Starting a small business is an attractive choice for most people primarily because of the autonomy it can afford. However, a small business could very easily fail because of lack of anticipation for potential problem areas. This is where business plans will come in handy.

How do you make business plans for small business?

A business plan, which acts like the resumé for the whole firm, defines your business by identifying your goals. Basically, a it has three components. It can be used as a communication tool to appeal to lenders or potential investors and convince business partners and employees to stick with the new venture. It can show if the venture has the potential to make a profit or not, and allows you to know if the potential problems of actually launching the business are solved.

It can also be used as a tool for management. It can help in tracking and evaluating the venture’s progress by establishing timelines or milestones. In this way, you can compare your projections to your actual accomplishments.

The business plan can also be used in planning or a guide through the various phases of your new business venture. It can help identify obstacles you need to avoid and think of alternative ways. In this way, business owners can give their employees a picture of where their business is going to foster to give a broader understanding.

Here are tips in making good plans for small business.

1. They should be clear and detailed to be easily understood by and thus attract potential investors.

2. Check out sample plans of businesses that turned out to be successful. See if the library near you has a copy of Sharon Fullen’s How to Write a Great Business Plan for Your Small Business in 60 Minutes or Less. Samples can help beginning business owners to know what they want have to cover in their own business plans, and can also give ideas on how to make a plan to attract bankers or potential investors.

3. To keep with developments in a growing business, good business plans also need to reflect that it is still a work-in-progress.

4. Include all the financial information related to the venture, as well as expense projections and other information related to the company’s future.

5. Use business plan software or a template so that you can just fill in the necessary information. This type of software can be accessed in most libraries, or these may have books with business plan templates.

6. As some new business owners choose to do, hire an expert to review the business plan before looking for potential investors.

Entrepreneurs should not think that making plans for small business as a chore. The tips mentioned above will help in writing it all easily, but they should keep in mind this document will also help them keep focus on their business goals for a long time.

By: Ewen Chia

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Caffeinated Content

Although you’ll no doubt have done a lot of solid preparation before going into business and no one with any sense starts a new venture lightly, there are one or two very obvious points that so often get forgotten as to have become cliches; one would think then that there would be little need to point them out, but disturbingly small business start-ups are still leaving the sensible side of their brains at home when they launch into the business world: with this in mind here are probably the five most often forgotten essentials to remember right from the start.

1. Call in the professionals. An accountant should not be an afterthought for your business. Certainly in the first few years of trading they’ll not only take action to save money later, but an accountant for a small business should be one of its main business advisors. The help and advice given now could save you a lot of money long term.

2. Plan for success. When the banks and other investors asked you for that business plan, you probably lost sleep over getting it just right, so, although looking at it now seems a horrible reminder of all that stress, why waste it. You worked hard on its content so use it. Update it regularly and often and it will act as a guide to keep you moving in the right direction.

3. This little business went to market. Marketing isn’t always the first thing on the list of ‘must dos’ when a small business starts up, but it certainly should be. Even the basics often get neglected. Competitor analysis for instance, do you know who your competitors are and what they are doing to compete with you? Will they respond to your appearance on the scene? What about your customers, what do you understand about their habits? Budgeting for marketing and starting before you open your doors is the only way a small business will survive.

4. Profit from the rest. New businesses run-up bills even before they start trading and when they do start to trade it is important to remember that your turnover it totally different from your profit, far too many new businesses confuse the money coming in with the money that’s left once the very many bills and overheads have been settled. If you do need to put money into the business it should always be to increase your profit rather than the turnover and knowing the difference between the two is so much more than a lesson in semantics.

5. Get technical. If a website was not the first thing you started to plan once the business looked set to begin then it should have been the second. There is absolutely no way that a small business in the 21st century can expect to survive without a web presence, but it is not enough to simply have a website, any business looking to succeed needs a competitively placed site that is visible to its customers. If SEO is something that you’ll need to Google then get an internet marketing firm on board to help.

By: Leo Thomas

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Caffeinated Content

Use these small business marketing tips: talk about a) the problem, b) the solution and then c) use a “problem solution story”. So someone says, “So how do you increase alkalinity?” “Well, a good example is I worked with a gentleman, his name’s Tim Stanton.”

He had a lot of pain and his mobility was very low, there was not much he could do… “

Then you say, “I/We worked with him for a little over a month and in that time his pain completely vanished, his mobility tripled and he’s now able to perform a hand stand on one finger… he didn’t go to the gym, he didn’t change his calorie intake… now he loves his life for the first time in 10 years and he’s looking at ways to clone himself”.

