Personal Business Cards » Business Plan

Building a Brand – Business Identity

admin — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 21:51:20 +0000

The importance of a professional logo design for a business is often over looked. If you are planning to build a strong business identity or brand then you will need a solid foundation to build from.

A logo is this very foundation for a business identity / brand. If you want to portray a professional identity through your marketing material such as letterheads, business cards, brochures, leaflets and a website then you will need a professional foundation to build from to begin this branding.

Your business stationery and marketing items will be designed around your logo design so as to build a stronger identity for your business that is to become recognisable by your clients and customers. If you have a poor logo design then it is very difficult and sometimes close to impossible to create a professional business identity in the eyes of your intended market.

A logo design is a symbol, a visual representation of your business that should communicate something informative and meaningful. An experienced Logo Designer can even communicate through a logo design your business ethos or an individuals personality, which can help to win business from individuals and organisations that share the same beliefs. It is a good idea to consider your Logo Design budget within your business plan as a logo design should be seen as an investment for your business that will help to win new business through your Company’s enhanced identity. It is all too often the case though that smaller businesses cut this very important corner and begin their own branding with a poor logo design which only leads to the realisation that it will cost far more to upgrade their Company’s identity now that the logo branding has begun.

If you do have a lower budget then it would be best to reduce the amount invested in other areas of design work such as leaflets and brochures which will need changing from time to time anyway. The best advice when it comes to building a visual identity / brand for your business is to begin with a solid foundation so that the necessaries are there at a later time to build from.

By: Sam J Logan

Home Business Startups – A Simple Plan For Business Development

admin — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 11:45:37 +0000

When you are starting your home business, should you create your own product? Or should you promote other people’s products?

Admittedly there are advantages to both. But why settle for only one set of advantages? Why not set up your business so that you get the best of both worlds?

Here’s how.

1. Set up your website.

2. Set up your mailing list system. (I use Aweber and recommend you do too.)

3. Start out promoting affiliate products to your mailing list.

4. At the same time, build or acquire your own product. Make sure this is a valuable product and if not unique to you, then make sure it’s not widely available.

5. As you develop your own products, remove the affiliate promotions.

Let me explain…

When you choose affiliate products in the first place, choose them because they meet one of the important needs that your customers have. Over time, you will be developing your own products to meet those same needs – and that’s when you replace the affiliate product with one of your own.

Here’s why this is a good idea:

Customers are swamped by so many competing products in the market. How do they know which to buy? One safe and comfortable way is to follow the recommendations of a marketer or mentor they like and trust. So if you have been serving your customers faithfully, with quality information and sound advice, then you will be their preferred vendor. And that is a very nice position to find yourself in. Integrity pays off.

By: Gary Harvey

The Business Plan – Describing Your Business Opportunity

admin — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:14:43 +0000

The first real stage of writing your business plan concerns describing and articulating your business and what it hopes to achieve. This stage requires you to explain, as clearly as possible, what your business does.

It serves the purpose of outlining your personal vision for your business. So you will not only be explaining what it does, but also what you do and what your business is going to offer to the market.

Your first step is to put together an overview of your business. Firstly, you must be able to state when you started trading or are planning to begin trading. You also have to make sure that you include details of the progress you have made to date.

Then explain the kind of business you are running or are intending to run. This section must be as clear as possible so that your readers – whether they are potential investors or future employees or partners – can understand exactly what it is you do. If you can clarify what sector it is in – e.g. retail, manufacturing etc. – then this will make the picture clearer for the reader too.

Your next job is to outline any history that is important to the business you propose to run. For example, if you bought the business off someone else, it will obviously be important that the business plan shows some details of this transaction, as well as information on the seller of the business.

You must then outline the current legal structure of the business. This means ownership, the structure of the company as it stands in law, and so on.

Finish up the overview by articulating your vision for the future. This means thinking about the plans you have for the business as regards growth. It also means creating a picture of what your company will look like in the future.

After the overview, you then have to describe your product or service in detail. To get this section right, you must explain what makes it different to other products and services in the same sector, as well as the benefits it offers to the customer. To interest investors – or just to keep you on the right path as developments occur – you then have to outline what developments you are going to bring to your product or service. If you are going to run a cafe for example, you may plan to add another story in the future, to add value.

If you hold any patents or design rights, now is the time to declare them. And to finish up, describe the key features of your industry, in such a way that your product or service has a recognisable role in it.

At all times, make sure that you don’t throw in too much jargon, or industry specific terminology. If you are going to use the business plan as a means of acquiring investment, the last thing an investor wants is vocabulary they cannot understand.

So that is a detailed outline of the section of your business plan where you describe your business opportunity. This is often the most difficult section to complete. Be confident, follow the steps above and you will then be on your way towards completing your plan.

