How and Where to Write About Technology in Your Business Plan

Often, a business plan introduces a new technology that requires some explaining.

On one hand, as a reader of business plans for investors, I see way too many business plans that ask a reader to wade neck-deep through technology to get to the business. That’s a great way make your reader run in the other direction! It’s a business plan, not a term paper or thesis. Establish technology as a differentiator, when it is. Tell me about it in relation to its importance to the business. Don’t force me to understand it when I don’t need to.

On the other hand, as a writer, manager, and user of business plans as tools for steering a business, I believe you should discuss your technology in the plan for any business. Even if technology isn’t the driving force of your business or your main differentiator, these days, almost all businesses have to manage technology as part of branding, marketing, and communications.

To the extent that technology matters, I want to see it in the priorities and in specific milestones. Are we developing what we should? Are we using what we should? Are we competitive with tools and process?

Doing Business in China: Lessons from an Expat Entrepreneur

Today, China is without a doubt one of the most exciting places in the world to do business. Despite the recent economic downturn, the market potential is enormous, the entrepreneurial spirit in China is high, and the country is inevitably going to increase its global influence thanks to its economic vitality.

Of course, politicians, business leaders, and the media in the West have all taken notice. When you open the political or business sections of any major newspaper or magazine on any given day, there is a good chance you will find something related to China.

A general conclusion you can draw: China has arrived on center stage, and its economic and geopolitical relations with the West will become a defining, if not the defining, subject of the 21st century.

If you plan on starting an international business or if you are already running your own company and are looking to expand to foreign markets, you should certainly consider how to benefit from China’s enormous potential. Depending on your field of business, there are different challenges to overcome and strategies to employ to run a successful China operation.