Comments on: Who Else Plans Well at the Start? http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/ Go Where Your VisionPoints Thu, 06 Oct 2011 13:16:45 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Todd Smith http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/comment-page-1/#comment-65902 Todd Smith Mon, 16 Nov 2009 22:27:49 +0000 http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/?p=1055#comment-65902 I hear you... I know it's what I need to do: make my big mistakes on paper instead of with blood, sweat and tears. :) .-= Todd Smith´s latest blog... <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/toddsmithphotography/sdCN/~3/0LruasGlQyQ/" rel="nofollow">Why Send Thanksgiving Holiday Cards?</a> =-. I hear you… I know it’s what I need to do: make my big mistakes on paper instead of with blood, sweat and tears. :)
Todd Smith´s latest blog… Why Send Thanksgiving Holiday Cards?

]]> By: Kelly Erickson http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/comment-page-1/#comment-65822 Kelly Erickson Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:43:57 +0000 http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/?p=1055#comment-65822 Linda, Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comment, and welcome to Maximum Customer Experience! Todd, It's not a good thing to do. It's a *great* thing to do. Believe me, you are not alone. "Seat of the pants" is a very popular business plan with clients of mine (and even friends and family, shame on them)—until I kick them into shape, of course. If you're the type who can kick yourself into shape, I will always recommend the local library. It's still an awesome place to read up on elements you might want to include in a plan, and a quiet place to be still and find that focus you may be lacking. Which can be a zen thing, or just a "wow, look, when I don't sit near the snacks and the t.v. and the dirty dishes I get a lot more of this business plan finished" thing. Either way. :) Good luck with it! Until later, Kelly Linda,

Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for your comment, and welcome to Maximum Customer Experience!

Todd,

It’s not a good thing to do. It’s a *great* thing to do.

Believe me, you are not alone. “Seat of the pants” is a very popular business plan with clients of mine (and even friends and family, shame on them)—until I kick them into shape, of course.

If you’re the type who can kick yourself into shape, I will always recommend the local library. It’s still an awesome place to read up on elements you might want to include in a plan, and a quiet place to be still and find that focus you may be lacking.

Which can be a zen thing, or just a “wow, look, when I don’t sit near the snacks and the t.v. and the dirty dishes I get a lot more of this business plan finished” thing. Either way. :) Good luck with it!

Until later,

Kelly

]]> By: Todd Smith http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/comment-page-1/#comment-65813 Todd Smith Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:59:26 +0000 http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/?p=1055#comment-65813 Oh, I forgot to click "notify me of follow up comments." .-= Todd Smith´s latest blog... <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/toddsmithphotography/sdCN/~3/0LruasGlQyQ/" rel="nofollow">Why Send Thanksgiving Holiday Cards?</a> =-. Oh, I forgot to click “notify me of follow up comments.”
Todd Smith´s latest blog… Why Send Thanksgiving Holiday Cards?

]]> By: Todd Smith http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/comment-page-1/#comment-65812 Todd Smith Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:58:34 +0000 http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/?p=1055#comment-65812 We all know you're full of bananas, but that's a different issue (though it does explain the strong following of gorillas you have on this blog). It's funny that you are promoting a business plan because I have been thinking that it would be a good thing for me to do. But I don't know how to do it or where to start. My experience is that I've been winging it without a plan for two years and my profits have reflected that beautifully (no sarcasm here). So step one for me is to get those books you recommended, correct? .-= Todd Smith´s latest blog... <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/toddsmithphotography/sdCN/~3/0LruasGlQyQ/" rel="nofollow">Why Send Thanksgiving Holiday Cards?</a> =-. We all know you’re full of bananas, but that’s a different issue (though it does explain the strong following of gorillas you have on this blog).

It’s funny that you are promoting a business plan because I have been thinking that it would be a good thing for me to do. But I don’t know how to do it or where to start. My experience is that I’ve been winging it without a plan for two years and my profits have reflected that beautifully (no sarcasm here).

So step one for me is to get those books you recommended, correct?
Todd Smith´s latest blog… Why Send Thanksgiving Holiday Cards?

