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Write a Business Plan, Nah! I Can Do That Myself (and Why You Shouldn’t)

admin — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:11:08 +0000

There are three reasons why you need a business plan…… To obtain funding.Every good potential lender or investor, be they bank, angel investor, venture capitalist or business partner, will require a business plan. They want to be comfortable that you have thought long and hard about your business rather than jumping straight into a business. More importantly they want to ensure that they have a good chance of not only having their investment returned, but also making a profit out of the arrangement. Your business plan is your sales tool – it explains your business and your strategies to make this business a success. It shows how detailed and organized you are and how you intend to make a success of your business. To introduce your business to potential funders.The Executive Summary in undoubtedly the most important part of your business plan. Investors receive hundreds of business plans. They decide on their initial sort of who they want to investigate more thoroughly, by viewing the Executive Summary. Yours should be short, concise and eye catching. Investors like entrepreneurs who can concisely and accurately describe their business, products and potential. If you think of it, this is what an effective sales person does every day. If your business model is not planned well enough to be able to describe in a few well written pages then it is unlikely to be successful and very unlikely to be funded. Once a potential investor has viewed your Executive Summary and become interested in your potential business, then they will read the rest of your business plan in order to gain a greater understanding of your business and investment requirements. Your Executive Summary should be written after the main part of the business plan and should be no more than 3 pages long. It should summarize your business plan and include an overview of your business, your business models, what you are selling and in which market. You should also summarize your financial requirements and projections as well as provide your investor’s exit strategy. To ensure that you have a carefully planned businessA well planned business is a business likely to succeed. Do you know who your potential customers are? Do you really know who they are, where they are and what they are looking to buy that you might be able to sell to them? Do you know how to define your company within a sales environment? Where do you want your company to be in three years? Do you know how many staff you will need? How you will pay for these staff? Do you have a vigorous business model? Even know what a business model is? Have you really thought through how you will run your business? The answers to all of the above, plus many more will be discovered, decided and defined during the business planning process. If you use a professional business planning company, you have the advantageous of not only having a well written business plan, but you also benefit from the business knowledge of the planning company. A well written and thought out business plan will help you to clarify your own thoughts about your business, how you want to present your company to your peers, customers and investors. It will help you find out who your best customers are, where they are, what they want to buy and at what price. It will identify any weaknesses you may have in your thinking. Lastly it will provide you with a business and marketing strategy combined with a robust financial model and business model that will give you confidence to make the leap into entrepreneurship……and one why you need to have it professionally written. Why use a professional business planning company?A professional company will have experience of writing many different kinds of business plan for many different types of companies. A plan written for a Venture Capitalist is totally different to that which an Angel Investor or a bank requires. A professional company understands this and how to answer the particular concerns of each type of investor or lender. They will pitch you plan to your potential audience.Investors are risking their hard earned capital by investing in your business and they are entitled to be comfortable that you have a clear business strategy a robust business model and have researched your potential market in great details. They also want to be comfortable that you understand all the risks that your new business faces. Many business owners, who write their own business plans, often do not include all the information required or include information that is not required. Many amateur plans are unfocussed and discuss information that is not required in detail. An unfocussed and unstructured business plan gives off the wrong impression that you are also unfocussed and unstructured.To a new entrepreneur you will be very short on time – in order to produce a business plan you will not only need a great deal of time to produce the plan but will also need to take time on a steep learning curve. A professional business plan company has climbed this curve and has enough experience to guide you through the whole process, set your mind working in the right direction and prompt your thought processes. Hiring a professional allows you to concentrate on finding and servicing your customers, although a good professional will involve you at every stage and your input is definitely required to ensure that the plan reflects YOUR business. Your business plan consultant will be objective in reviewing your business and have the experience to offer suggestions and advice during the writing process. The money you pay for a business planning consultant will give you a quality, investor ready business plan with some very useful business consultancy as a bonus!

