by Ryan P. Allis
There are six core steps in accomplishing any
goal, including that of building a business.
These are:
These steps are highlighted in the following diagram.
My last article, "Sync Your Personal Goals
with Your Business Goals" helps you complete step one.
I explain that you must discern your ability to take risk
and match this with your expected return to decide whether to
start a lifestyle or high-potential company. You wrote down
your goals and can see the endpoint. You know where you want
to go.
Now, you need a game plan to get there. You need
create a vision and develop your strategy.
As a side note, the remainder of this article
will assume that you already have a viable business idea and
plan to pursue it. If you are not sure what business your company
will be in, yet are still very interested in entrepreneurship,
I would suggest going to work in an entrepreneurial company.
In a 1989 survey of one hundred the founders of the 'Inc. 500'
fastest growing private companies, 71% identified 'replicating
or modifying an idea encountered through previous employment.'
Surely this is a also good way to gain experience while you
develop your plan. In addition, be sure to read trade magazines
of any industries or niches you are in, and pay attention to
what you desire but cannot find as a consumer. Sooner or later
you'll have your idea. Then, return to identifying your goals
and then creating your vision and strategy.
Once you have your business idea you must ensure
you have a well-defined strategy. It must provide a clear direction
for the enterprise and describe the market you wish to enter,
the potential risks and rewards, the people that will help you
get there, and how you are going to get there.
Determining the right level of planning to do
can be difficult. You do not want to over-plan, as the opportunity
may cease to exist by the time you get to executing, but you
do want to have some sort of document that lays out where you
want to go and how you will get there.
On the subject of too much versus too little planning,
Harvard Business School researcher Amar Bhide states in his
article, "How Entrepreneurs Craft Strategies That Work,"
A comprehensive analytical approach to planning
does not suite most start-ups. Entrepreneurs typically lack
the time and money to interview a representative cross section
of potential customers, let alone analyze substitutes, reconstruct
competitors' cost structures, or project alternative technology
scenarios. In fact, too much analysis can be harmful; by the
time an opportunity is investigated fully, it may no longer
exist.
In the end, unless one is seeking outside investment
right away or needs a loan from the bank, there is no need to
create a full business plan.
Personally, I tend to go by the philosophy of
'Ready. Fire. Aim.' I encourage would encourage you to have
a bias towards action. There is no use waiting until everything
is perfect and lined up before beginning. For instance, imagine
waiting to go to work each morning until every single light
along the route was green. You'd never get going. The key is
to start the movement, the inertia, and get the ball rolling.
Thing will generally snowball as you move along the learning
curve. You will find new resources, meet new people, and run
into new opportunities.
Nevertheless, some planning is surely essential.
Bhide goes on to state that all ventures need some level of
analysis, planning and strategy development. While you may not
need an extensive business plan with the next five years of
financials laid out, it is good to have an idea how you plan
to reach your goals and what steps you need to take to get started.
Commit these things to paper and you'll be well on your way.
Once the strategy is well-defined, you also should
analyze the feasibility of your strategy. In doing so, ask yourself
the following questions.
-
What is the company's unique selling point(s)? Why would
a customer purchase from your company and not another? Potential
answers may include 1) a closer location, 2) a better price,
3) a higher quality product, 4) a product no other company
has, 5) better information provided to the customer 6) a
better marketing process.
-
What competitive edges, if any, does your
company have? Do you have proprietary intellectual property,
an exclusive agreement, lower costs, better relations with
your supplier, a better product, a better Board of Directors,
or better employees?
What is the state of the market? Is it growing? Are there
large barriers to entry? How many competitors are there?
Will I have enough funding to develop the product, acquire
customers, and get to the break even point?
It is always a good idea to align your plan with
a current trend, technological development, or regulatory change.
Be on the leading edge of a growing market, not at the back
end of a shrinking market.
If you can develop a strong unique selling point,
create a few competitive edges, and are going into a market
that is large and growing, or at least does not have many strong
competitors, you will be well on your way to success.
Congratulations. You have now analyzed created
your vision and strategy.
Great strategies, however, don't guarantee great
execution. As the saying goes, ideas are a dime a dozen. What
really counts is execution. This is where the next step, 'Implement
Actions,' comes in.
*******************************
Ryan P. Allis is an economics major at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the founder of The Entrepreneurs'
Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to building an
international network of entrepreneurs, founder of www.zeromillion.com,
and CEO and President of Virante, Inc. a North Carolina based
software development and ebusiness consulting firm.
Learn more about Ryan here
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Finding & Creating Opportunities
Ryan P. Allis
How, in your own lives can you find and more importantly
create opportunities?
In the Chinese language, you have the character
representing crisis and the character representing change.
When these are combined you have the character representing
opportunity. Now why is that? Why is it that when crisis and
change merge you have opportunity?
Because when crisis and change
merge you have disequilibria. You have changing laws or changing
conditions. New needs and
problems are created and often it is up to the entrepreneurs
to fill those needs.
Whenever you experience new things or the
world around is changing, there will always be lots of opportunities.
Here are some tips for finding, creating, and taking advantage
of opportunities.
-
You must live your life wholly and fully
as an entrepreneur. Your job isn't being an entrepreneur.
You ARE an entrepreneur. You must keep your eyes open at
all times.
-
The more you travel to other regions and countries, the
more opportunities you will see. Often in other places things
are done differently or there are good products that haven't
yet reached your country.
-
You must be a networker. The more people you talk to the more
opportunities you will find out about. It is not just what
you know but also who you know and how well you know them
that
counts.
-
You must be in it for the long run. You
cannot be discouraged by setbacks or mistakes. You must have
perseverance, learn
from your mistakes, and keep going. As you learn more and
gain more experience you'll be able to see and be prepared
for more and more opportunities.
The world is filled with opportunities just waiting to
be found by an energetic and intelligent person.
Too many people wait for opportunities to come to them.
Don't. Don’t
wait for the opportunities to come to you. Create the
opportunity for yourself. This is what entrepreneurs do.
We see a need
or a problem and from that derive an idea. Then, through
doing all those steps I listed a few minutes ago we
create an opportunity
that hopefully will be validated in the marketplace.
-
You must have the opportunity mindset.
You must
be looking for and evaluating opportunities constantly.
You must make time to talk to others about what opportunities
they are pursuing. You must become magnetized towards opportunity.
Let me conclude this section with a quote from
one of my favorite authors. His name is Napoleon Hill and the
quote is “Every adversity comes with it a seed of equal
or greater benefit.” “Every adversity comes with
it a seed of equal or greater benefit.” Another good quote
is, "There is no person worth remembering that lived a life of
ease.
You will be discovering many
many opportunities for learning, for partnership, for collaboration
during your lives. From the adversity of life there will
come many benefits and opportunities. Take advantage of every
one
of
them.
*******************************
Ryan P. Allis is an economics major at the University of
North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is the founder of The Entrepreneurs'
Coalition, a non-profit organization dedicated to building an
international network of entrepreneurs, founder of www.zeromillion.com,
and CEO and President of Virante, Inc. a North Carolina based
software development and ebusiness consulting firm.
Learn more about Ryan here
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