Do I Need a Business Plan?

March 8, 2010

Clay

As in just about every area of life, the importance of planning really can’t be overemphasized for the entrepreneur.  This old saying is very true:  Failure to plan is a plan for failure.  Even though some entrepreneurs may “luck” into success without going through the process, a lack of planning really is a formula for failure.

The business plan does not need to be complex or long, but it is necessary.  In simple terms, a business plan is a written description of your business, a document that describes what you plan to do and how you plan to do it.

What is included?

  • A business plan conveys the business goals and the strategies you’ll use to meet them.
  • It discusses the potential problems and risks that may confront your business and ways to solve them.
  • The plan highlights the organizational structure of your business and who the team members are.
  • It demonstrates that there is a market for your product or service and that you know how to tap that market.
  • The plan highlights how the product or service will be produced.
  • It also discusses the amount of capital required to finance your venture and where you expect that money will come from.

Clay Hickson advises a TowsonGlobal business

Business plans have several purposes. They’re used to seek support from potential lenders or investors.  They also may be used to attract key team members, win new business, work with suppliers, and understand how to manage the business better.  However, just because you have a plan doesn’t mean that everything is covered and that there won’t be surprises.  It does mean you will be much better prepared and more likely to achieve success.  Even so, once you have the plan in place, it doesn’t mean that all your work is done.  A business plan is a living document that should be regularly revised as conditions and goals change.

There are numerous resources available for guidance on developing a business plan.  Small Business Development Centers have workshops that teach all the basics.  Their counselors and those of a Small Business Resource Center or of the Service Corps of Retired Executives also can help.  Of course, there also are templates and other resources available on line, such as from the Small Business Administration.  In addition, participation in a business incubator program like TowsonGlobal can provide an entrepreneur significant help in fine tuning his or her business plan.

This nautical analogy sums it up pretty well:  “It’s better to be 5 or even 10 degrees off your charted destination than to have no port in mind at all.  After all, the point of sailing is to get somewhere, and without a plan, you’ll wander the seas aimlessly, sometimes finding dry land but more often than not floundering in a vast ocean.  Sea captains without a chart are rarely remembered for discovering anything but the ocean floor!”

Do you need a business plan?  Yes!

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Posted by Clay Hickson

Defending Your Blindside – How CEOs Build Stellar Organizations (Part 1)

February 22, 2010

Marcia

If you are sitting in front of a bankruptcy lawyer a few years from now saying, “I never saw it coming”, unfortunately you didn’t do the homework which would defend your blindside. And while it’s common knowledge that CEOs don’t like homework, it is important that someone in the organization does the assignments needed to consider the unexpected as well as “the obvious.”

Having interviewed a fair number of CEO and senior level executives in my time, I feel comfortable in making this statement.  Those who clearly know their roles and responsibilities, effectively prioritize and delegate, know how to structure an effective marketing strategy and have the respect of their employees, are the ones who are running successful organizations.

Set Vision and Strategy in Alignment with Mission, Vision and Values

It’s been said that good CEOs and strong leaders are likely to make great chess players.  They can predict the move of their opponent given most any circumstance and make these moves with fearless conviction.  Without doubt, they are highly skilled at calculating likelihoods and probable outcomes.  To me, these skill sets help make them good visionaries and strategists.

As a CEO’s primary responsibility is to set vision and strategy, I guess that means anyone interested in the position should purchase a chess set.  But even the most accomplished business visionaries and strategists won’t be effective unless they incorporate their company’s mission into their strategic growth plan.  And, while playing a game of chess won’t teach you how to craft a mission statement, it may hone your skills to think through various alternatives and options.

The creation of vision and strategy is dependent on a clear mission of what the organization is to accomplish.  Unfortunately, sometimes an organization’s mission gets lost in the heat of competition, an urgency to do what is necessary for survival and appetite for growth.  This being said, you will need to set up checkpoints to determine if your mission is being upheld and how to get it back on course if derailed.

