Looking to get that business idea off the ground? Get your FREE startup business plan download and take your idea to the next level.

Are you really ready to start a business? Do you think you have what it takes and know enough about your idea to start something worthwhile?

You’ll find advice everywhere and people may suggest you;

• write your own business plan
• get a start up business plan template
• use an existing business plan template
• start mapping our business plan ideas.

Free Ultimate Startup Business Plan

So how can you do this? Getting that first ‘something’ down on paper when you are thinking of starting a business is a really daunting task. I have seen so many people with amazing ideas stop before they’ve even begun, becuase they’re not sure how to manage their plan!

Some people will never get their business ideas off the ground, often because they don’t know where to start.

I’ve decided to create this worksheet to help everyone who has a business idea carry out initial research and formulate something from which to test an idea or create a solid business plan from.

The startup business plan worksheet covers questions about;

• Your business budget
• Marketing and advertising
• Your competitors
• Finding your customers
• Hiring Staff
• Defining your skills
• Finding out whether you are really ready to start a business

Creating Your Startup Business Plan

This is not a definitive start up business plan, more a business idea brainstorming worksheet. It is designed to help identify pitfalls and potential issues when you are considering starting up a business for the very first time.

The business plan worksheet will also help you research your idea more thoroughly and will help model your final choices when starting up. The answers you provide will help formulate a solid business plan should you wish to write one in the future.

Download the free startup business plan here

Please like, share and spread the word about the free startup business plan download, so everyone can benefit!

4 Common Marketing Plan Mistakes to Avoid

A marketing plan provides business owners with insight into which strategies and techniques are the most efficient for conducting their marketing efforts. Despite its simplicity, the process of developing this plan may be overcomplicated or completely ignored by some business owners. Knowing the four common marketing plan mistakes to avoid can decrease the number of bumps in your business journey.

 Fails to develop a marketing plan. Although this is an essential aspect of starting your business, many business owners often find themselves skipping over this step.

Once they’re ready to move forward with their marketing efforts, they’re unable to do so because the most important piece of the puzzle is missing. Venturing into the market without a strategy for attracting potential customers to purchase your goods or services is a recipe for disaster. Take the time to develop a marketing plan with the process by which you intend to present your business to its potential market. You may not get it right the first time. However, as you move forward with your marketing efforts, you’d be able to fine tune different areas of your plan.

Omits valuable information. Your goal is to present as much information as possible without losing the essence of your marketing plan. Many business owners focus on achieving the end goal, instead of paying attention to the contents of the plan. Providing general information may only allow you to get a foot in the door, however a detailed-oriented plan will allow you to zoom into your potential market. Targeting everyone may bring you little to no success, however finding your target market will allow you to achieve the best results.

Limits marketing to advertising only. If you plan on taking the advertising route only, you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise. Marketing does not only involve putting out advertisements. It requires you to conduct market research; brand your business; develop a sales strategy; network; and provide customer support. If these elements are missing in your marketing plan, you may have to go back to the drawing board. Make sure that you do not have advertising as the only source of achieving your marketing efforts. While advertising is the means by which you connect with your potential market, you must establish a foundation on which you can implement your advertising strategies.

Does not keep track of marketing efforts. With all the excitement in the air about establishing their business, some business owners tend to go full speed ahead with their marketing efforts without realizing the importance of assessing their results each step of the way. For you to gain a better understanding of where your business is heading, you must keep track of your results. You may have placed advertisement in the newspaper and received several hundred responses. Would you consider this a success? It may be a successful ad campaign depending on the number of people who were converted to customers. On the other hand, it may be a total failure because no one was converted to a customer. The amount of money you spent on your ad and the amount of money you received in sales will determine the success of your ad campaign. Moreover, you may have used other forms of marketing.

How does your newspaper ad compare to those techniques? Make sure you conduct a thorough analysis of your marketing plan to gauge which are the most efficient and successful marketing strategies.

Avoiding these four common marketing plan mistakes can give you an edge over your competitors.

5 Steps to Writing a Simple Business Plan

When it comes to writing a business plan, many people often overcomplicate the process. You don’t have to get caught up in that web. Use these seven steps to create your own simple business plan.

Simple Business Plan Step #1: Create a name for your business.

Coming up with the ideal name for your business will require you to place yourself in the shoes of your target market. As an example, you’re a customer seeking scenic paintings. You come across a business by the name of Findings Galore which carries a wide range of prized possessions such as trophies, plaques, clocks, glass, silver, and landscape paintings by well-renowned artists. Although the business has what you’re seeking, your immediate thought based on the business’ name is that they stock items that other persons find useless. If the name were changed to Scenic Arts Central, the name in itself would capture your attention, since it identifies with your need. While it is important to select a name that aligns with your business’ purpose, it is just as fitting to have one with brand durability.

Simple Business Plan Step #2:Use plain language. A simple business plan wouldn’t be one without unembellished language.

Remember your reader is seeking to understand the nature of your business. Using technical language will not achieve such an outcome. You want to inform your reader in the shortest possible manner about the purpose of your business and how it intends to fulfill it. Besides being succinct, use bullet points. With this approach, your reader will be able get through the information easily. Provide brief explanations with each point. Moreover, ask yourself this question. Would my readers be able to skim through this business plan in five minutes or less and get the gist of the matter? If your answer is no, you may have to go back to the drawing board and make some tweaks.

Simple Business Plan Step #3: Get to the point. Ideally, your simple business plan should be 20 to 30 pages long. If you have appendices, this may take up an additional 10 pages. Business plans more than 40 pages long tend to go into greater details than required. Such business plans diminish the true essence of what you’re seeking to convey.

Simple Business Plan Step #4: Describe the vision, mission, and goals and objectives of your business. Your vision should highlight what your company will look like several years from its inception. Will you have employees on staff when you start? How many employees will you be hiring? Is your business going to be in one location? The mission of your business will focus on the work your company performs as well as what sets it apart from its competitors. The goals and objectives of your business will be an elaboration of the mission and vision of your company. Include a specific timeframe for achieving each goal. Once you’ve established your vision, mission, and goals and objectives, develop a SWOT analysis to evaluate your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Such information will be useful in determining your business’ capacity to thrive under positive and negative conditions.

Simple Business Plan Step #5: Develop a financial plan. Your financial plan includes information pertaining to your company’s current or projected budget. Having a budget will allow you to control your cash flow in an efficient manner. You can use bar charts to highlight your sales, gross income, net profits, and other related expenses.

Once you focus on the key components of your business’ purpose, you’ll be able to write a simple business plan in two hours or less.