Aug 10
9
You DON’T Need a Business Plan….
Have you ever written a business plan and it sat there on a shelf mocking you? Its’ very existence reminding you about all of the time, energy and money spent on it and nothing to show for it. You want to cry and go back to bed.
Or maybe you decided not to write a plan and just wing it hoping for the best. Eventually this idea leaves you in a cold sweat, you’re stressed about payroll, rent, customers and your future.
Either way, you have the business plan flu. But there is a remedy.
You don’t need a business plan – you need a one page living entrepreneurial plan – I call it the “Summit Plan.”
The Summit Plan has one purpose - to give you and your organization the vision, strategies and goals to reach your pinnacle of success – your Summit.
During our 2 day workshop (The Entrepreneur Summit) next week, we will build a living Summit Plan for one of the workshop attendees. Each participant will build their own Summit Plan as we take them through the process. Sounds like a lot of work but the steps are easy:
1) Vision Statement – What do I aspire to be in 3 years?
2) Market Segment Strategies - Who are my preferred customers and how do I find more of them?
3) Social Media Strategies – How do I use social media effectively to help my business grow?
4) Green & Sustainability Strategies – How do I increase my revenues and cut expenses by “greening” my business?
5) Leadership, Hiring & Training Strategies - How do I become an effective entrepreneurial leader and hire the right employees?
6) Sales and Customer Loyalty Strategies - How do I get and keep more business? How do I build loyal customers who promote my business?
7) Financial and Funding Strategies - How do I develop my financial IQ, measure results, and fund my growth?
Business Critical Goals for 2010 - What are my goals for the rest of the year?
The answers to these questions will give you and your team the direction you need to move forward with conviction. The Summit Plan works and you can count on improved results!
Recover from the business plan flu and overcome the economic jitters. Become a healthy entrepreneur! Create the future you want by attending The Entrepreneur Summit and build your successful plan with us. See you there!
Cheers,
CEO
Bellows Consulting
Your Business & Leadership Coaches
Posted in Uncategorized by .
“The Entrepreneur Summit”
Innovative Strategies for a Changing Business World
We have seen a growing demand for relevant, practical, inspirational and affordable group workshops that help entrepreneurs grow, prosper and make better decisions. Over 300 business owners attended our last four one day workshops. We are now very excited to expand our offering to a 2 Day “Entrepreneur Summit” that will cover these important and timely topics:
The Face of Entrepreneurs Today:
Do you have the passion, purpose and plan to succeed as an entrepreneur in today’s changing business environment?
We will explore the key elements of entrepreneurship and identify the differences between a stagnant business owner and a thriving entrepreneur.
The New Marketing and the Social Media Evolution:
Now more than ever having a measurable market plan that identifies prioritized market segments is necessary to survival.
Entrepreneurs need to know where to put their marketing dollars to get the best bang for their buck.
Part of a market plan should include Social Media and understanding the real strategies that are effective to accomplishing your marketing and sales goals.
The Green Economy and Sustainability Strategies:
We will look at two elements of going “Green.”
First – how to Green your business to increase revenues and slash expenses; and secondly – how to implement both green and organizational strategies that ensure long term sustainability for your business and the planet.
Entrepreneurial Leadership:
Do you exhibit the characteristics, behaviors and skills of a successful entrepreneur?
We will examine the most important leadership traits and identify the best assessment tools to hire, train and coach your employees.
Getting and Keeping Business:
Building Loyal Customers and increasing sales and profit doesn’t happen by accident. It takes a buying/selling process that is focused on your customers goals. It also requires going beyond customer service and using proven strategies for prospecting, networking and measuring customer loyalty.
Financial Literacy:
What are the key ingredients for ensuring financial success? We will discuss Cash Flow strategies, financing options and how to create a custom Dashboard that quickly provides you with a snapshot of the health of your enterprise.
Goal Planning System (G.P.S.):
And finally, we will introduce the most powerful map (G.P.S.) that you can use to get you where you want to go. We tie all of these topics together with a business plan template that is alive, powerful and easy to use.
We believe that this will be the Business Event of the Year with over 100 motivated entrepreneurs in attendance. We will have some incredible speakers and experts. The investment is just $295 for both days which includes 2 lunches at the awarding winning Westward Look Resort in Tucson.
And finally, we believe in giving back and aligning ourselves with community benefit organizations so we are donating 5% of the revenue generated from this event to Junior Achievement (Tucson) and MaliCats – a youth education and sports project in Mali, Africa founded by former UA basketball player, Mohamed Tangara.
Please visit our web-site for more details and to register.
