SMARTER STRATEGIES

Popular Software Product Gets Enterprising Ventures into the Rhythm of Growth

Dennis McCafferty | Date: 05-27-10 | Comments

Small businesses don�t necessarily want to stay that way. But they need direction to get from �here� to �there.� A solution from Palo Alto Software promises to deliver.

Talk about drumming up some business.

Like many enterprising types, percussionist Jana Broder was searching for answers about how to expand her instructional-music gigs. Based out of Tampa, Fla., she made some revenue by putting on �drum circles,� in which customers would pay to watch her play African-styled drumming and provide a tutorial along the way. Before long, she built a successful, local community of interest. But a constant question came up: Where do you take it from here?

It�s a common scenario. Small businesses are often created with great ideas that can generate demand. But they stay small because owners lack guidance. In Broder�s case, however, tapping into a tool, Business Plan Pro from Palo Alto Software, changed her entire perspective�and her growth prospects soared as a result. The experience speaks to the impact that one on-target software product can have on businesses of all kinds. Business Plan Pro has helped more than 1 million entrepreneurs and business owners by providing expert advice, sample business plans, financial models and more. Among other accolades, NPD Intelect ranks it at the top among the most popular business-plan software products.

For Broder, Palo Alto Software�s tool guided her through the often complex process of incorporation, licensing and business insurance. It helped her create growth plans and revenue goal projections. It allowed her to transform the business, Drum Magic, from an individual-customer model to one that caters to corporations and other organizations for a greater revenue base. Today, she lists clients such as American Express Business Travel, CVS and the NCAA. Business Plan Pro is also helping her further expand by creating franchises throughout the country. (She still teaches drumming to novices, and some of those students are interested in starting their own versions of Drum Magic.)

�My job nowadays is to drive all around the country towing a shiny red trailer with 150 drums in it, teaching people how to make music together,� Broder says. �I have my dream job and am actually making money off it. Many people�especially artistic types like myself�would love to work for themselves but don�t know where to start. This product helped me to overcome that challenge.�

She�s not alone. In operation for nearly a century, GoldRiver Orchards is an Oakdale, Calif.-based walnut farm that used Business Plan Pro as it expanded into processing nuts. It needed a bank loan of more than $1 million for new equipment, and the tool was used to come up with a business plan to justify that loan, as well as accommodate further expansion.

Other users have turned to the product for lower-scale needs: Sarah Lanphier was a college student who had cooked up some granola as a school fundraiser. When she realized how popular her product was, she turned it into a York, Pa.-based business, Nuts About Granola. She used Business Plan Pro to get herself, and her company, organized. �I didn�t know how to write a business plan,� she says. �We used the product as a step-by-step tool to guide us through the entire process. It made it easy.