BizplansUK

'Build it and they will come' might work in the movies but in real life it's a very poor strategy for any business to follow. Two of the questions I always ask a new client that wants to launch a new product or service when conducting my initial discovery are: - Is there demand for the product / service? - What price are the target audience willing to pay? Failure to answer those questions intelligently, backed by some sort of credible evidence (not just their opinion or what their mate at the golf club / down the pub / on their fantasy football team thinks), is a red flag moment as it increases the odds of failure exponentially. Feasibility and validation of any idea, particularly customer demand and willingness to pay your price, should be prerequisites for any entrepreneur launching a new venture. For help in establishing these, contact BizplansUK (This and all the other videos we’ve done are available to watch on our YouTube channel. Link in the comments below)

Understanding your Landscape is one of the most important strategic issues facing any business leader. One of the most useful tools for doing this is a PESTLE analysis and over the past couple of months we’ve been publishing short videos on how to construct your own PESTLE analysis, the last of which was posted a couple of weeks ago. We’ve collected them all here for you in one post. Enjoy. Understanding your business landscape (https://lnkd.in/eA7BK9GC); Introduction to the PESTLE analysis (https://lnkd.in/esAYJ4w2); P is for Politics (https://lnkd.in/eaHGAFK9); E (the first one) is for Economics (https://lnkd.in/eCYt4ji2); S is for Social, part 1 (https://lnkd.in/eJuUw-rQ); & part 2 (https://lnkd.in/eyuuwVH8); T is for Technology (https://lnkd.in/eYARrS8R); L is for 'Legal' (& Rules and Regulations) (https://lnkd.in/eYJrjgU9) E (the second one) is for Environmental (https://lnkd.in/edfhFdtM) If you’d like help in constructing your own PESTLE analysis, please contact BizplansUK

BizplansUK (as we've stated many times before) is NOT a coaching service - your work/life balance is your own affair - that said, we always start any new engagement with three very 'coach like' questions. 1. WHY are you embarking on your venture (starting a new business, launching a new product, buying a company, expanding to new territory, etc)? 2. WHAT activities (selling, coding, managing people, negotiating, marketing, etc) do you like to do / hate to do? 3. How much can you afford to RISK (& potentially lose)? When building any plan to achieve your objective, failure to align that plan with the answers to these three questions will make your odds of success significantly less than they otherwise would be. Therefore, spend time and effort accurately answering them before you embark on your new venture. (This and all the other videos we’ve done are available to watch on our YouTube channel. Link in the comments below)

When is a ‘value’ not a value? When it’s a marketing ploy. Today, the BBC reported (link below) 👇 on the furore that’s blown up around the new boss of Starbucks and his plan to commute 1,000 Miles to work on the corporate jet. To be clear, most of the criticism is not about the jet itself (though for some this will be bad enough on its own), but how this jars with the environmental credentials Starbucks have been promoting over recent years. When a business publicly embraces certain values or causes they set themselves up to be shot at and accused of marketing BS, with the result that their brand ends up in a much worse place than if they’d kept their mouth shut in the first place. It may well be that the jet was only going to be used a couple of times a year, but the story is out there and the damage is done. The lesson? Don’t jump on a bandwagon unless you REALLY mean it and intend to live by it or you may come to regret it.

Think you're not a Business Planner? Think again. EVERYONE is a business planner - you just call it something else. Planning is inherent in humanity - it's one of the things that characterizes a sentient species - it happens for everyone on a largely subconscious level. If you want to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of your planning then you need to bring it out from your subconscious and into the realm of the conscious. To learn how to get better at Business Planning, contact BizplansUK

Q. What lessons should we take from the world's biggest IT outage? A. Murphy's Law is alive and well and ready to rear it's head at any time. Conclusion? Everyone should have a Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery Plan! I've spoken of the important of having a robust recovery plan before (https://lnkd.in/egWxbqcT) and the events of last week simply reinforce that message. The vast majority of small businesses don't have a Disaster Recovery Plan or formal process. Reasons why vary but they break down to: - It doesn't occur to them that they need one; - They believe, with copious (& dubious) amounts of self belief, that they can cope with anything that occurs 'on the fly'; - There is an assumption that creating such plans is too difficult and only a 'big company' kind of thing. Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery Planning is fairly straight forward and there's no reason why any company, big or small, can't conduct a planning exercise and gain some value. If you need some help with your planning, contact BizplansUK

Everyone wants to know if the assassination attempt on Donald Trump is going to impact the outcome of the election. I hate to break it to you, but no one knows. Full Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/eKsjrEXX

T is for 'Technology' when assessing your business landscape using a PESTLE analysis (https://lnkd.in/esAYJ4w2). When looking at the technology landscape you need to do so through three 'lens': - CAPABILITY. Does this technology allow you to do something tomorrow that you can't do today. - PRODUCTIVITY. Does this technology allow you to do something tomorrow quicker or cheaper than you can do it today. - ALIGNMENT. Does the adaption of this technology resonate with your business strategy (brand, messaging, philosophy etc) or does it strike a discordant note? Bear in mind that your competitors will be doing the same thing so if you decide not to take up a new technology, they might. (Don't forget, this and all previous & future videos are available on our YouTube Channel, link in the comments below).

This video was made in response to some critical comments and DMs I received following a video I published last month on the importance of making the 'unknowns' in your business 'known' (https://lnkd.in/e_d8_PBh). Some people seem to think that hiring people who are 'smarter' than them is somehow detrimental to their business (or a thankless task as they won't want to work for someone who is 'dumber' then they are). Both of these views are dead wrong and if you subscribe to them, you're doing you and your business a disservice. Surround yourself with a brains trust of smart people if you can and make full use of their 'smarts' to help you and your business. Back to the shout outs after a week or two without any and today it is the turn of Yazaroo, a brilliant design and brand agency based in the south east of England. I've given Yazaroo a shout out before but they've just done their own brand refresh (worth taking a look) and have started publishing videos here on LinkedIn with great insights into branding, design, marketing & PR - well worth a look even if you have no plans to hire them. (Don't forget, this and all previous & future videos are available on our YouTube Channel, link in the comments below).

Facing a competitor that is determined to steal your customers (and maybe drive you out of a particular market) is a scary and stressful situation for any business, especially if that 'hyper' aggressive competitor is so much bigger than you. Such competitors either try and trash you and your reputation, both directly and indirectly, or price you out of business with prices so low that you can't match them and still be profitable (or both). There are however strategies and tactics that can be deployed if you want to stand up to such aggressive competition. Ultimately you may decide that it is easier to bow out of that space at a time and manner of your choosing in order to minimise your losses and try your luck elsewhere, but know that there are options available if you want to fight. Just give BizplansUK a call. (Don't forget, this and all previous & future videos are available on our YouTube Channel, link in the comments below).