Yes, for sure, as a business owner you have to beware of cash flow traps. Let me show you the difference between profits and cash with a simple example. Take the estimates we have in the previous sections for the sales, direct costs, and operating expenses of Garrett’s bicycle shop. Put them together and you […]
Assess your cash flow risk with this simple method here. Your business might not have the factors that make cash flow so different from profits. Maybe managing sales and expenses is enough for your business. It depends on the specific factors here. Item Details 1. Product Inventory Give yourself 1 point if you deal with product […]
True cash-only businesses are extremely rare. Such a business would not have to sell entirely in cash, check, or credit card; not ever have to buy inventory or anything else before it makes a sale, and would pay for everything it buys immediately. Maybe that’s a crafts-market artisan? A writer? I’m not sure; but I am sure that most of us, as business owners, have to deal with these essential principles of cash flow.
I believe these three things about startup entrepreneurs, business owners and financials: The essential need-to-know facts about business plan financial forecasts are very important; and They are easy enough to learn; and Bankers, accountants, investors and their analysts expect you to know them and use them correctly. The sales forecasts, spending budgets, and cash flow […]
You may have heard of the lean startup movement, or lean manufacturing. This is applying the same concept to business planning. It gives you planning so you can follow up with tracking, management, and course corrections, to get the benefits of accountability, having strategies and tactics aligned with specifics, and managing your cash flow. But […]
This section contains additional business plan information. That includes tips and traps, suggestions, food for thought, and more discussion. It sits near the back of the site because people are different: some want all the detail in order, and others want to go quickly through the main points. There is a special look at Starting […]
These are sample business plan tactics for the lean business plan of HavePresence.com, the social media service whose strategy was a model for the lean plan strategy section. Notice that the tactics are simple, reminders for management, things to track later with specific dates and deadlines and tracking results. This is from the tactics section […]
Keep it lean. Benefits, definitions, and principles aside, this section takes you step-by-step through the process of creating a lean business plan. It’s four steps: strategy, tactics, essential projections, and concrete specifics. Just do it. Lean business plan in 4 easy steps Four simple steps. You can do this. You can follow along with the […]
Startups should estimate the new business startup costs as part of their lean business plan. “ Two lists: expenses and assets Knowing the starting costs before you start a business is a matter of two simple lists: Startup expenses: These are expenses that happen before the beginning of the plan, before the first month of […]
One of the strongest and most pervasive myths about planning is dead wrong: planning doesn’t reduce flexibility. It builds flexibility. Lean business planning manages change. It is not threatened by change. You are not locked in. Your plan will change. People say, “Why would I do a business plan? That just locks me in. It’s […]
