What If?
October 27, 2011
By Julie Wise, The Silver Owl
If you ever ask my team when they run for cover, they would immediately say when she starts a sentence with, ‘What if’.
I have to admit, I use this phrase fairly often when I sense there’s more we can be doing or when I really want to challenge the way a business is doing something.
Surprisingly, or perhaps not, we come up with so many ideas…
When we do ask that question – What If:
- I stopped producing that report – would anyone notice?
- We opened only 4 days a week?
- I dropped my website?
- We didn’t have an office – could my staff do their jobs?
- We only used Facebook – no email, no paper, or intranet?
- We had a best ‘what-ifs’ of the year competition running?
The trouble isn’t really generating the possibilities. You will end up with a list of ideas, some more plausible than others, because that’s just how it works. The problem will be being paralysed or overwhelmed by the list.
I invented a simple ranking system to help put some order on the list.
The ranking system looks like this…
| Points | Description | Follow Up |
| 10 | Of course it’ll work | Why are you even bothering to think out – Just Do It |
| 7 | I reckon it’ll work | Might need to cite some examples or some numbers from the finance beanies |
| 5 | Like Government | Approximately fifty-fifty chance of delivering result. |
| 2 | If I cross my fingers and squeeze my eyes really tight… | Put it on the desperate list! |
| 0 | NO | Bin It |
It’s a good idea to rank the ideas quickly without too much thought by using your first instinctive reaction to the suggestion - you understand your business better than anyone else, so TRUST yourself!
Now start working on the ideas ranked 7 or higher to look at what or where they improve your business and start making the changes.
So if you’re ever wondering how to get some ideas, or looking to resolve a problem, ask yourself: ‘what if’.
What if I called this brainstorming?
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JULIE WISE
- Networking – Beyond the Business Card Shuffle!
- Build your Business: Steve Jobs Style
- Mobile Devices : Is your slip still showing?
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Julie Wise – The SilverOwlJulie has over 25 years in business operations, strategy and performance improvements. She is an accredited Member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and an alumnus of the Institute of Executive Coaching. She established The SilverOwl specifically to help businesses with their strategies and operational efficiencies. With Julie’s wealth of experience, and network of associates, The SilverOwl provides access to a vast range of business performance solutions and experienced professionals. Julie is on the Australian Business Women’s Network Advisory Board and the NSW Committee for the Australian Women’s Archive Project. In Jan 2010, she joined the Fred Hollows Foundation.
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Why isn’t my blog getting any comments?
October 21, 2011
By Cheryl Hayman, Hayman Strategy
When you develop any communications strategy, it ultimately takes a lot of hard work and dedication to build an audience that cares enough to speak up. This is also true for your blog when you’re using it as a marketing or communications tool.
Assuming you have developed a blogging strategy (with the end user in mind), that you fully understand your brand’s core characteristics and that you have considered the topics and areas of relevance to your consumers or customers, then a part of this strategy should be about enticing commentary to your blog.
Without comments, your blog is on a one-way street.
Remember, it’s a communication tool and hence it needs to be part of a two-way system. It will work best if it provokes interactivity. Otherwise, it’s more akin to a brochure or a book, and the power of a blog is its ability to stimulate the audience to respond and engage. It gives them a voice, and this is what drives loyalty to the brand and also provides advocacy on many occasions.
So a question: is your blog struggling to get responses from readers? If so, then you may be committing one or more of the mistakes listed here:
- You are not responding to comments
- You make it too difficult to comment
- You don’t network with other bloggers
- You are not rewarding commentators
- Readers don’t comment because nobody else has
- You don’t ask for comments
- Or, sadly, your blog isn’t a reflection of relevant and interesting insights for your ideal audience
Remember to maintain your content in such a way that it will satisfy your audience.
Choose topics that are unique, trendy, topical and so on. Only these types of topics bring more blog participation. While it is usually true that controversial posts encourage large number of comments, use them sparingly.
Similarly, respond to comments in such a way that the users will comment more.
