Part 3: Developing a Business Plan

Well, if you've made it this far, then you're probably really serious about starting your own online business. Good for you. Now comes the fun part. That's right. The part where you create a winning business plan for your aspiring business. OK, so before you drop this site (ebook), throw up your hands and say forget it, remember this: writing a business plan doesn't have to be a tedious chore. In fact, it can be a pleasurable experience. The opportunity to put your mental plans on paper. If you're simply using this document for your own personal use, you don't have to follow any prescribed format. However, if you plan on securing a bank loan, then you may want to follow a formal plan and really delve into this plan. But for now, we'll assume that this document will be utilized internally and that you are creating it for guidance. Remember that we can't adequately cover this subject in detail and we advise you to either purchase business plan software or read as many books as you can on this subject - or both. However, we did want to provide you with some general guidelines to get you started. So, here goes: 1. You'll need an executive summary. This will contain your mission statement and a brief description of your business - what products and service you will perform for or sell to your clients. You should really try and keep this document under three pages. 2. The management plan. This section will cover your personnel. Basically you can include important points from your resume and those of any other key staff members. The most import thing to remember is that you should only summarize important points from the resumes. For example, whatever tells the client that you and your staff are capable of handling this particular business venture (that you were in chess club in college probably doesn't matter in this case).

3. The organizational plan. This section covers business structure, the way your business is licensed and organized. For example, is it a corporation, partnership or sole proprietorship? You should also use this section to discuss your office set - including any major software - as well as maintenance plans and plans for obtaining outside services. For example, will you outsource the creation of your web copy and the programming of your site? If so, include it here. Lastly, you should include a brief timetable for getting your business started and the initial phases you expect to go through.

4. The service and product plan. This is where you really describe the services and products that you expect to plan and sell. Really be as descriptive as you can here and list any special features, pricing structure, or any information about what makes your product/service unique in comparison to the competition. 5. The marketing plan is where you summarize the results of your marketing research efforts (please see Part III for more detail on how to draft this section). 6. The financial plan is the key part of your business plan and includes the following: * A balance sheet showing your business's assets and liabilities. * An analysis of your start-up costs and your anticipated sources of funds. * Anticipated monthly sales and expenses figures for at least the first year. * A monthly cash flow statement for the first year, showing whether you will have enough cash on hand to meet expenses and how cash will be utilized. * Your personal financial statement, showing all your personal assets and liabilities as well as your net worth. 7. The forecasting plan. Here you will explain your plans for keeping your business on course. For example, do you have any contingency plans if you don't obtain necessary clients/customers? How often will these plans be revised? (Please see Appendix for a sample business plan)