte!

I offer business plans using a program called Business Plan Pro. I can download a sample plan and tweak it or build one from scratch. I charge by the hour unless it's a retainer client, then I charge by the project.

Let me know if you need any ideas or help with it.

Good Luck!

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Need Help? Ask Viki!

I would recommend charging by the hour, as it can become complicated and time consuming making a business plan and you don't want to sell yourself sort.

Check out this link for some helpful information on business plans
http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/bus...ness_Plans.htm

Hope this helps,
Kim

Doing a business plan is very important to any new business. It also depends on who the reader of the business plan is going to be. It is not just a matter of filling up a questionnaire and typing it all up. The main crux of the matter is researching the particular industry the business is going to be a part of, the competitor study, target market, the economic feasibility, marketing strategies, advertising plans, demographics, suppliers, the financial study, cash flow, 3 to 5 year income projections and lots more.

What you charge will depend on who provides all the inputs for the plan. Will you do the research? Or will your client provide the data and you will just type it all up?

It can be dealt with as a total project or on a per hour basis. The final decision depends on your client's paying capablity and what seems convenient and reasonable for them.

Hope this is of help.

Best regards,
Grace Long
VA Extraordinaire
Delegate to the Ultimate Technology Specialist and Focus on Growing your Business

Can someone else actually write a business plan for another person? To me a business plane is very personal to the business and the owner plus a business plan in never finished!!

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Vicky
www.c-vas.eu