Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

I`m a 24 year-old entrepreneur who is currently going through the business plan grind. I`m looking for small seed money, but want to have a solid business plan to present for different reasons. My question is this...

Although I`m sure of my own qualification, I don`t have the credentials to show for in my business plan. When talking about the management, I don`t know what to say. I also hear the guys talk about the importance of having a strong management team to present to investors.

If my history has nothing more than a bit of a college degree and some part time jobs, how to I convince investors that I`m the man for the job?



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Collin Cummings
President, Drop Box, LLC
dropboxmail@gmail.com

kamolahy,

I understand that you "love ambiguity" but you will have to be specific for your investors to want to be part of your plan.

When you approach your investment sources you have to be careful. I`m in the process of this now myself so I can tell you that I am approaching it with more care than any othe aspect of the business.

It all comes down to potential. Potential to make money. If you can all but prove it you`re in business. Get your plan together and present it.

[Can it really be that simple?]

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~Eric
JE Design Group, LLC
If all you do is what you`ve done, then all you`ll get is what you`ve got.
www.jedesigngroup.com

Solid advice Eric. That`s very true. I`m prepared to do my best to be very specific in the plan. I just don`t know exactly what to put down in the section describing the management team, I don`t have any real experience there!

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Collin Cummings
President, Drop Box, LLC
dropboxmail@gmail.com

kamolahy - if your management team consists of you, then simply do the best job possible of laying out your experience, relating it in some way to the business (most skills and experiences are transferrable in some way).

If you pique the interest of investors, I would guess part of their terms to you will be that you agree to bringing in an experienced manager, which they`re in a position to find for you - if the idea and business potential are strong, an investor or investor group won`t let that stand in their way.


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chuck fuller

Although you may not have any obvious and straight forward managment experience there are a lot of experiences or softer skills that can be highlighted and or turned in the proper light to accent your ability to function as a manager.

Any previous work, education, volunteer experiences, personal ventures, or major life experiences can be highlighted to show your ability.

Think about the skills and techniques that you used to resolve and manage situations and relate them in a way relevant to the managment strategy you are working towards. 

Some of the skills may be softer skills.  Meaning patience, ability to relate to people, organization skills, leadership, communication, foresight, and going the extra mile. 

Harder skills are more technical: accounting, marketing, administartion, HR etc...

Even some of your life experiences and trials could include some characterisitics of these hard skills.

Look at the tasks and what it took to complete them and identify the soft and hard managment skills that were exemplified.

Hope this helps and Good Luck.

One thing I did to make my "team" look bigger than it actually is on paper, I put down the name of my attorney, my CPA, Two investors that really will not have anything to do with the running of the company, but all of these people play a part in the business, so they are part of your management advisory board.

Something else you can do, is look at any personal experience you have that you got paid for (Personally paid work can be easily flip-flopped from Sole-Proprietor to Personal, as it is based on your SSN), this can also help.  I`ve found that investors look more favorably on "I did this as a Sole-Proprietorship" rather than "I did some odds and ends jobs" -- be careful not to let this become a lie, but most of the time, you can easily take personal experience (you have been paid for), and simply "rename" the Sole-Proprietorship, by going to your local courthouse, and filling out a simple form for sole-proprietorships.

You might want to do a little reading on the subject, if you are unsure how to use this.  I have found that this has helped me a few times, and other times, proved completely useless information for me.  I hope it can help you!

Also, Engraver has a good point, ANYONE that you have working with (or for) you, can be added to your "management team" because they are providing you guidance, and support.  I have seen this used quite beneficially as well, but again, you must use caution, so as not to misrepresent the roles of what those advisory positions are actually contributing.  Remember that you can imply quite a bit to help "bulk up" your team experience, but you must show care not to come out with a misleading statement in the process.

It`s a very fine line to walk, but quite rewarding so long as you can learn how!

... rereading this post makes it sound almost unethical... but it is not so long as you ensure that you do not misrepresent the roles these people play, or what work you have done.  I hope this helps!

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-- Rojgiean
"Creating tomorrow today!: It`s not as easy as it sounded!!!"
www.cafepress.com/thebrainsprain

The sword`s real, I use it to cut through the lies I find in business and making money!