#2 – Business “Game”#2 – Business “Game” Business Skills and InterestsBusiness Skills and Interests Defining Your “Vision”Defining Your “Vision” Setting GoalsSetting Goals Where Ideas Come FromWhere Ideas Come From No Rose Coloured GlassesNo Rose Coloured Glasses Finding a Niche for YouFinding a Niche for You Testing Your IdeasTesting Your Ideas TimelinesTimelines Why a Business Plan?Why a Business Plan?

Start Asking Yourself..Start Asking Yourself.. How do you know you have a real How do you know you have a real

opportunity? Research done? opportunity? Research done? Have others agreed with you?Have others agreed with you? How did you select the venture?How did you select the venture? Have you defined your clients?Have you defined your clients? Calculated startup costs? Calculated startup costs?

Budgets?Budgets? Are you comfortable, Are you comfortable,

experienced? experienced? What is your ‘end goal’? Defined?What is your ‘end goal’? Defined? What are your next steps? Clear?What are your next steps? Clear?

Entrepreneurial SpiriEntrepreneurial Spiritt

““It’s not the It’s not the size of the dog size of the dog in the fight, but in the fight, but the size of the the size of the

fight in the fight in the dog.”dog.”

Let The ‘Game’ Begin…Let The ‘Game’ Begin…

What counts most ….What counts most ….‘‘Skating’, Improvisation Skating’, Improvisation Promoting yourselfPromoting yourselfSelling your companySelling your companyConfident, motivatedConfident, motivatedUnderstand the ‘nasties’Understand the ‘nasties’Deliver the goods!Deliver the goods!Communicating to “Win”Communicating to “Win”

Business is a “Competitive Game”Business is a “Competitive Game”

Business is a “Competitive Game”Business is a “Competitive Game”

Where Ideas Come FromWhere Ideas Come From

““Know what you’re Know what you’re getting into! getting into!

If I knew how much it If I knew how much it took to build and took to build and

sustain a food sustain a food business, I may have business, I may have

decided to sell t-decided to sell t-shirts! – shirts! – research, research,

research, researchresearch, research.”.”

Where Ideas Come FromWhere Ideas Come From Hobbies Hobbies Travels Travels Advertising Advertising News and MediaNews and Media Changing Changing

demographicsdemographics Copycat Copycat Variation of Variation of

existing existing businessbusiness

Web researchWeb research Community needsCommunity needs Trade showsTrade shows Trade magazinesTrade magazines Fairs Fairs Sounding boardSounding board Timely Timely

opportunity (e.g. opportunity (e.g. earthquake kits, earthquake kits, health foods) health foods)

Sounds Easy ?!Sounds Easy ?!1.1. Find a nicheFind a niche2.2. Research, Research,

research, research, research…justifyresearch…justify

3.3. Set your goalsSet your goals4.4. Do a ‘real’ Do a ‘real’

Business PlanBusiness Plan5.5. Groundtruth Groundtruth

your ideasyour ideas6.6. Correct the PlanCorrect the Plan

7.7. Arrange Arrange financingfinancing

8.8. Branding, Branding, imagingimaging

9.9. Marketing Marketing 10.10.SalesSales11.11.Build on Build on

successessuccesses12.12.Build on your Build on your

strengthsstrengths13.13.Monitor yourselfMonitor yourself14.14.Checkout timeCheckout time

Your SkillsYour Skills Committed Committed Staying powerStaying power Believe in Believe in

yourselfyourself Believe in your Believe in your

ideaidea Creative Creative Hard workHard work Multitask Multitask Responsible Responsible

Need to achieveNeed to achieve Problem solverProblem solver Feedback Feedback

welcomewelcome Adaptable Adaptable Comfortable with Comfortable with

uncertaintyuncertainty Self motivatedSelf motivated Communicator Communicator High energyHigh energy

Support NetworkSupport Network““I bounced my ideas I bounced my ideas off my friends and off my friends and family, family, but mostly but mostly businesspeople I businesspeople I

knewknew. .

I I neededneeded direction. direction.

I I gotgot confidence .” confidence .”

Define Your VisionDefine Your Vision What made me take this What made me take this

workshop?workshop? What triggered me towards What triggered me towards

business?business? What do I want out of business?What do I want out of business? Will my business provide that?Will my business provide that? When do I want this to happen?When do I want this to happen? How do I define success?How do I define success? How do I measure success?How do I measure success? What do I know best? Do best?What do I know best? Do best?

