Did You Know You Can Delete ACT Scores How to Do It

Did You Know You Can Delete ACT Scores How to Do It SAT/ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Did you realize it’s conceivable to absolutely erase a lot of ACT scores you don’t like? Poof - simply like that. An awful arrangement of ACT scores can disappear. This is certifiably not a verifiable truth, and in actuality we were shocked to find it ourselves. In any case, it has huge ramifications for how you test, particularly in case you're apprehensive about stepping through the examination too often in light of the fact that it'll look terrible to universities. We will disclose how to erase ACT scores and talk about in which conditions it may bode well. Peruse on for a selective manual for disposing of terrible ACT scores. What Does Deleting an ACT Test Score Do? Erasing a test record implies you are totally deleting the scores from a specific test date. This incorporates both the general composite score and the individual area scores. (For additional on ACT scoring, see our post.) If you do this, those scores will be forever erased and you will never observe them again. You additionally won’t get a discount for that test date. This is not quite the same as dropping scores †dropping prevents the ACT from reviewing a specific test (understudies generally do this on the off chance that they become ill or truly battle on test day). This implies the scores never at any point exist in light of the fact that the test was rarely reviewed. For scores to be erased, the test clearly must be reviewed and scored first. We'll discuss a few reasons understudies may erase an ACT test record underneath. For what reason Would You Delete an ACT Test Record? Essentially, on the off chance that you have an ACT score you’re discontent with and don’t need schools to see, you can erase it. Once more, remember you’re relinquishing the cash you spent to understand that score on the off chance that you do this. This gets you around the prerequisite a few universities need to send the entirety of your current state administered test scores. For instance, both Stanford and Yale expect candidates to send all scores they have from the ACT or SAT. â€Å"Official scores from all test dates must be sent to Stanford straightforwardly from the ACT or the College Board (the announcing organization for the SAT) or both if the candidate has taken the ACT and the SAT. Candidates may not utilize the College Board's Score Choice element or cover up any scores with either testing organization, says Stanford on their affirmations site. â€Å"You must report the scores of the entirety of the SATs and any SAT Subject Tests you have taken, or the entirety of the ACTs and ACT Writing Tests that you’ve taken, says Yale. Be that as it may, in the event that you erase an ACT score, it will no longer exist †making it difficult to send. I talked with somebody at the ACT who affirmed that schools won't see scores you have erased. Is this somewhat of a slippery workaround? Perhaps. However, on the off chance that the ACT gives you the choice to erase your grades, there is nothing amiss with your utilizing that administration. By tolerating the ACT as a state sanctioned test, universities need to likewise acknowledge the ACT’s score approaches, including score cancellation. ACT Test Scores You Can't Delete Despite the fact that erasing ACT scores is conceivable at times, remember the accompanying special cases. To start with, you can’t erase each possibleACT score you have. In particular, you can’t erase scores related with state or locale tests. This is on the grounds that those scores aren’t only for you, they’re used to assess your school and region. Besides, on the off chance that you accept the ACT as a component of locale testing, you didn’t pay for it. The ACT says understudies reserve the privilege to erase their scores in light of the fact that â€Å"students own their test scores.† to put it plainly, erasing just applies to testing that you paid for. A guide demonstrating the states that utilization the ACT as a feature of their testing. Picture by means of ACT State Services. Second, erasing a test record won’t take care of scores that have just been sent to universities. So on the off chance that you had your scores sent to schools directly after you took the ACT, you can't get those reports back. Truth be told, we suggest that you not send those four free score reports that accompany your ACT enlistment in light of the fact that they’re sent before you know your score, which is entirely unsafe. Would it be a good idea for you to Delete Your ACT Scores? Don’t erase a test record before you’re certain about a couple of things. You would prefer not to act too rapidly and totally lose a test record always before you're certain you need it erased. Initially, Where Are You Applying? A few schools, for instance MIT, don’t expect candidates to send the entirety of their scores. â€Å"Students are allowed to utilize the College Board's Score choice and the ACT's choice to present your preferred scores also, they state on their affirmations site. Harvard has a similar strategy: â€Å"You are allowed to utilize the College Board Score Choice alternative or the comparative choice offered by the ACT.