Well 2008′s Global Financial Crisis continues to ‘roll-on’ smashing jobs and demand in the economies of the world.

We recently read in Dun & Bradstreet’s latest report on Australian economic matters that new business starts had fallen 95% in the last year! That is a profound change, and a challenging one for new business’ that launched into these difficult trading times. It is also very challenging for established business. They have already developed procedures and structures that were better adapted to more ‘business friendly’ conditions – and it can be very painful changing policies and staff levels. No-one likes to tell faithful, hard-working employees that you can’t afford them. No-one wants to appear to be the cause of staff plunged into unemployment, difficulty with credit, debts etc.

However, it is important to note that although an established business may not have used a business plan since their inception, it can be a crucial tool in steering the ‘ship of business’ slowly away from the ‘economic rocks’ of the GFC economy.

There is no better toll for identifying various scenarios that your business may face. Identify the existing cash flow, and then project figures with declining sales revenues of 10%, 20% and even 25%, and see how the condition of your business declines, along with the staff and supply needs. This approach can help you pinpoint the areas where you could implement change. It can also indicate the appropriate scale of changes needed to remain sustainable.

In challenging times, use the same tolls that you used when your business was young. The new business plan may also assist in allowing you to re-imagine the business, identify potential areas of new growth, as well as cuts that are needed to sustain what presently exists.


In brief:

Any business, other than the most meagre of operations requires teamwork and co-operation. Part of the ‘art’ of running a successful business is engaging the co-operation of others in your plans. If you are determined to achieve a new business, then you shall need the expertise and co-operation of others. Creating a quality business plan is an exercise in co-operation and shared expertise.

Learning the skills of gaining the attention, motivation and co-operation of other people is quite an ‘art’. I would argue that there are some rules to be observed if you want the co-operation of others to be sustained and effective for your enterprise. I may write an article on that subject soon, but today I want to emphasise that it takes teamwork to create and develop a sound ‘roadmap’ for your new business. That ‘roadmap’ is called a business plan.

Depending on the complexity of the enterprise, there may be many specialists that supply components of the whole plan. If, for instance, you are creating a food processing business that involves mechanised processes, then many specialist experts shall be needed to contribute. You shall need engineers that understand the technical specifications of the machinery that you select. How much product do you need to be profitable? What is the target of production you are aiming for? How much spoilage during processing must you allow for, in order to meet your final production target? How much electrical power shall your machinery need?

A great many questions that only engineers can answer will be involved.You shall always have legal issues that require commercial lawyers to advise on appropriate legal structures for the business, both to maximise returns, and to minimise risk from predictable, but unlikely risks.

Of course your Accountant will be needed to develop all the costs that the enterprise shall have to pay in order to cover all costs, provide for taxation, pay staff [and you!] for your work. Cashflow forecasts and financial projections for Balance Sheets, Profit and loss and Assets and Liabilities as the business develops as you have planned.

You shall also need a good deal of marketing expertise on board as well. Marketing is critical to sales, and understanding the nuances of positioning your products and services in the marketplace shall have far-reaching effects on the business performance.

Whoever has the responsibility to bring all of this knowledge and research together on your business plan shall require all of these areas, and many more, in order to create a well-developed plan for your success. Consider engaging a specialist like GPC Business Plans for this part of the exercise as you would in going to a mechanical engineer for advice on machinery, or a commercial lawyer for company structures. Specialists bring more than just knowledge, they bring rich experience and understanding of issues that exceed the mere technicalities of their profession.

Doesn’t your new business deserve specialist attention?


Being in business is all about solving problems and overcoming challenges. However, in order to be successful in business it is critical to start when you have enough resources, knowledge, skills, capital etc so that you minimise the risk of failure. WE can anticipate many of the areas that require attention before you leap into a business. We’ve had to do it ourselves, more than once!

We would value your questions and issues that relate to starting a business. We shall be very pleased to research possible solutions for you, and resources that might help you to make such a big decision.

Being in business is NOT for the ‘faint-hearted’. The marketplace is tough and relentless on your emotional and physical energy. We believe that your questions about going into a business are the most valuable. Please write to us at gpcbusinessplans@gmail.com and we would love to make an article that we can all share.


Keywords – new business, business financing, expanding business, growing business, International financing, problem solving.

Sam has been running a small trucking company for 5 years. He has 3 trucks, he understands his customers and their needs. He makes a good living from using his trucks, and gets the best out of his employees. He is now confident of the significant growth in his country’s economy. Big changes are happening, and important to Sam is that new opportunities are open to him.

Sam is ambitious. He wants to become a significant figure in the new world being created. Instead of earning a ‘good wage’, he wants his family to enjoy new opportunities and the security that comes with greater wealth. Therefore, he knows that he needs to grow his business.

He sees an opening – his cousin is the procurement officer for ABC Co. one of the large local companies. Through him he hears that an important contract for their haulage needs is coming-up in a few months. This new contract will require the haulier to have at least 30 trucks working 6 days a week. So Sam realises that if he is going to be able to undertake the contract he’s going to need a new fleet of trucks costing $millions.

He starts work on the business plan for the expanded business, while negotiating terms with the potential client. After 2 months – success! He wins the contract for a year’s work hauling their work. So now he is frantically working on getting costings for the new trucks, and the expanded support operations for them. His business is based in Africa, so the roads are rough, at times impassable, so maintenance and spares are also a big consideration.

He would like to be able to make an approach for US$13.5m to his bank. He has a good record there, but they are unlikely to have that amount to lend, and, they charge 28% interest per annum! His cashflow cannot support such a debt at those interest rates. So he approaches an international Financing Consultancy, but gets refused – Why?

An international investor will conduct due diligence before approving the loan. Sam’s business will be dependent upon the financial health of the ABC Company whose products he is hauling. Some 90% or more of Sam’s businesses’ cashflow will come from the new contract, but any international investor cannot check on the financial ability of the ABC Company that’s paying Sam for his haulage. They cannot get access to the internal financial records of the company. If the local company goes ‘bad’ then Sam’s business will go bankrupt very quickly.

There is a solution, more than one, contact us if this problem is limiting your growth and ambition…


GPC Business Plans is proud to announce the return of our FREE Risk analysis service for a limited time.

We had a great response at the end of 2011. We are bringing it back to assist all the entrepreneurs in Africa. Yes, we are making this offer of a FREE risk analysis on your business plan available to the whole of Africa, from the Alexandria to Cape Town!

So, if you have a business plan that you believe is ready for funding and implementation, we will provide you with an ‘investor style’ preliminary due diligence on that document for no cost whatsoever. We shall utilise the checklist and techniques that International investors employ. These are the methods that we have been applying for such investors for over a decade.

We shall report on every area of your business plan, in writing, identifying each specific area that has not been addressed, or is inadequately addressed.

We would anticipate that we can return our individual report on the risks in your business plan back to you in 3 days [dependent upon demand].

If it is necessary, you may receive an offer from GPC to rectify any problems. However, you are in control of what action you take on our report. It’s your business, it’s your future. We’re pleased to help.

Contact us at gpcbusinessplans@gmail.com and we shall send you our pre-signed Non Disclosure Agreement to protect your commercial information.

Email us today for a prompt response.

Yours Sincerely,

David Reynolds, for GPC Business Plans


Today I read a really thought-provoking article on the skills of being an entrepreneur by Jesse Redd . The article is entitled :20 Standards Of Success Not Taught In School .

I hope you are as stimulated in your thinking as I was. I particularly relate to the realisation that facing the emotional [belief] blocks in ourselves is the key to us overcoming familiar ‘reasons’ that we have given in the past for us not being successful. When we move beyond these limitations [never easy] then we find that those old ‘roadblocks’ melt away, freeing us for more success than we have experienced before.

I have found that the resources for thinking in entrepreneurial ways are growing, and now so easily available. I am confident that you can find something of value in Jesse’s article.


In brief: you have become excited about your new business. This has led you to invest your energy, your heart and money into this venture. But will this successfully compete for the Investor’s attention? What can make your business stand-out from all the thousands of others? You realise that historically, only a small percentage of proposals secure funding. How do you put the odds in your favour?

You got really excited about developing a new business. You’ve been working hard on how you are going to make this possible. You have researched the marketplace and found a niche. You have invested in this exciting new business – it has cost you money out of your pocket to engage professionals to prepare engineering, technical specifications, costings, cashflow forecasts, drawdown schedule etc.

You have prepared yourself with the skills you shall need, the resources the business needs are within reach. But in these times of a credit ‘crunch’ – which is a shortage of capital – will an Investor be attracted to your proposal?

There are always a huge number of competing business and investment opportunities seeking capital. Even in these challenging times there are always plenty of people with courage and vision like you. How are you going to make your proposal and opportunity stand-out?

Have you asked yourself about how your business looks from the Investor’s perspective? It’s a great place to start. The Investor holds the future of your business. Unlock his wallet and your business gets to ‘fly’ and shape your future. You really do need to think like an Investor in order to be successful. So, what does your business look like to an Investor?

Each investor has hundreds of opportunities placed before them. They have limits of the type of project, the value and the economic sectors and countries they invest in. Investors are averse to risk. So they spread their portfolio risk as they judge is appropriate.

Obviously, if an investor normally wants your opportunity, but they already have committed to another similar to yours that’s just bad timing and bad luck. Similarly, if they have enough projects in your country and they don’t want anymore you can’t do anything about that either.

Essentially, any investor wants to make lots of money – but free of any risk! Yes, that’s their dream portfolio. It’s the one they want to brag about to their friends at the Golf Club. So they are going to scrutinise everything about you, and especially assess whether you have competence… They will want to see that you understand the your business and it’s risks for the Investor. It is the Investor’s money you want, so consider their needs – or you won’t see their money!

Here’s a way to value-add to your proposal… A Risk Analysis from GPC can bring your attention to the risks, from the Investor’s point-of-view. You get a ‘heads-up’ on anything that needs improving or addressing before you apply for credit or investment. A business proposal that ‘ticks all the boxes’ looks much more attractive to an Investor than one that doesn’t!

