Why Doesn't Your Business Plan Consistently Secure Your Desired Results?

by: Leanne Hoagland-Smith

From small businesses to large corporations, when you render all the challenges and issues facing these economic engines from employees to growth and innovation, the inability to secure desired results or implementation always float to the top as the number one to number three obstacles that prevent business success. As a business owner or management executive, have you ever asked yourself one of these five questions:

1. How do I move from my vision to my desired results?

2. How do I get my employees to perform?

3. How do I recruit new employees with the skills that my company needs?

4. How do I attract new customers or clients?

5. Why can�t I consistently achieve my desired results?

All of these questions when rendered down are about implementation. The failure to implement each corporate wide business goal consumes valuable resources specifically time, people and money. These resources may have been already allocated to other initiatives.

Effective implementation is what separates the successful companies from the not so successful ones. Many authors from Rick Page in �Hope is not a Strategy� to Jason Jennings and Laurence Haughton in �It�s Not the Big that Eat the Small, It�s the Fast that East the Slow� write about the affects of poor implementation.

Possibly why implementation continues to vex today�s businesses is because executives search for an ineffective answer through a business plan instead of a strategic business plan. A recent search using Inventory Overture revealed that searches for business plan were over 200 times as many as for strategic business plan (148,650 vs. 614). From these searches, it suggests that business owners may be looking for the wrong answer.

Why choose a strategic business plan over a business plan? The answer is simple because a strategic business plan defines �Who Does What By When� through the critical success factors and supporting goals that are in alignment with the sales and marketing plans.

The structure of a strategic business plan is all about implementation. Using the ADDIE Plus methodology may help you in your efforts to create an effective strategic business plan.

Assess - The current market conditions, future market conditions and the organization need to be assessed. This evaluation should begin with an overall organizational assessment and may extend to internal and external customers.

Design � After the evaluation, a design is crafted. This design should include the vision, values and mission of the organization and is overall architecture for the plan. Simply, speaking this is the �Big Picture.�

Develop � The plan is developed according to the structure of the organization. Smaller plans or pictures such as marketing and sales fit within the overall plan.

Implement - Using specific goal setting and goal achievement, the strategic plan is implemented. At this juncture, who does what by when is identified.

Evaluate � Goal achievement is the mechanism to monitor and evaluate successful implementation.

Plus - Follow-up is the plus to ensure necessary course correction that may again require some new assessments along with design, development, implementation and evaluation.

Using the ADDIE+ methodology provides business owners a consistent vehicle from which to create, monitor, evaluate and follow-up on their strategic business plan.

If you truly want to reach that next level of success by bridging the implementation gaps, stop focusing on a business plan and take the time to create a strategic business plan that clearly defines who does what by when.

Buying a Franchise

by: Matt Bacak

is not for everyone. This guide will help you evaluate whether buying a franchise is right for you. It will help you understand your obligations as a franchise owner. Many people dream of owning and running their own business but are often let down by the reality of doing so.
By purchasing a franchise, you often can sell goods and services that have instant name recognition and can obtain training and ongoing support to help you succeed. But be cautious. Like any investment, purchasing a franchise is not a guarantee of success.
A franchise typically enables you, the investor or "franchisee," to operate a business. By paying a franchise fee, which may cost several thousand pounds, you are given a format or system developed by the company ("franchisor"), the right to use the franchisor's name for a limited time, and assistance.
While buying a franchise may reduce your investment risk by enabling you to associate with an established company, it can be costly. You also may be required to relinquish significant control over your business, while taking on contractual obligations with the franchisor.
Outlined below are some of the main points you need to consider before buying a franchise:
- Franchise fee: Your initial franchise fee, which may be non-refundable, may cost several thousand to several hundred thousand pounds.
- Royalty payments: You may have to pay the franchisor royalties based on a percentage of your weekly or monthly gross income. You often must pay royalties even if your outlet has not earned significant income during that time. In addition, royalties usually are paid for the right to use the franchisor's name.
- Advertising fees: You may have to pay into an advertising fund. Some portion of the advertising fees may go for national advertising or to attract new franchise owners, but not necessarily to target your particular outlet.
- Controls: To ensure uniformity, franchisors typically control how franchisees conduct business. These controls may significantly restrict your ability to exercise your own business judgment.
- Terminations and Renewal: You can lose the right to your franchise if you breach the franchise contract. In addition, the franchise contract is for a limited time; there is no guarantee that you will be able to renew it. A franchisor can end your franchise agreement if, for example, you fail to pay royalties or abide by performance standards and sales restrictions. If your franchise is terminated, you may lose your investment. Franchise agreements typically run for 15 to 20 years. After that time, the franchisor may decline to renew your contract.
Before investing in a particular franchise system, carefully consider how much money you have to invest, your abilities, and your goals.

