How to make a business plan

How is women in business

2013-08-28T19:54:00.000-07:00

We have a infographic about all stats on women in bussiness.

How To Get Free Internet Marketing Methods To Promote Your Online Business

2013-08-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

With free Internet marketing services, one can save a lot. Instead of shelling out for the marketing aspect of your product or services, that chunk of money could be put to other important elements of your business since many information websites now offer knowledge regarding Internet marketing services that comes with no price tag at all. This is not to tell you that better focus on plain Internet marketing. It still will do your business a lot good if you mix traditional advertisement efforts such as traditional and new marketing media. Here are few of the free methods that you could employ to make your products and services be in their most visible, thus saleable, form. 1. Promote your business through free search engine submission and optimization. Submit your website to various search engines monthly. This will make many more people know that your website actually exists. Aiming for the top search engines will help a lot in this endeavor. 2. Improve your articles. Content is KING! Remember that information on articles with good content as traffic-bringer of websites? This time it’s about making these articles serve your website better by using keyword suggestion tools that are offered for free. Update your web site’s content by regularly checking the standing of your keywords with the current market. 3. Acquire free content. If you have no time to increase the SEO or search engine optimization-friendliness of your articles, you can look for free content from article directories. All you need to do is retain the resource box of those write-ups. 4. Avail of free comprehensive web traffic analyzers. These are tools that you can make use of without costing you a cent. Your website’s hits statistics will be produced by this kind of Internet marketing tool for your own analysis. 5. Learn to manipulate web design templates. You don’t have to be too techie-geeky to be able to design your web site. Oftentimes, web design templates or custom-made layouts are available for the Internet marketer to use. 6. Monitor your website’s visibility. Tools such as search engine position trackers may be used to see your website’s standing. These processes are very convenient to use as long as you keep in mind that you use and try to master their use for your own benefit. Just don’t get obsessed with your achievements when you finally learn how to use them and incorporate them in your Internet marketing feat. Word count: 407 Copied with permission from: http://plrplr.com/2999/how-to-get-free-internet-marketing-methods-to-promote-your-online-business/

Should You Start Your Own Small Business?

2012-08-20T22:46:00.002-07:00

Are you looking for a new job or a way to make money? If you are, have you ever thought about starting your own business? If you haven?t, you may want to think about it. Each year, a large number of individuals make the decision to startup their own small businesses. Many of those individuals end up starting businesses that will be profitable for years to come. If you play your cards right, you may be able to be one of those individuals.

If you are wondering whether or not you should startup your own small business, there are a number of important factors that you may first want to take into consideration, before making your decision. One of those factors is the type of business that you would like to start? Do you know what type of small business you would like to start? For instance, would you like to open up a dog grooming business, start your own alteration business, or develop a small retail store? If you are serious about starting your own small business, it is advised that you choose something that you know and love. For instance, if you have a love for pets, you may want to start your own doggie bakery, a dog grooming salon, or a pet sitting service, and so on.

In addition to the type of business that you would like to run, you also need to examine how that business would be operated. For instance, there are many small businesses that are considered locally owned and operated businesses, while others operate solely online. There are also a number of small business owners who choose to have both, a physical location, as well as an online address. How you would plan on running your small business is an important component of determining whether or not you should open one to begin with. For instance, if you are interested in having an online store or website, but you don?t know how to make one, you may need to take a web design training class or hire a professional web designer.

Your current financial situation should also be examined, when determining whether or not you should try and startup your own small business. Just about all business ventures require some startup cash, although some require more than others. If you currently do not have the financial means needed to start your own small business, you may be able to seek financial assistance. Many financial lenders, including banks and credit unions, may be willing to give you financial backing to get your small business up and running. However, to do this, you often need to show the lender in question that your small business is one that can make a profit, or at least enough money to payback the business loan. The best way to do this is to create a professional business plan for yourself; one that you can show to all loan officers that you end up meeting with.

It is also advised that you examine how big you want your business to be. For instance, if you are planning on opening up a small retail store, like say a craft store, do you know how many employees you will need to hire? In fact, do you even need to hire any at all? If you are planning on running your store by yourself or if you have some family member who may be able to help you, you may not need to hire any additional employees. If the time comes when you need to hire help, you may be required to pay additional insurance or taxes, like for workman?s compensation and such. For more information on this, you are advised to ask about your state?s rules and regulations on small businesses and employment.

The above mentioned factors are just a few of the many that you will want to take into consideration, when trying to determine if you should start your own small business. As you likely already know, the decision as to whether or not you want to startup a business is yours to make, but it is a decision that shouldn?t be made on a whim. You are advised to discuss your possible business venture with your family and possibly even with a financial planner. Starting your own business may be a lifelong dream of yours, but if your small business dream isn?t thoroughly thought out and planned, it can quickly turn from a dream to a nightmare.

Why Niche Marketing is the Way to Go in Succeeding Online

2012-08-20T07:28:00.003-07:00

Niche Marketing is the last great frontier for the small business entrepreneur. Out there in the real world, small businesses don't have a half fair chance of competing against the giant international corporations of the world. The Internet has evened the odds for small business. The Internet has created a real equal opportunity for those who are willing to use it. There are several different ways to make use of niche marketing and succeed. All of the ways require getting a domain and a webhost, building web pages and adding content. Those are just the basic basics of Internet Marketing in any form. Then there are the choices of how to go about building a successful niche marketing site that will provide you with a profit.hopefully a very large profit.

1. You can create an informational product. An informational product can be articles, reports, columns, audio or video, or other things. These can be sold as stand alone products or used for advertisement or promotional causes.
2. You can build a content rich web site that will be so interesting it will draw potential customers again and again.
3. You can publish newsletters and ezines that are so full of pertinent information that people will happily pay for subscriptions to them.

All of the above listed ways can be used to create a niche marketing website that has the capacity to make money. There are two things that all of these methods have in common.

