Some rules, a template, and some personal thoughts

I have had a few questions about the business plans:
1) When is the business plan submission deadline? It is May 29. All business plans are to be submitted May, 29 NO LATER THAN 4:00 PM.

2) What do we need to hand in? You need to submit 15 hard copies of your business plan, an electronic copy, and all the paper work (non-disclosure and participant agreement if you have not already, and the checklist).

3) When will the winner be chosen? There will be updates during screening and judging, however, the winner will be decided July 18th.

Some other thoughts and rants...

1) I posted a link to some financial templates but after reviewing what is there I realized there is not an income statement. www.uschamber.com/sb/business/tools/downloads/incstmt.xlt. This is a link to a great income statement if you need one.

2) Make sure you are working through your business plan. Trust me, they are more work than you think. When I was writing my first business plan, I underestimated the workload. It ended up that I had to pull 2 all nighters in a row to finish it on time for my small business management class. Please, for your sake, start early.

My rants...
I have been reading, because I believe reading is important. I read everything that I think might be interesting or is recommended to me. Someone suggested I read a series of books called "Rich Dad, Poor Dad". I thought it would be another book that preaches the same thing that I have learned throughout university; most of which I do not agree with (but that is another discussion). These books are insightful, tie up many loose ends and answer a majority of the questions that were brought about by my university education.
One thing I found interesting in this book is the author, Robert Kiyosaki, said he asks people trying to start a small business, "can you make a better hamburger than McDonald's?" The answer is obviously yes. It doesn't take much to make a better tasting, healthier burger than a fast food restaurant. It would probably also be less expensive. So why then have they sold billions and billions of hamburgers. It is not the product...It is the system. And, it is not just one system, it is a system of systems. The way all the people helping you say, "Welcome to McDonald's", their logistic system, and most of all, their locations (if you look around, McDonald's has some of the best, most expensive, high traffic locations in the world. A prime example of this is the McDonald's in Edmonton at 6104 109 Street NW. I don't know how they did it, but they built it in the middle of an intersection. I'm not joking, its right in the middle of 2 main roads...They built an intersection around it.) are all different systems. Kiyosaki's message was this: Items, gadgets, widgets, toys, computers, etc. are imitable. Too many times I have heard, "nobody else has this" or, "it is the best product ever and everyone needs one". NO! not everyone needs one otherwise they would already have it. They clearly do not know they want it yet. However, if you can build a system that your business feeds off of, that system can be your advantage. Also, with this system you will be working on your business, and it is more likely that you will not have to spend as much time working in your business. That little word is a huge difference. It could give you more free time and increasing your chances of financial freedom.
I know the stigma surrounding these financial self-help books. However, my philosophy is: knowledge is power. The more you know, the better your chances are of succeeding. So instead of judging, read.

A Final Thought
I was listening to a conversation between 2 people at the university the other day. (I know, its rude it eavesdrop, but I couldn't help it, they were being loud.) I was interested in what they were saying, not because I agreed with it, but because I thought it was incredibly shallow. The two were discussing one of their classmates who seemed to disagree with everything their professor said and seemed to voice his/her opinion way to much. My question to them would be: is it wrong or bad to question what people tell you even if they are "experts"? I think the answer should be no. If nobody did, we would never have anything new.
On the other side of that coin, when you do question and do something new, people will outcast and ridicule you. Change always causes doubt in others. Remember the Theory of Relativity, Gravity, the Sun being the center of the solar system, Evolution, even Physics. Ideas we now consider natural laws, once created such a stir that many of the "inventors" of these ideas, were placed under house arrest or excommunicated from the Catholic Church.
I suppose my final word would be don't judge, keep an open mind, think outside the box, and do not take the words of a cynical to heart. Listen to cynics, learn from them, question them, but don't let their words defeat you.