Not having and measuring an organization against its mission statement is like going on a road trip without a map (or global positioning system).  A mission statement guides the actions of an organization, spelling out its overall goal while providing a general sense of direction for decision making.  A CEO’s role is to define their organization’s mission and ensure that their senior management team can implement and support it.

A clear vision will keep an organization on a path that is consistent with its mission. Positive and inspiring, a vision statement should clearly state the future direction of the organization, focusing on what the organization is to become.  It should be communicated and displayed in a variety of ways to your most important stakeholders. (Employees, customers, prospects, strategic alliances, investors, etc.)  Short-term thinking, tradition, fear of ridicule, complacency and fatigued leaders can often “kill” the development of a vision statement.

To ensure your organization’s mission and vision are implemented as they should be, a CEO needs to set and implement a set or core values.  Values drive a business’s culture and priorities and translate to shared beliefs among stakeholders.  For example:  Respect is a common value many organizations try to instill in their business culture.  Excellence and teamwork are two other values. An example of a statement that supports the value of excellence would be:  We conduct ourselves in a way that results in the best possible outcomes and exceeds expectations.

When creating value statements, you want to make sure that you have organizational “buy-in”.  A focus group like exercise, which includes a cross-section of employees, can be used as a good platform to build value statements.  Promoting how employees fulfill and apply the value statements can be listed as success stories in company newsletters, ads, flyers, on your website and even on posters displayed throughout your organization. Including how employees exemplify values in a performance review will assist managers in making sure values are upheld.

A CEO’s responsibility to create mission, vision and values statements as building blocks for his or her organization is critical.  Having these statements defends your blindside both internally and externally allowing for a 360-degree view of your business environment.

This blog is the first in a series of articles relating to a CEOs job description.  It is posted monthly in Towson University’s e-connection newsletter and will soon be available on the MD SBDC Central Region website:  www.centralmdsbdc.org

Roles and responsibilities of an effective CEO will also be the first topic covered in the upcoming CEO Accelerator Executive Training Series. If you would like to receive notifications of this and other training series events, include your contact information below.

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Posted by Marcia Bennett

Two Diverse New Entrepreneurial Ventures Latest to join Towson University’s Global Business Incubator

February 8, 2010

Clay

Demonstrating that the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and strong in Baltimore County, Vulcan Furniture, Inc. and Study Abroad Counselor, LLC, have become the latest companies to join TowsonGlobal, Towson University’s international incubator for startup ventures.

Vulcan Furniture, Inc. specializes in the supply and wholesale of office furniture, systems, seating, cabinets and accessories.  The company provides office furnishing solutions to architects, designers and businesses seeking an upscale image. The firm represents high-end international brand manufacturers, primarily from Asia.  Vulcan is a U.S.-incorporated affiliate of an established furniture company in Pakistan.  According to Shoaib Mastoor, CEO, his grandfather established Vulcan as a steel fabrication company in 1948 after immigrating from neighboring India.

Study Abroad Counselor, LLC, (SAC) is an online-based organization dedicated to assisting students around the world in pursuing studies outside their respective countries. Initially, the company will target smaller colleges in the Mid-Atlantic region and focus on programs in Spain. SAC’s founder Amine Faridi developed the concept for this one-stop-shop web-based business in light of his own experience of being a foreign student in Spain and in helping many other students prepare for study abroad opportunities, while realizing there was no easy way to navigate through all the information spread around the Internet.

Although these companies work within separate industries, both will bring valuable products and services to our region as well as internationally.  And, importantly, they will create new jobs and contribute to the overall economic strength of Baltimore County.

Since the mission at TowsonGlobal is to help both domestic and foreign entrepreneurial ventures learn how to compete in the global economy, we are excited to add both companies to the already diverse mix of startups here at the incubator.

View the press release here.

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Posted by Clay Hickson

Does Your Business Have the “It” Factor?

