Posted by
Todd Smith on Sat, Jan 28, 2012 @ 03:23 PM
This past week, I attended a great workshop out in the midwestern US. A little chillier there than the 80 degrees back home in Florida, but well worth the trip. Nonetheless, I was apalled that a speaker during the workshop said he "hated the term 'business plan' and that entrepreneurs just needed to get stuff done".
As I thought about his comments, trying to understand his perspective, I understood where he was coming from with his comment. Too many aspiring entrepreneurs spend too much time trying to analyze everything to death, and not enough people are out there taking action. Point well taken.
Nonetheless, flying around by the seat of your pants is also an extremely poor idea. If you can't visualize where you're going to be 1, 3, or 5 years down the road, are you really giving yourself a chance to get there? Do you have clear milestones and a path for achieving them?
The vast majority of the clients we get at Blue Horizon Venture Consulting come to us because they're looking to raise capital for their businesses, and the general concensus has always been that you can't get a loan or equity investors (those buying a percentage of your business) without a business plan. And yes, this is a very good reason to write a business plan.
But really, is that the best reason to write one?
The short answer is: no.
Writing a business plan can provide a business owner with the absolute #1 thing they need to achieve success: clarity. With clarity comes focus, and with focus come goals and targets to aim for. And the reality of success in business comes from hitting those targets and making your vision a reality.
OK, that's great, but HOW does a business plan do this? For starters, it helps you get a grasp on your market - it's size, the latest trends, and what experts in your industry forecast for the future. Once you know this, then you can position your company's place within that market - a place where there should be plenty of customers and not a abundance of competition.
Mapping out your financial future is also a part of your business plan, and where most people fall short. Unless you're an accountant or finance person, you'd be wise to seek some assistance here in creating your financial roadmap. Have you thought out all of the potential sources of revenue - the numbers of expected sales and what you'll charge for each? Have you considered all of the capital expenditures you'll need to get started? What about all of your ongoing expenses? Who will you need to hire, and when, and how much will you need to pay them? What about benefits, and taxes, and the list of considerations goes on.
Then you can dig into your marketing plan, your operations plan, and how much capital you'll need to make all of this happen.
The more work you do, the more information you gather, the clearer your vision for the future will become. And if you can clearly see where you're going, you stand a much better chance of actually getting there, or at least somewhere pretty darn close to it.
Of course the alternative is just to run around "getting stuff done". And you may well have some success if you take action. But without a solid business plan to guide you towards a goal, who's to say that "stuff" you're doing is the "right stuff"?
At Blue Horizon Venture Consulting, we want to help you start 2012 on the right foot, so to speak. That's why, starting on February 13th, we're going to be guiding a select group of entrepreneurs to their own business plans with our "Business Plan Blueprint" project. To find out more, please visit www.BlueHorizonVC.com/Business-Plan-Blueprint to see if you qualify for this unique one-time opportunity!
Posted by
Todd Smith on Fri, Jan 06, 2012 @ 04:25 AM
Later this month, Blue Horizon Venture Consulting will be putting on a free webinar called "7 Secrets to a Fundable Business Plan". During this webinar, we'll be talking about some of the tips and tricks that can make a business plan appealing to investors.
Todd Smith, Blue Horizon's CEO, will conduct this valuable event which wll include topics like:
1) The first two things most investors will look at and why you need to focus on them.
2) The element that's the backbone of any good business plan and why you should start with this element first.
3) How to effectively conduct research for your plan.
4) And, much much more!
The event will be held on Tuesday January 17th at 8pm EST/5pm PST. Space is limited, so if you're interested, please register at www.BlueHorizonVC.com/7-secrets-webinar today. Or send us an email at info@BlueHorizonVC and we'll be happy to save a space for you.
Writing a business plan can be a daunting task. It require knowledge in many different areas including finance, operations, marketing, and management. It requires the abillity to write in a compelling and engaging way, while being direct and to the point. It also requires the ability to conduct and synthesize research on your market, competitors, and competition.
Less the 1/2 of 1% of all business plans written ever get any kind of funding. Why? Mostly because people don't really know how to write them or who should go into them. During our 7 secrets webinar, you'll learn the foundations of a good business plan and the key elements you'll need for success.
We look forward to seeing your there!
Posted by
Todd Smith on Wed, Dec 28, 2011 @ 01:16 PM
Many aspiring entrepreneurs and business owners think they can write their own business plans. In truth, very few of them are actually capable of putting together a plan that succinctly states what the business is all about, and why investors should fund it.
