iPlan.com merges with MBA family of Websites, the largest and most established provider of business planning services in the nation. The transaction will be completed in June of 2007 for an estimated capitalization of $11.75 million.
The active Internet properties held by MBAplan, LLC (MBA) include MyBusinessAnalyst.com and MBAplan.com, as well as the entire MBA suite of online environments supporting the Company’s management consulting, strategic planning, IT development (MBAIT.com), human resource (MBAdesk.com), and funding services (MBAfunds.com). MBA recently acquired SBAplan.com and offers business development assistance to startup and small businesses seeking funding through the programs of the U.S. Small Business Administration.
MBA is a nationally-recognized provider of business planning and management consulting services, supporting entrepreneurs and business owners for nearly 30 years.
With this acquisition, iPlan.com intends to launch its full-scale business development and financial services Internet community to deliver compelling content and realize significant synergies in supporting the broad audience utilizing the implementation services of the MBA sites. iPlan.com will provide the most comprehensive suite of content for entrepreneurs, from business development and management strategies to personal financial management services, including investment, insurance planning, wealth management, succession planning, and asset protection.
The new iPlan.com community is expected to launch in the fourth quarter of 2007.
For additional information contact Leonard Woods, Investor Relations, at 888-932-2178 ext.80
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Is a Business Plan Necessary?
A business plan precisely defines your business, identifies your goals, and serves as your firm's resume. The basic components include a current and pro forma balance sheet, a profit & loss statement, a cash flow analysis, and an in-depth market analysis which serves as the foundation for sales projections. It helps you allocate resources properly, handle unforeseen complications, and make good business decisions. Because it provides specific and organized information about your company and how you will repay borrowed money, a good business plan is a crucial part of any loan application or private funding. Additionally, it informs sales personnel, suppliers, and others about your operations and goals.
The importance of a comprehensive, thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasized. Much hinges on it: outside funding, credit from suppliers, management of your operation and finances, promotion and marketing of your business, and achievement of your goals and objectives.
"The business plan is a necessity. If the person who wants to start a small business can't put a business plan together, he or she is in trouble," says Robert Krummer, Jr., chairman of First Business Bank in Los Angeles.
Despite the critical importance of a business plan, many entrepreneurs drag their feet when it comes to preparing a written document. They argue that their marketplace changes too fast for a business plan to be useful or that they just don't have enough time. But just as a builder won't begin construction without a blueprint, eager business owners shouldn't rush into new ventures without a business plan.
Before starting your business plan, consider four core questions:
What service or product does your business provide and what needs does it fill?
Who are the potential customers for your product or service and why will they purchase it from you?
How will you reach your potential customers?
Where will you get the financial resources to start your business?
MyBusinessAnalyst.com will assist you with meeting your immediate and future goals.
The importance of a comprehensive, thoughtful business plan cannot be overemphasized. Much hinges on it: outside funding, credit from suppliers, management of your operation and finances, promotion and marketing of your business, and achievement of your goals and objectives.
"The business plan is a necessity. If the person who wants to start a small business can't put a business plan together, he or she is in trouble," says Robert Krummer, Jr., chairman of First Business Bank in Los Angeles.
Despite the critical importance of a business plan, many entrepreneurs drag their feet when it comes to preparing a written document. They argue that their marketplace changes too fast for a business plan to be useful or that they just don't have enough time. But just as a builder won't begin construction without a blueprint, eager business owners shouldn't rush into new ventures without a business plan.
Before starting your business plan, consider four core questions:
What service or product does your business provide and what needs does it fill?
Who are the potential customers for your product or service and why will they purchase it from you?
How will you reach your potential customers?
Where will you get the financial resources to start your business?
MyBusinessAnalyst.com will assist you with meeting your immediate and future goals.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Why You Need a Business Plan
Recently someone asked me why they needed a business plan if they were getting all the funding they needed from friends and relatives. It sounded to me as if they were thinking of a business plan as just a fund-raising tool. In fact, a business plan is much more than that: It’s a tool for understanding how your business is put together. You can use it to monitor progress, hold yourself accountable and control the business’s fate. And of course, it’s a sales and recruiting tool for courting key employees or future investors.
