Articles
Article References on Business Planning
Business planning can be boring or exciting. The challenge is to see and find the excitement in the process. It should be a challenging and creative experience that makes you the “Master” of your business.
Below are some resources we explored to find the magic in business planning and business plans.
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| Category and Author / Source | Year | Title | Intro | Where | Link / URL | Last Accessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Business Model Alex Osterwalder, Business Model Alchemist | 2010 | What is a business model? | A business model is nothing else than a representation of how an organization makes (or intends to make) money. This can be nicely described through the 9 building blocks illustrated in the graphic below, which we call “business model canvas”. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Model Alex Osterwalder, Business Model Alchemist | 2010 | Business Model Template – designing your competitve edge | I immediately used it to share a deck of slides I designed to outline the business model concept. The slides briefly outline my understanding of what a business model actually is and how the concept can be used as a business model design template to quickly design and describe the business logic of a company. The template can also be applied together with the business model innovation cycle which I described in an earlier post. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Model Alex Osterwalder, Business Model Alchemist | 2010 | The Business Model Innovation Cycle: From Environmental Framing to Implementation | The Business Model Innovation Cycle contains 4 phases: Environmental Framing > Business Model Innovation > Organizational Design > Business Model Innovation > Environmental Re-Framing… | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Model Steve Blank | 2010 | No Plan Survives First Contact With Customers – Business Plans versus Business Models | Entrepreneurs treat a business plan, once written as a final collection of facts. Once completed you don’t often hear about people rewriting their plan. Instead it is treated as the culmination of everything they know and believe. It’s static. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Business Plan - Blogging Gene Quinn, IP Watchdog | 2010 | Blogging Business: 7 Questions to a Blogging Business Plan | It is my believe that there are several considerations that every blogger should spend some time grappling with prior to jumping into the blogosphere. It is also my belief that experienced bloggers would do themselves good if they periodically grapple with these questions as well, and yes, I do practice what I preach. So, without further ado, here are the 7 critical questions for a blogging business plan. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 12 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Guides Australian Government | 2010 | Business plan guides & templates | Guides and templates | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Outline Entrepreneur | 2010 | Elements of a Business Plan | There are seven major sections of a business plan, and each one is a complex document. Read this selection from our business plan tutorial to fully understand these components. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Outline Queensland Government | 2010 | How to write a business plan | Planning is simply: * identifying what your current situation is (where are you now?) * deciding where you would like to be in the future (what are your goals?) * identifying the best ways of achieving your goals (how to get from ‘A’ to ‘B’). | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Outline SBA | 2010 | Essential Elements of a Good Business Plan for Growing Companies | A business plan should be a work-in-progress. Even successful, growing businesses should maintain a current business plan. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Outline Tim Berry, BPlans | 2010 | A Standard Business Plan Outline | For example, a business plan normally starts with an Executive Summary, which should be concise and interesting. People almost always expect to see sections covering the Company, the Market, the Product, the Management Team, Strategy, Implementation, and Financial Analysis. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Rian Malan, MindMaps ZA | 2010 | Business Planning – Does a great idea really require a business plan? | How many people have not asked this question, “If I have a great idea, do I really need to do a business plan?” The first reaction from business advisers is normally one of astonishment. “How can you ask such a stupid question? Of course you need a business plan!” | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Rian Malan, MindMaps ZA | 2010 | Business Planning – Not to plan, to plan or to model? | The article looks at Steven Blake’s recommendation that new start ups should not spend months on doing a business plan but should rather formulate the business model and then test it before doing the plan. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Template SBA | 2010 | Business Plan Template | Template to fill in your Business Plan on the Internet | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 16 April 2010 |
