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07 29th, 2009| 
The 1802 pattern musket was issued to the 43rd and 52nd Regiments (now the 1st and 2nd Battalions of The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) in probably 1803, and it may be that soon after, slow issue started to troops on the Home establishment as the muskets became available art and crafts of a dragonfly that have inspired designers. It is doubtful, however, whether many units had yet received the new weapon when Napoleon finally departed from the scene en route to St “making furniture” armchair legs. Helena antique creamware tankards.
In spite of its slow distribution the- r8o2 pattern musket became the standard army weapon, and it appears to have been successful and well liked antique wood plate racks.
It was not only in the musket that the Nock influence was apparent antique square drop leaf table. A few years earlier, in 1796, the ‘Brown Bess’ carbines and pistols of the heavy cavalry (which a Board of General Officers considered ‘inconvenient, useless and cumbersome’) had been replaced by other patterns which were practically identical with the Nock trial models of 1785 but with gaudi roundel. conventional locks wells coates. They had 26-inch and 9-inch barrels respectively, both of musket bore rococo writing table.
A much more remarkable carbine was issued to the light cavalry in somewhere about 1800 gustavian furniture copenhagen. This was the so-called `Paget’ carbine, which is supposed to have been invented by Lord Paget, the famous British cavalry general mid 19th century wooden furniture. It was noteworthy in two respects queen ann gate leg table. The barrel, of carbine bore, was by far the shortest that had ever been designed for a British carbine; being only sixteen inches, which made it a very light and handy weapon fora horseman orrefors blown glass & stemware & smoky gray. Of particular benefit to the mounted soldier, however, was the attachment of the iron ramrod biedermeier antique de. This was a link, known as a ’stirrup’, fitted near the muzzle, which kept the ramrod permanently attached to the piece, even when in use, so that there was no chance of the rod being accidentally dropped william iv “furniture”. This had always been one of the main troubles in loading firearms on horseback robert adams marquetry.
A pistol was brought out at the same time as the carbine, also with the ‘Paget’ stirrup ramrod, and the same lock as fitted to the carbine chippendale pedistal drum table. In other respects it was similar to the pistol first issued to the Light Dragoon regiments in 1759-
Both these ‘Paget’ weapons were so successful that they continued in use until flintlocks finally disappeared from the Army english ironstone pottery ltd.
Whilst Lord Chatham was worrying about the new musket, and the light cavalry was being equipped with its new ‘Paget’ arms, a much more important event was taking place in the history of British military firearms when were claw feet intoduced to teapots. This was the first official issue of a rifle to the British Army ” rococo revival” console english french.
It having been decided to raise an ‘Experimental Corps of Riflemen’ (later to become the Rifle Brigade), a competition was held on the 4th February i800 at Woolwich Arsenal to select a suitable weapon from models submitted by British, German and American gunsmiths antique spindle leg drop leaf side table. The winning competitor was Ezekiel Baker of Whitechapel in London antique czechoslovakia porcelain vase.
Ezekiel Baker had already been established for twenty-five years in his gunshop at 24 Whitechapel Road when he produced his winning design for a muzzle-loading rifled musket 19 c entree dish handle. He was originally apprenticed to Henry Nock, but was destined to surpass even that famous master antique george washington porcelain figures. At the time of the rifle trial he already held Government contracts for smoothbore muskets, carbines and pistols, and similar contracts from the Honourable East India Company antique dining table french regency.
Baker’s rifling was unique george 3rd italian furniture designer. Instead of the three-quarters of a turn which the Ferguson rifling had had, and which was still a normal twist on the Continent and in America, the Baker rifle had only a quarter of a turn antique italian baroque armchairs. In response to considerable adverse criticism of such a slight degree of twist, Baker justified his design on the ground that cutting down the twist reduced the friction in the barrel cherry gate leg rectangular table. This resulted in a flat trajectory for the first two or three hundred yards, and also made it easier to load the rifle drop leaf gate leg side table mahogany.
