Why
re-invent the wheel while there are good business frameworks out there already
you can use, and here you will learn one of them - the lean business planning.
But first...
it is important to understand Start-Ups are not smaller version of large
companies.
Established
companies execute business models where customers, their problems and necessary
product features are all known. In sharp contrast, startups operate in
search mode, seeking a repeatable and profitable business model. The search
for a business model requires dramatically different rules, roadmap, skill
sets and tools in order to minimize risk and optimize chances for success.
I speak from
experience when I say entrepreneurship is always scary because while you take
advantage of opportunities you also need to embrace uncertainty.
It is like
two sides of one coin – one cannot go without another.
Most
probably if you have an idea for business or you already own a business you
started from the idea, an innovation or a market need that other people haven't
spotted, or that's currently unsatisfied.
And your
goal is to fill that need.
But because
that need's unsatisfied, you can't know the answer in advance will it work or
not.
And if the
opportunity was obvious or risk free, somebody else would have done it already.
So that
means that taking advantage of opportunity is inherently about taking advantage
of uncertainty and if you want to proceed you need to embrace uncertainty
yourself.
Once you
accept this fact, also embrace the fact that you can mold this uncertainty by
thinking – formulating your business strategy.
In strategy
of just starting you know very little.
You haven't
built your product.
So how do
you know whether people will react?
You have no
past performance to draw from.
You know you
need to find customers.
You don't
know what they're going to look like.
You know
that you're going to have to raise funding, but
you don't
know from whom.
You know
that there's going to be competition, but
you don't
necessarily know how people are going to react.
Because
startups need to learn as they go.
You need to
structure your startup to learn.
It’s like
million questions to be answered and no wonder if you are feeling confused –
most of the people do.
The cleverest
idea is to put things into structure and learn as you go.
Enroll in FREE LIVE MasterClass - Crushing Business Planning
To put it
into structure use methods that can help you do that and we come back to the
beginning of our story.
One is
called Lean business planning
There is the
book called The Lean Startup that describes these principles, by guy called
Eric Ries. And he said:
“Startup success can be engineered by following the process, which means it can be learned, which means it can be taught.”
And there
are 5 principles in Lean business planning:
1)
ENTREPRENEURS ARE EVERYWHERE
You don't have to work in a garage to be in a startup
2)
ENTREPRENEURSHIP IS MANAGEMENT
A startup is
an institution, not just a product, so it requires management, a new kind of
management specifically geared to its context.
3) VALIDATED
LEARNING
Startups
exist not to make stuff, make money, or serve customers. They exist to learn
how to build a sustainable business. This learning can be validated
scientifically, by running experiments that allow us to test each element of
our vision.
4)
INNOVATION ACCOUNTING
To improve
entrepreneurial outcomes, and to hold entrepreneurs accountable, we need to
focus on the boring stuff: how to measure progress, how to setup milestones,
how to prioritize work. This requires a new kind of accounting, specific to
startups.
5) BUILD-MEASURE-LEARN
The
fundamental activity of a startup is to turn ideas into products, measure how
customers respond, and then learn whether to pivot or persevere. All successful
startup processes should be geared to accelerate that feedback loop.
If you need
a business plan example, with financial case study click this link and download
it immediately, so you can use it for your own business plan. Please feel free
to copy anything you find relevant.
Why don’t you START IMMEDIATELY by downloading a simple tool to build your business plan.
Here is what you will find when you hit Download button:
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