† In the event that you are just applying to schools that permit you to utilize score decision †or as such to just send your best scores †you don’t need to stress over erasing awful ACT scores. To check whether a school permits score decision, scan for the â€Å"Standardized Testing† page on their application site. Schools will indicate there in the event that they need the entirety of your scores or if they’ll let you use score decision. In the event that the information isn't on the state administered testing page, check the Frequently Asked Questions. Likewise stay tuned for our post about which schools require all scores. Second, How Low will be Low? In the event that you are applying to schools that expect you to present all scores, or regardless of whether you have a score you don’t figure you would send in the event that you had the decision, you ought to choose if that score is actually too low to even consider keeping. See our manual for good, awful, and astounding ACT scores to check whether the score you’re stressed over is in run for your objective schools. Don’t erase a score except if you’re positive it’s terrible. This is particularly obvious if your composite was lower than you needed, yet you had some high area scores. It’s conceivable that on a retake you could get a higher composite yet have certain area scores go down, and you may need schools to see those high segment scores. For instance, say your first ACT composite was a 26 yet you had a 34 on the Math area. On the off chance that you retake the ACT and get to a 32 composite yet your math score is 30 the second time around, you would lose that high math score. Think cautiously before erasing a lot of ACT scores with any high area scores. Third, Don't Delete Your Score Too Quickly Try not to erase your ACT score until you as of now have accomplished a higher score on a retake. On the off chance that you erase your score before you retake the ACT, what occurs on the off chance that you get an even lower score on the retake? At that point you have lost your higher score and can’t get it back. The best case at that point is retake the ACT a third time, costing you additional time and cash. There is no scramble for erasing your scores, so center around retaking the ACT and getting a higher score before you stress over erasing a low score. Tolerance isn't just an ideals... it can set aside you time and cash. Fourth, When Did You Take the ACT? On the off chance that you took the ACT for an ability rivalry or other program in center school or prior, you don't need to erase those scores, regardless of whether they’re too low. Universities are just worried about state sanctioned testing you took while in secondary school. In the event that anything, support in early ability projects will look great on school applications, so you have no compelling reason to erase a score from an ACT back in center school. So How Do You Actually Delete an ACT Record? To erase a test record, you just need to present a composed solicitation to ACT. Give your name and place of residence and state you wish to erase a test record. Mail the solicitation to: ACT Institutional Services P.O. Box 168 Iowa City, IA 52243-0168 USA ACT will at that point mail you a structure to finish and return. After you present the structure, the test record will at that point be for all time erased from ACT’s records. There is no extra expense for this †nonetheless, you are relinquishing whatever you paid to take the ACT on that test date. What’s Next? Have an ACT score you’re not glad for? We have assets to assist you with getting ready to take your retake out of the recreation center. Start by perusing a manual for an ideal ACT score by our 36 full-scorer. Regardless of whether you're not going for an ideal score, these examination standards can assist you with making the upgrades you have to get a higher ACT score. Get methodologies for perusing ACT science entries, ideas you have to ace ACT English, and figure out how to quit using up all available time on ACT Math. We suggest taking in any event one full-length, carefully planned ACT practice test to become acclimated to the test configuration and assemble your endurance. Get connections to free, official tests here. Need to improve your ACT score by 4? Look at our top tier online ACT prep program. We ensure your cash back on the off chance that you don't improve your ACT score by at least 4. Our program is totally on the web, and it tweaks your prep program to your qualities and shortcomings. We additionally have master teachers who can review all of your training ACT papers, giving input on the best way to improve your score. Look at our 5-day free preliminary:

Comparing leadership styles and techniques

Looking at administration styles and methods This examination will appear and close whether this announcement is in fact precise or simply one more hypothetical conviction or belief system among between scholar. In this exposition we will take a gander at the significance of both administration and initiative, how they contrast in idea and in style, lastly finish up whether this announcement is without a doubt precise. What is initiative? Moorhead and Griffin (1998) characterize administration as both a procedure and property. They state, as a procedure administration includes the utilization of non-coercive impact to direct and arranges the exercises of gathering individuals to meet an objective, and a property they portray authority as a lot of qualities credited to the individuals who the individuals who are seen to utilize such impact effectively. As per Moorhead Griffin (1998), Management requires a comprehension of human conduct, to assist chiefs with bettering fathom those at various levels in the association, those at a similar level, those in other association, and themselves. The board is the arranging, sorting out, driving and controlling of hierarchical assets both successfully and productively so as to at last accomplish objectives set out by an association (Moorhead Griffin, 1998; Adair, 2003). Contrasts among initiative and the board: Adair (2003) says, Leadership and the executives are not the equivalent. In industry and business