Now that you have decided to share, for a price, your product or service with the world by starting your own small business it is time to make a plan. A successful business must be built on a strong foundation. The first step in building that foundation is to develop a strategy for obtaining your goals. One way to accomplish this is to create a strategic plan for your business.
A strategic plan is a long term plan and overview of your business. You can improve your chances for success greatly by coming up with a good strategic plan. Strategic planning is a tool used by business owners to remain proactive and to respond promptly to environmental changes. A good strategic plan will assist you in avoiding treats to your business, and will provide you with an idea of what is to expect in the future. The insight that you will gain from strategic planning will assist you in obtaining your goals.
Writing a strategic plan is a six step process. Step one, formulate your mission statement. Your mission statement should be a description of the reason that you started your business. Step two, complete an environmental analysis. This is the process of gathering all the information that you can about the possible environmental factors, within and outside of, your business and using that information to formulate a plan to handle the types of situations that you expect to be facing in the future. Step three, perform a competitive analysis. It is an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of current and potential competitors. This process will help you determine your competitive advantage. Step four, analyze your strategic alternatives. This is the process of identifying problems based on the information that you have gathered thus far in your planning process. Step five, set your goals and strategies. At this stage you set goal for you business and then put in place the plans to get you there. Step six, set up a control system. A control system is a process that is built into your strategic plan to assist you in pinpointing the problem when things do not go as you planned.
When determining what to include in your businesses strategic plan seek suggestions from as many sources as possible. Seek out the opinions of colleagues, bankers, lawyers, and other executives to aid you in the planning process. Make sure that the plan you come up with is one that you will follow. Be realistic; don’t set impractical goals for yourself. What good is to have a plan if you are not going to follow it? Lastly, be flexible. Change is constant in business as well as in everyday life.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Entrepreneurship in Today's Economy
If you are contemplating starting your own business, but have decided to wait because of the current state of the economy, DON’T! Now is a great time to own your own business, produce your product, or sell your service. If you don’t believe me then answer this, what does America need most right now? There is only one answer, JOBS!
America was built on the ideas and inventions of its people. Would the Union have been victorious if Samuel Colt decided to throw in the towel after his business went bankrupt, or where would we be if Bill Gates and Paul Allen had decided that the cost of producing computer software was too great, and the Microsoft Corporation had not been founded? As Americans we cannot allow fear of financial ruin to extinguish our innovative spirit.
Until recently, recessions were a common occurrence in this country. According to The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), this country has successfully bounced back from recessions 21 times since 1902 (CNBC.com) Many jobs are lost during recessions, but history shows that periods of innovation and growth almost always follow.
Currently the need for gainful employment in this country has never been greater, and the answer lies within us, the people. Innovative Americans with ideas and plans for products and services that will provide the jumpstart the economy needs and put an end to the economic crisis. Now is a great time to be an entrepreneur.
Resources
1. Schramm, Carl. “The Silver Lining for Small Business in a Recession.” Inc.com. June 1, 2009. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090601/the-silver-lining-for-small-business-in-a-recession.html.
2. CNBC.com. “A History of Recessions”. CNBC. September 4, 2007. http://www.cnbc.com/id/20510977
America was built on the ideas and inventions of its people. Would the Union have been victorious if Samuel Colt decided to throw in the towel after his business went bankrupt, or where would we be if Bill Gates and Paul Allen had decided that the cost of producing computer software was too great, and the Microsoft Corporation had not been founded? As Americans we cannot allow fear of financial ruin to extinguish our innovative spirit.
Until recently, recessions were a common occurrence in this country. According to The National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER), this country has successfully bounced back from recessions 21 times since 1902 (CNBC.com) Many jobs are lost during recessions, but history shows that periods of innovation and growth almost always follow.
Currently the need for gainful employment in this country has never been greater, and the answer lies within us, the people. Innovative Americans with ideas and plans for products and services that will provide the jumpstart the economy needs and put an end to the economic crisis. Now is a great time to be an entrepreneur.
Resources
1. Schramm, Carl. “The Silver Lining for Small Business in a Recession.” Inc.com. June 1, 2009. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20090601/the-silver-lining-for-small-business-in-a-recession.html.
2. CNBC.com. “A History of Recessions”. CNBC. September 4, 2007. http://www.cnbc.com/id/20510977
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
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