Dear {firstname},

I didn't want another day to go by without notifying you of an exciting business development program! I'm not sure whether or not you have heard about it before, but I'm sure you would be interested in learning about the GO SAMMY Strategy System™.

I know that you are committed to the success of your business and that you are continually striving to learn more ways of improving your business. GO SAMMY Strategy System™ will do just that—improve your business!

The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a strategy development and implementation program for small businesses. The Program provides its members with in-depth instruction and expert guidance on strategic thinking, planning, and managing their organizations. The Program functions as an instructional guide for business owners/executives as they lead their organizations through the strategic planning and problem-solving cycle.

And, the great thing about the GO SAMMY Program™ is that it is convenient. You can access the program's weekly e-Lessons anytime, 24/7, whatever time of day that works best with your schedule. Plus, the big bonus is… It is an affordable program in comparison to other learning/development programs in the market today.

Using the GO SAMMY Program™ helps you to assess your own current business position, and then, the program guides you in making wise decisions for your company's future position.

After you take a look at the GO SAMMY Strategy Program™, {firstname), I'm sure you will agree that it is a great opportunity for you to learn more ways to further develop the strategies you need to grow your business. This is an opportunity that you can't afford to miss!

You owe it to yourself to check out this amazing business development program. So, what are you waiting for? Check it out now, at www.GoSammyPlanning.com

Wishing you much business success in 2010 and beyond. . .

CONSUMER NOTICE: You should assume that the sender of this e-mail has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and services mentioned in this message and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Dear {firstname},

Just wanted to touch bases with you and find out if you had a chance to check out the GO SAMMY Strategy System™ that I recommended to you in my e-mail a few days ago.

I know you'll be impressed with the Program's pragmatic approach to its strategic planning process. With GO SAMMY, you'll learn more realistic and effective ways to recognize and minimize your business's threats and risks, analyze your company's potential, and identify viable opportunities for your target pursuit. You won't need to question yourself on whether or not you are on the right track!

The best part of the Program is that you end up with a custom, well-documented Strategic Action Plan that defines your business' goals, strategies, and specific action steps and turns your dream into a reality!

Don't let indecision rob you --one more day - --from realizing the benefits of initiating and implementing the GO SAMMY Strategy System™. Let there be no doubt in your mind, that this Program, with it's "Break-away-from-Business-as-Usual” Strategies Development, will improve your business in ways that you cannot imagine!

You can check out and enroll in this amazing business development program at www.GoSammyPlanning.com

Wishing you much business success in 2010 and beyond. . .

CONSUMER NOTICE: You should assume that the sender of this e-mail has an affiliate relationship and/or another material connection to the providers of goods and services mentioned in this message and may be compensated when you purchase from a provider. You should always perform due diligence before buying goods or services from anyone via the Internet or offline.

Take the Risk Challenge - - Think Outside the Box!

Terry H. Hill

Interestingly enough, as a small business owner, "thinking outside the box" is precisely the behavior that inspired you to set off on the entrepreneurial path in the first place. The tough challenge is sustaining your original visionary mindset.

Once the company is up and running, most of us spend a great deal of time “inside the box” immersed in the daily activities of running a business, conventional thinking, and accepted practices. The trouble with thinking and living "inside the box" is that it is counterproductive to jumpstarting your business, motivating your employees, and delighting your customers.

The term “thinking outside the box” is frequently used in today's rapidly changing business environment, and for good reason. Thinking "outside the box" is a metaphor for creative thinking. Creative thinking is a mental process that involves the generation of new ideas or concepts, or the generation of new associations between existing ideas or concepts. "Outside the box" thinking is the ability to step back and shrug off the confines of the traditional modes of thinking. It is viewing things from broader perspective.

Why step outside of the box? To better position yourself to create, to renew, to solve, and to change. When you think "outside the box," you call upon your sense of vision, and imagine the best possible outcome. You must think "outside of the box" so you can place your business into more favorable positions. Ultimately, by thinking "outside of the box," you gain a greater competitive advantage.

How do you step outside the box? It starts by shaking off preexisting notions, opening your eyes to all of the problems and possibilities from an unbiased perspective. It requires you to open up and to reach out to your employees and advisors. Use brainstorming sessions to help to stimulate new ideas and concepts. Utilize a team approach to implement the new ideas and concepts into the day-to-day activities. Empower your employees to make decisions in their areas of responsibility.

