Strategic Planning
Everyone knows you have to have the perfect business plan before you can start, expand, or tweak your business, right? I mean, you couldn’t possibly hope to succeed until you have a 27 page document – plus 15 pages of financials — that sets out all the minute details of the business you now have vaguely defined in your head. I think it’s a rule, isn’t it?
Except that you don’t, actually, and many entrepreneurs jump off into the deep end of the pool without such a document and some even do really, really well.
I wouldn’t say NOT having a business plan is necessarily the optimal way to launch a business. It’s just that the thought and attempt to put together The Proper Business Plan is often so excruciating an exercise it road blocks a lot potentially successful entrepreneurs before they even start. And that doesn’t sit right.
Frankly, this whole business plan dilemma is all about rules and people’s fear of breaking them. We get stuck because we find it hard to do it the way we’re told it has to be done so we don’t do anything. Well hang onto your seats, I’m here to say it’s okay break the rules. Hey, isn’t that why rules are created, anyway, to be broken? (And speed limit signs are suggestions, right?)
When I was a kid, the story goes, and my older siblings were left to babysit me, my usual response to a demand was, “You’re not the boss of me!” Ahhhh, a trouble maker from the start. But really, who died and made anyone King of the “Right” Way to Do Things?
Instead of starting with the $100 business plan template, the complexity of which strikes fear in your heart, start with a single blank sheet of paper and ask yourself:
What do I want to accomplish with this business? What is the overall goal, the outcome, I want to accomplish?
Doodle in the corners of your page if that helps, but don’t move to question 2 (How will I do that?) until you can answer question 1. This is ass backwards of what the books tell you, but it’s the heart and soul of your business, and it will be the thing that helps you stay on course when the going gets rough.
Better yet, knowing why you do what you do allows you to tweak your business idea and products and services according to what the market tells you it needs, while preventing you from getting so emotionally involved with any of the details that you lose sight of the big picture.
You can fill in the template later, start with the heart and soul of your business.
By liz gaige, November 4, 2009 · Filed under Articles, Newsletter, Strategic Planning
After a recent panel discussion with a room full of budding entrepreneurs, I chatted with colleague Michèle Soregaroli, a certified professional coach and owner of Transformation Catalyst Coach, about the key issues her clients face in getting out of their own way and growing their businesses.
In Michèle’s experience, there are three “pillars” in business. Most of us do one or two of them well, but generally not all three. For you to create a sustainable business model that embodies business excellence, and gives you the results you want from your business, you need to be aware of where you are strong, where you are weak, and where you need to outsource.
- Market Presence: This is the area where you focus on targeting your potential clients with the message that you are open for business and ready to receive them. There are a number of ways to successfully create awareness in your target market and, in order for you to stand out, you need to spend some time identifying the right fit and combination for you, for your clients and for your business. Be different. Be bold. And get noticed.
- Establishing Connection: Once you’ve got their attention, you now need to engage potential clients and develop their interest so that they are motivated to do business with you. This is the phase where you really need to show your stuff! How do you differentiate in a commoditized market? How are you going to communicate the experience they can expect from your product or service? What are your deliverables and what are you committed to? Your prospects want to know that you want, and deserve, their business. Make sure that you give them the tools they need to make a decision in your favour.
- Delivery of Product/Service: Once you reach this 3rd pillar, the so-called “hunt” is over, the deal is signed, and now it’s “just” a matter of fulfilling your promise. But it’s not so easy!! Now you need to consider your client experience from A to Z. Set up processes and structure to enable consistency, train your staff properly, outsource areas that take you away from your core strengths. Do whatever it takes to make this client a client for life.
Enough already with the mythical belief that you can do it all, on your own. These pillars of business are foundational to starting, marketing and growing your business; it makes sense to do the ones you’re naturally good at and bring in support for the ones you aren’t.
By liz gaige, October 1, 2009 · Filed under Marketing Tips, Newsletter, Strategic Planning
When you are building your business to feed you and your family, it requires a different approach than if you are in it for fun (a.k.a. a hobby). If you want a harvest you need to tend the garden.
If you want a bumper crop, not just a harvest, you must focus your efforts. Your garden has limited resources, just like your business, so use those resources well.
In a garden, if I plant a wide variety seeds with different needs (varied soil pH, moisture level, sun exposure, etc.) I have a lot of coordination and maintenance. And, I get a wee bit of everything come harvest time. It’s nice to grow asparagus, but three stalks does not a side dish make.
However, if I focus, I get a bumper crop!
My half a dozen yellow bean plants gave me enough produce for several meals, and my 30 snow pea plants have kept me will stocked for stir fries and veggies & dip all summer long. In fact, they are still going strong.
When you focus where you put your marketing efforts, you get a bumper crop in that area. Call it targeted marketing, call it Sponge Marketing™, call it getting focused on results. You will reap what you sow and you’ll reap more if you plant more.
You simply cannot be all things to all people. Ever.
A woman recently asked me what she should do with a target market for her business that includes women from age 17 to 70. I say, pick a sub-set! Figure out who will most naturally be drawn to your product, service and/or style and go after them. Focus your offering, how you describe it, and where you.
And aim to harvest a bumper crop.
Originally posted on 
By liz gaige, September 17, 2009 · Filed under Articles, Marketing - General, Strategic Planning
I’ve become an avid community gardener and nothing brings more joy than seeing the seeds I’ve planted start to sprout through the soil. They need to be watered, shielded from bugs, and exposed to lots of sunlight. They need a bit of TLC.
So does your marketing. It’s important to regularly check in on how far you’ve come and make adjustments as you head into the home stretch. If you haven’t done this before, here’s what you need to do:
- Make a list of all the marketing activities you’ve engaged in so far this year, from advertising to networking to online promotions.
- Organize them by month.
- Beside each item, jot down what the expected outcome was for each activity.
- Add what kind of response you got from your efforts (i.e. 25 people clicked through on your email blast)
- Next to each item note how much you spent on your marketing.
- Run a report of your monthly sales figures and match that up against your activities. Notice any correlation?
By first doing an assessment, you can begin to see what has worked and what hasn’t. That will allow you to tweak campaigns as you go forward.
And now that you have a template, you can fill it in on a monthly basis and respond more quickly when something is or isn’t working.
Originally posted on
By liz gaige, September 3, 2009 · Filed under Articles, Marketing - General, Marketing Collateral, Strategic Planning
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