Turn the Lens: Executable Business Plans Require Diverse Perspectives

Most business models are written from the perspective of the business owner. However, when you are ready to go market it requires that you integrate with everyone else that is involved because they will be the ones buying, investing or selling your product. So….

What if you could just incorporate different perspectives throughout your business plan and it positions you to operate your business more effectively. And what if I told you that if you do this, you will get funding faster, create operational and marketing plans seamlessly allowing you to go to market faster. Pretty great, right?

Here are some straightforward steps you can incorporate to make your business plan executable. In addition, if you can get down to this level of detail, you will get less questions because your plan will be easily understood - meaning faster time to market. I recommend using a mind mapping tool like XMind to begin because you will start listing down your thoughts and you can connect them later to see the big picture.

Start with your story

It is very important to state clearly your why (impact), mission and product statement in 1-2 sentences each. It is also important to identify what you are actually doing (see my one sentence pitch article).

Also identify the following:

• What are you seeking in terms of funding?
• What type of investor are you looking for?
• What’s your value proposition and how do you think it will benefit others?

Investors Perspective

What do they require? They are looking to fund products/services that will help them increase their bottom line or align with promoting social values that they care about. What do you offer them? Why is your product or service a sure win for them? What are the risks?

Stakeholder Perspective

Who else needs to be considered (i.e. government, business partners or supporters)? What will be the impact to them?

External Environment

What are the spillover effects of your business to other ancillary industries, companies or markets and general social well being?

Customer Perspective

The perspectives of your customers are also very important to consider. Break down your customer type at a detailed level (not so detailed where you have to list out by name each company) but at a level where you can define segments or by industry. The beauty about doing this right from the beginning is that the customer portion can easily serve as the starting point for your marketing plan. Think about the following for each customer type:

What do they require?

• How will your product help them in terms of time, money and resources?
• If it is a B2B product - how will it make their business more attractive to other customers?
• What’s the risk reward to them of choosing your product?
• What will it cost them and how is that different from other products in the industry?

By incorporating these different perspectives, potential investors will see the future of your business and understand its different levels of complexity. Customers will recognize that you have thought through their needs and you can start to attract more business.