Melodie Ellis knows what it’s like to work for somebody else. And she knows what it means to work for herself. In fact, she managed to do both for almost eight years, holding down a job as an employee at a private piano studio while also teaching students on her own in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. In 2004, she decided to make the leap to full-time self-employment. She left her studio job and started her own business – Learn Piano in Your Home.

Melodie Ellis

“I guess I was tired of dealing with politics… When you work for somebody else sometimes it can seem like no matter what you do you’re not going to be able to make things better,” Melodie remembers. But she had learned that things are different when you are your own boss. “When you have your own business, you can change everything by your actions.”

Five years later, 14 contractors now work for Melodie, and Learn Piano in Your Home caters to over 200 students, providing private lessons not just in piano, but also in voice, guitar, drums, brass instruments, and more.

“As I started to grow, I saw the need to write a business plan,” says Melodie, but since her business was so small and she had such limited time at her disposal, it wasn’t a huge priority. “What really motivated me to do it was that I  wanted to apply for a grant.” As a member of the National Association for the Self-Employed, she was eligible to apply for a $5,000 Business Development Grant. Applicants are required to meet certain criteria, including submitting a business plan.

Melodie knew she would have to do some research. She bought a few books to help guide her through the plan-writing process, but says they weren’t nearly as helpful as she had hoped they would be. “I found them to be very theoretical and not practical at all. I didn’t get anywhere with them. I understood the concepts, but when it came down to putting it all on paper… the books were just really poor at trying to help me do that.”

Next she hit the Internet, looking for some business-planning software to help. “And that’s when I found Business Plan Pro. It was definitely worth it, because it allowed me to put everything together and it made it all practical and very real.”

One of the challenges Melodie faced in writing her plan was the fact that her business had been in operation for several years prior to putting the plan together. “I had to go back and think through things very concretely. I hadn’t always paid attention to the numbers or tracked them that carefully…  I had to get all those numbers from my history and somehow incorporate them into my plan. And that can be hard when you don’t have an MBA,” she says with a laugh.

In the end, Melodie’s hard work paid off. “I know that the fact that my business plan was well put together was definitely a major factor in getting the grant,” says Melodie.

“One of the most helpful things about the software was that, at the beginning, it asks you the question about whether you’re an existing business or a brand new business, and it tailors the plan based on your answer,” Melodie comments. She had tried other tools but found that they didn’t make this distinction, and in fact seemed to be based on the assumption that business plans were only for start-ups. That made the process harder for her, trying to fit details about an ongoing business into a start-up format.

“Just that one choice made all the difference in the world.”

Tags: customer spotlight, Small Busines, testimonial, testimonials
Posted on October 29th, 2009 | 5 Comments »

Don Barton’s family has been farming walnuts in the San Joaquin Valley for four generations. In 1912, his great grandfather, P.F. Barton, rode a boxcar west from Illinois and settled in Oakdale, California to grow prunes and walnuts on what became the Barton Ranch. Almost 100 years later, the walnuts are still growing in Oakdale, and his descendants have grown the family business to include processing, packaging, and shipping walnuts all around the world.

Don had left the ranch and moved to the East Coast after getting his MBA in Agribusiness, leaving his brothers, Brent and Gary, to manage the business. In 2002, Brent was approached by a neighbor who wanted the Bartons to take over his walnut shelling and packaging operation. Until then, the family had been involved only in the growing and harvesting of walnuts, but not processing. It was a logical step, but also a big one. Still, Don agreed when Brent suggested he come back to California and run the new arm of the family business, GoldRiver Orchards.

Securing Loans and Planning for the Future

While most of the funding for the new venture came from internal sources, the company did need to seek funding to purchase some new equipment. To write the plan the bank required for the loan, Don bought his first copy of Business Plan Pro. “It provided an excellent template to allow us to think critically about the business–not just in terms of the financial forecast, but also in terms of our intended markets, our competitive set, and how we would build a brand.” The business plan Don created using Business Plan Pro was presented to the bank and secured the loan in excess of $1 million. And business has been even better than he had planned. “I’m happy to report that our initial assumptions were conservative, but we never underestimate the value of planning.”

