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The Practical Business Plan

The Practical Business Plan

The following briefly defines the contents of a business plan and provides some questions to address within a business plan.

VISION
A vision is something that is ongoing without a specific end-point in time. Also, a vision is considered a soft skill because it may not be measurable. If your business is a structure to fulfill your greater purpose; what is the purpose? What is the long range picture of your business?

MISSION
A mission answers the following questions. What specific outcome does your business need to be focused on? What approach out of all possible approach’s to your vision does your business need to take? What is your market ‘niche’? In what product or service does your business specialize? How will you put your mission into words that will be meaningful and inspiring to your employees? How will you keep your company mission up in front of employees, clients and associates, so they will stay on course?

OBJECTIVES
Objectives are the ultimate goals of your business. What are the long-term and short-term goals of your business? Identify those goals that will achieve your objectives. Create clear and concrete measurements. How many? By when? Design measurement systems for each distinct area of your business which will be posted daily, weekly, monthly, etc.

STRATEGIES
Strategies are plans and skills that allow the business to achieve goals on the way to fulfilling your business mission and objectives. What is your action for your business? How will you get to where you are going from where you are now?

STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES
Standard operating procedures are the foundation and the rules of conduct for your business. This is the vehicle that will allow people to know if and when they are not operating true to company’s principles. What does your business stand for and what are the business commitments? What is the motivating force behind your business? By what principles will you operate? Write out an employee handbook or a company manual.

ORGANIZATION AND ACCOUNTABILITIES
Organization is the system by which your business achieves specific purposes. Write an organizational chart for your business. Write job descriptions for all jobs in your organizational chart. Define what the business, departments, and individual employees are responsible for and expected to perform.

HOW MANY BY WHEN
How many identifies the total amount of possibilities that will enable your business to achieve the objectives. By when is a specific time frame for accomplishment. What needs to happen and by what date?

EXECUTION
Execution explains the measurement of actual results vs. the budget. What resources will be necessary in order for your business to produce or achieve the ‘goals’? Where can these resources be obtained and what will they cost? What are the appropriate actions? What requests and promises are being made of whom? By when?

BUDGET
A budget is an estimate of income and operating expenses for your business. It becomes the measuring device for determining the effectiveness of your business plan. Prepare an operating statement for your business for all twelve (12) months.

MANAGING PROBLEMS and BREAKDOWNS
When goals are important they stretch people’s performance in order to accomplish the goals. Problems and breakdowns occur along the way. When a company is committed to a goal, the structure within which people can work in managing breakdowns makes the difference between success and failure.

An employee’s relationship to any business project or goal is directly shaped by that employee’s commitment to the goals. Having the freedom to experience personal breakdowns and manage problems will affect the overall outcome.





The Practical Business Plan - To learn more about this author, visit Chari Darneal's Website.

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Leanne Hoagland-Smith
Are your sales where you want them to be? Will you be one of the few who achieves sales or business success or one of the many who have failed to change? Are you tired of being told you are like everyone else? Then you may find my first book on sales of interest. Be the Red Jacket in the Sea of Gray Suits, The Keys to Unlocking Sales available at Amazon or at http://www.processspecialist.com/red-jacket.htm. This book is a reflection of my no-nonsense approach to improving sales to overall business results. If you are truly committed to making sustainable changes, then I can help you secure a positive return on your investment because I focus on executable solutions not telling you the problems you already know you have. From training to corporate (group) coaching to executive one on one coaching, my approach is to assess, create awareness, build a goal driven action plan and then execute. The bottom line question is "Not do you or your employees know it, but do you or they want to do it?" Please call for a free strategy session at 219.759.5601. - Visit Leanne Hoagland-Smith's Website

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David Acheson is the founder of DCJA Consultancy. DCJA Consultancy is a management consultancy business specialising in B2B sales consultancy. They offer bespoke and packaged sales consultancy including Sales Optimisation Review, Interim Sales Management, Sales & Marketing Review, 1:1 Sales & Management Staff Analysis, Management Training, Solution Sales Training, Creation of New Pay Plan, KPI's, run Customer Feedback Campaigns, assist with Recruitment, Coaching, Appraisals and set up Strategic Marketing Campaigns.  David spent his early career in accountancy and then moved into sales in 1982, working in Office Equipment, IT, Advertising, Training, Outsourcing and Consultancy. He has held many Senior Positions in SMBs and Global Organisations including Head of Sales Operations & Head of Business Development. His knowledge, skills and great experience of the Sales Industry has led to David making keynote speeches and running educational sessions to key businesses through organisations including The Chamber of Commerce and Business Link. - Visit David Acheson's Website

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David Barr is the President of Venture Opportunities, Inc. David has been a professional business broker/intermediary since 1980 focusing on General Business Brokerage and Mergers and Acquisitions representing client transaction value from $400,000 to $20,000,000. Mr. Barr has handled the sale of over four hundred and fifty companies. David earned a university degree from the State University of New York majoring in economics and business. David holds the Mergers and Acquisition Master Intermediary and the Certified Business Intermediary designations from the International Business Brokers Association. He is also a Senior Business Analyst and a Texas licensed Real Estate Agent. For more information about David and Venture Opportunities, visit www.bizdealmaker.com. - Visit David Barr's Website

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Anne Barr has over 26 years experience in sales and marketing, six years as a franchisee. She has assisted over 367 business owners and purchasers to achieve their goals in career change, transition and exit strategy. She holds the designation of Certified Franchise Executive from the International Franchise Association, Certified Business Intermediary from the International Business Brokers Association and Board Certified Broker from the Texas Association of Business Brokers. Anne is active in professional organizations, networking groups and volunteers for non-profit entities. As owner/operator of four successful businesses, Anne has proven people skills and enjoys helping clients find the right "fit" in business ownership. Visit www.FranchiseOpportunitySpecialist.com for more information about me and my company. - Visit Anne Barr's Website

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Cheryl Matthynssens

Cheryl is a life skills coach, licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor and a 20 year entrepreneur.  Cheryl's dedication to achieving a life of balance led to her expanding her teaching from the simple managing of life's daily challenges to adding financial well being as well.  A direct marketer with DrinkACT, she is gaining ground in the online community with her concepts of making sure business owners, entreprenuers and employees have well rounded life styles.  She opened up a small affiliate site - The Balance Guide-  to help others find resources for mental and emotional well being.  Visit Cheryl's blog to see more of the diversity beyond business she has began offering online at www.thebalanceguide.blogspot.com

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Chari Darneal
(Visit Chari's Website) Chari Darneal is currently Vice-President and a Senior Business Coach of BusinessCoach.com. Chari is a passionate expert of organizational design, corporate culture, employee satisfaction, strategic planning, leadership and teambuilding. Chari coaches clients, provides training and co-develops other business coaches for the organization. Chari co-created the redesigned version of the workbook that BusinessCoach.com uses with their clients: The Complete Business Coaching Workbook: Valuable Tools for Creating Success & Fun in Business. She is also an experienced keynote speaker, speaking before private and public organizations of groups as small as 5 and as large as 2500. In addition to her responsibilities as the Senior Business Coach, Mrs. Darneal participates in on-going training and development to further her knowledge of the ever changing business world. Education B.S. Communications, Emphasis in Organizational Communication University of California, Davis Affiliations Chari is currently and active participant of the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization and the Worldwide Association of Business Coaches.

Chari Darneal is a Gold author on EvanCarmichael.com
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