When you think of a small business plan what comes to
mind-something boring and tedious perhaps? I remember Business
Administration classes in college in which large text books droned on
for pages and pages about pro forma statements and break even charts.
Yes; those things may be important to your future success, but I am going to make a radical departure and help you focus on the items that are most important to your immediate survival and success as a small business owner.
Perhaps you are a creative person who will be offering your artistic services as a freelancer. Or maybe you are an information technology (IT) professional with many years of experience and impressive credentials. Maybe you regard yourself as a consultant or a trainer. However, this next comment will help you avoid the mistake most small business owners make-the primary reason so many fail.
I'm going to ask you an extremely critical question: In what business are you?
You are wrong if your answer is: artistic services, IT, consulting, training or any other practice for that matter. No. YOU ARE IN THE SALES AND MARKETING BUSINESS.
This may surprise you, but there is nothing in your business plan as important as how you are going to market and sell your products and services. Nothing. In the marketplace, it is necessary to provide excellent quality and service, but that does not put money in the bank. It is merely the price of entry. Excellent quality and great service are available from a wide variety of suppliers. The ones that do marketing and sales the best are the ones that earn millions. The ones that are poor at it go out of business eventually.
You see, the profession that brings the customers in the door is the most important profession in the building. If you never understood this before, while working in some operational or production capacity, you will begin to understand it very quickly once you become a small business owner and find that everything is in place except customers.
There is a fast and very effective way to become a street smart marketer. Read books and study materials created by those who have already done it. By this, I do not mean academic materials. Typically, a person who has excelled in the academic world has not excelled in the world of application. And the top performers in the marketplace were typically not the top performers in their academic endeavors.
To succeed in creating a practical and effective plan, suitable for a small business to rollout from day one, you will need the advice of people who have already done it successfully - no room for theories.
These are successful entrepreneurs who have rolled up their sleeves and gotten into the task of attracting customers and making the sale. They have advice for you that is priceless. Seek it out, consume it and apply it.
Where will you go to find these books? Try reading the interviews that entrepreneurial type publications conduct with the people described above. Many of these people have written their own books; some will recommend the books and materials that helped them succeed. Also try taking advantage of the many free resources available. I have one available at the website in my resource box below.
Yes; those things may be important to your future success, but I am going to make a radical departure and help you focus on the items that are most important to your immediate survival and success as a small business owner.
Perhaps you are a creative person who will be offering your artistic services as a freelancer. Or maybe you are an information technology (IT) professional with many years of experience and impressive credentials. Maybe you regard yourself as a consultant or a trainer. However, this next comment will help you avoid the mistake most small business owners make-the primary reason so many fail.
I'm going to ask you an extremely critical question: In what business are you?
You are wrong if your answer is: artistic services, IT, consulting, training or any other practice for that matter. No. YOU ARE IN THE SALES AND MARKETING BUSINESS.
This may surprise you, but there is nothing in your business plan as important as how you are going to market and sell your products and services. Nothing. In the marketplace, it is necessary to provide excellent quality and service, but that does not put money in the bank. It is merely the price of entry. Excellent quality and great service are available from a wide variety of suppliers. The ones that do marketing and sales the best are the ones that earn millions. The ones that are poor at it go out of business eventually.
You see, the profession that brings the customers in the door is the most important profession in the building. If you never understood this before, while working in some operational or production capacity, you will begin to understand it very quickly once you become a small business owner and find that everything is in place except customers.
There is a fast and very effective way to become a street smart marketer. Read books and study materials created by those who have already done it. By this, I do not mean academic materials. Typically, a person who has excelled in the academic world has not excelled in the world of application. And the top performers in the marketplace were typically not the top performers in their academic endeavors.
To succeed in creating a practical and effective plan, suitable for a small business to rollout from day one, you will need the advice of people who have already done it successfully - no room for theories.
These are successful entrepreneurs who have rolled up their sleeves and gotten into the task of attracting customers and making the sale. They have advice for you that is priceless. Seek it out, consume it and apply it.
Where will you go to find these books? Try reading the interviews that entrepreneurial type publications conduct with the people described above. Many of these people have written their own books; some will recommend the books and materials that helped them succeed. Also try taking advantage of the many free resources available. I have one available at the website in my resource box below.
After 27 years leading Fortune 500 companies to earn millions of
dollars, Alvin Day now simplifies the success principles to help people
achieve and prosper in business and job. Get his free eBook, Ask and You
Shall Receive - visit this website: www.AlvinDay4Free.com/ebook
[http://alvinday4free.com/ebook/]
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