One morning you might wake up and like a ton of bricks a great idea for creating and starting your online business comes to mind, and you hadn’t a doubt in your mind that you could turn it into a huge success. Start with the end in mind. Are you planning to start a new business? If you find a viable business you like, document your intentions, intended deal structure and what exact information you need to start your purchase due diligence.

Many small businesses start with a business plan based on guesses. The idea for you business plan comes to mind, its time to start the new business and you are all ready to go but the only problem is that you need money, so it is time to find the investors, angel investors and you will need to show them your business plan.

If you plan to jump into the fray, however, the first step is to create a solid business plan. The business plan you create will be one of the most important documents in your new businesses. It doesn’t matter if your business is just getting started or it is an existing business, creating a business plan helps you understand your business.

If so, have you started writing your business plan yet. In all honestly, when writing anything, even a business plan, it is the wording that makes all the difference in the world. Writing a plan for your project requires you to have an idea and vision of the whole project, the component parts of the project and the operating system behind your project.

The world is full of business-minded individuals, whether their goals are to lead a multi-million dollar company into the future, or simply start their own small business to provide services that are in demand and services they enjoy performing. You will need a brief outline of your business, your mission statement, goals, balance sheet, income statement, projected cash flow and plan for unforeseen hindrances.

Therefore, it is very important for the potential business owner to spend as much time and effort preparing and creating a business plan as they do finding the perfect location and the best restaurant ovens. Show why potential customers will award business to you, rather than your competition. One page of your business plan can have the following information: it can contain the potential partners, employees, board of directors, and you can show where the business will be in future years.

Angel investors want you to succeed and often they also like to give their input and if you end up taking their money for your startup, the need to realize that their input needs to be taken seriously. One of the great myths is that you only need a Business Plan if you are going to borrow money from a bank. A business plan of a start up business making no money — for example — is going to be bigger than the ones that are running and making money already. The angel and VC investors, are risking their capital money when they invest in your business, they hope in the long run they will receive returns that is worth many times what they put in.

David Fishman
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/starting-a-business-you-need-a-plan-129789.html

Many women are so confused by the words – “Business Plan”. What is it? Who do I show it to? Do I really need it? What is it really going to do for me?

A business plan is a written blueprint for your business. It describes a summary of what your business is about and it’s goals. It also outlines how your business will function. The term “business plan” was first developed by bankers who wanted a detailed report of how a business would result in profits before they would make a decision on lending money. Today, no business banker will even entertain a business loan application without a business plan.

In a nutshell, the answer is yes, you really do need a business plan if you really want to build a solid foundation under your home-based business.

I guess the reason so many women procrastinate in doing a business plan is because they think they have to come up with some imaginary figures and statistics about their business which is of course very scary for anyone. This type of plan is known as an Executive Business Plan. This plan is shown to banks, SBA and other lenders who you may apply to for a substantial loan. Usually, this type of business plan must show a 3-5 year projection of how much money your business would make if they should lend you a specific sum of money. Although you will need this type of business plan should you wish to expand your business, the most important thing for you to know now is where you will be in the next 3,6,9 and 12 months.
One of the best form of business plans to start out with is the “Working Business Plan”. This plan answers the 5 “W’s” – Who, What, Where, When and Why.

There is no pre-required length that a Working Business Plan should be. Just remember that you aren’t writing to impress, you are writing to address the important issues of starting your business. This plan is just for your planning purposes and can be expanded later on into a full executive plan.
The following outline will help you in processing your thoughts and writing your Working Business Plan.

1. Mission Statement – What is the goal of your business. What purpose does it serve.

2. Objective – What will the outcome be for your business as a result of your mission. (ex: K.G. enterprises will gross over $50,000 it’s first year with a 5% error margin on its documents).

3. Management – Who will run the business and what qualifications does the person have. What additional skills or resources are needed? What are the names of others that might be able to serve as mentors or help you in grooming your business for success?

4. Service/Product – What products or services are being offered? How will they be produced. If you are selling a product, how much of the product will you need in stock? Do you have the start-up capital needed to purchase the produce? If no, how will you raise the capital needed?

5. Customers – Who are your customers? What area are they in? Is this a service or product they will want to buy? Do a typical profile of a repeat customer.
6. Competition – Who are your competitors? Where are they located? What are their prices? What services or products do they sell? How could you do better?

7. Marketing – How will you market your business? How much money will you need to market your business? How is your competition marketing their business? Do you need business cards, brochure, stationery, fliers etc.?

8. Office Set-up – What are your daily office procedures, what will you do each day that will result in the sale of your service or product? What bookkeeping system will you use and how often will you input your information in the system? Do you need a bookkeeper? What supplies do you need? What type of furniture do you need? What office equipment will you need? Where will your office be?

