A Makes Sense Business Plan

A Business Plan has to be simple, specific, and geared to what you want to do. Most, if not all of the business plan templates on the web are designed for companies that have been in business, have brick and mortar overhead, and clearly are intended to make a case for getting a business loan. That kind of business plan does not fit. You need to know where to go from here. You need a map, and this is how to make one. The following items are useful for a simple, Makes Sense Business Plan:
1.Your Company Name. There is a way to officially declare your company name to your State, and make sure there is nobody else using that name. It is easy.
2.Decide what kind of business entity you will be. The easiest is a sole proprietor, and that works well for small businesses. If you want to create an entity so you are somewhat protected from legal issues, you can make a corporation. That too is easy, and a lot less costly than what you see on the Internet.
3.Figure out what you are going to sell. Make sure that your selling price is a lot more than your cost so you can cover your expenses and have some left over.
4.Figure out who you are going to sell to. Think of your most likely customers. Will your offering be worth the price you want to charge?
5.How will you sell your product? Are you going to sell to a retail store? Are you going to have Home Workshops? Are you going to sell to professionals to help their business? All of the above? Each of these channels have costs and risks, but the risks can be reduced with perseverance.
6.Explore what you think your sales level might be for each of these channels.
7.How will you promote your business? There are many low-cost ways to promote, some on the Internet, and some are more local.
8.Who is your competition? What do they do well, and what can you do better? Remember that competition can be directly with what you sell, or something your customers might buy instead of your stuff. On the other hand, sometimes your stuff might complement someone else’s product, and that is worth thinking about and writing down too.
9.Explore what you think your sales level might be for each of the channels you think you might use.
10.Cut your sales projection in half at least.
11.Figure out your expenses. Do all you can to match your expenses to your sales. The optimum is to have no expenses that are not tied directly to sales. You want very little monthly overhead.
12.Double your expenses projection at least.
13.Do you still make a little money? As things pick up, do your profits increase?
14.Can you handle the monthly overhead for the foreseeable future so you can keep the business going until is matures?
15.What other opportunities might be spawned as a result of this business? Are there other products that will go well using the channels you have established? Are there other channels for your existing products?
These are the kinds of things that are concrete and specific to your business. Think through these things and write them down, and you will have a much clearer idea about where to go from here.
Have fun!

Strapping on Your Own Boots

SmoothClay.com is a business that helps you become an entrepreneur, or to extend your entrepreneurial horizons. It is a turn-key business with everything you need to begin your business.
SmoothClay is a low-cost business. It is designed to give you the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of owning a business without the worry of trying to make a payment or rent. The best kind of business is one where you have little or no overhead, where you do not need employees and you can do something that makes people happy - so they come back and bring their friends.
Too many times would-be entrepreneurs make big plans and incur big expenses and commitments, only to find out that the people doing the best in your business are your banker and landlord. If you want to start any business, do it small.

It is always amazing to me that most business planning software go to great lengths to ask all sorts of unanswerable questions, using up all kinds of energy that could be used in building a business, all to make a story good enough to borrow money. Then, if you borrow the money, you are now beholden to give your meager profits to someone else.

The thing to do is start small, on your own, without suffocating overhead. You can read an inspiring book by Seth Godin called The Bootstrapper’s Bible that expands on this idea.
You can get a free copy here: http://changethis.com/manifesto/show/8.BootstrappersBible
Good Luck!