The B word !
By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail -Benjamin Franklin
The dreaded B word also known as The Business Plan has created a bit of a debate especially for those who are in the start up stages of their business. Do you need one? Is there a benefit? What to include? How many pages? Who will read it? Can you start a business without one? So many questions but no a straight answer.
So what is a business plan? It's a deep documented summary of what your business is, why you are doing it, how you are going to do it, who are your competitors, who is your target audience, how do you compare, costings, forecasts, suppliers, back up suppliers, another back up supplier, and lots of other tedious information that usually leaves you with "What's the point of all this", "I just want to do my business and all the fun stuff".
So what is a business plan? It's a deep documented summary of what your business is, why you are doing it, how you are going to do it, who are your competitors, who is your target audience, how do you compare, costings, forecasts, suppliers, back up suppliers, another back up supplier, and lots of other tedious information that usually leaves you with "What's the point of all this", "I just want to do my business and all the fun stuff".
I was at a business talk last month and someone in the audience asked the panel if a business plan was necessary? The panel responded saying NO but they didn't really explain why or what the benefits of NOT having one, opposed to having a detailed script.
I did a massive detailed script mainly because in order for me to access funding they wanted a lot of information from me. Some of the problems I found looking back was that a lot of it wasn't relevant and there was to much worry and emphasis on the "What if's" and every time I provided a solution it was another ton of scenarios of "what if's" without letting me explore and trial which was putting a lot of fear and doubt in my ideas.
Business is like gambling, you can sort of kind of predict what 'might' happen but if you haven't done something before you really don't know the out come or which way it will go. Everything is on predictions.
When you are starting something for the first time it feels like you need this gigantic document with all your findings and intentions and what your are planning to do for the next 10 years of your life. Mainly because someone along the line has advised it's needed before you can go a step further. With the world moving so fast it isn't possible to predict every event.
I personally feel a huge documented plan distracts from play testing your idea. Experimentation is equally important as working out the logistics but how easy is it to set up a couple of Social Media pages and knock up a editable pre made website that allows you the freedom to road test your idea? Not long at all, right?
I found a couple of articles explaining the cons of a business plan and the pro's of when you need one
With that said i personally believe having some idea about the field you are going into makes you look like a serious player and you want to come across like you know what you are talking about. If you are not looking for huge investment and don't want to bore yourself with a painfully detailed plan then here are some key essentials that i feel are worth considering;
-Your sole purpose
-Understanding your demographics
-Price points
-How to find your target audience
As immediate affect this won't take a huge amount of your time, a few quick hacks and answering a couple of questions, coupled with some social media actions is a great starting point for any business.
Lets start from the beginning! So you have this amazing brainwave of an idea, it's going to change the world, it's going to change humanity and your sure-fire will run a heatwave on Twitters algorithm that will put you in the trending spot for a week. Sounds good right?
But where do you go from here? Do you start making and creating immediately? start a business plan and tell no one until someone gives you a proof read? Think about the stage you are in right now, how much do you know, like really, really know. Do you know how much this is going to cost you? Have you figured out your target audience? What's your brand mission, purpose and entire vision for what you about to do? Which brands look like you or who are similar to what you are doing?
And finally some motivational lyrics to POWER you up !When you are starting something for the first time it feels like you need this gigantic document with all your findings and intentions and what your are planning to do for the next 10 years of your life. Mainly because someone along the line has advised it's needed before you can go a step further. With the world moving so fast it isn't possible to predict every event.
I personally feel a huge documented plan distracts from play testing your idea. Experimentation is equally important as working out the logistics but how easy is it to set up a couple of Social Media pages and knock up a editable pre made website that allows you the freedom to road test your idea? Not long at all, right?
I found a couple of articles explaining the cons of a business plan and the pro's of when you need one
In 2006, William Bygrave, a professor emeritus at Babson College and longtime entrepreneurship researcher, studied several years' worth of Babson graduates to find out how much better those who started businesses with a formal, written plan did than those who didn't.
"We can't find any difference," he admits. In other words, Bygrave and his team found that entrepreneurs who began with formal plans had no greater success than those who started without them.
For his part, Bygrave doesn't think his research says business plans are a waste of time. "We're saying that writing a business plan ahead of time, before you open your doors for business, does not appear to help the performance of the business subsequently," he explains.
So what would Bygrave like to see instead of a business plan? Attempts to sell the product to actual customers, even if it doesn't exist yet. "Have you talked to a customer?" he asks. "If not, I don't want to talk to you about the business." Continue reading
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The longer you plan, the longer you are not in the marketplace, three things are happening, and none of them good.
1. No revenues are coming in.
2. Someone could beat you to the punch and introduce your great idea before you do.
3. The market is changing and as a result you could fall out of step. To use an extreme example to make the point, while you are planning how to make the world's best VCR, the market shifts to DVRs.
