I see it all the time, a novel idea, a passionate team, the illusion of the market, an unsophisticated investor, and the numbers… showing the ineffable reality that the business is failing – Alternative facts perhaps.

The MAIN reason entrepreneurs or small business owners don’t like business plans is that they aren’t flexible enough to help them find other ways to get more money.

They are stuck following a PLAN instead of developing a BLUEPRINT.

One of the best ways to get out of the business model trap is to create a culture that accepts money. Not at the expense of others, but WITH the intention of creating value and capturing part of that value. It works perfectly.

There are many ways to get more money. Here is a list from a 7 year old:

• start a band
• do the chores
• %87^&$^)(#&(#@&5
• Mayka Lemen Ade’s Cabin

The writings of a 7-year-old boy sum it up. If you want to do something, you need resources. Whether he owns them or uses them. To get these resources you need ingenuity, innovation, charisma, attention to detail, knowledge… You need all of this but nothing if you don’t take action.

The main problem with the business model is that it usually represents an ideal much explored BEFORE action is taken. Reality sinks in and we are stuck in a pre-pivot mode until something happens. The time comes when the cocoon can no longer hide the petals, the cloud cannot contain the water, the ideas cannot be turned off. So the main issue becomes how to move that energy forward, how to channel those thoughts, how to build a strong yet flexible foundation for a business.

And this is where business models work best. 1-2-3-4 Steps to help you and your team navigate through the business puzzle and build or transform your business so you’re energized, inspired, and ready to take action.

Four steps to a business model

Find your once in a lifetime gift.
Why are you here? What do you enjoy the most? How do you put it at the service of others? How do you maintain internal locus of control, knowing that your inner voice is at the center of your business?

Find your ideal customers and create an offer for them. Those who need your offers, and discard those who don’t. By focusing solely on the customers you love to work with, you can focus your energy and attention—and your company’s resources—on those customers. Expect a reward from your offers that meets your financial needs. Establish a connection between your customers and those who need to deliver your message to their customers.

Establish the processes that will make your business flow.
Organize your activities into marketing, operations, delivery, administration, and contemplation. No business can survive without inefficiencies, but no business can survive without processes. Give yourself actionable items, early wins, and long-term goals, so you’re not afraid to take small steps in the wrong direction. It hits a couple of milestones…in terms of customers, revenue, and costs. And then multiply your income by 10 or 100 and see a whole new world of possibilities emerge. There is nothing inspiring about thinking small. Small steps will take you to the stars if you’re headed in the right direction, including getting on a SpaceX test rocket! (Find high-thinking partners, get an advisory board.)

Keep score.
Money is the blood of any business, keep it healthy. Focus on ways to make money doing what you love, working with those you love, growing as you gain experience, getting rid of what you feel isn’t working, including clients you don’t like to work with or can’t help. Invest in yourself and your business, find sponsors, and most of all, keep your numbers clean.

A business plan is an excellent guide for strategic planning, it helps you organize your ideas and relate them to others, it helps you avoid some mistakes, communicate your goals, evaluate your rewards and commitments, but just like DNA (genetic code ) is a recipe, and it may not have all the ingredients you need. What you do will largely depend on what you have available.

A business PLAN becomes obsolete almost as soon as it is finalized.