The topic must be one that helps people solve a problem, makes them healthier or happier, or provides them with information that they want or need in some way.
The content of the website, no matter the topic, must be relevant, timely and interesting to the people who are reading it and the website must be easily navigated.

Marketing Management

2012-08-19T21:12:00.000-07:00

Marketing management involves choosing target markets that not only get new customers but also retain the existing ones. It is a business subject, which is based on research and study of practical applications of marketing techniques and management of the marketing resources. The one who excels in this field is known as marketing manager. The job of the marketing manager is to influence the timing and level of customer demand so as to help the sales. It actually depends on the size of the business and environment in the corporate industry. Like if he is working in a huge production company, he will be the general manager of a particular product category assigned to him and he will be responsible for profit and loss with respect to the product. And in small business there is no marketing manager as his job is taken over by the partners of the company.

Creating and communicating best customer values can increase the number of customers. The steps taken and resources utilized to maintain existing customers and get new customers fall under marketing management. The scope is quite large because it not only consists of developing a product, but also retaining it. The term marketing management has many definitions. It actually depends on individual firms and how the marketing department functions and activities of other departments like operations finance, pricing and sales.

Before deciding about a marketing strategy, the company must do an in-depth study about their business, and the market. This is where marketing management merges with strategic planning. Usually the marketing strategies are of three types, customer analysis, company analysis and competitor analysis. Using the customer analysis, the market is broken down into different types of customers. The marketing management realizes the characteristics and other variables of each group. They are geographical location, demographic, customer behavior pattern and need. Like a group of people can be recognized who can be less price sensitive, purchases often and are growing. Such groups can be worked on by heavy investments as they are worth the money and time. They cannot only retain such customers and make new customers in this group but they can go to the very extent of turning back customers who don?t belong to this group. Understanding the needs makes customer?s expectations to be met per their satisfaction, better than the competitors, which will lead to higher sales and obvious profit.

Company analysis highlights the cost structure and resources of the company and cost position when compared to competitors. The accounting executives use it to learn about the profit earned by a particular product. From time to time, audits are conducted to study about the strengths of various brands of the company.
Marketers using competitor analysis build detail customer profiles. It gives a clear picture about the strengths and weaknesses of the firm, when compared to a competitor. The competitor?s cost structure, resources, competitive positioning, degree of vertical integration, product differentiation, and profits are studied in detail and are compared to what company is doing in those regards.

The marketing management to do marketing analysis carries out marketing research. The most common of such researches are qualitative marketing research, quantitative marketing research, experimental techniques and observational techniques.

After all the studies and researches are conducted, its easier for the marketing manager to make strategic decisions and they then can design a marketing strategy to increase the profits and revenues of their company. The other goals can be profit over the long run, market share, and revenue growth.

Marketing and Selling on Internet

2012-08-19T21:08:00.000-07:00

Marketing on the Internet involves online advertising to reach out to potential customers. It requires creativity like designing, development and technical aspects like marketing and advertising. Affiliate marketing, email marketing, search engine marketing and interactive advertising are all different facets of Internet marketing. It also includes sales, public relations, information management and customer service. Ever since the advent of Internet, it is widely used for all kind of purposes. Among the advantages of Internet, some helps in doing business, shopping, etc, from the comfort of the house. According to a research, a quarter of the Internet users shop online. It has also helped grow electronic commerce and Internet marketing is a part of electronic commerce.

Direct marketing techniques like radio and television commercials, mails, and newsletters are the inspirations for Internet marketing, which involves direct response marketing strategies and is rapidly growing. Business-to-business, also known as B2B, and business-to-consumer, also known as B2C, are the two business models to which Internet marketing can be linked. B2C companies were the first to start when Internet marketing originated. They are companies that sell directly to the customers. B2B companies are meant to do business with each other.

Websites built for Internet marketing are slightly different than others. There are peer-to-peer modeled websites which are used to exchange products and services between each other. Other is name-your-price, where the customers have to specify their price range that they can spend and select products that fall in that price range. Priceline.com is an example of such a website. Amazon.com is a website which is based on find-the-best-price model, where customers can find the lowest prices. Last are online auctions sites, where items are bid. Ebay.com is an example.

The companies who use Internet marketing are at an advantage. They don?t need to put in huge amounts of energy and time in Internet Marketing like other traditional methods. With the help of only few resources national and international markets can be reached. Because of very low investment, even small businesses are turning to online marketing. Websites and blogs have been developed for this purpose. Internet marketing is advantageous in the sense that the data is easily available on the Internet. Newsletters can be directly sent to customers and if it doesn?t contain the information they are looking for, they can search for information about the product online, make a decision and purchase it online itself.

One of the factors that hinder the growth of online marketing is delayed loading of the page. The web pages that take a lot of time to download test the patience of the consumer. To add to that, if the businesses design complex web pages with lots of graphics and animations, it will slow down the speed even more. Another minus point of online marketing is that the customers cannot feel, taste, smell or try products in order to make a good decision. To over come this, some of the online stores have created liberal return policies with the help of which the customer satisfaction is guaranteed.

Another biggest threat of online shopping is identity theft. Paying online using credit cards, e-checks are susceptible to hackers and information can be stolen and used. Many hackers and websites have been caught who were involved in buying and selling of personal information. Most of the websites have taken measures and incorporated good security on their websites. One of the best methods is encryption. When the data is being transferred between two computers; there is a possibility of a hacker intercepting it. So the data is changed by applying some encryption algorithm and is sent through the network and upon receiving, the decryption algorithm is applied to bring back the data to its original form.

Online selling is influencing all kinds of businesses like banking, advertising, music, etc. Instead of going to a store for buying cassettes and CDs, music can be bought online. Bank transactions like depositing, withdrawing, transferring funds, and paying bills are all performed online. Billions of dollars are invested every year in online advertising alone.

How to write a winning sales letter?

