Business Planning
Provide a Cover for Your Plan—Look at How Other Companies Have Succeeded
People can't help putting your plan in context with others
Let's be honest. You aren't writing that business plan just for yourself. You are writing it to sell a concept and to lead others in a specific direction. And the fact of the matter is that people reading it are going to compare your plan to others that they've seen -- for better or for worse. So you might as well take the lead and do the comparison for them. Show them that your plan is as good (or better) than other proven strategies and you will help them see the light. Don't let someone else draw conclusions for you, because they definitely won't be the ones that you had in mind when you wrote your plan.
It can't hurt to be in the presence of success
There's no shame in emulating success, but the real reason for providing this type of cover is that it will save you a lot of explaining. Let's hope that your plan has some new ideas in it and that you can discriminate your strategy in the marketplace. That's a given. Your business model needs to be different in some significant way in order to leap ahead of your competitors. On the other hand, it truly is hard to argue with success, and everyone knows it. So you need to find ways to tie successful ideas to your plan, and still be unique. That's sometimes easier said than done.
Don't copy the business model -- copy the elements of the successful execution
Start by putting your own stamp on the plan. If you copy a competitor's ideas, you will probably end up with a losing model for your business. After all, if they've already been successful with a model, they're probably going to be able to beat the pants off you when you try to follow in their footsteps. The trick is to be original in your thinking while seizing on the successful execution of other plans. Go for something different, but show that you are planning to do it in a way that has proved to be successful before.
Look outside of your industry for examples of winning strategies
One of the biggest problems companies have is that their people become too entrenched in their own industry. They often fail to see what's going on in the world around them. When you've been working in an area for a long time, it's easy to fall into that trap. If you want to bring a fresh perspective to your business plan, draw parallels with notable companies that are outside of your market, and show how your plan can benefit from bringing those ideas to your industry. Sometimes ideas can be routine or obvious in one industry and revolutionary in another. If you start with successful ideas that are unique in your marketplace, and adapt them to your plan, you'll have the makings of a compelling argument and a winning business strategy.
Let's be honest. You aren't writing that business plan just for yourself. You are writing it to sell a concept and to lead others in a specific direction. And the fact of the matter is that people reading it are going to compare your plan to others that they've seen -- for better or for worse. So you might as well take the lead and do the comparison for them. Show them that your plan is as good (or better) than other proven strategies and you will help them see the light. Don't let someone else draw conclusions for you, because they definitely won't be the ones that you had in mind when you wrote your plan.
It can't hurt to be in the presence of success
There's no shame in emulating success, but the real reason for providing this type of cover is that it will save you a lot of explaining. Let's hope that your plan has some new ideas in it and that you can discriminate your strategy in the marketplace. That's a given. Your business model needs to be different in some significant way in order to leap ahead of your competitors. On the other hand, it truly is hard to argue with success, and everyone knows it. So you need to find ways to tie successful ideas to your plan, and still be unique. That's sometimes easier said than done.
Don't copy the business model -- copy the elements of the successful execution
Start by putting your own stamp on the plan. If you copy a competitor's ideas, you will probably end up with a losing model for your business. After all, if they've already been successful with a model, they're probably going to be able to beat the pants off you when you try to follow in their footsteps. The trick is to be original in your thinking while seizing on the successful execution of other plans. Go for something different, but show that you are planning to do it in a way that has proved to be successful before.
Look outside of your industry for examples of winning strategies
One of the biggest problems companies have is that their people become too entrenched in their own industry. They often fail to see what's going on in the world around them. When you've been working in an area for a long time, it's easy to fall into that trap. If you want to bring a fresh perspective to your business plan, draw parallels with notable companies that are outside of your market, and show how your plan can benefit from bringing those ideas to your industry. Sometimes ideas can be routine or obvious in one industry and revolutionary in another. If you start with successful ideas that are unique in your marketplace, and adapt them to your plan, you'll have the makings of a compelling argument and a winning business strategy.