9. Finances – HOW MUCH MONEY WILL YOU NEED FOR THE FOLLOWING?

$ Your Income
$ Advertising/Promotion
$ Bank Fees
$ Business Insurance
$ Business Lease/Rent
$ Internet (include website, hosting etc.)
$ Supplies
$ Postage
$ Printing
$ Telephone
$ Training
$ Utilities
$ Marketing/Advertising
$ Equipment
$ Furniture

10. Networking – Who needs to know about your new venture and why? What contacts do you need to have? Why do you need to know them? What can they help you with?

Contact Management

Establish a good contact management system for yourself. Today, keeping a list of contacts on paper is not efficient. A good contact management software will be needed. If you currently use MS Office, you should have MS Outlook already installed and it will serve the purpose nicely. Other popular contact management software are ACT and Goldmine. Regardless of what contact system you have you must be willing to update your system at least twice per week.

Evaluate how you will manage you contact system. Make sure to schedule this in your planner or palm.

Establish a good contact management system for yourself. Today, keeping a list of contacts on paper is not efficient. A good contact management software will be needed. If you currently use MS Office, you should have MS Outlook already installed and it will serve the purpose nicely. Other popular contact management software are ACT and Goldmine. Regardless of what contact system you have you must be willing to update your system at least twice per week. Evaluate how you will manage you contact system. Make sure to schedule this in your planner or palm.

11. Sales The number of clients you service or products you sale will give you a true picture as to whether or not you are having success with your business. But first, you must have a measurable sales goal in achieving this success. Start by evaluating where you want to be in sales for the first 3 months, 6, months, 9 months or one year. By doing this you will be able to re-evaluate your business plan every three months and determine if you need to improve in marketing etc.

12. Starting Date – Set a starting date for when you want to begin your business or put into place this working business plan. Make sure you have printed material available for all services or products offered. Also evaluate and follow-up with yourself daily for the first month to ensure that you are following your own plan. After 30 days, follow-up on a weekly basis and then monthly from that point on.

13. Remember, no plan will work unless you are willing to put it into action!

About the Author:

Trina Newby is a Business Consultant, CEO & Founder of Women About Biz, a membership organization that provides small business resources, tools and networking opportunities for women.

Trina Newby
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/writing-your-working-business-plan-61121.html

If you have decided to start your own business, one of the first things that you need to do is to work on a business plan. A business plan is so important because it actually serves as a compass for the direction your business will take in the future. Having a plan will also help you achieve the things you want to achieve and will help your business to find success as well.

Consider the Details
One of the reasons that having a business plan is essential is that it will help you to consider the details of your business and its’ future. As you are working on your plan, you will probably find that there are many aspects of your new business that you have not considered. Getting started with a business plan will help you to save money and time since you will be able to deal with issues before they become a problem.

Helps You Get Funding
Another great reason for having a business plan is that it can help you if you are trying to get outside funds for your business. Most lenders and investors want to see that you have a clear business plan before they take a risk on your business. Having a plan already drawn up shows them that you are serious about being successful at your business. If you are going to show your business plan to potential lenders and investors, make sure that the figures you use are accurate so your plan is credible.

Management Tool
Starting a business is a huge job and it is helpful if you have something that can help you manage the business. A business plan can act as a management tool that can help you focus on where you are and where you want to be in the future. This will help you to keep your daily tasks well managed and will also help you to accomplish long term goals as well.

If you decide to go without a business plan, chances are that your business is going to end in disaster. You can use a business plan throughout all stages of your business to guide your business towards success. While it may take some time and energy to get a business plan together, in the end it will be well worth taking the time to get it done right.

Gabriel Adams
http://www.articlesbase.com/business-articles/why-a-business-plan-is-so-important-for-your-success-127004.html

If you’re thinking about starting Computer Repair Business, it’s a very good idea to create a business plan. The best reason is not what you think. I don’t know anyone who has ever stuck with his or her original business plan. Why? Well, planning and doing is the same as hypothetical and reality. Once you get immersed in your business, you often have to modify your plan to fit real world situations.

Even the best planners can’t see everything that might crop up, and being flexible is the key with any good business plan. The best thing about doing a business plan is that it makes you think about the important elements of your proposed business.

Areas to research and try to layout in your business plan would include market analysis, startup costs, necessary skills, and initial inventory or equipment. All of these areas are important when planning your business. Most business plans can be divided into common sections like these:

- Executive Summary
- Company Description
- Products and Services
- Marketing Plan
- Operational Plan
- Management and Organization
- Personal Financial Statement
- Startup Expenses and Capitalization
- Cash Flow Analysis

If financing is a part of the puzzle, even more time should be spent on presentation and documentation. You will be judged by the lending institution on the quality and accuracy of your numbers of your business plan. The two most common flaws in business plans are under estimating costs and over estimating revenue.

A good example in the Computer Repair Business is for one to assume that since there are an average of 171 working hours in any given month, that you could bill 171 hours or the total amount. Not going to happen, there is no way to bill 100% of time. Why, because you rarely can bill out every hour in the day. There are necessary activities that take away from billable hours. Now if you work 80 hours a week, you could bill over 40, but that’s not the same thing.

