The Essentials of a Business Plan

The tangible information that investors search for in a business plan is described in the textbook, “Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies”.  The critical & key components are (1) the executive summary, (2) financials, (3) management section and (4) the exit plan.  The potential business owner must outline, in these sections, a solid foundation of where to take the business, with a strong competent management team, that has extensive knowledge of the market or industry.  Projection of financial health within the first 2 years requires specificity (monthly) and quarterly projection for the next 3-5 years.  Pertinent areas of your business plan must be highlighted in order to capture the attention of the reader, within 5 minutes; information that is important to the investor should go in the executive summary. 

Of course, no one can blame the skepticism of a venture capitalist, that wants to be secure in his or her investments.  Stephanie Burns, a Forbes' contributor, interviewed venture capitalists that also rely on intangibles ~ instincts, when deciding to go into partnership (similar to a marriage) with a potential business owner.  Stephanie reports that what Barbara Corcoran, Investor on ABC Shark Tank is looking for is an innate sense of trust that she either feels or doesn’t feel by following her instincts. She admits that it’s not an exact science, but she has always regretted not listening to her gut and it’s cost her money.  Whereas, Joanne Wilson stated that she goes by the 24-hour rule, “After meeting with someone I give myself 24 hours to see if I am still loving the business.”

Chuck Blakeman and Mike Michalowicz debunk the whole notion of a business plan.  Both believe that a business plan stifles growth and is a waste of time. 

Chuck Blakeman, started 8 businesses, nationally and internationally, he is an accomplished author and now serves as an advisor to the business communities across the globe.  He believes that there is no conceivable way to plan extensively for a business, because there is no absolute way to predict an accurate outcome. Therefore, one is wasting his or her time in constructing one.  Chuck believes listing steps 1, 2, and 2.1, then allowing the other steps to grow organically into whatever that may be.  What happens to one business is not going to be the same for your business; even if they are the same type of businesses.

Mike Michalowicz has a long list of accolades.  He is a comedian in his own right but also a self-accomplished business owner who owned and sold two multimillion-dollar businesses by the age 35 and lost it all as an angel investor.  Mike currently owns his third multimillion-dollar company and shares his knowledge to the business community through his books and segments on television (i.e., CNBC's On the Money, Pat Croce's Down To Business).  In an interview with Kathy Caprino, a Forbes' contributor, Mike refers to a business plan as a "static yardstick" and states, “Sticking fast and furiously to your business plan makes you adhere to false tenets and assumptions, and that holds you back”.

I enjoyed the various views on the importance of a business plans and what is important to Investors.  I particularly, enjoyed what Chuck Blakeman and Mike Michalowicz said on not being bogged down by the business plan and to allow my mind to be free to receive the inevitable state of change, I will embrace this idea and remain flexible.

P.S.

Chuck Blakeman wrote a wonderful article on the difference between the Mission vs Vision statements.

References:

Abrams, Rhonda. Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies, 5th Edition. The Planning Shop, 2010. VitalBook file.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/chicceo/2013/03/01/3-things-investors-want-from-you/

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kathycaprino/2013/03/05/why-business-plans-dont-work-and-pivoting-is-nonsense/

http://chuckblakeman.com/2012/5/texts/lewis-and-clark-your-best-business-heros

http://chuckblakeman.com/2012/11/texts/your-mission-is-not-your-vision

Talking Marketing & Sponsorship with Todd Stein of The Marketing Arm

I am pursuing a degree in Entertainment Business and Sports Management; this month’s course is Sports Marketing and Sponsorship Sales. 

The operative word is “leverage” and the phrase is “create a buzz”.  Great marketing leverages a business or a product among competitors.  Enacting a successful marketing campaign will bring traffic to your business and social media sites resulting in increase in sales. 

In this interview, the topic of discussion is on various ways of how to promote a product and engage fans.  Who better to advise on such a topic than from an experiential marketing expert, who works for one of the largest promotion firms in the business, The Marketing Arm?

The Marketing Arm handles marketing and promotion for big accounts (i.e., ATT, Pepsi, etc.).  Todd has been in the business for over 15 years now and continues to love what he does.  Todd and I discussed various areas of his responsibilities:  marketing, sponsorship, and promotions

Todd remarks that promotions are a way to bring awareness or to move the needle of a product, whether to get more shelf space, talk about the product, to  “create a buzz” on social media, and to make a product more relevant.  An example of this is AT&T and the game day (football) experience.

What are the main objectives for promotion of a product at an event?  We want to enhance the game day experience and to create a deeper engagement with fans. We look for ways to engage fans that is intrinsic to AT&T in a natural environment for fans.  We put AT&T in the center of what fans do. 

Taking ownership of the event, we coined the phrase “Techgating” with college football games.  AT&T products, such as, AT&T U-verse are apart of tailgating that enhances game day experience, by providing Wi-Fi capabilities to allow fans to post photos, look at other football games, and communicate through social media sites about their experience.

Do you get apps created for an event?  We have a micro-site to monitor information, that comes through uploads; the information is displayed on the fan board at AT&T stadium.  The fan board is a large digital display for everyone in the stadium to see. We create an app for a program for those who are frequent game goers.  People will not download an app for one time use.  We just launched an app that allows people to hit a button and their phone will display a light, it creates a strobe effect of a virtual cheering of light, seen on the fan board. Things are displayed on the fan board, game stats, post-a-pic, and brain messages, like “it can wait campaign, don’t text and drive”.