Too often the business project is deficient. The standards applied by an investor’s due diligence are extremely tough. When many applications are subjected to the intense scrutiny of the due diligence standards the flaws in the business plan create the basis for Investor rejection and failure. Applications that are passed on to Investors in their ‘raw’ state only have a very low success rate. It saddens us to see so much entrepreneur effort going unrewarded… And, no-one gains any benefit from your application’s failure.
Experience has taught us that where the applicant’s documentation has been professionally analysed and remedial development has been undertaken, then the success rate rises dramatically. Everyone wins!
We passionately believe that any entrepreneur that desires to succeed should make every effort to ensure that their business project is as robust and ‘Investor ready’ as possible. Also, bear in mind that no serious Investor is going to spend months with you to help to get your business plan up to standard.  It is not their responsibility to educate you about the due diligence standards. The Investors want to deal with qualified Principals that thoroughly understand their project, their business, and who demonstrate competence.
Are you SURE that your business is ready for scrutiny?


How can you tell if your Business Plan is going to be any good?

You’ve recently written, or revised, the business plan for your business, but how can you be sure that you have covered all the risks?
Unfortunately, until recently you could only take your business plan to a very expensive ‘Big 4′ Accounting firm for such an assessment. One of my friends recently was quoted US$43,000 for a business plan from one of the ‘Big 4′!

They charge incredibly high prices for their work. This puts it beyond the reach of almost every entrepreneur starting-out. In the past, the only way to find out if a business plan works is to trust your judgement and take the risk. Then you wait for the marketplace to give you the answer.

All too often the answer is that the plan was no good. You lose your money, and your dreams of financial security in a short while.

No one wants that outcome.

There is another way… We offer a Risk Analysis service. You bring us your existing business plan , and we spend many hours analysing it, and we report back on the risks that you haven’t yet covered. Our analysis is thorough, and backed by my many years of experience in senior financing consulting. This was when I worked for the Investors, on preliminary and final due diligence. My job was to look for all the flaws and faults in a business. This was to avoid any loss for the investor.
You hate losing – Well so do the investors!

But you can hire my same level of experience for a fraction of what it costs with other companies. Just US$1200 will buy you our full Risk Analysis of your business plan.

Discover what you don’t know – before it hurts you!

Recently we analysed a client’s new business and discovered that they had “7 major areas of financial risk ; 4 major areas of legal risk and 4 major areas of operational risk.”

These clients believed that their new business was ready for investing! They would have been throwing away millions of $$$ very quickly! In fact, they would have lost $3,000,000. For only $1200 you can save yourself a lot of money and heartache too.

We have placed a pre-signed Non Disclosure Agreement on the blogroll of this website, to protect your sensitive commercial information.
Contact us today : gpcbusinessplans@gmail.com

Financial security for your business is only an email away!


In brief: you have become excited about your new business. This has led you to invest your energy, your heart and money into this venture. But will this successfully compete for the Investor’s attention? What can make your business stand-out from all the thousands of others? You realise that historically, only a small percentage of proposals secure funding. How do you put the odds in your favour?

You got really excited about developing a new business. You’ve been working hard on how you are going to make this possible. You have researched the marketplace and found a niche. You have invested in this exciting new business – it has cost you money out of your pocket to engage professionals to prepare engineering, technical specifications, costings, cashflow forecasts, drawdown schedule etc.

You have prepared yourself with the skills you shall need, the resources the business needs are within reach. But in these times of a credit ‘crunch’ – which is a shortage of capital – will an Investor be attracted to your proposal?

There are always a huge number of competing business and investment opportunities seeking capital. Even in these challenging times there are always plenty of people with courage and vision like you. How are you going to make your proposal and opportunity stand-out?

Have you asked yourself about how your business looks from the Investor’s perspective? It’s a great place to start. The Investor holds the future of your business. Unlock his wallet and your business gets to ‘fly’ and shape your future. You really do need to think like an Investor in order to be successful. So, what does your business look like to an Investor?

Each investor has hundreds of opportunities placed before them. They have limits of the type of project, the value and the economic sectors and countries they invest in. Investors are averse to risk. So they spread their portfolio risk as they judge is appropriate.

Obviously, if an investor normally wants your opportunity, but they already have committed to another similar to yours that’s just bad timing and bad luck. Similarly, if they have enough projects in your country and they don’t want anymore you can’t do anything about that either.

Essentially, any investor wants to make lots of money – but free of any risk! Yes, that’s their dream portfolio. It’s the one they want to brag about to their friends at the Golf Club. So they are going to scrutinise everything about you, and especially assess whether you have competence… They will want to see that you understand the your business and it’s risks for the Investor. It is the Investor’s money you want, so consider their needs – or you won’t see their money!

Here’s a way to value-add to your proposal… A Risk Analysis from GPC can bring your attention to the risks, from the Investor’s point-of-view. You get a ‘heads-up’ on anything that needs improving or addressing before you apply for credit or investment. A business proposal that ‘ticks all the boxes’ looks much more attractive to an Investor than one that doesn’t!

Too often the business project is deficient. The standards applied by an investor’s due diligence are extremely tough. When many applications are subjected to the intense scrutiny of the due diligence standards the flaws in the business plan create the basis for Investor rejection and failure. Applications that are passed on to Investors in their ‘raw’ state only have a very low success rate. It saddens us to see so much entrepreneur effort going unrewarded… And, no-one gains any benefit from your application’s failure.
Experience has taught us that where the applicant’s documentation has been professionally analysed and remedial development has been undertaken, then the success rate rises dramatically. Everyone wins!
We passionately believe that any entrepreneur that desires to succeed should make every effort to ensure that their business project is as robust and ‘Investor ready’ as possible. Also, bear in mind that no serious Investor is going to spend months with you to help to get your business plan up to standard.  It is not their responsibility to educate you about the due diligence standards. The Investors want to deal with qualified Principals that thoroughly understand their project, their business, and who demonstrate competence.
Are you SURE that your business is ready for scrutiny?