For starters, a business plan requires a wide range of knowledge and ability in order to successfully complete all of the sections of a plan. For instance, a business plan writer must have an intimate knowledge of finance in order to build a detailed financial model that will clearly articulate and defend the Company's assumptions, show the various revenue streams the business will collect, and also display all expenses from initial capital expenditures, to personnel costs, to ongoing fixed and variable expenses. The model should should monthly, quarterly, and annual detail for the first five years of the Company's existence.
And the financial model is only the beginning. While it serves as the backbone of a good business plan, there is a significant amount of additional detail needed in a plan. First, copious amounts of research. Do you understand your market, what has been happening and what is expected to happen. Do you know your customer base backwards and forwards - their demographics and psychographics. And finally, do you know who your competitors are, and what they are doing well. This research alone can be an extremely time-consuming issue, and if you don't know how to find it and synthesize it into a concise meaningful format that will resonate with investors, your plan isn't likely to do well.
Next, you need to cover all of the operational bases. How are you going to operate the company? What are your short term and long term milestones? What is your marketing plan? Who is on your management team and why are they (and you) qualified to lead the company? What is your financial plan and exit strategy? How are you going to market the business and drive sales? These are all detailed sections that require an understanding of operations, marketing, management, and finance.
And lastly, can you write? Not everyone is a born writer and even the best idea needs to be clearly written in a compelling way that will move those investors closer to their checkbooks.
So think long and hard about your business plan and whether or not you want to go it alone. If you possess the skill set, great - give it a shot. There are plenty of places where you can get support and assistance in writing a plan. If you don't, then think about hiring a professional.
Word of warning here - there are a lot of people out there masquerading as business plan writers. In truth, there are really only a handful of really good, professional business plan consulting firms out there. A good consultant generally has as much or more education that most lawyers and physicians. As a result, they aren't inexpensive.
So think carefully before hiring a business plan consultant. Would you want a cut-rate doctor operating on you or a cheap attorney handling a delicate legal matter for you? The end result is likely to be a botched surgery or a blown case. The same rule applies to the birth of your company. If you hire a cut rate consultant, the results are unlikely to be good.
We've put together a special report just for people in your situation. Click the button below to get your report! 
Don't delay, get your copy today!
Posted by
Todd Smith on Tue, Dec 06, 2011 @ 11:04 PM
This week, I've sequestered myself in Hilton Head, SC for a week of uniterrupted writing and content creation. My goal: business growth. Often, we get so sidetracked with day-to-day business and the constant bombardment of interruptions, that little to nothing ever gets accomplished on the business development side. In the modern era, there are more things competing for our attention than ever before and news and information is literally at our fingertips (in the form of smart phones) 24/7.
So, Sunday afternoon, I hitched a ride with friends who were heading back to North Carolina, and I set up shop in a 2-story timeshare (and I'll make a note to myself to blog soon about how your business can benefit from timeshare ownership) in Hilton Head. I pushed the dining room table up against a picture window, set up my makeshift writing/editing studio, plugged everything in and I'm ready to go.
I made a promise to myself not to watch TV (making exceptions for NFL football and an educational DVD series on astronomy), but I brought along some things to read (Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, and some magazines and business newsletters), and an accoustic guitar.
The phone and email are off during the day. No dogs to walk, holiday decorations to put up, no TV, no incessant phone calls, no dinging email notifications, and I don't even have a car, so my only mode of transportation is a rental bike that I've been using to get some exercise in the mornings.
I consciously set up this environment to be productive. I try to stick to my schedule, but I take take a 10-minute break every hour to walk around, strum the guitar, do some pushups, or get a snack. I'll probably get more done this week, than I have in the entire past month. And the work I get done will have significant future impacts on my business.
So that's the moral of the story: turn off the noise! Whether you're writing a business plan, building a website, or writing a book, setting yourself up in a productive environment will go a long way towards reaching your goals. Give it a try!
Todd Smith, CEO
Blue Horizon Venture Consulting
Posted by
Todd Smith on Fri, Dec 02, 2011 @ 01:32 AM
A great many people enter the business world without a business plan. In fact, I would argue that the vast majority of entrepreneurs and small business owners take this "fly by the seat of their pants" approach when it comes to starting or operating a company. They're too busy fighting the day to day operational battles to ever really take a step back, look at the big picture, and envision what their future might and should look like.
Sadly, I suspect that there's a strong correlation between businesses that fail and businesses that operate without a business plan.
