Jamaican Bobsled Team

Here is a term you haven’t heard for a while, Jamaican Bobsled Team.  When American businessmen, George Fitch and William Maloney, decided to found the Jamaican Bobsled Team, they took a gamble.  Jamaica is a tropical island and had never sent a team to the Winter Olympics, and bobsledding was virtually unknown to the island residents. However, Jamaica is known for incredible talent in track events.  The Jamaican Bobsled team first started as a team in 1987 with four pioneers, Dudley Stokes, Michael White, Samuel Clayton and Devon Harris. 

This last week, during a break in their training, I got the privilege to host 2 up and coming Jamaican Bobsled Team athletes in my home, Cleon Hall and Seldwyn Deyvoi Morgan.  It just happened to also be Thanksgiving week so my house is a busy place.  I am not really sure how they ended up at my house but Nigel Swaby called in a favor and it has been such a great experience.  These young men are fabulous athletes as well as extremely nice kids.

I took them to some popular hangouts in Salt Lake City for some night life.  They are the same age as my sons but my sons were not in town so Mom had to hang at the bars.   They attended a house poker party, downtown Salt Lake City offered Gracies Bar and Murphys Bar and Grill,  Club 90 had karaoke, and then to Club Habits for some dancing on Saturday night.

The next generation of Jamaican bobsled dreamers need help to continue their preparation for the next season and would like to take you along for the ride through a new television reality show.  They are running a crowd funding campaign here -> https://coolrunnings.tilt.com/pushing-for-gold.  Please join in and help these starving athletes.

What? A radio interview? Me?

Being a serial entrepreneur I started networking as a means to get out and meet people.  My primary market was not entrepreneurs but the poor federal employee with little to no budget.  These employees are visited by me and other defense contractor business development sales people on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.  I found myself working at a home office a lot and missing the water cooler talk so to speak.

My adventures into networking took me to a group called SLCircle (Formerly known as Entrepreneur Circle).  I have been involved with this group for over two years and I am on the board for this large networking group located in Utah.

I got the chance to speak on Women in Business and that led me to my latest adventure, a radio show.  Tysen Webb of the GoForItShow.  How does one prepare for a radio show?  With Tysen it was easy.  He guided me through the questions and I just answered them off the cuff.  I arrived at his recording studio in his basement and he put headphones and a microphone in my face.  We took a selfie of course.

 

We talked about my early beginnings in a small Utah town called Morgan.  How I started my first entrepreneur effort.  We talked about my new company BigSexyWords.  Listening to it later I realized I did have some ums and pauses but it was super fun.

Please listen to the podcast here -> http://www.goforitshow.com/59/

I am extremely grateful that I get to influence other entrepreneurs through my life story and get to meet people like Tysen Webb.  So many talented people in the universe!

Have you helped an entrepreneur today?

According to this article 5 Qualities of Successful Entrepreneurs, an entrepreneur has:

1. An unwavering passion.
2. Open-mindedness
3. The desire to be an expert.
4. A forward-looking approach.
5. A constant flow of ideas.

1.    But do they have money?  Very few can follow their dreams because they don’t have the financing.  I have personally fed entrepreneurs, let them sleep on my couch for a few days, and the ultimate happened this weekend when I let an independent film crew film a horror movie trailer, Diabolic, in my house.  This meant feeding them and having them invade my personal space two nights in a row.  It was a small sacrifice on my part and I hope the trailer finds them money to fund their project.

I have been able to start a new business because my other business is self sustaining…for now.  The business is BigSexyWords and we are copy writers.  I have given writing projects away for free not only to help other entrepreneurs on their way but give my own writers a chance to have some different projects that will enhance their writing ability and also give me a test of their skill.

I have been in business for 8 years and I have had excellent mentors and help along the way.  It makes me feel good to give back.  The point is I am an entrepreneur and I love other entrepreneurs and their projects.  It is exciting.  It is a drug to feel the positive energy and the excitement of them believing in their passion.  

Some great advice for an Executive Summary

Investors, lenders, executives, managers, and other business leaders are extremely busy. I equate it to the saying:

They say I have A.D.H.D. they just don’t understand…oh look a squirrel!

That means that the Executive Summary has to be compelling and leave an unforgettable first impression for your business plan to get read.  Sometimes the Executive Summary is the only thing the decision maker will read.  Your goal is to get in the door and a great Executive Summary is the key factor.

What is an Executive Summary?

The Executive Summary tells the reader where your company is, where you want to take it, and why your business idea will be successful. If you are seeking financing, the executive summary is also your first opportunity to grab a potential investor’s interest. 

The Executive Summary should highlight the strengths of your overall plan and therefore be the last section you write. However, it usually appears first in your business plan document.

Business Plan for Existing Businesses

Company Information

This section should include information about your business, the names of the founders and their roles, how long you have been in business, type of work you do, partnerships, number of employees and business location(s).

Highlights

This section should contain financial or marketing highlights, projected sales and profits, unit sales, profitability and keys to success.  This is a great place to put a colorful graph or chart to show sales, gross margin and profits.  Remember to follow each chart with an explanation of the numbers.

Product/ServicesDescribe your products and/or services.

Financial Information

A list of your current investors and your information about the relationship with your bank and possible credit references and/or trade partners would be important to mention here.

Future Plans

Where do you want to take your business?  What is the plan for the next three years?

Business Plan for Investors

Company Information

This section should include information about your business, the names of the founders and their roles, partnerships, patents or technology, and special marketing approaches. 

Problem

You must identify the problem that the investor will solve.

Solution

How do your product and/or service solve the problem?

Target Market

Explain who your ideal customer is.  It is not everyone but a specific group of people or businesses that need your product and/or service.

Competition

Who is your competition and why are you better?

Goals

What are the upcoming goals and how do you intend to achieve them?

Guidelines

1.      Should be two pages or less in length.

2.      Written in language appropriate for the target audience.

3.      Consist of short and concise paragraphs.

4.      Have a conclusion.

5.      Should be able to stand alone if the rest of the business plan or report is absent.

6.      Make readers want to read the whole business plan.  Be compelling.

7.      Write it after you have written everything else in your business plan.  This way you can summarize and explain your company.

Often an investor or business leader will make a decision to continue reading a business plan with the impression the executive summary gives.

References:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Executive_summary, http://www.sba.gov/content/business-plan-executive-summary, http://articles.bplans.com/writing-an-executive-summary/