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People often ask “What makes a good business plan?” Or, “How do I make my plan attractive to lenders and investors?”.

The simple answer is that lenders and investors (I’ll call them “readers” from here on out) are looking for good deals. A good deal is one that offers the reader a reasonable rate of return for the risk assumed. The complete answer is that you should write a plan that a reader will want to read and then get it to reader(s) who are looking for your type of project and levels of risk and return. This article deals with the first part of the equation – how to write a business plan that readers will want to read.

Readers want plans that clearly, accurately and completely allow them to make an initial determination about the project. Here are the steps needed to write that plan:

To borrow from the real estate industry, the three most important things about a business plan are research, research and research. While other things are important (even critical), ultimately your plan will live or die on the quality and completeness of your information. For that matter, you’re about to risk your time and financial future on a project – how much information do you want to have? Step one:

1. Become expert in your project. Learn everything possible about:

a. The customers to whom you will sell (your market).

b. The competition.

c. The actual costs of operating your business (get quotes).

d. The actual results of similar projects.

e. Your industry.

f. The project’s physical location(s) and it’s impact (if any) on the project.

g. The people who will be key to the project.
If you’ve followed the above, you’ve now got a mound of research – sticky notes, web pages, reports, quotes, etc., etc. But, what does it all mean? Step two:

2. Analyze. (Hopefully) when you first got the idea for your project there was a sense of excitement and a feeling that this is a sure winner. Now is the time to see if your feelings were well founded. With a critical eye, do a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis on your project. Determine what you are able to do to capitalize on the S and O and minimize the W and T.

Steps one and two may have changed somewhat your sure winner feelings – which is good. (If not, you either have hit upon the next sliced bread or you need to redo the preceding steps). Presuming that your research and analysis shows a worthwhile use of your time and money (and that of your readers) move to step three:

3. Forecast. This is where the rubber meets the road. Using your research and analysis you will now tell your readers that “this is what will happen to the money”. You’ll do it with accounting forecasts called pro forma statements. Provide either three or five years of statements with (generally) the first year done monthly, the second and third done quarterly and (if included) the last two years done annually. In all events, include:

a. Operating statements.

b. Cash flow forecasts.

c. Balance sheets.

Optionally include:

d. Various ratios (loan to value, debt service coverage, etc.)
In addition to the above, you should usually include a Source and Use of Funds showing where the source of the initial capital and on what it will be spent.

By this point you’re either sure you have a winner (differing from a sure winner in that you recognize the obstacles but are prepared to work through them) or you are going back to the drawing board to rethink your project. If you have a winner, step four is:

4. Write the plan. Obviously, you need to be able to use good grammar and spelling. You should be clear, concise and complete. Fill your plan with compelling facts gleaned from your research. Do not avoid the W and T from your SWOT analysis, rather, describe in detail how you will deal with them. Avoid platitudes and your own opinions – everyone knows that you like the idea, readers need facts to determine if they like it. Try to keep your answers as short as possible while still giving complete information. With the exception of the Executive Summary, keep your answers somewhat dry and factual – short, sweet and to the point.

The Executive Summary, on the other hand, is where you sell the sizzle. It is here that you make the claim that yours is a dynamic project that deserves full consideration. You need to compel your reader to read your plan and tell them why you are excited about the project.

You’ve now done the lions share of the work leaving only step five:

5. Review and revise. The review should be first by the author(s) and then by trusted advisors – the more people that you can get to review your plan the more likely you are to find any problems before they are found by a reader.

Follow the preceding steps and you will have a business plan that will get read and, hopefully, funded.

Purveyors of conventional wisdom would have you believe that the very first thing you ought to do when setting up a new business is to create a business plan.

It doesn’t matter whether you are selling odds and ends on eBay from your living room or something larger and more complex,

Business plans are excellent and necessary. Far too few of us self-employed and freelance people use them.

They force us to spell out our objectives. We have to assign numbers to our expectations and assign a time-line to our goals. They become our roadmap and keep us on track.

But I suggest that you can’t make a business plan that is worth anything until you’ve done your homework.

And that means knowing what you want to do and how you want to do it. And determining that there is sufficient demand for your product to generate enough income to cover your costs and allow a profit.

In other words, before the business plan comes research.

If a body of knowledge already exists, it makes sense to tap into it and save you some work. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics and other such sources, for example, publish a great deal of demographic information. Some of it is very useful.