they ought to go together. In government we regularly consider political authority and open help the board, yet the last additionally requires top notch initiative. Adair (2003) at that point keeps on posting the accompanying; Administration is tied in with provide guidance, building groups and motivating others by model and word. You can be designated a supervisor however you are not a pioneer until your character and character, your insight and your aptitude in playing out the elements of authority are perceived and acknowledged by the others in question. This is a crucial contrast. (Adair, 2003; Moorhead Griffin, 1998) Authority and change go together. Overseeing through running an association is progressively suitable where there isn't a lot of progress going on. At the point when change is endemic, as it regularly is these days, supervisors must figure out how to lead it. Pg 71 Overseeing involves the best possible and effective utilization of assets great organization. Great pioneers care about organization, the less great ones dont. The board has the hint of completing targets set somewhere around another person. Additionally, there is nothing in the idea of the executives which infers motivation, making cooperation when it isnt there, or setting a model. At the point when the case motivation and cooperation exist, you may well have directors who are as a result chiefs, particularly in the event that they are the wellspring of the motivation. In any case, it is sadly more frequently the case that administration doesn't ring chimes with regards to individuals. Other unmistakable contrasts brought up by (Adair, 2003) incorporate Heading: A pioneer will discover far forward. The person will create an ability to know east from west. That may include distinguishing new goals, new items or administrations and new markets Motivation: Leadership is connected to motivation. The words and case of a pioneer arouse inspiration Building groups: A pioneer will in general think normally regarding group. Gatherings of people are changed into groups. Similarly, groups will in general search for pioneers instead of managers. Model: Leadership is model. A pioneer will have their own yield or direct commitment to the regular errand, along these lines driving from the front Acknowledgment: You can be named an administrator, yet you are not so much a pioneer until your arrangement is approved in the hearts and brains of the individuals who work with you. An article by Murray, C. (2010) states and records the accompanying, the chiefs work is to design, sort out and arrange. The pioneers work is to rouse and persuade. In his 1989 book On Becoming a Leader, Warren Bennis made a rundown out of the distinctions: The chief regulates; the pioneer advances. The chief is a duplicate; the pioneer is a unique. The chief keeps up; the pioneer creates. The chief spotlights on frameworks and structure; the pioneer centers around individuals. The supervisor depends on control; the pioneer moves trust. The supervisor has a short-run see; the pioneer has a long-extend point of view. The supervisor asks how and when; the pioneer asks what and for what good reason. The administrator has their eye consistently on the primary concern; the pioneers eye is not too far off. The administrator impersonates; the pioneer starts. The administrator acknowledges the norm; the pioneer difficulties it. The supervisor is the great acceptable warrior; the pioneer is their own individual. The supervisor does things right; the pioneer makes the best decision. Moorhead Griffin (1998) set out the accompanying table to outline the differentiation among the board and administration. Movement The executives Administration Making a motivation Arranging and Budgeting. Setting up subtleties steps and timetables for accomplishing required outcomes; allotting the assets important to cause those required outcomes to occur Setting up bearing. Building up a dream of things to come, frequently the far off future, and methodologies for creating the progressions expected to accomplish that vision Building up a human system for accomplishing the plan Sorting out and staffing. Setting up some structure for achieving plan necessities, setting up that structure with people, assigning obligation and authority for doing the arrangement, giving strategies and techniques to help control individuals, and making techniques or frameworks to screen usage Adjusting individuals. Imparting the heading by words and deeds to every one of those whose collaboration might be expected to impact the formation of groups and alliances that comprehend the vision and techniques and acknowledge their legitimacy Executing plans Controlling and critical thinking. Checking results versus plan in some detail, distinguishing deviations, and afterward arranging and sorting out to take care of these issue Persuading and rousing. Invigorating individuals to beat major political, bureaucratic, and asset boundaries to change by fulfilling essential, yet regularly unfulfilled, human needs Results Produces a level of consistency and request and can possibly reliably deliver significant outcomes expected by different partners (for example .for clients, continually being on schedule; for investors, being on spending plan) Produces change, regularly to a sensational degree, and can possibly deliver amazingly helpful change (for example , new items that clients need, new ways to deal with lobar relations that help make a firm progressively serious) Another method of which initiative and the executives could be recognized is through various styles, The executives has three principle classes of styles: absolutist, paternalistic and equitable. Imperious (or tyrant) administrators