2012-07-17T23:48:00.002-07:00

Writing a sales letter is tough. And writing a winning sales letter is even tougher. Many and many sales managers break their heads thinking why they can’t get it right.

To answer this question they should put them in people’s shoes and ask what “benefit “would I get by reading this sales letter?

Remember that word “benefit” which is the crux of this discussion. Many sales people take bits and pieces of information from here and there and create mess out of a sales letter. They literally throw everything on people and then get what they deserve, instant rejection.

One should always remember that a sales letter works only when you have a product to sell and an offer to make. A sales letter should not be an introduction of your product or company. Remember every word is important in the sales letter and do not waste a single one which would distract your potential customer’s attention. They are not interested in the features of you product but an offer or a benefit to them. Think from the customer’s point of view and ask yourselves why should I read the letter? Is there any benefit or offer to me which cannot be refused? Can you convince me that it is really a good offer?

After keeping in mind these things, sales managers should apply thought in presenting their letter. The header or the headline is very crucial to any sales letter. It should target directly to the customers of your product. One also needs to be little tactful in use of words. But if you are not good at the trade do not attempt to do it and rather be simple in writing it. The headline should not be more a line, so try to be as specific as possible but with maximum affect. Nobody has time to read each and every letter in this fast paced era of instant satisfaction. If you are not able to convey your message to the audience in stipulated time, then you have lost those customers. The headline should start with a benefit being offered to the customer. This ensures that the customer goes to the body of the letter at least.

Now, having made a good effort with the heading, it’s the time to work on the body of the letter. How to maintain the level of enthusiasm that you created in the customer’s mind with the heading? Once again it is important to remember to not to focus on features of the product you are trying to sell but on the benefits and offers you are making to them. Things like how much money it is going to save them and how it would affect their lives should be mentioned in the body of the letter. Make them realize a need for it and compare it competitor’s product. Remember, a person reading your sales letter will constantly get questions in mind as to how this will benefit me, after each and every sentence. So be ready to clear those doubts and answer the questions. Being little informal in the approach wouldn’t do a harm and try to grab the attention by relating things to real life things. You can add a little bit of humor but unless you are sure that it won’t be in the bad taste of the reader. Bring in few previous clients to give testimony of your products. But keep the testimonials believable and something that people can relate to.

Once you’ve made clear about the product, do not forget to prompt your audience to take action. If it is an email, prompt your reader to click on a link to act now or provide a contact number if it is a direct mail. Also remind them again that if you don’t act now you will forfeit the offer as the offer is for limited time only.

Once you are done with the letter, one of the important parts of the sales letter is P.S. Many people simply read the beginning and end of the letter. So, try to convey something that will prompt them to go back to the letter and read it. It will be a perfect end to the sales letter.

Business plan

2012-04-18T18:53:00.001-07:00

Knowing how to effectively write a business plan is important if you want to get financing to support your business. Yet knowing how to write a business plan will also help you define specific issues that will define how you do business in the beginning and as your business grows. There are very specific items you will need to look at more closely as you learn how to write a business plan.
As you being to learn how to write a business plan, you will need to get a good idea of your overall business. The first item that will go into your business plan is your introduction, so as you develop how to write a business plan you should also develop a summary of your business. The introduction will include a description of your business and its goals, the ownership of the business and its legal structure, and what skills or experience you bring to your business. Another item to think closely about as you learn how to write a business plan is what advantage you have over your competitors. It is okay if you do not know this already, as you learn how to write a business plan, the other parts of the plan will help you write your introduction.

Knowing how to effectively write a business plan also means learning a little about marketing and how you will use it effectively to promote your business. You will need to be able to define customer demand, identify your market, and explain your pricing strategy in this section. So before you move further in how to write a business plan, you should do your research into marketing techniques that will be effective for your business.

The next item you will need to learn in how to write a business plan is how to manage your business money. When potential investors read your business plan, you want to give them the idea that you have a solid financial plan for the money they are about to give you. Therefore, as you learn how to write a business plan, you should also be able to write about your initial capital, develop an initial first year budget, provide projected income statements and balance sheets for two years, talk about your breakeven point, and more. Also as you develop your skills in how to write a business plan, you want to do some thinking about the future and present several “what if” scenarios in this section so that potential investors know that you are able to see both the best case scenario and the bumps in the road.

Next when you are learning how to write a business plan is to develop your operations plan. This is where you will begin thinking about how your business will be managed on a daily basis. As you continue with how to write a business plan, you will need to also think about hiring, insurance, rent, equipment, services, etc.

Finally, your summary skills will come in handy as you learn how to write a business plan, for the final section is the concluding statement. In this section you will summarize all of your business goals and objectives. It is important that upon completion that you ask friends or colleagues to look it over, because there are always new things to learn about how to write a business plan.

Professional Business Plans

2012-04-18T00:46:00.000-07:00

You know you need a business plan. You probably realize that it is one of the best ways to get your business up and running. No matter what your business is, a business plan can help to focus its direction while providing the information you need to get moving. The most important thing a business plan will do is to provide your financial backers with a reason to give you their approval. It will show them how you plan to work your business.
So, how will you know what to write in your business plan? Do you know the first thing about writing a business plan? It may seem like an overwhelming task to try to figure out what to write for your personal business plan. You may have attempted to take out a few books at the library or even asked a friend to help you. But, are you satisfied that your business plan will be successful? Remember, you only get one chance to WOW people, so the first business plan they see will be the one they remember. What if it’s just not good enough?

Okay, that’s enough worrying! It is time to act! Your first order of business is to decide what your business goals are. Once you have a basic idea of what you need, you can then do several things to determine what type of business plan you need as well as where to get it. One of the best things you can do when in need of a business plan is to hire a qualified, experienced business plan service.

Not only will you obtain the best professional business plan available, but you won’t have to struggle over the words yourself. Now, how much better can that be? Using sample business plans from their website, you can see just how well their products can fit your needs. Sample business plans can be a great way to visualize the finished product. Using a sample business plan as a guide, you can determine if the product will fit your needs and plans. If not, perhaps you can see what is missing in your point of view.

