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BUSINESS PLANS


Creating

YOUR OWN

Business


This page is another gateway/links page. How to realize a business, from your idea. This page is directed to the Videographer, IT and WWW page creator primairly. This entire site has many specific links to some quite esoteric knowledge, the art of creating and maintaining a business is as Archane a practice as exists.

People start business for many reasons, from ideas, from recognize openings and community needs, and sometimes out of necessity. Regardless of the reason, there are basics which you will have to know if you are first going to remain in business and second if you are to succeed.

You should accept the fact that you will no longer have a personal life, your business is your life until you finally reach the point whereby you can delegate authority, untill that time you must be willing to sacrifice all of your personal pleasures, and time, your time with your family will have to come second to the business.


You should make and follow lists, daily, of duties that you must perform. Outreach and promotion, general sales, upkeep and repair, Your business will fall into one of these two areas, product(s) or service(s). Financing these areas is all important, underfinancing will cause failure as fast as anything.
Do not use the business funds for your personal upkeep. If you are not making enough to support both the business and yourself - find a part-time job to weather the storm with. Yes this will reduce your time but it will pay off.


You will need a location, the more visable and accessable it is the greater chances for success. Your offices should be clean, neat, and efficent. Pay particular attention to the workspaces you give your employs, and the entry/waiting room - The waiting room will set the tone and attitude of your prospective client. Be sure to have inhouse promotional materials available for them to study.

The moment they park in your lot there should be some small set of signs which make them feel special (this space is reserved for clients of -your business- we appricate your business), Have your receptionist or your self in a place where if the weather is bad you can take an umbrella out to them. Clean the snow off when it is fresh and keep the lot useable.

Your Sign and its placement is all important, It should be highly visable and in good taste

The exterior of the business should be painted and clean - if you have yard space - garden and decorate it in season. fowers are always positive. The physical appearance of the yard, parking, building and its interior will influence the customers you have drawn to you through advertising.


Advertising, should be one of your primary efforts. You will want to network with everyone you know and ask for their business, patronage and/or help. You will need. Business Cards, Stationary Brochures, You should advertise in all the least expensive local newsprint weeklys and monthlys and school papers, Make 5x8 flyers which you can post on every available bulletin board (and keep replacing them ), Personally go door to door if you are a service and ask business to use you, As you grow and have office help, assign them a regular telephone schedule to promote your business. Low cost television advertising is available on most cable systems, after you have grown utilize them. Radio is excellent if you want people to drop in right then, remember the majority of radio listeners are in their car. If you serve tourists place your flyer, brochure, and business cards in every lobby and room if possible, (you can offer a commission to the hotel/motel for this service.) Becoming a member of the local chamber of commerce is always a good idea, and attending their meeting will give you solid connections to successful business.

The more you advertise the more business you will have.

You should pay attention to your appearance, the more professional you appear the more money you will make. Suits - Sports Coat and Slacks - and a field uniform - with your name and business patched or embroidered on it. All of your employs must observe a similar dress code.


You must count the pennys, but dont let anyone know, the appearance of success will breed success. Rather than tell people you cannot afford a purchase tell them you have a similar product you are satisfied with. When asked to contribute, be polite and tell them your budget for gifts has been spent for the year, ask them to check back next year.

Always be busy, and in demand as far as the general public knows. If you are known for having nothing to do people will have little confidence in your abilities.

Never miss an appointment, always be there before it is time.

Trades can be as important as Cash, but if a business wants to trade you will increase the cost of your service to compensate for the loss of revenue. In the case of restaurants, an additional 1/3 increase over your charge is more than fair. and 50% increase is not unuseual. For material products such as autos or furniture you will simply have to haggle with them, it will entirely depend on how much you want what they have. Property - go for it - its better than money anyday. Stocks and shares are a complete gamble, and you should be very careful.

Taxes, the simplest way to handle your service contracts is to include the provision that all -Federal-State-Local taxes will be additional to your bid.


Long term projects - these projects can be big winners or losers you never know. You will want to establish a regular payment process useally in quarters or thirds - dependent on the size of the contract.


LINKS


Business Plan eGuides Description The eGuides comprise a series of white papers on business planning matters compiled as a self-contained executable file. They are presented as a series of Web-style pages, which can be viewed on-screen or printed onto 70-80 pages. They cover "Getting New Business Ideas", "Devising Venture Strategies", "Developing a Business Strategy", "Writing a Business Plan", "Preparing Financial Projections", "Making Cashflow Forecasts", and "Managing Working Capital".
http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10016-100-4304102.html

Adarus Business Plan (Office 97) Description Develop a professional business plan quickly and easily with the help of step-by-step wizards found in the Adarus Business Plan. This program--a Microsoft Excel add-on and template--creates all financial reports needed for a business plan. A formatted business plan outline (title page, table of contents) is created in Microsoft Word. Adarus One-step tools (Print, Scenario, and Chart) are powerful, time-saving features.
http://download.cnet.com/downloads/0-10017-100-887332.html

SBA - Business Plan Outline - Updated September 1997 – Below is an outline for a business plan. Use this model as a guide when developing the business plan for your business. Elements of a Business Plan 1. Cover sheet 2. Statement of
http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.html

Bplans.com: Business Plan Info and Sample Business Plans Bplans.com is the business plan destination! Find free sample business plans and sample marketing plans, plus free interactive business planning tools. Powered by The Planning......
http://www.bplans.com/

Start-ups Center Welcome to the Start-ups Center. Often, people think starting a business is a difficult task, but it's actually easy if you break it down into the four simple planning phases described here
http://www.bplans.com/st/