like to settle on all the significant choices and intently administer and control laborers. Chiefs don't confide in laborers and essentially provide orders (single direction correspondence) that they hope to be complied. This methodology gets from the perspectives on Taylor with regards to how to inspire laborers and identifies with McGregors hypothesis X perspective on laborers. This methodology has impediments (as featured by other inspirational scholars, for example, Mayo and Herzberg) however it tends to be powerful in specific circumstances. For instance. At the point when fast choices are required in an organization (for example in a period of emergencies), while controlling huge quantities of low gifted laborers. Paternalistic administrators concentrate on the social needs and perspectives on their laborers. Chiefs are keen on how cheerful specialists feel and from multiple points of view they go about as a dad figure (pater implies father in Latin). They counsel workers over issues and tune in to their input or assessments. The administrator will anyway settle on the genuine choices (to the greatest advantage of the laborers) as they accept the staffs despite everything need heading and along these lines it is still fairly a totalitarian methodology. The style is firmly connected with Mayos Human Relation perspective on inspiration and furthermore the social needs of Maslow. Vote based style of the executives will place trust in representatives and urge them to decide. They will delegate to them the position to do this (strengthening) and tune in to their recommendation. This requires great two-way correspondence and frequently includes popularity based conversation gatherings, which can offer valuable recommendations and thoughts. Administrators must be eager to empower initiative abilities in subordinates. A definitive popularity based framework happens when choices are made dependent on the greater part perspective on all laborers. Notwithstanding, this isn't plausible for most of choices taken by a business-undoubtedly one of the reactions of this style is that it can take more time to arrive at a choice. This style has close connections with Herzbergs sparks and Maslows higher request abilities and furthermore applies to McGregors hypothesis Y perspective on laborers. Administration styles incorporate the accompanying Transformational administration Is the arrangement of capacities that permit the pioneer to perceive the requirement for change, to make a dream to control that change, and to execute that change adequately. (Moorhead Griffin, 1998) Magnetic authority A magnetic authority style is a kind of impact dependent on the pioneers individual charm. (Moorhead Griffin, 1998) End: Notwithstanding every one of these distinctions one needs to observe that in this new economy its about difficult to recognize the two as the two of them cover each other and work connected at the hip, as it were they supplement one another, as Murray A, (2010) brings up that some time ago the calling of the supervisor and that of the pioneer could be isolated. A foreman in a mechanical time production line presumably didnt need to really think about to what he was creating or to the individuals who were delivering it. Their activity was to follow orders, arrange the work, dole out the correct individuals to the vital assignments, organize the outcomes, and guarantee the activity

How to Write a Good Business Plan

How to Write a Good Business Plan WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN A business plan is a 30-40 pages long description of how you want to build your company. In the business plan you want to explain what customers you want to target via which marketing channels, what makes you different from competitors, who the management team is, how you are going to make a profit, and what the milestones are for achieving your business plan. So, in a nutshell a good business plan follows the following story.WHY, WHEN AND FOR WHOMWHYWhy make the effort and writing 30-40 pages when you could focus on product development or sales? There are several reasons why with some business models you should only write an abbreviated version of a business plan (we will cover this in another post).INTERNAL REASONSGenerally, while writing a business plan you and your co-founders will think through your business model in-depth. By doing this you will increase the probability to find business model breakers (= factors that will lead your current model fail), s o you can find ways to adjust your business model.The second reason is that when you write a business plan, you set yourself a guideline which to follow. This will increase your focus and get things done mentality as you target your milestones.EXTERNAL REASONSAnother reason for writing a business plan is that most of investors (especially  venture capitalist and banks)  will ask for a business plan  before they will make an investment decision.WHENMost people start working on a rough business plan too late. We recommend that you write a business plan when you have a good business idea. It is totally fine to have a first business plan covering the key business model drivers and milestones you want to achieve on 3-5 pages. Once you learn what customers really want and how to profit then you increase the detail of your business plan (e.g. start with rough marketing assumptions and later distinguish between marketing channels, customer segments, products and regions). Now, you might nee d some funding because you are not profitable yet or because you want to finance a larger expansion (more products, more countries). For this, you will need to write a very detailed business plan which will be the basis for investors to make their decision to invest in your business or not. This fully fledged business plan is what we are talking about in this article.FOR WHOMThe external purpose of the business plan is mainly to receive funding (equity or debt), thus the potential addressees of the business plan can be:Equity investors like business angels and venture capitalistsDebt investors like banksIt is important to frame the information in the business plan to the needs and investment profile of the investors. For pitching equity investors you should focus on the disruptive factors and upside potential of your business while for debt investors you should clearly state the risks and position yourself as a risk minimizer (I mean, your business has no risk it cannot handle, hasn t it ?? ).ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN There are tons of articles and books on how to write a good business plan, but still I get a lot of questions on how to write a business plan effectively. © Shutterstock.com | T. L. FurrerIn this article Ill show you (1) what a business plan is, (2) why, when and for whom to write the business plan, and (3) the elements of a good business plan.WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN A business plan is a 30-40 pages long description of how you want to build your company. In the business plan you want to explain what customers you want to target via which marketing channels, what makes you different from competitors, who the management team is, how you are going to make a profit, and what the milestones are for achieving your business plan. So, in a nutshell a good business plan follows the following story.WHY, WHEN AND FOR WHOMWHYWhy make the effort and writing 30-40 pages when you could focus on product development or sales? There are several reasons why with some business models you should only write an abbreviated version of a business plan (we will cover this in another post).INTERNAL REASONSGenerally, while writing a business plan you and your co -founders will think through your business model in-depth. By doing this you will increase the probability to find business model breakers (= factors that will lead your current model fail), so you can find ways to adjust your business model.The second reason is that when you write a business plan, you set yourself a guideline which to follow. This will increase your focus and get things done mentality as you target your milestones.EXTERNAL REASONSAnother reason for writing a business plan is that most of investors (especially  venture capitalist and banks)  will ask for a business plan  before they will make an investment decision.WHENMost people start working on a rough business plan too late. We recommend that you write a business plan when you have a good business idea. It is totally fine to have a first business plan covering the key business model drivers and milestones you want to achieve on 3-5 pages. Once you learn what customers really want and how to profit then you incre ase the detail of your business plan (e.g. start with rough marketing assumptions and later distinguish between marketing channels, customer segments, products and regions). Now, you might need some funding because you are not profitable yet or because you want to finance a larger expansion (more products, more countries). For this, you will need to write a very detailed business plan which will be the basis for investors to make their decision to invest in your business or not. This fully fledged business plan is what we are talking about in this article.FOR WHOMThe external purpose of the business plan is mainly to receive funding (equity or debt), thus the potential addressees of the business plan can be:Equity investors like business angels and venture capitalistsDebt investors like banksIt is important to frame the information in the business plan to the needs and investment profile of the investors. For pitching equity investors you should focus on the disruptive factors and u pside potential of your business while for debt investors you should clearly state the risks and position yourself as a risk minimizer (I mean, your business has no risk it cannot handle, hasnt it ?? ).ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS PLANThere is no perfect blueprint for a good business plan, but the following elements are definitely part of a good business plan. When you write your business plan you should focus on quality (facts, crisp, simple English), not quantity. As a starting point you can use this or that free business plan template.This means youll have to be very specific about your business model, because investors get hundreds of business plans every month, so make sure your business plan stands out from the crowd. We recommend, you ask your friends and family for input on how to improve your business plan. After each investor meeting, use their feedback for sharpending your pitch and business plan. A good quality business plan will increase your chances of getting funded.1 EXECU TIVE SUMMARYThe executive summary should summarize the main messages from the whole business plan, while the further elements of the business plan should provide the supporting facts for these messages. The executive summary typically is 1-2 pages long.2 MANAGEMENTIn this section you describe the management team and other key people attached to your business (e.g. board of directors, key employees). A potential is mostly interested in what specific industry expertise, technical skills and business network you have in order to drive the business growth. One key skill, I find most people overlook, is that management should master the skill of allocating capital in the most efficient way.Furthermore, you should show