Now, most, if not all of what you need for the basic setup is free and does not require you to spend any money because it is something that you can do yourself from your computer/laptop/tablet or smartphone. In the event that you do not want to do it yourself, we do have a small business setup package that does all of what these guides show you for a worthy fee.
It’s not rocket science however, it is something that small business owners often don’t know where to obtain or start and therefore operate improperly – clearing throat – illegally – and here’s the thing that you need to know – clearing throat again – without the basics that honestly gets your business out there in the faces of those that need to see and acknowledge your business, well, – clearing throat for the final time – your business isn’t a business, it is a side hustle or hobby. And that’s okay too. However, here is where you decide whether or not you have a side hustle, hobby, or business. Let’s get you set up.
As a new business the SBA (Small Business Administration) is an excellent resource when starting your business and provides direct links and templates for a small business’s legal setup that will also enable you to take advantage of funding opportunities (this will be addressed in later guides) with the SBA and other funding sources. The SBA website provides a traditional business plan template. Here in this article, we’ve simplified the traditional business plan into 10 steps.
- Research that you’ve done on businesses like yours.
- Your ideas for your business.
- Your SMART goals for your business in 30-day increments up to two years.
- Do you have money that is saved that you can use to fund your business until you obtain clients and/or customers?
- What sacrifices will you need to make – what can you realistically remove from your budget to fund and run your business until you have working capital and a healthy cash flow?
- Do you have a budget? If not, create one. Business expenses add up quickly and without a budget can and will impact your finances in a negative manner.
- What type of realistic support can you ask for and expect from family and friends as it relates to your business?
- In addition to funding your business, how will you support yourself and your family if you manage a household as well?
Print everything so that you can see what you are working with and how you will need to organize the material to fit into your business plan. Print a physical copy and place it in a binder along with your written draft. Save a digital copy along with your scanned notes and draft.
- Describe your business and how your business helps clients in what is termed an ‘elevator pitch’ not to exceed 2 to 3 minutes.
- Describe your business and how your products will benefit your customers. Why should customers buy your products versus buying from another business that sells similar products?
- Who’s on your team? Is it just you? Do you outsource your workflow? Are you partnered with other businesses to fulfill client projects? What is the overall structure of your business?
- Where is your business located? Are you a home-based business? Do you have a physical location? Do you have more than one physical location for your business?
- How will you fund your business? Include your bank account information.
- Explain your business in detail.
- What problems does your product and/or service solve?
- Who is your target audience?
- How will you attract and maintain those client/customer relationships?
- What solutions does your business offer that will permit you to maintain those client/customer relationships once you’ve obtained them as a client and/or customer?
- What does your business offer that will enable it to succeed and remain in a competitive industry?
- What are the strengths of your team that can also serve as expertise?
- What are your business’s strengths and weaknesses?
- The research that you’ve conducted on businesses in your industry will help you to create the content for market analysis.
- Pay attention to trends and themes.
- What does your competitor do or don’t do that your business can do better or do more efficiently to bring about better results?
- Describe in detail your business structure.
- Describe in detail your business’s legal structure.
- Create a spreadsheet that includes all of the members of your team, their role in detail at your company, and their resumes as an attachment.
- What does your business sell?
- Or what type of services does your business offer?
- Does your business have any patents?
- Do you have a copyright and trademark for your business and its content?
- Just as your business plan is a ‘working business plan’ your marketing strategy is a ‘working marketing strategy.’
- What are your initial plans for how you will market and sell your product and/or services to obtain clients/customers? Be specific and detailed with your strategy.
- What do you need funding for? Be detailed and specific about why you are requesting funding and what you will use the funding for.
- What type of funding are you requesting?
- How will you pay it back?
- What are your predictions for maintaining cash flow and working capital once you’ve obtained funding and met/exceeded your funding goals?
- Using all of the above content, present your business showing how it will become a stable and true financial success.
- Established business – include your income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements.
- The goal is to create a 5-year working business plan. However, because it is a working business plan you can start with a 2-year plan if you are a starting business and a 5-year plan if you are an established business that has been in business for more than 1 to 3 years.
- Include charts and graphs to help tell your financial projections for your business.
- Attach all of the documentation(s) that you’ve included in your business plan above.
For a complete step by step guide and a professional business plan template with checklist click the button below to download. As a bonus, subscribe to our mailing list and receive a free Small Business eBook download.
Business Plan. Write your business plan. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan
