Business Innovators Radio - Debra Banks: The 8 Pearls of an Actionable Business Plan

Episode Date: June 20, 2024

Debra Banks Shares the 8 Pearls for a Successful Business PlanIn this episode, Dr. Tami Patzer talks with Debra Banks, the founder of Biz Aim Academy, about the importance of having an actionable business plan for businesses of all sizes.Debra Banks has a rich background in finance, an MBA, and over 30 years of corporate experience. She has dedicated her post-retirement years to empowering business owners through effective business planning. Debra has developed the 8 Pearls business plan framework – a step-by-step guide designed to turn business passion into profit.During the interview, Debra shares her journey and the insights she gained from losing $220,000 in a business venture that lacked a proper plan. She breaks down the 8 Pearls of her framework, which include defining your passion and purpose, understanding your target audience and their problems, creating the right product and pricing, effective promotion and partnerships, and maintaining financial projections.Whether you’re just starting a business or looking to scale an existing one, this episode is a must-listen. Debra’s wealth of experience and practical advice can help any entrepreneur create a solid foundation for a successful, profitable business. Tune in to learn how the 8 Pearls business plan framework can guide you toward your goals.You can find out more about Debra Banks and the Biz Aim Academy at BizAimAcademy.com. Take the assessment quiz to see where you are in your business journey and how Debra’s program can help you.Source: https://businessinnovatorsradio.com/debra-banks-the-8-pearls-of-an-actionable-business-plan

Welcome to Business Innovators Radio, featuring industry influencers and trendsetters, sharing proven strategies to help you build a better life right now. Hi, everyone. This is Dr. Tammy Passer, and I'm really excited because today we're going to be talking about business. And we all need to just stop from doing our passions and get into the real world because there's a lot of things that we need to be talking about business. And we all need to just stop from doing our passions and get into the real world because there's a lot of things that we need to do so that we can have not only the business of our dreams, but a successful business that works not only for you, but for your clients and customers. So today, Deborah Banks, who is the founder of BizAIM Academy or AIM Academy, is going to be talking with us about business. And she has a rich background in finance, an MBA, and more than 30 years of corporate experience. So Deborah is bringing it today, all of those years of experience, backed up by education. And I think a lot of times we don't always give credit for that time that it takes to get that education so that you truly are the subject matter expert.

So I just wanted to point that out because when you get experience and education, now you've really got something. So Deborah has dedicated her post-retirement years to empowering businesses. owners through effective business plan. She's developed the eight pearls business plan or business plan and a step-by-step framework designed to turn business passion into profit. Hey, I've got you, Deborah. I won't survive. So join us as Deborah shares her journey and insights on the importance of actionable

business plans for businesses of all sizes. Welcome, Deborah. Thank you. Tammy, for having me. Yeah, we're all in business to make money. That's why I focus on profits. That is exactly it. And sometimes people, they get caught up in the passion and their message. But if you're not making any money, you're not going to be in business very long. So let's start out with some nitty-gritty. why does every business meet a business plan? Well, I started a business with someone and I tried to tell them that they needed a business plan.

And then it occurred to me that from my education and from my corporate career, business plans is what's needed to have a pathway, a roadmap to know where you're going. and then if something doesn't happen the way you wanted to, you need to go back to the business plan and review it again and see what needs to be adjusted. So another reason you need a business plan, people think you need a business plan to get a loan from the bank, to get support from the bank.

But you really need, sometimes you need a business plan to get support from your family because your spouse might be saying, what is it that you're doing? if you can't explain it, then you're not going to get the support you need. So you need to have it all thought out. It's not just for the bank to support you.

It's for your friends and family to support you. And when I tell people to do their business plan, I tell them to present it to somebody, your spouse, your working, your friend, somebody. Because if you had to go to the bank, you'd have to explain it to them. So you need to have a way to explain what you're doing. I think that's really a good idea because I can see how just, for example, like we're doing an interview using Zoom video. And maybe that's one of the services you offer to say, okay, let's practice how you're going to present this plan and get feedback because I think

you're right. Often that's maybe why someone doesn't create a business plan because they're afraid to present their ideas to someone because of the feedback they might get. But if you look at that and you actually might get really, you know, constructive feedback that might open a door that would make that business plan better. So what are some of the features and benefits of an actionable business plan. Because it means that you have thought through things. If you just start a business and you haven't thought through the whole process, then you are just going, you know, by the seat of your pants.

You're not really thinking through things. And I think, and I think it's important to write it down. Because we all know, you know, if you, giving somebody a recipe that you're doing, you need to write it down and tell them everything that they're doing. And then plus when you write your business plan down,

you're thinking about it more. You just don't want to just have stuff twirling around in your head. I can see that because if you write it down and then if you, like you said earlier, if you get off track, you can go back and say, oh, this is what my idea was, and maybe you might have to tweak it a little because you've grown in this process. So can you tell me a little bit about your life journey and what led you to launch Biz AIM Academy?