January 25, 2010

Marcia

Accelerating to the next level of small business growth can be a daunting task-especially in today’s economic environment.  While some entrepreneurs skillfully research and calculate each and every move, others seem to sense their moves and are guided by strong feelings of intuition.

Determining which companies have the best shot at attaining their business advancement goals was recently the task of an advisory board subcommittee formed by the Central Region Small Business Development Center (SBDC).

Vision, commitment, leadership and the ability to effectively hire and delegate were just a few of the qualitative factors considered.  Additionally, business owners who- held their own financially, understood their competition, had a well established market niche and took advantage of market opportunities- were also considered to be strong candidates.  But in today’s business environment it takes even more to be a successful entrepreneur.

The eight companies finally selected to participate in SBDC’s two-year strategic small business growth program appeared to have the “IT” factor.

  • All had a very clear vision of where they are taking their company, the mission they want to accomplish and didn’t seem to doubt the directional moves they had made.
  • Further, all demonstrated confidence and conviction in their ability to run a successful company, have a primary and/or recurring method of attaining revenue and didn’t allow financial risk to paralyze their thinking.
  • And lastly, most have a person in place who they trust and who enables them to work more efficiently and strategically.

This being said, all of the newly selected CEO Accelerator program participants recognize they need additional assistance to strengthen and expand their companies’ operations.  Aided by this two-year program, they will receive help from a team of coaches, mentors and trainers who will foster their strategic growth plans.

The primary program goals are to poise these entrepreneurs to increase revenues and expand operations either through employees, access to capital or mergers and acquisitions. Training them to firm up organizational structures and operations, conduct needed research and create solid business development plans are just a few of the objectives.

After a battery of initial assessments, including a business culture survey, these selected program participants will embark on an eight-month journey to build a strategic growth plan.  Designed to take the peaks and valleys out of revenue streams and facilitate smoother, leaner operations, these plans will be critiqued by an advisory board of subject matter experts.

Hailing from a wide variety of industries-ranging from video production to healthcare assessments, energy audits, counseling, IT, international security and mechanical construction- the program participants are ready to begin the arduous task of evaluating every aspect of their business.

Any small business owner is welcome to join the training sessions which will be posted on the SBDC website- www.centralmdsbdc.org, along with SBDC’s other training seminars. To receive a listing of the training session topics, send your e-mail address, name and phone number to sbdcr@towson.edu.

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Posted by Marcia Bennett

My First Business

January 13, 2010

Clay

I started my first business when I was in fourth grade, but having grown up on a ranch in Texas, many of the usual ways a kid earns money weren’t really available to me.  I couldn’t have a lemonade stand or a paper route or mow the neighbors’ lawns.  What were my options?  I had to work with what was available if I wanted to earn a few extra dollars.  Well, along with the beef cattle, we also had a flock of chickens.  I’d been taking care of them since as long as I could remember, so I thought maybe I could sell eggs in town.

After talking it over with my parents, they agreed to support my entrepreneurial initiative.  Someone nearby was selling some of their older hens, and with some of my own money and an “investment” from my parents, I bought 20 of them.  We set up a separate chicken coop with nests in a part of one of the barns and fenced in an adjoining new chicken yard.  I went to town to find customers for my farm-fresh, free-range eggs and was able to get several people to sign up, including my school bus driver.

left to right: Aaron and Clay Hickson

Every evening I gathered the eggs, cleaned them, and stored them in cartons in an old refrigerator that gave me an electrical zap every time I touched the handle.  Each Saturday I’d load the eggs into the car, and one of my parents would take me on my delivery route in town. [Eventually, I would drive myself since the country lane into town was not paved, and no driver’s license was required for that.]

Naturally, those tired old hens didn’t produce for long, so I had to invest in some younger pullets in order to keep my supply coming.  While replenishing my “producers” was an occasional expense, I really didn’t have too many other expenses… except for chicken feed.  Skyrocketing input prices are what eventually put me out of business.  While I did gradually raise my prices, I couldn’t keep pace with the increase in the price of feed.  After about five years, the prices I needed to charge to break even, even considering the subsidy from my parents, were well above the prices in the grocery store.  I think my price got as high as $1.25, not much higher than super market prices of just a few years ago.  Alas, the chickens flew the coop, and I went out of business.

