The Easy, Simple Way To Plan Any Business

 

What if I told you that the Business Plan Checklist I am about to share with you is a catalyst that can dramatically improve your chances of success while putting you ahead of all your competitors?

Would you spend the next few minutes paying attention to find out how?

First, a little about me, I have worn quite a few hats in my life but today my current identity is a mastermind coordinator and facilitator.  

The Checklist Here

I started hosting mastermind groups in 2015 when all meetings were face-to-face, and these meetings took a lot more effort to coordinate. 

I loved it then and love it now. Let me tell you; it is much easier hosting it online. I learned about mastermind groups online from someone I considered a mastermind group expert. Jay Fiset, back in 2015 offered a course on how to build mastermind groups. 

That is how I started, and because of my background as a business consultant, trainer, and facilitator, it was a perfect segway. What attracted me, and has kept me in, is when I witnessed the transformation that members experienced.  

There is something magical that happens when like minds come together. 

I have witnessed members do a 360-degree swing, from being unsure of what to do next to knowing exactly what to do. I recall looking at the face of one smiling member who gave herself a $40,000 raise simply by setting a higher goal, which she achieved.  

Mastermind groups marry economics with spirituality. Allow me to explain; a mastermind group is a collection of individuals coming together in harmony to accomplish specific goals. 

Each individual brings to the table intangible assets that they agree to share with every other member. As such, all members gain access to support and superior intelligence that is not available outside of the group.  

And, because of this, mastermind groups are ubiquitous in our society. Consider this; the family, churches, communities, clubs, NGOs, governments, and the United Nations; are all mastermind groups with different names. The mastermind concept is an idea that may have been born in the Bible, “where two or more are gathered... I am present” Matt 18:20  

When like-minded people are gathered 2, 4, 10 individuals, in a spirit of harmony, they create a greater, more powerful mind; that’s the mastermind. Imagine that everything in the world starts in the mind, and it takes more than one mind to make it happen. So here is the 64-dollar question. 

What do the mastermind groups have to do with the business plan checklist?

Well, the business plan checklist is the process we use in our mastermind groups. It provides a framework for a small business owner to develop a working business plan.  

Mastermind groups are not for everyone. Some people don’t like going to church. But every business owner needs a business plan, it multiplies the possibilities of success. 

The checklist breaks the process into 12 simple steps. It starts with you creating a vision and ends with you taking action.  

The Checklist Here

Let me be clear here, this checklist, is just a checklist. If you complete the twelve steps you are guaranteed to shift your business performance. All it needs is a mind that is committed to taking action and seeing it through.  

What the checklist does, first, is it shows you how simple it is to write your one-page business plan, a plan that will directly assist your business. 

More importantly, the checklist identifies the steps you should take to create a business plan you can use to operate your business. This one act, that is, completing the checklist, can make an immense and immediate difference to your bottom line. When you know where you are going, it is easier to get there.

And, I am not just spouting a flood of hype. The process has been proven countless times by business owners all over the world. In 2004 the world experienced a global shift in business planning. 

It was after, a Swedish Ph.D. student, Alexander Osterwalder introduced the concept as a thesis. Since then, his idea was developed into a template and is being taught at most prestigious business schools. The business model canvas is a simple strategic planning tool.  

It identifies the key elements that make up a business plan. It provides a step-by-step process, that if followed, will improve the performance of any business.  

It works for us and it will work for you. We wanted to share this so that everyone could access it. We thought about giving it away for free, for nothing. Everybody wants free, however, we decided against giving it away for free. Here's why. 

The reason we are sharing this insider tool is to attract serious potential, members to our mastermind groups. 

The people we want understand the value of information. The Checklist is a guide, it is only a solution, when it is acted on, it is then that it becomes valuable. We want to keep it valuable. 

You already know that giving it away for free ensures that it becomes worthless. In addition, the potential for taking action is certainly lost. We have made it delightfully affordable to anyone who is serious about self-development. And to ensure even more value; we are adding a couple of useful bonuses  

The first bonus is from our mastermind collection of classic books. These are books written by dead men, some of the greatest thinkers of the 21 Century. If you are a serious student of self-development, you will definitely want this collection. Most are audiobooks you can easily listen to them, The collection includes books like 

• Think & Grow Rich - Napoleon Hill
• The Science of Getting Rich
• Law of Success
• As A Man Thinketh
• Self Confidence Formula A $99 Value

Trending lately is the buzz words Content Marketing. When it comes to marketing content there is much to learn; get the what, how, when, and where on content marketing. Our next bonus is titled.