As you can see, there are a lot of different reasons why people might not be leaving comments on your blog. Comments play a huge role in the structure of a blog, reflect the interest of your readers and turn a blog into more of a conversation.
If your blog is not a forum for discussion and comments, perhaps you need to realise that your blog isn’t working as effectively as you had hoped. The best advice is to experiment with different things, alleviate the ‘mistakes’ listed above and find out what works best for you.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY CHERYL HAYMAN
- Approaching Your Boss – a Mentoring Perspective
- Uncover, communicate and nurture your personal brand
- Tip No. 7: Advice for a Business Owner with a Strong Marketing Focus
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Cheryl Hayman – Hayman StrategyCheryl Hayman owns and manages a strategic marketing and business consultancy, Hayman Strategy, providing a broad range of business and marketing solutions to corporations. Prior to establishing her own business, Cheryl had over 20 years experience as a senior marketing executive in multi-national organisations spanning Australia, NZ and the UK. Cheryl undertakes a number of non-executive Board roles and sits on several Advisory Boards including the Australian Businesswomen’s Network. Cheryl is a Fellow of the Australian Marketing Institute, holding a CPM.
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News: New Google AdWords Information Hub developed to support women in business to get online
October 20, 2011
The Australian Businesswomen’s Network today launched a Google AdWords information hub on its website.
This new multi-page feature provides resources and easy-to-follow details on how Google AdWords can help small businesses drive results.
Within this hub, small business owners can access all the AdWords basics including how to begin, what to expect and how to make the most from advertising dollars (which are often scarce in small business).
“By introducing this new information hub, we hope to provide small-business owners with new tools and skills to harness the power of an engine like Google and to drive the traffic that we know is available to them if they get their business in front of the right eyeballs,” explained Community Director, Suzi Dafnis
“It’s not news that more and more people are looking online to find what they want. We want to be sure our community members are armed with the tool and knowledge to use internet traffic to drive people to their businesses,” says Dafnis.
Google AdWords Information Hub
A few features of the Google AdWords for Small Business Information Hub are:
- Free eGuides show businesswomen how to grow their business with adwords and provide tips for finding new customers online, measuring results, understanding how to pick great keywords for ads and how to write attention-grabbing ads
- Ask a Google expert – Viewers can ask their questions online and Google AdWord’s expert Kate Conroy will reply with customised answers.
- Case Studies – The hub features a number of real stories from small businesses who share their AdWords results and the results they’ve seen since they started using AdWords.
- Free Webinar – The Australian Businesswomen’s Network is offering a free Google AdWords for Small Business webinar in November to give women access to even more resources and education.
Take a look at these resources:
- What is Search Advertising?
- Why Google AdWords Makes Sense for Small Business
- How to Grow Your Business with Google AdWords
- Free Tools and Resources
PLUS – visitors can request a free voucher to try AdWords out. The vouchers, valued at $75 are available to first-time Google AdWords users.
The Australian Businesswomen’s Network looks forward to working with its community members to improve their understanding of Google AdWords and to having them start to get the types of results these small business owners have enjoyed since they started using AdWords.
Make Your Media Release Social
October 19, 2011
By Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Strawberry Communications
You may have heard the term Social Media Release (or Social Media Press Release) and wondered what the difference is between this and the standard media release. Well, social media releases are all about the reader, making the content easier to access and much more useful.
A lot has been covered about writing media releases and why, including by me, but the media release has evolved. Not only has the audience for releases grown from journalists to now include bloggers, podcasters and the consumers themselves, but the way information is presented in release form is different too.
Social media releases include links to websites and supporting material, yes, but they are also optimised for searching with tagged key words, make sharing easier with links to bookmarking networks and social media platforms, plus add the multi-media element through images, video and audio.
Some social media release authors even deconstruct the release into sections, making it easier for journalists, bloggers and podcasters to focus on the point(s) of interest to them. Instead of introducing the topic, giving some background, offering quotes from a spokesperson and then showing where they can find out more, the author might use a slightly different format.
