How to start a busienss Plan your business!
Posted by: MSCopeland in Get funding, Business Plan, MC's Blog
I touched on the idea of a business plan on my previous post “What Business are you in?” I have decided to keep this blog mostly focused on Information and Knowledge concerning business. I’ll also be talking about the Law of Attraction and filmmaking, but mostly business and marketing your business. Many people don’t understand THEY are the business.
And now, back to our regular scheduled program…
Believe it or not, many people have a hard time figuring out where or how to start a business. When I was more involved in the filmmaking community, I used to say it all the time, “You should create a business plan.” This was for anything, producing a short film, a feature, or starting a production company. All of these things should start with a plan, a documented plan. Just take what’s in your head and put it on black and white.“How do I write a business plan?”I get this question all the time and there’s really no straight answer. It all depends on the purpose of the plan. For example, if it’s going to be an internal document it may not need to be as structured but if you were going to use it to get funding for your business it would have to meet certain expectations. The format of the business plan doesn’t matter as much as the content. There are specific areas a business plan should cover. Going through the process of making the plan will help you learn more about your market, competition, and how to position your business to achieve your goals. The main thing you need to have is vision. Every entrepreneur has it, some more than others, and it’s definitely needed to help focus your business on its journey.
I have been asked to review many, many business plans for people. They want me to check them out to see if they are “good”. Some of them are “good” but many are just copy paste information they find on the internet or from business plan templates. Yea, those numbers look great, but I’ve seen the template or the site they got it from. It is a great disservice to build and plan your business with outdated information. The longest time you’ll spend on your business plan is in the research phase. You really need to KNOW what you’re getting into. You need to KNOW your market. For example, filmmakers want to create a production, say a documentary. So they go and find all of the highest grossing documentaries and put those numbers in. Well, no, you’re not going to get the kind of return Michael Moore did on “Fahrenheit 9/11”. What about all of the other documentaries which didn’t make it nation wide? Why isn’t that in your research? Investors want to see REAL numbers and REAListic expectations.
Most importantly, a business plan is the road map of your business. If you’re creating one just to be an internal document, it may only be five to 10 pages. If you’re intent is to get funding, then it may be 15 to 30 pages. I’ve seen a 50 page business plan before! Just like a road map changes because the roads change, so should your business plan. Did a competitor go out of business? Then remove them from the plan. Did a new one pop up? Then add them to the plan. Have you decided to change the way you do certain things? Then update the plan. A business plan is like a snapshot of your business right now, with a vision of where you want it to go. Reviewing and updating your business plan, at least once per year is a good practice.
Due to all the business plans I get, and people asking me how to get funding, I’ve decided to write a couple books, however these will have to wait until I’m done with a couple others first. Some people have asked me if I could train them or show them what to do, or if I had a book out there they can read. When I told them I didn’t have one, they suggested I write it. So that’s what I’m going to do. However in working on the “How to get funding” book, I discovered there needs to be a business plan book too. This means I’m now working on two books.
Sorry for the delay in posting this blog entry. There was a death in the family. Also, I’ve been really busy. I will definitely do my best to make this on a more regular schedule. I’m also going to change my site as I have decided to use WordPress instead of Drupal for my Blogging needs.
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