Don’t Expect Certainty

How many sales are you going to make in your first year?

How long's a piece of string?

Let's be clear - everything in your first year in business is a guess at best.

You are brand new to the marketplace and you are a brand new business owner, so it is unlikely that you will have a high level of confidence in any of the numbers you come up with.

So you are handing your business plan over to potential investors with your fingers crossed behind your back.

Not because you don't know what you are doing.

But because you CAN'T know what you are doing.

Many investors will know that your forecasts are 'finger in the air' estimates, so don't let that stop you from putting a number down.

They will instead focus on questions such as your projected costs, how well you have identified and understood your customer base, and how you are planning to launch and scale.

As the conversation progresses, the discussions with them will help you create a clearer picture of the market you are entering and what a realistic number is.

Telling them you are going to create eyewatering sales targets will not wash with many experienced investors who have seen it all before.

But seeing the logic and rationale applied to create the numbers you have come up with will help them determine whether you are really ready for making an impact on the market - and whether their money will be safe in your hands.