So my answer to the question "Do You Really Need to Write a Business Plan" is an emphatic....yes! Now, in the interest of disclosure, I have been writing business plans, creating financial models, putting together investor presentations, and raising capital for clients for parts of three decades now, so this advice may seem somewhat self-serving. I can assure you, it is not.
A business owner who hasn't mapped out at least the next five years of his/her business is sailing aimlessly in the ocean, hoping to stumble upon land. A business plan, however, is like a carefully charted course to help guide you along the way, give you inspiration, and provide you with the focus needed to succeed and reach your destiination.
Going through the exercise of writing a business plan provides you with a significant amount of valuable information that you can use in your day to day business. With it, you'll have a better understanding of your market and the trends affecting it. You'll understand who your customers are, what motivates them, and how to reach them. You'll gain an insight on who your competitors are, what they are doing well, and areas on which you might improve to give yourself an advantage. You will have clearly defined your product and/or service offerings, how you will operate your company, what channels you will use to market to customers, and perhaps most important of all, you'll have a clear understanding of your revenue goals, your capital expenditures, and your operating expenses. You'll also gain insight into how much capital you might need to do all the things you want to do, and a good idea of what your business will be worth if you hit all your projected milestones.
If you're conducting business without this information, it's like hunting with a blindfold on - you might get lucky and hit a target once in awhile, but that's not a great long term strategy for survival.
The second question, and perhaps the one more open to debate is "Do You Really Need to Raise Capital"? The answer to this question is somewhat less straightforward.
Starting a business on a shoestring, and fueling growth through internal cash flows has its advantages. You retain 100% control and ownership of your company which allows you to operate as you see fit. Your growth, however, is going to be subject to being able to invest a sufficient enough amount of capital back into your business to hit your goals, and it's also largely contingent on you having enough time to focus of developing, as opposed to operating, your company. So many business owners get mired down in day-to-day activities, they become trapped as their own employees.
Finding investment capital, however, can be a path towards rapid acceleration, whether it comes as debt, such as a loan from a bank, or as equity, from investors who receive ownership in your company in exchange for capital. These funds can be used to purchased equipment needed to speed up production or perhaps to hire a few key employees to help run the business while you focus on growing it.
Ultimately, the answer to the capital question lies within your business plan. If your operations create enough income to fuel your growth, you're set. If not, you'll certainly know how much money you'll need and when you'll need to raise it, so that you can plan accordingly.
Todd Smith, CEO
Blue Horizon Venture Consulting
904-372-9222
Posted by
Todd Smith on Mon, Nov 28, 2011 @ 02:11 PM
I have to admit it – I find the whole over-abundance of holiday marketing to be disgusting. Black Friday. Cyber Monday. People acting like idiots to stampede into stores to save $30 on a waffle maker. So my immediate instinct it to simple shut it all out, mute the TV during the countless jewelry commercials (and the idiot lady from Target) I’m forced to watch during football games and let the shopping season slide by until we’re closer to the end of the year and people start to get into the “real” holiday spirit.
But then I take a step back and look at the statistics. Many retailers make a huge percentage of their income in the 4th quarter and in December. The aforementioned jewelry industry, for example, derives almost 40% of its income in the 4th quarter, and 23% of a total years’ sales in the month of December alone. Of course when I see the commercial on TV, during a football game, with football players actually standing there in uniform talking about diamonds, I start to understand why. I have to concede, that one was pretty clever – at least the first ten times I saw it, anyway.
At the end of the day, the important lesson for business owners making business plans is that people at this time of year (and certain others as well – Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Back to School) are in a buying frame of mind. All the other marketers have primed the pump and created the frenzy. Now it’s just a matter of baiting a hook and casting your line in the water in a way that won’t get tangled up with all the other lines out there, yet you can benefit from the universal buyers’ mindset.
Or course there are some things that you just can’t sell in December. Try selling real estate or renting apartments – that’s tough sledding when people are more of a mindset of baking cookies, putting up decorations, and going to Granma’s house. So your product or service can’t be too far off the mark from the other things being offered.
For business, the end of the year and the New Year may actually present to the best opportunity to benefit from season. Many people take this time of year to reflect on the past year and plan for the next. Some need to make year-end purchases in order to get a more immediate tax write off, while others are gearing up to launch a new initiative or venture on January 1st.
So the key here is to know your market and then figure out a way that you might be able to tap into the buying mood that comes but once a year! If you can figure that out and put your own seasonal campaign in place, you too could see a nice holiday “bump” this time of year.
