Entrepreneurs: show who is behind the plan

Video: how to add the entrepreneurs to your plan.

A bank or investor reads a business plan in two rounds. First they ask whether the idea can work, then whether these people can pull it off. You answer that second question in this step. For each entrepreneur, you describe who they are, what makes them strong, where they still have room to grow and what experience they have built up in the industry.

For an established business, this section is just as useful. With a new financing request, a takeover or a new partner, the reader wants to know who runs the business today and who will take on which role.

How this step works in the Business Planner

1. 01

   Add the entrepreneurs

   Each entrepreneur appears as a card at the top of the page. The gold Add button creates a new one. Starting with a partner or co-owner? Give each person their own profile.

2. 02

   Fill in the personal details

   Under the Personal tab you enter name, address and contact details. Below the cards is an overview of all entrepreneurs, with buttons to edit or remove a profile.

3. 03

   Describe strengths, areas to improve and experience

   Under the Profile tab, three text fields form the heart of this section. The note above each field tells you what a financier expects there, so you can write with a purpose.

4. 04

   Let the AI think along if you want

   Inspire writes an example for your industry, which you can use, adapt or ignore. Improve rewrites your own text into a tighter version. You decide what to keep.

What a financier wants to read here

• Industry experience: how long you have worked in the field, in which role and what you achieved there.
• Training and skills: qualifications, certificates and courses that fit the business you are starting or running.
• Entrepreneurship: experience with managing people, purchasing, sales or keeping the books.
• Self-awareness: areas for improvement with a concrete answer, such as a partner, an adviser or a course.
• Division of roles: who does what, if there is more than one entrepreneur.

Being specific makes the difference

The demo plan in the Business Planner is a hair salon in Amsterdam. Compare two ways of describing the same owner:

The second version can be checked, and it says something about the chances of success. The same goes for areas to improve. "I still do a lot myself, especially the color work, so I am training the senior stylist to become a second color specialist" shows that you know the risk and are dealing with it.