The length of the barrel and the calibre of the bore were at first the subject of considerable difference of opinion between Baker and the Board of Ordnance thonet rail styles. The military requirement was for a weapon which would have the standard light infantry musket barrel of thirty-nine inches, and the calibre of the smooth-bore musket, in order that the same-sized bullet could be used for all infantry elijah staffordshire figure. Baker accordingly made some rifles to these dimensions and demonstrated, as he had already contended, that they were far too clumsy for practical use splay leg sofa table. As a result it was decided to have a 3o-inch barrel with the standard carbine bore of 20 (a calibre of -61S) antique tables pictures. There were seven grooves in the barrel, as compared with eight in the Ferguson rifle art deco intended customers.
The Baker rifle was at first fitted with an adjustable back-sight; but this was soon discarded as adding an unnecessary complication for the soldier in battle italian clock marble antique hermle. Instead the rifleman was taught to aim at the enemy’s cross-belts for all distances up to Zoo yards, and at his head and shoulders for any greater range antique jugend style cupboard. As regards the accuracy obtainable with his rifle at such a target with the fixed sight, Baker has recorded a test which he carried out himself antique dutch desk. He put up two man-size targets, one at ioo yards from the firing point, and the other at Zoo drop leaf table with brass feet. He then fired thirty-four shots at the first target and twenty-four at the second dutch card table rosewood 18th century. All of them hit somewhere, though scattered over the entire body silver dishes. When these results are compared with Colonel Hanger’s remarks on the accuracy of Brown Bess, and the tests carried out on the same weapon by the Royal Engineers in 184 1, the vast superiority of the Baker rifle will be appreciated burslem yellow trellis ceramics. That is not to say that the Baker rifle compared in accuracy with the target rifles used by the great shots of the day; but Baker contended, rightly, that his rifle was suited to the military purpose for which it was designed wallendorf candelabras.
The standard carbine bore bullet was, of course, loose-fitting, but it was intended that it should be used in conjunction with a greased patch, which gave the necessary grip to the rifling covered bowl antique chinese doucai. Baker, in his book Remarks on Rifle Guns, gives a very interesting description of the way his rifle should be loaded art deco cigarette dispenser. He says:
`In apportioning the quantity of powder for a rifle one charge for all distances should be carefully attended to, and if the powder be good, I have ascertained that nearly one third of the weight of the ball, priming included, is the best estimate art deco writing table. After you have loaded the piece with powder, then put the greased patch of leather, calico, or soft rag, provided for that purpose, on the end of the barrel, as near the centre as possible, place the ball upon it, with the neck or tastable where it is cut off from the moulds, downwards, as generally there is a small hole or cavity in it, which would gather the air in its flight, but if this plan is adopted, and the smooth side always kept up%vards in the barrel, it will not be so liable to be obstructed in its passage through the atmosphere “serving table” antique ball claw. Great care should also be taken that the ball is in the middle of the patch of leather or greased rag, before it is rammed down the barrel; if it is more on one side than the other, it will give the ball an inclination, and throw it from the straight line on its leaving the barrel curved padded chair walnut. Both sides of the patch should be greased, in which case there can be no mistake, however hurried you may be in loading designing knock down furniture. A ball should never be forced down too hard, nor yet should it be too easy—I never found them go so true, as when properly fitted most valuable silverware. The ball with its patch should fit airtight, or it will not have the desired effect floral ornaments art nouveau. I do not mean that the ball should fit so tight as to require a wooden mallet to drive it in the nose of the barrel pine draw leaf coffee table 1920. When the 95th Rifle Regiment was raised by Government, which is now called the Rifle Brigade, I supplied them with a few hundreds of wooden mallets to drive in the ball; but they found them very’ inconvenient, and very soon dispensed with thern; in addition to which they became a serious incumbrance to the men, and have for some years past been entirely abandoned markings on antique candelabra.
‘The loading is, indeed, performed equally well without them, as a man’s strength is always found sufficient to make the ball enter, when it fits as it ought to do bread brand marks 18th century.
