Risk

Milhaus

When I started out on my own, I had all these great ideas of things I could do, and wanted to do with this business. Now that I'm in the thick of it, I'm having a he// of a time deciding where to go with this. I think much of this has to do with not having a business plan drawn out for the direction I wanted to go.

I'm pretty intelligent I think, and I have made good decisions so far with the business, but I feel like I need to take a risk and make a move. I'm trying to be patient, and I think the business plan would keep me on that track.

Did most of you set out with a business plan? It seems like most successful people (in general) put a business plan together for themselves prior to getting out on their own.

Is this the case with most of you? Anyone let the business 'morph' into what it has become? I have so many ideas that I want to put into play, deciding which way to go is becoming a nightmare. I want to keep my options open because there are so many different aspects of building that I enjoy, but it seems like the endless ideas are actually hurting more than helping.

Any tips from you elders? :

Mark

Brian

Mark,

For many years I let my business guide me, rather than me guiding my business. The primary reason was I had no plan. I didn't know what I wanted out of my business, and consequently, had no idea how to get there.

A plan is vital. Not just for this year or next year, but for your life. What do you want your business to provide for you over the course of your life? When you can answer that question, a lot of things will become clearer.

A business owner is much like an artist. We start with an idea and a blank canvas. The "picture" we paint is of our choosing and it reflects our values. An artist can use red, blue, or green. He can paint a landscape, an heroic scene, or merely smear paint. A businessman has similar choices. He can offer value, or he can be a hack.

We must first identify our destination. Then we can choose the most efficient path to get there.

Brian Phillips

__________________
Houston Interior Painting
Houston Exterior Painting
Houston Painting Contractor

MattCoops

Well said Brian.

Before you tie your boots in the morning Mark,
ask yourself what are your goals
how will you meet these goals
and ask God for a little help in your routine.

__________________
Matt with Cupan Custom Tile & Paint of Lowell, Massachusetts
Design and installation of ceramic tile and natural stone for floor, wall, and countertops
(978) 601-8774 | cupantile@gmail.com | view tile pictures and more

Tom M

MILHAUS-I was hoping you would get more feed back than you got here. These questions constantly run through my mind as well. These pep talks are like horoscopes, they dont really help. They are nothing you dont already know. Sometimes I just like working and doing business and other times I feel the need to build a business to have all the freedoms and success I envisioned when I started. The thing is for me sometimes there are too many battles to face alone so you fight and get nowhere. So yes a plan would help prevent fighting the same battle over again. GC/Remodeling is very challenging you have many, many responsibilities. Taking a risk in a single trade area is one thing. Get a fat loan, organize a advertisment campaign, hire a few veteren installers and helpers and then get a bookeeper /secretary. Your risk is a loan to a corporation. But to do it as a GC everything lands on you and the learning never ends. Whats the end result of a successful GC? Building houses? High end work only is what every one else is trying to do to seperate themselves from the pack. When i ask some older guys I know that seem to have done pretty well they all say they lost a lot of money learning and making mistakes. Much of my own skill have come by aquiring new services along the way. While many frown on this. I seriously doubt your going to close shop and become an apprentice to learn new things and approaches. I think sometimes the risk is riding out mistakes and not sacrificing your quality or client relationship. The level of mistake you can eat is where many contractors fail and the work quality and sub relationships fail. The GC starts swing a hammer to make up loss or oversite. If you find a solid plan tell me as well I want to know.

Giovanni

Start with your goals. What do you want from your business and how are you going to get out of your business. Begin at the end and work backwards. When I started out my business plan was four lines on a 1/2 page of paper that I kept in a drawer in my desk. I'd pull it out three or four times a year while I was digging for something else. You know what though? It worked. My business kind of bumped along but it seemed to generally head in the direction I had laid out in those four lines.

When I got serious about operating my business I went to work on the plan. First, by putting some deadlines on my goals (goals without deadlines are just wishes). Next I broke my goals into 'doable' steps (A journey of one thousand miles...). Then I made an appointment with myself every week to spend time on one of the steps. One of those steps was to build a 'bankable' business plan.

I hate re-inventing the wheel and when I read The E-Myth Revisited I found the right way to build a business plan for a small start-up. It was all laid out and ready to be adapted to my needs. That book has become my bible for starting up and growing a small business.

If your plan includes raising outside funds I would check out the free services at The Service Corp of Retired Executives (SCORE) http://www.score.org/

__________________
What's the REAL cost of doing it on the cheap?

Giovanni

silvertree

Never had a business plan, and I wish I did. I have one now and my plan includes fun and family time. Also I have had my plan for almost 2 years and I have changed it a few times. But it's a plan!

Milhaus

Thanks for the responses you guys. All the input is well taken. I do know the direction I want to go. But the more and more I learn the more it evolves. I constantly am challeneging myself with every new situation to keep looking for 'my market' and whether or not I could find a niche there.

I think the biggest thing for me right now is having patience. A 'detailed' business plan would help and I'm going to look into it. The time frame is what is getting me. I want to have it all now. Maybe with a written out 'detailed' plan of where I want to be in five years - if I could look at it and say - okay I'm on track with everything.

I've got my goals written out and I know where I want to go, it's just the time it takes to get there that I get stuck on. The day to day stuff clogs my brain sometimes, it's nonsense, but rather than looking at the big picture and seeing that I'm on track I get stuck. Time to re-focus. Thanks again for the input.

wackman

I started out doing a little remodeling but I knew that I wanted to build new homes as that was the hot thing to do and to get my first loan the lender wanted to see a bunch of stuff including my business plan "you do have a business plan don't you Wack". "Um....Yeah sure". So I went home, looked up business plan, learned what it was and made a good one, at least good enough for the banks.

I'm glad I did and so far I'm pretty much sticking to it but since the market has changed we've adjusted to better take advantage.

So it's time I went back and revisited it. Make a few changes.

Wack