Smart Startup – Smart Up
Chapter 4: Making a Business Plan with a Smartup Model
We are in a critical period of the economy,
where entrepreneurs are both the leaders of the game
and the game-makers of the future.
If in the last century,
people did not know anything about entrepreneurship
– which is still considered the “secret” of the brave,
reckless and a little bit daring
– then today,
when the economy The economy opens up new opportunities,
including the growth of e-commerce
(the machine that creates customers),
the startup story is everyone’s story and if you start late,
you will miss the beat.
The race for globalization is already for you today.
Today’s era allows entrepreneurs to start up
and succeed quickly.
Only more than 40 years ago,
people knew about the startup story of Bill Gates.
In 1975,
Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded Microsoft from a shabby office
with the founder’s original bold dream:
“Bring a personal computer to every household.
And each of those personal computers runs the Windows operating system.”
After more than 40 years of looking back on the past,
Gates knows he had “dreamed right”,
because he is currently the richest person in the world
with a total fortune of up to $ 79 billion.
Only less than 20 years ago did people know the startup story
of Larry Page. 1998 was the time
when the “dotcom” bubble burst
and it was also the time when Google was founded by two friends,
Larry Page and Sergey Brin.
Less than 20 years later,
Google has become a giant in the Internet technology industry.
And this story has inspired the next generation of successful startups.
And just less than 10 years ago,
the startup story of Mark Zuckerberg
is the most talked about startup story 2004 marked the birth
of the social network Facebook,
whose founder is a sophomore who dropped out of Harvard University.
In less than 10 years,
Facebook has become the largest social network in the world.
Mark Zuckerberg’s
total fortune has now reached $23 billion,
helping Zuckerberg to be ranked
among the youngest billionaires in the United States.
So the new era has opened up new success stories.
That’s why in a recent work called Startup Nation (1),
people discussed the miraculous start-up story
of a miracle country
– Israel and spread to a series of other countries.
If you have a dream, a desire to start a business,
now is the right time for you to do it.
It’s time to get started!
However, starting a business is not always a rosy picture.
It’s been an incredibly exciting
but also incredibly painful journey.
Because of that,
there are hundreds of theories
and models to help startups save costs,
time and especially avoid failure.
During many years of searching for the most common model
to help entrepreneurs start a business successfully,
we have concluded a model suitable for start-ups,
which is the SMARTUP
– Solution model;
Marketing;
Area; Resources;
Transportation;
Unique;
Profit,
Price,
Process – this model will help entrepreneurs find the right direction,
as well as minimize the risk of failure.
Instead of making a thick plan,
by simplifying in a way that is intuitive,
easy to grasp but still gives an overview,
SMARTUP will help you easily visualize
whole picture of your future business.
1. S_Solution: Solution.
Those who start a business need to find
and solve a real problem that exists in the market,
in society,
in the community…
that is to bring value to customers.
As Jack Ma once said:
“Where there are complaints,
there are opportunities”.
It is impossible to start a business
without specifically visualizing what the customer’s problem is
and what is the problem of society?
Someone said:
“Business is solving society’s problems”.
So, from the very first minute of starting a business,
you will have to define what your goal for your business
is to solve for your customers,
and then start your business
and the whole business journey is to solve that problem.
Even this must be considered the most important
in any corporate meeting.
Microsoft President Bill Gates stated
that he wanted to “bring personal computers to every house,
each using the Windows operating system”
– that was to solve the problem.
Even when the world moves from PC (desktop) to laptop (mobile computer),
from intranet to global network,
Bill Gates’ statement is still valid.
Steve Jobs – the founder of Apple stated that the vision
and the problem that needed to be solved was:
“Revolutionary technology
– an integrated form of laptop
and phone to bring smartphones to everyone”,
and the story This miracle later became a reality.
When he founded Google,
Larry Page stated the problem
he needed to solve was:
“Reordering global information
and make it useful to people”
and Google is the search engine that makes that idea a reality.
So if you were to start a business,
which customer problem would you choose to solve?
Once you understand the customer’s problems,
you will have to come up with solutions to those problems.
The solution is the place where you show the features,
characteristics,
methods through which customers will realize the core value,
the difference in your products/services.