| Business Plan Tim Berry, Entrepreneur | 2010 | Is Your Business Plan On Track? | Tips to help track and tweak your business plan beyond the startup phase | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Business Startup Mike Michalowicz | 2010 | The Things You Absolutely (Don’t) Need to Launch Your Business | Starting your first business requires a lot. Products to sell, employees to work, knowledge to be imparted... the list is endless. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Checklist - Monthly Jason, A Smart Bear | 2009 | Startup Therapy: Ten questions to ask yourself every month | In the last post I beat you to death about ditching your business plan but failed to provide an alternative. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 12 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Adding Value Masterclass | 2010 | Elevator Speech | Downloadable .doc document | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Alison Stein Wellner | 2007 | You Know What Your Company Does. Can You Explain It in 30 Seconds? | If not, you’re in trouble. Here’s how to perfect your pitch: A business lesson in the form of a screenplay. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Babak Nivi, Harvard Business Review Blog | 2009 | How to Write an Elevator Pitch | An elevator pitch is a brief e-mail summary of your business. Or a short story that you can tell in the course of a elevator ride. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Chris King, Creative Keys | 2010 | How to Craft an Effective Elevator Speech | What I mean by an “elevator speech” is a short description of what you do, or the point you want to make, presented in the time it takes an elevator to go from the top floor to the first floor or vice versa. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Daisy Wademan Dowling, Harvard Business Review Blog | 2009 | How to Perfect an Elevator Pitch About Yourself | You're in the elevator with the hiring manager of Dream-Job Corporation. As the door slides shut, you feel a combination of adrenaline and slight nausea: you've got 15 seconds, if that, to communicate your value as a potential employee in a compelling way | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Harvard Business School | 2010 | HBS Elevator Pitch Builder | A template that guides you through the process of building an "Elevator Pitch" | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 18 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Ira Koretsky, CEO The Chief Storyteller | 2010 | Write a Great Elevator Speech | Your dream client is standing next to you in the elevator. How can you use the next few minutes to sell him your idea... | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Katharine Hansen, Ph.D, Quint Careers | 2010 | The Elevator Speech is the Swiss Army Knife of Job-Search Tools | By now the Elevator Speech is a fairly well-known tool, not only for job-seekers but for organizations and individuals with products and services to sell. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Katharine Hansen, Ph.D, Quint Careers | 2010 | Fantastic Formulas for Composing Elevator Speeches | While many Elevator Speeches are written by sales reps to pitch products and services, the formulas from which the speeches derive can be easily adapted to situations in which the product is you, the job-seeker. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Marisa D'Vari | 2005 | How to create a Great Elevator Speech | At a networking event, one of the most important things you can do is introduce yourself in a way that is colorful and memorable. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Nick Wreden, Harvard Business Review | 2002 | How to Make Your Case in 30 Seconds or Less | If you ran into Warren Buffet on the street, would you know what to say? Having an "elevator speech" ready to go at a moment's notice will enable you to make the most of once-in-a-lifetime communication opportunities. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Pepperdine University | 2010 | Preparing Your Elevator Speech | Downloadable .pdf document | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Randy W. Dipner | 2004 | The Value Proposition | Downloadable .ppt document | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech Wikipedia | 2010 | Elevator pitch | An elevator pitch or elevator speech is a short persuasive speech about a person, an organization or group, or an idea for a product, service, or project. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech www.elevatorspeech.com | 2010 | The Magnificent Seven: Tips for a Killer Elevator Speech | Okay, so you want to develop a killer elevator speech. Now what? Here are seven easy steps designed to help you develop an elevator speech that will help your business. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Elevator Speech www.elevatorspeech.com | 2010 | It’s the Story, Stupid | When it comes to effective communications, the story’s the thing. But that thing is something that almost everyone forgets. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Executive Summary eHow | 2010 | How to Write an Executive Summary | An executive summary previews the main points of an in-depth report; it is written for nontechnical people who don't have time to read the main report. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 18 April 2010 |
| Katharine Hansen, Ph.D, Quint Careers | 2010 | Elevator Speech Do's and Don'ts | Here are the keys to successfully developing and using an elevator speech in your job-search. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 17 April 2010 |
