Business Forecasting 101

Because forecasting is such an integral part of business planning, I liked this straightforward treatment of business forecasting that I found the other day at The BizJournal.

Given the dearth of business forecasting information in the blogosphere, we decided to begin 2009 with a series on the art. Yes, it is very much an art. This post will contain an overview of the discipline. Subsequent posts will focus on the methodologies mentioned below.

Good idea. I also like the emphasis on art rather than science, because one of the biggest problems in forecasting is the fear that somebody else knows better, that you, the business owner, are not supposed to do your own business forecast.

So this is a good overview.

I also took a look at the first three parts of the series that follows; they're about forecasting without past data. That's a big sore point with a lot of people doing business planning, so I'm glad they're covering it. So far, though, their treatment is only the technical side, and needs a bit of real-world educated guessing added on.

Maybe I'll add that myself, in this blog ... coming soon.