The Simple Business Plan: An Outline

Simple Business Plan Fundamentals

1. The purpose of the document (i.e., Why are we writing this?)

2. What Are We Selling; to Whom? (a product, a service or an idea; describe the audience)

3. What is Our Mission (i.e., Why are we deciding to this with our lives?)

4. Core Values (Is this idea inspiring? To ourselves? To others? Is it worthy of our talents? And is it bigger than we are?)

5. Strategic Business Goals

6. Near-term Business Goals

7. Where do we find clients and how will we continue to find them? (i.e., marketing strategy)

8. Who are our competitors and how are we better? (i.e. competitive analysis or SWOT)

9. What is our timeline?

10. Who makes the business run? And, do they have relevant skills in the business we are attempting to create?

11. What is our pricing model? And, how will we get paid?

12. What is the company's financial position and what are our expectations for the coming year? How will we pay our investors back?

Attachments:

-- Financial Pro Forma
-- Research data
-- Endnotes

Branding for an Accounting Firm: Ancient Symbols Provide a Guide

Assignment: Provide strategic guidance on a new brand for a growing regional accounting firm.
Summary of Approach:

For several years, we have been using The Complete Encyclopedia of Signs and Symbols as a guide for identifying and evaluating the "vocubulary that formulates our thoughts" on brand symbols and establishes a guide for our recommendations on brand development.

Truth be known, we think brand development for most professional service organizations is often over-done, too expensive and contrived. Accenture, for example. Does it really matter what the name of this company is? McKinsey, is another. Would the company be thought of any differently if it were called McClaskey? On the other hand, where would Nike be today if it had been called "Phils Running Shoe Company."

It is, however, fun to conduct a search using the encyclopedia and then cross-referencethat to what can be found through online searches. The encyclopedia begins with a description of symbols:

"The word 'symbol' is derived from the ancient Greek symballein, meaning to throw together. It's figurative use originated in the custom of breaking a clay tablet to mark the conclusion of a contract or agreement; each party to the agreement would be given one of the broken pieces, so that when they reconvened the pieces could be fitted together like a jigsaw." The individual pieces were known as symbola. "A symbol not only represents something else but also hits at a missing 'something', an invisible part that is needed to achieve completion or wholeness."

With regard to accounting, the nearest symbol are dots and lines. We were drawn first to consider lines. According to the encyclopedia authors, "the straight line is one of the five basic elements of Western ideography."

This sign is a base: ___

This sign means unity: I I

This means equality: =

This means complete entities: It also signifies friendship. I I I

This means similarity in one dimension:
___
___
___

And this means the same as:

Other interesting thoughts...

-- Neolithic stones, apparently, with geometric line design, such as those found at Susa in Iran, are thought to be counting stones or calculi - the word calculate is from the Latin "calculus" meaning "stone."

-- It seems many counting sticks and carvings in ancient stones were used to calculate the cycles of the moon.

-- If you type in "ancient accounting" in Google, you will also see some additional images of different counting systems.



What do we recommend?


Counting and keeping track of what we own, owe or desire is an ancient human trait. The symbols representing how we have accounted for people, places or things is virtually limitless. To keep the exercise focused and simple, we sent the following recommendation to our accounting firm client:

To every challenge there is a symmetrical and thoughtful solution. Symbols are ancient things with deep meaning. And while there seems to be no compelling reason to pay a small fortune to re-engineer your brand, there is a way to make the process enjoyable for those of your staff interested in seeing a refresh of your imagery, while also being acutely sensitive to cost.

Everyone can guess at what they might want to see, but it’s the why that must be considered. Why is changing the brand so important? Sometimes the only answer is “because it feels dated.” I am no expert at brand development, but I am a student of it. And a skeptical one at that. I have always chosen more classical interpretations over fancy over-the-top design. I’ve learned that I’m either not smart enough or creative enough to conjure something entirely new. This means I tend to stick to fonts and designs that were developed pre-industrial era or just as the industrial revolution dawned.

Before I get too far ahead of myself, I have some simple advice that I will be prepared to share that is applicable to all professional services concerns. These are the steps to take as you begin.

1. Consider fonts first. Your name is more important than a design. Fonts have history. Understanding the history of fonts is a simple way to give any new brand the symmetry it requires to reduce risk in the human brain.

2. Consider color second. New brain research shows that the human brain is capable of “feeling” colors and assigning images in the brain to colors and feelings. Extreme examples of people “feeling” images is known as synesthetes

3. Consider the meaning of symbols. For example, in the medical world, the caduceus has a long history of connection to the medical profession. What classic symbols come to mind for accountants?

The Case for Case Studies

Every time I recommend that a client put together a case study, they groan. Why? Too much work for too little result. Hard to argue with that. But, argue I will.

