Whether you are a solo entrepreneur, small business or you are undertaking a new project, a business plan is crucial to your success. It’s a well-known axiom that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail, and yet entrepreneurs who don’t plan get distracted and fail to meet their short and long-term goals.

It is a sad fact but over 85% of all businesses fail within 5 years. The main reason these businesses fail is because they don’t prepare a business plan.

Why People Mistakenly Think They DON’T Need A Plan

Many people think that putting a plan together is a pointless task that will take up too much of their time and money – especially if they don’t have the skills to develop one. Many people also think there is no point in having a business plan because it will become redundant very quickly and have to be redone and updated continually.

BUT not having a plan has serious consequences, such as:

• It significantly reduces your chances of getting funding.
• Your idea won’t launch or you won’t be able to effectively expand.
• Someone else with the same idea will launch and grow before you.
• You will end up with a poor business strategy and substandard market testing.
• You won’t have an immediate daily plan or any way of identifying your overall goals and tasks.
• You may spend your time and money unwisely.
• You will have unrealistic expectations.
• There will be no way to manage your fears and doubts.

NO BUSINESS PLAN > NO GAMEPLAN > NO FOCUS > CONSTANT DISTRACTIONS > PUTTING OUT OF FIRES

Make Your Efforts Effortless

Your business plan is your road map for your entire business. From marketing, to operations, to financials, your plan enables you to evaluate where you are and where you want to be. It creates a long-term strategy for your business, while alleviating the stress and headaches of operating on day to day

Benefits of a Business Plan:

• Enables you to transform your great idea into a plausible business.
• Gives you the knowledge you need to run your business.
• Helps you focus.
• Get the attention of investors or attract capital.
• Specify your goals and see how you will get there.
• Quickly and effectively communicate your vision for a new venture.
• Gives you confidence, a sense of commitment and helps you take your business seriously.
• Defines and organizes your business.

Developing and implementing a business plan will allow you to have a clear vision from all angles of where you want to be in your business. To “Plan Your Plan” you will need to:

• Determine Your Objectives
• Establish Your Financing Goals
• Decide How You Will Use Your Plan
• Assess Your Potential

When you are in the right market, with the right product or service, at the right time and with the right plan you are the path to success. A business plan enable you to focus on the correct priorities, have the right team and the right connections.

You will be glad you took the time to make a document that will not just help you serve your clients and make a living more easily, but it will also help you stay focused on your business goals for years to come.

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1. Get Clear About Your Vision

To get clear about your vision, spend time dreaming about your business and write it down. Doing so will increase your odds of success by as much as 80%! Visualize what your business will look like 3-5 years from now, and it will help you make decisions differently along the way. The clearer you are about your vision, the more likely it is to happen. Be honest and realistic and let your ideas flow! Let your vision be an inspiring statement of what you intend to become and to achieve in the future!

Is your perception about where you are going realistic? Are you interpreting the economic conditions correctly? Your business vision not only describes your dream, but it is also the foundation upon which you base all of your business goals. Your business vision incorporates elements of your financial goals, the relationships you want with your clients, and the core aspects that create your business success strategy.

2. Pay Attention to The ‘Business of Business’

• Choose a Business Name
• Find a lawyer to protect your business and your brand
• Hire a CPA or financial coach to advise you on financials and record keeping
• Set up a database of your prospects and clients. This is your list.

3. Get Noticed: Marketing and Promoting

Marketing

Get clear about your offer and how you will communicate it to your prospective clients. Then your marketing efforts will be far more targeted and effective right from the start.

Draft a one-year marketing campaign that includes the following areas.

• Brand identity: do this first so you narrow your focus onto your target market and so you can be clear about how to communicate your offer effectively
• Content: you will need attention-grabbing, persuasive content for your website, blog, social networking sites, email campaigns and promotional products
• Web design: blog and/or website, logo and banner that express your brand

Promoting

Consider what will stimulate your prospective clients to take action towards a buying decision.

• Business cards: Does your business card stink?How can you make it memorable and interesting to ensure it doesn’t get thrown in the trash as soon as the person walks away!

• Use a professional photo on all of your marketing material
• Consider relevant methods of advertising (online and offline)
• Use social networking sites to your advantage
• Promotional marketing – webinars, freebies, forums, contests, coupons, free samples.

