The Business Plan Blog

True Entrepreneurs Know How to Dream

I read an article the other day that made me think of those who are chasing their dreams. Entrepreneurs are people that never cease to amaze me. They seem to have this fire that grows and grows until it consumes everything and everyone around them. Entrepreneurs are people that know how to persist, work, and influence others. The article I read describes a few people that have worked insatiably to achieve their goal. The name of the show is Oprah's Big Give. In the show Oprah Winfrey gives many contestants money to give away to others. The contestants use that money the best way they can. The contestants win by making it through rounds and cuts. In the final round there are three contestants left, two of the three are small business owners.

In the first round contestants were given $4,800 to use to bless the lives of others. The first entrepreneur finalist is Cameron Johnson. Cameron used that money to raise more money for the Denver's Children's Home. While she was doing the she learned of a father who was diagnosed with cancer. With the bread-winner's health failing she decided to step in and give this family a boost. She worked her networks and was able to payoff the entire mortgage on their home with the help of some big investors - Ford Motor Co., the family's bank, and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. She then was able to talk the bank into waiving the interest fees and to complete the paperwork in only four days!

In another round contestants were given $100,000 to use to serve others with. Another final entrepreneur contestant, Stephen Paletta, was the only contestant to meet the challenge. He bought a truckload of consumer electronic gear, visited a poverty stricken neighborhood and went door to door distributing the electronic goods. In the semifinal round of the show Stephen was able to raise $43,000 for a local women's shelter by using his network of family and friends. He was also able to engineer specific help to a family that has a child with cancer by securing rental payments for their apartments for a year, decorating the child’s room in pink and white, and talking four car dealerships into paying for a brand new car.

As I read these stories/accomplishments I wasn't very surprised. For the past few years I have worked as an entrepreneur and have worked with numberless entrepreneurs and all true entrepreneurs have the same thing in common - desire. True entrepreneurs establish a vision that becomes their mission. They become obsessed with making their mission a reality and they'll work through night or talk to everybody they know or don't know just to gather the resources and the help to make their vision become a reality. This entry is dedicated to the true entrepreneurs to those who do not know how to give up; my hat goes off to you. Thank you.

Mentors, Templates to Help You Perfect Your Business Plan

For the last two months I have worked closely with a mentor in writing a business plan for a venture in the developing world. Mentors can make the world of a difference when a business plan is so foreign to you. It was nice to have someone with fresh eyes look it over after I had worked so much on it that it was almost impossible for me to see the flaws. Those fresh views help a ton! Another helpful thing is to have some kind of a template or guide.

]]> There are different things out there to help guide you through the process, but one source that has helped thousands of people are the products that www.business-plan-success.com has produced. They have templates that have proven to help many know what needs to be researched or written in their business plan. For a first time business plan writer this is an extremely helpful tool to make sure that you do not miss some of the key elements in writing a business plan. These templates are like having a mentor lead you and guide towards writing a successful business plan.

A mentor, guide, or templates are phenomenal helps when writing a business plan and are tools that every business plan writer should use.

Econcomic Stimulus Plan To Stimulate Your Business

Well, I think are news feeds are flooding with recession, unemployment, and now the recent economic stimulus plan presented by the White House. To sum up the economic stimulus plan, basically $150 billion for about 117 million American families by spring. The plan will also include $50 billion in tax incentives for business, mostly through faster tax write-offs of investments.

With that said, what would you do with it? I asked three other people and these were the answers they gave me.

1. "I would put it all into paying rent and my debts."

2. "Finish paying off the credit card debt, put the rest in investment. I have no desire to buy luxury goods at this time in my life; and I have a difficult time believing the bases of our economy is dependent upon idiots buying a bunch of crap."

3. Off the top of my head, I think I would invest it."

I thought that it was interesting that 2 of the 3 mentioned paying off debts, meaning they if the economy does take a dive they want to be as far out of debt as possible. The stimulus will be implemented to so that people will spend it and stimulate the economy, but if people hold onto it or just pay-off their debts the stimulus may be a little too late.

Personally, I think a recession is one of the greatest times to do business. I plan on aggressively moving forward to grow my assets. I've seen many people that begin gobbling up stocks, real estate, and starting small business--all because the recession affords them an opportunity to get into the mix. As we move forward and into a possible certainty be sure to take the time and research the different opportunities that are out there.

