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Old October 2, 2000, 06:23 AM
Dien Rice
 
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Default Over $5,000 for just a few pieces of paper....

A few pieces of paper could be worth well over $5,000.

What pieces of paper would someone buy for more than $5,000?

Bill Cohen, author with Joe Cossman of the book "Making It!," used to teach business at California State University. In his course, he taught people how to make a business plan.

He used to show them a plan which a friend of his had developed, and which he had sold for $5,000.

He told his students, "The business plans you make will be worth $5,000 too."

Cohen had his students draw from a hat the type of business plan they had to create. One of his students was a recent Armenian immigrant named Leon Ashjian. When he reached into the hat, Leon selected "business directory."

The plans didn't have to be implemented, but they could be if the student wanted to do it. Leon decided that he would implement his business plan. He further refined the idea, to create a business directory of Armenian businesses in the Los Angeles area, targeting the Los Angeles Armenian community.

Leon decided that he would charge businesses to be included in the directory, and then sell the directory afterwards, so he could make money at both ends.

He managed to collect a number of merchants who paid to be in his directory. By the end of the academic semester (and the end of the course), Leon had already collected $2,000. Then the course ended, and summer vacation began. Cohen then didn't hear from Leon for several months.

Then Leon called. He wanted some advice on a new business venture he was starting.

"What happened to the business directory marketing plan?" Bill Cohen asked.

"I sold the plan to someone else," said Leon.

"How much did you get?"

"$5,000" Leon replied.

"$5,000?" Cohen asked, wondering how Leon came up with that amount.

"That's how much you said it was worth."

It's possible that Leon could have gotten much more!

Several years later, Bill Cohen told Leon's story to a group of other business professors, as well as marketing professionals working in industry. Afterwards, one of the marketing professionals was examining Cohen's students' plans with great interest.

"Did your students really do these business plans?" he asked.

"Absolutely."

"In that case," he said, "Don't tell your students that they are worth $5,000. We do them professionally, and your students plans are in no way inferior to ours. We charge $25,000 each!"

Cohen goes on to say that a doctor friend of his was recently inquiring to a firm to create a business plan for a comprehensive medical service. That firm quoted a price of $50,000.

A business plan is a few sheets of paper. But a lot of thought must go into it. It's like a road map to success in your business.

I've recently created a mini business plan for Sowpub, and I'm in the process of creating a fully fledged business plan right now. It will help me organize this business to take it in the direction I want it to go.

You've undoubtedly heard of business plans before, maybe even 10 or 100 times before. It's nothing new, it's old hat. But have you ever created one?

Those few pieces of paper could be worth $5,000 or more to someone.

But it could be worth far more to you, if it brings you success and direction in your business!

Dien Rice

P.S. Bill Cohen's story I rewrote (in my own words) from the book "Making It!" by William A. Cohen and E. Joseph Cossman. It's a great book. :)
 


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