| Management Shortfalls Rhondalynn Korolak, Anthill Online | 2010 | 8 ways business owners sabotage their success (and what you can do about it) | As a business owner, I’ll bet you’re incredibly busy and find that there never seems to be enough hours in the day to complete all your work. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis About.com | 2010 | Market Research | Use this information about consumer market research, online market research, and how to do your own market research to zero in on your target market. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis Entrepreneur | 2010 | Elements of a Business Plan - Market Strategies | Market strategies are the result of a meticulous market analysis. A market analysis forces the entrepreneur to become familiar with all aspects of the market so that the target market can be defined and the company can be positioned in order to garner its share of sales. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis NetMBA | 2010 | The Product Life Cycle | A product's life cycle (PLC) can be divided into several stages characterized by the revenue generated by the product. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis NetMBA | 2010 | Market Analysis | The goal of a market analysis is to determine the attractiveness of a market and to understand its evolving opportunities and threats as they relate to the strengths and weaknesses of the firm. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis NetMBA | 2010 | The Value Chain | To better understand the activities through which a firm develops a competitive advantage and creates shareholder value, it is useful to separate the business system into a series of value-generating activities referred to as the value chain. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis SBA | 2010 | Part 2: Market Analysis | The market analysis section should illustrate your knowledge about the particular industry your business is in. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis Susan Ward, About.com | 2010 | 6 Ways to Find Out What Your Competition Is Up To | One fast way to hamstring your small business is to ignore your competition. While you're busy ignoring them, they may be chomping away at your market share. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Market Analysis Virtual Advisor | 2010 | Conduct a Market Analysis | Whether you are starting a new business or launching a new product, conducting a marketing analysis is the first step in determining if there is a need or audience for your idea. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Startup Steve Blank | 2010 | What’s A Startup? First Principles. | Everyone knows what a startup is for – don’t they? In this post we’re going to offer a new definition of why startups exist: a startup is an organization formed to search for a repeatable and scalable business model. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 15 April 2010 |
| Why Not Plan? Jason, A Smart Bear | 2009 | Don't write a business plan | "You need a business plan" is the mantra of MBA types. As they say, businesses don't plan to fail, they fail to plan! Who could argue with such a clever turn of phrase? | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 12 April 2010 |
| Why Not plan? Mark, Heart of Business | 2006 | Why You Don't Need a Business Plan | You know who reads business plans? Banks and funders. You know who writes business plans? Businesses who are looking for significant capital funding. Not you. So, relax, forget about the business plan. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 12 April 2010 |
| Why Plan? Bianca Male, Business Insider | 2010 | Why Every Startup Should Make A Business MODEL Before Wasting Time On A Business PLAN. | Serial entrepreneur Steve Blank has an excellent post on his blog today about the value of business models vs. business plans. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Why Plan? Business Planning | 2010 | Why Do You Need a Business Plan? | By creating a business plan managers can complete a complex analysis of the whole business. This process allows them to verify more related aspects than they had considered on the first approach. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Why Plan? Darrell Zahorsky | 2010 | Why do I need a business plan? | A business plan is often the entry-level requirement to getting government money, investor capital or bank loans. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Why Plan? Gwen C. Edwards, BusinessWeek | 2010 | Begin with the End in Mind | I think I'm ready to start my own business, but how can I be sure? And once I do get started, do I really need a formal business plan? | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Why Plan? Karen E. Klein, BusinessWeek | 2008 | Do You Really Need a Business Plan? | Even if you aren't planning to borrow money or seek investors right away, there are good reasons to sit down and write a plan. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Business Description Unknown | 2010 | e-Business Plan: Business Description | The business description section of your e-business plan represents the first substantial section you have to write. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Why Plan? Randy Duermyer, About.com | 2010 | Do You Really Need a Business Plan? | A business plan is often the entry-level requirement to getting government money, investor capital or bank loans. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
| Business Description Entrepreneur | 2006 | Business Description | The business description usually begins with a short description of the industry. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 21 April 2010 |
| Why Plan? Tim Berry, Entrepreneur.com | 2006 | 15 Reasons You Need a Business Plan | Whether you're just starting out, growing your business or seeking outside help, a well-thought-out business plan is the vehicle you need to get you there. | [Online] | Link | Accessed: 11 April 2010 |
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