Can’t Know It All

I have met so many amazing and brilliant people, from lawyers to accountants or inventors, with amazing ideas, concepts, products and services that do not translate to great business plans. No matter how smart, we can't know about all of the aspects of what makes a business successful. That is why I rely on my team and many second opinions (ok, many second opinions is an oxymoron of sorts!) of experts in various fields (and lots of investors) and through the years I have gotten smarter...but never too smart to know I don't know enough to get a consensus opinion when needed.

Ego is the alley of a closed mind, yet an open mind is the key alliance to a winning business plan or achieving worthy goals. When your service or product becomes your baby or you venture outside your expertise on even one aspect of a business plan (like market analysis or a team that isn't deep enough for your business goals as two common items), the typical open mind becomes closed.

So many go down one incomplete road only to awaken to the missing pieces of their business plan as investors close door after door. Some have the time and capital for major plan re-writes that result from the trial and error of an incomplete plan by a consultant that sold them short, or a template or software used that misses the custom and expanded sections that are a must for success.

Time is money, and extra money and time spent well up front can avoid delays and much higher costs on plans and studies when driven by an open-minded team approach.