How To Write A Winning, Successful Business Plan

With the economy being what it is right now, those graduating from university, or gollege will have a very tough time getting jobs.  There have been many articles written over the year about this issue:

• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/08/college-graduates-jobs-unemployment_n_893495.html
• http://www.kansascity.com/2011/05/18/2886035/recent-college-grads-hit-by-recession.html
• http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2011/05/24/the-downsized-college-graduate/young-workers-in-a-wage-rut-for-years

I went through the same scenario many years ago and was competing against government employees (accountants) that had years of experience and were willing to work for less in order to just have a job.

So what’s a new college or university graduate to do?

Start their own business.

But even this is not a sure fire proposition and though they are starting to fall in CANADA http://money.canoe.ca/money/business/canada/archives/2011/02/20110203-112033.html, http://www.bankruptcycanada.com/bankstats1.htm there are still problems in the US (as can also be seen on the news): http://www.bankruptcy-statistics.com/, http://www.uscourts.gov/Statistics/BankruptcyStatistics.aspx with the constant threat of another recession hot on the heels of one we’ve just worked our way through (others would also argue that we’re still in the recession).

In Canada in August 2011 bankruptcies declined by 3.7% compared with the same month last year.  Consumer bankruptcies were also down by 9% in August 2011 compared to the same month last year.  While the actual breakdown does present other numbers, such as an 11% increase in BC to a 20% decrease in Manitoba you also have to go beyond the numbers to look at the actual numbers and the per-capita rates as all provinces and cities are different in size and dynamics.  One misleading or perhaps misconstrued number that would send someone reeling is the 100% in NT in August 2011 but we’re only talking about single digits here – not in the hundreds, or thousands.

I’m certain you would see something similar in the US, however I didn’t spend a lot of time looking at the rate of US bankruptcies however you can get the breakdown at http://www.uscourts.gov/Statistics/BankruptcyStatistics.aspx and at http://lawprofessors.typepad.com/bankruptcyprof_blog/bankruptcy_statistics/ which does a great job of explaining the information found at the US Courts website.

Also keep in mind that the US has several different classes if bankruptcy (Chapter 7, 9, 11 – 13, and 15).  Some of the notable ones in the US has been Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Washington Mutual and Worldcom – not to forget the one that everyone remembers Enron (will the USPS [http://newsinabox.net/2215/u-s-postal-service-faces-bankruptcy.html] be the next big one?).

Bankruptcies will also vary by region, for example (http://www.buffalonews.com/business/article663228.ece) noted that new filings for Western New York dipped in November for the 18th month by 17.50%:

New bankruptcy filings in Western New York dipped again in November for the 18th straight month, as fewer people can afford to file for court protection or have fewer reasons to do so.

According to the U. S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of New York, new cases fell by 17.5 percent in November in the Buffalo and Rochester courts, to 531 filings.

The purpose of this post isn’t to hilight where the economy is or is headed - we all know what’s going on through radio, newspaper, TV and Internet.  What it does go to hilight is that with the amount of uncertainty in the economy and the job prospects bad for well experienced individuals, how does a student compete?  Simple, they don’t and instead consider going into business for themselves.

However when taking this step you need to set out clear, concise goals.  You need to have a vision for what you want to do, and drive yourself forward to that vision.  If you’ve decided upon a business that you want to get yourself into and have done the research build your business plan.  This will help you get money from friends, or family since most banks may not be willing to lend you anything.  It will also help you in that others will be able to scrutinize your plan – see if anyone can poke holes (let them play devils advocate) in the plan.

There are several great resources out there for developing your business plan.  One of the best places to start your research is through LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com) and their Answers section.  There is a treasure trove of information there and one post to pay pay attention to is this one http://www.mohamedbhimji.com/business-plan-fundamentals – the link is shortened, but it will take you to LinkedIn.  It’s a long post, so I’ve summarized the information below in bullet form – it’s primarily a list of resources and individuals that you can possibly ping to help you:

• Software – http://www.paloalto.com/
• Individual – http://be.linkedin.com/in/frankliesenborgs
• Software – http://office.microsoft.com/en-gb/default.aspx
• Software – http://www.paloalto.com/ps/bp/sampleplan_sample_view.cfm?Studio67
• Software – http://www.dynamicbusinessplan.com/category.asp?ID=1 / http://www.dynamicbusinessplan.com/answer.asp?ID=2
• Resource – http://www.sba.gov/hotlist/businessplans.html
• Resource – http://small-business-resources-cafe.blogspot.com/
• Resource – http://www.businessplans.com
• Resource – http://www.bplans.com
• Resource – http://www.score.org
• Resource – http://www.theresourcequeen.com/businessplans.html

With respect to Score.ORG one person that answered the question had this to say about the resource:

• It is a great asset to have.
• It is a FREE service to use the website.
• You can get FREE mentoring.
• I’ve paid for classes, but that has been for an intimate venue that has specific focus.  But either way, it was not expensive at all.
• When you go to the site, on the left hand side you can click on “Business Tools” and you’ll be right on track with what you need.
• You’ll have more resources than you’ll know what to do with, but luckily most of it is self-explanitory. (But the Mentor is there for when it’s not).
• A great part of having a business plan is the pride of knowing that you worked on it yourself, and in it, you will be able to focus on the parts of your business that you know to be amazing.
• I have gotten A LOT of assistance from SCORE, including how to go about financial backing.

Now if you want to see ALL the information on how to write a successful business plan on LinkedIn you can follow this link http://www.linkedin.com/searchAnswers?results=&sik=1323304496730.

If you have any resources that you would like to share, please leave a comment.  I will approve all comments that add value – don’t spam because I’ll just delete the comment.

