I watch business owners become paralyzed in their decision making. They don’t know what to do. Sometimes, unless I call them up and give them a push, they won’t make any real changes and their business and personal life suffer.

Procrastination and indecision will sink your ship, sure as anything. But how do we decide with so much uncertainty ahead?

Just because the road is rocky or difficult, does that mean we shouldn’t try? Does it mean we shouldn’t set goals or make changes? Of course not! Then we would be dead in our tracks, not growing or progressing.

The real answer is to have a general idea of where you are heading and an intense focus on what you must do today. You can never act in the future, only in the present.

The future is never clear, and certainly not at all right now.  Our plans will always have to changed and be modified.  But if we take no action today, we will be left behind. Small business success waits for no one.

True entrepreneurs never wait, they are men or women of action.  The wanna-be’s always find excuses and reasons to put off decisions. They won’t take action. Maybe they get lost in trying to plan every last thing out, so focused on the details and getting it right that nothing innovative ever happens in their lives or business.

Maybe they are afraid of failure. Hey, failure is your friend. It is by our failures that we learn and move on to greater things. Have no doubt, entrepreneurs fail all the time, the good ones fail fast, learn from it, change and succeed.  Wanna-be’s never even start.

Don’t get paralyzed by life around you. Get out there and give it a try, whatever your idea is. Maybe you’ll look a little foolish and make a mistake or two. Who cares? Enjoy the adventure of finding ways to make your business work.

If you don’t innovate and change, I can guarantee you what will happen. You’ll find yourself sitting with a failed business, or no business at all, watching how your competitors innovated, took chances, failed and learned … and left you in the dust.

In this new year let’s do things differently.  Don’t try to do as well as the next guy or perform as well as your competitors (thus being average). As Joe Polish likes to say “eat your competition alive!”  Go outside the box, be creative, innovate, and then “just do it.”

A final illustration that works for me is to just start the ball rolling.  Once it is rolling you are forced to make decisions quickly to adjust and keep it going in the right direction.  If you never get it rolling, you go nowhere.

Find people you trust to brainstorm or mastermind a direction for 2010, then take action … just do it. If you don’t take action today, likely you never will.

So, let’s get going!

You’ve got a business idea and you want to get funding. A business plan is your starting point, but not just for financial purposes. A business plan is just that-your long-term business strategy and writing a solid one will help you clarify a variety of issues in advance of opening your doors, whether that is literal or not.

One of the first steps in developing your business plan is ensuring you have a USP: unique sales proposition.  Be as detailed as possible about your products and/or services and your target market. What do you sell and why would they want to buy it from you? Have you identified your key competitors? If so, what services will your business offer that theirs won’t and how will it be better? In other words, how will your business be different than the others. All of this defines your USP and is the core of your plan that your goals and timeline will be developed around.

Develop and present your marketing strategy. How will you reach your targeted customers? What will the budget be for each of these activities? How will you measure your return on investment (ROI) for marketing and test its success? Present a timeline for marketing activities as well.

Clarify goal assignments, necessity of each goal and the estimated duration for completion. Who will be responsible for completing each assignment? Why are they the appropriate choice?

Be prepared to give a detailed financial analysis. How much will you need to get started and how will it be allocated? Prepare estimated financial statements: income, balance sheet, cash flow estimates, break-even analysis and relevant ratios. Providing this information in easy to read and understand charts and graphs is helpful to readers (and lenders!). Be realistic! Don’t gloss over or inflate your financial concerns.

Finally, have a business expert review your business plan before you officially submit it to make sure it is compelling, factual, easy to understand and proofread properly. I have a free business plan template available for your use, as well as additional information here.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy:

The First Step: Is Your Business Proposition Viable?

What to Look for in a Financial Advisor?

Debt-Free Funding Opportunities

Money is a complicated topic. People divorce over it. Businesses fail because of lack of understanding of it. Even large corporations stumble and fall because they made bad decisions about it. We’re given very little education, if any at all, about managing money and investing so it should be no suprise that there aren’t more of us who are savvy about it. This is where a financial advisor comes in. I’ve also seen financial advisors called “financial coaches”, “financial planners” and, most recently “financial therapists”. There are many well-meaning people who are willing to advise you on how to fix your money problems and how to build wealth for now and retirment. How do you know you are working with someone credible and trustworthy?

Ask your financial planning candidates about their credentials? Are they a Certified Financial Planner (which requires study and passing a national exam), a Certified Public Accountant, an attorney (yes. I am all three!) ? A reputable financial planner wants to be educated! Ask them to prove how they have been.

Get real input from people you trust to find out who they are using. Ask about their results and the person’s responsiveness, style and values. You want someone you mesh with.

Find out what services they offer. Can they do estate planning? Do they specialize in retirement planning? Can they advise you if you are suffering through financial difficulties.

They should not sell products! No insurance, stocks, annuities, etc.

Are there any disciplinary actions in your history? Make sure this person is reputable, not just with clients but also with their licensing and certifying bodies.

Find out how much and when you will be charged. Are phone calls included or do you pay by the hour for those? Get a written service agreement.

With the markets in flux, the economy shaky and your retirement less than secure, a financial advisor can be your winning edge, both in your personal and business lives. Don’t hesistate to contact me to get a feel for how I operate and what I can do for you.

Before you think brand or business name, before you start dreaming of logos and business cards, you need to know if your business idea is viable. Your business needs to meet one of two criteria:

1. Does it meet an unmet want or desire for potential customers/clients?
2. Does it solve an unsolved problem for potential customers/clients?

Then you need to ask yourself some important questions and do some internal review:

• Do you have the drive, stamina and financial resources to risk failure?
• Do you have experience in the industry you are considering?
• Can you narrow down your market to your “ideal customer” and get a niche?
• Have you done (or are you willing to do) your research?
• Is it something you are going to enjoy doing for some time?

Then, of course, you need to find out what other people think of the idea and what similar businesses already exist. Obviously, Internet research will be a significant resource but also be sure to read books about both your industry and business trends, set up a simple survey on your Web site or blog and consider hiring a market research firm to do some polling and testing.

If you are considering a bricks and mortar store, shop your competitors. See what they do right and wrong. One of your problem solved! moments could be in simple customer service. Are wait times too long? Does the business not cross market a variety of products and services well? Is there a real need for a similar business with a better model?

There is no guarantee for success. At some point, you have to take a leap of faith. One half of small businesses fail by their fourth year, but this means HALF OF SMALL BUSINESSES SUCCEED. Don’t be discouraged by numbers. This country was built on the shoulders of small business owners.

There is help for new and existing small business owners. Take a few moments to spend with us on a free 30-minute consultation call. We can help you decide if your business idea will catch fire!