Tag Archives: Tim Berry

Best Start-up Business Resources For 2010

by on December 13, 2010 in Before You Start, How to Start, My Recommendations

At the end of each year, I like to supply a list to the best small business book resources I have found on how to start a business.  2010 was a great year for entrepreneurship and next year will be even better.  I have found some terrific authors whose books and e-books will help would-be and start-up entrepreneurs avoid having to learn so many expensive lessons. Enjoy!

The Wealthy Freelancer; 12 Secrets to a Great Income and an Enviable Lifestyle  By Steve Slaunwhite, Pete Savage, Ed Gandia: This is one of the best business books I have read this year.  Most small business start as a side hustle or freelance business, and these guys have nailed down what you need to do in order to build the kind of business where you make a profit and are not just skating by, barely able to pay bills. All three authors are super smart and they are relentless marketers—which is what you need to be to start a successful business.

Plan As You Go Business Plan by Tim Berry Tim Berry is the foremost expert on business plans among

small business thought leaders I know. Berry is a seasoned entrepreneur and adjunct professor who founded Palo Alto software, a business that is still in existence and annually grosses over $10 Million in revenue.  One of their top products is Business Plan Pro software, which is an excellent resource for starting a business plan. I’ve included my affiliate link if you want to grab a download of the software.

In his book, the Plan As You Go Business Plan, Tim emphasizes that business plans are not a one shot deal.  He also gives the reader options for pulling together their business plan in a way that is not too overwhelming. Tim also gives plenty of resources and practical advice to make your business plan a success.

Your Idea, Inc.  12 Steps to Building a Million Dollar Business – Starting Today!  by Sandy Abrams Your Idea, Inc. by Sandy Abrams is for people with product ideas who want to create a small business. Sandy creatively provides step-by-step details and motivational stories from the inner rumblings of idea to seeing your product on store shelves or HSN or QVC.  The book’s concrete examples will set anyone up for success.  Use her million dollar tips and biz brainstorms to take yourself from inventor to business owner.

Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business that Works By Melinda F.  Emerson This is my book which features a month-by-month countdown to starting your small business.  If you always wanted to start a business and were not sure how to start, this is the book for you.  It would be great to start my system in January. They say it’s also a great professional development course for existing business owners too.

Are You Ready To Become Your Own Boss Workbook by Melinda F. Emerson This is my brand new workbook which will walk you through to go/no go decision to start your small business. The takes the Emerson Planning System from my book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months and     breaks it down do that you can fill in the blanks about your business idea. You will finish this workbook with a clear life plan, financial plan, business concept, niche customer and marketing plan.  You will understand whether or not you have a viable business idea.

The blog post is the debut of this new product and I am so excited to share it with you.  You can down load it or order a hard copy workbook with at 8.5 x 11 in size so that you have plenty to room to write down your answers to all the thought provoking questions about your business idea.

Life Planning Journal By Melinda F. Emerson You have often read and heard me say that you need a life plan before your ever write a business plan.  Well now we’ve taken the basic life planning tools in the book,  Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months, and developed a 76-page, life planning journal, that you can use to get clear about what you want out of life. I have been using this dynamic PDF (which means you can type right in it and print) with my clients who need to get centered, reinvent, or want to start a business but are not sure what business to start.

We all need to spend quality time with ourselves so that we can plan a course of action.  Use my life planning journal to help you figure out what you want out of life so that you can build a business around that.  Do not be one of these people who start a business that is not a good business for them.

Do you have another start-up book that I left off the list? Let me know, I love to find new resources.

If you’re ready to start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at www.succeedasyourownboss.com

WANT TO USE THIS ARTICLE IN YOUR EZINE, E-NEWSLETTER OR WEB SITE?  You may, as long as you include this complete blurb with it:

Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months Books By Melinda EmersonMelinda F. Emerson, known to many as SmallBizLady is one of America’s leading small business experts. As a seasoned entrepreneur, professional speaker, and small business coach, she develops audio, video and written content to fulfill her mission to end small business failure.  As CEO of MFE Consulting LLC, Melinda educates entrepreneurs and Fortune 500 companies on subjects including small business start-up, business development and social media marketing. She has been featured on NBC Nightly News, the Tavis Smiley Radio Show, in the Wall Street Journal and Black Enterprise Magazine. She hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs and publishes a resource blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com Melinda is also the author of the national bestseller Become Your Own Boss in 12 months; A Month-by-Month Guide to a Business That Works. (Adams Media 2010)

