How do you craft a game plan?

[ruener79]

It's been said that success in business starts with having a plan. In building your respective businesses or in planning to set up one, what are the things that you consider when you craft your game plan? How much of a role do you think game plans play for your business? Has there been an occasion wherein you just plunged into a business without really crafting the nitty-gritty of a game plan, and what were the results?

 

[T J Tutor]

It's been said that success in business starts with having a plan. In building your respective businesses or in planning to set up one, what are the things that you consider when you craft your game plan? How much of a role do you think game plans play for your business? Has there been an occasion wherein you just plunged into a business without really crafting the nitty-gritty of a game plan, and what were the results?

It is a foolish endeavor to attempt a startup without a business plan. No matter how large or small, you must plan out all of the details such as, determining costs and overhead, projecting revenues, determining revenue distribution, etc. If you do not have these worked then you cannot ever know where you are going, you can never know your position with competitors and how to overtake them or compete with them, etc.

 

[ruener79]

Haha, I thought I'm the only one who think having a business plan is essential in a start up. But hard as it may to believe, I used to work for a boss who just go for the kill without an actual plan. He just plunges in, and ask us to set things up and worry about the details later. Or perhaps he has plans, but just don't care to share it with us. Who knows. I've seen him doing this in all 13 years that I worked for him though. The first few years we were so successful, but the latter years had been a roller coaster.

 

[Nikita]

I think having a solid business plan is essential in building a startup. Putting all the details into words will definitely help in making sure that all decisions have a good reason behind them and that no amount of money and effort is wasted on frivolous trial and error, and even though this doesn't eliminate risk altogether, it at least will minimize it. There are probably a good number of businesses that have achieved success without stemming from a business plan, but it think generally it's a much more stable method to rely on for new businesses. Not only that but it's also the best way of attracting investors since it's much easier for them to gauge the details when all of it is written down. As for the best way of going about it, I think the typical structure of business plans is good enough to serve as a layout, which is why it has become standard at this point, and the best place to start is to define your mission and vision to serve as an anchor for all other subsequent decisions.

 

[thedeatheater123]

While having a business plan is extremely beneficial in the long run, not everyone with a great idea for venture has business skills or is a professional. In my opinion it is far more important to be clear of your goals and what problem are you trying to solve with your venture. Also you be honest to that problem and try to see all ways in which it can be solved. If you well and truly believe in your idea and endeavour then all the other stuff will take care of itself. Many times VCs are looking whether the person is really passionate about his work or not. Business plans can be made at a later stage when you already are a known player in the market and you have to face competition/opposition if any.

 

[ruener79]

While having a business plan is extremely beneficial in the long run, not everyone with a great idea for venture has business skills or is a professional. In my opinion it is far more important to be clear of your goals and what problem are you trying to solve with your venture. Also you be honest to that problem and try to see all ways in which it can be solved. If you well and truly believe in your idea and endeavour then all the other stuff will take care of itself. Many times VCs are looking whether the person is really passionate about his work or not. Business plans can be made at a later stage when you already are a known player in the market and you have to face competition/opposition if any.

You sound a lot like my former boss. He too believe in focusing on how your business idea can solve an existing problem. To him, going into the nitty-gritty of business plans will only hinder you from thinking of creative ideas to carry them out. He feels stifled having business plans. He always tell us, let's just do things as we go along. I don't like this approach not having a plan, but I later on just got the hang of how he did things.

 

[djentre]

I craft my game plan by thinking about what I'd like to achieve - the ultimate goal. Once I know what the ultimate goal is, I then find ways to get there in the shortest possible time.

 

[onlinecashcity]

Put yourself in the shoes of a customer or somebody who would use your business. Go from start to finish and think about what they will do to use your product/business. Write down what they will need, how you will give that to them, and any problems that will arise. You need to make sure that in the middle of everything happening, if a problem does happen, you can fix it. Nothing would suck more than having something going well, then when something bad happens, you have no idea how to fix it.

 

[remnant]

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Many businessmen plunge into businesses without the endgame in mind. Then unforeseen issues and circumstances start cropping up. Many businesses for this reason don't survive beyond five years if they are extremely lucky. The first thing to do is to craft a business plan. It comprehensively addresses all facets of the startup business ranging from the name, logistics and marketing to financing and possible challenges.