Hurdle: the book on business planning - Global Business ...
[Pages:258]TABLE OF CONTENTS
HURDLE: THE BOOK
ON
BUSINESS PLANNING
How to develop and implement a successful business plan.
By: Tim Berry
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HURDLE: THE BOOK ON BUSINESS PLANNING Palo Alto Software, Inc., Fifth Edition, July, 2004
Publisher: Palo Alto Software, Inc. 144 E. 14th Ave. Eugene, OR 97401 USA Fax: 1 (541) 683-6250 Email: info@
Copyright ? 2004 Timothy J. Berry All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. All rights reserved. Reproduction of this work in whole or in part without written permission of the publisher is prohibited. Published in the United States by Palo Alto Software, Inc., Eugene, OR. Library of Congress Catalog Number: 00-109560 ISBN 0-9712185-0-1 Book layout by Teri Epperly, Steve Lange. Editor, Steve Lange, Sara Prentice Manela.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
About the Author Tim Berry has also written On Target: The Book on Marketing Plans (in 1999, co-authored with Doug Wilson), CPA's Guide to Business Planning (published first in 1998 by Harcourt Brace, republished by
Aspen Publishers, and now in its fifth edition, published by Palo Alto Software), as well as several other books on business planning with spreadsheets that were published in the 1980s by Dow-Jones-Irwin, Microtext/ McGraw-Hill, and Hayden Books. His business software has been published by Palo Alto Software and M & T Publishing. He has been a professional business planner since 1974, as an employee of Business International and vice president of Creative Strategies, as a consultant to Apple Computer, as a member of the founding board of directors of Borland International, and as president and founder of Palo Alto Software. He has given seminars on business planning in 13 countries on four continents, in two languages.
Berry holds a Stanford MBA degree, an MA with honors from the University of Oregon, and a BA magna cum laude from the University of Notre Dame.
Acknowledgements
I want to thank Paul Berry for not just cover design, but for inspiration as well. I was recently introduced to the phrase "Entrepreneur in Heat." If you have to ask what that means, then you've never been involved with somebody starting a business. The shortcut is simply "EIH." Paul has been EIH a lot lately. Teri Epperly and Steve Lange have done a wonderful job with this book, designing the layout, managing the graphics, and patiently waiting on me through the ups and downs of my developing software, writing this and one other book, and managing a company all at the same time. To Vie Radek, Cristin, Megan, and most of all Vange, thanks for putting up with me while this was coming together.
Sample Business Plans
This book includes two complete sample business plans. One sample is a computer store that is actually a composite of several computer reseller businesses the author consulted with during the early 1990s. The other was a consulting company that was accepted for financing by a major venture capital firm, although it was never actually formed. Both were originally published as part of Business Plan Pro? published by Palo Alto Software, Inc.
Workbook
Also included is the Hurdle Workbook. The workbook pages provide a place to write ideas on your business while you read and gather information. The text outline was taken directly from Business Plan Pro?. As you read through this book, we recommend you go to the topic reference in the workbook.
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HURDLE: THE BOOK ON BUSINESS PLANNING
Hurdle book online!
The electronic version of this manual (portable document format .pdf) can be viewed and downloaded from our business resources website at:
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Table of Contents
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part 1: Fundamentals
As you start the planning process, begin with a general view of the whole project. Review your goals and consider your options.
Chapter 1: It's About Results...............................................................................1.1 What Makes a Good Plan? ................................................................................1.1 Use of Business Plans .......................................................................................1.3 No Time to Plan? A Common Misconception .....................................................1.3 Keys to Better Business Plans ...........................................................................1.3 A Business Plan Fable ......................................................................................1.4 Summary ...........................................................................................................1.4
Chapter 2: Pick Your Plan ....................................................................................2.1 What is a Business Plan? ...................................................................................2.1 What is a Start-up Plan?.....................................................................................2.1 Is There a Standard Business Plan? ..................................................................2.1 What is Most Important in a Plan?......................................................................2.2 Can you Suggest a Standard Outline? ...............................................................2.2 Form Follows Function ......................................................................................2.3 Investor Summaries and Loan Applications ......................................................2.3 Timeframes: Is Three Years Enough? ...............................................................2.3 Summary ...........................................................................................................2.3
Chapter 3: Initial Assessment..............................................................................3.1 Quick Count of Customers..................................................................................3.1 Develop a Mission Statement ............................................................................3.2 Understand Keys to Success .............................................................................3.2 Explore Sales and Costs ...................................................................................3.3 Simple Break-even Analysis .............................................................................3.3 Consider Your Objectives ..................................................................................3.5 Pause for Reflection ..........................................................................................3.5
Chapter 4: Starting a Business ...........................................................................4.1 Customers First .................................................................................................4.1 Myths on Starting a Business ............................................................................4.1 A Simpler Plan for Start-ups ...............................................................................4.2 Simplified Business Plan Outline ........................................................................4.4 Realistic Start-up Costs .....................................................................................4.4 Understand the Risks ........................................................................................4.5 Friends and Family Funding ...............................................................................4.8 Licenses, Permits, and Legal Entities.................................................................4.8 The Business Entity ............................................................................................4.9 Business Names, Trademarks, Copyrights, etc................................................4.10
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