$27.00

Comments { 4 }
How to Win a Business Plan Competition

How to Win a Business Plan Competition

by on April 15, 2010 in Branding & Marketing, Grow Your Business, How to Start, Q & A Interviews, SmallBizChat, Social Media, Your Small Business

Every week as @SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat.  The show takes place every Wed on Twitter from 8-9pm ET.  This is excerpted from my recent interview with Lora Kolodny @lorakolodny .  She writes for the You’re the Boss! blog for the New York Times online. She began reporting on business and entertainment in 2002, writes about the winners, losers, innovation and deal-making of business plan competitions. In the past she has been a staff reporter for Inc. magazine, The Hollywood Reporter and a contributing tech editor at Ecosalon.com. She has contributed articles on technology, humor and music to Fortune Small Business, Recessionwire.com, Village Voice Media blogs, Planet and Playboy. For more information http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/author/lora-kolodny/

Smallbizlady: What kinds of research should a business owner do before the competition?

Lora Kolodny: Entrepreneurs should carefully research the business plan competitions carefully, zeroing in on which events they’re eligible for, and which will provide the best experience for them as they try to grow their companies. Past competitors, winners and losers alike have told me it’s a good thing to look at a competitions’ recent past winners. Find out what kind of entrepreneurs succeeded within and after a particular competition, and who are the investors and potential advisers your team might connect with at each event. If someone whose opinion would be especially valuable to you is a sponsor or judge at one competition, apply there.

Smallbizlady: Do you need a strategy to win a business plan competition?

Lora Kolodny: Experts in this space tell me, universally, the focus should not be on winning, but on crafting a useful business plan for a real, not theoretical, company when it comes to competitions. That said, Professor Candida Brush, who teaches entrepreneurship at Babson College, and coaches start-ups preparing for these events shared this suggestion: ”Winning the competition requires two things: a good plan and a good pitch. Both are learnable. The “pitch” often makes more of a difference. For this, entrepreneurs need to understand impression management, be good listeners, be adaptable, and make a professional presentation including body language and dress. To prepare, they should present in a variety of circumstances, be ready to meet other people’s calendars, work with and without technology.”

Smallbizlady: What is the ideal length of a winning business plan?

LoraKolodny: The competitions’ hosts will dictate a limit on the number of pages, or format of materials a company should submit. Many competitions require a video pitch these days. Most accept a PowerPoint deck, or another document including around 10-20 slides or pages of written content, and an additional executive summary of 1-3 pages. Andrew Hyde, co-founder of TechStars, the start-up accelerator that started in Colorado, told me that he prefers: pitches of about ten slides, a demo of what a company has done, and an executive summary, all presented with proof of great team dynamics. Tim Berry, a business planning expert, software entrepreneur and business blogger offers many suggestions about the ideal plan, at http://timberry.com and www.bplans.com

Smallbizlady: If you are not an MBA do you really have a shot at the business competitions run by the top business schools?

LoraKolodny: The short answer is that if a competition allows competitors from outside of the school, then yes, you have a good chance, if you make it to the finals, to win. A more detailed explanation is that while legacy business plan competitions were for entrepreneurs from within a single-school, or otherwise closed community, these days, even top business schools run competitions that are open to entrepreneurs who are either students from other colleges and in different fields of study, or who are not even students. Washington University’s Olin Cup competition, which I recently wrote about, click here  established a special prize for a non-student competitor this year, for example.

Smallbizlady: How long does it take “ideally” to prepare a winning business plan?

Lora Kolodny: Competition directors, entrepreneur advisors and past participants say anywhere between three months to two years! See the “Give Yourself Time” section of a story I reported for the New York Times click here.

Smallbizlady: What are the advantages to participating in a business plan competition?