Writing out your business plan forces you to review everything at once: your value proposition, marketing assumptions, operations plan, financial plan and staffing plan. You’ll end up spotting connections you otherwise would have missed. For example, if your marketing plan projects 10,000 customers by year two and your staffing plan provides for two salespeople, that forces you to ask: How can two salespeople generate 10,000 customers? The answer might lead you to conclude that forming partnerships, targeting distributors and concentrating on bulk sales to large companies would be your best tactics.
As part of your operational plan, you’ll lay out major marketing and operational milestones. When you’re the founder, the only person holding you accountable to those results on a daily basis is you. So your plan becomes a baseline for monitoring your progress. If your prototype was to be complete by February 1, and it gets done early—on January 10, for example—you can ask yourself why. Was there an unexpected breakthrough? Did someone put in a heroic effort? Or did you just overestimate? What you learn will help you do an even better job next time.
But even more than a tool for after-the-fact learning, a plan is how you drive the future. When you write, “We expect 100 customers by the end of year one,” it’s not a passive prediction—you don’t just wait for the customers to show up. It becomes your sales force’s goal. The plan lays out targets in all major areas: sales, expense items, hiring positions and financing goals. Once laid out, the targets become performance goals.
And of course, a well-written plan is great for attracting talent. When a prospect asks to understand your business, you can hand them a plan that gives them an entire overview. Their reactions tell you something about how quickly and thoroughly they can think through your business’s key issues. Plus, the written record of your goals coupled with a track record of delivering against those goals sends a message loud and clear: You understand your business and can deliver the results you promise. Great employees will respond to that message—as will banks and investors the next time you need to raise money.
So viewing your plan as a fund-raising tool is just the beginning of the story. You’ll use the plan for so much more—for managing yourself, for operating the business and for recruiting. Before deciding to skip your planning phase, consider all the implications and what they mean for your future success.
MyBusinessAnalyst.com will assist you with meeting your immediate and future goals.
Writing out your business plan forces you to review everything at once: your value proposition, marketing assumptions, operations plan, financial plan and staffing plan. You’ll end up spotting connections you otherwise would have missed. For example, if your marketing plan projects 10,000 customers by year two and your staffing plan provides for two salespeople, that forces you to ask: How can two salespeople generate 10,000 customers? The answer might lead you to conclude that forming partnerships, targeting distributors and concentrating on bulk sales to large companies would be your best tactics.
As part of your operational plan, you’ll lay out major marketing and operational milestones. When you’re the founder, the only person holding you accountable to those results on a daily basis is you. So your plan becomes a baseline for monitoring your progress. If your prototype was to be complete by February 1, and it gets done early—on January 10, for example—you can ask yourself why. Was there an unexpected breakthrough? Did someone put in a heroic effort? Or did you just overestimate? What you learn will help you do an even better job next time.
But even more than a tool for after-the-fact learning, a plan is how you drive the future. When you write, “We expect 100 customers by the end of year one,” it’s not a passive prediction—you don’t just wait for the customers to show up. It becomes your sales force’s goal. The plan lays out targets in all major areas: sales, expense items, hiring positions and financing goals. Once laid out, the targets become performance goals.
And of course, a well-written plan is great for attracting talent. When a prospect asks to understand your business, you can hand them a plan that gives them an entire overview. Their reactions tell you something about how quickly and thoroughly they can think through your business’s key issues. Plus, the written record of your goals coupled with a track record of delivering against those goals sends a message loud and clear: You understand your business and can deliver the results you promise. Great employees will respond to that message—as will banks and investors the next time you need to raise money.
So viewing your plan as a fund-raising tool is just the beginning of the story. You’ll use the plan for so much more—for managing yourself, for operating the business and for recruiting. Before deciding to skip your planning phase, consider all the implications and what they mean for your future success.
MyBusinessAnalyst.com will assist you with meeting your immediate and future goals.
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