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A person would certainly never think of building a new
house without first drawing up a detailed blueprint,
and then following the directions to construct it.
Yet, many people start and continue an e-business without
the foggiest notion of where they want to go and how
they are going to get there.
Investor's Business Daily recently ran an article
outlining the key steps to building a strong business.
#3 on the list was developing an operating plan,
then sticking to it.
So right now......take 30 minutes and write down where you
expect to be financially with your business in 6 months,
in 1 year, and in 3 years. Then write down how you plan
on getting there.
For ages financial planners have touted the benefits of
having a budget for your household expenses. If they
think it's so important for a home, then don't you think
it is even more important for your business?
The plan does not have to be elaborate or highly detailed
right now, you can always add to it later. Simply write
something similar to a home budget. How much do you have
for joining or starting a new business? How much can you
afford for advertising costs?
Consider this: if you are not willing to even write down
some sort of business plan, do you reasonably expect to
have a thriving business 3 years from now?
#1 on the IBD list was "Cash Is King."
Getting into a lot of debt without quick profits to justify
it, is what spelled death for many of the crashed dotcoms.
Many of these businesses had serious cash flow problems,
but because the money was flowing in so rapidly from
investors, they chose to overspend their budgets. When
the bottom fell out and the money tree quit producing,
there was no real source of continuing revenue to meet
operating expenses.
Financing a rise on borrowed money is putting your business
into a high risk category. If your business is not making
you money, stop putting money into it!
Re-evaluate the situation, dump it if need be, and go
on to greener pastures. Continually spending money on
a project that is not giving you a sufficient source of
income to justify the costs, will mean you will soon
be out of business.
#2 on the list is to evaluate yourself, your situation,
and your strengths. In other words, don't do what
everyone else is doing just for the sake of doing something.
Your business must be something that you really enjoy,
are willing to work hard at, and will reflect your personal
strengths and abilities. Don't put the proverbial square
peg into a round hole.
#4 says that relationships are everything. First, you
have to believe in yourself. If you don't believe in you,
then friend, don't expect anyone else to either.
The Internet is a big pond and there are a lot of fish
swimming in it. Some are bottom feeders, some are top.
You'll never get off the bottom if you don't set your
sites for the surface and then believe that you do have
what it takes to swim up there.
Being online you are going to need to establish your
credibility and integrity to the e-community. Keep your
relationships with the rest of the netizens clean,
healthy, and constantly growing.
Another reason many of these e-businesses failed is
because management didn't address the problems that were
apparent in their companies. As long as the money was
coming in, they thought all would be well. It's easy
to ignore problems when times are good. But, when the
business cycle turned, it was too late.
All businesses have problems of one sort or another.
Ignoring little problems will only mean bigger problems
in the future. When your business runs across a difficulty
or problem, address that issue right now.
Remember what the little bird in one of Dr. Seuss's books
said, "Why make big problems out of little problems."
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Dave Cole
Prosperity: The Choice Is Yours
Copyright © 2004/2005
Dave's E-zine provides you with inspiration,
motivation, and postive life values to help
you become more successful in life and in
making more money.
Get your F R E E subscription today.
http://choosetoprosper.com
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