Business Plan Mistake #1 No Plan
About once a month I teach a short workshop on the 10 mistakes business owners make when it comes to business planning. Since only a handful of people can attend at any given time, I thought it would be fun to take a closer look at the mistakes, one day at a time.
Today we begin with Mistake #1 – No Plan
Many business owners put off writing a business plan until they have no choice because their banker, investor, or potential landlord requires it. This is a huge mistake! It is easy to put off writing your plan for “someday when you have the time.” But you will never have enough time unless you make the time. The busier you are, the more you need a plan to guide and simplify your decision-making process and automate day-to-day operations. A well-thought-out plan will help you do just that.
Writing a plan does not have to be overwhelming or incredibly time consuming. You can get started with a simple outline and refine it along the way.
To begin, find a three-ring binder. No excuses that you don’t have time to go to the office supply store! Everyone has at least one binder lying around somewhere! Next, add to a stack of loose-leaf or copier paper with the holes already punched. Finally, get a set of tabs or dividers so you can label each section of the plan. The titles of each section should be:
- Executive Summary
- History and Position to Date
- Market Research
- Business Strategy
- Operations
- Financial Performance
- Appendix
Now start collecting all the scraps of paper, notes and ideas you have stored somewhere, and start organizing your information. Before long you will be well on your way to a productive plan
Episode 20: More Trade Show Tips – What to Wear!
As a woman, I love clothes! And that is exactly what Shawn Quick-Raflik, of Fine Promotions and I talked about when she dropped by recently; CLOTHES. What do you wear to a trade show? What type of branded apparel looks professional, and makes a memorable statement in your trade show booth.
This often overlooked element is the final part of your preparation for the show. Finding clothes which look good on everyone from the smallest woman to the largest man is often a challenge. Be sure to leave enough time to find something which everyone will feel good wearing. Why? Because when they feel good about how they look, they will be more confident in their conversations with prospects and clients!
Small Business Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Small Business Marketing
Or How to Help Search Engines Find You without Boring Your Readers!
As a writer and person, I have many interests. However, as a blogger, wishing to cultivate an audience, I need to narrow those interests and focus on a few topics to help search engines and readers find me.
So, I write about small business marketing and business planning. But some times I get tired of the same thing. I feel as if I have written it before ( and sometimes when I update a theme, I have!) This creates a challenge because I want to keep the content fresh and interesting, but consistent.
I have studied a number of bloggers to see how they find the balance. And some do it better then others. One of the best is Louis Grey. Primarily tech focused, he gives us an inside view of what is going on in Silicon Valley, human explainations of new technology ( instead of GEEK SPEAK) and the occasoinal look inside his personal life, and the challenges of raising twins. His recent topics have included :
- Hard But Smart Decisions: Blogger Tackles The .5% Problem
- EdgeTheory Conversations: Twitter’s New Suggestions
- Apple & Google are Primary Enemies? At What Cost?
In contrast, local Social Media Expert, Kyle Lacy has moved in a different direction. A year ago, his blog covered a wide range of topics. Today, as his business has become more and more focused on Social Media exclusively, so have have his posts.
- Social Media from a Generation Y Perspective
- Empower Your Employees to Win with Social Media
- Marketing Through Social Media is Not Easy. Plan Accordingly
While I miss some of his customer service rants, and general musings, when I am looking for social media content, he is my first stop. And his strategy is helping him win search. Just type “social media Indianapolis” into your search bar and see who tops the list!
Some writers have found the balance by creating multiple blogs. ( I have no idea how they get anything else done). For me, the balance seems to be, writing primarily about small business marketing, but allowing myself, from time to time, to ramble off in different directions and hope my readers enjoy the detour.
Foursquare is Four Times as Much Fun as Twitter for Small Business Owners
It seems like there is always something new to keep up with. A new application, new tool, new toy or new website. If I took time to check out all of them, I wouldn’t get anything done.
But everynow and then, one new application seems to emerge as a winner. Recently, FourSquare has emerged as a winner for me. What is FourSquare? It is a mobile application, which allows you to tell others where you are.
It integrates seamlessly to Twitter, and the iPhone application is easy to use. While that is all cool, the question is, why would anyone care where you are? The simple answer? It is easy to find your friends, promote cool locations and events, and now Kyle Lacy tells me it can be a good business tool and interesting part of your social media and overall internet marketing strategy as well.
While I think the badges and “mayor” status are silly, I do like being able to promote my favorite resturants, coffee shops and art exhibits. And for some of the small business owners who are our clients we are starting to explore how they might use Foursquare to expand their connections to clients. It has great possiblities for any retail location and I think it will become a core element of the marketing strategy of many small business.
So if you want to know where I am, you can follow me on Twitter, or check in on my at Foursquare, until the next new toy comes along, that I think will be five times as much fun as twitter!
Episode 19 – Coaching Strategies for Small Businesses with Deseri Garcia
My friend Deseri Garcia of Vida Aventura is a coach, trainer, motivator and leader. We share much in common, including the title, Past President of Rainmakers. The shared experiences make our conversations interesting and fun.
Recently Des stopped and we talked about Coaching, and why a small business owner might turn to a coach.
