Innovation through Creativity: Jumpstarting Your Mind

“Every child is an artist; the problem is staying an artist when you grow up.” - Pablo Picasso Inspiration and creativity drive your entrepreneur spirit. Without original ideas and strategies, businesses lose their unique identities. However, it can be difficult to keep the creative fire stoked on a daily basis. The last thing you want is for your inspiration to grow stagnant. So how do you ensure you’re continually moving forward with new perspectives and fresh ideas? Be Playful It’s nearly impossible to create on demand. Consider a writer staring at an empty page, paralyzed by writer’s block. It is a frustrating, helpless feeling when the creative muse has left the building. However, rather than try to somehow work your way through that block, you should focus on your playful side. Often, writers will give themselves playful activities or word games to break out of crippling writer’s block. Encouraging that playful spirit is essential to honing your creativity and developing strategies to avoid a stale frame of mind. Consider these activities: Team sports can be great for physical activity, social contact, and encouraging focus. Great ideas can hit you when you’re fielding a fly ball or nailing a jump shot. Exploring your hobbies can open up your creativity. Whether you enjoy painting, woodworking, or hiking the trails, unstructured ventures allow you to lose yourself. You are seeking activities that let your mind flow easily. Keep paper and drawing materials on hand. By drawing (however badly), you are encouraging your creative flow. Don’t always rely on written notes. Sometimes, when you try to immediately translate an idea into words, you actually inhibit your inspiration. Make your thinking visible through doodles, sketches, and drafts. Don’t be afraid of embarrassing yourself. Creativity can arrive in many ways. Some people readily “act out” their ideas. Some people hit a roadblock and are able to sing their way through their issues. It might sound silly, but these methods encourage you to take a new approach through spontaneous action. Consider it improv for your inner creative genius. Sometimes you have to be willing to go beyond embarrassment to achieve. Take a cue from children. They get it. Give a four-year-old a cardboard box, and that box quickly becomes a car or spaceship to explore the universe. Give a child a treehouse, and you’ve got a pioneer or pirate on your hands. For business owners to kick-start creativity, they need to consciously decide to bring playful activities into their daily lives.

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Site Portable Accommodation

Site portable accommodation generally refers to any type of portable buildings whether they are offices, toilets to steel storage units. There are many different reasons why portable buildings are used, and one of the mains reasons for their use is there versatility. They are very quick and easy to install and can be used at almost any location depending on the road network. Portable cabins are generally used for temporary accommodation, however due to their robust and efficient design they are sometimes used for very long periods of time spanning many years and become part of the locality where they are erected. They are very commonly used on building sites where they can be seen typically stacked one on top of another to form an efficient space saving office block, where space is at a premium. These types of buildings are more commonly called modular or jackleg cabins and are available in wide range of styles and finishes to suit the customers requirements. Some types of site accommodation can be very impressive and buildings such as offices and classrooms can involve much larger installations with a huge floor space and facilities such as canteens and toilets incorporated into them. Site portable accommodation can include the following installations; · Offices · Toilets · Marketing suites · Storage units · Showers and changing rooms · Nurseries and classrooms · Surgeries and clinics · Welfare units The office environment in portable buildings has undergone a huge change in the past few years, with spacious open plan office areas, and open plan offices are often designed alongside other facilities as part of the same refurbished building complex. Marketing suites can look particularly impressive, and are perfect for developers and house builders who like to impress their clients. Welfare facilities are very important to many companies and their clients, and providing good high quality canteens with temporary buildings and portable cabins can prove to be essential to many companies.

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Retirement Planning Advice for People in Their 50’s

The 50’s are considered one of the most challenging decades in a man’s life. In these years, an individual is at the peak of his/her capacity to earn and can afford to pay off their debts. The figure of 50 is also significant as it is a reminder of the depleting years of a constant income for an individual. Retirement comes to the forefront making it imperative to consider strategic retirement planning advice. In the section below, let us understand the things an individual need to consider in his/her 50’s for an effective saving and retirement planning. 1. It is important for an individual to look for opportunities that involve part time work after the retirement period. This helps to provide an added avenue for an income along with keeping an individual occupied rather that feeling redundant. A feeling of redundancy or aimlessness is common after retirement when there are no deadlines to meet or the daily rigors of work life. 2. If there are some savings left after investments in retirement funds, then they could be used for debt repayment. This helps in clearing the debts by the time a person retires otherwise these accumulated debts may carry forward and deplete an individual’s retirement fund. 3. Every individual in their 50’s should treat saving for a retirement fund as a priority. A person may have various obligations such as expenses, children’s education, parent’s health, loans and taxes to pay. However as the retirement nears, the number of income generating years shrink which makes it important for to focus on the retirement savings. 4. An adequate amount of insurance is compulsory if a person had dependants such s minor children. The retirement planning advice involves making provisions for dealing with any untoward incident in the future. 5. One of the things to consider while in 50’s is instilling financial independence in children. If the children are out of school, they need to earn a living and not risk the financial future of their parents nearing retirement. 6. It is important to take care of the health and have regular physical examinations in order to detect any medical conditions. A growing age puts an individual at the risk of various medical conditions that need to be detected early and treated.