Importance of having a business plan for starting and running a business

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 20:45:16 +0000

If you are currently in the process of starting a small business, the first important thing you should keep in mind is a small business plan. Each year, because of a variety of reasons a large number of individuals plan to start a business. Yet despite the desire and motivation to run their own business, many don’t get off the starting blocks. One of the reasons for the inability to get a business off the ground is the lack of a clear thought process

Email Business Letter Format

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 19:42:48 +0000

If you are in the business world, then creating a business letter is no longer new to you. It is a normal part of the business world because of lots of announcements, acknowledgements, appointments, authorization letter and many others. As you use business letter format, you are communicating with a sense of professionalism. A good business letter doesn’t need to be too long. Remember that you are writing with businessmen and with busy people. You don’t have all their time. Three paragraphs would be good enough.
The first paragraph of a business letter should contain the main point of the letter. You can start with a friendly opening then quickly proceed with the main point. Be specific. Use a few sentences to explain your purposes but remember no to go for further detail until the next paragraph.
The second paragraph should now contain the accurate details of the purpose of the letter. The second paragraph is the backbone of the purpose you have mention in the first paragraph. This is an important part because it will give justification or reasoning on why you wrote a letter to the reader. The second paragraph is also called the body of the letter. This is also the part where you can insert more information about you or more information about the reason you wrote.
Lastly, the last paragraph should tell the importance of the letter. If you are writing for an employment better put your contact information in the last paragraph. On the other hand, if you are writing because you want to inform the reader, the last paragraph should contain your appreciation for the reader’s time. The last paragraph should end with a call to action. It should also contain your hope that the reader will respond to your letter.
Business letter should be short yet clear to take into consideration the time of the reader. If you are sending a letter enclosed with additional documents, don’t forget to put an enclosure line. Also if your letter is not for a single person alone it is best to include carbon copy of the letter for the other receiver or receivers. A very smart email spider which scans the web for email addresses and saves them in a file. The queries of search engines are also possible. Email Spider can scan the entire Internet. But you can configure it, so that it searches only websites of a desired target group.
Grab a Copy Click here
You just have to indicate the start URL and the software can do its job on its own.
The Email Generator doesn’t only offer you the possibility to generate any possible email address, this program can also check these if they are valid or not. With this software, you generate thousands of email addresses within a few minutes.
For creating the email addresses, a list containing the most common names, a list of the most common first names and a list of is available key words is available. Of course these lists can be extended at any time.
Many telephone and yellow pages listings contain hundred thousands of email addresses. Exporting these CD’s is usually difficult or even impossible.
Grab a Copy Click here
The Email Extractor can scan CD’s or even complete hard discs for email addresses.
Keep your email lists up to date and remove email addresses which do not exist any longer.
You just have to define the path of your email lists. As a result you receive a list with guaranteed valid email addresses, a list contains probably valid email addresses and a list with invalid email addresses.
The Email Verifier uses a proper proofing mechanism, because most of the mail servers have disabled the standard checking command. Further it exposes mail servers, which give the “OK” return value for every email address.
Grab a Copy Click here

Types Of Work At Home Jobs

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:28:44 +0000

There are many options for someone wanting to work at home. The many types of work at home jobs means there is something for everyone. A person must first define what type of work at home job they want to find. This will make finding a work at home job easier.

Sales jobs are one of the biggest work at home options. There are direct sales jobs where a person maintains an inventory and sells the items. A good example of this type of sales job is cosmetic sales Then there are sales jobs where the person sells products that are then shipped from the main company. Most often these types of jobs are referred to as affiliate programs. There are also opportunities to sell through online auctions. A different type of sales job is on the phone. The typical telemarketing job is becoming a popular work at home option. Sales are not for everyone, but those who work in sales find there is amazing money making potential.

Another work at home job type is customer service. Many of these jobs are on the telephone. The typical work at home customer service phone job involves answering incoming calls from people wanting to order from catalogs or off a television ad. Customer service can also cover such niche jobs as psychic reader positions or adult phone line work.

Writing is becoming a great market for work at home jobs. The market for website content is booming and many people are finding this type of work at home job suits them well. There are also resume writings positions and advertising writing. Writing work at home jobs cover a large range of industries and open up many possibilities.

Typing jobs are becoming popular as well. For many of these positions experience is required because they are in set market areas like medical or law. Typing jobs are most often called transcription. There are not many opportunities in a work at home typing position for someone without training.

These are four great examples of types of work at home jobs. Almost any job can be done from home with the technology available today. There are so many choices that a person having a basic idea of what they want to do is going to have an easier time finding a work at home job.

