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Casual Articles - Top 10 Business Plan Myths of Solo Entrepreneurs
You stand there, in front of your great presentation material, wearing just the right suit or logo shirt, handing out some gimmick with your company name on it, wearing just the right smile or look of professionalism. You might even have a fishbowl at the table - or some type of contest material - to collect business cards of passers by for later use in your sales process. But the worst part of doing a trade show is losing your voice.Each visitor that stops by your booth gets your pitch. You feel compelled to tell each person why your product is great, why it’s different from the competition (which might be located directly across from your booth and getting a lot more attention than you’re getting). You’ve learned the elevator spiel and how to do a pitch in 30 seconds
6. Myth: I have to do everything I say I’m going to do in my business plan, or I’m a failure.
Many Solo Entrepreneurs never start because of this myth—which leaves them feeling that the success of their future business suddenly rides on ea
Fear will jetison you into fight or flight mode. Resistance will try to figure things out. Why? Because fear is a vibration of powerlessness and resistance is a vibration of opposition.On an energetic level, powerlessness feels quite different from opposition. Test it out. Think this thought: fear. How did your body respond to the thought of fear? Did you notice your eyes dilating? Did you experience rapid and shallow breathing? Did your eyes narrow and dart around the room looking for an escape route or assault weapon? Could you feel your body winding-up, getting ready to spring?Now, think this thought: opposition. How did your body respond to that thought? Did you feel your arms crossing protectively in front of your chest? Did you notice your fee
A recent study of 29,000 business startups noted that 26,000 of them failed. Of those failures, 67% had no written business plan. Think that's a coincidence?
Here's the top 10 myths Solo Entrepreneurs often have about business plans—usually, the reasons why they don't have one. De-bunk the myths, and see how having a business plan for your solo business, can actually be easy and fun--and can jumpstart your success!
1. Myth: I don't need a business plan--it's just me!
Starting a business without a plan is like taking a trip in a foreign country without a map. You might have a lot of fun along the way, and meet a lot of friends, but you are likely to end up at a very different place than you originally set out for—and you might have to phone home for funds for your return ticket.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Successful Solo Entrepreneurs know that the exercise of creating a business plan, really helps them think through all the critical aspects of running a business, make better business decisions, and get to profitability sooner.
2. Myth: I have to buy business plan software before I can start.
Business plan software comes in many shapes and sizes, and prices. Many are more geared at small and growing businesses with employees.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Business plan software can be helpful—but it’s not required. Software is more likely to help if you have a more traditional type business, like a restaurant or a typical consulting business.
3. Myth: I need to hire a consultant to write my business plan.
Consultants are an expensive way to have your business plan written.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business IS you—and you need to be intimately involved with the creation of your business plan. A better strategy, if you think you need professional help, is to hire a coach or mentor—someone who can guide you in what you need to do, not do it for you.
4. Myth: The business plan templates I’ve seen have all these complex-sounding sections to them—I guess I need all those?
The only time you need to follow a specific outline is if you are looking for funding.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business plan needs to answer ten basic questions—that’s it! Don’t make things more complicated than necessary.
5. Myth: My business plan needs to be perfect before I can start my business.
If you wait for everything to be perfectly detailed, you may never start.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: If you have at least a first draft that answers those ten basic questions, you are ready to launch your business! Make your business plan a living, evolving document. In the startup stages, review and update your plan every 2-3 months. As you grow and stabilize, you can slow down the review cycle to every 6-12 months. All business plans should be reviewed and updated at least once a year.
