General Business Planning

How much is your data worth? If you are a customer of T-Mobile using their Sidekick mobile device, all your personal data, pictures, contacts, emails, calendars, etc., which you had stored with them is worth one month’s service plan fees.

So, do you agree? Well, that’s what T-Mobile is offering users who lost all their data when the Microsoft/Danger network crashed earlier this month, without an adequate backup in place. Unrecoverable is the word they are using.

Now, here is the question every single one of you have to ask yourselves: “In case of a disaster/crash/hack, is my business’ data backed up and recoverable?”

Really now, think hard. If this can happen to mobile phone data, it can happen to your business’ vital records. If all your data…your accounting, your payroll, your invoicing, AR/AP, customer records, serial numbers, inventory, development plans, R&D reports, whatever, was lost, unrecoverable, would your business survive? And if it could survive, what would it cost you in money, time, cash, personnel resources, capital resources, lost customers, investment, fulfillment delays, dividends, tax inquiries, profits, and money to recreate those records, or blindly grope ahead without them? More or less than one month’s service fee do you suppose?

Those of us who started in computers with punch cards (”what are those?” some of you ask) and aged along with mainframes and Apple IIs, floppy disks and LANS have always been conscious of the need for data backup. Always, that is, since our first hard drive got reformatted at the repair shop who promised us we didn’t need to do a tape-drive backup.

The worlds of speculative fiction have, for years, been full of stories imagining and describing the dire consequences of data loss. It could be political opponents, war, criminals, business competitors, presonal enemies, preteen hackers, spies, hurricanes, earthquakes, solar flares, nuclear-powered satellites exploding, or even aliens that cause the data-loss crisis. Unlike books, TV and movies, though, the heroes (you and your business) won’t suddenly be saved by the deus ex machina in the last 3 minutes … unless, that is, you’ve already invested the resources of time and money into data backup.

Cloud computing, wireless access anywhere, online applications and remote-server-hosted data can certainly be a boon to business, but this foul-up clearly displays the hazards inherent in having your data stored elsewhere.

Understand this! Once you hand over your data to someone else, it is no longer exclusively yours.

There is no possible guarantee that your vital records won’t be, with evil intent, hacked, perused, copied and sold, simply stolen, corrupted or, by accident, just plain lost, deleted, or unrecoverable. Each technological generation becomes enamored of the possibilities and capabilities of the gizmos we invent. We can’t help it. It is, then, up to we geezers, ancients, oldsters and curmudgeons to holler:

“HEY! Pay attention! It is going to break! There are going to be screwups! Someone is going to mess with it! Watch out! Protect yourself now!” “We know this because it happened to us!”

So, if you’ve embraced the-sky-is-the-limit cloud computing, you owe it to your business and its survival to buy some information insurance, as it were, and back up all your data locally, and frequently. This doesn’t have to be on-site necessarily, but out of the clouds and firmly on the ground. Because, really, seriously, once your data is gone, the likelihood of successful disaster recovery is mighty slim. You are S-O-L.

Steve Lange
Senior Editor, and Oldster who’s lost data before
Palo Alto Software

Tags: cloud computing, data backup, data loss, disaster, news, recovery, unrecoverable
Posted on October 14th, 2009 | 3 Comments »

This past July I talked about how Dave Carroll’s “United Breaks Guitars” YouTube post had brought new strength and power to consumer complaints against corporations’ customer dis-service. The original song/video has had over 5 million views, and is now available on iTunes. This is an astounding amount of bad publicity, damaging mainstream media press coverage, and negative word-of-mouth marketing for United Airlines.

Yesterday, August 19, Huffington Post reported that troubadour Carroll has, as promised, released his second of three songs/videos about his year-long saga of trying to get United Airlines to pay for the repairs to his Taylor guitar, broken by UAL baggage handlers at Chicago’s O’Hare airport.

The lesson to learn here is that while the benefits of good customer service might take a while to become apparent, bad customer service gets noticed – talked about, and publicized – immediately, and widely, and repeatedly. Businesses spend trillions of dollars every year in all kinds of marketing programs and tactics to gain customers. And everyone claims that they understand the principle that it is easier and less expensive to keep a good customer than to constantly find new ones.

That said, then why do businesses persist in giving crappy customer care? Today’s media-savvy consumers cannot be brushed off as minor annoyances. They have global reach. As Carroll has shown, any positive results that a company might have been gained from all that marketing spend can be quickly negated in one stroke. Have you seen the United Breaks Guitars t-shirts people are wearing to the airports?

UAL will be spending marketing money on damage control for months to come. You and your business can avoid a similar image catastrophe by making positive, responsive, customer service an integral part of your marketing plan and business operations plan.

Steve Lange
Senior Editor
Palo Alto Software

Tags: customer care, customer service, Dave Carroll, Marketing
Posted on August 21st, 2009 | 2 Comments »

A tall but mostly true tale by Tim Berry-

Once upon a time there were three entrepreneurs who set out to seek their fortunes. Each of them developed a business plan.

