Nevada Microenterprise Initiative How To Manage a Successful Small Business Anna Siefert, Operations Manager/WBC Project Director NMI 1600 E. Desert Inn Rd., Suite 203 Las Vegas, NV (702) October 2004

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative Managing a Business is Like… Building Your Own Pool

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 3 Being an Entrepreneur  Vision  Mission  Definable Measurable Goals  Ability to Identify and Take Calculated Risks  Passion About Your Business  Puzzle Solving Skills  Ability to Communicate with People

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 4 Vision  The ability to focus your business on success  The why  The who  The what

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 5 Mission  The driving force behind your business  The how  The where

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 6 Goals  Definable  Specific  Achievable  Measurable  When

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 7 Risk  Financial  Failure  What level of risk are you comfortable taking?  How can you lower the risk?

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 8 Passion  Personal Commitment  Family Commitment  Willing to make sacrifices  Ability to communicate your passion

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 9 Puzzles  Identify the pieces  Organize them  Group them  Put it all together

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 10 Communication  With your family  With your employees  With your Customers  With your suppliers  With your competition

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 11 Understanding Your Business  Products  Market  Team members  Financial situation and needs  Future

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative Why did you decide to develop this product? Where are you today? What is the product you sell? Why is it the best? How will it revolutionize the planet?

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative What is the driving force behind your business? Who are you going to serve and how? How are going to make this business a success? What is the action plan?

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 14 Market Description, Competition & Marketing Target market Demographics Competition Advertising Promotion Image Public Relations

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative Who is your primary, best, dream customer? What are the demographics of this customer? Where are you going to find them? How are you going to find them? Where are they spending their money now? Is it going to take re-training to get them to use their product? Is your product so advanced that the news media will want to do stories on your product? When will you be ready to go to market?

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative What materials do you need? What equipment do you need? How many people do you need? How will the manufacturing process work? How will you ensure quality? How will you test your product? How are you going to get the product to the customer? How much inventory will you need to keep on hand? Why is your manufacturing process the most efficient way to produce the product? Is it state of the art?

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative Where are you now? Who do you have working with you? What kind of talent do you need? What is everyone going to do? What are they going to get paid? Who reports to whom? Are there people outside (NOT ON PAYROLL) that you can go to for help? How is the investor going to get the percent of ownership that they require?

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 18 Finance  Financial Plan  Revenue Model  Financial Projections  Breakeven

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative Where are you now financially? Are you in the red? If I invest is it going to cost me money to get the company even? How much are the hard costs and soft costs going to be? When will the company break even? What will my return on investment be? When? What do the owners have invested in the company?

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 20 Keys to Success  Reduce Risk  Acquire Financing  Build Strong Business Structure  Create a Marketing Plan  Build Credibility  Increase Chances of Survival  Identify Problems  Clarify Business Needs  Identify Management Issues

Nevada Microenterprise Initiative 21 Questions?