ANN ARBOR – Registration for the next round of the GLEQ Business Plan Competition opened on February 4. The registration deadline is March 30, but interested entrepreneurs are encouraged to register early.
GLEQ matches participants with business coaches that advise them while they work on their business plan ? early registrants have more time to work with their coach.
Final documents are due on May 15. Companies competing in the New Business Idea category will prepare five-page executive summaries. More established companies will compete in the Emerging Company category and will prepare 12-page business plans. All executive summaries and business plans are evaluated by venture investors that provide participants with feedback and suggestions.
Winners will be announced at the GLEQ awards event on June 11.
Why Write a Business Plan?
It?s a fact – writing a business plan will increase your chances of success.
Scott Shane author of, ?The Illusions of Entrepreneurship ? The Costly Myths that Entrepreneurs, Investors and Policy Makers Live By,? published by the Yale University Press, 2008, reaches this conclusion from by studying the data on entrepreneurship.
Ignoring the myriad of misinformation available on the Internet, Shane investigated studies conducted by academic and government researchers at reputable institutions like the University of Chicago, University of Michigan, U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics. He was looking for data on entrepreneurship that was gathered carefully and precisely to ensure the accuracy of the information.
His conclusion on business plans:
?Despite the somewhat chaotic beginnings of many new businesses, some approaches are more advisable. The data show that writing business plans increases the odds that ventures will undertake other organizing activities and product development, as well as continue in business. Completing a business plan also increases the pace of initiating product development, obtaining inputs, starting marketing, talking to customers and asking for external funds.?
Participate in the next phase of the GLEQ Business Plan Competition and we?ll match you with a seasoned business coach to advise you on your plan and connect you with entrepreneurial education programs throughout Michigan.
To register, click on GLEQ.Org
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