Here are the top six reasons why companies should develop case studies:

1. They are basic story-telling elements. The more complex your product or service, the more valuable a case study can be. Having case studies allows you to provide examples of how your product or service solved a compelling business problem. Let's say you are putting together a Power Point. You need examples of what you've done. Dust off the case study and voila! instant Power Point.

2. Case studies force you to consider your company's value proposition at a very tactical level. A simple case study describes a challenge, a solution and a result. Considering these three issues more critically allows leaders to make adjustments in tactics and strategy.

3. Case studies provide a window into how the author views the company's value proposition. Assigning a case study can help staff work through issues they need to master. The simple framework gives leaders a more clear understanding of how their staff addresses problems and challenges.

4. The Web demands fresh content. In meeting after meeting, clients are searching for ways to keep their Website content fresh. Case studies fit this bill and can be useful tools for search engine optimization, competitor differentiation and prospect education, among other things. Key words can be linked to products or services in other parts of a company's site or linked to partner or supplier sites.

5. Continuous learning is a good thing. Case studies are among the simplest way to get to the root of an issue not only for successes, but also failures. They're also inexpensive requiring an a couple of hours at most.

6. Nothing bad can happen as a result of creating a case study. They are like the oatmeal of corporate communications. They force you to chew on your approaches and they clean out clogged creativity. Yeah. Yeah. The metaphor's kinda lame. I still think it works, though.

In addition, to these, case studies can be used as attachments in correspondence to prospects to show them what you or your organization is capable of or as supporting material for proposals.
Media also like case studies as they define your "brand in action."

Email Newsletters for People Who Don't Want to Produce an Email Newsletter

So, you think you want to create an email newsletter. Excellent. (Deciding is the easy party.)

Now, you need to get organized. But, you don't need to do everything. Following our AMP process (trademark pending), you can get started on your own then call some professionals in to take over the rest.

A stands for Audience...

1. Do you have a list of contacts with their email addresses? If so, do you love your list? If not, who does?

2. Do these contacts want to receive news, tips, ideas, musings, instructions, advice, promotions, publicity and the like from you about 6 to 12 times per year or more?

M stands for Message...

3. Do you have a content plan? By that we mean, do you have a set of story ideas?

P stands for Process...

4. Who is going to write your newsletter and keep the ideas fresh? No body likes a boring newsletter.

5. Do you have a Website? If so, can visitors “subscribe” to your newsletter there?

With AMP out of the way, here’s what we can do:

1.We help you learn what we mean when we ask if you “love your list.”*

2.We help you build your newsletter - providing you with template editorial calendars to keep your communication interesting, lively, topical, useful - and above else, pithy.

3.We help you decide upon the optimal time and date to send the newsletter to your list.

4.We tell you how many people opened your newsletter, read it, forwarded it to a friend or clicked through to your Website. We can tell you some other cool things too.

5.We give you a piece of code that you can add to your Website so visitors can easily subscribe to your newsletter. (Don’t worry, we know how to put it on your Website.)

Here’s what we charge.

A one time set up fee: $250.

Plus

$50 per month on an annual contract. $75 per month on a quartlerly contract.

........................................................................

We accept checks and Visa and Mastercard through PayPal.

........................................................................

Don’t have a Website, we’ll help you set up a host-free Weblog/Website for $499.

Don’t want to write your own newsletter? We can do a “three-story” edition for $399 per edition. (1,000 word maximum; 50 cents a word after that).

SCIPAB. If you have to do a Power Point, then this is one formula to follow

SCIPAB

Situation --- what is the situation (eg. it's bad now ... world stats, environment)

Complication --- what complicates the situation (eg. it's getting worse ... the human needs that complicate the situation)

Implication --- what is the implication of S,C (eg. human pain, weather isn't fair ... someone has to do something about it)

Position --- what is our Position on S, C, I (eg. There is a better way --- our way ... we have done something)

Action --- what is the Action to take as a response (eg. we have an opportunity, and the time is now ... for you)

Benefit --- what are the key benefits of taking action (eg. in audience terms, here is how you gain your meaningful ROI)

Source: www.mandelcomm.com

How to write a "creative brief?"

I like to make myself crazy by gathering every detail possible and then torturing myself with the development of cleverly crafted creative briefs. So, here is a creative work in progress for your viewing and using pleasure:

These are questions that I like to answer when developing a "creative brief" or "creative memorandum"

What's the purpose of this creative brief? Or, what story do we desire to tell in the most creative manner possible?

What’s our business objective? Or, why in the hell are we doing this?

What kind of background information do we have?

What should this piece of brilliance look like? Is it a printed piece? Is it a video? A photo shoot? An event?

Who is the audience?

What are the messages? Don't write me a novel. Be brief. Be brilliant. Be gone.

How will this be different than what's already out there? Will it change the world? Will it make people: Act? React? Take notice? Yawn? Angry?

What miscellaneous issues do we need to be made aware of? For example, has a competitor already done this? Will we look really cool or really lame if we take this on?

How much will this cost to complete? Will it be worth the effort?

