"Business Development Theory" takes various shapes and forms, but in essence it is a range of ideas concerning developing a business, or in plain terms, starting and growing a business, to create a viable, profit making enterprise.

Taking a systems approach to business development is essential, and forms the basis of the franchise industry, where a prototype is developed, and then sold to entrepreneurs as a proven business system, pre-developed for the new owner.

But when you are starting from scratch and developing your own business ideas into a business system, where do you start?  

The starting point should be developing your "strategic objective" - in plain words, what is it you need to achieve, what must the business deliver in terms of financial results and the related lifestyle you want to have as a business owner.  What kind of income do you need /want, what sort of lifestyle is it you have in mind, what are your minimum requirements.

Once you have thought about your personal goals and desires, realistically assess whether the business that you are planning to develop can achieve the necessary results in financial terms, and in other terms such as time spent at work and at home with the family, holidays, and possible exit strategies i.e. will you be able to sell the business at some point?

I have been giving this some thought and came up with a rough guide which I thought was quite fun, and not to be taken too seriously, but possible quite useful, see what you think, comments welcome,

In Financial Terms:

100% success -  Rich

80% success - Financial independence

50% success - Comfortable living

30% success - Struggle to make ends meet, trading losses

0% success - Insolvency

In Personal terms:

100% success - be your own boss

80% success - freedom from rat race, retire early

50% success - your business is a job

30% success - work long hours, no holidays

0% success - dream becomes a nightmare

The above is a bit of an attempt to put matters in perspective.  Starting a business is a risky undertaking, I should know, I am a Liquidator by trade.  More fail than succeed, but the dream of success is strong, and entrepreneurs are optimists by nature.

But it pays to be realistic about your strategic objectives, to assess whether a particular business opportunity can deliver the financial and personal rewards you are seeking, and to make a realistic assessment of the risks of failure, and to manage the development of the business to minimise these risks at every possible opportunity.

Once you have found a business opportunity that meets your strategic objectives, you can move to the next stage of the business development process.