The first business plan was built of straw. It was easy to complete, but it was mostly just puffery. It had objectives like “being the best” and “excellence in customer satisfaction” and “create a revolutionary product” and “Google killer!!!” without any way to measure results or milestones to make anything happen. It had a lot of talk, but very few specifics.

The second business plan was built of sticks. Most specifically, “hockey stick” forecasts. The plan showed sales growing slowly to a point, then forecasting a radical shoot upward, boldly showing a huge growth rate, with no real defined reason for the growth. The sticks piled up higher and higher, neatly stacked but not grounded in any kind of fact.

The third business plan was built of bricks. Bricks were specifics, especially “ownership” as in specific job responsibilities, specific people in charge of well-defined activities. Bricks were milestone dates, deadlines, budgets, and concrete, measurable objectives.

Then came the big bad real world, as awesome and fierce as any wolf. The real world was phone calls and daily routine. It was business problems and changes in economic environment, customers paying slower than expected, costs going up on one product, down on another. In business school they called it the RW, pronounced “are-dub”. Suffice to say there was a lot of huffing and puffing.

The real world blew the plan of straw and the plan of sticks apart in an instant. The plan of bricks, however, stood up to the real world. As each month closed, the plan of bricks absorbed plan-vs-actual results. Managers looked at the variance. They made adjustments. Each manager kept track of milestones and budgets, and at the end of each month the actual results were compared to the plan.

Managers saw the performance of their peers. Changes were made in the plan–organized, rational changes–to accommodate changes in actual conditions. Managers were proud of their performance, and good performances were shared with all.

And the company who made their plan out of bricks?  Well, they lived happily ever after.

Tags: business planning, news, Tim Berry
Posted on July 22nd, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Palo Alto Software moved from California to Eugene, Oregon in 1992 with two employees (founder Tim Berry and his wife Vange), and has grown into a successful business employing 45  people. But unfortunately, our state has the second-highest unemployment rate in the country. In discussions about what our company could do to help the local economy, CEO Sabrina Parsons came up with the idea of creating our own stimulus package for the state.  From there, the Oregon Small Business Boost took off.

Tomorrow we’ll be giving away 15,000 copies of Business Plan Pro Premier to any Oregon resident who can make it to one of 80 giveaway locations throughout the state.

We’re giving away the software to Oregonians, says Berry, “So that they can develop their business plans, and we at Palo Alto Software can contribute to the economy in Oregon, which has been great to us for 17 years now. So this is really giving back.”

If you can’t view this video, click this link.

Posted on June 30th, 2009 | 4 Comments »

John Jantsch from Duct Tape Marketing is hosting a live panel webinar Wednesday, May 20th at 9am PDT/Noon EDT.

John will be joined by Ken Yancey, Jr, CEO of SCORE, Tim Berry, founder of Palo Alto Software, and Rich Sloan author of StartUpNation to talk about starting a business.

Collectively, this group has poured over thousands of business plans, seen great successes and great failures and advises many a fledgling start-up on the strategies, resources and regulations involved in going out there on your own.

Don’t pass up this unique opportunity to get first hand information from this amazing panel of experts.

More information, including a link to register, can be found on the Duct Tape Marketing Blog

‘Chelle Parmele
Social Media Marketing Manager

Tags: information, startup, Tim Berry, webinar
Posted on May 19th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Today we have a guest post from one of partners, The Company Corporation.

Incorporating or forming an LLC is a fast, affordable and easy process. It benefits the business owner by protecting personal and family assets from the risks and debts of the business. Here are eight easy things business owners can do to make incorporating a breeze.

1.    Select Your Company Name

Your company name can identify the type of products/services your business provides, or it can simply tout the name of the founder. The two main requirements for a company name are: no other entity in the same state may have the same or similar name; the name must include an ending like company, incorporated, corporation, association, foundation, institute, fund, society, union, syndicate, or limited. Words like “bank”, “trust” or “education” may not be used without approval from the appropriate state agency.

2.    Select Your Business Structure

A general corporation, also known as a “C” corporation, is the most common corporate structure. It may have an unlimited number of stockholders. A “close” corporation is appropriate only for the individual starting a company alone or with a small number of people. An LLC is not a corporation, but it offers many of the same advantages, combining the limited liability protection of a corporation with the “pass through”" taxation of a sole proprietorship or partnership.

3.    Select Your State

Many business owners incorporate or form an LLC in the state where they are planning to operate because it is often least complicated and most cost effective. However, Delaware still holds appeal for new companies because of its low incorporation fees, low annual franchise taxes, and lack of state income tax for corporations operating outside of Delaware. Likewise, Nevada has become increasingly business-friendly with its advantageous tax advantages.

4.    Select Your Management Team

Naming initial directors for your corporation is straightforward. Directors are typically the key players or owners in the business. In most states, only one director is required and you may simply name yourself. In an LLC, managers or members are selected.

