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Descriptions of the main services of business help and advice that IBIS Associates can provide. Ibis offer a combination of distance learning and in-company seminars for specific aspects of business plan training. They are designed to be tailored to particular company requirements, though each has a series of common components. Because they are delivered in-house, they provide a cost effective introduction for key staff to all the vital elements of the development and management of the business plan. Are you the right type of group or individual to develop a business?This quiz is designed to show you the range of qualities which research on successful businesses shows are necessary to be an effective entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs require different skills at different stages of the business; this is why groups have more success than the lone individual. Have you the right idea for a business which has a good chance of success? Many groups and individuals have ideas which on the surface appear excellent business prospects, but fail quite rapidly. This quiz is designed to provide an insight into what are the dynamics of those business ideas which are more likely to succeed. Outlines of the main points that need to be included in a business plan. 37 investors, a mixture of business angels, venture capital providers, incubators and banks were asked to provide information to Ibis on what they commonly incorporated in their summaries of particular investment proposals. Business Plan Analysis (Start Up Business) This analysis was originally based on a review of 57 companies, considered as start up operations, which applied to receive additional funding. The differences between high scoring plans and low scoring plans (those achieving more than 80 out of 100 compared with those of less than 20) in gaining funding is 59 times. Business Plan Analysis (Established Business) Research conducted on 238 business plans identified that there were strong correlations between certain components of the business plan and likely successes and failures both in respect of receiving funding and achieving objectives. High scoring plans were 17 times more likely to receive funding, and 9 times more likely to survive over a three year period. Maximum effectiveness appeared to be achieved with scores of 80 plus out of 100, based on a questionnaire constructed around 75 questions. High growth companies (defined as those doubling in profitability in three years, or growing at 24% compound each year) pose specific problems for the investor and/or planner. Such companies are under stress to achieve their targets - often set at or beyond the limits of what is achievable. As the company develops, the demands for achieving continued growth will change. The start up company faces structural challenges; the established company by contrast faces operational demands. These operational demands can only be understood and managed by effective monitoring, from which the company can learn and develop. One of the contributions of Ibis to understanding the effective business plan is the emphasis that the research has placed on effective monitoring; the ability of the company to do, measure, and redirect resources. Background to Effective Planning This page has been set up to act as a summary of all the research - academic and commercial which comes in to Ibis on a regular basis. Please add anything that you think is interesting. Planning for change is essential; the greater the change the greater the need. Stable organisations can use previous experience as a guide to the future; organisations facing new challenges cannot. Change management (or BPR business process re-engineering) has evolved as a topic to combine all the relevant expertise and best practice into one discipline. A distinction should first be made between disaster recovery or contingency planning, survival / recovery planning, and change management. The first occurs as the result of a short term dramatic change in the environment – the second through an accumulation of problems and errors. All businesses can be brought to the edge of failure through the accumulation of problems and errors - some will tip over into the need for closure and the immense personal and economic damage that that causes. Change management has similarities to survival and recovery planning, but is longer term – the organisation has time and can correct mistakes that it makes – survival and recovery planning by contrast is much more time critical and detail driven – with the emphasis on getting it right first time and quickly. Stakeholders – be they suppliers, customers, employees, investors like well run companies. This fact is supported by research that has linked share value to "corporate governance" - the ability of the organisation to act legally, decently, honestly, but above all effectively with both its external and internal environment. There is also growing evidence that good corporate governance improves decision making within organisations leading to greater profitability and higher rates of growth. So setting standards and keeping to them makes both good ethical and business sense. With the exception of the start up phase, exit planning is perhaps the most difficult period of SME evolution. Research shows that many owner managers fail to successfully achieve the transition - and do not receive the "value" - however that may be measured – that they expect for the time, effort and money that they have invested over the years. A wide selection of articles of a range of business topics. This page has been developed from the numerous requests that Ibis receives for low cost software solutions for start up operations. We are not selling these options – we cannot as they are free! We make no claims on their functionality or otherwise – you make your own decisions. A standard operating procedure is a company wide formalised structure to handle specific operational activities. They are, in the opinion of Ibis, an essential supporting element in the creation of good planning and control within the growing company. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) The term KPI has become one of the most over-used and little understood terms in business development and management. In theory it provides a series of measures against which internal managers and external investors can judge the business and how it is likely to perform over the medium and long term. Regrettably it has become confused with metrics – if we can measure it, it is a KPI. Against the growing background of noise created by a welter of such KPI concepts, the true value of the core KPI becomes lost. A well developed contingency plan has enormous value for the organisation beyond the obvious – the ability to speedily, smoothly and cost effectively respond to significant changes in the environment. The development of a comprehensive contingency plan will: Ibis provides a range of help to the SME community via a series of downloads.
The majority of these are audit frameworks to assist the company in analysing
key policy areas. A range of highlighted business related products and access to a huge number of other products via the Amazon web site. Links to other web sites that we consider of use to our visitors.
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Ibis Associates European office La Vieille Loge, La Milliere, 86700, Romagne, Poitiers, France Tel: 0033 (0) 5 49 87 80 76 E-Mail: Info@ibisassoc.co.uk Site designed and maintained by Associate
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