{"id":171,"date":"2015-07-30T00:35:43","date_gmt":"2015-07-30T00:35:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.candelalearning.com\/salesx17xmaster\/?post_type=chapter&p=171"},"modified":"2015-07-30T23:34:59","modified_gmt":"2015-07-30T23:34:59","slug":"15-2-selling-yourself-and-your-idea","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/cerritos-sales-1\/chapter\/15-2-selling-yourself-and-your-idea\/","title":{"raw":"Selling Yourself and Your Idea","rendered":"Selling Yourself and Your Idea"},"content":{"raw":"
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Learning Objective<\/h3>\r\n
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  1. Understand how entrepreneurs sell themselves and their business ideas to secure funding to grow their businesses.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\nSo you have a unique idea, the passion and perseverance to bring it to market, and the willingness to take the risk. Now what?\r\n\r\nBeing an entrepreneur in some ways is like being a student: you have to do your homework. In the business setting, that means creating a business plan<\/span><\/span>: a road map of the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your business. A business plan is a document that details everything about the business from the product position in the marketplace to the financial information for the next three years. But a business plan is not simply like a term paper\u2014a project that\u2019s completed and then put on the shelf. A business plan is a dynamic document and should serve four purposes:\r\n
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    1. Sell you on the business<\/strong>. While this might sound like a no-brainer, the business plan development process includes rigorous research that can be a good eye-opener about the feasibility of your idea. Ideally, your business plan helps put your idea and its potential into perspective and gives you the details you need to move from concept to reality. However, even if you determine that your idea doesn\u2019t have as much potential as you thought or might cost more than you anticipated, the process of creating a business plan helped you reach that conclusion.<\/li>\r\n\t
    2. Sell others on the business<\/strong>. In many cases, a business needs some kind of support\u2014financial, consultative, or other resources. In this case, the business plan plays the role of the selling and marketing materials for your idea. How you make your idea come alive and support it with the necessary research and financial data can be the difference between someone becoming a stakeholder in your new venture or taking a pass.<\/li>\r\n\t
    3. Give you confidence<\/strong>. Having a great idea is one thing, doing the research to understand exactly what it will take to make the idea real is quite another. Having a better understanding of what it takes to launch and manage the business puts you in control to solicit investors and other supporters and start your journey.<\/li>\r\n\t
    4. Improve your chances of success<\/strong>. A business plan is a lot of planning and work, but it\u2019s worth it. According to a study conducted by AT&T, 42 percent of entrepreneurs who had written a business plan rated themselves as more successful than the 58 percent who hadn\u2019t written one.[footnote]David E. Gumpert, \u201cThe Basics of Business Plans: Sell, Sell, Sell,\u201d Inc.<\/em>, October 24, 2000, http:\/\/www.inc.com\/articles\/2000\/10\/14871.html<\/a> (accessed September 19, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span><\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n
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      Writing Your Business Plan<\/h2>\r\nEvery business or organization is different, but a business plan is a common method of planning the launch and management of the business.[footnote]SCORE, \u201cBusiness Plan for a Startup Business,\u201d http:\/\/www.score.org\/resources\/business-plan-startup-business<\/a> (accessed September 29, 2009).[\/footnote]<\/span> While there is no single business plan format, the elements of a business plan are standard. The following business plan outline serves as a guide to developing a business plan. Keep in mind that the order in which you write your business plan should not necessarily follow the order in which you present your plan.\r\n
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      Business Plan Outline<\/h3>\r\n
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      1. Table of contents<\/strong>. Page numbers for each section.<\/li>\r\n\t
      2. Executive summary<\/strong>. Write this section after the plan is completed; this should be a compelling summary of the plan and how it will work.<\/li>\r\n\t
      3. General company description<\/strong>. A high-level description of the product, service, or organization and the unmet need it meets.<\/li>\r\n\t
      4. Products and services<\/strong>. A detailed description of the product, service, or organization; how it works; manufacturing costs; and so on.<\/li>\r\n\t
      5. Marketing plan<\/strong>. A detailed description of the current state of the market, including competition, your positioning, target audience, and how customers will learn about your product, service, or organization and the cost to get the word out.<\/li>\r\n\t
      6. Operational plan<\/strong>. A detailed description of how you will run the day-to-day operations, including product costs, real estate, inventory levels, labor, credit, and so on.<\/li>\r\n\t
      7. Management and organization<\/strong>. A detailed description of the principals of the company, including bios, board of directors, advisory board, banker, attorney, insurance agent, mentors, and so on.<\/li>\r\n\t
      8. Personal financial statement<\/strong>. A personal financial statement for each partner in the business. This is important as business owners often provide capital to start up or support the business; investors want to see the financial standing of the principal individuals.<\/li>\r\n\t
      9. Start-up expenses and capitalization<\/strong>. Accurate accounting of the expenses that are required to get the business started.<\/li>\r\n\t
      10. Financial plan<\/strong>. A twelve-month profit and loss statement, three-year financial projection, projected cash flow, and opening day balance sheet.<\/li>\r\n\t
      11. Appendices<\/strong>. Supporting information such as brochures and advertising, blueprints, leases, equipment, list of assets available, letters of recommendation, and any information that will help support your plan.<\/li>\r\n<\/ol>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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        Link<\/h3>\r\nBusiness Plan Template\r\n\r\nA complete template with detailed descriptions for each section is available at the SCORE Web site.\r\n\r\n http:\/\/www.score.org\/resources\/score-business-plan-template<\/a>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
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        Presenting Your Business Plan<\/h2>\r\nOnce you have identified your breakthrough idea (think iPod as the standard for a breakthrough idea), conducted your research, and written your business plan, it\u2019s time to put everything to use. Whether you plan to fund the business yourself or find an investor to provide some capital (money), you will need your business plan to secure resources from your bank, insurance company, lawyer, attorney, and other support areas. Your business plan is the universal document for discussions with each of these people. In fact, you should first present your business plan to family, friends, and mentors to get some feedback before you take it out \u201con the road.\u201d\r\n
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        Types of Investors<\/h2>\r\nWhen it comes to investors<\/span><\/span>, people who are willing to invest financial support based on the potential for the success of your business, there are several different types. Here is a summary of the types of investors:\r\n