Having a professional business plan will make all the difference during that trip to the bank. The trip to see if you qualify for funding is enough to worry about. Having a well thought out, professional business plan can give you the comfort and security you will need. The first impression you give the lender will be one of professionalism, attention to detail, and organization. That alone will help them realize that your business is worth the risk. What’s more is that there is just no real reason to not have a professional business plan. They are relatively inexpensive and pay for themselves when you secure that loan. Making a smart business choice begins with your business plan!

Source: Free Articles from ArticlesFactory.com

Key of a successful business

2012-04-17T09:52:00.000-07:00

Where would a business be without a business plan? A business plan sets the course for the future of the business. It gives the business owner or manager a sense of direction, listing the objectives and goals of the business from the outset.

Writing a business plan requires a lot of time; a successful business plan cannot be a rush job. Once an idea for a business has been developed, researching the many facets of owning and operating a business is the next most important step. Your local county council should be able to assist you with accessing the required information of a legal nature, as should your local business enterprise center. The rest of the research will be up to you! You will need to research products for your business, at the same time as researching other enterprises that may be in direct competition to you. Furthermore, you need to research the market to determine whether there is a need for your business product or service.

With the research out of the way, sitting down to write a business plan requires focus. Your business plan will become the bible of your business for at least the next 3 to 5 years so it is important to make it clear, concise and comprehensive. Most enterprises will complete a SWOT analysis to determine their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the business. Whilst the business is in infancy, brainstorming would be the most accurate way of performing the analysis, as the business would not yet have customers and profitability would not yet have been experienced. However, it is very important to remember that a good business plan is flexible and can be changed as your business experiences growth.

After completing a SWOT analysis, you will need to determine your business name if it has not already been decided (and register it), as well as your vision and values, your business goals and long term mission and how you will achieve all of this when the business is up and running. Writing every thought down regardless of how minute you feel it is will allow you to collate everything pertinent to your business for easy reference in the future. Who knows, the thought or idea that you have today may well turn into a million dollar idea in a years time! Maintaining good records and following a strong business plan is the key to a successful business!

Internet Business Plans

2012-04-17T09:39:00.003-07:00

The first thing you should do before venturing into the merciless world of online marketing is making internet business plans for every online business you plan to own. Developing a new online business can be tedious and hard work. Building your website is only the first step you have to take in getting that much wanted steady stream of income. The hard part is getting those high amounts of traffic to your website so that you can make sales.

Making internet business plans is all fine and dandy but when starting out, every new online business owner has to face its toughest challenge, and not everyone comes out on top. That is why I have created this article, to help you boost the traffic to your new site. Here are some specific ways to get your site noticed:

1. The first thing that is paramount to any site, new or old, is having original content. Having quality new content on your website is sure to get you noticed by the search engine spiders that will come crawling towards your site. Get indexed by the search engines and bring value to your visitors by adding fresh, new and original content regularly.

2. Make sure that all the keywords related to your business are within the content of your website. This increases the ranking of your site on the search engines so when someone searches for one of your keywords on a search engine, your website will show on top of other sites. This translates into more visitors finding your website through the help of the search engines. The more visitors you get to your site, the more sales you will make.

3. If you are good at making internet business plans then you should have figured out that having business related keywords on the site is not going to do you much good if search engines can't find then, therefore customers can't find you. All new websites should be submitted to the search engines. That way, you know that potential customers have a good chance of finding your website by typing the right keywords in the search engines.

4. Even though most of the traffic comes from the search engines, they are not the only traffic source on the internet. Your website could be getting quality, targeted traffic from websites similar to yours. The way you draw traffic from these sites is by exchanging links with these sites. Find popular, high traffic quality websites that complement or have similar content to your websites and request that you exchange links. By doing this, you not only receive some traffic from these websites but you also grow in search engine popularity rank.

Once you go through these steps and follow them accordingly, you will see that getting traffic is not so difficult once you know how to do it. And the best thing is, it gets easier as and easier as you do it. Remember to implement these four things into all your future internet business plans so that you get a head start over your competition.

But don't stop here; there is a plethora of ways to get traffic flowing to your website. The more traffic you manage to get, the more sales you make, it's that simple!

Make successful online business

2012-04-17T09:39:00.000-07:00

Any online business will eventually fail if it doesn't have a focus, a direction, indeed a plan! You need an online business plan to make sure that you have thought through every detail carefully so that your chances of creating a successful online business are maximized.

But what does an effective online business plan look like? There are many things that need to go into the creation of a proper business plan, or plans. The best online business plans for example are the simple ones, which you can easily follow and are thus easy to implement.

Good business plans for example are the ones that let you manage your business systematically. Having a set of clever strategies right from the start is very important for the success of your online business. And because the internet marketing world is becoming more and more unpredictable, having a plan has now become a prerequisite to surviving the online marketplace.

If you have never created a business plan either in the online or offline world, here are some business plans elements that you may want implement when creating your own:-

The first thing you should do is to find a hungry niche. You can do this by searching the internet for the latest trends or enter forums and see what problems the people are having.

After you have found a niche you will want to build a website or blog around that niche and make a couple of posts before submitting information to blog or website directories so you can get a little more exposure.

Next, you may want to build a list of subscribers by installing an opt-in list on your blog or website. Most visitors will not opt-in on your list without an incentive, but if you offer them something free, like some valuable tips or a content packed email course, you will see far greater results. Creating a successful business online requires that you build an email list and then use it to best advantage.

Next in this business plans example, is to either go with creating your own product or perhaps promote affiliate products. But whichever of these two variants you choose, it is recommended that you write a compelling sales page so that you really do target the desires of your audience and pre-sell the product that you are promoting.

After you have your website or blog set up, getting traffic would be the next logical step. There are many different traffic getting strategies that you could implement in your online business plan. You could use pay per click, article marketing or video marketing, to name just a few ideas.

