Having a well thought out strategy and business plan can be the difference between success and failure for any start-up. Make sure you don't fly blind into the dark abyss of failure. Do your homework and start your business right. Even if you're beyond the start-up stage, you need a plan.

1. Meadow Creek Marketing
BUSINESS PLANS ELEGANT AND
SIMPLE
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2. Objectives
 Convince you of the need for a Business Plan
- The time you spend on your business plan is the
best investment you will ever make
 Describe a Process for creating a Business
Plan
- Having a process is the important thing
- Quality of the thought process is the deciding
factor
 Discuss how to use and maintain your plan
- It only has value if you use it
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3. What is a Business Plan
We’ll talk about specifics later
Your Business Plan is everything
 Strategic Plan
 Operating Plan
 Marketing Plan
 Sales Plan
 Manufacturing Plan etc.
Unless you look at them as one, you lose:
 Continuity and Focus
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4. Presentation Focus
Solo-preneurs & Very Small Businesses
 Not really much different from large businesses
- Process is the same
- Needs are the same
- Some of the issues will be different
- Scale is different
 Use examples from both small and large businesses
- Applicability
- Entertainment value
Interactive
 Ask questions & make comments
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5. Reality Check
As far as process, I will present all the things you
would do in a perfect world
 You will not do all of them
 Couple of things completely
 Many things halfway
My hope is that you at least think about
everything else
Again, it’s the thought that counts
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6. Why Have a Business Plan?
Startup Failure Rate
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20% One-third will never turn a profit!
10%
0%
Start Year 2 Year 4 Year 6 Year 8 Year 10
Failing to plan is planning to fail
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7. Have You Thought it Through?
Dan McComb, Biznik founder, says the average
solo-preneur puts $25,000 into their business
Most entrepreneurs probably put in everything
they have and then lose it
 Going into business is complicated
 Putting your plan down on paper forces you to think
 Putting it down on paper makes gaps more obvious
It’s Worth the Effort!
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8. What’s in the Plan?
Mission/Vision/Values What are you trying to do?
Strategic Rationale Why will it work?
Road Map How do you get there?
Allocation of Resources Can you do it?
Metrics What is success?
Basic stuff, why would you put everything
at risk without it?
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9. Creating a Business Plan
Pick a process, any process
The thought process is what counts
Not a fill in the blank create a Business Plan for
the sake of having a Business Plan exercise
It’s the thought that counts!
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10. Knowledge is Power
In the case of business, it is the Power to Make
an Intelligent Decision
Knowledge of your
market, competitors, suppliers, customers
and all those that influence you will empower
you
It will allow you to make better assumptions on
all the things you do not know
Never stop learning about your business.
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11. Mission
Vision
Values
SWOT Industry
Analysis Analysis
Planning
Process
Competitor External
Analysis Analysis
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12. Getting Started
Mission – internal view of what you want to be
when you grow up
Vision – external view of how you want to be
perceived at the end of the day
Values – distinguishing ideals of your company
They exist either explicitly or implicitly
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13. Mission
Vision
Values
SWOT Industry
Analysis Analysis
Planning
Process
Competitor External
Analysis Analysis
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14. Industry Analysis
 Potential entrants
 Substitutes
 Buyers
 Suppliers
 Competitors
Understand the space you’re dealing in
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15. Potential Entrants
Barriers to entry
 Scale economies
 Product differentiation
 Capital requirements
 Switching cost
 Access to distribution
 Other cost disadvantages i.e. proprietary
products, location, experience, etc.
Passion will not solve a barrier problem
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16. Substitutes
Business is all about satisfying a real or perceived
need of a consumer
What other ways can a consumer satisfy their need
for your product or service?
Greatest concern
 Improving price/performance
 Produced by higher profit industries
Be aware of where you are on the product life cycle
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17. Buyers/Customers
Bargaining Power
 Is the product a significant % of buyer product’s cost
 Undifferentiated
 Low switching cost
 Low profits
 Threat of backward integration
 Product not important to overall quality
 Informed buyer
Everyone is looking for dumb people with money
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18. Suppliers
Bargaining power of suppliers
 Lack of substitutes
 Industry not important to supplier
 Product is important to the buyer
 Differentiated product
 High switching cost
 Threat of forward integration
In a product business, this can make or break you
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19. Competitors
Rivalry among existing competitors - 4 factors
Other factors:
 Number of competitors vs. buyers/diverse competitors
 Industry growth
 High fixed cost/large steps in capacity
 High strategic stakes/exit barriers
 Lack of differentiation and/or switching cost
Key factors of competitive success
Don’t jump into a feeding frenzy
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20. Mission
Vision
Values
SWOT Industry
Analysis Analysis
Planning
Process
Competitor External
Analysis Analysis
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21. External Analysis
PEST Analysis
 Political, regulatory, certifications, etc.
 Economic
 Social
 Technical
Aptly named, but they can be more than a pest
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22. Political
Coming from the government, these are absolutes
They are also very hard to get your arms around
Changes in laws and regulations can have a brutal
impact on small businesses – unintended
consequences
All big changes bring opportunity to those that figure out
ways around them
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23. Economic
Look at economic data that drives your market
 What are the historical ranges?
 Where are you in the cycle?
What does the consensus forecast look like?
Your own financial plan should reflect the economy as
a whole
There’s room for a entrepreneur even in down markets
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24. Social
What is important to society today?