In brief: Entrepreneurs can unwittingly raise doubts about their new business with investors by letting the data become dated.
Any business plan has a “Best before” date. Keep data unlinked to actual calendar years and update material at least every year. Put it in your diary for the anniversary of when your business plan was completed so that you go back to it and update it.

All consumable food products have a ‘Best Before Date’. After this date the manufacturer cannot guarantee the product’s quality, taste or safety. Business plans also have a ‘Best Before date’ – it is about 6 months after the plan was written.

All too often an entrepreneur fails to update the information and data on their business. Very quickly, the data becomes out-of-date and even irrelevant to an Investor. It is easy for a business person to allow the well-written business plan to age by neglect. This is probably because they were really happy with it. They don’t want to change it – but don’t realise how the out-of-date figures and dates look to a prospective investor.

What message does a commencement date of 1 or 2 years ago send to an investor? It sends the message that plenty of other investors may have looked at this proposal, or that they have probably found some fatal flaws and have turned it down. That IS what an investor is going to think!

These past dates are a ‘Silent Witness’ to the delays in getting your business operational. Just like the TV program of the same name, the investors are like CSI investigators… they search the evidence of your documents to glean information and build together a theory of what has been happening with your new business venture.

One way to limit the amount of information that is needing to be updated, is by identifying the commencement of the enterprise, and the progressive stages of development by numbering the years, as ‘Year 1′, ‘Year ’2 etc. Use the same strategy with the months, don’t name them [July, August...] just number them as ‘Project month 1′, 2 etc.

So it is wise to ensure that all the data is kept up-to-date. This includes the economic record and prospects for your country and sector. It is a telling statement when you report the exciting prospects for national growth, or sector growth a year or two before the date on which the words are being read by the investor….

Put in your diary on the anniversary of when your business plan was completed so that you go back to it and update it. It may be a little tedious, but it is vital for giving your new venture the best chance of being funded by investors.

Always remember that the investor is a very ‘smart guy’ – they are just like forensic investigators looking for clues and evidence about you, and your, project. Don’t give them any cause to think negatively about your great new business!


In brief: Investors have very specific and high standards. They are kept secret from applicants. It’s no wonder so many applications fail!

Business people can now afford access to a service that checks your business plan against the investors standards. Contact gpcbusinessplans@gmail.com

Investors have very specific, and very high standards that any applicant must meet, or exceed. Sadly, very few business people understand that when they begin to create their new venture that they are like a student who is approaching their final examination.

Except this student…[ You...] doesn’t get told what the syllabus is by the ‘Professor’[ investor].
It’s no wonder so many fail to get their business funded by investors!

How can you succeed when you don’t know what the benchmarks and standards are? From the start, the odds are stacked against hardworking people like you.

In my last 12 years in the ‘Money Business’ I have seen a small percentage of applicants being rewarded for their hard work, money and commitment to their new business. Someone in the Venture Capital industry once suggested that only a few % of applications are successful.

I can believe that. It fits with my experience.

As things were before the launch of our new service, the vast majority of people like you who are looking for funding will not succeed in securing investor funding. All the hard work, energy, creative brilliance that you have invested will bring you only heartache and despair… But that is a failure rate as things are – but we’re convinced that it doesn’t have to be that way!

We accept that we’re somewhat idealistic, but it grieves us that this is the way that things are with the Money Business as it is – and look what it is doing to the world economy!

Wouldn’t it be great if you could have access to those investor standards long before you paid any application fee and had your final examination [due diligence] with the Investor? We are now offering this service, but there’s are barrier for people to feel comfortable about using it.

That barrier is mistrust that has grown with the Internet. The Internet has allowed us to connect with each other socially and for business across gulf created by culture, language and vast distance. The Internet has shrunk the world for all of us. It’s brought great benefits – but it has also created a playground for dubious claims and scams. These people can hide behind fake names and identities.

We see so many people trying to deceive others through making false claims. There are so many scams taking hard-earned money from hardworking people like you who want to improve their lives and bring greater financial security to their families, and development for their communities.

I grew up in my parent’s family business. I come from that sort of family. I come from a family like yours.

Along with other hardworking business people I feel angry and distressed when good people are cheated by these clever schemes. I would feel very upset if anyone might confuse our business with those people – just because we provide our services through the Internet.

The Internet allows us to provide our services in a cost efficient way, to people like you, that live far away from us. Unfortunately, it has also provided new opportunities for those who would cheat, lie and defraud others. What about those of us who are honest? How do we manage to overcome the barriers of suspicion and mistrust? I’m attempting to do this by directly with you today… I believe that most people are smart enough to spot the truth when they see it and hear it.

There are many reasons for those dreadfully low statistics for success. Some of the factors can be affected by business people. I am convinced that some of the responsibility of rests with ethical people in the Money Business.

Let’s have a look at the issues that people like you cannot do anything about:

Over the years, time and time again I have seen flawed business proposals coming forward expecting to go in front of investors. When anyone with my insider knowledge and experience would easily see that the investors will quickly see the same flaws and inevitably reject the file. Tragically, the entrepreneur has often paid a substantial application fee to have their project put in front of an investor. So the applicant loses their money!

