This document outlines the agenda for a business planning workshop. The agenda includes sessions on designing and planning a business, business structure and intellectual property, registering a business with Companies House, and a finance workshop. There will also be breaks for lunch and networking. The workshop facilitator is Dr. David Bozward and it includes icebreakers and exercises to identify customer needs, benefits, and business models.
2. Agenda
• 10am Designing and Planning your Business
• 12 noon Lunch
• 1pm Business Structure: IP
• 2pm Business Structure: Companies House
• 3pm Finance Workshop
• 4pm Workshop Networking
• 5pm End
4. Ice Breaker….
• Three things about yourself
– Favorite Dragon from Dragon’s Den
– A food you would never eat
– What is your favorite place?
• Now … go and exchange with three other
people your DON’T know
8. So What!
• No one care about your product
• Everyone is busy
• People will be anxious about buying from
you
• Parting with money is harder than advice
• Solve one problem and do it well - focus
9. Pain Points
Have you identified customer ‘pain-points’ for your products and
services?
① We never considered customer ‘pain-points’.
② We know what they are – we don’t need to research or verify
them.
③ We have informally researched key customer ‘pain-points’.
④ We have formally researched key customer ‘pain-points’ for
our main products and services in our main targeted
segments.
⑤ We have formally researched key customer ‘pain-points’ for
all products and services in all targeted segments, and we
use these to inform product and service decisions.
10. Key Questions
• What pain does your product solve?
• Why should people care?
• Can you do this in a few words?
• Can you persuade people to purchase
your product using an elevator pitch?
11. How to Identify them..
• In-depth interviews with your sales or advisors
• Requests from from customers.
• One-on-one customer interviews.
• Customer focus groups.
• Customer user group meetings.
• Review of customer support calls.
• Assessment of competitor offerings.
• Suggestions from other staff in your company.
12. What to identify
• What is the true source of pain?
• Who sees the most value in having that
pain removed?
• Who will ultimately pay for a solution?
• Is there a substantive market that will
benefit from your solution?
13. Benefits vs Benefits
• a feature is what your product has or does
– e.g. 50 megapixels
• a benefit is something of value or
usefulness
– e.g. sharper and have true to life colours
15. Why people buy
• Community
• Scarcity
• Recognition
• Prestige
• Need
16. A task!!!
• Clearly describe the 3 biggest benefits of owning your
product or service.
• Let me be blunt. Your prospect care if you
offer the best quality, service, or price.
• You have to explain exactly WHY that is important
to them.
• Think in terms of what your business does for your
customer and the end-result they desire from a
product or service like yours.
• So, what are the 3 biggest benefits you offer? Write
them down on a piece of paper...
• 1. 2. 3.
17. The USP
• Be Unique
• The key here is to be unique. Basically, your USP separates you
from the competition, sets up a " " that illustrates your
company is the most logical choice, and makes your product or
service the "gotta have" item.
• Write your USP so it creates desire and urgency.
• Your USP can be stated in your product itself, in your offer, or in your
guarantee:
– PRODUCT: "A unique cricket swing that will instantly force you to hit like
a pro."
– OFFER: "You can learn this simple technique that makes you hit like a
pro in just 10 minutes of batting practice."
– GUARANTEE: "If you don't hit like a pro cricket player the first time you
use this new swing, we'll refund your money."
Write your ideas on paper now...
23. What is in a Business Plan?
It should discuss the following:
•Product:
What the business will produce, how it will be
produced, and who will buy the product or service
•People:
Who will run the business
•Customers:
How the business will win over customers and keep
them
•Money:
How the financial picture would look like over time
24. What do they look like?
1, People
2, Product
3, Customers
4, Money
25.
26. For whom is it written?
1. The Entrepreneur e.g.YOU
2. The Employee
3. Potential
a. Financiers
b. Partners
c. Investors
d. Suppliers
27. For whom is it written?
1. The Entrepreneur
• To provide a road map of where the business will
go
• To force the owner to think about all aspects of
the business venture
• To help communicate ideas to others
• To aid in managing the business
• To work out the risks, opportunities
28. 2. The Employees
• To give them a clear idea of what the owner
wants to do
• To motivate them to work hard
• To enable them to see where they can fit in the
scheme of things
• To encourage “buy‐in” on the owner’s plans
For whom is it written?
29. 3. Potential financiers, partners, investors,
and Suppliers
• To prove that the business model is solid
• To give them an idea of where their funds would
go
• To show the profit potentials of the business
venture
For whom is it written?
30. Tips in writing a business plan
• Be honest and true to yourself
• Do good research; Cite your sources
• Base forecasts on statistical evidence
• Be sure it is neat and organized
• Include cover letter with business information;
executive summary
• Please proofread!!!
32. Fact Sheet
• Name of Company
• Legal Structure
• Location
• Size
• Investment Amount
• Return on Investment
• Promoter
• Auditor
33. 1. The People
• The Founders
– Who, Why, How, When, Where
• Advisors
– Who, What, Network,
• External Support
– Banks, Industry Networks,
Government
Thisisfirstbecauseit’sthemostimportant
34. 2. The Opportunity
• The Product
– Hook = What, Who, Why
• The Customer
– How many, Why, When
• The Competition
– Who, Trends, Financial Backing
35. 3. The Context
• Business Model
• Big Picture
• External Forces
• PESEL
36. 4. Risk & Reward
• SWOT
– Go Deep!