Here is a sample template for a social media release:
- Headline
- Key word rich introduction
- Supporting facts
- Quote(s) from one or more sources
- Embedded video
- Embedded audio
- Embedded images
- Links to supporting articles and references
- RSS for company news and product information
- Option to post/share in social network of choice, such as Facebook, Twitter, blogs, LinkedIn and bookmarking networks
- Comments
Once the social media release has been created…
It can be published in a number of different ways. This includes online media outlets, bloggers, traditional web services like PR Web, your own social media, blog and bookmarking sites and article submission directories like Ezine Articles.
Think about how much more “social” this format is than traditional media releases that tell the story, but then encourage the journalist to contact the author for more information. This way, the author is putting everything on the menu, allowing readers to pick how they consume it and encouraging them to share the story. It’s social publishing in action.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JOHANNA BAKER-DOWDELL
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Johanna Baker-Dowdell - Strawberry CommunicationsJohanna owns and runs writing and public relations service Strawberry Communications. The agency builds relationships with the media and key stakeholders on behalf of its SME clients. This service is provided through careful research and strategic communication, then maintained by telling the business’s story through amazing publicity and expertly crafted words. Strawberry Communications is based in Launceston and was launched in 2007. Johanna has more than 16 years experience in the media industry and is also a freelance journalist and blogger.
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How to Get Your Awards Entry Shortlisted
September 21, 2011
By Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Strawberry Communications
The past few months has revolved a lot around awards submissions. Whether it is researching and writing submissions for clients, doing it for myself or judging the Bio-Oil AusMumpreneur Awards and the ActionCOACH My Business Awards, I’ve seen a lots of awards entries recently.
After discussing the good – and not-so-good – points of awards submissions with fellow judges, I’ve put together a list for you to consider next time you are putting together an entry:
Stand out
Most awards programs ask entrants to follow a set format, so all entries look pretty much the same. Make sure you show why you should win very early on in your entry by letting your passion shine through.
Be succinct
You do not win extra points for waffling, so make your point and move on to the next question. Less is more when sorting through lots of submissions.
Stick to the word count
Awards organisers give you a word count to ensure every entrant has the same opportunity.
Answer all the questions
It seems pretty basic, but if you skip questions because they are too hard, it reflects badly. And when you are answering each question, remember to address the point asked for, not what you think should be covered.
Be original
Of course, there are some answers that would be similar for every awards entry, however if your entry is obviously slabs of content cut and pasted from your website, it will show.
Include supporting material
Your entry will paint a better picture of you and your business if you include extras, such as customer testimonials, marketing material, photos and media coverage, but don’t overload the entry with too much, otherwise something amazing may be skipped over.
Respect the judges
Most awards judges are involved as volunteers, which means time away from their business or life, so respect that and don’t waste the time they have given.
Now that you’re armed with some tips on how to get your awards submission to the top of the pile, start nominating!
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JOHANNA BAKER-DOWDELL
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Johanna Baker-Dowdell - Strawberry CommunicationsJohanna owns and runs writing and public relations service Strawberry Communications. The agency builds relationships with the media and key stakeholders on behalf of its SME clients. This service is provided through careful research and strategic communication, then maintained by telling the business’s story through amazing publicity and expertly crafted words. Strawberry Communications is based in Launceston and was launched in 2007. Johanna has more than 16 years experience in the media industry and is also a freelance journalist and blogger.
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Are You Responsible? How Small Business Can Give Back
August 22, 2011
By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit
Photo Credit: Justin Wasserman
The Gillard government’s recent carbon tax has tossed corporate social responsibility (CSR) under a glaring spotlight, forcing big business to be accountable for any environmental damage their industrial processes wreak.
However you feel about it, the initiative provides an eye-opening case study of what happens when CSR is enforced, instead of coming from the heart. It will be interesting to see how those companies in the firing line respond — will they really investigate more sustainable ways of operating or will they literally pass the buck onto consumers through hiked-up prices?
