Expert Advice

Maureen Burke and Andrea Cockerton are two women who know a lot about developing a professional business plan.  As I come to the end of my Business Plan Development course, I have decided to do further research on these two women and try to discover any other helpful advice that I can apply to the plan.

Maureen Burke believes that the executive summary is the most important portion of the business plan, and I agree.  The executive summary is the section that briefly describes the who, what, when, where, and why of a company.  This section is also the first element that a potential investor will read.  This sets the tone for the rest of your business plan.  After researching Maureen, I realized that my executive summary needed a lot of work, especially the market analysis. I developed the market analysis portion about six months ago.  It is time to conduct a new analysis and update this information. 

In November of 2012, Andrea Cockerton participated as a speaker at the Swiss Mobicamp event.  This event is dedicated to helping the attendees understand, navigate and prosper in the entrepreneurial world.  Cockerton’s workshop was entitled “Life’s A Pitch”.  During this presentation she discussed how important it is to understand what investors want and how to deliver that in your pitch.  Many pitches are badly planned, the message is buried, or the thinking is flawed.  She goes on to explain that tone should not describe, it should persuade. 

Even though Andrea is speaking about pitching and not so much the business plan, her advice is important for business plan development as well.  I believe the tone of a business play should be persuasive.  As I am putting the final touches on my business plan, I will incorporate this persuasive tone.

I am very excited to be close to having the entire plan complete, however, I still have a long way to go.  My research on Burke and Cockerton has definitely left me with a few helpful tips that I must incorporate into my business plan to make it better.  

Expert's Spotlight

Maureen Burke has over 30 years of finance and entrepreneurship experience. 

Her career began on Wall Street as an underwriter and trader.  Several years later, she began working on her MBA in finance from Yale.  Since graduating, she has been advising entrepreneurs with technology-based companies.  Maureen is currently a lecturer at Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.  She also is an advisor to the Yale Entrepreneurship Society’s Y50K business plan competition. 

In her 2008 lecture, How to Write a Business Plan, she discusses how essential a business plan is and the elements that make it great.  She says that 75% of business plans are “bad”.  They are either badly written or missing vital information.  She goes on to discuss the essential elements of a business plan and how to structure them. 

The most enlightening part of this lecture, for me, was her discussion on the Executive Summary portion of the business plan.  Burke believes this is one of the most important elements.  The executive summary is an investors first impression of a company.  If this portion is not up to par, investors may not read any further. This summary should discuss your company, what you do, the experience of management, marketing opportunity, and your strengths and weaknesses.  It is important that you convey what makes your business unique in the executive summary as well.  This will spark the interest of potential investors.  

Burke ends her lecture briefly discussing how important it is to do your research.  She advises entrepreneurs to only include information that is credible and can be proved.  

The NewWomen Magazine

Andrea Cockerton is the founder of the company Mudhut Consulting, located in United Kingdom.  Much like Maureen, Andrea works as a consultant, assisting and guiding entrepreneurs as they develop their business plan and lauch successful companies.  In an article with The NextWomen magazine, Cockerton discussed funding and pitching a new business.  This article was very informative, especially her discussion on the most important elements of a pitch.  Cockerton explains that all pitches should mention that the business is “targeting a growing market with a need for your product or service, that the team is talented and able to execute the business plan, and that your product, service or idea is groundbreaking”. 

As I continue to develop my business plan, I am excited to research more of their lectures and articles.  Andrea gives a lot of great tips for women wanting to successfully launch a company, while Maureen works with college students on a daily basis.  I am both a woman and a student, so I think these would be two experts that I could learn a lot from. 

NBC's 'Smash': Make a Musical is a Success

NBC, iTheatrics, and Lowe’s have partnered up to help needy schools in the U.S. make advancements to their musical theater programs through the “NBC’s ‘Smash’:Make a Musical constructed by Lowe’s” initiative.  In January of last year, The program started with a pilot group of 20 schools located in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Los Angeles, Houston, Nashville, and Seattle. 

After the success of the pilot schools, the program officially launched February 19^th, 2013.  Schools from all over the country applied to be apart of this amazing initiative.  The program awards funding to five high schools in need of major improvement to their theater program and productions. 

More than 1,800 public and charter schools across the country applied for the “Make a Musical” program.  In March, the competition was narrowed down to 30 schools based on criteria including the need of improvement to performance space, a demonstrated use of the performance space for arts programming, and a plan for making improvements to the theater.  Once the 30 finalists were announced, the competition was taken online.  Each of the schools in the finals competed to receive the most online votes.  The five schools that received the most votes would be deemed the winners.  