]]> By: Linda Ireland http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/comment-page-1/#comment-65420 Linda Ireland Sun, 15 Nov 2009 19:25:24 +0000 http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/?p=1055#comment-65420 Kelly, great post! It's great that you encourage writing a business plan as a way to really tighten your focus. Also, I wanted to add that I love Wendi's comment above, especially when she wrote, "You are a member or our target market can I help you." With that sentence, she sums up so succinctly what I believe to crucial to any business, a well-defined customer experience -- defining a need and a specific target market. Nice work ladies. .-= Linda Ireland´s latest blog... <a href="http://www.ceforprofit.com/2009/11/customers-seek-options-you-earn-consideration/" rel="nofollow">Experience Step 2: Customers seek options. You earn consideration.</a> =-. Kelly, great post! It’s great that you encourage writing a business plan as a way to really tighten your focus.

Also, I wanted to add that I love Wendi’s comment above, especially when she wrote, “You are a member or our target market can I help you.” With that sentence, she sums up so succinctly what I believe to crucial to any business, a well-defined customer experience — defining a need and a specific target market.

Nice work ladies.
Linda Ireland´s latest blog… Experience Step 2: Customers seek options. You earn consideration.

]]> By: Kelly Erickson http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/comment-page-1/#comment-64932 Kelly Erickson Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:19:20 +0000 http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/?p=1055#comment-64932 Wendi, Oh, <em>rock on.</em> There's a pair of us. Well-said! Regards, Kelly Wendi,

Oh, rock on. There’s a pair of us. Well-said!

Regards,

Kelly

]]> By: Wendi Kelly http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/2009/11/13/who-else-plans-well-at-the-start/comment-page-1/#comment-64924 Wendi Kelly Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:07:01 +0000 http://maximumcustomerexperience.com/?p=1055#comment-64924 If you don't have a roadmap, you don't know where you are going. If you don't know who you are, you have amnesia. Would you want an amnesiac without a roadmap as your guide? Would you give them your business? No. You might give them hot chocolate and feel sorry for them, but you aren't handing them your wallet while you watch them run around in circles all wide-eyed spilling your hot choclate all over the carpet. You need to be able to do this: I am so and so...I own such and such...we sell/serve/perform/ EXACTLY such and such for this specific group of people under these cirumstances...with this customer service policy, this marketing plan,This employee policy, this service and delivery policy and this client and retention policy. In one year our growth will look like this, in two-this- in five our plan is to grow into this.You are a member or our target market can I help you. It doesn't have to be formal. It can even be scetchy, but the more solid those policies are, the more solid the company will feel. When you know what all of those policies are you are pretty close to opening your doors with confidence. If you don't know the answer to those questions you will be quaking in your boots somewhere inside and it will come across. It will leak out. .-= Wendi Kelly´s latest blog... <a href="http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/lifeslittleinspirations/QROD/~3/6xgwNBjzZng/how-to-be-happy-now" rel="nofollow">How to be Happy. Now.</a> =-. If you don’t have a roadmap, you don’t know where you are going. If you don’t know who you are, you have amnesia. Would you want an amnesiac without a roadmap as your guide? Would you give them your business?

No. You might give them hot chocolate and feel sorry for them, but you aren’t handing them your wallet while you watch them run around in circles all wide-eyed spilling your hot choclate all over the carpet.

You need to be able to do this:

I am so and so…I own such and such…we sell/serve/perform/ EXACTLY such and such for this specific group of people under these cirumstances…with this customer service policy, this marketing plan,This employee policy, this service and delivery policy and this client and retention policy. In one year our growth will look like this, in two-this- in five our plan is to grow into this.You are a member or our target market can I help you.

It doesn’t have to be formal. It can even be scetchy, but the more solid those policies are, the more solid the company will feel.

When you know what all of those policies are you are pretty close to opening your doors with confidence. If you don’t know the answer to those questions you will be quaking in your boots somewhere inside and it will come across. It will leak out.
Wendi Kelly´s latest blog… How to be Happy. Now.

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