[MsNadi]

Basic question: what tone and voice should be used when writing a business plan? First person (I, we), third person (they or >Company name<)??

[CrushedGrape]

We did ours in third person and that seems to be the pretty accepted way. If you think about it, it's a better tone for the reader - e.g "Company XYZ are planning to introduce secured loans", as opposed to "We are planning to introduce secured loans"

Third person seems to "relate more" to the targetted reader. There's a UK site called businesslink which talks a bit about it

Good Luck

[akula]

First person perspective works best

What's offered in the business plan is an opportunity to invest in a person NOT a business.

This personality (the thing being invested in) has to shine through to make an impact

[akula]

Originally Posted by CrushedGrape

We did ours in third person and that seems to be the pretty accepted way. If you think about it, it's a better tone for the reader - e.g "Company XYZ are planning to introduce secured loans", as opposed to "We are planning to introduce secured loans"

Third person seems to "relate more" to the targetted reader. There's a UK site called businesslink which talks a bit about it

Good Luck

yes, the standard is wrong. the evidence is the fate of the average business plan (rubbish bin).

in startup investment scenarios - a business plan is basically a job application made by the entrepreneur to his potential shareholders.

that's why 1st person is best

[NeeJam]

I kinda have to agree with akula on this one(people don't bashme for doing so the guy's right). Why? Well in my opinion if you decide to show it to someone i.e a bank/investor/venture capitalist or even your family or friends then i think you don't need the ''Company XYZ plans to do this'' you want more on the lines of ''We are planning on doing this...'' as it is better.

However, i think that not all parts of it should be in third person but for this exapmle i will use CrushedGrape's example because its already there, already been read and well even though there are other areas to use third person this one is well there. This is shown by CrushedGrape's post quoted here :-

"Company XYZ are planning to introduce secured loans", as opposed to "We are planning to introduce secured loans"

Third person seems to "relate more" to the targetted reader

I do agree with both sides from akula and crushedgrape which you should have realised if you haven't well you have now lol. But i don't agree with the point that third person relates more as this is a yes and no quesiton becuase it does sometimes and not other times and the same from akula's point of view as well. So in my opinion you can either use one(1st or 3rd) or you can use a mixture(my preference).

Hope this helps

[MsNadi]

HAHA..."you can use either or you can use a mixture".

I actually think using a mixture would sound disjointed and sloppy. My worst fear would be presenting someone with a proposal for $100K and having someone wonder "did they proofread this".

Honestly - prior to this post, we were writing in 3rd person, thinking that first person was too personal, relaxed and did not convey the business in a professional light. Now that I"ve read some comments, I can understand the argument(s) in favor of 1st person dialogue. And it's for the reason's you folks just mentioned:

WHen it really comes down to it, it's not about your business - it's about you. Ideas are a dime a dozen. The ability to carry them out is not.

[CrushedGrape]

Mmmmm....disagree a bit Akula.

I don't think investors are just investing in a person, I think it's more like them investing in a business and the person at the helm is sort of part of that business.

I still think it should be "Company XYZ plans to take the world by storm" rather than "I/We plan to take the world by storm"

[jdoc]

I sympathize with Akula's argument but don't believe it works well for what most businesses are - team efforts. I've written business plan in the third person perspective, but at times use 'we' and 'our' to denote the entire team that is starting the company. I would never use 'I' in a business plan, even if at the moment I'm the only person in the startup.

[MsNadi]

So "we" and "our" huh?

I like the idea of it sounding more personal and it provides the business with its own persona - but I wonder if some view the 1st person plural as too informal.