The One-Hour Business Plan

ISBN-13: 9781118726228 / Angielski / Twarda / 2013 / 192 str.

John McAdam

Opis

A guide to writing a successful business plan--in just one hour A strong business plan greatly increases a business chance of success, especially in an economic environment in which more than 50 percent of businesses fail within three years. Your business plan can serve as a foundation for your successful business. The One-Hour Business Plan, written by seasoned entrepreneur and business instructor John McAdam, helps you lay that foundation. With the help of this book, aspiring entrepreneurs can write a viable business plan in just one hour.

• Offers step-by-step guidance on the process of writing a business plan, with field-tested instructional techniques that are simple, strong, and easy to implement
• Written by John McAdam, a -been there, done that- hired CEO and serial entrepreneur with decades of real-world experience, who helps ordinary people become entrepreneurs and helps entrepreneurs become successful

The One-Hour Business Plan outlines a process and a framework for creating a business plan that sets you up for success. Give your business the best odds for success, in just one hour of your time.

Spis treści

Setting the Tone ix

Introduction xi

Why These Cornerstones Build the Best Foundation for Any Business Plan xvi

Module 1

What Are You Offering? 1

Create a Value Proposition That Makes a Stronger Business Model

The Need 5

The Solution 8

Features versus Benefits 10

Advantages 14

Written Exercise:Write Your Value

Proposition 19

Value Proposition Exercise #1 The Value Proposition Building Blocks 20

Value Proposition Exercise #2 What Do You Do? 22

Value Proposition Exercise #3 What Do You Want? 24

Module 2

Who Are You Offering To?

The Customer Target Market 27

The Only Sustainable Source of Business Funding for the Long Term

Customer Target Market Introduction 29

Market Size: The Addressable Market 31

Customer Demographics and Demographic Profiles 33

Customer Categories 34

Second–Phase Customers 35

The Customer Target Market Funnel 35

Public Relations 38

Advertising 41

Marketing 44

Sales 47

Written Exercise Preparation 51

Customer Target Market Exercise: Methods and Lists 52

Module 3

Who Are Your Competitors?

Competitive Positioning 55

Viewing Your Offering Through Your Customers Eyes

Competitive Positioning Table Exercise 64

Module 4

What s Next? Next Steps 69

What Milestones and Action Plans Do for Your Business

Milestone Introduction 72

Business Milestone Definition 76

Essential Elements of a Business Milestone 78

Examples of Business Milestones 79

Milestones in Practice: Sandbagging, Overstatement, and Balance 81

Action Plan and Goals Defined 84

Milestone Quality Control Check: Stiflegoal and Stiflestone 86

Milestone and Action Planning Worksheets 89

Module 5

How Much Money Will You Make?

The New Offering to Cash Mini–Budget 93

A Simple Way to Predict How Much Money You Will Likely Make

How Much Money Will Your Business Model Make? 96

Selling Price 102

Average Sales Cycle Time/Customer Acquisition Time 105

Unit Sales Forecast 107

The New Offering to Cash Mini–Budget Worksheet Exercise 112

Conclusion: Pulling It All Together 117

Using Your One–Hour Business Plan to Earn Customers Today

I Love Beta Users of Innovations and You Should, Too 127

CEOs and Entrepreneurs Have a Lot in Common 130

Other Applications of the One–Hour Business Plan 132

On the One–Hour Business Plan Concept Is It a Gimmick? 137

Get Feedback on Your Plan Foundation from Advisors, Colleagues, and Mentors with Successful Exits 139

Benefits of Sending Us Your Worksheets 142

Help Us Get the Word Out ThisWorks! 143

Final Thoughts 147

Acknowledgments 153

Index 159

O autorze

JOHN McADAM has decades of business experience as a hired CEO, serial entrepreneur, and instructor. He holds an MBA from the Wharton School and has taught strategic business planning at the Wharton Small Business Development Center for years. Quoted in business publications such as Inc., Success, Crain′s New York Business, Business News Daily, and Wharton Alumni Magazine, John McAdam also speaks for organizations, having been a frequent radio guest and guest speaker on NBC10 Philadelphia Small Business Week and Money Matters TV. To book John McAdam, visit http://planfoundations.com.

Blurb

Praise for The One–Hour Business Plan

"This inspirational book is a must read for anyone aspiring to be someone and especially those people who are looking for angel funding. This is a book that is tough to put down."
Richard Levin, Chairman, Private Investors Forum (angel investors)

"What I enjoy most is that his business planning approach gets rid of all the clutter and gets to the heart of your business. I can′t wait until this book comes out so I can start referring people to it."
Lloyd Cambridge, Director, NYC Business Solutions

"This book is all about what to do to get your company somewhere FAST, which is all too essential in this fast–paced world of startups."
Valerie S. Gaydos, founder, Angel Venture Forum

"John′s The One–Hour Business Plan is an essential and easy read. I found the five essential business plan cornerstones to be spot on."
Jan W. Zupnick, President, The Entrepreneurship Institute

"John McAdam′s The One–Hour Business Plan was exactly what I needed. Providing me with a systematic approach, I was able to put my thoughts in a clear, concise format that inspired the attention I wanted."
Chris Brown, Entrepreneur, Utah

"As a SCORE mentor, I come across many budding entrepreneurs trying to aggregate their vision into a business plan . . . Mr. McAdam provides a quick and concise recipe to help them put their vision to paper to effectively accomplish that goal."
David Cantera, Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) Counselor

"The One–Hour Business Plan helped me take a complex new concept, describe my service, and explain why my customer needs it, all very effectively. I was able to land six new clients for my new service!"
Dan Macfarlan, Bucks County Lock & Key