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Starting An Internet Based Business
Business,Internet Marketing
You may have a great new business idea, and plan to set it up as an Internet based business. There are several attractive reasons why this can be an excellent choice for your new enterprise. The first is the relatively inexpensive cost of setting up your web storefront. Another is the expansive worldwide reach of the Internet. But before you sink a lot of time and money into a new business venture, you should determine what is your product or service's specific market, so that you can focus your online direct marketing by setting up an effective website useful for achieving your Internet based business goals.
You will want to consider starting an Internet business by doing a bit of research into the business market you wish to tap into with your new product or service. Determining the size of your potential market, and market changes in terms of growth or shrinkage will have an impact on how well your new work from home business will do out on the Internet global marketplace.
Other market information is needed in order to succeed with an Internet based business. You must figure out what is your niche market, so that you can hone your online direct marketing in on those most likely to purchase your product or service. Conducting surveys that will show you what market segment is liable to shop at your website. Shoppers can be influenced by the price of the product, the quality, how they use the product, and their age and income. All of the answers to these questions play an important part in designing your business website templates to appeal to these buyers. Discovering who sells similar items online is also vital, because you will need to set your product or service apart from the competition in some unique way, in order to drive traffic to your webstore.
An Internet based business starts with a great website, but not every entrepreneur is a talented web designer. Happily, there are web templates that you can find that come without cost, yet make web design a simple matter. These web templates are already encoded in HTML, so that all you need to do is enter your specific business content and upload them. These templates are prepared by experienced webmasters with marketing experience, so that you can rely on their expertise to make your Internet based business product or service look great to your market niche.
Wayne Hemrick writes about business and internet based business. His experience and knowledge about starting an internet business is bound to help those wishing to start a work from home business.
Related Articles - internet based business, online directing marketing, starting an internet business, work from home business, business website templates, web templates,
Logo templates
Internet,Website Design,Business
Looking for ready made logo templates then logolabs provides you with the best logo templates. With over 500 readymade logo templates you have wide industry wise category where you can choose your template that fits your industry. Logo templates are designed in such a way that it's ready to edit & print. With templates you have choice of making unlimited revisions of your choice. With templates there are many advantages also they are affordable & you can quickly customized according your needs. The templates come at cheap prices. Some companies offer these templates free of cost but these templates are not up to the quality. You should choose the colors of logo templates that are matching to your business. The colors have a greater importance a professional designer can match the industry theme for the business. We maintain an open flexible approach to corporate logo to suit the needs of the company. Your integral part of the company's image, key to the marketing success. The logo denotes the importance for any business & it's the best identity for you. We have an excellent collection of logo templates at discount prices. Just purchase the templates for customization and you are with the logo immediately. Templates offer customization services for that little more customization. Our professional designers make your mark by getting an impressive business logo. The designs are the most important to your business. The professional logo design services by logolabs are the best services currently given at the moment. Well-designed and affordable logo templates can help you to represent your business and stand out in the crowd. Your logo will represent your business. Your prospects client will get information & your image will be fixed in their minds through your logo. logolabs has expertise in designing logo templates which makes an impact on the minds of customers. Their designer studies the market research and will show your products to its true. Choose the design firm, which establishes your brand in this professional competitive environment. The logo designers should create a high quality logo design at the same time it should not make a compromise on its quality. Once you finalize the concepts you can move into the revision cycles & finalize the look and feel of the perfect logo for your business. Logos are the integral part of the company's brand strategy it should not be done by an amateur as it can ruin your business. Designers having a solid foundation & good customer support service should be chosen for logo designing
Related Articles - logo design, custom logo design, company logo design, business logo design, corporate logo design, online logo design, corporate identity logo design,
How to Make a Website
Business
Once you are into business you need an online presence. Your website is your marketing tool to sell your business on the web. The website is your online store. And you need to update it with new content like you would fill in new stocks if you had a physical store.
Websites can be built using online resources as your guide. You can fish out free HTML templates and fill the content in. Almost anything is available free on the internet from graphics, gifs, codes, themes, templates, programmed scripts and java scripts. You can have a flash intro to give it a peppy modernized look. You can buy a domain from the many online companies or go for a free domain for the present moment. However, buying a domain is essential as a purchased domain would be taken to be a more professional approach.