‘If the ball fits airtight, as it should do, it will require two or three pushes with the yammer before the air can escape (through the vent) to get it in its proper place 1960 period style coffee table designs with lion claw feet.
‘I do not recommend the ball, as I have before mentioned, to be bruised with the yammer, but pushed avant garde dining tables. If the ball has ragged edges, it will be much impeded, as well as thrown from its true direction by the air, more so than when in its globular shape, in the front part of the ball pearlware barley.’
In practice two methods were used to load the Baker rifle in action antique console. The one described above allowed a rate of fire of about two rounds per minute, which was, of course, considerably slower than the smooth-bore musket repair antique dresser drawers. For rapid fire in an emergency, however, the weapon was treated as a smoothbore rococo writing table. For this purpose a pouch filled with musket-pattern made-up cartridges was carried on the soldier’s equipment 19th century garden furniture. The paper was torn off, the powder poured into the barrel, the paper case then used as wadding, and the ball rolled down on top without using a greased patch 18 century display cabinets. This method had the disadvantage that the grooves got clogged up, and had to be cleaned out before the gun could be used as a rifle again drop leaf coffee table which raises to table height.
The greased patches for enclosing the bullet were kept in a recess in the right side of the butt, known as the ‘ patch box’, and closed by a hinged brass lid 17th century dining table. The first bayonet had the usual triangular blade though of eighteen inches in length inlay antique serving trays.But the hilt and fitting were entirely new 17th century dutch small cupboard value. Instead of the socket end, there was a grip with quillons narrow 9 feet dining table. The grip was slotted to fit over a lug at the side of the barrel, and was secured in position by a spring fixed in the slot stylized acorns. This pattern of bayonet was replaced by one having a flat single-edged sword blade twenty-four inches long booths chipendale turreen. The grip was of the same design, but a knuckle guard replaced one of the quillons antique liberary stands. The powder horn issued with the Baker rifle had a cut-off fitted in the nozzle which measured the correct charge of powder to pour into the barrel puce decorated 1756 cups. (The usual pattern of made-up cartridge, filled with the correct rifle charge, was also carried art deco ceramics.)
In about 1807 difficulties in ammunition supply led to the Baker rifle again being altered to musket bore, though the length of the barrel remained unaltered inurl:antcollectors.com . The result must have been disappointing, for the carbine bore was reverted to once more in about 1830 silver flatware wood handle.
Although the rifle was introduced into the Army as a weapon for skirmishers, there were numerous instances during the Napoleonic wars when its value was demonstrated for other military occasions italian antique small inlaid wood 18th century ivory. One such instance which occurred during the siege of Badajoz in 1812 is narrated by Major George Simmons:
`I was with a party of men behind the advanced sap, and had the opportunity of doing some mischief myott son compagnie. Three or four heavy cannon that the enemy were working were doing frightful execution amongst our artillerymen in their advanced batteries french meals 17th century. I selected several good shots, and fired into the embrasures east india company antiques. In half an hour I found the guns did not go off so frequently as before I commenced this practice, and soon after gabions were stuffed into each embrasure, to stop our rifle balls from entering swedish furniture 1930. They then withdrew them to fire, which was my signal for firing steadily at the embrasures bone handled fork converted to knive. The gabions were replaced without firing the shot glass table antique ceramic legs. I was so delighted with the good practice I was making against Johnny that I kept it up from daylight to dark, with forty as prime fellows as ever pulled trigger gateleg drop leaf table 19th century. These guns were literally silenced antique vienna porcelain vases.’
