The Planning for a Business Plan Plan

“Do I need a business plan?”

Yes and no.

There was a time where you would go to a bank to ask for a loan for your business. They in turn would ask you for several things, including a detailed business plan. Depending on who and what kind of business you were trying to start, a business plan would go up to ten, twenty, thirty, sometimes fifty pages. Your eyes would glaze over, your hands would turn into claws as you hovered over your Oliver or Smith-Corona typewriter. PowerPoint was a T-Square, a protractor, some colors pencils and a compass that could kill a moose. You also had to find a commercial real estate broker for a space, buy office furniture, have a rotary phone installed and try not shatter the giant glass water cooler bottle while changing it, forget about trying not to spill all the water on the floor.

Today, you go sign a piece of paper at WeWork, move into a fully furnished office and they even supply the fruit infused water with no potential for glass breaking or getting your shoes wet. Same goes for a business plan. It has become a bit simpler, but you still need one.

Unless you’re planning to get a loan from a bank or any other type of financial institution, chances are that they will expect a detailed business plan. This will be how they will understand your plans to profit and subsequently pay off your loan. But if you’re planning to start your business with your own capital or through others means with less red tape, an overly detailed business plan is not necessary.

When clients come to me with an idea or even product, I ask them what’s their plan moving forward. Their usual response is, “do I need a business plan?”

I smile and give them a one page business plan template that has twelve boxes:

1. Company Identity

2. Problem

3. Your Solution

4. Target Market

5. The Competition

6. Revenue Streams

7. Initial Marketing Plan

8. Expenses

9. Team & Key Roles

10. Timeline

11. Future

12. Exit Plan

Some will need more space than others for the information, depending on the business, service or product. These basic categories will help you further understand what you are creating, its structure and its future.

With these basic blocks, you can start putting together your business model canvas and your visual presentation deck, two things that you definitely need at the outset. I will explain these in further detail in future posts.

So, no, you don’t need three reams of paper’s worth of a business plan but you do need a plan. Something clear and concise that will serve as a guide for you and your team.

Building Brand Integrity

You open up your smartphone and immediately one of your apps starts updating. A while later your looking for the app, you swear it was in this folder but you don’t see it. Then you realize that the app updated and the company has rebranded with a new look, logo or color scheme.

Every 2–3 years, companies rebrand for several reasons. They modernize their look, expand their services or product line, attempt to change public perception after some negative publicity or just because they have profited and can afford to do so.

What doesn’t change, what shouldn’t change is the brand’s integrity. As a startup, a new company a large part of your mission is what your company stands for, what overarching idea it encompasses as a product or service without compromise. As companies grow their brand mission can expand as well, but the integrity that was the original foundation stays the same. If it doesn’t, you risk alienating your early adopters and possibly confusing or creating doubt with potential new markets.

Let’s define brand integrity. Simply put it’s what your company stands for and how they make their products or provide their services and how this reflects on the company from the consumers point of view. Adding to that and just as important is your work practices and the environment for your company’s workforce. This should be laid out clearly in your company’s mission statement, as the inspiration to your business plan with clear and precise core values.

On the product side, say if you’re a food product, are you non-GMO? Organic? How are you sourcing your ingredients? Fair Trade? If you’re a clothing company, we can apply similar attributes. Fair Trade sourcing? Where is the product made? What kind of labor practices are conducted at the manufacturing point? Are you going with Made in the USA? Are you Assembled in the USA? Just to name a few.

Brand integrity also includes the post-buying experience. How’s your customer service? Your warranty? Product repair and/or replacement? Ever hear someone say, “I love this product but when I had a problem, the customer service sucked!”

This can be a death knell for a company that’s barely off the ground.

It’s all about keeping your promise of how you are making your product and following through on this even after it has been sold.

Take a look at Patagonia. They’re universally known and respected brand is based on a strong commitment to their core values:

Quality — the pursuit of ever greater quality in everything we do.

