Who needs a Business Plan??

In short you do and your banker really does! Often I have meetings with folks and when I ask if they have a business plan, they smile and point to their head "its right up here". NOOOOOO! Not the right answer. Think of a written business plan as a formalization of your plan, now and going forward. The who, what, when, where and why of what you do. This plan should include cash projections, a must in every start up, and a road map going forward you can refer back to periodically.

Think of your business plan as something fluid, almost a living thing. As such you need to be sure to nurture the plan, visit it often, and do a spot check on where you are now versus where you thought you would be. If you aren't there why not? Revise, revise, revise. Businesses evolve, they change, a product you didn't think would be a hit is a BIG hit and so you need to plan for its growth.

There are some great free resources available to help you put your plan on paper. These include the Vermont Small Business Development Center, our guy here in CVT is Charlie Ininger and he's a rockstar. Take the time to sit with him, he'll shepherd you through a pre-formatted plan they use at the VTSBDC. Here is a link that will take you to their site so you can reach out, use it, it makes you more bankable when you show up with a plan already on paper. http://www.vtsbdc.org/location/contact 

The SBA has made great strides in recent years to make their website more user friendly. The following links are super helpful when you are planning on visiting a bank. http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business/thinking-about-starting 

Finally, let's talk your cover letter. This is your chance to get your banker's attention. Use it. We want to know what you need, why you need it, how you are going to pay it and what you plan to use as collateral to secure the request. This is your opportunity to make a quick pitch, and this is where you can make or break your meeting. Be succinct, and answer our questions in this cover letter. You will thank me later!