I know business plans aren’t in vogue. They’re not popular. Many of the startups that I talk to either don’t have one or laugh at the idea of writing one. They’ve read the Lean Startup, and all they’ve taken away from the book is “fuck planning, startups don’t need it” — which totally misses the entire point of it.
So when I ask them about their business, they’re vague. Vague, unfocused and messy. They don’t have their stories straight, or their products straight, or a clear vision for where the company is going. Each individual member of the team has a completely different concept in their heads.
A business plan isn’t necessarily what a VC firm are going to want to see — although trust me, they don’t hate them as much as startup scene kids think — but it is a pretty vital document for most young companies. Because creating a business plan puts everyone in tune.
I know the lean methodology, and it works extremely well for product development. In an ideal world, it would work for building a company in the exact same way. Unfortunately, a company is an organisation that does need something else to hold it together, because all it really is, is a loose collection of people who are vaguely aligned in a business sense.
That’s the purpose of a business plan, it’s to give everyone involved with a company a clear document that lets them know whether they’ve won or lost, grown or stagnated, met or missed their goals. A business plan doesn’t need to be complicated, and it could start out only being a few pages of clear language that expresses the following things:
Don’t stress about trying to churn out an overblown, old-school-MBA business plan that takes up 60 pages and has a complete appendix. In fact, I would try to keep your plan as short and sweet as possible. When I write a business plan, if I can’t express the whole thing in less than 10 pages, that’s my first hint that the business is too fucking complicated, or I don’t understand enough about it.
When you first write it, your founding team should all be involved. This is your chance to hash out the differences and discover whether anyone is out of sync. You can analyse their points of view, and work to define what your startup is trying to achieve in terms of product development, growth, business model and culture. Your business plan is the working blueprint that you’re going to be using to create a company together, and it’s important that everyone on the founding team has a say in it.
I think a startup team should come together to work on a business plan as a regular, on-going activity. It’s not a document that gets finished and thrown away, it should be something that is looked at and worked through on a monthly basis. That kind of activity will make sure you don’t veer off course or lose focus, and it will prevent anyone from your team from losing track of what they should be doing and what their role is in the company.
Once your document has reached its first draft stage, in that it hits all the right points and includes all the necessary information, make it the focus of a monthly session where you set aside a strict 30 time limit to walk through the document and ask the following questions:
I think there’s something dangerous about completely rejecting traditional parts of business planning and operations. There are founders out there who have read all the current books, and are up to date with the latest ideas in startups, but they don’t know the basics of business.
Call me crazy, but I don’t have a lot of faith in those entrepreneurs. They’ve forgotten that a startup is a business, and it needs the same amount of groundwork. Rejecting a business plan, the concept of it, because it’s not in vogue is a short sighted thing to do.
You might call me out on this, and maybe you’ve got the years of strategy experience to tell me I’m wrong. But most younger entrepreneurs, starting out with their first company, don’t have that knowledge. They’re fumbling blind, and they don’t know the ropes.
For them, a business plan is going to be a crucial document, because writing it and analyzing it is going to keep them moving forward, with a clearer idea of what their company is, what it’s not, and what they want it to be.
Jon Westenberg has appeared and published in Business Insider, Inc.com, TIME and dozens of other publications, talking about startup entrepreneurship, writing and innovation. Jon has helped hundreds of businesses worldwide grow their audience and take control of their future. Jon is an investor, an entrepreneur and a dreamer.
Drop me an email: jon@jonwestenberg.com
You can also find me on Insty: https://www.instagram.com/jonwestenberg/
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XTL Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. announced it accepted an invitation to join Lupus Foundation of America (LFA)’s Corporate Advisory Council (CAC).
XTL is a clinical-stage biotech dedicated to developing pharmaceutical products to treat autoimmune diseases such as lupus. The biotech’s lead drug candidate, hCDR1, is a top-quality clinical asset for the treatment of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The drug hCDR1 has comprehensive clinical data in three trials of over 400 patients which showed the novel compound has a favorable safety profile, is well-tolerated by patients and is efficient in several clinically meaningful endpoints. The company expects to initiate a Phase 2 clinical trial of hCDR1 in 2016.
“We are very pleased to accept the Lupus Foundation of America’s invitation to join its Corporate Advisory Council and work with our co-members in an effort to advance effective treatments for systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), which continues to represent a significant unmet medical need,” XTL’s CEO, Josh Levine, said in a press release. “We look forward to an exchange of industry-advancing ideas with colleagues and sharing our development experience with our lead asset, hCDR1.”
“Having recently received encouraging feedback from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on our pre-investigational new drug [IND] meeting package for hCDR1 in the treatment of SLE, we expect to file the IND shortly and initiate the Phase 2 study in the second half of 2016,” Levine said.
