When You're Ready To Take The Leap
Taking the Leap Avoid These Common Mistakes In Your Business Plan and Land on Your Feet |
| We are often surprised by flaws in parts of the initial business planning process for start-ups. Errors at the start, whether by omission or inexperience, are often impossible to correct, at least on a timely or economically viable basis. First time entrepreneurs are especially vulnerable. Usually smart, driven, exciting, impatient and compelled by their idea or product they can be limited by their inexperience. Lucky ones may have a good venture capitalist or an experienced mentor in their angel investor group to guide them, but many do not. Here is a summary of six mistakes for entrepreneurs and their start-ups to avoid when taking the leap. |
| 1. A Great Product Is Not A Strategy 'If you build it they will come' rarely applies in business. Thinking a market will automatically share and act on your enthusiasm for your product can lead to an inadequate strategy and funding, poor or misdirected hiring, and a host of compounding problems flowing from these. A great product deserves a great strategy. Download Full Article. |
| 2. Confusing Selling With Marketing Selling is not marketing. The sales plan is tactical, the marketing plan is strategic. The marketing plan is a critical element of your business plan, detailing the company’s vision, mission, where you are going and how you intend to get there. It deals with markets, customers, targets, image, branding and it includes the sales plan. Download Full Article. |
| 3. Not Deciding What Your Company Should Look and Sound Like Create a persona for your company. The clothes your company wears (its logo, website, graphics, stationery, product and promotion materials) and its voice (its attitude and tonality) will determine how customers, stakeholders or other constituents perceive it. Download Full Article. |
| 4. Not Having Absolute Clarity As To Who Your Customers Are Understanding your customers and having the nerve to focus on them, especially as the going gets tough may be the most important factor in your company’s success besides adequate funding. Too often we see start-ups vacillate on which customers to target or struggle keeping a single minded focus on them. Download Full Article. |
| 5. Not Understanding Your Market Or Your Competitors A football coach doesn’t write a game plan in a vacuum, and neither should you. You don’t have to be overly flexible or responsive, but you do have to know the market factors which will drive your success, and who are the competitors who can derail you. Download Full Article. |
| 6. Not Having A Plan To Get The Message Out A by-product of the ‘if you build it they will come’ syndrome and of confusing selling with marketing, failure to create a detailed message or communications plan can be costly in the long run. Download Full Article. |