| Introduction |
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| Part 1: Getting Started With Business Plans |
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Chapter 1 Powering Up for Business Success |
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Selling Yourself on the Importance of Business Planning |
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Tallying up the benefits of a business plan |
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Knowing what can go wrong without a plan |
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Business planning as a test drive |
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The Anatomy of a Business Plan |
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Business plan contents, beginning to end |
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Establishing Your Planning Objectives |
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Defining your starting point |
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Zeroing in on the changes you want to plan for |
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Setting out your planning objectives |
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Identifying Your Business Plan Audiences and Key Messages |
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16 | (2) |
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17 | (1) |
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Establishing Your Plan's Time Frame |
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18 | (2) |
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18 | (1) |
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Launching the Planning Process |
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Locating informative resources |
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22 | (1) |
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23 | (2) |
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Chapter 2 Developing the Idea That Powers Your Plan |
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Recognizing the Power of a Good Idea |
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Starting, growing, or pivoting a business |
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Knowing the difference between passion and profitability |
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27 | (1) |
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Taking a look at ideas behind successful businesses - and some that went bust |
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28 | (1) |
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Searching Out Great Business Ideas |
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Tuning in to what customers have to say |
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30 | (1) |
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Catching up with marketplace and business world realities |
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30 | (1) |
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Pursuing changes that open up new opportunities |
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31 | (1) |
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Spotting strategies to grow or pivot existing businesses |
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32 | (1) |
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Reimagining your business environment |
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33 | (1) |
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Adjusting to the digital future |
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34 | (1) |
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Turning a side gig into a business |
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35 | (1) |
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Inspiring team creativity (with or without donuts or bagels) |
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35 | (3) |
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38 | (2) |
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Putting a Promising Idea to the Test |
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40 | (6) |
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Doing your first reality check |
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40 | (1) |
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Anticipating disruptive innovations: Opportunities and cautions |
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41 | (1) |
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Estimating your runway: How much time does your good idea need? |
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42 | (1) |
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Checking out the competition |
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43 | (1) |
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44 | (1) |
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Conducting a self-appraisal |
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45 | (1) |
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46 | (1) |
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Chapter 3 Defining Your Business Purpose and Structure |
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Knowing What Business You're In |
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48 | (2) |
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Choosing the Right Business Structure |
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50 | (7) |
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Identifying your business model |
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Reviewing the advantages and disadvantages of different structures |
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53 | (3) |
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Getting your business off on the right foot |
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56 | (1) |
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Giving Your Company Its Mission |
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57 | (7) |
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58 | (1) |
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58 | (2) |
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60 | (1) |
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Fixing a weak or ineffective mission statement |
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61 | (3) |
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Putting your mission to work |
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64 | (1) |
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Exploring Values and Vision |
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64 | (5) |
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Uncovering values you already hold |
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64 | (3) |
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Writing a values statement |
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67 | (1) |
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Writing a vision statement |
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67 | (1) |
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Aligning your vision with your business model |
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68 | (1) |
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Setting Goals and Objectives |
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69 | (5) |
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Comparing goals and objectives |
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69 | (1) |
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Approach #1: Tying goals to your mission |
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70 | (1) |
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Approach #2: Using goal-setting ACES |
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71 | (1) |
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Approach #3: Covering all the bases |
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72 | (2) |
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74 | (1) |
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Putting Your Principles into Practice |
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74 | (2) |
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76 | (1) |
| Part 2: Developing Your Plan's Components |
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Chapter 4 Understanding Changing Conditions, Customers, and Competition |
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79 | (24) |
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Zooming In on Your Industry |
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80 | (4) |
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Analyzing your industry's big picture |
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80 | (1) |
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Anticipating major industry changes and disruptions |
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81 | (1) |
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Recognizing — and leveraging — barriers to entry |
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82 | (2) |
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84 | (9) |
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Developing your customer profile |
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85 | (1) |
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Conducting customer research |
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86 | (3) |
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Putting your customer description into words |
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89 | (1) |
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Getting to know your ideal customer |
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89 | (2) |
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Segmenting customers into buyer groups |
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91 | (1) |
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Shaping a strategy to ensure customer loyalty |
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92 | (1) |
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Doing business with business customers |
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93 | (1) |
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Defining and Addressing Market Shifts |
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93 | (3) |
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Charting target market growth patterns |
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94 | (1) |
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Tracking changes in buyer tastes and trends |
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95 | (1) |
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Sizing Up Your Competition |
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96 | (3) |