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Could You and Your Business Benefit from a Business Coach or a Consultant?

The surprising answer is "probably". Most individuals don't realize that a certified business coach or business consultant can add enormously to their home based or more traditional type business. Many individuals think a business coach or consultant will come into their business and tell them things that they don't want to hear.

Nothing can be further from the truth. A business coach or consultant will try to use the resources/personnel already present in a business, and will implement strategies that will enhance the interaction and productivity of all concerned.

A business coach or consultant will "steer" the business into a clearer focus, better productivity, better management, and more powerful interactions. Business coaches and consultants can assist any and all types of businesses. Business owners who want faster results for their businesses, are committed to excellence in business, who want to develop their reputations, or who are experiencing problems within their current businesses are all prime candidates for business coaching and consultation.

Here is a small checklist of benefits that may occur with the use of a business coach or consultant:

1. Increase in Clarity: Your business will draw clearer distinctions regarding present conditions and situations and have a clearer picture of the future.

2. Increase in Focused Direction: The possibilities become clearer and the paths to each goal become more distinct.

3. Increase in Time: More time is expended productively, while eliminating the time wasting activities.

4. Increase in Follow Through: Completeness and timeliness of projects increases.

5. Increase in Commitment: A more thorough investment of all personnel in processes and goals.

6. Increase in Effective Communications: A more effective manner of communications is employed, for both clients and employees and the business owner.

7. Increase in Cooperation: Once all members of a business feel as if they are "understood" and valued, cooperation increases significantly.

8. Increase in Awareness of Existing Situations: Many situations may be exacerbated by expansion or additions, but can exist without awareness by the business owner for quite some time.

9. Increase in Stress Free Environments: Both the business owner and employees may indeed be much happier and stress free after a coaching or consultation session. Issues are cleared up and therefore the burdens are left behind, easing the stress.

10. Increase in Retention: The retention of both employees and clients may significantly increase.

Many business owners don't recognize the need for a business coach or consultant until they run into problems, either with the expansion of a business, or with the addition of employees. Any expansion or addition of employees adds to the business chores, and shifts the focus and duties of employees. This is when problems more than likely become apparent, although these problems already probably existed to some degree before the expansion or addition.

An actual example follows:

Katherine R. had significant success with her marketing business right from the start. The business was popular with clients, and employees were added routinely over the years. In the beginning, the base clientele was small business owners, however, as time went on, mid-sized to larger businesses were added, and more employees were added. The new clientele, however, were "different" from the older clientele, and the "older" employees had more difficulty dealing with the new clientele. The new clientele were less friendly overall (they were much busier), and the older employees were not used to this new style of behavior and interaction.

A business coach/consultant was called in, and using his suggestions, i.e. role playing with the older employees, incentives and scripts, and other basic "reworking" of employee duties and interaction, the problems were solved.

Care does need to be given in the choice of a business coach/consultant, and the business owner should check into references, credentials, and the personality of the coach themselves. In order for success to occur, a business owner and all employees must feel trust when dealing with the coach/consultant, and therefore the choice of individual must be both careful and personal.

