Fail to plan… or Plan to FAIL??
July 27, 2008
Running a business, whether it be an offline multi-billion dollar company or an online part time home business, they share many similar traits.
One of the biggest obstacles I have endeavored to translate to many, many small business / home business people, is a very simple phrase……’ Treat It Like a REAL business, Because It IS a REAL Business’.
The fundamental reasoning behind so many failures in small business, is the clear lack of willingness to act like a real business. Many people may ‘ have a go ‘, they could ‘ give it a try ‘, or ‘ let’s see what happens ‘ - all with the.. ‘ what have I got to lose? ‘ attitude. THAT, my friends, is one of the biggest secrets to FAILURE.
OK - so let’s assume that your small business / home business / BizOp etc., is NOT you main source of income. It is NOT responsible for putting food in you family’s stomachs, it is NOT what keeps a roof over your head….. it is NOT the sole form of income that you, your family and your Bank Manager rely upon.
Menu Driven Business Planning
June 15, 2008
A menu is the foundation of any restaurant; Guests will support or avoid a restaurant for its food. Starting with a preliminary menu is a simple and basic approach to restaurant development. Begin with a menu, and you are light years ahead in the restaurant development process. A menu will tell you and your Guest what you are trying to be as a business, and greatly enhance your chances for success.
I view a menu for content, image and pricing. Content (the actual items on the menu) will dictate service staffing needs, level of culinary experience and type of management required. Who will be doing the cooking, do they have experience in this type of food, and how much are you paying them?
Image is how the Guest will perceive the menu. Menu image helps define the targeted clientele and which other restaurants this operation would be competing with. Are the content and image of the menu appealing to your desired clientele? Pricing helps determine a potential restaurant’s competitive placement. Is the pricing for the type of food offered competitive with other’s in the market area, and does it permit the ability to manage a profitable food cost? Pricing sets the Guest’s expectations in terms of food and service quality. This perception will, in turn, help define appropriate staffing levels. The budgeting process can now begin. Analysis of menu content, image and pricing will tell prospective restaurant operators whether their concept is appropriate for a certain market area.
Six Key Areas For Evaluating A Strategic Alliance
May 4, 2008
Strategic alliances are increasing at a rapid rate. It is good for business, good for the consumer. A strategic alliance is similar to a joint venture. Everyone remains in his or her own entity, yet come together for a single purpose or period of time to create something that could not otherwise be created.
There are cautions and rightly concerns one must consider before entering into a strategic alliance with other people. For instance, evaluating each partner’s value and capabilities for alliance is mandatory before agreeing to an alliance. The who, what, when, where and whys all need clarification with failsafe boundaries.
There are many considerations when developing a strategic alliance, here are six main areas along with questions that you will want to answer to help you determine your own readiness for an alliance.
1. Assessing contributions. What do you or each partner bring to the alliance? What is each person’s purpose and goals?
2. Agreeing to the terms. This has three parts: (1) area of interest, (2) net benefits, and (3) joint operations. What interest is yours and what is theirs. Strategic interests must be similar and materials or services comparable. Economic interest must have enough benefits for each to remain committed and minimize trade. There must an operational agreement.
Completing the Annual Planning Process
March 22, 2008
Imagine an office without a desk, or lights, a computer, or even something as simple as a chair. When the architects and designers started planning a building or office space they knew they would have to make concessions for these items during each of the building activities. As marketers, we take part in many activities, much like a builder or designer does.
Of these activities, there is one that precludes each of these; the annual planning and budgeting process. One part of planning often gets left out though, measuring the effectiveness of the activities we plan. Yet plans without metrics are like offices without chairs, conference rooms without tables, or buildings without a foundation. Parts of each exist, but there is a major component missing.
Recently surveys have concluded that 55% of business to business marketing executives face the challenge of measuring marketing’s effectiveness. A recent survey conducted by Unica made this statement: “However, survey respondents also said they faced numerous challenges, chief among them measuring marketing effectiveness, which was cited by 55% of respondents.” It was also stated that many executives don’t believe marketing is measurable. And 63% of them don’t consider marketing to be measurable. So it should be no surprise to learn that as many as 57% of marketing plans overlook metrics and that plans are more about counting activities rather than measuring the impact on business outcomes as was determined the fifth Business Readiness Survey conducted by VisionEdge Marketing.
Top Reasons To Form A Strategic Business Alliance
February 9, 2008
A strategic alliance is when two or more businesses join together for a set period of time. The businesses, usually, are not in direct competition, but have similar products or services that are directed toward the same target audience. Below are ten reasons to create a strategic alliance.
1. You could offer your customers a larger variety of products or services. This will allow you to spend less time and money developing new products to sell.
2. Your number of sales people will increase because you’re combining with other business. You won’t have spend to time and money hiring new employees.
3. Your marketing and advertising budget will increase. When you form a strategic alliance with other businesses you both will share the advertising and marketing costs.
