First let me say that for an artist, the process of writing
a business plan is torture. It is a fairly
structured process that does not leave much room for creativity, cool graphics
or an allowance for flair in its prose.
It is essentially the roadmap for building the entrepreneur’s business
and while the process can be useful because it can help you identify flaws in
planning or other areas of opportunity, the guidance provided by Carl Schramm
helps keep things in perspective. In an
article Carl
Schramm – Straight Talk on Entrepreneurship, which was featured in Steinvox.com, his perspective on
business plans is that business plan creation itself is somewhat useless
because the formalized plan is rarely the actual path the business will take and
that by the time the plan is written, it is likely already outdated. His advice is to not expend energy on writing
the plan, get out and start building the business. He says that the overall major points can be
captured on one page and for a creative business that is constantly changing;
his advice helps me remember to be fluid and not rigidly focus on the plan as
the only measure of success. This echoes
the advice given by Chuck Blakeman, in his article How: the worst, most asked planning question, that
while its great to plan, things happen in life outside of our control and can
throw a wrench in even the best plan.
This advice really drives the point to plan for now, not spend too much
time on the future, but how the plan can help strategically build the business
in the now. Carl also stated during his investing activity and experiences, he
has never actually reviewed a business plan, but is usually interested in the
person behind the business.
This begged the question for me is if Carl Schramm is right
and investors and clients are more interested in the people behind the business
than the plan, what attributes should be focused on developing? According to an article in TheNextWomen.com, which featured an
interview with Dale Murray, the Angel Investor of the Year 2011. In the article The
Difference a Dale Makes: Charlotte Hogg
Meets Angel Investor Ms. Murray, we learn first that in addition to
being an extremely successful investor, public speaker, mentor and advisor in
the universe of entrepreneurial activities, she is also “charismatic, charming”
and is said to have secured her first significant contract due to her personal
attributes, being a great person to work with.
She does not wander away from or betray her intuition when making
business decisions and finds a way to operate from a place of authenticity,
which helps others do the same when working with her. These qualities must continue to draw
business partners to her as she continues to be successful, so rather than
focusing primarily on the plan, this is a reminder to constantly develop
oneself from a professional perspective, while building the business. This is a reminder for me specifically that
as the owner, I am the business.
This brings me to the last point of consideration in this
development process is now to think about the business itself. Not the picture in the plan, but what will
the business really do, what do I want it to accomplish, how do I want to
operate? The advice from Carlos Slim,
one of the world’s richest individuals and Mexico’s famous business, is to keep
it clear and simple. In an interview in Second & Park, the article Business
Advice from Carlos Slim he advises to be creative, work hard and focus
continuously on improvements and building the business. He also sites flexibility as a strong
capability for success, which resonates with me based on the advice discussed
earlier. Based on this advice I will
further simplify my business model and focus more on developing services that
will enhance the client experience, bringing more value to the market. This is the area that from my perspective
should be of most interest to a potential investor so that the understand why
the market needs this business model and how it can be successful.
These are just my thoughts, but I'd love to hear yours. How are you coming along with your business plan, do you think you will use it? Let me know. In the meantime, here's to creatively mind your business.