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How To Join The 5% Of Internet Business Real Money Making Pro's Regardless Of The Products You Sell

On the Internet business world today, you've probably heard that only an estimated 5% of netpreneurs, webmasters, or affiliates, are making any real money. If you're not one of them, then read on and learn how you can make it too.
So, who are the real money makers? What they're doing that you're not, or doing it differently?
Is it because they're selling a high in-demand product from their own websites? Or, only referring prospects to an affiliate merchant partner? Is it because they're selling to a tight niche or to a broader market segment? And if so, would the difference strive in different marketing campaigns?
Whatever be your answers, they are either all wrong or all right, depending on the nature of your business, the product or service itself, the marketing methods, and the lead generation. The variables could be infinite within each context.
Whatever be the reasons, two things stands out as common denominators among internet money makers. One, solid knowledge base about doing business on the net; the other, the business, marketing, and traffic generations used to support their success.
That's true, regardless of the product or service they're selling, either as webmasters or affiliates, and whether it's to a niche or a broad market.
The successful netprenuer's, either selling products of their own or as affiliates, have (a) a website that really sells, (b) set up an automated search engine traffic generating system (c) designing and automating multiple marketing campaigns according to the nature of their business, products, or markets; and (d) set up a database automation system for customer service, and to follow up on their prospects to explode their back end sales
If you're not getting the anticipated desired results with your internet business, that doesn't mean you can't be one of the elite--you just need to arm yourself with the right knowledge and tools that will allow you to strive and compete successfully.
The flexibility and freedom of an online business may seem very appealing, but for most, reality isn't nearly so rosy. Even so, people still dream about quitting their jobs and heading on to making a living with an internet business of their own. That is because of one word: possibilities.
We've all thought the same thing. However, along with the hazards and potential for failure, comes a very real and distinct light at the end of the tunnel. What if you could be part of that 5% who are making a great living? Isn't it worth a shot? Yes!
So, with a 5% success rate, how do you improve your chances? Doing as the big hitters do. First ...

• Learning the Pro's insiders secrets to setup your internet business; and
• How-to marketing online-offline your business, products or services.
• Becoming familiar with the nature of your business, products.
• Defining your market, global or local, and how to reach it.
• Identifying your products benefits and your unique selling proposition.
• Learning basic and advance copy-writing techniques.
• Building, optimizing, and re-submitting content focused web(site) pages
• Automating a link exchange campaigns, to drive target traffic.
• Automating your prospect and customer follow-up for back end sales.
• Setting up a relationship and database marketing automation system for multiple-simultaneous marketing campaigns.

You're probably thinking that business and marketing automation is easier said than done. This is true, but with the right guidance from an expert, you can make automation work for you.
In fact, it may be easier to implement than you think. If you can get help on how to set up and automate your business, you will greatly enhance your chances for success; and, in most cases, regardless of the nature of your business, or the product you are selling.
There are many online firms specializing in helping Internet Business people automate their businesses and streamline themselves for success. They give the kind of advice suggesting the most adequate tools and resources to set up and manage your business to market and sell your products or services.
The entire process can be painless, and quicker than you ever thought possible. Plus, when you're finished, your business will be easier to run and far more profitable.
If you're seeking to join the 5% that are really making it on the Web, you must come up with an automated, comprehensive and scalable, business management and marketing automation system appropriate to your business, products, or markets, to generate a continuous flow of warm, willing, and ready to buy motivated prospects.
Only then, you'll have the foundation to become successful on the Web, independently of the product or service you're selling, or the markets you're selling too; because, every product is marketable and sellable in today's global markets and global economy.
That is, if you're set up to right to position yourself to join the successful internet money makers.
Copyright 2004 Internet Business Automation

Dr. Charles Longsworth, Ph.D., a consultant on marketing automation systems that works, and publisher of “Automation Gazette” his official voice since 2000. For free consultation visit and fill-in the Contact Form at http://www.internet-business-automation.com/intermapro Subscribe at http://www.internet-business-automation.com/agsubscribe 6 gifts when you join.

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Finding Your Home Business Niche

When some folks begin to think about a business of their own, they know in that very moment what kind they are going to start. Then, there are the rest of us...

Knowing that we want to have a business of our own is not enough. Many of us have struggled with the important question of what type of enterprise we would like to start.

Franchises offer a simple pre-packaged money making idea, but the cost of a franchise often makes it a prohibitive option to most folks who contemplate going out on their own.

For those who do not have a million dollars to buy a McDonalds franchise, we must look to other ideas for our own business.

There are literally hundreds of lucrative home business ideas for you to choose from, which will suit every type of personality and all levels of financing. From selling information on the Internet as a infopreneur, to growing delicious gourmet mushrooms for sale to restaurants and catering companies; there is a pile of money to be made by filling a need, for these and a host of other necessary services.

Of course, actually liking what you do, will have a lot to do with the success of your new venture, so be sure to pick a home business that you'll enjoy running and that will keep you motivated.

