HARMONIC BUSINESS DESIGN PTY LTD
Charlie’s Harmonic Business
BUSINESS PLAN
Roger Seach
18 June 2009
This is one of a series of articles written by Roger Seach to assist small to medium business owners to prosper. The articles are intended to be general in nature only and are not intended to be specific advice to any person, persons, business or businesses
Charlie’s Harmonic Business – Business Plan
Sometimes there are days when you wonder whether you should be in business at all. It seemed like a great idea at the time:
• Be your own boss
• Meet lots of interesting people
• Work whatever hours you want and if you want to go fishing or play golf, just give yourself a day off
• Build a valuable asset which can employee the family and will grow into a retirement “nest egg”
Then the reality set in:
• Not enough money to pay the rent, wages, suppliers and taxes. (Where does it go?)
• Suppliers letting you down
• Difficult customers who are never satisfied and always pay late; they treat you like their bank overdraft
• Never enough time to do the paperwork without sitting up all night
• Employees taking sick days off when you know they're not really sick
Charlie Burns started out the same way. He had big ideas. His business was going to be much more than an employer for him. He was going to build a small empire that would, within three to five years enable him to semi-retire and run the business from a distance. These ideas were bouncing around in his head for months before he started his business.
He rented a small office and workshop, started knocking on doors and making phone calls looking for customers. He knew that he would need some money to carry him through until the business became self-supporting. He sold a few shares at a good time in the market and he knew that this would carry him for two months. Enough time he thought, to build up his sales.
Trouble was, two months became three months; three months became four months and at that point, he had to go out and get a night shift job to bring in enough money to pay for the essentials of life. He was not getting enough sleep, there were too many things that took time and did not produce money. He never seemed to get anything completed. He had to employ somebody to take some of the load but he could not afford to pay wages to himself even. He was devastated and his feelings spilled over into his social and family life.
Charlie's son, Alan was just completing university and he had studied the theory behind business development. One night, at about 2:30 a.m., Charlie came home from his nightshift and found Alan drinking coffee and studying hard for upcoming exams.
They sat together in the silence of the house, drinking coffee together when Alan said, “Dad, if you keep this up, you are going to kill yourself and what good will that be? I know that you had big ideas of how this business was going to run and you talked about your goals all the time. We both have been so busy these days that we have not had a chance to talk. We hardly even see each other! When I was studying tonight, I realised that I needed to sit you down and tell you what I have learnt. That’s why I am still awake, studying. The only time I could see you was when you walked in that door after working eighteen hours straight.”
“You have always been my hero, dad, someone who knows all the answers. Now I want you to listen to me.”
“Things have not turned out the way you expected in your business, have they? You have not seen any of your goals even looking like they are getting closer. Most of the things that have happened have not been the way you expected. Do you remember when I was at high school? You told me that now I really have to study because things will only get tougher. Did I listen?”
“No, you did not!” said his father firmly. “You continued to play games on the computer, talk on the phone and watch too much television. It was not until you started failing your exams that you realised you needed to put in the hard work. Remember, I told you at the very beginning that you needed a written study plan for each year, broken down into weeks, so that you could cover all of the work that you had to do as you were learning. You needed to plan enough time to balance school with games, TV, social life and sporting activities.”
Alan smiled and his eyes glistened in the lamplight. “Listen to yourself, dad, and look at the way that you have approached your business. You don’t have a plan! You need a business plan. You need to start with your goals clearly defined, including timeframes and you must write them down. You have to look at what could happen in your business, considering your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This needs to be done using different assumptions: optimistic, pessimistic and most likely. From the business plan, you need to develop strategies or techniques to achieve the goals within the time frames. The plan must have the flexibility to cope with changes and unexpected impacts.”
“That's enough for now dad; you and I both need our sleep. I will study tomorrow. I want you to make a promise to me, you stubborn, lovely old man. I want you to promise me that this Saturday, you and I will sit down together and we will start a business plan that will be the foundation of your business and the source of all planning and activities. We won't put the business plan away on a shelf to gather dust. We will take it out at least every three months and review what the business is doing to see that we are still on track. Trust me dad, it will save your life and it will save my future children's granddad. Is that a promise?”
Charlie looked at his son and realised how proud he was of this young man. “Yes, Alan, it's a promise!” Charlie pulled out his handkerchief and wiped something from his eye.
Alan smiled. “Dad, when we do this, you will start to see some harmony in your business. I will help you all that I can with the right methods and techniques. And that’s my promise in return!”
This is one of a series of articles that I have written to help small to medium business owners understand the road to more profitable and successful businesses and to help to save their lives. Watch this space!
The advice and suggestions given in this article are general in nature and before implementing them, you should seek appropriate professional advice. Your chamber of commerce and the economic development team in your local council are good starting points.
A very useful (and free) “snapshot” report on your business is available if you log on to www.harmonicbiz.com.au and follow the “ENACT” logo link on the left side of any page to a questionnaire that comprehensively covers your business health. You will receive, within 24 hours, a two to three page “Business Performance Index” report on the health of your business, based on the answers you give. There is no obligation, no cost and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Queensland has already endorsed this programme.
Just give me a call on (07)3040 2367 or 0434-293 815 for a no obligation chat about the growth opportunities of your business
Roger Seach (e-mail: Roger@HarmonicBiz.com.au )