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Writing a Business Plan: Where to Start

When deciding to write a business plan it's important to decide whether you want a brief or comprehensive business plan. A brief business plan is typically heavy in research and less on writing and can may take about a month (although I did have an acquaintance once do it in one night--definitely not recommended). A comprehensive business plan may take longer and is very thorough. Today I will focus on a comprehensive business plan.

When writing a comprehensive business plan it is important to specifically include the following.

* Clearly defined target audience
* Determine its requirements in relation to the contents and levels of detail
* Map out the plan's structure (contents page)
* Decide on the likely length of the plan
* Identify all the main issues to be addressed.

Another important thing to understand is the big picture, if you can't answer all of the basic points that are typically included in a business plan than it's pivotal to thoroughly do your research. For example if you do not know your competition and what differentiates you from your competition it's important that you take a step back and look at the bigger picture. Take some dedicated time and outline your business plan. This will help you know if there are any major gaps in your business model and business plan.

Writing a business plan can be a dizzying experience, but if you seek help from those with experience it becomes a lot easier. One great place to go is http://www.business-plan-success.com/Features/. Business plan success has official software to help you know where to begin and how to pursue your business dreams. Take if from me, someone who has used it personally.

Things to Consider When Writing Your Business Plan

For most people writing a business plan is a fairly stressful and unfamiliar thing to do. There are so many things to focus on that some find themselves floundering in the information to be presented and their ideas about their business. This is precisely why writing a business plan is so important to any new business. A quality business plan provides a company with a framework to build on and help them to make and reach the goals that will help their business succeed.

I read a great blog post called “Planning A Business Plan” that I though would be helpful in compartmentalizing some of the information you’ll need to prepare in order to write a business plan. The article talked about some of the questions you’ll need to ask yourself before you make your business plan, and made some good points about evaluating where you are headed after your plan is in motion. If you are considering writing a business plan this post would be a good place to help you sort through some ideas before you really dig in, or if you need a little encouragement further down the road.

While writing a business plan can seem overwhelming at first, there are countless resources to assist you in doing so. Business Plan Success is obviously one of the tools I would encourage you to use, but there can also be a lot of useful information at your local library, tips from friends in your field, books, and the internet. If you put some of these resources to work for you I’m sure you’ll find that the task of writing a business plan, which may have once seemed overwhelming, now seems much more manageable.

Why Getting Your Business Plan Reviewed is Important

Mary Schmidt, a "business developer and marketing troubleshooter' (a.k.a. consultant), recently wrote an article where she described some fatal mistakes in a business plan a few University of New Mexico MBA students had helped develop. The mistakes included a poorly developed marketing strategy and a misunderstanding on what venture captialists are looking for in an investment - two common mistakes in business plans. Her comments reminded me of how important it is to have your business plan reviewed by a third party before distributing it to investors.

After you write you business plan (hopefully with Business Plan Success!), show the plan to a few people you trust who are experienced with starting and funding businesses. There are also companies that perform this service for free or for a nominal fee. In any case, having your plan reviewed before sending it out to potential investors is likely to save you a lot of time, money, and headache.

BONUS: On her website, Mary has a One Hour Business Plan" worksheet that you can use to start brainstorming your business plan. It is similar to some of the advice that we include in the User's Guide for Business Plan Success and a great place to start if you're thinking about writing a business plan.

Search for Sample Business Plans

If you're looking for a sample business plan to help you get started on your own, you should check out the Sample Business Plan Search Engine. This is a new website from Business Plan Success that lets users search for sample business plans on webpages all over the internet. It is also a completely free service.

Check it out when you get a chance - www.businessplansearch.com

Starting a Small Business Can Be Great Therapy

The Opportunity Through Entrepreneurship Foundation (OTEF) posted an article about a pilot program for their organization where they helped a group of women staying at a safe house for recovering victims of domestic violence start a new business. According to their website, OTEF is an organization that helps "at-risk youth and adults improve their lives by creating and growing entrepreneurial ventures."