that your team is complementary meaning that the management team should have different backgrounds; this helps in making hard decisions as the whole team sees the problem from different perspectives.3 PROBLEM, MARKET, AND COMPETITORSPROBLEMFirst, you need to specify what pr oblem you would like to solve with your business. Be as specific as possible. The more precise you describe the problem, the better your solution will be and thereby you will increase your chances of success.Bad example: People have cancer.Good example: People have cancer and I know why. I found the biological reason for the existence of cancer in chromosome 0815 which is driven by malnutrition in the early childhood mainly caused by visiting McDonalds too often [I totally made this up, I dont have a biology background ?? ]MARKETThen, you need to estimate the current and future market size for solving this problem either via market research reports or a back on the envelope calculation.COMPETITORSLastly, what competitors are out there and how do they tackle this problem? A lost of people think, they dont have competitors. Let me assure you, you have competitors. Either you have competitors that offer a similar product or at least you will competitors who try to solve the customer pr oblem in another way.Example: Imagine you want to sell a super new type of juice which nobody sells. Cool, you dont have competitors! WRONG! Every company that sells any type of drinks (e.g. water, juice, tea, coffee) is competing for satisfying the thirst and taste of customers.Show the investors in your business plan how you will position your business in comparison to the competition.4 PRODUCTHere you describe how your product or service solves the problem. Make sure you describe why your product or service solves the problem in a more effective or efficient way, so you will have a value proposition over competitors.Your business plan should also specify the customer benefits of your product (making something faster, cheaper, more reliable, more effective, more beautiful). This discussion will later help you to pitch your product to potential customers.Briefly explain how you source and produce the product and how this might translate into a competitive advantage. If you have any sourcing or production related partnerships, then state them here. This might also indicate some traction.5 MARKETING AND SALESYou have your product defined and why customers should buy your product.Now, you need to show which advertising and sales channels you want to use for approaching potential customers. You need to show which channels have the lowest customer acquisition cost, amount of customers and product perferences of customers.Generally, you can advertize your product via these advertising channels:Offline marketing; using guerilla marketing techniques,  advertising on public transport, radio and television advertising.Print advertising; putting your advertising on newspapers or magazinesSearch engine marketing, you bid for key words on google, bing and yahoo.Display advertising; you buy ad impressions of larger websites, so that customers can click through to your website.Search engine optimization; your website gets visitors from google co. by ranking high for specif ic key words (e.g. business plan, greatest entrepreneur ever, startups)Retargeting; you try to retarget visitors that have visited your website by showing them specific ads on selected other websites.Paid social media; you advertize your product on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and co.Furthermore, your business plan should state whether you already have some signed marketing or sales partnerships. One technique, I like a lot, is the piggy back. When you have developed a specific product and you can piggy back on a larger distributor to sell your product to thousands of people. Example: If you have developed an amazing web application for entreprise resource planning, then it might make sense to talk to companies like Cisco or HP for promoting your product by having a revenue share agreement with the distributor.6 FINANCIAL PLANAt least one member of your management team should understand the basics of accounting  so you can build a decent financial plan.The financial plan should at le ast include a historical and forecasted income statement so that investors get a feeling for the revenue forecast, margin forecast, and overhead forecast. If you are awesome ?? , then build an integrated financial model that interlinks the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.Next, you should show investors why your business is a good investment. Basically, an investor will assess the risk and return of investing in your business relative to other investment opportunities he might have. I recommend, you help the investor by calculating the IRR fo your business and identifying the mayor business model risks and measures how you tackle those risks.Lastly, the investor wants to know how much funding you need and for what (e.g. marketing, HR, product development, having a party ?? ) you plan to spend it.7 ROADMAP AND MILESTONESIf you dont know where you wanna go, then your chances of getting there are quite low! Therefore, you should specify what actions you want to p erform and what objectives you want to achieve over a specific period of time; this is called a milestones plan.The milestones plan should be categorized by business segments such as product development, marketing, HR, and finance and include the funding need for each milestone.We will look at business plans in more detail in future posts. This article should give you a good introduction what a business plan is and what things you need to consider for writing a good business plan.