In Deane’s Manual of Fire-,Irms, of 1858, there is an account of the use of rifles to repel cavalry:
`When in 1812 the rear-guard of the Anglo-Portuguese army was pursued and attacked upon the retreat from Burgos to Valladolid by a numerous French cavalry, on which occasion two English cavalry brigades were porcelain wincanton. brought *into some confusion, the two light brigades of the King’s German Legion became also engaged with the French Dragoons dutch delph pottery marks. These battalions had been i000 strong, and one-third of these armed with the rifle antique ebony ivory jewelry boxes. But the judicious principle had been pursued by their commanding officers throughout the operations, to keep the rifled arms as much as possible by the battalions, for which purpose all sick, wounded, and other absentees from the ranks, left their rifles in exchange for a smooth bore musket antique pediment. Upon the retreat in question, the battalions were so much reduced in strength that the mounted officers could not be taken into the squares commodore perry corner cabinet. Almost all the men were thus armed with the rifle; yet did they, nevertheless, repel the frequently reiterated charges of the French cavalry; and his Majesty, the late Xing of Hanover, upon constituting from the debris of those battalions the present Hanoverian Jager Regiment of the Guard, conferred upon them, as a memorial of their brilliant feat of arms in the Peninsula, the permission to wear the name of the place (Venta del Poz6) under the royal arms burslem yellow trellis ceramics. Major Jacobi, of the Hanoverian service, in his critical remarks upon this arm, in 18,29, proved also amply, that even in its then condition, it yielded in nothing, in the hands of those who knew how to use it, to the line musket, with all its boasted celerity of fire burr walnut art deco dresser bakelit.
The accurate shooting of the Riflemen aroused, apparently, an increased interest in musketry throughout the Army myot t, son & cie. Even in the Volunteers emphasis was placed on weapon training and range practice imatation marble antique bedromm suit. This is well illustrated in a letter from Lieutenant-Colonel G arts and crafts hall bench. R black lacquer antique dining chair. Ainslie, half pay, Inspecting Officer of South Lincolnshire, to the ‘Officer Commanding Volunteers of Loveden’ swansea duck egg. Ainslie writes:
`I request that the corps under your command may practice with blank and ball cartridges, with all expedition robj ceramics. The number of the latter being so limited, the volunteers ought first to be taught to fire the former, and it is essentially requisite previous to target practice, that the officers narrowly observe whether any remains of a certain dread of discharging a musket (more or less) experienced by every man unaccustomed to firearms exists matthais lock furniture. I suggest the propriety of firing first individually and then by files, under the immediate, inspection of the officers of each company, who will instruct the volunteers and strongly inculcate the advantage of both levelling very low and keeping the firelock in a horizontal position for some time after drawing the trigger, to do away with the bad effect resulting from the piece hanging fire, and it is a well known fact, that a bullet always rises and will go through a man’s body after having struck the ground puce decorated 1756 cups. According to my opinion the soldier might almost invariably to take aim at the knee of his enemy nineteenth century gate leg table. antique silver baskets. 18 century porcelain placks louis xvi. leon and maurice jallot french dining chair. I repeat that too great attention cannot be paid to porcelintables. furniture by charles ashbee. ceramic alcora antique. levelling low and steadily taking good aim, and keeping his firelock (according to his Royal Highness the Commander-in-chief’s late regulations) such a length of time at the present, after drawing the trigger, that there can be no chance of hanging fire arabic style lambrequins.
` types of table legs 19 century. bugatti furniture range. royall naples factory. A certain proportion of the most active and best marksmen of each company should particularly be pitched upon to oppose troops of the same description of the enemy, and provide themselves with a stout gimblet, which by being run into a tree, gate, post etc chinese porcelain cockerels., etc pottery france incised initials rb contemporary., will afford an instant and ready rest for the firelock and put the volunteer on a par at least, with the Rifle-Man unprovided with assistance of the above kind, independent of the advantage possessed over the rifle by the firelock (viz antique pine drop leaf table rectangular.) of requiring not one third of the time necessary to load the former dutch delph pottery marks.’
That a smooth-bore musket fired over a rest was as accurate as a rifle fired without one is a claim that is not likely to have been supported by any practical results old metal tables with attached leaves. But no doubt the implied suggestion that the man with the musket was as well armed as one with a rifle was very good for morale; particularly in the case of partially trained troops antique card table withe one flap.
