“In creating and building a business, the entrepreneur assumes all the responsibilities for development and management, as well as the risks and rewards. Many businesses do not survive because business owners fail to develop an effective plan.“
(Haag, 2013)
I am a Graphic & Brand Designer as well as the Managing Director of Beyond Branding! I assist my clients with their branding, logos, website design of their businesses. The journey of Beyond Branding has really been wonderful with:
- Growing our social media
- Being nominated and becoming a finalist for 2 Local Business Awards
- We’ve had the opportunity to work with clients internationally
- Recently celebrated the 1st birthday of Beyond Branding with the launch of our new website.
Throughout this semester I will be using this opportunity to expand, grow & elevate the future of Beyond Branding:
- Expanding my team, by interviewing graphic designers
- Discuss short-, medium- & long-term ideas / goals that will help us to write our Business Plan which will be in weeks 11-13.
Below is a short summary of the topics I will be discussing in our podcasts in weeks 6, 8 & 10. It will outline the goals for Beyond Branding and also any research we have found that will ultimately be able to assist the development of the business plan.
One of the most important things businesses need to implement are business plans and during this semester I will be researching and creating my own business plan that will be used to assist me with the future of Beyond Branding. Business plans create a very strong foundation to build off and as Haag mentions, “Many businesses do not survive because business owners fail to develop an effective plan.“ (Haag, 2013). This is why businesses don’t survive the first 5 years of being in service because they do not have an effective plan to build off from.
Check out my pitch below:
Project Timeline for BCM 325
The process of writing out your [business] plans [it] is a great way to hone your vision: what problem are you trying to solve? Whose lives are you trying to improve? What’s your realistic timeframe for launch, sales, and profitability?
(Akalp, 2021)
Weeks 3 & 4
Continue Interview process for graphic designer
Week 5
Second rounds of interviews.
Prepare for podcast / blogpost (research)
Weeks 6 – 7
If all goes to plan, begin assigning work to selected designer.
Research, showcase findings and discuss short-term goals.
Week 8
Research, showcase findings and discuss medium-term goals.
Begin Drafting up Business Plan, gathering information.
Week 10
Research, showcase findings and discuss long-term goals.
Weeks 11-12
Begin Draft Business plan. Finishing it off for Week 13
Week 13
Finish business plan, review for future endeavours.
References:
- Haag, A., 2013. Writing a Successful Business Plan. Workplace Health & Safety, 61(1), pp.19-29.
- Akalp, N., 2021. Surviving Your First Year As A Small Business Owner. [online] Forbes. Available at: <https://www.forbes.com/sites/allbusiness/2015/05/11/surviving-first-year-as-small-business-owner/?sh=41d726528e55> [Accessed 19 March 2021].
- FreshBooks Blog – Resources & Advice for Small Business Owners. 2021. 6 Important Business Milestones in the First 5 Years. [online] Available at: <https://www.freshbooks.com/blog/business-milestones> [Accessed 16 March 2021].
- Youtube.com. 2021. [online] Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SduKH5rf850&list=PLzKJi2GjpkEEc86hKZ0HWEVxHHddsLsz5&index=3> [Accessed 15 March 2021].
Amy Micallef 
Reblogged this on Future Cultures.
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Hi Amy, I just wanted to say a great job on your pitch video! It is so well thought out and professional. The way you conveyed your information in the pitch video and your blog post made it really clear as to what you will be doing for this project.
The process which you have set out from weeks 3 to week 12 is a great way to set out what you will be doing for beyond branding, the chart of your processes was a really good tool to utilise because it really set out the short term goals you have out as a visual element.
I noticed that you have set out short term, medium-term and long term goals. This is something which I found was really interesting! You aren’t just focusing on the future of beyond branding for the next year – but from six months today till ten years ahead. I was wondering if for your project if you have maybe thought about interviewing the selected designer which you choose, if it is something which they may be interested to do. I think it would be really cool to see your perspective of beyond branding as it is your business and seeing someone who may be new to beyond branding as a graphic designer. Having an interview as part of your project may allow you to see things differently for the future beyond branding or maybe even allow you to create more plans and goals for the future of beyond branding.