To learn more about how to use "thinking outside the box" strategies to further grow your business, visit www.GoSammyPlanning.com

© 2010 Terry H. Hill Terry H. Hill is the co-creator and the mentor for the GO SAMMY Strategy System™, a strategy development and implementation program for small businesses. TheGO SAMMY Program™ provides its members with in-depth instruction and expert guidance on strategic thinking, planning, and managing their organizations. The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a business skills training program from Training for Entrepreneurs.com . To learn more and to enroll in this dynamic program, visit http://www.GoSammyPlanning.com

Don't Be Mislead… Strategic Planning is for Small Businesses too!

By
Terry H. Hill

Strategic planning is by far the most important task of any management team. Unfortunately, far too many entrepreneurs believe that strategic planning is an exercise that is meant only for big businesses; when in fact, strategic planning is equally applicable and critical to small businesses.

Strategic planning is a way to identify and move your organization toward its desired future state. Strategic planning aligns the strengths of your business with the available opportunities. It is the process in which you develop a vision, set objectives, craft a strategy, implement and execute the strategy, and finally monitor and evaluate the desired outcome.

The benefits of planning are quite evident. An organization simply cannot know what it is currently doing, where it is going, or what it intends to do to get there, unless the organization periodically establishes and monitors its goals. Strategic planning enables people to influence the future by focusing on the important resources of time, talent, and money, while properly allocating these resources to provide the most benefits.

The very act of strategic planning implies a proactive style of management that anticipates future events before the events actually take place. Proactive management eliminates the possibility of being over-run by the event, and sets plans and procedures in place to cope with this type of event should it present itself. Your strategic planning process develops a frame of reference for your sales forecasts, operational expense budgets, and capital requirements.

A strategic business plan is the end result of the strategic planning process and it becomes your "road map" to success. It is your strategic business plan that allows you to better articulate your vision while providing the necessary documentation to support your claims. Your stakeholders (lenders, customers, suppliers, and employees) gain a greater sense of security that evolves from a better understanding of the opportunities, the obstacles, and the ability that you and your company's have in order to adapt more effectively to an ever-changing business environment.


To learn more about how to develop and implement "proactive" strategies to further grow your business, visit www.GoSammyPlanning.com

© 2010 Terry H. Hill Terry H. Hill is the co-creator and the mentor for the GO SAMMY Strategy System™, a strategy development and implementation program for small businesses. TheGO SAMMY Program™ provides its members with in-depth instruction and expert guidance on strategic thinking, planning, and managing their organizations. The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a business skills training program from Training for Entrepreneurs.com . To learn more and to enroll in this dynamic program, visit http://www.GoSammyPlanning.com

Execute Your Strategic Business Plan with These Easy Steps!

By
Terry H. Hill

Creating a strategic business plan is a great first step. However, if your business plan gathers dust on a shelf, its value is lost. This is where the action plan comes in. An action plan can help you stay organized, coordinate your activities, and keep your projects on schedule.

The action plan specifically outlines the steps or tasks that are necessary to achieve objectives. It includes a schedule with deadlines for significant actions, resources necessary to achieve objectives, and methods to measure these objectives. Preparing action plans addresses potential problem areas, considers the cross-functional impact of the actions, and ultimately increases productivity. It's the place where the rubber meets the road—the catalyst that transforms your business plan into actionable results.

Your action plan sets priorities and describes the specifics of implementing your business plan. The key components of your action plan are long-term and short-term objectives. Define your long-term objectives and then set short-term objectives—baby steps—that break the larger goal down into easy-to-achieve chunks. Review these mini-goals every three to six months, and keep checking to see if you're meeting your objectives.

Use your action plan to define how you'll operate your business on a day-to-day basis. Address issues such as how and when you'll manage research and development, hire employees, serve customers, market your offering, publicize your company, and work with partners and vendors.

Your action plan should get down to legal brass tacks as well. Providing detailed information about legal preparation and documents is a must. Describe how you'll obtain trademarks and licenses, rent space or create a home office; order, install, and maintain equipment; purchase and inventory supplies; market your business, and distribute products and services. In other words, your action plan turns your business plan into a game plan that makes it real.

How do you execute your action plan?

You've established your vision, created a business plan, secured funding, and outlined your action plan. Now it's time to act. So, how do you execute your action plan?

Once you've identified your long-and short-term objectives, you're ready to execute using the baby-steps approach that incrementalizes the entire process. Want to execute your action plan in the simplest, most success-prone manner?

To learn more about how to develop Strategic Action Plan that guides you in further growing your business, visit www.GoSammyPlanning.com

© 2010 Terry H. Hill Terry H. Hill is the co-creator and the mentor for the GO SAMMY Strategy System™, a strategy development and implementation program for small businesses. The GO SAMMY Program™ provides its members with in-depth instruction and expert guidance on strategic thinking, planning, and managing their organizations. The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a business skills training program from Training for Entrepreneurs.com. To learn more and to enroll in this dynamic program, visit http://www.GoSammyPlanning.com

Jump Start Your Business with Strategic Planning!

