Article written in 1999

Every Enterprise has a purpose to exist - the purpose being to achieve a leading role in competition with other Organisations. The purpose is to be the best. In order to be the best, there must be a Strategy, which explains the principles around which the Organisation will reap the results it desires. The Strategy is going to define the business that the Organisation is to compete in, the position that the Organisation plans to hold in that business environment and the distinctive competence or competitive advantage that the Organisation has or plans to create. The requirement of having a Mission Statement becomes very vital.

Many Organisations misuse Mission Statements by articulating high sounding values that are unrealistic or not part of the day-to-day behaviour. The Mission for any Organisation should evolve from its character, its identity and the reason for its existence. Where do we start?

In most Organisations there is no shortage of data to support these decisions. On-line transaction processing systems designed to run the day-to-day business have been gathering detailed financial, operational, and sales transactions. The real challenge for an Organisation is to intelligently sift through the heap of this historical data to find answers in order to support their cause in making a Strategy to work for their values.

Business intelligent systems, which provide the path to a business Strategy, is all about using the cumulative intelligence in the Organisation’s databank to meet one of the needs of a Mission Statement of that Organisation. The requirement of Enabling Technologies becomes very vital. The results from such reporting are very useful to the Management of an Organisation for prioritising the areas in their formation of a business Strategy.

The key word to 'Exist' is 'Strategic thinking'. The greatest challenge facing Managers today arises from their responsibility for identifying the changing long-term business needs and for planning effectively, to meet them. Today the Managers are expected continually to identify future opportunities, to monitor and communicate risks, to take corrective action to avoid excessive exposure.

Do you play Golf? Golfers who ignore the mechanics of their swing and note only how far the ball has traveled are routinely confounded by their inability to predict or control the outcome of their efforts. The same can be said for Enterprises whose Management only cares only about results. That is the reason why World Class Enterprises continually tap into their performance information - the data that provide them with Intelligent Business Decision support.

A study of the enterprise application software market predicts that enterprise resource planning (ERP) software will lose much of its current market share over the next few years, while other types of packages will see significant gains. A conducted the study, defines 'enterprise application' software as enterprise resource planning (ERP), enterprise relationship management, supply chain management (SCM), and electronic commerce programs.

The study shows that ERP software's share of market will fall from an estimated 64 percent of the total market in 1999 to just 28 percent in 2005. (ERP-once the dominant business software application-provides financial and manufacturing applications that double as a corporate platform for information technology.) And it appears that the slide will be irreversible. Simply "The ERP market will not revive,"

Prabir Sen. M.Sc Engg (London)

I am a post graduate in Computer Science and have twenty years experience in Oracle, MySql, MsAccess, web design & development, and Significant development & Management skills viz.,Legacy Data Entry, technical writing, project planning and execution, project management, Oracle, MYSql, sql, pl/sql, data flow design, database design, datawarehousing, data extraction, data extraction, database applications viz., manufacturing, scm, crm, financials, hrms,workflow, Oracle discoverer, forms, reports, etc., having expertise in Business Analysis 'and' administration. I also have formidable experience in telecom technology. Prsently I am a Sr. Program Manager with a UK firm, looking after oracle application projects.

Imagine if you were no longer threatened by consulting commoditization and the resulting loss of firm revenues. What if you could leverage technology in a way that would increase your profit margins and open doors of unlimited add-on consulting opportunities?

You are painfully aware that service-capability selling by a consulting organization no longer works. Clients are increasingly seeking productized consulting solutions to common business problems.

Now absorb this information: Gartner reports that the consulting organizations that will ultimately survive in the future will be those that create standard, repeatable consulting services.

What then, is the secret to building a thriving consulting practice in the face of commoditization?

1. Do This to Stand Out in a Commoditized Crowd Al Ries, author of The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding observed that most professional service firms are good at generating prospects, but not at branding. The key is not what you do (the commodity) but the way you do it (your brand).

Just imagine what would happen if you productized your common business services and then competed on the merits of your brand.

2. Do This to Profit From Commoditization You probably already know this, but productizing services with pre-defined project plans not only accelerates project completion but also increases firm profit margins.

Think of how many of your current services could be pre-defined and delivered as a solution package. What affect would that have on your profit margins?

3. Do This to Move Beyond Commoditization Most experts agree that it costs 6-12 times more to acquire a new customer, than it is to expand your offering into existing customers.

Can you imagine the doors of add-on opportunities that will open to you as you successfully deliver a productized commodity service?

Now for the best news of all: productizing your services couldn’t be easier. Software technology exists that allows firms to quickly productize services with project plans, resource plans, billable hours and even client collaboration.

But be sure to select a software partner that provides:

1. ASP software (the last thing you need is technology hassles)

2. Cross-platform software (you need a solution that fits in any environment)

3. Customization (you are the business expert, not them)

4. Commissions (you should be making money with their software)

I would suggest that the key elements that should comprise the business plan are as follows:

1. An executive summary of the business plan, suggested length Maximum two to three pages

a) What is the business
b) What is the market
c) Potential for business
d) Forecast profit figures
e) Likely investment required
f) Potential for purchasers and finance providers

2. The Evolution of the business idea Single page

a) Why the market exists
b) How you anticipate the market will develop
c) Barriers to entry (e.g. competition, funding etc).

3. Key Personnel and Management As many pages as needed

a) Full details of all key personnel including
i) academic history and relevant achievements
ii) Practical experience in relevant fields
iii) weakness in management and intended remedies

4. Your products/services Maximum two pages

a) A simple description of the products/services you offer
b) Key features and, more importantly, the unique selling point of your products/services
c) Brief evaluation of competition
d) Service users and potential development

5. Marketing Two pages

a) The market, size, past and future growth
b) Sector analysis
c) Potential customers, size, buyer behaviour
d) Competitors, who are they, size, position, likely response to your challenge.

6. Selling Two pages

a) Promotional advertising
b) Who will sell?
c) Sales planning

7. Operational Details Two pages

a) Location, premises etc
b) Key Suppliers if any
c) Equipment operated if any.

8. Financial Analysis Summaries plus detailed appendices

a) Summary of projections
b) Monthly profit and loss projections (18 months to two years)
c) Monthly cash flow projections (18 months to two years)
d) Balance sheet projections
e) Key projection assumptions
f) Sensitivity analysis (i.e. if we have over-budgeted sales by 10%, will the business still be profitable)

9. Prospects one or two pages

a) Objectives - short and long term
b) Capital structure
c) Investor prospects

In every source of words of wisdom, entrepreneurs are taught to write a business plan before they embark on starting their new business venture. This is good advice provided it is done correctly and based on realistic expectations.

The academic approach to writing a business plan typically includes conducting market research to determine the size of the potential market, characteristics of the competition and nature of the customer base. The entrepreneur usually gets in trouble when it comes to using this information to determine a revenue and profitability forecast. Taking a large potential market size and calculating the penetration needed to become profitable can lead to an unrealistic conclusion. It may seem very possible, for instance, to assume gaining 1% market share of a $100 million regional market in the first year. A first-year forecast of $1 million even looks like it would be a very conservative projection. The key question is “how?”

A much more realistic approach is to work with the things the entrepreneur knows best about his venture. Determine the answers to the basic operating questions: how much advertising money does he have to spend; how many sales people he can afford to hire; how well known is the product or service; how easy will it be to convince a customer to buy; and how often will the customer re-purchase in a year. Then do a “bottom-up” forecast of the expected revenue and expenses for the first couple of years.

• Advertising will reach the eyes of how many customers?

• Each sales person can contract how many customers each week?

• How many customers would have to be contacted before a sale is made?

• After an initial sales call, how long should it take before the customer actually places an order and pays the invoice?

• What is the average sales revenue per customer?

As an example, the start up company can only afford to hire five sales people. Each sales person can be expected to get through to 50 prospects per week for 50 weeks in the year. Of those prospects, 5% will be become customers within six months. The average customer can be expected to order $500 each year. Therefore, a bottom-up approach would calculate the first-year forecast as follows: 5 x 50 x 50 x 5% x $500 = $312,500

The main point is that a bottom-up approach will produce a much more realistic forecast than the most conservative estimate about the market share of an estimated market size. The entrepreneur and his team can argue about the advertising budget, sales calls per week, new customers added each month, increasing the order size, and so on. The bottom-up approach also forces everyone to carefully think about the strategies and the tactics that must be implemented to achieve the planning goals. Certainly these statistics should be monitored and the planning model revised accordingly as more actual results are known. More importantly, positive or negative results compared to the original assumptions will dictate the actions needed and the urgency required by the team.

