Friday, August 12, 2005

Business plans: Worst case scenario

Business plans.

Every new and existing company should have one. They are the roadmap to future business success.

There are many aspects to the creation of a good business plan, including finances, marketing, sales forecasts, expected expenses, and so on. By carefully assessing all of the details, a strong business plan can be formulated.

A business plan is a requirement for everyone from bankers to venture capitalists. They are also a useful exercise for you, as developing the business plan forces you to look long and hard at your ideas and projections.

Even with a good solid business plan in hand, many potentially successful business people still don't live their dream of entrepreneurship. Held back by many factors ranging from being unable to secure financing to staffing and production problems, many companies simply don't get off the ground.

While these difficulties are common to many businesses in general, some barriers are specific to the business person alone. One of these barricades to entrepreneurial success is fear of failure.

That lack of confidence in oneself, and the potential of the organization, can be overcome. While many techniques can be employed to get past the feelings of self doubt, we will consider one method here.

We will ask one question.

What's the worst that can happen to the business?

Think about that question for a time. Consider what could be the very worst thing that could befall your business, and subsequently, your future.

While some of the worst case possibilities are enough to drive anyone away from even attempting entrepreneurship, many are not. In fact, many potential disasters can be prevented through careful planning. Contingency plans can be put into place for implementation should the nightmares become real.

Simply looking objectively at the worst case scenario can help with the overall business plan.

Once you know what is the deepest depth to which your company could sink, the issues involved don't even look so bad. It's much easier to work with a known factor than a completely unknown possibility.

After all, the worst that can happen to your business, might not be so terrible after all.

Don't let fear of failure stand in your way to business success.

Tags: , , , .

No comments:

Post a Comment