Top Secret Business Letter Formats Every Businessman Should Know

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 12:46:51 +0000

Selecting the most suitable business letter format for the particular issue that you’re addressing is the most important step if you need to create a successful business letter that’s going to have some impact. A select few have that special talent that’s required for writing & struggle with a business letter format, those that do have it are very fortunate indeed. The rest of us just have to plod along struggling with word. Business writing is far less complex than writing sales letters for example where a certain type of talent is required. Although these writing styles do not come naturally for many, you can most definitely learn them both. By adhering to a set formula for all business communication you will quickly learn how to create a masterpiece. The Three Basic Styles Are: – The block format – The modified block format – The indented or semi-block format The Block Format Style. For many, the block format is the most professional looking style and it’s also easy to work with use and it looks more professional than the others. This style has everything justifies to the left. If you’re able to choose the style of a business letter format, I suggest this one is the best all round.
The Modified Block Style
If you’re in the situation where you’re typing letters for others, some may want you to use this style. Primarily it’s the same as block format style; however the return address, date and the closing text commence in the middle of the page.
The Semi-Block Style
Many of us prefer the use of use indents, this style may be due to the importance placed on using them when being taught about writing paragraphs. Before the world was blessed with word processing programs, this old format was the standard. It’s much the same as modified block style, is the return address, the date and closing commence in the middle of the page, only but every paragraph is indented. This style is now very much outdated if you want my opinion and, it looks quite amateurish. Remember, if you do have a dinosaur for a manager; keep it under your hat. My Personal Advice… Refer to the KISS method… Keep It Simple Stupid. If I had it all my way, the block style is by far THE best business letter format around. There will be far less mistakes made; it’s a more efficient style to use and all pieces of communication that leave the office will certainly look the part. If you do not have the authority to select a letter format style then you’ll simply have to go with the flow and bite your tongue.
Deal..?
Just do as instructed & try and keep all of the business correspondence from your office looking neat & professional at all times. When you do finally decide which business letter format is going to be the acceptable standard, save a template on your desktop. This way, you won’t have to revisit it each time someone wants a business letter typed. One of The issues of writing professional letters with literally evaporates!

Benefits of Buying an Internet Business for Sale

admin — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 02:27:00 +0000

Working from home is an extremely convenient option for everyone today. Everybody prefers to work from home but the problem that they face is to get started. There is a lot of scope in working from home and getting a huge income. One can start their own business and start selling products or they also have the option to buy an existing internet business for sale.
There are many advantages of buying an internet business for sale. This business is already running and has a steady income which makes it easier for one to recover their cost of investment. When one starts a new business, the first thing that they need to do is to come up with a bright idea and do all the spade work to set up and ensure that there is enough traffic. One also has to do the marketing to ensure that they are able to sell the products. One has to work for a year when setting up the business to see results coming in. it can take a long time to get the ball rolling and thus one will need to be very patient.
Thus, in order to be successful it is always good and better to buy an internet business for sale. With this business one will always know what is that works and what is the right way of doing the work and carrying on the business. One can know the right way to run the business and then make profits. One can start working immediately and earn profits and in this way they will be able to recover their cost and investment easily.
The investment might be more when one buys an internet business for sale as compared to when they start their own business from scratch. Thus one has to be very careful before they buy a business as there are many scams. One should do a proper research and weigh the pros and cons of the business so that they are sure of where they are making their investment so that there is no problem at a later stage.
One can also look at some websites like eBay which list different internet business for sale. When one buys an internet business for sale, they should make sure that the business owner helps them initially and setting up their business. This really helps one in the initial stages as one can understand the business clearly and also know the nuances of the same. This helps one in the long run to understand how the business works and then they are able to manage it well and make more profits. Keeping some basic things in mind when buying an internet business for sale one will be able to manage it well and also ensure that they can manage and run it well and reap more profits. One can comfortably work from home and at their own pace, without worrying too much about logistics and other things.

$1148 in One Day Working With Plants? You Bet!

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 19:22:22 +0000

This article is actually an example of a simple yet, excellent marketing plan. Pay close attention to how I went out and found new business at a time of the year when things are normally slow, and not only did I make $1,148.00, my friend Franky also made $1,060.00.