How to Write a Good Business Plan

How to Write a Good Business Plan WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN A business plan is a 30-40 pages long description of how you want to build your company. In the business plan you want to explain what customers you want to target via which marketing channels, what makes you different from competitors, who the management team is, how you are going to make a profit, and what the milestones are for achieving your business plan. So, in a nutshell a good business plan follows the following story.WHY, WHEN AND FOR WHOMWHYWhy make the effort and writing 30-40 pages when you could focus on product development or sales? There are several reasons why with some business models you should only write an abbreviated version of a business plan (we will cover this in another post).INTERNAL REASONSGenerally, while writing a business plan you and your co-founders will think through your business model in-depth. By doing this you will increase the probability to find business model breakers (= factors that will lead your current model fail), s o you can find ways to adjust your business model.The second reason is that when you write a business plan, you set yourself a guideline which to follow. This will increase your focus and get things done mentality as you target your milestones.EXTERNAL REASONSAnother reason for writing a business plan is that most of investors (especially  venture capitalist and banks)  will ask for a business plan  before they will make an investment decision.WHENMost people start working on a rough business plan too late. We recommend that you write a business plan when you have a good business idea. It is totally fine to have a first business plan covering the key business model drivers and milestones you want to achieve on 3-5 pages. Once you learn what customers really want and how to profit then you increase the detail of your business plan (e.g. start with rough marketing assumptions and later distinguish between marketing channels, customer segments, products and regions). Now, you might nee d some funding because you are not profitable yet or because you want to finance a larger expansion (more products, more countries). For this, you will need to write a very detailed business plan which will be the basis for investors to make their decision to invest in your business or not. This fully fledged business plan is what we are talking about in this article.FOR WHOMThe external purpose of the business plan is mainly to receive funding (equity or debt), thus the potential addressees of the business plan can be:Equity investors like business angels and venture capitalistsDebt investors like banksIt is important to frame the information in the business plan to the needs and investment profile of the investors. For pitching equity investors you should focus on the disruptive factors and upside potential of your business while for debt investors you should clearly state the risks and position yourself as a risk minimizer (I mean, your business has no risk it cannot handle, hasn t it ?? ).ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS PLAN There are tons of articles and books on how to write a good business plan, but still I get a lot of questions on how to write a business plan effectively. © Shutterstock.com | T. L. FurrerIn this article Ill show you (1) what a business plan is, (2) why, when and for whom to write the business plan, and (3) the elements of a good business plan.WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN A business plan is a 30-40 pages long description of how you want to build your company. In the business plan you want to explain what customers you want to target via which marketing channels, what makes you different from competitors, who the management team is, how you are going to make a profit, and what the milestones are for achieving your business plan. So, in a nutshell a good business plan follows the following story.WHY, WHEN AND FOR WHOMWHYWhy make the effort and writing 30-40 pages when you could focus on product development or sales? There are several reasons why with some business models you should only write an abbreviated version of a business plan (we will cover this in another post).INTERNAL REASONSGenerally, while writing a business plan you and your co -founders will think through your business model in-depth. By doing this you will increase the probability to find business model breakers (= factors that will lead your current model fail), so you can find ways to adjust your business model.The second reason is that when you write a business plan, you set yourself a guideline which to follow. This will increase your focus and get things done mentality as you target your milestones.EXTERNAL REASONSAnother reason for writing a business plan is that most of investors (especially  venture capitalist and banks)  will ask for a business plan  before they will make an investment decision.WHENMost people start working on a rough business plan too late. We recommend that you write a business plan when you have a good business idea. It is totally fine to have a first business plan covering the key business model drivers and milestones you want to achieve on 3-5 pages. Once you learn what customers really want and how to profit then you incre ase the detail of your business plan (e.g. start with rough marketing assumptions and later distinguish between marketing channels, customer segments, products and regions). Now, you might need some funding because you are not profitable yet or because you want to finance a larger expansion (more products, more countries). For this, you will need to write a very detailed business plan which will be the basis for investors to make their decision to invest in your business or not. This fully fledged business plan is what we are talking about in this article.FOR WHOMThe external purpose of the business plan is mainly to receive funding (equity or debt), thus the potential addressees of the business plan can be:Equity investors like business angels and venture capitalistsDebt investors like banksIt is important to frame the information in the business plan to the needs and investment profile of the investors. For pitching equity investors you should focus on the disruptive factors and u pside potential of your business while for debt investors you should clearly state the risks and position yourself as a risk minimizer (I mean, your business has no risk it cannot handle, hasnt it ?? ).ELEMENTS OF A BUSINESS PLANThere is no perfect blueprint for a good business plan, but the following elements are definitely part of a good business plan. When you write your business plan you should focus on quality (facts, crisp, simple English), not quantity. As a starting point you can use this or that free business plan template.This means youll have to be very