How to Educate your Prospects

by: Abe Cherian

You may publish this article in your ezine, newsletter on
your web site as long as the byline is included and the
article is included in it's entirety. I also ask that you
activate any html links found in the article and in the
byline. Please send a courtesy link or email where you
publish to: support@multiplestreammktg.com


How to Educate your Prospects
By Abe Cherian
Copyright ? 2005


There's a saying about business that goes, "You're too
close to your business and services to see them the same
way others do."

You might assume your clients know more than they actually
do. You don't want to assume they will remember things. You
live for your business. You live and breathe it within your
industry. Your prospects don't. They have their own lives.
You know every detail about your products and services.
They don't. You want to educate them instead of just
advertising your business through conventional means.

One of the great ways to do this is through a newsletter.
It takes time for them to learn about your products and
services. You may see them just once a year and although
you may do a great job educating them, they're still not
going to remember you a year from now. Just because your
product and service is your life doesn't mean it's theirs.

If you don't have an on going product or service program in
place, you should begin one immediately. This will keep
your company at the top of your client's mind.

What kind of valuable information can you provide? Quite a
bit. Show them extra ways, tips and techniques to use your
products and services. If you constantly educate them over
and over again, then they're going to feel more connected
with you.

Your goal should be to get all of your customers to explain
your products and services then you'd really be doing a
great job. Believe me, your bank account will reflect this.

Always Give Them Something. you can mention this in your
newsletter. You never want to leave a prospect or client
without giving them something. You don't want to leave them
empty handed.

You don't want them to walk out of your store or leave your
web site without taking something with them. You don't want
to leave a customer or prospect's house without' leaving
them with something. You don't want to leave a meeting with
a prospect without giving them something.

It can be something you sell, a small token, or create
something specifically for this reason. You can create a
special report. This might be an after service or after
purchase report that shows them how to get the most
benefits out of your product or service.

A certificate for a complimentary maintenance, tune-up,
telephone conversation or something to enhance the initial
purchase. a free gift such as a pen, paper weight, calendar
or discount coupons fqr another purchase.

You don't want to use this just for prospects, but also for
customer clients. If they buy from you, they should receive
something from this list also or everything off the list.
Everybody likes to get a free gift. Everyone who does
business with you or inquires about business with you
should always receive something extra. If you constantly
follow this strategy and not leave them empty handed, you
will get a lot more business.

