Inc. Magazine, January, 1999
What's Hot: Save It! "Business Plans For Dummies." This guide by Paul Tiffany, a management consultant and business-school professor, and Steven D. Peterson, a software designer and entrepreneur, is, quite frankly, the best work that you'll find on this subject. What makes this 354-pager a standout is that it urges business owners to write plans that are not only informative but captivating. Five stars!
Financial Times, April 21, 1998
Twenty-three books published in 1997 have been selected as finalists in five main categories for The Financial Times, Booz-Allen & Hamilton Global Business Book Awards. In the "How-To" category, "Business Plans For Dummies" - which made it through to the shortlist - is a solid offering. One business expert who read it said that most big-company bosses would benefit from it: "The book makes it clear that a business plan is not just a budget." That is something too few executives realize.
Book Description
For some people, a business plan is a map to success that they're required to put together to raise money for a startup company. At best, it's a formality; at worst, it's a sizable pain in the neck. But a business plan doesn't exist just to garner financial support; it's also a powerful tool – one that's bound to make your company a better place to work and your business a more successful operation.
Business Plans For Dummies can guide your business in the right direction no matter who you are or how your job description reads, whether you're part of a large corporation or a one-person show. If you've struggled through the planning process before – or if you're brand new to plotting out goals and objectives – this expert reference will show you how to Create a right-on mission statement Pinpoint the needs of your customers Scope out the competition Simplify all the financial stuff Stay on top of trends Foster a winning atmosphere for your staff
Packing the greatest value into a business plan calls for a look back at where your company's been and how it's changed over the years, a look forward to where and how you'll compete in the marketplace, and a look around at what you want to show and tell the world about your enterprise. This down-to-earth guide steps you through every milestone in business planning, including Determining where you want to go with your business Checking out the business environment: customers and competition Assessing your capabilities and resources Getting into strategic thinking mode Facing the facts about product life cycles Motivating and appreciating the people who make it all happen in-house
Riding marketplace tides isn't the sport of amateurs these days; only 250f new businesses survive beyond their first three years of operation. This invaluable resource gives you a no-nonsense approach to staying afloat, rising above the risks, and enjoying the rewards as you take care of business.
Book Info
Teaches you how to: Assess your company's goals and objectives, Identify and understand the needs of your customers and clients, Develop a plan conducive to marketplace changes and advencements and Shape your organization and invest in your company's people. Paper.
From the Back Cover
"This guide...is, quite frankly, the best work that you'll find on this subject." —Inc. Magazine
"The best book I've found for comprehensive and successful planning.... Every type of organization will find it invaluable. It really gets the job done and will help you get the job done, too!" —Rick Oliver, Consultant and Professor of Management, Vanderbilt University
"Comprehensive and knowing, this book will help anyone who is thinking about running a business." —Tom Ehrenfeld, Business and Financial Journalist The fun and Easy Way to Create a Winning Business Plan Your First Aid Kit for Identifying Customers, Understanding the Competition, and Putting Together a Plan that Works! Business Planning Blunders to Avoid — Explained in Plain English Create an Innovative Business Plan with Expert Tips and Strategies!
Are you an entrepreneur, executive, or a manager charged with creating a business plan, but don't know where to begin? Don't worry! With Business Plans For Dummies as your handy reference, you'll find quick, easy solutions to all your planning dilemmas. Equipped with tips, techniques, and expert advice, you'll develop a dynamic business plan like a pro in no time!
Inside, you'll discover how to:Assess your company's goals and objectives Create a mission statement that clearly positions and identifies your business Identify and understand the needs of your customers and clients Scope out the competition and differentiate your business from the crowd Understand the financial stuff — from number crunching to budgets to forecasting Develop a plan conducive to marketplace changes and advancements Shape your organization and invest in your company's people
About the Author
Paul Tiffany, Ph.D., is a professor of management at the Haas Business School, U.C. Berkeley, and an Adjunct Professor at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a management consultant to numerous firms and agencies all over the world focusing on the art and science of business strategy, planning, and management concepts. He has worked with General Motors, Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Steel, Dean Witter, NYNEX, and may others.