But that’s not the purpose of this blog post. Instead, I want to consider how CSR, often thought of as “giving back” or “being a good neighbour” applies to small business and how a genuine desire to “do the right thing” can benefit both the world and your business.
A brief history lesson
CSR became popular in the late ‘60s and early ‘70s when many of those household-name multinational companies, such as Nokia, Walmart and Nestlé, formed, incorporated or expanded. In a time of idealism and great change in the western world, a policy that encouraged companies to be answerable to their actions and make a positive impact on the community was appealing.
For individual businesses, CSR became an opportunity to develop an ethical framework, to say, “This is what we believe in and value.” At the same time, it signalled a change in how people perceived business — people swapped the idea of simply wanting to make stacks of cash for the idea that running a business is about choosing what kind of world we want to live in.
Let’s get cynical
It’s easy to feel skeptical when you hear the words “multinational companies” and “giving back” in the same sentence, especially when you read about the perks some CEOs enjoy — unfortunately, CSR can seem more like an empty publicity tool than genuine giving these days. However, a good written plan, a few benchmarks and solid review process will make sure your CSR plan walks the talk, instead of languishing at the back of a locked filing cabinet!
Why give back?
Let’s go back a step and explore seven benefits CSR can give your business:
- To give your business a moral framework in which to operate and communicate your core values to customers and suppliers.
- To build a reputation and corporate culture of “doing the right thing,” which makes it easier to recruit and retain employees and motivates your people to be more productive.
- To differentiate your brand… think of The Body Shop’s ground-breaking efforts in fair trade.
- To understand the wider impact of your business, which may lead to opportunities to develop new products and services.
- To appeal to increasingly savvy consumers, who consciously seek out businesses whose values match their own. The trends towards eco-friendly products and environmentally-sustainable ways of doing business are big examples.
- To generate positive media coverage… but, please, don’t negate the good you do by wasting your time bragging about it!
- Because you can. We live in an incredibly blessed country, where we take simple luxuries, such as soft beds, hot showers and delicious coffee, for granted. Giving back is a way of being thankful.
You’ll notice that most of these reasons are beneficial to your business. Let me be clear that you’re not selling out if your CSR strategy just happens to bring positive things your way — in fact, you’d be naïve to expect your activities to have no impact on your life. What is important, however, is the spirit in which you give — as long as your motivation is genuine and you’re giving not simply to get in return, I believe it’s okay to enjoy any rewards.
How to develop a CSR strategy
Most businesses make two big mistakes when developing their CSR strategy. The first one is not linking giving to core business. To avoid this trap:
- Choose CSR activities that match your top three business objectives — even better, make sure they contribute to the achievement of those objectives.
- Choose CSR activities that also match your core competencies; that is, what you do well.
Let me be so bold as to use myself and my company as an example. Admin Bandit is the developer of a self-named accounting software designed specifically for volunteer treasurers in community and non-profit groups. As such, our CSR activities focus on our target market — we have a partnership with the Canberra Preschool Society, I’m on the advisory board of the Multicultural Women’s Advocacy Employability Partnership Project and am a volunteer treasurer myself. Communication is one of our key strengths, so we also focus our voluntary efforts on tasks that involve public speaking, training and mentoring. I especially get a big kick out of sharing my experiences and the lessons I’ve learned either on the stage or by writing articles.
As you develop your CSR strategy, think about your business and strengths in the following nine areas:
- Non-profit partnerships
- Human rights
- Philanthropy
- Environmental management
- Fair employee treatment
- Community investment
- Employee volunteering
- Product giveaways
- Sponsorships.
Walk the talk and measure milestones
Getting back to those two big mistakes many businesses make in their CSR strategy… the second one is two-sided: failure to motivate compliance and measure results.
