Tag: business plans

Here's a new word to add to your repertoire: effectuation. Effectuation is a set of decision-making principles entrepreneurs use in situations of uncertainty. It is...

Australia's richest business plan competition, offering $100,000 for one savvy Australian business, reached its conclusion at the Queensland State Library in Brisbane last Wednesday night. Does this company deserve $100k in seed funding? Heck, yeah! Now watch the clip.

Sponsored message: There’s a special place for those with a vision and the get-up-and-go to start something. www.thesbhub.com.au is an information resource and online community where you can learn a thing or two about starting a successful business! The course guides you through the practicalities of opening a business and completing a business plan.

Recently, I have been reflecting on a saying I learned from VC friends when I was living and working in Silicon Valley: “Always invest in an A grade team with a B grade product rather than a B grade team with an A grade product”.

Recently, I have been reflecting on a saying I learned from VC friends when I was living and working in Silicon Valley: “Always invest in an A grade team with a B grade product rather than a B grade team with an A grade product”.

Long before the term ‘GFC’ became common parlance, cost cutting was part of the fabric of business. The question is: are all departments of an organisation eligible for outsourcing or should some be kept close to the company’s chest? Peter Lewis looks at what can be done with Research and Development.

Long before the term ‘GFC’ became common parlance, cost cutting was part of the fabric of business. The question is: are all departments of an organisation eligible for outsourcing or should some be kept close to the company’s chest? Peter Lewis looks at what can be done with Research and Development.

Financial success may seem like the obvious benchmark for business success. However, according to former Apple Fellow and managing director of Garage Technology Ventures Guy Kawasaki, it is “making meaning” that lies at the heart of entrepreneurship and should be the foundation stone of any business.

Have you thought about what your business is worth? When you come to sell it, it may not be worth as much as you think.

This proposed new awards ceremony would be about celebrating the journey entrepreneurs take and acknowledging that iterating, growing, learning, changing or modifying the plan according to evidence and experience shouldn't ever be seen as a 'failure' of the original plan... but is in fact 'business as usual’.

In the final post in this popular series, Nigel Malone shares his thoughts on creatives in a business context. “Many a client has told me the creative process is foreign to them, and they don’t really understand how ‘creative people’ do what they do. By the same token, many creatives, to their detriment, fail to understand the consumer and prefer to operate in an artistic vacuum. And if some clients pitched their wares directly to the consumer, well they’d lose interest pretty quickly.”

Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich had a profound influence on the way people approach business. However, The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons, Hill’s lesser-known 1,600+ page monstrosity published prior to Think and Grow Rich, contains a lot of useful information that can help you reach your potential. In this series, Joshua Moore covers each of these attributes in a practical way that you can apply to your life and work.

“If ever my optimism or motivation wains slightly, I try to picture it all working out in the end, just as planned. And if that doesn’t work, I just imagine how lucky I am not to have to get up each morning and do something really challenging, such as naked bungie jumping. Suddenly, seeking capital, staying motivated, etc., seems relatively simple, not to mention a lot less embarrassing.”

Funding and cashflow are the seemingly ever elusive crucial components to running a small business. With the banks being the most obvious source to approach, business owners often find this a frustrating and generally ‘closed-door’ option. David Hechtor looks at the alternatives.

In the ninth post in this series, Nigel Malone shares the contents of another of his favourite business keynote slides, drawn from a cross-section of sources that includes some of the great business, brand and military planners of all time.

The Law of Success in Sixteen Lessons, Napoleon Hill’s 1,600+ page monstrosity published prior to Think and Grow Rich, contains a lot of useful information that can help you reach your potential. Over the coming weeks, Joshua Moore will be coving these lessons in a practical way that you can apply to your life and work. The first principle in the book is known as the Master Mind.

When business partners launch a new company, all of their attention and energy goes into getting the new venture on its feet. However, it’s not long before questions and difficulties arise over disparate workloads, responsibilities and remuneration. Darren Bourke offers some advice on how to keep all parties walking in the same direction.

Eight years ago I found myself on the floor in tears. My father had just passed away, my business was failing and my love life sucked. I was at a cross roads in my life and didn’t know which way to turn. As it turned out, there was only one real option.

In the seventh post in this series, Nigel Malone shares the contents of another of his favourite business keynote slides, drawn from a cross-section of sources that includes some of the great business, brand and military planners of all time.

How many of us have set goals or made New Year's resolutions only to find ourselves quickly going back to old habits, reneging on our promises to ourselves or just plain giving up? I know I have! Until I came up with this process that really worked for me.