But it is also likely that as a creative sole-proprietor, meaningful statistics don’t exist about your specialty.

Many micro-businesses target a very specialized niche. And many owned by creative types exist to sell a product or service that don’t follow well-worn prototypes.

It is particularly difficult for such people to find meaningful published data.If you fall into these categories, you’ll have to generate your own information. Don’t limit your research to purely business data. You are building a life as well as a business.Are the demands and conditions of your proposed business compatible with the life you want to create?

For example, illustrators often work on short deadlines – meaning that sometimes they have to work far into the night to complete a project on deadline. Plus, some clients are demanding and some do not pay on a timely basis. After all of that, can you still “love it” enough?

Or, maybe your business is such that sales fluctuate during the year. How will you make it through the lean months? Can you handle the uncertainty of a fluctuating income?

So, how do you find information?

First, if other people provide services similar to yours, talk to them. You will gain a lot of information quickly. Their answers to your questions will save you a lot of legwork and open your eyes to factors you may not have considered.

Try to talk to at least five or six people so you can get a range of viewpoints.
You can find them through trade associations, schools, word-of-mouth. If the locals are reluctant to share information – perhaps because they see you as direct competition – look for similar people in a different locale.

Second, create the information you need.

Mimic and simplify what large businesses do. Reduce their methods down to a level that is practical and affordable.For example, perhaps you want to survey potential clients and customers to get feedback.

If you are a creating a micro-business on a shoe-string, it may not be affordable nor practical to commission a focus group. But you may be able to speak to potential targets informally or use direct mail to send a simple survey.

Eventually you’ll have to ‘put your toe in the water.’ Try it out in a small way – so you won’t lose much if it doesn’t work – and observe the results. Then experiment and modify as needed. Once it works to your liking you can plunge right in.

This approach, known by the technical term “trial and error,” can be applied to any facet of your business.
After all, even the largest producers test market new products before rolling them out.

Put some parameters around your efforts. Decide, in advance, how much time you want to allow and how much you want to budget.

Then test, test, test.

Use trial and error for every aspect of your business. Experiment with different ways of packaging your services, different rates and prices, different types of marketing, etc.

You’ll soon find that certain approaches work better than others. Eventually your experience and data will suggest viable strategies.

And then you’ll be ready to create your business plan.

Why a Budget is Important. Let it be your guide from beginning to end.
Starting your own home business is a very tricky proposition. Starting your own enterprise is exciting, but it is also inherently full of risk. Enter discipline. Unless you get yourself going on the right foot, then the chances of achieving success are very small.

Conversely, as long as you have the right foundation, and keep working on that foundation, success is almost an automatic thing. It is vital that you run your home business on a strict budget, if you aspire for long term success. Strictly budget your time and your money.

As little as one hour a day, everyday, is enough to make your personal business get better everyday and grow steadily to keep your confidence up. Avoid distractions.

One of the most important parts of running your business is operating on a budget of money and time. Every ad and every supply and tool you buy must earn the value put into it. This is a golden rule that can make you successful as you are going to be at any business.

Many men and women, mostly unsuccessful ones, prefer going with the flow rather than with actually setting goals and budgets. For the most part, this attitude is a mistake. Unless you have an incredible memory and unnatural clear sightedness, planning for both the present and the future is a prerequisite to success.

No matter how you define that elusive concept. Remember, no sloppy ad, supply or equipment buys. Check everything out scrupulously before putting your hard earned funds into it. Always shop for better prices and quality with every purchase you make.

Because this article is about home businesses, we will begin by defining success as the growth and eventual profitability of your particular business. By growth we mean that the business will expand, hopefully outgrowing your home and eventually participating in the corporate arena or whichever one you feel comfortable to work in.

By profitability, we mean that the business will become a cash generating machine, so much so that you attain financial freedom, and never have to work a single day again for someone else, if you do not feel like it. You will be your own woman or man.

This article argues that in order to achieve growth and profitability, discipline is needed, and plans must be made and acted upon. I cannot harp on and emphasize this enough to you.

Crafting your budget

One of the most important plans you must conceptualize is that of your budget. Many businesses, even if they have great ideas and wonderful products, still fail for lack of proper planning and efficient allocation of resources. Do not let this happen to you. Only a home business on a strict budget can ever be truly successful.

First, make it a habit to write down, both what you earn and what you spend, on a daily, monthly, and yearly basis. A common stenographer notebook will be perfect for this. Make a different page for every expense. Every expense and every sale must be recorded so you know where you are everyday.This is the least that you can do.