Because I chose to keep myself out of the rat race of landscaping new homes, I went after a market that was more of an impulsive type market. New home landscaping is almost a necessity, since new homes don’t have any shrubs or grass. Not only that, many housing developments actually require people to have their landscaping done within a certain number of months from the time they move into their new homes. Therefore, when the house is done, people are anxious to get it landscaped.

Since I wasn’t in that market, and most impulsive gardening decisions are made in the spring, my business typically slowed down during the very hot summer months. So one year I decided to do a little test marketing, to see if I could muster up some work during the summer.

I decided to do a test mailing to 350 homeowners in an area where I knew the people could afford landscaping services, but were not extremely rich. I mailed a letter to these 350 homes, and the letter basically said I could help them with any landscaping project that needed done, and because my business was slow during the summer I could give them a really fair price.

Of the 350 people that received the letter 3 called me. I immediately sold two jobs, and the third job was still open for discussion. On one of the first two jobs I made about $350. and on the other I made about $700. That’s net profit. That’s how much I got to keep. Since the mailing cost less than $175., my immediate profit on the mailing was $875. Not bad at all considering this was only a part-time business for me. But don’t forget about that third caller. I had not even met this person yet.

The reason he called is because he happened to own a 60 unit apartment building in the Cleveland area, and he needed some trees or shrubs planted around the parking lot. The architect that he had been working with suggested Taxus Hicksi, which is an evergreen that is easily trimmed and maintained to a certain size. However, all the landscapers he had spoken with in Cleveland wanted about $44.00 each to install these plants. Although a fair price, that amounted to $4,664.00 because he needed 106 plants.

He contacted me because he was hoping I could find a less expensive plant to use. After visiting the job site I realized that Taxus Hicksi actually was about the best choice for this situation, so I told him I would see if I could get a better price on the plants. I showed in a wholesale catalog that the wholesale price was $22.00 per plant, but mentioned that I might be able to find another source.

I knew that my friend Franky did at one time grow this particular plant, so I gave him a call. Turns out he did have 106 plants available, and was anxious to move some of them, he quoted me $10.00 each, balled in burlap. I called my customer and told him that I found good plants at a lower price, and that I could actually deliver and plant them for $22.00 per plant, which is exactly half of what others had quoted him. He was delighted, and I did the job. As a matter of fact he actually asked me to install some additional plants while I was there.

I hired 3 guys to help me do the job, and we had it done in one day. After I paid for the plants, and paid my help, I actually made $1,148.00 on that one day job. My customer was so happy with the work we did that he asked me to come back the following week and do about another $700.00 worth of work. I made another $350.00 The following spring he hired me to re-landscape an older home that he had purchased, and I made another $600.00.

Remember the $175.00 that I spent to mail those 350 letters? The net profit on that mailing turned out to be about $2,973.00!!! And my friend Franky picked up $1,060.00 for the plants I bought from him. Were these 350 people I selected special? No they weren’t. Every town in America has at least 350 people just like them, probably thousands more.

There are many different ways to make money with plants, this is just one of them, I can show you plenty more. I’ve been making money with plants for over 25 years.

Helpful Tips When You Purchase a Business For Sale By Owner – Business – Small Business

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 08:38:11 +0000

When it concerns purchasing business for sale by owners you should realize that this is an important step that means having to make carefully studied decisions which an entrepreneur must make after addressing a few important concerns. Purchasing your business straight from its owner and without hiring lawyers or brokers means that there will be considerable amount of pressure on the buyer to get things right.

When buying business for sale by owners without legal help you need to be your own broker and in addition you will need to do your own research regarding the business you intend on purchasing. Furthermore, the decisions that you will be making in regard to the purchase should not be made in haste and must in fact only be made after analyzing available facts.

Without a doubt when you purchase businesses from their owners you are entering into a deal that has many risks associated with it. In case the seller is not making use of third parties in the sale then the buyer has fewer options available to investigate and determine how credible the seller is and also how true are their claims.

Selling businesses without a representative helps the seller reduce costs but it also enables them to hide important facts from the buyer. Therefore if you are considering shopping for a business that is being sold by its owner you must look at the seller’s business related financial statements and be sure to find out that there are no outstanding debts owed by the business.

