BUSINESS PROSPECTS – GOLDEN SIDE OF IT! A prospective business owner as well as those already in
business needs to develop a written plan. Written plans provide a management tool for determining specific strengths and weaknesses of an idea, documenting reasonable objectives and identifying resources to attain them. A written plan will also provide the basis for developing a more detailed
business operating plan. Even though the risk of going into business cannot be eliminated, a good plan will help reduce the risk. The following outline will take you through the "thinking process" and help in gathering and organizing the necessary
information.
Perspectives When starting a new business or operating an existing one, it is essential to develop and maintain a basic understanding of the changing world in which the business is operating.
Business Planning
Business Statistics
Business Definition
Business Survival
Economic Environment
Preliminaries Personal Strengths A major determination of the ultimate success or failure of a business is directly related to personal characteristics and skills of the owner. A questionnaire to analyze your strengths and weaknesses to determine your "entrepreneurial qualities" can be found in Appendix E.
Resume Development Your resume should present a positive personal image -- it is your marketing tool! Although various formats are acceptable, the following is a guideline for chronologically organizing your personal information. Most funding agencies require a personal data sheet for anyone owning twenty percent or more of the business.
Goal Clarification Realistic, but challenging goals should be written to help clarify thinking about what the business will do for you and your customers in the future.
Decision-Making Business owners often have difficulty making decisions. Working through the steps helps analyze opportunities for choosing alternatives to achieve desired goals. Stating the problem in the form of a question increases possible alternative solutions. The following worksheet will prove helpful as you consider what business to start or how to expand an existing business.
Personal Financial Information If you plan to present your business plan to potential lenders, include personal financial information on anyone owning 20% or more of the business:
Pertinent tax records, including tax returns for the past three years.
An up-dated (no older than 30 days) net worth statement.
Preparation Be creative in your approach and use as many resources as possible to collect information.
Key questions to consider:
What products or services should be offered? What is unique about the products or services? What will the products or services do for customers? What will they do in the future that they do not do now? Why will each product or service be necessary to the success of business? Market Evaluation What information needs to be gathered? Defining and evaluating the market is an essential task that may involve considerable time and effort to establish a probable demand for the product or service. There are many methods and approaches for gathering up-to-date market information. Be alert for creative opportunities!
What geographic area will the market include? The target market (or market segment) is composed of customers to whom the products or services have the most appeal. For example, if analyzing the market for a janitorial business, segments of the market might include prospective new home buyers, a subdivision where new homes are being built, or an area where expensive homes are located. The successful chapters declares the golden side of it. Try systematically and accomplish your target.
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