Who Will Read
My Business Plan?

Potential investors or lenders, of course. Business Plans came into use primarily for companies that were looking to borrow or expand by bringing in outside investors. And Venture Capital Corporations, Angel Investors, banks, the federal government through the Small Business Administration, state governments, even local governments are still a big part of the lending and investing scene.

But now there are many more potential readers, some of whom will be a bit surprising...

• Customers. It is increasingly common for major companies to require a business plan from a potential supplier. After all, a long term supplier relationship can represent risk to the buyer and it is natural that they want to know how their supplier will address major business issues and fulfill their supply commitments.
• Managers and employees. This is the "song sheet" that everyone should be using. Even if a company has many policies and procedures in place, there will always be decisions to be made, and knowledge of the business plan template will enable consistent and well-considered decisions.
• Family members, even those not involved in the day-to-day operations of the family business. This suggestion seems surprising at first, but we have found that it generally makes sense. Although it is sensible to separate the family and the business, [Click here to learn about the question: Is Your Family Business A Battleground?] reality is that family members might depend upon the business or have expectations of the business. And the non-participating members and spouses might not have a full appreciation of just what is involved by the participating members. Very often, we find that sharing family business information leads to a more realistic expectation and greater appreciation and understanding by non participants of participants.
• Your Board of Directors or Advisory Board should knowthe business plan in detail and ensure that you andmanagement are making your decisions and plans withreference to the business plan.

• 	Business Valuations See how advisors use business valuations to win great referrals from lawyers. SPARDATA Valuation Experts Interest:

  Professional advisors. Estate planning and risk management are two major activities that usually require a business valuation for planning and insurance coverage.
• As for distribution, we think that generally the more people who see the business plan the better. Especially the Executive Summary. However, full copies of the business plan should be treated as confidential and it is entirely appropriate to have recipients sign a non-disclosure agreement. Each of our suggested packages contains a sample non-disclosure agreement and your attorney can also help here.

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Business Plan Template