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Add You - Writing a Business Plan? You're Not on Your Own - There Is Help!
It's that time of year again for many of you isn't it. You know, the Yellow Pages ad reps are knocking at your door. Read this article and may actually be able to get real benefit from your Yellow Pages ad.Yellow Page advertising is a unique animal. On one hand, placing an ad in the local Yellow Pages makes complete sense. Unlike someone thumbing through a magazine, most people who pick-up the Yellow Pages are looking to buy.On the other hand, when they turn to your section, they are immediately greeted with the ads of most of your competitors right there along side your ad.To end the debate right here I will state without hesitation that most businesses can benefit greatly from effective Yellow Page advertising, not in s
If you don't have an accountant, speak to other business people and get a recommendation from them as to whom to use. A recommendation can save you many hours of phone calls and interviews.
The Bank
You may think that the Bank would not wish to spend time talking through your idea, but don’t forget that they are on the look out for good business, so it’s in their interest to get in early before any other Bank does. If you are already one of their busin
A good reliable Sequential Autoresponder Script is key marketing marketing tool that is a must have if you are doing any type of marketing online. It is a well known fact, that the only more important thing to your sequential autoresponder script is your opt-in email mailing list! All but true that the best autoresponder in the world won't help you if the list doesn’t exist. You have to fill your autoresponder mailing list with names and email addresses from your landing pages, websites and ebooks!One of the fastest ways to build up an email list is to give things away for free. Some guru marketers will tell you that this way is a complete and total waste of time. Yes maybe if you already have a list of two hundred thousand buyers tha
There is no excuse for this to happen. If you have never put a Business Plan together, you don't have to struggle on your own because there is plenty of support out there to help you write a blockbuster of a Plan.
Here are some of the places or people you can seek assistance from.
Your Team
Don't ignore the people who know as much about the business as you do - your staff. Enlist their help and use all the knowledge they possess. It's usual to find that, in some cases, they have a more in-depth knowledge about specific areas of the business than you!
Bring together the key people in your business and explain to them what you are planning to do, and that you need their help in compiling a Business Plan. Allocate specific parts of the Plan to the people who have the right skills: sales and marketing to your sales and marketing people; production issues to your production team etc. Tell them that you need a complete overview of their contribution to the business; how their department works; how they interact with the rest of the business; their strengths and weaknesses.
In order that the process doesn't drag on too long, give them a specific deadline by which their contribution has to be returned.
Don't overlook the power of co-opting your staff in helping to complete your Plan. There is no better way to achieve "buy-in" to your vision and strategy than getting your team involved.
Accountants
If you can afford it, you can ask for help from an accountant. He will have seen many Plans and so can provide some practical advice, particularly where Profit and Loss and Cash Flow forecasts are concerned. If you don't feel comfortable with figures or you don't have an accountant within your business, then it would be wise to seek help in compiling these figures, after all, the Bank is going to make some very important decisions based on these forecasts, so they have to be as accurate as possible.
However, don't underestimate the benefits of doing the forecasts yourself. This exercise will give you a very good understanding of how your business works from a financial perspective; you'll realise the importance of managing cash properly and the effect a rapidly increasing or decreasing turnover can have. In addition, because you did the figures yourself, it will give you the motivation to monitor your performance on a regular basis.
Once you have finished the forecasts, you can still ask your accountant to review them to ensure that you're not totally mad! He can give you a formal ‘stamp of approval’ to include in your Business Plan, so listen to what he has to say.
If you don't have an accountant, speak to other business people and get a recommendation from them as to whom to use. A recommendation can save you many hours of phone calls and interviews.
