Thursday, November 11th, 2010
Today’s guest post is from Mom Entrepreneur Support Group Member Cathy Presland. She is a Business Strategist who will help you work on the right priorities for your business right now. Cathy loves to work with entrepreneurs like you who are ready to take action and move your business forward. She will work with you to get clear on your big picture strategy as well as the ‘how-to’ steps of getting your Internet marketing on track for profits. Visit www.CathyPresland.com for more information.
Mom entrepreneurs tend to start a business in an area that they enjoy. We have an idea, a talent, or something we know we are good at.
But does this matter to our business bottom line?
If you build your business from a place of knowing yourself and understanding your strengths then you’ll have the motivation to push through the tough times, and you’ll have the individuality to differentiate yourself from the competition (oh yes and this means you can charge more!).
So if we’re not sure what we really love to do, how do we find it?
Marcus Buckingham has a great book called Now, Discover Your Strengths. He describes a strength as something that makes you feel stronger when you do it. It’s not the same as just being good at something.
Have you ever met someone who is so passionate about what they do that it just exudes from them? You know that feeling of being energised, in the ‘flow’. That real enjoyment and feeling expanded? Yep, that’s probably it.
Without having to buy the book, or take any kind of test, here’s my quick how-to way to work out your strengths:
- Get out a piece of paper and pen.
- Make a list of all the things that you are good at (this might be quite a long list, maybe 20+ items – and the more you write the more ideas will come to you). If you are struggling for ideas, try to think of three things, put the list away and add three more ideas tomorrow and every day for the next five days.
- Now make a list of all the things you love to do. Things that make you feel expanded when you do them, that you could talk about late into the night, where you get carried away and lose track of time, that you would do anyway even if you weren’t paid for them.
- See where the intersection of these two lists is. Circle from the first list the things that you love. This is where you will find your strengths.
- As you become familiar with this process and develop greater self-awareness, try this exercise again – you might get some deeper insights.
Make a pledge with yourself to spend more of your time in your business working from your strengths. I guarantee you will build a stronger business!
Tags: business passion, Cathy Presland
Tuesday, May 4th, 2010
Over the past several weeks, we have been discussing the components of a business plan in The Mom Entrepreneur Support Group. So far, we have discussed writing the Industry Analysis, Description of a Business and Competitive Analysis.
Members are undecided as to whether or not they actually need a business plan. They have mentioned reading articles or talking with experts who say a business plan is not necessary.
I strongly disagree. A business plan is imperative to the success of your business.
A “business plan” can take on different forms. When I started my first company, Bisson Barcelona, I wrote out a full business plan, which included sections on the industry, target market, competition, trends, marketing strategies and much more. This was a business plan that I took to the bank to secure funds needed to buy an office and equipment. I knew my business well, but needed an organized way to layout and present the information for investors as well as myself for planning future growth.
When I started my second company, The Mom Entrepreneur, I did not create the same kind of business plan. I was not seeking money from investors, and since I had already written a full business plan, I had a sense of the information I needed for planning the growth of the company.
I decided to use an idea notebook. This is a 6×9 inch notebook with pages that are filled with ideas, thoughts, plans, suggestions, etc. I refer to it often, make changes, delete ideas and add new ones.
No matter what type of business you own or how savvy of an entrepreneur you are, you must have a plan! Growing a business takes you to a destination. Would you get in a car and drive to a place you have never been before without a map or a GPS system or some other device to help you navigate?
Of course not. So why would you do it with your business?
“Even if you aren’t planning to borrow money or seek investors right away, there are good reasons to sit down and write a plan,” says Karen Klein, a business journalist who covers small-business issues for several national publications, including Businessweek. “Writing a business plan not only helps you determine whether your business idea is feasible, it also establishes a map for your company’s future. Without it, your business is likely to drift along without direction or parameters for measuring progress.”
Microsoft’s Small Business Center advises that if you’re starting a home-based business on a shoestring, some of these suggestions probably aren’t necessary, but you still should create a plan that outlines your goals, expected costs, marketing plan and exit strategy. If you haven’t written your plan yet, your business is still in the fantasy stages.
“A business plan is never quite finished because you’re always revising it, reviewing it, and building upon it. In fact, more important to your business’ future than having a written, 30-page, coil-bound plan to distribute is the business planning process that you undertake on a regular basis to hopefully keep your ship headed in the right direction without losing sight of your long-term destination,” explains Elizabeth Wasserman, a writer for Inc. Magazine.