The LFA-CAC is a partnership of biotech and biopharma industry representatives established by the LFA to accelerate the development of an arsenal of treatments for lupus and getting them to the people who need it the most.
“We welcome XTL Biopharmaceuticals as a new member of our Corporate Advisory Council,” LFA President and CEO Sandra C. Raymond said. “XTL joins our global network of lupus scientists, physicians, industry leaders and people with lupus to help improve how new drugs are tested and evaluated so we can deliver more targeted and safer treatments to people with lupus faster. We are pleased to see the re-emergence of research on the drug candidate, hCDR1 (edratide), as a potential new treatment for lupus under XTL.”
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Minimum 100 cards per order. Custom sizes and bulk pricing available. The wood product range is not limited to just business cards. Other sizes and shapes are available including wedding invites, signs, hangtags, and more. These products are perfect for anyone who wants to combine an all natural style with a touch of class. Typical turn around time is 7-10 business days, usually faster if we have all the material in stock. We currently offer three different materials – plastic business cards, metal business cards, and wood business cards.
Over the years I have discovered that the KISS method of marketing has always allowed me to make more money than anything which has been extremely complicated. This website is a great example of that. When I first started it, I had a grandiose plan which encompassed way to many things. Eventually I learned that all I was doing was making things so complicated that there was no way it would be profitable.
Now, by using the KISS Method (Keep it Simple Stupid), I have found that not only is my business easier to run, but it is far more efficient than it has ever been.
In fact, at once point I was going to abandon this website and the ideas behind it, but now I am moving forward with it. I have a clear and simple vision for it which will not only help me, but also help those who visit and join.
By now you are asking yourself: What does this have to do with switching from Convertkit from Active Campaign? It has everything to do with it. Here's why.
First and foremost I have to say I love ActiveCampaign and I still have an account with them. The problem is, the feature set which allowed me to create complex email automations based on user behavior was great, but the processes which allowed me to create email content were not.
I found it was taking me tons of time to create a single email and when I wanted to create an email sequence of any kind, it took forever. It just wasn't what I liked or wanted, so I began to search around for something which had a lot of the same power that ActiveCampaign has, but without the complexity.
Fast forward to July 2016. I was looking through a recommended reading list I put together back in September 2015 and was getting ready to delete it when I saw an old blog post from my favorite WordPress Theme company Thrive Themes. They had posted an article and video showing off their new integration for Convertkit with Thrive Leads. I clicked on the link and ultimately decided to take a look at this new service I had heard a little about, yet didn't really know anything about.
After watching several videos I was taken in by their main marketing message. Email Marketing for Professional Bloggers. But not only that, I was taken in by the "why" in their message. They said they wanted to create something "simple" yet elegant and powerful.
Simple.
With this in mind I decided it was time to take a deeper look. I wanted to see if their version of simple and powerful met my needs and more importantly; allowed me to improve my productivity and streamline my business systems and processes.
Here is what I found.
ActiveCampaign integrates with everything. Their API is fantastic and I never had a single issue with getting new subscribers. In fact, using an Exit Pop on my viral sites via Thrive Leads and AC I average over 50 new leads per day per site.
How does Convertkit do after testing? The integration has worked seamlessly for me. In fact, not only does ConvertKit work with Thrive Leads just like AC does. It integrates with WordPress and quite a few of my other favorite tools as well.
Here are a few of their current integrations:
Being able to add new Subscribers via multiple different tools and services is an important feature for me. That being said, one of the things which really pulled me into Convertkit was the fact you can have Subscribers added multiple ways (Forms, Sequences, Tags, Purchases, Link Clicks, etc.).
More importantly though, these Subscribers are only added to your account once. So many services charge you for how many people are on each list you have, but in Convertkit there are no lists. You simply segment your Subscribers based on criteria you set.
Thrive Leads Shortcode could not be rendered, please check it in Thrive Leads Section!
What does this mean?
It means that when you add a new Subscriber after they download a free ebook from you, the same Subscriber can make a purchase later and still only be added to your account once. Then when you want to send out an email sequence or broadcast, you simply select the Trigger or Segment for whom should receive your email.
The amount of Automation Rules for sending emails is incredible and with this you can also simply create segments of Subscribers for sending email sequences or single newsletter type broadcasts.
You can create even more complex segments in ActiveCampaign, but remember my reason for looking at Convertkit was simplicity. I wanted to simplify my systems and processes and once you see how this all works together seamlessly inside Convertkit you will agree it is very simple and easy to use.
As I said in the beginning though, my main frustration with ActiveCampaign has been how long it takes me to create and write an email. If you haven't done this in AC, then you don't know how truly cumbersome it is. AC uses a modular system to build out Newsletters and it isn't easy to simply create a text type email at all.
