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Will You Add? - Business Planning 1-2-3
I have found over the years, in my own businesses, and with my clients businesses… that there is one big thing that come up and any time to thwart our dreams of successfully growing our business.EmotionsYes emotions.It sounds funny to some people… until they are in the situation to experience them.In Fact, many business owners say to me… ‘Gee if I could grow my business to make a million a year – I’d do it’.It sounds easy to do.The reality for most people is - it isn’t.For some reason when you are faced with achieving great success, emotions can come up and disrupt/delay or eliminate your opportunities.You can have emotions
Another very important piece of information is the profitability of different parts of your business. There's an old adage that 80% of the profits comes from 20% of the business. Is this true for your business?
The next step is to determine where you want to go. This is easier said than done. Objectives need to be realistic and achievable. Objectives need to be concrete and measurable. For example, if the objective is to increase sales 50%, it needs to be stated how that will be achieved. Is it realistic? It depends. If this year's sales are $240K and the plan is to achieve $360K next year, this means sales/month on average
The fashion model session - What to pack in your model caseOK, you're off to a model photo shoot. But, did you remember to pack your bag? Did you put everything you need in it? I hope this article will be helpful to you and start you on the right foot in making sure your model bag is complete.What do you bring?What you bring to your model photo session will depend upon whether this is your first shoot for a portfolio or a paying job. Either way, this section will help you to be prepared for whatever reason you're doing the model session.First things first - Know what the client wantsIf you are shooting for an agent or client, he will tell you wha
To develop a clear, well thought-out business plan, use the 1-2-3 approach:
(1) Take a critical look at your current situation;
(2) Write down your goals for one year from today; and,
(3) Map out your action plan to achieve your goals on a timeline.
Planning is cheap. Writing a plan:
-Gets your ideas on paper;
-Allows you to examine alternatives;
-Surfaces your assumptions; and
-Enables you to get feedback from others.
Using a timeline helps you prioritize and focus. With a timeline,
-You have a visual framework in which to work;
-You can map out & compare alternative scenarios;
-You can see connections and sequencing of actions; and,
-Deliverables and milestones become clear.
Try to put a little fun in the planning process.
I suggest thinking of business planning like planning a vacation. (Your plan should, of course, include a vacation.) When you plan a vacation, you are constrained by many factors such as time, money and balancing the competing interests of your fellow travelers. It's the same with your business plan.
In business, you are constrained by many factors, such as existing customer commitments, limited time and money. You also have to balance a number of competing interests and possible routes. Planning lets you map out different paths on paper and examine the alternatives before making a commitment to action.
The first step is to take stock of your current situation. If you have been in business more than a year, you have some financial results to examine. Draw a calendar timeline and map out the highlights of each month for the last twelve months. Include your $ sales for each month as well as key events. It is a good idea to try and connect your actions with the results achieved. So, if you ran an ad in January and February, you may be able to directly relate increased sales in those months to the ad.
With the calendar timeline, you have a summary picture of your business operations over a 12-month period on one page. If you add your $ Expenses/month to this picture, you'll have a rough cut cash flow which will give you a richer picture with which to work.
CALENDAR TIMELINE - PRIOR YEAR
Jan...Feb...Mar...Apr...May...Jun...Jul...Aug...Sep...Oct...Nov...Dec Key Events (e.g., ads, promotions, new customers, big projects, good news, bad news ...)
$ Sales/month
$ Expenses/month
Now, you can stand back and take a critical look at your business to determine what works and what does not work. This analysis is the foundation for your plan for next year.
The summary may be sufficient to give you insight into what was effective and is worth continuing. Or, it may prompt you to ask more detailed financial questions about your business, such as: costs, overhead, sales per category or location; how much of your sales was from new customers; how did you reach your new and repeat customers most effectively?
Another very important piece of information is the profitability of different parts of your business. There's an old adage that 80% of the profits comes from 20% of the business. Is this true for your business?
