Do this with your behavior analytic business idea.

By Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D

bSci21Media

Skinner once wrote a paper titled “How to discover what you have to say.”  The main point of his paper was that you should start writing about your idea before it even makes sense.  Just write it down, and you are more likely to respond to your own verbal products (i.e., words on the page/screen) in a continuous loop of verbal relating with your own verbal products.  In other words, you start to respond verbally to your own words in a way that isn’t possible without writing.

Through this process of self-relating, you will generate thoughts and ideas that you likely would have never generated otherwise.  You can then apply this to your business idea within the framework of a business plan.

You can think of the process of writing a business plan, at the very least, as an exercise in self-discovery.  An exercise in discovering what you have to say, or what your business will be about.  Even if you never plan to show it to anyone else, the business plan is a great tool to make it more likely that you think through your own business in a coherent and thorough way.

A business is a verbal construction, and you want to make sure it is on a solid verbal foundation.

If you have additional questions about the business plan process, schedule a meeting and we can talk soon!

Todd A. Ward, PhD, BCBA-D is the President and Founder of bSci21Media, LLC, which owns the top behavior analytic media outlet in the world, bSci21.org.  bSci21Media aims to disseminate behavior analysis to the world and to support ABA companies around the globe through the Behavioral Science in the 21st Century blog and its subsidiaries, bSciEntrepreneurial, bSciWebDesign, bSciWriting, bSciStudios and the ABA Outside the Box CEU series.  Dr. Ward received his PhD in behavior analysis from the University of Nevada, Reno under Dr. Ramona Houmanfar.  He has served as a Guest Associate Editor of the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management, and as an Editorial Board member of Behavior and Social Issues.  Dr. Ward has also provided ABA services to children and adults with various developmental disabilities in day centers, in-home, residential, and school settings, and previously served as Faculty Director of Behavior Analysis Online at the University of North Texas.  Dr. Ward is passionate about disseminating behavior analysis to the world and growing the field through entrepreneurship. Todd can be reached at [email protected]