The Bank
You may think that the Bank would not wish to spend time talking through your idea, but don’t forget that they are on the look out for good business, so it’s in their interest to get in early before any other Bank does. If you are already one of their busine
In my last article I talked about the way communication is split into three sections, the words, the way they're said, and body language, and quoted Professor Albert Mehrabian's figures and findings.Well, talk about disturbing a hornet's nest. I posted to a large networking website and was roundly criticised for getting the Prof's rules wrong.This is what he said "Please note that this and other equations regarding relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages were derived from experiments dealing with communications of feelings and attitudes (i.e., like-dislike). Unless a communicator is talking about their feelings or attitudes, these equations are not applicable."So, I think what I said probably needed a qualifi
Bring together the key people in your business and explain to them what you are planning to do, and that you need their help in compiling a Business Plan. Allocate specific parts of the Plan to the people who have the right skills: sales and marketing to your sales and marketing people; production issues to your production team etc. Tell them that you need a complete overview of their contribution to the business; how their department works; how they interact with the rest of the business; their strengths and weaknesses.
In order that the process doesn't drag on too long, give them a specific deadline by which their contribution has to be returned.
Don't overlook the power of co-opting your staff in helping to complete your Plan. There is no better way to achieve "buy-in" to your vision and strategy than getting your team involved.
Accountants
If you can afford it, you can ask for help from an accountant. He will have seen many Plans and so can provide some practical advice, particularly where Profit and Loss and Cash Flow forecasts are concerned. If you don't feel comfortable with figures or you don't have an accountant within your business, then it would be wise to seek help in compiling these figures, after all, the Bank is going to make some very important decisions based on these forecasts, so they have to be as accurate as possible.
However, don't underestimate the benefits of doing the forecasts yourself. This exercise will give you a very good understanding of how your business works from a financial perspective; you'll realise the importance of managing cash properly and the effect a rapidly increasing or decreasing turnover can have. In addition, because you did the figures yourself, it will give you the motivation to monitor your performance on a regular basis.
Once you have finished the forecasts, you can still ask your accountant to review them to ensure that you're not totally mad! He can give you a formal ‘stamp of approval’ to include in your Business Plan, so listen to what he has to say.
If you don't have an accountant, speak to other business people and get a recommendation from them as to whom to use. A recommendation can save you many hours of phone calls and interviews.
The Bank
You may think that the Bank would not wish to spend time talking through your idea, but don’t forget that they are on the look out for good business, so it’s in their interest to get in early before any other Bank does. If you are already one of their busin
With the rising number of debt consolidation services in the market, debt consolidation loan is now available for everybody, including those who have bad credits. Bad credit does not disqualify you from borrowing a debt consolidation loan from a debt consolidation company.What is bad credit?When you default a debt, it influences your credit score negatively. Therefore, if you have been defaulting debts so many times in the past, it is said that you have a bad credit. Other things that tarnish your credit history includes mortgage arrears, County Court Judgments, individual voluntary arrangements etc. Therefore, a bad credit simply means that you have a lesser credibility when it comes to making the repayment. That is the reason
In order that the process doesn't drag on too long, give them a specific deadline by which their contribution has to be returned.
Don't overlook the power of co-opting your staff in helping to complete your Plan. There is no better way to achieve "buy-in" to your vision and strategy than getting your team involved.
Accountants
If you can afford it, you can ask for help from an accountant. He will have seen many Plans and so can provide some practical advice, particularly where Profit and Loss and Cash Flow forecasts are concerned. If you don't feel comfortable with figures or you don't have an accountant within your business, then it would be wise to seek help in compiling these figures, after all, the Bank is going to make some very important decisions based on these forecasts, so they have to be as accurate as possible.
However, don't underestimate the benefits of doing the forecasts yourself. This exercise will give you a very good understanding of how your business works from a financial perspective; you'll realise the importance of managing cash properly and the effect a rapidly increasing or decreasing turnover can have. In addition, because you did the figures yourself, it will give you the motivation to monitor your performance on a regular basis.
Once you have finished the forecasts, you can still ask your accountant to review them to ensure that you're not totally mad! He can give you a formal ‘stamp of approval’ to include in your Business Plan, so listen to what he has to say.
If you don't have an accountant, speak to other business people and get a recommendation from them as to whom to use. A recommendation can save you many hours of phone calls and interviews.