Test and check everything. You could start by improving your sales letter with like a better call to action or introduce testimonials from people that have already bought the product. You will have to continuously monitor your website and make improvements if you want to create a successful online business and stay in front of your competition.

Why not create your own successful online business by following some of the above example business plans. You know it makes sense!

Business plan and business success

2012-04-17T09:37:00.000-07:00

Whether you are starting up a new business or you already have an established company, the importance of a business plan may be over looked. Yes, they can take some time to draw up but just think of your business plan as a map of a country. Without the details and information on this map, trying to navigate yourself around a country will usually end up leaving you lost. Probably travelling the same routes over and over again, taking you 2-3 times longer to find your way(if you do every find your way).

A detailed business plan could mean your success in business. Consider this. How can you take your company in the right direction, developing the methods you need to succeed if you do not know what you are trying to accomplish. It would be like building a house with no plans and trying to put the roof on first. Yes, you may be successful in building the roof but your house will be missing some essential pieces. You may not miss these pieces at first, but down the line(especially when the winter comes) you are going to be wishing you built those walls too!

A business plan plots a course for your business to follow. It allows you to determine and realize your growth but more importantly what steps are needed to be token to achieve this. It helps you figure out the materials you need in place so that you can first build a strong infrastructure for your business. Another great thing about a business plan is that like any map it can be changed over time to represent the lay of the land. Which allows you to make any changes that need to be made to your route and to help you navigate them better.

While you are developing your business plan you will see that it will start to show you what you will need to do to be successful. Including such things as materials needed, your timeline and projected numbers for your business. It also will show your projected income and losses, as well as how your business will do in the first months and year(s) of operations. This information is priceless.

Another important factor of a business plan is that it will show you how you need to grow. You may wonder why this is so important? Simple. It falls right under you developing a marketing plan and picking out areas/markets for you to advertise in to grow your business. Without knowing where your business is going, there will be no way for you to develop an accurate marketing plan. These two things go hand and hand with each other.

So remember whether your business has been around for days, weeks months, years or is just an idea in your head. Develop a business plan which will help you develop a successful business.

Do you need a business plan software?

2012-04-17T09:35:00.002-07:00

Business plan software is something that often gets overlooked and isn't considered to be a necessity for some reason. In my opinion, business plan software is essential, it is not a luxury. I am a huge advocate of business planning. When people ask me if they need a business plan, my response is, "Absolutely!" You see, starting a business without a business plan is akin to starting college without a degree plan. If you don't know where you are going, you won't know how to get there. You will waste your time and your money if you are not following a plan. It's really that simple!

So, you know you need a business plan, but what about business plan software? For business planning, there are really three alternatives: 1) crafting your own business plan from scratch; 2) hiring a business plan writer or business planning consultant; or 3) using business plan software to write your own business plan. Each of these alternatives has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Writing your own business plan from scratch is certainly a possibility. Doing so gives you the freedom to format and arrange the plan in any way that you see fit. On the other hand, doing financial projections, which are necessary for the purpose of budgeting and financial planning, can be difficult to do without a business plan program, or at least financial projection software or spreadsheets.

Hiring a business plan writer makes sense for some people. A business plan writer is generally well-versed in business planning and will have insight that will assist you in preparing a comprehensive business plan that takes everything into account. The disadvantages to having your business plan professionally written are the expense associated with the initial plan, and the limitations that exist in regard to changing it as your business evolves, which is something that business plan software empowers you to do.

Business plan software is relatively inexpensive when compared to hiring a professional business plan writer or consultant. However, when compared to doing your own plan from scratch, it may seem like an unnecessary expense. Business plan software does have many advantages. A good business plan software package, like Business Plan Pro by Palo Alto, has the headings and categories for a business plan already set up for you. It also has guidance throughout the business planning process that explains what to include in each part of your business plan.

What I really love about Business Plan Pro is that it is so easy to do financial projections using the business plan software, whether or not you understand accounting. The main financial sections include a section for start-up costs, one for income projections, one for a proforma balance sheet, and one for a projected cash flow statement. Information that input into one of the financial forms automatically transfers calculations to the other financial statement forms making the process of projecting your financial plan a breeze.

Another huge advantage I see in regard to business plan software is that when you use business plan software to create your own business plan, you can make changes to it anytime you need to. It doesn't become a stale document that sits on the shelf and collects dust. A business plan should be always evolving. You should update your business plan frequently including new goals, objectives and milestones. You should also adjust your financial projections regularly for the purpose of budgeting. Business plan software makes it easy to do.

If you choose not to use business software, and to create your own business plan from scratch, you will need some guidance unless you are a professional business planner yourself. The Small Business Administration www.sba.gov has some excellent resources and guides about business planning. If you choose to hire a professional business plan writer, do review their qualifications and references and make certain that you understand exactly what is included in the business planning services they are offering.

Five Steps to An Effective Business Plan

2012-04-17T09:33:00.002-07:00

You have an idea for a business. You know what you want to sell, who you can sell it to, and how much you stand to earn from it. There's just one more thing you need: a business plan.

Many people dread the idea of preparing a business plan. They think of them as complicated, unnecessary documents that exist only to make it more difficult for them to get started as an entrepreneur. They are wrong.

Business plans are necessary because they help you “see” your business. Instead of just talking in abstract ways about your “customer base” and your “profit potential,” it lets you put those things in writing and in concrete terms. It forces you to think through every aspect of your business in advance so down the road you don't realize you've made a mistake that's cost you your business, your life's savings, and your job.

Besides all of that, they are also important tools for getting other people interested in your business. For one, if you've taken the time to create a business plan, others will realize that you are serious about this endeavor and that it isn't just some pie-in-the-sky dream. A business plan also shows people that you are a professional and that you understand what it takes to start and manage a business. This is all extremely important, particularly if you need any type of outside funding, such as loans or investors.

