5 Year Business Plan

Several people have recently asked me to assist them with writing a 5 year business plan. Rather than trying to explain the concept multiple times.  I decided to write a short blog on the process.  Below you will find the outline to a 5 year business plan with my own personal notes and thoughts on the subject.

1.  Executive Summery                                                                        

      Venture Description

        Product or Service

        Start up cost

        Price and Profits 

2.  Vision and Mission Statement                                                  

        Company Values

        Mission statement

        Vision

        Code of Ethics

        Objectives and Goals

        Quality Assurance

3.  Company Overview                                                                       

        Product

        Stage of Development

        Production

        Quality Assurance

4.  Product and Service Plan-----------------------------------------------

5.  Marketing Plan                                                                               

        Description of the Market

        Target Market

        Customer Benefits

        Growth Potential of the Industry

        Industry and Market trends

        Market Penetration Projections and Strategies

        Competition profile and Analysis 

        Advertising and Promotional Plan

        Sales Plan

        

6.  Ownership and Management Plan                                                

       Geographic Location and Facilities

        Production

        Purchasing and Inventory management

        Quality Assurance Plan

        Accounts Control

        Risk Management

        Crime Prevention

7.  Operating Plan                                                                      

8.  Financial Plan & Assumption                                                     

        Three Year Assumption

                Sales Estimate and Financing

                  Price, Sales and Profitability Analysis

                  Cost of Product/Service

                  Required Taxes and Fees:

                Gross Margin

                  Financial Projections

9.  Growth Plan                                                                             

         New Offerings to Market

         Capital Requirements

          Personal Requirements

          Exit Strategies

This is a brief overview of what is required for a 5 year business plan.  I will go into detail over the coming weeks for each section 

Forgiving the face of evil

• Today was an interesting day in the land of Joyce. Someone near and dear to my heart had an emotional trigger that took him down memory lane.  Unfortunately his memories are the things night mares are made of.  The child hood he spoke of was not full of sweet dreams and thoughts of a parents love.  His childhood was filled with torture and abuse that most of us will, thankfully, never know.  The stories I heard made my hair curl. My heart was heavy as I heard story after story of the life of a child that should have been filled with happy laughter and sunshine, but instead was filled with fear and pain that a child can not and should not have to understand.  I asked why he still associated with the tormentors and I was informed that he had chosen to forgiven them and all was well with his soul. Those are very bold words.  We all have a choice. We can let the past eat us alive, or we can chose to let it go and forgive. This is when you have to remind yourself that "You can do all things through Christ who strengthens you."  Forgiveness does not mean that what the evil doers did was in any way acceptable. It means that the sin committed against you not longer controls your life.  I had glimpses of his past before, and even then, I marveled at the level of forgiveness in which he claimed to operate.  In fact I truly and honestly thought he was confusing denial with forgiveness.  But as the story unfolded today, I realized that this incredible person had truly chosen to forgive his tormentors and live a life free of hatred and strife.  He admits that it took a number of years to get to this point, but as an old song says "he learned to live again, as he learned to forgive, one memory at a time".
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• Driving home I prayed and asked God "How do you forgive the face of evil?" Surely it can not be that easy?  Being mean is one thing, but how do you forgive someone who so obviously laid awake at night and thought up new ways of torturing the children they were suppose to protect?  At this time, God reminded me of Corrie Ten Boom.  She looked into the face of evil every day while imprisoned in the Nazi concentration camps and still managed to find a way to forgive her captors. That is not to say that both, Corrie and this person did not separate themselves from the tormentors, it is just saying that they no longer allowed the evil that was forced upon them to control their lives.
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• The hard part for me is to not pick up the offense on behalf of this person. My flesh wants to yell and scream and show this evil to the world.  But, that is not acceptable. Than I would be no better than they are.  I can not afford to have my blessings hindered because I have chosen not to forgive. Forgiveness is absolutely crucial to living a peaceful life in this present era before we transition to heaven. God tells us to forgive for our benefit, not His. If the victim can learn to forgive, than who am I to not forgive on my end.  Forgiveness is not an option.The moral of the story??? Forgive often, forgive always, and forgive the way Jesus forgave.