• Risks
– What can go wrong
– Who should be involved, when
• Rewards
– Exit strategy – Investors
37. 5. Proof of Concept
• Patents/Trademarks/Copyright
• Letters/Requests/Notifications
• Feedback/Surveys
• Technical Descriptions
– Diagrams/Pictures
– No equations
38. 6. Momentum
• Journey
• Achievements
• Investments
• Key Dates
– Company/Finance/Patents/Contracts
• Summary of plan
39. 7. Appendices - other Stuff
• Financials
– Balance Sheet/Cash Flow
• Executive summary
• Founders & Team CVs
• Market Research sources
40. All business plans are the same
1, People
2, Product
3, Customers
4, Money
41. Task: Write one sentence on each
1. People
2. Opportunity
3. Context
4. Risk & Reward
5. Proof
47. Questions you can ask that lead you to
completely define the business concept:
1. What is the product or service you are offering?
2. What problem do you solve?
3. Who is your market?
4. What are the benefits to the end user?
5. How will the benefit be delivered to your customer?
48. What do you do?
Make
Look after
Grow
Move
Buy
Design
Bring together
Transmit
PresentSource
Advise
50. Who do you do it for?
Customers
Accreditors
Subscribers
Users
Clients
Partners
Patrons
Audiences
Consumers
Purchasers
Congregations
Wholesalers
Retailers
Members
51. Generate three connections
What
Make
Look after
Grow
Move
Buy
Design
Bring together
Transmit
Present
Source
Advise
Sub-contractors
Partners
Complementary firms
Customers
Employees
Suppliers
Networks
Who
Customers
Accreditors
Subscribers
Users Clients
Partners
PatronsAudiences
Consumers
Purchasers
Congregations
Wholesalers
Retailers
Members
Customer
52. What do you charge for?
• Hours you provide
• Each product
• Space you use
• Volume consumed
• Quantity you sell
• Number of times used
• Per edition
53. Types of Business Models
• Brokerage: brings together buyers / sellers
• Advertising: sells space for ads
• Infomediary: sells information
• Merchant: sells goods
• Community: provides a space for interaction
• Affiliate: works with partners
• Utility: metered usage
• Subscription: pay for access e.g. to information
(see www.digitalenterprise.org)
It may live longer than you
Others have to believe in it, not just you
Time 10:30
Example
Apple Ipod
Only Napster available
Community
Human beings are social creatures and we love to be a part of something – a community, a lifestyle, a click. It doesn’t matter what you call it as long as people feel they are a part of something bigger, a sense of belonging.
Having a product or service which is clearly your brand and others can recognise it. Try and create a community around your product either online or via social events.
Scarcity
This factor feeds off he first, if so many other people have already purchased then it must be good and also I will be in a good community or others. You may see “only 5 spaces left” for a course which then creates a sense of urgency and timescale to do something about it.
By creating a sense of scarcity around your product or idea you will increase demand and the value of the product.
Recognition
People buy products because they’re looking for recognition. They want to be recognized wearing the latest style and carrying the most technologically advanced phone. They want people to notice them.
You should create a sense of recognition around your product within your target customer segment. This will ensure both the brand and the products are easily spotted within the community.
Prestige
Why do people buy luxury items? Why do people purchase products with better packaging? Why do people buy standard products in up market stores? It’s about the prestige of what and where people purchase the product.
You should create an aura of prestige around your product by positioning it in the market and point of sales opportunities. Prestige does not come from price alone.
Be Unique
The key here is to be unique. Basically, your USP separates you from the competition, sets up a "buying criteria" that illustrates your company is the most logical choice, and makes your product or service the "gotta have" item. (Not your competitor's.)
Write your USP so it creates desire and urgency. Your USP can be stated in your product itself, in your offer, or in your guarantee:
PRODUCT: "A unique baseball swing that will instantly force you to hit like a pro."
OFFER: "You can learn this simple technique that makes you hit like a pro in just 10
minutes of batting practice."
GUARANTEE: "If you don't hit like a pro baseball player the first time you use this new swing, we'll refund your money."
Write your ideas on paper now...
you always need a plan
The type of plan depends on the target audience
Founders:
Who are they?
Why did they start the business? Motives
How did come about?
When did this happen and what happened since?
Where are they now and where are they going?
How can I get rid of them?
Advisors:
What network do they have?
How can they help or hinder?
How do they reach out to others?
Banks network
Industry networks
Gov policy and influence
Create a hook in the product section, the investors need to love the product
High level description
Competiton
Who are they,
What is the key trends with the competitors, mergers, acq,…buy outs
How are they backed, financial models
Time : 11.30
Your business is where the crosses are,
so to get to the expansion stage you will need to pivot
so a few tips
you need to validate the problems
then validate the solution
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoAOzMTLP5s
Lets describe this customer, the segmentor anything we know about them