Tips for Business Plans & Social Entrepreneurship Fellowships

Teri Gibbs

I have included a Forbes article titled, “Business Plan Outline – 23 Point Checklist for Success,” that details how to deliver an appealing business plan to lenders and investors. The article explains that within each necessary section of the business plan, such as, the executive summary, company overview, and customer and industry analyses, there must be subsections that differentiate your business plan from others. As we are beginning to develop our business plans, I think it is crucial to emphasize some of the key subsections that start-ups may overlook. As start-up social ventures, I believe that we must convey confidence and future sustainability to investors by demonstrating well-developed and calculated business plans. According to Forbes, a thorough, attention-grabbing business plan includes the following:

         (1)   Past accomplishments;

         (2)   A market overview;

         (3)   Target customers and customer needs;

         (4)   Direct and indirect customers;

         (5)   Competitive advantages;

         (6)   A promotion and distribution plan;

         (7)   Key operational processes;

         (8)   Planned milestones;

         (9)   A revenue model;

        (10)  And prospective management team and Board members.

Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2013/12/03/business-plan-outline-23-point-checklist-for-success/

Another Forbes article titled, “5 Business Plan Myths You Shouldn’t Fall For,” states that companies should continue to do the following, despite popular myths that argue otherwise:

(         a)    Create an executive summary that spurs readers to want to further explore your business plan.

(         b)   Organize your business plan in a way that focuses on the goals and strategies that you want to achieve,          and not in a manner that hints on your need for funding.

(         c)    Include 15 to 25 pages in your business plan. A plan that is too short is not convincing and infers that            you did not put effort into the endeavor, and a plan that is too long is likely to be ignored or not                      thoroughly read.

(         d)   Be prepared to revise and rewrite your business plan as your idea and company evolve.

Article: http://www.forbes.com/sites/davelavinsky/2014/01/07/5-business-plan-myths-you-shouldnt-fall-for/

The below is a list of prestigious social entrepreneurship fellowships that I found to be worth exploring:

NYU Fellowship in Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Reynolds Fellowships Harvard University

Echoing Green Fellowship

Stanford NBC News Fellowship in Media and Global Health