 Environmentally Conscious
 Domestic Security
 Sources of energy
 Domestic jobs
 Health care
Be aware of the societal expectations
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25. Technical
Big influence on:
 Substitute products
 Distribution
 Sales & Marketing
 Quality expectations
 Standards
 Every aspect of business
Change is the only constant
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26. Sources of Information
If you haven’t already decided that there is far too
much to know, you’re a better man than I
Good sources:
 Trade association
 Industry groups
 Chambers of commerce
 Government
You have to make a lot of assumptions
Be aware when you are making critical assumptions
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27. Mission
Vision
Values
SWOT Industry
Analysis Analysis
Planning
Process
Competitor External
Analysis Analysis
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28. Competitor Analysis
Capabilities and limitations of current and potential
competitors
Where are they positioned in the market
Which competitors are rivals
How are they positioned to respond to external
factors
Knowing your competition can teach you a lot
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29. Small Business Shortcut
Identify a successful competitor that represents a
model you can emulate
Research the hell out of them
Copy what they are doing from top to bottom
Remainder of your analysis is to figure out if it can
be done and how
Imitation is the highest form of flattery
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30. Mission
Vision
Values
SWOT Industry
Analysis Analysis
Planning
Process
Competitor External
Analysis Analysis
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31. SWOT Analysis
Internal
• Attributes of
organization
Strengths Weaknesses
• Competitive
Analysis
External
• Attributes of
environment Opportunities Threats
• PEST Analysis
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32. Strengths
Strengths relative to the competition
 Relevant to the market
 Capitalize on them to succeed
 Defend them and build upon them
As a solo-preneur you may not have any
 What strength does your vision assume
 Make it a top priority to develop
Identify & validate your key strengths
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33. Weaknesses
Weaknesses relative to the competition
 Relevant to the market
 Strategy should minimize their impact
 Compensate for them and/or correct them
As a solo-preneur you have many
 Prioritize them
 Focus on a couple
Identify and validate your weaknesses
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34. Opportunities
Environmental changes that play to your relative
strengths
 Your strategy should maximize the impact of
anticipated change
 Don’t bet the farm on an anticipated change
Real opportunities for break throughs
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35. Threats
Environmental changes that:
 Diminish your strengths
 Extenuate your weaknesses
 Negatively impact the market as a whole
Watch these closely
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36. Mission
Vision
Values
SWOT Industry
Analysis Analysis
Planning
Process
Competitor External
Analysis Analysis
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37. Reevaluate Your Mission
Revised assessment of your relative position
Viability of your original Mission/Vision
 Alignment with your company’s:
Strengths and weaknesses
Internal values
 Alignment with the environment you do business in:
Industry opportunities and threats
Societal expectations
Modify your Mission/Vision/Values
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38. Business Strategy
Generic Strategies
 Cost Leadership
 Product Differentiation
 Focus
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39. Critical Success Factors
Planning can seem like process of information
overload and infinite required actions
Identify 3-5 Critical Success Factors
 Must happens for you plan to succeed
 If there are more, reevaluate again
Stay within your managerial/time limits
Be realistic about the time you have for “Strategic Issues”
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40. Goal Setting
My fortune last week
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41. Reality
Contrary to what you might have heard, simply
releasing your passion will get you into as much
trouble in business as it has in your personal life.
 The odds are against you
 Being smarter than the next person will put them in
your favor
Business is serious stuff
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42. Strategic
Goals
Available
Financial Resources Operating
Plan Time & Goals
Money
Action
Plan
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43. Action Plan
Milestones - Events
Deliverables - Tangible accomplishments
Timing - When is it going to happen
Resources - Requirements to get the job done
Budgets - How much will you make & how much did it cost
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44. Plan, Do, Check, Act
Assess the
Action
need for
Plan
change
Act Plan
Did you
Achieve Check Do Execute
the results the Plan
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45. Putting it on Paper
I’ve seen wonderful examples of a company’s
mission and the strategic analysis placed on a
single page – hard to do
Volume is not important
Enough to clearly convey your thought process
Most of a plan might be schedules of action
plans and financials
Much depends on how you plan to use it
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46. Critique
Current Plan
Strategic Analysis
Reassessment
Peer Review
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47. Using Your Plan
Guidance versus Obsession
 Periodic Review
 Check Points
 Reevaluation
Sharing
 If you don’t have employees, share your passion
with someone
Self Assurance
 Give it a once over whenever you’re feeling
unsure
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48. Critical Review
In the corporate world, you get input from:
 Board of Directors
 Your manager
 Your peers
 Your staff
 Consultants
In the entrepreneurial world, you get input
from?
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49. Feedback & Support
Develop a support system
 Industry specific group
 Fellow business owners
 Experts in various fields
 Customers
 Suppliers
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50. Meadow Creek
Consulting
 Plan preparation
 Plan review
 Issue resolution
 Peer Group Meetings
 Plan Development Workshops
 Plan Development Groups
Marketing Support Services
Offices & Conference Rooms in Issaquah, WA
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51. Program Description Investment
Plan Preparation Onsite visit $1,000 payable in 4
2 hour kick-off installments
4 reviews – 1 hr. each Entrepreneurs Only!
2 hour finalization
Plan Review Review & feedback $250
Two 1 hour follow-up meetings Entrepreneurs Only!
Issue Resolution Designated project $125 per hour
Board Meetings Monthly meeting $100 per month
up to 5 peers / 2-3 hours
Plan Development Large group session on business $50
Workshops strategy & planning
2 hours
Plan Development Small Group Plan Preparation & $75 per meeting
Groups Review Sessions
up to 2-4 participants/2 -hours
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