The next step is to determine where you want to go. This is easier said than done. Objectives need to be realistic and achievable. Objectives need to be concrete and measurable. For example, if the objective is to increase sales 50%, it needs to be stated how that will be achieved. Is it realistic? It depends. If this year's sales are $240K and the plan is to achieve $360K next year, this means sales/month on average
We have all heard it said that small business is the backbone of the economy, and we all seem to know that is true. The exact definition for small business is not so clear, but what is clear is that most businesses are small by that allusive definition.It is a bit of an irony that some business owners try to project the idea that they are bigger than they really are. As much as we might say bigger is not better, our attitudes and actions will determine whether we really believe that or not.There is strength in being small once you discover how to harness your energy.The idea of comparing the size of a business, to the size and power of a boat, provides an exce
-You can map out & compare alternative scenarios;
-You can see connections and sequencing of actions; and,
-Deliverables and milestones become clear.
Try to put a little fun in the planning process.
I suggest thinking of business planning like planning a vacation. (Your plan should, of course, include a vacation.) When you plan a vacation, you are constrained by many factors such as time, money and balancing the competing interests of your fellow travelers. It's the same with your business plan.
In business, you are constrained by many factors, such as existing customer commitments, limited time and money. You also have to balance a number of competing interests and possible routes. Planning lets you map out different paths on paper and examine the alternatives before making a commitment to action.
The first step is to take stock of your current situation. If you have been in business more than a year, you have some financial results to examine. Draw a calendar timeline and map out the highlights of each month for the last twelve months. Include your $ sales for each month as well as key events. It is a good idea to try and connect your actions with the results achieved. So, if you ran an ad in January and February, you may be able to directly relate increased sales in those months to the ad.
With the calendar timeline, you have a summary picture of your business operations over a 12-month period on one page. If you add your $ Expenses/month to this picture, you'll have a rough cut cash flow which will give you a richer picture with which to work.
CALENDAR TIMELINE - PRIOR YEAR
Jan...Feb...Mar...Apr...May...Jun...Jul...Aug...Sep...Oct...Nov...Dec Key Events (e.g., ads, promotions, new customers, big projects, good news, bad news ...)
$ Sales/month
$ Expenses/month
Now, you can stand back and take a critical look at your business to determine what works and what does not work. This analysis is the foundation for your plan for next year.
The summary may be sufficient to give you insight into what was effective and is worth continuing. Or, it may prompt you to ask more detailed financial questions about your business, such as: costs, overhead, sales per category or location; how much of your sales was from new customers; how did you reach your new and repeat customers most effectively?
Another very important piece of information is the profitability of different parts of your business. There's an old adage that 80% of the profits comes from 20% of the business. Is this true for your business?
The next step is to determine where you want to go. This is easier said than done. Objectives need to be realistic and achievable. Objectives need to be concrete and measurable. For example, if the objective is to increase sales 50%, it needs to be stated how that will be achieved. Is it realistic? It depends. If this year's sales are $240K and the plan is to achieve $360K next year, this means sales/month on average
A marketing strategy can either make or break your business. As you know, there are many different aspects to a good marketing strategy. You may be wondering which marketing strategy is right for you. Also, how do you know which marketing strategy really works? The best marketing strategy is the one that gains profits. In this article, we will discuss the various aspects of a great market strategy.The first marketing strategy you should look into is your website. Make sure your web design is eye catching and easy to maneuver. A marketing strategy you can add to this is to have attractive pictures or illustrations that get your customers attention. This is always an
The first step is to take stock of your current situation. If you have been in business more than a year, you have some financial results to examine. Draw a calendar timeline and map out the highlights of each month for the last twelve months. Include your $ sales for each month as well as key events. It is a good idea to try and connect your actions with the results achieved. So, if you ran an ad in January and February, you may be able to directly relate increased sales in those months to the ad.
With the calendar timeline, you have a summary picture of your business operations over a 12-month period on one page. If you add your $ Expenses/month to this picture, you'll have a rough cut cash flow which will give you a richer picture with which to work.
CALENDAR TIMELINE - PRIOR YEAR
Jan...Feb...Mar...Apr...May...Jun...Jul...Aug...Sep...Oct...Nov...Dec Key Events (e.g., ads, promotions, new customers, big projects, good news, bad news ...)
$ Sales/month
$ Expenses/month
Now, you can stand back and take a critical look at your business to determine what works and what does not work. This analysis is the foundation for your plan for next year.
The summary may be sufficient to give you insight into what was effective and is worth continuing. Or, it may prompt you to ask more detailed financial questions about your business, such as: costs, overhead, sales per category or location; how much of your sales was from new customers; how did you reach your new and repeat customers most effectively?