Integrity — relationships built on integrity and respect.

Environmentalism — serve as a catalyst for personal and corporate action.

Not Bound by Convention — our success — and much of the fun — lies in developing innovative ways of doing things.

This has been the company’s brand since Yvon Chouinard founded the company in 1973. Patagonia has been known to provide customer service and repair clothing that was purchased over 20 years ago! Checkout this great episode of NPR’s How I Built This where they talk to Yvon and the growth of his company.

On the company’s staff side, what kind of working culture are you trying to create? Will it be a stiff hierarchy where the executive suite is separated from the non-executives even when the company has ten or less employees? Will you offer equity to early employees and make them feel part of something bigger? Does everyone have a chance to contribute ideas and opinions? Look at Pixar’s Room of Candor for reference. This is another area where Patagonia is recognized is at the forefront of company culture. It’s more than just ping pong tables and free beer at a co-working space.

Some of these will be budget related and difficult for startups and small companies to get it right off the get go, but not impossible. As long as you set strong core values, a clear mission statement supported by a clear business plan, you can define your brand integrity and see it through as you launch your product and services and continue to be true to it as your company succeeds and grows. Budget related or not, don’t compromise.

Feel free to share your thoughts or add to the discussion on brand integrity in the comments section.

Thanks to Wiley, Patagonia.com, White River Design and Smart Brief for info and reference points.

Who are you marketing to?

You have a product and you’re ready to figure out how to market it.

One thing I hear all the time is: “This product is for everyone! It will appeal to the mass market and everyone will want to buy it”.

Well, several problems with that line of thinking. If you’re a new, small company, you most likely don’t have the marketing dollars to reach that mass market yet. In the nascent stage your distribution channels are probably going to be limited to e-commerce and Amazon (where your margins…well, that’s a whole other post). But don’t fret, thanks to social media and e-mail, you can start getting a good amount of targeted customers that not only will buy your product but also potentially champion your cause to the bigger market.

Let’s use the protein bar market as an example. Twenty years or so ago, the market was pretty much Power Bar and MET-Rx and some other bars here and there, nowhere as ubiquitous as bars are today. Today, the bar market is so incredibly saturated, with more companies and market angles popping up every month.

You have created a protein bar, in a few flavors, non-GMO, all natural, perhaps even all organic with 12 grams of protein. Now, who do you sell it to?

Well, is it:

• Ketogenic? High fat, low carb, very low to no sugar.

• Is it low glycemic? How the carb content affects blood glucose levels.

• Is it vegan suitable? Plant based, no animal products whatsoever.

• Is it Kosher? Kosher certified — meat, dairy or neutral. Do your research and get to know “circle U”, “circle K”, “D” and pareve.

• Does it have sweeteners like stevia? Some people are allergic to alternative sweeteners.

• Gluten Free?

• Nut Free? No tree nuts or legumes (peanuts).

• Paleo Friendly? No processed ingredients.

We can list more categories but let’s stick with these and pick three. Let’s say your bar is vegan, low carb and low sugar. That’s a good starting point for a low budget or guerrilla marketing plan. Let’s grab vegan and break it down:

Potential Vegan Targets:

• Vegan Cafés or Specialialty Shops — These are popping up everywhere, especially in the bigger cities and always looking for more products for their customers. A quick search of #vegancafes lon Instagram lead me to a bunch of posts of vegan shops you can target and reach out to with your bar.

• Vegan Athletes — In the NBA, Marc Gasol and Kyrie Irving, an investor for Beyond Meat, and Ryan O’Reilly of the NHL are some of the more notable athletes who have gone with a plant based diet. But there are many amateur athletes who have adopted plant based diets, including some pretty ripped body builders who you can also market too.

• Dietary and/or Health Reasons — Some people I know personally have gone vegan due health issues. Customers in this category are always looking for snacks and on the go food that fit their new lifestyle.

