Mike Will Downey

Entrepreneurship is essential to business today. Successful entrepreneurs exhibit key elements, disruptive ideas, and creativity. This can be tapped into with focus. Successful entrepreneurs solve a compelling problem; they come up with a way of doing something that does not presently exist. They might solve a problem that has never been solved before. Or they might come up with a better solution than existed before. But “better” can’t mean “just a little bit better.” It has to mean “enough better to compel customers to buy the product.” The most successful entrepreneurs have a protected idea. They have an idea that cannot easily be copied by their competition. This might mean the idea is covered by patents. Sometimes it means that portions of the process are trade secrets and cannot easily be reinvented or reverse engineered. One way, or another, the company should have a sustainable “unfair competitive advantage.” Successful entrepreneurs have a product or service that customers will...

Business Planning is a process in which you have to really hone in on your business and get to the point. This way investors, customers, employees, and partners can quickly understand your product or service. Below I will share my expert experience in starting, selling, and funding businesses, as well as writing business plans.   Start with a business plan summary. Make it simple. Don't assume anyone knows anything about your business or industry. Don’t get bogged down trying to describe products or technologies--if the risk exists, just talk about what the technology is used for.  Try to answer the questions in the outline crisply and directly.  In the beginning, there isn't time for long explanations.  People are busy and you want to capture their interest. You can elaborate later. Don’t exaggerate.  Be as factual as possible.  Be prepared to defend any claims you make if possible. Quantify claims whenever possible.  (Don’t say, “w...