Business Planning Essentials in 6 Sentences

The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work superbly well. ~Sir William Osler

Many are drawn to the idea of startup and running their own small business without taking so much thought about the planning stage itself. A perfect business idea, a capital, and a niche is no guarantee to business success. You were misled. There are more things that you need to prepare before launching your dream business. “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”

You have probably heard that maxim. However, many would-be entrepreneurs have taken that for granted. A written business plan, also, is not all there is. You need more.

1. Define your business idea and mission.
   
   The business idea is an excellent starting point. I don’t see any other way to start a business except a good and feasible idea. However, you need to articulate it. You need to define it, and the other components associated with it. Unless you are clear about that, a business plan is simply a piece of paper that you will just probably use when you apply for a business loan or when a VC shows interest in your business.
   
   Your idea is the springboard for your business mission. Your mission statement is an articulation of where you want to push your business idea into a realization. This is the grand picture of what you want. Write it. Refine it by discussing it with your partners, friends, or anyone who will be willing to listen to you. If you are familiar with using a mind map tool, that is an excellent way of defining and refining your mission.


2. Draw your plan and build your business around your passion and expertise.
   
   This is the chance to shine. This is your opportunity to pursue your passion and use your expertise. You have to examine your compelling reasons for starting a business. Otherwise, you are in for a major financial disaster if your motives are not aligned to your business venture.


3. Be stubborn as a Bull.
   
   If you are not willing to give 101% to your new business, don’t waste your time. Find a job instead. You need to be willing to commit more of your time in cultivating your business to growth. You need to develop the discipline of learning new things, the flexibility to adjust your sail where the wind’s direction is, and the stubbornness of the bull to weather any frustrations you will be encountering along the way, for they are many. It will never be a smooth ride.


4. Know your market and your competitors.
   
   Your niche is not only your target market; it also includes your competitor. Conduct a competitors’ analysis. This will need more time in data gathering, but it is worth all the efforts. Find everything about your competitors’ offering, which includes product specs, prices, promotions, advertising, distribution, quality, service, the people behind, and their unique proposition. You need not exceed everything that they have. Capitalize on your uniqueness, and do better.


5. Network with other small business owners and successful entrepreneurs.
   
   These are not necessarily on the same business with you but entrepreneurs who have learned the rudiments of running their own business. Learn from them. You will learn more with these people than taking an MBA. Seek their help from time to time. Join a trade association, shows, and conferences. Network with professionals and vendors who knows about the nature of your business. Keep on connecting, because you will never know when you are going to need their expertise, and support.


6. Don’t sleep, don’t eat, and don’t play.
   
   Well, this is actually tied up with item number 3 there. It only means that you need to sacrifice. Running your own show is entirely different when you are just among the stage actors. You need to devote your life. That is price you have to pay. It will never be easy, but if you are passionate and resilient about your business, for in the end, the difference between a successful entrepreneur and others is not the lack of capital, resources, and technology, but the lack of will to succeed.

“You can't overestimate the need to plan and prepare. In most of the mistakes I've made, there has been this common theme of inadequate planning beforehand. You really can't over-prepare in business!”~Chris Corrigan

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About the Author

Nor Franco is the Managing Director and Virtual CEO of nextManager.net. He's a former corporate executive whose passion is bringing out the full potential of HR in Businesses. This time that passion is pursued through Virtual Management. He writes and blogs about his management views and insights here. Follow him on Twitter.

Interesting Management Lessons from Poker Psychology

I usually spend a few minutes a day just browsing through business websites or my collection of eBooks. This is a good exercise when you are press on tight deadlines, and you want to write creatively on worthwhile topics. Sometimes, this is difficult for me because unlike other bloggers who have developed the knack for writing controversial headlines to link bait, although mostly fall flat of the real substance of the topic. I want to do more than just that. Sure, they have grabbed your attention –period. Grabbing attention is not all there is, unless you are playing poker, in which case, you want to grab attention for a wrong reason, and in order to create a wrong impression.

Basic Management Psychology is about getting people’s attention and telling them what needs to be done.

I have managed big organizations, and smaller ones, which includes managing my 4-year old son. The most important management lesson I learned from both contexts is getting people’s attention. You cannot lead, and definitely, you cannot get things done if they are not paying attention to your instructions. It is a useless and mindless effort to assert when no one cares. Effective management is about being heard, being clear, and being understood. This means you need to make people pay attention first on what you have to say, and then say it as succinctly as you can. Then, you manage. However, in texas hold em, you need to do the exact opposite.

Basic Poker Psychology is about drawing the attention away from you and convincing people that you have nothing to show forth.

Bluffing is a primary feature of poker psychology that differentiates it from other games. You need to be able to convey a different message to your opponent or even to the spectators. No wonder, the phrase, ”poker face” became a common everyday cliché because we were able to connect it with how we deal with other people. Projecting an impassion appearance or none-disclosure of your real emotion convey mixed signals. It confused people. It make them conjure a lot of things, only to be mistaken or misled. You cannot do that when you manage people. You need to be transparent and clear all the time. Otherwise, you will not be able to convince them to support and accomplish your corporate goals.

A poor analogy?

Frankly, that is not my concern. I tested the waters. It led you here. The point being is, have I made sense? Have I encouraged you to think? Have I opened your mind into looking a very familiar subject matter on a different set of lenses? Or, have I wasted your time?

I hope is not the latter.

We can always make connections on many things, including comparing two entirely different concepts and integrating them in one particular context, in this case, managing people.

WHAT'S NEXT? Get your updates by emailor via RSS.Follow us on Twitteror like us on Facebook. Visit ourFREE Business Resourcespage.

About the Author

Nor Franco is the Managing Director and Virtual CEO of nextManager.net. He's a former corporate executive whose passion is bringing out the full potential of HR in Businesses. This time that passion is pursued through Virtual Management. He writes and blogs about his management views and insights here. Follow him on Twitter.