Motivating compliance is easy… keep CSR objectives fresh in the mind through signage and newsletters and make fulfilment a part of staff performance appraisals. As for measuring effectiveness, develop a set of key performance indicators, both internal and external, to assess your company’s reputation, brand perception, sales, customer and employee satisfaction and achievements in the community. Unsure how to get feedback? Try surveys (always offer an incentive, such as a discount or prize), testimonials or social media, such as Facebook.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY NERIDA GILL
- How to Dress to Communicate Skill and Success in Business
- Business Insurance: How to Prepare for the “What Ifs”
- Your Business Plan: The Best Road to Success
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Nerida Gill – Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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Make it All About You
July 30, 2011
By Johanna Baker-Dowdell, Strawberry Communications
When you think about female entrepreneurs such as Janine Allis and Naomi Simson, do you think about the women first, or the brands Boost Juice and Red Balloon?
I would be fairly confident in saying you thought first about the inspirational woman and second about the brand they built. The reason you put the name before the business is personal branding. Both these women have worked very hard on their personal PR efforts to ensure their names are synonymous with the idea of successful business women.
So now think about your personal PR efforts. Is it all about your business or do you promote yourself as the woman behind the name? If the latter is true (and that is likely as women are brilliant at putting themselves last), start by spreading the word about you, the entrepreneur.
Here are some suggestions to get you thinking about how you can step out from behind your brand and show your customers or clients who is running the show:
- Blog about your area of expertise – make sure your blog covers the same ideas as your USP (unique selling proposition), but use it to cement you as the expert on that topic. Once you are considered the expert, the media will approach you to comment on issues in your industry.
- Networking – get yourself known offline in person at business events, but also online via social media platforms like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and communities like the ABN.
- Become a speaker – extending from the expert and networking themes, you can use these platforms to organise speaking opportunities at business events, on webinars or in podcasts where you can share your expertise with a wider audience.
Start close to home by sending media releases to the outlets in your area with a local take on a national issue (for example, show how your boutique can help women dress for Melbourne Cup with some fashion tips timed just before the November event), or offer yourself as a speaker at the Chamber of Commerce and go from there.
People buy from people, not brands (unless your brand is Apple), so make it about you for a change.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY JOHANNA BAKER-DOWDELL
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Johanna Baker-Dowdell - Strawberry CommunicationsJohanna owns and runs writing and public relations service Strawberry Communications. The agency builds relationships with the media and key stakeholders on behalf of its SME clients. This service is provided through careful research and strategic communication, then maintained by telling the business’s story through amazing publicity and expertly crafted words. Strawberry Communications is based in Launceston and was launched in 2007. Johanna has more than 16 years experience in the media industry and is also a freelance journalist and blogger.
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First Things First
July 19, 2011
By Cat Matson, Alito
Most business owners I meet know the things they need to do first… marketing, planning, coaching their staff, focussing on strategic matters.
But those same business owners struggle with getting to most… if not all… of those important, business-building activities. Why? Because they’re busy in the day-to-day ‘stuff’ of running their business.
In Stephen Covey’s classic, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, habit number 3 is First Things First (habits 1 and 2 are Be Proactive and Start with the End in Mind). And by First Things First, he means making sure those important, strategic matters get addressed FIRST… not ‘waiting’ until you have time to do them.
He has a great analogy of filling a jar with sand, small rocks and big rocks. If you start with the sand and the small rocks and then try to jam your big rocks in ‘on top’, they’ll never fit.
Instead, if you put the big rocks in first, then the small rocks and the sand… everything will fit – as the small stuff will fill in the spaces (visit my Facebook page to watch a video demonstration).
Makes perfect sense, doesn’t it? But ask yourself, what do you fill your days, weeks and months with? Big rocks? Or the little stuff?
Don’t get me wrong… the ‘little stuff’, like phone calls, emails, customer emergencies might be ‘little’ in the rocks analogy… and they’re still important. But the problem is, if we don’t put the ‘big’ things in our lives first… well, honestly, it’s just way too easy for our time to be filled with the small rocks and sand of our lives.
So here’s my tip: At the start of each week (maybe even on a Sunday night), spend 30 minutes scheduling the ‘big rocks’ into your week. Make appointments with yourself and block those times out in your diary. And then keep the appointments. The other stuff will still get done – it will fit into the spaces around your big rocks.
