Fail to Plan, Plan to Fail

Small business is the backbone of our nation’s economy.  These days more and more people are chasing “The American Dream” and going for what they believe is theirs.  Folks are quitting their day jobs, risking it all, and going into business for themselves.

As a former bank manager I would constantly have people stop by my office to discuss getting a loan to start their small business.  The problem with that, however, is that the bank should not have been their first step to acquire funding for their business.  The very first step any entrepreneur should take in their quest to see their vision become a reality is to create a business plan.  Think about it.  Without a business plan how could one effectively communicate their business’ story? 

The days of walking into your local bank and simply requesting a small loan then agreeing to terms with a firm handshake are over. As if they ever truly existed.  With that being said, nowadays lenders and investors want to see your plan and more importantly your numbers. 

To give readers a better understanding of the importance of business planning I have researched and reviewed two recognized experts in the field of writing business plans.  The information that these two individuals provide is vital to any business plan and should be applied to many. 

Tim Berry is all about business planning.  He has been referred to as “The Obi-wan Kenobe of Business Planning” and “The Father of Business Planning”.  Tim has written many books on planning with his Stanford MBA degree, MA from the University of Oregon, and BA in Literature from the University of Notre Dame to back him.  As a founder, consultant, co-founder, and investor, this successful entrepreneur has seen business plans and business planning from a lot of different viewpoints.  Tim is the official business planning coach at Entrepreneur.com.

Tim believes that one of the most important pieces of the business plan is determining your “Goals and Objectives”.  “One of the most important reasons to plan your plan is that you may be held accountable for the projections and proposals it contains. That's especially true if you use your plan to raise money to finance your company,” says Berry.  

Goals and Objectives Checklist 
via Entrpreneur.com

If you're having trouble deciding what your goals and objectives are, here are some questions to ask yourself:

1. How determined am I to see this succeed?
2. Am I willing to invest my own money and work long hours for no pay, sacrificing personal time and lifestyle, maybe for years?
3. What's going to happen to me if this venture doesn't work out?
4. If it does succeed, how many employees will this company eventually have?
5. What will be its annual revenues in a year? Five years?
6. What will be its market share in that time frame?
7. Will it be a niche marketer, or will it sell a broad spectrum of good and services?
8. What are my plans for geographic expansion? Local? National? Global?
9. Am I going to be a hands-on manager, or will I delegate a large proportion of tasks to others?
10. If I delegate, what sorts of tasks will I share? Sales? Technical? Others?
11. How comfortable am I taking direction from others? Could I work with partners or investors who demand input into the company's management? Is it going to remain independent and privately owned, or will it eventually be acquired or go public?  

Noor Shawwa is the founder of ThinkDoBusiness.com which helps technical entrepreneurs and first time managers to “think and do” business better. He has lectured on entrepreneurship and business strategy and worked for some fast-growing online businesses.  Shawwa believes that your business plan allows you to map out where the huge land mines that claim most victims are and navigate your way around them. 

Noor Shawwa states that there are three key ingredients to every good business plan.

1.     Analysis

This is where you make sense of your Market, Industry, and Competitors.

2.     Action

This is where you lay out how you will run your business based on what you know about your customers, industry, and competitors.

3.     Results

This is where you show and forecast results of the business based on your analysis and decisions.

“The rest of the business plan works around these three building blocks,” says Shawwa.

Key takeaway: When it’s finally time to get down to business, always have a plan…both literally and physically.

Where did the music on Music Television go?

I don’t know about you, but I love music.  I used to love tuning into MTV and seeing all the current videos and sitting down to watch shows like Yo! MTV Raps to see and hear all the new things going on in hip-hop.  Likewise, I remember as a child rushing in from playing outside to watch the world premieres of the newest MC Hammer videos.  I can also remember the time when videos would debut in prime time, as they were spectacles to both the young and old. 

Videos gave music artists the opportunity to present a visual of the sounds that their fans have grown to love.  Even more, videos would provide great exposure for the artists. This platform gave musicians another way to market their music. With video now being a piece of the music it gave those musicians with a video the advantage.  Soon folks were tuning in more to the television for music than the radio.  The video would ultimately play a huge role in popular music marketing and this can all be credited to MTV.

