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Understanding YOUR Business Plan

Are you ready to take your business to the next level? I sure hope so! The company I am currently working with definitely is. So, with that we have taken the next step to a successful long term business, built on a foundation of creativity, structure, flexibility, and the right people.

There are many important aspects to a business as you all know. Whether you are a single business owner or agent working on your own or a full service brokerage with 200 agents, many of the concepts and ideas we go over in the next few months will be applicable to your business.

With the market on a roller coaster ride, my question to you is: ARE YOU PREPARED? Today, we need to survive, but more importantly we need to be on the right track to long term success. So, before I can say "here is what YOU need to do" we must take a step back.

The company I am currently working with has a ton of potential. And for those who know me, I have a ton of passion and energy when I am focused on something; so I am sitting here just crazy about getting started.

Before I can take the next step in our venture though, I need to conduct a SWOT analysis. You can find a basic free form here: http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm

If you have questions about this form you can shoot me an email or leave a comment! Anyway, upon completion of your SWOT analysis, you can then begin to build a competitive business plan based upon Guerrilla Marketing techniques with a combination of Web 2.0 & Strategic Print Media.

If you can't tell me what your Return on Your Investment (ROI) or how much money you have budget for the year, then that is definitely a priority. Because, if you don't know where your business is coming from and how much it costs, then how can you effectively build upon the marketing tools that are working. You can access a free Marketing Budget Form Here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/results.aspx?qu=marketing+budget&av=TPL000

Stay tuned for more tips on business planning including: marketing, budgeting, sales, customer service, branding, and much much more.

Posted by Nick Van Assche on 10/24/2008 06:05 PM

Comments (5)

Business Planning in the ActiveRain Channel

business planning, benchmark, roi, swot, guerrilla marketing

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5 Comments on Understanding YOUR Business Plan

OCT

2008

I totally agree on the usefulness of a written plan. It's amazing how many people have no plan, written or otherwise.

-David

Nick that is so true. I am a managing broker in Colorado and have worked with many new agents. Some who have never seemed to get their business rolling. I stress to them the importance of having a good business plan and then sticking with it, which sometimes is the hardest part. Sometimes there is a huge return on your investment (ROI) waiting but if you don't follow through you totally miss out. In real estate we see that all too often.

Hi Nick;

I made adjustments to my work attitude and I am working harder.

When I first started in the business I decided to work with newlyweds and said I would stick with it for a year. Some months I was discouraged because I only got a 10% amount of interest and then was told that was a fantastic return, so I stuck with it longer and developed everything I did to focus on the newlyweds and all I can say is WOW, it was a niche yes, but no one else in the real estate realm was marketing specifically to them. I had a good year for a new agent.

David, Mark, and Anthony,

I don't know exactly what each of your specific roles are, but we are currently reading the book "Kingdomality" which has a personality test to go with it. I have read quite a few different books on leadership and have found this one quite interesting. If nothing else it is a quick read and another perspective on leadership and/or your team.

The test is located at: http://www.cmi-lmi.com/kingdomality.html

Also, Who Moved my Cheese: http://www.amazon.com/Who-Moved-My-Cheese-Amazing/dp/0399144463 is another great book on attitudes and how approach different problems/ opportunities. There is no problem, only a solution!

Thank you for the feedback!

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