4. Pay Attention To Sales

Are you afraid to sell? It seems that even though we all know we need to “sell” our products and services, many of us feel fearful or anxious about actually doing so.

The trick is to know the source of your fear and take action to address it. Here are some hints:

• Find enthusiasm for what you offer
• Realize you are solving a BIG problem for your target market, and are doing them a favor by bringing your products or services to their attention. Don’t hide! You are doing them a disservice otherwise.
• Shift your perspective from ‘selling’ to ‘earning a living through sharing your passion
• Share your business with a few friends first, then gradually expand your circle of sharing
• Have fun with it instead of thinking you have to do it
• Practice, Practice, Practice (it gets easier…)
• Build a list so you can communicate to your clients via email.

5. Do Your Market Research

Market research helps you define and market your offer so you can create a brand identity and communicate effectively to your market.

• Have a marketing plan so you know if your offer is viable
• Know what pain point you solve in the market so you can determine how to solve it?
• Ask yourself: what makes me unique?

6. Your Social Media Strategy

One mistake entrepreneurs make using social media is not linking their profiles together. It helps to have a plan for what you aim to achieve through each of your social media channels. Here are some hints to using social media:

• Avoid participating in too many sites – focus on ones that suit you
• Find out which tools and communities your clients use and sign up.
• To get results you have to do more than just set up an account.
• The point is to connect with people so… ‘Connect with people!’
• The way to grow your influence is to sustain your connections (i.e. keep connecting with people!).

7. Other Things To Think About

• Hidden costs
• Building your website
• Sales
• Marketing and PR (build a press kit)
• Understand your industry and competition
• Pick a legal structure

Product-based Business Checklist Extras:

• Learn everything you need to know about manufacturing
• Build a prototype and find a manufacturer
• Protect your invention

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The Ups And Downs Of New Entrepreneurship

If you’re like many new entrepreneurs, you’ve probably been through all the reasons why it won’t work as well. Starting a business is expensive. I can’t do it alone. I don’t know how to run a business. I’m afraid of selling. Who would want to buy my products and services anyhow?

But now is as good a time as any, right? Otherwise someone might beat you to it. Use the passion you have for your idea to fuel your launch. You don’t have to limit yourself by thinking everything you need to do is “going to be too costly” for you. You can create the resources to do what you want to do.

You can learn how to do everything yourself, or learn enough about it to manage your team efficiently and effectively. Learning how to do it right the first time is an investment in the growth of your business that can really pay off.

Is My Idea Feasible?

Starting a business is a scary prospect for many entrepreneurs. Fear of failure is the biggest obstacle stopping new small businesses from developing. It is easy to be overwhelmed by the notion that you will end up in financial ruin. The best way to put your mind at ease is to conduct a feasibility analysis. This will allow you to assess your own probabilities and risk.

The first rule of a feasibility analysis is to be honest with yourself. The second rule is to assume the worst when you’re dealing with uncertain factors.

Feasibility Checklist. Do you have:

• Technical knowledge
• Industry knowledge
• Management skills
• A 5-year plan
• A willingness to make lifestyle sacrifices

Do Your Research!

You’ll want to research as many aspects of your business as you can think of beforehand. Particularly you will want to research the demand for your product or service. You’ll also want to research your competition to see if you can do better or do different. Finally, you’ll want to get a clear picture of your industry’s demographics so you know who your potential customers are.

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If you’re making any of the following 7 mistakes then reassess what you’re doing and perhaps re-think your plans until you’re clear about the right direction for you.

Mistake #1: You’re Motivated by Money Not Passion

Humanitarian and abolitionist, Harriet Tubman, once said: “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”

It is not enough to want to earn more money or have better material possessions. You must possess a deep desire for what you do. If your business isn’t in alignment with your goals, values and passion, then reconsider your options.

Mistake #2: You Don’t Have a Clear Vision

In business, it is critical to pay attention to what opportunities come your way. If the seminars, speaking engagements and networking opportunities that come your way are not in alignment with your vision, they will take you off course, and your vision will become blurred. Weigh up each opportunity against your vision before saying “yes”. If it is not going to help support your goals then say “no”.

Mistake #3: You Aren’t Ready To Start A Business

The number one top mistake a new business owner makes is starting a business before they are ready.
Starting a business requires good health, being financially stable and knowing your skills, strengths, goals, weaknesses, values, needs and wants.

