Develop your business plan Part 6

Here is part 6 on the Developing your business plan series. Once again their is some good information contained in here.

Starting A Small Business Series: The Executive Summary

Although the Executive Summary is the first section of the business, it is usually the last part you will write because as the name implies, it is a basic summary of all the parts of the business plan and it needs to spark an interest in the reader to move on to the heart of the plan.

The Business Plan Blog had a great explanation of the executive summary so I recommend you read that to get a good idea on what you should have in it.

List of Freelance Blogs?

Are you a freelancer?

The Bootstrapper Blog has a listing of 100 Blogs that could be of interest to you. It is a very comprehensive list and you should find something that will work for you. Also, even if you run a small retail business or something like that, often times the advice given to freelances work for the small business owner so go ahead and take a look.

Develop your business plan Part 5

Here is Part 5 of the Developing a Business Plan Videos. This one talks about doing the numbers of the plan. I have gone over the financial statements before but the video might make it a little easier to understand and help you make a better plan.

Starting A Small Business Series: The Appendix

The final section of the business plan (although not the last part you finish), is the appendix. This is the reference section of your business plan and what it contains depends on your needs.

The SBA website has a complete list of items that you may or may not need in your appendix.

Make Money on your off time...

The Bootstrapper Blog has a listing of 50 ways to make money during your off time. The first one is a good one for all business people and that is Blogging. I have said before that all businesses should be blogging which can be used as a marketing opportunity.

Develop your business plan Part 4

Here is Part 4 of the Developing you business plan video.

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Starting A Small Business Series: Financial Statements

So what is the next section of your business plan?

It is your financial statements. We have already discussed the different business financial statements but to recap you have the Profit and Loss Statement, Balance Sheet and the all important Cash Flow.

If your business has been in operation you will want to include previous financial statements going back 3 to 5 years.

Now if you are just starting your business you will want to have estimates for the first five years. You will want to insure that the financial statements match what you are requesting from your investors because they will be going over these numbers with a fine tooth comb.

Next we have the appendix then we go back to the first section of the business plan but the last done and that is the executive summary.

Pay Pal Shops

Interesting post from Entrepreneurs-Journey blog about how you can find hot products over at Pay Pal Shops. Take a look and see if they will help you.

Are you a state at home mom?

NBC's Today Show had a feature on work for stay at home moms (SAHM's).

While focusing on SHAM's, they have some good information for men or woman including selling on Ebay and becoming a professional shopper. Thank you to BIZ Chicks Rule for referring to this video.

Develop your business plan Part 3

Here is part 3 of the video series on doing your business plan. It follows nicely with my weekly post on how to do your business plan. Once I am done wrapping up the series on how to write a business plan, I will start going through an actually business plan step to give more practical experience for you.

Starting A Small Business Series-Financial Request

Now some of you may not need this section of the business plan as this section is the funding request section.

So how much are you requesting to fund your business? Not only will you want to show how much you will require today, but if you are going to need more money in the next five years to expand your business you will want to make sure that is included in this section of the business plan.

While your financial statements will show about where your money is going in this section you want to specifically mention how and where you will use the money from your investors. You will want to be specific on where the money will be going whether it will be capital, operations, or other things.

Finally you will want to discuss your future financial situation. If you plan to go public with your business in the next five to ten years you will want to include that information in this section. Another piece of information is that if you plan to sell your business at anytime in the future.

Next week we will go over the financial information.

Are you a freelance?

One of the things we stress is how important networking is to small businesses. We need to be networking gain customers and get valuable business contacts.

The Bootstrapper Blog has a listing of 50 Professional Networks for Freelancers. While tailored to freelancers there is valuable information here for any small business owner. Take a look and see what contacts you can use to improve your small business.

Develop your business plan Part 2

Here is part two of the video "Developing your business plan". Great information for those getting ready to start writing their business plan.

Starting A Small Business Series: The Service or Product Line

The next section of the Business Plan is the product information.

You will want to detail what your product is from a customer perspective. How will the product meet the needs of the customer and why they are going to want it? Also how is your product or service going to be superior to that offered by your competitors?

Next you will want to talk about the life cycle of the product or service. Is your product or service on a growth curve or is it a mature market. If your product or service is going to be in a mature market, how will you turn that into an opportunity for you? How long is the life cycle of the business?

Next discuss any copyright or trademarks your product or service will have. Also are there any trade secrets included with your product or service and any current legal agreements.

Finally you will want to explain any research and development that will involve your product or service. Is your product still under development? How much research and development will have to be done to keep your product ahead of your competitors and how much will it cost the business?

Next week we will discuss the funding request.

Building a Business Plan Video

Since I have been going over a business plan, I found this series of videos that talk about the developing a business plan.

This is part 1 of 8.

Starting A Small Business Series: The Marketing and Sales Plan

In this part of our developing your business plan series, we will go over the Marketing and Sales Management part of the business plan.

Here you tell your potential investors and yourself how you are going to develop the market for your business.

How do you plan to penetrate the market? How do you plan to expand your business through marketing? Do you plan to add locations, franchise, have distributors or any other ways you will look to expand your business. Also, if you are manufacturing a product how will you get it to market? Will you sell direct, to wholesalers, or some other way?

In the final part of the marketing strategy you will want to go into detail on how you plan to reach the market. Will you have an advertising budget that will allow for television or will you look to some other means such as newspapers and magazines. What kind of online presence do you plan to have? Will you have a basic website or a full blown e-commerce site? What other kinds of marketing do you plan to do such as catalogs, brochures, trade shows, or other kinds of promotions?

Next you will focus on sales. Will you have a internal sales force that people come in to visit or external that they go out and visit or both? Will the sales force be direct employees of the company or will they be contractors and the reasons you decided to make that decision. You will also want details on how you plan to recruit your sales people, train them, and compensate them. Explain all details and how you came to those decisions.

From there you will need a detail plan of how the sales force will sell your business. What their requirements are going to be and how they will get customers. Will they cold call on a list you buy or will they be knocking on doors.

Next week we will get into the product line part of the business plan.

Business Opportunities...

Looking to have a business from home?

The Home Biz Notes Blog has a listing of 13 on line businesses that you can start and operate from home.

While this is in no way a complete list they will give you some good ideas on what you can pursue yourself. Just make sure whatever you decide to do, you find something that you are going to enjoy.

There is many opportunities to make money out there, what is going to be yours?

Andrew Morrison...

Here is a video from Andrew Morrison from the Small Business Camp that gives some helpful information on building your business.