By: Sahail Ashraf

Checklist for Going Into Business for Yourself

admin — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 03:39:53 +0000

If you are considering going into business for yourself, it makes absolute sense to be as prepared as possible. Here is a checklist of things you need to consider.

1. Living Funds – Unless you are one of the very lucky few, your business will not be profitable from the word go. Remember, it took even mighty Google a couple years to even find funding to make a serious effort at becoming an Internet giant. How much money do you have set aside for living expenses? Six months to a year is a good range if you will be working full time on your new business.

2. Time – Running your own business can be incredibly rewarding. That being said, it is going to take a lot of your time. Do you have a family? Kids? Other time obligations? You can expect to spend 10 to 12 hours a day during the first year getting up and running, so make sure you have the wiggle room to handle it.

3. Business Form – When starting out, you need to determine what form your business will take. Will it be a corporation, limited liability company or just a sole proprietor. The decision is primarily one of risk. The bigger the chance of getting sued, the more you should consider undertaking the expense of a corporation or limited liability company.

4. Taxes – Uncle Sam wants and gets his money. Every business plan needs to account for tax issues. You might live in a state that has a favorable tax climate for business, but then again you may not. Some of the best money you can spend when starting out is to find a good accountant. They can save you a bundle. The best accountant is a proactive one. By proactive, I mean they work with you to put together plans on how to save on your taxes at the beginning of each year. Find one and spend the time to get it right.

5. Passion vs Profit – People are often looking for the “best” business idea. This is a mistake. The best business idea is the one you are very interested in. If you love fishing, start a business that has something to do with fishing. You should generally avoid starting a business because you think you can make a lot of money. It is going to take a ton of work, so go with something you are passionate about so you can get through the tough times.

If you take these factors into account, you will be well ahead of many people that start their own businesses. Find something you are passionate about, be prepared and your chances of success will be much better.

By: Richard Chapo

Does Your Cleaning Business Have a Mission Statement?

admin — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:01:31 +0000

Along with a business plan, a mission statement is an important tool that will capture the spirit of your business. A mission statement helps to clarify the goals and objectives of your company. In just a sentence or two, the mission statement for your cleaning business will set your business goals, your underlying philosophy, and what special benefits you have to offer to your customers. A good mission statement will reflect that special niche that your cleaning business is catering to and provide a long-range vision for you to build on.

Following is a sample mission statement:

“ABC Cleaning Company is committed to delivering the exact services our commercial cleaning customers want, listening closely to their expectations, taking a pro-active approach in defining their needs, and building the best partnering relationship possible. We are also committed to acting with honesty and integrity at all times in all aspects of our business, to being professional in doing our job, and to delivering a consistent, high level quality of work.”

A well thought out mission statement will take more than just a few minutes to develop – it takes careful thought and planning. Spending time developing those few sentences that define your business can be just as valuable as the final statement. Going through the process of evaluating your cleaning business, and then defining your customers and your services will help you to look at your cleaning business from your customers’ perspective. Don’t get bogged down with technical jargon. Focus on defining your company’s strengths and why those strengths benefit your customers.

When you are ready to begin, sit down in an area with no distractions. To come up with the statements that will sum up what your cleaning business is all about, consider the following:

- What specific need does your business satisfy?

- What are the principles and values that guide you in the everyday operation of your business?

- Who are your customers?

- What level of service will you provide?

- What image would you like your business to portray to your customers?

To write an effective mission statement, sit down with those who are closest to your business and jot down notes to answer the above questions. Look at mission statements from other businesses and start brainstorming. Once you have a couple of key ideas draft those thoughts into complete sentences.

Once you have formalized your mission statement use it in your promotional materials. The statement will be a quick and easy way for your customers and potential customers to learn about your cleaning business. Keep your mission statement visible and live up to it everyday. This will show your employees and customers that you practice what you preach.

Copyright 2006 The Janitorial Store

By: Steve Hanson

Small Business Loans – Initiates a Good Start For Your Business

admin — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:46:31 +0000

To be a successful entrepreneur, it is a must to have the requisite support of money. It is not a matter of concern what is the size and nature of business you are dealing. Finance plays a very important role as it assists you to accomplish your goals. Whenever starting a new business or refinancing the existing one, it is the flow of finance which determines the success of business. In this regard, you can consider small business loans which provide the necessary monetary assistance. These loans are very easily accessible and can be used for a number of purposes.

With these loans, you have the finances which enable you to take care of the various demands. You can utilize the amount for installing machinery and tools, purchasing raw materials, arranging transportation of finished products, paying wages and salary, purchasing plot, clearing unpaid debts and so on.

