Business Plan Tools (outside of taking SBDC workshops)

• Sheridan Tatsuno on Writing Business Plans - a favorite of David Fisher. Tatsuno is based out of Aptos, CA and knows the Silicon Valley model, and has also spent time understanding business development on Maui.

·         Business Planning for Scientists and Engineers - by Dr. Jenny Servo (Rochester, NY) This is a good book you can order in hardcopy. There is also a supporting website with a free outline, and if you buy the book summary slides, quzzes, and flash cards. You can see the first chapter for free and download an outline.

·         Simple Sample Loan Proposal (pdf file)

·         Business Plan Formats

·         Financial Projections Template (Ms Excel) - I am working on creating my own self-guided template, but this will do for the moment. My approach is to create a cash flow projection first, and then from that create P&L and Balance sheet projections. The above model has you answer a bunch of questions and then generates all of the projections. However, it is difficult to troubleshoot, and people new to spreadsheets and projections can get easily lost.

I have found that understanding the details of your cash flow projection and the mechanics of how it is developed is very healthy for entrepreneurs--and so my template when complete will try to maintain that framework. Here is my very basic cash flow only template.

·         ActivePlans - This is an online "computer-assisted" develop your business plan program that is being used by several SBDC's throughout the country including the Hawaii SBDC Network.. There is a one-time cost of $35 paid to Hawaii SBDC (call to pay by credit card, or write a check to "RCUH" and mail to us). You can sign up now and have a look see. If you want to continue, do pay--on a weekly basis we check usage and will delete users who have not officially signed up. You also have the option of having us see the content of your work online and provide feedback.. Some people really like this approach, others don't. You will need to have MS Explorer, Word and Excel. I am still new to ActivePlans, so I can not vouche for it. My colleagues on Oahu, Mark Tagawa and on Kauai, Haviland Wright have had some experience and like it--although they report that it is probably not suitable for people who are new to business.

·         Palo Alto Software's Business Plan Pro This is also a popular template program with an excellent website. I am testing their 2006 edition and hopefully it will change my anti-template bias.

·         Central Pacific Bank Community Express Loan Forms