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Plan today to generate profits tomorrow
By Ted Albenesius
SCORE Card
A business plan is an indispensable management and operating tool for using your time, capital and energy most effectively. This plan of action for building a successful small business examines the environment in which you expect your business to operate, including potential problems, cyclical trends and opportunities.
If you plan to seek financing, it is all but certain that a lender will require a business plan as part of your loan application.
Putting your objectives in writing as you build a business plan also forces you to think realistically about sales, expenses and short- and long-term goals. The more specific and measurable they are, the better.
A complete business plan should identify: target customers and how you will attract them; timelines for adding staff and infrastructure; approaches to differentiating your products and services from those of your competitors; and a host of other considerations. Ideally, it will show anyone who sees it that you have done your industry research.
Every business plan starts with a cover page containing your contact information, which is vital to loan officers and any other financial backers, and a warning that the document contains private information.
In 2002, a 20-something college dropout called upon the Charleston chapter of the Service Corps of Retired Executives to discuss a barbering college concept that, after five years and a lot of hard work, is now a reality.
Rodrick Samuels always wanted to become a barber. Barbering was in his blood since his grandfather earned his living practicing the profession. He started college as an education major, but dropped out to earn his barber’s license before becoming an instructor at the Academy of Cosmetology in North Charleston.
At our first meeting at his office in Oak Ridge Plaza in North Charleston, it was apparent to me that this young man had a vision, great personal resources and the drive to follow his dream of owning and operating his own barber college, which he named Profile Business Institute LLC.
In order to test the waters, Samuels called on SCORE in January 2002. He met with counselor Greg Kopatch to help him explore the possibility of turning his dream for Profile Business Institute into a reality. Later a second counselor, Steve Simmons, joined Kopatch to assist Samuels in editing and expanding his business plan.
“Focused and steady has been the motto for Profile Barber Institute since Rodrick Samuels visualized his business concept more than five years ago,” Kopatch said.
Understanding that the success of any business depends largely upon the owner’s attitude and skills, I was impressed by Samuels’ open-minded and honest approach about a range of issues, from industry knowledge to his financial status to the personal qualities that he could bring to the business.
Of particular interest was his self-confidence, his judgment and the personal sacrifice he was willing to undertake. Through his relationship with SCORE, he began to really understand that the physical and emotional demands of starting a business should not be underestimated and is a life-changing event that will require hard work and long hours, especially in the early stages.
We embarked on a journey that addressed many areas, from core business skills assessment to the personal demands of setting up a new business to the funding requirements that setup would require.
Dennis Quick, the Business Journal’s senior staff writer, wrote about Samuels’ journey in this newspaper in April 2006, saying: “With his business plan in hand, Samuels sought a loan. After getting turned down by four banks, Samuels turned to the Charleston Citywide Local Development Corp., a nonprofit economic development organization that lends money to small businesses by obtaining funds from the U.S. Small Business Administration.”
After several attempts, Samuels finally received a $50,000 startup loan from the LDC. He signed a five-year lease with Retail Properties Inc. for a 4,000-square-foot space in North Charleston’s Oak Ridge Plaza.
Samuels has learned financial management, people management, business planning and marketing and selling skills on his journey to the launch of South Carolina’s first nationally certified barbering college, which offers clinical, classroom and on-line curriculums.
To differentiate it further and to provide the most help to his students, Samuels has emphasized everything from tuition assistance programs to outplacement counseling for graduates.
If you are starting your own business in the greater Charleston area, call on SCORE. Our services are free and confidential.
Counseling hours are from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. five days a week at our office in the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce Building at 2750 Speissegger Drive in North Charleston. No appointment is necessary.
Ted Albenesius is a retired Charleston businessman and past chairman of the local SCORE chapter. The Charleston SCORE chapter can be contacted at (843) 727-4778 or www.score285.org.
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