Business Plans from the eyes of the experts

As a Business Administration professional, I studied for more than four years the importance of a business plan. I learned the difference between an entrepreneur that takes the time to study the market, the competitors, the legal issues and how to develop a marketing and finance strategy, from entrepreneurs that just decide to go out to the market without any previous study. When you go out and face the real world, as an entrepreneur you have a lot of fears, including failure. However, it is important to know that with good planning and a solid business model the risk decreases.

According to Bloomberg, 8 out of 10 entrepreneurs fail within the first 18 months, and it is not because they did not have a business plan, but because they do not dedicate the appropriate time for its development. As a starting point, the objectives and the goals have to be achievable, the market research should be as detailed as possible and the financial numbers have to be realistic. To analyze what makes a business plan excellent, the best is to review what the experts in business plans suggest.

One of the most successful business founders nowadays is Carlos Slim.  Slim, 74 year-old Mexican, is considered the world's second richest man with a net worth of $78.9 billion (Forbes, 2014). He was born in a Lebanese family dedicated to businesses, so this generates a positive impact in his career. His conglomerate Grupo Carso, founded in 1965, has holdings in companies of different fields such as communications, real estate, airlines, media, technology, retailing, and finance.  Even though he is still conducting some business activities, he is now focused on foundations supporting education, health and employment in Latin America, which represents a valuable investment in countries as mine (Colombia). His power has no limits; he is the owner of one of the most important telecommunications companies in Latin America: Telmex. When he talks about a business he highlights the importance of clear objectives and knowing the tools to reach them. In the Grupo Carso Principles, it is possible to see the reflection of what is important in a business plan. He refers to simple organizational structures to generate flexibility and a fast decision-making culture, as well as to see the market trends in terms of technology to improve the production processes. Creativity and optimism are key. In finance terms, this thought summarizes the smarter way to manage money: “Maintaining austerity in good times strengthens, profits and accelerates the development of the company and averts the bitterly drastic adjustments in times of crisis”.

I decided to consider a perspective more in the side of the entertainment industry, to check how it match with Slim’s point of view, because people often think that products such as movies, music albums or TV programs are just art and do not need market analysis and budgets in the planning process.  For this purpose, Steven Spielberg is the right man. He is more than a talented film director, screenwriter and producer; he is business magnate. He has a net worth of $3 billion. As he could not get into the USC film school, he decided to accept an unpaid internship in the editing department of Universal. He is the founder of the multimedia company Dreamworks. From his experience he talks about the importance of taking risks as he did with the movie Jaws, that was a complete success in the box office. “Failure is inevitable; success is elusive”. With this quote I introduce 5 lessons he gave to entrepreneurs: Overcome your fears, know where to draw the line, find inspiration around you, push your limits and follow your passion.  Behind all his projects there is not only passion, there is also a test based on numbers. As Anil Ambani, the chairman of Reliance Group, said after a negotiation with Spielberg “..Ever since we looked at their business plan, I have never doubted that we would succeed in providing them with the financial muscle required to realize their dreams.”   

These two businessmen show me the importance of passion, as it is the first step making my company a reality. The objectives have to be clear and I have to know my resources inside and out. Showing a different proposal by making a previous analysis of the gap within the market and showing numbers are the evidence of the return in the investment and the tools I want to apply for my business plan development and for my career.