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I Cried a Little

I cried a little today.  Strange but true. I had watched a television show about two people who had shut themselves off from love due to past hurt.  Today they finally let their guard down long enough to realize how deeply they cared for each other.  I took a moment to have a pity party all by myself and I shed a couple of tears and asked God why. Why is it so hard for some people to love and be loved.  I did not like the answer.  If we reap the harvest that we have planted, than the harvest we are reaping is a direct result of our own planting.  If one desires to be loved unconditionally, than one must, indeed, love unconditionally.  A person must accept another person the way they are, warts and all, if that same person wishes to be accepted the way God created that person to be, warts and all. We do not, usually,  like this answer.  We want the other person to change.  We want that person to ride in on a white horse and carry us away.  But the truth is, we can not change anyone except ourselves.  If we want our mate to be a better person, than we must start by being a better person ourselves.  So, here is my resolve for my own personal life; to stop complaining every time I pick up a plate left in the living room, to stop mentioning the obvious every time a pair of socks are let on the floor, to stop being the one who waits to see if someone is going to take out the trash (just do it).  I am not sure if I will be successful the first attempt, or the second, or the third.  But if I am better tomorrow than I was today, it will be a good day.  If I am better next week than this week, it will be an awesome week.  If I am better next year than this year, I will rejoice.  I do not have to perfect this over night.  I just have to be better.  Better everyday than the day before.  If I am tempted 6 times tomorrow and overcome one time, it is a victory.  If by next year I am still tempted 6 times but overcome 3 times, I will rejoice.  Someday I will look back and realize that I was not even tempted on that day.  It no longer taunts me.  Every day strive to be better than the day before and it will be good enough..
Blessings

Joyce

Momma

I was told 6 1/2 years ago that momma had 2 to 3 weeks to live.  Maybe 2 to 3 years at best.  My brother stayed with her for the first 3 years and then she came to live with me.  She is a survivor.  She went to the hospital for an asthma attack and had surgery for a very aggressive thyroid cancer.  She lost her vocal cords, and her ability to swallow.  She has a tracheotomy and a feeding tube.  But as you can see in the photo, she did not lose her ability to smile.  I was lying in bed tonight allowing my mind to go places it probably should not go.  The reality of her age (84) and all of her medical problems lead me to thinking about the fact that one day soon (not to soon, hopefully) she will indeed go on to be with Jesus.  I thought about the momma shaped hole it would leave in my life.  Only one thing can fill a hole like that...God, Himself.
One of my children's church kiddos told me about a computerized shape sorter for toddlers.  Sometimes you can force a round peg into a square hole, but the computer would recognize it as a wrong shape and cause it to drop out the bottom so the toddler would have to try again and fill the hole correctly.  This 10 year old boy then told me that the toy was like the God shaped hole in our hearts.  He said no matter how hard you try to fill it with something else, it will never be filled until the day you fill it with God.  Pretty deep stuff for a 10 year old.
So when that day comes that I must say good by for now to my momma, I must remember that the only thing that can fill that hole that she will leave in my life is God.  I am not much of a drinker and even less in favor of medication.  I know people who try to fill the holes in their lives with those two things though.  They are temporary fillers that cause the hole to be even larger when the hangovers hit and the meds wear off.  But God.  That is all you need to know.  But God.  I have heard so many ex drunks and drug addicts give their testimony and then they say "But God".  "But God had a different plan for my life." "But God decided to step in" " But God knew better".  When that day comes and someday I give my testimony on how I got through it, I will say, But God moved and filled my momma shaped hole with His presence.   But God.
I know this has NOTHING to do with purses, but I need to share.  My mom and I laugh together, we cry together, we get mad at each other, we boss each other around, but mostly, at the end of the day, we love each other.  Give your momma a hug tonight and think about filling the God shaped hole in your life with the very presence of God Himself.
Blessings,

