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b"When you\\u2019re a business owner, the most important thing you can do before anything else is making sure that all of your metaphorical ducks are in a row. It requires a lot of planning, teamwork, and relationship building between you, the owner, and your staff to really make sure that everything is in place to run smoothly and successfully before things start to take off and gain traction. However, it\\u2019s surprising how hard that can be for some people\\u2014it\\u2019s about not knowing where to start with their business plan, and being unsure of the right way to get themselves settled before they\\u2019re spending money they don\\u2019t have.
That\\u2019s where David Brown comes in. Better known as the Business Plan Answer Man, David Brown is a professional business planner who helps entrepreneurs and small business owners create business plans based on methods he\\u2019s used in the past. By side skirting around the trial and error process, David brings people success by helping them build a solid foundation, and today, he shares some of that amazing wisdom with us. Let\\u2019s get started!
IN THIS EPISODE YOU WILL LEARN:

How David got started in this business! He\\u2019d been working for an insurance company for years, and an assignment that involved the employees to write up a business plan had a few people in a frenzy. Going to David for help, their issues were quickly resolved, and after telling him that he should do it professionally, he took their advice and took a leap! Now, David works as a business plan professional, walking people through the process and telling them how to make the best business plan.
David explains the hardest part for most people when it comes to business plans, stating that they don\\u2019t know where they need to start when it comes to crafting one. David\\u2019s been in that position, so he knows how to steer people in the right direction, and understands that sometimes, doing a copious amount of research harms rather than helps. Since writing his first book\\u2014From the Bottom Up The Ultimate Guide for Business Planning to Profitability\\u2014David has learned more about the process, and is working on releasing the second edition very soon!
David explains his process a bit, stating that a business plan starts with the key components\\u2014a mission, and a vision. You want to know what your values are, who\\u2019s on your team, who is your management, and who are your advisors. On the other side, you also want to look at your marketing to see if you have a viable product. In this process, you\\u2019re figuring out who your market is, and who your ideal customer is.
David also explains that you need a plan to market your business (because the people helping you want to know how they\\u2019ll get paid back), and you need a 3-year projection of your financials to see how you can turn a profit and be successful. It's about asking yourself what kind of money has to be spent at a minimum for you to do your business.
David then goes onto explain that it\\u2019s important to share this information with his staff in order to get proper input and feedback and build something together. You need to know the number of the product you need to sell in order to put the key in the lock, so to speak, and you can\\u2019t throw money at Facebook and SEO until you have that number. So, you need to use this plan to guide you through the weeks, and you need to share this plan in order to have something to keep the business moving forward.
David explains that he usually updates his business plan every year unless there\\u2019s a need for major changes. The more work they do, the more changes they make, and most of the time it\\u2019s minor adjustments (changing marketing base, changing directions, building up a referral base, etc.).
David also explains the importance of looking at who your ideal ..."