Being ready also means that you are committed to spend a year or two immersed in the business as well as working on the business. If you aren’t sure if you are ready, hire a business coach with business start-up experience. Their knowledge and support at this time is extremely beneficial.

Mistake #4: You Aren’t Focused

How many projects have you got going on at any one time? Having too many projects one at once, particularly if you do not have a way of managing each of them properly, means that you’re likely to become overwhelmed. Prioritising and managing your time properly will keep you centred and focussed and ensure you’re not spreading yourself too thin.

Starting a new business has a lot of moving parts and there are many opportunities to make mistakes. As a business coach for twelve years, I have witnessed and documented over a hundred different mistakes.. With the right guidance and being armed with quality information, you can avoid making most.

Mistake #5: You Haven’t Done Your Research

Research can be boring and time-consuming but it can be the difference between success and failure. Research helps you determine if there is a need for your product or service and what the overhead costs associated with launching your business will be. You need to know the tools and services you will need to get things off the ground. You will also need to know the challenges faced by other businesses offering similar services.

Mistake #6: You Don’t Have A Business Plan

Business planning isn’t as fun and exciting as just doing things. However, if you don’t have a plan, how do you know if you are doing the right things in the right order to get to the desired result? You don’t. As the quote goes: “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Writing a 2-5 page Mini Business Plan will in the very least ensure your business moves in a forward direction.

Ask Yourself The Following 10 Questions:

1. Why is this a great idea? What steps will I take to execute it?
2. What is the pain in the market?
3. How am I going to remove it?
4. Why am I uniquely qualified?
5. What are my barriers now and possibly in future?
6. What is my market potential?
7. Why am I better?
8. What are the goods/services?
9. How will I minimize risks and get maximum returns for investors?
10. How will I adapt if the market changes or if someone else enters it?

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The central idea behind marketing is the idea that you will create something of value to your clients who, in turn, are willing to pay enough to make the venture worthwhile considering opportunity costs.

If you are new in business then you may not be all that familiar with marketing strategies. While it may seem daunting learning a whole new set of skills, don’t be tempted to get someone else to do it for you. Marketing is the most important thing you can do for your business – especially at the start – because marketing is the pathway to growth. Without it, you remain where you are.

Know Your Customer

The first and probably most important factor is your start-up customers. You want to know who your customers are (also known as demographics) and what they want, in the most objective terms you can manage. What your customers want is especially important to know but also difficult to accurately gauge. Surveys and focus groups can help, but even these can be uncertain. Some things to discover about your customers include whether they’re willing to pay more for higher quality or quantity, what products they’d like to see you carry, how much money they’re willing to spend on your products, how often they want your products or services, and what motivates them do business with you over those of your competitors.

1. Know Your Competitors

Keep track of what your competitors are doing, especially in areas where your business overlaps with theirs. Focus on what they do in comparison to you so that you know what they do better and worse than you. Both can provide you with a useful competitive edge.

2. Get Your Pricing Right

Ask yourself: how much your products and/or services are going to cost your clients. If you understand pricing then you’ll know what you should charge. Take a good look at your range of products and services and their value. Playing the game of lowering your prices below your competitors will only lead to disaster, especially if you try to lower your prices through coupons and discounts. If you discount too much, no one is going to want to pay full price again and there go your profits.

3. Get Good At Publicity

Whatever advertising you do, make sure there’s a way to track the number of people who see your promotions. Do your research so that you know where and how to sell effectively. This may take some trial-and-error but it will be worth your efforts.

4. Hold Yourself Accountable

While your new business idea is great and the potential is exciting, the task ahead can sometimes seem daunting so you may procrastinate and find other things to occupy your time. Successful entrepreneurs find ways to be held accountable, whether it’s through membership in a mastermind group or hiring a coach to keep them on track. Do what it takes.

5. Spend Your Time on High-Payoff Tasks

Naturally, in order to stay in business you must continue to bring in revenue. However, many entrepreneurs spend too much time on activities that don’t generate income. Try to delegate or outsource all the tasks that don’t include generating money or building relationships. Then you can use your time to serve your clients. You will find your time for planning, forecasting, marketing, training, and so forth will increase and in turn, your productivity will increase.

6. Prove Benefits/Value And Deliver A Solution

It sounds simple but ask yourself the following question: what am I offering and who am I offering it to? State clearly and quantify 3 or 4 key benefits you provide, and who specifically realizes these benefits.

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