Mom entrepreneurs do you need a business plan, YES or NO?

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Entrepreneur.com Business Plan – describes the different sections of a business plan and offers free sample business plans.
4. 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

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Is the name of your company limiting your marketability?

Recently, I was listening to the 80′s channel on Sirius Radio and heard a very pretty song that I did not recognize. I was actually shocked that I did not recognize the song or the name of the group since I consider myself very savvy about music from the 80′s.

Martha Quinn the host, and famous 80′s DJ, came on the radio after the song ended and asked if listeners knew why they had not heard more from Bourgeious Tagg. She explained that they quickly faded from the spotlight and their song, ‘I don t mind at all’ was considered a one-hit wonder. The group’s name was too hard to remember and so they could not be easily found online or in record stores, she explained.

This made me think about mom entrepreneurs starting businesses or struggling to grow one. Very few people might not realize that the name of their company may be limiting their marketability.

Entrepreneur.com says that making your business name so obscure, customers will never know what it means, is a mistake.

It’s great for a name to have a special meaning or significance–it sets up a story that can be used to tell the company message. But if the reference is too obscure or too hard to spell and pronounce, you may never have the opportunity to speak to that customer because they’ll simply pass you by as irrelevant.

What’s the best way for start-up entrepreneurs to approach the challenge of finding the perfect business name? In an article for Microsoft Office Live Small Business, Sarah Van Dyck, managing director for Seattle-based Modo Group, and strategic branding adviser to top Fortune 500 consumer and technology companies, recommends keeping it simple.

“A company name, by itself, can’t stand for everything that a company represents,” she says. “The best approach is to select a name that is memorable, own-able, and can stand out in a specific business category.”

Picking a name for your start up or growing and changing company should be taken very seriously. This is an important exercise, and mom entrepreneurs should spend time crafting and developing a company name until they get the right combination of words to fit what they do, and that the target market will respond to.

“A great name is the beginning of a great brand,” says Scott Allen, author of the article How to Create a Great Business Name. He suggests many tips for finding the perfect company name.

Tip # 1 Brainstorm. Think about how you want people to feel when they hear the name. Write down the words on paper and then categorize them by primary meaning.

Tip #4 Experiment. Start playing with combinations of your various words and partial words. Don’t be judgmental now – just make a list.

Tip # 5 Reflect. Review your list and just give some thought to each name. How does it make you feel when you hear it?

Tip #6 Communicate. Go over the list with someone you trust. Have them tell you how each name makes them feel, and how memorable they think it is.

Tip #9 Check domain names. You want to make sure that an appropriate domain name is available. You want YourCompanyName.com, of course. If that’s not available, you may want to reconsider.

AllBusiness.com advises Get your name right the first time.

If you do not choose your name carefully, you may be requested or required to change it, which will require changing your domain name, obtaining new listings in telephone and other directories, and purchasing new stationary, in addition to other unpleasant renaming tasks. Best to do your homework and get the name right the first time. There are two good reasons for this: Your business will be identified by its name and you will (hopefully) be living with the name for a long time.

So in order to avoid being a “one-hit wonder” or “fly by night business”, do your homework, talk to your target market, conduct research and create a winning name that will be the start of a memorable brand.

Tags: growing a company, marketability, mom entrepreneurs, starting a company

Filed under Business strategies, Naming your company | 0 Comments