Tasks are the Difference

One of the primary differences between a conventional business plan and a Functional Venture Plan is the use of tasks. Without tasks assigned to categories in a venture plan the document is nothing more than window dressing. Once tasks are used in a plan it becomes a dynamic document. Every time a note is attached to a venture category consider if it requires a task to move the venture along. If it does, assign it a due date and tag it as a task. It is important to review your task regularly.

It’s Time to Launch Your Venture

The election is over and it has become a little more clear that some of the change discussed by the president will not happen. Because of that, now is a great time to launch your venture. Before you should do that you should do your research. Check out the new page on my website under the Functional Venture Plan page that talks about how to do that research. The page’s title is “A Venture Gathers Market Intelligence.”

Myth – “Send Me Money and I Will Get You a Loan”

I received a call the other day from an aspiring venturer who needed $30,000 for a new business.  This person said they found a company online that would get them $30,000 if they would first send them a check for $5,000.  They called this “good faith money”.  The money would be refunded once the loan was funded.  Anyone who has been around business for a while will recognize this fraud for what it is.  The sad thing is that many new venturers  fall for this con.  It is the same scam used by those who promise a grant  if you will send them a check.  A true venturer understands that there are dishonest people who will take their money and never provide the promised results.  

I ran into a business owner a few years ago who as very excited because she was about to receive a grant for $2,000,000 for her business.  Her business was an automated embroidering service that she ran out of her basement.  A few months earlier she had sent $4,000 to someone who promised her a grant to help her expand this business.  Months later she was still getting promises that the grant was approved and if she would send and additional $2,000 dollars she could close the deal.  She wanted to know my opinion.   I told her to ask for her money back (I knew she would never see it again.) and pay attention to her business. 

The sad thing about this story is not only did she lose the money, but she lost her business because she never took care of her customers while she was plan what she would do with the $2,000,000. 

Never, never fall for this line.  “Send me some money and I will get you a loan.”

Bad Economies Bring Out the Best in Venturers

I have a friend who is the ultimate venturer.  In the late 1990s, in the middle of the dotcom boom he was the Sales VP for a technology company that raised $400 million.  This company spent the money on a great office suite,  hired over a hundred employees, bought all the best computers and set out to grow the next big software company.  Within two years they were out of money and could raise no more because the dotcom bubble had burst.  My friend recognized an opportunity and bought a lot of the equipment for pennies on the dollar and started a new technology company in a different market segment.  He grew the company using the best bootstrapping principles.  Within the next five years he sold the company for upwards of $40 million.

The moral to the story?  Bootstrapping is usually the best model to use when starting a new business in a bad economy like we are currently facing.  This is because the venturer will focus on getting a product to market and hitting the breakeven point as fast as possible.  The venturer will conserve cash and worry less about fancy offices and more about getting the product to market. 

Even though my friend is now a wealthy venturer, he is launching another technology company using the same principles.  Odds are he will succeed again.