First The Bad News..

There is no single magic formula for developing a winning business plan (But you knew that anyway. Right?)

And Now The Good News..

There are some common elements which seem to appear in every successful business plan, that can be successfully modelled by everyone in business. (Hooray!)

The problem is that generic / formulaic plans (perhaps built using a business plan template) are easily "seen through" by professional investors and plan reviewers. These guys are like bloodhounds in this respect.

Check with any professional investor anywhere in the country, and you'll hear sometimes amusing, often embarrassing tales of poorly conceived, badly written, or sloppily put together business plans. Oh and if not happy with that alone, there'll be even more stories about laughable presentations as well.

OK, I get the point, so now what?

Your overall goal is a credible, professional plan, unique in nature, with characteristics that signal a sound business proposition, along with considered financials and is well researched.

Before preparing your plan you really need to get a good idea of what a great example of a business plan looks like, feels like, and sounds like to the investor.

There's no alternative but to do some work. Start with some searches on MSN or Google using "sample business plans" or "example business plans" as the search phrase, and read the results to extract the best bits.

It is a common misconception that business plans are written for the sole purpose of obtaining investment capital. Clarifying objectives, setting targets and communicating effectively to other members of the business are all goals that can be accomplished by an effective business plan.

While business plans are a compulsory requirement for any new business seeking external funding, they are also a terrific way to map out a comprehensive strategy, including everything you need to control your business:- financial ratios and key performance indicators, timing schedules, personnel requirements, marketing tactics, operating procedures and of course funding sources.

Nonetheless trying to be all things to all audiences is a recipe for failure. Keep your plan tight and concise - no more than 15-20 pages, and tailored to its specific audience.

Remember the magical powers of review. Proof read your Plan on a different day to the day it was written, and even better, get an outsider who is knowledgeable of business plans ( an accountant, bank manager, local enterprise agency) to review it. The feedback and constructive criticism is worth it's weight in gold.

Practice presenting your plan on friends and relatives before you have to do it for real, and be prepared for some pointy questions to test your commitment and knowledge.

Role play being the potential investor or bank and think of as many questions as possible that they may ask you, and then work out the answers in advance. The less surprises you receive, the more professional you'll appear, and that can only be a good thing..