September 7th, 2009
Business Plans: Great idea or scary tool that will point out things you don’t want to look at?
My book, Passion, Plan, Profit: 12 Simple Steps to Convert Your Passion into a Solid Business, will be out in three weeks.
If I get my wish, this book starts out as a book, and ends up being a catalyst for people to really do their business plans, to talk to each other about it, and even to find other people to do their plans with. After the book comes out, I’m going to revise my website so people who want to write a business plan they’ll actually use, can find other people who want to do the same thing.
Business plans have a (deserved) bad reputation. Small business owners, especially, think one of three things: “Plans are for big businesses,” or, I “know I should do it but I’m too busy”, or “I’m carrying it around in my head; no need to write anything down.”
Because if you actually write something down, you might discover what my friend Fred Hepperle, a talented and funny IT guy, sent me. Here’s what he said about business plans when I told him I had written a book about how to do one:
The South Park Business Plan
“I enjoy the animated series “South Park” on Comedy Central… This definitely-not-for-kids cartoon often weighs in on various socio-economic and political issues, and pokes fun at them while doing so.
Anyway, there’s an episode where one of the usual characters (a 4th grader) keeps losing undergarments. One night he wakes up to catch garden gnomes stealing from his dresser drawers. He follows the gnomes, to find a whole pilfered-undergarment gnome industry, with huge piles of stolen undergarments. He asks the gnomes what they are doing.
One of the gnomes explains, “This is our livelihood! Phase one: Steal underpants! Phase two: Profit!” When the 4th grader asks how they get from phase 1 to phase 2, the gnomes all just shrug their shoulders, avert their eyes, and kick the dirt at their feet.
It seems the gnome’s business plan was missing a few steps. I occasionally use the “Phase one: Steal underpants! Phase two: Profit!” slogan to remind myself that there’s more than just a couple of steps to success. It keeps me from trying too many shortcuts.”
So if any of you out there have a business plan similar to the South Park gnomes, there is a better way.
Tags: Business Plans, Publishing a Book, writing
June 19th, 2009
One of my middle-aged lady buddies who is smart as a whip is going back to graduate school to get a PhD. in MATH. She’s somewhat older than the rest of the 20-somethings in her class, it’s been a long while since she’s gone to school full time, and I could list a lot of other reasons that would make anyone afraid.
The real reason she’s afraid, (in my opinion, anyway), is that this is the perfect thing for her to be doing right now. And she knows it.
I see this in coaching all the time. The closer people get to the thing they want to do the most, the more fear comes up. In fact, it’s a great barometer. If you’re really afraid, it’s the equivalent of the universe shouting “You’re Getting Warmer…Warmer…Hotter!” (Unless someone has a gun to your head, which is a different kind of fear that we aren’t discussing here).
I’m feeling it too. My book suddenly went from looking like a cute Word document, to looking like a real book. Holy !$@##@%!! (I’m getting warmer…warmer…).
How about this for an antidote: Fear is excitement, without breath.
Tags: Fear, New Ventures, Publishing a Book, writing
March 26th, 2009
My First Book
Well, I’m pretty excited about this. It’s the cover of my first book, a business plan workbook for creative people with passion for their businesses but perhaps a bit of fear about numbers or the “business side” of business.
The cover was designed by The Book Designers who are aces with book design. Check out their website for gorgeous covers and interior designs of some fabulous books.
The interior is being designed by Bev Butterfield. More later as she progresses with it.
My target publish date is June 1st, 2009. I’ll have more to post as I get further into the marketing. I am working with a publishing company, The Printed Voice, where I control how the book is marketed.
I am ecstatic about this book being published. Every day the news hammers on us about how bad the economy is. It’s a perfect time for small businesses to get focused on how we take care of our customers, which is something we’re really good at already. This is the way we prosper. I wake up at night thinking about how to connect people who read this book with each other so they can do their business plans together, and actually get them done. Crazy, I know.
The Internet has given writers powerful ways to connect and even interact directly with our perfect readers. It’s a great time to publish a book.
Tags: Book Cover Design, Book Design, Publishing, writing
February 6th, 2009
I was coached yesterday by two skilled coaches: Carolyn Parrs of Mind Over Markets, and Noriko Ogami.
I am getting close to picking the designer for my first book. This part is hard, and I was whining to them about making a mistake. Of course, the biggest mistake is to agonize over the decision and make it take longer, but hey, I don’t want to Do It Wrong. In the meantime I was bogged down by all this, which Carolyn and Noriko picked up immediately.
People have written a lot about this place. In coaching school they called it “The Dip.” When I had an IT company and we were in the middle of a big installation that looked like it would never get finished, I called it being in “the valley of the shadow of death,” (thanks to the anonymous psalmist). Whatever it’s called, you’re supposed to recognize that these dips happen, even when you’re doing work you love, like I am; and you’re supposed to Slog Through.
The part that was fun in the coaching was the idea that I could slog through this with a different attitude. I am an eccentric person, so weird things like puppets and sequined scarves and cat-eyed rhinestone glasses and 12 different colors of white board markers make me feel better already.
The coaches showed me it’s possible to slog eccentrically, which makes it feel less swamp-like and more fun. It’s possible to wear cat-eye rhinestone glasses while slogging, which makes me laugh. It’s possible to make the whole thing less of a slog. Evidently all you need is some rhinestones. Or maybe some sequins.
Tags: coaching, eccentricity, Success, writing
February 4th, 2009
The end of the writing road (and the beginning of the design and print and market and sell road), has come for my first book. Thanks to Matt MacEachern of Lidera Consulting, it has a great title: Passion–Plan–Profit: 12 Simple Steps to Convert Your Passion into a Solid Business.
The experience of completing a book is different than I expected. I thought the hard part would be the actual writing. That part was challenging, but it’s one thing to finish writing a book and something else altogether to take the final two steps to get it published, even if I’m doing it myself and can control every step of the process. The book isn’t actually finished until it’s designed and printed.
I always thought this book was a good idea, but now I’m risking finding out if other people agree. Yikes.
Tags: Add new tag, Business Plans, Success, writing
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