What's even worse is that while AC thrives on being able to create complex automations for different actions based on user behavior, it can be quite timely to create an email sequence of any kind. It took me an hour and a half to put together a 4-email follow-up sequence for my grilling recipes site.
I was able to do the same type of email sequence in Convertkit in half the time. But even more so than being an efficient setup and system in Converkit, it is laid out so you can ensure all your emails flow together and make sense. They are all laid out in front of you in a very intuitive manner. Subjects and timelines are shown on the left and the actual email is on the right. The email Preview functions are fantastic as well. It is nice being able to see how things will look before you hit the send button.
Take a look: (*Courses are now called Sequences)
Single email blasts are just as easy and you can either create a new segment to send to or send to people you've Tagged, subscribed through a specific Form on your site, Purchased a product from you, downloaded an ebook, or a combination of all or none of these. The bonus is everything is simple and easy to use. I can send an email quickly and get instant feedback and reporting from Convertkit's awesome reporting features.
I'm sure you can tell by now that I am very happy with Convertkit. It might not have all the bells and whistles of ActiveCampaign, but for what it lacks in complexity, it makes up for in being highly efficient. Any tool which allows me to conduct my email marketing faster and better is a tool I need to use and promote to my followers.
So, if you are not happy with what you are using or if you are in the market for a simple, yet powerful email marketing service, I highly recommend Convertkit.
What if I told you that you can put yourself in a better position to succeed by simply sharing your time, either once a week or once a month, with other like-minded and motivated individuals?
Successful individuals such as Benjamin Franklin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, all met with groups of like-minded people on a regular basis, to help one another achieve common goals and grow. Today, this is called a “mastermind”, first coined by Napoleon Hill in 1925. In this article, I'm going to go over what a mastermind group is, how it can benefit you and your business, and how to form one, step-by-step.
Thomas Edison (left) and Henry Ford (right)
A mastermind is a peer-mentoring group of individuals who meet on a regular basis (in-person or virtually) to push each other to work to their highest potential and hold each other accountable. Many successful entrepreneurs today, from Bill Gates to Pat Flynn, use masterminds to help grow their business and work on their personal development.
Jim Rohn, author and motivational speaker, tells us that we are the average of the five people we spend the most time with. Are the people you spend the most time with helping you with your personal development and business’ growth? This is where participating in and being a part of a mastermind group can improve that.
Accountability: The first reason I recommend any entrepreneur join a mastermind group is because the people in that group will keep you accountable.
Every week, in my mastermind group, we ask each member how their business is progressing and if they followed through on what they planned to do last week.
I never want to let the individuals in my group down, so when I say to the members in my group that I am going to do something, you can bet I wind up doing it to tell them about it the next time we meet.
Feedback: A mastermind group will give you feedback from people who are trying to build a business just like you. They have a special insight and mindset that is hard to find. Other like-minded entrepreneurs will tell you what’s wrong or right about your ideas with no bias. They are not your customers and they are not your competitors.
The people in your group can be your best source of advice at times when you’re unsure where to turn to. The members in my group have a very unique yet relevant perspective. This makes for some amazing feedback that has helped me tremendously when it comes to what direction to go in and what next steps to take for my business.
Collaboration: Not only does your mastermind group allow you collaborate on ideas but you can help people or get people in your group to help you with projects or tasks. While this isn’t the main function of a peer-mentoring group, as a result of meeting with other talented entrepreneurs on a regular basis, you might find opportunities to work with other members in your group.
There’s also an opportunity for you to cross-promote with other members in your group. Everyone in your group will likely be using social media and maybe even have a blog. In my mastermind, I’ve promoted their content on my Twitter account in exchange for being featured and interviewed on their blog.
Network: This is also a great way to network. You might connect with people, who know other people, that might be able to help you out or that you might be able to help out. The more you expand your network, the more doors open up for you.
Having connections and knowing people who might know people in various industries can come in handy when you least expect it.
Resourceful: The members in your group will likely be very diversified with many different specialties and areas of knowledge. Maybe you’re someone with a lot of knowledge in marketing but you need help with design. If there’s another member in your group that has a design background, you can help them with marketing while they help you with design.
The blending of different backgrounds, skills and knowledge creates a fantastic environment for you to learn, play off of your strengths and correct your weaknesses. I’ve learned a lot from the members of my mastermind group about topics I previously had no knowledge about. There will always be something unique that you can bring to your mastermind group and that others will bring that will be of value to you and the rest of the group.
Support: Besides being a support group to encourage you and keep you going when you encounter hard times in your business, your mastermind can be a place where members can get their questions answered and solutions to their problems.