So start with downloading templates or build simple HTML pages on Dream Weaver, editing software. It is easy to use and develops the most professional looking pages if you can explore much into its Help section. You can download form scripts for developing the basic forms and also search for royalty free graphics online that you can use on your website. Once the page is done, you have to upload it to your server. Follow instructions that the hosting company sends you. Building a simple website is as easy as 1-2-3. If you have to go into the nitty-gritty and programming details you might as well take up a course in programming in PHP or .ASP.
With the content in place and some optimization to your website for ranking on the search engines, you are off to make a heady start into the World Wide Web. Jack Dalton is a writer for Monster Guide. You can find more information on How to Make a Website at Monster Guide.
6 Reasons to Use Online Design Tool for Designing Your Postcards
Business,Marketing,Advertising
Whether you’re a businessman with an established business, a start up entrepreneur or a professional, you need postcard design that is an exact match of your industry. When graphic design is the last of your competence though, you can simply choose from a variety of templates from online printers.
Printing companies offer an extensive gallery of design templates to make it easier for their customers to come up with beautifully designed prints. And because of competition, they invest heavily on the quality and extensiveness of their galleries.
1. Your postcard may be small, but they will be subject to close scrutiny. The templates are made of high resolution images so you can expect crisp and clear images when you have these images printed. The minimum resolution for your postcard should contain at least 300 dpi.
2. In addition, with the templates are outfitted with guide lines such as the trim marks and the bleed. The trim line is where you expect your cards to be cut, while the bleed is the allowance provided for cutting. The sheets of printed paper are stacked when cutting so there is a minimal sliding when your postcards are cut to size.
3. The templates are designed to meet a comprehensive list of categories for businesses. With all the designs available, you will surely find one that fits you perfectly. If you want to customize your prints further, you can even upload your own image and logo and incorporate it to the generic design.
4. You also have a choice of fonts and fields you want included in your cards. Online design programs allow you to format your text. You may change the font styles, font colors, and font sizes. You may also delete unnecessary fields or add new text. The elements can also be moved around, just remember to stay within the safe zone.
5. You can use the program to format the back side of your postcard as well. Like the front side, the template on the back can be formatted as well. The back side though has additional guidelines that inform you where the postal marks will be located. You can use the back side to include your advertising copy and the mailing information.
6. When you are unsatisfied with the template you chose, you can simply reset everything and choose a new template. This will bring you back to the templates gallery to choose the design you want. You can do this as much as you want until you find the perfect postcard design.
The best part about working on an online design program is the ease with which you can have your cards printed. When you finalize your card, you can wait for a digital proof which will show you what the cards are supposed to look like. This is your final chance to make last minute corrections.
You can then proceed to check out. Choose the specifications you want your postcard design printed on, and the volume of prints you need. You will then be asked to pay for the total cost. When you’ve completed the online transaction, your cards will be ready for printing.
To find more related topics on postcard design jobs please feel free to visit Postcard Printing Full Color - My Postcard Printing
Related Articles - postcard, design tool, full color, online printing, services,
100 tips on how to promote your website! (Part 1)
Advertising,Internet Marketing,Website Promotion
Dear all, I thought this article might be useful to the community.
We at BRAVO MEDIA would like to share the knowledge, and let you know about closely kept secrets to make your website appear in searches, increase your rating, and basically get the word out!
So here is part 1 of this article, containing a list of 30 ways to promote your website, we hope it helps! If you are not sure about any of the terms just try searching with a search engine such a Google or use www.wikipedia.com.
Any suggestions, questions, and constructive feedback is very welcomed. Good luck!
30 tips on how to promote your website!