5.    Select Your Number of Stock Shares and Par Value

Stock represents ownership in a corporation. Par value is the minimum selling price for each share of stock. Many states allow you to elect a $0 par value, to give you the most flexibility. LLCs do not issue stock, so LLC ownership is like a partnership.

6.    Choose a Corporate Kit

A Corporate Kit will help you organize and save your important company documents. They often include a corporate seal, stock certificates, stock transfer ledger, and sample forms for bylaws and minutes.

7.    Designate a Registered Agent

The Registered Agent serves a critical purpose and is an important part of protecting your corporate status. Select a highly reliable company to serve in this role. Look for a company that maintains a nationwide network of offices and serves as a full time Registered Agent in all 50 states plus District of Columbia, so that they can service your company’s needs as you grow.

8.    Worry Not!

Your decisions about company formation may be changed after your company is formed, simply by filing an amendment. Broad flexibility is available to you as your company grows and its needs change.

John Meyer from The Company Corporation will be our guest at this month’s Back to the Fundamentals webinar, April 14th.

Make sure you register for this event soon. Space is limited.

Tags: incorporation, information, Small Business, starting your business, the company corporation
Posted on April 9th, 2009 | 11 Comments »

Did you miss Sabrina Parsons on Friday’s Business Insanity Talk Radio with Barry Moltz?

Not to worry – Listen to it here: Business Planning, Innovation and Your Career

Tags: Barry Moltz, business planning, radio appearance, sabrina parsons
Posted on March 16th, 2009 | 1 Comment »

Barry Moltz has founded and run small businesses with a great deal of success and failure for more than 15 years. He’s also the author of “Bounce! Failure, Resiliency and the Confidence to Achieve Your Next Great Success”. He is an enthusiastic speaker and teacher on entrepreneurship.

The 11 things that matter in a Business Plan

What problem exists that your business is trying to solve. Where is the pain?

What does it cost to solve that problem now? How deep and compelling is the pain?

What solutions does your business have that solve this problem?

What will the customer pay you to solve this problem?

How will solving this problem will make the company a lot of money?

What alliances can you leverage with other companies to help your company?

How big can this business get if given the right capital?

How much cash do you need to find a path to profitability?

How will the skills of your management team, their domain knowledge, and track record of execution will make this happen?

What is the investors’ exit strategy?

Please remember, the business plan is basically an “argument” where you need to state the problem and pain, then provide your solution with supporting data and analogies.

Barry Moltz

www.barrymoltz.com
Twitter: barrymoltz

Tags: Barry Moltz, business plan, planning, tips
Posted on February 22nd, 2009 | No Comments »

I’m sorry for the late notice, but, if you’re in or near Eugene, Oregon tomorrow, Jan. 22, Sabrina Parsons and I are doing a planning workshop for smartups.org. Live and in person. That’s 5 to 7 pm at the Vistas Conference Room atop the Eugene Hilton. Click here for more info.

Tim Berry
President
Palo Alto Software

Tags: Eugene OR, planning workshop, workshop
Posted on January 21st, 2009 | 1 Comment »

I noticed this very plan-as-you-go post by Guy Kawasaki on the American Express Open Forum. What I like about it, particularly, is where Guy says “set goals” and then lists these four desirable qualities of goals:

Measurable. If a goal isn’t measurable, its unlikely you’ll achieve it. For a startup, quantifiable goals are things like shipping deadlines, downloads, and sales volume. The old line “What gets measured gets done” is true. This also has ramifications for the number of goals, because you can’t (and shouldn’t) measure everything. Three to five goals measured on a weekly basis are plenty.

Achievable. Take your conservative forecasts for these goals and multiply them by 10 percent; then use that as your goal. For example, if you think you’ll easily sell a million units in the first year, set your goal at 100,000 units. There is nothing more demoralizing than setting a conservative goal and falling short; instead take 10 percent of your forecast, make this your goal, and blow it away. You might think that such a practice will lead to underachieving organizations, because they aren’t being challenged. Yeah, well, check back with me after you don’t sell a million widgets.

Relevant. A good goal is relevant. If you’re a software company, it’s the number of downloads of your demo version. It’s not your ranking in Alexa, so telling the company to focus on getting into the top 50,000 sites in the world in terms of traffic is not nearly as relevant as 10,000 downloads per month.

Rathole resistant. A goal can be measurable, achievable, and relevant and still send you down a rathole. Let’s say you’ve created a content website. Your measurable, achievable, and relevant goal is to sign up 100,000 registered users in the first ninety days. So far, so good. But what if you focus on this body count without regard to the stickiness of the site? So now you’ve gotten 100,000 people to register, but they visit once and never return. That’s a rathole. Ensure that your goal encompasses all the factors that will make your organization viable.

What I like about this, as you might guess, is that it’s a very close match to what I’m saying here, in this site, and in the Plan-As-You-Go Business Plan book. Goals are about business, getting things done, and they do you no good unless you follow up on results and manage accordingly.

Tim Berry
President and Founder
Palo Alto Software

Tags: business plan, business planning, goals, Guy Kawasaki, objectives
Posted on January 15th, 2009 | No Comments »