Even though I didn’t make much money over those years, I did learn some valuable lessons.

  • I learned the concept of supply and demand;
  • the importance of having a support network, of planning, and of monitoring competition;
  • and that you don’t always have to have the best of everything to do something well.

Of course, there also is that old adage:  Don’t put all your eggs in one basket!

from stock.xchng by bartozzi

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Posted by Clay Hickson

Women Business Owners Plug In and Power Up

January 7, 2010

Marcia

Women business owners have a lot of positive attributes in common.  They are generally organized multi-taskers who are deliberate in their actions and succinct in their responses.

While women generally don’t waste any time getting to the point, they are the first to ask for more information if needed.  But according to author, speaker and organizational development expert Joni Daniels, “sometimes women misunderstand their power as a professional.”  Daniels’ experience in working with business owners finds that while men tend to ask for validation that solutions they use for business are the best ones, women often hesitate and ask, “How can I become more powerful?”

Joni Daniels

Speaking recently to 30 women business owners at SBDC’s December women’s business roundtable at Towson University, Daniels presented her insights on the topic:  Energy and Focus:  Where it went and how to get it back.  Here it was clear Daniels undoubtedly knew how to effectively engage an audience.  Her leadership abilities and facilitation skills evoked earnest, heart-felt and productive conversations which brought lucidity and insight to a group of confident women entrepreneurs ready to collaborate about issues in common.

The group of Baltimore women entrepreneurs hung on every word as Daniels delivered a highly spirited and spontaneous presentation on how to activate one’s personal power tools to improve concentration and enliven a vision of success. Juggling multiple roles and self-imposed heavy work/life expectations were the root cause of many misplaced priorities, resulting in lack of energy and loss of focus.

Educating her audience on how to retool and realign their personal and professional life, Daniels proposed re-harnessing one’s inner strength as a more effective means to power up. Daniels advocates that improved utilization of one’s vision, intuition, parameters, communications and relationships, can help re-position them for personal and professional success.

Steadfast in her belief that success is primarily bred by improved self realization, polished intuition and honed skill sets, Daniels recharged this group of enterprising women to be more effective and efficient.  Personal experiences and working examples yielded many ah-ha moments as collaborative conversation helped the group identify opportunities for personal and professional growth.

As a select trainer and subject matter expert on organizational development for SBDC’s CEO Accelerator program, Joni Daniels-principal of Daniels and Associates, a Baltimore-based business solutions consulting firm- will continue to shepherd SBDC business owners through her empowerment zone processing model.

If you are interested in attending SBDC’s CEO Accelerator training topic sessions, include your name, email address and phone contact information in the return section of this blog.  We’ll contact you with updates on the CEO Accelerator training schedule series featuring topics such as: goal clarification, problem assessment and delineation, target market analysis, and effective business optimization techniques.   Stayed tuned for our January 25th blog to find out more about the CEO Accelerator program.

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Posted by Marcia Bennett

The Bilingual Entrepreneur

December 2, 2009

Clay

The world we live and work in today is a much smaller place than it was even just a few years ago.  Advances in telecommunications and transportation technologies have increased international and cross-cultural interactions among people and businesses.  Each of us is impacted personally by these effects of globalization because we increasingly find that our colleagues, customers and friends come from different cultures or may even be in different countries.  This fact makes the ability to speak a second, or even a third language a great advantage in both our professional and private lives.

Recently, on Foreign Languages Day (November 18, 2009) during International Education Week, I had the opportunity to address two beginning Chinese language classes at Towson University to share some of my experiences as a bilingual businessperson.  A unique opportunity I had during my college years allowed me to learn Mandarin Chinese in a two-year, sink-or-swim total immersion environment that only whetted my appetite for learning the Chinese language and culture.  This pursuit ultimately focused my career in a way in which working in a multicultural and multilingual environment became a daily reality.

