Bankable Business Plans by Edward G. Rogoff | book summary
summary in a paragraph
the bankable business plan book is about making business plans and how to make them we all know that business plans are worthless the only thing in this book is forward by jeff Bezos and there's not so good idea for writing, so I am writing what I found useful.
The Power of a Bankable Business
• Test the feasibility of your business idea.
• Determine the best financial resources to start your business through investors or partners.
• Secure enough debt by establishing loans, lines of credit, or payment terms.
• Identify the key people to work with you as employees, partners, or consultants.
• Establish business relationships with your customers, suppliers, or distributors.
• Create an operational template for the successful management of your business.
make certain that your business plan communicates your strengths by stressing what I call the six immutable points.
- You are profit oriented.
- You are honest.
- You are qualified.
- You are thorough.
- You are committed to meeting everyone’s needs.
- You are flexible.
Action step 1 What Will You Accomplish For Others…
And Yourself?
- ask the question from yourself
- What Will Your Business Accomplish For Your Customers?
- What Will Your Business Accomplish For Your Investors
- What Will Your Business Accomplish For Your Lenders?
- What Will Your Business Accomplish For Your Suppliers?
- What Will Your Business Accomplish For Your Employees?
- Last, And Perhaps Least, What Will Your Business Accomplish For You
Action step 2 Identify
Your Company’s
Initial Needs
- ask the following question from yourself
- What Will You Require To Get Started?
- Make a list of all the tangible and intangible resources you need to get your business going
- Once you’ve identified your company’s initial requirements, you will have a much clearer concept of what you’ll need to buy, invest, or borrow in order to start your business. This information will become the basis for the credible financial analysis that will be an essential component of your bankable business plan.
Action step 3 Choose A
Winning
Strategy
- What Will Distinguish Your Product Or Service From Your Competition?
- some important points to remember about strategies. They are: • generally outwardly focused, influencing how your business will interact with its external environment including your customers, competitors, suppliers, and the government. • about how your company will achieve a strong and long-lasting position in the marketplace, or competitive advantage, which is key to your ability to attract customers or to price products that earn a profit. • specific, simple to implement, and based on reasonable assumptions. • a blueprint for building the results you want.
- There are two fundamental categories of business strategies: Low-Cost Leadership and Differentiation.
- Everyone likes to pay the lowest possible price for any product or service, so companies that can offer customers the lowest prices have a strong competitive advantage.
- Designing your product or service precisely to match the preferences of your customers makes your business attractive, and sets it apart from your competitors.
- To be successful, every business must have some competitive advantage over its competition. Competition is the enemy of profits: It’s great for customers, but bad for business.
- Your competitive advantage may include designing special features not found in rival products.
- Use A SWOT Analysis To Determine The Competitive Advantage Of An Existing Business A good way to begin your research into competitive advantage is with a SWOT analysis, an acronym which stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. You can even do a SWOT analysis for a startup, if you are brutally frank about where your company will stand relative to existing businesses in your market. Let’s look at each of the elements of a SWOT analysis: Strengths include the organization’s internal capabilities, such as good relationships with key customers, or strong technical skills. Weaknesses also include such internal disadvantages as inadequate warehouse facilities or poor sales staff. Opportunities relate to external issues such as under-served markets in an adjacent community, or a current competitor who could be bought out. Threats are also external to the business and include such problems as an official change in traffic patterns that could make it more difficult for customers to find the store, or a potential increase in sales taxes that could send customers across the border to an adjacent state.
- Match Your Strategies To Any Type Of Industry • Emerging • Maturing • Stagnant and Declining • Fragmented • Industries with Dominant Leaders
- It is often better to sell to companies in emerging industries than to be one! Otherwise, resources such as financing, components, and raw materials will be expensive, if available at all.
Action step 4 Analyze
Your Market
- There are three aspects of a marketing plan that fall under the heading “more is better.” These are research, targeting, and testing.
- The three most important guidelines to follow in defining your target market are: 1. Research your potential market thoroughly 2. Target your market like a bull’s-eye 3. Test before you launch
Action step 5 Develop A
Strong
Marketing
Campaign
- Positioning means concentrating on the competitive advantages you have identified: will your product or service
- All marketing campaigns are based on The Four Ps: The Product or service. The Price you will charge. The Place you will sell or distribute your goods or service. The Promotion and advertising you will use to communicate with potential customers.
Action step 6 Build A
Dynamic
Sales Effort
- Make Sales A Priority For Everyone
- Never Delegate Yourself Completely Out Of Sales
- Create The Right Ethical Environment
- Compensate Based On Long-term Performance
- Sales Force Can Be Your Competitive Advantage
Action step 7 Design Your
Company
- draw a plan about how your company structure is going to be
- after certain period of time your company needs bureaucracy
Action step 8 Target Your
Funding
Sources
- ask your self where you will find your funding
- debt or equity or any other way
Action step 9 Explain Your
Financial Data
- ask yourself How Will You Convince Others To Invest In Your Endeavor?
Action step 10 Use The
RMA Data
- use the RMA data
these were the main ideas from the book