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Using cloak-and-dagger methods |
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96 | (1) |
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Identifying your stealth competitors |
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97 | (1) |
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98 | (1) |
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Reimagining How to Do Business in Today's Environment |
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99 | (2) |
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Meeting the challenge of hiring and retaining top-quality people |
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100 | (1) |
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100 | (1) |
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101 | (2) |
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Chapter 5 Charting Your Strategic Direction |
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103 | (26) |
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Matching Your Capabilities to Business Opportunities and Threats |
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104 | (8) |
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Sizing up your strengths and weaknesses |
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104 | (4) |
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Identifying opportunities and threats |
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108 | (2) |
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Conducting a SWOT analysis |
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110 | (2) |
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Defining Your Business Model |
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112 | (9) |
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Checking out traditional and digital-era business models |
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113 | (1) |
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114 | (2) |
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Knowing your burn rate and runway to profitability |
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116 | (1) |
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Generating and collecting revenue |
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117 | (2) |
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Putting a price on your products |
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119 | (1) |
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Planning to control costs |
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120 | (1) |
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Creating a business model that works |
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120 | (1) |
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121 | (5) |
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Understanding your options |
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122 | (1) |
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122 | (2) |
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Knowing your Plan A and Plan B |
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124 | (1) |
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Dealing with bad news: Crisis management |
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124 | (2) |
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Outlining an Exit Strategy |
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126 | (1) |
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126 | (1) |
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126 | (1) |
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127 | (2) |
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Chapter 6 Describing Your Business and Its Capabilities |
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129 | (26) |
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Introducing Your Business |
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130 | (6) |
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Describing what you're selling |
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130 | (1) |
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Perfecting your elevator pitch in the digital age |
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131 | (5) |
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Describing Your Business Capabilities |
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136 | (10) |
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136 | (2) |
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138 | (1) |
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Distribution and delivery |
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138 | (3) |
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141 | (2) |
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143 | (2) |
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145 | (1) |
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Updating Capabilities to Meet Challenges and Seize Opportunities |
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146 | (5) |
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Putting your capabilities to the test |
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147 | (1) |
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148 | (1) |
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149 | (1) |
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Revamping your operations and processes |
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150 | (1) |
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Altering distribution channels |
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151 | (1) |
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Staying Focused on What You Do Best |
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151 | (1) |
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152 | (3) |
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Chapter 7 Crafting Your Marketing Plan |
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155 | (22) |
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156 | (2) |
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The big marketing picture |
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156 | (1) |
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The nuts and bolts of a marketing plan |
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156 | (2) |
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Marketing to a Digitally Connected and Mobile Market |
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158 | (1) |
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Analyzing Your Market Situation |
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159 | (5) |
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Getting a handle on your market |
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159 | (1) |
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Assessing your competition |
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160 | (2) |
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Getting smarter with big data |
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162 | (1) |
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Forecasting your business environment |
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163 | (1) |
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Setting Marketing Goals and Objectives |
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164 | (1) |
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Putting Your Position and Brand into Words |
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165 | (1) |
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Boosting Online Presence: The Most Traveled Route to Most Businesses |
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165 | (3) |
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Zooming In on Your Target Market |
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168 | (2) |
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Describing your target customer |
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169 | (1) |
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Planning to lock in loyalty |
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169 | (1) |
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Designing Marketing Strategies |
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170 | (6) |
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171 | (1) |
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Your distribution strategy |
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171 | (1) |
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171 | (3) |
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174 | (2) |
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176 | (1) |
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Chapter 8 Finding Your Funding |
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177 | (14) |
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Forecasting Your Funding Requirements |
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177 | (2) |
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Searching for Money in All the Right Places |
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179 | (12) |
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Funding your business with close-to-home resources |
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179 | (2) |
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Turning customers and prospective customers into investors |
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181 | (1) |
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Navigating the routes to bank funding |
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181 | (3) |
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Considering alternative lending sources |
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184 | (3) |
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Reaching into deep pockets |
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187 | (1) |
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Getting wise about crowdfunding approaches |
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188 | (3) |
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Chapter 9 Tallying Your Financial Situation |
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191 | (24) |
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Decoding Financial Terminology |
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191 | (1) |
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Putting Together an Income Statement |
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192 | (4) |
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Knowing the sections of an income statement |
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193 | (3) |
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Now it's your turn: Creating your income statement |
