How to Properly Describe Your Business Idea (Infographics)

How to Properly Describe Your Business Idea

A proper description of your business idea is the foundation for your whole business and a starting point for building a happy company. Obviously, you must make sure that you are building your business on a solid rock, not on quicksand. Therefore, you must invest sufficient time and effort to develop a proper description of your business idea.

In this post, I will cover the initial description of your business idea that you will write for yourself. The one that you will do for lenders, investors, etc. will come later (when and if you need them) and will have to be longer, broader, deeper and more formal.

The former description is essentially a simplified vision (down the road you will develop a comprehensive one) of your future business. It should be no more than one page long (single space) and contain answers to the following key questions in reasonable detail (roughly in one short paragraph – 1-3 sentences - each):

1. What will be the scope of your business – local, state, nationwide, international?
2. What will be the ultimate size of your business – small, medium, large, very large?
3. Will it be online, offline or both?
4. What kind of product(s) and/or service(s) will you offer?
5. Who will be your target market?
6. What kind of need and/or want/desire will your business satisfy?
7. What are your key advantages over your competition and how stable these advantages are?
8. What are your key competencies and why are they sufficient to start and successfully grow this business?

When you complete the draft of your business idea description, it is a good idea to show it to an experienced and competent advisor who can provide a highly valuable (often vital) feedback. Dozens of resources for entrepreneurs (government and non-profit and even some commercial consulting companies) provide these services for free – both offline and online.

Who Will Benefit from My Book – and How

1.    Entrepreneurs – owners of business startups. Entrepreneurs start businesses for one and only one reason – to be happy. Like any other human being, an entrepreneur can only be happy in a happy environment. In other words, only if he/she owns a happy business. Therefore, the fundamental objective of business startup’er is to build a happy organization – and make sure it stays happy. This book will provide entrepreneurs with everything they need to make it happen.

2.    Entrepreneurs – owners of established businesses. Entrepreneurs own and run businesses for one and only one reason – to be happy. Like any other human being, an entrepreneur can only be happy in a happy environment. In other words, only if he/she owns a happy business. Therefore, the fundamental objective of owners of established businesses is to transform their companies into happy organization – and make sure it stays happy. This book will provide them with everything they need to make it happen.

3.    Top managers of business entities. The fundamental objective of top managers of business entities is to make their shareholders happy. This is what they are paid for. As I showed earlier, corporate shareholders can only be happy if they own a happy business. Therefore, the natural key objective of top corporate managers (actually, all managers) is to transform their companies into happy organizations (and to make sure they stay that way). This book will provide them with everything they need to make it happen.

4.    Strategic management consultants. These ‘hired guns’ work for business owners (shareholders). Therefore, the fundamental objective of the former is to make the latter happy. This is what management consultants are paid for. As I showed earlier, corporate shareholders can only be happy if they own a happy business. Therefore, the natural key objective of strategic management consultants is to help corporate managers transform their companies into happy organizations (and to make sure they stay that way). This book will provide them with everything they need to make it happen.

5.    Venture investors. Venture investors are human beings (believe it or not). And like all human beings, they want to be happy. And like all other human beings, they can only be happy in a happy environment. Which means that they need to co-own happy businesses. Therefore, they will need to provide managers of their portfolio startups with knowledge and tools to build happy organizations – and make them stay that way. This book will supply venture investors with exactly the right knowledge and tools.

6.    Direct/private equity investors. Private equity investors, like all other human beings, want to be happy. And like all other human beings, they can only be happy in a happy environment. Which means that they need to co-own happy businesses. Therefore, they will need to provide managers of their portfolio companies with knowledge and tools to transform businesses into happy organizations – and make them stay that way. This book will supply venture investors with exactly the right knowledge and tools.

7.    Strategic management instructors. Corporate happiness is the natural key business management objective (actually, the key fundamental objective of managing any organization – not just a business entity). Therefore, it is vitally important that the curriculum of every strategic management course - both in universities (business schools) and in training companies that provide continuing corporate management education – is built around this fundamental objective. Actually every management course. This book will provide management instructors with everything they need to build such courses.

8.    Corporate management students. Corporate happiness is the natural key business management objective (whether corporate owners and managers realize it or not). Therefore, students of strategic and other management courses must be trained in corporate happiness technologies. This book will provide students with everything they need to integrate knowledge and skills obtained in other management courses and focus them on the natural key business management objective – corporate happiness.

9.    Managers of government entities and non-profit organizations. Although this book covers business entities, many guidelines can – and must – be used by managers of government entities and non-profits to transform their structures into happy organizations. To maximize value of this book to these categories of users (this book is supposed to be used on an everyday basis, not just read), the last part of this book will cover specifics of these organizations

My Book on Corporate Happiness - an Introduction

I finally decided to stop procrastinating and write a book on corporate happiness under a working title "How to Transform Your Business Into a Happy Organization".  This short post will explain why - and provide you with (hopefully) some valuable insights.

It is well-known that the key to success in any endeavor is single-mindedness. To be successful in a project (any project), you have to focus on one and only one objective. And this objective better be the right one. Otherwise, you will simply waste a lot of your time, money, energy and other highly valuable resources.

Business management is no exception. To be successful in your business enterprise, you must focus on one and only one objective. At all times. On anatural key business management objective. On the core around which you will build everything else. This is especially true if you are just starting your business. It is vitally important to focus on the right target from day one – otherwise it will take a lot of effort to re-focus yourself and your business.

Unfortunately, practically no one will tell you what this natural key business management objective is. Business schools will not tell you. Training companies will not tell you. Business management consultants will not tell you. And business management gurus will not tell you either. Even the top ones. The key objectives they give you are only components; the parts of the whole. And you need the whole. You need the holistic approach to business management based on a natural and holistic key business management objective.

I wrote this book to remedy this unfortunate situation. I will prove beyond the reasonable doubt that the natural key business management objective iscorporate happiness. In other words, building a happy company (if you are just starting your business) or transforming your business into a happy organization(if you are running an established business entity).

This book will teach you how to do both and will prove – again beyond the reasonable doubt – that in the process you will achieve all other (‘traditional’) key business management objectives that you are undoubtedly familiar with. Maximize financial value of your company, your corporate performance, identify and implement your corporate mission, etc.

This book is based on 20 years of research in strategic corporate management and on my extensive experience in investment banking (corporate finance) and in strategic management consulting.