WEEK 9 – Your Product, Your Problem

I’ve been receiving questions lately asking about where I get started on putting my business plan together.  Actually I didn’t go the route of creating the traditional business plan because I didn’t see myself going the traditional route to start my business.  Fortunately we’re in an age where it’s not necessary to have to crawl to the local bank, corporate investors, or venture capitalists that would require you to have a business plan with tons of statistics and market analysis.  With the emergence and popularity of crowdfunding it has become possible to side-step old-fashioned means.  With that being said, you still do need a plan.  My plan is what is referred to as a Lean Business Plan.  This is just a straight forward, no-frills, just listing out all the important stuff that’s for internal use only.  I chose to structure this plan using an IMO strategy. This plan is set up intentionally to tweak and change as time goes on to better reflect your business.  For more info, click on the link here that will explain in more detail to see if a Lean Business Plan suits your business.

As I mentioned last week, I was expecting my first proposal from one of my prospects, Jeff.  I don’t have the budget to be able to have a lawyer look over everything for me, so I’m left to trusting my own judgement and going with my gut.  After reading through the proposal there were some portions of the contract that needed to be revised.  Since I’m dealing with a first-to-market product it’s important to me that I protect any improvements made along the way.  This was very important to me, although in fairness, if a significant improvement is implemented than all those involve should share the credit.  Along with that, there were some other minor changes that needed to be made that Jeff had no problem conforming to.  I was able to make the changes that suited me and that we both agreed were fair.  Do not be afraid of challenging manufacturers, consultants, or whoever for better terms, pricing or both; at the end of the day it’s your product on the line so it’s your responsibility to protect it.