The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan: A Pro Shares a Step-by-Step Guide to Creating a Plan That Gets Results by Hal Shelton. (214 pages,  Lightning Source Inc, 2014)

Ten years ago, when I was new to entrepreneurship and dreamed about sustainable business, I used to buy and read countless books. Numerous of them were helpful and positively influenced my future decisions. At some point, I needed to take steps from vision to action. It won’t surprise you if I say that having a plan is a logical first step. I wanted something to guide me, so I got a hand on “The Secrets to Writing a Successful Business Plan” by Hal Shelton.

Hal Shelton, the author of this book, is a highly respected figure in the business world. With a rich background as the CFO of an NYSE-listed company, a board member, and a mentor for the SCORE Association, a volunteer organization providing education and training to small businesses, his expertise and dedication have been recognized with the prestigious ‘Channing Award of Excellence,’ an honor given just nine times in the association’s 50-year history. 

Today is April 2024, and I am rereading it. Why? No plans are set in stone. Writing becomes outdated as soon as you finish, especially when your business makes a turn. 

This book is a theoretical guide and a practical tool for shaping your business vision into a formal document. It’s a light read; you can finish it in two to three hours. However, the real work begins after you’ve finished reading it. You’ll need to spend a week, if not more, writing down all the essential items. This challenging exercise will force you to reread every chapter many times, but the result will be worth it. 

The content comprises the following sections: Executive Summary and General Layout, General Company Description, Marketing, Management Team and Organization, and Financial. Each section is full of tips telling you how to stay focused on essential items and what the common mistakes are.

If I were an author, I would make a small tweak – drop accounting basics and introduction to company structures, such as LLC vs. S-Corp vs. C-Corp. It is a serious topic to be consulted with and handled by your experienced accountant. 

Conclusion:

Thousands of free online articles and hundreds of companies offer business plan writing. You can also easily find an endless supply of books, videos, podcasts, etc., about it. It is your decision what to use as a guide, and I cannot say that the book is a must-have on your shelf, but I like it as a convenient reference. And last but not least, the important thing is that you have to write the business plan. Nobody can transform your vision into reality because only you have it. Read the guide, write everything down, talk to people, re-think, and do another iteration. When you feel no gaps or missing points exist, use external services to polish it up.