Look over what you have written down and you will easily see the areas that can be improved upon, especially in the expense column. It is astonishing how many expenses we never notice until we get them down in paper. As the business grows larger, accounting knowledge might be needed. If you have neither the time nor the inclination to acquire the knowledge yourself, find someone who does.

Second, analyze the figures and determine the areas where you can control costs, and where you should add capital. Every business has areas that generate above average returns, as well as areas that under perform. As much as possible, redirect your resources to the projects and ideas that give you the most return. You will quickly start to learn this from experience.

Many years of experience have frequently given me the positive experience of having the lowest cost item or ad working for me best.

The great secret here is to, are you ready? Shop around for the best buy and do not let your emotions run wild on you when you read or hear presentations that have wild claims or will not give you the whole detail story until you pay them first. Hah! Never do it. Give me the details or forget about it. You do not need to take unnecessary risks.

Lastly, stick to your budget. Never forget this. A plan not acted upon is essentially useless, and a budget not followed is as useful as a page of doodles. Once you have written down and finalized your budget, do not make any departures from it unless absolutely necessary. Always have a solid reason for doing so.

Be disciplined. It is the only way you will get anywhere. By running your home business on a focused budget, you are securing your future at a small expense to the present and a nice profit in the future.

Today the concept of franchising is getting popular day by day. And why not? Owning a franchise of a well known company or brand has got a number of benefits. New franchises opportunities allow you to own a business without worrying much about the pitfalls associated with starting a new business from scratch. When you plan to start franchise business, you get to work in a successful business model that has already been tested in the past. Plus, all the necessary trainings and support to start franchise business are provided by the franchisor. But while choosing a franchise business, it is important to find out whether you have the essential qualifications a franchisor might be looking for in a franchisee.

In fact, there are certain characteristics that a potential franchise candidate must possess to be successful in the franchising business. Before awarding new franchises to suitable candidates, most franchisors look for some common characteristics. Here are some of the important characteristics that a franchise must have: Communication skills: This is one characteristic that any franchisee must possess. This means they must be able to deal with people in a positive way. A good franchisee is one who enjoys spending time with people. Remember, if one treats their staff and customers with trust and respect, then they will remain loyal to them. Hence, it is must for a franchisee to treat their customers well which will ultimately add to the popularity of a business.

Hard working: Running a franchise is not easy; it takes hard working to make it successful. For new franchises to be successful, a franchisee must not be afraid of hard work and happy to put in the hours required to get the job done.

Follow franchisor’s marketing strategy: When a franchisor look for new franchises, they mean a franchisee must be ready to work on their proven system. Trusting in the system by following it carefully can make your business accomplish much more. Thus, a franchisee must have faith in the proven system and understand the marketing strategies they are following.

Positive attitude: A potential franchisee must have a positive attitude towards the business model a franchisor is using. A franchisee must have a good attitude towards work and show that they can work alongside their employees, whether it is in the office, on the store floor or out in the field. They must even be willing to look for ways to make the brand more popular and suggest frequent changes for the betterment of the business. In another words, a franchisee must be self-motivated to take action and follow the successes of others.

Sufficient capital: The franchisee must have the minimum amount of liquid capital required for new franchises as per the franchisor. Best franchises options can only be successful with the help of proper initial capital. Before opting for best franchises options, make ensure that you have sufficient working capital to tide you over in the first year and cover costs until you start to see a profit. If you are looking for a loan, you must have the essential qualities required by a bank.

Well, if you have the above mentioned characterizes, there is no doubt that you can start franchise in your interested field. Look for best franchises options and choose one that suits you.

To have a lot of relations will help you through many problems. That is true since the more friends and acquaintances that you have, the more good things will happen to you. Many relations will help you with your problems; many relations will also help you with your business. To introduce yourself with new person, you can use your business card.

Now, is you are running a business, or if you are working in a company in which the company requires you to find as many customers as possible, you will find no difficulties in doing this since you have a list of your potential friends that can be your customer. And it is also important to keep developing your relations. The easiest way to do this is by keep have spare business cards in your wallet, so whenever you meet someone new, you can just give it away. And when ever you are run out of those cards, go to the printing company to have your business cards re-stocked.

There are many companies that offer printing service, including printing your business card. But they are varying in quality. You can not just print your cards in any company. You need an elegant look of your cards to make people believe you. To find out more about business card printing, just browse the internet.