Even a seasoned traveler needs to be reminded how to get to a destination. Perhaps landmarks have changed, or road construction has altered your direction.
If you are struggling in your business and feel like you have lost your sense of direction then take the time to research and write a business plan that outlines your goals and how you will achieve and measure them.
Here are some sites that can help get you started:
- SCORE Business Plan Templates- they have a variety of templates here to choose from depending on your type of business. Easy to understand and use.
- SBA Business Plan Template – this template is designed to help you build a business plan. Review and complete each section of the template. At the end of the program you will be able to generate and save a formatted business plan which can later be further modified or presented as a final product.
- Entrepreneur.com Business Plan – describes the different sections of a business plan and offers free sample business plans.
- Need help? Have questions? Join our discussion on The Mom Entrepreneur Support Group about how to write a business plan.
So mom entrepreneurs, what are your thoughts? Do you have a business plan? Do you recommend creating one for a business? I welcome your comments.
Tags: business planning, goal planning, How to write a business plan, starting a company, strategic plan
Sunday, September 28th, 2008
It’s tough starting and running a successful business. It’s even tougher however, when you have started two companies, balanced work and family and battled Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
Betsy Rich, mother of two, is typical of women who dream of working for themselves, owning and running a business, but scared to take the chance. Betsy had MS before starting her first company, so she had already experienced balancing work and family with a debilitating disease.
“About six years ago, I started to go downhill and was using a cane full time,” said Betsy. “My doctor started me on Novancrone, a chemotherapy drug used to stabilize people with MS. It worked for about two and one-half years; I got better!”
Having MS gave Betsy a unique perspective on life. “I know what’s important and have definite priorities when it comes to dividing my work and family time. I take nothing for granted because any day the illness can change my life in an instant.”
Betsy began her career in the London Bureau of ABC News working with Peter Jennings on the production of World News Tonight. She then transferred to ABC’s New York office where she continued to write, produce and direct features for both World News Tonight and 20/20.
After a while, Betsy decided that the long grinding hours and travel of the news business was not conducive to having the type of life she wanted. She needed to work, but wanted to spend more time with her family.
In 2003, Betsy and former ABC News colleague John Upshall, left their 9-5, steady paycheck job and started their first company,
Strategic Video, LLC, a video production company from Betsy’s home in suburban, New York. They were betting on their story-producing backgrounds to carry them through.
“With no financial cushion and no guarantee of work, we jumped off the cliff with only the confidence that we could make it work,” said Betsy. “It was terrifying because we were homeowners with large mortgages.”
While tapping into home equity loans to pay the bills, the pair worked out of Betsy’s basement, submitting countless proposals for new business. Slowly, the company began to grow. Brand name companies like Altria worked with them and they began to gain a reputation for shooting first-rate corporate videos. Eventually the business was able to move out of the home.
Soon thereafter, Betsy and John saw an untapped business opportunity. “As we signed clients, we realized they had no easy way to organize, categorize or locate the thousands of corporate videos they owned.”
Blue Horse Digital, which organizes, preserves, digitizes, and makes videos accessible for large corporations, organizations and government agencies was born.
Today, they are pioneers of a new industry they helped create. The businesses continue to grow, Betsy manages her disease the best she can and tries to spend quality time with her family. She enjoys horseback riding and snowboarding with her adult children, Alex and Lindsey.
Considering starting a business? Betsy offers the following advice:
Find a great partner. “John and I had worked together for 27 years, and we worked with our chief of technology for 10+ years before we started our business. We knew what to expect from each other. Even though we trust each other completely and have good communication, we put everything down on paper.”
Be careful about expenditures. “We spent the first couple of years working out of my house and using a virtual office – a mail drop and phone number with an address to make us look bigger than we were. When we decided to lease office space, we chose a small place in a suburb of NYC for one year.”
Choose your vendors wisely. “We found a terrific accountant and lawyer who had left larger firms to start companies. They cost less than big firms and had the experience we needed.”
Be hospitable. Everything we did focused on a concept of “hospice” – (the hospitality, not terminal illness sense of the word). We decided from the start we would provide extraordinary service to our clients and an extraordinary working environment for our employees.”
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