Definitive Business Plan, Second Edition, The

Have you heard the one about …

A German, an American and an Englishman each needed to produce a business plan.

• The German had invented a new gizmo for saving water. He took his idea to the European Commission in Brussels and received a grant to conduct a feasibility study. Three months and many tens of thousands of Deutschmarks later, he had a multiple-volume business plan prepared for him by one of the top international accounting firms.

  The painstakingly detailed plan covered every aspect of the business – the organizational structure, the management team, the competition, start-up activities, manufacturing, licensing, marketing, distribution and sales. It set out the funding requirements and operating budgets, and it included a detailed analysis ...