6. Myth: I have to do everything I say I’m going to do in my business plan, or I’m a failure.
Many Solo Entrepreneurs never start because of this myth—which leaves them feeling that the success of their future business suddenly rides on eac
With hundreds of students graduating from college each and every year, it is important to keep yourself up to date with skills that are needed in the workplace. Fortunately, no matter what industry you are in, career training can put you on a path to success. With thousands of opportunities online and offline, training and development is the way to go.For most people, successful career development training begins when you’re in college. These training and development courses are designed to help students recognize their potential and give them an extra push into the employment world. Since many students are confused with what jobs are the right fit for them, these courses could provide an insight. Generally, career training programs breakdown the skills needed to climb
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Successful Solo Entrepreneurs know that the exercise of creating a business plan, really helps them think through all the critical aspects of running a business, make better business decisions, and get to profitability sooner.
2. Myth: I have to buy business plan software before I can start.
Business plan software comes in many shapes and sizes, and prices. Many are more geared at small and growing businesses with employees.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Business plan software can be helpful—but it’s not required. Software is more likely to help if you have a more traditional type business, like a restaurant or a typical consulting business.
3. Myth: I need to hire a consultant to write my business plan.
Consultants are an expensive way to have your business plan written.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business IS you—and you need to be intimately involved with the creation of your business plan. A better strategy, if you think you need professional help, is to hire a coach or mentor—someone who can guide you in what you need to do, not do it for you.
4. Myth: The business plan templates I’ve seen have all these complex-sounding sections to them—I guess I need all those?
The only time you need to follow a specific outline is if you are looking for funding.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business plan needs to answer ten basic questions—that’s it! Don’t make things more complicated than necessary.
5. Myth: My business plan needs to be perfect before I can start my business.
If you wait for everything to be perfectly detailed, you may never start.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: If you have at least a first draft that answers those ten basic questions, you are ready to launch your business! Make your business plan a living, evolving document. In the startup stages, review and update your plan every 2-3 months. As you grow and stabilize, you can slow down the review cycle to every 6-12 months. All business plans should be reviewed and updated at least once a year.
6. Myth: I have to do everything I say I’m going to do in my business plan, or I’m a failure.
Many Solo Entrepreneurs never start because of this myth—which leaves them feeling that the success of their future business suddenly rides on ea
Starting a restaurant is a complicated and time consuming venture that requires a lot of organization, patience and careful planning. The best way to go into the process to give yourself the greatest chance of success is to have a well thought out business plan to work from to keep you on track, on budget and in the right frame of mind.Before you do anything else, you should put together at least the framework of your plan to make sure you understand the challenges you will face and the hurdles you will have to overcome to get to the point where you can open your doors to a hungry and appreciative public.Your business plan will need to address such things as the planned menu, the operations, the staffing, the location and the management team, among many other as
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Business plan software can be helpful—but it’s not required. Software is more likely to help if you have a more traditional type business, like a restaurant or a typical consulting business.
3. Myth: I need to hire a consultant to write my business plan.
Consultants are an expensive way to have your business plan written.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business IS you—and you need to be intimately involved with the creation of your business plan. A better strategy, if you think you need professional help, is to hire a coach or mentor—someone who can guide you in what you need to do, not do it for you.
4. Myth: The business plan templates I’ve seen have all these complex-sounding sections to them—I guess I need all those?
The only time you need to follow a specific outline is if you are looking for funding.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business plan needs to answer ten basic questions—that’s it! Don’t make things more complicated than necessary.
5. Myth: My business plan needs to be perfect before I can start my business.
If you wait for everything to be perfectly detailed, you may never start.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: If you have at least a first draft that answers those ten basic questions, you are ready to launch your business! Make your business plan a living, evolving document. In the startup stages, review and update your plan every 2-3 months. As you grow and stabilize, you can slow down the review cycle to every 6-12 months. All business plans should be reviewed and updated at least once a year.