How would you know if your efforts are successful? 

We look at number 1, how many apps were downloaded, number 2, how many people are utilizing different parts of the apps, and number 3, conduct a research of a control group of people, who come to the game and use the product and those who live in Dallas; they will give the input on the product and services.

Can you shed some light on the AT&T and Dallas Cowboys business relationship?

We are not trying to make the Dallas Cowboys more popular; we are taking advantage of the Cowboy’s popularity, by increasing the awareness of the sponsor, AT&T’s product from the nationwide recognition.

When we look for the right sponsorship relationship, there are many things to consider. We have to filter the sponsorship requests for AT&T, to see what makes strategic sense and see which would be a good fit.  Take Dallas Cowboys for instance; Dallas Cowboys are known nationally, they are a future-thinking brand.  The Dallas Cowboys stadium is one of the most advanced in technology, so it makes sense for AT&T, a technological company to be associated with the Dallas Cowboys Stadium.

What is Buzz Marketing?

Buzz marketing is using influencers, which could be fans of teams, bloggers, and celebrities to spread the word.

Do you have a social platform that you prefer? Depending on the target audience, for example, if the target is the 40 year old stay at home moms, we may use mommy bloggers or Pinterest or if we target college kids, we would use Vine or Instagram.

The millennials are no longer watching television, social media is such an intricate part of their lives and to reach them, we have to go where they are.

Advice to Me:

Get internship, multiple internships, it is a tough business to get into, it is really about who you know.  Be the best intern, work the hardest and get to know people.

 Todd Stein, the pleasure was all mine.  Thanks for sharing your wisdom.

Interview with Amores' Luis Basteri

Continuing my quest to learn from the industry experts on talent management.  I was very excited to speak to Luis Basteri, the director of Amores Talent Management, a modeling agency unique to the Dallas Metroplex.  Amores manages the careers of models, bloggers, and V-loggers.  Amores is the only one of its kind in the Southwest to represent the Social Elite.

Luis is an extraordinary individual.  Very poised, friendly and candid, Luis shared valuable information about the modeling and social media side of the talent management business.

Luis remarks that the entertainment industry was a passion of his, ever since he was a teenager.  The fruit does not fall too far from the tree, as his father was also in the entertainment business.  Luis’ path to success started on a traditional one.  Luis paid his dues at an early age.  As a proactive teen, Luis volunteered his services at a local broadcast station in Dallas, Texas.  He worked his way up from production assistant to production coordinator.  Luis spent 7 years in the industry working for talent agencies.  He now sits proudly as the director of a cutting edge, modeling agency in Dallas, Texas.

Amores purposefully manages a small board of talent, in order to give top priority and high concentration to their careers.  Quality, not quantity, is Amores’ mission.  Their trade secrets are the processes and strategies of how to book their talent.  Amores have international and national clients that employ their talent.  Luis states, “Our talent are always working.  We are very selective of where to send models and on what jobs.  If a model is seen too many places, they become less wanted by clients.  There is a continuous search for new fresh faces by clients”.

Amores’ management staff and affiliations are of extreme talent with extensive experience.  Ari Miranda brings ties from Mexico and serves as Luis’ right hand; she contributes her expertise in public relations, fashion journalism and production.

According to Luis, there are models for different things and knowing what they are suited for, can extend their careers.

Why settle here in Dallas, Texas?  Aside from my family residing here, Dallas presents many unique opportunities to try different things.  Starting a modeling agency in places like LA and New York is nothing new to these areas, people have already tried or are doing what you are trying to doing.

What is your approach to talent management?  We find out what the talent wants to accomplish and go from there.  If they are teenagers, we do not want to hear what their parents’ want, but what they themselves want.  We want the talent to be happy and in turn they do a great job.

Amores manages fashion bloggers, Instagram stars, Viners, and YouTube personalities.  Apart of the Special Bookings division are Lisa Petty of DFW Style Daily and Cynthia Smoot of Oh So Cynthia.

How does management of bloggers and v-loggers go?  There are clients who want to be connected to social media gurus with a huge following, to talk about their product.  We manage this and their careers; we protect them in a sense.  We make sure the clients are legitimate. 

Advice from Luis to Me:

• You must work at least 3 years for agencies, to learn what and what not to do.  I remember making a terrible mistake of not researching a talent fully.  I later found out that the models that I hired had an undesirable past, that came back to haunt me.  I thought that I was going to get fired.  I learned from that mistake to research the talent thoroughly and to ask up front, “Is there anything that I should know and to tell me everything”.

• You may be better off starting in broadcast (the acting realm) and then move over into the modeling sector.  Because of the fast pace of the modeling industry, it can be quite confusing.

• You are starting from a great place, because you are getting a formal education that teaches you what is new in the entertainment business sector.  However, interning and meeting people in the industry are key components.

Takeaways:

• Establish Symbiotic Relations:  Build strong alliances with individuals that have superb knowledge and experience.
• Start small and build.
• Be meticulous of how you do everything, in order to circumvent mishaps, because it is difficult to dial back from costly errors.
• Always think in terms of protecting your brand and its reputation.
• Always strive to be exceptional.
• Do not be fearful of taking risks, do things others are not.
• Listen to your subjects and work from their desires.
• Go for quality not quantity.

 Luis, I learned a lot from you. Thank you for your time and generosity!

 http://dfwstyledaily.com/2013/07/11/four-fresh-modeling-agencies-take-on-the-dallas-scene/