|
|
|
Calling a Time Out on Sports and War Metaphors
Changing the rules in the middle of the game, moving the goalposts, two-minute drill, no harm/no foul, franchise player, lay up, knockout blow, on the ropes, quarterback, the best defense is a good offense, three-pointer, at the buzzer, brush...
The Expert Advantage: Why It Pays to Establish Yourself as an Expert
Copyright 2005 UpLevel Strategies
Have you ever felt a jolt of envy to see a competitor - or even
a friend - grinning up at you from a newspaper or trade
publication?
It kills you, doesn't it?
And you know why: you need to become...
The Four Cultures of Employee Retention
Despite fluctuating economic times and increased globalization of American jobs, most employers are finding it hard to keep good workers. The reality of today's job market is that workers are expecting more from their employers and are not afraid to...
The Ten Pillars of Leadership and Business Development
Leadership is any influence relationship that brings about change…this can be a teacher/student relationship, a parent/child relationship, a politician/citizen relationship, a business owner/employee relationship, a community leader/volunteer...
This is a Home Business, NOT a vacation!
I recently read an article written by an aspiring freelance
journalist who was desperately trying to get published without
success. In the article, the journalist talked about how his day
started with a few clicks of the snooze alarm, a...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Business 101: Passion Before Planning
Contrary to what myriad Internet sites would have you believe,
there is much more to small business planning than a good
marketing mix and solid financials. Whether you want to sell the
next big thing or you simply want to rev up sales and profits
for an existing operation, no business plan template will
adequately address the complex psychology of being an
entrepreneur, especially a successful one.
To illustrate what I mean, let's pretend you aspire to be the
next coffee shop ingénue. You have articulated a comprehensive
business plan; you have chosen your product lineup, location,
promotion plan, and pricing strategy; and you have snagged some
decent financing to keep you running for at least a year. On
paper, you are a coffee empire in the making. "Great!" you think
to yourself. "Let's get started!"
You proceed to sign the lease, shell out some bucks to a lawyer
and an accountant, order a few gazillion pounds of coffee beans
in anticipation of your success, and open for business.
About six months and a few hundred lattes later, you realize
that you do not possess high tolerance levels for the teen
angst, high turnover, and sleep deprived yet incredibly nitpicky
about
extra-hot-no-whip-non-fat-double-mocha-latte-now-or-I'll-go-posta
l cranky clientele that have suddenly become an intimate part of
your life. You despise this situation but also realize that it
will probably be your reality for many years to come, or at
least until you can make enough margin to take a day off and
enjoy a five-dollar coffee poured for you across the street at
Starbuck's.
Perhaps this all too common scenario points to one explanation
for the alarmingly high failure rate of small business start-ups
in North America. The Business 101 textbook explanation of this
phenomenon would state that failure to plan is the root cause of
most small business shutdowns. Indeed, without some kind of road
map, inspiration can quickly turn to chaos if not complete
financial ruin. But even the most well crafted business plan
cannot cement the road to success, and an entirely fabulous
product is no guarantee either.
Work-at-home business gurus, Paul and Sarah Edwards, cite two
independent studies involving a number of successful
entrepreneurs. Both studies concluded that business plans are
overdone in many cases and their importance even overemphasized.
What is needed, the Edwards say, is a succinct plan that
uncovers key aspects of the market you wish to pursue and a
simple roadmap for pursuing them
(www.workingfromhome.com/pages/faq.htm). Of course, in
approaching the planning process this way, you
are more apt to
make strategic changes when necessary because you will be less
"invested" in the document itself and more interested in doing
whatever it takes to succeed.
Failure to plan is a symptom, not a root cause, of small
business collapse. The true "illness" lies within the heart of
western entrepreneurship and the bizarre twists and turns it has
taken in the information age. Get-rich-quick schemes abound in
magazines and on the Internet, yet the only ones getting rich
from these programs are the passionate individuals who
envisioned the intricate pyramid of wealth in the first place.
However, one need not take such an unethical path of deception
toward financial independence.
My overpriced but thankfully small "l" liberal education taught
me something I have not seen in any business textbook: Determine
the correct questions before seeking answers. In saying this, I
am not at all trying to sound literary, highfalutin or Stephen
Covey-esque (loved 7 Habits by the way). I write only what I
know from observation and experience, and it would seem to me
that you cannot derive health, happiness, or wealth from
something that does not reflect your personality, your vision of
your best self, or your basic code for living.
Money in the hands of an entrepreneur who does not know himself
might as well be lumps of coal. And a business plan written by
such a person is not worth much more. No bank loan or angel
moneys can replace the value of introspection. Some questions
you must ask yourself:
* What are my reasons for pursuing this venture?
* Will those reasons be enough if I don't turn a profit in the
first five years? * What will I have lost if the business fails?
What will I have gained?
* Does this venture reflect who I am? Or am I only trying to be
someone I think I "should" be?
Such questions should be fleshed out long before you begin
typing up that business plan. How you honestly answer those
questions should subsequently color every element of your
marketing mix. Passion must precede planning. This authenticity
will shine through in everything you do and say thereafter,
and--in this day--there is nothing so irresistible to your
prospects as authenticity.
About the author:
Karri Flatla is a business graduate of the University of
Lethbridge and principal of snap! virtual assistance inc., a
small business consulting firm providing online marketing
services to the progressive entrepreneur. Karri also produces
Outsmart, the newsletter for small business with big purpose.
Visit http://www.snap-va.com for more information.
|
|
|
|
|
|