(Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-8EQPpA4DM)
This post is going to be about the hard work of listening
and observing. It sounds easy enough doesn’t it? But it
is not and I am here to tell you because I didn’t know how to
listen. I didn’t know how to observe. Perfectly wonderful
lessons were placed at my door and I never bothered to bring them into the
house much less open the box. But that was then and this is
now.
I want to tell you a bit about why this post came
about. It started out innocently enough an assignment that was part
of class in business planning. In truth, I’ve been a part
of this process for many years, the most intense and enjoyable being the last
year or so as a student at Full Sail University taking a masters in business
entertainment.
Let me tell you why I chose this area of
study. Because for the last 30 or 40 years I have poured endless
money, time, and creative spirit into what can only be described as a loosing
venture. I was on the Titanic. It was going
down. And I was cleaning the deckchairs. Yeah, it was that
bad. Not now. But back then it was heavy on my heart and
almost killed my spirit. Why? Because I didn’t listen, I
didn’t observe, I did move proactively, and I went on making the same mistakes
time after time.
And that what this blog is really about. If
you are reading this you remember these words: fail to plan and you
are planning to fail.
So let’s get started shall we? Let’s look at
just some of the great entrepreneurs who know just how much work it takes to
develop a solid business plan that works and—more importantly—reflects your
passion, your desires, and your vision.
I’ve selected several on-line resources that—if you
don’t know him already—have made a significant impression on me and will do the
same for you. His name is Guy Kawasaki. He has an extensive
profession business background working with the likes of Steve Jobs back in the
early days of the Macintosh. Anyone still remember that bit of creative
vision that has turned into one of the most influential businesses of today’s
culture? He has run several companies involved in technology and he is
presently speaking, touring, writing as well as being a major venture
capitalist in his own right.
Guy has an interesting and fun approach to
business. He clarifies the tasks of the entrepreneur in a way that is
succinct and fun. He is not what I would call a traditional
professional. And this is why I read him and view his numerous TED talks
and YouTube videos. He is in fact the one who helped me create my
mantra—not my tag line, not my mission—my mantra: Creating Today’s
Vision Into Tomorrow’s Reality.
Guy Kawasaki
I have been a fan of Mr. Kawasaki since the days
Storytelling at Full Sail University. Part of our assignment was to write
a tag and mission statement for our business project. I discovered his
presentations through YouTube that ultimately led me to book Enchantment.
Guy has built up a reputation as a no-nonsense, no fluff approach to
business. His style is one of simplicity working through inspiration
along with blood, sweat and tears.
I suppose this choice might not quite fit into the
exact category of project planner. Look. However, at the amount of
subject matter he includes in his considerable career, as writer and speaker
and you will see differently.
In his ‘How to change the world’ article presently
on-line he says
Write for all the right reasons. Most
people write business plans to attract investors, and while this is necessary
to raise money, most venture capitalists have made a “gut level” go/no go
decision during the PowerPoint pitch. Receiving (and possibly reading) the
business plan is a mechanical step in due diligence. The more relevant and
important reason to write is a business plan, whether you are raising money or
not, is to force the management team to solidify the objectives (what),
strategies (how), and tactics (when, where, who). Even if you have all the
capital in the world, you should still write a business plan. Indeed, especially
if you have all the capital in the world because too much capital is worse than
too little.
More of this article can be read at http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/the_zen_of_busi.html#axzz25HjU2NlF
and at http://blog.guykawasaki.com/2006/01/the_zen_of_busi.html#ixzz25HnuPAtT.
What I take from this is that I am in part writing
a business plan to attract investors. But really, I am also writing this
proposal to have something in place to inspire my future team, to provide them
with a clear notion of my concept and vision.
Cayenne Consulting is a more straightforward
choice. Akira Hirai owns Cayenne. He’s been in business since
2001. This company has a wide range of success stories in multiple
industries including entertainment, gaming, and software design. This is
how Akira describes his services. Imagine a young entrepreneur getting ready
to face his own shark tank. And further consider what I quoted from
Kawasaki above, that most investors have already made a gut decision before you
make the actual pitch.
That's where we come in. We can act as an objective partner who
can save you a ton of time, helping with things like strategy development,
market research and analysis, competitor research and analysis, business plan
preparation, financial
analysis and forecasting, presentation materials, and developing a
capital formation strategy. We can't actually contact investors on your behalf
because that activity is highly regulated (see Beware of
Finders), but we can help with just about everything else (Source: http://www.caycon.com/about-cayenne-consulting.php).
The thoroughness of this agency is demonstrated by the quality,
presentation, and content of their main page. A series of articles
are posted on the subject of writing what may consider the most important part
of the pitch: the executive summary.
What is equally impressive about this entity is that they follow
the mantra of keeping it real or honest if you prefer. Sound advice for
any writer of a business proposal is quite simple. Never promise what you
can’t deliver. This agency states that they cannot walk you inside the
final pitch. Nor can or will they contact the potential investor.
These are things that simply do not fall in line with their corporate
borders.
This company consists of myriad consultants with extremely
impressive professional experience in a wide range of business areas.
Several of them have and continue to write for Inc. magazine. I would bet
that they have quite a few articles and professional papers to their credit.
Finally, the thing that really impressed me was the way the
presented the issue of cost. It is stated with no sorts of avoidance that
they are not the most expensive but they are also not the cheapest. This
company says straight out that we all know what happens when we think cheap and
forget quality. We all know the feeling that we just should have paid the
good money to the good business entity up front.
I will be reading from this web page for quite awhile. And
I will be listening to the inspirations and theories in regard to my own
project. I hope some of you reading this will check out both my choices.
Frankly, I think Kawasaki’s personal style and philosophies
applied congruently with Cayenne’s in-depth understanding of how to present
myself properly to investors is a powerful one that I look forward to
experiencing. I also look forward to reporting to you about my insights
and progress in this regard.
I would suggest the reader take a serious look at both these sites. I've provided you with an excellent article by Guy. This is in no way the extent of what he as to offer but it's a great place to start. I look forward to hearing from you and will post more within the next 3 days.
Jason
Layne
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