Compelling Content Marketing: The pros use the ideas contained in this ebook to make more money. You will find out, how to dramatically improve the result of your marketing. How to use different media types to get your message out and more importantly what methods have stopped working. ($29) that you get free. 

And finally, as you know, each piece of content needs a compelling headline, a headline that pulls people into your article, video, blog, or presentation. Get more than the ordinary Joe on

How To Write Compelling Headlines: Headlines are what makes everything happen. When you know how to write them, you have the magic that makes people continue to read. Find out the exact tactics that six-figure copywriters use to create high-converting headlines. And how to boost your creativity and craft unique and powerful headlines value ($20.00)

The Checklist Here

Business Planning Tools For Startup and Small Business Owners

Tools To Accelerate Business Growth

Are you planning or running a “Lean” business?  The primary goal of every startup and small business owner is to make a profit.  Malcolm X said; “…by any means possible” and of course he was not talking about profit but it’s no different for small business owners.  The only caveat is that it must be legal and ethical.  Usually, resources are limited, like rag tag guerilla you must make the biggest impact with these limited resources.

Operating lean means that you have identified the essential functions in your business.  Then you find the most efficient, cost effective solutions.  It means implementing a business model that directly addresses the problem you are solving in your market.  A Lean Business Model is the most inexpensive way to test any new business idea.  

This new business modeling trend makes the long drawn out business plans obsolete.  Business plans may still be requested by financial institutions and venture capitalist but as an operational planning tool, business plans are useless.   Today, astute business owners are familiar with the Swedish business innovator, Alexander Osterwalder who developed the Business Model Generation Canvas.  If that’s new to you, read all about it Business Model Generation site here.   

The Business Model Generation Canvas is the foundation upon which other innovative business planners like Eric Reis and Ash Maurya built more sophisticated business planning tools.   Ash maintains a thought provoking training web platform and blog, the LeanStack where he introduces the concept of the Customer Factory.  He uses very simple analogies to explain what could be a vague concept.  If you are serious about finding innovative ways to build your business, follow his blog from the link above.  Ash Maurya’s LeanStack responds to the…

Biggest Challenge For Startups & Small Business Owners

It is not an easy task to install growth systems when you don’t know what they are.  Startup and small business owner think that everything they do in the business have something to do with growth.  For many, it is the first time that they ventured into the business they choose to invest their time and family’s future into.  Most apply the old “trial or error” method to resolve issues that surface.  Expensive, slow and unpredictable but most times appear like the best option for the business.  

The advancement of technology has improved business performance by reducing many of the risks businesses formerly faced.  The business model canvas focuses primarily on the performance related functions that generate profits to a business. 

It was only a matter of time before someone incorporated Mr. Osterwalder’s Business Model Generation Canvas.  Ash Mauyra did it with his Customer Factory, Lean Canvas model.   

The challenge: Use technology to make business planning easier.  

Today, I read an article entitled : How To Stop Lying To Ourselves – A Call for Self Awareness  I would like to recommend that you read it too.  It’s short and will take you only 5 minutes.   Self improvement is the only way to improve your life. Read it here.  I want you to read it because your business is “You Incorporated” What you do in your life reflects your business.

The author of the article, James Clear, makes a very potent point; “you cannot change what you don’t measure”.  My words, not his; a variation of a very popular quote.  When we make statements like; “we doing great” “business is good” “we all set” we are actually lying to ourselves.  Not being really aware makes us delusional.

The Cure

Measure everything about your business.  Install a system that ignites your business model so that you will never have to guess how your business is doing.  Easier said than done but doable with technology. First you must have a system that works for your particular business.  The system is important but even more important is the information you get from it.  Technology has made it doable.  

First you need to be introduced to Trevor and Grace, two innovators who used the concepts developed by Alexander Osterwalder, Eric Reis and Ash Maurya.  Trevor and Grace developed the software to assist business owners in executing their business model and measure each phase of the execution.  

The Tool

Javlin may prove itself to be one of the 21st century most effective business planning tool.   

