Business Planning

Definition: A business plan is a formal statement of a set of business goals, the reasons why they are believed attainable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It may also contain background information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals.

Business plans may also target changes in perception and branding by the customer, client, tax-payer, or larger community. When the existing business is to assume a major change or when planning a new venture - a 3 to 5 year business plan is essential.

The structure of business plan is significant, which usually gives a general view of project.
There are five main content regions:
1.Background information
2.A marketing plan
3.An operational plan
4.A financial plan
5.A discussion of the decision making criteria that should be used to approve the plan
(Obtain from wikipedia)

The process of creating a marketing plan, executing the activities it specifies, and measuring the results is key to success in small business.
Make your goals S.M.A.R.T.
Stay away from obscure goals. SMART goals are:
a) Specific – Avoid generalizing in your goals. Make them as specific as possible by incorporating as many of the following as you can into each goal.
Who is involved in the goal?
What are you trying to accomplish?
When will the goal be completed by?
Where will this goal take place?
How will this goal be reached?
b) Measurable – Ask yourself, “How will I know I achieved my goal?” You will need to include measurement in your goal so you know you have succeeded in reaching them. (e.g. Increase of 2 employees, overall business growth of 6%, etc).
c) Agreed Upon – Goals should be agreed upon by all those that will be involved in making them happen. Even if you are solopreneur, if you delegate to others, ensure that they understand the importance of the goal. You also must agree to yourself that this goal is important. It is a good idea when making goals that you set priorities for each goal and that you put some serious thought into whether or not they are TRULY important to you. Because when the going gets rough, its easy to abandon your goals.
d) Realistic – One of the biggest mistakes you can make is to set yourself up to fail. The goals you set should be achievable within the time period you specified. It is an art to determine goals that stretch you just enough without becoming unrealistic. The more facts you are basing your goals on the better you can predict real results.
e) Have a Target Date – Always, always include a target date to achieve your goals. Then note those dates in your calendar. Important to note here is HOW much time you allocate to each goal. Too much time affects your overall performance and not enough time sets you up for failure or poor quality.
Work Backwards
Once you have set your long term goals, you will need to break those goals down into monthly, then weekly then daily mini-goals. I’m a big fan of Excel sheets and calendars to show you what you need to do at specified intervals to achieve the end result. This is time management at its best and will help you to be as productive as you possibly can.
You should identify others that you need to delegate to in order to achieve your goals and when they need to complete their tasks by. Working backwards helps you avoid being at the same place a year from now, wondering why you didn’t succeed.
Review, Revise, Re implement
Schedule regular intervals throughout the year to review your goals and whether or not you are on track to achieving them. If you are ahead or behind schedule, determine what has caused the change, revise your plans accordingly and reimplement for the remainder of the year.
This is a vital step to staying on track. Just like a captain steering his ship, a business owner needs to check direction and adjust for unforeseen circumstances to get to their final destination.

Reference:
http://articles.mplans.com/plan-for-success/
http://articles.mplans.com/plan-for-success/#ixzz1UMF09Egq

Information about Dunedin Gaswork Museum

The Dunedin Gasworks Museum is situated in the Engine House of the now closed Dunedin Gasworks which was New Zealand’s first and last gasworks, operating from 1863 until 1987. It is one of only three known preserved gasworks museums in the world. This is a significant  local and world heritage site.

The museum is located at 20 Braemar Street, South Dunedin (near the South Dunedin Warehouse and Pak'n'Save), and is open on the first and third Sunday of each month, 12:00 noon to 4:00pm. Admission charges are $4.00 for an adult and $6.00 for a family ( 2 adults and 2 children).

Sir Neil Cossons, former Chairman of English Heritage and a world authority on industrial heritage, and the Patron of the Dunedin Gasworks Museum Trust, has stated that in his opinion this museum has "the best examples of an operating Gaswork's plant in the world".

Presently the Gasworks Museum Trust is undertaking a major restoration of the Fitting Shop.

The museum is situated in and around the Engine House of the original gasworks, which was a much larger complex when it was operating.

