Keep your Business Plan Current

One of the wisest things I've done (yet) as an entrepreneur is keep my business plan completely up-to-date. There is a sentence toward the front that says "This business plan was prepared for you on //today's date//" so that I always know when it was last updated. About once a month, I go through it and update it. The strategy, funding required, financials, etc. are always completely current.

Some people think you only need a business plan when you're raising money, but I have found it useful for dozens of purposes. When I am applying for a grant, it's easy to cut and paste from my business plan. If I see a business plan competition I want to enter, I just submit my (always current) plan. If there's someone I want to attract to the company as an Advisor or Board member, I send him my business plan. If I want to submit myself for an award, or if someone wants to submit me, all the information needed for that award application is in my business plan.

It only takes a few minutes to update it if I do it frequently enough. And when a potential investor DOES come along, it looks smart and professional to be able to shoot him your business plan immediately.