Given all those reasons, puting together a full blown business plan doesn't make any sense to me, unless you need tens of millions to get underway. In that case, you are going to need to do one. Professional investors, such as venture capitalists, are going to require it. Continue reading
With that said i personally believe having some idea about the field you are going into makes you look like a serious player and you want to come across like you know what you are talking about. If you are not looking for huge investment and don't want to bore yourself with a painfully detailed plan then here are some key essentials that i feel are worth considering;
-Your sole purpose
-Understanding your demographics
-Price points
-How to find your target audience
As immediate affect this won't take a huge amount of your time, a few quick hacks and answering a couple of questions, coupled with some social media actions is a great starting point for any business.
Lets start from the beginning! So you have this amazing brainwave of an idea, it's going to change the world, it's going to change humanity and your sure-fire will run a heatwave on Twitters algorithm that will put you in the trending spot for a week. Sounds good right?
But where do you go from here? Do you start making and creating immediately? start a business plan and tell no one until someone gives you a proof read? Think about the stage you are in right now, how much do you know, like really, really know. Do you know how much this is going to cost you? Have you figured out your target audience? What's your brand mission, purpose and entire vision for what you about to do? Which brands look like you or who are similar to what you are doing?
Quick Hacks
Why- What is the driving force behind this idea? (exclude financial gain for a minute) What are you trying to fix in the world? What problem are you hoping to solve in your community? What gaps are you trying to fill? Is there an existing model that doesn't quite fit in how the world works now? Do you have a solution to an existing problem. Jot down some words even if its not a clear sentence, bullet point them. The idea is to get it down on paper, then we'll string it together into a harmonious sentence.
Some key Ingredients: It has to be meaningful, inspiring, what do you stand for? What's the culture of your brand? Keep it short, sweet, snappy and memorable. Hook people in, intrigue them, leaving them with wanting to know more.
Your 'WHY' doesn't need to directly connect with your product/service. I have a fashion brand and my Vision is that i simply want to give others the opportunity to progress into their true potential. The lack of support i had starting out highly frustrated me and i feel extremely passionate about giving others the kick start they deserve. All we need is a shot at turning an idea into something bigger than an idea. A little education can go a long way.
Benefits: This will help you focus on your purpose and keep you anchored to your 'WHY'. It paints a clear picture of your TARGET and exact intentions. Your product / service can change direction at anytime but your purpose for 'why', should always remain the same
If you are still stuck for ideas. Here is a brilliant video explained in the most perfect way by Future Girl Corp
Why- What is the driving force behind this idea? (exclude financial gain for a minute) What are you trying to fix in the world? What problem are you hoping to solve in your community? What gaps are you trying to fill? Is there an existing model that doesn't quite fit in how the world works now? Do you have a solution to an existing problem. Jot down some words even if its not a clear sentence, bullet point them. The idea is to get it down on paper, then we'll string it together into a harmonious sentence.
Some key Ingredients: It has to be meaningful, inspiring, what do you stand for? What's the culture of your brand? Keep it short, sweet, snappy and memorable. Hook people in, intrigue them, leaving them with wanting to know more.
Your 'WHY' doesn't need to directly connect with your product/service. I have a fashion brand and my Vision is that i simply want to give others the opportunity to progress into their true potential. The lack of support i had starting out highly frustrated me and i feel extremely passionate about giving others the kick start they deserve. All we need is a shot at turning an idea into something bigger than an idea. A little education can go a long way.
Benefits: This will help you focus on your purpose and keep you anchored to your 'WHY'. It paints a clear picture of your TARGET and exact intentions. Your product / service can change direction at anytime but your purpose for 'why', should always remain the same
If you are still stuck for ideas. Here is a brilliant video explained in the most perfect way by Future Girl Corp
Who- Paint a picture of your ideal customer. What do they look like? How old are they? Where do they shop? Are they female? Male? or both? What brands do they like? Where do they eat? Where do they hang out? What music do they listen to? What do they do in their spare time? Do they work? Are they students? Are they tech savvy? Do they use social media? What apps do they use? Paint a gigantic picture LITERALLY on a piece of paper of the type of person who would buy into your idea / product or service.
Benefits: Helps you to locate exactly where your target audience is and how you can communicate to them effectively.
Benefits: Helps you to locate exactly where your target audience is and how you can communicate to them effectively.
Competitors Analysis - Do a quick check on brands / companies who are similar to you. Create a box board on Word document and list 5-8 companies with the following
1. Who are they
2. Where are they based
2. Where are they based
3. What do they sell
4. Do they have a online store
5. Do they have a physical shop
6. Their Strengths
7. Their Weaknesses
Tweak accordingly to your business idea
7. Their Weaknesses
Tweak accordingly to your business idea
*Suggestions: Are they online? Do they have a store? Where are they located? Think about how they present their brand, do they have a website? What does their site look like? Is it easy to use? if not, why not? Do they specialise in a specific area, are they global? local? Really look at the benefits of what they do. How long they have been trading for? is this a strength or weakness? Brand identity? Social media presence? What are your first impressions? Do they come across professional? or a little bit shoddy? Literally strip the brand down to it's bare bones.
