The Basic Small Business Plan
A Home Business Article Contributed by Sarah White
The Basic Small Business Plan
Before you start your small business, you should have a plan. You need to consider what sorts of products or services your small business will provide, how they will be distributed, who your clients or customers will be, how you will get the word out and how you will survive financially before your small business gets off the ground. There's a lot to think about, but starting with a few basic questions will focus your thinking and planning properly.
What Product or Service Will My Small Business Offer?
The most important question for anyone starting a small business is what products or services are going to be offered by your small business. How are your products or services going to be different from all the other ones offered in your category (be that specialty foods or motivational speaking)?
You have to have a way to set yourself apart from the pack, either by doing something no one else has done before, by offering lower prices or better service, or by combining products and services in a new way that adds value for your customers. Think about your competition and what they are doing that you think you could improve upon.
You don't want to steal ideas outright from your competition, but look at their products and services to determine what could be done differently to draw traffic to your small business instead of theirs.
Who Will Be Customers for My Small Business?
Once you have determined what products or services will be offered by your small business, you have to figure out who your customers will be, where they are (or where you can find them) and how you can reach out to them and let them know about your business.
This may require placing advertising in certain publications that reach your target audience or even building a Web site and starting your own e-mail newsletter to let people know more generally about the broad category your small business is a part of and then specifically about the products and services your company will offer. This type of targeted marketing can also allow you to offer specials or test products with a select group of customers before rolling out a new product on a large scale.
Finding your audience is critical to making sales, so spend a lot of time answering this question, and don't be afraid to get creative when thinking about ways to reach your potential customers.
What Funding Do I Need for My Small Business?
It would be ideal if you could keep your day job long enough (or have enough savings built up) to have a cushion of money to use to start your small business and to support your family until the business starts making a profit. If you don't have a large amount of savings you may need to take out a small business loan.
If this is a path you are considering, make sure all your other finances are in order and that you have a solid business plan to present to the institution that will be giving you the loan, as they will want to know that your business has the potential to make back the money they are loaning you. The answers to these three questions should help cement your thinking about your business and get you started on the way to a firm plan for your small business to be successful.
