Great article, Greg! Also, a short quiz to see if you have the right mindset, personality and business idea to be an entrepreneur now is “Future Entrepreneurs Test” at shanelyang.com/2008/07/04/future-enterpreneurs-test/ Hey – great post! My husband is considering opening a pet grooming business, and this is exactly the kind of advice he needs. One thing I would add – be careful in your revenue and customer estimates while overestimating potential costs where possible. Things may still look good on paper, but it`s much harder to make them work in real life. But what I like even more is the spirit that you need a solid business model, otherwise the best-researched plan is futile. Do you have any good questions to add? Please comment on this post. Hopefully, we`ll draw up the final roadmap, get out of our gaping budget hole, and sleep better at night. After all, business is hard enough — even if you know the right questions. They distilled the essence of the business plan. I think it will be a wonderful resource for young entrepreneurs.
My plan is to post a link in my free directory that directs readers here. By reading your message, they may learn that the business plan is more than a tool for fundraising. It`s the tool to figure out how they`re really going to get things done and whether they`re confident they`re committed to the plan. Great job. Many of these questions should be familiar, but don`t be complacent: if the answers come too simply, you probably haven`t given them enough thought lately. I promise you`ll be a greater asset to the company you work for, the business you want to start, or the business you already run. Running and building a business requires a wide range of skills. You need to understand how to lead people, make tough decisions with limited information, and track your finances.
Have an honest conversation with yourself about your abilities and shortcomings. Some skills can be developed, others usually cannot. For example, if you`re not the strongest manager, that doesn`t mean you shouldn`t start your own business, it just means you need to find someone willing to mentor or advise you until you`re able to hire one. With that in mind, you probably shouldn`t start a clothing line if you don`t know anything about retail. Not a swashbuckler? That doesn`t mean you can`t start a great business. Just ask Maryjo Cohen, CEO of National Presto Industries, a versatile manufacturer of kitchen appliances, balls and diapers. For years, Cohen hoarded money and government bonds — 1999, when oceans of cheap money spread, National Presto`s money and securities accounted for 80 percent of his wealth. When stock analysts pressured Cohen to meet her quarterly targets, she told them to get lost. “For all her wealth, Cohen lives with her mother in the three-bedroom poured concrete house in Eau Clair, Wisconsin, where she grew up,” Forbes reported in October 2009. and still needs to upgrade from the Remote Access service for your personal computer. Cohen had the last laugh: as the market was turning, National Presto`s impeccable record allowed him to make timely acquisitions and add equipment (see “National Presto (finally) opens its portfolio”). In the past 12 months, the company has generated $48 million on revenue of $431 million; Since 1999, its share price has doubled to $72 per share, while the S&P 500 has risen only 4%.
This is a good start to a business plan. I like the idea of using it to start the business idea. I would use it as a first pass to start. However, you`ll want to go through a more detailed planning process. Both the planning process and the plan are important. It is not one or the other. In addition, planning is important, execution is important, and flexibility is important. You need to have all three at work in your business to be successful.
For better or worse, you inevitably get what motivates you. If you want recurring revenue, link bonus payments to customer satisfaction forms. If you want to increase mortgage processing fees, don`t ask borrowers for proof of income. Most small businesses start without a business plan. What a mistake. If you use your message, they will have a much better start. Being so much of an entrepreneur is about planning your own trip and deciding that you`re not satisfied with the prescribed paths that others have experienced or traveled. But too often, we catch ourselves thinking about the goal – if we don`t reach our goal, we feel like we`ve failed. Remember that entrepreneurship is all about the journey, not the destination. So ask yourself, if you started this business and it failed because you didn`t reach your destination, would you regret the trip? Business planning is a verb. Let me reiterate that good business planning trumps a good business plan every day.
The heart of a good plan is good planning. Now that you`ve thought about these answers, you`ve probably written a jumble of notes, references, and mini-speeches. It`s certainly not a business plan you can hand over to investors, but it`s a business plan you can execute today. So what are the four questions and why are they important? “Many talented people, even those who have committed murders, go to exhausting lengths not to appear stupid. (For proof, read Paul Allen`s recent autobiography: The Man Has Billions, But Still Long Longs for Respect.) The smarter you are, the more likely it is that your indecision will stem from that fear. A child building a startup can be wrong, fail, and not ashamed: “I`m a kid. What are you waiting for? This is not the case for someone who has an established reputation to protect. This fear of shame is harmful, especially because it is useless. Let go. This is the most important question you need to answer before you do anything else. Looking for a more flexible lifestyle? Do you hope to generate a steady cash flow and not be accountable to anyone? Are there any social impacts or issues you`re trying to address? The answers you`ll find to these questions will help you narrow down the type of business you should start. Agree 100%.
You have to go back and see how you execute even the most basic business plan (and in any economy), and make adjustments based on past experience and new opportunities. A business plan should be a living thing, not a “write it down and forget it” document. Marc Lore, co-founder of Quidsi, the company behind the online sales sites Diapers.com (baby equipment), BeautyBar.com (cosmetics) and Wag.com (pet care), collects amounts of data. To improve customer service at Diapers.com, Lore tracked hourly call and email volumes in relation to the time it took for its customer service representatives to respond (see “Diapers.com Rocks Online Retailing”). He found that there were too few rehearsals available outside office hours— he was essentially giving money. It was these kinds of discoveries that eventually led Amazon.com to buy Quidsi for $545 million in 2010. There are all kinds of trading companies, from humble lifestyle companies to publicly traded giants. The bigger they are, the greater the risk— in dollars, time, reputation and ego. Be honest about how much you think you can digest it without making emotionally charged decisions or developing an ulcer. Greed for greatness led to the tech shipwreck of 2000, but hope and hype are alive. The latest title thief: Pinterest, a social media site where visitors can collect and share images on virtual boards. In nine months, the site attracted 18 million unique visitors per month.
Such an order of magnitude is truly remarkable considering that new users have to go to the trouble of asking for an invitation to start pinning. While Pinterest has yet to demonstrate a viable business model (the site is free), that didn`t stop it from attracting $27 million in venture capital last October. What tasks need to be completed for the first milestone (within 3 months)? What is the next action step for each task? Who is responsible? When will it be ready? If you would like immediate feedback on the sustainability of your company`s long-term growth, please follow the link to our Sustainable Business Growth Health Check. Why it matters: Why does your product or service exist and work? This is a fundamental question for every entrepreneur, regardless of their sector of activity. Being clear about your “why” is an important part of building a brand. Here`s how to answer that question: Nail your “why” before you even begin. Practice explaining your business idea to people you trust, such as consultants, mentors, family and friends. Thank you, thank you, thank you! I stalled because of the business plan and all this helps to simplify it a lot! And when your customers are engaged, they are more loyal to your business. They are more likely to become repeat buyers and support you in good times and bad.