Albert Einstein once said,
“Finding a problem is solving 50% of the problem.
The other 50% is to solve the problem
and that’s the solution.”
You must ensure that your existing solution will be able
to solve the customer’s researched problem,
your solution will have to serve the customer in the selected customer segment,
solve the problem.
Your method must show the difference in products/services,
and at the same time make customers come back to buy more.
When you talk about solutions,
you’re talking about the most specific thing about startups:
solving customer problems.
Now is the time for you to realize your business idea
by providing products/services
that have been optimized to satisfy every possible customer need.
This stage is essentially the stage of turning ideas into reality,
the stage of action.
Many entrepreneurs
when starting a business have encountered a deadlock at this stage.
Successful people will overcome obstacles
no matter how arduous and difficult it is.
People who fail let problems crush them.
Successful people find solutions to problems.
The process of finding solutions for customers
It is also the process of finding solutions for yourself
– the solution for your business.
If there is a solution,
then you should look for an alternative
– that is,
give your customers a choice beyond the products/services you offer.
You know that the right to choose is one of the greatest human rights.
If you meet the needs of your customers
while also providing another option
– i.e. an alternative,
your customers will truly feel respected
and will be more loyal to your business than ever run out of.
The best way to achieve your dreams is
to help others achieve theirs.
If you want your business to go nowhere,
you can do anything.
But if you want your business to go far,
make solving customer problems the number one priority.
2. M_Marketing:
Marketing. These are the channels and methods
by which you interact with your customers.
There are typically four main types of channels
that you need to define:
communication channels,
distribution channels,
sales channels,
and customer support channels.
You must masterly understand
and apply each channel
in order for your product to reach the broadest possible market.
To complete this step,
you must answer the following questions:
The first channel that you need to pay attention
to is the communication channel.
So what is your communication channel?
What channels do online communication channels include?
What are the offline communication channels?
There is a very good saying in the business world:
“Doing a business without communication is like walking
with only one leg”.
The next channel that you need to pay attention
to is the distribution channel (the wholesale channel).
An effective distribution channel will help you bring your products/services
to the most customers at the lowest cost.
With as many products/services as possible,
you are looking for a solution
to consume multiple products/services at the same time
through distribution channels.
And this is an extremely effective way to bring products/services
to the market through intermediaries.
Make the most of your distribution channel.
Next is your sales funnel,
i.e. your retail channel.
You can’t just depend on the wholesale channel,
you need to have your own retail channel to collect cash
as quickly as possible,
as much as possible.
The retail channel will promote the wholesale channel
and vice versa.
The channel that you need
to promote next is the customer support channel.
Customer support channel is the channel
to connect with customers
who have purchased your products/services to take care of them,
help them satisfy more,
from there,
they will come back to buy more
and refer more customers come to you.
Finally, keep this in mind:
“Doing a business without communication is like walking
with only one leg.”
3. A_Area: Active area.
In this section you will have to answer the questions:
Who are your customers?
Which customer segment do you choose?
You must clearly define your target audience.
It can be mass market,
niche market or mixed market.
Once you find the customer segment you need to serve,
it’s time to specifically address
that need with a predefined type of customer.
What are your strengths?
If your strength is serving the mass market,
serve the mass market.
If your strength is serving a niche market,
which is inherently small but in high demand,
serve the niche.
If the strength
Your mission is to serve a mixed market,
do your best to best serve this market.
When you choose a certain market,
you choose for yourself a piece of land to live in.
If you choose a good piece of land,
you will live well.
If you choose a bad piece of land,
you will not live well on your own land.
In the long run,
the market you choose will determine the style of your business.
There has never been a successful business
that did not start from a predetermined market.
Maybe you start with a niche at first,
then hit the mass market
and eventually succeed with the mixed market.
Conversely, you can start from the mass market,
then attack the niche
and succeed in the mixed market.
However,
no matter how you start,
your business must be successful in the intended market.
Finding a market for yourself is finding a treasure.
4. R_Resource: Resource.
When starting a business,
you need to answer the following resource questions:
What are your budgetary resources?
How are your human resources?
