More on Business Planning

Recently, I was asked to assist a local company with cost estimates for an upcoming company wide special event and while doing some quick research I ran adrift of my mission. As is sometimes typical with my digging for facts, I ran across an excellent article and now, one of my newly bookmarked websites. I wanted to take a few minutes and share a great new resource with you.

What drew me to the article in the first place was that it is based in the published by a company named Smarta.com and is based in the United Kingdom. Here’s how their website describes their services;  “Smarta is the ultimate advice and networking resource for anyone starting and running a small business. Smarta provides independent, entrepreneur-led support and is backed by some of the UK's top entrepreneurs.” This is only the tip of the iceberg! What started with a quick scan of the article, “Why you need a business plan”, ended several hours later with a whole new respect for the team that developed this wealth of information. In the interest of full disclosure, Smarta.com's site is published in association with Natwest, a major UK based bank. 

According to a recent article published by printed.com, “This year, the Smarta 100 winners will be decided by an all-star line-up of judges comprising some of the UK’s leading entrepreneurs including Theo Paphitis from Ryman and star of Dragons’ Den; Rowan Gormley, founder of Naked Wines and winner of the Smarta 100 in 2011; Mike Soutar, founder of Shortlist and Stylist magazines; Thea Green MBE, founder of Nails Inc; and several other big hitters”. This is a very impressive line-up regardless of what country your business is based. 

Briefly stated, Smarta.com is a one stop, complete step-by-step guide to writing your own business plan. Smarta.com contains an extensive resource database and includes templates for both the text and financial portions of your business plan. This is a great resource to use when developing your plan for the first time, or updating one already in use. To enhance the motivation to create a successful business plan and therefore, a better chance at a success business, Smarta.com offers an annual ten thousand British Pound grand prize to the “most exciting and disruptive small businessesin the UK”. 

After a couple of hours of browsing through the easily navigated site, I had to think about business planning from an international standpoint after all, Smarta.com is based in the UK, not the US. I continue to be impressed to see that the concept of and the desire for formal business planning are universal. Being “just a kid with a dream” is only a start. Being “just a kid with a dream and a plan” is a better road to success.

Business Planning is Important

The importance of formal business planning cannot be over emphasized in today’s business environment. It’s usually after several failures or near failures that entrepreneurs discover the importance of having a formal business plan. Recently I had the opportunity to do some research on business planning and came upon some great resources that will help business owners with developing a formal business plan.

One of the first resources I discovered was an article written by Terry Berry and published at entrepreneur.com. Berry discusses in detail the 15 Reasons You Need a Business Plan. This article alone should convince every business owner to seriously consider the time and investment involved in preparing a formal plan. Berry is the president of Palo Alto Software Inc., based in Eugene, Ore., which produces business planning software. He is also the author of 3Weeks to Startup and ThePlan-As-You-Go Business Plan, published by Entrepreneur Press. In addition to this resource, entrepreneur.com has numerous resources including business plan templates to help business owners get started. All of these resources are free of charge.

Another great resource to get started with the planning process is the Small Business Administration (SBA). The SBA produces training courses and videos on numerous topics to assist entrepreneurs in being successful with their businesses. One such resource is a thirty-eight slide, narrated, self-paced, course titled, Howto Write a Business Plan that takes business owners from research and composition to editing and presentation of a individualized business plan. Similar to the vast resources available at entrepreneur.com, all of the reference and resource material on the SBA.gov website is free.

In a recent article, 10Top Reasons Why First-Time Entrepreneurs Fail by Martin Zwilling from Young Entrepreneur and published at entrepreneur.com, “statistics also suggest that the failure rate for new startups within the first five years is as high as 50 percent”. Of the top ten reasons Zwilling points out that the number one reason new startups fail is, “No written plan”.

Whenever you consider starting a new business or managing an existing one, the first step in a successful business journey is writing a business plan.

Orlando events at another best-kept secret – Mead Gardens, Winter Park

I’ve shared numerous venues in and around Central Florida that are some of the best kept secrets when looking to book unique locations for special events. Although some of my recommendations fall within the mega-production venues that can simply be found in first four pages of any Orlando events web search. Here’s another one of those locations that you may not have heard too much about, Mead Gardens, Winter Park.

Located a very short distance west of downtown Winter Park, nested within some of the most beautiful Oak hammocks in Central Florida, is a city owned and maintained botanical wonderland known as Mead Gardens. Named after the internationally known horticulturalist, Theodore Mead the garden was founded in the early 1940s. This is the perfect location to produce some of the most memorable events in the Central Florida area. For those with GPS capability, the physical address is 1500 South Denning Drive, Winter Park, FL 32789. The park is open to the public 365 days a year from dawn to dusk with plenty of free parking.