While not everyone will have the same opportunity I had to immerse themselves in another language and culture, each of us can (and should) create our own unique opportunities in this “smaller world.”  The benefits of being fluent (or even just conversant) in more than one language are numerous, including many personal, social and professional opportunities.  Opening our minds to new ways of thinking not only enriches us personally but also can help the organizations we work for (or want to work for) manage in this global environment.  The ability to manage a diverse workforce and client base makes us even more employable.

from stock.xchng by dogmadic

Businesses of all sizes need bilingual capabilities in this globally interconnected economy.  They can create a competitive advantage with bilingual owners and employees.  However, knowing another language alone will not guarantee success.  Learning the culture—customs, traditions and social norms—can be just as important in understanding a “foreign” people and business environment. With such language and cultural capabilities, organizations will be able to communicate more clearly to a broader global market.  Companies and individuals in touch with a wider variety of cultures may very well have the upper hand over the competition.

Young or old, there are many ways to gain fluency in a new language if you have the passion to learn.  Universities are expanding language offerings and language programs and software are available from a variety of sources.  You also should look outside your immediate circle to make bilingual friends to converse and learn.  If you have a real passion to learn, you should take advantage of travel opportunities, study abroad programs, volunteer programs, the Peace Corps, etc. to gain valuable language and cultural experiences.

Even though I learned the fairly challenging Chinese language, it is past time for me to learn another language… to learn Spanish.

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Posted by Clay Hickson

Global Entrepreneurship Week 2009

November 16, 2009
clayIcon

Clay

From November 16 to 22, 2009, millions of young people around the world, and right here in Towson and the Baltimore region, will join a growing movement of entrepreneurial people, to generate new ideas and explore ways of doing things better. Students, educators, entrepreneurs, business leaders, non-profit leaders, government officials and many others across six continents are coming together to celebrate Global Entrepreneurship Week, an initiative to inspire young people to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity.

Global Entrepreneurship Week helps young people realize their potential as self-starters and innovators.  Through this initiative, the next generation of entrepreneurs will be inspired to take action. In doing so, they will begin to acquire the knowledge, skills and networks needed to grow innovative, sustainable enterprises that will have a positive impact on their lives, their families and communities.

gew

TowsonGlobal, Towson University’s international business incubator, is serving as an official partner and is supporting the mission of the movement by participating in or disseminating information on several activities during that week, such as:

  • The Bilingual Entrepreneur Lecture Series (Foreign Languages Day)—These lectures by yours truly will help focus attention on the importance of learning at least one other language and on participating in study abroad programs, which can enhance a student’s ability to do business in today’s global economy.  This event also coincides with International Education Week.
  • JA BizTown—Junior Achievement of Central Maryland will host several elementary schools for JA BizTown throughout the week of November 16-20.  JA BizTown, is an experiential economic simulation in a 10,000-square-foot replica of an American city that helps upper elementary school students prepare for and become productive citizens.

Through the many different programs and partnerships Global Entrepreneurship Week hopes to achieve four goals:

  1. Inspire young people under the age of thirty to consider entrepreneurship as a career path.
  2. Connect young people and organizations across national boundaries to discover new ideas.
  3. Mentor the next generation of talent as they pursue their dreams with inspiring support from entrepreneurs from around the world.
  4. Engage opinion leaders and policymakers on the topic of how entrepreneurship is central to a nation’s economic health and culture.

1 Comment | Education, Entrepreneurship, Events, International Business Development, Small Business Development, Students, TU Faculty & Staff | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Clay Hickson

Are you a CEO in the making?

November 12, 2009

marciaIcon

Marcia

Are you a CEO in the making?
While some business owners feel the title Chief Executive Officer is an automatic designation they use while polishing the skill sets needed to oversee their company, others feel it is a title they aspire to after having learned to effectively manage all units of their organization.