Resources here are understood
to include material resources (budget)
and human resources (people).
Grandparents have a saying
“Knowing people,
knowing me,
hundreds of battles,
hundreds of wins”,
but here, knowing the resources will ensure
that the start-up projects of hundreds of matches… do not lose.
We need to strategize and plan the startup project
in accordance with the available resources.
Often, some projects are deployed beyond the available resources,
which will exhaust the project
after a period of implementation.
Besides, if we plan with more limited resources than we have,
then of course we also limit the development
of the project that can go further.
In addition, for startup projects,
the human factor is extremely important.
The reality is that there are a lot of great ideas
that are executed by a bad team that produce bad results.
On the contrary,
there are ideas that are
thought to be mediocre
but executed by a great team that will result in a great startup project,
or they can replace the original idea
with a new idea by completely different from existing resources.
In fact, there is no shortage of good examples of this case.
In the world, it is the teams of Apple,
Google, Alibaba … In Vietnam,
there is Mobile World, TGM …
Therefore, it is important to know the amount of your strength,
set goals “high to reach,
just to reach” while ensuring
that they can be successfully implemented
and challenging for the whole team.
Good luck with your start-up with this mindset.
4 resources needed to start a business:
Resource 1: KNOWLEDGE
Knowledge is infinite.
Having knowledge is that you are ready for a long “startup” race.
With knowledge,
you will “fall” less and limit repeating the mistakes of those
who went before.
Owning a business is not easy.
You must have extensive knowledge of many different areas
to be able to run your business in the right direction.
You must know about finance, sales, marketing, supply chain…
Have you really prepared these KNOWLEDGES?
Knowledge also includes skills.
So have you prepared skills to lead and manage a business yet?
Do you know how to strategize your business for the next five years?
Do you know how to run your business optimally?
Although the pressure may seem overwhelming,
don’t be discouraged.
If you know that you lack knowledge in any area,
make up for that knowledge before
or at the same time
when starting a business.
There’s still enough time for you to get started.
Resource 2: Associates
There is a very famous quote by Warren Buffett
that emphasizes this resource factor:
“If you want to go fast, go alone.
If you want to go far,
go together.”
In fact, it will be very difficult for you to start a business alone.
Because you can’t know everything to run a business.
You can produce a product,
but are you sure that you are producing,
marketing,
and selling that product in the best way?
If your business size is small or medium,
it is also possible.
But once your business grows,
what if you produce,
market,
sell,
and supply products at the same time?
Either you can’t or won’t last long.
This resource also helps you to be less lonely
on the arduous path of starting a business.
If you want to grow your business in a sustainable way rather
than a one-time deal,
find yourself a like-minded partner to start with.
These resources include:
co-founders (discussed in more detail in Chapter 7 of the book)
and employees.
The question here is how many employees
do you need for the first stage of your startup?
How is need less staff?
How is need more staff?
What does your business do?
Which vendors will provide some functionality in your business?
Cost comparison between hiring permanent staff
and how to hire a vendor to provide that functionality?
Remember:
Starting a business is not about having a lot of employees.
Start your business in the best way to survive.
Resource 3: SMALL FINANCE
Can you start a business with 0 dong?
The answer is no.
Can you start a business with little capital?
Answer is possible.
Can you start a business with enough capital to support yourself
and your business for at least the first six months?
The answer is try,
you can start a business.
There is no guarantee that you will have revenue
from the first month of setting up the business.
There is also no guarantee
that you will have a revenue after six months of starting a business.
So prepare yourself with enough capital to support yourself
and maintain the business.
And don’t forget the saving factor,
minimizing waste,
planning a specific sale to get revenue right from the start,
or best of all,
you should start a business
when you have your first customer.
Resource 4: Spirit
Why is Spirit one of the necessary resources to prepare
when starting a business?
Have you seen anyone start a successful business
while having problems in the family?
Have you seen anyone who started a successful business
while having a big mental breakdown?
Good mental preparation will keep you motivated
and determined to fulfill your aspirations.
A good mental preparation is
to have an implicit support from your family
so that when you are in trouble,
they will still be there for you,
encouraging and giving valuable advice.