Cheers,
CEO
Bellows Consulting
Your Business & Leadership Coaches
What are the the most important behaviors of leaders when it comes to successfully leading people, teams and organizations?
A list of behaviors, as opposed to a list of traits or characterstics, focuses on what a leader “does” on the job, not just what it takes to be a leader. An effective leader applies practical knowledge, skills, habits and attitudes into behaviors and actions that achieve results.
I recently found a list of the “25 Most Important Leadership Behaviors” as compiled by Steve Arneson:
1. Being a Role Model for Integrity and Ethics
2. Demonstrating Optimism and Positive Energy
3. Learning the Business
4. Establishing a Vision and Mission
5. Setting Strategy and Priorities
6. Hiring Great Talent
7. Creating a Culture of Customer Focus
8. Building High Performance Teams
9. Motivating and Inspiring Others
10. Delegating and Empowering
11. Listening
12. Communicating
13. Driving for Results
14. Managing and Evaluating Performance
15. Coaching and Developing Talent
16. Managing Complexity and Ambiguity
17. Managing Your Time
18. Evaluating Risk
19. Resolving Conflict
20. Driving Innovation
21. Influencing Others
22. Collaborating Across the Organization
23. Demonstrating Passion for Your Work
24. Being a Champion for Work/Life Balance
25. Keeping Things in Perspective (Humility and Gratitude)
What do you think? Agree? Disagree? What would you change or add? How does your leadership behaviors stack up against this list? Can these behaviors be developed or are they inherent?
I’m curious about your answers so leave me a comment with your thoughts.
Paul Bellows
CEO
Bellows Consulting
Your Business & Leadership Coaches
Over seventy-five entrepreneurs and managers attended our recent “Entrepreneurial Leadership/Strategic Thinking” workshop.
Their energy, passion, enthusiasm and curiosity were immense because there is a renewed commitment to business ownership and the realization that we must boldly lead the way in the new economy.
From our perspective of working with small business owners every day, it is safe to say that some of the old ways of doing business are gone forever and some fresh approaches are needed to succeed in this changing environment. So here is what’s in and what’s out:
- Going it alone is being replaced with new ideas of partnership, cooperation and collaboration. This can include many things, from sharing office space, joint advertising, and working with other businesses, even competitors. These all can provide additional value to you and your customers. We expect as many as 200 entrepreneurs to attend our next workshop in April because of the support and promotion from our partners, sponsors and other consultants. We can’t imagine trying to do it alone ever again.
- Greed is being replaced with giving back. Call it Social Entrepreneurship or Conscientious Capitalism. It feels good to give and it is good business to do so. Over 80% of the “Y Generation” prefer to give their time, money and resources to businesses that are socially engaged and focus on the triple bottom line – people, profit and planet. Think about all of the “green” businesses that are emerging. Find a positive cause and support it.
- Social Media is creating new opportunities for all types of businesses and professions. Marketing strategies must contain some form of social media, and the longer you avoid it, the longer you postpone your own recovery. Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, blogs and webinars are no more fly-by-night trends than email and web-sites were 15 years ago. It is not going away and it is not too late to get started. Bellows Consulting just started our Facebook page and the results are staggering. (Be careful though – it can be addictive.)
- Build customer loyalty instead of building customer databases. Don’t just collect names and blast them with too much information. Build trust, relationships, and respect by creating a customer loyalty plan. Today’s consumers have a tremendous array of choices, but not much disposable income. We must earn the right to do business with them each and every time. How well is your value proposition and marketing message working for you and your customers? If you are using the same formula as two years ago, it might be time to upgrade it.
- Non-profits and service organizations must become more self-sufficient and less dependent on grants, donors and outside contributors. They need to focus on building loyal members and partnering with similar organizations, local entrepreneurs and community minded corporations that share the same values.
- Old business plans are being replaced with modern planning tools and real-time dashboards. If your plan is sitting on a shelf, toss it out! Replace it with a living document that provides a clear path, helps prioritize your actions and measures performance in key areas.
And finally – time management and passion. We see more and more people spending quality time with family, and more entrepreneurs turning their passion into fun hobbies or viable businesses. One of the key ingredients to succeeding in this new economy is to do more of what you enjoy. Life is too short to spend it any other way.
The reality is that some entrepreneurs will adapt to the new economy and some will not. This type of paradigm shift requires new attitudes and new methods. It can be scary but also exciting. The choice is yours: Are you going to be proactive and lead the way? Or are you going to become a reactive organization and be left behind?
Cheers,
CEO
Bellows Consulting
Your Business and Leadership Coaches