Creating a Business PlanWill YOU Be a Statistic?96% of businesses will fail within 5 years. All that work, all that effort, all that heartache and all that money! Want to buck the trend? Then you need to understand what your business is really about. And let us be honest it is only about one thing. It is all about making a profit. Every business in the world is the same as every other business; except one. Yours is the only business that has you as the owner. Whether you are already in business or just about to start, there is one thing that you must understand above everything else. Your business is different to every other business in the world, and all other businesses in the world are the same except: Your business has you, and every other business does not. Is it true that the difference between success and failure is:
Maybe. But more likely the difference between success and failure is you. The problem with most businesses is that they do not work, but the owners do. And they work very hard, and they fail, 24-out-of-25 times they fail. The owners work hard, but the business does not work at all. If you want to succeed, you must do the following:
1. Decide what your overall objective is Not an amount of money, not quality of product, not a nice store or a beautiful office, car, house or spouse! What do you want your business to give you? Deep down, what do you want your business to do for you? When you have done with your business, what do you want it to have done for you? How does your business make you feel, right now? How do you want your business to make you feel? The difference between the two is your business plan - Write it down.
2. What does your business do? If someone walked through your door and asked your receptionist or your store staff, "What does this business do?", what would they say?
Do all your people say the same thing? Do all your people work for the same business? If someone asked you to tell them what your business does would you start with one line, then start to clarify? Would you start to expand? Would you start to explain why your business is different? Why your business is better? Why your business is already great but is going to be greater? Why your business is THE business that everyone should be dealing with? Would you and your business eventually become more interesting? There are very few uninteresting businesses, but there are a considerable number of owners who make theirs that way. Tell your customers what you really do and what you could do for Them! So now, what do you want your people, your suppliers, your financiers, and your customers to say about your business? Do you think they say at the moment? The difference between what they say and what you want them to say is your marketing plan - Write it down
3. Consistency What is the difference between any great business you can think of and all the others? Let us consider McDonalds. Now we know that your business is more sophisticated than McDonalds. We know your business has better products More discerning customers How could you possibly learn anything from McDonalds? Well, go and sit in McDonalds right now, there will be one near by! The customers know what to expect. The staff, who all probably started there in the last month, know what to do The products are consistent. The ambience is the same. The parking lots look the same. The stores look the same They are consistent -- Relentlessly so. Now, do you have customers who are consistent? Do you have suppliers who are consistent? Do you have staff that are consistent? Or can you not get the staff, the customers, the suppliers that you want? Why? McDonalds has a simple product. They have customers who will eat anything and they can get anyone to work for them. They may well succeed in thousands of locations in hundreds of different countries and cultures; but they are not you. You, surely, could not be that consistent. You, surely, could not sell your products in a clear, well-defined manner. You, surely, could not get your suppliers to supply you consistently. You, surely, will always have poor staff, poor morale, shaky leadership; that is what happens in 96% of businesses. What is the difference between where you are now and where you would be if, magically, you could become the McDonalds of your industry? That will be your organizational plan - Write it down
4. Money How much is your time worth? If you really got paid what you were truly worth, how much more money would you have? Are you the only person in the world who gets less than they deserve? Do you know someone who is grossly overpaid for what they do? How can this be? The facts are simple, none of us truly get the amount of money our talents deserve. You get less and I get more. True? The only way to get the return you deserve is therefore simple, get other people to earn it for you. Nearly every failing business has a common theme, the owner is indispensable. The business cannot do without them, they are irreplaceable, nothing can happen without them and everything happens because of them. And the owner is convinced that they are not getting the returns they deserve. Every penny that your business earns that you were not involved in is free money. The only way to get that free money is to make sure your business and your people are earning it and you are getting it. Are you earning enough? Could your business earn more for you? The difference between working for your business and your business working for you is your personnel plan, and your financial plan, and your business plan and it is the difference your business should be making to your life - Write it down |
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