6. Myth: I have to do everything I say I’m going to do in my business plan, or I’m a failure.
Many Solo Entrepreneurs never start because of this myth—which leaves them feeling that the success of their future business suddenly rides on ea
"Leadership is about coping with change. Part of the reason it has become so important in recent years is that the world has become more competitive and more volatile...doing what was done yesterday, or doing it 5% better, is no longer a formula for success. Major changes are more and more necessary to survive and compete effectively in this new environment. More change always demands more leadership." — John Kotter, "What Leaders Really Do," Harvard Business ReviewChange is a fact of life. And as the pace of change accelerates, organizations are being pulled in many directions by factors such as new technologies, customer demands, e-commerce, workforce demographics, business model challenges, fierce competition, shareholder expectations, shrinking cycle times, and shi
4. Myth: The business plan templates I’ve seen have all these complex-sounding sections to them—I guess I need all those?
The only time you need to follow a specific outline is if you are looking for funding.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Your business plan needs to answer ten basic questions—that’s it! Don’t make things more complicated than necessary.
5. Myth: My business plan needs to be perfect before I can start my business.
If you wait for everything to be perfectly detailed, you may never start.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: If you have at least a first draft that answers those ten basic questions, you are ready to launch your business! Make your business plan a living, evolving document. In the startup stages, review and update your plan every 2-3 months. As you grow and stabilize, you can slow down the review cycle to every 6-12 months. All business plans should be reviewed and updated at least once a year.
6. Myth: I have to do everything I say I’m going to do in my business plan, or I’m a failure.
Many Solo Entrepreneurs never start because of this myth—which leaves them feeling that the success of their future business suddenly rides on ea
So you’ve hung up your shingle and customers aren’t exactly beating a path to your door. What can you do? Well you might think standing out on the street with a megaphone will do the trick. And it may be one way to gain attention for your business, but an overall public relations plan incorporating a number of promotional ideas could be just what your business needs.Public relations is communicating who you are, what you do and how you make a difference. It's about having successful “relationships” with your “public”. They could be friends, clients, potential customers, competitors or the media who can all help spread the word about your business.One way of communicating your message is through publicity or media relations. Sending out media releases to create a
6. Myth: I have to do everything I say I’m going to do in my business plan, or I’m a failure.
Many Solo Entrepreneurs never start because of this myth—which leaves them feeling that the success of their future business suddenly rides on each stroke of the pen or click of the keyboard!
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Think of your business plan as a roadmap for a trip. Expect to take some detours for road construction. Be flexible enough to take some exciting, unplanned side trips. And don’t be surprised if instead of visiting Mount Rushmore, you decide to go to Yellowstone, if that turns out to meet your vacation goals better!
7. Myth: A good business plan has a nice cover, is at least 40 pages long, must be typed and double-spaced…
Business plans intended for investors, such as a bank or venture capitalist, must meet certain requirements that such investors expect.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: As a Solo Entrepreneur, your business plan need only satisfy YOU. It might be scribbled on a napkin, on stickie notes on your wall, or consist of a collage of pictures and captions. It might be all in one document or scattered among several mediums. As long as you know it in your head and heart without having to look at it, and and it is easily accessible to you when you have doubts, that’s all that is necessary.
8. Myth: I don’t need a loan—so I don’t need a business plan.
YOU are the investor in your business—and would you invest in the stock of some company without seeing a prospectus?
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: Seeing your plan in black and white (or color, if you prefer!), can give a whole new view on the financial viability of your business. If “doing the numbers” seems overwhelming, remember you don’t need fancy spreadsheets. Just lay out a budget that shows where all the money is coming from (and going), and have an accountant review it for additional perspective.
9. Myth: My business plan is in my head—that’s good enough.
I don’t know about you, but I sometimes can’t remember what I planned yesterday to do tomorrow, if I don’t write it down!
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: There is a real power in writing down your plans. Some schools of thought advocate that the act of writing a plan down triggers our subconscious to start working on how to manifest that plan. And, of course, it’s a lot easier to remember when you have it in front of you. And a lot easier to share and get feedback from your non-mind reading supporters.
10. Myth: Friends and family are the best sources of feedback and advice on my business plan.
If your brother is an accountant and your best friend is a market research expert, then this might be true.
Solo Entrepreneur Reality: As well meaning as our friends and family can often be,
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