For example, if you're a math whiz, an accounting or income tax service might be the ideal home business for you to start. Perhaps writing is your forte and you'd like to start your own home based copywriting service or advertising agency. Each of these businesses can be run successfully--and profitably from the comfort of your own home.

Academia might not be your cup of tea, but maybe you are good with your hands --- having a creative genius where crafts are concerned. Craft items are red-hot sellers at swap meets, country fairs and world wide over the Internet, and they can provide you with solid profits. If crafts don't interest you, then why not start a laundry service with pick-up and delivery, or a shopping service for shut-in's--even a companion service or granny sitter or a doctor shuttle service; any of which, could be much in demand, in and around your neighborhood or community.

When brainstorming new ideas for your future home business, keep in mind the soul of any successful endeavor is providing a product or service that others will actually purchase in quantities. Satisfy the needs of your target market, and your target market will keep you and your home based business healthy, happy and profitable.

Below are some suggestions for home business ideas that might help you decide on a suitable venture in which to invest.

Multi-level-marketing (mlm), floral/plant service for offices and hospitals, pooper-scooper service, dog walking service, answering service, vending machine service, gift basket service, homemade soap maker, mobile windshield repair service, mobile tire repair service, income tax specialist, researcher, freelance writer, business card and letterhead designer, courier, shut-in/shuttle service, landscaping service, tree trimming service, wood crafter, carpenter, crafts and crafting supplies, pool cleaning service, plants/nursery starts, growing herbs, growing mushrooms, garage sale and swap meet vendor, proofreader, private investigator, typing service, interior decorator/designer, website design, wedding consultant, hot lunch/snack vendor at local courthouses, pet sitting service, pet grooming service, Internet entrepreneur, paralegal, gourmet catering service, new media production, mobile cosmetic technician, mobile nail technician, mobile hair stylist, aerobics instructor, personal fitness trainer, advertising consultant, companion service, small printing service.

Ideas, ideas; hopefully the above ideas will give you some fresh ideas of your own to mull over. A spring board if you will, on which to dive into your own chosen home business.

When you work from home, any business you start has the potential to explode into a perpetual gold mine! It just depends on how much your home business is in demand around your community or on the Internet. Your home business might start slow and steady, regularly picking up clients as you become more established. On the other hand, your chosen home business may take off like wildfire, quickly becoming too hot for you to handle by yourself (well done!). This is the time to enlist the help of willing family members to help you out in your time of need, which will make your business into a friendly, family concern. This will also help family members better understand your business and get a grasp on the mechanics of profit.

Good luck in all your decisions and have fun with your home business, which ever one you choose, and don't forget to enjoy your newfound freedom!

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Could You Be Setting Your Business Plan Up For Failure?

David E. Gumpert, author of Burn Your Business Plan, often tells the story about how he and his partner failed to raise money after sending their business plan around to venture capitalists and meeting with several others to make presentations. Disappointed by the fruits of their labor, they considered giving up on their venture in 1995. Fortunately, on the advice of their board of advisors, they chose to divert their time from massaging the business plan to making sales. The financing, they were told, would come later.

Turns out, they sold enough to stay afloat through 1996. In 1997, sales failed to grow as quickly as they expected, so they decided to seek financing again. This time, they expected positive results would be easier to obtain, after all they were fairly well established now. The board, however, told them to get out there and promote their business and make more sales.

If At First You Don't Succeed...

Gumpert and his partner instead decided to dust off their old business plan, spend many hours rewriting and updating the plan, and to set out once again to seek financing. And, once again they were turned down. How could this be? In the late 90's, it seemed like every new Internet-related venture in the world was obtaining financing. In fact, according to the MoneyTree Survey, sponsored by Price Waterhouse Coopers, Venture Economics, and the National Venture Capital Association, the amount of venture capital - $7.7 billion in 1995 -- had grown to $16.4 billion by 1997.

Nonetheless, the failed financing left Gumpert and his partner with two stark choices at this stage: Find ways to grow the business without financing or call it quits. They took the first choice. They also engaged public-relations professionals, and succeeded in getting several of their most successful corporate clients written up in business and industry trade publications - with their agency mentioned as the key force behind their clients' success. This publicity got the agency's phones ringing with new prospects, several of which converted into additional sales.

As the business grew, they remained on guard about monitoring their expenses and aggressively collecting receivables. By 1999, they were operating profitably at $2 million in annual revenues, with nearly 20 employees. Also, the amount of venture capital being invested nationally had soared to an astounding $55.5 billion. But, Gumpert and his partner paid little attention to this; their interest in outside financing had dropped significantly. (By 2000, Venture capital availability peaked at $85.5 billion.)

