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Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad May 20, 2006 Marketing Today The Business plan, part 1 Anthony Hernandez Each of my past nine articles has been building up to this point: creating your business plan. Most people think of business plans as something that new businesses do; however, there is nothing preventing any business from creating a business plan. In fact, if you own an established business that is not currently following an up-to-date business plan, then it would behoove you to write one up. After all, the business that fails to plan, plans to fail. I strongly suggest purchasing business plan software unless you are skilled at writing business plans and/or have a qualified person helping you. My personal favorite is Business Plan Pro by Palo Alto Software, Inc., which is located in Eugene. The time and hassle savings are well worth the nominal cost. Begin your business plan by outlining your goals, your “victory conditions.” Achieve these victory conditions and you’ll be able to call yourself a definition. Remember to always think in terms of yourself and the lifestyle you want to have. Your business’s one overarching goal is to contribute to your life, never the other way around. Describe how you will achieve those conditions in terms of the company’s driving principles or mission. Finish your introduction by listing the conditions that your business must have in order to succeed. This could include parking, licenses or certifications, location, employees, anything. Next, talk about your company. Who owns it? How is it structured (sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, etc.)? If there is more than one owner, who owns what percentage? How much will it cost to start up (and aren’t you glad you figured out how to get up and running with the least possible expense)? What exact products and services are you selling? Where do you get these items? Do you manufacture them or order them from manufacturers, distributors, or wholesalers? What mix of products and services do you offer and why? Do any special risks exist in your supply chain (such as if you’re heavily dependent on an individual artisan for some of your core offerings)? What ideas do you have for expansion? Who exactly will buy what you sell and why? How do your ideal customers break down into tight groups that you can easily nanocast to? Why did you select these target groups? What is the current and projected future status of these groups? Each group of customers is called a “segment.” What segment(s) does your business target? Why are these groups important? How many people are there in each segment and what percentage of each do you think you can capture? Why? Who are your competitors? What about potential allies or fusion marketing partners? How many similar businesses are operating in your market space (physical or virtual)? How do they sell their wares? To whom do they sell? How much business do they do? How stable are they? What are their competitive advantages vis-à-vis your own offerings? What makes your business special and why? These are just a few of the many topics you’ll need to cover in your business plan. Now do you see why it’s taken me so long to reach this point? If you’ve been following along since the beginning, then you should have most of these questions answered or at least know where to find the answers. Part of this exercise involves taking research that’s been very “you” based (your goals, your dreams, your life’s mission) and translating it into a document that banks, investors, and others can read and understand. Translating your business plan into a seemingly straitjacketed format accomplishes two goals: First, as mentioned, banks and others can read and understand what you’re up to, which will help immeasurably when seeking funding, leasing a location, working with professional advisors, and much more. It also helps you organize all of your research and see it in a totally different light, which can help you spot weaknesses before you commit to expending large sums of money or time. We’ll continue discussing business plans next week. Help me celebrate my birthday at the Mobius on Saturday, July 22nd, from 6:00 PM to midnight. There will be food, non-alcoholic drinks, dancing, a no-host bar, and door prizes/drawings. Pease email me at [email protected] for your free ticket. Space is limited, so please RSVP ASAP. I look forward to meeting you! Learn how ancient survival instincts guide everything you do and how to use those instincts to your advantage. My new book “The Enlightened Savage: Using Primal Instincts for Personal and Business Success” is available from www.thenelightenedsavage.com or your favorite bookseller. I have compiled all 52 articles from Year 1 of this column into a book called Small Business Success: 52 Weeks of Marketing & Management Wisdom, coming soon from www.52bizweeks.com. Anthony Hernandez is a Certified Guerrilla Marketing Association Business Coach with over 20 years of business and marketing experience. He lives in Ashland with his wife Robyn, son Logan, and their two dogs. --> Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.