Define Your VisionDefine Your Vision What are my skills, and will they What are my skills, and will they

help me deliver results?help me deliver results? What are my passions?What are my passions? Do I want to go this alone? Do I want to go this alone?

Partnered? Partnered? Who am I doing this for?Who am I doing this for? At the end of the day, what do I At the end of the day, what do I

realistically expect, realistically expect, or settle foror settle for, , from being in business?from being in business?

Setting GoalsSetting Goals CONCRETECONCRETE – I want to be earning $ – I want to be earning $

150,000 / year within 3 years150,000 / year within 3 years ABSTRACTABSTRACT – I want my business to – I want my business to

provide lifestyle choices for me and provide lifestyle choices for me and my familymy family

PERSONALPERSONAL – I need to overcome my – I need to overcome my fear of taking risks, and changefear of taking risks, and change

AGENDAAGENDA – I want to own a condo in – I want to own a condo in Hawaii and throw huge partiesHawaii and throw huge parties

TimelinesTimelinesFor each goal you set, select a For each goal you set, select a timeframe you want this to happentimeframe you want this to happen

IMMEDIATE= 1-3 monthsIMMEDIATE= 1-3 monthsSHORT TERM = 4-6 monthsSHORT TERM = 4-6 monthsMEDIUM TERM = 7-18 monthsMEDIUM TERM = 7-18 monthsLONG TERM = 19-36 monthsLONG TERM = 19-36 monthsLIFELONG = wheneverLIFELONG = whenever

Goal Setting LiesGoal Setting Lies

Not polite to be too Not polite to be too inquisitiveinquisitive

Indulging in a fantasyIndulging in a fantasy Can’t be too much funCan’t be too much fun Too much faith and Too much faith and

dependence on past dependence on past ways and traditionways and tradition

It’s always about the It’s always about the moneymoney

Emotional BlocksEmotional Blocks Insecure. Always searching for a Insecure. Always searching for a

better solution better solution Fear of making a mistakeFear of making a mistake Fear of looking foolishFear of looking foolish Wanting to succeed quicklyWanting to succeed quickly Fear of failureFear of failure Lacking the drive to take a Lacking the drive to take a

venture through to completionventure through to completion Worried about what others thinkWorried about what others think

Thoughts On ‘Thinking’Thoughts On ‘Thinking’ Believe you are Believe you are

creativecreative Listen to othersListen to others Don’t be afraid Don’t be afraid

to be wrongto be wrong New habits / New habits /

routineroutine Daydream Daydream Ask lots of Ask lots of

questions questions

Write down your Write down your craziest ideascraziest ideas

Twist a problem Twist a problem aroundaround

Look around you for Look around you for ideas or offshoots ideas or offshoots (e.g. daycare with (e.g. daycare with musical instruction)musical instruction)

Outside comfort Outside comfort zonezone

Inventory YourselfInventory Yourself What do What do YOUYOU bring to the bring to the

business?business? Marketable skills?Marketable skills? Experience, direct and indirect?Experience, direct and indirect? Exposure to business?Exposure to business? Money? In Kind?Money? In Kind? Connections?Connections? Training? Certification? Education?Training? Certification? Education? Track record? Track record?

Then Ask Yourself..Then Ask Yourself.. Is there a need? Am I sure?Is there a need? Am I sure? Can I do this?Can I do this? Is someone else doing this well?Is someone else doing this well? Can I make money at this?Can I make money at this? Is this something I know about?Is this something I know about? Will this fulfill my goals?Will this fulfill my goals? If I take the ‘If I take the ‘spectator modespectator mode’’, ,

standing back a bit, does this feel standing back a bit, does this feel right for me?right for me?

Spectator ModeSpectator Mode

Risk TakingRisk Taking““Your gut feel got you to Your gut feel got you to

where you are now. Don’t lose where you are now. Don’t lose that.”that.”

““Never mortgage the house, Never mortgage the house, kids, car and mother-in-law, or kids, car and mother-in-law, or

risk your life savings for a risk your life savings for a business.”business.”

Calculated risks, not Calculated risks, not crapshoots!crapshoots!

More Risk TakingMore Risk Taking Get rich schemes Get rich schemes

are notare not Good opportunities Good opportunities

have short have short timespans to acttimespans to act

Be guided by your Be guided by your comfort levelscomfort levels

Measure every move Measure every move in personal valuesin personal values

Don’t Lie to YourselfDon’t Lie to Yourself

Want To Talk / Meet?Want To Talk / Meet?