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Business 101: Passion Before Planning

Contrary to what myriad Internet sites would have you believe,

there is much more to small business planning than a good

marketing mix and solid financials. Whether you want to sell the

next big thing or you simply want to rev up sales and profits

for an existing operation, no business plan template will

adequately address the complex psychology of being an

entrepreneur, especially a successful one.

To illustrate what I mean, let's pretend you aspire to be the

next coffee shop ingénue. You have articulated a comprehensive

business plan; you have chosen your product lineup, location,

promotion plan, and pricing strategy; and you have snagged some

decent financing to keep you running for at least a year. On

paper, you are a coffee empire in the making. "Great!" you think

to yourself. "Let's get started!"

You proceed to sign the lease, shell out some bucks to a lawyer

and an accountant, order a few gazillion pounds of coffee beans

in anticipation of your success, and open for business.

About six months and a few hundred lattes later, you realize

that you do not possess high tolerance levels for the teen

angst, high turnover, and sleep deprived yet incredibly nitpicky

about

extra-hot-no-whip-non-fat-double-mocha-latte-now-or-I'll-go-posta

l cranky clientele that have suddenly become an intimate part of

your life. You despise this situation but also realize that it

will probably be your reality for many years to come, or at

least until you can make enough margin to take a day off and

enjoy a five-dollar coffee poured for you across the street at

Starbuck's.

Perhaps this all too common scenario points to one explanation

for the alarmingly high failure rate of small business start-ups

in North America. The Business 101 textbook explanation of this

phenomenon would state that failure to plan is the root cause of

most small business shutdowns. Indeed, without some kind of road

map, inspiration can quickly turn to chaos if not complete

financial ruin. But even the most well crafted business plan

cannot cement the road to success, and an entirely fabulous

product is no guarantee either.

Work-at-home business gurus, Paul and Sarah Edwards, cite two

independent studies involving a number of successful

entrepreneurs. Both studies concluded that business plans are

overdone in many cases and their importance even overemphasized.

What is needed, the Edwards say, is a succinct plan that

uncovers key aspects of the market you wish to pursue and a

simple roadmap for pursuing them

(www.workingfromhome.com/pages/faq.htm). Of course, in

approaching the planning process this way, you are more apt to

make strategic changes when necessary because you will be less

"invested" in the document itself and more interested in doing

whatever it takes to succeed.

Failure to plan is a symptom, not a root cause, of small

business collapse. The true "illness" lies within the heart of

western entrepreneurship and the bizarre twists and turns it has

taken in the information age. Get-rich-quick schemes abound in

magazines and on the Internet, yet the only ones getting rich

from these programs are the passionate individuals who

envisioned the intricate pyramid of wealth in the first place.

However, one need not take such an unethical path of deception

toward financial independence.

My overpriced but thankfully small "l" liberal education taught

me something I have not seen in any business textbook: Determine

the correct questions before seeking answers. In saying this, I

am not at all trying to sound literary, highfalutin or Stephen

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Covey-esque (loved 7 Habits by the way). I write only what I

know from observation and experience, and it would seem to me

that you cannot derive health, happiness, or wealth from

something that does not reflect your personality, your vision of

your best self, or your basic code for living.

Money in the hands of an entrepreneur who does not know himself

might as well be lumps of coal. And a business plan written by

such a person is not worth much more. No bank loan or angel

moneys can replace the value of introspection. Some questions

you must ask yourself:

* What are my reasons for pursuing this venture?

* Will those reasons be enough if I don't turn a profit in the

first five years? * What will I have lost if the business fails?

What will I have gained?

* Does this venture reflect who I am? Or am I only trying to be

someone I think I "should" be?

Such questions should be fleshed out long before you begin

typing up that business plan. How you honestly answer those

questions should subsequently color every element of your

marketing mix. Passion must precede planning. This authenticity

will shine through in everything you do and say thereafter,

and--in this day--there is nothing so irresistible to your

prospects as authenticity.

About the author:

Karri Flatla is a business graduate of the University of

Lethbridge and principal of snap! virtual assistance inc., a

small business consulting firm providing online marketing

services to the progressive entrepreneur. Karri also produces

Outsmart, the newsletter for small business with big purpose.

Visit http://www.snap-va.com for more information.