More information on:

http://www.gasworksmuseum.org.nz/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dunedin-Gasworks-Museum/297515916986

Business Model

A business model describes the rationale of how an organization creates, delivers, and captures value(economic, social, or other forms of value). The process of business model construction is part of business strategy.

In theory and practice the term business model is used for a broad range of informal and formal descriptions to represent core aspects of a business, including purpose, offerings, strategies, infrastructure, organizational structures, trading practices, and operational processes and policies. Hence, it gives a complete picture of an organization from a high-level perspective.

Whenever a business is established, it either explicitly or implicitly employs a particular business model that describes the architecture of the value creation, delivery, and capture mechanisms employed by the business enterprise. The essence of a business model is that it defines the manner by which the business enterprise delivers value to customers, entices customers to pay for value, and converts those payments to profit: it thus reflects management’s hypothesis about what customers want, how they want it, and how an enterprise can organize to best meet those needs, get paid for doing so, and make a profit.

Business models are used to describe and classify businesses (especially in an entrepreneurial setting), but they are also used by managers inside companies to explore possibilities for future development. Also, well known business models operate as recipes for creative managers. Business models are also referred to in some instances within the context of accounting for purposes of public reporting.

There are nine main element which are significant for a business model:

1.Value Proposition

2.Target Customer Segments

3.Distribution Channels

4.Customer Relationships

5.Value Configurations

6.Core Capabilities）

7.Partner Network

8.Cost Structure

9.Revenue Model

Reference from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_model &

An e-Business Model Ontology for Modeling e-Business written by Alexander Osterwalder

MLM Business Model

Multi

level marketing (MLM) is a marketing strategy in which the sales force is compensated not only for sales they personally generate, but also for the sales of others they recruit, creating a downline of distributors and a hierarchy of multiple levels of compensation. Other terms for MLM include network marketing, pyramid selling, and referral marketing.

MLM businesses operate in the United States in all 50 states, and in more than 100 other countries. New businesses may use terms like "affiliate marketing" or "home-based business franchising". However, many pyramid schemes try to present themselves as legitimate MLM businesses.

The United States Federal Trade Commission states "Steer clear of multilevel marketing plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors. They're actually illegal pyramid schemes. Why is pyramiding dangerous? Because plans that pay commissions for recruiting new distributors inevitably collapse when no new distributors can be recruited. And when a plan collapses, most people - except perhaps those at the very top of the pyramid - end up empty-handed."

The FTC warns "Not all multilevel marketing plans are legitimate. Some are pyramid schemes. It's best not to get involved in plans where the money you make is based primarily on the number of distributors you recruit and your sales to them, rather than on your sales to people outside the plan who intend to use the products." and states that research is your best tool, giving eight steps to follow:

· 1) Find — and study — the company’s track record

· 2) Learn about the product

· 3) Ask questions

· 4) Understand any restrictions

· 5) Talk to other distributors (beware of shills)

· 6) Consider using a friend or adviser as a neutral sounding board or for a gut check

· 7) Take your time

· 8) Think about whether this plan suits your talents and goals

However, there are people who hold that all MLMs are essentially pyramid schemes even if they are legal.

Receive from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multi-level_marketing & http://www.votenoamendment46.com/tag/multi-level-marketing

Glossary

ancient architectural complex: A group of old fashion or historic buildings. 

attraction: natural, geographic, buildings, museums.
cultural: The way of life, especially the general customs and beliefs, of a particular group of people at a particular time.

infrastructure: Basic systems and services, such as power supplies, that a country or organization uses in order to workeffectively.

items:tourism materials.

leisure:the time that you are not working or doing other duties.

private:Describes activities which involve personal matters or relationships and are not connected with your work.

protection:the act of protecting or state of being protected.

regional:relating to or coming from a particular part of country.

resource: the department of an organizationthat deals with finding new employees, keeping records about all the organization's employees, and helping them with any problems.
superstructure: for instance, accomodation, restaurants, entertainments, tourist services, and shops.

sustainable:Able to continue achieving benefits from places of historic interest and scenic beauty.

tourism project:The product of tourism is resulting from the feeling of tourists, which includes their experiences or purchases.
tourist boom: the developing of prosperous about tourism.

tourist industry:  manufactories which involves tourism, and the advantages they support.