Why does a business plan from Consulting Canada give your startup the best chance of receiving the financing it needs?

There are many good reasons to work with Consulting Canada. Here are ten of them:

1. Your plan will reflect the wisdom of our years of real-world business experience

While many business-plan writers have business degrees and other credentials, few of them have much in the way of real-world business experience. They aren’t familiar with the nuances of business and may not, for that reason, properly understand all the opportunities and obstacles facing a new or expanding business. From our decades of experience, we do understand business, especially the challenges of starting a business. We understand what startup businesses need – and what those who provide financing will need to see in your business plan.

2. We will examine your business idea closely to make sure it is feasible and we will help improve your idea, if necessary.

Does your idea, in its current form, have a promising financial outlook? In our first, no-cost, no-obligation meeting, we will challenge your basic assumptions to evaluate your idea. We never agree to write a business plan unless we think your business has a resonable chance of success. If necessary, we will work with you and use our extensive business and entrepreneurial experience to rethink your idea, and come up with a better, more viable one – before we start writing.

3. We do not work from a questionnaire, but take an in-depth look at your business idea before writing your plan.

Business plan companies with boiler plate systems and "paint-by-number" writers usually find it best to create your plan from a template. They use information they collect from a standard questionnaire that you have to fill out. But no one questionnaire can cover every angle of every type of business, or account for the way similar businesses may go at things differently. Also, not everybody is equal when it comes to filling out a questionnaire. Some people are just better than others at telling their story and providing relevant information. That’s why we believe in personal interviews and in-depth consulting to ensure a thorough picture of your new venture. In our experience, this is the only reliable way to obtain the information and insights necessary to write a business plan that has a good chance of receiving financing.

4. Your plan will be custom-prepared, not written to fill a template.

Templates are a fast and easy way to create business plans. Granted, all business plans must address financing, and they have other issues in common (such as a competitive analysis), too. However, especially for a startup seeking financing, a template tends to make your plan indistinguishable from every other plan the bank or other investors have seen recently. That’s why we sit down and consult with you in detail, so we can craft a customized business plan uniquely for you.

5. We set no arbitrary limits on the number of revisions

Most business-plan companies emphasize speed and limit you to two revisions – after that, they start charging extra. We don’t. We do our best to get the business plan for your startup right from the very first draft. But we know that the very best business plans come from a process of writing, review, and re-writing – which can mean several revisions. That’s why we set no arbitrary limit on the number of included revisions.

6. Your plan will be tailored to the financing sources you want to reach.

High tech is different from retail; manufacturing differs from food services; banks are different from credit unions; and grants are altogether different from loans or equity investments. The most effective business plans are those that both account for the type of startup business you have, and are written from the point of view of your lenders or investors.

7. Every business plan we create is scrutinized and approved by our professional accountant.

For investors, financial statements are the most important section of any startup’s business plan. That’s why we scrutinize every business plan we write from an accountant’s point of view. Accountants can spot when financial assumptions and projections are reasonable and attainable – and when they are just so much “pie in the sky.” That’s important, because if your financial assumptions are wrong, your revenue model will be wrong. Then, no matter how thoughtful and well-presented the rest of your plan is, it will fail in the eyes of investors and leave you without financing. It will also fail as a useful working document for your new venture.

8. Consulting Canada connects you to the Canadian business community.

Over our years in a variety of successful businesses, and through our participation in a variety of business organizations, we have cultivated a wide network of contacts with business leaders and owners. If the startup business you are proposing could benefit – or benefit from – any of those contacts, we won’t hesitate to recommend your company, or arrange introductions that can help speed your venture on its way.

9. You will receive a free, customized financial model with your business plan.

What will happen if sales are better, or worse, than expected? What happens if a supplier increases prices? What if interest rates rise or fall, or if exchange rates go up or down? To figure out the effects these will have on your business, you need a financial model – a spreadsheet with the right variables built in. We make sure every business plan is accompanied by a customized financial model that lets you easily see how different business and economic events will affect your startup.

10. The Better Business Bureau gives us its highest rating of A+.

That means our work is conducted to the highest business standards of honesty, reliability and integrity. In fact, our parent company has been in business since November 1981 and our President, Barry Sharp, currently serves as Vice-Chair of the BBB.