5. T_Transportation:
Transportation service.
Transport service (transportation/logistics)
is a commercial activity whereby a trader organizes
to perform one
or more jobs including receiving goods,
transporting,
storing,
storing, customs clearance,
and other procedures in the other paperwork,
customer consultation,
packaging,
marking,
delivery or other services related to goods
as agreed with the customer for remuneration.
According to a 2014 statistic published in the mass media
of the World Bank,
logistics costs in Vietnam account for 25% of GDP,
higher than most other countries such as:
Thailand is 19%,
China is 18%,
Japan is 11%,
Singapore is 8%,
US is 7.7%.
Currently, Vietnam is considered the country
with the highest transportation costs in Southeast Asia.
Travel alone accounts for 1/5
of the total cost of Vietnamese people:
21.4%. This rate in Cambodia is 15.1%;
Laos is 12.6%;
Myanmar is 10.9%
(reference source:
Tuoi Tre newspaper, September 13, 2015).
If you are preparing to start a business,
when reading this information, are you worried?
Do you ask yourself any questions?
When a product/service is sold,
it should be shipped to the customer in the fastest
and safest way but at the most “stable” cost,
minimizing unnecessary waste in the process.
Shipping is something that you need to consider
when starting a business.
It can be one of the ways for you
to take care of your customers
and show your competitiveness against other competitors.
Of course, for businesses,
quality and cost are two vital issues;
However, you should also not take the matter
of freight transportation lightly.
If you put too much emphasis on product development
and finance and not enough focus on fulfilling orders,
the consequences will be unpredictable.
With whatever product you’re selling,
if you don’t get it to the buyer on time,
you’re in big trouble.
Most startups focus on how to make good products;
This is essential,
but sometimes shipping will be a prerequisite for customers.
However, there are many crowdfunding companies
that are not interested in fulfilling orders placed
until the last minute thoroughly.
Successfully investing in startups means you need to deliver.
According to a statistic from CNN,
84% of crowdfunding projects do not meet the delivery time for customers.
It takes many companies more than a year
and a half to deliver all the ordered goods.
To avoid the above problems,
you need to follow these steps:
– Develop a good plan:
In many cases, the company’s business performance exceeds expectations
and many times they have to deal
with too many orders that cannot be handled in time.
The solution to this problem is to plan early from receipt
to focus on product creation,
marketing,
and finance.
Delivery should be considered
as one of the first things in planning,
because you need to fulfill the first order as it is placed.
You need to be sure of the production time
and account for the costs of delivery/response.
In addition, you must also ensure
that this information is communicated
to all of your customers.
– There is potential for growth:
Delivery and fulfillment needs to be developed
and expand as your business grows.
You should always think about this,
not just once,
when starting a business.
Going further,
you need to build a supply chain
that you can completely control,
rather than depending on external third parties to help you.
6. U_Unique: The difference.
The difference or can be called the core value is an important part
and also the most difficult to describe accurately,
because you will have to distill the most core values of the product,
and at the same time highlight
it is difference from competitors.
In a conversation at a prestigious American university,
the father of Competitive Strategy Michael Porter asked students
with an MBA (Master of Business Administration) that,
“In business we really are.
what do you sell?”.
Many students answered:
“Of course we sell products”.
“Every company sells a product,
but that’s not the right answer,”
says Michael Porter.
Another intrepid student stood up
and offered a bolder thought:
“In business,
the boss creates a company to sell the company.”
“That’s a better answer,
but still not the right answer,”
says Michael Porter.
…
Finally, Michael Porter concludes:
“In business, we sell the difference.”
At this point,
you must be able to answer the question:
“What makes your product different?”.
In other words,
the difference is the reason for the customer
to choose your product/service.
The difference can be unique design,
optimal price,
fast shipping…
To find the difference for your product,
rely on the following factors:
– Put yourself in the shoes of the customer
and see your product/service from their point of view.
– Focus on what customers will get after using your product/service.
– The difference indicates what will help you win over your competitors.
That advantage has to be one that’s hard to copy
and only available to you.
– Differentiation that sets you apart from all other competitors.
