The Ernst & Young Business Plan Guide, Third Edition

Chapter Sixteen. Further Considerations

While a business plan using this book as a model will be sufficiently detailed for a reviewer, there are a number of other considerations one needs to begin thinking through during the business plan writing phase. Some of these considerations may be explicitly stated in the business plan, but most are not.

However, it is useful to consider these issues for planning and scenario reviewing as you build the business plan.

These considerations fall into two main categories: people and money. All good business ideas grow into successful businesses on these two vines. And like vines, people and money are constantly entangled with one another, especially when it comes to the issue of creating an exit strategy, a way to cash out of the venture.

People

A business needs to attract and retain the best employees possible, all the way from the executive suite to the shop floor. In order to do this, a business must develop a compensation plan and a set of incentives that motivate people and develop employee commitment.

Developing such a plan early can serve to eliminate the threat of key people’s leaving down the road. Everything from a comprehensive benefit plan to stock ownership or stock options should be considered. Key questions include what benefits, incentives, and types of compensation will be available to all employees, which of these will be reserved for executives (using an adviser well versed in tax and other regulations regarding limitations to ...