Unless the company is blessed with an unlimited amount of start up capital, the entrepreneur must base his business planning on cash flow for the initial years. Uncollected receivables, sales growth, market share and “paper” profits are not going to ensure the survival of the new business. Each year 7 out of 10 new businesses fail and one of the primarily reasons is poor management of cash flow. This means that the start up may have to pass up some possible sales if those sales would take a long time to collect, and it may also have an influence marketing strategy for the product or service. Ideally the product or service has a short sales cycle (less than a month), practically sells itself (low selling costs), payment is received on delivery (account receivables less than 30 days sales), advertising is word-of-mouth and customers re-order often. If any of these are not ideal, then the cash flow requirements will likely be higher than expected. Managing for cash flow, not sales growth and profitability, is not for the long term, but it is essential until the company has accumulated a cash reserve or can attract financial backing.

Business planning provides the initial roadmap to the future for the new start up company, but it must be modified and revised periodically if it is to be of any real value as a management tool. Day-to-day, the entrepreneur will have to make decisions rapidly based on his knowledge, gut-feel or intuition. There usually is not enough time to conduct research and investigate alternatives thoroughly. As Mas Kodani, a Buddhist in Los Angeles, points out, "One does not stand still looking for a path. One walks; and as one walks, a path comes into being." The business plan is there to be used as a reference check so that those incremental decisions do not cause the business to stray too far from the original plan expectations and the bottom line results become disappointing over time.

The purpose of raising such army is to achieve swift and decisive victory. If victory cannot be achieved quickly, weapons would be blunt and the army would also lose their fighting spirit. When they attacked city walls, they would be greatly exhausted. If the army is out on a military campaign for too long, the nation’s resources would be greatly depleted or exhausted. When the army is in a bad shape and the resources of the nation are exhausted, other neighboring warlords would capitalize on these weaknesses by launching an attack on us. Even if there are clever and capable strategists or advisor, it would not be able to reverse the situation. While blunders are known to occur during military operations, one has yet witness a successful military operations where there are long delays. No one has seen a military campaign where the longer the campaign, the more beneficial it is to the nation. – Sun Zi Art of War, Chapter Two

The lines above indicates the importance of swift victory. If swift victory is not achieved, gradually more weaknesses would surface, like blunted weapons and decreasing fighting morale. The longer the military campaign, the lower the morale of soldiers, as they missed their home. The longer the campaign, the greater the cost to the nation, due to the daily costs. Besides incurring great expenses, accumulated through the campaign, the nation also risk having neighboring countries attacking it. And to stress how dire the situation of prolonged campaign could be, Sun Zi said that, even the best strategist would not be able to reverse the situation.

In order to achieve swift victory, thus lessen the burden on the nation, Sun Zi advocates the following in the next few lines of:

1) Plundering the resources of the enemy. In this way it weakens the enemy by exhausting their resources and the nation could save resources on transportation, equipments and so on.

2) Instill hatred for the enemies into his troop. This would raise the fighting morale of the troops.

3) Motivate his armies by promising material rewards, obtained from plundering and pillaging enemy’s resources.

4) Encourage risk taking by using immediate and noticeable rewards. This would excite and motivate the whole army, encouraging competition between the troops. Note that the two important words are ‘immediate’ and ‘noticeable’. If it is not immediate, soldiers would not be enticed to act on opportunity. As the saying goes, a bird in the hand is worth more than two in a bush. If it is not noticeable, the soldiers may think the reward is not worth the effort and the lack of the ‘envy’ factor in as well. People like to show off their merit, especially those that they worked hard for. So it is important that such reward is ‘noticeable’ both in the amount of it and the way it is presented to the receiver.

5) Treating the enemy soldiers well. This would greatly help in the intelligence work, obtaining vital information that could provide decisive advantages. But note that this could be relative. If the enemy’s general has been kind to his soldiers, the amount of resources spent to ‘pamper’ these prisoners-of-war could cost a lot but the information they hold could be vital.

Business Application

So how can we apply this knowledge to the business arena?

1) Try to leverage on the resources that have been used by your business rivals. For instance, the goodwill that has been created on a certain product, through the marketing effort of your rival, or the distribution network that has been established. But one thing to note is, you would have ceded to your rival, the first mover’s advantage. So it is wise to assess whether the first mover’s advantage is important for your company.

2) Create a good reward system. Make sure the rewards system will align the performance of your staff with the goals that you want to achieve. Have a reward system that will reward risk-taking and healthy competition, if possible. Creating a good reward system is more of an art than a science, given the many complications.

3) Organize events that will keep up the morale and spirit of the employees in your company. With high morale and spirit, comes greater efficiency and more conducive work environment. A conducive environment where everyone works towards macro goals, will reduce staff turnovers which in turn, reduce human resource related expenditure. Another benefit of lower staff turnover is this. Most of the time, if your staff leave, he would very likely be moving to a rival company because their expertise are industry-related. It can spell disaster if the staff joins a rival company because of the information he has about your company.

4) Treat staff that has crossed over from rival companies well. This would allow you to gain access to valuable information that might help you to clinch the million-dollar deal that you have been waiting for, or snatch market share from your rival, dealing a possible fatal blow to your rival.

“History does repeat itself” ... even in your business UNLESS you consciously break the pattern. The single most important strategic step to take to prevent repeating your business history in 2007 can be summarized in two words: Strategic Review .

Jumping into a new year without strategically assessing your 2006 results is deadly to your business. Why? Because you will repeat the same strategic mistakes, mimic the same performance and see limited gain for all your hard efforts.

I know, reviewing your prior year’s results is not as sexy as formulating new grandiose visions and goals for 2007. However, the benefits - such as, clearer direction, higher performance gains, and a stronger competitive edge - far outweigh the small investment of time and brain power.

Let’s look at the top 3 key strategic parameters you will want to address:

1. FINANCIAL RESULTS.

** What were your revenues, expenses and profit - overall and by each product or service?

** What % of your revenues/profits were generated by each?

** What were your strongest revenue months, what were your weakest months and why?

** What were your largest expenses and how did they add to your bottom line (quantify if possible)?

** What is your current debt and what % of expenses is being funded by debt?

2. CUSTOMER (CLIENT) RESULTS.

** What was the net increase in your customer base for the entire year? average monthly increase?

** What was your attrition rate?

** How does your customer base break down demographically: by age, gender, industry, income level, geography?

** What was your average revenue (or sale size) per customer?

** How does your customer base break down by frequency of purchase?

3. MARKETING RESULTS.

** Name all the marketing methods which you utilized in 2006.

** What % of your revenues and customer base came from each method?

** What % of your customers came through referrals?

** What % of your overall marketing costs were driven by each method?

There are many more parameters - such as human resources, operations, current and new product/service development, industry trends and opportunities - that can and should be addressed in your annual review.

When I start with a new client, they fill out my exclusive 7 page Smart Build Business Assessment. It gives a comprehensive snap shot of their current business performance -- financials ... product/service strategies, expenses and outcomes ... pricing strategies and philosophy ... and 20-30 other critical performance parameters -- as well as details about their future goals and direction. With such detailed information, I can see patterns in results, performance drains, missed revenue opportunities, under-leveraged strengths, and much more.

Answering even these few basic questions for yourself will jumpstart your ability to make smarter strategic business decisions in 2007. It's the first step to achieving exponential gains in your bottom line.

COACH'S RECOMMENDED ACTION STEP

Once you have answered the above questions, now do a qualitative assessment of your 2006 business performance. Ask yourself such questions as:

** What were your most profitable products/services and how can you expand, enhance or leverage them in 2007?

** Which should you let go of?

** What are your best markets and how can you penetrate those markets further?

** What can you do to increase your customers’ purchasing rate?

** What can you do to minimize your marketing time and costs?

If you are tired of slow growth, marginal results or meager performance, don't let your business history repeat itself. Get strategically smart in tne new year. May you experience unstoppable business success in 2007!

When it comes to starting a business and business plans, you will find that they are not always required. There are some instances where business plans are completely optional. However, that does not mean that you still shouldn’t want to develop one. Although, in some instances, business plans are optional, there are other times when they are not. So, how you do you know whether or not you need to develop yourself a business plan? Keep on reading to find out!.

One of the many business marketing plan uses includes financing. A large number of individuals wish to startup their own business, but many are unable to do so because of money. That is why a most business owners rely on financial lenders or investors. Financial lenders and inventors are sources of financing for many potential business owners. As you might expect, both financial lenders and investors are picky about where their money goes. That is why if you need financing to get your business up and running, you will need to have a business plan. In fact, many financial lenders and inventors will not even give you a quick glance if you do not have a business plan prepared.

Although it is important to understand that financial lenders and investors rely on business plans, you may be wondering why that is so. There are many individuals who wonder why they just can’t explain their business, without having to have it all mapped or planned out. In all honestly, to be successful, a business need to be organized and ran by an individuals who is. Having your business mapped out, in a business plan, is one of the best ways to not only show your organizational skills, but also show that you are serious about your business. Business plans are also used by investors and financial lenders to determine whether or not your business venture is really a profitable one. If not, it is likely that you may find it difficult to obtain the financing that you need.