And that is what will later help you become “unmatched”
in the eyes of your competitors,
and create an advantage for you and your company that no one can copy.
Did you know that the market out there is full of “bad business” people?
For every idea you create,
there will be an idea to copy immediately
and you can hardly make your opponent not copy.
Copying became the business strategy of greedy owners
and of all those who put monetary gain above everything else,
the business of purely making money
without creating any value at all.
One of the surest ways to stop these mercenaries
is to build a company with a difference that no one else can copy
or create workflows on.
Surely you will succeed in this chaotic world.
Follow your unique value.
You will take the whole world with you.
And finally, keep in mind Professor Michael Porter’s maxim:
“In business, we sell diffence”.
7. P_Profit,
Price,
Process:
Profit,
Price,
Process,.
7.1. PProfit: Profit_
We all know that:
Profit = Revenue – Cost
7.1.1. Usage cost
One of the mandatory costs for businesses is communication costs.
It’s the truth.
If you don’t have communication costs,
you won’t have customers
because “communication is producing customers”.
Therefore, the first step is to make a list of free
and paid media channels that you can use to reach customers.
You probably already know this definition:
“Doing media means buying customers”.
If you’ve spent a lot of money on a product
and don’t have customers,
why not spend a little on communication to create customers?
So the first cost to list is the cost of communication.
Next, you have to control costs for all cases
to create an optimal product
before making an optimal business.
Controlling costs helps you generate effective cash flow.
To control costs,
you must answer the following questions:
– What kind of expenses does your business have?
– How to optimize those costs?
An unexpected thing:
Saving is also a way to make money.
If you want to double your income,
keep in mind the quote of a famous man:
“The only sure way to double your income
is to double your money
before you want to buy anything you don’t need
and then put it back in my pocket.”
You will see:
Saving is also a way to make money.
Optimizing business operating systems
is one of the modern methods to optimize business costs
to maximize profits,
helping you create customers
and products/services at a competitive cost.
The most profitable
– the most profitable
and that is the most important part of this Smart Startup book:
helping you to start your business at a lower cost
and with a higher profit.
7.1.2 Revenue source
Where does your revenue come from?
What is the profit per product?
You must know the expected profit from customers by month,
quarter, year…
On the other hand, your path to success
is the source of revenue for your business.
Whether your entire business is successful
or not depends on the source of revenue and profit,
which translates into a smooth financial flow?
You must know the cash flow of the business in the palm
of your hand to expect your business to be successful for sure.
Have you ever heard the saying “Money is the blood of business”?
If someone loses too much blood,
they will die. So are businesses.
So seriously, you’re going to have to sit back
and list every expected revenue stream your business receives
from customers.
Then, promote the media to generate more customers,
increase the main revenue stream
and then increase more revenue streams.
Make sure that the lowest expected revenue far exceeds your costs
to grow your business to the next level.
Moreover, revenue must increase in tandem with profit after optimizing costs…
Those things should be your first concern in all activities of the business.
Optimize costs,
increase revenue and increase business profits.
It is the wisest path for every entrepreneur to start a business.
7.2. P_Price: Price
Price is one of the 4 P’s of marketing,
which includes Product (product),
Price (price),
Promotion (offer) and Place (place).
In fact, you need to consult this
before entering the startup war.
Although for someone eager to get into a startup,
competing on price may not seem like a very good idea.
However, it really is the simplest
but most effective competitive weapon.
Especially with the Vietnamese market,
if you compete on price,
you will definitely win.
Optimize your product,
fight for the best price,
and win the business game in your favor.
What is the biggest difference customers can perceive
between you and your competitors?
There is only one best answer to this:
Price! Although this is a strategy with a lot of potential risks
and you incur reduced profits,
it is well worth a try.
If you compete on price,
you will win big in the Vietnamese market.
7.3. P_Process: Process
Process for a project or a startup is paramount,
so the question is how many processes for a startup is enough?
Even if you start a business alone,
you will soon find yourself losing control,
unless you start organizing
and writing down how and when to get things done.
Whether you like it or not,
you have to be familiar with the processes in the business.
The exact and specific question that needs to be asked now is:
“What is the minimum number of processes I need for my business?”