Steven Peterson, Ph.D., is the senior partner and founder of Home Planet Technologies, a company devoted to developing advanced management tools. He created and developed The Protean Strategist, and award-winning computer-based business planning and strategy simulation that has been used by companies around the world.
Excerpted from Business Plans for Dummies (Serial) by Paul Tiffany and Steven Peterson. Copyright © 1997. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
Chapter 17 Ten Questions To Ask About Your Business Plan 1.) Are your goals tied to your company's mission? Take a look at the goals you set for your company. These are the results you absolutely, positively intend to achieve. And to a large extent, they're going to determine what your business does. That means your goals have to be consistent with each other, so you're not running in different directions at the same time. And it also means your goals have to be tied to your company's mission, so that you're heading in the direction you really want to go. 2.) Can you point to major opportunities? If you want your company to grow and prosper over the long haul, you have to take advantage of business opportunities as they come along. It's not enough just to acknowledge them as they pass you by. If you really want to have the best shot at seizing opportunities before your competitors do, you need to recognize and prepare for them well ahead of the pack. 3.) Have you prepared for the biggest threats? It's awfully easy to paint a rosy picture of what the future holds for your business. But having a rosy picture isn't going to make it happen. Your company is in much better shape if you have a complete and objective picture -- the bad news along with the good. That way, you can get ready for the dangers that are bound to be there. 4.) Have you defined who your customers are? The more you know about your customers -- who they are, how they act, what they want -- the more you know about your business. Customers tell you what you need to do to succeed in the marketplace. You should answer three questions. Who is buying? What do they buy? Why do they buy? And your plan should explain how your company intends to serve the customers you describe better than anyone else out there. 5.) Do you have a way to track your competitors? Your competitors are around to make life interesting. They're the companies that are always trying to woo your customers away, promising products or services with better value -- more benefits, lower prices. And you can't ignore them. You have to be able to identify who your competitors are, what they're doing, and where they plan to go in the future. Competition represents a big piece of your business environment. Your business plan should cover what you know about your competitors, and more importantly, how you intend to keep track of them on an ongoing basis. 6.) Do you know your strengths and weaknesses? It's hard to be objective when it comes to making an honest assessment of what your company does well and what you could do better. But let's face it, your business strengths and weaknesses determine your odds of success as you look ahead. Your strengths and weaknesses refer to the capabilities and resources your company has, and how well they match up with those things you really need to have in place to be successful. 7.) Can you stand behind the numbers? Think about all your financial statements as your company's report card. That report card answers some big questions. Do your customers love you? Are your competitors afraid of you? Are you making the right business choices? An income statement presents the bottom line. The balance sheet shows what you're worth. And the cash flow statement keeps track of the money. Your current financials tell everybody how well you're doing. But a lot of people are more interested in your financial forecasts. These say what you expect will happen in the future. But just because they've got lots of numbers in them doesn't mean the predictions will come true. If you want to paint an honest picture of your company, your business plan should include a realistic financial portrait based on assumptions you believe in and numbers you trust. 8.) Are you really ready for change? If there's one thing that remains constant in the business world, it's change. While some industries change faster than others, everything around you -- from technology to competition to your market -- is going to be a little different tomorrow than it is today, no matter what business you're in. And if you want to keep up, you're going to have to think two or three steps ahead. That means looking carefully and continuously at what might happen out there, and how it might affect your company. 9.) Does your strategy make sense? Strategy really has to do with how you plan to make your business plan happen. So for starters, you have to pull together your company's strengths and weaknesses, the opportunities and threats you face, and the business goals you set for yourself. Then given all these pieces to the puzzle, you've got to figure out a way to use what you have to get to where you want to be, in spite of all the things that stand in your way. It should be clear, from beginning to end, that your business plan is based on an overall strategy that makes sense. 10.) Is your plan clear, concise and up-to-date? Your plan should certainly capture all the things you think are essential to know about your company and its situation -- everything important you've learned in the process of planning your business. But none of it's going to be of any use to anyone else, if your business plan's too long, impossible to read, or out of date. Read over your own plan. Is it easy to understand? Is it easy to navigate? How long did it take you to read? How about all the details? Do you know where find them? Do they get in the way? And remember, your plan is a living document. So make sure it's in a form that's easy to change when you need to make changes. If you have to start from scratch each time, your plan is destined to be old news.
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