At an event last week, Boo Zamek of Just Ask Boo, a popular online newsletter that now serves seven cities, told the audience that she was one of the winners in the 2009 Miami Herald Business Plan Challenge. She said she was happy she entered the contest, not only because she was a winner -- she won third place and the online vote called the People's Pick -- but because it motivated her to get her thoughts together and begin putting together a business plan cleanly and consisely.
I've heard that over and over from contestants -- even the ones who didn't win.
So here's your chance! Our annual Business Plan Challenge launches today, and you'll find the contest rules and everything else you need on MiamiHerald.com/challenge. It's just a three-page submission, which is designed to force you to concisely sum up what makes your company special -- your product or service, its value to customer, your team, how you will make money, target market, scalability, marketing strategy and financials -- so a banker, investor, partner, customer will take notice. It's like an executive summary, and if you don't catch their attention in the first couple of pages you've lost them, many investors say.
It's a tall order but you can do it. If you've entered before and didn't win you can enter again, as long as your business isn't more than two years old. if you have any questions, I'm here for you. Email me