In 1981 the music industry was forever changed when the world was introduced to Music Television.  MTV's effect was immediate in areas where the new music video channel was carried. Within a couple of months, record stores in areas where MTV was available were selling music that local radio stations were not playing. 

Video killed the radio star, but did anyone notice the disappearance of video on television?  What happened to Music Television?  MTV once changed the landscape of the music industry and now seems to focus on teen pregnancy.  Seriously?  That doesn’t even sound right.  I understand that it is all business, but that is like the NAACP now focusing on making sandwiches.  MTV once was a place where I could leave the channel on all day and watch video premieres and see the videos that I didn’t even know existed.  Now with MTV changing its focus and also owning VH1, I can’t find videos anywhere unless I’m online or watching 106 & Park.  I wonder what MTV’s mission statement is nowadays? So where do artists premiere their videos?  We are now forced to go online even if we don’t want to.  The MTV debacle has definitely had its impact on the industry…or did the industry make its impact on MTV?

At times, businesses need to reinvent themselves to stay a float, some companies even have to change to their focus, but as a pioneer in the music video industry it is hard to see them any other way.  Yes, MTV has found ways to retain and even obtain its younger audiences, but what was once a staple in the music industry is now almost irrelevant in music and finding other ways to entertain its audience.

Thanks for the memories Bill Bellamy, Downtown Julie Brown, Kurt Loder, John Norris, Kennedy, Idalis, Duffy, Dan Cortese, Carson Daly, Fab 5 Freddy, Daisy Fuentes, Dr Dre, Ed Lover and the list goes on.

"I Used To Love Her."

The evolution of Hip Hop.

Conceived in the city of New York and born in the 1970s, Hip Hop was brought into this world to share the experiences and culture that the rest of the world was unaware of.  Not only did it provide an outlet, but also Hip Hop gave inspiration and hope to the inner city.  Picture the three wise men, but instead replace them with DJ Kool Herc, Melle Mel, and Grandmaster Flash. Hip Hop’s birth would soon change the world and its story passed on for generations.

Hip Hop was a baby in the early 80s, it was new, it was fresh, and for many it was a way of life.  This culture was represented in many forms.  Whether rapping, DJing, breaking, or tagging Graffiti Art.  Hip Hop was more than music.  As Hip Hop was defining itself in the 80s, many nonbelievers did not expect it to make it.  Many thought that listeners wouldn’t take it seriously or that they were not ready for it, but the only thing premature was that opinion.

As the 90s approached, Hip Hop gained mainstream attention, but at the same time, it seemed to be changing its message.  In the 90s, Hip Hop seemed to be going through its adolescence phase, as it was still learning its way and still learning about itself.   During these years Hip Hop showed many faces, adding to the fact that Hip Hop was versatile and still a voice for the inner cities.  However, like any teenager, Hip Hop became more defensive.  This was a direct result to the criticism it continued to take for its language, censorship, and crime related rap.  While media critics argued these points, again Hip Hop found itself growing and now appealing to a broader demographic.

In the early 2000s, things appeared to be moving too fast for Hip Hop.  Hip Hop was losing its direction and it was losing itself even faster.  Even as it gained a worldwide audience, some thought it was dead.  True, Hip Hop had strayed from what was believed to be the original elements of the culture, but Hip Hop was far from dead. 

Hip Hop has changed so much over the years to cater to the consumer that it has lost the essence for which it was originally created.  By the year 2014, it appears to be a promiscuous middle-aged adulterer willing to be with anyone.  Now artists like Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are hailed as Hip Hop's kings.  They say that’s Hip Hop, but Hip Hop wouldn’t do that. 

I’m a 80s baby, but I grew up in the 90s.  I feel that Hip Hop was at its finest then.  It seemed like there was more comradery in the industry and labels seemed more like families.  Everything just looked to be more authentic and it actually carried over into the music.  This was a time before the Internet and illegal downloading made its impact on the genre.  So yeah, I’m sure many factors had its hand in the slow demise of Hip Hop, but for a brief minute, all was well.  In my opinion, Hip Hop is not dead.  This is evident when you watch movies, television shows and commercials.  Hip Hop vitals also appeared to be loud and clear when Hip Hop mogul Jay Z went platinum last year in just days after releasing an album without any prior promotion. 

Hip Hop has been through a lot in its short life and now it just needs some support.  Someone needs to revive Hip Hop.  Have you seen Hip Hop lately?