What I found interesting from their pilot program is the effect that the experience had on the participants. From their blog:

What's new is how the women in the program feel about having created something among themselves. In the three months of delivering the progam, I have noticed that only one woman of all the participants has relapsed. The rest have gone from a group of depressed, down-on-their-luck victims to a room full of attractive, vibrant, potential entrepreneurs.
THEY (not me) attribute a lot of their recovery to being involved in the program and being able to create something -- a business.

I've always felt that growing and starting a business can have a positive impact on people mentally. Starting a new business brings about so much satisfaction and growth (as is the case with most things that are difficult and take effort). I was excited to read about what OTEF has been doing and I'm certain that it will be a positive experience for all those involved. I hope that other cities will have similar programs to help people get on their feet.

Visit the OTEF Website to read more about the program.

Is a Business Plan Really a Waste of Time?

Recently, I've read a few articles discussing whether or not writing a business plan is necessary (Guy Kawasaki's article "Is a Business Plan Necessary?", for example). This discussion comes as a result of the Wall Street Journal article "Entrepreneurs: Do Start-ups Really Need Formal Business Plans?" that references a Babson College study claiming that a business plan may not be relevant in the success of the business. Here is a quote from the abstract of the study:

This study examined whether writing a business plan before launching a new venture affects the subsequent performance of the venture. The data set comprised new ventures started by Babson College alums who graduated between 1985 and 2003. The analysis revealed that there was no difference between the performance of new businesses launched with or without written business plans. The findings suggest that unless a would-be entrepreneur needs to raise substantial startup capital from institutional investors or business angels, there is no compelling reason to write a detailed business plan before opening a new business.

While I agree with certain points that are being shared in the blogging community and in newspapers regarding the study, it concerns me that many people will take this article and believe that planning is not necessary to the success of their business. This is a dangerous approach and attitude if you are serious about starting a business.

]]> Completely disregarding the planning process is asking for trouble. If you're not looking for outside funding you might not need as detailed a plan as otherwise, but you still should develop the important parts of your business plan. For example, you should still create a mission statement and set goals for your company. Don't disregard the importance of mapping out pro forma financial statements for five years. You should definitely still research your target market and develop a detailed marketing plan and strategy. These are all important parts of business plans that should not be disregarded in any case.

The study doesn't suggest that no planning is done by those businesses that are successful without a written business plan, but it does suggest that you don't need to actually write your business plan. The main reason why I disagree with this idea is because I don't believe that a goal is a goal until you've written it down, and the real value in writing a business plan isn't describing your management team or what technology you will use. The real value comes from the goals and objectives you set.

One point that I readily agree with is raised by Professor William Bygrave. He explained that many would-be business owners spend too much time planning and not enough time doing. That's definitely the truth in many cases. It's one of the main reasons why we developed the Business Plan Success template - to make this planning process easier so that business owners could finish their business plan and concentrate on running their business quickly. I agree with his advice to get out and "just do it." I disagree with the idea that you should get out and do it without any written planning or direction though.

Don't use the study from Babson College to justify not writing a plan for your business. While many businesses are successful without a formal business plan, I'm willing to bet that there was some sort of planning involved in getting every successful business started.

Business Plan & Marketing Plan Writing Forums Available

Business Plan Success is excited to introduce the Business Plan Success forums. Visitors can use these forums to ask questions on writing a business or marketing plan, starting a business, and other useful topics.

To sign up for an account on the forums, visit http://www.business-plan-blog.com/Forums/ and click on "register".

Get help with your Marketing Plan

Marketing Plan Success has recently expanded its marketing plan writing resource library to include even more information and articles on writing a marketing plan. Here are some examples of the new articles available:

Don't forget to also check out our new article "Coming Soon: Advertising on Toilet Paper"! It's got some great ideas for expanding your marketing reach.

Coming Soon: Advertisements on Toilet Paper

Original Source: Marketing Plan Success.

You can't watch a movie or play a video game without seeing products conveniently placed and advertised. Ads are on TV, websites, inside DVD covers, and even on EGGS! Advertising is everywhere…well, almost everywhere. There are still a few forgotten advertising opportunities that haven't been exploited to their fullest potential yet. If you're looking for some fresh advertising ideas, check out these ones from Marketing Plan Success. If advertising on eggs is acceptable, anything goes.