Don recently upgraded to Business Plan Pro Version 11. “We plan to build a new processing plant in time for the 2013 crop. As we begin the planning for the land purchase and build-out of the new facility, I thought it would be important to update our business plan with an eye on the new facility and its implications–both financially and in terms of sales volume–to our existing business.”

He quotes Dwight Eisenhower, when he says, ” ‘Those who fail to plan, plan to fail.’ We at GoldRiver Orchards could not agree more.”

There were a couple of challenges that came with writing the original plan for GoldRiver Orchards. One was figuring out how to incorporate “a long-established business culture on the ranch into the brand-new–and just evolving–business culture of GoldRiver Orchards. A second challenge was to cast our vision over the upcoming five-year period and try to envision where GoldRiver would be by the end of that five years. Many of the goals set in that plan have not only been achieved, but exceeded. Other goals have been set aside owing to the changing marketplace.”

Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch

Don Barton

In the years Don was away from Barton Ranch, he worked in marketing at several large companies, including Ocean Spray Cranberries, Inc. and The H.J. Heinz Corporation. He finds many benefits to working for himself. “You’re learning from your own mistakes and seeing a direct correlation to the cost of those mistakes. You set your own work schedule and work hours. You are able to establish the tone and culture of your organization, and pass those values along to your employees.”

Those values run unusually deep at GoldRiver Orchards, when you consider that it is located right next door to the ranch that has been home to much of Don’s family. Recently Don’s son Josh joined his uncles, Gary and Brent, on the management team at Barton Ranch, making him the fifth generation involved in running that side of the business. Among the mementos of family that can still be found on the ranch is the small house that Don’s father was raised in. “It has housed at least three different families of Bartons throughout its history and is a living testament to the family’s roots on this land and our heritage as farmers.” One of the largest walnut trees in the country can also be found on the ranch. It’s the sole survivor of the original walnut crop P.F. Barton planted. “It’s healthy, thriving, and still productive after all of these years. And, as you might imagine, it gets a lot of tender loving care and personal attention from our family members.”

In his final comments, you get the sense that the spirit of P.F. Barton is alive and well at GoldRiver Orchards, and in Don Barton. Talking about the rewards of entrepreneurship, he says, “Best of all, you have the unique opportunity of being a pioneer–of building something that you hope and expect your grandchildren and great grandchildren will someday be a part of.”

Tags: business success, customer spotlight, family business, news, testimonial
Posted on September 24th, 2009 | No Comments »

Sarah Lanphier was a sophomore at Elizabethtown College competing on the triathlon team. When the squad needed to raise money to attend a national meet, she thought outside the (cookie) box.  “Instead of selling cookies or something like that, I had this recipe for granola. So I packaged it and sold it. And it was very successful.”

Since then there’s been no stopping her. By the time she graduated from Elizabethtown in 2009, she and her mother, Gayle, had turned a one-time fundraising scheme into Nuts About Granola LLC, selling hand-made granola at farmers’ markets throughout South Central Pennsylvania and online, at www.nutsaboutgranola.com.

Getting Organized

Sarah was still in college when she decided to get serious about granola as a business. In December, 2007, she realized she needed a business plan. “The purpose of my plan was not to take to a bank. It was more to gather my thoughts and try to lay them out — to organize my thoughts and put them on paper.” It was a somewhat daunting

prospect, she remembers. As a business major, she was aware of a course called New Venture Creation, which took students through the process of writing a business plan.

“I thought… I have to write this 30-page document [for my business], I might as well get credit for it. Plus, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t know how to write a business plan. I didn’t even know what-all was in a business plan!”

So she signed up for the class, and discovered Business Plan Pro. “We used the program as a step-by-step tool to guide us through the entire process. It made it easy; you’re not just pulling things out of thin air.”

Sarah says the examples found throughout the software were particularly helpful. “You could see the general descriptions that the software gave you. But it was sometimes difficult to… translate that into your business. Then you read a couple of examples of other businesses and how they interpreted the guidelines and it was really easy to then write it for your business.”