The Power Of Publicity

As Gumpert and his partner carried their success into 1998 and 1999, their promotional efforts eventually attracted the attention of a publicly held company that was seeking the expertise they offered in developing and managing online content. In December 1999 this company acquired Gumpert's company, NetMarquee. To Gumpert's surprise, the acquirer never asked to see their business plan; it only wanted to see their financial projections under several different scenarios.

In recounting his financing experience, Gumpert makes two points: First, even during good times, the venture capital route is closed to the vast majority of businesses that seek it out. While it might have seemed back then that nearly every business that asked was receiving venture capital, the reality is most carefully crafted business plans are rejected out of hand by venture capitalists. Second, you'll be surprised what you can accomplish without the financing you think you so desperately need to stave off failure.

The truth is that it's unlikely a business plan by itself will bring funding in the door, unless it is part of an overall marketing strategy.

Four Tools To Help Market Your Business Plan To Investors

The famous motivational speaker Jim Rohn says there are three steps to successful communications: "Have something good to say, say it well, and say it often." These three steps form the foundation of the Business Plan Secrets Revealed manual. They are essential to marketing your business plan with the intent of attracting investors and selling your business plan to them. Here are four tools to help you "say it often" so you can attract investors and sell your business plan to them.

One, a concise, well written twenty-five page business memorandum or "business plan" that builds a case to separate your venture from your competition. You don't need a two-inch thick business plan. Plans this long often lack aim; instead of building a case that leads investors to decide whether the business is the right investment for them, they "fire away" in hopes that some of the shots will take effect.

Two, an effective elevator pitch--a 60-second, to-the-point verbal pitch for your business--that communicates to your customers and investors what you do in an exciting and engaging way. The ability to separate your business from your competitors and get an investor's interest in the short time it takes to ride up an elevator is critical.

Three, an investor relation Web page to build credibility and help investors quickly get the information they need, when they need it. Of all the communications media available, the Web is particularly important. It's fast and available 24/7. With it, you can capture leads and automatically keep in touch with those who are interested in your business.

Finally, press releases to help you get your word out. A press release is the basic tool for gaining the attention of the media. The public's desire for interesting, relevant news remains strong, as does the importance of carefully selecting relevant target audiences. You are dealing with much more skepticism on the part of the public now than there has been in the past, which makes the evidence and objectivity in your press release paramount.

The process of raising money and attracting investors isn't easy. If it were, every business idea would get funded. You have to use all the tools that are available to you, and start looking at this process as a marketing process backed by hard, verifiable evidence. You just don't know when the plums--investors, on the tree will become ripe--ready to invest. But, you do know that if you do everything you can to take care of the tree--water it, fertilize it, and so on--it will ultimately bear fruit--raise money for your business.

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Are You Ready to Start a Home Based Jewelry Business?

Owning or operating a small jewelry business - no matter
what type of jewelry or where it is - can be a challenge, but it
really takes a special kind of person to operate a home
based jewelry business. Most people who run their own
home business probably have asked themselves at some
point, "What do I want from my business? What do I want
from my life?"

I asked myself these same questions seven years ago. At
that time my daughter was entering kindergarten and my
son was in preschool. I was spending three hours a day in
my car commuting to a job, and during the short days of late
fall and early winter, I didn't see the light of day at home until
the weekend. More importantly, I was losing three precious
hours a day that I could be spending being creative and
being with my family.

Although there are many answers to the question above, the
clear-cut choice for me was the need to spend more time at
home on what I truly love to do and being with my family. By
being honest with myself, I was able to make the
courageous leap from being employed by someone else to
starting my own jewelry business.

You might think that a home based jewelry business is the
ideal situation, but working at home can - and will - be
challenging. You may find yourself working longer hours
due to the fact that the survival of the business is totally your
responsibility. Because your studio is in your home, you and
your family may feel an intrusion of the business upon your
personal life, especially if you have clients come to your
house.

Before embarking in a home based jewelry business, you
must first honestly, critically answer the following three
questions:

1. Are you disciplined enough to set and meet work
schedules?

2. Can you make a transition from home to business during
the work hours you set for yourself, and from business to
home during off hours?

