Assisting you in Starting YOUR Home Based eCommerce Business, Website Design, Internet Marketing

The Business Plan

Erich Sielaff

Hi again…. It's the "marketing guy"

I was assigned the task of talking to you about Jodi's favorite subject (NOT), writing a Business Plan.

I guess she picked on me because she figures that I am an expert in these matters, and she is busy doing more creative and fun things….. like writing code for a new graphic element or developing a new affiliate relationship. (Yawn… but that's just me.)

I think she just put me to work to make me feel useful. Well, don't tell her, but just because I slogged away in corporate life for 28 years, doesn't make me an expert.

It just makes me tired.

The truth of the matter is that we are all predisposed in one way or another… you know, left brained vs right brained and all that. But whichever brain side you favor, anyone with half a brain, and a decent work ethic can successfully run their own business. But there are some basics principles that ALL business have in common, and require, whether it's a web based business, or a restaurant or a flower shop.

And they are just simple common sense.

You see, there is nothing particularly magical or tedious about writing a Business Plan. Nothing that requires a degree or an intensive monastical commitment to learning accounting principles. Back to keeping it simple, all a business plan provides for you is a roadmap.

ROADMAP TO SUCCESS

Think of it this way, you wouldn't get in the car one day and drive to say, El Paso, and expect to get where you are going without some basic information. You need to know how far you are going, exactly where El Paso is, the highway to get you there, how much gas you are going to need to complete the trip. This is just for starters. How about the condition of your vehicle? Will it get you there? Or like my old 71 Cutlass with a bald right front tire, will you end up sitting on an overpass in Lubbock hunting a gas station at 4:30 in the afternoon because you didn't fix the spare….?

IF YOU AIM AT NOTHING, YOU WILL HIT IT EVERYTIME

You get the picture. A business plan answers those questions about your business. As Jodi is fond of saying, "if you aim at nothing, you will hit it every time". The really great thing about a business plan that we use is that it forces you to answer questions that you may not have even thought of about your business. I mean, the idea is to maximize your opportunities for success. Not wing it and stumble over obstacles that could have been foreseen.

QUESTION EVERYTHING

What kind of questions do YOU need to answer about your business?

Well, for starters, WHO is your customer, WHAT are you selling, WHY should anyone buy "it" from you, HOW MUCH money will it take to get started, HOW LONG will it take you to make your first sale, earn your first profit dollar, and make the kind of money you want to make?

How about resources? Tools? What is your point of difference? Who are your competitors? What are your goals? How will you know when you have achieved them?

Well, there are some excellent business plan software programs available that will actually ask you all these questions, and give you examples and sample business plans to help you think through what you want your business to look like. Plus walk you through the process, step-by-step until you have put together a professional, and well thought out plan for your success. That's what it is all about isn't it?

Success means you get to answer the most fun question of all….

WHERE do you want to retire?

Grab your FREE Home Based Business
Resource Kit from JDA Publishing.

Fill out the form below and you will receive.......

DISCOUNT!! on Website Design

FREE!! 7-Day Internet Marketing Course