Lora Kolodny: The prizes for winners are a potential benefit. But of course the benefits of participating go way beyond the potential money, and support services, which compared to venture backing may not be that big, anyway. Those who competed tell me that they valued the chance to get feedback, in person, from business and community leaders. And they benefitted from getting noticed by business and local press, as well as a community of peers, alumni and established entrepreneurs, VCs, angel investors and others who attend or are involved in the competition scene.

Smallbizlady: What kind of exposure can an emerging business owner potentially receive form participating?

Lora Kolodny: Some competitions provide a ton of press-relations services for their winners. Wharton, MIT, and the Clean Tech Open do a very good job of getting the word out about the achievements of their alumni companies to mainstream business and consumer reporters in traditional and digital media. But exposure within the private equity community is probably more important to start-ups, and is gotten easily on the competition circuit. I’ve interviewed several company founders who met their primary angel or venture investor via competition, including a company who I profiled last year http://www.myfit.com To read the article click here

Smallbizlady: Do you need a management team to win a business plan competition?

Lora Kolodny: Sole proprietors can win business plan competitions. Like the owner of www.BuildMyLanyard.com, who won at a top undergraduate business plan competition in Canada, profiled here. But it is good to acknowledge that you might take on other management team members, as you scale your company. And it is good to admit that even if you are the founding C.E.O. you might reach a point where you need to bring on another, more experienced C.E.O. to run your business.

Smallbizlady: What are the judges really looking for in the presentation round?

Lora Kolodny: Keep in mind, judges in presentation rounds are likely going to stop you and ask you questions. You should be prepared to listen to these very carefully, and skip slides to make sure you’ve answered them during your limited presentation time.

Smallbizlady: How do you select which business plan competitions to compete in?

Lora Kolodny: Several guides are out there including many lists compiled by business schools and non-profits of suggested, best-in-class competitions. But ultimately you have to do your own research and make your own decisions.

My guide to recent, and upcoming competitions that have a great reputation or are doing something new, and interesting  in the New York Times small business section online see the link below:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2009/11/11/business/smallbusiness/Competitions-table.html

A great list of social entrepreneurship business plan competitions is provided by the William James Foundation, click here:

A new blog called BIZPLANCOMPETITIONS.com provides maps, and a comprehensive calendar of business plan competitions, as well as regular competition coverage, here:  http://www.bizplancompetitions.com/

Xconomy.com writers Wade Roush and Ryan McBride provide some excellent coverage of competitions. McBride’s 2009-2010 guide to New England area competitions here is excellent:

University of Michigan’s short, simple list is a good one, too:

http://www.zli.bus.umich.edu/events_programs/bpc_external.asp

Smallbizlady: What is the most important element of a winning business plan?

 

Lora Kolodny: Keeping it simple and staying away from jargon is important, both in your writing and live presentation. Demonstrating passion, but a realistic view of your own team’s talent, and potential market is something judges consistently look for as well, and consider “make or break,” details.  Having some preliminary market tested research on your product or service can also give you a huge advantage.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter.

For more tips on how start or grow your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog www.succeedasyourownboss.com.

Melinda Emerson, known to many as “SmallBizLady,” is a Veteran Entrepreneur, Small Business Coach and Social Media Strategist who hosts #SmallBizChat weekly on Twitter for emerging entrepreneurs. #Smallbizchat is the trusted resource on Twitter to discuss everything entrepreneurs need to know about launching and running a profitable small business. Her first book Become Your Own Boss in 12 Months was released in March 2010.

Comments { 2 }

Do You Need A Business Plan?

by on November 5, 2009 in Before You Start, How to Start, My Recommendations, SmallBizChat, Social Media

Every week as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts on my Twitter talk show #SmallBizChat. The show takes place every Wed. on Twitter from 8-9pm ET. This is excerpted from my recent interview with @TimBerry. Tim Berry is president and founder of Palo Alto Software, founder of bplans.com, and a co-founder of Borland International. He built Palo Alto Software from zero to 40 employees and 70% market share without outside investment. He is a Stanford MBA and has taught business at the University of Oregon. He’s the conceptual author of Business Plan Pro, author of The Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan, Entrepreneur Press. Find Tim on twitter at @TimBerry or at bplans.com 

Disclaimer: I was mailed a free copy of Tim Berry’s Plan As You Go Business Plan Book, and I have purchased a copy of the BusinessPlanPro software in the past.  I do not interview anyone on #smallbizchat or for this blog, who’s business ideas, advice and products or services I would not support. The focus of #smallbizchat is end small business failure.

