The Magic and Power of the ‘Biz’ Plan

Going GREEN with Accem Scott, owner of Green Brothers Solar Company.

by Kimberly Hunter

The first quarter of 2011 has sped by like a cyclist in the tour de France. As a mountain community we have seen more of our neighbors laid off, large companies move out of the area, and unexpected social and economic changes transform our region. Despite all this instability, small businesses continue to flourish in Western North Carolina.

Everywhere we look, a new locally owned business is popping up with promise and hope for the future, and each time we hope for it to thrive and survive the ups and downs to come. We watch with bated breath month after month and year after year as the community grows and its needs change.

And we ask ourselves…why is it that some businesses seem not to be adversely affected by sudden swings of change while others crumble under the tiniest of shifts? How do some businesses go unscathed, and others end up in the small business emergency room (SBER)? According to Accem Scott, owner of Green Brothers Solar, the answer is magic! That’s right….magic.

Accem Scott has owned and operated businesses for as long as he can
remember. Like most serial entrepreneurs, Accem possesses the fire,
determination, and focus required to start and grow a business. But
until he moved to Western North Carolina and opened Green Brothers
Solar, there had been one piece of magic missing—developing the business
plan.

Scott and his friend Denny Pinegar conceptualized and began laying the
foundation for Green Brothers Solar in 2009 while enrolled in the
Foundations Business Planning Program at Mountain Bizworks. The notion
began with two business divisions. The first was to build sustainable,
energy-efficient bungalow-style homes of 800 to 1,000 square feet. The
second plan was to sell and install solar thermal hot water units while
training youth in the green jobs industry.

Developing a business plan was a very different approach than Scott had
taken in the past. He confesses, “The excitement of business has always
been there for me. In every business I owned prior to Green Brothers
Solar, I never really knew if I was making money. I was always
struggling in some form or another.”

“Excitement” and “struggling” are two words rarely used together to
describe an experience worth repeating. Serial entrepreneurs tend to
combine the tenacity of an underdog in a boxing match with the endurance
of an iron man triathlete. The excitement of the continuing pursuit of
success, coupled with the struggle to push past obstacles and setbacks,
push entrepreneurs to a level of devotion typical of small business
owners. But according to Scott, neither is quite enough to maintain
continued success.

“There is something truly powerful to have the vision written down
first. It is almost like magic. There is no real reason for it except
there must be power in writing the plan down and creating the structure
around it,” Scott says.

He recognized that utilizing the small business tools offered by
Mountain Bizworks could add new skill sets to his existing business
acumen. The Foundations Business Planning Course and GO Program have
provided the tools to build the skills and knowledge required to start,
maintain, and grow Green Brothers Solar.

“One of the biggest benefits of participating in the course is I now
know the exact number of items we have to sell to cover our overhead and
costs,” says Scott. “In my other businesses I didn’t have a plan and it
always seemed like I was covering my costs. But in actuality I was
robbing Peter to pay Paul. Now with the plan, I absolutely know what it
takes stay in business.”

So is that the difference? The magic? The power? Is this all that
separates those who weather the storms of small business ownership year
after year from those who move onto peaceful lakes?

According to Sharon Oxendine, a former entrepreneur herself and now
Director of the Women’s Business Center at Mountain Bizworks, the magic
and power are found, in part, in selecting industries that demonstrate
consistent growth.

“We have seen tremendous growth in green-oriented businesses, especially
in the green building market,” explains Oxendine. “Based on average
materials costs, green building materials represented approximately $7
billion in cumulative spending through 2009, which is expected to reach a
cumulative $230 billion by 2030.”

That sounds a lot like market research: find out what people need and
when they need it. In this age, statistical data is available for every
piece of information a prospective business owner needs to be properly
informed about an industry, including potential clients and trends. But
many would-be entrepreneurs forego research and asking for the help they
need to enter into the marketplace informed, strong, and ready.
Instead, they struggle with “juggling” and “winging it” in order to save
money and time in the short run.

Accem Scott says, “The biggest lesson for me in developing and following
my business plan has come in understanding I don’t have to juggle all
the pieces of the business. I can’t do it all. I need people who have
the skills I do not possess. Juggling has just been a form of survival. I
can clearly see why a lot of people juggle or multi-task. When I
stopped juggling and just stuck with the plan, I gained more time and
balance in my life. The (business) plan has allowed me to enjoy the
balance so I can stay in it for the long haul.”

So that just might be the “it” factor…the magic…the power. Perhaps the
determinant distinguishing the staying power of each hopeful
small-business newcomer is the search for balance—between work and home;
success and failure, family and community. Perhaps the magic and power
start with the business plan and continue with balance. Whether this is
the case or not, Scott and thousands of other small businesses began and
have continued their magical journeys with tools established in the
Foundations Business Planning Course at Mountain BizWorks.

Mountain BizWorks helps small businesses start, grow and create jobs
through lending, consulting and training with a commitment to fostering
economic abundance for all. To attend a free information session about
the power of the “Biz” plan, contact Mountain BizWorks at (828) 253-2834
x 27.