It is very easy for many people outside
of an industry to really conceptualize the amount of work that goes into any
given product or business as a whole for that matter. When designing a new
video game, many companies develop game design documents (GDDs). The purpose of
such documents is essentially so that everyone within a given company is on the
same page and it also lessens any liabilities they may face. A business plan in
general is not much different when thinking of starting up something new for
yourself. Where the business plan differs is in its purpose usually lies in
acquiring funding. Funding for most business can virtually come from anywhere,
your family members, venture capitalist, angel investors, and even bank loans.
With the exception of family members, most require for you to show them some
sort of business plan or vision of where you would like your company to go and,
more importantly, what can they expect to gain in return for their investments.
I would like to share with you the views of a couple of professionals who are
more than used to seeing business plans within their daily lives.
Steve Blank
Mr. Blank was chosen for this post,
strictly because of his past involvement with Pixar, where he acted as a
consultant; and his creation of a video game company called ESL. Steve Blank is of the opinion that business
plans serve with better purpose companies who already have some sort of active
history. History where numbers and “knowns” as he calls it can be quantified
and evaluated. The true value in business plans for start-ups is in the
practice. Blank says that by taking time for someone to write out a business
plan without any of his “knowns” one at least has the benefit of looking at
their potential business through other angles. Another piece of advice Blank
gives his readers through his personal website is that the best thing many
start-ups can do when planning is to take into account your consumer and end user.
Take their thoughts and opinions into account when planning your products and
overall business.
Andrea Cockerton
As for the next expert we will focus
on, Andrea Cockerton is not only a successful
entrepreneur but also has worked in the past with tech giant Microsoft. The
best piece of advice we can take from Andrea is that she recommends for
businesses not to wait to run out of money before they start to look for
outside investment. She then furthermore goes into saying that there are three
things everyone should have checked off their list before going into a pitch.
Those things that must be included in a business plan are: 1) that the market
you are going into is growing, 2) that you have level of expertise and talent
working for you, 3) and finally, that your idea is unique in some way. She says
by having these three factors in a plan it will only make it that much harder
for any investor to turn you away.
All in all, no two businesses are ever identical,
and what may work for one does not necessarily mean it will work for the other.
As an entrepreneur you need to take into account your personal surroundings,
situations, and assets. Before you know what your business will be capable of,
you need to know what you, as a business owner will be capable of.
Understanding your limits, especially financially, will make you that much
better at strategizing and strengthening your business plan. You never know
where opportunities may pop up, especially if you
are in the game development business. As always, we love to hear from you, so
share your thoughts with us below.
