• wants to get out of the gate really fast
• doesn’t want to spend a lot of time on marketing and messaging and branding
• has some money to invest in the business
• is willing to share the profits

Only the brave will benefit from this blog post because it is about business plans. And no one likes to read about business plans unless they’re creating a new business and looking for funding. So most of you are readers (I’m sorry to say) are going to skim this first paragraph and click somewhere else. But if you’re brave enough to continue reading, I’m going to tell you how YOU (yes, even you) can benefit from a business plan.

A business plan is a bit of a misnomer. That’s because we refer to a business plan as if it were single document. Unfortunately, it has 3 very distinct purposes and there really should be a label for each of the 3 kinds. You might only need one kind for your business or you might need all three. There’s a business plan for getting money out of banks, there’s a business plan for investors (like venture capitalists or angels), and there’s the business plan for you. While there is some information that is the same from one plan to the next, much of the plans serve very different purposes and therefore will contain very different information.

BUSINESS PLAN FOR THE BANK: Banks are in the business of lending money. They want to know what their risks are, how much money you need, and most importantly, how they will get the money back (with interest). So a business plan for a bank is a business plan that covers those aspects and assures lenders that your business is a safe "bet" to earn back their loan plus interest. A bank-purposed business plan needs to back up all of the dollar figures you need, why you need them, why each is a good investment, and how you’ll earn additional income to cover the loan and the interest and grow your business. You’ll also need to cover various aspects of guarantees so that the bank knows that, should your business fold, they’ll have assets and collateral to sell to cover their losses.

BUSINESS PLAN FOR INVESTORS: At first glance you might think that angel investors or venture capitalists or investment partners are similar to the bank. However, their needs are extremely different and therefore they require their own business plan. These investors are rarely loaning money with the expectation of repaid interest. More often than not, they are investing money in trade for partial ownership, some short-term repayment, and a share in the increased equity over the long term. Therefore, their business plan requires less emphasis on how you’ll pay their money back and more emphasis on how the business will grow. This means that you’ll want to cover items like why the market is hungry for your product or service, how the leadership team is experienced and able to bring the product to market, and what each person is investing into the business as well as realistic growth projections. Angels and VCs are willing to take on some risk (often more than the banks), but rather than being scared off by those risks, they need to weigh it against potential rewards.

BUSINESS PLAN FOR YOURSELF: Your business may not need money from a bank or money from an investor, so the above plans may not apply to you; but if you have a business you SHOULD have a business plan for yourself. Unlike the bank plan (which is often pretty dry) or the investor plan (which is often fairly detailed with market projections and ROI assessments), your plan should be a dog-eared, well-worn document with lots of notations and sticky notes throughout. It should be a practical, hands-on, step-by-step document that describes EXACTLY how you intend to run your business and includes contingencies for various anticipated situations. This should be a plan that never gets put on your shelf but is referenced and modified daily. Here’s how this plan should be formatted: If you are out on the golf course tomorrow and you’re suddenly struck by a golf ball and develop amnesia, you should be able to enter your business the day after tomorrow and easily pick up where you left off without missing  beat. This kind of plan keeps you on track when the storms of the market batter you. This kind of plan helps you to make decisions, weigh choices, and wisely consider any option presented to you.

Three kinds of plans. Your business requires at least one, and perhaps more. And if you’ve read this far, congratulations! This puts you well ahead of the curve.

Contemporary VA

@ContemporaryVA on Twitter.  Follow us to stay updated with our many resources that include business, accounting and bookkeeping, social media, and much more!

I love roller coasters but my sister does not. When we were kids, and our parents took us to the amusement part, we were both drawn to what seemed to be the thrill-a-second rides: the twisting and loops and shouts of glee from the riders. Once on the ride, strapped in, and click-click-clicking up that first hill for the first looooong drop, we each had very different expectations of the ride. It was over too soon for me. I could have kept going; it wasn’t over soon enough for my sister.

Business is a roller coaster, too. At the amusement park, some under-qualified high school student earning minimum wage decided when the ride was over. But in business, few business owners give any thought to when and how the ride should end. Instead, they’re still sweating anxiously over that first click-click-click of the big hill.

Your business’ exit strategy needs to be considered before you even start your business. Or, if it’s already started, it’s worth taking time to think about it now. The reason is, each exit strategy will influence the various choices you make in your business. Will you invest in this piece of equipment or that piece of equipment? Will you market with this methodology or that methodology? What combination of employees and family members and outsourcing will you use in your business?

Every decision will impact and will be impacted by your exit strategies. That’s why it is essential that you think about them now. Here are a few common exit strategies and what they mean for your business:

• You want to build a business and sell it to someone else and then go on to building another business. This is a classic entrepreneurial/serial start-up move and the business owner who does this will want to build primarily for the short-term. They’ll want to create an attention-getting flash. Of course he or she will think about the long-term benefits for the business and make decisions that can help the business survive, but their primary goal is to create and demonstrate a business with a lot of value and a lot of potential for more.

• You want to build a business to pass on to your children. Parents who want to create opportunities for their children will choose longer-term strategies so that they sacrifice some revenue and profits today in favor of a longer timeline to success. It’s not so much about creating flash, it’s about building a very solid base. A lot of resources may be reinvested in the business in order to give it that good base. And the family should be brought on board as soon as possible to start learning the ropes.

• You want to earn enough to simply close down your business and retire or do something else. In these cases, there is less emphasis on building equity into the business. The business needs to be streamlined to create maximum efficiency, which can lead to greater profitability. Any investments into equipment need to be considered in light of the ability to dispose of them without any hassle – either by selling them, giving them away easily, or discarding them without a lot of cost. The owner will want to make sure that, by the time retirement arrives, they have little or no equity in the business; that it’s all in cash.