Parking Spots – They are everywhere and, as of yet, not sponsored. What are companies thinking?!? Supermarkets, stadiums, and malls could make a fortune by selling advertising space in their parking lots. The GAP would surely love to have people read about their Summer Sale as they pull into their parking space.

]]> Fire Trucks & Ambulances – They drive around with their sirens blaring, demanding everyone's attention. Why not put this attention-getting scheme to good use by slapping some ads on the trucks? Could you imagine hearing the siren, turning your head, and seeing a fire truck decked out like the Oscar Meyer Weiner barreling down the street? It's ingenious!

Trash Cans – They're ugly, but everyone has to have one and you see them everywhere. Why not spruce up the curb on trash day by wrapping some advertising around your trash? Instead of ugly black, gray and green cans you could turn your neighborhood into a sea of colorful ads.

The Dentist Office – Dentists have people coming in all day who are forced to stare at the ceiling for hours at a time. Why not give them something to look at? Dentists could sell advertising space by the tile and made loads of cash! Patients would be thrilled because they'd have something to concentrate on besides their root canal.

Dogs – You shell out hundreds of dollars each month to take care of your pets. Why not make them earn their keep? People sell advertising space on their cars. You should do the same with your dog. Imagine how much attention your business would get if a dog was paraded through the city park each day dressed up like your company mascot.

And finally, our #1 forgotten advertising opportunity…

Toilet Paper – Ok, maybe you don't want people cleaning up with your company logo, but it's worth a try. It would definitely be memorable for the user! "Top-of-mind." That's what marketing is all about. Isn't it?

Discover how you can easily create a marketing strategy that works. Download Marketing Plan Success and finish your marketing plan today!

Business Plan Success Releases New Marketing Plan Template

New marketing plan template helps professionals develop comprehensive marketing plans and strategies.

HENDERSON, Nevada –Aug. 23, 2006– Business Plan Success, a leader in business writing solutions, announced today that its new marketing plan template, Marketing Plan Success, is now available for customers at http://www.marketing-plan-success.com. Marketing Plan Success was developed as an affordable solution for professionals who need to quickly develop a marketing plan for their products or services.

Marketing Plan Success is a detailed marketing plan template that assists customers with developing a comprehensive marketing plan, including a situational analysis, competitive analysis, marketing strategy, and marketing budget. The marketing template is linked to an Excel spreadsheet template that helps customers easily develop forecasts, budgets, and other charts and graphs. The templates focus on assisting businesses with developing and implementing a sound marketing strategy.

The marketing template uses a format similar to Business Plan Success’s popular business plan template, but features, such as the click-and-type formatting, improve the functionality of the template. The template package also includes a detailed User’s Guide with over 40 pages of resources, writing tips, and instructions for using the templates. The marketing plan template was developed so that users with little or no marketing background, as well as experienced marketing professionals, are able to easily create a marketing plan.

“When developing Marketing Plan Success, we did extensive research into what customers wanted and needed in a marketing plan and tapped into our experience with creating business writing templates to create a product that customers could get excited about,” product manager Mr. Miles explained. “The initial reaction in market tests has been extremely positive. Customers really love Marketing Plan Success.”

Marketing Plan Success is available for immediate download online at http://www.marketing-plan-success.com/ or http://www.business-plan-success.com for $39.99.

About Business Plan Success:

Business Plan Success is a business writing software company with a focus on developing documents and tools that enable small business owners and professional develop and run successful businesses. Business Plan Success's products have been used by thousands of customers since their introduction in 2002.

Marketing Plan Template Available

Business Plan Success has recently released a new marketing plan template with a lot of cool features. I highly recommend it for anyone who needs to write a marketing plan (which is very important in the business planning process).

For more information, visit www.marketing-plan-success.com.

Including Financial Statements in your Business Plan

When writing a business plan, it is important to include five-year pro forma financial statements. This will give investors a five year estimate of how well your business will do, which will help them determine whether or not the business is viable. In most cases, you should include an Income Statement, Balance Sheet, and Statement of Cash Flows.

If you have experience with these types of accounting statements, you can start off by gathering information. Sometimes it is helpful to use business plan software with financial statements. Using this software will assist you with building these statements.

The Small Business Administration also has articles that can assist you with creating your financial statements.