By
Terry H. Hill

Running your own business is a highly rewarding, but often a risky endeavor. As with anything else, increasing your chances of success begins with preparation. And when it comes to transforming your dream into reality, the key to successfully jump starting your business is simple: plan the work and work the plan.

Whether you're just getting a new business off the ground, expanding the business you have, or purchasing a business, devote plenty of time to planning:

The next logical step is to develop a plan—a strategic business plan that functions as a living document to define your objectives, guide your business, and take you from Point A(where you are today) to Point Z (where you'd like to be). But remember—a strategic plan is about more than securing funding—it's essential to jump starting your business. And once you've written your business plan, follow it up with an action plan that spells out your short and long-term objectives and how you'll achieve them.

Just remember this—there is no underestimating the power of planning. As the former CEO of Octel and Lucent Technologies notes, "People usually plan their vacations more carefully than they plan their careers. I'm a compulsive planner, but there were times when I had no idea what I was doing."

Even when you have no idea what you're doing, developing, and implementing a plan improves your chances of achieving your goals. This article outlines the fundamental components of crafting a strategic plan to take your business to the next level.

Strategic planning is the process by which the key stakeholders (you and your partners) in an organization envision its future and develop the procedures and operations that will enable you to achieve that vision.

A strategic business plan serves two purposes. First it's an internal document that defines your goals, strategies, and tactics. Second, it's a tool for raising capital. However, you need a plan, whether you're looking for capital or not. Without a plan you won't know where you're going and you have no way to benchmark or track your progress.

With a strategic plan you have a road map that enables you to look ahead, allocate resources, focus on key points, and prepare for problems and opportunities.

A well-articulated strategic business plan clearly outlines your vision, goals, priorities, strategies, products, services, and financing needs. It also provides relevant information about your company, your management team, and short- and long-term objectives. Highlighting both the positive and negative aspects of your business opportunity, your strategic plan should look ahead from three to five years.

How do I write a business plan ?

As they say, there's more than one way to skin a cat. Likewise, there's more than one way to write a business plan. Formats, outlines, and lengths vary. But they all tend to share a generally accepted format and certain standard components.

Your plan must be clearly written, logically organized, and convincingly worded. It should target a specific audience. It should outline the details of financing, competition, strengths, weaknesses, and forecasted financial performance.

As a rule of thumb, when writing your plan, include the following components:

To learn more ways to systematically develop the strategies you need to profitably grow your business, visit www.GoSammyPlanning.com

© 2010 Terry H. Hill  Terry H. Hill is the co-creator and the mentor for the GO SAMMY Strategy System™, a strategy development and implementation program for small businesses. The GO SAMMY Program™ provides its members with in-depth instruction and expert guidance on strategic thinking, planning, and managing their organizations. The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a business skills training program from Training for Entrepreneurs.com . To learn more and to enroll in this dynamic program, visit http://www.GoSammyPlanning.com

Trust, then Test Your Entrepreneurial Intuition with a Feasibility Study!

By
Terry H. Hill

Gut feelings have always been a part of an entrepreneur's decision -making process. After all, it is the entrepreneur's gut feelings about a particular business idea that sets his idea into motion. From his creative idea, a product/service evolves - the product becomes a business, the business becomes an industry, and the industry becomes a way of life. Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and Bill Gates are just a few of the many entrepreneurs that began with an idea that eventually evolved into a way of life.

If you follow the business career of any of these revolutionary entrepreneurs, you'll find a common thread that weaves its way through the evolution of their business idea. This common thread begins with an idea and a gut feeling about the idea. Call it what you will – intuition, a hunch, or even, a sixth sense. This gut feel tells them that their idea is viable, that it has a possibility of working. A strong belief in their idea, along with an intense passion, generates further resource commitments of time and money which are necessary to bring their idea to life.

In many cases, an entrepreneur uses his gut feelings as the support and justification for the viability of his business idea. After all, his gut feelings about other things have served him well in the past. So, why change? This is, perhaps, the most precarious time in the entrepreneurial business process! With gut feelings and passion in hand, the entrepreneur lunges forward without regard for concrete facts. This is not to say that there are instances when "pulling the trigger" and launching a new business idea, based on a gut feeling, has not proven to be successful. However, that is the exception, rather than the rule! Making decisions based on gut feelings alone is like playing Russian roulette.

