All about share

Most businesses create a business strategy plan to borrow start-up capital or fund expansion. Frequently, however, once the financial loan qualifies the plan is placed on a shelf and merely updated any time further funding is called for.

It’s time for us to dust off your company plan.

Raising capital is obviously a necessary function of any business plan, however a well structured plan can provide the business owner various other rewards. It will help him / her realistically judge her targets and deliver a layout for tactical decision making and overall performance monitoring through implementation.

Is there a recommended template for a business plan?

I propose a rolling three year plan along with once a year updates. Plan footwork calls for both strategic and business planning procedures and it’s vital that the owner is entirely included in both activities. The strategic groundwork process signifies that the business is competing in a marketplace in which it might be feasible. It contains inspection of things both internal and external to the venture.

The internal exploration points to the prerequisites of the company leader, his / her capabilities and principles, along with the resources he has at their fingertips. The external analysis points to consumer needs and potential hazards from competition or other external events. This specific strategic plan defines the company objective, the owner’s ideals, combined with the industry and niche the company will participate in. Further, it looks at who will be its clients, which of their demands will be satisfied and, very broadly, what it will have to accomplish to satisfy them. Additionally, it can suggest that the manager should alter their presumptions and/or develop new skills prior to start-up.

A tactical foundation for your business is the key for being successful!

Starting a business online could be the most important decision you as an entrepreneur.

Dell computers, Microsoft, Google are all testaments to the power of having a profitable idea that leads to the birth of multibillion-dollar internet businesses.  The good news for start up entrepreneurs is there is still abundant opportunity to start your own business based on sound ideas.

While your idea of starting the next multimillion-dollar business may be appealing, it does not translate to making a home run. You need to do more than coming up with ideas. You need to acquire the skills to come up with winning ideas. You want to acquire this skill because a winning idea will end your money worries, give you freedom, and make you wealthy.

The flip side is… Your idea may end up being a money pit, which could wind your business to bankruptcy.  The good news is the internet gives you, the opportunity to test your ideas, easily quickly and cheaply, so you can fail quickly, with minimal cost. And if you have a winner you can roll out your ideas to create a profitable business.

In a survey of Small business done by SCORE, the resource partner for the Small Business Association (SBA), 90 percent of business fail due to a lack of skill, and knowledge on the part of the owner.

My intention is to show you how to come up with winning ideas to start your internet business.

The greatest Myth of all

Have you ever heard this often used phrase in business…? “Do what you love and the money will follow”?

The above statement is only half the truth of the reality in business, because there are many businesses, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs doing what they love….yet are struggling to make ends meet,  or at the brink of bankruptcy.

It’s been over 10 years now, since my husband (Anu) and I began running our range of businesses together. We have come a long way I will admit. Today, we employ a growing number of staff and run our companies according to best practice principles. It has been a very rewarding and enjoyable experience all the way, the numerous challenges notwithstanding (believe me, there have been many!).

Recently (on Thursday 18th August 2011), Anu and I attended a “Diamond Business Club Networking Event” (held at a well known Restaurant & Bar in the Ikeja G.R.A. of Lagos). It was organised by our bank, in line with its Micro Small and Medium Enterprises development (MSME) strategy to promote interaction between certain groups of its customers in different industries for mutually benefitting networking purposes.

During that event, we handed out printed versions of our one page EDUCATIONAL flyer titled “FORGET DISINFECTANTS? Could There Really Be A BETTER Way To Keep Your Kitchen & Toilet/Bathroom Germ Free?“. In the course of the many conversations that took place, we once again found ourselves being asked “You mean you guys are married, and you run your businesses together? How do you cope? Don’t you get tired of seeing each other? Do you maintain joint accounts?” etc

For us however, the answers are quite simple. And any couple that is able to find similar answers for themselves, will do just as well as we have done – and continue to do – if not better. Are you trying to decide whether or not to start a business with your spouse (or partner)?

Here are a few tips to help you make up your mind:

1. Do You Have A Deep Friendship?