It seems lately I am meeting a number of entrepreneurs who are"really thinking about starting." A few of these people seem to have business savvy, while others have the time and drive and technical skills for their new business, however they are not sure about how to start. They have some sort of plan, but are fuzzy about the particulars. They are very nervous about the financing and are often looking for grants for their venture. These wonderful people become overwhelmed by the sheer sense of volume of work in developing their business plan and the finances requires to capitalize their business.
These latter would be entrepreneurs are correct to being nervous. First off, they need to do some basic homework about business planning and especially about finances. The old adage from the movie "All The President's Men" to FOLLOW THE MONEY, is for me, the most important step in the business plan. Yes we need a vision, and a mission, but a really successful start up goes directly to the budgeting and proformas.
By doing this step first, the business owner can understand their structural needs, potential costs and determine their break even points. Not only that, they should see what their executive salary should be as well. Too often, the people I have met, neglect the step of projecting their salary and only consider the Profits and Losses portion of the financial statements. This is true for not only small businesses, but for some medium size companies as well.
If in our planning, we develop the financials, then develop the rest of the plan we can see how "Following the Money" leads to success. There is a reason that the SuperGrowth Strategic plan starts with our financial projections. After all we are in business for a specific reason.
G. Jerry van Rossum
248.265.6665
248.265.6665