Another very important piece of information is the profitability of different parts of your business. There's an old adage that 80% of the profits comes from 20% of the business. Is this true for your business?
The next step is to determine where you want to go. This is easier said than done. Objectives need to be realistic and achievable. Objectives need to be concrete and measurable. For example, if the objective is to increase sales 50%, it needs to be stated how that will be achieved. Is it realistic? It depends. If this year's sales are $240K and the plan is to achieve $360K next year, this means sales/month on average
People do every think tend to get money first, what will we earn from that work. Talking to start a new business, we should know the difference between worker and entrepreneur. As a worker, works today mean getting salary next month, but as an entrepreneur must invest and then earn money after our business get reap. The business grows little by little, some time we face failure. We think clearly now, be an entrepreneur is not easy. Beginning today, we must change our mindset from a worker to an entrepreneur. What is the meaning of invest as an entrepreneur? The meaning is all of spending or doing in our live mean investing. To begin business like affiliate program, for example, we
CALENDAR TIMELINE - PRIOR YEAR
Jan...Feb...Mar...Apr...May...Jun...Jul...Aug...Sep...Oct...Nov...Dec Key Events (e.g., ads, promotions, new customers, big projects, good news, bad news ...)
$ Sales/month
$ Expenses/month
Now, you can stand back and take a critical look at your business to determine what works and what does not work. This analysis is the foundation for your plan for next year.
The summary may be sufficient to give you insight into what was effective and is worth continuing. Or, it may prompt you to ask more detailed financial questions about your business, such as: costs, overhead, sales per category or location; how much of your sales was from new customers; how did you reach your new and repeat customers most effectively?
Another very important piece of information is the profitability of different parts of your business. There's an old adage that 80% of the profits comes from 20% of the business. Is this true for your business?
The next step is to determine where you want to go. This is easier said than done. Objectives need to be realistic and achievable. Objectives need to be concrete and measurable. For example, if the objective is to increase sales 50%, it needs to be stated how that will be achieved. Is it realistic? It depends. If this year's sales are $240K and the plan is to achieve $360K next year, this means sales/month on average
The job search process involves a lot of planning and attention to detail, so it’s no wonder that many people quickly feel overwhelmed and even a bit out of control. The best way to avoid this is to organize your job search so that you have a clear strategy outline and a structured schedule to keep you moving forward.Outline your strategyStart by creating an outline of your job search strategy. List the tactics you intend to use, and the amount of time you will devote to each tactic. A typical list might include the following:· Network with contacts· Search online job sites· Search newspaper adsSome employment e
Another very important piece of information is the profitability of different parts of your business. There's an old adage that 80% of the profits comes from 20% of the business. Is this true for your business?
The next step is to determine where you want to go. This is easier said than done. Objectives need to be realistic and achievable. Objectives need to be concrete and measurable. For example, if the objective is to increase sales 50%, it needs to be stated how that will be achieved. Is it realistic? It depends. If this year's sales are $240K and the plan is to achieve $360K next year, this means sales/month on average need to increase from $20K/month to $30/K month. What would you need to do to achieve this?
There are a number of possible scenarios that we can plan out and assess. For instance, we could consider dropping low-end products/services and concentrating on high $/sale transactions. What are the implications of this approach? Or, we could go toward a higher volume business and sell through other channels.
Try mapping out your alternatives on a timeline for the coming year and see what picture emerges.
It's usually not good for businesses to shift gears too dramatically without some test marketing and quantification of the costs and benefits.
CALENDAR TIMELINE - NEXT YEAR
Jan...Feb...Mar...Apr...May...Jun...Jul...Aug...Sep...Oct...Nov...Dec Key Objectives & Action Plan (e.g., targeted action steps month by month..)
$ Estimated cost/month
Projected results
Making choices and determining your route.
With your timeline summary of the prior year and your projected timeline(s) for the coming year, you can make some choices about how you will use your time and resources. Planning helps you get your ideas out on paper, surface your assumptions, invite other people to review your ideas and assumptions and provide feedback. Planning enables you to make informed choices and, using the timeline, enables you to express your plan as an action roadmap.
To realize the benefits of planning, like exercise, you must do it regularly. I recommend at least quarterly reviews as a relatively painless means of updating your plan to reflect actual experience and changes in the competitive environment.
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