Now, you do need a business plan if you are looking to obtain financing to get your business started, but if you don’t need financing it may be a different story. If your business does to have any startup costs or if you already have those costs covered, a business plan isn’t necessarily required. However, as previously mentioned, that doesn’t mean that you should automatically forget about developing one. Although you may not need to have a business plan, you still might benefit from making one. One of those benefits is knowing exactly what your business will be and what you will need to do to get it up and running.

In a way, a business plan serves as a to-do list for business developers. Although business plans do come in a number of different formats, most include information on what a business will be about, how that business will be put in motion, how it will generate income, and so on. In fact, one of the points often covered in a business plan is advertising, otherwise known as marketing. By developing your marketing plan ahead of time, you will know exactly how your business will be able to generate income. Developing a business plan, ahead of time, will help to ensure that you get everything right, the first time around.

As you can see, there are some instances where you will need to have a business plan; not having one isn’t an option. Although you may not need to have a business plan, especially if you do not need to worry about financing, you may still want to take the time to develop your own business plan. As previously mentioned, there are a number of benefits to doing so.

Despite being vital to the success of a business, there are still a relatively large number of individuals who have no idea what a business plan is. Are you one of those individuals? If so, you are advised to take the time to familiarize yourself with business plans, including what they are, how they are made, and what they include. Since business plans are vital to the success of starting a business, not knowing may be damaging right from the start.

When it comes to business plans you will find that they are just that, plans. Business plans outline an intended business. Business plans include a lot of different information. That information tends to include an explanation of the business in question, the services that will be offered, who will run that business, as well as how it will be run. Business plans also tend into include information on financing and marketing. Almost all business plans are created on paper, but some business plans are created in electronic format, to be sent out over the internet, and other are created in presentation form, to be presented to an audience.

In addition to knowing exactly what business plans are, you may also be wondering what they are used for. One of the most common reasons why business plans are created is to offer guidance or instructions to business owners or developers. In most cases, it is easier to develop a business plan or come up with business ideas ahead of time. Waiting until the last minute or developing a business as you go along, on impulse, can often lead to poor results. That is why you are advised to create a business plan, especially if you are starting a business for the first time. A business plan may make it easier to keep yourself and your business organized. It will also help to make to sure that you do not forget to complete important tasks.

Although a large number of potential business owners use business plans for their own needs, there are others who rely on business plans for financial assistance. When seeking financing for a business, investors and financial lenders are the ones who are approached the most. If you are looking to start a business, but you need financing to do so, you will need to approach investors or financial lenders. As you likely already know, a financial lender or an investor will not just hand over money to anyone. They will want to make sure that their money will be put to good use. They also want to know that they will be able to get their money back. That is why financial lenders and investors rely on business plans. A business plan will give them an idea as to whether or not a business will succeed or be worth investing their money in.

Now that you know exactly what business plans are and what they are used for. You may be interested in making your own. If you do not have the time to do so, you are still advised against proceeding without a plan; you do have other options. One of those other options involves relying on a professional business plan writer or developer. For a reasonable fee, you can have a professional create your business plan for you, with your assistance of course.

As previously mentioned, you are advised to create a business plan for your up and coming business venture. A business plan, no matter how professional it may be, is vital to the success of your next business venture.

If you are unfamiliar with business plans, particularly what they include, you may want to the take the time to familiarize yourself with items commonly found on a business plan. Doing so may make it easier for you to develop a business plan that will fit your needs.

One of the most important things that you should include on a business plan is the type of business that you are interested in starting. For example, are you interested in starting a retail store, an online store, or a cleaning service? Regardless of which type of business you plan on starting, you need to outline that business, preferably in great detail. It is also important to mention the products or services that you plan on selling, also in great detail.

It is also important to mention where your business will be located or, at least, where you want your business to be located at. If you are planning on starting an internet business, this process will be a little bit easier to explain. If you are starting an internet business, it may be a good idea to mention the domain name that you would like to choose for your online website. If you will be email marketing, planning on running a storefront business, you will want to focus on properties that are available for sale or for rent. If you do not want to do this, you will, at least, want to focus on the type of building that you would like to rent or buy and your preferred business location.

Another point that you should mentioned in your business plan is how your business will be run. For example, will you be running your own business or will you hire someone else to run it for you? It is also important to mention whether or not you plan on hiring outside assistance. The amount of staff that you would like to hire is important when examining the potential success of your business, as well as the costs associated with running it.

In addition to your business expenses, it is also important to focus on how you plan on generating income for your business. That is why your business plan should include advertising or marketing strategies. These strategies should be used to reach your target audience. Your target audience is who you think is most likely to become a client or a customer of yours. In fact, your target audience should also be outlined in your business plan.

It is also advised that your business plan focus on your competition. This is extremely important, especially if you are planning on using your business plan to obtain financing for your up and coming business venture. Financial lenders and investors will want to make sure that your business will be a success. In most cases, you will find that the success of your business relies on the competition. That is why it is advised that you obtain an accurate count of businesses in your area that are offering the same products or services as you are, as well as the prices that those products and services are being offered at.

The above mentioned points are just a few of the many that you will want to cover, when making your business plan. Some of the other points that are worth mentioning include your financial needs, security plans, and business insurance.

When it comes to business plans and their importance, you will find that there are a number of different reasons why business plans are important. Perhaps, the best way to go about understanding those reasons is to closely examine business plans, namely what they are used for. Business plans are used for a number of different things; they serve a number of different purposes. In all honesty, it depends on the type of business that you are interested in developing.

Business plans are used by many to obtaining financing for their up and coming businesses. These potential business owners are ones who have business ideas, but they do not have the financing needed to make their dreams become a reality. Instead of giving up on those dreams, a large number of individuals turn to financial lenders or investors for financial assistance. This is where a business plan comes in. Financial lenders and investors don’t just hand out money to any ole person. They, as you likely expect, want to make sure that they will be getting their money back. The only way to do this is to back a business that is sure to be a success. The only problem is that financial lenders and investors aren’t mind readers; that is why they rely on business plans.

When examining a business plan, a financial lender or investor will likely go over it with a fine tooth comb. In fact, they may even want to keep your business plan for a while, to do a little bit of research. That research will likely help them determine whether or not your business idea could turn into a real, profitable business. If so, there is a good chance that you may get the financing that you need. That is why it is extremely important that you not only have a business plan, but a detailed, professional one. You will often find that your business plan is the deciding factor in whether or not you get the financing that you need.

In addition to using a business plan to obtain business financing, there are many potential business owners who use business plans as guidance. It is no secret that it is difficult to develop a business on a whim. Doing so may mean leaving out important duties or tasks; duties or tasks that may have a significant impact on your business. That is why, if you are interested in starting a business, you are advised to develop yourself a business plan. That business plan will help to make sure that you have all of your bases covered. Having all of your bases covered is one of the many keys to developing a successful and profitable business.

Guidance and financial backing are just a few of the many ways that business plans are used, but they are the two most important and most common uses. Regardless of what you use your business plan for, in the end, you will be glad that you developed one.

Although you may know what a business plan is or heard about it is passing, you may be wondering if you really need to have one. Better yet, you may be wondering if making a business plan is even worth your time.

When it comes to business plans and being worth your time, you will, almost always, find that they are. In fact, if you are interested in starting your own business, no matter what type of business it may be, you are urged to make yourself a business plan. Developing a business plan may take a little bit of time and research, but it will, almost always, be worth it in the end.

One of the most common reasons why business plans are created is to give a business owner a plan. Starting a business can be a fairly long, complicated, and expensive process. To save yourself time and maybe even money, you are urged to create a business plan.

Having a business plan will help to ensure that you get everything taken care of that you wanted or needed to have done. For instance, if you are planning on marketing your business, you may want to have your business plan include marketing tips or ideas. In most cases, you will find that you forget less if you create yourself a plan or a list of instructions to follow.

In addition to giving you a direction to take, business plans can also help you obtain financing for your business, either from investors or from financial lenders. Most financial lenders and investors will not give you money unless they know that you are a sure thing. That is why a business plan is ideal and always worth your time. In fact, you may find that many financial lenders and investors will not even meet with you without having a detailed business plan. That is why if you are relying on financial assistance from others, you should have a business plan.

The good news about creating a business plan is that you have a number of different options. As previously mentioned, creating a business plan can be a stressful and time consuming process. If you are limited on time or if you want your business plan to be perfect, you have a number of different options. In addition to making your own business plan from scratch, you can also rely on the assistance of a professional.

Professional business plan developers are writers who can easily be found online and their services are obtainable for a reasonable price. It might also be a good idea to try and find business plan templates online. These templates will act as a guide for you.

