Over the past few months, I have been helping a client develop the business plan for his entrepreneural dream. It has been very enjoyable on my part and sometimes enjoyable on his, largely because I already knew all of the research and data that goes into planning your business and he did not. While the end result will be a plan of about 10 pages, it has taken more than six months to compile enough data to convince investors he has a clue.

This adventure has inspired me to begin an eight week series where we will cover the components of a business plan and how to create a road map for success. The idea being to allow entrepreneurs the opportunity to see a cohesive business plan and have the ability to ask questions, tell about successes and failures or restructure your current plan. While there are many templates online, many for free, I like the simplicity of the plans found on www.bplans.com and will be using portions of their structure as we progress.

Week 1 - The Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is the synopsis of your business plan and should be written at the very end. After all, how can you summarize that which has not been written. In many financing situation your executive summary and financial statements will be the basis for the financier’s decision. The remaining pages support your contention that you have an idea that is viable, marketable and at some point, profitable. While you are not going to write the executive summary until the end, you can still research the other components of the executive summary, which include:

• Vision Statement
• Mission Statement
• Keys to Success

 Vision Statement

The vision statement is where you describe where you see the company going in the future. This is more relevent to existing companies seeking expansion investing, but not a bad idea for start-up businesses to contemplate as they develop their year two and three goals.

Mission Statement

The mission statement describes why you are in business. What were the needs and circumstances that caused you to want to start your business. Here you can include graphs and charts of industry data showing trends and other indicators that make your company relevant to the consumer.

Keys to Success

This will be where you bullet point key factors that will make your business prosper. Information such liquidity, area demographics, economic factors, market conditions, and any other factor that will increase the likelihood of your business’ success.

Summary

If you have never had to do a business plan, these components may seem as though they overlap information and that is a fair summation to an extent. I want you to consider it as weaving a web designed to support your business, so there will be many points where information intersects, but as we draw closer to completion, you will better understand the necessity.

Business Development | No Comments »

One of the first questions I ask business owners is What is Marketing? The typical response is a perfect description of advertising, but the concept and importance of Marketing is usually something that has neither been taught nor researched. Webster’s Online Dictionary (2007) defines "marketing" as the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.

If you have spent any time reading my previous posts you will notice a recurring theme when it comes to business development. That theme is "Marketing is the Key", from product development, inventory analysis, process design, product pricing, and advertising. 

The purpose of this post is to underscore the importance of thinking as a marketer and not just a business owner. Once you are able to put on your "marketers goggles", you will begin to make better decisions on how to best fulfill your customers needs and clearly see how every effort toward that end affects your business.

A marketer understands the marketplace is always changing and customers tastes are as inconsistent as the weather. Therefore, as I mentioned in the previous post, you must always be watching for changes, whether product trends or consumer trends.  

Putting on the marketer goggles also allows you to be more objective when designing ad pieces, stationary, logos and other visual media. You will begin to ask yourself what message does this piece send? Does it allow your target markets to know you have the solution to their needs? Does it speak to the concerns and beliefs of your consumer? Does it brand your company as someone they want to do business with?

Finally, your marketer googles will help you analyze your business practices and processes to determine if every effort is being made in turning out the highest possible quality for your customers. By walking through every process from sales to shipping and receiving, you create a relationship between each stage of the processes and all of those who take part in delivering your finished product.

You will begin to question if your packing material compliments your company’s packaging or if UPS has a consistent enough record to trust your merchandise in their hands. Remember everything involved in your business represents your business and looking at every aspect through your marketers goggles will not only heighten your chances of fulfilling your business goals, but will provide your customers with a product that is inciteful, thoughtful and considerate of their needs. 

Business Development, Process Analysis | No Comments »

It’s good to be back, I have been embroiled in the machinations of business and have not had the time nor brain power to post over the last thirty days. That being said, during my siesta I had the pleasure of reading an article by Robyn Waters that talked about the current paradox in the spending habits of today’s consumer.

Ms. Waters points out how consumers now have moved to buying patterns that are very contradictory in nature. In the same home where you find granite countertops, you find cabinets from Ikea. Once discount stores such as Target have been reborn by having designers like Isaac Mizrahi and Michael Graves bring in a higher end taste for a lower price point. This article re-inforced what I knew as a truism for the past twenty years - the need to watch market trends.

The Internet has introduced the small business to globalization and with that came all of the additional market research necessary to develop a strategy for marketing to new publics. However, we cannot over look the importance of trend watching as strategies are being developed. When investigating a new market or evaluating existing markets, you have to ask yourself what is selling now and why, what are the tastes of the particular consumer and what drives their purchases. 

Ms. Waters also points out many types of paradox, but for our purposes I want to address two - "mass customization" and "social capitalism". 

Mass customization is a growing trend towards the consumer being involved in the development of the products they buy. The success of this concept has been made evident by Toyota with the Scion, Jones Soda with custom labels and flavors, and even the US Postal service who allows you to create you own stamps. As a small business owner, you have to ask yourself if you can get the customer more involved in delivering what they want. Whether you use surveys or feedback forms, the benefit of knowing what the customer wants and allowing them the opportunity to help your company develop it is immeasurable.

Social capitalism is rooted in the concept of businesses taking a more responsible role to society as they offer their products. Just as with mass customizations, there are companies who have embraced this strategy by offering foods with 0 Trans Fats, Organic product offerings and being Earth friendly or "green" companies. This is especially important as competiton for your consumer’s dollars increase. Consumers are now asking what a company stands for, how they treat their employees and how they treat the environment. Consider these factors in your marketing and advertising and you can expect an increase in the efficacy of your strategies.

Finally, there are a few things I wanted to mention to help in your analysis:

1. Read, Read, Read. Know what is going on in your industry, who the movers and shakers are and what they are doing, any pending legislation that may affect how you do business and establish relationships with vendors and suppliers.

2. Make sure you understand everything has a cycle and trends are no different. Do not follow a trend that has hit its peak or you will be faced with slow moving merchandise that will end up being sold at a discount.

3. Know your customer!! Spend time talking to your customers, learn about their lifestyles, interests and where else they spend their money. The information you gain will be invaluable in forecasting trends among your consumers 

If you would like to read the article by Ms. Waters here is a link .

Thought of the Day, Management | No Comments »