HP Officejet 6500A Plus e-All-in-One

Looking for a great home or small home office printer, without spending hundreds of dollars then you need to look at the HP 6500A Plus All-in-One.  This printer is a couple of years old, and if you are now in the market for a new printer, seriously consider this one.  Most online retailers have halved the price on this, and locally (Vancouver, BC) you can get this on sale for $129.99 (about $70.00 less than the retailers original price).

There are actually two versions of the 6500A – the regular one which does not support auto-duplex mode (printing on both sides of the paper, automatically) and the 6500A Plus which does support printing on both sides of the paper automatically.

What attracted me to this printer are a few great features:

1. ePrint – you can print from anywhere you can send an e-mail from.  Most people have smartphones, and virtually every smartphone can handle e-mail as can many applications (such as news readers).
2. AirPrint – exclusive to HP, airprint allows you to print directly from your iPhone, iPad or iTouch – mind you, with ePrint you’re covered regardless of the device you have.
3. 250 sheet paper tray – no more having to run to the printer to add more paper!

Looking for multiple functions, look no further.  The HP 6500A Plus has you covered.

You can print, fax, scan and copy.  It’s a photo printer that also suppored wired and wireless connectivity (think: printer can be ANYWHERE in your home or home office).  Touchscreen is nice, and allows you to print without having to be connected to a computer.  It’s also web connected (think ePrint) and features ePrint and AirPrint technology.

If you check out the reviews on Amazon, there are a lot of negative comments – however I was able to install the printer and set it up within 30 minutes.  The initial [auto] configuration takes about 10 minutes (or less) and it’s probably the printer going through all its internal checks.  Once you set-up the wireless connectivity to your router (so that it can connect over the Internet) it goes out and performs an firmware upgrade (as near as I could tell).

A lot of the reviews were about how difficult it is to set-up (it’s not) or complained about the quality (it’s great for general documentation printing – need professional, high quality printing?  Spend good money for a better quality laser printer), or that the scanning speed is too slow (it’s more than acceptable) and that ink is expensive (umm, ALL ink for ANY printer is expensive)

One of the key features of this printer is the ePrint.  This was the first thing I tested out, and it works PERFECTLY!  You connect to the HP ePrint site, create a login and attach your printer to it using the code that the printer provides during its initial set-up.  Once connected you can open it up to allow anyone with the unique ID you create (or use the assigned ID) to print to it OR provide a list of e-mail addresses that can print to it.

The ePrint is a superb feature and something that will get used a lot.

Ink for inkjet printers is expensive no matter what, however the ink that comes with the printer is good for up to 420 sheets and you can by XL cartridges from HP (or a reseller) that allows one ink cartridge around 1,000 pages.

Yes in a small office, or home office ink costs can add up – but at the current price for the printer $129.99 – it’s ideal for home use where you may go through 1,000 pages every 4-6 months.

What’s in the box?

Everything you need to get you started:

The only thing I wasn’t overly happy with is that Windows VISTA did not find the drivers, so I had to use the CD — however for two of my other printers (an HP PhotoSmart 7150 and Brother MFC 420CN) VISTA had the drivers.  Not a big deal, but just thought I would mention it.

The printer is blindingly fast.  We print most things in draft mode and in all honesty, draft is perfectly fine for 99% of what we do.  The text is crisp, and clear though not as dark as it would be in normal mode.

ECO Hilights

HP claims that this printer is up to 40% more energy efficient that color lasers, as well the full-duplex feature means that you potentially use up to 50% less paper (OR MORE – you can print 1-4 pages per sheet, per side) and faxes can be stored electronically and viewed the same — so no printing out faxes unless you really need to.

The printer is also an Energy Star qualified product.  It goes into sleep mode, and wakes up quickly as soon as you send something to it.  Some of the complaints on Amazon is that the printer doesn’t wake up – I’ve yet to experience that.  Having been in sleep mode for over 4 hours, I sent it a print job and the printer promptly woke up and printed the document.

AirPrint

I didn’t even talk about AirPrint, because with ePrint it doesn’t really matter.  I also discovered that you have to buy apps that will support AirPrint, it’s not part of iOS for iPhone, iPad of iPod touch.

For Android you also have to buy an app.  Here are a few, note that I’ve not purchased any as ePrint works perfectly fine for me:

 

1. PRINT by EuroSmartz Ltd at http://mobile.eurosmartz.com/products/print.html, apparently they also develop a version for iOS devices as well.
2. HP ePrint Home & Biz
3. HP ePrint Service

I haven’t tried any of these, however did download HP ePrint Home & Biz and will report on that at a later date.

If you are looking for an awesome printer and a fantastic price, then the HP OfficeJet 6500A Plus is the printer for you.

Are You Getting Results as a Workaholic?

I have mentioned several times that I am a workaholic, and I know many others that are.  However what you may not know that being a workaholic isn’t something necessarily to be proud of.  You see it could be construed several ways.

Workaholic = Lazy, Inefficient, Lacking Time Management Skills

You’re a workaholic because you lack the time management skills to get your job done in the course of 8 or 9 hours; as a result you’re there all hours of the day always playing catch-up.

Workaholic = You’ve taken on TOO MUCH work from others!

You are a workaholic because you have taken on too much work from other people or departments.  You’re a “yes” man (or woman).  This isn’t good either, because you have to learn to say “NO” and focus on ensuring you, and your department/team is the best it can be.  How can you build a solid team if you’re busy helping everyone else build a solid team?  Answer = YOU CAN’T.

Where do you fall in these two examples?

If you are a workaholic, but can prove to those around you that the work and effort you are putting in are delivering results – then you can probably be forgiven for working crazy hours.  However if you’re not getting results then you are probably just wasting your time, ruining your health and slowly destroying your relationships with friends, and family.

Over the years I’ve worked crazy hours, but I like to think that my results speak for themselves.

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