So before you rush off to the next task on your to-do list… take a moment and check your diary… have you scheduled time for the ‘big rocks’?
Over to you: What other tips do you have for ensuring the ‘big rocks’ get done first?
MORE GREAT POSTS BY CAT MATSON
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Cat Matson - AlitoCat is a Business CATalyst, sparking ideas for peak business performance. With a keen interest in strategy, marketing, social media and personal effectiveness, Cat works with clients to have their business firing on all cylinders. Appalled by the notion of ‘silver-bullet’, ‘one-size-fits-all’ approaches to business success, Cat works with savvy business owners to connect the RIGHT resources with the RIGHT strategy to produce the desired business outcomes. When not working, Cat enjoys time with her 2 young boys, her husband and exploring the ever-evolving possibilities of social media. She is a connection junkie – getting a buzz out of connections both on- and off-line and is often seen with iPhone to ear and iPad at fingertips.
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Blisscipline Trumps Discipline
June 17, 2011
By Lisa Murray, Revive Business Coaching
Blisscipline is finding the joy in what needs to be done. In business there are always tasks that just need to be sorted out, even if we don’t find them fun. A Facebook friend suggested that instead of blisscipline, I could just stick with the term ‘personal responsibility’ – did you feel the big clunk when I mentioned those words? A little too reminiscent of the 1980’s ‘this is serious stuff’ personal development movement for my liking!!
When we look at our day with playfulness rather than seriousness, all heaviness disappears. Just the word discipline is heavy… it takes you into the wrongness of you immediately!! So what if you never had to discipline yourself or anyone else ever again?
Whenever I am feeling the clunk, I ask ‘what would be fun for me right now?’ and often I will think of a new way of doing something or I can bring in a different energy that is light and blissful simply by reframing the task at hand. When I have gratitude for the result, a lot more bliss can show up!
So… blisscipline creates flow. It allows you to do what is required without your day being full of clunks, even if what you need to do is a little boring for your original, sparkly, creative self!
If we look at how we treat our team, according to traditional business wisdom they need discipline… What could happen if you apply some blisscipline instead? As a leader it is often more blissful to be the invitation to change, rather than the enforcement agency!
Playing with questions allows change to be created with ease. When we come to a conclusion and we know we are right and ‘they’ are wrong, there are not a lot of possibilities for creating change.
The next time you need someone to change their behaviour… rather than just playing the blame game and making them wrong, would you be willing to ask questions instead? Have you ever noticed how resistant you are to changing when someone makes you wrong?? It’s the same for the person you are talking to (especially if it’s a quiet chat with yourself)! So instead of going to the wrongness, you could ask:
- How did that work out? What could be different in future?
- What are the possibilities of us creating something different here?
- What could we change here that would make this more joyful for everyone?
- How could we make this more fun and full of ease for everyone involved?
- If we were to create a greater possibility here, what could that look like?
Do you see how easy it is to start a conversation that doesn’t make the other person wrong? Do you see how blisscipline can create a very different culture in your organisation? What if the new energies of business were all about possibilities and potentials created by and for people? When people are our first priority, bliss can be created with ease!
MORE GREAT BLOG POSTS BY LISA MURRAY
- Startup Savvy – Leveraging Your Budget
- 5 Strategies for Leading Consciously
- Digging Out The Gold From Your Annual (P)review
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Lisa Murray – Revive Business Coaching/Bliss TribeLisa Murray is an experienced business mentor who brings bliss back into your business. Her holistic, unconventional and creative strategies help small business owners design authentic, ease-filled and profitable businesses. Through her BlissTribe community, Lisa is a catalyst for business owners to choose a phenomenal, rich and joyful life without compromise! The sky is not the limit… there are no limits… unless you choose them! Lisa connects the dots for you… she is an idea generator, a sounding board, a skilled facilitator, a strategist, a problem solver and a contribution to the authenticity and potency of you creating the business you truly desire and deserve. What else is possible? Ask and you will receive!!
