商业计划书12大误区

商业计划书12大误区

商业计划书12大误区

我曾花了很多时间，来研究那些寻求投资的创业者编制的商业计划书。很多计划书给人留下了深刻的印象，但也有一些相当糟糕。它们的最大问题包括：

过分的保密条款以及对不泄密协议的痴迷。我发现，这一类硬梆梆的法律文书令人相当不愉快，尤其是当它们来自初创企业时。他们常常期待你在还不了解计划内容的情况下，在相当僵硬的条款下签字。面对此类情况，我会直接拒绝这笔交易。如果创业者如此不信任我，那他们应该到其它地方去寻求资金支持。通常，想开餐厅的人最爱犯这个毛病——我真有兴趣去窃取他们的想法吗？

过于技术性的文件。商业计划书应该以普通人的口吻来撰写，并避免使用任何术语和无休止的缩写。它们应该易于阅读和理解，而不应晦涩难懂。发明者可能过于着迷于自己的课题，忘记了总有成千上万个项目在寻求投资。而且，推销自己计划的人常常使用罗嗦冗长的官样文章来掩饰一个根本不怎么样的坏主意。如果我不能理解一宗交易的话，我是不会介入的。

焦点不够清晰。覆盖范围太大的计划书和试图同时做太多事情的公司是无法吸引我的。成功的概念通常是简单的，而成功的创业者一般将注意力集中在一个有限的市场和产品线上。

荒谬的估值。过于昂贵的东西会被直接扔进垃圾桶。此类计划的起点往往是一个

愚蠢的结论，然后向前推理，基础则是疯狂的未来预期或是胡编乱造的比较。其实，估值应该基于投资者真正支付金额的合理估算。这意味着，你将错过一两个像Facebook 那样的投资良机，但我可以接受这种错失。

个人经历。这些内容应该是诚实和完整的。它们可能是整个方案中最为重要的一部分。我非常想了解那些将这一切变为现实的所有者和个人。模糊或过于简短的简历会使我产生怀疑。首席执行官和财务总监的简历最为重要：大名鼎鼎的非执行董事无法补偿软弱的执行高管，因为是后者才是真正的经营者。

数字。这是关键之处。融资要求、预期回报率和现金流预测：这些都必须具有吸引力和足够的野心，否则就是浪费时间。没人会下大力气去运作一个永远超不过夫妻小店规模的项目。数字应该在一开始就以一种简单的形式出现。不要把它们埋在计划书的后面。

竞争。所有有能力的创业者都非常了解他们所面临的竞争情况。如果他们说没有竞争，那就是自欺欺人。一个可靠的商业计划书含有很多关于竞争对手的详细情况，以及为什么这项方案具有真正的竞争优势。

不要期望完美的陈述。每一种情况都会有缺陷。如果一个投资者找的是没有缺点的计划，那他将永远没有投资对象。我比较喜欢具有已知问题的交易，因为这样的话，问题就可以得到解决，而且可以通过调整价格来弥补。

巨大的附录和过多的数据表。如果申请贷款的话，这些可能是必须的，但股本投资者通常根据几个重点来做出决定。如果投资者真的对方案感兴趣，那所有的参考证据和背景材料都可以随后奉上。别让配料喧宾夺主。

让其他人执笔计划书。顾问撰写的计划书和创业者的文笔有着明显的区别。它缺乏真实性。一定要请专家帮你，但是要在你自己完成了草稿之后。

确保计划书有电子版。不要依赖邮局，也不要扔给未来的投资人一大摞文件。拿到他们的电邮地址，然后在网上寄出方案的基本要点即可。早点抓住他们的注意力，可能会带来一些好结果。

难以置信的利润和回报。声称你的公司将很快达到35%的营运利润率和100%的资本回报率，这样的计划书是不足取信的。带着现实和保守的态度，才能使你获得认真对待。

撰写商业计划书是一门艺术。它应该是一个项目拿到融资的最佳机会，因此，应当小心翼翼对待这项任务。

BUSINESS PLAN HOWLERS

I spend a lot of my time studying business plans from entrepreneurs looking for investment. Many are impressive but some are ghastly. Among the worst offences are:

Aggressive confidentiality clauses and an obsession with non-disclosure

agreements. I find this sort of pushy legal stuff very off-putting, especially for start-ups. Often you are expected to sign up to very rigid terms without

knowing anything about the proposition. In such circumstances, I just turn the deal down flat. If the entrepreneurs distrust me that much they ought to seek backing elsewhere. Would-be restaurateurs are often the worst offenders – would I really bother stealing their idea?

Overly technical documents. Business plans should be written in layman's terms and avoid all jargon and endless acronyms. They should be readable and accessible, not obscure. Inventors can get too wrapped up in their subject – they forget that there are always thousands of projects seeking money. And promoters often use long-winded gobbledegook to disguise a

fundamentally bad idea. If I can't understand the deal, I don't get involved.

Lack of focus. Plans that cover too much territory and companies that try to do too much at once don't appeal to me. Successful concepts are usually simple, and successful entrepreneurs generally concentrate on a finite market and product range.

Preposterous valuations. Things that are far too expensive go straight into the bin. Such plans normally work back from a daft conclusion based on wild future projections or spurious comparisons. Instead, valuations should be based on sensible estimates of what investors would really pay. This means you miss the odd Facebook, but I can live with that.

Biographies. These should be honest and full. They are perhaps the single most important part of the entire proposal. I really want to know the owners and individuals who will make the thing happen. Vague or overly concise CVs make me suspicious. The résumés of the chief executive and finance director are the ones that matter: big name non-executives cannot compensate for weak executive managers who are actually running the business.

The numbers. This is the critical stuff. The funding requirement, the

estimated returns, the cash flow projections: these must be attractive and sufficiently ambitious to be worthwhile. No one is going to put huge effort into a project that will never grow beyond one man and his dog. The figures should all be stated up front in an uncomplicated format. Do not bury them at the back of the pack.

The competition. All capable entrepreneurs know their competition well. If they say they have none, they are fooling themselves. A solid business plan has plenty of specifics about their rivals and why their particular proposition

has a genuine competitive advantage.

Do not expect a perfect presentation. Every situation is flawed. If an investor is looking for an opportunity with no drawbacks, he will never invest in anything. I quite like deals with a known problem, because it can then be addressed and the price can be adjusted to compensate.

Huge appendices and too many spreadsheets. These might be necessary for loan applications but equity investors tend to decide based on a few

important points. All the supportive evidence and background material can be supplied later if the proposal is of real interest. Don't bury the hooks with padding.

Getting someone else to write it. It shows when advisers rather than

principals write a plan. It lacks authenticity. By all means have experts assess your work – but do the first draft yourself.

Make sure it can be e-mailed. Do not rely on the post or present would-be backers with voluminous amounts of paper. Just get their e-mail addresses and send them the core presentation online. Catch their attention early and it may lead to something.

Unbelievable margins, profits and returns. Plans that suggest your company will quickly achieve operating margins of 35 per cent, returns on capital of 100 per cent and so on are not credible. Be realistic and conservative and you are more likely to be taken seriously.

Writing a business plan is an art. It should give a venture the best possible chance of securing finance, and it is worth taking great care over the task.

The writer is chairman of Channel 4 and runs Risk Capital Partners, a private equity group.

本文作者是英国第四频道(Channel 4)董事长，并经营着私人股本集团Risk Capital Partners