I noticed in your post a specific goal for you was to grow beyond branding. I had come across this article that was produced by Forbes and is titled “6 Tips To Grow Your Business In 2021”. The interview was done with a business owner named Lintz; Lintz owns a well-established business that specialises in social media, marketing, branding and technology group.
The main points of discussion in the interview were:
“1. Focus on building lifelong relationships.”
“2. Know and focus on your core customer.”
“3. Social media is one of the most critical tools in your arsenal”
“4. Direct connections drive loyalty and interest”
“5. Reach out with concise offers.”
“6. Reinvest in your brand.”
I found that this article and interview provided really good insight into the business world. This may give you a new perspective on growing a business, creating your business plan and even brainstorming new ideas.
Great job on this project! I actually follow beyond branding on Instagram, and it has been so cool to see your work pop up on my feed; congratulations on all the success which you have created for beyond branding! All the best for the future of beyond branding and this project!
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Correction in the second paragraph of my reply: “The process which you have set out from week 3 to week 13”
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Thanks so much for commenting on my pitch! I am really glad to hear that you enjoyed it, I know when I did it there wasn’t anymore room to talk about the lectures which I realised could have gotten my marks up. It’s so funny that you just commented though because I just commented finished my comment for yours and used the Forbes as a reference for it!
Thanks again for this, I will definitely take a look into documenting the interview in the work, that would be interesting. Have a great afternoon & long weekend
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Here is the link to the Forbes article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ashleystahl/2021/01/11/6-tips-to-grow-your-business-in-2021/?sh=50d6d127b62a
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Hi Amy, your project is very well thought out and I admire the way you are using this assignment to further expand your already quite successful business. I like the way you’ve started your pitch video with a bit of context about your business. The transitions used through the pitch are smooth and overall, the video is visually brilliant. The map of your timeline labels a clear and concise sketch of your goals and using three weeks to home in on the goals is a smart idea.
Considering your main goal is to expand, grow and to elevate the business by hiring new talent for your business, I thought I would suggest you to some tips on how to conduct interviews successfully. When you’re getting ready for an interview, the smart thing to do is to read up about tips on how to make yourself look good in front of the interviewer. Well, the same applies if you’re interviewing. Once you find a talent which you want, you’ll need to be equipped with the right traits to make yourself look approachable as the business owner. https://www.forbes.com/sites/shelisrael/2012/04/14/8-tips-on-conducting-great-interviews/?sh=437e902456f1
An extra reading if needed would be from the work of Wendell Bell. A reading called ‘Making people responsible’ talks about the image we can create of the future. Might be an an article worth considering since you are looking into the future of your business. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download;jsessionid=065DFDA574366FF280C3054A66268305?doi=10.1.1.168.3943&rep=rep1&type=pdf
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Hi Amy, well done on your pitch!
I love how you are looking into creating a business plan for your very successful business that you have been working at for quite some time now. I love how you started your pitch with a short description of your business. The editing was also extremely well done and something I need to work on in my own pitch videos. The timeline you have given yourself is very achievable and great.
Considering your main goal is to increase, and expand your business to the next level I would recommend this source and look further into Gary V’s success in social media marketing to apply to your own business and increase your social media influence and hopefully attract more clients for your services. Here’s a video on 13 ways to build a better expand your brand on social media https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYilnGQ7Ub0 I hope this helps!
Associated with our lectures and readings, I feel as though are can easily allow this topic of your digital artefact to focus on the short term aspects of the future and in your business plan, I feel as though you could dive into the past in order to better the future of your brand. Paalumäki Heli 2001. ‘” Imagine a Good Day”–Bertrand de Jouvenel’s Idea of Possible Futures in the Context of Fictitious and HistoricalNarratives’. Vol. 1: The Papers of
Your digital artefact sounds so interesting, and I can’t wait to see more! Well done!
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