Putting an "X" In Your Business Plan

My cousins and I used to play this game when we were kids....

"X marks the spot with a dot dot dot... dash dash dash with a Biiiiiigg Question Mark" ... we drew those things on each other's backs while we said it... and it just reminded me of something when I sat down to write this article....

I know no one really likes this subject... but it can be a whole lot of fun... (besides X reminds me of treasure maps and THAT reminds me of the Bahamas and I want to go there someday !!) and X marks the spot...

What do you need to do Today?

The only way to answer that question is to ask...

Where do you want to be Next Year?

I don't believe in accidents.
I believe that if you aim at nothing, you'll hit it everytime.

Chance favors the prepared. Cause and effect mean something. They are not just two words that someone arbitrarily threw together one day. I also believe the old addage that "People don't plan to fail..they fail to PLAN !!!

The basic theory is this... set up the process that will get you there...
Think of your business plan as the treasure map for your business.

There are two reasons for writing a business plan.

• To help you to manage your business.
• To use as a tool to help you aquire money for your business.

Let's talk about managing......

Why Write a Business Plan?

Sometimes I just want to go ... duh... but I'll tell you something... My friend Erich, "the marketing guy" and I were talking one day. I said... "don't you have a business plan program laying around somewhere at your house?" He looked at me like ( yeah right, like YOU need one of those... you have to know Erich... he can give you one of "those" looks with the sweetest expression on his face!)

There are tons of reasons why a business plan is a valuable tool when it comes to managing your business. Basically it gets you going ... gets you moving toward the place you want to be... which means you have to have goals.

When I was involved in womens' bodybuilding when it was just getting into it's stride in the early 80's Arnold Schwarztenegger was my idol... (I was SOOOOO bummed when he got married!) anyways~ He was a big fan of visioning, making yourself sit and envision what you want to become... what you want to be ...what you want to get ... where you want to go... I would have NEVER made it through two thousand situps a day if it hadn't been for him! But I wanted to compete ... I wanted to "look like that".GOALS
(and for a while there... I DID ! ha ha ha :-)

Do you know what you want?

"Lots of money !" does not count... be specific.

I think one of the VERY BIGGEST mistakes that people starting their own business make is NOT knowing what they want. We all want more money... der....! But HOW are you going to get it?

You can't just go drifting along aimlessly... you WILL be pushed by the current... you WILL encounter storms. Just like a boat at sea you must have a navigation system in place or you could end up in China on your way to the Bahamas !!

There is one thing (among others) that successful entrepeneurs have in common...

THEY HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN !

A business plan also keeps your mind and daily activities focused......let me tell you a story about designing my first site... it took FOREVER. I mean... no I didn't know any HTML (although I learned it in 2 months...) and no I had never heard of Style Sheets or CGI... Java Script or C++! I had a vague idea of what I wanted... very vague. And I kept changing little things on the design of the page... after all, it was my first design, and I wanted it to be perfect.

But after a couple of months....I got really frustrated. I couldn't seem to stay focused on anything... and I sat down one day to make my daily "to do" list.

I caught myself saying no, not that, not today....no not that, I worked on that all day yesterday... and got no where... so I sat there and sat there,... and it came to me....

Make a Plan

My teacher from creative writing in college came into my mind and kept asking me.... "What do you WANT? Who are you writing for?"

I'm generally a pretty organized person... I mean with three children I have to be, right?... and when I was into Tupperware my mother-in-law said I had the most organized kitchen she had ever seen in her life ... but it was because I took the time to plan ...WHERE I was going to need things to be... WHEN I would use them the most... WHAT I needed handy etc....

It wasn't long after my handwritten plan that I had begun to work on that I asked Erich for his program. If you can afford it, I strongly urge you to get a copy of this software.... it will cause you to ask yourself questions you would never think to ask. I have been marketing online and doing website design for over 6 years now and it still blows me away.....

So, now you will be able to keep focused. I don't care if it is a carefully thought out handwritten list of things to do, it will keep your mind set "results oriented" and keep you from getting brain dead like I was for a while, till I figured it out. I do have to say, though, if you are thinking of borrowing capital... you will HAVE to write a professional plan. Even if you are going to borrow money from Uncle Herbert, do both of yourselves a favor...

WRITE A PLAN !!

The process of creating a business plan can help you to anticipate obstacles and threats to your business and to formulate processes to overcome the adversity you may encounter. It also helps to keep you accountable to yourself.

I found that to be very helpful. One week I was having trouble with my teenage sons.... they just needed more time than usual. I had been working alot more than usual....since I discovered the business plan "aide". And they were acting up in response to my inattention. ( I now have done some record keeping of my own where they are concerned.) At any rate.... I took some time out; watched a couple of movies... went hiking.....generally goofed off the with them the way teens like to do... and guess what... 5 days went by!

I had set a time frame for myself regarding the business and I got behind. Now, it was for a very good cause and one was taken away from the other, but you get the point? No need to kill yourself sticking to a schedule, but remember the quote ...

"If you aim at nothing,
you'll hit it EVERY TIME."

There are many aspects to starting up a home based e-Commerce business... just as there are to life... and it's very easy to let one aspect of it take an inordinate amount of your time. You run the plan, the plan doesn't run you.(the kids do!... just KIDding ... ha ha ha!) The lesson here is to let the plan help you to.

STAY ON TRACK !!

A plan helps you to continue to see the vision you have for your business. It helps you to decide which course to take... and weigh one idea against another.

"Will this further the plan?"

If so... then knock yourself out with that great idea.....
If not, it is probably just a black hole for your time.

Okay, that's enough for one "lesson". If you want to read the rest of the business plan section then go to the next page... otherwise, bookmark this page so you can finish it later.

You can go to bed tonight dreaming about where you'll be placing your "X"... mine is in the Bahamas somewhere!