These are not the only exit strategies, but they are among the most common. And many other exit strategies are permutations of these.

Business owners who spend time thinking about their exit strategies will want to consider more than one. For example, perhaps they want to build a business for their children, but what if their children don’t want to work there? Then selling the business and cashing out might be the second choice to consider.

Your business can feel like a rollercoaster. Fortunately, the one who decides when (and how) the ride ends is you!

Contemporary VA

@ContemporaryVA on Twitter.  Follow us to stay updated with our many resources that include business, accounting and bookkeeping, social media, and much more!

The Internet serves as an endless library of resources for businesses of any size. We found a great site that offers an array of free and low cost forms, letters and software and wanted to share it with you. They offer more than we’d even hoped for, including

• Employment Forms
• Employee Handbooks
• Business Contracts, Letters and Reports
• Lease and Real Estate Forms
• Sales and Collection Letters
• Business Reports
• Personal and Business Financial Statements
• Financial and Business Calculators
• Invoice and Sales Receipts
• Software

and so much more! Check it out at: http://www.freebusinessforms.com If you know of other great business resources, please share.

Remember when we talked about strategic plans? Well, many established businesses lack business plans as well. And many new businesses don’t know where to start when it comes to drafting one.

For something as important as your business plan, it is sometimes better to defer to the experts. A good business writer will likely charge $2,000 to $10,000 or more to write your business plan, depending on the complexity involved. There are writers who will charge less, but sometimes, you get what you pay for.

Of course, not all start ups or even existing businesses can afford that much. If you’re starting out, it’s quite a catch-22. After all, you need a solid business plan to get funding, and you can’t afford a business plan writer until you have funding. What is a business owner to do?

When you have no other resources, you can definitely complete a business plan yourself. You’ll need to do a lot of research, and have a lot of patience, and be ready to revise the plan as requested by your investors or stakeholders.

There are a number of pieces in a business plan, and many experts do them differently. Research the various formats and discover what you think is best. Some essential pieces of a business plan are:

• Executive Summary

• Table of Contents

• Introduction

• Marketing Strategy

• Financial Analysis

• Resumes of Principals

• Supporting Documents/Appendices

If you have an established business and think your business plan may be lacking, it is okay to revisit it to improve. Business plans are dynamic documents, and meant to be altered as the business and market changes.

Remember, we will consistently bring you the most recent, must-have information, so come back frequently. After all, we’re your Best Business Expert. You don’t want to miss what’s coming next.

Your Best Business Expert,

Lisa on behalf of Contemporary VA

www.contemporaryva.com

If you’re not part of a large company, you may not think about operations on a daily basis. You should. If you’re a sole proprietor, then you are the CEO, whether you’re addressed as such or not. You’re the President, the Vice President, and everything else. Well, you’re also the CFO and the COO. You wear many hats. If you run or work for a small businesses, you may not have a COO, even if you’ve got one or both of the others (CFO, CEO). Operations are the things that keep your business running. They are activities that happen frequently, and help your business survive, and hopefully, grow in value. Operations encompass all pieces of business management. Essentially, neglecting operations is neglecting the details, and your bread and butter. The goal of operations, then, is to effectively maximize the value of your business by generating income and increasing security. You already know that you will survive this climate. But did you know that focusing on the operations of your business will significantly help? Remember those links I gave you last time? -Online Marketing Wizards -Contemporary VA -Freshbooks -IAC EZ These four resources will really help you focus on the operations of your businesses. Think of operations as food for your business. These resources are, at the very least, a hearty breakfast-a place to start. Without a meal here and there, your business will starve to death. Throw your business a bone. Don’t fall into the trap of complacency. For many of us, running our business has become a bit like driving a car, we do it without thinking. Second nature, and the like. Well, that may work for driving, but do you ever drive from the store, post office, or a friend’s house back home, then arrive without remembering the drive? Do you want the same for your business? Do you want to work years to build something, then not recall how your arrived in that place? Life, they say, is in the details. So is business. Remember, we will consistently bring you the most recent, must-have information, so come back frequently. After all, we’re your Best Business Expert. You don’t want to miss what’s coming next. Your Best Business Expert, Lisa on behalf of Contemporary VA

www.contemporaryva.com

Part One of a Two Part Series……….. General Motors, having survived 100 years, may run out of cash this year. Fannie May and Freddie Mac are operating only because of governmental intervention. Other companies are reducing 401K matching contributions, laying off employees, are putting themselves up for sale and putting an end to all bonuses and incentives. If these larger corporations, with their teams of experts, movers and shakers, are thinking bankruptcy, how can smaller companies have a chance? The fact is that if any companies are going to succeed, smaller businesses have a higher chance of making it. Smaller businesses can more easily modify their business plan and create profitable custom offerings to their most successful clients. But to do this, companies must concentrate on three activities: Know the customers, know the finances and know the employees. Let’s start with knowing the customers. Know your customers Some customers are simply more profitable than others are. If you haven’t already done so, perform an ROI analysis on your customers. You may be shocked that you spent more money gaining some top clients than you actually get back in invoices. Know who these customers are, because, with the same analysis, you’ll identify your most profitable clients. Once you identify your most profitable customers, you can talk to those customers to find out what type of needs they have. Perhaps you can customize your offerings to increase the profitability ratio or perhaps you can collaborate with a complementary business to provide an all-in-one solution. In any case, learning what makes a profitable customer can help you roll out similar solution in different markets, geographies, or with bundled products. The rest of this article will be posted soon! Tune in for part two where we review knowing finances and knowing your employees. Linda for Contemporary VA