Regardless of the approach, most agree that building a successful business requires periodic comprehensive organizational assessments, specialized professional training, experienced staff, a stellar management team and great instincts.

If your company is interested in learning more about how to escalate itself to the next level through the re-engineering of its component parts, read on.

A Small Business Catalyst Program with Lasting Rewards
The MD Small Business Development Center is about to embark on a new CEO Accelerator program, which will individually mold eight to 10 specially qualified small business owners into high-performing CEOs right before your eyes. Follow this blog and the MD SBDC website to hear more about the experiences and challenges these regional small businesses will encounter throughout this two-year journey of strategic growth.

Each CEO candidate will be mentored by a team of business specialists, coached by SBDC counselors and trained by business subject matter experts.  Their goal:  to achieve scalable, sustainable growth, both financial and operational, through the implementation of integrated and coordinated initiatives.   With program objectives focused on fostering strategic planning and stimulating economic growth, this program was formulated in partnership with Citi Foundation to accelerate the successful advancement of woman, minority and service-disabled veteran owned small businesses.  A multi-disciplinary series of executive training topics customized to the issues and challenges faced by participating companies, will fast-track promising small businesses toward success.

ceo1

Guided by a specially selected advisory team, this program will drill down, revamp and provide standard operating procedures for many organizational functions, such as marketing, accounting, finance, sales, human resources, organizational development, advertising and business development.  So get ready to learn from the experiences of this select group of business owners as they are trained how to:
•    Optimize business operations to improve operational capacity
•    Launch scalable business development programs
•    Identify key drivers and success metrics to assess and advance operations
•    Increase  revenues, employees and access to capital
•    Re-model business processes and plans
•    Create and utilize timely implementation plans
•    Analyze target market and prospect buyer behaviors

Join Your Executive Peers in the Accelerator Training Program
Oh, and by the way, for a reasonable fee, interested small business owners are welcome to sit in on most of the training sessions.  Keep watching our website banner for announcements, or send your contact information (name, email address and phone number to SBDCR@towson.edu and we will include you on our training program mailing list.

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Posted by Marcia Bennett

Lunch with Steve Peck, TU’s first CEO in Residence

November 9, 2009

bobbieIcon

Bobbie

Global Growth: Local Opportunity: This was the theme for three recent brown bag lunches hosted by TU’s first CEO in Residence, Steve Peck.  TU President Bob Caret launched the Executive in Residence Program this year with a mission of connecting business & government leaders with our dynamic students, faculty research projects, and community engagement initiatives. One of the first outcomes of the program was recently connecting with student leaders from the College of Business and Economics, Campus Activities, and the Career Center.

I was lucky to attend each lunch with Steve and thought I’d provide some of the take-aways.  First, we have INCREDIBLE students—the students each provided their resumes ahead of time and came prepared with pertinent questions.   Second, one discussion that seemed to come up at each lunch was…

What do CEOs want to see?

  • Integrity, passion, and hard work will set you apart from your peers
  • Great eye-contact, a strong hard shake, poise, and articulating your strengths really count
  • “Corporate Citizenship,” your volunteer and philanthropic experiences are a great asset you can bring to the company—highlight them
  • The workplace and workforce are truly Global now—study abroad, foreign languages, and international experiences are important

stevePeck

Steve also talked about his experience as a Towson University Business student.  We learned that Steve and a few of his buddies ran the campus hot-dog stands around campus and the experiences of keeping inventory, managing employees, making revenue projections, and paying the expenses played a big role in his future career choices and opportunities.

While Steve provided helpful feedback for the students preparing to entire the workforce, our students also reinforced what makes the Towson student stand out.  A College of Business and Economics student said it best, “The job market is not what it was five years ago but I am confident in the skills and experiences I’ve gained at Towson and know I am going to succeed out there.”

To learn more about the TU Executive in Residence Program or to contact Steve, visit our website.

1 Comment | Community Outreach, Education, Entrepreneurship, Events, Students | Tagged: , | Permalink
Posted by Bobbie O'Connell

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