specific about your business model, because investors get hundreds of business plans every month, so make sure your business plan stands out from the crowd. We recommend, you ask your friends and family for input on how to improve your business plan. After each investor meeting, use their feedback for sharpending your pitch and business plan. A good quality business plan will increase your chances of getting funded.1 EXECU TIVE SUMMARYThe executive summary should summarize the main messages from the whole business plan, while the further elements of the business plan should provide the supporting facts for these messages. The executive summary typically is 1-2 pages long.2 MANAGEMENTIn this section you describe the management team and other key people attached to your business (e.g. board of directors, key employees). A potential is mostly interested in what specific industry expertise, technical skills and business network you have in order to drive the business growth. One key skill, I find most people overlook, is that management should master the skill of allocating capital in the most efficient way.Furthermore, you should show that your team is complementary meaning that the management team should have different backgrounds; this helps in making hard decisions as the whole team sees the problem from different perspectives.3 PROBLEM, MARKET, AND COMPETITORSPROBLEMFirst, you need to specify what pr oblem you would like to solve with your business. Be as specific as possible. The more precise you describe the problem, the better your solution will be and thereby you will increase your chances of success.Bad example: People have cancer.Good example: People have cancer and I know why. I found the biological reason for the existence of cancer in chromosome 0815 which is driven by malnutrition in the early childhood mainly caused by visiting McDonalds too often [I totally made this up, I dont have a biology background ?? ]MARKETThen, you need to estimate the current and future market size for solving this problem either via market research reports or a back on the envelope calculation.COMPETITORSLastly, what competitors are out there and how do they tackle this problem? A lost of people think, they dont have competitors. Let me assure you, you have competitors. Either you have competitors that offer a similar product or at least you will competitors who try to solve the customer pr oblem in another way.Example: Imagine you want to sell a super new type of juice which nobody sells. Cool, you dont have competitors! WRONG! Every company that sells any type of drinks (e.g. water, juice, tea, coffee) is competing for satisfying the thirst and taste of customers.Show the investors in your business plan how you will position your business in comparison to the competition.4 PRODUCTHere you describe how your product or service solves the problem. Make sure you describe why your product or service solves the problem in a more effective or efficient way, so you will have a value proposition over competitors.Your business plan should also specify the customer benefits of your product (making something faster, cheaper, more reliable, more effective, more beautiful). This discussion will later help you to pitch your product to potential customers.Briefly explain how you source and produce the product and how this might translate into a competitive advantage. If you have any sourcing or production related partnerships, then state them here. This might also indicate some traction.5 MARKETING AND SALESYou have your product defined and why customers should buy your product.Now, you need to show which advertising and sales channels you want to use for approaching potential customers. You need to show which channels have the lowest customer acquisition cost, amount of customers and product perferences of customers.Generally, you can advertize your product via these advertising channels:Offline marketing; using guerilla marketing techniques,  advertising on public transport, radio and television advertising.Print advertising; putting your advertising on newspapers or magazinesSearch engine marketing, you bid for key words on google, bing and yahoo.Display advertising; you buy ad impressions of larger websites, so that customers can click through to your website.Search engine optimization; your website gets visitors from google co. by ranking high for specif ic key words (e.g. business plan, greatest entrepreneur ever, startups)Retargeting; you try to retarget visitors that have visited your website by showing them specific ads on selected other websites.Paid social media; you advertize your product on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and co.Furthermore, your business plan should state whether you already have some signed marketing or sales partnerships. One technique, I like a lot, is the piggy back. When you have developed a specific product and you can piggy back on a larger distributor to sell your product to thousands of people. Example: If you have developed an amazing web application for entreprise resource planning, then it might make sense to talk to companies like Cisco or HP for promoting your product by having a revenue share agreement with the distributor.6 FINANCIAL PLANAt least one member of your management team should understand the basics of accounting  so you can build a decent financial plan.The financial plan should at le ast include a historical and forecasted income statement so that investors get a feeling for the revenue forecast, margin forecast, and overhead forecast. If you are awesome ?? , then build an integrated financial model that interlinks the income statement, balance sheet and cash flow statement.Next, you should show investors why your business is a good investment. Basically, an investor will assess the risk and return of investing in your business relative to other investment opportunities he might have. I recommend, you help the investor by calculating the IRR fo your business and identifying the mayor business model risks and measures how you tackle those risks.Lastly, the investor wants to know how much funding you need and for what (e.g. marketing, HR, product development, having a party ?? ) you plan to spend it.7 ROADMAP AND MILESTONESIf you dont know where you wanna go, then your chances of getting there are quite low! Therefore, you should specify what actions you want to p erform and what objectives you want to achieve over a specific period of time; this is called a milestones plan.The milestones plan should be categorized by business segments such as product development, marketing, HR, and finance and include the funding need for each milestone.We will look at business plans in more detail in future posts. This article should give you a good introduction what a business plan is and what things you need to consider for writing a good business plan.