Every few weeks we climb up on our soapbox and rant about business plans that are too wordy, too long, too boring, or all of the above.

It's for your own good.

Too many entrepreneurs are under the impression that a business plan should consist of pages and pages of information that read like they're out of Crime & Punishment. Believe me, they've got it wrong. That's why we couldn't ignore reader Mike's question, on the chance that he'd turn out a 300 page business plan. He asks:

"How much detail should I include in my business plan?"

We say: just the most important ones.

But what's that mean? For starters, keep your business plan simple, and restrict it only to the details an investor needs to get excited about your idea. Anything else is just getting in the way of you getting funding.

The executive summary is one section of the business plan that seems most plagued by entrepreneurs' long-winded ramblings and useless details. Here's a tip: the most critical point you need to convey in the exec sum is 1) the opportunity the market presents, and 2) how your business fits in. In plain terms: state what the problem is, and why your start-up is the solution. Don't include detailed information about your product design or how you plan to franchise your start-up in ten years. Nobody cares (well, except maybe you).

The other section where most business plans seems to lose focus and fall apart is the market research section. That's because it's typically filled with useless figures and statistics. This may be hard to believe, but you don't need pages (and pages) of graphs, charts, and stick figure drawings highlighting every shred of information a Google search turned up for topics only kind-of related to your business. Instead just include a few highly-relevant charts and graphs demonstrating that there's real opportunity. Make sure they're specific to your industry or start-up. And make sure they're up to date. Don't make your investor's head hurt with charts highlighting CD purchasing trends from 1995 if you're trying to start a social networking site for music fans.

If an investor wants more detail—and they may down the road—they'll ask. And if they are seriously interested, they'll perform their own due diligence (which is also why you shouldn't fudge any stats, but that's for another post). Bogging a business plan down—because that's what it is—only hurts your chances of getting funding. Don't believe me? Take it from a professional: VC and investment guru Guy Kawasaki says that a business plan should ideally be no more than 20 pages. For every ten pages over that, you reduce your chances of having your plan read—and of getting funding—by 25%.

Do we have your attention now?