 If you’re stuck on getting that business plan done before you start-up, that's fine, but remember, plans are never perfect; they are only ever works-in-progress. Well, yes and no. If you're looking for investors, then you definitely need a well thought out and written business plan. Take the time to do your research and do it right.
However, if you're going into business for yourself, and you're not looking for financial backers, then you really don't need to invest loads of time (and money) building a detailed plan. The odds are you know more than you think you do about the critical factors that will make your business a success; you may not know it or trust yourself enough to realize it. You need to do your homework, too, but if you can:
In my experience, most entrepreneurs spend way too much time honing and perfecting their business plan to the detriment of their start-up. By the time they're ready to get their business going they've missed out on countless opportunities. If you’re stuck on getting that business plan done before you start-up, that's fine, but remember, plans are never perfect; they are only ever works in progress. After investing three-to-six months in marketing your products or services and delivering them to customers consider how much more you'll know about the different areas of your business and, consequently, your plans for it. It’s good to have a business plan; it’s even better to have some business and the insights that comes from your efforts to land some. Jim Horan’s "The One Page Business Plan" series of books, available on Amazon, are helpful references...one is sure to be right for the type of business you're starting. Also, check out the business model canvas for an easy one page planning tool.  Without a willingness to fail and learn from failure one cannot gather the information needed to identify the best solution for success. Several years back Carol Dweck, a psychologist at Stanford, and her team ran an experiment in NYC with 5th graders, conducting several rounds of exams. The first round was a relatively easy exam after which each student was given their score and either praised for their intelligence or their effort. Then, they were offered the choice of taking a more difficult test, where they were told they would learn a lot, or a test that was about the same level of difficulty as the first.
Next, Dweck gave the same group of students an exam designed for 8th graders, making it extremely difficult. After taking the test, students were asked to choose between seeing exams of other students who scored either better or worse than they did on the same exam. Finally, the students were given a round of tests similar in difficulty to the initial round and were asked to self-report their scores. Of the group praised for their intelligence:
Of the group praised for their efforts:
So what does all this have to do with being or becoming an expert? Well, it shows that failure is necessary and, I would even say, vital to the process of learning. Without failing our brains can’t properly work out the patterns that reveal the best solutions because they don’t have enough information from which to formulate the correct answers or drive us to make good decisions. Dweck’s research shows that our desire to learn is highly influenced by the feedback we receive. In her research, like in most learning situations, Dweck's feedback sparks each child's desire either to learn or to succeed; those inspired to do the former embrace exploration and the possibility of failure rather than fearing failure and opting for what might be thought of as "the safe bet." It is this willingness to fail that encouraged 90% of the effort-praised 5th graders to attempt the more difficult round 2 exam and drove almost all of them to learn from their mistakes by comparing their exams to those who scored better than they in round 3. And, in the end, it's the defining factor in why they became more proficient and expert while their intelligence-praised classmates actually decreased in proficiency. Without a willingness to fail and learn from failure one cannot gather the information needed to identify the best solution for success. Expertise results from innately recognizing patterns for success, which itself is not possible without a preponderance of information and/or experience within or among a given field or function or set of disciplines. If you’re an expert or want to be seen as one, you need to understand the patterns that govern your success so you can communicate your expertise in a way that makes sense to clients, customers, colleagues and/or employers. Consider:
If you need help with defining, refining or translating your expertise for your business or career, please don’t hesitate to get in touch; I'm always happy to put my expertise to work for you. Related Links: |
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