Obviously, tell the truth, but I think you get my point. If you tell a story like that what happens in the listener is: what? They relate and they go, “Well, if you did that for him maybe she could do it for me.” It’s not abstract anymore. So, you want to get to that marketing story as quickly as possible.

Right now what’s going on in your prospects mind is, “Can this person help me? Do they understand me? Do they work with people like me? Have they produced results?” Those are the kind of questions your prospect is asking when listening to your problem solution story.

The next piece is d) credibility. What qualifies you to do what you do. Talk about what you’ve done. It’s through your stories and through your conversation that credibility actually starts to come through, “Oh, this woman has experience. She’s done this. She knows what she’s doing.”

They’ve got to get a sense that you’re real. You’re authentic. You’re experienced and you’ve got a track record and you’re not just blowing marketing steam.

Now, the process – finally. At some point in the conversation you might talk a little bit about how it works. Sometimes, you don’t even have to get into that because they are ready to open their wallet right there and then.

And last but not least, call to action. What do we usually do? We have a great conversation, maybe it goes really well and then what do we do? We hand them our card and say, “Call me”.

Call me? That’s not a very good call to action, is it? Instead say, “You know, I have some more information about this, or I’ve written an article about this, or I have some stuff on my website. Can I send that to you?” If you’ve gotten their interest, most people will say, “Sure”. Then you follow up with them.

Look at these small business marketing tips like a recipe for cooking a cake. If I follow a recipe exactly, I can get pretty close to what it should be. It’s not going to be as great as chef Emeril’s, but it sure is better than him saying, “Bake a cake” and I guess how much water, flour, eggs to put in it. The above marketing recipe will shave off months if not years of trial and error.

By: Marlene Dewitte

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Caffeinated Content

Cash flow is king in the world of the small business and unless you are particularly keen on using expensive forms of credit it is probably a good idea to adopt good working practices right from the start to keep cash flowing.

Be aware and forewarned. Only by keeping completely on top of your available cash situation will you be able to deal with any potential problems before they get out of hand. You will probably have included a cash flow forecast in your original business plan, don’t waste this, update it weekly and don’t ignore systems that can make this process easier; look at accounting software that incorporates a reporting tool as this will allow you to access the relevant figures at the touch of a button. It is however pointless having instant access to great information if you fail to respond to what it tells you. Look for looming cash flow issues and address them early. Market Effectively. One potential reason for poor cash flow could be stagnating sales. Go back to your original marketing plan and revise your strategy. If you don’t reach your customers, existing and new, things are likely to grind to a halt. Easy Payment. Once you have reached the customers and convinced them to order, make it as easy as possible for them to part with their cash. User-friendly systems like telephone and internet ordering are a must and if there is a way to pay accept it; card payments, direct debit, standing order. Make things as easy as possible for people to give your business what it is owed. Credit Control. When customers don’t pay you will need an efficient strategy in place to recover debts as quickly as possible if you don’t want to end-up in a cash flow crisis, but one of the best ways to avoid the situation of bad debtors is to run credit checks before extending credit to anyone. Supplier Management. Use suppliers with whom you’ve negotiated advantageous payment terms where possible and ensure prompt delivery, if every link in the cash flow chain is not working smoothly problems can and will arise. Production Efficiency. Even if your customers all pay on time and your supplier is happy to wait for payment for months, cash flow issues will surface if you don’t get paid at all because you haven’t delivered. Assess the quality of your product regularly and maintain stock quantities sufficiently.

So, king or not, cash flow is something that can easily be managed and certainly doesn’t have to be a worry. If you take care to put the right measures in place early there is no reason at all that your small business can’t have great cash flow.

By: Leo Thomas

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Create a video blog…instantly.

The time is now for small businesses to take control of their marketing. Consumers are gravitating towards the internet every day looking for solutions to their problems. We’ve listed a few tips for small businesses that will effectively generate interest and traffic.

Utilize Your Customers

The most overlooked aspect of growing your business could be staring right at you every day. Your current customers already know you and trust, or at least they should know and trust you. Take advantage of your customer base by offering incentives or special deals for referrals. People who experience a good product or service enjoy sharing it with their friends. Use your customers as publicity agents to spread the word of your business to their friends and family. Often business owners don’t like to push their customers for referrals but you would be surprised how many people would do just that when they had a good experience with your business.