What do we do immediately after reading this?

How to use Trademark symbols

You cannot use an ® until your trade-marks are registered. While your trade-marks are in application to your chosen country, trade names and the like can be identified with a TM. Please note that there are no requirements to use symbols in Canada, however, attorneys recommend that un-filed trade-mark applications should be identified with the TM as they can accrue common law rights and marking in this manner is considered public notice.

Consideration must also be given to the fact that the use of an ® in brochures and documents that are going to foreign countries where IP applications may (or at this point in time, have not) been filed may carry consequences.

For instance, the United States has provisions in its criminal code wherein the identification of Reg. Pat. or ® to indicate that Intellectual Property is registered, when it is not, can result in criminal fraud charges. It is for this reason that legal counsel has recommended that the TM be used as it is correct in any country and also why they suggest that the Terms of Use on company web-sites include an Intellectual Property clause.

It is imperative that the information relayed to the consumer/licensee not be falsely represented.

On Blogs

The terms Weblog or blog are generic terms and do not just apply to Blogger sites. There are a wide variety of online tools that allow individuals or companies to build their own Weblog (typepad.com and livejournal.com are good examples). If you are interested in looking at more blogs, go to Technorati.com, pick a category and start surfing the Web.

The defining characteristic of a blog is that the content is organized chronologically or as an ongoing narrative. The word weblog comes from this characteristic - "web" because it is online and "log" because it is essentially an ordered list of content.

Why do I like them? Fast. Cheap. Easy. Powerful. Measurable.

Key advantages to using Weblogs for most business applications:

1. Speed. Weblogs can be established in minutes.

2. Cost. Weblogs generally have no hosting fees associated with them.

3. Flexibility. Today's Weblog programs are vastly more powerful and allow for more creativity than most Websites that we built just a few years ago. Adding content, whether it's video, audio, photos, stories, .PDF's, links, etc. is simple, fast and almost effortless.

4. Security. Weblogs can be viewed by the entire world or only those who you invite.

5. Measurability. With statistical code attached to the programming code, the behavior of visitors can be tracked easily, thus providing marketers with invaluable data.

6. Usability. Visitors or members (for private blogs) can post stories, comments and the like in a running dialog similar to how early chat rooms were comprised.

7. Collaboration. As issues are posted, members receive an email of the new posting. This increases the awareness of a particular issue among members of a private blog and is a powerful addition to any corporate communication information distribution system (damn, that's a mouthful to say)

More about Weblogs

Blogs started as personal online journals where individuals could share thoughts, comments, daily activities or anything else they felt like typing about. They gained popularity (and credibility) with news sources as well as a means of quickly sharing news and commentary online. For example, many columnists and sections at the New York Times have blogs online (which you can look at here: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/topnews/blog-index.html).

Corporate blogs have gained in popularity and credibility as well. Content for corporate blogs can vary greatly. They can be a running commentary from a key figure in the company, a place to share news on new products or services, a place to share relevant industry news and commentary on the news, and/or a forum for open dialogue between the company and the public.

Then there are blogs like Ascend Performance Group's - meant to be more of an online brochure.

Now to your big questions about why a blog instead of a traditional Web site. With a traditional Web site, your options are limited only by time, budget and creativity. With a skilled designer and programmer, you can build a Web site to look and function *exactly* how you want it to. With Blogger (and other blogging tools) you are somewhat limited by what the tools provide and allow. For example, almost all Blogger-made blogs will follow the two-column layout. You can change colors, fonts, add images and video, but you are somewhat locked in to the layout provided unless you have a somewhat advanced programming knowledge.

As far as credibility goes, blogs are a more and more accepted and valid form of online presence for companies. This may not have been true five years ago, but most people now do not have a bias between traditional Web sites and blogs.

That said, for Ascend's current purposes, we believe a blog is the right online channel at this time because:

1) We can get the blog up quickly. We do not need to spend time with a designer or programmer to layout and build the site.

2) We have control over our content. Again, it is very simple for us to edit content on the blog on our own, with out a programmer involved.

3) It's free. At some point, it may be worth paying to have a site built. But the tools provided by the blog/Blogger are enough to cover our needs for now.

A Banner for Xenium

The challenge: Create a fabric banner within 72 hours for a golf tournament.

The solution: Kinkos and our designer, Blake Frey. Everytime I want to complain about Kinkos' service, I am reminded that they really do provide an excellent and important service. I just wish we'd added a photo to bring it to life a little more. No time for that this round, though.

The result: Well, judge for yourself.

Introducing Ascend

Over the course of this year, 3 has folded up (it will be official on June 30). It's been an interesting ride since that inauspicious start in August 2001. But, it was time to move on. We've grown up and are moving out of our mother's basement joining a few other smart people who have better skills than we do. In the coming months we'll be unveiling Ascend Performance Group and explaining how it will make your company and your life a little better, easier and more joyful.