Create a Useable Business Plan That WORKS for YOU!



When you think of a business plan, what comes to mind?

Is it a leather-bound tome of perfect grammar, financial projections and graphs, complete with bibliography?

Or, was it written at your kitchen table and now has coffee stains, scribbled updates and new ideas in the margins?

If your mind’s idea of a business plan is the former, you’ve got lots of company: most people think a business plan looks more like a Master’s thesis than a working document.

However, if your idea of a business plan is the kitchen-table, hand-scribbly kind, you probably have benefited more from your efforts. Here’s why: a business plan should be a “road map” that changes with the terrain (changes in your business), road improvements (growth and expansion of your business) and new models (new product ideas).

Sometimes a formal business plan has its uses for presenting to your banker when you want to apply for financing for new equipment, a larger studio or national expansion (hey, it could happen!). But more frequently it is simply an outline of where your business is now, where you want it to go and how you plan to get there. Read on for some ideas to help guide you in keeping it simple.

• First, get started! A general, hand written plan is better than no plan.
• Discard any fears about someone reading it or judging you. This is your plan for your business! Don’t worry about spelling or writing skills. The point is to write down your ideas and plans.
• I prefer bullet points to a traditional outline with numbers; it’s faster to write and easier to add or delete items later.
• Be sure to save your document as you go, and save a backup copy, too.

Of course, the owner of an online shop has different goals, needs and concerns than the owner of a brick-and-mortar shop. Business is business, though, wherever we set up shop. The following are some general sections you’ll want to include in your plan:

• What’s happening now
• Where you want to go (goals, objectives)
• How you plan to get there
• Who is your competition
• What could stop or slow your progress (i.e. Etsy shuts down your shop, new competition)
• When you plan to get to each step (set intermediate or milestone target dates)

Notice that I used the W’s of Who, What, When, Where, etc. I find it’s easier to really think things through in these terms, rather than the more traditional Competitive Analysis, Risk Analysis, etc. Remember, having the best ideas won't help you if you don't get started!

Review your plan with someone you respect and trust, and whose opinions you value, such as another Etsy seller who is successful but not in direct competition with you. In our old coffee shop, I’d write the business plan and review it with my husband. We’d divide up the things to be done, and write down who would be doing which items. AND (and this is really important), the target dates for completing our tasks.

I reemphasize the last statement: target dates for completing the tasks. The process of zooming in for a close look on your "road map" is critically important – almost as important as the actual “doing”! For example, suppose your primary supplier quits supplying. What is your Plan B?



For every obstacle, find a possible solution and you'll sleep better at night!

A business owner benefits from second opinions, third opinions, and fourth opinions. Consider an informal “board of directors” of two to three trusted, knowledgeable people on whom you can draw for honest feedback, ideas and brainstorming. One of my Etsy teams periodically critiques a member’s shop, joined in by as many as can attend online. The result is a condensed (about 1 ½ hour) but intense session for marketing, photography, customer service, etc. This is great because it’s online sellers, familiar with the Etsy community and rules, and who are familiar with your work.

I also find it beneficial to ask for opinions from a select few people “on the outside” of Etsy for a regular consumer’s or business owner’s viewpoint. Both avenues of gaining insight have worked very well for me.


A road map without distances is just a pretty collection of colors and lines – great art but skimpy on how to get from here to there.



It is the scale and distance that give your road map and business plan its meaning, and without the structure of the W’s plus your target dates, you’re just completing a writing assignment.

And, remember that perhaps the most important step is to just get started!



I'd love to see your ideas, too, so let me know what you think!

Good luck -- and tune in again for our next episode of "When the Petal Blooms." Or, something like that. Thanks for reading!

Sheryl

Keeping the “U” in Customer Service

Actually, it’s not the “U,” it’s the “You.” 

Below, I’ll tell you why it’s extra-important to stress your focus on your customers, and how to modify your writing style to do so.  Future posts will share writing tips so you can anticipate and address some common customer service issues, allow you to remain firm in your policies – and maintain your customer-centered style.

Selling online presents challenges that brick-and-mortar stores don’t face.   For example, our customers can’t touch or closely examine our wares, or return an item on their way to the grocery store, or rely on our community presence for assurance of our integrity. 

We also don’t have the luxury of a live conversation to clarify our return policy or clothing sizes.  Instead, we must provide detailed information, anticipate as many customer questions and issues possible, and lay out our policies concisely and accurately, all the while establishing our friendliness and credibility using the written word.

Part of the success in conquering these challenges lies (1) in establishing the right tone, (2) informing clearly and concisely, and (3) communicating directly without sounding unfriendly or difficult to buy from.

In this post, let’s tackle the first item -- setting up the right tone.  This would be like opening wide the door in your B&M boutique with a big smile, and drawing in your customer with a friendly welcome.  She is confident that you are devoting your attention to her desires and needs.  You communicate parameters about sizes and pricing while maintaining relaxed eye contact with her, and she stays engaged to listen to what you are saying.

Similarly, in your online shop, when you write with a “you”-centered style, you convey information and assure her that you care about her satisfaction – and keep her engaged by focusing your writing on her. 

The most effective way to do so is to put the U back in "customer."  Instead of using the pronoun “I” several times in your sections, use “you”.  The effect is to move the emphasis to your customer – who wants to feel important to you, the seller.

Suppose I write “I want all happy customers,” who is the person emphasized:  me or the customer?  To me, this appears to say that I and my ‘wants’ are more important than the customer.  However, if I write, “Your delight and satisfaction in your purchase are my main concern,” how does that change the tone of the conversation?

Here’s another example:

. . . I love to sew and use lots of color.  I make a wide variety of things.  I like to make things that I think people will want to buy because my friends told me I should sell my items.. . .

In the example above, “I” or “my” is used 7 times:  who is the emphasis on?  Also, would you say seven I’s verbally to engage a customer entering your B&M boutique?

Compare it to this:

 . . . You’ll see many colorful handmade items here at HandmadeColors, which I create with your tastes and style in mind. . . .”

In the example above, “you” is used at the beginning to draw in the customer and to involve her in your “conversation.”

These are obviously fictitious examples and everyone’s situation and specific style are unique.  Yet, I do believe your sales will improve by setting the tone – the voice -- for ensuring a welcoming and engaging visit for your customer. I invite you to try it; please let me know how it goes!

If you want your customer to know she is important to you,

convey it to her by putting the “U” back in customer service!

You will be glad you did!

In a future post, I’ll discuss how you can tackle the second step – informing clearly and concisely – to make your shop customer-centered and effective.