Bring Your Business Plan to Life. And have serious fun doing it

Transcription

1 Bring Your Business Plan to Life And have serious fun doing it

2 Bring Your Business Plan to Life And have serious fun doing it.

3 Workshop objective Using interactive, group activities, participants will find new energy and creativity around business planning that they will be able to inject into their business plans once back at the office.

4 Why write a business plan? 1. To convince other stakeholders to join you/ support your business 2. To overcome subjective bias 3. To increase awareness of key challenges

5 Plan for the workshop 1. Your business objectives 2. Your business success factors 3. Your competition 4. Your competitive advantage 5. Your market potential 6. Your business environment

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7 Introductions 1. Tell us your name 2. Tell us your business s name 3. Tell us what your goal in writing a business plan is; why are you working on a business plan now?

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9 By Farmer John Farmer John Style Resolu%on / Biz Solu%on Storytelling Conflict / Biz Challenge Kick- Ass Business Plan Ambi%on /Biz Objec%ve The Art of Lead Character / Business

10 1. Business objectives 1. Vision 2. Mission 3. Philosophy

11 Business objectives: Your vision 1. Where are you going? 2. What drives you forward? 3. What do you hope to achieve in the longterm? Five or ten years? 4. In other words, what do you see in your mind s eye when you picture your own business success?

12 Business objectives: Your mission 1. What are you trying to achieve in the next few months? 2. in the next year?

13 Business objectives: Your philosophy 1. How are you going to behave along the way? 2. How will people describe their interactions with your business?

14 2. Business success factors 1. Your strengths 2. Your weaknesses 3. Your chutzpah

15 Business success factors: Case study What is SPUD really good at?

16 Business success factors: Your strengths 1. What is your business really good at? For example: Delivery of a consistent product/service Social media outreach Adapting to new situations Making employees, contractors, clients feel like they re part of our team

17 Business success factors: Your weaknesses 1. Where could you use some help? For example: Cash flow planning Marketing strategy Marketing materials Closing the deal Consistency in service

18 Business success factors: Your chutzpah 1. What does your business have or offer that gives you full confidence in your success? Related to your product or service Related to your leadership

19 3. The competition Their strengths Their weaknesses

20 The competition: Their strengths 1. What is your competition really good at? What are the qualities of successful companies, in general? What makes you fall in love with a product or company?

21 The competition: Their weaknesses 1. Where do you see your competition struggling? What has caused businesses you know of to fail, or to not thrive? What turns you off of buying from a particular company?

22 4. Your competitive advantage 1. Your primary competition 2. Your primary market/ customers 3. Your core values

23 Your competitive advantage: Primary competition 1. Who is your primary competition? Be broad Be specific Name at least one actual business

24 Your competitive advantage: Primary market/customers 1. Who are your primary customers? Be broad (demographics) Be specific (values) Name at least one actual person

25 Your competitive advantage: Core values 1. What core value do you offer (that your competitors do not)? 2. Where do your business core values match your customers core values about life?

26 5. Your market potential 1. Who is your ideal customer? 2. Where will you find him/her? 3. How will you connect?

27 Your market potential: Who 1. Who is your ideal customer? What are her values What are his needs 2. How large a market does that ideal customer represent?

28 Your market potential: Where 1. Where will you find your ideal customers? In the real world Be as specific as possible In the online world Be as specific as possible

29 Your market potential: How 1. How can you connect to your ideal customers? 2. What/who influences their decision-making? 3. What media do they use and trust most for information about what you re selling?

30 6. Your business environment: Opportunities and threats 1. Economic 2. Social 3. Legal 4. Political 5. Technological

31 Your business environment: Economic 1. Competitiveness 2. Consumer demand 3. Inflation rate 4. Interest rates 5. Exchange rates 6. Unemployment level 7. Labour costs 8. Levels of disposable income 9. Income distribution 10. Taxes (personal) 11. Tariffs (taxes on imported goods)

32 Your business environment: Social 1. Social mores 2. Aging society 3. Family size 4. Income 5. Consumers buying habits, tastes and values 6. Cultural heritage and customs

33 Your business environment: Legal Competition/monopolies Employment standards (safety, age, etc) Wages 1. What would be some of the law-related business opportunities and threats faced by a farmer s market or a social enterprise?

34 Evaluation 1. What worked well in this workshop? 2. What would you change for future deliveries? Feel free to me your comments if you d like to offer suggestions for improving this workshop Elizabeth_LougheedGreen@vancity.com

35 Resources 1. Vancity Online Cash Flow Planning Tool: 2. Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook: urban_farm_business_plan.pdf