Get it now, because if you do, you may still be able to get the Early Access opportunity to use the software for a year.  Javelin will make executing your business model so much easier.

Get Early Access to Javein Here.  

If You Cannot Articulate Your Business Model, Your Business Will Most Likely Not Survive

Only A Few Businesses Are Using This

Imagine this!

 What if you had a simple tool that can help you plan and manage every aspect of your business?

 A process that is so transparent and easy to use that businesses globally (25 cities in different countries) have started to adopt it.

It simplifies the business building process for the small startup companies as well as large corporations. Imagine having a visual planning tool that takes an instant snap shot of your business. 

A tool that you can use to test your ideas, increase your effectiveness and profitability.

This tool is the result of countless hours of research and design.  It took over one hundred and fifty expert business people to fine tune it so that anyone could understand how it works. The workshop shows you how to bring clarity to the following question?

• Who are your real customers?
• What exactly do they need?
• What specific value do you provide them?
• How do you manage your relationship with them?
• What key resources do you have to meet their needs?
• How do you distribute your products/services?
• What does it all costs?
• How can you add revenue streams?

Can you see the value in being able to answer these questions?  I’m assuming that as a business you are searching for a solution.

Here is a no-risk opportunity to find out if this is your solution .  

You’re a business owner now and it does not matter if you attended a high prestige school, a renowned business school with an MBA or you’re the CEO of the largest corporation in the Trinidad, this tool will work for your business. Join the training before all spaces are filled.

Click below to watch a quick video and sign up for the live workshop if you live in Trinidad.

Business Model Generation Workshop       

What Is Your Web Site's Business Model?

Read This, Then Evaluate Your Site

Last week I promised a post on video marketing, unfortunately that did not work out. Let’s just say that I would not comfortable endorsing it. When I do find one I can endorse I will let you know but in the meanwhile lets continue discussing web sites.

Today’s post is about the second biggest web site pre-build mistake many business owners make after their decision to build a web site. Actually, there are too many web sites without a business model. Its really easy to tell which sites may be making a living online and which site is not.

Business model

According to Wikipedia the online encyclopedia describes it as: the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value - economic, social, or other forms of value. The term business model is thus used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of a business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading practices, and operational processes and policies.

Wikipedia went on to describe a very simple example of the most basic business model: A shop keeper open his doors in a busy location hangs out a sign and starts doing business. Fast forward to 2010, the shop keeper builds a website and… Wooo there tiger, its not the same. A web site is not a “busy location” but it could be.

Wikipedia goes on to provide examples of online business models. It names quite a few models you can copy from or implement on your site. Offline businesses should focus on “brick and click” or “freebie marketing” models. When thinking of your business, it’s recommended that you do not “think inside the box” if you get this business model thing right the rest becomes… well not easy but better.

Don’t Sell

Offering your products or services for sale does not work on information seeker or casual visitors. They are interested and may even be seriously searching for the solution you provide but not right now. If your site is all about you and how great you are without a mechanism to convert visitors, you should ask this question.

How does my web site help my business generate revenue?

An essential ingredient of your online success is the business model you choose. Every site is different and even sites in the same industry can use different business models. The tendency is for businesses in the same industry to blindly follow the competition hoping to duplicate their success. The “if it works for them it will work for us”; is the mindset that normally proceeds a major investment in advertising.

Unfortunately, online and especially in our local market there are not a multitude of competitive examples to identify. The irony is that many of the existing businesses on line are doing it wrong.

Information Seekers

Let’s face it the only reason people are online is to gather free information. Any attempt to sell must be subtle. A well designed web site (by design I mean copy and web design) must be able to persuade a minimum 2 to 3 percent of visitors to take a predetermined action. Anything above that percentage is gravy. The trick is for your site to attract as many visitors as possible so that that small conversion rate befire your site can become a significant revenue generator.

A Filter

View your site as a huge funnel that you use to process all your visitors. Some will fall into the funnel where you can begin to process them. Even those that enter the funnel are not necessarily sold on your product they want to know more about what you have to offer.

Build Relationships


Your marketing campaign should be designed to build a relationship with the subscriber. Expect the 80/20 rule will be in full effect here, i.e. 80 percent of your web site conversions will not buy anything from you business; period. Here are some questions you need to answer…

Can you define your online business model?