3. Can you deal with the isolation of working from home?

Discipline plays a large part in answering the first two
questions. At times there will be distractions at home. For
example, you may become more aware of dishes that need
to be cleaned, laundry that needs to be washed, the lawn
that should be cut, or even the weeds that have to be pulled.
This is where you must set your work schedule each day,
and stick firmly to it.

At the end of your work schedule, you should keep your
focus on your home life once you call it quits for the day or
you may find yourself burning out quickly. It's extremely
difficult not to run to the office to pick up a phone call, play a
message on the answering machine, or read a fax that just
came over, but with a bit of practice you will soon realize that
the work you put down at 5 p.m. will still be there for you in
the morning at 9 a.m.

In answering the third question, you no longer work for a
company where co-workers and staff are available for
support. Nor do you have an endless stream of company
supplies and materials at your disposal.

This is where setting yourself up with a network of
confidants can be helpful. Surround yourself with people
that are reliable, knowledgeable and possibly veterans of
the craft. Join your local or state guild of craftsman. Get to
know the other artists in your community. When you attend
fairs or shows, get to know some of the other artists. Find a
friendly forum on the internet where you can bounce ideas
off other members or trouble shoot a problem. You already
found one site with great resources!

Other sources may be your local Chamber of Commerce,
and manufacturers and suppliers of small business
technologies and products. The Chamber can provide
networking opportunities for you with other business
members of your community, some of whom may be in a
similar situation that you now find yourself.

Once you have committed to running a home based jewelry
business, it should be treated as a separate entity from the
rest of your house. Whether you are using a garage, a
basement, or a spare room as your studio space, you
should maintain a professional environment in your work
area. Rooms such as the bedroom or kitchen, in my
opinion, are not suitable for a professional set up because
they do not afford your business privacy and separate space
from the rest of the house.

If you are going to take this seriously, then you will need a
more permanent solution, a situation where you can leave
your wares out without being disturbed by family or curious
pets. In addition, your business should have its own phone
line, mailing address and bank account. This makes tax
time much less complicated and it will appear to the IRS
that you are a REAL business versus a hobby.

Many home based business owners are honestly unaware
of Federal, State and Local regulations. A good place to start
is by consulting with your CPA or local tax authorities for
specific recommendations appropriate to your individual
situation. Finding out this information is important when
considering what type of business you will run from your
home.

Zoning regulations may not allow you to run certain types of
businesses from a residential home - for example, the
manufacturing of certain goods or using equipment like a
torch or kiln.

You should also respect your neighbors and the type of
neighborhood you live in. By having a home based jewelry
business, there will more than likely be an increase of traffic
in your immediate neighborhood from your clients,
suppliers and any mail services you use. Keep in mind that
you must register your business with the proper authorities.

Owning and operating a home based jewelry business is a
lot of hard work, but it can also be very gratifying, especially
when you realize that the things you're looking for in life are
being made possible by your dedication to this idea.

One of the most positive advantages I have found by running
a home business is being able to say, "Yes, I can do it." In
addition, not only do I see my children off to school in the
morning, but I'm there for them at the end of their day.

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Business Plan Financial Projections: Stop Worrying About Being Right...

Business plan financial projections seem daunting because
they are so uncertain. This very uncertainty, however, is
what makes preparing them easy because you can't possibly be
right. You can't predict the future. None of us can. All you
can be is competent in the way you prepare your business plan
projections.

Before you finalize your business plan this year, consider
these six caveats to preparing your business plan financial
projections:

1. Don't offer pull-out-of-the-air, "conservative"
guesstimates about getting some percentage of the overall
market demand or year-over-year growth.

It is a mistake to assume that business investors will
appreciate your being conservative with your business plan
financial projections in the early years of your business.
Don't think for a Wall Street minute that presenting
"conservative" business plan financial projections indicates
"realism" to prospective business investors. Business investors
invest for one reason: to earn a return on their money. How
long the money is invested influences the amount of the return
earned. Let's say a business investor wants to triple an
investment. Well, if that investment triples in 3 years, the
return is 44%. If it triples in five years, the return is
25%. Adding just two years to the investment period nearly
halves the return! Now do you see why time is so important
to a business investor? Here are a few other examples: let's
say a business investor wants to:

Make 5 times an investment in 3 years = 71% return

Make 5 times an investment in 5 years = 38% return

Make 7 times an investment in 3 years = 91% return

Make 7 times an investment in 5 years = 48% return

Make 10 times an investment in 3 years = 115% return

Make 10 times an investment in 5 years = 59% return

So, while you may find it attractive to figure out how to
make "just a living" until the business venture proves
itself, you now understand why business investors want sales
and earnings to grow absolutely as fast as possible, without
being deceived, in your business plan financial projections.
On the whole, business investors are risk averse only to the
extent that they don't want to lose their money or tie it up
in a low return investment. Typically when you make the claim
that your business plan financial projections are "conservative",
it usually just means that you have no idea how and why you'll
achieve a certain level of sales within a certain time frame.
Interesting, these kinds of estimates, provided that you've
done some good thinking about market segments and overall
demand, often turn out to be too low. Remember, it's just as
bad to underestimate your sales, as it is to overestimate
them.

2. Avoid calculating costs as a straight percentage of
revenues.

Sure it's easier to do things this way, especially with
Excel and other business plan financial projection software.
Costs are real, however. You need to know what they are very
specifically. If you've done your homework in developing
your business plan, then you should already have this information,
or at least the basis of it. Just estimate and calculate your
costs on a product-by-product basis.

With these warnings in mind, use the following steps to
develop your business plan financial projections:

Think about what percentage of the overall market share your
competitors already own. Assume that they will continue
their present trends in growth. (Note: some competitors may
already be trending down and losing market share.) Temper
your market share estimates with some discussion of how your
entry into the market will affect these trends. Then,
estimate the percent of total, potential demand that remains
available to you.

Now, based on the limitations of your operations plans,
calculate how much of this remaining available demand you
can achieve. This is a very simple calculation. Start with
your overall productive unit capacity and factor it by the
expected yield of sellable product, then multiply these unit
sales by their respective selling prices and voila, you have
the revenue numbers for your business plan financial projections.

Let's take an example.

Your research indicates that 2 out of every 10 females age
23 to 55 will under go some type of non-invasive cosmetic
treatment in your area. Your research also shows that this
number is expected to grow 20% each year over the next 5
years. There are 40,000 females in your target market. You
identified four competitors in your target market. These
four competitors currently handle on average 6 procedures a
day. You plan to start a non-invasive cosmetic treatment
center that uses the most advanced technology and is thus
capable of performing an average of 7 procedures a day.
Using this data you calculate the following statistics
about your market and market potential:

Total market 40,000 females x 20% = 8,000 procedures per
year

4 competitors x 6 procedures x 250 days = 6,000 procedures
per year

Available procedures: 8,000 less 6,000 = 2,000 per year

Your productive capacity: 7 procedures a day x 250 days =
1,750 or 21.875% of the total market. The average selling
price for a procedure is $400. Thus, the revenue for the first
year in your business plan financial projection would be 1,750
procedures times $400 or $700,000.

Now, let's say you're were projecting 2,200 procedures per
year. This would mean that you would have to alter your
operating plan to be able to perform 2,200 procedures. You
would also have to demonstrate how you would capture an
additional 200 procedures from your competitors.
Granted this is an over simplified example, but it should
give you a feel for how this process works.

Regarding price, in most cases you should have a clear idea
of how to price your product or service. There are usually
other, similar products or services out on the market.
Unless your competitive advantage is a cost reduction and/or
unless price is a critical basis of competition, just
estimate the value of your improvement and add it on to the
average price currently offered in the marketplace. In order
to make this estimate, you'll have to be talking to
potential users. Find out what they pay now. Find out how
they feel about the current price. Ask them if they'd be
willing to pay more and how much more. If you ask enough
people, you'll get a general idea.

3. Never determine price on the basis of a margin you think
is attractive.

The market will pay you only for the value you deliver,
which is determined by the consumer paying the final price.
It's easy to make the mistake of thinking that a 20%, 40% or
even a 60% margin is great. Never considering that if the
product or service you're offering provides a real
advantage. If you do this, you may be grossly
underestimating the price you can get in the marketplace and
underestimating your business plan financial projections.
Consumers don't think in terms of margins. They could care
less about what you ought, "reasonably", to get for your
product. That's why you must find out the most that they'll
pay. This is the value of your product or service. Come up
with some reasonable basis for determining this real value.
Keep in mind the obvious: If the consumer's value on the
final product or service is less than your cost plus a
reasonable profit to keep your business growing, you're in
trouble. Your business model will not be sustainable and your
business plan financial projections useless.