In addition, you must ask the owner to provide you with names and contact details about the business’s clients so that you can check with them about the value of the business you intend on purchasing. In case the business owner does not provide such information you can then use your own resources to find out from your own contacts in the city about the reputation of the business as well as of its owner.

In the event that you find out that a business has outstanding debts owed by it be sure to use this fact to lower the offer price so that you do not end up with a higher financial load. You need to also enquire whether the business is leasing out space or whether the business owns the property in which it (the business) is located. In case, the property is owned by the business you must then find out whether the property passes over to you after you buy the business.

In case the property is not owned by the business, then be sure to enquire about how you can lease the property on a long term basis. Purchasing a business for sale by owners does provide you with some notable benefits including getting certain kinds of tax breaks. Such benefits will of course differ from one state to another.

At the same time, you should also realize that though purchasing a business from its owner is an exciting thing it also means taking on a big liability. Therefore, you should act with utmost caution.

Computing the Value of Your Business for Sale

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:37:04 +0000

If you are thinking of putting up your business for sale, one of the many things you will have to consider is how you will value your business. Of course, it is not ideal that you just come up with a number that you will be using as the price of your business. This is where many people go wrong. They think that they can easily put a price on their business, however they want it. As a result, they are unable to sell their business because investors will feel this is something that needs to be discussed more intently.

Aside from putting a wrong price in your business for sale, there are some who are afraid of coming up with a price they can give interested investors. This is because they think they are not in the right position to give out a price that will be right for their business. For this reason, they rely on their broker or seller to make an estimate.

However, it is important that you are also able to value your business. You will need to know how much the current value of your business is by identifying how much its ability to produce income is. The best way to value your business for sale is by doing the following:

The first thing you need to do in valuing your business is to add up your assets. If you don’t know what assets are, these are items that have some sort of value; whether it is cash, patent, property, or trademark. You have to add the value of your existing inventories and equipment to the list as well.
Don’t forget to add the value of your intangible assets to the list. This will include your industry reputation as well as your business location.
To value your business for sale, you will also have to ask for an additional amount of money from the total sum of the assets you have computed for. Get a figure or a percentage of how much you would like to get paid for the business. This amount should be above the valuation of your asset. The combination of your extra profit and your assets should be your asking price for your business for sale.
If you have a broker who is helping you advertise your business for sale, you need to add another 10% on your asking price. This 10% will be paid to your broker’s fee for the help he will provide you.

By knowing how you can properly compute for the value of your business for sale, you can easily come up with its fair market value. This will allow you to get more interested investors, especially if the price is just right.

Success Comes Easy With an Attractive Business Plan – Business – Strategic Planning

admin — Sat, 17 Dec 2011 02:28:13 +0000

It is not necessary that a successful business require an original idea but sometimes plan is what works through. Any attractive business plan can help you catch all the attention. It will persuade the clients to invest in their money for better returns so that will definitely motivate them to go for more.

This way you have better initial capital investments to grow and reach your business to new heights. No matter who discovered the idea but unless it is used at the right place at right time any discussion over it is of no use. One can even outsource to get their hands on innovative business plan. The expert professionals have better understanding of it as they deal in the same experience they do know everything about the work they are doing. If the investments are saved at that time then future may result into waste of all the money.

Business plan is very useful vehicle for brainstorming, strategizing and ensuring that employees and management are held accountable for it. Let’s take an example of blogging. Even a business of blogging needs a plan as it describes the present status and forecasts for future. The first thing you will think of is your mission of putting up into the business. What you want to achieve and what are your goals. The plan describes your whole vision of it past, present and future.

Name is an important aspect too. That is what people will know you for. Brand your name effectively. Then there are goals and objectives that will establish your brand name like any other prevailing star in the race. You can also divide time for each of your product. Do SWOT analysis i.e. make points of all the Strength, Weakness, Opportunities and Threat. So anytime you want to finalize any decision you will be just require to do an instant SWOT analysis and then you can make a forceful decision.

Finance is what stands your business tall even at the shaking times. While developing business plan the budget is made into consideration. Any blog starting with a cheap web hosting, the effect will not be there. For any high quality services you need high budget so that you can afford the desirables.

Any effective business plan depends on the budget. Rest is quite assured if managed by the right hands.