A focused business plan and mission statement are vital to the success of a small business -- or any business, for that matter, the Davis Chamber of Commerce's Success Forum was told Tuesday. Brett Harward, himself a successful businessman who now consults with dozens of business owners, said 90-95 percent of new businesses don't have a business plan or mission statement.

He pointed to mission statements of some household name firms, such as this one: "To give the same opportunities for poor people to buy as rich people," which is from retail giant Wal-Mart. Another one: "To give unlimited opportunity to women," comes from Mary Kay Cosmetics.

"There are three components to business: shareholders, employees and customers," Harward said. "Most public companies get down to the penny on what they will earn." On the other hand, "small businesses usually don't know" what kind of profit, if any, to expect, he said.

"As an investor, I would want to know what the strengths and weaknesses of a business would be, who the management team is," Harward said.

"A business plan is not to gloss over things, but it's to point out the more critical areas, the business objectives," he continued.

So often, small businesses don't seem to have much clue as to who their real audience is, or should be. He recalled a carpet company whose owners said they geared their business to everybody. "How many men buy carpet?" Harward asked the group meeting at the Davis Applied Technology College. "None," seemed to be the consensus.

As it turns out, based on solid research, women from about 35 to 55 are most likely the ones to purchase carpet, he said. When it comes to home buyers, those going into their first home usually have a choice of several carpet colors provided by their builder.

Another firm, a printing company, had specialized in printing limited edition, self-published books. That was 90 percent of their business. But after consulting with them, Harward said that business expanded into helping clients with other, related aspects, creating new revenue.

Sometimes it's seemingly small factors that can open horizons for a business, Harward said. He used his former company that provided computer software for pest control firms across the country as an example.

There were basically two companies that provided this service, both with about 50 percent of the business. "I didn't (initially) care what that company did, didn't do competitive research," Harward said. "They (other company) didn't have half the features we had, but did well on customer service. But one thing customers told us is that they're closed for lunch."

His firm started a campaign capitalizing on the fact its customer service was never closed, even expanded it to sufficient hours that, from its Arizona base, it could serve customers during regular business hours from the East Coast to Hawaii. Eventually, 24-hour customer care access was provided.

All of that led to eventually claiming 90 percent of the market. "That other firm was out to lunch, literally and figuratively," Harward said, never guessing why they lost so much business.

Companies also need to realistically plan for an exit strategy, taking into account assets and profits, and sales goal, he emphasized.