Motivation and Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Hi - I'm interested in writing a business plan and would like to know what you would suggest as a good guide. I'm financially literate and have been involved in a number of different industries, so this guide doesn't necessarily have to be from a "beginners" perspective. Hope you can help.

David


Hi David,

This is one of the most frequently asked questions that I get. Having a solid business plan is critical for arranging the financing you need to grow your business as well as establish the confidence for yourself and your partners that your idea really could take off.

In response to a lot of feedback from website visitors, I put together a Sample Business Plan. It covers the important areas including:

1. Executive Summary
2. Company Description
3. Market Analysis
4. Marketing and Sales Activities
5. Products and Services
6. Operations
7. Management and Ownership
8. Funds Required and Their Users
9. Financial Data
10. Appendices or Exhibits

It can be found at: http://www.evancarmichael.com/Sample-Business-Plan/index.html

Another useful resource is the Business Development Bank of Canada. They have a free sample guide available as well. Since the link changes, simply type in BDC business plan into Google and it will pop up.

Good luck!

Evan.

Posted by Evan Carmichael at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments   

- Venture capitalists are in business to make money. They have to have the ability to select companies that will make more money than their rivals.

- There are 2 types of companies. The first is a lifestyle business. These types of companies are centered around the lifestyle of the entrepreneurs. The owners will use the business to drive expensive cars and purchase big houses. These are not businesses that attract venture capital.

- The second type of company is a gazelle. These companies are run by entrepreneurs who want to build world-class organizations.

- There are three ways for a venture capitalist to exit from your business: acquisition, public offering or management buyout. Half of the decision to invest in your company is derived from if the venture capitalist can see a clear exit.

- An example of a gazelle is Hewlett-Packard. Mr. Hewlett and Mr. Packard wanted to build a world class company. They recognized that they did not have the necessary skills so they hired professional management and became mentors and the elderly statesmen for the company. They were able to exit from the company and it became a huge success.

Posted by Evan Carmichael at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Hi Evan,
I have recently discovered your website and browsing the various resources that your site offers. I appreciate them very much. I am a fresh graduate from UBC in Applied Science, Electrical Engineering. I started working at Canada's number 2 telecommunications provider shortly after my graduation from UBC. I have searched within the organization to examine the leadership qualities exhibited by the company's executive leadership team. I have come to realize that leadership is based on very simple ideas.

I feel that I have the ideas and the intelligence (don't we all) to create and grow leading businesses. One quality that I feel I lack is charisma. I am not awkward, but I am not a salesman. In your experience, does someone like myself have the potential to grown that charismatic personality, or should I focus my career on developing my stronger traits, such as my analytical and creative abilities? If I will always be someone who lacks the charisma to charm all my audiences, should I give up the idea of being the CEO of leading edge companies, and focus on other roles, or do you think I could still fill such a role successfully?

Again, I would like to thank you for the resources that you have made available. I have a couple of business opportunities awaiting me, and I am in the due diligence stage of one of them. Because of the generosity of your site and the relationship it has built, I will openly look for ways that I can employ your services. Can you tell that I have been reading some of your Marketing advice from Michael Hepworth?

Sincerely,

Matthew


Hi Matthew,

The key is to know what you're good at and find a way to make money doing it. I've met a lot of entrepreneurs who have built multi-million dollar companies who are not very charismatic at all.

By the same token, I've made many charismatic people who have failed miserably at being an entrepreneur.

What you need to do is pick an industry that you are passionate about and you can be outstanding in.

Every company needs a team of people to be successful. The first step in building this team is recognizing what your individual weaknesses are. Surround yourself with people who complement your skills and can help you build a world class organization.

Good luck!

Evan.

Posted by Evan Carmichael at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments   

CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENT



BETWEEN: Northern Crown Capital Inc.
Suite 1705
8 King Street East
Toronto, Ontario M5C 1B5



AND: ABC Company
Street Address
City, Province / State
Postal / Zip Code

Attention:
Contact Name
Tel: (xxx) xxx-xxxx


RE: ABC Company
(the "Company")



Northern Crown Capital Inc. ("NCCI") has requested certain information (the "Information") concerning the Company, which the Company considers valuable and confidential. As a condition of the Company furnishing NCCI with such information, NCCI hereby acknowledges and agrees that any and all written or oral information now or hereafter furnished to them concerning the Company, is confidential and that the Company's business and operations could be damaged if any of the Information is disclosed to third parties.

NCCI agrees that such Information:

shall be kept confidential by NCCI and will not be disclosed, divulged or provided to any person without the Company's prior written consent; provided however, that such Information may be disclosed:

(i) to the smallest practicable number of NCCI's directors, officers, and employees, if any, who need to know such Information;

(ii) if such disclosure is required by law;

shall not be used by NCCI, and NCCI shall not permit the use of such Information, in a manner or for a purpose detrimental to the Company;

shall not be deemed to include information which:

(a) is public knowledge or becomes generally available to the public other than as a result of disclosure by the Company;

(b) becomes available to NCCI on a non-confidential basis, from a source who is not bound by a Confidentiality Agreement with the Company, and is in NCCI's possession prior to disclosure by the Company.