1. Submit articles to article directories.
2. Conduct link exchange activity with other blogs and websites.
3. Run a teleseminar.
4. Be a contributor on Yahoo/MSN Answers
5. Create a blog and join MyBlogLog.com
6. Create a MySpace.com account and make friends with your target market.
7. Create a viral report with links coming back to your website.
8. Generate a software product that you distribute free but advertise your website in it.
9. Build an article directory for a hot niche market
10. Produce a useful web-based software for public use
11. Ask thought-provoking questions
12. Build viral videos and upload them to Youtube.com
13. Buy links from Text-link-ads.com
14. Submit classified ads to USFreeAds.com
15. Publish content based on the latest news or unique items to tap on long tail traffic
16. Optimize your webpages for meta tags, title tags and H1 tags
17. Run online contests with kick-ass prizes
18. Run article exchange campaigns with HTML links in them
19. Generate your own social networking site
20. Produce an unbelievable product and sell it on Clickbank.com
21. Auction off cheap digital items on eBay
22. Write articles for major sites like About.com
23. Create a regular PDF newsletter
24. Talk to 5 people every day about one piece of content on your site
25. Visit online guest books and leave a comment
26. Visit other blogs and contribute actively on a regular basis
27. Use banner advertising on banner exchange programs like BannersgoMLM.com
28. Seek out joint venture partners to promote your site/event
29. Purchase leads from a co-registration service
30. Write an offline book
Taxonomy of Web Hosting Terms
Website Design,Science & Technology,Internet
Almost every one has the knowledge of present internet scenario! How fast it is!!? A bud of web pages nurture to trillions of pages on the Internet, providing several hosting plans to choose from under which comes affordable web hosting, Cheap Web hosting, ASP Web Hosting, Budget Hosting, Dedicated Servers, eCommerce Hosting, FrontPage Web Hosting, Hosting With Templates, Managed Web Hosting, PHP Web Hosting, Reseller Hosting, Shared Hosting, Unix / Linux Hosting, Virtual Private Servers, Windows Hosting, Co-location Hosting and few others.
Above mentioned are the few web hosting terms which reflects several faces of web hosting. The entire highlighted web hosting plans and terminologies can be categorized in terms of cost, programming languages, operation systems, Web servers, and functionality.
Broad description is given below:
1. Cost:
Web hosting plans are mentioned and divided between affordable web hosting, budget hosting and cheap web hosting. Cost of web hosting is the prime aspect that several small budget site holders are looking for. On displaying the cost of Affordable web hosting, budget hosting or cheap web hosting plan one will come to know that it is less than $5 a month.
2. Programming Languages:
When a user wants to make his/her site dynamic and interactive, he/she should search for hosting plans that support the programming languages that user have command over. Usually applicable languages are PHP, ASP, JSP, PERL etc. Hosting plans assisting such programming languages are called PHP Web hosting, ASP Web hosting, JSP Web hosting or PERL Web hosting.
3. Operating Systems:
After selecting suitable programming language(s), user still has sovereignty to choose the operating system that can host the concern websites. Moreover, as everybody that ASP is restricted to Microsoft Windows, further programming languages, PHP, JSP and PERL; work not only on Windows, but also on UNIX and Linux. Hosting plans assisting particular operating system is termed as Window Hosting, UNIX hosting or rather Linux hosting.
4. Web Servers:
Talking about web servers, Apache is the most widely supported Web server in Web hosting industry. It operates only on Microsoft Internet Information Server or IIS server. For JSP hosting, Web logic or Web sphere is the main requirement. When ever there is any discussion related to Web servers, the main attraction is server performance. There are several solutions available like Managed Web Hosting, Shared Hosting, Dedicated Servers, or Virtual Private Servers (VPS). Out of these shared hosting is the cheapest plan, and one can host as many sites as he/she likes with a Reseller Hosting option. The cost of VPS is just $50 a month, and Dedicated Server plan costs from $50 - $100 or more per month depending upon storage space and bandwidth of the hosting plan.
5. Functionality:
In the market, one can find several hosting plans which either makes the site creation simple or rather offer assistance for the protection of online transactions. Creating a simple website can be a game of certain hours if the hosting plan selected by user supports assorted templates.
Thus on the hope that this article will definitely serve its users we wish best of luck.