In April, the winning high schools for the “Make a Musical” program were announced. One of the winning schools was East Rockaway High School, a school that endured devastating damages during Hurricane Sandy.  Their auditorium was exposed to over four feet of water, destroying their theater.  The damages amounted to around $10 million.

Since the winners have been announced, NBC’s “Smash” Make A Musical has been making great improvments in these high schools.  Each school received a $3,000 gift card to Lowes, theatrical donations, and professional reconstruction.  They are also giving educators and students the tools and training they need to have a successful theater program. The program was awarded a Thalo Critic’s Choice Inspiration Award in 2012 and iTheatrics has gone on to produce 170 “Make a Musical” programs in schools in the U.S. They are responsible for creating thirty additional theater programs across the country and expect next year's efforts to be bigger and better.

  

Video Courtesy of YouTube.com :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czp0LA_3xRg

RIP CORY MONTEITH

The world is saddened by the sudden death of Cory Monteith.  The Canadian actor/singer was found dead in his Vancouver hotel room on Saturday, July 13^th. The cause of death has yet to be released.  Monteith passed away at the young age of 31.

            Fans and celebrities took to social media to grieve over the loss of Cory Monteith.  Mario Lopez tweeted, “RIP Cory Monteith… Such a nice guy, very down to earth.  Incredibly sad… #TooYoungToDie”.  Rihanna also shared her sadness tweeting, “Cory Monteith, may your spirit be at peace, and may you fly with the angels….Heartbreaking, my prayers are with all of his loved ones!”  Other celebrities included Kim Kardshian, Taylor Swift, Alyssa Milano, and Lance Bass, just to name a few.

Cory Monteith is best known for his role as Finn on the hit television show Glee.  He and the rest of the Glee cast were scheduled to start shooting their 5^th season in August.  One has to wonder how his death effects the direction of the show’s storyline.  According to an article on FOX officials say it is way too early to tell how the death will be handled, but producers are proactively deciding how to move forward with the show without Monteith’s character, Finn Hudson.  Hollywood entertainment expert, Scott Huver told FOX411 “Not only has Monteith’s character Finn been part of the show’s most significant romantic relationship opposite Lea Michele’s Rachel, in the fourth season he appeared to be being long-term positioned to eventually assume the role of glee club coach. … He leaves a major hold in the heart of the show that will be challenging for the writers and producers to address. 

            With no obvious cause of death, the autopsy report will better clarify the cause of death.  It has been rumored that Monteith overdosed.  He struggled with addiction for years, and admitted himself to a treatment facility in April for substance abuse.  He had previously received treatment for his addiction at the early age of 19. 

            Cory Monteith’s spirit and talent will truly be missed.  FOX tweeted, “He was a true joy to work with and we will all miss him tremendously.  Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and loved ones.” 

Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing

              After an artist finishes their book, album, play or movie script, it is time for them to consider publishing options.  Traditionally, talented writers solicit their work to knowledgeable agents in their industry.  This agent represents the artist and shops his/her work to publishers.  If a publisher is interested in the work, they offer a contract to the artist.  The agent receives a negotiated percentage of sales from this deal.  This process could take up to a year or more before the cycle is complete.  The traditional form of publishing was developed in the late 1700’s.  However, recently artists have taken the route of self-publishing.

An artist that has chosen self-publishing skips the agent and publishing houses and does the publishing themselves.  The artist is responsible for funding marketing and advertising, distribution, bookings, etc.  This is a costly and tedious venture but not an impossible one.  As far as distribution goes, there are tools available for self-publishers such as Print on Demand, the Internet, and online book and music sellers.  Self-publishing gives artists a way to work independently, with full control of their work. KeithMartinSmith.com

Pros of Self-Publishing: Self-publishing initially seems like an artist's dream.  Anyone can self-publish, no matter what the content is.  There is no middleman.  The artists have the freedom to market and distribute their work in the way that they desire. 

Cons of Self-Publishing: There is a lot of financial risk that comes with self-publishing.  Because you are fronting the money for all aspects of the publishing and distribution process, you are also taking 100% of the financial risk.  Also, without a known publisher associated with the work, it may be difficult for artists to get their book or composition in stores. 

Pros of Traditional Publishing: With traditional publishing, artist’s work is associated with credible publishing houses.  There is little to no financial risk involved, because publishers come with financial assistance. 

Cons of Traditional Publishing: This is very slow process.  It could take a year or more for an artist to find a publisher for their work.  Also, profit made off of the published work will be subject to publishing and agent commission cuts.  
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