4. You can now offer your existing customers more back-end and upsell products. This will increase your sales and profits.
5. Your business will gain a larger number of skilled people working on the same project. You will gain the knowledge of the other businesses employees.
6. You will be able to beat your competition by selling to a larger target audience. You will also increase the total number of existing customers you can sell your products and services to.
How To Prepare A Business Plan That Guarantees Big Profits
December 27, 2007
It is always said “If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail”
Success in business comes as a result of planning. You have to have a detailed, written plan that shows what the ultimate goal is, the reason for the goal, and each milestone that must be passed in order to reach your goal.
A business plan is written definition of, and operational plan for achieving your goal. You need a complete but success tool in order to define your basic product, income objectives and specific operating procedures. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN to attract investors, obtain financing and hold onto the confidence of your creditors, particularly in times of cash flow shortages–in this instance, the amount of money you have on hand compared with the expenses that must be met.
Aside from an overall directional policy for the production, sales effort and profit goals of your product–your basic “travel guide” to business success–the most important purpose your business plan will serve, will be the basis or foundation of any financial proposals you submit. Many entrepreneurs are under the mistaken impression that a business plan is the same as a financial proposal, or that a financial proposal constitutes a business plan. This is just a misunderstanding of the uses of these two separate and different business success aids.
19 Questions to Supercharge Your Business Plan
November 16, 2007
Whether you are seeking capital for your company or are optimizing your business strategy, the most important element - particularly for outside investors - may be your written business plan. You can tune-up and supercharge your plan using this 19-step checklist. When your written plan firmly answers yes to each of these 19 questions, your market/product strategy is in terrific shape plus you increase the odds of attracting investment capital.
If you don’t already have a written business plan - write one! Your business plan is a blueprint for your whole company. It describes in detail your goals, the financial and technical viability of your goals, and the strategy you will use (or are using) to reach those goals. And your business plan is a working tool - it is a yardstick to measure your progress and a compass to keep you on course.
Must a business plan be written?
Yes! A plan which is not written usually has not been thought through fully. And despite what you may have read, it is doubtful that any business ever attracted capital on the back of a napkin.
Planning For The Slow Season Of Your Business To Increase Sales
October 4, 2007
Every business experiences slower periods. For some, they sell more during the Christmas season while others move at a snail pace. Some sell more during the summer and others less. The key is being aware of your seasons and alternatives available to solve the challenge and change the results.
All businesses need down time, breathing room to re-evaluate where we’re going, and where we’ve been. What’s working and what’s not? What changes need to occur and where we want to go in the future?
Have you planned your breathing room time into your calendar year?
As a coach and independent professional, I know by personal experience and through the feedback of my clients, that during the slow times, stress, fears, and challenges on how to pay the bills increases. Sometimes, stress increases without any money factors because we’re not used to having additional time on our hands, so our brain manifests things to fill the void. So, what are the alternatives? Good question. Let’s explore the possibilities…
You can use the “save for a rainy day” philosophy by moving a certain percentage from a regular account to a money market or savings account for those rainy time periods.
Communication Strategy During A Time Of Strategic Planning
August 22, 2007
“Rubbish!” shouted the large, aggressive man in the red-striped shirt (we had to pay attention to him because he owned the company).
“The staff don’t need to be told anything. When we’ve sorted out all the details and have the adverts ready to run, then we’ll tell them. They don’t need to know beforehand, it’ll only stop them working” he went on to loudly proclaim.
It’s hard to ignore the wishes of your client, especially when he’s paying you so well and has browbeaten every other consultant, as well as his management team, into submission.
Yet my experience, again and again, is this:
If you don’t tell them what’s going on, they’ll make it up anyway.
Employees not present at strategic planning offsite meetings aren’t dumb; they’re just not present. They know you’re away (they think probably planning the future of the company, their jobs and their salary cuts), so they will gossip and rumour-monger to their heart’s discontent while you are not ‘minding the store’.
So planning your internal communication is an essential prerequisite to effective and committed implementation of any business strategy. It also goes a long way towards problem minimisation.
How to Achieve E-commerce Success ?You Gotta Plan!
July 11, 2007
Before becoming a netpreneaur, I was an entrepreneur. First, I owned a successful child care center which grew to capacity in less than two years. When I sold that, I bought a little flower shop that had less than 300 customers and grew it to what it is today, one of the most successful, award winning companies in South Florida with more than 7,000 customers who purchase from us on a regular business. To better serve our customers, we took our business to the Internet. We still have a brick and mortar storefront, yet everyday we receive more and more customers via the Internet.
How about you? Do you or did you have a traditional business or professional practice? Is it successful? Unless you were born under the star called "LUCKY," you probably did lots of planning. A business plan, a marketing plan, maybe even a succession plan for what to do with your business when you were through.
You may have heard the statistics that half of all small businesses fail in their first year and of those, only 25% make it through to five years. According to youngbiz.com it can be even less for e-businesses.