Whether you make your own business plan, rely on assistance from a professional, or use an online business template, you are urged to make one for yourself. As stated above, there are a number of benefits to developing yourself a business plan; thus making it always worth your time.

If you are planning on starting a business, but you have yet to develop yourself a business plan, you may want to think about doing so.

As nice as business plans are, they can sometimes be difficult to make and they can even be time consuming. That is why a large number of individuals make the decision to use business plan templates. If you are looking for a relatively easy way to develop your next business plan, you may want to think about using the internet to find templates. Although you can create your own business plan, all on your own, there are a number of benefits to using the business plan templates that you can find online.

Perhaps, one of the greatest benefits to using business plan templates online is that many of them are free to use. Of course, you will also find individuals and companies who are selling business plan templates, but you should be able to find a collection of free business plan templates online. The decision as to whether or not you want to purchase these templates is yours to make. Before agreeing to buy a business plan template or settling on a free one, it may be a good idea to examine all of your options.

Another one of the many benefits to using online business plan templates is that you may familiarize yourself with something that you didn’t already know. Depending on the type of business plan you are interested in creating, there is a good chance that you will need to have a number of things included, such as marketing strategies, financing strategies, and much more. If you have never made a business plan before, there is a good chance that you may forget to include something important in your business plan. Using a business plan template reduces the chances of that happening. That is why you are encouraged to use business plan templates, especially if this is your first time creating a business plan.

It is also important to remember that templates are not permanent. For example, if you like the business template that you selected, but you would like to alter it a little bit, you should be able to do so. This is another one of the many benefits to using online business plan templates; you can easily personalize your business plan to make it professional, but personal at the same time. Although you should be able to alter most business plan templates, it may be a good idea to make sure before proceeding any further.

If you are interested in finding an online business plan template or at least giving them a quick look, you can easily do so. Perhaps, the best way to find business templates online is by performing a standard internet search. Your internet search should be performed with the words “business plan templates.” It might also be a good idea to include the type of business that you are starting in your search. You will find that there are some online business plan templates that are unique to specific industries. Although a unique template may be ideal, you should be able to accomplish the same goal with a standard one.

Regardless of whether or not you choose to use an online business plan template, you are urged to develop yourself a business plan. That plan is not just a piece of paper; it is a way to help make your dreams become a reality.

That is why you may want to think about seeking assistance. One of the many ways that you can seek assistance, when developing a business plan, is by hiring the assistance of a professional. In this case, that professional is often referred to as a professional business plan writer.

Before examining whether or not you should hire the services of a professional business plan writer, you may want to know exactly what one is. A professional business plan writer is an individual who writes business plans for their clients. In most cases, you will find these individuals to be experienced, professional writers. In all honestly, when writing anything, even a business plan, it is the wording that makes all the difference in the world. That is why a large number of individuals, in your shoes, turn to professional writers for assistance.

When it comes to professional business plan writers, you will find that different writers perform different duties. For example, a large number of professional business plan writers will take your ideas, which you have already developed, and present them in a professional matter. There are also professional search engine marketing business plan writers who will work with you to develop your plan. Since more work and time goes into to assisting you with developing the perfect business plan for your up and coming business, you will likely find that the services of these types of writers cost more than traditional ones.

There are a number of different reasons why potential business owners turn to professional business plan writers. One of those reasons is because of lack of experience. If you have never created a business plan before, you may be unsure what to do. Although it is relatively easy to learn how to create your own business plan, it can be a time consuming process. In fact, that is another reason why potential business developers turn to professional writers; to save themselves time. With the right experience, a professional business plan writer may be able to create a detailed, professional business plan in half the time that it would take you to create the same plan.

If you are interested in acquiring the services of a professional business plan writer, you will have a number of different options. One of those options is to find someone locally. Dealing with a local business plan writer is great if you want to meet face to face or have a personal relationship. The only problem that you may find is that not all areas of the United States have professional business plan writers available. This means that you may have to turn to the internet for assistance. Online, there are a large number of professional writers who specialize in creating or writing business plans. There is a good chance that one of those individuals could offer you assistance.

When choosing a professional business plan writer, if you make the decision to do so, it is important that you don’t choose the first person that you come across. Your business plan will not only be used for your guidance, but it may also be used to attract financing for your business. That is why your business plan not only needs to look professional, but it also needs to be detailed and readable. Before agreeing to a business arrangement with a professional business plan writer, you should request previous work samples or work with a writer who has a satisfaction guaranteed policy. This will help to ensure that you are getting your moneys worth or at least a business plan that you can use.

By keeping the above mentioned points in mind, you should be able to decide whether or not a professional business plan writer can assist you. In addition to determining whether or not you should use a professional business plan writer, you also know how to go about finding the writer that can not only give you what you want, but also what you need.

Before examining the benefits of developing a business plan, it is best to examine exactly what business plans are. While business plans do come in a number of different formats, you will find that all business plans accomplish the same purpose. That purpose is to give a clear idea and plan as to exactly what your next business venture is or will be. For example, if you are interested in starting your own storefront retail store, your business plan will likely include the intended location of your business, what type of items you will sell, the hours that your store will be open, who your customers will likely be, how you will target your customers, and where your financing will come from or where you hope it will come from. Although a retail store was used as an example, all new business developers are urged to develop a business plan, no matter what the type of business.

Now that you know exactly what a business plan is, you can better understand the benefits of having one. One of the greatest marketing and advertising benefits to having a business plan is that you will know what you need to do to get your business up and running. For example, if you know what type of customers you will be targeting and how, you have a better chance of starting a profitable business. In a way, a business plan also doubles as a to-do list. A business plan will help to make sure that, when getting your business up and running, you do everything that you need to do or everything that you planned on doing. A business plan is a great guide to follow, especially if this is your first time starting your own business.

Another benefit to developing yourself a business plan is that it may help you obtain financing for your business. If you are interested in starting a business, but you do not have the financial resources needed to do so, you will need to seek financial assistance. This assistance almost always comes from financial lenders or investors. The thing about financial lenders and investors is that they want to make sure that they will be able to get their money back; therefore, they want to back a business that is sure to be a success. If you do not have any experience developing successful businesses, a business plan will need to do all of the speaking for you. A business plan is really the only way that a financial lender or investor will be able to tell if their money will be used for a successful operation.

A business plan is also ideal to have if you are interested in selling your business, after you have already started it. As nice as it is to start your own business, it is often harder than originally thought. If and when you get your business started and you decide that it isn’t working out, you may want to sell. If and when that time comes, a business plan may help. A business plan will not only let an intended buyer know exactly what your business is or what it does, but it will also help a buyer understand exactly how it got started. This information is important to many business buyers. In fact, even if you do not get your business up off the ground, you may still be able to sell your business idea or your business plan. There are a large number of individuals out there who have the motivation and the financial resources needed to develop a business, but they just don’t have the ideas to do so.

As you can see, there are a number of benefits to developing yourself a business plan. That is why it is advised that you do so, especially if you are serious about starting your own business.

Although making a business plan is a step in the right direction, you will want to make sure that your business plan is everything that you need or want it to be. That is why, when making a business plan, there are a number of important factors that you should take into consideration.

Perhaps, the most important thing to keep in mind, when creating a business plan, is the type of business that you are interested in creating. While a large number of potential business owners create business plans that are considered universal or standard. There are some who make the decision to tailor a plan to fit their business. If you are looking to attract investors or just make the best business plan that you can make, you may want to think about tailoring your business plan to the type of business that you are planning on developing. For instance, if you are planning on developing an internet store, you will find that your business plan headings and content may be a little bit different than if you were interested in developing your own law firm.

It is also important to keep your business plan uses in mind. For example, a large number of business owners create a business plan as a way to obtain financing for their business. Most marketing research financial lenders and investors will not give you money for your business unless they know that it is a sure thing. Since your business has yet to be developed, a business plan is the only way to let them know whether or not it can be a sure thing. If you will be using your business plan to attract financing, you will want to make your business plan is professional as it could be. If you are only using your business plan as a guide for yourself, you are still advised to make it professional, but you can also lax a bit if need be.

In addition to the professionalism of your business plan, what you need to use that plan for may also help to decide how you should make it. For example, most business plans are created on paper. These paper plans are ideal for self organization. In addition to paper plans, business plans are also filed and sent around electronically. If you will be communicating with an investor or a business partner online, an electronic business plan may be the way to go. An electronic business plan is different than a traditional paper plan because the formats are often different. You may also want to create a presentation style business plan. A presentation business plan is ideal if you will be presenting your business to inventors or financial lenders. With a presentation business plan, you will not only need to create a business plan, but outline how you will explain that plan to your audience.

