Morning Minute: 10/03/23
“Show Me Your Business Plan?”
As you work to secure financing for your business, this may be your first requirement from a banker or investor.
When seeking financing, you may begin by outlining your background and successes. However, your business plan will determine whether or not you will get the investment you require.
Without a realistic, detailed business plan, you will not secure adequate financing.
Your business plan must address your market, your products/services, and your competitors. You must identify who you will sell to. You will need to provide projected, best case, and worst case income and expense estimates. Plus, you will need to show your plans for managing People, Processes, Products, and Promotion.
SECTION #1: Who are you and what will you be selling? Include a brief but compelling statement of your background and successes. If selling to businesses, who will be your ideal customer. Who are your competitors and what is your competitive advantage.
If selling to the public what is the location, age, gender, income level, marital status, education, etc. of your ideal customer? Be specific. Anticipate questions about these subjects and answer them in your business plan.
SECTION #2: This is your numbers section. First, estimate your total monthly sales. Detail your sales by products or product categories, service sales, and add-ons. Will these be purchased online, at a location, or both? What is your pricing strategy? What are your total estimated monthly sales?
Next, show projected expenses in the following categories: a) The cost of products or services sold. b) Your projected personnel expenses including wages, bonuses, income and payroll taxes. c) List fixed expenses such as rent or mortgage payments, utilities, and insurance. d) List variable expenses such as management, advertising, contractors, and equipment costs.
Then subtract total expenses from total income showing your projected monthly net profit. Then repeat this exercise again twice, using both best and worst case scenarios. Include all three statements in your business plan.
SECTION #3: Include separate descriptions for these 4 areas.
People: How many will be required, where will you find them, and how will they be organized and trained?
Processes: How will you source, produce, and deliver what you sell?
Products/Services: What, where, and how will you be selling to your customers.
Promotion: How will you promote what you sell to your prospective customers?
Your business plan is your best brochure. It represents you, your organization, and your team. Using this format, along with your ability to share your vision for the future of your team, will get you the best possible financing terms or investment to grow your business!
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When your organization requires a professional business plan, contact me, Larry Bonorato, at 864-630-2625 or at lab@larryonlearning.com.
I will help you secure financing by crafting a compelling, professional business plan.
And, that is today’s Morning Minute,
Morning Minute: 10/06/23
“How Will You…Learn To Lead?”
Ever wonder how great coaches, performers, and leaders became “great”?
Spoiler alert: They didn’t start at the top. They learned to lead by being part of a team, by apprenticing with top performers, or by gaining the experience following the leaders they served.
“Before you can learn to lead, you must first learn to follow.”
Three examples…
Ronald learned the values of hard work, honesty, and the drive to succeed from his parents. As a teenager, he enjoyed playing football. Although never achieving star status, he learned responsibility, discipline, and the value of teamwork from his coaches. Ronald learned how to follow.
Even though Ronald never achieved greatness in sports, he would use those values he learned as a boy. Ronald Reagan would go on to serve as president of the Screen Actors Guild in Hollywood, as Governor of California, and as President of the United States. What he learned as a follower, he would later use to become a great leader.
John learned the values of honesty, hard work, morality, and dedication from his parents and coaches. He learned to follow as a team member in a variety of sports. Excelling in basketball, John would become a star player, earning a college scholarship. He had learned how to follow.
He would later become head basketball coach at UCLA. John Wooden led the Bruins to 10 national championships in 12 years. His focus on fundamentals, his ability as a master motivator, and his dedication to his players success, guided his success as one of the greatest college coaches of all time.
Jack came from a middle class New England family. He was a star baseball player all the way through high school, learning the values of discipline and teamwork. Graduating at age 16, Jack was offered a contract to play with the New York Yankees. He had learned how to follow.
Instead, Jack earned his degree in chemical engineering, going to work for a struggling manufacturer, where he worked for 41 years. Under the leadership of Jack Welch, General Electric became one of the largest, most successful companies in the world. He has been widely praised for his innovative leadership style and credited for revolutionizing business management.
Ronald, John, and Jack learned to follow as good team members. They became great leaders by using that knowledge, coupled with their distinctive leadership styles, to become successful leaders in government, sports, and business.
“Before you can learn to lead, you must first learn to follow.”
“How Will You…Learn To Lead?”
That is today’s Morning Minute.
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