So while the bad news may be that you definitely do need a business plan, the good news is that they don't have to be complicated. The truth is that your plan only needs to cover seven main areas and none of these areas are going to require you to write a full-length novel. These five sections are the executive summary, the company overview, the business environment, the company description, and the action plan. All of those sections may sound complex, but most of them won't involve information that you don't already know.

Executive Summary

Even though this section will technically be first in your business plan, you should actually write it last because, just as its name implies, it summarizes the entire contents of your business plan. Because many readers never bother to get beyond the executive summary, you must make sure that it is comprehensive and well-written.

If that sounds difficult, it isn't. Just make sure to read through your entire business plan before you start writing the executive summary. Make a list of information that you think is the most important or that would really stand out to a reader, and be sure to include all of it in your summary.

Company Overview

This section explains the guiding force behind your business. It gives them a chance to see what you have in mind for the business and how you plan to get there. Generally, the overview does this by providing a mission statement, goals, and objectives for your business.

In a nutshell, a mission statement provides the answers to all of these questions in less than 50 words: What am I selling? Who am I selling it to? Why am I selling it? It doesn't need to be just one sentence, but keep it as brief as possible.

Goals and objectives, the other components of the company overview, are often confused by first time business plan writers. Remember that goals are things your company wants to achieve while your objectives are how they plan to get there.

Business Environment

This section will probably require you to do some outside research because it involves information relating to your industry, your market, and your competition. You need to take an honest look at the field you are preparing to enter and pay close attention to its structure, its trends, and its barriers to new businesses. Become familiar with the major competitors in your industry and decide how you will differentiate yourself from them. Also, get to know your potential customers and what makes them tick. The more you know about them, the more likely you will be to turn them into buyers.

Company Description

At this point in your business plan, you need to go into detail about your business. You can't simply define your company in terms of what you sell, but also in terms of who you serve, what resources you will use, what types of employees you are looking for, what type of distribution method you'll utilize, and more. All of this factors combine to create your company.

In addition to this, you should also state your company's UPS (Unique Positioning Statement). This is a one sentence statement that explains what sets you apart from all of the competitors.

Action Plan

The last part of your business plan is this section which outlines the steps you need to take now in order to make your plan work. These should also reflect the goals and objectives that you've outlined in your company overview.

Besides these primary pieces of a business plan, you may also need to include a financial section, particularly if you plan on using it to get outside funding for your business. This may take more thought and planning than the other sections because it will require you to make some assumptions about your business's revenue potential. The most important thing is to base any estimates on realistic expectations, not optimistic dreams.

You may want to visit the following websites for some samples to give you an idea of how things should be formatted and worded:

http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html

http://www.bplans.com/sp/

With some useful models and this helpful information, you'll be well on your way to completing your effective and professional business plan.

To buiding a business plan

2012-04-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

You may to dream how much you want, but nothing will be happened until you don’t go outside and make your dream reality. Your dreams must to be your motivation about everything in your live. Every may to dream because dreaming is easy process. Dreams are free and present creation of your brain. Converting of these dreams – business ideas with greater business potential energy into successful business requires extra work and more difficult activities than dreaming. But, the one and only tool for this conversion of business ideas into the successful business is business plan. Don’t be only dreamers, be dreamers and accomplishers in same time.

Can you imagine how much people is great dreamers, have great business ideas with high business potential energy, but in the same time they continue with their boring jobs, outstanding because they don’t want their jobs and all of that because of security that come with their current work places.

Planning will help you to keep everything to go in the desired direction, because without a step by step business plan, you cannot move your business from one to another lifecycle level. The business plan is something that will present as roadmap for decision making when you start with your business. Because of that business plan will convert business potential energy that is stored in your business idea into kinetic energy of your business.

Having a business without a business plan is like building a house without a fundaments on which will rely that house.

What is Business Plan?

You must to remember that the purpose of the business plan of startup businesses is primary to determine whether or not a particular business idea has sufficient business potential energy that may to convert into successful business.

Business plan present every plan that enable you to look in the future whilst you can accomplish optimal resource allocation, will focus on key activities and will be prepared for the potential opportunities and threats in that future. In that way this tool presents an operational, marketing and financial design for your business. In the business plan you must to give several answers on the crucial questions for the future of your business. These questions are:

• What is acceptable expected selling, costs and cash flow of your business?

• What are your strengths, weakness, opportunities and threats?

• What is your target market?

• Who are your customers?

• What are your long-term business objectives?

• What are the crucial activities for your business success?

• When these activities must to be accomplished?

• Who will work what in the business?

Often, a business plan is required when seeking a business loan or investment capital. Your business plan is very often the first impression that potential investors get about your venture. A business plan is not just useful for obtaining financing, but also for improving all business activities.

Every business plans typically begin with a purpose and goals of any startup or existing business and after that goes further on to show how the entrepreneur will realize those goals, including a detailed financial plan, marketing strategy and activities that must to performed. Business plan activities obtain activities such as market research, analyzing competitors and comparing projected sell with realistic sells, promotional activities…

Never Ending Process

This is important thing that every entrepreneur must to remember. If business plan increase business potential energy of the business ideas, continuity of the planning process increase business potential energy on the business plans. Yes, business plan is one of the elements that play double role – converter and owner of business potential energy - in the business improvement process. Developing a business plan is a critical step for both new and existing businesses and present never ending process because it is dynamic document. This means that it must be seen as a continuing process without an end point.

Because planning mean something about the future, and you cannot have excellent prediction about your future, you must to keep your plan up-to-date, fresh and follow what going on in the reality to check with the your prediction. This means that you must to change your plan in some period of time when your prediction is not the same with reality.

11 steps to make a perfect business plan

2012-04-17T09:30:00.001-07:00

What should a business plan cover?

That’s the million dollar question.

For one thing, it should offer a thorough analysis of the need for the particular product or service you are planning to offer. It also needs to talk about how you are qualified to be making such an offering to the public.

