Is the business plan viable?

Lesson 1: We all have at least a few things we can do well, is there one you’re best at? If so, are you also passionate about it? Knowing that growing a business and using it to power the life we want is a series of sprints that look more and more like a marathon…are we likely to make it if we’re not passionate about it and about giving quality and value to our customers? Can you see yourself doing this full time for 5 years? 10 years? More?

Lesson 2: No one is perfect and no one knows everything about anything, but deep down we all know that to own a thing we have to do a thing, meaning we need to have sufficient skill, knowledge, experience, etc to fulfill our end of the business we provide. The better we are, the more confidence, the more authority and assuming we’re not rude, the more repeat business and referrals we’ll likely be able to get. So, what if we’re not ready yet? Do we wing it, do we hurry up and get up to speed or do we bring someone else in as a partner that is that capable? Are we prepared to deal with this issue after we’ve already started our business?

Lesson 3: We love our product or service, it’s something we use and we’re sold on it…or we wouldn’t be looking to provide it as a business eh? But, is it a good match to your market? The city you live in? What are the people like demographically that will be your best/easiest clients? What % of the market do you think you can reach? What % isn’t happy with their current solution or doesn’t have one yet? What % of those we get the message to will ultimately buy if you ask them enough? If the product/service you were planning to sell is less ideal than you thought, is there a plan b, c or d product/service you can consider?…can you just do it somewhere else where it would be a better match? Are we prepared to start over if we’re wrong?

Lesson 4: Is it profitable enough? Based on how much money/time it costs us to provide our product or service, and assuming we’re correct in how many we can sell/month, can you pay your bills?…in how many months? What are your back up plan(s) and/or options in case it’s harder to sell or you can’t charge as much as you thought? Do you have additional products or services to help increase the average ticket, how often they buy or increase their long-term customer value? Can you get it done faster or source if for less so to increase your bottom line?

Lesson 5: Can you keep growing for years (scale), replicate the model (franchise/license), sell it in 5 years or retire eventually from it? If it’s only likely to be able to pay the bills, what’s your plan to put it on auto-pilot so you can keep making the money while moving on to start another business (revenue stream)? Can you borrow capital, bring in a partner/investor or do something else to eventually get it to a place that it supports your dream life and retires you? If not, are you willing to just cover the bills if you can do what you love and help other people? If so, maybe it should be a non-profit or ministry?