The number of firearms which were turned out by British gunmakers during the Napoleonic wars was phenomenal suzanne cowan potter. They amounted to some 31 million muskets and 30,000 Baker rifles federal desk. The muskets were required to arm not only the British forces, but also those of the foreign troops in British pay, and the various allies who joined in the war- against Napoleon from time to time tin glaze pottery makers. Some of these last were all too ephemeral, and many British muskets ended up in the hands of the French suzanne cowan potter. The number of Baker rifles manufactured was very much less, but even so there were enough to equip some Volunteer rifle units, as well as the Regulars tudor gothic furniture.
The complications caused by requirements of different types of ammunition have been mentioned already mid century decor mahogany rectangle divided tray. In the Peninsular campaign the standard musket bullet was the ‘Old English Service’ round ball weighing 141 to the pound, cornmonly referred to as the ‘ounce bullet’ french antique furniture eagle emblem. The powder charge for this bullet was 6 drams antique japanese bedside cabinet. For the heavy cavalry’s carbines and pistols of musket bore this charge was reduced to 51 and 31 drams respectively portuguese pallissy ware. The light cavalry carbines and pistols were of carbine bore, and therefore required a smaller charge marquetry tables.
breech-loading version of the Baker was tried by the Ordnance Board, and eventually issued to some of the Volunteer Rifle units antique extending round dining table. It did not prove sufficiently successful, however, to replace the Baker and was ultimately withdrawn antique cherry drop leaf tables. It was known as the Sartoris rifle, and had a hinged breech on very much the same principle as the carbine made by Durs Egg and described in Chapter VII chippendale modern interpretation. The defect of Egg’s mechanism, however, was remedied by an arrangement which locked breech and barrel together, instead of relying on a surface contact sheffield plate corinthian column candlesticks. A screwed projection on the breech fitted into a screwed termination to the barrel antique inlaid table birds. In both cases, however, the screwed portion was divided into eight equal segments, on four of which the screwed portion was cut away antique empire or regency style mahogany bookcase. On closing the breech, the threaded segments of the projection slid over the smooth segments of the barrel, and the smooth segments, similarly, over the threaded segments of the barrel american empire period furniture. One-eighth turn then engaged the threads of each and locked the breech 17th century cuboards. Both the longitudinal and rotary movements were actually made with the barrel 18th century music stand. This ingenious mechanism was excellent whilst it was clean; unfortunately after firing for a short time the fouling which accumulated was liable to jam the breech antique round oak dining table claw and ball feet.
During the Peninsular campaign the Light Infantry custom of browning the musket barrels was adopted, apparently, by most of the Infantry units of the Army, and the Baker rifles were all browned from the start antique puente pottery. It was presumably found that in the bright hard summer of the Peninsula the glint of the sun on massed musket barrels gave dangerous advertisement of military movements j s henry furniture. In the heavy cavalry, however, browning seems to have been become universal with the issue of new carbines and pistols in 1796 antique bread making furniture. In 1798 a receipt-was sent to all Colonels of heavy cavalry for ‘renewing the brown colour which may be rubbed off from the barrels of the carbines and pistols lately adopted spanish revival walnut console table.
Presenting the Plan d3sf4wr6gk
Joe had created a business plan for a new gourmet mustard venture. He had spent a great deal of time developing the business initially and very little time putting together a business plan itself. It took Joe a good long while to learn the importance of the look of the plan. It almost cost him everything.
Joe’s plan was a visual mess. The margins were only half an inch wide. Joe had learned in school that wide margins on term papers meant you didn’t have anything to say. In the world of academia, the narrower the margins, the more words per page. More words per page meant more content, which to his professors meant that more work had gone into the effort. And by this measure (instead of an actual reading in some cases) a better grade was received. And so, consequently, Joe felt that with narrow margins and a cramped style the brilliance of his plan would be revealed.
Instead, the opposite was true. The first venture capitalist to receive the plan took one look at the tightly spaced and crowded first page and set the whole thing aside. All Joe received was a letter saying the investment didn’t fit their profile. He never learned it was the presentation of the plan itself that didn’t fit their standards.
