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Creating
Your Business Plan
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A
good business plan will help you figure out what your business will cost to
get off the ground. Learn how to create a good business plan to guide your
business.
by
Liz Folger
Contributing Author
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When I started my
first business I didn’t have a solid, well thought-out business
plan. I threw together a rough one that I used to apply for a bank
loan (which I didn’t get, by the way). If you take the time to
research and put together a small business plan, you will have a
much clearer and focused idea of what you can expect in your
business.
A good business
plan will help you figure out approximately what your business
will cost to get off the ground. You don’t want to guess at
this. Knowing your costs will help you decide what you’re going
to charge.
The bottom line
– most businesses fail because they don’t have a clearly
spelled-out business plan. Don’t make that mistake.
(article continued below ...)
For those of you
who have been in business for awhile, don’t think a business
plan can’t help you. Because you’ll be wrong. Your business
plan should be taken out on a regular basis, reread and updated.
Below I have
given you a list of questions you should ask yourself when
starting your home business. For a complete list of questions,
check out my book, “The Stay-at-Home Mom’s Guide To Making
Money,” available at http://www.bizymoms.com
or at your favorite bookstore.
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What is your business exactly? Explain in one or two sentences.
(If you can’t describe your business in a couple of sentences,
rethink your business and focus your idea).
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Is my particular business needed? List the reasons that make you
thinks so.
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Where do I see my business being in one year? In three years? In
five years? (Be specific.)
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How will I fund my business? Savings, credit cards, loans?
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What equipment/office supplies/licenses will I need to get my
business started? Total Cost?
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What organizations and trade publications will I need? Total Cost?
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Who is my target customer? Describe them.
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What organizations/publications to my target customers belong to?
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What other businesses will I be competing with?
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What makes my
business different from my competitor’s business? (Include
price, quality, unique services, etc.)
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Where
will I set up my home office? Is it going to cost me money to make
a nice workable office? Cost?
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Will I use
daycare everyday or once a week? Cost?
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How much money
do I need to make each month to help my family survive?
Once again, this
is just a partial list, but there are enough questions here to
give you a good idea of what you’ll be facing with a new
business and the costs involved.
A business plan
is essential to any successful home business. As one great quote
says, Those
who fail to plan, plan to fail. – Author Unknown
About the Author:
Liz Folger is
Work-at-Home Mom Expert and author of, “The Stay-at-Home Mom’s
Guide To making Money. She has created a resource site for
work-at-home moms at:
http://www.bizymoms.com. When you visit don’t forget to
sign-up for the free e-newsletter for Bizy Moms. If you would like
to include Liz’s syndicated column on your site
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