March 29, 2024

The Game Plan

Plan It: 7 steps to setting up your business

Structure • Name • Location • Permits and Licenses • Labor Law • Taxes • Business Plan • Online Businesses

| 4/20/2018

STEP 7

Put It All on Paper

Every new business begins with a dream, but wishes and what-ifs won’t be enough to sustain it. To succeed as an entrepreneur, you must know where you are going and how to get there, and then put it on paper as a formal business plan. No potential investor or financial institution will take you or your business seriously without one.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Highlight key strengths of your plan, including where you want to take your company and why your idea will be successful.

COMPANY DESCRIPTION Make this your extended “elevator pitch” to help readers, especially potential investors, quickly grasp the uniqueness of your business.

MARKET ANALYSIS Show that you understand your industry, target market, customers, competitors and pricing structure.

ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT Describe your company’s organizational structure; introduce ownership and members of your management team.

SERVICE OR PRODUCT LINE Emphasize the benefits you can provide to current and potential customers.

MARKETING AND SALES Explain how you plan to promote your product, create customers and boost sales.

FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS Summarize your projected income and expenses, past credit history, intended allocation of resources and other financial details.

FUNDING REQUEST Lay out your current and future funding requirements, the intended use of any funds you may receive and types of funding you would prefer.

APPENDIX Include supporting information/documents: your credit history; letters of reference; resumes of key managers; leases; licenses, permits and/or patents; list of business consultants (attorney, accountant, etc.); relevant research, magazine articles or book references.

 

5 Tips to Create a Better Business Plan

Tip 1. Choose a flexible format. Package your plan in a loose-leaf binder so you can easily add, subtract and revise individual pages as conditions change and new facts emerge.

Tip 2. Be thorough but concise. Tell your story clearly, using hard facts; no flowery language.

Tip 3. Do your homework. Identify your target market; describe how your product or service is unique; offer up a detailed plan for how you’ll address any obstacles you might face.

Tip 4. Turn features into benefits. Use concrete facts to back up claims. Instead of “ABC product is priced significantly less than its closest competitor, XYZ,” say: “By pricing ABC product 20% below XYZ, we’ll recoup our costs within six months.”

Tip 5. Make it personal. Introduce your management team; describe their previous accomplishments and show how they will bring their talent to this new venture.

 

Special Considerations
Launching an Online Business

Online businesses are popping up everywhere these days … and with good reason. Startup costs are generally low and, once launched they require very little overhead to operate. You can work from practically anywhere, set your own hours and pocket all the profits. Who wouldn’t want a job like that?

But here’s the rub — this isn’t just a job, it’s a business. And to get started, you’ll still need to do all the things that brick-and-mortar business owners, with or without employees, have to do: choose a business structure, choose a name, choose a location (although in this case, it will most likely be your home), secure any necessary permits and licenses, obey the law and pay taxes. And as an online business owner, you’ll have one more responsibility: set up your website.

A website is where your business lives.

To get started:

Step 1 Purchase domain registration and web hosting. Typically, these are available from the same company.

Step 2 Create the actual website. You can do this yourself (a pretty steep learning curve if you’re not web savvy), but hiring a professional who knows about things like proper configuration, logo creation, optimizing for search engines, etc., will be money well spent.

When your site is up and running, you’re officially open for business. Next up: Promotion.

Ask for Help

These agencies offer resources and services for both new and experienced entrepreneurs:

FLORIDA SBDC NETWORK

The state’s principal provider of business assistance offers personalized consulting and training opportunities at more than 40 offices throughout the state. www.floridasbdc.org

U.S. SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Learn what makes a good business plan, then create your own using a step-by-step guide. www.sba.gov/business-guide

NATIONAL ENTREPRENEUR CENTER

Based in Orlando, this “shared facility” is open to anyone seeking business advice and information. www.nationalec.org

SCORE

Senior volunteers, once themselves fledgling entrepreneurs, freely share their expertise one-on-one, in person and online, through more than 20 Florida-based chapters. www.SCORE.org

Tags: Florida Small Business, Business Basics, The Game Plan

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