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196 | (1) |
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Creating Your Balance Sheet |
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196 | (8) |
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Identifying the sections on a balance sheet |
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197 | (6) |
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Building your own balance sheet |
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203 | (1) |
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Constructing a Cash-Flow Statement |
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204 | (5) |
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Section 1: Total funds in |
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204 | (1) |
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Section 2: Total funds out |
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205 | (2) |
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Section 3: Net change in cash position |
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207 | (1) |
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Section 4: Changes in liquid assets |
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208 | (1) |
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Section 5: Net change in cash position |
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208 | (1) |
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Creating your own cash-flow statement |
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208 | (1) |
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Forecasting and Budgeting |
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209 | (4) |
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210 | (2) |
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212 | (1) |
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Dealing with Regulations and Taxes |
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213 | (1) |
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214 | (1) |
| Part 3: Tailoring Your Plan To Fit Your Business |
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215 | (100) |
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Chapter 10 Planning fora One-Person Business |
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217 | (24) |
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Having What It Takes to Succeed in a One-Person Business |
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218 | (11) |
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Eyeing the pros and cons of a solo career |
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219 | (1) |
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220 | (1) |
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221 | (1) |
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Putting a price on what you do |
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222 | (7) |
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Tailoring a Business Plan to Fit Your One-Person Enterprise |
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229 | (3) |
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230 | (1) |
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230 | (1) |
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Business description and strategy |
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231 | (1) |
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231 | (1) |
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232 | (1) |
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Running Your One-Person Business Like a Business |
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232 | (7) |
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232 | (1) |
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Avoiding the pitfalls of working at home |
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233 | (1) |
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233 | (1) |
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234 | (1) |
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Developing a business network |
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235 | (1) |
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Tapping into social networks |
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236 | (1) |
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Observing local and state regulations |
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237 | (1) |
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Putting your business plan to work |
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237 | (2) |
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239 | (2) |
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Chapter 11 Planning for a Small Business |
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241 | (14) |
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Recognizing Why Your Small Business Needs a Plan |
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242 | (1) |
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Preparing the Contents of Your Small Business Plan |
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243 | (8) |
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Analyzing your business location and the surrounding environment |
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244 | (1) |
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Describing your business and its purpose |
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245 | (1) |
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Plotting your business strategy |
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246 | (1) |
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246 | (1) |
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Clarifying your financial situation |
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247 | (2) |
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Taking advantage of social media |
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249 | (1) |
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Establishing your action plan |
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250 | (1) |
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250 | (1) |
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Keeping an Eye on the Business Horizon |
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251 | (1) |
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Growing — or Not Growing — Your Small Business |
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251 | (2) |
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253 | (1) |
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Preparing to Sell Your Small Business |
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254 | (1) |
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254 | (1) |
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Chapter 12 Planning for a Virtual Business |
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255 | (12) |
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Understanding the Benefits and Risks of a Virtual Business |
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256 | (4) |
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Taking a cue from the first generation of virtual businesses |
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257 | (1) |
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Evaluating whether your idea is a good fit |
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258 | (1) |
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259 | (1) |
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Running and Planning a Virtual Business |
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260 | (5) |
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Operating a company without an HQ |
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260 | (1) |
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Hiring and managing a remote team |
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261 | (1) |
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Using technologies to manage, motivate, and inspire |
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262 | (2) |
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Branding an enterprise with far-flung virtual partners |
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264 | (1) |
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Establishing standards and policies across a virtual enterprise |
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265 | (1) |
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Staying One Step Ahead of a Fast-Changing Business Model |
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265 | (1) |
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266 | (1) |
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Chapter 13 Planning for an Established Business |
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267 | (16) |
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268 | (1) |
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Planning to Raise Capital |
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268 | (3) |
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268 | (1) |
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269 | (1) |
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New equity investment approaches |
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270 | (1) |
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Planning for Business Growth |
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271 | (1) |
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Planning to Lock in Customer Loyalty |
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271 | (1) |
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Planning in Times of Trouble |
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272 | (2) |
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272 | (1) |
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273 | (1) |
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Analyzing your current situation |
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273 | (1) |
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274 | (3) |
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Keeping an eye on the clock |
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275 | (1) |
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Focusing on what's doable |
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275 | (1) |
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Getting the right people in the loop |
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276 | (1) |
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Using your plan to communicate |
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276 | (1) |
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277 | (3) |
