By Rolfe Larson on February 8, 2012
There’s been a fair amount of interest lately in how to write your business plan quickly, say in a weekend. The most well-known is called Startup Weekend, which promises to turn strangers into teams with a completed business plan in an intensive 54-hour weekend marathon. Is this a good idea? There’s also a new book, [...]
By Rolfe Larson on January 11, 2012
US Bureau of Labor Statistics research indicates that almost 60% of businesses shut down within the first four years of operation. Why? Most fail for one of these reasons.
By Rolfe Larson on July 28, 2011
My previous blog identified the five competitive forces developed by Harvard professor Michael Porter, which should be addressed in every business plan. This blog profiles each of these forces.
By Rolfe Larson on June 29, 2011
Every business has competitors for its customers, who, after all, get to choose. Most business plans only focus on existing competitors. While that’s necessary, it’s not sufficient. You also need to look at the underlying structure of your industry, and assess the extended rivalry that exists within that structure. One way to do that is [...]
By Rolfe Larson on May 18, 2011
Figuring out how to price your products or services is often very challenging, especially for a new venture. Yet you need a pricing strategy for your business plan, to determine your break-even point and profitability, and of course to launch your business. Here are some tips on how to make that decision:
By Rolfe Larson on April 15, 2011
Creating a business plan takes a lot of time. But you can get help. Consultants can be valuable, but to save money, find out if there’s a qualified college intern who could carry some of the load. Many college courses require students to participate in internships. With the right intern and a carefully structured project, [...]
By Rolfe Larson on February 23, 2011
While many entrepreneurs tend to think first of selling products or services to consumers, far larger markets exist in selling to other companies. Those sales, known as business to business, or B2B, roughly account for ten times the sales directly to consumers. So if you are undecided about what kind of business to launch, and [...]
By Rolfe Larson on January 23, 2011
One of the common challenges in business planning is that one often has a better handle on predicting expenses than revenues. It doesn’t mean you’re 100% sure about what your costs are going to be, but for many folks, when they start looking at sales, it’s a crap shoot. As a result, many business plans [...]
By Rolfe Larson on September 1, 2010
Lately I’ve been rethinking business plans. On the one hand, in the consulting and academic world, what is meant by a business plan is a fairly comprehensive research project with thorough analysis of issues including customers, markets, competitors, pricing, marketing strategies, risks – always followed with detailed multi-paged financial projections looking three to five years [...]
By Rolfe Larson on June 22, 2010
Rolfe Larson is on vacation. This blog was written by guest writer Jan Cohen. When you start a new business, whether for profit venture or social enterprise within a nonprofit, you’ve spent a lot of time and effort on the business planning process. And now you are ready to “execute”. The start-up period always has [...]
Rolfe Larson provides consulting and training in areas such as strategic planning, market research, feasibility analysis, business planning, marketing, and implementation strategies.