Start-Ups: Getting Your Dreams Off The Ground

Projecting The Future

Projections are only as good as they are realistic. With out a well though out plan, most businesses never make it past the start up phase. One key factor in what I personally use to assess the viability of a business is whether or not the projections for that business are rooted in reality. Too many times we chase the fallacies that we see projected in Hollywood movies or when the news refers to big corporate businesses. Not often enough do we focus on comparable and reasonable goals, the ones that are going to push our business out of the start up phase and into a margin of profitability.

“Don’t forecast or make projections based on guess work or anything that you haven’t seen yet, all of your projections and forecasts should be based on prior history, or prior performance.”

Below I have listed out some personal steps that your business can take to design realistic expectations to be the framework for your business as your operate through the start-up phase.

• Don’t forecast or make projections based on guess work or anything that you haven’t seen yet, all of your projections and forecasts should be based on prior history, or prior performance.
• Don’t just be an owner, take ownership. Understand exactly how your business works as well as the outside factors that may have an effect on your bottom line during the start-up phase.
• Train your staff to not only do the job, but to do the job even better then you would yourself. Businesses are either made or broken when they begin to hire on employees. Once you have your team in place, exhaust every resource you can to ensure that they have a complete understanding of the job at hand!