Harvest Time...for Businesses!

In the early part of the 90's I had the pleasure of serving on a non profit board with a very knowledgeable woman, a principal in an esteemed feasibility analysis firm and a professor at a large well respected Philadelphia University. One of the classes she taught was socioeconomics. One day, she laid out a principal or theorem of sorts that was part of her curriculum called "harvest time." Harvesting crops equated to harvesting business dealings in this analogy, starting with the farmer preparing for the spring planting season in the heart of winter as many organize at New Years for business to follow, then working hard in spring to plant the seeds of success in whatever way to a summer of maintaining and nurturing while so many bankers and potential partners are on extending vacations. That is followed by a hard working fall to reap the benefits of your efforts.

In the mid-90's, I had the pleasure of meeting a professor at a NYC school, a former high level consultant to FEMA। It was that FEMA knowledge that resulted in her advise of the government's view of "harvest time" for projects of substance, those that took much planning and interaction of varied professionals, like financed or insured construction projects involving architects, engineers, zoning and state approvals on a larger scale, with operational and maybe legal issues in the mix. These are projects that take at 12-18 months, often more. From what she said, the government kept track of when these projects closed or came to fruition, like larger HUD transactions I worked on at the time, and over 40% closed in the two months right after Labor Day and just after election day, which is only 16.67% of the total time in the year for those keeping track.

Fall is the time to harvest complex business transactions, just like crops, it seemed. Like the farmer, we must work extra hard, ignore the aches and pains of long days in the spring, be diligent while not working as hard in the summer, and get our crops harvested before the cold weather. All other aspects of my life face a time crunch for awhile during the fall, justified to me (and perhaps you) to achieve, balanced by the expected quality time with love ones that will follow, including holidays after the crops and business are harvested.

Confidence versus Over Confidence

Success for a business, whether a startup or an established business that is expanding, is very often dependent on the delicate balance between confidence and over confidence. None can question that a positive attitude is an absolute necessity for success. This attitude starts at the top of an organization and with the right approach, such as a “we versus me” or a team approach, positive attitudes and confidence in a company and its products and services can permeate an organization.

Positive attitude and confidence must be based on viable and well thought out objectives and strategies. Too many entrepreneurs contact me with great ideas in weak, generic business plans because they believe so strongly in their venture. Yet, the business model or draft plans offer little or no supporting research as a foundation for those beliefs. Without marketing and competitive research that results in a targeted strategic marketing plan and revenue assumptions in a forecast that are supported, business plans are doomed to failure. So often, over confidence is the primary reason.

Many startups, let alone expanding companies, rely on a single individual or a small group that is over confident about the company’s success for the reasons mentioned above and more. How can this be counterbalanced? Often, this can be accomplished with consultants, a Board of Advisors and/or Board of Directors that provide insight and advice that turns statements borne of over confidence into a specific multi-dimensional action plan that inspires confidence in all, including investors.

Feel free to ask tim@thebusinessplanconsultants.com for a free consultation on your business or marketing plan.