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Your Business Plan: The Best Road to Success
May 30, 2011
By Nerida Gill, Admin Bandit
Do you have time to fail?
Twenty one percent of small business owners obviously do, claiming they don’t have time to write a business plan, yet one third of small businesses fail because they lack one, according to an NAB survey.
Overall, the survey continues, 40% of small businesses don’t have a plan, which means about 800,000 Australian enterprises are flying by the seat of their pants.
So what exactly is this elusive plan statistics and experts alike say we need? Many liken it to a road map, but I’d like to suggest it’s more than that: a business plan doesn’t just tell you how to get somewhere; it also helps you decide exactly where it is you want to go.
Put simply, your business plan is a written document that defines your goals and sets out procedures to help you achieve them.
It’s not just about preventing failure
Of course, despite what the shocking statistics above may suggest, a business plan is not just a tool to reduce your chances of failure. It’s far more exciting — it actually maximises performance, so much so that independent studies in the US suggest businesses with a good one enjoy a whopping 63% higher sales growth and 58% higher profit growth than those without.
Photo credit: Justin Wasserman
Need more incentives? How about:
- Reduced costs
- Better cash flow
- Higher moral
- Less uncertainty
- Faster decision
- Improved competitiveness
- More efficient use of resources
A word of warning
Are business plans a “subgenre of contemporary fiction” as writer and television presenter Alain de Botton accuses in his book The Pleasures and Sorrows of Work? As much as I hate to admit it, he’s right to some degree.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to look good on paper, but too much “creative license” or even just going through the motions because you know you need a business plan doesn’t fool anyone, especially banks and investors. What’s more, it won’t make an ounce of difference to your success or failure.
The key is to keep it real and to do that you:
- Research, research, research… verifiable statistics from agencies like the Australian Bureau of Statistics are your best friend.
- Back up everything you say about your business and industry with evidence and examples (see above).
- Speaking of examples, read other business plans… take the time to go through the links at Business Victoria and you’ll uncover gold.
- Get credible, independent advice when developing those parts of your plan that are subject to speculation or “guestimates,” such budgets and sales forecasts… head straight to your nearest Business Enterprise Centre or state government small business website.
What to include
While there’s no set presentation and contents for a business plan, you need to cover six basic sections:
- Executive Summary: a one or two page synopsis of your plan, which you write last
- Business Goals:
- Vision
- Mission
- Goals
- Milestones/benchmarks
- Management Plan:
- Operations
- People
- Products/services
- Suppliers
- SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats)
- Marketing Plan:
- Industry overview
- Target market/customer profiles
- Competition and competitive advantage
- Distribution/sales channels
- Pricing policy
- Sales and advertising strategies
- Financial Plan:
- Start-up costs
- Profit or loss forecast
- Cash flow forecast
- Sales forecast
- Assets
- Sources of finance
- Supporting Information:
- Resumes
- Statistics in graph format
- Logo
- Floor plans
Phew… what a ginormous list! The bad news is that it’s just the beginning, but the good news is that there are a tonne of resources to help you flesh out your business plan. Check out business.gov.au for a comprehensive array of guidelines and templates that walk you through every step of the process.
Put it into action
This is where the rubber hits the road, where your business plan gets dog-eared and covered in coffee cup rings! You need to USE it every day as you manage operations, measure performance and plan ahead… and, most important, remember that your business plan is a “living” document that needs to be reviewed and updated as you reach your goals and your business grows or changes.
Admin Bandit won the Business Plan category at the 2008 Canberra BusinessPoint Gala Awards.
MORE GREAT POSTS BY NERIDA GILL
- How to Be an Inspiring Speaker (and Promote Your Business for Free)
- Put Down Your Gloves: How to Resolve Conflict the Right Way
- Show Me the Money: How to Get Your Debtors to Pay
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Nerida Gill - Admin BanditNerida Gill is the creator of Admin Bandit, a web-based accounting package designed specifically to make keeping the books easy for volunteer treasurers in community groups. After winning numerous business awards, Admin Bandit is in a growth phase after recently attracting external investment.
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