The second venture capitalist to receive the plan was a stickler for consistency, neatness, and grammar. Joe’s plan was inconsistent in the formatting of tables, charts, and section headings. It was stapled together in a fairly sloppy fashion. Joe had not bothered to spell-check. By the time the second venture capitalist saw his second spelling error, he had had enough. The whole plan was set aside, and Joe again received a letter saying the investment did not fit their profile.
Joe was perplexed. He had done a great deal of work putting everything in place. He was ready to start shipping cases and cases of the product. He felt like he wasn’t getting a straight answer. He needed to know why the venture guys didn’t relish his gourmet mustard.
One of Joe’s friends offered to hook him up with a venture capitalist who would give him a straight and honest appraisal of the plan. Joe jumped at the offer and overnighted the plan that afternoon,
In three days, Joe met with Jessica, a well-dressed, no-nonsense professional investor. Jessica got right to the point. Joe’s plan was a disaster. It was difficult to read because it was too cramped, without any relieving white space. It was a jumble of type styles and inconsistent formats. The binding with off-centered staples was not neat or professional. Jessica said the entire product reflected poorly on Joe and his business. And in a game where first impressions are crucial, Joe’s current first impression would never lead to a second one.
Joe was crestfallen but thanked Jessica for her candor. He muttered he would probably lose his orders for 100,000 cases. Jessica immediately picked up on the comment. What 100,000-case order? Joe elaborated that he had received several purchase orders from the likes of Safeway and Wal-Mart. The buyers loved this gourmet mustard and were awaiting shipment.
Jessica asked Joe why the purchase orders weren’t included in the supporting materials. Joe didn’t realize the documents themselves were important. He had mentioned the orders at the bottom of page 27. Jessica scoldingly told Joe he was hiding his light under a bushel. Orders of that magnitude should be mentioned on page 1 and attached as supporting material exhibits.
Joe smiled. Did she think he had something? Jessica was now tearing through the financials, the management section, and all her other favorite parts of a business plan. She was starting to appreciate the opportunity in front of her.
As it turned out, Jessica’s firm invested in Joe’s business. And in the process, and very fortunately, Joe came to fully appreciate the importance of plan presentation and the inclusion of important supporting materials.
Your First Impression
The first impression many people will get of your business is your plan’s appearance. Do you think a potential investor or lender will look differently at a business plan that is neatly bound and formatted for ease of understanding compared to one that is written margin-to-margin in purple crayon? What impression do you want to give? Here are a few hints for a good-looking plan:
• Use white (or very light-colored) paper.
• Margins should be at least one inch (but less than two inches) all the way around.
• Font styles should be kept to a minimum (no more than three).
• Colors should be used conservatively (photos and complicated graphics are exceptions). Black print and one or two accent colors are best.
• Pages should be printed on one side only.
• The entire document should be single-spaced with double spaces between paragraphs.
• Don’t be afraid of white space.
• Use bulleted points whenever you can.
• Be consistent with formatting of tables, graphs, charts, titles, and section headings.
• Use neat, professional binding—no staples.
• Use a spell-checker.
• Get someone you trust to look through and read the plan.
• Include a table of contents at the beginning and an index at the end.
Your cover sheet should include all the information a reader will need to get ahold of you (company name, address, and phone number; names, titles, addresses, and phone numbers of owners) as well as the company logo, the date the plan was prepared, and the name of the person who prepared it.
Length
It’s ironic that it takes a 200-page book to explain how to write a succinct business plan. Typical business plans average between twenty to forty pages, including support materials. (Others, of course, maybe longer.) On the surface, it may seem unnecessary to do all the research and planning and organization we suggest, but think of your business plan as a crucible. The research, planning, and organization are the components you focus on in order to create a successful business. A winning business plan not only maps out the keys to a successful business but, more important, addresses the unique aspects of your business in a way that will serve your unique temperament, goals, and experience while simultaneously meeting the needs of investors and financiers.
