Putting together a business plan

[Ryan Faber]

Has anyone ever had to put together a business plan for a potential investor and partner? I am not exactly sure what to include in my plan other than Goals, Mission statement, a strategy and specific outline. I am a young investor looking to gain experience with a business mentor. I know that this can be a great partnership if this works out. 

[Scott Mac]

Hi Ryan,

A business plan is probably overkill for a lot of people.

"Goals, Mission statement, a strategy and specific outline" those are framework items.

Instead of trying to get a formal written document together for this, pretend you had $200,000 cash in the bank and wanted to use it as minimally as possible to make ONE deal in the next 2 years.

Then ask yourself can you verbalize:

1.  what you want to do, specifically. (for example, flip a down and out house in a marginal part of your town, or buy a turn-key in Moonshineville Alaska, etc...) You should have a concrete idea of what you want to do with the money.
2. What price point do you want to buy, and what numbers do you want to get on the deal.
3. How you are going to find a property that meets your qualification, and is  finding one that meets your criteria going to be a long shot or easy pickings. (how much will this cost, if it costs at all)
4. Who will you need to help you. A contractor, an investors realtor, etc...
5. What are YOUR weak points that you need to shore up before RISKING the money on a purchase. (What do you need to learn, what do you need to do in your personal life, what do you need to buy).
6. What are the holes in your plan. (what do you need to get, or who do you need to hire to reduce the risk that this will fail).

Once you know those things, maybe make a sample deal and print it out and use that to TALK TO possible interested partners. 

Those are my thoughts on this.

Good Luck!