At what point do you convert visitors into prospects then buyers?

What are the steps necessary to get your visitors interested in your product or service?

What happens prior to your prospect to dipping into there wallet?

How can you be sure that the site you put up is working to capacity?

Essentially what you need to do is reverse engineer the process and identify each and every step in the transaction.

By now it should become apparent why your online business model should compliment your online purpose. Your site must have at least one marketing tool to convert visitors into performing a specific action. Without some way of getting a causal visitor back to your site the chances are, like we say in Trinidad, between slim and none.

Take a look at your business site, pretend you are a visitor; what would you do? How can you change it so that most of your visitors raise their hands and say; “Yes, I’m interested, I want more information”.

That’s the first step in the process. Without it you are just drifting aimlessly.

Make a comment or PM me with your questions.

Be well

10 Ways To Grow Your Business

by Maria Gracia

Growing a business is similar to tending a vegetable garden. Knowledge, careful planning, organized systems, use of proper tools, continuous care, and dedication give you the very best chance of producing a beautiful and abundant garden that brings forth fresh veggies for years to come.

The same is true when it comes to growing your business. By following a specific sequence of steps, just like growing a garden, you can succeed. Neither can be accomplished with a haphazard approach.

Discovering how other businesses are growing, thinking through your marketing strategy, taking an organized approach, using the proper tools to get the word out and focusing on achievement will help you reach your business goals and set you on the right path towards accomplishing your greatest success.

1. Prospecting: For most services and products, it is imperative to first generate qualified prospects. Only then do you work on converting those prospects into first-time buyers, repeat customers, and finally, lifetime customers. If you’re trying to generate an immediate sale, chances are, you’re going to be disappointed with the results. You will make most of your sales by following up with your prospects repeatedly.

2. What is a prospect? A person is a prospect only if they:
a) have a genuine interest in the particular service or product you provide
and
b) have responded to one of your offers
and
c) they have provided you with contact information (name, e-mail, etc.)
and
d) they have the authority to buy your service/product and can afford it.


Everyone else is a stranger. Not a prospect.

3. Target: You can’t try to market to everybody. When you do, you’re marketing to nobody. Pick a niche market and focus on your main audience. Target them in all of your marketing materials.

4. Offers: To get people to respond to your marketing, develop an enticing offer and get it in front of as many people in your target market as you can. Perhaps, a free tips report, free e-zine or free sample. The best offers are generally the FREE offers.

5. Getting the word out: There are multitudes of ways to get the word out about your offer. You can try traditional marketing, such as direct mail, press releases, networking, ads, etc. Or, you can use the Internet, such as online networking, joining in discussion forums, submitting to search engines, link exchanges, affiliate programs and so on. Whatever you choose, schedule time each day to market your business. Write it on your calendar. When it’s written down, it is more concrete, and there is a better chance that you will do it.

6. Follow-up: Once you begin to generate prospects, it is imperative that you get their contact information (i.e., name, e-mail address, and any other pertinent information) into an organized database. Why all the work? Because follow-up is the key to successful marketing. Once you have contact information, you can continue to make enticing offers for your product and/or service (discounts, gift certificates, 2 for 1 deals, etc.)

7. One service/product: Choose ONE product or service to market at a time, or you’re liable to confuse your prospects. You can have more than one product listed on your Web site. However, when you contact your prospects, it’s best to focus on one product at a time.

8. Guarantee: Guarantee your products or services. Offer, at minimum, a 100% Money-Back Guarantee. When it is clear that you stand behind your services/products, you will have accomplished a trust-factor. This is called risk-reversal.

9. Proactive: Don’t use the Passive Marketing technique. That’s when you distribute general information, verbal and written, about your company, and then just sit around waiting for the phone to ring, or for your e-mail inbox to fill up with orders. In the real world, it doesn’t work that way. You have to be proactive.

10. Track: Track. Track. I can’t say this enough. Keeping accurate numbers will help you make good marketing decisions. If you don’t know what’s working, you’re going to waste a lot of time and money. However, if you do know exactly what’s working for you, you’re practically guaranteed to reach your goals.

Want to get organized? Get your FREE Get Organized Now!™ Idea-Pak, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now!™ Web site, http://www.getorganizednow.com/