So how long should your business plan be? The answer is simple: as long as it needs to be. How do you know how long it needs to be? You do the preliminary footwork. This book is an excellent first step. Then start writing. As you write it all out, you’ll get a sense of how long feels right. And again, have trusted friends review your work. They’ll help you determine which areas need to be fleshed out and which ones need to be pared down.
Presentation
Business plans are meant to be seen. Whether you wrote your plan to attract funding or to help with management, you will need to show the plan to someone.
• The plan’s appearance reflects your commitment to creating a winning business plan.
• The plan’s content is far more important than its appearance, but it won’t be read if it lacks a professional look.
If you wrote your business plan in order to attract funding and/or investment, you will need to get the plan into the hands of the people who can decide whether or not to give you money Most of us are uncomfortable when it comes to talking about money. Many of us were taught that it is rude to talk about something so crass. But if you want someone to give you a loan or invest in your company, you will have to get over your upbringing because you can’t just mail out your plan and hope for the best.
If you want loan or investment approval, you will need to schedule meetings to present your plan. Don’t think that just having the meeting and leaving the plan for the decision makers to read will cut it. Don’t leave something as important as your business’s future to chance. Decision makers may promise to read your plan and give it consideration, but you can’t be sure they actually will. The only way to be sure that your potential investors or funders get your message is to present it.
The presentation of your business plan should be a business meeting, a formal presentation. Even if the potential investors are your parents and your little brother, you want to present your plan in a serious and professional manner. (Remember, you can’t advertise for people to come to this meeting.) But for your preexisting audience—your friends and family and any professionals you’ve been in touch with—you might want to use a conference room. This room can be at the potential investor’s or lender’s office. If not and you lack the facilities, try borrowing space from a friend or renting a conference room. You might want to use presentation equipment, such as a computer/projector for your PowerPoint presentation. You should give your audience hard copies of your plan as well. When is up to you.
You can have the plan delivered before the meeting so that your audience will have time to formulate questions, though you run the risk of them making a negative decision before you have a chance to highlight all your positive points. Try having the plan delivered just the day before the meeting so your audience can become familiar with it without enough time to make a decision. Or you can hand out the plan at the beginning of the meeting, though here you run the risk of your audience reading while you are trying to present. Either way, have copies of your presentation slides to hand out so your audience can follow along.
Your slides and their corresponding handouts should contain short, bulleted points and be in the same visual style as your plan. Your presentation should be less formal than your plan in that you don’t want to sound like you are reading. Try to make it as much like a story as you can. Practice your presentation and get feedback from people you trust to give You honest opinions before you go before people who can make or break your business. Keep in mind that your audience can read—your slides and your handouts—so you don’t have to. Let your slides be reminders for your talk. Let them remind you what points you want to make and then expand from there.
If you wrote your business plan to aid in management, who sees the plan will depend on your business, your style, and your goals. Obviously, if the whole business is comprised of you and your spouse, there don’t need to be a lot of secrets. But if yours is a business with a rigid hierarchy with decisions made only at the top level, you might want to limit access. You might choose to share your plan with management only or show employees on a need-to-know basis. You might distribute a version of the plan (say, a version without financial detail, but with graphs and percentages instead), or you could include sections of the plan in your employee manual. It is entirely up to you. Odds are you will want to consider the twin needs of protecting sensitive information and building a sense of ownership, and only you know how to do so.
While people involved with money will have a pretty good idea why you are showing them your business plan, employees might not. You might include your business plan presentation as part of a company retreat or have a special meeting just for the plan. Maybe you want to introduce the plan to everyone at once or department by department. Wherever you choose to have your plan unveiled, be sure you are present. You may choose to deliver the entire message yourself, or you might be better served using a team approach, with appropriate managers discussing different sections. Again, it comes down to your particular approach and your particular business. Regardless, be sure to explain what a business plan is and how it should be used, why you are showing it, and what you expect listeners to do with it. Similarly, if you use the plan as part of your training program for new employees, be sure that they are not just handed the plan cold but are given the same message you gave the others.
