is very simple or someone has already committed to backing your venture.     Most lenders and investors receive many requests for money every week and they develop a set of criteria that helps them screen proposals. The basic information in a quick plan is usually not enough for them to make a decision. Sad to say, most busy backers will turn down a proposal before they will ask for more information. Potential backers, just like most people, prefer a deluxe version with all the extras to a stripped-down model.     A stripped-down quick plan has these few components:     Quick Plan. The "quick plan" icon appears at the beginning of each chapter containing quick plan components and guides you to the sections youll need.     Customized plan. Of course, you can start with a quick plan and add components from the complete business plan to suit your needs. When deciding what to include and what to exclude, ask yourself:     Which of my statements are the strongest? Which statements do my backers want to see? Note that the Appendices contain blank forms as well as sample business plans for a manufacturing company, a project development and a service business. Meet Antoinette     In an effort to make sense out of the thousands of types of small businesses, I have roughly divided them into five main ones: retail, wholesale, service, manufacturing and project development. All the financial tools I present can be used by all five. However, for the sake of simplicity, I follow one particular retail business-a dress shop. In so doing, I illustrate most of the planning concepts and techniques necessary to understand and raise money for any business.     As you read through the text youll meet Antoinette Gorzak, a friend of mine. Antoinette wants to open a dress shop, and she has allowed me to use her plans and thought processes as an example of a complete and well-prepared business plan for a retail store. Youll find parts of her plan presented in different chapters as we discuss the various components of a complete business plan. Getting Started     Before you sit down to write your plan, youll want to gather together these essentials:     a word processor or typewriter   Now, heres a word about revisions and changing your plan. I firmly believe in writing your first thoughts on paper and letting them rest for a day or two. Then you can edit, expand and revise later to get a more perfect statement. In this book, I show examples of Antoinettes writing process. (Im grateful shes such a good sport.)     Most people discover about halfway through writing their plan that they want to change either their assumptions or some of the plan theyve already written. My best advice is this: Complete the plan all the way through on your original set of assumptions. That way you can see the financial impact