Business Plans and Planning

"You've got to be very careful if you don't know where you're going, because you might not get there." - Yogi Berra

“Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–82), U.S. essayist, poet, philosopher.

A successful business plan is one that focuses your thinking, helps you establish a realistic business strategy, improves your operations, and wins for your company the financing and other support it needs.

Written business plans, broadly speaking, are usually put together for either of two purposes: to prepare for a significant event, such as obtaining financing, or to guide the company’s operations for a particular period, usually a year.

Keep in mind, in writing the plan, you’ll invariably take two steps forward and one step back. It’s an uneven path, fraught with unforeseen frustrations and difficulties. Thrashing out those difficulties is a key part of the planning process.

Being in business is a journey, not a destination -- with NO made roads or freeways, despite what some franchisers would have you believe. Every business travels into the uncharted territory of the future. But, no matter how good a driver you may be, how well you know the route, or how quickly you can load and unload the vehicle, if you fail to put fuel in the tank, air in the tires, oil in the engine, water in the radiator, or otherwise adequately maintain and service the vehicle, it will soon grind to a halt.

You'll go nowhere. Sadly, this is the case with most small business owners. They're good drivers -- plumbers, hairdressers, retailers, lawyers, accountants, printers or whatever their trade or profession may be -- but they haven't a clue what's required to maintain and manage their vehicles. So they rarely make it to their chosen destinations.
To complete the journey to your chosen destination you need a suitable business vehicle.

Expert Business Advisors Will Help You Grow Your Business

Expert Business Advisors Will Help You Grow Your Business

Many otherwise talented business owners, especially those who are inexperienced at running a business (they don’t know what they don’t know), call on outside experts only when they have already lost control of their sales, cash flow, profitability… and their dreams..

It is unfortunate that there are still business owners who make the mistake of thinking that the use of a professional business advisor is a troubleshooting exercise that a company undertakes only to manage crisis. This can be a fatal mistake for the business because by the time a company is in crisis it may well be too late for even the best and most qualified of advisors to help.

The fact is professional business advisors should be used when a business is successful because they are third party experts who can insure a business makes the right decisions that lead to continued and heightened profitability.

Professional business advisors should be used to look at issues related to business in a broad perspective. Helped by their expertise and business acumen, as well as by being from outside the company, professional advisors can see things from a point of view which the owner may fail to see them because of the owners deep and passionate involvement in the business. Professional business advisors can often identify fresh ideas and approaches to issues and opportunities and help ownership weigh the pros and cons of each strategy and the situation, again with a fresh perspective.

Professional business advisors should be used to supply resources (and time) which the clients may not be in a position to provide for themselves because they do not have the staff or personal expertise to do so. Usually, the key resource needed is expertise… experience, knowledge, creativity and special skills. Time and people are other resources, which the client might not be able to spare, which can be provided by professional business advisors.

A key aspect of what the professional advisors also bring to their clients is their team of experts, technical advisors with expertise in specific areas. The professional business advisors main personal strength is that they have broad skills in multitude of areas such as marketing; sales; finance; corporate strategy; and human resources but when needed have specialized expert sources they can call on for items like e-commerce; manufacturing processes; IT; and other non-management activities, including compliance with various safety and health regulations, technology application to name a few.

Our point?

Small and medium sized businesses benefit from professional business advisors and there are many advisors who specialize in small to medium sized entrepreneurial businesses who know the challenges business owners face and recognize the cost-value relationships that needs to be created and leveraged. These small business orient advisors become trusted and valued resources because they have only the owner and the business in mind and focus on items that directly improve the bottom line of the company.

So, instead of shying away from hiring professional business advisors, what is required is to identify the right advisor so that the owner and the company can focus on their core activities that will ensure smooth operations and which will ultimately reflect on the profits as well as the overall growth of the company.

Prepared by the Organization for Entrepreneurial Development Editorial Staff

OED is a 501(c)(3) public charity that, through its Local Business Assistance Program, assists business owners identify qualified and Certified experts to assist them with their business needs. Visit OED at www.oedglobal.org

Networking Master

by OED Trustee ERIC W. LEAMAN
Why Network? Study after study has been released showing that owners of small businesses consider networking as THE number one way for new business development.

INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING

The word conjures up all sorts of interesting pictures. Men in recliners smoking cigars and making deals in back rooms. MLM distributors cheering at training sessions and trying to recruit everyone who comes within 3 feet of them when they're done. Even computer wizards doing arcane things behind the scenes to make your Internet connection work.

Networking is about connections. For your purposes in business, it's making connections that bring you customers.

WHAT IS NETWORKING? Networking is cultivating mutually beneficial, give-and-take, win-win relationships.

