I used to listen to my dad's advice when I was a little girl. He always said that when I grow up I should start my own business because nobody really gets rich just by being an employee. He repeated the same context over a period of time until it penetrated my system. I understood very well that he wanted me to break free from the hassles of corporate world and use my skills and talents in the progress of my own business. In one research, I learned that there are so many things to consider before starting a business. At this point business planning is a determinant factor of the success of every business venture.
Business Planning: Where to begin laying out the plans?
The very first thing to consider in business planning is establishing the goals and expectations of the business. You must ask yourself what is the reason of the business venture? Here are the common reasons of neophyte business people: Freedom and Independence, Respect from peers and family, Power, Self-fulfillment, Livelihood, Change of Lifestyle, and Money. In business planning, consider what motivates you and what drives you to sustain in that venture. Your goals are essential guide to where you are heading in your business enterprise.
Business Planning: What are the key questions to ask?
When you have determined your reason for entering into the business world, the next step in business planning is to ask. Ask these following series of questions:
What kind of business? You should be able to assess yourself if you have the knowledge on the kind of business you want to start. The degree of knowledge and experience you have is a great tool in managing your own business. If you don't have any knowledge or experience to the kind of venture you want, you might as well start learning about them. After all, you don't want to go to battle without any weapon. Your knowledge about the business is your best weapon. In small business planning, you need to know the ins and outs of the business from ground up.
When and where to start the businesses? The timing and the location your business are also very crucial part in the success of your business planning. Know the people in the area and identify their needs or potential wants. Just imagine putting up your business where there are hundreds of similar businesses offering the same products and services in that area. Although healthy competition is good, putting up the same kind of store among hundreds of similar stores will saturate the area and create redundancy. To make your business stand out, put up in places where there are less stores offering what you have and when you do that make sure you also have a compelling offer to the customers that they can't simply resist.
Other additional questions in the steps of business planning that must be addressed right away are the following: Who are involved in the business? Who is the target market? How to start the business? How much is the capital? What are the strategies to use in jumpstarting the business? What is our business plan? What is our Marketing Strategy? You must also include in the business planning the legal documents that you need to accomplish in order to operate in that area smoothly. Some businesses start off as a hobby like jewelry making, crafts making or antique refinishing business and do not require much registration papers but as your business grows, the IRS will eventually question the documents somehow.
Business Planning: Determining the Nature of Business
You can choose from the various kinds of businesses that you can offer to the people. As part of your business planning you must identify what is the nature of your business. It will come handy to know your business from time to time when consumers ask.
Service. You sell your skills to consumers. i.e home repairs, pool cleaning, massage
Wholesale. You buy in bulk and sell them by piece with a marked-up price.
Retail. You sell products directly to consumers. i.e convenience stores, grocery, dress shop.
Project Development. You gather resources to make profitable product or service and deliver to the customers as fixed-price project.
Manufacturing. You put together parts and components to create products for the consumers or other businesses.
The steps in this article are just the baby steps in becoming a successful entrepreneur. Along the way, you will have to learn the curves as you operate your business. There will be more trying times that will eventually lead you to prosperity. For the meantime, you can focus in finalizing and executing your business plans. It is in the business planning stage that the growth and direction of your venture will follow. A good business planning is the solid foundation of lasting business enterprise.