After a rejection, the businessman is not told why their application failed – their money has been taken and the applicant has learned nothing useful about how to become successful!

I profoundly disagree with my professional colleagues who don’t care about this situation.

I believe that this is an avoidable tragedy! Some colleagues reflect a cynicism and disinterest in this problem that I abhor. I hate the cynicism of investors that will take application fees, pocket the money [maybe $25,000 or more!] and then reject files with flaws that were easy to see for those with the knowledge.

I understand that they don’t want to enter into an argument over a rejected application, but the entrepreneur then has no clue about why they failed. But then, that’s ‘not the investor’s problem’…is it? Or Is it?

So, let’s have a look at the issues that business people like you CAN do something about:

Business entrepreneurs haven’t had the opportunity to have their plans thoroughly checked for flaws and errors. They have lacked the opportunity to have their business plans checked because that service is usually only available from specialists, like the 4 very big global accounting companies. Unfortunately, these companies’ charges & costs are too high for most business people. They charge between $500 and $1,000 for every hour that they work on your business plan!

Because I have this rare and exclusive insider knowledge and I’m passionate about getting a better deal for small businesses we’re offering 2 services that you might consider:

We can write and fully develop a business plan for you to address the investor’s due diligence framework. That’s a service for the business person who hasn’t any experience in seeking capital from International investors, and hasn’t got a business plan yet.

Secondly, we now offer a Risk Analysis service where we check your business plan against the due diligence criteria. We understand that many business people have already got a business plan by the time you get to this website. However, it’s highly unlikely to have been prepared by someone that has the secret knowledge about the investor’s standards.

So you don’t know if you have a business plan that can give you success… or failure.

So Amanda & I are offering a good, honest service that is built on this rare and exclusive knowledge. You get a full report on all the essential risk areas of your new or expanding business, checked against the International investor’s due diligence standards.

We want to make a quiet, honest living by helping you to succeed. We are also linking-up with other honest people in this sector to create real opportunities for you to create the business and life that you want. We’re confident that you can work out who you can trust…

We have a signed, Non-Disclosure Agreement already for you to download to protect your confidential information. Just look for it on the right hand side of the website page.

If you want to let us know of your needs by emailing us at gpcbusinessplans@gmail.com.

We shall be pleased to attend to your needs at the earliest opportunity.

We’re standing-by to help you and your business be a success.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Yours sincerely,

David & Amanda Reynolds

P.S. If you’re an Finance broker, please contact us if you want to be part of this change. We expect you to do due diligence on us, as we shall on you.


What is your Finance Broker doing ?

In brief:
Finance Brokers can be a great way to be able to find funding for your business. They shall protect your information, help you to bring forward all the essential documents that investor’s require. They should be able to match your enterprise with the needs of one of their investors. They should have done ‘due diligence’ on any investor that they refer you to – for your protection, as well as theirs!

A great many entrepreneurs use the services of a finance broker to help them locate the investment funding their business needs. This can be a very efficient way to access vital capital. Brokers can save you a lot of time and money, if they do their job well. They should also have access to reputable sources of investment funds – which is why you go to them!

Capital funding is often unavoidable in order to acquire the resources necessary to purchase land, plant and equipment for new ventures. Most sizable SME’s [Small and Medium Enterprises] are quite ‘capital intensive’ these days. That is, they need a lot of capital in order to be able to apply the technology and processes that are essential for modern, efficient production in the global economy. Computers and machines provide fantastic speed and efficiency for production. This means that entrepreneurs creating their niche business must locate considerable capital, and private investment is a common path to travel for it.

So what does the finance broker do? Well, if they are professional they shall make sure that [1] your precious business information is safe in their hands. So they will get you to sign a Non Disclosure Agreement that protects your “Commercial, In-confidence” information. Perhaps you have already asked them to sign yours! But not everyone has access to such a legal document. Either way, you want all your plans and secret information to be kept strictly under close control. Because your new business is your ‘ticket’ to success, and all that you have dreamed of, you don’t want someone else to get hold of all the great ideas you have developed…

[2] They shall also check that you have sent them enough information to give any investor confidence in you, and your business proposal. The professional broker will already have ‘one eye’ on the next stages in finding you an investor – the investor’s due diligence. If your project is to be successful, then it has to meet, or exceed, the standards required by investors. [See our articles on this topic available FREE on this website]

[3] If your broker is at the ‘cutting-edge’ of professional practice then they may encourage you to have your business plan and documentation checked to make sure that it shall meet investor due diligence standards. This is a small investment in your financial security, but this can ensure that your business plan has been developed to the standards that international investors demand. With this assurance the broker can have confidence in, and be enthusiastic about, your venture with investors. They shall then have a greater incentive to promote you and your business proposal. Because applications that have been thoroughly professionally checked by those with this exclusive knowledge are more likely to be successful.

[4] A good finance broker has already established a relationship with an investor that is looking for an opportunity just like your project. They shall then try to align your business’ needs with the investment parameters of one [or more] of their portfolio of investors.