Searching for the best web hosting company? Find sales, deals and discounts from top web hosts as godaddy and hostgator
Related Articles - hosting, webhosting, web host,
Logo Design Templates Services
Website Design
The growing scope of logo design has enabled companies to grow better in terms of economy and productivity. Since business entrepreneurs consider logo as fastest way to communicate to their prospective clients, logo template is an added advantage to have your design in customized form within a short span of time. Basically, a logo template is readymade designed logo that is faster, quality focused and customized to serve your business needs compared to traditional logo design process. The idea behind providing logo template is not focused on just one company, but is aimed to satisfy requirement of various industrial sectors. Logo templates offer unlimited options in terms of colors, patterns, images, fonts, text and styles, so you don’t have to spend thousand dollars waiting for weeks to get a logo designed for your company. Logo templates come as a boon for small companies to make their services recognized in an effective way at a very affordable price.
In order to make the first positive impression in minds of customers, it is critical to have an impressive logo design so that it can appeal to the masses by their appearance and should convince them to buy your product. Logo templates act as the new business tool where you can choose your industrial logo initially with concepts and further get them refined according to your needs. Many designer companies prepare logo template in various designs and formats for the industry so this design process gives an opportunity for every single company to get their logo designed that compliments their needs and suits their business nature. If you want to increase your visibility in the industry, you can apply logo template for your website, business cards, envelopes, letterheads, magazines and promotional items. With the growing plagiarism in industry, it becomes very crucial to have your business logo design copyrighted with original artwork from a reputed logo design firm. Nowadays professional logo design firm provide logo templates with copyright features to their business clients in order to protect their business image from getting misused.
Why consume time and money on ordinary logo design process when you can get logo templates in unlimited designs with a faster delivery at a very affordable price. Forget the hassles, delays and frustrations of a traditional design process and adapt your business image with colorful, stylish and trendy logo templates. Give a competitive edge to your business and be ready to be showered with new challenges and opportunities. Logo template has made wonders in business for many companies. Get your logo template right now and rediscover your business in a new way.
Logolabs is the reputed design firm in providing customized logo templates to corporate firms and various industrial sectors. Visit www.logolabs.com to know more about our services.
Related Articles - logo templates, website design services, logo animation, logo design, logo repair,
Errors To Avoid When Choosing Web Templates
Computers,Internet,Website Design
Errors To Avoid When Choosing Web Templates
Website templates are very affordable and they save you a lot of effort and time when you want to create a new layout for your website.
However, a lot of people make mistakes in the process of choosing and using a web template and end up with something that was unlike the image they had in mind.
Here are some guidelines to help you avoid those mistakes.
The first obvious mistake you should be aware of is using a template that is very popular. If many people use the same template, your website will not appear unique at all and your credibility as a solid, different website will be tarnished. In other words, you will appear generic just like your next-door neighbours.
The whole point of using a web template is to save time and effort. You just change the title and appropriate details and you're done. The biggest mistake one makes is to customize the template beyond recognition. While that may be good in the sense that you're creating a unique graphic, you're defying the very purpose of using a web template -- saving time and effort.
However, on the opposite side, if a template you purchase is suitable but some changes must be made to suit your site's theme, then you will have to take some time to make the changes. For example, you can find a very nice template that suits your hobby site except the original designer has put an image of stamps in the header. You can find images of garden plants and spades to replace the stamps for your gardening hobby site. However, do only make the necessary changes and don't redesign the whole template.
In some circumstances, some people simply make the wrong choice of templates. This is a very subjective issue but you have to be careful in selecting templates to suit your audience. Do not choose templates just because they are pretty; choose them because they serve your purpose.
In Summary:
The first obvious mistake you should be aware
of is:
Do not use a template that is very popular. li>
Do not customize the template beyond
recognition.
Make only the necessary changes and don't
redesign the whole template.
Choose templates because they serve your
purpose not because they look pretty.
ReadyMadeWebsitesToGo are custom made
websites complete with editing and marketing
software. Our sites are user and search engine
friendly for optimum performance!