In the event that discussions relating to this evaluation cease for any reason whatsoever, NCCI shall, within three (3) days of receipt of written notice by the Company promptly deliver to the Company and shall not retain, or permit its directors, officers, or employees to retain, any and all originals, copies, or extracts from the documents containing the Information.

It is understood and agreed that, in the event of any breach or threatened breach of the terms hereof, the Company shall be entitled to equitable relief, in addition to any other remedies which may be available to it, in any court of competent jurisdiction.

NCCI hereby acknowledges and agrees that the Company makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy or completeness of the Information, and that the Company shall have no liability as a result of NCCI's use of, or reliance upon the Information.

Acceptance of this Agreement by NCCI and the Company, and the terms set forth above shall be evidenced by the countersigning of this letter, and returning a copy of same to the parties.

Dated at City, Province / State this day of , 2005.


Northern Crown Capital Inc. ABC Company



_________________________ _________________________
Partner Contact Name

Posted by Evan Carmichael at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments   

- An intermediary should always sign a confidentiality or non-disclosure agreement (NDA). It is a 1 to 5 page document that acknowledges you have sensitive information that if released could harm your business and it should not be shared.

- Venture capitalists, however, will not normally sign a confidentiality agreement. They see so many companies in the same industry that they cannot sign one agreement and risk not being able to invest in other potential good deals.

Posted by Evan Carmichael at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Evan,

I wanted to start a small importing/exporting company buying and selling handbags and ladies accessories. Can you give me direction as to what the best steps to take are? Also if there are any resources that I can research or use to get this going?

Thanks.

Karmela




Karmela,

Congratulations on your ambition to start a business!

My top three suggestions for you are the following:

1) Model Success. Find someone who has achieved business success who you admire. Look at people in your industry as well as outside your industry. For example, who is the most successful importing / exporting company right now for handbags? What about importers / exporters for other products? Who are some other successful entrepreneurs you look up to? By studying their stories and learning how they got started you can create a model of success for your own business. For some ideas you can visit my Modeling Masters blog at http://www.evancarmichael.com/Masters/Masters.html

2) Start Small. As an entrepreneur you�re bound to have many great ideas as to where your business can go. There are always new markets to tackle, new products to sell, and new opportunities to conquer. Many entrepreneurs, however, try to take on too much too quickly. The first year of a small business is about survival � making enough to pay the bills and ensuring you�re still going to be around next year. Most entrepreneurs who act big too quickly end up going bust. Build your foundation, dream big and take small steps today for what will soon be your outstanding company!

3) Set Goals. When you have a clear sense of what you want to do with your business, you are much more likely to achieve success. If you start driving without any destination in mind then you could spend your entire time driving around in circles! Take some time and write down where you want to take your business. Make long term goals as well as short term ones � what are you going to do this week to move forward on one of your long term goals? Set your direction and take steps every day to get closer to your goals.

Good luck in building your business and keep me posted!

Evan.

Posted by Evan Carmichael at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments   

Dear Evan,

Claudio and I have been to some of your meetings which we enjoyed, we have developed a new wheelbarrow, it is a sort of self loading, but we are unable to find some manufacturers to take on this project, we had lot of good remarks from industries, we have corrected the negative remarks, and have a new prototype, drawings, but we don't have the necessary finances, it would be an ideal find an industry maybe in China to take over and maybe sell the all thing, we have filed in USA/ Argentina/PCT. And there should be no problems with the patent as we had some actions taken, but not really important, we have addressed them. Can you please give some advice on what next?

I thank you and hope to see you again.

All the best Maria Carosi


Hi Maria,

Moving from being an inventor to being an entrepreneur can often be a very challenging step. For an inventor to be successful he or she must be focused on satisfying a human need, which is to enhance our experience by giving us useful tools.

There are a couple of options that you can take. In terms of financing, your best bet would be to speak with angel investors (wealthy individuals like doctors, dentists, lawyers, etc.). They are usually reached through informal networks - your friends and family would be a good place to start to see if they know anyone who they can introduce you to. I've also written a section on my website dedicated to finding angel investors at http://www.evancarmichael.com/Angel-Investors/index.html.

A second option is to contact the BDC (Business Development Bank of Canada). They are a government run organization with a mandate to help Canadian entrepreneurs. They are not going to automatically approve you but they do take more risks compared to the typical banks.

You should also focus on getting some more traction with potential customers. You said that you've spoken with industries and have received good remarks. Will they purchase your product up front? Will they give you a letter of intent? Will they provide testimonials?

Often customers are great financing options for startup entrepreneurs. If they won't agree to buy up front then at least you can get their support to show potential investors. If you can show an investor or lender that you have clients lined up you've done more than 90% of the other business plans they've seen this month.

A final thought you might consider is to think about if you really want to run a business or not. Many inventors like to create but do not like the work that comes with operating a company. You need to focus on what you're the best at and bring others on who can complement you.

Good luck!

Evan.

Posted by Evan Carmichael at 12:11 PM | Permalink | Comments