Earlier this month, I introduced 2 business experts that
demonstrated extensive knowledge of business planning in the 21st
century. These experts, Jim Blasingame and Tim Berry, provided key factors that
could help anyone create an effective business plan. As a student that is
currently developing a business plan for a nightclub in Louisiana, I thought
that it would be a great idea to incorporate these factors into my business
plan and share with you what I have done.
Write Down Your
Business Plan/Concept
Jim Blasingame, one of the world’s foremost experts in small
business and entrepreneurship, suggests that no matter how simple the concept
is, writing down the plan for your business concept is the key to developing an
effective business plan. He even states that the idea is to “Write your business plan but practice business planning.” Today, successful businesses are
constantly creating new or modifying their old business plans to evaluate
opportunities and challenges of their businesses. With this in mind, I wrote
down my simple business concept with the idea that later on, I would be able to
narrow down my business concept until it becomes a competent business plan.
Connect Business
Solutions to the Problems of the People
I believe that this idea is the key factor that would help
my investors understand the advantages of my business. Since I would like to
own a nightclub business in the future, I would have to discover ways to
differentiate my business from my competitors. One idea that was shared by Tim
Berry was to understand how your business provides a solution to the problems
of the people. Once this is understood, only then can one elaborate on a
business’s distinctions in a business plan.
In order for me to do this, I had to do research on other
nightclubs in Louisiana and understand what makes them different. Once I had a
good idea about my competitors’ unique differences, I was able to add my own innovative
idea to my business plan. This new idea is what will make my business stand out
amongst my competitors.
Develop a Good
Finance Section
Tim Berry states, “As an investor…I want to see maturity inthe relationship between the numbers…If they are different, I want to see theentrepreneurs know about differences and can explain them.” Like many aspiring
business owners, seeing profit is what makes owning a business rewarding.
However, if the numbers do not match with the business plan, investors would
question on the validity of the business concept.
Unfortunately, this was the case for me, as my business
mentor questioned me about the reasoning behind the net profit increases that would occur each year in my finance section. If my numbers are identical each year,
how could I prove that factors within my business are the cause of my financial
gain? Of course, my finance section required some modifications. I plan to demonstrate
my business’s efforts to generate more income by increasing the company's projected
product pricing and marketing expenses each year.
