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.

How Do Senior Managers Spend Their Time?

As an Operations Director with primary responsibility over Customer Operations, I get asked a lot of questions from friends, family and colleagues I worked with when I was in IT.  I was asked to speak at my sons school to his class about what I do, but it’s always difficult to explain exactly what I do.  Lets face it, it’s not very exciting to say that I spend time planning, analyzing and executing.  When I say that line, the usual response is “Oh, ok… well, anyway…” not much of a response, is it?

The other thing I may say is that I manage a call center.  Well that’s even worse.  People imagine that I’m a slave driver and tied to my phone.  I wish it were that simple!

As a Senior Manager, while I can be hands-on when needed I’ve got a Manager and Supervisor that run the show.  I just get to sit back and watch.  And plan.  And review, analayze and execute plans that help us meet operational objectives.

Planning is central to the smooth operations of a call center, as is executing those plans at the right time.

There is a great post over at Goals & Achievements website brief, but to the point that does a great job on explaining the transition from a manager to a senior manager.

Enjoy!

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Wanna know what time it is currently CST?  Just click here… http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/central-time/ CST is GMT -6 hours.

So if you’re on PST (Pacific) add two hours to the current time to find what it is in CST right now.

 

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