Related Articles - Unique, Template, Templates, Web Template, Website,
Online Print Shop Management Software System
Computers,Internet,Software
Print Design and Order Management
Your visitors or customers can use the predefined templates of our system to design different types of products or also they can upload their own design, logos and images using upload center in the system. Visitor can finalize the design after creating the design, place order for their designs and make a online payment for that order.
Key Features of Our Print Company Management Software System : -
=> Business Card Designer System
=> Greeting Card Designer System
=> Post Card Designer System
=> Print Order Management
=> Print Products Order Tracking System
=> Flash Based Custom Designer Studio
=> Integrated Upload Center to capture order with ready design
=> PDF Proof (Non Printable Versions)
=> Support multiple printing products in one designer studio
=> Completely Web Based Print Products Management
=> Multi Language and Multi Currency System (Based On requirement)
Benefits of Online Print Shop Management Application : -
=> Excellent Opportunity for Small Print Businesses and companies to promote their business in global market through internet.
=> Custom Card Designer Studio for Client Satisfaction.
=> Admin can keep the track of users and orders through User and Order Management System.
=> We have the readymade Print Products Designing and Ordering Management System with us so you can get the system with mainly products like business card, greeting cards and post cards within short time and if you have requirements of additional features in the system than we can customized that features in our readymade system.
If you are looking for Software Solution for your printing company OR to manage your print shop completely online than you can get more information from http://rndinfo.com/online-print-shop-management-system.html. Contact Radixweb Sales team at sales@radixweb.com or call them on +12019847355.
Related Articles - online print management, print card design software, print card software, print company software, print design software, print designer software,
Are The Colours You Are Using Sending Out The Right Message?
Free Web Resources
If you were to ask someone what the most important aspects of any website are, the chances are their answers wouldn’t include the use of colour.
While it isn’t perhaps at the top of the list, colour can play a more vital role than you might imagine. For example if your website is aimed at men you wouldn’t choose tones of pink and purple to design your site. This is an obvious point to make but it does illustrate the need to think about what colours you are using and how you are using them.
Some people have experimented with the order buttons they use on their sites, using different colours to see how the number of orders received is affected. Although red is a colour which is often associated with danger, it also makes people stop and pay attention (think of road signs). This is why it can work well when used strategically on websites, so long as it isn’t overused.
On the other hand blue and green are traditionally calming colours and can subtly make sure that people relax and take longer to explore your site. In this sense how you use colour has a direct relation to how well your website fares. We’ve all come across those sites which seem to think that the more colour they use – regardless of how much those colours may clash – the more attractive they must look.
In reality of course it’s usually the opposite. Bright and garish colours can send people away quicker than anything else. Be wary also that using white or coloured text on a black background is harder to read and can put some people off your site altogether.
In the end it’s always worth showing your site to a selection of people before you go live with it. Constructive feedback at this stage can make all the difference between launching your site successfully or having to go back and make changes.
Pro Wordpress Themes is a collection of high-quality, professional Wordpress themes designed by world-class graphic artists and made available to download free of charge. To download a free Wordpress theme please visit Website Templates.
Related Articles - website templates, free website templates,
How to Make a Web Site of Your Own?
Website Design
Now a day the business is not only restricted within one area. Because of today is on demand of online internet market. If you are interested in business you acquire an online market. The website you have is online shop. Before you launch a new product in the market, you require updating it with a new content on your website.
There are many templates online to create your page. You can use free HTML templates and fill the content you want to in. Also many free java scripts, images, web programming codes and other graphics are available on the internet. You can buy a domain from the hosting company or temporary go for free domain.
Now you can start simple design pages using Dream Weaver after downloading templates into your PC and also you can make basic contact or inquiry Form using downloading script for developing page. Once you have upload pages on your server. Go for instruction which is given by hosting company to you. So these are the main and easy step to build a website. But if you have need more advance web programming details then better way is to learn about course like PHP or ASP.NET.
We are defining here two standard web programming language PHP (Hyper text processor) and ASP (Active Server Page) for Website Programming Development. Basically it is database driven web programming languages. Whenever you require huge data connectivity and extra features PHP and ASP are useful. ASP.NET is such type of programming language which providing by Microsoft Product Technology. On other hand PHP is an open source programming language which is derived from many of various languages.