Your skills or experience in creating business plans should also be taken into consideration, especially if your business plan will be viewed by others. Although there is a good chance that you could create your own professional business plan, you may want to rely on assistance from others. That assistance may come from a professional business plan developer or writer. If you do make the decision to develop your own business plan, it may be a good idea to have someone that you trust review your plan for you and make suggestions. You do not have to take those suggestions, but you are encouraged to keep them in mind.

The above mentioned points are just a few of the many that you should keep in mind. In fact, if you have never created a business plan before, it may be a good idea to take the time to research business plans and how they should be developed. You can easily do this online or by searching for printed resources at one of your local book stores or libraries.

Whether you just started browsing the internet or performed a standard internet search with the words “business plans,” you likely came across business plan software programs.

These software programs advertise that, for a reasonable price, you can easily make your own business plans, often in no time at all. Have you given these programs any though? If you haven’t you may want to.

When it comes to determining whether or not business plan software programs are worth the money, you will find that it depends. In all honesty, it depends on your needs, as well as your wants. There are some individuals who can benefit from the purchase of a business plan software program, but there are also others who cannot. The best way to determine whether or not business plan software programs are a wise investment or a waste of your money is to keep a number of important factors in mind.

One of the most important factors to keep in mind, when determining whether or not you should purchase a business plan software program, is your experience with creating business plans. Have you ever created a business plan before? If not, do you know how to go about creating a plan? If you do not have any experience creating business plans, but you have researched what they need to include, you may be able to make your own business plan, without assistance from a software program. However, if you are unfamiliar with business plans and what information they should include, you may want to rely on a business plan software program. Most of these programs will walk you through creating a professional business plan, step-by-step.

It is also important to examine what your business plan will be used for. For example, do you need to obtain financing for your business? If so, there is a good chance that you will need to approach a financial lender or an investor. When doing so, you will need to have a professional, detailed business plan. Most investors and financial lenders will not financially back a business unless they know it is going to be a profitable one.

Since your business has likely yet to be fully developed, financial lenders and investors will rely on your business plan. Since your business plan will likely be the deciding factor, in whether or not you are able to obtain financing for your next business venture, you will want to make sure that your business plans is as detailed as it could possibly be. To ensure that you do not leave out anything important, you may want to rely on a business plan software program, which also doubles as a business plan template.

The decision as to whether or not you want to purchase a business plan software program is the easy one, the hard one is finding a program to purchase. When purchasing a business plan software program, you may want to thoroughly consider all of your options. Side-by-side comparisons are the best ways to know exactly what you are purchasing and if what you are about to buy is really worth your money.

Why do businesses fail? The Small Business Administration in 2004 (latest year for available date) identified the launch of 580,900 new employer businesses and the closing of 576,200. This report suggests that for every business failure another business took the chance to open and to fail.

Many business writers. business consultants and business coaches attribute business failure to a lack of strategic planning, a lack of leadership, a lack of vision, a lack of processes, the list is endless. Dan Kennedy, a renowned marketing and sales expert said "That there is no business success or failure, but rather people success and people failure." However, the problem with identifying one reason for business failure is the problem.

Businesses are complex by their very nature. To believe that only one factor will either make or break a business is foolhardy and contributes to the silo solution mentality. This approach is simply stated like this: If I fix this one problem, then everything else is OK.

Successful businesses harness what I call the dynamic forces of performance – strategic planning, execution and measurement. These forces, much like the forces in nature, act upon each performance field such as profitability, customer service, growth and innovation to name a few. When all 3 forces are in alignment, the field experiences tremendous energy and improved performance happens.

Processes help to unite the forces and close any performance gaps between the forces. People development process links strategic planning and execution. Many companies have great strategic planning capacity, but fail to execute or implement the performance change.

Even if strategic planning and execution are OK, sometimes measurement of the desired results is still lacking. A goal achievement process helps to bridge this gap.

Between measurement and planning is the process of quality. Reviewing the quality of the performance field helps to not only improve measurement, but establishes a high performance culture of continuous improvement.

All of these forces and processes operate within the eye of leadership. Effective leadership is necessary to manage each of the forces as well as the processes. If effective leadership is not present, then the forces fail to maximize their impact upon the field.

Take the time to look at the forces within your business along with the processes. Implement action where necessary so that you will be one of those businesses that will not fail.

No one can effectively work alone and no one ever does. Often, an idea may spark from a single person's mind but this would develop through the accumulation of ideas as contributed by those who have knowledge on a specific topic or simply have the innate quality to explore an idea from its simplistic point of view towards a more profound perspective.

From one idea come history, civilization, great corporations, great people and a number of other significant themes. And it is inevitable that from one concept, a number of various contributions will arise.

Some people prefer the habit of contemplating on their own ideas alone, others would rather practice soliloquies then have their listeners agree with what they are trying to emphasize. These two practices have their own pros and cons. But you see, as for effectiveness, many people find brainstorming as one of the most efficient methods of raising one argument which will then be followed with equally good suggestions which in the end leads to the development of a concrete answer that could be useful for any purpose it is actually directed to.

While brainstorming is narrowly connected to the corporate world, it is actually a process that is being used these days to formulate new concepts in any field it can be applied to. It basically aims to scrape out original and innovative notions and concepts from the circle of thinkers.

It actually has two phases: one is termed to as the imaginative phase and the other is the practical phase.

In a nutshell, the imaginative stage contains the presentation of the topics and the arguments that could help resolve the given proposition. The practical stage though is not purely application. It is the testing of the ideas given and the evaluation of these would prove to be effective enough.

Brainstorming sessions are crucial. Anything that is derived from this form of idea formulation may either be used to channel a specific case or to resolve an ever-lurking problem. The possibilities are actually limitless and we can't suggest so much but to have you consider these factors:

An Efficient Leader

As we know it, leaders also serve as moderators in brainstorming session. He facilitates, manages and decides on what ideas should be carried to realization and what should be dumped to the nearest window. He must not only be good at recognizing these things, he also must have the ability to put sparks on people and to help them get the inspiration to thinking more. In fact, he must also be innately equipped with the capacity to formulate his own spontaneous concepts on the spot. He must also be aware that he can initiate ideas to the effect of producing crazy ideas that would tickle the thoughts of the group.

Give the Topic Beforehand

Most brainstorming sessions are prepared prior to the actual meeting. Thus, any member should be well informed of the topic and must already have concepts on what truly is the core matter.

However, some sessions are also held on the spot. This is when the talk gets exciting since this really produces fresh and wacky ideas. But here's the catch, since sessions delivered this way are unprepared, most members of the group cannot participate well unless they are already familiar with the topic.

Openness of the Environment

All ideas, whether it may be good or not, absurd or wild must be entertained. The key in here is to be objective. Don't laugh at somebody else's ideas. Sometimes, the most successful and productive ones are those that were thought of initially as scraps.

If one can manipulate these three topics and put them into practice, it is likely that brainstorming sessions would provide beneficial ideas to help dole you out from your present issues.

We recently completed a Merger and Acquisition engagement to sell our client to a large publicly traded company. Our client had started her company 25 years ago and had set it up a C Corp. She never was advised to change that structure in preparation for a much better tax treatment on the sale of the business.

The buyer had an acquisition policy of only asset sales and no stock sales. The tax implications to our client were punishing. In a C Corp Asset Sale, there is no such thing as a long-term capital gain for the corporation. Since our client's basis (a software and consulting firm) was essentially $0, the entire sale amount would have been treated as ordinary income and would have been taxed at a rate of about 30%. Once taxes are paid by the corporation and a distribution is made to the stockholders, the stockholders are then taxed at the 15% individual long-term capital gains rate.

Let's say that the purchase price was $5 million. With an asset sale, the Corporation would first pay 30% of $5 million, or $1.5 million. On the distribution, the shareholders would pay 15% of the $3.5 million distribution or $425,000. The total tax paid is a whopping $1,925,000. Net proceeds to the seller are $3,075,000. A stock sale, on the other hand is far superior for this C Corp. A stock sale is not taxed at the corporate level, so the gain of $5 million is taxed only once at the shareholders' long term capital gain tax rate of 15%, for a total tax of $750,000. Net proceeds to the seller are $4,250,000, an improvement of $1,175,000.

We simply had to turn this into a stock sale. Our approach was to use this issue as a negotiating point to bridge the valuation gap. The seller wanted more and the buyer wanted to pay less. We had pushed the value as far as could with the buyer, but our client still wanted more. We suggested to the buyer that if they were willing to do a stock sale we may be able to get our client to accept their current offer.

We argued that since this was a technology and services firm, the risk of any environmental or product liability was minimal. We proposed that they cover any perceived risks with stringent Reps and Warranties language in the purchase agreement. Finally, because a significant portion of the transaction value was an earn out, they had a built in escrow account. It worked! Our client was able to realize an additional $1,175,000 through a stock sale and we were able to bridge the valuation gap between buyer and seller.

