Expert Views on The Value of Business Plans

Mark Cuban is best known for his nontraditional management style of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team. A native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Mark does not come from a silver spoon like Donald Trump. He is a graduate of Indiana University where acquired his bachelors degree in Business Administration.¹ As an entrepreneur Mark has had his dealings in many start up businesses. Mark business venture views are accessed by the actual necessity in the market for a product/service. A very important aspect of the business model for Mark is the research for potential growth for the product/service in the market. Mark additional must have supportive information for the product/service like financial projections to support that the plan has been configured correctly. Mark also invests in business that he has familiarity with, something that may relate to previous investments.

Greg Alexander is current CEO of ISSOS and was a 10-year veteran of the United States Air Force. Additionally he also worked in the World Trade Center as an Engineer for Eastman Kodak. In 1992 he made his first initial investment into a skating rink, which helped him invest into his second facility. ² Greg is known as a venture capitalist that actually takes an active role in his all of his business ventures. Greg explains that before he can find a venture feasible he must be able to reduce his risk as minimal as possible. In addition he analyzes who will be managing the business and what is their proven track record. He looks for clear plan with a strong strategy and thorough research on the competition. ³ Greg must know most importantly what is the amount being requested and on what terms. He feels that every start up company should analyze their market for potential advantages and pitfalls. Last but not least Greg feels that every company should have a plan B to account for unexpected occurrences. 

Resources:

¹⁽Lojewski,B) March 31, 2011. Expert Views on Business Plans. Retrieved: February 05, 2012. From: http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/

² International SOS Society. Retrieved: February 05, 2012 http://isoss.com/isoss_ceo_greg_alexander.htm

³ (Uknown) March 31, 2011. Expert Views on Business Plans. Retrieved: February 05, 2012. From: http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/

The expert view blog gave me much insight on how I can revise my business plan. The knowledge obtained will give me the ability to restructure the business plan to make it more effective. Upon reading the blog of Mark Cuban I learned that he researches the market for potential growth. In addition he researches for product/service financial projections to support the business plan. I would like to incorporate these techniques into business plan to make it stronger. I first plan to research my market again and measure for potential growth. I also want to analyze if the business is feasible by measuring it against he financial projections for the first 3 years compared to an existing business model.  

I also read a blog on CEO of ISSOS Greg Alexander who is known as a venture capitalist. Greg takes an active role in all of his business ventures, which I believe is an important aspect when initiating a business.  In researching some of the key strategies that Greg utilizes I have learned that he analyzes the financial projections first to see if the business is feasible. If the financial projections state that the plan is not feasible then he will not take the risk. Upon analyzing my projections if I do not break even within the first two years then I do not see it worth taking the risk. Greg also researches his competition and looks for a clear plan and a strong strategy to capitalize on the market. I want to go back and redevelop my competitive strategy and make sure that I develop a plan B.  One of the most important out of all of the strategies that I plan to implement in my business plan is the Plan B incase of a non feasible plan. By utilizing some of Greg’s strategies combined with Mark’s I will be able to redevelop a strong business plan that will be feasible.