Need Capital? Have a solid business plan.
Need Capital? Have a solid business plan.
Planning will lead to deep thinking about companies goals, strategies
One reason people ask if you have a business plan is because they don’t understand your business. You might not care if asked by a stranger, but what if the question came from an employee? You would be surprised how poorly your staff understands why clients keep coming back and buying.
Why Do I Need a Business Plan?
Writing a business plan will help you think through all the scenarios you may face during the course of a current business cycle. For example, you might ask, are we at risk of loosing any major clients? Is one of our market segments facing a financial down-turn? What opportunities are we missing?
It also helps to solidify your thinking on potential process improvements, growth strategies and contingency plans.
The mere act of writing a business plan will give you a great deal of clarity and enhance your ability to talk about your business to others.
Jim Horan, speaker, consultant, and author of “The One Page Business Plan,” says “The strongest evidence of someone’s ability to think is their ability to write. All the in-the-moment spontaneous demands really don’t allow for deep thinking, and when we plan we tend to function the same way. Planning can be a catalyst for deep thinking.”
You need a business plan because everyone in your organization needs a clear image of what your business is all about. Writing a business plan provides a level of intimacy that can only come through thoughtful reflection and analysis. The kind of deep thinking that will help you communicate what your business is and does succinctly and concisely, in a manner that is compelling and makes people sit up and pay attention.
Writing a business plan takes time, thought and energy. It requires focus and commitment. It often requires doing things you don’t like doing, facing realities you don’t want to face, and finding solutions to problems that have no answers.
But there is good news. A business plan can be a wonderful recruiting tool for both employees and customers. You can create leverage with your suppliers and strategies for partnering that will take you and your business to the next level. You have answers to the hard questions whenever they arise, and you can react quickly without making foolish mistakes or loosing opportunities. You are prepared to succeed.
Take four uninterrupted hours in the next week to write a paper about your competitors. Do some research – use the library, magazines, newspapers and the internet. Identify their products and services, list the benefits each of you enjoy and script out answers to the question “Why should I buy from you instead of them?”
You will come up with some of the most energizing and creative ideas you have had in years for launching a new initiative or marketing campaign. You may come up with new products, services or markets. Bottom line, you will uncover more new ways to make money and increase sales than you have had in the past 4 years, all from just 4 hours of thinking and writing.
Components of the Plan
If you do decide to embark on this journey and actually start writing a plan you can use, the first rule it to get something down on paper. Perfection is not the goal, nor do you have time for it. The goal is to stimulate your brain and connect more deeply with your business so you can talk about it more effectively with others.
Here are the critical components you will need to complete.
• An executive summary that describes your history, your products, key clients, market segments and the value you bring to them, your mission, values, and long term goals – and fits on just one page.
• A detailed review of your competition.
• A detailed review of your sales and marketing strategies.
• A detailed review of your products and services and why clients should buy them.
• A detailed description of your organizational structure, departments, and key personnel and the short and long term goals of each.
• A financial history and forecast of future performance.
If you can get your ‘new’ plan 85 percent complete and accurate, you are exactly where you need to be at this point.
Putting the Plan to Work
Now that you have your plan, it’s time to start reaping the benefits. Start by distributing it to everyone on your staff and asking for input on what should be added, removed, or changed. Find out what they like and don’t like, what makes sense and what doesn’t, what they agree with and disagree with. Then make some changes and send it around again. If your staff is looking at the plan and contributing to it, they are thinking about your business in a way they don’t often have opportunity to do.
AB Consulting, Inc. President said, “Companies of all sizes from Fortune 100 firms to mom & pop (stores) have one thing in common, people who are trying to do their best, they just need guidance and direction. Those included in the planning process have ownership of what is expected of them. That is where the business plan has connectivity.”
Your job now is to get your business documented and create a Business Plan to use every day for making decisions and keeping your team focused. Share it with your staff and get them involved in making it come to life.
Look for people that want to take responsibility for certain components of it and give them a chance to lead. You will be surprised at the results.
Need Capital Have a solid business plan - To learn more about this author, visit Larry Mandelberg's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
Clarify Your Purpose with a Business Plan
Planning will lead to deep thinking about companies goals, strategies
One reason people ask if you have a business plan is because they don’t understand your business. You might not care if asked by a stranger, but what if the question came from an employee? You would be surprised how poorly your staff understands why clients keep coming back and buying.
Why Do I Need a Business Plan?
Writing a business plan will help you think through all the scenarios you may face during the course of a current business cycle. For example, you might ask, are we at risk of loosing any major clients? Is one of our market segments facing a financial down-turn? What opportunities are we missing?
It also helps to solidify your thinking on potential process improvements, growth strategies and contingency plans.
The mere act of writing a business plan will give you a great deal of clarity and enhance your ability to talk about your business to others.
Jim Horan, speaker, consultant, and author of “The One Page Business Plan,” says “The strongest evidence of someone’s ability to think is their ability to write. All the in-the-moment spontaneous demands really don’t allow for deep thinking, and when we plan we tend to function the same way. Planning can be a catalyst for deep thinking.”
You need a business plan because everyone in your organization needs a clear image of what your business is all about. Writing a business plan provides a level of intimacy that can only come through thoughtful reflection and analysis. The kind of deep thinking that will help you communicate what your business is and does succinctly and concisely, in a manner that is compelling and makes people sit up and pay attention.
Writing a business plan takes time, thought and energy. It requires focus and commitment. It often requires doing things you don’t like doing, facing realities you don’t want to face, and finding solutions to problems that have no answers.