In our mergers and acquisitions we practice a very important event prior to receiving letters of intent; the buyer visit. Don't be fooled into thinking that this is a simple headquarters tour. Experienced buyers know just the right questions to ask to uncover risks and to discover opportunities. We try to coach our sellers on how to present and how to answer these carefully scripted questions.

Unfortunately, a man or a woman that has called their own shots for the last 25 years is not always receptive to coaching. If we get a feeling that our advice is falling on deaf ears, we schedule the first visit with a buyer that is not the top candidate. Once our seller has made a few tactical errors in this dry run, they are then open to some coaching.

This is what we tell them. Acquiring another company is very risky. Mistakes can damage the buying company. Therefore, a buyer is looking to identify and mitigate risks. Their questioning will focus on what they can expect once they are the owner of your business. Are you bailing on a business that is on a downward spiral? When you leave, will major customers leave with you? Will your key employees stay? Will our company have your strong support in transitioning your knowledge and intellectual capital to our staff?

The number one question is, why are you selling your business? The unacceptable answer is, so I can get away as quickly as possible and sip umbrella drinks on an island. The correct positioning of your exit is, we have built this business and are nearing retirement. In order to realize the future potential we will have to invest back into it at a time when we should be diversifying our assets. A strategic larger company could leverage our assets to achieve much greater market penetration than we could.

Another important theme is that you are in control. You understand your costs and your margins. You can identify the opportunities for growth that a better capitalized company could capture. You can articulate your strengths. You know your weaknesses and they are simply that you do not have enough resources, capital, or distribution to capitalize on all this potential you have created. You understand your market and your competition.

Buyers like to believe they are buying a business at a discount. You should try to present your weaknesses in such a way that the buyer will think, we can easily correct that. For example, an eight week order backlog could be considered a negative. A smart buyer will think, that is a high class problem. I wonder how many orders they lose because of the order delay? We could hire three more people, open two more work bays and cut that backlog down to ten days, immediately capturing 10% greater sales.

Another example is that the selling company is technology focused and really lacks sales and marketing expertise. The savvy buyer with a fully developed sales and marketing engine pictures a 20% increase in sales immediately. If the selling company already had these weaknesses corrected, the buyer would certainly have to reflect that in the purchase price. Because the weaknesses exist and the buyer has already identified how his company will correct them, he views it as buying potential at a discount.

A corporate visit should be a good two-way exchange of information. The seller should ask such things as: How long have you been in business? How many locations do you have? How many employees work for your company? This question is a good way to back into company revenues by applying industry metrics of revenue per employee. Sometimes private companies are hesitant to reveal sales figures. The seller wants to determine whether the buyer is big enough to make the acquisition.

What are your biggest challenges? Who are your biggest competitors? How do you see the market? Where are your best opportunities? Have you made any prior acquisitions? How do you feel about them? What are you really good at? What areas would you like to improve? How would you see integrating our company with yours?

There is some very important information that you are seeking from this line of questioning. First, their answers give you some hooks on which to hang the assets of your company in order to drive up your perceived value to the buyer. Find their opportunities and show how your company combined with theirs can help capture them. Show how your assets will give them an advantage over their competitors. Show how your combined assets can eliminate some of their problems or weaknesses.

You want to determine if there is a cultural and a philosophical fit. Is there trust? Do you feel comfortable? Do they "get it" in terms of recognizing your company's strategic value or are they just trying to buy your company at some rule of thumb financial multiple?

Often a company acquisition is comprised of cash at close and some form of deferred transaction value like an earn out. If your deal was structured like this, do you have confidence that you would reach your maximum in future payments? Have they been able to articulate their growth plan after they acquire you?

As you can see, the buyer visit should not be looked at as simply a show and tell corporate visit. It should be viewed as an opportunity for the seller to gather valuable information that will help him answer three questions: 1. Is it a fit? 2. How can my company help them grow and better compete? 3. Are they willing and able to pay me for that?

My automatic response is “what is your area of expertise, your passion or where do you feel you are able to add real value to potential clients?”

It’s impossible to really answer the first question without truly understanding the person I’m talking to.

Furthermore, all businesses are out there to make money, yet each business chooses a different mechanism with which to generate the revenue.

After all entrepreneurs who start businesses are merely problem solvers, as they identify a problem or need being faced by others and they solve it at a profit!

So my question to any business owner or person thinking about starting in business is “What problem do you solve or need do you fulfil?” In answering this question it’s useful to think long and hard about your target client, what is it that they really need / want or have a problem with? Sometimes they don’t even know they have a problem until a solution is highlighted to them.

Take for example the internet, no one really new that we needed it until it was offered to us, the same goes for mobile phones, cars, aeroplanes, electricity, washing machine, cats eyes, etc.

In creating a clear purpose for your business you need to be clear about:

* Who your target market are?
* What their wants and needs are?
* How you are able to meet their wants / needs?
* What your are aiming to do to continue to meet their needs both now and in the future?

Remember, being the creator of a new idea is often not the best and most profitable route, sometimes it is better to find someone else who is already solving the need, but do it better!

You’ve established your company. You’ve hung out your shingle, printed up those marketing brochures, and launched your website. You may even have found your first few clients. Now what?

You can certainly continue to build your business through referrals from those first few satisfied customers. But that takes time because consulting and training industries are essentially relationship-driven. To leverage your contacts and build your business more quickly, consider the advantages of partnering with established companies that have already developed a solid client base, a recognized brand, and a solid product or service. Build partnerships with these organizations to give and get leads, referrals, and introductions.

At NetSpeed Leadership, we offer a consultant partner program to allow independent consultants to affiliate with us. Essentially training consultants become our partners in reaching out to our prospects and clients. We provide regular sales leads, a high-quality website, web conference demonstrations, paid search advertising, marketing and sales support tools. We coach our consultant partners through the sales process, help them prepare proposals and support them through the training implementation. Consultants who affiliate with us consider us to be their strategic partner, helping them provide a level of product and service that they might not be able to offer on their own. In return they make training delivery fees and commission on sales.

One of our colleagues is a frequently published author and a recognized expert in his field. He was approached this year by a start-up training company that wants to develop an online training program using his content. He provides the instant name recognition, golden reputation in his industry, and the content. They provide the instructional design, marketing, operation, and sales resources. He’s thrilled because he has no interest in developing an online training program but he wouldn’t mind the additional revenue stream. They’re thrilled because their time to market is significantly reduced and they get a fast start with an established client base when the program is ready.

NetSpeed Leadership occasionally affiliates with organizations that complement our product and service offerings. For example, we recently launched a customer service training program and we’re now working with a strategic partner to offer a customer service dashboard that will allow customers to identify and track their service metrics. This is an enhancement to our product that we value but don’t have the resources to develop internally. Our strategic partner hopes to gain access to our new clients, while we benefit from offering a sophisticated tracking system as a product enhancement.

In thinking about potential strategic partners, ask these kinds of questions:

What types of partners could enhance my product or service offering? For example, a human resources consulting firm might consider partnering with a compensation expert, or an independent trainer might partner with a larger training vendor.

What does my company have to offer a strategic partner? As a consultant you might offer to donate labor upfront to produce a product or service that would enhance your strategic partner’s business offerings (assuming, of course, that you would receive a portion of revenue down the road).

What strategic partners could extend my reach nationally? Perhaps you’ve developed a good client base in your region but believe that you might be able to develop your business in other parts of the country. In this case, look for partners of similar size that are operating successfully in their regions and see if you can build on each others’ regional business with complementary service offerings.

What strategic partners could extend my reach internationally? The world is growing increasingly inter-connected. There may be consultants or trainers in other countries that would be delighted to partner with you to open up their markets. You provide the intellectual capital, tested models, and operations support while developing business in a country or two that you might want to visit.

In any of these potential partnerships, you will want to ensure that your conversations are well-documented, that you sign non-disclosure agreements to protect your intellectual property, and that you conclude any agreements with solid legal contracts which spell out clearly your business arrangements. At the same time, trust your instincts. If you believe that your potential strategic partner is untrustworthy, for heaven's sake, don't move forward.

There is one final advantage of affiliating with strategic partners: the joy of collaborating with smart people to create great results!

Until recently, many CEOs and companies in general had not thought much about succession planning. But sooner or later, everyone is either going to be replaced early in their career or retire due to age or for health reasons. Whether you own a family business or you are the CEO of a company, you may get to the point of deciding that you no longer want to go into the office any more. Organizations need to find new leadership as more and more top-level executives, managers, and decision makers who are in the baby-boomer years are beginning to reach retirement age.

Have you been putting off succession planning? Succession planning is not just about picking the next CEO. It is the process in which the captain of the ship needs to plan for hiring, training, and developing the crew (employees) as part of your ship’s (company’s) long-range growth plan. Succession planning was once reserved for replacing key leadership positions of a company; it is now needed for all positions of the corporation.