No entrepreneur, in his right mind, wants his idea and/or business to fail. Likewise, no lender/investor wants to risk their capital based on gut feelings and/ or passion alone. An entrepreneur must be open to an honest and factual assessment of the viability of his idea. It is at this time that an entrepreneur is advised to initiate a Feasibility Study. A Feasibility Study is a controlled process that identifies problems and opportunities, describes situations, defines successful outcomes, and assesses the range of costs and benefits associated with several alternatives. This Study provides a detailed investigation and an analysis of factors that influence your idea to determine if it is viable, not viable, or needs revision. The Feasibility Study takes the guesswork out of the decision-making process.

A Feasibility Study is an effective way to safeguard against the waste of resources (time, people, or money) which may be exhausted before an idea or project is deemed viable.  The Feasibility Study helps you analyze possible risks and rewards of a business idea and increase probability of its success. The Study is based on a cost benefit analysis of your actual business idea or project. It is an analytical tool that includes recommendations and limitations. The results are then used to assist decision makers in determining if a new business concept is viable, not viable, or needs revision.

The Feasibility Study forces you to examine the real circumstances that your business idea or project is likely to encounter. In performing your feasibility analysis, you will investigate the impact that each of following issues can have on your idea or project:

The Feasibility Study consists of supporting evidence for its recommendations. The strength of the recommendations is weighed against the study's ability to demonstrate the continuity that exists between the research analysis and the proposed business idea or project. Recommendations are reliant on a mix of numerical data with qualitative, experience-based documentation. The Study is heavily dependent on market research and analysis.

The Feasibility Study documentation consists of the following sections:

The result of the Study is a thorough analysis of the feasibility of your proposed business idea or project.  If the idea or project is deemed feasible, then the next step is to proceed with a Comprehensive Business Plan. The research and information presented in the Study can be transferred directly to your Comprehensive Business Plan. Therefore, there is no need to duplicate costs to generate a detailed market analysis and financial projections for the Comprehensive Business Plan since they already exist within the Feasibility Study.

Whether you are applying for a SBA business loan, seeking funds for startup or expanding your business, a Feasibility Study provides professional support and factual information necessary to make your case to employees, suppliers, lenders, and investors.

To learn more about the use of a feasibility analysis that helps you increase your probability of success, visit www.GoSammyPlanning.com

© 2010 Terry H. Hill Terry H. Hill is the co-creator and the mentor for the GO SAMMY Strategy System™, a strategy development and implementation program for small businesses. The GO SAMMY Program™ provides its members with in-depth instruction and expert guidance on strategic thinking, planning, and managing their organizations. The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a business skills training program from Training for Entrepreneurs.com . To learn more and to enroll in this dynamic program, visit http://www.GoSammyPlanning.com™

Evaluate Your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats with a SWOT Analysis

By
Terry H. Hill

An effective tool that assesses and identifies opportunities and risks is a SWOT analysis. A SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool used to evaluate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a business venture or project. Once a clear objective has been identified, a SWOT analysis can be highly effective in the pursuit of the objective.

SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It's an assessment technique that paints an accurate picture of how your business stacks up based on these four factors. SWOT is a simple, popular way to gather and use information in preparing or amending your business plan. It's also useful in solving problems, making decisions, and educating staff when change is necessary.

In brief, SWOT means identifying:

Calculate SWOT, and you can quickly identify your venture's pros and cons. Aligning internal strengths and weaknesses with external opportunities and threats is essential to sound strategic planning. With SWOT, you know where you stand today and where you are going tomorrow. With SWOT, you can identify and prioritize the issues that will accelerate success.

In the the planning stages of jump starting your business, SWOT is essential to your business plan--especially if you're looking for capital. Why? Investors appreciate any type of analysis that minimizes their risk. The SWOT analysis identifies internal and external factors that can impact your business success. To calculate SWOT, you need to understand the factors--internal and external--that will affect your progress.

Internal factors are those factors that are within your control and that take place within your business environment:

The purpose of the SWOT analysis is to examine and identify all of these factors, (the likelihood that some or all of the factors will come into play), quantify how they can affect your business, and then develop a contingency plan. Examine each of the internal and external factors and develop reasonable responses.

To learn more about how to use a SWOT analysis to identify and prioritize the issues that will accelerate your success, visit www.GoSammyPlanning.com

© 2010 Terry H. Hill Terry H. Hill is the co-creator and the mentor for the GO SAMMY Strategy System™, a strategy development and implementation program for small businesses. The GO SAMMY Program™ provides its members with in-depth instruction and expert guidance on strategic thinking, planning, and managing their organizations. The GO SAMMY Strategy System™ is a business skills training program from Training for Entrepreneurs.com . To learn more and to enroll in this dynamic program, visit http://www.GoSammyPlanning.com