Don’t Feel the Need to Advertise Like a Big Business

Big businesses have the marketing budget to spend on commercial slots or print ads. Small businesses typically do not which means you should not treat your marketing plan as if you need to advertise like the big businesses. Small businesses should look to inbound marketing and internet marketing to gain ground on the leaders of your industry. Provide opportunities for people to respond to your marketing efforts with special offers to new members or customers.

Join Forces with Other Small Businesses

Small business owners often know other small business owners. There is a connection between small business owners and the dedication and hard work it takes to run a business. Contact your friends at other businesses and offer a joint promotion. Exchange links or banners to be placed on each others websites. Refer your customers to their business and ask them to do the same. This is a free and easy way to gain new business.

YouTube

The next time you do a job or service have a camera set up and record and narrate the process of your service. After you have recorded go to YouTube and upload the content. You could also upload it to your website as an instructional video. YouTube is a great avenue for exposure and prospects can actually see your results and you or your business in action. You can conduct interviews with industry leaders or have customers comment on your work for others to hear. Introduce your staff or your office/warehouse, taking visitors on a tour is second best to being there in person.

There are many ideas for small business marketing tips and we have outlined just a few. The fact is there are many ways to market your business or brand with a limited budget and there are many internet marketers eager to help your small business compete with the corporations.

By: Brett M Howard

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Kansieo.com

Someone once told me that you cannot control how people act, but you can control how you react. The same may be said about running a business in today’s economic climate. It is going to be a long and difficult road ahead for businesses and consumers alike. Instead of burying our collective heads and saying I can’t do anything about it, let’s do the opposite.

Let’s face it, in any economy there are challenges for businesses. In a great economy, sales are up, people are buying, and cash is flowing. But businesses, many times, struggle to keep up. In a lousy economy, sales are down, finances tighter, consumers slow down their spending, and budgets are cut back. Companies struggle to find ways to turn things around. So what’s a business owner to do? Simply put, you do something or do nothing. How do you want to react? If you are somebody who has decided to do something, then please read on.

If you have been a business owner for the past 20 years or so, you have been operating, for the most part, in a strong growth economy. Many businesses, even though they did not run the tightest ship, could do no wrong. So what can you do when you are faced with an economy that is being described as the worst since the Great Depression? Well, you had better make sure that you are doing the little things right. Here are a few things you should be considering for improvements in your business.

Cash is King – Pay homage to the King. Having a cash flow forecast is a must and you must review it regularly to see where you stand. Review your accounts receivable aging weekly to ensure your customers stay current and identify problems early. Review your billing and collection policies to ensure that you are expediting your cash inflows. Make sure that you are paying your accounts payable when due to maintain your credit but not too early in order to conserve cash.

Cutting Expenses – Review your cost structure on a regular basis. Ask yourself, have I exhausted my opportunities to reduce costs. Review inventory levels. Holding too much costs money and so does holding too little. Talk to your suppliers about cutting costs. Review your fixed costs; put your contracts like insurance out to bid.

Customers – Meet and talk with your best customers. Ask them, what you are doing right and what you might be doing wrong. Segment your customer base to ensure that you understand their current needs in order to respond with practical solutions to satisfy those needs.

Plan to Fail or Fail to Plan – Prepare or update your business plan and budget. Review them monthly against business results and ask yourself whether you are on track and what has changed. Plan for up, down and sideways economies while anticipating modifications you will make as the economy changes. Consider “what if” scenarios in your planning activities to adjust for changing circumstances.

Solid Foundation – Businesses, just like buildings, need a solid foundation to survive. Take a critical look at your business foundation. Clean up and fix those things that you just didn’t have time for when the economy was good. Ask yourself, do I have the right people in the right positions with the right training. Your company’s policies and processes should be simple yet effective and produce the desired results. You must have your financial results completed on a timely basis in order to take action as soon as possible if there are signs of trouble. Consider the worst problem facing your business today and determine what you are doing to resolve it.

There’s not a lot a business owner can do about the way the economy is acting, but they can control how they react. Make sure your business is still standing when the economy turns around.

By: LM Roberts

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Create a video blog

Starting a business is hard work. So if you’ve got that far, you should give yourself a pat on the back. Some say however, that marketing a small business is even harder. So, the good news is is that there are some great free marketing ideas for small businesses. Here are my top 3.