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Defining the problem you want to solve |
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277 | (1) |
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Assessing the benefits and risks |
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278 | (1) |
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Taking advantage of synergies |
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278 | (1) |
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Getting everybody on board |
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279 | (1) |
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Balancing decisiveness with flexibility |
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280 | (1) |
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Using your customers as a guide |
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280 | (1) |
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Planning for a Merger or Sale |
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280 | (2) |
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Assessing your company's transferability |
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281 | (1) |
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Planning for a change in leadership |
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282 | (1) |
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282 | (1) |
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Chapter 14 Planning for a Nonprofit Organization |
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283 | (18) |
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Running a Nonprofit Like a Business |
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284 | (6) |
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Fine-tuning your mission and vision |
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285 | (1) |
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Creating the appropriate structure |
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286 | (2) |
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Setting goals and objectives |
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288 | (2) |
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Organizing to Do Good Work |
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290 | (4) |
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290 | (2) |
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292 | (1) |
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293 | (1) |
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Research and development (R&D) |
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293 | (1) |
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Gathering Grants and Courting Donors |
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294 | (4) |
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294 | (2) |
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Tailoring your plan to big donors |
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296 | (1) |
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Planning fundraising activities |
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296 | (2) |
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298 | (1) |
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298 | (1) |
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Putting working cash to work |
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299 | (1) |
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299 | (1) |
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Marketing and Promoting a Nonprofit |
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299 | (1) |
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300 | (1) |
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Chapter 15 Planning in a Transformed World |
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301 | (14) |
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Recognizing the Drivers of Change |
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302 | (2) |
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Proactively Planning for Change |
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304 | (6) |
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Planning around economic uncertainties |
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304 | (1) |
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Creating a technology plan |
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305 | (3) |
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Responding to changing customer expectations |
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308 | (2) |
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310 | (4) |
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Strategizing for turbulent times |
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311 | (2) |
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313 | (1) |
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313 | (1) |
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314 | (1) |
| Part 4: Making The Most Of Your Plan |
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315 | (46) |
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Chapter 16 Putting Your Plan Together |
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317 | (20) |
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Making a List and Checking It Twice |
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318 | (3) |
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Locating Additional Resources |
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321 | (4) |
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The bookstore and library |
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321 | (1) |
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322 | (1) |
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323 | (1) |
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323 | (1) |
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324 | (1) |
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324 | (1) |
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Assembling Your Planning Team |
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325 | (4) |
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Delegating responsibilities |
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325 | (2) |
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327 | (1) |
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Putting first things last |
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327 | (1) |
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328 | (1) |
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Targeting Your Plan to Key Audiences |
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329 | (4) |
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Identifying your stakeholders |
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329 | (1) |
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Addressing more than one audience |
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330 | (2) |
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Creating alternate versions of your plan |
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332 | (1) |
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Fitting the Pieces Together |
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333 | (2) |
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335 | (2) |
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Chapter 17 Implementing Your Plan |
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337 | (24) |
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Organizing around Your Business Plan |
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338 | (5) |
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338 | (2) |
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Duties and responsibilities |
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340 | (1) |
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341 | (2) |
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343 | (7) |
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343 | (1) |
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Guiding and motivating remote employees |
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344 | (2) |
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346 | (1) |
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346 | (1) |
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Encouraging pride of ownership |
|
|
347 | (1) |
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Developing employee skills |
|
|
348 | (2) |
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Keeping Your Plan Current |
|
|
350 | (7) |
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The inevitability of business change |
|
|
350 | (1) |
|
Identifying critical metrics |
|
|
351 | (2) |
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Monitoring your situation |
|
|
353 | (1) |
|
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|
353 | (2) |
|
|
|
355 | (1) |
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|
|
356 | (1) |
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Nurturing Tomorrow's Leaders |
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|
357 | (2) |
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|
|
359 | (2) |
| Part 5: The Part Of Tens |
|
361 | (12) |
|
Chapter 18 Ten Signs That Your Plan May Need an Overhaul |
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|
363 | (6) |
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Costs Rise, Revenues Fall |
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|
363 | (1) |
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|
|
364 | (1) |
|
You Don't Meet Financial Projections |
|
|
364 | (1) |
|
|
|
365 | (1) |
|
Key Projects Fall Behind Schedule |
|
|
365 | (1) |
|
|
|
365 | (1) |
|
Technology Shakes Up Your World |
|
|
366 | (1) |
|
Important Customers Defect |
|
|
366 | (1) |
|
Business Strategy Does a 180 |
|
|
367 | (1) |
|
Growth Is Out of Your Control |
|
|
367 | (2) |
|
Chapter 19 Ten Questions to Ask Before You Finish Your Business Plan |
|
|
369 | (4) |
|
Does the Plan Realistically Assess Your Business Idea? |
|
|
369 | (1) |
|
Do the Financials Add Up? |
|
|
370 | (1) |
|
Does the Plan Adequately Describe Your Customers and What They Want? |
|
|
370 | (1) |
|
Does the Plan Establish a Clear Timeline? |
|
|
370 | (1) |
|
Does the Plan Spell Out Specific Goals and Objectives? |
|
|
371 | (1) |
|
Will the Plan Guide and Inspire Employees? |
|
|
371 | (1) |
|
Is the Writing Clear and jargon-Free? |
|
|
371 | (1) |
|
|
|
372 | (1) |
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Does Your Strategy Allow for the Unexpected? |
|
|
372 | (1) |
|
What Would Your Competitors Think? |
|
|
372 | (1) |
| Appendix: What You Can Find Online |
|
373 | (6) |
| Index |
|
379 | |
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