But there is good news. A business plan can be a wonderful recruiting tool for both employees and customers. You can create leverage with your suppliers and strategies for partnering that will take you and your business to the next level. You have answers to the hard questions whenever they arise, and you can react quickly without making foolish mistakes or loosing opportunities. You are prepared to succeed.
Take four uninterrupted hours in the next week to write a paper about your competitors. Do some research – use the library, magazines, newspapers and the internet. Identify their products and services, list the benefits each of you enjoy and script out answers to the question “Why should I buy from you instead of them?”
You will come up with some of the most energizing and creative ideas you have had in years for launching a new initiative or marketing campaign. You may come up with new products, services or markets. Bottom line, you will uncover more new ways to make money and increase sales than you have had in the past 4 years, all from just 4 hours of thinking and writing.
Components of the Plan
If you do decide to embark on this journey and actually start writing a plan you can use, the first rule it to get something down on paper. Perfection is not the goal, nor do you have time for it. The goal is to stimulate your brain and connect more deeply with your business so you can talk about it more effectively with others.
Here are the critical components you will need to complete.
• An executive summary that describes your history, your products, key clients, market segments and the value you bring to them, your mission, values, and long term goals – and fits on just one page.
• A detailed review of your competition.
• A detailed review of your sales and marketing strategies.
• A detailed review of your products and services and why clients should buy them.
• A detailed description of your organizational structure, departments, and key personnel and the short and long term goals of each.
• A financial history and forecast of future performance.
If you can get your ‘new’ plan 85 percent complete and accurate, you are exactly where you need to be at this point.
Putting the Plan to Work
Now that you have your plan, it’s time to start reaping the benefits. Start by distributing it to everyone on your staff and asking for input on what should be added, removed, or changed. Find out what they like and don’t like, what makes sense and what doesn’t, what they agree with and disagree with. Then make some changes and send it around again. If your staff is looking at the plan and contributing to it, they are thinking about your business in a way they don’t often have opportunity to do.
AB Consulting, Inc. President said, “Companies of all sizes from Fortune 100 firms to mom & pop (stores) have one thing in common, people who are trying to do their best, they just need guidance and direction. Those included in the planning process have ownership of what is expected of them. That is where the business plan has connectivity.”
Your job now is to get your business documented and create a Business Plan to use every day for making decisions and keeping your team focused. Share it with your staff and get them involved in making it come to life.
Look for people that want to take responsibility for certain components of it and give them a chance to lead. You will be surprised at the results.
Need Capital Have a solid business plan - To learn more about this author, visit Larry Mandelberg's Website.
Like this article? Share it with your friends
 | |
 |
No article feedback found. |
| |
Leave Your Feedback |
 | |
| |||
Leanne Hoagland-SmithAre your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website |
|||
David AchesonDavid Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns. David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website |
|||
David BarrDavid Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website |
|||
Anne BarrAnne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website |
|||
Casey GollanCasey Gollan, Business Coaching & Mentoring Programs. Add $1 Million to $10 Million in the next 1 to 3 years. Since 1996 Casey has to added hundreds of millions of dollars to businesses. Watch a free video see client results Business Coaching website. - Visit Casey Gollan's Website |
|||
Kim CastleWith nearly two decades in the advertising and design business, with clients like Domino's Pizza, General Motors, Direct TV, Pedigree, Wolfgang Puck, Higher Octave Music, Hollywood Celebrity Products, Disney, and Paramount, as well as thousands of entrepreneurs around the world define, structure, communicate, and position their business for greater profits, BrandU(R) co-creators Kim Castle and W. Vito Montone discovered that entrepreneurs could experience the same power that big brands command for a fraction of the cost with the world's only process-based results-drive Integral approach to business creation. BrandU(R) is helping entrepreneurs grow with the power of extreme clarity from idea...to brand...to market(TM) and helping one million entrepreneurs become successful and whole so that they can make a difference in the world. Are you one of them? If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank(TM), get started now at http://www.brandu.com. - Visit Kim Castle's Website |
|||
Jeff FosterWebBizIdeas.com is a Minneapolis website design company founded to help people start an internet business by providing them with website, business, and internet resources that help foster the growth of successful online businesses and develop innovative Internet business ideas. We specialize in internet consulting & internet marketing. - Visit Jeff Foster's Website |
|||
Cheryl MatthynssensCheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur. Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well. A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles. She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide- to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being. Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com - Visit Cheryl Matthynssens's Website |
|||
|
To learn more about the Evan Elite Author Program please contact us. | |||
 | |
|  |
Subscribe to Larry's articles
 | |
|
|  |
 | |
|
| |
 | |||||||
|
 | ||
|
||
|
||
 |
||
|
| ||
 |
| Have you written articles that would be of value to entrepreneurs? Become an expert on our site by publishing them! Expose yourself to a wide audience, drive more traffic to your website and get more sales! Click Here for details. |
|
|
 |
| Modeling the Masters: Learn the true secrets behind Walt Disney's business success factors & grow your company! Video produced by Phanta Media |
|
|
 |
"Learn straight from Evan how you can Make a Full Time Income (And More) from a Website"
Click Here To Learn More |
|
|
|
|
Get advice & tips from famous business owners, new articles by entrepreneur experts, my latest website updates, & special sneak peaks at what's to come!
|
|
|
 Email Overload Advice Network More Effectively Law of Attraction in Action New Sales Leadership Paradigm Delegation Workbook |
|
 | ||
 |
Email The Reporters
Press Release Builder | |
 |
Write The PR
Press Release Builder | |
| ||
 | ||||
| ||||
|
| ||||
| ||||
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||
|
Email us your ideas on how to make our website more valuable! Thank you Sharon from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for your suggestions to make the newsletter look like the website and profile younger entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez and Sean Combs!
|
|
|