Sure. Like I said, I have a degree in finance and a master's in business administration. So I have read lots of business plans as part of that education. And then I worked for corporate America, and I had to put together business plans as an executive at corporate America. And then I had some side businesses on the side, and they failed. But it only fails if you don't learn the lesson. So, and then it. occurred to me like a year and a half ago. Deborah, you read all these business plans for

successful businesses while you're in school and when you work for corporations. And then you invested $32,000 in a venue with a friend. And I told her, I said, shouldn't we like work out a plan and write something up. And she said, oh, no, it's going to work. And so I lost $20,000 because the business wasn't able to pay me back to $32,000 that I invested. Yeah. Because we didn't have a plan. So you learned from personal experience that you need a plan.

And isn't that interesting how. even though you knew from personal experience that you needed a written business plan, that you went along with someone because they had this vision and you thought, yeah, this could work. And so you invested, you believed in it. Yeah. You believed in it. And then it failed.

And that is something people need to realize is that a lot of times things don't work out. But I think you said it. you learned and now you've created this. So tell me, what does the AIM acronym stand for in the biz AIM or AIM Academy? Right. Yes, A stands for assessment. So someone who's either already in business or about to start business. I have a quiz which helps you to see where you are.

are. So that's what I, assessment. Even you take a quiz or something, you need to just assess where you are. That's what A stands for. And I stands for information. So you need information to move ahead in your assessment. It M stands for mastery. And that's where you master the information. So it's a three step, but it also stands for aim. where you aim for a goal and you reach it because you assess it, you get information, and then you master that information. If you do those three steps, you're more likely to aim for and reach your goal. That makes a lot of sense.

So assess, assess it, assessment, information, master it. And that leads me to the biz plan, eight pearls, biz plan framework. that you created, how does the eight pearls biz plan framework work and help business owners? Because the reason I call it pearls is, first of all eight steps begin with the letter P. And they're small by themselves. But when you string them together and do them in order, it creates a valuable pearl. Yeah, yeah. Like that beautiful pearl.

necklace. So can you tell me what the eight pearls are? Sure. You and I've said it a couple times already. It starts with your passion and your purpose. I mean, you know, we love, there's something that we love to do. That's our passion. And sometimes we just stop at the passion and we just start a business. But passion is not enough, but you definitely need passion. That's the foundation of your business. So passion and purpose is the first pearl. And so I encourage, as part of a passion and pearl, I have a process for writing out your story. You know, you want to have a story, just like I was telling you my story.

That's how I got to passion for Biz AIMAIM Academy because of, you know, I'm realizing I wanted to help other business owners not make mistakes like me and lose $20,000. So it starts with passion and purpose. Then you want to connect your passion and purpose to your people and their problems. So you need to know what their aspirations are, what their fears are, what is it that they want? And then once you understand your people and you understand, their problems.

And when I say you understand your people, I say you need to know them down to their green socks because people wear green socks talk the same and people that wear green socks have the same language. So you want to know the person down to their green socks. and then because you want to relate to them when you go with the next step. And you want to know what their problems are. Yeah. So that's the first two.

Passion, people, and what their problems are. And then once you know what your people are and what their problems are, you go to product and price. So you've got to come up with a product that solves their problems. that you just identified. That's why you do them in order. So now you got a product and now you come up with the price. Now that you got a product, what do you need to do?

Promote. And the other P with promotion is places. So you need to have them to know what you have and where do you need to promote it. So, I mean, that one is very important. And you also need to keep track of your. results. You know, if you've got to compare, you don't just do stuff. You've got to keep track of the numbers and see what's working and what's not working. So that's promotion and places. And then the next P is partners. You might decide you want virtual assistant, you need a web builder. You need an accountant.

You need affiliates. And then this one is very important. You also may decide that you need a business coach. But you don't want to go to a business coach without having a plan first. Because they won't know where to lead you because you don't know where you're going. So before you start investing in other stuff, you want to invest time, energy, and money and creating your plan. That makes a lot of sense because often people will go find a business coach.

And like you said, they don't know where they're going. And so the business coach is like throwing things out there trying to help them figure it out. But if you don't have a clue, then you're in the, you're too early. Many people watch Shark Tank, and I think about all the times I've heard the shark say to someone, you don't need us or you're too early in the game to be here because we can't help you yet because it's too soon. And those are obviously people with a lot of business background telling people, No, no, no, you're just too early in the game. So the April's business framework, is that the basis of what you offer to your clients and customers?

Yes, it is. Yes, it is, yes. Because I developed a step where I developed a digital core. where each one of those eight pearls are identified, and I give you questions to ask yourself and research to do to get everything done. And so, yes, so it's for everyone to follow this process. Either you do it on your own or I coach you on each one. You can do it either way.

