Saturday, January 26, 2013

My Business Plan vs. Others


It’s kind of funny that I profiled two experts who express how you should just go and start your business and worry about the business plan later. The entertainment business is an ever-changing business and that included how to go about starting a production company. Years go you would need to either max out numerous credit cards like Kevin Smith did to make Clerks and hope that you found someone to buy the film. Of course, if you somehow had access to thousands of dollars you could go on a spending spree and not worry about a budget.

Going back to what Carl Schramm said, “As soon as the plan is done, it is out of date” (Schramm, 2012). That statement is basically the entertainment industry in a nutshell. If you look at 2013 there are so many movies depicting the Earth either in danger or uninhabited. This is a great example of how the second you think you have a great original idea someone else is either working on or completed a script or pitch that is basically your idea.

That plays into what Chuck Blakeman said with, “Since the future is unknown implement now, perfect as you go” (Blakeman, 2011). The more time you spend developing your business instead of your ideas is the second you lose in this industry. No matter where you look everything has been done before, but maybe you have a new and interesting way of telling that story. You need to run full speed ahead with your ideas and worry about the business end as you go. There will be time once you know that your project is green lighted to worry about if you want this done under your own production company.

I look to incorporate what Mr. Schramm and Mr. Blakeman said with my business. The more time I spend developing a plan is more time my competition has to beat me to my idea. I will develop my business as I go and worry about getting my ideas into production. The reason behind this is because I need to prove to myself and the viewers that I have the ability to create original and engaging content. From there is when I can worry about building my business and team.

However, at some point I will need to have a business plan ready. Should I look for investors I would figure that my start-up costs and management would be the most important parts for them. Those are the two areas where the money will be going and everything else can be filled in.  

Blakeman, C. (2012). How: the worst, most asked planning question.Retrieved from http://chuckblakeman.com/2012/8/texts/how-the-worst-most-asked-planning-question

Schramm, C. Straight Talk on Business (2012) retrieved 8/5/12 fromhttp://steinvox.com/2012/04/17/carl-schramm-straight-talk-on-entrepreneurship-why-we-need-it/


undefined. (undefined). Clerks. In Viewaskew. Retrieved Jan 26, 2013, from http://viewaskew.com/clerks/info.html.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Business Plan Key Components For Investors


Carl Schramm is the former President and CEO of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. The vision of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation is to foster "a society of economically independent individuals who are engaged citizens, contributing to the improvement of their communities." Mr. Schramm has a PhD in Economics from the University of Wisconsin and spent fifteen years teaching health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University. After leaving the Kauffman Foundation Mr. Schramm began teaching a class in entrepreneurship at Syracuse University.

Chuck Blakeman owns the Cranket Group, which is based out of Colorado. Mr. Blakeman’s company works with developing their businesses to make more money in less time and help them get back the passion when they first started their business. He has been featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, CNNMoney.com and The New York Times to name a few.

As Mr. Schramm states, “As soon as the plan is done, it is out of date” (Schramm, 2012). This is an important aspect to remember because in this day and age since technology is always changing and these days technology plays a major role in developing a business. Young entrepreneurs should spend more time creating the business and not worrying about writing what the business will be about. You have to remember that you are the face of the business to investors and they are investing in you as much as they are your business.

However, entrepreneurs need to be ready for the future and that is where a business plan comes in. Blakeman says, “But the flaw with that is the future cannot be foretold. Since the future is unknown implement now, perfect as you go” (Blakeman, 2011). Young business owners need to be ready for whatever can happen with their business and know they are capable of overcoming any obstacle. In the end the entrepreneur need to look out for their investors a little more than themselves. 

. (undefined). Wikiepedia . In Wikipedia.com. Retrieved Jan 9, 2013, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Schramm.

Blakeman, C. (2012). How: the worst, most asked planning question.Retrieved from http://chuckblakeman.com/2012/8/texts/how-the-worst-most-asked-planning-question

Blakeman, C. (undefined). Chuck Blakeman. In ChuckBlakeman.com. Retrieved Jan 9, 2013, from http://chuckblakeman.com/.

Schramm, C. Straight Talk on Business (2012) retrieved 8/5/12 fromhttp://steinvox.com/2012/04/17/carl-schramm-straight-talk-on-entrepreneurship-why-we-need-it/