Interview Questions
I get asked, from time to time, to provide interview questions for radio interviews. Of course this is something I’m happy to do, but I should also add that I’m even happier to answer questions posed as they come up. I never want me or an interviewer to be constrained in any way by some list of planned questions.
So, just to make sure we’re clear, these are just suggestions:
On business planning:
- Why plan-as-you-go business planning?
- What does that mean?
- How is it different from any other business plan?
- How is it better?
- Are business plans (or business planning) obsolete?
- You say all business plans are wrong, but vital. Aren’t they just wrong?
- What if I ask you why bother? A business plan is a lot of trouble, why should I bother to do it.
- Especially if I’m a smaller startup or small business or single-person or home office business … I don’t really need a business plan, because I’m not looking for investors or some bank loan. In that case, really, why bother?
- Okay, so business plans are a dime a dozen. I can get them free off of the Internet. I can buy a finished plan for $25. Why bother to actually write one.
- What are the most important parts of a business plan. What one thing would you do if you were going to do only that?
- How long should a business plan be?
- How should a business plan be produced?
- What are some common mistakes?
- How long have you been at this?
- What about business plan software? Tell us why your software product, Business Plan Pro, is worth the price.
- What about sample business plans? Can’t I just use one of those?
- When should I turn to a business plan writer, or a business plan consultant? And how much should that cost?
- Tell us about the best business plan you’ve ever seen?
- How about the worst?
- What do you have as a final thought?
On Starting a Business:
- What do you need to start a business?
- Is this a good time to start a business?
- What are some good businesses to start?
- What businesses have you started, and how did they work out?
- Have you started anything that failed?
- What’s the single most important factor in startup success?
- How do I figure out how much it’s going to cost?
- How do I deal with the risks in starting a business?
- Is there a formula for how much money I should have in the bank?
- How do I decide whether to hire or use consultants?
- Seriously, especially if I’m not looking for investment or loans, why should I do a business plan?
On Home Office Businesses
- Does a home office business need a business plan?
- Why would a home office business need or want a business plan?
- Seriously, even if it’s not a matter of getting investment or applying for a loan, would you still want a business plan for a home office business?\
- What would be the main benefits?
- Say it’s not a matter of investment or loans … describe that plan, please. What does it cover? what does it look like?
- What would a home office business lose by not having a business plan? Or, conversely, what are the benefits of the business plan?
- What’s most important? If you could only recommend one thing to a home office business person, related to planning, what would that be?
- Is it true you started Palo Alto Software in a bedroom of your house?
- How long were you in the home office?
- Why did you move out?
- What do you think are the reasons for running a business from the home? What are the reasons not to?
- What are some of the mistakes to avoid?
- How can you minimize the downsides of the home office?
- What do you recommend when people ask — start in the home office, or move out and rent offices? Why?