With more than 40 percent of companies not having a CEO succession plan in place, many businesses are neglecting an important step in their long-term planning – that of succession planning for any reason the leadership of the company can no longer perform their job. Unfortunately, very few organizations, whether they are family run or not, have well-thought-out or well-executed succession planning programs.

In preparing for business succession, think about both the best and worst case scenarios of what could happen to your company after you leave. Your succession plan needs to consist of a series of sequential steps. The key points to keep in mind are as follows:

1. Exit Strategy: Exit strategies are rare among small businesses. I believe that you need to start your succession plan as soon as you are in your position because you never know what situations may arise to make you leave your captain’s chair. The smoother the transition, the better for you and for the next person inheriting the executive suite. (Only 32% who plan to retire in the next five years have identified successors.)

2. Write Your Job Description: Write down on paper what your job consists of and what you do. What about – It is also helpful if you have a procedures manual for all of the various procesees and procedures that are important to your position and to your company/business. First, this helps you to understand your job better. Second, your successor will be able to see what the job of the CEO entails, the job description, and the criteria they will need in functioning as the CEO.

3. Ask Questions: By your asking yourself and others questions regarding succession, you are going to get others to think about whom may be next in line to succeed you. As the CEO of a company, no matter the size, getting input as to expectations from both yourself and others will make the transition easier.

Nearly 70% of family business owners expect to keep the business within the family for the foreseeable future. With a family run business, it is important to involve your family in successive planning discussions. Ask yourself if your children are qualified to run the business or if they even have any interest in the business when you decide you want to leave. Will your family business survive when it is passed down to the next generation?

Many believe that the first born should run the show, but need to think about the fact that they may not have the skills or interest to run it. Then, you may need to find out if there is another family member who is more capable and interested in wanting the business. If the company stays within the family, you may want to or need to decide what roles your children will play in the company. Definitely monitor what they have been doing in their current positions.

If no one from the family wants to run or even stay involved in the business after you decide to leave, you need to think about what is best for the business. You need to decide whether to sell the company or try to merge it with another company. If you decide to have a family member succeed you, have a strategy for dealing with those unhappy family members who were not selected to lead the company.

The fact is, more than seven out of 10 family-owned businesses fail to survive the transition from founder to second generation. Of those that do, only 20 percent survive to the third generation.

4. Who Are Your Stars: When it comes time to find your company’s next top executive, you can either promote from within or go outside the company. In determining who to choose as the company’s next leader, primarily look at employees who have strong talents and skills to help the business grow. Since different people bring different talents and skills with them into the workplace, observe those who are enthusiastic and creative in what they do, especially as they solve challenging issues. Of course, not everyone is going to be strong in all areas, so also pay close attention to what their gaps might be in their (leadership) skills.

Prior to interviewing for leadership, identify your critical management issues and write them as questions. Also ask about the candidates’ vision for the company, their personal values, needs development, and ask them questions about what they would do in crisis situations. These are the areas that can make or break your company in moving forward. Find out about their strengths and weaknesses, about how clearly they communicate their responses to your questions, and have them paint an exciting picture of how the company would look when they are in charge. Finally, how do they learn from others, especially during a transition phase when the changing of the guard takes place?

You need to look at both your high potential and low potential employees. Your high potentials may be very qualified by the skills they demonstrate, and the low potential employees may not have been able to get promoted to the point of using their skills to their maximum potential for you to see what they can do. These low potential employees may be your next stars if given the proper training and the chance to shine.

5. Determine Your Role: With your succession plan in place well in advance of your planned departure, you need to think about whether or not you are going to be involved during the transition phase. In aligning your strategic priorities, some companies involve their entire company, not just HR or the executive team. Some CEOs continue to be involved in the process of transforming the company. Should you be retained as a future consultant for a specific time period?

6. Get to Know Your People: Since succession is about creating a “fit” between what your company must do strategically and the person you choose who can best implement that strategy, you might talk to your employees on a regular basis and get to know them inside and out. While you do this, even in getting some employees together for a roundtable discussion, find out their skills, their ability to listen to others, what questions they ask and how they answer questions posed to them, and notice their behaviors and interactions with others. Essentially, assess your high potential managers’ strengths, weaknesses, and succession readiness. As already mentioned, you might want to promote those who are your low potentials with the skills, talent, and desires to move up the corporate ladder. Some of these individuals are employees who have the potential, but no one has given them a chance.

7. Identify the Right Candidates: Establish a process for identifying the right candidates. Make sure the specific candidates fit your criteria for taking the helm after you leave. As you decide who your candidates may be, those who were promoted from inside your company already have a track record you may be familiar with. Watch the previously low-potential employees who have been promoted – your succession plan can always be changed as people in your organization/company grow. Those from outside your company, you probably have little or no knowledge of their track record at all so you need to find out as much as you can about them.

In ensuring a smooth implementation of your succession plan, some management positions can remain open for a few weeks or even months until the right person is found. At some point, you are going to need to elevate someone to your position.

One of the biggest challenges any organization faces is preparing for the future by identifying the leaders of tomorrow. The selection of the right individual(s) to take over the reins in a succession plan is key to your company’s future. As the demand for effective managers continues to grow, baby boomer executives are in the process of retiring. This will bring a sharp decline of those who want to be in the executive suite and those who are qualified to be there.

Some forward-thinking companies have had succession management programs for years. They make it an integral part of their leadership development process. Your company may be given a timeline of five, or even 10 years for the succession plan to begin. Since change is constant, putting a succession plan in place establishes a process for the company to follow no matter who the heir apparent happens to be. Companies that do not conduct succession planning struggle to replace key employees who leave or die. At times, an interim chief executive may be put in place until the company feels it is ready for a permanent executive at the helm.

Remember that succession plans are ever-evolving. The first plan that is formulated may not necessarily be the best plan when the time comes to implement it. Be sure to review your plan at least once a year and change it as needed – people in your plan may have left the company, new qualified people may have been hired, the company direction may have changed, the company size and gross income may have changed, etc., etc.

Many companies hope that the right person is available for the promotion when the CEO position becomes vacant. Most of the younger managers are eager to move up the corporate ladder, but are not prepared to take on the additional tougher responsibilities. How well you plan your succession can determine the future success of the business you leave behind.

Neal Burgis, Ph.D. is the founder and CEO of Burgis Successful Solutions, an executive coaching firm. He has 18 years of experience in helping others with their goals and performance levels. He specializes in executive coaching on work balance issues of performance, leadership development, self-confidence, customer service and improving interpersonal skills, as well as being a sounding board.

Strategic alliances are commonplace today among organizations both large and small. The advantages allow companies like yours to successfully compete in the global marketplace. Powerful synergies are the outcropping of successful alliances. Synergistic Partnering Alliances where competitors can realize great value by building relationships of integrity with one another are very much like a marriage. And, marriage takes work!

To begin, you must search for the perfect mate.

How do you find competitors with whom who have overlapping core competencies and can successfully become a synergistic alliance partner?

* Talk to your suppliers. They already have a great deal of experience with your competitors. They also have a good handle on the integrity of their customers.

* Your trade associations meetings can be quite helpful. Ask the board members and staffers as they are usually knowledgeable about the players in your industry.

* Industry and trade magazines are a great source of the players in an industry. Most articles will give you enough information to do a quick search and with ease find the person or organization that was mentioned.

* Your local chambers of commerce and the better business bureau.

The key is to find a partner with the same core values as you. This will make life together better. Ask yourself this about any high profile or famous alliance, "Why did or didn't their marriage work out?" If you can find anyone that will tell the truth, they will most likely blame the fact that the cultures of the two companies were too different. A significant point in selecting a partner is to keep in mind that your alliance will only be as strong as its weakest link. What I mean to say is that you want a winner, not a looser on your team. Do not build an alliance with a needy person or organization, especially if they/it that cannot make it on their own. Trust me—you will regret it if you do.

Next, you must court your future alliance partner to start building a relationship. Assisting your future synergistic alliance partner to have an emotional ownership in the partnering paradigm will be your primary mission at this point. Intellectually, your partner can see and realize the benefits of a synergistic relationship but the fear of losing control might block their emotional ownership to a commitment. Without their emotional ownership, not buy-in, any commitment made will have been done on a shaky foundation.

Now, they might be experiencing the getting married jitters. You must successfully deal with the fears and issues in synergistic alliance partnering with competitors. Sensitivity and understanding of your potential partner's situation are crucial at this juncture. Talk about the up side and the down sides to your intended alliance. Talk about how you might deal with the relationship if things do not work out. Plan an exit strategy. Getting fears and issues out on the table rather than hiding them in the dark will serve all involved extremely well.

