Turbocharge Your Small Business Planning - Seed Money Funds And Intrapreneurs

Small Business Planning Pillar #4: Changing Gear: Seed Money & Intrapreneurs

With strategy in place, you are ready to change gear and up the pace. To fast track your small business planning, you now need Seed Money funds and Intrapreneurs.

At this stage of the small business planning process, you haven’t committed a penny. It’s all been ideas and thoughts, strategies and mini-strategies. Nothing has physically happened yet. Nobody but your inner circle knows about it.

Things are about to change. You now have a coherent strategy. You have shared it with your inner circle. It all seems to fit. And the time to act is now. You need to up the pace of progress significantly. If the time to act is now, then you need to start your business now (or at least pretty damn quick).

You’re ready to introduce two further resources to fast track your small business planning process: seed money funds and intrapreneurs.

Seed Money

The small business startup process needs seed money funds. You may need to research the market more closely, produce prototypes, investigate ways of manufacturing, start to consider branding and marketing. Perhaps you need some computer hardware and/or software, small temporary office space and so on.

Depending on what your big idea is, your need for cash could range from a few hundred pounds to a few hundred thousand pounds. You will have a clear understanding of what this sum of money is through your financial mini business strategies. And where you might get it from. Your might consider acquiring seed money funds from friends and family, banks, venture capitalists or private investors as seen earlier.

The problem is this: Although your big idea has evolved into a real business opportunity complete with full business strategy and a little value, it is a long way short of being worth its full potential. You can’t sell a stake of your business based on what you think it will be worth in two years, but only on what it is worth now, and that isn’t very much.

Put another way, the earlier your small business planning demands cash, and the more of it, the more you will have to give away to get it. Not surprisingly, this hurts. You may decide that you will beg, steal or borrow seed money funds not to have to do this. Or cut corners where you may have otherwise not.

But be very careful. Remember your prime objective is to get your new small business launched quickly with as greater chance of success as possible. The smart course may be to give away a share to achieve this. Don’t sink the ship for a ha’peth of tar. It is always better to own 50% of something than 100% of nothing.

Intrapreneurs

To achieve a robust plan, fully researched, water tight and quick, you will need to bring in some human resources. You are about to be confronted with your most important business decision to date. And probably the toughest. Small businesses live or die by the people they employ. You may spend your whole entrepreneurial life trying to find a handful of golden nuggets which you will cling onto at all costs. And unless you are really lucky, it will only be a small handful.

Your problem is that your small business planning efforts don’t have the luxury of an entrepreneurial lifespan. You need them now. And once you have found them, you’re not ready to offer them a job anyway. This seems to be a near impossible position.

But all is not lost. At this stage, you just need to ensure that your business is covered by two skillsets:

1. Intrapreneur – your intrapreneur is your entrepreneur on the inside of the business. He shares your passion and committment, is a consummate operator and will be the single most important appointment of your new business. He should take up the reigns of the small business planning process now. You may see yourself as that intrapreneur and believe that you have the desire to drive the business from the inside and have the neccessary skills. If not, then you need to track one down.

The problem is this:

- A good intrapreneur is hard to find. (How many job adverts have you seen “intrapreneur wanted?”)

- if found, the chances are he won’t be available.

- You need him now but can’t offer a permanent position at this stage .

There is no simple answer to this. You will need to work your grapevine hard. In the absence of an immediate fix, you could well decide to approach a suitable small business consultant. Try and avoid the ones who spout theories of “change management” and look for the earthier, hands on variety. Look for someone who has gone through their own start up process at least once. Small business consultants who have walked the walk will have absorbed a wealth of experience and knowledge relevant to your start up. They tend to be more versatile and in touch with the needs of a true small business start up.

If you go down the small business consultant route, you still need to keep pressure on finding your longer term intrapreneur. Why not set your consultant the task of finding one? The small business planning process can move forward in the short term but an intrapreneur needs to take ownership as soon as possible. If the project is exciting enough, perhaps you could convince the small business consultant to come aboard as your intrapreneur.

2. Industry specific expertise – This is also essential. It might be that you are that person. If not, find him quick. The expertise must relate closely to the new business like a brother, not a distant cousin. For instance, if you are innovating a frozen food product, it would be advisable to bring in expertise from the frozen food sector, not just from the food sector in general.

With Seed money funds and intrapreneurs in place, you have changed gear and are ready to progress to the next pillar of small business planning, Rapid Content Building.

Ten Pillars Of Small Business Planning – Introduction

Small Business Planning Pillar #1: How To Start A Business Plan – Mindset

Small Business Planning Pillar #2: Strategy

Small Business Planning Pillar #3: Mini Business Strategies And Postage Stamps

Small Business Planning Pillar #4: Changing Gear: Seed Money & Intrapreneurs

Small Business Planning Pillar #5: Rapid Content Building

Small Business Planning Pillar #6.0: The Four Financial Statements

……Small Business Planning Pillar #6.1: Profit And Loss Statement (P&L)

……Small Business Planning Pillar #6.2: Cash Flow Statement (Forecast)

……Small Business Planning Pillar #6.3: Balance Sheet Statement (Forecast)

……Small Business Planning Pillar #6.4: Financial Assumptions

Small Business Planning Pillar #7: Business Metrics