Dorm Dazzlers has chosen to use two books as resources for us to consult as we go through the process of developing our business plan.  These books are The Definitive Business Plan, by Richard Stutely, and Successful Business Planning in 30 Days, by Peter J. Patsula.  We chose these books because they seem to be a step above the other books that we perused.  Several of the other books were page after page of paragraphs that seemed very general and not nearly specific enough to be helpful.  Another book used one business idea throughout the book and used this example to show the different parts of the business plan.  This seemed as though it would be useful if our business was similar to the one they showed, but as it was not, the examples seemed limited and not always applicable.  

Successful Business Planning is full of detailed and specific information, including suggestions and instructions for different areas, such as how to develop a logo, or how to decide which accounting system to use.  The book is well-rounded and fully developed, as it shares information at a deeper level than simply telling the parts necessary in a business plan.  For example, the book states that the marketing plan needs to include a section that points out a problem or unfulfilled need in the marketplace.  The bookt then goes on to explain four separate strategies to use to make sure that this need is identified and expressed to its full potential.  Overall, this book will be extremely useful to guide us through areas of the business plan that we are not familiar with.

The Definitive Business Plan has just as much information as our other book, but is even more in-depth in scope. The book shares examples from the author's business experiences that show the use of the business plan and its components out in the real world environments.  The book also shows the format and content that a business plan should have, which will be helpful for us to base ours off of.

Overall, we think that Successful Business Planning will help up to understand each concept at a level that will not overwhelm us, while The Definitive Business Plan will help us to learn and understand even more about sections and concepts that we are still unsure about.