For the previous blog I discussed two business writers by the name of Dave Lavinsky and Christie Karis who offered great advice on how to formulate a business plan. They gave some great advice especially on the part of paying attention to your milestones in your business plan and of course don’t overlook the small things because those add up. I also love Mr. Lavinsky’s advice of not focusing on short-term profits rather than building long-term value. I am incorporating this advice into my own plan by recognizing to not get over excited about immediate profit and that for the first couple of years the goal is to grow a business. So any profit found should immediately be put back into the business so you can reach your long-term goals and achieve sustainability in the marketplace.
The specific changes I made are just that – I have made it an important priority to assign a financial advisor who is to pay strict attention to the fact that any profits, after all line items have been paid, is to go back into the business whether it is to promote it through advertising, upgrade software, hire more talented professionals, etc. I am not to get excited and immediately purchase items with the profits for my personal gain. I also love that Dave states that a business can fail because the owner was just a jerk. Many of the videos we have had to watch in class of interviews with business men all say the same thing; remain humble when you find success and people will continue to want your business. This I found to be very important advice and while it is not directly incorporated into my business plan it is going to be incorporated into my business model of operating. Great customer service is the key to success so turning into a jerk after a little bit of success will just doom the business to failure. After years of success... maybe then I can be a bit of a jerk… but that definitely will not come for quite a while.