The garden is very versatile when thinking about producing events. Comprised of three separate facilities, the first venue can accommodate as many as 300 guests in the outdoor Ampitheater. In addition to the Ampitheater, there is an indoor, 3,000 sf. Winter Park Garden House that is also available for events. This facility is equipped with a full kitchen, including full size ovens, micro-waves, and 

-->refrigerator/freezers for catering almost any event. The Garden House can accommodate up to 175 guests. Also on-site is a covered picnic area that is ideal for children’s parties and family reunions.

In addition to the on-site venues, immediately adjacent to the gardens is a fourth venue that can be contracted for events. The Florida Federation of Garden Club’s facility is perfect for weddings, receptions, banquets, and any public or private functions. Contact and booking information is available on Mead Garden’s website. If you’d like to check out an upcoming event at the gardens, take a look at, "The Great Duck Derby". This event features a series of rubber duck races and a ton of free family activities on Saturday, February 23, 2013, from 10 am to 2 pm. The World Famous Peabody Hotel Ducks, which are an Orlando event by themselves, begin the festivities with a march to the Amphitheater at 10:00 am.

Now, get out there and enjoy some great Orlando events!

Firestone Live – A great venue to produce and see a live show

Image courtesy of Firestone Live

 

Now I know I’m really going to date myself, but I actually remember when Firestone Live was a Firestone tire dealership, hence the name Firestone Live. Firestone Live is located just north of Colonial Drive on Orange Avenue and offers several great options including ample free parking throughout the area. There are five distinctive areas not including an impressive entryway for promoters and guests to enjoy. In addition to the main room, there are four other vignettes that accent the main room. They include: The Upstairs Loft, The Den, The Patio, and of course for promoters and talent there’s The Green Room.

Similar to the large venues located at the theme parks, Firestone Live is fully equipped with all the audio, lighting, and video equipment needed for most touring acts. In addition to the plug and play convenience, Firestone Live has a full liquor license and can cater any menu from numerous eateries in the immediate area. Totally unlike the mega-venues located at the parks, Firestone Live offers a much more personal touch when doing business with promoters and guests. The entire staff is well-trained and very attentive to the needs of artists and promoters. This personal attention makes doing business with Firestone Live a pleasure. Here’s a quick look at Firestone Live’s January schedule.

Within a short distance north of Firestone Live is another one of Orlando’s best dining and entertainment areas, Ivanhoe Village. Bordered by several of Orlando’s most beautiful lakes, Ivanhoe Village has several great restaurants including Gargi’s Lakeside Italian Ristorante located directly on the banks of Lake Ivanhoe. If great Greek food is what you’re looking for you must try The Greek Corner located directly across the street from the lake. Both restaurants offer great food and the sunsets from their outdoor patios are nothing short of spectacular.

Image courtesy of Posh Orlando Venues

I hope you’ll take the time to check out some of the great entertainment opportunities Orlando has to offer. Now, go out and enjoy some live entertainment.

A great holiday season full of entertainment!

Beautiful weather is forecast for the upcoming weeks and there are hundreds of great events scheduled throughout Central Florida. In keeping with the ‘out of the ordinary’ theme in presenting events and entertainment, this holiday season is packed full of great things to do. Here are just a few of the attractions that are highly recommended that you probably did not see in the high-priced world of mass advertising.

If you like vintage aircraft, located about forty-five minutes west of Orlando, just off of I-4, is one of the nation’s largest private collection of vintage flying machines. Fantasy of Flight offers visitors the opportunity to get up close and personal with rare and, in some cases, one-of-a-kind airplanes. For those looking for a little more adventure, Fantasy of Flight has a 600-foot zip-line attraction named Wing WalkAir, which gives participants a chance to experience the thrill of wing-walking without all the danger. If the zip-line was not enough excitement, a little closer to Orlando is the indoor skydiving attraction named IFLY Orlando. So, if it’s the sensation of floating on air you’re looking for, these two Central Florida attractions make for a great deal of fun during the holidays.

If being on the water is more your style, there are two other Central Florida attractions that are great fun for the entire family. The first is a thirty-minute drive north to Mount Dora for Premier Boat Tours. Using large and spacious pontoon boats, the tour meanders through the Dora Canal and some of the most beautiful, unspoiled landscape in Florida. The second scenic boat tour, highly recommended, is headquartered in the amazing Blue Springs State Park just north of Orlando near Orange City. The wintering home for hundreds of Florida Manatees, Blue Springs is also the home of St. John’s River Cruises. Also using large pontoon boats that allow passengers room to move around, St. John’s River Cruises takes you back in time through the native flora and fauna that are only found in Central Florida.

