Behind every successful business is a solid, well-researched business plan. Such a plan is exactly what participants in this year’s HBS Business Plan Contest are aiming to deliver by the contest deadline this coming April. The student’s goal is to present a clear vision, identify their competitive advantage, highlight their value-add to the customer, and lay out a convincing action plan that will capture the attention and dollars of the ever-critical investor. Gathering the enormous amount of detailed information that investors expect in a well-prepared business plan however, can be a daunting task for any budding entrepreneur.
If the entrepreneur is attempting to a launch an entirely new or unique idea, rather than simply improve on an existing business model, they will likely not encounter streams of data and several competitors with which they can compare and contrast themselves to. Therefore, knowing the best research tools available to access the necessary information is of fundamental importance to any aspiring entrepreneur.
Unlike most entrepreneurs who are constrained by extremely tight budgets, students at HBS can take advantage of all the resources already supplied at Baker Library, which conveniently, they have already paid for. This allows them to research and investigate their business idea while simultaneously maximizing their budget.
While some students are already familiar with Baker’s resources, many others have yet to discover the rich resources available to them. We suggest strongly that any and all entrepreneurs-in-the-making attend one of our Business Plan Contest Help Sessions on Thursday February 6th or Thursday, February 13th, to make sure you have all the best information to create your winning business plan.
Supporting Your Plan with Research: Baker HELP Session
Thursday, Feb. 6, 4-5 PM Hawes 202
Thursday, Feb. 13, 3-4 PM Hawes 202 (repeat)
We recommend one brings a laptop to the session and any questions can be directed to plin@hbs.edu or answered directly at the Baker Business Plan Web Site: //www.library.hbs.edu/hbs/businessplan.
Best of Luck to all contestants!