Where are you going to live? The question is about your individual and combined marketing areas. Also, talk about new buying habits and information recovery systems. You will need to track new information to detect the value gained in the alliance. Selecting the alliance marketing area, geographically and service/product mix is no easy task. You will need to pay close attention to the small and large details alike. Might you share warehousing or delivery facilities or possibly even employees to overcome personnel challenges?

Who's Going to Do the Chores? Alliance partner responsibilities and activities make the relationship a success or failure. Too often this is the area where unrealistic expectations of one another rear themselves. Be clear, commit it to writing, who will be doing what. The palest ink is better than the most powerful memory. It is too easy to forget your commitments in six months, a year or a decade later. Regular value updates on the alliance relationship will be very helpful. Too often we keep issues to ourselves and the issues fester like a splinter. This is not the way to build a successful relationship. The relationship value updates should consist of expectations (met and missed) and profitability targets. This information will assist you in determining to upgrade, downgrade or maintain the relationship as is.

Time to tie the knot. The synergistic alliance partnering agreement should be in writing. It should contain detailed explanations of activities, expectations and responsibilities of each partner. This document will be your guiding light or road map for your successful alliance relationship.

Now that you are in a relationship, it will be necessary to make regular relationship bank deposits of physical and emotional energy. Always meet your partner more than half way. By giving more than half, a robust synergy follows and so much more is possible by working in concert than singularly. Visit the link above to access my Relationship Valup Update forms.

Surviving under the sheets? Yes! Being in an alliance relationship is much like being married. Once the synergistic partnering alliance is in place it becomes essential to learn how to become successful cohabitants. While each of you is responsible for your own success, you now must consider how your actions will affect your partner's business. Be aware of the things you do and how your actions might create a need for your partner to change their strategic plan. Confer before you act. After all, you are in bed together. To get space, you must give it first.

When your partner takes all the covers it is not much fun. To Successfully deal with the regular and normal issues and challenges of the relationship, you must get past the "Denial Syndrome." Denial is an insidious situation that generally results in personal destruction. The expression, putting your head in the sand like an ostrich is applicable to denial. The problem with putting your head in the sand is that you leave your posterior undefended. Too often in conflict, one finds it easier to ignore than confront. A confrontation does not have to be a knock down drag out affair, especially if you selected your partner well. Open communication is the key element in dealing with missing covers, or anything else. Remember, if you steal your partner's sheets today, they might take yours when you are cold and in need.

We must go to the marriage counselor. When relationship roadblocks occur, it may be necessary to seek third party counsel for mediation. In this situation, authenticity and openness are meaningful. Since you took the time to choose well, it is usually worth the time, energy and expense necessary to rebuild the partnering bridge. Mediation is becoming a popular method for resolving conflict and it will be easier than you might think to find a qualified mediator. In this process of reconciliation, focus on the reasons for selecting your partner and the benefits you hoped to receive rather than the anger, rage or hurt feelings.

Oh no, divorce! You truly tried but it did not work out. For a myriad of reasons, this sometimes happens. No reason to feel like a failure or declare that you'll never again be in a relationship. In dealing with separation issues, be the bigger person and again meet your partner more than half way. Otherwise the rage and anger will fester and you will become immobilized. If there is "community property" dispose of it fairly or offer to buy out your partner. Either work it out, or take court ordered pennies on the dollar. Only outsiders win in this situation.

We did it, and look at the profits. Yes, success is my hope for you and your partner. Enjoying the journey with your alliance partner and looking for additional opportunities is what make all the work worth the energy. Maybe your alliance will simply be a buying consortium. Perhaps it will be an alliance to serve a large multi regional customer. It could be to share a pool of employees or an advertising coop. What ever you select, have fun in your partnering journey. Enjoy the process and the rewards. And I assure you, build your alliance correctly, and there will be rewards.

If you look back at why any particular alliance did, or did not, work; at the core you will discover communication--good or bad. In a time of instant electronic communication, which is good for reporting data and follow up details, please remember that there is no substitute for face to face communication. It is the in-person breaking of bread over a meal that will eliminate relationship issues.

To help you further, I have several additional tools available for the taking that will assist you in building and keeping your alliances healthy. Among the available tools is Chapter One from my book titled, Developing Strategic Alliances. This will help you to determine what kinds of alliances will best serve you. To access these tools, please click on the earlier link.

Partnering is really not that hard, but to do it successfully, you have to invest some quality time.

The main factors that cause a Small Business to become a Global force are contained within the Goals they set. Small Goals invite small effort. Big Goals inspire a much higher level of performance. Big Goals inspire miracles.

In the early days when Bill Gates’ business was small, consisting of just a few people, he set a Goal to have his software on every computer in the world. Remember he started in his garage. Most people at that time would have thought it was not an “achievable” Goal. However, Bill Gates believed it was possible and was fiercely committed to making it happen.

It was his burning desire.

He was clear about his Goal and now he is one of the richest men in the world, donating Billions of dollars to charity and it’s hard to imagine a world without his products and vision.

Within every small business lies the opportunity to become a giant, to become a global force. What makes a Goal “achievable” is whether or not you believe it is possible and your commitment to making it happen. Do you believe it and can you inspire the belief of the people around you and attract the support of others who can help make it happen.

The key to business growth is you MUST set challenging Goals that cause you to stretch. You must actively learn to think bigger, raise your game and expand your own mind and the minds of your team. You must make a concerted effort to stretch yourself every single day and train yourself to become a Goal Achieving machine.

The Goals you set for your business today will determine your Global Destiny tomorrow.

Here are the Ten Goal Setting Strategies for Small Business Success:

1. THIRST: You must have a burning desire for something, originating beyond mere hopes and ideas. You must have incentives, compelling dreams, a thirst, a hunger and desires that are so inspiring and motivating, they provide you and your team with enough internal drive to fuel you and keep you going when things don’t go as planned. The stronger your WHY, the more successful you will be. You must feel a magnetic pull towards something that is meaningful and significant to you. Your goals must inspire you and your team to perform at their best.

2. TARGETS: You must define the targets, the outcomes, the goals, the destinations clearly and in as much detail as you can. Use your imagination to visualize and experience the deep emotions of what it will feel like when your goal is achieved.

3. TASKS: Work backwards from your Targets and outcomes and map out the Tasks, activities and plan the Things you must do to advance towards your goal. A big goal is actually made up of several smaller goals or Tasks. Do the small Tasks and the big Goal WILL be realized.

4. TIME: It takes Time, a Timetable and effort to bring your dreams to life. It requires consistent, persistent, focused effort. Treat Time as a precious resource and invest it wisely. Create a Timetable and schedule your Tasks in your calendar, creating an action plan, broken down into small, manageable steps with a sequential order so that you know what will be done and when you will do it. As you create your Timetable, your goal becomes Tangible. Every Goal has it’s own gestation period. (for more on Time Management, review The Time Commandments!)

5. TEAM: Enlist a Team of Talented people in the form of coaches, partners, consultants, friends, family, Teachers, mentors, supporters, interns, employees, whatever it takes. The bigger the goal, the more outside support and contributors it will require. The Team you put together can make all the difference in the world. Surround yourself with positive people. When you are Taking Action and committed, people will be compelled to help you. Teamwork makes the dream work.

6. TENACITY: Be Tireless, persistent and unwavering in your commitment. Take 100% responsibility for the results you’re getting. Track your results and measure your progress. If you are not happy with your progress and results, take 100% responsibility for changing it. Adjust your plan or Timetable and Tap into your burning desire and act consistently every single day.

7. TRANSCEND: Transcend limitation. Courageously go beyond your comfort zone and propel yourself to new heights. Nothing is impossible and Growth only comes from going beyond and stretching yourself. Trust that anything you can envision and commit to, you can achieve.

8. TREASURE: Treasure the journey. Savor each moment you have been given. Savor the entire experience, the challenges, the growth and the lessons you encounter. Trust that they are there to Teach you and prepare you for future experiences. Trust that you are a vessel of infinite untapped potential. The more grateful you are, the more abundance you will attract.

9. TRIUMPH: Success! Your actions have resulted in the successful realization of your goal! You have followed through on your plan, reached the goal you envisioned, so celebrate your growth and accomplishments! Take time to revel in your achievements.

10. TITHE: Share your blessings with others. Give of your Time, Talents and pocketbook. Teach others your own unique expertise and be Thankful. Give encouragement, it’s free to give and priceless to those who receive it. Contribution to others will enrich your life in ways you cannot imagine. Support others in their journey in any way you can. It will come back to you Ten fold. Touch as many people as you can and leave a legacy that lasts beyond your lifetime.

The secret to growth is to set bigger Goals that scare you and inspire you to stretch.

Big, Bold Goals inspire Big, Bold action and create Big, Bold Results!

So take a look at your Goals. Will they lead you and your Business to the kind of future you envision?

The best way to predict the future is to create it.