[5] If your finance broker is one of the reputable ones, they shall have undertaken due diligence on their funding and investment sources. [Ask them, it's a good question to ask, for your own protection...] Then you can have confidence that they will refer your great project to a genuine source of funding. Obviously, you don’t want to be sent to some investor that is unable to perform, or to some scam. The Broker also has a vested interest in you having a good experience with the investors. They only get paid at the settlement for your funding – when you are successful. But also, they don’t want their reputation tarnished by association with dubious funding sources. Their business depends on your success!

A good, professional broker can be your ‘best friend’ in opening the doors to your financial security and success.


Have you discovered the secret to overcoming procrastination? I have, and it’s quite simple… I came across this great article recently, and it has struck a chord with me. It gave me the motivation and a way to overcome procrastinating. This will get you moving to being more productive instantly!

We are thankful for Denise’s assistance in creating this link. This will take you directly to the key to get you creative immediately!: http://www.businessthrival.com/newsletter/the-secret-to-super-charging-your-growth-in-2012/

Let Denise know what you think of her article…

Warmest regards,
David Reynolds


In Brief:
You’re keen to know the Investor’s terms for a loan. Why they can’t give you specifics, only general guidelines for interest rates, time period and conditions or other ‘terms’. It’s all about their perception of risk.

You’re keen to get a commitment from an investor so you can create the great business you have dreamed of. Often the first thing that entrepreneurs want to know is the ‘terms’ of the investor’s commitment: What interest rate will they charge?; How many years to pay back the loan?; and Can I have an interest free period at the start, so that I can take the pressure off my business’ cash flow?
A great many entrepreneurs fall into this trap and get frustrated when they can’t get a commitment from an investor. What is the reason for this frustration? Genuine investors cannot legally commit themselves to ‘Terms’, because that is only possible after their due diligence.

Worse still, they may be duped by unscrupulous people who offer them a ‘Terms Sheet’ very early in the process. The ‘Terms Sheet can be the ‘bait’ used to catch the inexperienced entrepreneur into committing themselves to a scam that is pretending to be an investor. Don’t fall into the trap!

However, you may be given a Letter of Intent by genuine investors. That has lots of legal clauses that give the investor an escape route from the commitment. The genuine investor MUST protect themselves with a thorough due diligence. This leads to the investor’s risk assessment. The risk assessment dictates the terms you may be offered. The reason is that when it comes to investment it is universally stated that “return follows risk”. Which is to say that the higher the rate of return [interest] the higher the risk of the investment.

When you’re looking to borrow someone else’s money to build your business, you are inviting the lender or investor to rate your business as a “risk” – because the interest rate and terms they want in return for letting you use their money relates to their perception of risk in placing their hard earned cash in your venture.

Whether you like it or not, when you ask someone to invest in your great business you are inviting their judgement of you and your business. This is unavoidable. The investor cannot assess the risk that your business represents until they have completed their due diligence. This critical judgement cannot be done one moment sooner. The reason is that the purpose of due diligence is to discover all the risks, and proof of protection against risks that has been built into the venture.

So be patient. An International Investor can probably give you some guidance about terms, but not a ‘terms sheet’ until after they have discovered the risk, after your plans and arrangements for the business have been scrutinised by due diligence.


Welcome to 2012! We hope that it’s a great year for you and your business. However, to achieve a lot you’re going to have to go against the global trends. We are seeing data and information that suggests that this is a year for the bears – in a Chinese ‘Dragon Year’. However, ‘bear cycles’ bring the best opportunities for developing wealth and financial security – as long as you are smart.

It’s as if the band aids that governments have put on the wounds of 2008 have begun to peel-off. They are revealing much deeper wounds, and more injury to the global finance and banking system than has been seen since the 1929 ‘Great Depression’. Sorry folks, but our prediction is that this is going to be very ‘ugly’ for many years. It shall be ugly in the sense that for those people still thinking that there will be a return to growth on a global scale in the near future are going to be bitterly disappointed. Those in lots of domestic debt will struggle, until they lose their jobs. Then the struggle is over, and they lose their home… This is going to be very painful for too many good people! Otherwise good businesses, including some banks, will struggle to survive. There shall inevitably be good, smart people who will be undone by unforseen circumstances. There’s always some ‘collateral damage’ in such events.

Gen ‘Y’ shall find out that the comfortable assumptions of their life will be at odds with new realities. No matter how much they believe that the world and all it’s goodies is for them, old-fashioned habits such as hard work, thrift and self-discipline are going to be the best skills in the new era. Doing more with less, looking after your assets and networking in your community will be ‘must have’ survival skills. Unfortunately, there’s bound to be much anger and distress as expectations of having more apps, gadgets and travel will suffer.

The ‘baby-boomers’ will see their superannuation and real estate assets declining in value in many countries – especially Australia. This has the most over-valued real estate on the planet right now. It may be a 50% decline. That’s going to be a great challenge for many [understatement!].

For those of us in business there is much to both frighten and excite. The reduction of credit availability will get business owners to look at every method of releasing any capital that is tied-up unnecessarily. Stock and inventory shall contract sharply. ‘Cash is King’ – where you can generate it. If you want a facility from an investor or lender [1] do it soon, before they are unable to make the commitment; [2] pay the debt back as quickly as possible; [3] keep personal expenditure to a minimum; [4] ensure that debt is creating you value, especially keeping cashflow coming-in; [5] pay back the most expensive debt first. It’s also a good idea to make sure that you don’t have your business captive to any dominant debtor or customer. Because if they go under, they shall drag your business down with it…

If your business is in one of those minority of growing economies – some in Africa and Asia, make the most of these ‘golden times’. Use the opportunity well, and position your business to take advantage of the new opportunities opening-up for you.

