You can’t be all things to everyone in your business product or service offerings.
Many articles have been written about “Plan To Fail by Failing into Plan.” These articles offer valuable advice on the initial business plan. However, there is not much information on how to adapt to the “reality of the day.”
My business plan was frequently referred to in classes at my Small Business Center at the community college. I kept my response to the “team,” as I knew I wasn’t going to be earning a salary, let alone having a “team.”
Below is a summary of my “team” one year later.
Team member one: – Site developer.
After enrolling in the FrontPage online class, I discovered that I wasn’t a site developer. I immediately began to look for others who could help me realize my ideas and bring them to life.
Team Member 2: AdWords Consultant.
It was once again a reminder that determination is a virtue, but being stubborn and determined is not. I was “determined” to enroll in a Google AdWords course and build my own campaigns. Being so determined cost me literally thousands of dollars and wasted valuable time. I could have spent that time on areas that required my full attention. This class had one positive thing: I met someone who knew their stuff and was able to hire them.
Team member three: – SEO Optimization.
Although I blog, write articles about girls’ plus-size clothing and participate in link exchanges, I’m not an HTML expert. I don’t know much about HTML tags, where to place them, and what dynamic pages are better than static pages.
The fourth member of the team: – Business credit.
Your business will need its own credit score. It must be able to make its own financial decisions. Your credit score can be negatively affected by starting a business from your own pockets. You may also want to expand the business beyond what you are able to pay for. Your business must be creditworthy to lenders.
Team Member Five, Six, Seven, etc.
CPA for tax filings, attorney for LLC, vendors extending credits, family eating another frozen meal, and unpacking boxes after a long, hard day at work.
If you think I have delegated all of the work, I may have misled you. I’m not the only one who has the idea. Someone must coordinate the team, provide customer service and buy the product.
One thing I learned from many years of HR was that I didn’t want W-2 employees. Contractors and consultants have so far done the job I needed. One year in, I won’t say “never to employees” again. That would be a sign that the business is thriving as planned.
Although determination is a good thing, trying to do everything yourself can be costly and less efficient than hiring help in your business plan, including the team that you will need.