These loans can be availed in two forms of secured and unsecured. Secured form of the loans offers a bigger amount at comparatively low interest rate. But to avail this loan option, you have to pledge one of your valuable assets as collateral. It is the equity value present in the collateral which helps you access a bigger amount

On the other hand, unsecured form of the loans can be obtained without pledging any collateral. This loan option is totally risk free and is beneficial to meet small needs. The amount offered is limited and is offered with a high rate of interest. Those with imperfect credit history such as CCJs, IVA, arrears, defaults, non repayment etc can also avail these loans. However the interest rates levied will be slightly higher.

Before availing the loans, you must prepare a loan proposal which clearly outlines where and how the amount will be utilized and repaid. A good business plan will help you obtain the loans instantly. You should also provide the business related documents with the loan proposal.

Small business loans are offered by most of the lenders based in the financial market. However to get the best deals, you should prefer applying online. By collating and comparing the rate quotes of various lenders, you can select a suitable deal. Thus with these loans, you are not required to worry about arranging finances to take care of your business needs.

By: Ben Gannon

Small Business Start Up – How To Work On Your Business

admin — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 07:34:46 +0000

Working On your business involves strategic planning versus tactical implementation. That means reflecting on what’s happening outside your business and its effects on you, as opposed to running the day to day operation. The result is reaching your goals by evaluating your processes and developing your own skills. Working In your business involves such daily activities as prospecting, serving customers, administration, and the “feel-good” activity of making bank deposits.

These daily activities will consume all your time and energy and take control of your business if you let them, preventing you from seeing the big picture, anticipating change, and responding to opportunities.

Steps for Working On Your Business

Step One: Plan the Work Weekly

The Harvard Business School completed a study of their graduates to determine what factors contributed to post graduate success. The number one factor was goal setting. The graduates that set goals, either formally or informally, were more likely to be successful in their careers and personal lives. Success was defined as a combination of compensation, career satisfaction, personal and professional achievements, and personal life satisfaction.

Planning the Work begins with goal setting. Know where you want your business to be in a year, in 5 years, and what your exit strategy for the business will be in ten years. Sometimes it is easier to set these goals starting with your exit strategy. Then ask yourself what intermediate steps do I need to do now to be in a position to achieve the goal in the future. This process sets the course of your business from where it is now to its planned destination.

Planning the work requires some time away from the business to determine if you are ‘on-course,’ plan any course corrections, and come back with a work plan that serves your goals.

Step Two: Work the Plan

Each planned goal should have a work plan for success; e.g. If one of your goals for the year is to grow sales by 20% the work plan will outline the activities necessary to achieve the goal.

Step Three: Evaluate Progress on a monthly basis and Make Necessary Course Corrections

Develop reports that provide timely, accurate information related to the weekly work plans and previously set goals. Remember, activity precedes results. Tracking activity will help to interpret the results you are getting. Monitor customer feedback and integrate the information into employee training, product/service innovation, and course corrections. Monitor your direct and indirect competition. Allocate your resources to insure your company’s next stage of development.

Tips for Working On Your Business

Set aside a time (2-3 hours) each week to get away from interruptions; e.g. go to a favorite deli, park, take a walk (use a recorder), etc.

Create your agenda for your time as the week progresses. Add items as they come up.

Meet once a month with someone or a group to go over your ideas. Banker, CPA, lawyer, etc. are also candidates.

Take in some business training workshops for fresh perspectives on issues your tackling.

Your investment of time in this activity will pay you back in generous dividends; e.g. cost savings, increased and better customer prospects, more sane moments, and a shorter distance to success.

By: Bruce D Hunter

Credit Cards for Small Business

admin — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 20:43:41 +0000

When you decide to start a small business, you find out pretty quickly that it takes more than skills and dedication in your respective area of work. Besides being good at what you want to do, you also need to known your accounting and financing issues, no matter how annoying and boring these may be. And the credit card problem for small businesses needs careful handling, just like that of a regular, personal credit card.

Choosing the right type of credit card is vital for the success of a small business. Even if you don’t have access to a corporate credit card, a small business card can be a major tool on the path to success. When you apply for a small business credit card, lenders will analyze your request from a variety of points of views. While their evaluation of the risk may vary according to various local factors, they will all take into account the “five Cs”: capital, capacity to make the payments, collateral, conditions and character.

Capital, meaning your personal investment in the business, outlines not only the size of the business, but also how much risk you are willing to take. Balance risks carefully – too much means you will be rated reckless, too little, and the lenders may think you are not serious about this. The capacity to repay the loan is, of course, critical for the lender and will be carefully analyzed. The collateral or the guarantees will show that you have a backup plan for returning the loan, in case things go wrong. The conditions represent the general situation in your geographical area and your respective line of business – mostly things that you cannot control (but you can make them look better in carefully planned business plan). Last but not least, character is the impression you make on the lenders – how trustworthy and business-oriented you appear to them.

