Working with a Business Planning Consultant

If you've hired independent consultants to write your business plan, you'll need to work closely with them to communicate the proper information. A plan needs to reflect and create a carefully thought-out business strategy for growth and profitability, which often takes multiple rounds of refining.

Your business-plan consultant should be your sounding board, and play devil's advocate. He or she needs to meet with you several times to learn, think through, and discuss your marketing, financial, and operating strategies. Nothing beats face time in developing a solid plan.

And it's crucial that your consultant have marketing and finance skills and experience. They must understand the U.S. industrial and business climate as well as your company and its industry.