Do some due diligence and some more research so you can start targeting your product. Don’t be afraid to search on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for potential customers that fit in these target markets and reach out to them. Tag them directly, direct message them and hashtag your posts (#vegan, #veganfood, #veganrecipes and so on). Build an e-mail list and send out your Mail Chimp campaigns to them.

The people that respond, end up trying your product and hopefully liking it, can become your early adopters. These are the customers who you can ask to give you great Amazon reviews, testimonials for your website/social media accounts and become your loyal followers. Once this happens, you can start gaining visibility, generating revenue and eventually finance the bigger marketing campaigns you strive to do for your product.

Top Podcasts So Far This Year

As part of my mid-year review, I was thinking of the podcasts I’ve listened to up to this point. Some have been enlightening, others interesting, some heart strings tugging and some just down right funny. Here’s my list of the best podcasts for the first half of 2019:

Blockbuster — The story of Steven Spielberg & George Lucas as they become friends and go through the ups and downs of making Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, American Graffiti & Star Wars. Brilliantly produced!

Inside Star Wars — Last summer’s Inside Jaws was incredible but this year’s Inside Star Wars has been just as good. One episode left!

School of Greatness — Jason Silva: Break the Cycle of Fear and Doubt — This had me going from “yes, that’s right!” to “really?” the whole 2 hours. It brought me back to college Hanibal and all the things that I’ve thought about through out the years about my existence.

The Ken Coleman Show — How They Got There: Lewis Howes — This was just great insight into two of my favorite people right now, especially Lewis’ story of his “over night”, ten years in the making.

Blackout — A thrilling radio drama starring the brilliant Rami Malek. Can’t wait for season 2!

The Ross Tucker Podcast: Ryan Harris — Ryan Harris’ story about his NFL days, racism and financial responsibility was eye opening and inspiring.

Spittin’ Chiclets Episode 120: featuring Jordin Tootoo — Jordin played for the Devils but is a beloved Nashville Predator for life. His story of growing up on the Rankin Inlet to being drafted, playing in Nashville and subsequently dealing with his addiction is just an incredible story.

How I Built This — Toms: Blake Mycoskie — This guy built four companies before the age of 30. Checkout how he did it!

Stuff You Should Know — The Tylenol Murders Parts 1 & 2 — I remember hearing about this as a kid. Bizarre and sad story that lead to the changes in packaging for OTC medication.

The Dana Gould Hour — The Apes from the Black Lagoon & It’s Your Thang! — Tough to pick which one I enjoyed the most. In The Apes from the Black Lagoon, Dana talks to Mallory O’Meara, author of The Lady from The Black Lagoon, the story of Millicent Patrick who designed the iconic Creature of the Black Lagoon but credit was taken away by a chauvinistic Hollywood jerk. Also, Dana covers the new documentary Making Apes with makeup legend Thom Burman.

In It’s Your Thang!, Dana talks to John and Bjo Trimble and how they saved the original Star Trek and helped the show get a third season, all without the internet or smart phones.

He also talks to Paul Myers, Mike’s brother, about his new book Kids In The Hall: One Dumb Guy. This is near and dear to me because, for those of you who know me intimately, when I came to NJ from Puerto Rico for good, I used to tape Kids in the Hall on Comedy Central and memorize their skits. Not only did it help improve my English, it helped shape my sense of humor.

Nocturne — On the Air — For insomniacs or recovering insomniacs like myself, Nocturne is a great cast about things that happen in the night. In this episode, show host Vanessa Lowe talks to Australian overnight radio host Rod Quinn. Rod hosts a show where people get to call in and muse about what’s going on while most of the country is asleep.

I had a few more shows but when it came down to it, these were the ones that made the most impact on me this year. Please listen, comment and suggest any podcast you have enjoyed this year.

*Apologies to Android users, all my links are from iTunes, but Stitcher is a great app for Android podcasts listeners and should have all of these shows.