Picture What You Want- A plan is the roadmap to reaching goal
We often hear that the way to financial freedom is through self-employment, creating your own income stream… When so many leaders say that, becoming a business owner is the way of becoming financially free it is certainly enticing for people to start their own business. Unfortunately many people are just jumping in blind.
It is true that many small businesses do not make it past the first few years, but there is even more truth in he fact that many of them thrive. One of the greatest differences between the businesses that thrive in contrast with the ones that don’t survive the first few years is the soundness of their plans. In this economic climate, jumping in blindly is not an option. As our economy is being rebuilt, new opportunities are presented every day. These opportunities also require new approaches and fresh ideas, which many new and budding business owners can provide. Regrettably, a good idea is not enough to assure success. Investors, from the individual purchasing goods and services for end user consumption, to the large corporations and government entities purchasing for redistribution, everyone is looking for the best bang for their buck.
Every buyer is thinking about Return On Investment so as a supplier you need to be able to answer that. That’s one reason that having a sound business plan is mandatory. Developing a strong business plan forces you to look beyond your great idea. In the process of developing a plan you will need to conduct assessments of everything from the value that your goods or services will bring to consumers, how your offerings match up with the needs of your target market, how your organization differs from the completion and much much more. The strong business plan will also provide the information that is needed to make these client presentations. When you have the opportunity to pitch your services to your dream client, much of the information needed to create an engaging numbers-based presentation will be in your business plan. So all that will be left to do is research your audience and match the presentation to their needs.
Knowing this makes it difficult for me to accept when people say they don’t have or need a business plan. When you don’t have a plan, the question raised is how serious you are about your business. If you jump in blindly, armed with only what you believe is a good idea, how are you to gauge success? Know that you are on target to reaching your goal? Recognize and adjust to changes in the environment?
The key to succeeding in any endeavor is the willingness to put forth every effort necessary to achieve one’s goal. If you don’t have a clear idea of that goal and the steps necessary to reach it you are at risk of always being “three feet from gold”. Just as a savvy architect would not start laying bricks before he has developed the blue prints for a structure, a savvy entrepreneur would not start a business without a business plan. The architect may know exactly what the completed structure should look like, but he still takes the time draw out every last detail, which allows him to plan for every incident and secure access to resources even before they become needed.
While many entrepreneurs report that they do not know how to develop a business plan, that is not enough of a reason to go blindly. In this era of economic rebuilding, there are many resources that are available to help individuals get their businesses started off right. Community organizations such as local Small Business Associations (SBA) and SBA partners such as SCORE, Center for Technology, Enterprise & Development provide free services which include assistance with developing business plans. It is a great shame that many more people are not taking advantage of their services which can substantially increase one’s chances of creating a thriving business.
Taking the time to develop a business plan is a one of the first signs of your commitment to your business. People who take the time to develop a business plan are less likely to back away at the first signs of trouble, because in addition to the investment they have made in the plan, they have gained knowledge which prepares them for dealing with rough patches. From the time we were children we’ve been taught the value of drawing a picture, designing an outline or creating roadmaps to help us visualize our goals, understand the tools we need and see the steps we must take. As adults with much bigger goals it is now even more important that we remember these small lessons learned. From Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling to the 3 year-old’s hand print drawing- They all started with an outline that allowed every last detail to be in its designated place.
<span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”><span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”> </span><span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”> I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
<a href=”http://www.drjudic.com/”>www.DrJudiC.com</a></span
We often hear that the way to financial freedom is through self-employment, creating your own income stream… When so many leaders say that, becoming a business owner is the way of becoming financially free it is certainly enticing for people to start their own business. Unfortunately many people are just jumping in blind.
It is true that many small businesses do not make it past the first few years, but there is even more truth in he fact that many of them thrive. One of the greatest differences between the businesses that thrive in contrast with the ones that don’t survive the first few years is the soundness of their plans. In this economic climate, jumping in blindly is not an option. As our economy is being rebuilt, new opportunities are presented every day. These opportunities also require new approaches and fresh ideas, which many new and budding business owners can provide. Regrettably, a good idea is not enough to assure success. Investors, from the individual purchasing goods and services for end user consumption, to the large corporations and government entities purchasing for redistribution, everyone is looking for the best bang for their buck.
Every buyer is thinking about Return On Investment so as a supplier you need to be able to answer that. That’s one reason that having a sound business plan is mandatory. Developing a strong business plan forces you to look beyond your great idea. In the process of developing a plan you will need to conduct assessments of everything from the value that your goods or services will bring to consumers, how your offerings match up with the needs of your target market, how your organization differs from the completion and much much more. The strong business plan will also provide the information that is needed to make these client presentations. When you have the opportunity to pitch your services to your dream client, much of the information needed to create an engaging numbers-based presentation will be in your business plan. So all that will be left to do is research your audience and match the presentation to their needs.
Knowing this makes it difficult for me to accept when people say they don’t have or need a business plan. When you don’t have a plan, the question raised is how serious you are about your business. If you jump in blindly, armed with only what you believe is a good idea, how are you to gauge success? Know that you are on target to reaching your goal? Recognize and adjust to changes in the environment?
The key to succeeding in any endeavor is the willingness to put forth every effort necessary to achieve one’s goal. If you don’t have a clear idea of that goal and the steps necessary to reach it you are at risk of always being “three feet from gold”. Just as a savvy architect would not start laying bricks before he has developed the blue prints for a structure, a savvy entrepreneur would not start a business without a business plan. The architect may know exactly what the completed structure should look like, but he still takes the time draw out every last detail, which allows him to plan for every incident and secure access to resources even before they become needed.
While many entrepreneurs report that they do not know how to develop a business plan, that is not enough of a reason to go blindly. In this era of economic rebuilding, there are many resources that are available to help individuals get their businesses started off right. Community organizations such as local Small Business Associations (SBA) and SBA partners such as SCORE, Center for Technology, Enterprise & Development provide free services which include assistance with developing business plans. It is a great shame that many more people are not taking advantage of their services which can substantially increase one’s chances of creating a thriving business.
Taking the time to develop a business plan is a one of the first signs of your commitment to your business. People who take the time to develop a business plan are less likely to back away at the first signs of trouble, because in addition to the investment they have made in the plan, they have gained knowledge which prepares them for dealing with rough patches. From the time we were children we’ve been taught the value of drawing a picture, designing an outline or creating roadmaps to help us visualize our goals, understand the tools we need and see the steps we must take. As adults with much bigger goals it is now even more important that we remember these small lessons learned. From Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling to the 3 year-old’s hand print drawing- They all started with an outline that allowed every last detail to be in its designated place.
<span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”><span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”> </span><span style=”font-family: ‘Calligraph421 BT’; font-size: 14pt;”> I’m just saying though…
Dream Big… Live Bigger…
DrJudiC
www.DrJudiC.com