Joyce

Happy Birthday to me!  Yesterday was my birthday!  I am now 57 years old.  I am not quite sure how this happened.  It was just yesterday that I was 18 and still rocking a bikini.  My mid drift has not seen the sun in so long now that it would blind you with how white it is!  But (there is always a but), I would not go back again.  I love where I am in life these days.  I love every bit of my 57 years; the wrinkles, the fat, the memories, all of it. Two of my closest friends came over yesterday and had a birthday tea party just for me.  We spent the day talking about past, present, and future.
I think it was only suppose to last a couple of hours, but as usual, we stretched it out to about 9 hours.  We laughed, we peed a little, and then we laughed some more!  We talked about everything...and I mean everything! I could not and would not have appreciated a tea party when I was 18.  I could not and would not have appreciated the importance of life time friendships when I was 18.  Both things that I now embrace and enjoy.  There is something about a cup of tea with friends.  Good friends do not come along very often, so when you find yours, do not ever let go.  There are highs and lows and everything in between along the way.  The stories you share from years gone by will fill your heart and overflow your eyes with tears.  We have been through death, birth, husbands, jobs, ministries, and every other conceivable situation in our friendships.  Sometimes I am a little jealous of these two remarkable women that God has placed in my life.  At 24 years of friendship, I am still the new kid on the block.  They have known each other since high school.  I came in about 15 years later.  They talk about high school dance team and people from the past that I do not know.  That is ok though and I really don't mind.  We have 24 years of memories together that are irreplaceable.  The day culminated with prayer.  They both gathered around me and prayed a prayer of blessing over my life.  What more could a person ask for.  Thank you Shari and Shana.  My tea party was exquisite, but the best gift I got was from God and that was the gift of you.  I love you.
Blessings
Joyce

OH, the smell of leather!
It has now been 9 years of learning and experimenting and here I am presenting my first all leather handbag.  What a journey it has been.  After making this bag, I found a youtube video on making leather bags that explained some of the difficulties I had.  It was a series of 6 two hour videos and I spent the better part of the day watching them.  I can not wait to get back out in the shop and put to use the things I learned.  I now have a 35 x 52 foot shop of which I have 8x35 feet of the space.  My husband took the rest of the space for his wood working!  However, my 8 x 35 has air conditioning and wood heat, so it was a trad off.  Anyway, I digress!  The purse below is my very first all leather purse.  I am very pleased with it considering it was my first.  The great thing about my customers is that they always push me beyond my abilities.  They never allow me to settle in to my comfort zone for very long.  I must admit, it took forever to get this one done considering that in the middle of making it, I developed a virus from you know where!  It hung on forever and then turned into bronchial  pneumonia and then pulled muscles in my rib cage from coughing so hard.   It took a total of 6 weeks to completely heal and I am still working on getting my strength back.  Then I was finally able to finish the purse.  It is a very late Christmas present for a friend's mother.  I hope she loves it. Anyhow, back to the videos on you tube, the gentleman in the video mentioned that he gives classes in Houston Tx.  It is $800 to attend and I am seriously considering it.  There is so much to learn and apply.  That is all for now.  Everyone have a great 2016!

Time

Time slips away.  So many things have changed.  I have been reminiscing about my walk with God, life, family, and business.  So many changes since I started Purse-Suit Designs 8 years ago.  I no longer sell furniture for a living, I am a full time college student getting my degree in business, I now have 5 grandsons and a step grand daughter, all of my children are grown, my mother survived cancer but was left with many medical concerns so she lives with me now, my designs have evolved, sales broke $2000 last year.  I know that doesn't sound like much, but for me it is a lot.  I am embarrassed to look back at the photos  of purses I made in the beginning.  I am surprised that my family and friends supported me in my endeavor.  Many sewing machines, classes, and failures have led to this day and time.  I have become stronger, more talented, and more determined.  God has brought me to this place and will continue to bring me to where I need to be located.  All glory to Him.  I have new designs, new fabrics, an embroider machine, a leather machine, and a new straight stitch machine.  I am learning things about business that I thought were impossible.  I have a group of people surrounding me that give me honest feedback about fabrics, marketing, and prices.  The last 8 years have been great, but the next 8 will be phenomena!  Thank you to everyone for your strength and encouragement.