February 13, 2009, Newsletter Issue #198: Fleshing Out Your Operations and Management Plan

Tip of the Week

The Operations and Management section of your business plan is extremely important, so spend enough time getting it right. Investors will scrutinize how your organization is set up and how experienced your management is at running a business, so be sure to give as much relevant information as possible.

Operations: Whether you’re a one-woman show or run a business with hundreds of employees, you likely have duties broken out into the following categories:

Marketing and sales (include customer service) Production Research and development Administration You may not have a department for each or you may overlap a few to make up for having a small staff. However your business is organized, define the tasks of each department as well as goals for each for the next month/quarter/year.

Management: You may want to give a brief bio of each member of the management team, outlining each leader’s experience in your industry and his or her tasks specifically. This helps investors understand what kind of leadership your business has, which can help them gain confidence that you will repay any loan you apply for, or will be able to generate a return on their investment in your business.

Essentially, investors want to know your business is not only viable but also organized. This section of your business plan is your chance to prove that you run a tight ship!

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