Fresh, local, and real

Sarah and Gayle Lanphier

Part of Nuts About Granola’s mission is to support local businesses and farmers. In addition to selling their products at farmer’s markets and online, they do sell their products wholesale. But the company requires vendors to be independently-owned businesses — no big corporate chains for Nuts About Granola, says Sarah. “It’s very locally focused.” As supporters of the Buy Fresh, Buy Local movement, Nuts About Granola products contain only all natural, local ingredients and have earned the “PA Preferred” seal from the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture.

Sarah creates all the granola recipes herself, and one of her favorite parts of the business is interacting with her customers at the farmers’ markets. “It’s fun for me to develop those recipes and test them out. I really enjoy that aspect of it.” With flavors including “College Staple,” “Lover’s Combo,” and “Orange Creamsicle,” her goal is to create unique flavor combinations that are delicious served with milk or on top of yogurt or ice cream, or eaten right out of the bag.

Nuts About Granola seeks to create support for local businesses and bring healthy, natural products to consumers who might be used to something more processed and artificial. “We’re trying to bring back the local bakeries and the local stores by offering fresh product. We serve real food. We don’t use preservatives and artificial ingredients. It’s just food. We want to bring back real food!”

Tags: business success, customer experience, customer spotlight, news, success story, testimonial
Posted on September 17th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

There’s more than enough bad news in the world.

That’s basically how Paul Gerstenberger used to feel. Murders, fires, wars… Gerstenberger started feeling like the purpose of the daily news was just to make him feel bad on a regular basis. “I decided then to start trying to change that, and at least give people the option of also seeing some good going on in our world,” he remembers.

In 1996, Paul and his wife Celerina started GoodNewsDaily.com, a website dedicated to sharing only good news. “Since that time we have worked every day, for free, to find and post the good news of the day — not religious or politically leaning, but simply good news.” The site now receives stories from readers across the globe, and covers topics ranging from U.S. and international news, to sports, entertainment, even good weather news.
“We have grown to almost half a million readers….without any money or any advertising,” Paul notes, adding a television pilot for a 24-hour Good News channel is currently in the works.

Paul began using Business Plan Pro in 1996, and has written business plans for a number of businesses he has launched. Calling himself a serial entrepreneur, he says, “I have used Business Plan Pro for many years and within many different ventures. I have raised millions of dollars using the plan [software]… It is great and really gives the professional investor an insight into your company and your ability. It helps so much, I would be lost without it.”

The business plan for Good News Daily was an interesting one, Paul says, because it was the first one he’s written in which making money was not the objective. The process was, as always, a valuable one. “It helps me to clarify my thinking and to think of things that I did not consider,” he says. “The business plan process through Business Plan Pro is without any doubt the best available to help get your business on track.”

Paul’s ventures run the gamut from car rentals to self-defense classes, non-profit children’s health research to diamonds. He says he’s written plans for about 16 businesses, and hasn’t always used Business Plan Pro. The stories he could tell about those plans written without Business Plan Pro definitely would not be appropriate for his GoodNewsDaily.com website. “Frankly,” he says, “trying to write a plan without Business Plan Pro is a major mistake.”

Tags: business success, customer experience, customer spotlight, news, success story, testimonial
Posted on September 10th, 2009 | No Comments »

It sounds like a movie about the American dream. A native of Kenya moves to Massachusetts. He dreams of opening his own business, and begins writing his business plan on his commute to work at his first job in the U.S.

But then the economy falters and our hero gets laid off. Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he sees it as an indication that it is time to get serious about his dream.

It’s not a movie premise. It’s Njoroge Kabugu’s life. “I decided that this was a great opportunity. I had to be able to dedicate the majority of my time to completing my business plan and working on my website.”

After his layoff, Kabugu got to work on the plan for Kijiji Republic, a website selling handmade African crafts, baskets, sandals, jewelry, personal accessories and home decor. The company, started in 2008, builds long-term relationships with the artisans whose work they sell. Kijiji Republic not only markets and retails the crafts, but also maintains a non-profit branch which reinvests money back into the communities where they acquire their products. The goal is to help the artisans meet their basic needs, such as providing clean drinking water, building and supporting schools for children, and providing health facilities. Kijiji Republic also helps its artisans establish their businesses in their local communities, providing them with additional revenue possibilities.