Now calculate the costs of manufacturing and distributing
your product. These costs flow directly from your revenues
estimates and operations plan. How much will it cost to
purchase what equipment and materials, hire what personnel,
engage in what selling efforts, pay what accountants and
lawyers, rent what kind of space and so forth, to achieve
the revenues you're showing in your business plan financial
projections. You must be very specific. Project your costs
over time. Keep them tied to the units you need to sell to
achieve the revenues in your business plan financial
projections.

Obviously, costs and revenues work hand in hand.

4. Keep your fixed cost low.

Keep in mind that none of these revenues and the cost
estimates are going to be perfectly accurate, which means
the amount of profit or cash available to pay "fixed" cost
isn't going to be accurate either. As a result, you can lose
your shirt trying to pay for equipment, a receptionist, or
other activities that don't contribute to the sole objective
of making sales. Wherever possible, rent space, rent time on
equipment, answer your own phones, etc. To the extent that
you keep costs variable in your business plan financial
projections, you can cut back when sales are slower than
expected. It's the worst situation to have a big,
well-furnished office with an expensive secretary who
needs the job, when the money isn't coming in. High fixed
costs in your business plan financial projections also send
the wrong message to investors that you know more about the
"form" of doing business than about actually making money.

Nov pull all your numbers together to prepare the financial
statements that summarize your business plan financial
projections. You need three basic statements: cash flow
analysis, income statements, and balance sheets. All of
these come directly from the above calculations. Your cash
flow analysis indicates when and what amounts of capital
infusion you'll need to start and sustain your business plan.
Make your income and balance sheet projections on the
assumption that you'll get the capital. For the first year
or two of your business plan financial projections, present
each of these statements on at least a quarterly basis.
Monthly is best. I suggest doing a 24- or 36-month projection
depending on your growth plans and changes in the industry that
you foresee. Follow these monthly or quarterly projections with
annual projections till you cover a span of 5 years.

Finally, run through some "what-if" scenarios or sensitivity
analysis. Though you business plan financial projections should
be based on your best, and best-supported estimates of costs
and revenues, you know you can't be 100% right. That's why it's
important to identify those elements or assumptions of your
business plan financial projections that you feel are most
uncertain. Write out the nature of the uncertainty and the range
you think the estimates will fluctuate up or down. Then change
the estimates accordingly and re-run all your statements.
Pay close attention to how your business plan financial
projections, especially cash flows, change when you change
each assumption. This will help you determine how much
"cushion" you have available and, if business isn't going
according to plan, at what point cash will become an issue.

5. Do not simply assume that costs and revenues may be
"off", up or down, by some percentage.

Again, I know that Excel makes it easy to do this. For all
the same reasoning as above, stay focused on the assumptions
and details that make up your business plan financial projections.
It's the details you need to examine for their sensitivity and
their impact on the bottom line. You only need to alter those
specific items that you're most uncertain about. If it's revenues
that you're worried about, is it the price, the volume, or
both that concerns you most? How big a swing in the estimate
are you worried about, in what direction and why? If it's
your cost projections that are keeping you awake at night,
which cost elements and why? Things like rents and labor
costs can be determined fairly accurately. But maybe you're
unsure about materials or labor availability or how
efficiently you can produce your products or provide your
services. Maybe you'll have to pay extra to ensure their
availability. This kind of thinking forms the basis for running
"what-if" or sensitivity analysis on your business plan financial
projections.

6.Do not include every possible business
plan financial projection scenario in your business plan.

Both you and your investors need to know what aspects of the
business plan financial projections are most uncertain,
represent the most risk, in what direction, why, and how
they affect the bottom line. Having hundreds of alternative
scenarios to sort through is like a man with two watches
showing two different times... he never knows what time it is.
Lots of alternative business plan financial projections also
indicate that you're not too sure about anything. This is an
impossible way to communicate with business investors, manage
your business, or make important decisions. It's much more
effective to identify the risky areas of your plan, tell why
and how they impact the bottom line and what actions you
plan to take if they occur. This helps you and your business
investors stay focused on the high impact areas and to think
clearly about whether other factors should be considered as
well. It also lends more credibility to your talents and
increases the likelihood of your plan's success.

Finish this discussion with a summary of the critical
aspects of your plan and related contingency plans. If
you've followed all these steps, then you can figure out
what you'll do if your actual performance turns out to be
different than your business plan financial projections.
Remember, you're purpose is to demonstrate to business investors
that you're competent; worrying about protecting their investment
and running a business, not just flying by the seat of your pants.

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