Business Planning - Business Action Plan: Complete Projects Effectively and Efficiently

       The following is a business planning tool which I have designed to help complete projects for a business efficiently and effectively.  Use this tool with a new business idea and its projects to help advance market positioning! I call it a Business Action Plan

Business Action Plan

1      Purpose – Ex Ante summary

Summarize the purpose of a project in a few sentences. What is the business trying to achieve in the short to medium-term? What is the focus of this project.

2      Objectives – micro goals

In order to achieve the purpose of the project some goals must be established.  Three to Five goals should be set that fulfill the ultimate purpose.  Sub-projects can me be to more easily measure the requirements and effectiveness of each project, instead of one convoluted project which may confuse elements.  The objectives which are created are the potential outcome of sub-projects.

3      Purposed Tasks – projects required to complete

To complete an objective as well as sub-projects, tasks must be completed.  Depending on the type of project and business, these tasks can differ greatly.  Imagine what is to be completed; how will it be initiated? How will it be mobilized? How will it be carried out? What is the conclusion of this project?  These are the sub-projects which reach the short to medium-term business objective.  List all relevant, most importantly potentially effective, tasks that meet objective requirements.

4      Requirements – requirements for projects

Each task that is set will require resources, whether it is time or raw materials, these will be needed to carry out each task.  List the tasks required for the project, followed by what resource, service, and time requirements will be needed for completion.  Before a project is carried out the resource and budget requirement can be estimated using market prices and wages.

5      Budget – budget requirements and outcome

Using information from the requirements of each sub-project, a budget can be built to estimate the potential cost of the project.  Create a budget using estimated costs and revenues of the projects.  Depending on the type of project, the forecast for the project should display a positive return; there are ways that externalities of the project can be included in forecasting.  If it is a cost-based project, the results of a campaign, or other intangible result, can be measured using different methods.

6      Conclusion - notes

Summarize the purpose and objectives of the action plan; a statement about how this project will affect the standing of the business, or how it will be advanced can be made.  Any other pertinent notes reviewing the action plan should be placed here.

New Business Considerations: Creating Your Logo, Sourcing, Tips

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Why is a logo important?

         Having a well done logo for your business will attract better attention from customers.  If consumers have something in mind they would like to purchase or a service they need performed, a logo can stimulate their thoughts to trigger that need; in which case they will think about your business.  Logos can describe the nature of your business to customers with imagery or words in an eye catching fashion; also a unique logo can differentiate your business from others because it signifies one business to a consumer.

What kind of logo does my business need?

        Depending on your business different aspects of your logo should be more or less pronounced.  There are many things to consider when creating your logo, such as; your target demographic, your geographic area and social considerations, the type of industry your business is in, what you will primarily use the logo for, is the product/service you offer dependent on the success of your logo, as well as other considerations.

Your target demographic, geographic area and social considerations may impact your logo choice by the style and type of artwork you might use.  Depending upon the industry, a business might use more text oriented rather than image oriented artwork; for example,

Dell Inc.

(NASDAQ:DELL) Has a simple logo

Dell Canada It is simply the business name with a couple design features; a slanted E and embossed letters into a circle.  Other than that it is the business name in bold, capital lettering.  It is sleek and professional as in reference to the product which they offer; sleek and professional computing systems for businesses and homes.  Because of the reputation of the product consumers quickly recall the logo and business name, further perpetuating brand acclaim.

On the other hand;

Northern Life Apparel, a small Canadian clothing company, has a logo with slightly more features to it.

Northern Life Apparel

This logo has a much higher amount of image content, as well as more style in the font, also neglecting the business name.  Because of the nature of the business, which is much more dependent on the logo for the success of the product, this logo is a detailed graphic which incorporates demographic and geographic considerations which makes it very appropriate for the business type; this company is a new business focused on the outdoors and modern social values, with a creative and fresh business environment.

How do I have a logo created for my business?

There are a few ways you can have a logo done for your business;

- Create one on your own:  If you can come up with a basic concept for your logo it can be reworked by you or a professional artist to your exact specifications.

- Contract a local artist:  There are always many talented people in your local area that would be willing to create a logo for you at a certain cost.  If you can describe to them your business idea and perhaps a few ideas that you may have for a logo, a very artistic logo can be made.

- Contract a professional business:  There are print shops and other businesses that offer logo creation services, most of these companies take a short description of what you would like and make a clean and professional logo, unless specified differently.

- Use an online service such as an art community or Elance:  There are many online art communities that artists contract services or have logo templates which they will sell or give to you.  Elance is an online community (elance.com) which freelancers contract out their professional services; there are many profession artists, design specialists, and logo design contractors from all over the world.


Logo Features:

Given all of the above information there are a few important things that should be in your logo;

-  It should have at least 2-3 design features, which can be very simple, but add a lot of importance and refer to your business.

-  It should have your business name or an abbreviation of some sort so consumers can at least tell its not a picture.

- It should somehow convey your business type in the imagery or lettering.

- Your first draft should be black and white, add colours later.

- Redesign and adapt your logo when needed, if you think it can be changed or improved do it, but try to stick with your first draft idea.

- Make sure you are satisfied! If you are not satisfied with your logo, your customers won't be!