Business Planning Software
Financially Free University Business Plan Guide.

(Recommended Internet Marketing Education)

Become my affiliate partner and earn $100 for each person that purchases
The Financially Free by 30 course.  www.freeby30.com/affiliate.html

 

Fast Fact Notes Chapter 8

Chapter 8 – Entrepreneurship
Going Your Own Way

Many of the world’s greatest – and richest – business people are self-made entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurship is an investment of time, energy and money which can yield excellent returns. It’s not for everyone, yet working for yourself can certainly be incredibly rewarding and financially lucrative.

You’re right if you think it takes skills and motivation to build a successful money-making business. However, entrepreneurial thinking can be valuable in any career. Showing an entrepreneur edge in the workplace can lead to increased innovation and even a chance of a promotion for you!

At the end of the day, we are all business owners - in the business of building brighter and better futures for ourselves!

Pros and Cons of Being an Entrepreneur
Essentially, an entrepreneur is a person who takes the initiative to start a new business. The benefit of working for yourself is that you can create your own financial destiny. You can build something of value that you can sell in the future. It is possible to keep more of your money, pay less in taxes, and take pride in what you create.

However, being in business for yourself is not for everyone. There are some personality traits that are common to all who succeed in building a business, whether it is a corner drycleaner, a restaurant, or the next Google.

The upside:

Additionally, unlike working a regular job, you are creating a company that has value. That value can be sold, borrowed against, and leveraged.

The negatives

What does it take?
The key quality you need is determination to make your business venture succeed. The remaining traits to being a successful entrepreneur can fall into place. Obviously, you don't need to possess all the traits associated with entrepreneurship to be successful. Skills can be learned and improved upon.

Money Pros strive to develop entrepreneurial skills, because even if they don’t want to be business owners, the skills will benefit them professionally, and in life in general.

 

Where do I begin?
Identify your passion or interests One of the most important aspects of starting a business is to choose a field/industry/service/product that you are passionate about. A business that matches your personal interest makes the time spent building that business enjoyable. It doesn’t feel like work because you are doing what you truly like to do. Many of your top entrepreneurs suggest starting a business in which you are enthusiastic and energetic about succeeding.

Educate yourself Once you decide on an idea, learn as much as you can about it. This is easy to do nowadays with the wealth of information on the Internet. Search for keywords relating to your business, and read, read, read. Become an expert and a leader.

Each idea requires a plan. Without the roadmap, you cannot see what is needed for success. Naturally, at this stage, the first draft does not have to be elaborate, so don’t get bogged down at the outset in the creation of a “perfect” plan – there’s no such thing, truth be told.

Money Pros follow their heart and do the things that they are passionate about. If this leads them to entrepreneurship, they research the market, educate themselves, and create a plan to achieve their dream.

 

How to Write your Business Plan

1. Describe your goals Accurately describe your goals and objectives for your business. An example of specific objectives.

2. Describe your product of service. Be very specific. Your clarity of thinking at the start will help develop all the details that follow.

What is your product/service? How is it better than the competition? Is it cheaper, or does your product or service carry a higher price tag because of superior quality?

What are its “features” (specific qualities like “small,” “sturdy,” “easy to open,” etc.)
What are its “benefits” (what the customer gets from the features, like “easy to carry,” “unbreakable,” “no strain on the hands,” etc.)

3. Finding the need You’ve found a need in the market and your product or service is going to fill that gap. You should offer a solution to a problem that people are actively looking for.

4. Identify your competition Know their strengths, weaknesses, pricing, main customers, and history. You’ll be able to choose and promote the “features” that will beat them.

5. List your skills What experience do you have that puts you in a great position to start this business? For example, if your idea is to offer in-house computer support and trouble shooting, how much do you know? What credentials can you speak of? Write them down on your business plan.

6. Identify your target market Who are your customers? A target market is the people that are most likely to purchase your product or service, and to whom your selling efforts are directed.

Without customers, a business – and your business plan – is futile.

7. Identify risk and reward A common misperception is that entrepreneurs are crazy risk-takers. Successful entrepreneurs do take risks, but only calculated ones.  A quick method: draw a line down the middle of page. List the risks on the left hand side, from greatest to least; and rewards on the right, from greatest to least. Do the rewards outweigh the risks?

On target - critical factors for zeroing in on your target market
Demographic Factors – Demographics refers to the general characteristics of the target market you have identified. Understanding these factors such as age, gender, marital status, education, employment, and disposable income will give you a better understanding of how to prepare your advertising.

Geographic Factors – Where does your customer live, and where are you going to conduct business?

Psychographic Factors – look at potential customers’ attitudes, life style, values, beliefs, and interests. By understanding the psychographic factors of your customer, you can better align the benefits of your product or service.

Money pros recognize the need for a business plan, and strive to understand their potential customers as thoroughly as possible. With a thorough plan as a guide, their businesses flourish.

 

How will you reach your target customers?
Of course, once you have your target customers in your sights, you may be wondering how you will reach them. This is the start of a marketing plan.

Marketing is an entrepreneur’s best friend. You can use email, flyers or postcards, or some inexpensive promotional item with your name and phone number imprinted on it. This could include paid advertising on websites and in print.

The 4 P’s – Product, Price, Place, and Promotion
These are the basics of all marketing.

Product was covered above.

Choose the price that will give you the greatest profit – not too low, but not too high, either. If you make your price too high, you won’t get enough sales to stay in business! Check out your competitors; ask friends, find out what people would pay before you set the number

Place – could be a storefront, Web-based, mail, or contracted to someone else. Decide what’s cost effective before you start!

Promotion can be done in many ways – here are a few.

Branding is often defined as “putting your product service in a unique place in your customer’s mind.”

You can brand your company by following these easy steps.

Branding allows you, the business owner, to differentiate yourself from the competition so you stand out when it’s time for a customer to make a purchase decision. Have fun with it, but always keep your target customer in mind.

Is your marketing working?
How can you tell if your marketing is working? Use the same return on investment calculation to evaluate your marketing efforts as on your investments.

The way is to track your advertising. A simple way to track your marketing efforts is to ask your customers how they heard about you.

Once you can accurately determine where your sales are coming from, you can calculate your return on investment. Which one of the advertising methods below would you stop?

Email advertising cost $200 and you made $450.
Direct mail cost $300 and you made $100.
Fliers cost $50 and you made $150.

By knowing what advertising is making you money, you can focus more of your marketing dollars there. All you need to do is find one type of promotion that doubles or triples your money and you’ve found yourself a winner.

Money Pros brand their product/service and make all aspects of their business appeal to their target customers. They know different ways to promote their business and track advertising to ensure a solid return on their investment.

 

Preparing a budget

Start-up costs - These include any supplies or equipment needs, such as

Operating costs –these are the day-to-day expenses of running your business. Most business owners evaluate operating costs on a monthly basis.

Time without pay - It is important to account for time without pay. If your bills total $1000 a month, and it will take you six months to start a business without getting any other source of income, ask yourself - do you have $6000 saved?

Money Pros accurately determine their budget before they start their business. They take the necessary steps to accurately plan, and stay close to their budget.

 

Create a step-by-step plan to achieve the dream Having a timeline and a step-by-step plan to accomplish your business objective will keep you on course for a successful enterprise. Start out by making a rough business plan. As the business idea gets more complicated and well-formed, so does the business plan.

Business you can start now (with little or no start-up money)
If you have an entrepreneurial personality, there are plenty of businesses you can start that do not require a lot of cash to get started.