{"id":458,"date":"2018-01-03T15:54:32","date_gmt":"2018-01-03T15:54:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/?p=458"},"modified":"2020-10-19T10:20:04","modified_gmt":"2020-10-19T10:20:04","slug":"write-a-business-plan-advice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insurancebee.com\/blog\/write-a-business-plan-advice","title":{"rendered":"Kickstart your startup – how to write a business plan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Want to kick-start your start-up? Having a good business plan is vital:<\/p>\n

“Key to the success in the development of any venture, is preparing a Business Plan (BP)” says\u00a0Michael Sarka, Counselor at SCORE<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>\u201cIt’s a really important planning tool, so it’s worth the effort to develop\u201d.<\/p>\n

SCORE offers free business mentoring and education. You’ll find loads of really useful resources on their website. Here are just a few:<\/p>\n

Help writing your business plan<\/h2>\n

Business Plan Overview – SBA<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.sba.gov\/tools\/business-plan\/1<\/a><\/p>\n

Master Your Business Plan<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/www.score.org\/resources\/expertanswers\/master-your-business-plan<\/a><\/p>\n

Developing a Business Plan<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.score.org\/workshops\/developing-business-plan<\/a><\/p>\n

Help choosing your business structure<\/h2>\n

Deciding how your business will be structure is also key.\u00a0 There are several to choose from.<\/p>\n

Check out the following links to help you decide which one\u2019s right for you:<\/p>\n

Business Ownership Options<\/strong>
\nhttp:\/\/www.nolo.com\/legal-encyclopedia\/learn-about-business-ownership-structures-29785.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Choose Your Business Structure<\/strong>
\nhttps:\/\/www.sba.gov\/business-guide\/launch\/choose-business-structure-types-chart<\/a><\/p>\n

Sole Proprietorship Basics<\/strong>
\nSole proprietorship is the simplest, legal structure for owning your own business.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/legal-encyclopedia\/sole-proprietorship-basics-29694.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Corporations and S Corporations vs. LLCs<\/strong>
\nHow do you know whether incorporating or forming an LLC is right for your business?<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/legal-encyclopedia\/corporations-vs-llcs-29025.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Decided which one’s right for your business? Here’s how you go about forming it.<\/p>\n

How to form an LLC<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Here’s what you need to do to create a limited liability company.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/legal-encyclopedia\/form-llc-how-to-organize-llc-30287.html<\/a><\/p>\n

How to form a corporation<\/strong><\/h2>\n

To form your own corporation, you must take these essential steps.<\/p>\n

http:\/\/www.nolo.com\/legal-encyclopedia\/form-corporation-how-to-incorporate-30030.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Why would a customer choose your company over the competition?<\/strong><\/h2>\n

You\u2019ll also need to think about what value your product, or service, offers.<\/p>\n

Why should someone choose you over the competition?<\/p>\n

Marvin Brook, a SCORE Counselor<\/strong> who teaches seminars on writing effective business plans, gives this advice:<\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I always say to someone starting a small business is this: ask yourself why a potential customer would choose your product\/service instead of the competition’s.<\/p>\n

Too many people see their product\/service only through their own lens. They don’t see it from their customers’ perspective.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a tough, competitive world. So if your customers can’t see a value-added reason to choose your product, you need to rethink your idea”.<\/p>\n

He also stresses the importance of having a strong financial strategy in place:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe best tip I can give someone is to understand the financials of your business idea. And make sure it’s clear in your business plan.<\/p>\n

This is really difficult for a new venture because there’s no data to support the cash flows, balance sheets and income statements you need to create”.<\/p>\n

A key to\u00a0 good cash flows is making a realistic sales projection and pricing correctly.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo properly price\u201d, Marvin says, \u201cyou need an understanding of fixed and variable costs, plus a clear idea of how much income\/profit the business needs to make.<\/p>\n

At the end of the day, your new business venture needs to provide an excellent product\/service. One that meets customers\u2019 needs and is competitively priced.<\/p>\n

But remember, that price also create enough income for your business to continue to operate.<\/p>\n

No matter how elaborate your business plan ends up being, make sure you meet this simple, business requirement\u201d.<\/p>\n

SCORE is a non-profit organization with a huge network of mentors<\/a> available to help small business owners. It also provides workshops and resources for budding entrepreneurs across all industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Want to kick-start your start-up? Having a good business plan is vital: “Key to the success in the development of any venture, is preparing a Business Plan (BP)” says\u00a0Michael Sarka, Counselor at SCORE.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cIt’s a really important planning tool, so it’s … Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":469,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-458","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-smb-advice"],"yoast_head":"\r\nKickstart your startup - how to write a business plan<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Want a kick-start for your start-up? 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