Winston-Salem Business Magazine - October 2007 - (Page 49) An Ending to a Pig’s Tale By Cathy Seaver Effective Connections “I’ll huff and I’ll puff and I’ll blow your house down!” The wolf is at the door and already planning what goes with ham for dinner. Remember the story? One little pig’s house is made of straw; another little pig’s house is made of sticks. The third little pig’s house is built with bricks. How does the fairy tale end? Just as it should…Piggy and his brick house survive and thrive – every time! Do you resemble the first two of our pork friends, not thinking about the long-term, just working your business for today? When the economic winds blow in any direction, do you feel that the structure of your company is haphazard and shaky at its foundation? - OR- Are you like Piggy #3, using a strong business sense and building blocks in ongoing company construction while following a logical plan of development for the future? If you work in the business world (even own your business) there are lessons to be learned from our pig, the brick mason! A good business plan addresses the financial issues. What’s in your wallet today, what do you want in your wallet next payday, and how you will get there? Your plan provides a path of accountability, helps you answer fearful monetary questions and prevents you from just “going with the flow.” A good business plan helps you develop as an owner or manager. Business planning gives you practice in thinking about competitive conditions, promotional opportunities and situations that are advantageous to your business. Practicing this over a long period of time can increase your ability to make good judgements. A good business plan helps you survive the competition. Many businesses have difficulty because they are confused about what they do. You can’t be everything to everybody. Having a business plan will help you specifically define your services and products for the consumer, separate you from others in the field by identifying the services and products you do not offer, and spur you to continually improve your services and products to beat the competition in the marketplace. A good business plan helps you determine your USP. A key business plan component is “Description of Business.” Be able to describe your Unique Selling Proposition or USP. Remember: you only have to do something 10% better or provide added value to be successful. A good business plan identifies strengths and challenges. Know those things your company and you do extremely well. Being able to list at least six strengths prepares you for beneficial conversation with potential customers. Pinpointing business challenges will bring focus into your daily activities and potential profitability at the end of each month. A good business plan sets goals for the long-term. Where do you want to be five years from now? Every successful person or business has a vision of five years down the road. Being open to potential expansion or possible changes is helpful in setting these goals. Always remember: goals should be both meaningful and doable! Whether you are in business to be your own boss, serve the community, develop employees or make money, proper business planning will keep your company and you around for the longterm. While the competition works to survive, you will thrive. And that’s no fairy tale. THE END A good business plan helps define a primary goal. You cannot hit a target you cannot see. A plan will help you focus on what is special about your business and will give you a roadmap for the future. Otherwise, if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there! WINSTON-SALEM BUSINESS | 49
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