So who would you say, talking about your eight pearls, who would you say your people are who would benefit the most from working with you? Either someone who hasn't started yet or has started, but they're not achieving what they wanted to achieve. Yes. So you would be like the first line of beef. defense when say, okay, I've got, I know my passion and I've got this great idea. And so you would be the perfect first person to talk to them about, okay, love your passion, love your idea. Okay, now let's reel you in from being all excited. And then you talk to Deborah Banks and you can end up getting this actionable business plan in the works and get that roadmap created.

So then you can actually go from there. Right. Right. Okay. So you're like the first, the first line of defense for someone when they want to start a business. But they're like, I have no clue of what I'm doing. I just know that I love flowers and I want to create a business. or whatever that might be.

Either someone who's launching or someone who is already launched, but they're not achieving their goals. They may have been in business for a year, and I don't want you to give up. You may have been in business for a year and a half, and you're just getting kind of worn out because it's not happening the way that you want. So you need to go back and still write a business plan.

Yeah. I'm sorry. Is it ever too late to write a business plan? It's not. I just got a testimonial from someone. She said, I wish I had this when I started out. Her name is Carrie. She said, this is a good resource to guide them the right way on their journey. It's nicely laid out and organized well. So it's, I mean, if you're meeting your profit goals, because again, all this is about profit. If you're meeting your profit goals, I mean, if you want to scale. up, you still might want to look at your business plan. So even you're launching or you want to leap your business forward or you're not meeting your goals. Yeah. And even if you already have a business plan, maybe it needs to be tweaked because maybe you're not growing or scaling

as fast as you would like to. Because I remember I've been, you've been, you know, in business now, you know, solo since 2009. I didn't really figure it out until like 2016 about what I was really doing. And I'm still tweaking, you know, different things based on like you said, you know, knowing who the people are, what what they want and the pricing. I mean, all of those things in your eight pearls business plan framework

Are all those questions that people are always asking? It's like, how do I price this? How do I package it? Who are my people? Maybe you're aiming for a group of people who are not your people, but then somehow you stumble on to who your people are because nobody wants to work with the people who are demand. Anyway, I don't demand.

or so needy or micromanagers. I mean, those are not my people. I know that. So interesting. The more that you talk, the more I'm going, wow, you're absolutely right. That business plan is always something that you can go back to, tweak it, and it will help you grow and keep you on the path. I think that's another thing that happens, the shiny object syndrome,

and the imposter syndrome or two big ones. You're always looking for that new tool or that new thing that's going to make you money. And then a lot of people, the imposter syndrome,

is who do I think I am to be doing this? And I think if you have that business plan, you can go about, that's who I am. And it's like you and your more than 30 years of corporate experience

and your MBA. And I imagine when you say that you worked on a lot of business plans, you probably worked on a lot of business plans. Yeah, I have, I have. And I mentioned shiny object syndrome in the eight pearls, because you're right. That's how you get off track. Oh, I know that I've gotten off track or people will come to me.

Oh, would you like to be involved in the latest, greatest, new, health product. And I'm, no, that isn't what I do. All that does is pull me off of my true course. And again, the more that you say about the business plan, the more it just makes so much sense. So where can people find more information and reach out to you? You mentioned some quizzes.

Do you have quizzes on your website? I do. everything is on the Biz, B-I-Z, AIM Academy. Okay. Yeah. AIM Academy.

And you can go check that out. Deborah, before I let you go, is there anything that you'd like to remind people of or add? Yes. I have a bonus pearl. It is called projections, manifestation.

You need a, balance between your plan and your mindset. Some people just have a plan, but if you don't have the right mindset, you're still off balance. And some people have a great positive mindset and projections of what they're going to do, but they don't have a plan. So you need both. You need balance of both. Yeah.

So, and that is important because a lot of times you hear people talking, about mindset. You get to the point where you're going, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But like you said, if you have the balance of the positive mindset with the plan, then I think you become unstoppable. It makes sense to me. Yep, yep. That's what you need.

You need both. So, Deborah, I really appreciate your time and bringing the business plan concept back into focus. I think everyone could go check out the Biz, AIM, Academy, and find out what Deborah has to offer. And remember, if you're thinking about a business, you're passionate, you want to get started. Right now, you've just heard about Deborah Banks and how she can help you create that business plan. And that's exactly how you can move forward with confidence. and you won't have that big risk as big a risk of losing everything like like Deborah said. She lost $20,000 because she did not have a plan.

So thank you so much, Deborah. You're welcome. It was great. Yeah. Everyone, this is Tammy Patser. Make sure you go check out bizaimacademy.com. Go make it a beautiful day. Thanks for listening to Business Innovators Radio.

To hear all episodes featuring leading industry influencers and trendsetters, visit us online at businessinnovators.com today.