If you take all these into account, your application is more likely to be successful right from the start. Of course, you also need to consider, carefully, which type of business card suits your needs.

Many small businesses rely on cash flow to pay for suppliers or contractors, because they need to purchase materials and services before their own clients pay up. You need to calculate the difference between the date when you purchase the materials and the date when the clients pay you back. If this is shorter than 30 days, go for a card that doesn’t charge you interest for the respective period. If it is two, three months or longer, go for a low interest card.

Also, you should think of how often you will have to travel for business-related purposes, and how a special type of credit card can help you with this, or how you will handle unprepared emergency situations that hustle small businesses constantly.

Some of the offers for credit cards for small business include Blue for Business Card – no annual fee, 0% intro APR for the first 9 months, credit line of up to $50,000 or Blue Cash for Business Credit Card – up to 5% cash rebate, no annual fee, 0% APR for up to 15 months. Advanta Platinum with Rewards, featuring cash back bonus, offers 0% intro APR for balance transfers, up to 50,000 credit line and various types of rewards for the things you buy most often (gas, office supplies and so on), bonus miles or cash back.

The CitiBusiness card has 0% APR for purchases for the first 6 months, no annual fee, a generous credit line and additional cards for the employees, with a credit limit set by you. The Platinum Business Credit Card from American Express has no annual fee and 0% APR for the first nine months on purchases and balance transfers.

Other options include Business Green Rewards Cash – no fees for the first year and no pre-set spending limit, and the Business Cash Rebate from OPEN: the Small Business Network, with up to 5% cash rebate, no annual fee, 0% APR for the first six months, no limit for cash back and no minimum spending requirements.

By: Jeremy Zongker

Business Credit Card Applications

admin — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 06:37:13 +0000

If you’re thinking about starting up a new business, that’s great! You’re going to want to get your business plan running, and if you don’t have enough money, you’re going to want to get a line of credit as well. Just like a personal credit card, you’re not going to want to spend more than what you can afford, because you’re just looking for disaster!

So, if you’re looking to apply for a business credit card, I’m going to show you what you should look out for, when you’re looking for the perfect small business credit card.

Look at the rewards – The main thing that I look for when it comes to business credit are the rewards. Since I don’t spend that much and I love getting something for what I spend, I love getting rewarded for using my card. I’ll exchange my points for things such as airline tickets, hotels, and gift cards. It’s well worth it.

The fees – If you’re going to use this card a lot, you’re going to want to find a card that has no fees. A card with higher fees may be worth it if you use it a lot, but when I say use it a lot, I’m talking six figures a year. Those reward based cards are great, but can hurt you in the fee department. I recommend a fee-free card, but it’s up to you.

When it comes to applying, this is all I recommend. I know it sounds simple, but that’s about it. There are cards out there. Go out there, and apply to see what you can get!

By: Tom Tessin

Growing a Personal Training Business

admin — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 04:16:11 +0000

One of the few businesses that is not suffering from our current economic woes is the personal trainer business. When you think about it, it makes perfect sense. If you are out of work or working harder because your place is running short handed, you have a lot of frustration to take out and what better place than a gym. If you are a trainer and have been considering starting your own business, now is the time to figure out how to start growing a personal training business you so you can be out on your own.

The first step in any business is to develop a business plan to let you know what your needs are going to be. You are going to be surprised how many things are going to come up that you have never thought of. This document is the most important document that you are going to prepare as you get started. If you have never done one, either buy the software to walk you through it or have a professional do it for you.

One thing that will come up early in the business plan is the company name and logo. While you will have to decide on the name, you may want to work with someone on developing a professional logo. If you have something that looks like it was just thrown together, you are going to give a bad impression right off the bat. Make it look sharp and you will set yourself apart from everyone else.

Figuring out your sales projections is a little bit more involved. You are going to have to come up with a rate schedule and a reasonable assumption of how many customers you are going to be able to get early on. Do you have people where you work now that would come with you? Can you drum up some new business early on? These are questions that you are going to have to ask in order to figure out if you are going to be successful or not.

Once you have those issues settled, it is time to start your marketing campaign. In order to get this started you are going to need a blog or a website. Getting your own website can be very costly. If you are looking to keep your costs down, consider starting a blog that you can put all of your information on. You can always upgrade and purchase the domain name and your clients will never know the difference.

Once you have your site up and running, it is time to get some stuff out there in print. The first one of those is going to be your business cards. Carry them with you all the time and have your website on there. If anyone expresses interest, get that card in their hand.

The next print media that you are going to use is going to be flyers. They are cheap to print up and you can get a ton of information on them. Hand them out to friends and family and have them put them up in their offices or wherever they can. You should also try to get some posted around the local gyms in areas where customers can see them.

By: Joe McLee