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Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Expert Views on Business Plans

The views on business from the experts below did bring a lot of insight on how to successfully handle a business. To begin with, America’s Top Chef Bobby Flay owns several high-end restaurants, and casual dining burger places. Together these establishments gross million of dollars a year (bpexpertviews.com, 2011). The one thing I thing is important to highlight in this expert’s vision is that he diversifies. I believe that diversification would be a great tool to make use of in my business plan. For instance, this businessman did not limit himself to restaurants; he became a spokesman and an author but managed to keep his vision within the original industry.
The next successful businesswoman I admire the most is Oprah Winfrey. To try and number all of Oprah’s accomplishments would take book. She started out as a broadcasting pioneer, and went on to become a titan in the entertainment industry (Allen, n.d.). Oprah’s vision is and always has been of particular interest to me. Oprah is the perfect example of how one can be successful in any business when one works for a community’s best interests. With all her success, Oprah has always found the time to do her fair share of charity work, community involvement and much more. I think a part of a business plan should always include giving something back to the customer’s that keep the business profitable. For instance, a lot of businesses contribute to charities and encourage employees to do so by offering to match a percentage of their donations to the charity of their choice.
Another businessman who has left his mark in the business world is Donald Trump. He is the New York real state magnate. His vision has always been to lock the best business deals he can. Donald Trump has countless properties and has become a true entertainment personality having host a business show (Investingvalue.com, n.d.). The one quality Donald Trump has is his people skills. Although this term has become meaningless overtime it is an asset on the business world. A key to running a business is learning how to read people and what they do. Today many businesses even train their employees on reading body language in the workplace. This to me would be the take away I would incorporate into my business plan.
In closing, when starting a business one has a lot to learn from those ahead of us. Their ups and downs are something we should always study carefully and learn from.

Allen, S. (N.d). Reader’s most admired entrepreneur. Retrieved June 22, 2011,
Fromhttp://entrepreneurs.about.com/od/famousentrepreneurs/p/oprahwinfrey.htm
BP Experts Views. (2011). Bpexpertsviews.com. Retrieved June 22, 2011,
From http://bpexpertviews.blogspot.com/
Investing Value. (2011). Investingvalue.com. Retrieved June 22, 2011,
From http://www.investingvalue.com/investment-leaders/donald-trump/index.htm

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Expert Views on Business Plans

Kevin Taylor
Kevin Tailor is an experienced public relations (PR) consultant. His area of expertise includes company positioning, and messaging. In addition, Kevin Taylor is an accomplished writer and commentator on PR issues. He is also a strategist who specializes on mobile IPTV and IT companies (Taylor, n.d.).
I found an article on Taylor’s views about a business plan that stated that a business plan couldn’t be in verbal form only, particularly when it involves a partnership. According to Taylor a verbal agreement could never substitute a contract, and specified exclusivity clauses. Another key element of a business plan is IP protection.
In addition to protecting a company’s innovative ideas IP also opens the door to the global market. Specifically, Taylor suggests that a company should prepare an IP portfolio to make sure it has valid registrations in the countries it will either operate or manufacture in. Taylor final comment on the business plan concept was that innovative companies should always make sure to turn their innovative ideas into a competitive advantage (telegraph.co.uk, 2010).


Michael Dean
For the next section of my blog I decide to elaborate on Michael Dean’s views on the Stockshifters’ business plan. To begin with, Michael Dean is a Marketing Specialist with a director level experience in both marketing and business development. Among other areas of expertise, he has tapped in to sales, IT management, and new service development. He is currently the head of marketing at the National Computer Centre (Dean, n.d.).
The key elements that Dean has brought up about this business plan include communication, a target market, and a work force. Dean’s position on this business plan is to communicate to the consumer the benefits of the new technology Stockshifters is bringing to the table. This will allow the consumer the opportunity to break from the old and embrace the new. The main reason for this strategy is the fact that with new technology, as with anything new from drugs, food, and more, there will be resistance from those who stand to make a profit from the present product or service. In addition, the workforce will play key role, as the company will need a competent sales staff to better sell their new product to the consumer. A sales staff can go from front-of-the-line associates to phone representatives.
Michael Dean truly has a goo point regarding the communication to the consumer. Delozier (n.d.) said:
The best definition of marketing communication is the process of presenting an integrated set of stimuli (promotion mix) to a target market with the extent to evolve a desired set of responses within that target market. (Para. 1)

In closing, a business plan has many elements that need to be considered to make sure the venture is a success. Business owners will continue to strive to make a profit and the changing needs on the market they operate will continue to be of great importance no matter the nature or ultimate goal the plan established.

Dean, M. (N.d). LinkedIn Profile. Retrieved May 31, 2011,
From http://www.linkedin.com/pub/michael-dean/5/a69/304

Delozier. (N.d). Marketing communication process. Retrieved May 31, 2011,
From http://www.best-information.eu/international-marketing-strategies

Taylor, K. (N.d). LinkedIn Profile. Retrieved May 31, 2011,
From http://www.linkedin.com/pub/kevin-taylor/0/5b/3b0

Telegraph (2010). Telegraph.com.uk. Retrieved May 31, 2011,
From http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/businessclub/7504112/