Networking is the process of developing and nurturing professional contacts to obtain:

1. Referrals

2. Advice

3. Information

4. Support Networking is the ability to relate to and talk to anyone ... anytime ... anywhere, with honesty.

Those who know how to use a network realize:

We are not dependent on each other; nor are we independent of each other ... we are interdependent with each other! The strength ... excitement of networking/networks is that all the people who are part of your network are parts of other networks and their own! Remember ... the "Law of 250" ... Each of us has a sphere of influence of 250 people. (The people who would attend our wedding or funeral). The more people you meet (network) the larger your sphere ... they all have 250 also! A couple of basic working definitions are in order.

Contact A person with whom you have developed, or are developing, an ongoing relationship of trust and mutual respect, SPECIFICALLY REGARDING BUSINESS MATTERS.

To read this complete article & download the complete resource document, visit the OED Community!

How to Beat Business Burnout

Earlier this week we talked about reducing stress in your business. Easier said than done, you may say. Well, the reality is stress, strain, and the all consuming energy placed in to your business can lead  to burn out. When your life's work is tied up in your business though, it pays to work through it.. So how do you avoid it?
Burnout -- and the boredom that results -- constitutes the No. 1 reason small business owners pack it in and either sell out or shut down.
According to market research published in Family Business, burnout is the primary motivator in 50 percent of all business divestitures.

It makes sense. Successful business owners don't just commit themselves to their companies...they become consumed by the quest. Many put in long hours. They neglect their health, families and outside activities; then end up physically ill, emotionally depressed, even divorced.


Ironically, a major cause of burnout is success, achieving a single goal long sought. That's why many owners get restless, discontented, bored.

Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. To beat burnout:

1. Separate work and play...and be sure to take time to play. Make it a household rule not to discuss business after 7:00 P.M. Or make the kitchen or family room and, most definitely, the bedroom a "No Business" zone.

2. Get adequate sleep...no less than six hours a night. Long-term sleep deprivation can distort thinking and reduce productivity. But adequate sleep can enhance stamina and clear-headedness.

3. Devote time to mental regeneration every day. Some business owners meditate, others read the Bible or review inspirational books.

4. Exercise daily, even if its only half an hour of walking while working out a business problem.

5. Have a mission...a sense of purpose. This goes beyond mere objectives. A mission describes (1) what you want to achieve and (2) why you want to achieve it.

6. Believe in what you're doing. There's nothing more exciting or challenging than being a business owner. What you do benefits your customers, your employees and, most of all, your family. Don't lose sight of that.

7. Be organized. Maintain clear objectives and activity plans for the year, quarter, month, week and day.

8. Work smarter...not just harder. An hour of planning can save ten times that in increased productivity. Follow the carpenters rule: Measure twice, cut once.

9. Don't settle into success. Repetition of a successful process or activity can lead to mind-numbing boredom. Take at least one calculated risk each year.

10. Maintain your priorities. Business is important...but not at the expense of health and happiness. Also, remember that it is relationships that give true meaning to what you do.


More great New Year tips to reenergize your business (and yourself), check out the OED Community!

Business Failures – Why do they happen?

Poor management is the largest single cause of business failure.

Year after year, the lack of managerial experience and aptitude has accounted for more than 90 percent of all failures.

Many factors may adversely affect individual firms over which owners have little control. In such cases, the astute manager can often soften the blow or, sometimes, change adversity into an asset. Examples of factors over which the owner has little control are overall poor business conditions, relocation of highways, sudden style changes, the replacement of existing products by new ones, and local labor situations. While these factors may cause some businesses to close, they may represent opportunities for others. A local market place may decline in importance at the same time new shopping centers are developing. Sudden changes in style or the replacement of existing products may bring trouble to certain businesses but open doors for new ones. Adverse employment situations in some areas may be offset by favorable situations in others. Ingenuity in taking advantage of changing consumer desires and technological improvements will always be rewarded.

In the final analysis, it is up to you. Will your management be competent? Will you be able to judge, and then satisfy, your customers' wants? Can you do this accurately and quickly enough to more than compensate for risks due to factors beyond your control? Such accomplishment requires expert management - if you can’t supply, it consult with and hire people who can!

Every year, thousands of businesses fail of every size and variety. But while business failures know no size boundaries, the majority are classified as small businesses.

According to data from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, more than 98 percent of businesses that have filed for bankruptcy since 1980 have been small.