1. Free Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses Online.

Get a website and promote it. If you’re not already online you need to be, whatever your business. Now, getting a website isn’t exactly free but it’s a great deal cheaper than it used to be and simple enough for absolutely anyone to do it. Once you have website you can drive free traffic to it with article marketing which is a great, effective and simple way to get customers to your site and is one of the best free marketing ideas for small businesses.

Join forums. Forums are filled with people who need a solution to their problem. If you have it, tell them and add your site to the resource box.

2. Free Marketing Ideas for Small Businesses Offline.

Free marketing ideas for small businesses work offline too but are often neglected. Offline marketing techniques are great for businesses offer services in a particular region. Promote with flyers by dropping door to door or asking local stores to keep some on the counter for you.

Reward Existing Customers: Contact your customer base with a special offer or discount for existing customers only. It will make them feel special and nudge them into thinking about whether they need anything from you. Chances are they do and they needed reminding. They should also be encouraged to refer other customers. Offer a discount when they use you next.

Treat New Customers: Offer new customers a good introductory discount or a free gift for giving you a try. They can also benefit from referring friends.

3. Get out more.

I once asked a successful small business owner what the key to his incredible success was. Know what he said? Golf. He’d never played but joined a club that was full of his target audience and made so many contacts that his order books were jammed within months. I’m not suggesting you join a golf club but getting to know people in your community will be invaluable for your success.

In conclusion, my top 3 free marketing ideas for small businesses are just the beginning. Marketing is hard work but done properly will bring amazing results. One final thought: Training so that you are doing things right first time will save you thousands of dollars and make you thousands of dollars. Good luck.

By: Kerry Jarman

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Website content

Marketing small businesses online has changed. Gone are the days when websites were little more than static, brochures online. Things have moved on at a pace, and they are now much more dynamic and geared to building a two-way relationship with clients or customers, rather than simply providing one-way information. As such, there are a host of things to be borne in mind when developing websites for marketing small businesses on line. So, as a small business, whether you’re developing your site yourself or, more importantly briefing a design agency, here’s three important things to bear in mind.

1 It might sound obvious, but for a website to be successful its development must form part of an overall marketing strategy, and be geared to the specific objectives you want to achieve – they will not in themselves increase sales or business overnight! If your main marketing objective is to do more business, it’s important to consider two key things. One, how best to create a platform that provides fresh, valuable information and support to existing customers to build and maintain good relationships and generate repeat business, and 2 how to attract new potential clients to your site and then convert them to paying customers.

2 Any dynamic website or blog worth its salt will require fresh, new content so it’s important to agree an on-going plan for regular up-dating. So, when marketing small businesses, it’s important to remember that they will often require a content management system (CMS) to do this, which they can frequently change and up-date in house. Yes, a small business website might still have a few static pages still with credentials, terms and conditions etc, but the ability to up-date other pages, including dynamic elements such as a blog to share their expertise, latest news on their niche etc is vital, and will all add value and build on-going customer relationships.

Additionally, use of video and audio on websites and blogs is increasingly used as people are getting more used to listening, seeing and hearing things in the different, more dynamic mediums (eg YouTube videos increasingly occupy the number 1 and 2 slots in Google and other search listings).

A key reason for a good CMS is that small businesses want the flexibility and control to make changes to their site, without the on-going costs of an agency. There are various CMS packages available now, which have all the functionality a site needs built in, rather than having to create sites from scratch with html, coding etc. Often a business will work with an agency to customise such a package in their brand in the first instance, and leave them with the CMS to do up-dates themselves.

3 Agencies will often include a price for submitting a website to the various search engines/directories to help you get listed in search engines (ie be found on Google for example) and is what’s known as Search Engine Optimisation (SEO for short). SEO can be an art in itself, and submitting your site to search engines/directories is only one of the many things that form part of an SEO strategy. There are other things small businesses need to be doing regularly to be listed and found on Google and other search engines. The idea being that you would want to be no 1 on Google for a number of relevant search terms so you are found by potential customers searching on those terms.

There is much more to be borne in mind with the on-going development of websites when marketing small businesses (and I haven’t even touched on all the new social media marketing stuff – think Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc) but these pointers should give small businesses a starting point to avoid the expense of going down the road of a static website, which will probably not deliver what they are hoping it might, and, more importantly, will need on-going development. Better to spend a bit more time now being crystal clear on an appropriate marketing strategy and cost effective development of the website, so you do not get any nasty surprises and additional costs you were unaware of down the line.

By: Tamsin Butters

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Create a video blog…instantly.