The Inventors Guide: Write a Business Plan

Whether you develop your idea yourself or contract with others, you're going to need a business plan. This is a written summary of what you hope to accomplish and how you intend to organize your resources to meet your goals. It includes information on competition and marketing, management and personnel, manufacturing and distribution, pricing and break-even analysis, financing and financial statements, etc.

You can also include copyrights, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property, certification numbers and documents pertaining to ownership, photos, schematics, sketches, blueprints and technical data.

Writing a business plan encourages you to look at the past, present, and future potential of your idea by conducting in-depth research. Financial institutions and potential investors will use the plan to evaluate your idea and determine if it's too risky.

You will have gathered much of this information in the research stage (Do Your Homework), but if you still need facts, visit Industry Canada's Strategis website for information on marketing, industry sectors, export, regulatory environments and more. http://www.strategis.ic.gc.ca/

• How to Write a Business Plan
• Marketing and Distribution