2012 – it’s going to be a wild ride! Hang-on tight, but keep your eyes open for those amazing opportunities coming past!


In love with a dream? Or, in love with your business?

There are people who are in love with falling in love. They dream of falling in love and being in love. They day-dream of all the fun they shall have, how perfect their partner will be – how she will want to meet all his needs.

Not surprisingly such people have a very different experience with ‘real people’. Because the dream is centred on our own needs, whereas a good, healthy, working relationship can only be sustained where both parties genuinely have their needs met, and at the same time they meet each other’s needs. This requires being attentive to the other person, their change of mood, their struggles. Where one person is focussed mostly on their own desires and needs, the blissful romantic dream soon shatters. When the dream isn’t realised then they move onto another to dream about another fictional partner.

There are people that are in love with the idea of being their ‘own boss’, being master of their own destiny, being a ‘BIG man’ in their community and having lots of money. Business isn’t always like that, it’s a lot of hard work, constantly assessing and reassessing the marketplace, prices, consumer preferences trends and tastes. There are often so many long days [and nights] that there is little time to bask in the feel-good factors.

People that are in love with their business don’t notice the hard work and long hours – because they love it. It gives them a spring in their step and an excitement in every day. They don’t want to be anywhere else. When they are somewhere else [holiday?]– they’re thinking about their business!

They will do everything they can to make and keep their business growing and profitable. They will climb Mt. Everest if that is what it takes to make sure their business is secure. Their eyes are fixed on their goals, and they don’t get discouraged by short-term challenges and setbacks. They keep fighting-on.

The person that’s in love with their business will make sure that what begins as a dream, is successfully born, and nurtured – as a good wife or husband will do with their marriage. So when starting-out they want to know about everything that might block their business from being successful. They want to make it good from the start. If there is a weakness in their plans they want to know so they can address the issue and move ahead. They don’t hide from understanding their business and anything that can stop it being successful. In fact they relish such discoveries, because they love what they are creating so much.

But people that are in love with being in business, they are in love with the feel-good factors of being rich, important and ‘in charge’ of those around them. When problems or weaknesses are uncovered they get angry, and want to ‘shoot the messenger’. They want to pretend that everything is OK. They don’t want anything or anyone to disturb their illusions of success. Sadly, they are the people that fail. They are not in love with their business at all. Their failure uncovers their delusion…

So when the person who is in love with the idea of a business is offered an opportunity to test their plans they may ignore the opportunity. They don’t really want to make a real business a success, they only want the ‘feel-good’ of a dream that stays as their perfect dream, it achieves nothing. They don’t want their business enough to jump over every hurdle, they only want to look and talk like they are in business.

However, the entrepreneur that loves their business is eager to discover more about their business – an offer that costs them nothing is a great gift they grasp with both hands. They want to keep heading for success. They are thrilled to be helped to create the business that they love.

Which sort of person are you? GPC Business Plans offers entrepreneurs the opportunity to have their business plan scrutinised by the standards used by International Investors. If remedial action is required to bring this up-to-standard we can assist. This new service is a low cost investment in ensuring that your new business has the best opportunity to attract capital. Every investor applies the International banking due diligence standards. Don’t risk failure and rejection by investors – take the test today.
Why remain unsure if your business meets the standards? Contact us today at : gpcbusinessplans@gmail.com


I just found a very interesting and challenging audio piece on Ivan Hernandez’s blog here on WordPress. This is the linkhttp://ivanhernandezonline.wordpress.com/2011/07/20/why-you-need-to-fail/
I am new to blogging, so I don’t know if this will work if you click on it, or if you might need to copy it into your browser.

I confess that I was brought up in a culture that rejected failure as an option. However, life has taught me more about the value of learning from failing. It’s painful, but a great teacher – especially when those around you recognise the effort and growth that is happening in you from failing.

The speaker [whose name I am uncertain about, because I was so captivated by his ideas] offers compelling examples of the value of what we may gain from failing, and keep on challenging ourselves enough so that we fail.

I confess to have experienced the numbing impotence of fearing to fail. It leaves me unable to make decisions, in case they are the ‘wrong decisions’. I’ve also learned that doing nothing [waiting until the 'right decision' is clearer] is also a decision. It is often one with disturbing consequences…

If you’re an entrepreneur wanting to build a great business and an even better future for yourself, think about what you may gain by learning from your failures…There are going to be failures – We can’t be ‘right all the time’!


Brief Overview: Your business plan needs to communicate the business to a complete stranger. Make the explanation very clear – be very wary of the assumptions that your culture makes about the way that the ‘world works’.

We are reading a growing number of business plans with our FREE Risk Analysis report. Many entrepreneurs are glad to relieve themselves of the uncertainty about whether there locally developed business plan is adequate for a foreign investor and their due diligence standards.

A common failure has caught my attention. It is easy to leave out critical information that explains the cultural setting of your country, when your story is read by someone in another culture. [Because we understand our local 'world', we assume that everyone else does.]