The simple answer is that you need to do one process at a time,
starting with the things that are very important to your business
until you feel and believe those things start to happen naturally
and steadily, without any pressure.
If you feel like a process is a burden,
you’ve gone too far.
Startups need to balance process and innovation.
Using just the right amount of processes
It will help startups get up to speed.
But for businesses starting from scratch,
investing in processes and infrastructure will be costly,
time and energy consuming
instead of being able to spend that time
and energy doing things that directly benefit forward to customers.
Even worse, investment in the process can quickly become obsolete
as a company grows and management challenges grow.
Practices are ever-changing
and require a startup company’s determination
to continuously improve in order to adapt to the process.
The following are seven key processes involved in most startups
and are prioritized based on their importance.
Spend some time thinking about
how to implement each of these processes in your business
and the possible effects
if they are not implemented correctly or are forgotten.
Startups would not be able to survive or survive
without these seven basic processes.
1. Sales Process
Sales is the most important part of starting a business.
When the business sells,
you have revenue,
when the business has revenue,
the business survives.
Therefore, the sales process should be the first necessary process
when you start a business.
In the sales process,
you need to specify the following information:
customer information in the customer approach step;
Discount levels in negotiation with customers…
2. Customer care process
The next process is equally important is customer care.
According to statistics,
most of the first customers that startups have
is by word of mouth.
So what if you don’t take good care of your customers?
Write down a standard procedure
that you or your partner can follow consistently.
3. Collection and payment process
In the early stages of a startup
there is always a situation where you have to spend small amounts
that sometimes you don’t even notice,
but you can’t imagine how those small amounts turn out
to be so terrible when you count them.
Therefore, build a process of revenue and expenditure
as well as a summary table of income
and expenditure in the early stages of starting a business
to help you control the initial revenue and expenditure.
And this also makes it easy for you
to report to shareholders about the amount of money earned
and spent in the business.
In the revenue and expenditure process,
build more asset management processes of the business.
This process will help you manage the existing assets of the business
– an element of your potential.
Don’t let yourself lose control of your own assets.
4. Basic HR Process
The basic human resource process includes:
pay date,
salary calculation,
leave regulations,
recruitment method…
Let your associates rest assured
when working with you in the difficult first day of your start-up. .
5. Marketing Process
As mentioned in previous chapters,
marketing is an integral part of starting a business.
Can you imagine information about your company
It is being conveyed in the wrong channels?
You have spent a lot of money on marketing
but have not received any useful information from customers;
Are your employees marketing your company in unnecessary channels?
So, let’s build your business marketing process at this stage.
It doesn’t have to be complicated,
but there are a few basic steps
to help you control communication on all matters related to your business.
6. Process of storing information and documents
On a beautiful day,
your employee quits
and deletes all information and documents of the business.
Or your co-founder,
because he didn’t feel right for you,
went away and took
with him important customer information
that you and they worked so hard to get.
Please build for your business the process
of storing information
and documents so that you do not encounter the above problems.
You should also apply that process to your own work.
7. Process of “exiting” the company
Working together to grow your business is something everyone wants.
But the startup picture is not always rosy.
So, plan out an exit process for the founding shareholders.
In it, you outline the necessary steps to deal with
when “exiting” the company:
how to “exit” and when to “exit”,
so that you and the rest of the co-founders do not have to want to “exit” ”
when to “escape”;
do not want to “escape” somehow “escape”.
All of these processes are still needed as your business grows,
so build it up from the start
and improve it to fit your business size over time.
In short, if you’re an excellent startup,
you won’t need to copy
or follow the processes of your competitors,
even the very basics.
Creativity is key,
so adopt lean processes that are more efficient than competitors and large companies.
However, not having a process will not make you “different”.
Without a process,
you might end up running a hobbyist company rather than a formal business.
Hobbies are fun,
but it often costs more than generating money to sustain a business.
“A successful business model needs to provide society
with solutions to existing problems.
First of all,
it must be products or services
that are better than the current product/service.
To do that,
we must constantly be creative,
building for ourselves
and our businesses a culture of passion for creativity
from the very beginning.”
– Dinh Van Cuong,