To develop dynamic database oriented websites these both programming languages are used. Microsoft Product mostly comfortable with Active Server Pages (ASP) and is also used IIS Server (Internet Information Server) to run asp application. But PHP can connect with different types of databases and so it is platform independent programming language. Both web programming languages PHP and ASP are used to develop dynamic database oriented websites. Active Server Pages (ASP) is normally from Microsoft and is used only with Internet Information Server (IIS) that runs on Microsoft Servers also. But on the other hand you can say PHP is platform independent web programming languages and can connect with several kinds of databases.
And the last if possible, with some optimization to your website for top ranking on the search engines so people can reach you as fast as you aspect. Finally we hope that this article will help you to understand of basic idea of how to make simple web site it’s your own way.
About Company: Outsourcing website development is a leading website development company deliver outsourcing programming development, website application development, web software development services that increase efficiencies, and reduce operational costs of outsourcing business.
Related Articles - website design, web programming, programming languages, web development, ASP, PHP, dynamic database oriented, search engine optimization,
Illustrations & Computer Graphics
Website Design,Computers,Press Release
An illustration is a picture visualizing the information. Illustrations illustrate something. For most people they are not more than just beautiful pictures. But in fact an illustration is an addition to where it is necessary. The Illustration lays emphasis on the information, and only in the format of comics it is brought to the forefront, suppressing the text. The word “illustration” was borrowed from the Latin language and means “pictorial rendition”. The main purpose of the illustrations is to help to comprehend what was said in the text, illuminate its content and make everything clear and obvious. The illustrations create an emotional background. The spectators by means of them are more involved in what they are reading. If this does not happen, then the presence of the illustrations in the text is disputable. Another words, an illustration as any other artwork should evoke emotions and feelings in the spectators. Undoubtedly, it is the best variant.
Nowadays there is a huge variety of illustrations, ranging from quick pencil sketches to photorealistic images with 3D graphics use. The main functions of these art images are: - to present the information in the beautiful way;
- to demonstrate and explain the things that can not be realized by means of the text.
While searching the web you may come across a great deal of art images of different types and styles, for any purpose and occasion. If you do not want to waste your time and are looking for a high quality and original art graphics, just visit Templates.com. It is a brand new and yet very powerful resource for those who are looking for different design products. Everything a designer might possibly need is gathered right here. We do not try to persuade you to buy some of our products, just take a look around and enjoy our Illustrations that are characterized by newness and high professional level. The Illustrations presented at Templates.com have unique designs and meet high standards of quality. They can be used to liven up any project: multimedia presentations, web pages, desktop publishing, greeting cards and invitations, email, posters, t-shirts, sign-making, print-making, etc. With the help of these cute art images you may create attractive placemats and holiday crafts.
Each illustration at Templates.com is a complete composition. The colors are harmoniously combined. Here you will see the illustrations of different styles: conceptual, abstract and realistic. All products are categorized to help you find exactly what you are looking for. The categories include: people, robots, sports, science fiction, holidays, music, politics, web design, landscape, education and much more. You may purchase either source files or the images in various formats selecting the desired resolution. All of the products are easily customized to meet your specifications and are ready for immediate download. Moreover, Templates.com may personalize the pictures for you. The only thing required is to provide the customization information. The illustrations can be with or without background. They can be created in the restrained color scheme using the limited number of colors or be completely full-colored.
Templates.com is a unique resource that provides everything you need for the design. Do not hesitate and visit Templates.com right now to enjoy the original, eye-catching and high quality illustrations!
Related Articles - illustrations, graphic art, art, digital art,
Choosing A Suitable Theme For Your Website
Free Web Resources
There is plenty to think about when you are in the first stages of creating your very first website. One of the most important things however is the theme.
The theme says a lot about what people can expect from your site, simply by glancing at the first page they come across. People will begin to get an idea of what to expect without even reading anything. That is why you need to make sure the images they are seeing marry up with the reality.
Have you ever come across a website whose home page had a striking image on it that had nothing to do with the subject of the site? This kind of faux pas can mislead and confuse people, which is the complete opposite of the kind of reaction you want to get from them.
