(Preface: This was a good day. I got to share a little Excel spreadsheet with a lovely and interested person which I devised to help myself with business planning. I am noting that I am incredibly fortunate to be my mother's caregiver, which gives me the opportunity to plan a business in the first place.
And OK, so sometimes my good fortune feels more like a handout.
And now for added complexity, here is a memory download from 1972 using a French accent: "NO, I don't believe a 12 year-old needs any more than two pairs of shoes" she said when I asked for a little mall money.....)
Business planning is a function of TIME, NEED, RESOUCES, PRODUCT, and VISION.
Erica's rule: There should always be two or three business plans floating around.
1) The Grand Vision Business Plan - This is the one you really want to happen.
2) The Scaled Down Business Plan - This is the one you believe maybe will happen.
3) The Actual Business Plan.
Time: This refers to how much time one actually has or in fact proves she will invest in the plan. If I change nothing, I have 31.8 hours a month (based on the 7-day work week and including insomnia) to invest of focused time. If I add more household employee hours, I can bump that number up. (Household employee? who am I kidding?) Or, if I work hard at it for a couple more years, maybe I can retrain these people to take care of themselves. (Who am I kidding?)
Needs: How much do I need to make? Well, for me right now, I don't need to make much. But if tomorrow I lose Mom's income, I'm in deep doo doo. So I'm preparing.
Resources: Do I borrow from my retirement? NO! (I always feel a little guilty when I say that, cause I've already spent my retirement --- #1 mistake I tell all my clients about.) (I do have another financial legacy for which I am very grateful and which was the result of an untimely death which was no fault of mine.) I could ask for a loan from Mom? I can talk her into anything. But is that really ethical? So, regarding resources, I need to do whatever it is I plan on a shoestring.
Product: Now here I'm feeling much much better. I know somethin' about QuickBooks. Seriously I do. And I can hold anybody's hand through a financial statement. And frankly, I'm on a mission. I want to turn everybody on to the importance of understanding financial statements. They’re not that hard. But they are super empowering. And I believe I'm here to do that. Whenever, in the past, people would say "You gotta find your passion, yatta, yatta," I didn't really believe that meant me. But it did.
AND, the Nurtured Heart Approach® is an amazing tool that's having a huge influence on my mission.
VISION: I need to work on this one. And I am.
I thankfully have gotten over the desire to be rich quick. Or at all.
I've been "invested" in several multi-level marketing programs in my career history - beginning with Jafra cosmetics, Super Blue-green Algae, Carlton Sheets Real Estate Program, something like Amway but I can't recall the name, Pre-paid Legal Services (great idea for some people I'm sure but then 9/11 happened...), and also Avatar (that was the best of all -- a multi-level marketing enlightenment program.)...
But that's not how I got over the desire to be rich without really knowing what the hell I was doing...I've gotten over it by other means (at least I really hope so). Cause talk about a drag. Sheesh.
MY VISION is to help others and to suffer as least as possible while trying.
Hey, I like that.
(Today, I help Mom, mostly, and I raise my kids which helps them and me and their Dad. Tomorrow, my vision may be helping others...and getting paid well for it...cause Lord knows I done tried and tried to figure out something to give peoples that's worth a dime or two.)
So, I made an Excel spreadsheet and if you want to see it, call me or email me.
It's real simple. It will let you plug in your desired income...then see it miraculously calculate itself to show your needed income by week and month.
AND, you can figure out your various streams of income and attempt to puzzle out how much you need to make by service to come up with your yearly, weekly or monthly income need.
Want it? huh? huh? It's free. I'd LOVE to send it to you. FOR FREE! Whoever you are, that inlcudes you, you freakin' spammer!
Ok, that's it. Thanks so much for visiting. :)
Love, Erica
And OK, so sometimes my good fortune feels more like a handout.
And now for added complexity, here is a memory download from 1972 using a French accent: "NO, I don't believe a 12 year-old needs any more than two pairs of shoes" she said when I asked for a little mall money.....)
Business planning is a function of TIME, NEED, RESOUCES, PRODUCT, and VISION.
Erica's rule: There should always be two or three business plans floating around.
1) The Grand Vision Business Plan - This is the one you really want to happen.
2) The Scaled Down Business Plan - This is the one you believe maybe will happen.
3) The Actual Business Plan.
Time: This refers to how much time one actually has or in fact proves she will invest in the plan. If I change nothing, I have 31.8 hours a month (based on the 7-day work week and including insomnia) to invest of focused time. If I add more household employee hours, I can bump that number up. (Household employee? who am I kidding?) Or, if I work hard at it for a couple more years, maybe I can retrain these people to take care of themselves. (Who am I kidding?)
Needs: How much do I need to make? Well, for me right now, I don't need to make much. But if tomorrow I lose Mom's income, I'm in deep doo doo. So I'm preparing.
Resources: Do I borrow from my retirement? NO! (I always feel a little guilty when I say that, cause I've already spent my retirement --- #1 mistake I tell all my clients about.) (I do have another financial legacy for which I am very grateful and which was the result of an untimely death which was no fault of mine.) I could ask for a loan from Mom? I can talk her into anything. But is that really ethical? So, regarding resources, I need to do whatever it is I plan on a shoestring.
Product: Now here I'm feeling much much better. I know somethin' about QuickBooks. Seriously I do. And I can hold anybody's hand through a financial statement. And frankly, I'm on a mission. I want to turn everybody on to the importance of understanding financial statements. They’re not that hard. But they are super empowering. And I believe I'm here to do that. Whenever, in the past, people would say "You gotta find your passion, yatta, yatta," I didn't really believe that meant me. But it did.
AND, the Nurtured Heart Approach® is an amazing tool that's having a huge influence on my mission.
VISION: I need to work on this one. And I am.
I thankfully have gotten over the desire to be rich quick. Or at all.
I've been "invested" in several multi-level marketing programs in my career history - beginning with Jafra cosmetics, Super Blue-green Algae, Carlton Sheets Real Estate Program, something like Amway but I can't recall the name, Pre-paid Legal Services (great idea for some people I'm sure but then 9/11 happened...), and also Avatar (that was the best of all -- a multi-level marketing enlightenment program.)...
But that's not how I got over the desire to be rich without really knowing what the hell I was doing...I've gotten over it by other means (at least I really hope so). Cause talk about a drag. Sheesh.
MY VISION is to help others and to suffer as least as possible while trying.
Hey, I like that.
(Today, I help Mom, mostly, and I raise my kids which helps them and me and their Dad. Tomorrow, my vision may be helping others...and getting paid well for it...cause Lord knows I done tried and tried to figure out something to give peoples that's worth a dime or two.)
So, I made an Excel spreadsheet and if you want to see it, call me or email me.
It's real simple. It will let you plug in your desired income...then see it miraculously calculate itself to show your needed income by week and month.
AND, you can figure out your various streams of income and attempt to puzzle out how much you need to make by service to come up with your yearly, weekly or monthly income need.
Want it? huh? huh? It's free. I'd LOVE to send it to you. FOR FREE! Whoever you are, that inlcudes you, you freakin' spammer!
Ok, that's it. Thanks so much for visiting. :)
Love, Erica