Smallbizlady: What is plan-as-you-go business planning?

Tim Berry:  Plan as you go is a reflection of changing times, the new world realities of doing business. We need planning more than ever, but it has to be live, flexible, and reviewed regularly.

Smallbizlady: How is it different from any other business plan?

Tim Berry: Ironically, it shouldn’t be; all plans should be done this way. But somewhere along the line people got lost in the plan as document, instead of planning process. Which is a damn shame.

Smallbizlady: How is the “Plan As You Go” method better?

Tim Berry: Because it’s a matter of fundamentals: it assumes change, and that form follows function. Business planning is about the business, not the plan. It’s about steering, and management and it’s about metrics, responsibility, and accountability.

Smallbizlady: What are some common mistakes in business planning?

Tim Berry: By far the most important is thinking that the plan itself matters, instead of keeping it alive and managing your business using it. As if the plan weren’t going to change. Then there’s forgetting cash flow, and staying up in the blue sky instead of getting into specific milestones and metrics.

Smallbizlady: Are business plans obsolete?

Tim Berry: Only if management is obsolete. Planning is part of the management function, like steering the business. The full formal document doesn’t apply as much as people think, but we all need planning more than ever, and the plan is a first step in planning.

Smallbizlady: You say in your book all business plans are wrong, but vital. Aren’t they just wrong?

Tim Berry: No, wrong but vital. Wrong because we’re human and we try to predict the future. But vital because we then track the plan vs. actual results. We need to watch how and in what direction it was off, and following up on course corrections, interdependence, and better management and accountability.

Smallbizlady: If business plan is a lot of trouble, why should a business owner bother to do it?

Tim Berry: Done right it’s a lot less trouble than you think. Make it only as big as you need it to be, just big enough to manage your business. And forget the formalities, the dressing, until you need to present it to a lender. With business planning you get goals, a tracking progress, metrics, accountability, and a management tool.

Smallbizlady: Sometimes smaller startup businesses or home-based businesses don’t think they need a business plan because their not trying to get a loan or funding, what advice can you give?

Tim Berry: All businesses need to optimize their resources, and planning helps. It helps to lay out your goals and the steps to achieve them, to watch the cash flow, isolate the factors, think about focus, and strategy, and to work towards the right long-term directions even as the day-to-day gets in the way.

Smallbizlady: Okay, business plans are a dime a dozen. You can get them free off of the Internet, you can buy a finished plan for $25. Why bother to actually write one?

Tim Berry: Because you’re going to implement, and nobody else. It’s going to be your plan. It’s not a writing exercise, or a document. It’s what you intend to do to run your business. Would you send somebody else to exercise for you or take a trip for you? Ghost writing works for writing, not for planning.

Smallbizlady: What are the most important parts of a business plan. What one thing would you do if you were going to do only that?

Tim Berry: Dates, deadlines, metrics, milestones, and, above all, cash flow. Who’s is responsible for what? How do things work together? And it’s good to write down strategy, particularly what you are not doing. If nothing else, at the very least, manage a sales forecast, and review plan vs. actual sales and expenses. And always cash flow.

Smallbizlady: How long should a business plan be?

Tim Berry: Form follows function. It should be long enough to set down the strategy, main metrics, basic numbers, tasks, dates and deadlines. For the classic business plan, or the ones entered in contests, or submitted to investors or banks, 20 pages is enough, never more than 30. If we insist on measuring in pages. 

Smallbizlady: Why Business Plan Pro? How does it help?

Tim Berry: Business Plan Pro is a tool that does the mechanics like keeping the financials mathematically and financially correct, documented and error proofed; and putting things into logical order with the right tables, charts. And outputting to a printer, PDF, secure website, or Word or Excel.

If you found this interview helpful, join us on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET follow @SmallBizChat on Twitter. 

How to participate in #SmallBizChat: http://bit.ly/S797e

For more tips on starting or growing your small biz subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com

Comments { 6 }