Even worse are the sites where it actually takes some hunting to find out what the overall theme and purpose of the site actually is. You can see the importance of choosing a suitable theme before you begin.
By theme, we mean the look and feel of the website itself. If you have a business that has an upmarket and professional feel and clientele, you won’t want to pick a theme which involves cartoon characters and comic speech bubbles, for example.
On the other hand, if your website is all about fun activities for the kids to do during the school holidays, then a bright and breezy theme involving primary colours would catch the eye and really make its mark on parents and children.
You might already have some ideas on what kind of theme your website should have, but it’s always worth checking out the competition to see how their websites are pitched towards their target audience.
Whatever kind of theme you choose, make sure you consider all the important elements – the colour scheme, the tone of the writing, the kind of pictures you use and how coherent it all is. Once you are happy with what you have, test it out on a few people and see what reactions you get.
This is a far better solution than going live with your site and finding out it doesn’t quite hit the spot after all.
Pro Wordpress Themes is a collection of high-quality, professional Wordpress themes designed by world-class graphic artists and made available to download free of charge. To download a free Wordpress theme please visit Website Templates.
Related Articles - website templates, free website templates,
Becoming Wise - Wild & Free: Writing A Successful Business Plan - Part 3 - The Feasibility
Business
I am amazed at how many resources there are and how much information is available today on writing a business plan. There is software, documents, templates, outlines and a lot of experts that can help you. Most experts and resources will tell you exactly how to write a business plan and maybe even provide a template that only needs minor changes to fit your needs. All the emphasis is put on "writing" a solid business plan.
I agree that you need a good business plan but I don't believe that you need to spend hours, days or even months writing your story so that people can read all about what you are going to do. In the first place, most of the people that are going to read your plan are bankers or investors that are not so much interested in your story as they are in whether you will succeed. Secondly, you may spend a lot of time writing this great and wonderful story only to find at the end that you cannot make it work.
You need to start by analyzing the feasibility of your prospective business by using good software or a professional that can help you do the research and develop a set of projections that will be sure you have covered everything. Most businesses fail because they have not accurately projected their cash flow needs and perhaps because they have not been realistic in their projection of sales and expenses. Remember that writing a good plan is about first doing it for yourself.
For your plan to be feasible you have to decide what goals you want to accomplish and how you will get there. For instance, you may now have a job that provides you with a steady income. How much must your business make to replace that income and how long can you survive if your income is reduced? Can the project make enough money to satisfy the needs of investors? Investors typically want higher than normal returns on a high-risk investment like a start-up business. Can you meet the loan payments that are required and do you have sufficient equity in the business to satisfy the lender requirements in order to get the loan in the first place? Lenders will look critically at your cash flow and the amount of cash and assets you have invested in the business.
Several years ago I had a newly expanded business that in the first year of expansion increased sales by 50% and produced a substantial profit in the same year. The problem was that I did not properly project the cash flow needs and ended up in a position where I could not pay the bills or payments. How could this be? I asked myself the same question when I had to shut the business down. That is when I first learned about the importance of projections and analyzing the feasibility before leaping in. An inch from success will not get you where you want to be.
Take your time to do your projections and research each and every aspect of your business. It is not just guess work. In fact, you can be very accurate with all your costs and expenses. If you talk to all of the appropriate professionals, suppliers and service providers you will probably be as accurate as possible in most areas of your projections. The area that requires the most research is sales but, there are good techniques to come up with accurate estimates.
If you have researched and prepared your projections correctly and your business is feasible you have done a whole lot more than just create a financial projection. You have discovered what it takes to make your business work, you have created a network of professionals to assist you in the success of your business, and now it is easy to write the rest of the story. So, when you set out to "write" your business plan, start with the feasibility because it will tell you a lot about your business before you even get started. If it looks good you will be able to sell it to the bankers and investors. But, if it doesn't look good you haven't wasted a lot of time writing a fiction novel.
Look for the next article on Writing A Successful Business Plan - Part 4 - "What are Projections" of the Becoming Wise - Wild & Free series.
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