I live in Australia, a ‘well developed’ country. I have been to Africa many times, and to many countries – for short periods of time. However, I know little about daily life in rural Africa. If I am reading a business plan that is set in rural Africa, I shall need you to carefully explain how your business shall operate and meet all my [developed world concerns, as an investor] in order for me to have confidence that your business is practical and accurately costed. If the investor doesn’t understand all the details of how you are going to manage the business, they are not going to invest.

To take an example, let’s say that you want to process gold from ore from local mines in Africa. Your potential investor, lives in a country where the electricity grid is reliable 99.99% delivering power any time of the day, any day, of any year. Most of Africa has countries where this reliability is not achievable. The local business people have learned that in order to have reliable production that they need to link into more than one power grid! Or provide there own electricity. This explains the need for additional engineering and equipment for the plant. If you don’t explain the unreliable state of the power grid, the additional costs are a mystery to the investor. They shall probably think that you’re adding costs to the project in order to take that money for yourself… That IS how they think. Investors are rarely empathis, they are usually very suspicious.

Read your business concept from the perspective of someone who knows NOTHING about your society or culture. It is very easy to overlook what is ‘obvious’ to you…

Explain yourself, and your context clearly, because your ‘audience’ does not live where you do… If your opportunity isn’t clear, or confusing, then the investor will fund a business that they do understand.


In brief:
A cashflow forecast is a ‘must have’ for every start-up proposal. The money flows through your business are like life-blood to the enterprise. Predicting the in and out flows of money is essential to its survival. Creating and adjusting strategies for constantly changing trading conditions is unavoidable and necessary for financial survival!

You are probably already a ‘champion’ at your trade skill or type of business, but as you prepare for making your new venture, or greatly expanding your existing business you shall have to acquire more capital, from a finance source. Now you shall hear a term that you may have thought was reserved for Accountants – a Cash flow Forecast.

What is it? It’s a forecast of all the income and expenditure for your business. So it is a well-educated guess [of sorts] an estimate of what money shall flow into and out of the business as it is developed. Just as significantly, it’s also attempting to predict when these inflows & outflows shall occur.

I have written earlier about the necessity of developing a ‘drawdown schedule’ of expenditure for your project. Well, you take the drawdown schedule, as well as your best estimate of when sales and revenue start coming into the cash register – put them together on a timeline and you will have most of the cash flow forecast done.

You may well have a business that is very profitable on an annual basis, but if you’re engaged in a business that sells crops, then the business’ cash flow will be profoundly affected by the long growing period [no cash flow] followed by post-harvest sales of the crop [large cash inflow]. In such a case it is essential to find solutions to the lack of money during the time while you’re waiting to have a crop to sell.

It is vital for any business to understand the inflow and outflow patterns of the business. Even a trading house will have seasonal factors working for, and against, the operations as measured in the bank account. A well-developed cash flow forecast will tell you when you may need access to loan funds, or additional capital, to keep staff and operations going. This also reminds you not to spend the bank balance when the good times come along! Planning for the predictable fluctuations, of even the most profitable business makes a cash flow forecast essential.

When you’re putting this together make sure that you extend the period covered out to 3 years. Anything longer than that is just guesswork. As the actual numbers come in, the cashflow forecast must be constantly updated to ensure that the assumptions you used at the beginning were, or were not, valid. Adjustments of strategy are vital to keeping the business moving in the direction of profitability. Monthly updates are a good idea at the beginning when the business is getting established.

As you get settled into running your business you will find yourself becoming more and more fascinated by the cashflow forecasts – and finding new strategies for keeping your business growing and profitable.


I want to widen the conversation about business & work. As I’ve posted earlier, my CV has far more than details of work and skills achieved. My CV includes being active in addressing important social, environmental and health needs in my community. This ‘work’ [in my view this is real work] is significant for me, and for the outcomes that improve other’s lives.

My life has to be about more than money, and what I want for myself – because I am connected to you – wherever you are by virtue of our shared humanity, and by the living planet that we share. I have been gifted certain talents and abilities not just for myself, but to use for the sake of others as well. These are foundational philosophical and Christian values that have real meaning for me.

Example no.1 – We lived in an area where human waste was not kept separate from the play areas for children. Yes, such appalling situations exist in Western societies these days because of politics!

The liquid waste from septic tanks would become mixed with surface water in our wet season. Families would have human excrement rising-up inside their houses. So the adults would pump the excess liquid into the streets and backyards where children played. The adults shifted the problem out of their houses, to somewhere else [their backyards and the street]. Unfortunately, children’s hands go into mouths from contaminated soil. When this happens you soon have kids screaming in pain, being rushed off to hospital!

Fifteen years earlier prominent local councillors had tried to change the human waste management system, but hadn’t linked it to the danger to children’s health. They failed to move the politicians. They gave up after years of effort.

However, six months before a state election I began a media campaign to highlight the problem. I told the story about the human waste management – but from the perspective of the life threatening sickness and the cycle of infection for children. I managed to get the leading candidates to both agree to change the waste management system if they won the seat in Parliament. In this way it didn’t matter to me who won! The winner DID get these significant changes made. Now the children play safely in winter and don’t get dangerously sick. Hundreds of children can now play safely in their backyards and in the parks and playgrounds.

Amanda and I want to help improve human lives through all of our activities. We would love to help you if we can.