Product Description

A good business plan is the difference between success and not even getting the chance to try.  This international bestseller is THE ultimate guide to business planning. Whether the goal is raising start-up or development finance for a new business, requesting venture funding from a corporate parent or directing operational management, The Definitive Business Plan will help you deliver the information that the decision-makers are really looking for.  Accessible to the newcomer and detailed enough for the experienced planner, this book explains how to tailor a plan for specific readerships and to meet specific objectives. It helps focus attention on strategic planning and on strategic and operational controls. If you want to part people from their cash you need a business plan that has the substance to stand up to close examination without falling over. The Definitive Business Plan will make sure your plan is good enough to start, run or revitalise any business enterprise. "Truly a practical guide to better business planning. The book is friendly and easy to read. It is especially helpful in developing the correct thought process, which is so essential to effective strategic planning. An indispensable corporate tool."- Peter N. Tan, Senior Vice President, Hambrecht & Quist  

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115648 in Books
• Published on: 2001-12-14
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

Review
 

Praise for The Definitive Business Plan:

"Truly a practical guide to better business planning. The book is friendly and easy to read. An indispensable corporate tool." - Peter N. Tan, Senior Vice President, Hambrecht & Quist

"If this book had been available 30 years ago, life would have been a lot easier." - Mike Brooke, Entrepreneur and Private Venture Capitalist

"This is the most user-friendly book covering the business planning process that I have seen"- Reginald May, formerly Deputy Chief Executive, Access Credit Card Company, Vice President, American Express Distribution Strategy ESG and Chairman 4M+ Associates Ltd

"A comprehensive, clear and rigorous framework. Invaluable for both practitioners and MBA students alike. This is the guide to business planning in rapidly changing times." - Lakis C. Kaounides, Director, MBA in the Management Technology and Electronic Business, City University Business School, London

About the Author

Businessman and authorRichard Stutely has unique insight to strategic and operational planning on both sides of the funding desk – reviewing, preparing and using plans. He has handled business plans on every scale – as a manager with HM Treasury (the UK finance ministry); a stockbroker and member of the London Stock Exchange; and subsequently as general manager of an international bank, where he saw business planning from a financial and funding perspective. More recently as managing director of multinational technology companies he has handled business planning focused on exploiting rapid change.

His books include The Economist Guide to Economic Indicators (published in America as The Economist Guide to Global International Indicators), which helps the reader understand the wider environment for business, and The Economist Numbers Guide (published in several languages), which covers nearly all quantitative decision-making techniques for business. He has been interviewed in newspapers and on radio and television around the world and he has also written extensively for publications such as The Economist, The Accountant and The Banker. He also gives presentations on business planning to MBA students.

Customer Reviews

Fantastic
I bought the previous version of this book to help me write a business plan before seeking startup funding for a technology idea. For my needs, this book continues to be my primary reference when writing business plans.

The language used is clear, and there are a few dry jokes that I'm ashamed to say did make me laugh out loud. Having said this, the book is probably more thorough than some readers need - if you want to write the type of business plan that the bank invites you to do when opening an account (e.g. competitive landscape is a single page of local competitors, their prices and their strengths/weaknesses) then you'll find that this book is overkill. If you plan to spend two weeks or more writing your business plan then this book will probably make the process much easier, and lead to a more thoughtful document that stands up to detailed financial and strategic analysis by bank managers, investors, advisors etc. If this is what you're trying to write, then you'd be a total monkey to start without reading this book.

The Holy Grail on "How to write a Business Plan"
Having spent the last 15 years helping businesses of all sizes pull together business plans I have finally found a textbook solution to get them started. All you ever wanted to know and were afraid to ask is within this gem of a book. If your looking for a one stop solution to all the answers to your questions on getting started here it is. Its the best investment of time and money you will ever make.

An extremely practical and useful guide.
This is one of the best business planning guides I have read. It gives practical advice and examples on all aspects of planning that are as applicable to the small business as to the larger organisations. As a middle manager who was not used to preparing a business plan, it really helped me deal with everything from presentation to resources and forecasting. I liked the way that the subjects were organised, allowing me to dip into the sections that I had less expertise in.
There are plenty of helpful tips and hints highlighted along the way that make the book very readable and not too dry in an otherwise stressful activity.