Toll Free:     Email us: [email protected]    Address: 1231 NW Hoyt Street, Suite 305, Portland, OR, 97209

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the success rate with your plans?

This is one of our favorite questions - but for reasons you may not expect. So many "companies" out there will quote amazing success percentages at you. Let's think logically for a minute. Investors are not just investing in the business plan. If they were, you could just hire a company like ours, pay less than .1% of the investment, and be on your way. Investors also look at management experience, concept risks and rewards, valuation of the business model in the future, major competitors, and a myriad of other factors. And sometimes people just don't follow through. Partnerships dissolve, financing falls through, life happens. So when you hear someone give you what they claim is an accurate success rate, beware. There is simply no way to track the "success" of a given plan.

How are you different than the other "companies" online?

1. The major difference is we use the business plan Team Planning Model. This means, instead of having just one consultant assigned to your case, you actually get anywhere from 4-5. It's much more effective and cuts down on the planning and revision time. Since many of our customers have time-sensitive business models, the industry standard (one month to receive a draft of the plan) simply won't work.
2. Our pricing is a flat rate. It's one price, as quoted. No hidden costs, unlimited revisions (terms and conditions apply), and access to the company and its consultants during our operating hours. You will never need to leave a voice mail during operating hours; you will always reach a live person. This is a unique feature in the business planning industry.
3. Wide coverage by many third parties including Inc.com, the Wall Street Journal, Business Opportunities Handbook, Entrepreneur Magazine, and many more. You don't get that by over-promising. Compare our record - if you find someone else's that is longer and better, your plan is free.

How much does it cost?

Internally, we price our business plans on a matrix depending multiple factors:

1. Size of market requiring research (one city or the whole country?)
2. Concept complexity (a daycare or a new revolutionary invention?)
3. Audience for the plan (SBA, Bank, or big venture capitalist?)
4. Degree of financial model complexity (straight sales or aging unit factoring)
5. Our lowest fee is $1200; the most we've charged is $25,000 for a Fortune 1000 company's new division. Generally most our clients are in the $1200-$4850 range.

What is the process?

Retention: Once we are hired, via contract and payment (50% of the plan fee), we provide you with a client welcoming kit which asks you everything we need to know about you and your business.

Investigation: Some clients spend a lot of time on this, some clients prefer phone or personal interview. Either way, the information discovery process should take the first 2 project days to complete. While this is occurring, our team of research specialists begin compiling all the relevant industry data so we can provide you with a thorough and independently completed market analysis.

Creation: When all the information is in, a certified financial modeler crafts the financial forecasts and a skilled writer puts the textual pieces together. Finally, a project manager checks the document for flow and accuracy. The business plan is then emailed to you in Microsoft Word format so you can quickly make any notes or changes to the document.

Revisions: We go back and forth until the product is complete. We give you unlimited revisions to the document for up to 3 weeks. Extensions can be made on a case by case basis. We've found that 3 weeks is plenty of time for entrepreneurs who are serious about getting their plan to market.