Todd Smith, CEO
Blue Horizon Venture Consulting
904-372-9222
Posted by
Todd Smith on Wed, Nov 23, 2011 @ 10:13 AM
I recently started a new personal work schedule that involves me getting up at 5am each morning and "writing" for two hours, before I start my day. This time dedicated to creating has been uber-productive and I've found that I'm getting more than twice as much done in a day as a result!
Perhaps it's not having any distractions (other than a bleary-eyed dog trudging past me with a snort of derision to get to the doggie-door) that keeps me focused, or maybe it's just starting the day with positive energy that tends to carry through, but I can tell you that I'm pretty excited about the change in what I'm getting done.
Then I started thinking about how most people spent the Holidays - generally gorging themselves, shopping (and don't get me started on the hyper-commercialization we see going on these days), watching football, and only starting to think about their New Years' Resolutions for 2012.
So I thought to myself - hey, if I can get a jump start on my day by starting a little early, why not get a jump start on an entire year by implementing my business plans for 2012 starting in December of 2011! So, that's exactly what I intend to do!
I've already booked a week in a time share in Hilton Head, SC for the first full week in December to do nothing but write, create, and implement ideas - no phone calls, emails, or other daily distractions, just pure execution. And, hopefully, they'll give me an inspiring room with an ocean view - that always helps the creative juices flow.
So think about this as you enjoy Thanksgiving weekend with friends and family- what can you do in your personal life, for your health, for your business's strategic plans or marketing plans right away, without delay? Why not start hitting the gym Dec 1st instead of Jan 1st? Or implementing that new strategic plan or marketing campaign now rather than later? Come Jan 1st, when everyone else is just getting ready to get started, you'll already be miles down the road!!
Happy Thanksgiving
Todd Smith, CEO
Blue Horizon Venture Consulting
Posted by
Todd Smith on Mon, Nov 21, 2011 @ 05:15 AM
The other day, I happened to glance up at the TV while riding the stationary bike, and there was a remarkable picture of a bride and groom, smiling, when behind them raged an inferno of fire. I couldn't hear the sound, but the gist of the story was that their reception area has somehow caught fire an hour or so before the wedding.
So what possessed this couple to seize the opportunity to pose with the unique, flaming backdrop, when most people would have been completely freaking out trying to put out the fire, worrying about 100 different things, and probably having a nervous breakdown? It's that unique entrepreneurial trait where a business owner finds a way to make lemons into lemonade.
I think back to my own wedding day, on the beautiful island of St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, one of my favorite places on earth. Our families had spent the better part of a week before the wedding, enjoying perfect Caribbean weather. Our wedding day started out much the same. But, as I was getting ready, the skies opened up with a pouring rain, and seeing as how we were getting married outdoors, at the Annaberg Plantation ruins, this posed sort of a problem. I figured, hey, we'll make the best of it, and joked to my wife, "hey, maybe we'll get a rainbow" for our pictures. Instead, we got a double rainbow, one atop the other! 
I was actually accused of photoshopping this picture, which tells me that I guess it turned out pretty well.
When I work with clients, whether writing a business plan, or helping them raise capital, or on an interim executive basis, I try to teach them to roll with the punches and to turn setbacks into triumphs.
Case in point, the owner of a successful retail store in Baltimore had a water main break in his building, which led to extensive repairs/rennovations and the loss of a minor portion of his inventory. While this might have been ruinous to most retailers, he quickly seized on the opportunity and drafted a quick letter to his customers, telling the story of the "Great Flood" and offering a short window of high discounts to "get rid of" slightly damaged inventory at steep discounts. His customers' innate curiousity to see the damaged store, combined with their desire to get a good bargain, drove them to the store in a herd, and he made more money than he would have in the normal course of business, and added quite a few new customers to his list!
So back to the couple with the flaming wedding. What they saw was an opportunity for a really unique picture and they seized it. Not only will they have a really cool lifetime memory to cherish, but the picture sparked so much interest, that whatever news channel (CNN, Today Show) I was watching actually brought the couple in and interviewed them! And who knows what doors that may have opened up!
So, the next time you're faced with an unpleasant situation or setback, stop for a moment, and try to think about how you might take those lemons, and make lemonade!