And if you are a owner/operator (one man band) you will need to do many administrative, marketing, and record keeping tasks that all take away from billable time. In fact, some of the most effective owner/operators I know in the computer repair business are ecstatic with a 70% bill ratio.

A good example of underestimating costs for the Computer Repair business is insurance and bonding. If you do business with larger companies, they require both and this area is often overlooked. Another common area that is missed is the cost of training and technical resources like manuals and etc. Both can get expensive and necessary if you want to keep your skills up to date.

One of the biggest decisions in the Computer Repair Business is whether to go retail location, or office building, or warehouse scenario. This can be a huge start up cost and commitment. And there are quite a few associated costs like utilities, signage, furniture, and equipment.

Part of the decision making process on these different scenarios is to also consider whether you want to offer onsite service or inside service (where the customer brings in their equipment). Often this is depending on the market area, target audience, and location.

The key to making that type of decision is to figure out if the retail location can generate enough walk in business to compensate for the cost. The office building or warehouse location might be necessary if you will have multiple employees and support staff. But both those choices are expensive both in startup and ongoing costs.

Speaking of staff, unless you start your business with clients, employees can be a tremendous expense and involve more administrative time. Adding employees right from the get go with out having some type of clientele is risky at best. If you will already have service contracts or written commitments from clients, you might need employees.

A good alternative to the warehouse or office building options is to go with an executive business suite. These are companies that will provide very small spaces (like 200 sq ft) and administrative services like answering the phone, having a mailing address, using a shared conference room for meetings, and so forth. These are available on short or long term and can have little startup cost.

If you plan on providing onsite service, then you might not need anything but a mail or PO box somewhere close to home for parts and receiving mail. Especially if your onsite service is to individuals or the home market rather than commercial clients.

After determining your startup and operating costs, the marketing aspect of your new business is most important. Without sales (and revenue), all you have is a hobby according to the IRS. It’s important to define your target audience and determine how you plan on acquiring customers. These methods can include classic marketing techniques such as handing out business cards to advertising in your local yellow pages.

This is where many new Computer Repair Business owners have the most difficulties. Being a good technician and knowledgeable repair guy is not enough in today’s competitive marketplace. You need to sell yourself and your company. Marketing and customer skills are paramount to finding and keeping customers.

Although you should do your research and estimate your costs and revenue, the planning process should never be about having the perfect plan. I’ve seen people spend months (if not years) looking for the perfect plan and never take any action. Use due diligence, go through all the necessary steps, but don’t get hung up in the weeds re-writing your plan over and over.

The single most common trait among successful new business owners is they take action. And the Computer Repair Business can be started part time with little risk. In fact, starting out part time allows you to learn as you go and find out what works and what doesn’t.

Hey, this is the first day of the rest of your life. Having a great Computer Repair Business Plan is good, but starting your business now is what will make you successful.

John Dow
http://www.articlesbase.com/computers-articles/computer-repair-business-plan-672631.html

There are many components to network marketing success, and one that is often overlooked by many Network Marketers is having a business plan.  Most people who start a traditional business have to seek financing to get them started, which forces them to create a business plan.  However, since the startup costs of a network marketing business is generally low, many Network Marketers often skip the step of making a business plan.  Taking the time to make a plan for your network marketing business can greatly increase your chances for success.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document that summarizes the goals and objectives of a business and a plan for attaining those goals.  It generally contains budgets, financial projections and a marketing plan.

What are important components in a network marketing business plan?

A network marketing business plan may not be as in depth as a traditional business plan because you will not be using it to obtain financing.  It will be your roadmap to network marketing success, though, so the more thought you put into it, the more helpful it will be.

Mission Statement:  Why did you start your network marketing business?  What are you working towards?  What are your goals and objectives?  Your mission statement should include the answers to these questions.  It should encompass the vision you have for achieving network marketing success.

Plan of Action:  Now that you have your goals and objectives outlined, you need to implement a plan to achieve them.  If you didn’t break down your goals into short-term as well as long term goals, you should do that in your plan of action.  This section should include the exact steps you will take to achieve success in your network marketing business. 

For instance, if your goal is to quit your job, what do you need to get there?  How much income do you need to be able to quit?  How many customers and distributors will you need in your organization to achieve that level of income?  What are you going to do on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to grow your business to that level?

Marketing Plan:  One of the most often skipped parts of network marketing is the marketing!  This could part of your plan of action, but your business plan needs to address how you will get customers and distributors to join you.  Are you going to market on the internet?  Are you going to call leads?  Are you going to tap into your warm market?

You also need to determine what your marketing budget will be.  Many forms of marketing may take a toll on your bank account before you start to see results.  How long can you fund your marketing yourself?  Be realistic, and look for ways to have your marketing efforts fund themselves.

After Your Business Plan is Written

Review your business plan regularly.  Are you on track with the goals that you have set for yourself?  Have you learned new things that will help you improve your business plan?  Re-adjust your business plan as necessary, and stay on track for achieving success in your network marketing business.

Megan Marshall