Kabugu feels so strongly about the connection to the villages where the artisans work that the name of his company actually means ‘village’ in Swahili. “The creation of Kijiji Republic LLC was based on the concept that a village would be elevated… by empowering the people.” Selling products in the previously untapped U.S. market was his goal, and in writing his business plan and doing the market research, Kabugu realized he was on to something. “I came to realize I was the only Kenyan selling the products online directly from the U.S.,” which helped give him the security to move forward with his plan.

Kabugu says that one of the greatest values of using Business Plan Pro was what it helped him learn about his business. He particularly appreciated being “forced to think systematically throughout the process.” He strongly encourages anyone starting out to do as he did. “It is important not to shy away from an idea. Put the idea on paper by writing a business plan. It helps you to be able to see those areas which you may otherwise not realize when you carry it in your head.”

With a story that sounds like it’s straight out of Hollywood, it might not come as a surprise that Njoroge Kabugu is a big proponent of following through on your dreams.

And of having a plan.

To read more stories about how Business Plan Pro has helped businesses success, click here to check out our Customer Gallery.

Tags: customer experience, customer spotlight, success story, testimonial
Posted on September 4th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

Patty Shutt, of McHenry, Illinois, had worked in chiropractic offices for over 17 years when her boss decided he wanted to start a traveling clinic. So they set up a home office for Patty, creating a virtual connection between the chiropractor, his assistant, and his patients.

When business slowed down due to the economy, Patty found herself with a tough choice. “I considered going back out and finding another billing job. However, I really enjoyed being around the house for my daughter.” So instead of looking for a job working for somebody else, she embarked on a different path. “I decided to take a medical billing course online and take the plunge by opening my own billing business.”

She started Alternative Billing Solutions in early 2009, offering chiropractic physicians a virtual billing service. She positions herself as an additional team member, working in conjunction with the chiropractic office’s staff to enhance the clinic’s billing. “My main focus is to ultimately perform the entire suite of billing duties; however I will also customize a package to fill in the gaps for a clinic’s billing department as well.” She sees the service she offers not as a way for clinics to outsource jobs, but as a way to make them more efficient. “By allowing me to handle the billing, which is really time-consuming, the clinic’s staff can use the extra time to focus on the growth of the practice, which is then a win-win for everyone!”

Patty says she really enjoyed the process of planning her business. “It certainly was a challenge! I had a lot of really good ideas; however, I needed these ideas organized,” she says. So when a friend recommended Business Plan Pro, she checked it out. After working through her plan in the software, she decided to take advantage of another service Palo Alto Software offers, and signed up for Business Plan Pro Coaching. Her expert coach helped guide her in the right direction and keep her on task. “I was able to gather specific ideas and put them together so I could focus on where I wanted my business to go, focusing on which services I really wanted to offer and which services to keep away from.”

Regularly revisiting her plan is a scheduled event for Patty. She says she tries to review it monthly, though as her business takes off that isn’t always easy. Getting back into the plan and making adjustments as situations change helps her maintain the hard-won focus she found during the planning process.

“I have a new level of confidence because my business success depends on my dedication and hard work. It is definitely worth it,” says Patty, who adds that you have to believe in yourself in order to achieve your goals. It’s what she did, and she adds, “It is really the most fulfilling experience I have ever had.”

Tags: customer spotlight, news, success story, testimonial
Posted on August 27th, 2009 | 2 Comments »

At Palo Alto Software, we’re used to talking with entrepreneurs about their businesses. Most are enthusiastic about what they do, but you can hear it in their voices when they truly love it. Carol Graham, a relatively new user of Business Plan Pro, is one of those people. As founder of Bulldog Communications, LLC, in Tallahassee, Florida, Carol has forged a career based on this passion for her work, and we’re happy to spotlight her experiences here.

Give us a quick snapshot of what your business is all about.