The Bank
You may think that the Bank would not wish to spend time talking through your idea, but don’t forget that they are on the look out for good business, so it’s in their interest to get in early before any other Bank does. If you are already one of their busin
Although the homeless situation in the United States of America is under the radar and is only about 500,000 people, which is statistically lower than any other nation in the world, it still drives people crazy. Additionally we do need to do something about the homeless folks in our nation, but unfortunately homeless shelters are something that no one wants in the community.The NIMBY affect is alive and well when it comes to people who wish to put in a homeless shelter. No one wants homeless people all around their businesses or in their neighborhoods, as it attracts the wrong element and potentially can lead to theft in the area. Homeless shelters need to be very aware of the importance of public relations and community goodwill in
However, don't underestimate the benefits of doing the forecasts yourself. This exercise will give you a very good understanding of how your business works from a financial perspective; you'll realise the importance of managing cash properly and the effect a rapidly increasing or decreasing turnover can have. In addition, because you did the figures yourself, it will give you the motivation to monitor your performance on a regular basis.
Once you have finished the forecasts, you can still ask your accountant to review them to ensure that you're not totally mad! He can give you a formal ‘stamp of approval’ to include in your Business Plan, so listen to what he has to say.
If you don't have an accountant, speak to other business people and get a recommendation from them as to whom to use. A recommendation can save you many hours of phone calls and interviews.
The Bank
You may think that the Bank would not wish to spend time talking through your idea, but don’t forget that they are on the look out for good business, so it’s in their interest to get in early before any other Bank does. If you are already one of their busin
You are probably hard at work promoting your business (and if you’re not, you should be!), but if you haven’t submitted your profile to any contests yet, you may be missing a golden opportunity.Receiving an award for your business can increase your company’s credibility. Winners can brand their businesses as “Award Winning” in subsequent advertising and often receive a logo or emblem to note the achievement on web pages and promotional materials. Participating in events like these can generate valuable exposure to the business community and the media loves to cover these events and often interviews participants for stories. Even if you don’t win, simply participating could open doors you didn’t even know existed.Your local chamb
If you don't have an accountant, speak to other business people and get a recommendation from them as to whom to use. A recommendation can save you many hours of phone calls and interviews.
The Bank
You may think that the Bank would not wish to spend time talking through your idea, but don’t forget that they are on the look out for good business, so it’s in their interest to get in early before any other Bank does. If you are already one of their business customers, they should be happy to review your initial plans. The Bank's aim is to build a relationship with you, and so they will be pleased to provide their thoughts on any expansion plans. The same applies if you are a customer who maintains an ordinary personal account and is looking to start up in business for the first time.
Getting the Bank involved early on means you can pick their brains and get their early views, before you make any irreversible decisions. You may think that this is a bit odd but being pointed in the right direction may save you time later. For example, by seeking their early thoughts, you may get the impression that the Bank is not keen on your idea so this could give you the clue that you may be better off placing your request with another Bank.
If this is your first time in business, or the first Plan you are writing, asking someone to go through the key issues with you will provide a number of tips and advice, which aren't necessarily included in any Bank booklets or brochures. The advantage of this approach is it won't cost you a penny and you are establishing an immediate relationship with the person who will be reviewing your Plan.
Business Colleagues, Local Chambers Of Commerce or Chambers of Trade
These are organisations comprising of local business people who get together on a regular basis to share ideas and experiences, hold seminars and trade fairs. You may think that people already in business, especially in the same line as you, would not want to help someone else start up in business or expand in case it damages their own firm. However, this is far from the case.
All entrepreneurs know what it's like during the early days in business or the problems trying to grow an existing one. They will be more than willing to share their experiences and give some general advice. You'll be surprised at how generous some business people can be.
Books
There are numerous books on how to prepare Business Plans. Each of them has something different to add, so buy a few and pick up some of the key points.
Take a visit to your local library. As well as books on how to put a Plan together, they may have information relating to your line of business, which could be useful in gathering background facts to bring your Plan to life.
With these sources of advice there really is no excuse for you not getting down to writing that long overdue Business Plan!
Robert Warlow
Small Business Success
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