Steps,Creating,Simple,Business business, insurance 8 Steps to Creating a Simple Business Plan for 2003

Small offices have unique needs, and thatincludes document shredding. Designed with the smaller business inmind, the Dahle 20314 is a cross-cut shredder that offers Level 3security and brings you into compliance with federal regulations. The As we all know to live in this world we have to perform some activity by which we can earn money. There are many activities by which we can earn money and meet the standards to live in this society. And from one of them is franchise.  Franc

Your business plan is like a road map to long-term success. Youmay have been in a situation where you didn't have a map to findyour destination and ended up horribly lost wasting precioustime and money. Well, the same can happen if you don't plan outyour business strategies. Why you need a business plan.It gives you a clear direction where your business is heading.Many business owners just jump into creating a business without researching and making a concrete plan.Inevitably, they soon find that they are out of money andhave no time or clear strategies how to market their business. Here are 8 simple steps to creating your own business plan(this is by no means a comprehensive plan but a primer to get youstarted): 1. Name of your business - create a name or reevaluate the nameof your business. Does it integrate well with what you areselling? Is it easy to spell and remember? Is it a name that canbe well branded over time? 2. Vision - what will your business look like 5 years from now?Think of how you may want to expand it to include other branchesor extra employees. 3. Mission statement - this defines what your business reallydoes, what activities it performs and what is unique about itthat stands out from your competitors. 4. Goals and objectives - clearly define what you want toachieve with your business. Make sure they are quantifiable andset to specific time lines. Set specific goals for each of yourproducts or services. 5. Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats (SWOT) - byanalyzing these characteristics in your business, you will get aclearer idea of what it will take for you to not only to survivebut also prosper. This could include such factors as: - your companies own changing industry- the marketplace which may change due to social and economic conditions.- competition which may create new threats and/or opportunities.- new technologies which may cause you to change products or the processin how you do things. Evaluating your SWOT will help you to: - build on your strengths- resolve your weaknesses- exploit opportunities- avoid threats Doing this analysis will help you create a more realisticstrategic action plan. 6. Strategic action plan - this is the most critical step ofyour business plan, because without it, your business will notget off the ground. This should include your sales and marketingstrategies.(read "how to create your web site marketing plan"http://www.isitebuild.com/websitemarketingplan)7. Financial plan - a business can operate without budgets, butit is clearly good business practice to include it. With budgets, you will bemore likely to achieve your business objectives, you will makemore-reasoned decisions and you will have better control of yourcash flow. For any period, a cash flow statement would include: - The cash and credit sales (or accounts receivable) expected to bereceived during the period.- The anticipated cash payments (for example, expenses for purchases,salaries, utility charges, taxes, office expenses etc.) - A description of other incoming and outgoing cash, with a calculationof the overall cash balance. This will assess how much money is on hand to meet yourfinancial obligations - what cash has been received and what hasbeen paid out. Knowledge of this cash flow cycle will help youpredict when you will receive funds and when you will berequired to make a payment. 8. Measuring and evaluation - you wrote your business plan andset the goals with the intent of achieving them. So now breakthem down into measurable pieces and monitor the resultsregularly. A plan that cannot be measured is almost alwaysdestined for failure. Celebrate your wins and recharge yourselfto accomplish your next goal. Decide beforehand what constitutes a real serious loss and whatloss will be acceptable. If you find your goals are unrealistic and unattainable, adjustthem, but realize that it takes hard work to achieve them, sodon't give up easily. Conclusion:Now that you have a business plan, make it a part ofyou by knowing and understanding it clearly. Build upon itcontinuously and refer to it often, so you remain on track tobuilding a profitable business. ResourcesSmall business association -http://www.sba.gov/starting/indexbusplans.htmlwww.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/bizplan/bizplan.html Download a free business plan template:http://www.business-planware.com/freepln7.zip Sample business planshttp://www.mplans.com/spm Online business plannerhttp://www.planware.org/strategicplanner.htm Article Tags: Business Plan