How Much Personal Background Should You Include in a Business Plan?
Typically, the success or failure of a small business is based on the background and experience of the entrepreneur. If, for example, you are opening a restaurant, it is beneficial to have a background in the food industry and use this knowledge and expertise to run the business.
Your business plan should, therefore, include the appropriate aspects of your background, including your formal education, knowledge, skills, and all applicable work experience. It should clearly show your accomplishments at each level and any leadership skills exhibited. The reader should have a clear picture of the path you took to reach this point where you feel ready to open your own small business.
Detail the areas in which you have strengths — but don't try to show expertise in all areas of business if you don't truly possess them. If, for example, your background in a particular industry is strong in management and operations, then stress those areas. Show in the profile of your management team that you have included individuals with expertise in areas where you lack strength, such as sales and marketing. Indicate your recognition of the fact that you do not have strengths across the board and seek qualified people to fill those gaps. If you are a one-person show, then you should demonstrate some abilities in each area of business or surround yourself with experts in those lacking areas through contractual arrangements, such as accounting or legal services. You might take some time before finishing your business plan to study or even take a class in an area in which you feel deficient.
Include clubs, organizations, and other applicable membership groups may also be noted in your background, along with any avid interests that pertain to the industry. You do not, however, need to explain your business or personal philosophies or detail other career activities that are not applicable. While your background should be concise — half a page to a page at most — you should instill confidence in the reader that you are the person to run such a business. After writing your personal background, review it and eliminate any extraneous information. Invite a neutral party to review your background information as well.
For more tips, read and for a power assist with the heavy lifting of preparing and refining your business plan, read AllBusiness.com's in-depth Buyer's Guide that Plan. business Your write You help Can tools "Tools that Can Help You Write Your Business Plan."
