What's Your Business Model?

During business plan creation, a business model must evolve that is properly focused but broad enough to to be successful. There are four critical areas to be considered in developing the business model and incorporating it into the business plan. This article discusses them.

Five Actions to Avoid in Business Planning

While there are many areas to be considered in a business plan, there are also some traps that should be avoided. Being aware of the five most critical, we can take steps to limit their effects.

Strategic Planning- Document or Tool?

A strategic plan as a tool is focused on taking a realistic vision and mapping out the steps to accomplishing that vision.

Essential Business Communication of Your Strategic Plan Delivers Ongoing Employee Motivation

Do you have a strategic plan? Do you have employee motivation problems? Maybe the failure to communicate your strategic plan might be contributing factor to employee motivation.

A Top Business Plan Can Be Even More Helpful

Why a Business Plan is a 'must have' life-line for any small business.

The Easy Way to Innovate is - the Hard Way!

Robert Bradford discusses how innovation creates competitive advantage and how you can think about your innovations to create a more solid market position.

Requirements Matrix - A Necessary Evil

A Requirements Matrix is an essential beginning to a proposal Use it!

Strategic Planning Reinforces Possibility Thinking

Strategic planning is all about the strategy involved in who does what by when. How does your strategic planning efforts reinforce possibility thinking?

You Get What You Measure in Strategic Planning

You may have heard this before - that you get what you measure. In business, this is definitely, true. However, in certain types of business there is SO MUCH being measured that it's sometimes difficult for employees to decide which measurements are really important.

Strategic Planning - What Does Your Company Mean?

Last week I had an interesting discussion with a director of Mary Kay, one of the most successful companies in the cosmetics industry. She wanted to know why it would be important for her sales reps to understand strategy.

The Inside-Out Business Plan(tm) -- Your Small Business Plan in 10 Easy Questions

Writing a business plan for your Solo Entrepreneur business doesn't have to be a daunting project. If you can answer 10 straightforward questions about your business, you can be ready to go.

Top 10 Business Plan Myths of Solo Entrepreneurs

A recent study of 29,000 business startups noted that 26,000 of them failed. Of those failures, 67% had no written business plan. Think that's a coincidence?

Blowing Your Own Horn - A Key Marketing Strategy for Small Business

Successful solo entrepreneurs spend quite a bit of time building and expanding their networks. We may meet face to face, over the telephone or online. We exchange pleasantries, information, referrals or resources and in doing so, strengthen the bonds with individuals and the whole organization. What is not quite as common in our exchanges is the use of a personal or business success story.

Marketing Your Small Business with Success Stories

One of your best customers achieved great success with your new service. What can you do with this? Tell everyone their success story! Here’s how…