Okay, let’s assume you’re afraid of the business plan which people are telling you that you need. It seems to be too big a job. You don’t have time.
So don’t take so much time. Start anywhere, and get going. Here are some ways to break out of that inertia and get going.
- Do a sales forecast. Take a spreadsheet and set up 12 months in columns and your main sales lines along the leftmost column. Estimate — don’t sweat it, it’s just an estimated guess — your unit sales first, then average price you get per unit, and then multiply price times units to get sales. Add totals on the bottom, and along the rightmost column, you get annual totals. Here’s more info:
- Do a SWOT analysis. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. It’s simple and it gets you started with strategic thinking.
- Tell a story. Think of it as creative writing. Invent a person who might be your ideal buyer (or decision maker if you sell to businesses) and tell the story of how this person needs or wants what you’re selling, finds you, and buys. What is the buyer problem that is solved.
- Create a market segmentation. Think about what kinds of people or companies you sell to. Big, small, rich, poor. Use stereotypes like you did in high school: jocks, stoners, hippies, goths? Ask yourself which of these groups is a better target, and why.
- Figure out a mantra: describe your business in a single sentence, making one that would describe it uniquely, eliminating all competitors. Or go further, and do a mission statement, which includes why your business makes life better for buyers, employees, and owners.
- List your three most important keys to success.
- Define the main marketing message for your most important target market group.
- List your most important assumptions.
Remember, form follows function. Don’t sweat the formats, or the writing, or the tools. Just get going. It’s planning that matters, not just the plan.
Subscribe via RSS
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks Tim!
Excellent post, I am always that so many startups / businesses haven’t done (#5 Figure out a mantra: describe your business in a single sentence) If they can’t explain their business concisely, how to they expect customers to understand.
good stuff!
@Aronado
Great tips!
Visualizing, communicating, and planning are essential in ensuring any business has a focus and stays committed to that focus. A business plan is a great tool if you can get past the daunting task of writing it. Then it is important to remember that your business plan is not cast in stone. It can be revised and should be revisited often!
In addition to a business plan, a life plan is helpful to some entrepreneurs… a simple statement of why are YOU doing this and what your personal goals are. This can help ensure that stay satisfied with your work and don’t forget the reason you went into business in the first place.
Thanks!
Kathrine