Every week in my mastermind, someone is blown away by the quality of help and solutions they receive to their problems. It never ceases to amaze me how creative we can get, as a group, to tackle someone’s issues in that meeting.
To give you an idea of what a mastermind looks like, here’s what mine looks like:
Every Tuesday night, I meet with three other online entrepreneurs. We meet using Google Hangouts, which is a free video call/chat software that is easy to use.
Once we all get on, we begin with a round-table style discussion. Each person has the chance to give everyone else an update on their business, their challenges and wins since the last meeting.
After everyone gets the opportunity to update the group, we usually feature or “hot seat” someone every meeting. This person gets the opportunity to go deeper with their challenges, and they also get a chance to get feedback from the group. Every meeting, the featured person changes. Sometimes, someone is featured simply because they might need the most help at that time. Most of the time however, everyone has a shot to be in the hot seat.
Sometimes the mastermind meeting will be more informal than this, and we just discuss our businesses as a group. Some of my best takeaways came when our sessions were informal and didn’t follow a structure.
These sessions usually don’t go on for more than an hour and they are extremely beneficial and a great investment of my time, every meeting.
The first thing you need to do is go where people like yourself congregate. If you’re an ecommerce entrepreneur, you don’t need to strictly look for other ecommerce entrepreneurs, instead look for other motivated entrepreneurs in any industry.
I recommend first starting with Meetup.com if you’re interested in meeting up with other entrepreneurs in person. Meetup.com has many groups of local entrepreneurs looking to connect that you can easily join for free. If you can’t find one, consider starting your own.
If you’re more interested in an online mastermind, I would recommend going to forums and Facebook groups for online entrepreneurs and ecommerce entrepreneurs.
You will probably have to take the initiative in these groups and ask if anyone else is interested in forming a mastermind with you. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there.
As long as you don’t make it all about you and you are genuine in wanting to create a peer-mentoring group where entrepreneurs can help one another and grow together, people will be interested. Here’s a script similar to what I used when I was looking for other people to form a mastermind with me.
My name is Corey, I’m an entrepreneur and CEO of X. I’m interested in starting a mastermind, aka peer-mentoring group, with a few other motivated and ambitious entrepreneurs. You don’t need to be extremely knowledgeable or very successful. I’m just looking to meet with other entrepreneurs on a weekly basis, on Google Hangouts, where we can help one another and grow together. If you’re a positive person and serious about your business, I’d love to have you be a part of my mastermind group.
[a section talking about what you bring to the table, your specialities, skills and experience.]
If you’re interested, give me a little background on yourself, what you’d like to get out of this mastermind group, and what you think you can contribute and I’ll contact you!
From here, you will want to contact the interested individuals you think you would get along with and make a good fit for your group. It’s a good idea to vet everyone that is interested to first, ensure that they’re serious about joining the group, and second, to see if their goals and values align with yours and the rest of the group’s.
Once you get everyone’s emails, send out a spreadsheet, using Google Docs, to quickly determine everyone’s availability. Use this spreadsheet template to help you see what everyone’s availability is. You ideally want to have a weekly or monthly meeting at the same time and day every week to make it easy for everyone.
Once you see an alignment and a date and time that works for everyone, it’s time to contact all your members and schedule the first mastermind session.
You should let your new group know what the structure will be like for the very first meeting. You’re all strangers and there might be some members who are nervous, so let them know what to expect to ease their anxiety.
Make it clear that the first meeting will be very informal and casual. Everyone should get an opportunity to introduce themselves, talk about their business and what they hope to get out of this mastermind group.
In the beginning, at least for the first several meetings, follow a format or keep to a structure for the meetings until there’s a lot of chemistry in the group.
Use software like Google Hangouts. Skype and Zoom are good alternatives as well. It’s best to ask your group, when you first send out the scheduling spreadsheet, what software they use or prefer.
It’s a good idea to try and find someone who is experienced and has run or participated in masterminds before (or even is already in one) to make your sessions run smoother since they can take the lead for those first few (potentially awkward) meetings.
While there’s no ideal number of members for your group, try to keep it relatively small. In my experience, a group size of 4-6 people works best. With too many members, the meetings might be too long and there might not be enough time for people to get an equal opportunity to share and get value.
Now it’s your turn. You will need to take the initiative. You will need to put yourself out there and find the right people.
If you don’t know where to start looking, leave a comment below and let everyone else know you’re looking to join a mastermind! Who knows, you might find the group of people who will help your business grow as well as help theirs. If you have any questions and feedback about masterminds, be sure to let me know in the comments below as well.
Corey Ferreira is a passionate entrepreneur, coconut water lover and content creator at Shopify.
