Sep
22
2008
Writing a business plan is one of the most intimidating parts of starting a business especially if you are looking to gain financing. Every time I look at writing a business plan I find that a few rules change over time. As a result there is a lot of conflicting information out there. Here is the latest information set out by the SBA.
Organization
Every business plan should be laid out in this fashion:
1. Table of Contents
2. Executive Summary
3. Business Description & Vision
4. Definition of the Market
5. Description of Products and Services
6. Organization & Management
7. Marketing and Sales Strategy
8. Financial Management
9. Appendices
Length
A business plan is typically between 25 and 40 pages. A new business business plan should be no longer than this. Occasionally an established business will have a longer business plan. This length does not include the attachments in the appendices.
Title Page
The title page of your business plan should have all the contact information someone would need. This should include; Street Address, City, State & Zip Code, Phone Number, E-Mail Address, Web Address. Other information on the title page should include the company name, preparer’s name and date the plan was completed. Adding the preparer’s name is particularly important if you or one of the partners, chair members, etc. were the preparer. If the business plan is well written and organized it will reflect very well on the overall abilities of the management team.
These are just a few main points where I see a lot conflicting information. For more information see: www.sba.gov.
Sep
21
2008
As I am sure you well known you can find just about anything on YouTube. While most people use it to check out the latest viral video or to get a good laugh it can also come in handy when you are looking for a little help with your business. I have found that the most useful YouTube videos are those that try to teach you how to do something. Here are a few ideas of things to look for on YouTube:
- Management Styles
- Website Design
- Customer Service Techniques
- How to Prepare a Business Plan
- Revamping the Look of Your Business
- Business Laws
- Tax Information
- Industry Trends
- Target Market Information
These are just a few of the many ways that YouTube can really help any business. Be aware, however, that anyone can post a video on YouTube so you will want to double check any legal or tax information you may come across. So hop on over to www.YouTube.comand try not to get too wrapped up in the World of Warcraft video set to your favorite song.
Sep
17
2008
Nearly all businesses can benefit from setting up and running an e-bay store. There is a good chance that, especially if you are running a brick and mortar business, your target market ebbs and flows. Maybe you feel that you have reached as much of the local market as you can but you yearn to grow more. E-bay can really help offset these problems.
For a mere $15 a month you can have your own e-bay store up and running. You may want to start small to get used to the general use of the site but once you get up and running you may just find that not only is it a boost to business it’s also a lot of fun. There are few ways that are less expensive to not only advertise but also sell items.
I have found that one of the best things for businesses to sell on e-bay are the old floor displays. E-bay shoppers love them because they’re cheap and new and you can enjoy the profits you would otherwise not reap. It’s really a win win.
Sep
15
2008
More and more people are making a living by completed freelance work found on the internet. Some of these people are aspiring writers, some are from all over the world, some are agoraphobic and need income, really they can be anyone. You however, can benefit from using freelancers.You can hire freelance workers to do just about anything. Content writing, CSS web design, photoshop, populating forums, creating backlinks for your website, translation, telemarketing, graphic design, and much more. If you have any project coming up that does not require hiring a full time employee you should consider hiring a freelancer.
Now you can find freelancers from across the world. There are websites out there that allow you to post a job and freelancers will “bid” for the job. They will post their portfolios and quote you a price. This usually gives you a list of no fewer than five people to choose from to complete your project. If, however, you do not like the quality of applicants you can deny them all and post again. All this is done at little cost to you. Overall, however, you will save a large sum of money. There are people who will write a hundred pages of quality content for only $50. Others will design websites for a couple hundred dollars compared to the thousands of dollars it normally costs. If you are on a tight budget, this is the way to go.
A few of the websites I have used include:
www.freelance.com
www.elancer.com
www.scriptlance.com
Most of these websites take care of the tax stuff for you. They send out W-9 to all their freelancers at the end of the year so you do not even have to place these people on the payroll, they’re on someone else’s payroll. It’s basically the legal way to pay someone under the table.
Sep
12
2008
Head to the local Barnes and Noble and you are sure to trip over the “Business and Management” section. There you will find hundreds of titles detailing how to best manage a business. This one praises “collegiality” (whatever the hell that is) and this one reads “… befriending your employees is the key to success.” This one here says I should “Win Friends and Influence People” while my old boss simply believed in hiring someone for every task, sitting in his office all day and picking his teeth (dental hygiene is important in the business world after all!) while raking in the big bucks. Every concept has its’ strong points and its’ weak points, but one thing is clear, no two people can agree on what it takes to manage a business or the people you hire. I of course do have the answer, right? Well kind of… maybe…
I strongly believe that businesses can thrive with a wide variety of management techniques. My personal technique is a sort of laissez faire technique. Do your job, do it well, I’m happy, let’s all go out for coffee. For me, that works. Contrast that to say… the military and you’ll see how they are vastly different. All the same, both management styles suit the needs of the organizations and, therefore, both styles work. Trying to conform to the latest managerial style can do more harm than good. In my case, if I did conform to collegiality (discussing nothing personal at work etc.) I would personally be miserable. My employees would be miserable because I was cranky and I would therefore have a high employee turn over rate which is good for some companies, bad for me. If, however, you feel that collegiality is the way to go then you will be a happy boss and that will make for happy workers.
Now, this is true in many cases. There is something else that may be harder to admit sadly. Not everyone is management material. If you are great at managing people but have no clue about how to manage the business itself it may be time to hire some help. If you are great with the business aspects but don’t deal well with people, you may consider promoting someone to manage your staff. One very important thing to understand, if you want to run a successful business, is that sometimes you can’t do it all. If you know the right time to spend the money on human resources you will have a great little venture on your hands.
