I was on the Small Business Advocate radio show again today (I’ve been doing it regularly for 10 years now). This morning our on-the-air conversation brought up Jim’s Don’t Be Intimidated article, in which he says that you say your business plan every day:
If you are planning to start a business or are already running a business, you are actually “saying” your business plan, at least components of it, EVERY DAY. Check this out:
The Conversation
Me: Hi Joe. Heard you are starting a new business. What kind?You: Oh, hi Jim. Thanks for asking. Yeah, John and I are going to be selling square widgets to round widget distributors. ”
Me: How’re you going to do that?
You: I found out that no one has thought to offer square widgets to these guys. I asked around, and it looks like these guys not only NEED square widgets, but they will pay a premium for them. ”
Me: Sounds good. Where are you going to get your square widgets? ”
You: “I found out that the round widget guys don’t need the perfect square widgets, so I am buying seconds, cleaning them up a little, and repackaging them for my round widget customers. ”
Me: “Sounds like you found a niche. How many can you sell in a year? ”
You: “We’ve identified the need for 15,000 this year, and with the trend in the market, we think we can double that within three years. Gotta go. See you later. ”
How long did this conversation take – two minutes from start to end? Let’s look at what was said. You identified your:
- business
- management team
- industry
- business focus (your niche)
- customer profile
- vendor profile
- pricing strategy
- market research
- growth plans.
See? You probably “say” your business plan every day, you just might not be getting it down on paper, or in your computer.
This kind of core value is one of your business drivers. If you’re normal, your interested in this, you think about it a lot, and you refine and revise it as necessary in a changing world, changing market. Build your business plan around this core.
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Comments
True. A business plan is a living thing. Start small and with a rough outline, and improve it with time. Don't take huge amounts of time off just to write a business plan.