Bulldog Communication is a communication consulting firm. Our slogan is “Innovative Solutions to Launching Ideas.” The type of communication services we provide does not focus on mass media or technology. We focus instead on internal and external business and personal communication strategies that are essential to successful and thriving business cultures.

Our corporate culture is simple: Do What You Love. Anything less makes for a “venture” instead of an “adventure.” At Bulldog we are committed to only accepting projects that excite and stimulate our team of experts.

Bulldog Communication was named for the tenacity associated with the logo and is comprised of three major program areas — Judson, Legacy and J.A.N.E.

First is our Judson program. Judson programming is aimed towards assisting businesses in achieving their goals through communication excellence, including full communications audits, communication seminars, part of a full array of services to assist in the launch of a not-for-profit organization or small business.

Next is our Legacy services, which focus on the needs of nonprofit organizations and short term “crisis” projects, to assist organizations who are in immediate danger of losing their status or funding.

And finally we have our J.A.N.E. program, which stands for “Just Actions, New Expectations,” the philanthropic program of Bulldog Communication which provides pro bono assistance.

What are the most important lessons you learned during your business planning process?

Although I began as an experienced grant writer with a PhD in Communication, I found quickly that there was much to the planning process that I had not considered. My writing skills were an asset, but I still greatly benefited from the step-by-step process that Business Plan Pro applied to my planning. I too often jump from point A to point Z without clearly articulating to my audience how I made the leap. Business Plan Pro helped me to bridge that communication gap.

Did you write your business plan for funding or investment purposes?

I did not write my plan for funding, because I already knew how to write grant proposals. I was looking for something different. I wanted to articulate my business dreams and goals so that I could clearly identify the steps needed to achieve my goals. While grant writing is a wonderful skill, it is rare to find a grant that will allow you the academic and ethical freedoms that your own dreams can conjure!

As your business continues to grow, do you find yourself going back into the plan to update and adjust?

My business plan is a continual work in progress. The planning software allows me to analyze my progress and current status, and then adjust as needed. My weakest area was cash forecasting and accounting. Left to my own devices, I will market my services and in short time, find myself unable to take on the projects I love because I have become involved in the wrong projects for the sake of profit.

Business Plan Pro helps me to prioritize my projects, recruit the appropriate associates, and decline projects that are not a good fit for Bulldog.

What, in your opinion, is the most exciting part of being an entrepreneur? What are the biggest challenges?

The most exciting part of entrepreneurship for me is simply “doing what I love.” If I don’t love a project, I don’t take it on. Having said that, however, it may be that I have an associate with great passion for that same project, and if that is a good fit, then it is appropriate and exciting for Bulldog to take on the project.

The biggest challenges, ironically enough, are in pacing ourselves. This is a most exciting undertaking. It is not a “get rich quick scheme” (those only make you poorer faster in my humble opinion). Fortunately, Business Plan Pro provided the tools I needed to launch my business in a strategic and well-thought-out manner. I had 4 four projects before I launched a website or produced a brochure. That is heady stuff; it is important to proceed carefully, making absolutely sure that you can deliver a product that greatly benefits your client, and at the same time also leaves you with a great sense of satisfaction and desire to do another just like it!

Any final thoughts? Do you have a piece of advice for someone who might just be starting out in their own business or planning process?

Owning your own business is simply not for everyone. Take a serious personal inventory and make sure this is your passion and pleasure. If you do not love what you are doing, you will not continue to do it, or at least not well. Take the time you need to write a full business plan. It might impress others, but much more importantly it will help you analyze your readiness to take off on this adventure.

—–

Carol Graham is an ordained chaplain, a novice horsewoman, an avid racquetball player and the “Momma Bulldog” CEO of Bulldog Communications, LLC. Carol and the entire Bulldog Communications team are dedicated to the motto of only doing what you love.

1400 Village Square Blvd., Suite 3-121 Tallahassee, FL 32312 TEL: 850.933.4074

If you or your company would like to be considered for a Customer Spotlight by Palo Alto Software, please contact ‘Chelle Parmele at chelleparmele@paloalto.com

Tags: business plan pro, customer spotlight, palo alto software
Posted on January 8th, 2009 | No Comments »