A business plan should address your strategies in terms of production and marketing, how you will be organized, any legal aspects that you must address, and what your accounting methods will be. In short, a business plan should address the following questions:

* What do I want and what am I capable of doing?
* What are the most workable ways of achieving my goals?
* What can I expect from the future?

Keep in mind that there is not one specific format that you should use, or one best way to lay out your business plan. However, there are some steps you can take to make the process go a little more smoothly; we’ve listed what we think is the easiest method, below.

Step 1: Making the Commitment – be sure that you desire to work for yourself is truly greater than you desire to work for someone else.

Step 2: Analyze yourself – list your strengths and weaknesses. Determine how you can build off your strengths, and improve on your weaknesses. Remember, this can be a daunting task because you may have to own up to a few shortcomings you’re not prepared to recognize!

Step 3: Choose a Product or Service – this sounds silly, but just because you think you know what business you want to be in, it doesn’t mean your idea will be a profitable one. Take a look at the feasibility of your idea.

Step 4: Research Your Market – marketing research is crucial to the success of any business, large or small. The more you know about your potential market, the greater your chances of securing the customers you want, right out of the gate, and that means making a profit.

Step 5: Forecast Your Sales Revenue – after you take a look at the market your product is best suited for, estimate the percentage of that market that you think you will reasonably be able to take over. Take in to account the number of your competitors, their size, and the amount of market they already have. It is important to be realistic during this exercise.

Step 6: Choose a Location – is your new business going to be on the web? Or will you have a retail storefront? Will you consult out of your home office? Be careful to weight both your personal preferences and what makes the most sense for the ultimate success of your business. You might like the idea of working in your pajamas every day, but if your shingle needs to be seen by the public for maximum growth potential, a home office might not be your best option.

Step 7: Develop a Marketing Plan – here you will be forced to detail you plan to gain customers, and turn a profit. Discuss possible marketing channels, price points, advertising, and sales promotion.

Step 8: Develop an Organizational Plan – what skills and talents do your new business need to not only survive, but to grow as well? If you don’t have all these traits, how are you going to get them in the door? Will you hire freelancers? Are you hoping to bring on an employee right away? If these individuals, and their skill sets, are vital to your success, do not make a plan without them!

Step 9: Decide on Your Status – sole proprietor? Partnership? You need to decide how you’re going to approach this, and investigate the legal ramifications of each situation. As a sole proprietor, you’re in control, but you’re also solely responsible. In a partnership, you share the responsibility, but you also share the decision making and the profits. What works best for your budget AND your personality?

Step 10: Address Your Accounting – if you don’t know how much money is coming in and out of your business, you will never know if you are making a profit, or if you need to make changes. Keeping track of your numbers is one of the single most important things you can do for your business. Decide on whether you will do it in house, or outsource it to a professional; if you take care of it yourself, decide on what software you will use.

Step 11: Put it All into Numbers – this may or may not be necessary for you; it depends on what type of business you are starting. When you approach a financial institution for a small business loan, they will respond better if they see all of your plans in numbers; they are, after all, in the business of numbers. So, go back through all the above steps, and assign dollar amounts to what you can; when you approach the bank, you can tell them exactly how much you need, and show them where their money will be going. You can then show them, with a number, how much of the market you are planning to corner, and your growth, by percentage, over the next X years.

That’s it – wasn’t so hard after all, was it?

How Long Should a Business Plan Be?

2012-04-16T02:22:00.000-07:00

Page count is not a good way to measure length. A 20-page plan with dense text and no graphics is much longer than a 35-page plan broken up into readable bullet points, useful illustrations of locations or products, and business charts to illustrate important projections.

Measure a plan by readability and summarization. A good business plan should leave a reader a good general idea of its main contents even after only a quick skimming, browsing the main points, in 15 minutes. Format, headings, white space, and illustrations make a big difference. Summaries are very important. Main points should show up in a business plan as quickly as they do in a business presentation.

Unfortunately, many people still use page count as measurement. And in that context, some of the more practical, internal-use-only business plans can be only 5 or 10 pages long. Corporate business plans for large companies can run into hundreds of pages. The more standard start-up and expansion plans developed for showing outsiders normally run 20-40 pages of text – easy to read, well-spaced text, formatted in bullets, illustrated by business charts and short financial tables – plus financial details in appendices.

The right length of the plan depends on the nature and purpose of the plan. Will it include descriptions of the company and management team for outsiders to read? Does it need an executive summary good enough to stand alone? Does it include detailed research, plans, drawings, and blueprints? Is it worded to withstand legal scrutiny as part of an investment proposal? Form follows function.

Venture contests often limit a plan to 30 pages, sometimes 40, rarely 50 – and that includes detailed financials in the appendices. Unfortunately the page limitation leads some contestants to very bad choices, as they cram content into dense typefaces and thick texts, making their plans worse, not better.

Palo Alto Software‘s business plan contest ran four years. Several hundred plans entered that competition. Finalists never had less than 20 pages or more than 50 pages. Most run 30-40 pages. These are all 20-30 pages of text, not counting useful graphic additions to show locations, designs, menus, etc., and not counting the appendices pages containing monthly financial projections, resumes of team leaders, etc. You’ll want to add some pages for the standard financials; usually that means appendices with monthly tables for sales, personnel, income statement, cash flow, and balance sheet. You also want to include the main annual numbers of those tables in the body of the plan.

Don’t ever shorten a plan by taking out useful graphics. Page count matters far less than readability. Use business charts to illustrate numbers so your projections are easier to absorb. Use photographs and drawings to show locations, products, sample menus, product pictures, and other illustrations as much as possible. However, don’t ever add extra graphics, like clip art, not directly relevant to the matter at hand, as if that would make a plan better.

