1. participation activity: form of ownership research/discussion buying an existing business (1) sole proprietorship (2) partnership (3) corporation (4) dealerships (5) joint ventures & associations (6) …using your textbook & other sources, read about and research your assigned business type …come to class ready to discuss your findings

2. INTD 55 business practices planning for profit and growth Understanding who we are, what we are capable of, and how we can best perform within the business world is key.

3. planning for profit and growth designers need to measure their love of the design process against the time spent and the money earned developing a firm— understand its best abilities realize what you have to work with & go after work that is appropriate for your team missing spots filled by consultants key areas covered by principals of firm review market to determine needs—know community dynamics

4. planning for profit and growth—planning establishes priorities provides a map and direction for activities that lead to achievement of goals makes decision making simpler—provides a tool to measure against without a plan it is easy to make no decisions or to be pushed & pulled by events be proactive instead of reactive

5. planning for profit and growth—setting goals deal first with personal professional goals & then financial goals of company personal goals: do they fit realistically in the interior design field? how long do you want to stay in the field? where do you see yourself in 3 years? what annoys you? what make you happy? write down goals organize in order of importance readdress goals every 3-6 months

6. planning for profit and growth—setting goals business goals— define clearly possible goals might be growth, increased profit, increasing the rate of profit, increasing market share consider where you want to be in 5 years be flexible procrastination can keep you from reaching goals mission statement used as a constant daily reference helps keep you on the right track

7. formulating a business plan 1.type of business 2.location 3.product 4.facilities required 5.marketing plans 6.your competition 7.available funds 8.revenue expectations 9.expense projections 10.administrative structure 11.support services & staff 12.your time schedule

8. planning for profit factors that affect your profits liability is a huge issue these days—insurance can reduce your cash losses job processing—the faster a job can be completed the more profitable it is accounts receivable expected to be paid within 30 days—more realistic within 60 days making each job extremely different make profit projections difficult—firms that specialize tend to be most profitable

9. planning for profit ways to increase profits 1.increase total sales or amount of income secured by firm 2.increase the amount of profit or markup growth is really the key to profits should be a gradual process should occur by improving services

10. planning for profit analyzing your firm and its direction important to take the time to do analysis of projects every 5-10 years. to make analysis easier, document each project consistently & with the following information: 1.name of the project 2.name of the client 3.location of the project 4.type of construction 5.size of the project 6.type of services the firm provided 7.design accomplishments

11. planning for profit analyzing your firm and its direction 8.size of the fee 9.profit of the project 10.percentage of profit on the total project 11.source of the job 12.expected referrals 13.publicity potential how can you use these projects as a base for acquiring new projects over the next 5 years?

12. planning for profit evaluating your team once you define firm’s direction then it must be determined whether your staff or team is properly oriented to handle objectives—evaluate each & every member and keep evaluations/lists of abilities evaluate any top-level consultants that you partner with as well—they may be capable of working with us in ways we are not aware of

13. selling your business when you open a business, you should know how long you are going to keep it and how you are going to sell it if you are making the investment & going to the effort of establishing a working company it should be something valuable ask yourself before you start how can you create a company that has value, could continue, and be saleable?

14. selling your business If you plan to sell in the next few years: try to show as much profit on your books as possible spend time developing your clients & establishing contracts organize copyrights or patents update mailing lists reexamine inventory with an eye toward eliminating what is not current hire a good appraiser to evaluate your building & various advantages of property location organize your business management system so it can easily be taken over review workforce and try to line up best people possible take stock of your financial situation—with your accountant, determine how much capital is required to run the business

15. participation activity: mission statement …research & read mission statements from successful businesses and other institutions …brainstorm what you want in a business, combine this with what you have found from your research & create a rough draft of your mission statement …be prepared to discuss your mission statement in the next class