Business Plans Cause Entrepreneurial Incest!
I don't know about you, but we're tired of hearing people say, "All you need is a business plan." Unless you're going out to try raise money the last thing you need is a formal business plan. Most business owners are not familiar with the process and implications of a business plan and will lead to what we call “Entrepreneurial Incest”! - - When they get into business, many new entrepreneurs may know their craft, but they don’t necessarily know all the other aspects of running a highly successful business. So they look around at everyone else in their type business and copy it, without understanding whether what they are copying is a viable process for their business. Many times the “copied” process is ineffective, and may have been copied from another source any way. This type of inbreeding of processes is most obvious in marketing, but is not limited to marketing alone.
What you really need is to know where you're going and how you're going to get there. This is where successful business owners spend their time…doing things to move their business forward and make their vision a reality, not spending time formatting pie charts in a formal business plan document.
Battling this type of poor advice for small businesses is why we got into coaching in the first place.
What do we mean by "small?" If you have anywhere from 1-20 employees, we mean you!
The Three Circles:
Every organization is explained by 3 circles. This is how we frame any business issue.
Product/Service
What does your company do? This was easy to answer when you first got into your business, but as time has gone by, you've probably found it more and more difficult to answer this question in 10 seconds or less. Is it easy to explain your business today?
Marketing/Sales
It makes good sense to discuss your product/service in the context of your market. What makes your product/service different from your competition? Who has purchased your product/service in the past? Why do they buy from you and not someone else? How do you get more sales?
Administration
This is all the other "stuff" that goes into running your business. These are all the dirty little secrets no one warned you about when you got into business for yourself. Like having to deal with organizational issues. Setting selling prices. Creating reports to know how your company is doing. How do you keep your finger on the pulse of your business without actually being there every day? What data are you gathering about your business and what reports do you review on a regular basis? How much cash do you need? How is your company doing?
Three-Circle Graphic used by permission of Maximum Value Partners
NEWS
The Secrets of Success Newsletter is a monthly ezine for small business owners who want to achieve personal and financial freedom through their business. Each month we will send you timely and pertinent information on small business topics. Our goal is to "Use the HOW of business to achieve the WHY of the owner". Each newsletter subscriber will receive the ebook “Mega Sales and Marketing written by Dave Dee which contains 104 pages jam packed with interesting and useful marketing tips and tips.
