Through the Eyes of Professionals

As a Former President CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, Carl Schramm has stood out to me to be one who is qualified in the world as being able to review a business plan, an help an individual in a way to being successful. He is amongst the top qualified Professor’s at Syracuse University, and is co-author of “Better Capitalism: Renewing the Entrepreneurial Strength of the American Economy”, by Robert E. Litan. Mr. Schraam believes that occupational is only an occupation, and not taken seriously, as the next professional mentioned has a different approach. Along with Mr. Schramm is a man who believes that there are no needs for a business plan to get started, but actually just make the business known is Chuck Blakeman. Mr. Blakeman is the author of “Money is Killing your Business”, and believes in his own philosophy of making your own business rules.

What each of these professionals have in common is a goal, and that is to make sure that the developer of the business plan knows what they want out of their business. This is what any investor is going to look for while looking into a business plan. As a developer I find it extremely important to think of what I want my audience or clients to view my company as, and that is what I set my standards for. If the potential clients do not understand the concept of my business, then the potential investors will not understand as well.

According to author Robert Tuchman, President of Goviva, his number one reason why businesses fail within the first five years is, thinking all you need is an idea (enterpurner.com). He also goes to mention that not having a good accountant is another reason why businesses fail.

 

It is always important to have the right key players on your “team” while starting any business, as risky as it is when playing with a large sum of money. My suggestions before starting any business, no matter if it is a lemonade stand are to:

·      Make a detailed plan, and map out the goal that you have for that particular idea.

·      Figure out your budget, what is your start up cost, and what you currently have to spend on the idea without borrowing money.

·      If you have to borrow start up cost, how much of the product do you need to sell to break even? (Many entrepreneurs forget about this step!)

·      What are the expectations of your clients/buyers?

 

When developing any business for the public, it is necessary and should always be a rule to put yourself second, and your product for the clients first. As both professionals most likely can agree upon, is that mistakes can and will happen, but those are opportunities for growth, and in the words of Mr. Blakeman, “win big”.

 

Resources:

http://carlschramm.com/

http://chuckblakeman.com/

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/235516