With these best-kept secrets in mind, it is 82 degrees and a beautiful cloudless sky in the entertainment capital of the world – get out and enjoy all that Central Florida has to offer.

Couple of Great Downtown Venues

Located in the heart of downtown Orlando are two landmarks, well actually one landmark, and the next-door neighbor is a spin-off. Originally built as a Vaudeville theater in the 1920s, The Beacham has morphed into a movie theater, nightclub, and is back again as a great venue to host an event or perform in one. With a permanent stage, professional audio and lighting systems, VIP seating, full liquor license, and an audience capacity of over 1,000 guests, The Beacham is a great place to have a great time.

The Beacham’s next door neighbor and connected by an internal door is The Social and it is another great place to conduct an event. Offering the same amenities as its larger sister next door but with a smaller and more intimate atmosphere. Depending on the seating and catering arrangements, the audience capacity of The Social is between 350 and 400 guests. Of course, in addition to producing your own events at these two venues, they are also great places to see local and regional performers, along with small touring groups looking for more intimate locations.

There is ample parking located two blocks west in the city pay lots under Interstate 4. The convenience of these two locations continues with great restaurants within walking distance, including great sushi at Ichiban’s, and great steaks at Kres Chophouse, and Spice Modern Steakhouse. There is also excellent seafood at both Cevieche Tapas, and Cityfish, and for more simple fare, there’s the Wall Street Cantina.

To round out the convenience of downtown, there are also three great hotels in the immediate area. Starting with the Grand Bohemian Hotel, three blocks east, the Sheraton Orlando Downtown, which is four blocks north, and the Embassy Suites, located four blocks to the southeast. All three properties are excellent selections to make a visit to the downtown area complete.

For more information about producing events at the Beacham and the Social, check out the additional links below:

The Social Production Media Kit

The Beacham Production Media Kit

 

Reduce Risk with Education

At a recent gathering of fellow colleagues in the industry, the topic of legal liability started to migrate through the conversation. Throughout the afternoon, several business leaders discussed their experience with the litigious society that surrounds us and I was very impressed that the common theme in our talks was how, over the years of managing very successful careers, almost all of us have avoided lawsuits, both as plaintiffs and defendants. Certainly, over the years of producing, directing, performing, load-ins and load-outs, and the myriad of opportunities to get sued, none of us had to endure the expense of both time and money in a courtroom.

In avoiding exposure to liability, our group discussed the wealth of information available to entrepreneurs on the Internet that can help guide business owners and employees in making decisions and choices to reduce liability. The first asset that I recommended was a short video I’d seen several years ago on ted.com by internationally recognized law professor Michael Sandel titled, What’s the right thing to do? Professor Sandel is an outstanding educator that has the great talent of explaining very complex ideas and concepts in easily understood language. His concepts are simple and sound, making the right decisions in the first place greatly reduces future exposure to risk. Professor Sandel’s contribution to the subject is explained in detail in his book, Justice: What’s the right thing to do?

With more evidence of colleagues doing smart things with smart phones, it seems like everyone had a favorite learning tool that started their education in avoiding litigation. Numerous assets were shared and two I had never seen before really stood out in the crowd. Similar to the ted.com educational videos, iTunes has two great educational audio podcasts that I would recommend to everyone wanting to manage their exposure to risk. The first one is by Bob Ambrogi, in an interview with California entertainment attorney Gordon Firemark, on the subject of celebrity status and liabilities in managing individuals that attain that level of media exposure. This is a short, but very informative, segment from a series of interviews conducted by Ambrogi of several well know experts on entertainment law.

The second asset recommended by the group is also part of an audio podcast lecture series by Attorney Gordon Firemark on the subject of the JOBS Act and crowdfunding. Both subjects are current and relevant in starting a new business or expanding an existing one. Hiring employees in the current economic climate with the prospect of higher corporate taxes and mandatory healthcare coverage is a subject all business owners are interested in and this episode in the series has great information on reducing the potential liability during the hiring process.

These videos and audio podcasts offer a wealth of information about doing business in today’s litigious environment and how to avoid excessive exposure to risk. There has never been a time in history when so much information is readily available to us to assist in managing our businesses. Take advantage of these and other assets at every opportunity. Until then, go out and enjoy some live entertainment!