Benefits: This will give you an idea of where you stand in comparison and how you would like to present yourself. It will also help you understand who is doing what and how you could do it better and what potential gaps you could fill which strengthens your USP (Unique Selling Point)
Prices and Products - Draw up a comparison chart of up to about 20 brands who are similar to what you are offering. Don't worry if you haven't got all your costings together at this stage. We just need to know how much your competitors are charging for their goods or services.
List a column on the right all your chosen brands, then going across write all the products or the different types of services they offer. For each brand write how much they charge for each product / service.
You will start to see a pattern emerge, there's usually an average point, with some you may think, 'that's too low' and then you find some brands charging way above what you would pay yourself.
Benefits: This will help you to price your products or services accordingly. Once you've done your competitors analysis and start looking at how much they charge it represents a quality of where they sit in the market. Do you what to be someone who sells a lipstick for £2.00 or someone who sells a lipstick for £25. Look at the difference in those brands and the quality of their image and products. Do you want to be someone who sells Tshirts for £5 or someone who sells them for £35? (2 very different types of customer) Do you want to be seen in the realms of Primark? Or Topshop? High street? Or small local side street? Pricing say's a lot about the product, be mindful based on the quality you deliver. If you want to package something at £100 it has to look and feel like the customer is getting their £100's worth. This will then home in to your demographics, enabling you to speak directly to the right audience with the right type of language.
Now time to experiment - Don't worry at the early stages of having a flashy website (You can work on this at later stage when the time is right) Right now it's about getting your idea kick started and out in the public. Everything is a working progress so don't worry to much about your dream site, focus on looking presentable. There are so many options available to us that requires very little effort at an affordable price. Here' my hit list of links. If you have any cool suggestions, feel free to add them in the comments area.
Benefits: This will give you an idea of where you stand in comparison and how you would like to present yourself. It will also help you understand who is doing what and how you could do it better and what potential gaps you could fill which strengthens your USP (Unique Selling Point)
Prices and Products - Draw up a comparison chart of up to about 20 brands who are similar to what you are offering. Don't worry if you haven't got all your costings together at this stage. We just need to know how much your competitors are charging for their goods or services.
List a column on the right all your chosen brands, then going across write all the products or the different types of services they offer. For each brand write how much they charge for each product / service.
You will start to see a pattern emerge, there's usually an average point, with some you may think, 'that's too low' and then you find some brands charging way above what you would pay yourself.
Benefits: This will help you to price your products or services accordingly. Once you've done your competitors analysis and start looking at how much they charge it represents a quality of where they sit in the market. Do you what to be someone who sells a lipstick for £2.00 or someone who sells a lipstick for £25. Look at the difference in those brands and the quality of their image and products. Do you want to be someone who sells Tshirts for £5 or someone who sells them for £35? (2 very different types of customer) Do you want to be seen in the realms of Primark? Or Topshop? High street? Or small local side street? Pricing say's a lot about the product, be mindful based on the quality you deliver. If you want to package something at £100 it has to look and feel like the customer is getting their £100's worth. This will then home in to your demographics, enabling you to speak directly to the right audience with the right type of language.
Now time to experiment - Don't worry at the early stages of having a flashy website (You can work on this at later stage when the time is right) Right now it's about getting your idea kick started and out in the public. Everything is a working progress so don't worry to much about your dream site, focus on looking presentable. There are so many options available to us that requires very little effort at an affordable price. Here' my hit list of links. If you have any cool suggestions, feel free to add them in the comments area.
- Big Cartel
- Shopify
- Wix
- Asos Marketplace (mainly for fashion)
- Fiverr
- Blogger
To summarise, it's good to have some sort of plan that will help align your focus and the direction you want to take your business but do you really need a 1000 page script? No, some key essentials and the opportunity to play test your idea is more than enough to get you going, if you require more information for investment then by this point you would have collated additional information without even realising through testing your idea.
You don't have to look to far to to be convinced, a quick search on Google (the company) on how they started, it wasn't with a business plan it was a class project and they simply wanted to see if they could create a better search engine in how websites were ranked opposed to the existing format at the time. A similar sort of start up story is the same for Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, Disney, Pepsi. They all wanted to fix a problem and provide a solution. That's not to say a business plan is a worthless piece of paper, it can help you to debug some myths and give a better understanding of your field just don't let it get in the way of creating and play testing your idea. Allow enough breathing space for your idea to evolve organically.
You don't have to look to far to to be convinced, a quick search on Google (the company) on how they started, it wasn't with a business plan it was a class project and they simply wanted to see if they could create a better search engine in how websites were ranked opposed to the existing format at the time. A similar sort of start up story is the same for Facebook, Apple, Yahoo, Disney, Pepsi. They all wanted to fix a problem and provide a solution. That's not to say a business plan is a worthless piece of paper, it can help you to debug some myths and give a better understanding of your field just don't let it get in the way of creating and play testing your idea. Allow enough breathing space for your idea to evolve organically.
If you had, one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted In one moment, Would you capture it? or just let it slip? - Eminem
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