As your business and your business knowledge grow, take some time to check back in with employees to see how the plan is being used and how employees feel it is working. Get suggestions and comments from employ ees and then use that input to improve the plan. Let the plan work as a road map, a checkpoint, and a management tool.
Your Plan Is a Living Document
A business plan is an ever-changing, never-completed document. It is always in a state of revision. With the passage of time, expertise grows, markets change, customer bases alter, and technology continues ever onward. Anyone who reads your plan should get the most up-to-date and complete information you are capable of providing. This means that even after you write the last section of your plan, you need to continue to study the markets and stay abreast of industry, market, and economic trends. Just as your business will be in a constant state of flux, so, too, should your plan be.
Anticipating Problems
Ideally, any business plan, whether written for management purposes or to attract funding, will help anticipate problems that could strike your company. Are costs of supplies going up? Is technology getting cheaper? Is competition increasing or decreasing? What is the motion (if any) of your labor pool? What advertising trends seem to be coming around again? Where is the economy in its current cycle? Are your best-selling products peaking, or are they on their downward slide? Which products are showing new strength? Use your plan to draft alternate budgets so you will have some sort of road map if good times get bad or bad times get better. Use your plan to assess whether or not your current circumstances (good or bad) are short-term or long-term.
Supporting Materials
Supporting materials are all the documents that can help convince readers of your business plan that your business is worth their time and/or money.
The documents should be introduced or referenced in the text of the previous sections so that they can stand alone in this section. These documents should need no introductory or explanatory text in this section and therefore can be simply arranged and attached to the final plan or offered as a separate document to serious investors or appropriate personnel.
As you go through the process of writing your business plan, you will think of a host of materials that can help you make the argument (to yourself, your management team, or potential lenders and investors) that your business is a good risk. These documents give credence to your arguments, and they back up your numbers. They help show how you came to your decisions and how you will make your plan work. As you prepare the plan, you should keep a notebook close by to jot down the supporting documents you reference in other sections or that you think you might want to include. Be sure you include every document that you mention in your plan. Don’t make your readers search for the information they need in order to make an informed decision (ideally, the positive decision you want them to make). Some of the support materials you should consider are these:
• Resumes. Ideally, resumes are one page and include work history, education, professional affiliations and honors, and special skills. Include resumes for all owners/partners and corporate officers (whatever applies to your corporate entity).
• Letters of reference. Your letters of reference can come from past investors, lenders, or business acquaintances (people you’ve worked for or with, suppliers, distributors, etc.) or from nonbusiness acquaintances (but avoid letters from friends or relatives) and should be assessments of your business skills.
• Personal finances. While some practitioners suggest including a balance sheet of your personal financial history as well as that of other owners/partners, I am not keen on it. Keep your personal information as private as possible.
• Leases. Include any lease agreements you have for your business (such as those for buildings, vehicles, equipment).
• Contracts. Include any contracts for your business (such as loans, purchase agreements, service contracts, even maintenance agreements).
Remember Joe’s 100,000-case gourmet mustard order? That type pe of business validation is well placed in this section.
• Other legal documents. Include any other pertinent legal documents, such as copyrights, patents, trademarks, insurance policies, and articles of incorporation.
• Other attachments. Include any other documents or information that you have referenced in the body of your plan but that do not fall into any of the above categories. These would include demographic information, maps, and the like.
Depending on your business and the information available, you might also consider attaching:
• Glossary of industry terms
• Product information
• Additional or more specific marketing data
• Marketing materials (brochures, catalogs, etc.)
• Financial analyst reports
• Newspaper or magazine articles
• Company history
• Press releases
• Web pages
Not all plans will need the same information. Those written for management purposes will not need the resumes, letters of reference, or credit reports. Even plans written to attract funding will differ as different lenders or investors will want to see different information. It is best to prepare as much information as you can so that you can easily tailor copies of your plan for various readers and institutions. And please note that the plan found in the appendix is a somewhat abbreviated version for reasons of space. Your plan may have much greater detail.