How To Write A Quick & Relatively Painless Business Plan

by: David Silva NAQF36QTU87R

If you've never written a business plan before, the idea alone can be overwhelming. It doesn't have to be the nightmare of your imagination. Traditionally, a business plan is used to secure funding from a lender or a potential investment partner. It serves as something akin to your business's resume, outlining the purpose and scope of your business, identifying the goals, marketing and management, and establishing a basic balance sheet. Now, even if you aren't going to seek additional funding, even if you're going to grow your business by yourself from your office at home, you'd be wise to put together a business plan. Simply going through the process has value. It'll help you develop a clearly defined vision of what you intend to do with your business and how you intend to do it. These are some of the questions you should already have asked and answered before you sit down to write your business plan: == What "want" does your business fill, and what service or product will you be providing to fill that want? == Who will be your potential customer (this should be an established, niche market with die-hard buyers). == Why will people purchase from you as opposed to the business down the street (in other words ... what's your Unique Selling Position)? == How do you intend to reach your customers? A storefront? An ad in the phone book? Direct mail? An Internet campaign? Selling door-to-door? A combination of these? == Will you need additional funding and if so, how much will you need and how do you intend to secure it? Okay, so let's take a look at what you'll want to include in your business plan. Most business plans are structured to examine four primary areas: 1. Executive Summary - a decription of the business 2. How you intend to market the business 3. How the busines finances will be arranged and handled 4. How the busines will be managed Let's take a further look at these. Executive Summary: what the business will do, its Unique Selling Position, the business goals, its ownership and legal structure, your skills and knowledge and how they will benefit the business. Marketing The Business: describe your product or service, identify your market niche, how big it is, and how you plan to reach it. Define your customer, identify your competition, detail your pricing plan, outline how you intend to attract and convert customers. Financing The Business: estimate your start-up costs, project your monthly operating budget for the first year, outline your ROI (return on investment) and cash flow for the first year, project your income and expense balance sheet for the first two years, explain how you're going to compensate yourself, establish who will maintain the accounting records and how they'll be maintained, and if you're in need of funding, explain how much you need and how it'll be used by the business. Managing The Business: how will the business be managed day-to-day, what the hiring and personnel procedures will be, how the products or services will be developed and how they'll get into the hands of your customers. You'll also need to account for equipment the business will need, and how insurance, rental agreements, etc. will be handled. That's it. In a nutshell. If you'd like to see some free sample business plans to get a better idea of how they're structured and how they read, here's a good source for you: http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm About the author: David Silva Business Starter Tools http://businessstartertools.com If you'd like to take the quickest, straight-as-an-arrow path to Internet success, then learn from one of the most successful Internet entrepreneurs ever, Mark Joyner: http://businessstartertools.com/internetmanuscript Circulated by Article Emporium

 

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Business Laws: What you Need to Know

by: Matt Bacak

There are a myriad of things you must think about when opening any type of business whether it is a small business or a large corporation and one of those is how business law may affect you. Failure to pay attention to business and corporate law can land you in a world of trouble-both legal and financial. The good news is that you do not necessarily need to be a graduate of a fancy business law college or have a business law major to brush up on the basic ideas of small business law and corporate business law.
If you've paid attention to the headlines lately, you probably know that employment law for business is one of the number one areas where you can get into trouble if you aren't up on all the employment laws and regulations. There are numerous laws that govern the employment of both regular employees and contract employees. Just for a broad overview, take a look at all the employment business laws you must meet:
� Civil Rights Act of 1966.
� The Equal Pay Act of 1963
� Americans with Disabilities Act
� The Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986
� The Age Discrimination in Employment Act
� The Equal Employment Opportunity Act
� The Bankruptcy Act
� The Occupational Safety and Health Act
� FMLA, the Family Medical Leave Act
� Employee Polygraph Protection Act Labor Law
� FLSA, the Fair Labor Standards Act
And that's not even counting the various state employment business laws that might apply to your business! If you aren't sure of whether you are meeting all the regulations, it's a good idea to get a checkup for your HR department.
Do you happen to work in the international arena? If you have anything at all to do with international business, then you should be aware of the many ways in which international business law can affect you, your business and your bottom line. At a minimum, you need to make sure that you meet general international business laws, specialized export laws, import laws and any laws of the foreign country in which your business operates.
And what about the business law scene at home? Were you aware that in addition to Federal business law and international business law, you are probably required to meet State business law regulations? Do you know whether you need a business permit or license? Failure to obtain one can result in the shutdown of your business and hefty fines and penalties. This is just one of the ways that state business law, such as California business law, can affect the health of your business if you aren't careful to stay on top of things.
Finally, what about Internet and online business laws? Were you even aware that there was such a thing? The Internet has exploded so much in the last decade that the government has found it necessary to institute Internet compliance laws. If you operate a website of any kind and do not meet the compliance regulations, that site could be shut down and you could face criminal prosecution and hefty fines.
Of course, no one should ever attempt to navigate the complexities of any type of business law alone and the best course of action is to always seek the qualified professional advice of a business law firm, but hopefully these tips will help you to understand a little bit more about business law requirements.
Summary: When operating a business, regardless of whether it is a small business or a large corporation, you need to be on top of business law compliance. Even if you hire a business law firm, it's still a good idea to understand what regulations you must meet.






About the author:
Matt Bacak became "##1 Best Selling Author" in just a few short hours.
Recent Entrepreneur Magazine�s e-Biz radio show host is
turning Authors, Speakers, and Experts into Overnight Success Stories.
Discover The Secrets http://promotingtips.com



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