Todd Smith, CEO
Blue Horizon Venture Consulting
www.BlueHorizonVC.com
904-372-9222
Posted by
Todd Smith on Thu, Nov 17, 2011 @ 04:41 AM
I've watched and worked with quite a few enterepreneurs, most of whom have done quite well, raising capital and pushing their businesses ahead. But I've also observed a group of clients, many of whom have paid me a fair amount of money as a business plan consultant, only to see them back off when it comes time to put their strategic plan into action. We had clearly defined their business model, set growth targets for the early months, quarters, and years of the business, devised a phased roll out plan with specific items to accomplish in the early stages. And then.....nothing!
I like to follow up with clients to see how they're doing (and hey, let's face it, their success reflects well on me), and I seem to get pretty much the same littany of excuses from this subset about "not having enough time", or "waiting for the economy to improve", etc, etc.
So I started to wonder to myself, what it is that's really holding these people back? Then I started to recognize some personality traits that they seem to share in common that might well give me the answer to my own question.
Entrepreneurs have a lot of things in common, such as a desire for independence, being "their own boss", wealth, to enjoy life, etc. But they can also be divided into a number of different categories.
The first is what I call "Implementors". These are usually the type who get things done, who plunge headfirst into things and make them happen. They're also prone towards neglecting all else (friends, family, health) in order to focus on business. Generally, they are my most successful clients. Yet they sometimes fail to see the forest through the trees in term of high level strategy and direction.
The next group are what I call "Dreamers". These people love to while away the hours talking about their great ideas, and how they're going to do all these great things, but there's always something holding them back, and in truth, they'd probably be better off with a W-2 job. I try to steer clear of Dreamers. I'd be wasting their money and my time.
The third group are the "Visionaries". These are people who have grand visions, yet unlike the Dreamers, the are good at going out, building concensus, raising capital, and generating a lot of excitment. Truth be told, I love working with Visionaries. They "get it". But sadly, Visionaries have great difficulty rolling up their sleeves and doing what needs to be done to make things happen. Their grand visions fall short when it comes time to take action. They don't, can't, or won't settle into the trenches for protracted battles. They want to swing for the fences and hit home runs, when really what the team needs are a series of singles and sacrifices to create a sustained rally.
Some of the world's most successful businesses have been formed when Visionaries join forces with Implementers. This can be an immensely powerful combination. Think Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Google. A Visionary who can surround him/herself with Implementers and effectively delegate and manage to achieve their vision is very likely to be successful. Likewise, an Implementer can help guide and push a company forward by teaming up with a Visionary.
So when I work with one form of client or the other, I'll often suggest that they be looking for a certain personality type who might help get them to the next level, when they go in search of key personnel, or even vendors/contractors, who might fit this complementary role.
Once done, the sky's the limit in terms of what can been accomplished!
Todd Smith, CEO
Blue Horizon Venture Consulting
www.BlueHorizonVC.com
Posted by
Todd Smith on Fri, Nov 11, 2011 @ 08:31 AM
I grew up in York, PA not all that far from State College and Penn State University. As a kid, I idolized players like Todd Blackledge and Kurt Warner and spent many an afternoon playing pickup football games in backyards around the neighborhood, which was huge fun, although generally pretty rough with scraped knees, bloody lips, and an occasional dislocation of something or other. I can recall huddling up in a clubhouse or tree fort listening intently to games on a little transistor radio, then running out at halftime to replay the first half in live action.
Although I ended up attending Clemson, Penn State never left my heart, and I've also followed them closely as my "#2" team. So, like millions of other athletes, fans, students, and alumni, recent events have been extremely painful, and I have spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about the entire fiasco, even lying awake at night.
As I've reflected on this tragic situation, there are several important lessons that leap out at me that I think we can use in the business world and for life in general:
First, don't try to sweep issues or problems under the rug and hope they'll go away. Invariably, they're going to come back and bite you in the butt with much more ferocity than if you had dealt with them in the first place. So many people have the "don't deal with it and maybe it'll go away" mentality, and as we've seen, it can have disastrous consequences.
The second, and perhaps most poignant, is that if you're faced with a huge crisis, swift and decisive action is critical. While I don't like what happened, I have to tip my cap to PSU's Board of Trustees - they took the bull by the horns and did what had to be done, and while the jury is still out on all of the fallout from this mess, I'm quite certain that the actions taken this week will at least stem the tide of negativity and help a great institution move in a new and more positive direction.
So whether you're just starting a business and working on your business plan, or you're strategically building an existing business, these are some lessons to take to heart.
WE ARE!
Todd Smith, CEO
Blue Horizon Venture Consulting
www.BlueHorizonVC.com