Surveys show that the primary reasons for business failure lie in the following areas:
Inability of management to reach decisions and act on them.
Failure to keep pace with management system.
Reluctance/Inability to seek professional assistance.
Loss of impetus in sales.
Bad personnel relations.
Loss of key personnel.
Lack of staff training.
Inability to cope adequately with competition.
Insufficient working capital or incorrect gearing of capital borrowings.
Growth without adequate capitalization.
Bad budgeting.
Ignoring data on the business's financial position.
Inadequate financial records.
Inefficient control over costs and quality of product.
Under-pricing of goods sold.
Bad customer relations.
Failure to promote and maintain a favorable public image.
Bad relations with suppliers.
Illness of key personnel.
Failure to minimize taxation through tax planning.
Inadequate insurance.
Competition disregarded due to complacency.
Failure to anticipate market trends.
Loose control of liquid assets.
Extending too much credit and bad credit control.
Over-borrowing or using too much credit.
Bad control over receivables.
Loss of control through creditors' demands.

The High Cost of Telephone Interruptions

One of the most difficult aspects of a small business is that customers call [OR STOP IN] constantly and expect you to be instantly accessible. Once they reach you, they expect you to drop everything to deal with their matters. Most business people, feeling they are obliged to respond to their customers, divert themselves from the tasks at hand and acquiesce to the customers' wishes. By the end of the day, you may have had 10 customer calls and have been diverted 10 times from the important matter on which you intended to work. You now have 10 files open on your desk, on each of which you have spent about 15 minutes. It is difficult to create any continuity of thought working this way.

It is estimated that for each interruption you have you lose 2 to 3 minutes of productivity on the matter from which you were diverted. Each time you return from an interruption you must take some time to reintegrate your mind with the original task. You have to answer the question, "Now, where was I?" If you have 10 interruptions a day, you spend 20-30 minutes a day answering that question. This translates to 80 to 120 hours a year in lost time and revenues just trying to find your place.

There is also the issue of your work product. Every business requires analysis, assimilation, problem solving and creativity. The more continuity you have in your thought processes, the better your work product will be. The more pushed you are for time, the more shortcuts you will be forced to take. Therefore, constant interruptions not only cost you time, but quality.

The key to producing more productive work is to understand the difference between accessibility and responsiveness.

Accessibility means the businessperson can be reached whenever the customer wants him/her. Though this is a great comfort and convenience to the customer, it is disruptive for the businessperson. Ultimately it is detrimental to the customer because it will cause the customer's work to take longer and the sum total of the interruptions will erode the integrity of the work product.

Responsiveness means the customer can depend on having a conversation with you in a reasonable period from the time from their call. It means you return calls promptly. Ironically, businesspeople that are highly accessible are often not very responsive. The result of being accessible is that they get so far behind, they don't have time to return calls. This exacerbates the problem because customers learn that the only way to get through to you is to call relentlessly, leading to more interruptions, more delays, etc.

To increase your productivity, you should limit your accessibility and be fastidious in your responsiveness. Contrary to popular belief, though customers want you to be instantly accessible, most do not expect that you will be. They do expect you will respond within a reasonable period of time. That period is within 24 hours (or the same day if possible).

If you have a pager or cell phone, NEVER give the numbers to customers. Your staff are the only people who should have the numbers. If you give the numbers to a customer, that customer will take it as a license to contact you any time he/she pleases (including 4:00 am on a Saturday morning) and will be indignant if you don't answer or return the call within 3 minutes. From the customer's perspective, if you don't answer or call immediately, you are obviously ignoring them, which is a brazen insult. Though it seems like the ultimate in attentive service, giving customers your pager or cell phone number is almost guaranteed to inflame customer relations and cost you your sanity. You may as well just reserve your room at the asylum now.

Common Problems Affecting Personal Productivity

In a large sense, the freedom that attracted the businessperson to the small business environment becomes a major contributor to the productivity challenge. The point of having sought that freedom was to escape the oppressive structure of larger environments. Unfortunately, when the pendulum swings too far in the other direction, the result can be chaos.
Being in a small business exposes a businessperson to a lot more details to be handled in various areas not previously experienced nor anticipated. If your previous life consisted of coming to work, working on specific matters given to you, keeping track of your hours and going home, running your own business is often a real shock.
The first thing that often happens to businesspeople is they get overwhelmed by minutiae. Life becomes one annoying little problem after another with no one to handle them but them.
In addition, there are more little distractions, especially non-”selling” phone calls from friends, family and others, with whom you would not think of having protracted conversations if someone were monitoring your time. Distractions you might have allowed five minutes while you were in a large company suddenly become 30 to 40 minute adventures.
Then there is your computer. Computers have a special magic feature that makes them periodically malfunction, or worse still, function perfectly and give you something completely different from what you wanted. The real sorcery occurs when you attempt to fix the problem. Large blocks of time mysteriously vanish. You start working on the problem at 8:30 AM and when you look up from your monitor fifteen minutes later, it is somehow 10:27 PM.
Learn to prioritize and organize and you WILL overcome this!
 "That some should be rich shows that others may become rich, and hence is just encouragement to industry and enterprise." - Abraham Lincoln