(bplans.com)

why do you need a business plan

2012-04-16T02:20:00.000-07:00

You need a business plan if you’re running a business.
A business plan is like a map and a compass for a business. Without it you’re traveling blind. With a plan you set objectives, establish priorities, and provide for cash flow.

You need a business plan if you’re applying for a business loan.
Most banks require it, and even those that don’t strictly require it expect it. They expect it to be a summary of the business, with some predictable key points.

You need a business plan if you’re looking for business investment.
The plan won’t get you the investment, but not having a plan will mean you won’t get investment. Investors require a business plan. They invest in the people, the idea, the track records, the market, the technology, and other factors; but they look to the business plan to define and explain the business.

You need a business plan if you’re working with partners.
The business plan defines agreements between partners about what’s going to happen.

You need a business plan to communicate with a management team.
The day-to-day business routine is distracting, problems come up, opportunities appear, and commitments should be followed and tracked. How do you know where you are in business without establishing where you started and where you intended to go? How can people commit to a plan they can’t see?

You need a business plan to sell a business, or to set a value on a business for tax or other purposes such as estate planning, or divorce.

Sadly, many of the people who need a plan don’t know they need it. They get trapped by the myths of business planning. They don’t realize that plans are not just for start-ups, loans, or investment. They don’t realize that business plans are easier to develop than most people think. To succeed in business you simply must plan the steps, set priorities, allocate resources, and manage the cash. Sure, some people say they don’t plan, but if they’re successful then they’re actually always planning in their heads. And you can keep that plan in your head if your business is very simple, cash flow is always adequate, you don’t work with other people, and you don’t need to communicate your business plan with other people either.

Don’t accept disadvantages in business. Don’t try to run without a plan. Doing a plan is probably much easier than you think, and much more valuable.

(bplans.com)

Parts of a Business Plan

2012-04-16T02:18:00.000-07:00

The first five parts of a professional business plan provide an overview of the business opportunity and market research to support it. The remaining five components of the plan focus mainly on strategy, primarily the marketing, operational, financial and management strategies that that firm will employ. This article details these elements.

Marketing Plan. The marketing plan details your strategy for penetrating the target markets. Key components include the following:

A description of the company's desired strategic positioning
Detailed descriptions of the company's product and service offerings and potential product extensions
Descriptions of the company's desired image and branding strategy
Descriptions of the company's promotional strategies
An overview of the company's pricing strategies
A description of current and potential strategic marketing partnerships/ alliances

If you'd like to create a professional marketing plan quickly and easily, consider using a marketing plan template.

Operations/Design and Development Plans. These sections detail the internal strategies for building the venture from concept to reality, and include answers to the following questions:

What functions will be required to run the business?
What milestones must be reached before the venture can be launched?
How will quality be controlled?

Management Team. The Management Team section demonstrates that the company has the required human resources to be successful. The business plan must answer questions including:

Who are the key management personnel and what are their backgrounds?
What management additions will be required to make the business a success?
Who are the other investors and/or shareholders, if any?
Who comprises the Board of Directors and/or Board of Advisors?
Who are the professional advisors (e.g., lawyer, accounting firm)?

Financial Plan. The Financial Plan involves the development of the company's revenue and profitability model. It includes detailed explanations of the key assumptions used in building the model, sensitivity analysis on key revenue and cost variables, and description of comparable valuations for existing companies with similar business models.

In addition, the financial plan assesses the amount of capital the firm needs, the proposed use of these funds, and the expected future earnings. It includes Projected Income Statements, Balance Sheets and Cash Flow Statements, broken out quarterly for the first two years, and annually for years 1-5. Importantly, all of the assumptions and projections in the financial plan must flow from and be supported by the descriptions and explanations offered in the other sections of the plan. The Financial Plan is where the entrepreneur communicates how he/she plans to "monetize" the overall vision for the new venture.

Appendix. The Appendix is used to support the rest of the business plan. Every business plan should have a full set of financial projections in the Appendix, with the summary of these financials in the Executive Summary and the Financial Plan. Other documentation that could appear in the Appendix includes technical drawings, partnership and/or customer letters, expanded competitor reviews and/or customer lists.

Expertly and comprehensively discussing these components in their business plan helps entrepreneurs to better understand their business opportunity and assists them in convincing investors that the opportunity may be right for them too.

(growthink.com)

How to make a bussiness plan in a day (part 1)

2012-04-16T00:53:00.000-07:00

Growthink's business plan writers know that a good business plan has ten key components. Providing a comprehensive assessment of each of these components is critical in attracting investors. This article discusses the first five components. A subsequent article will detail the remaining elements.

Executive Summary. The Executive Summary provides a succinct synopsis of the business plan, and highlights the key points raised within. The Executive Summary must communicate to the prospective investor the size and scope of the market opportunity, the venture's business and profitability model, and how the resources/skills/strategic positioning of the Company's management team make it uniquely qualified to execute the plan. The Executive Summary must be compelling, easy-to-read, and no longer than 2-4 pages.

Company Analysis. This section provides a strategic overview of the company and describes how the company is organized, what products and services it offers/will offer, and goes into further detail on the company's unique qualifications in serving its target markets.

Industry Analysis. This section evaluates the playing field in which the company will be competing, and includes well-structured answers to key market research questions such as the following:

What are the sizes of the target market segments?
What are the trends for the industry as a whole?
With what other industries do your services compete?

Analysis of Customers. The Customer Analysis section assesses the customer segment(s) that the company serves. In this section, the company must convey the needs of its target customers. It must then show how its products and services satisfy these needs to an extent that the customer will pay for them.

Analysis of Competition. This section defines the competitive landscape of your business. It identifies who the direct and indirect competitors are, assesses their strengths and weaknesses and delineates your company's competitive advantages.

The first five sections of a business plan are critical because in most cases, investors will not read the full plan. As such, winning the investor's interest early is critical. In addition to providing background on the full business opportunity, these sections provide the market research to back up the business' potential, another critical factor in gaining an investment.

(source growthink.com)