Raven's Work From Home Resources
Planning, Planning and More Planning
Nothing worthwhile ever happens in business without a plan. It is often frustrating to make a business plan for the first time, but it will be helpful and it will be easier with each revision (yes you will revisit this exercise many times during your freelance or business years).
A inadequate business plan says "I'm gonna make beaded keychains, sell them at the flea market and online and make whatever I can." A good business plan will state your goals and then state actions you will have to complete to achieve them.
These should be included in your plan:
- Description: What is your business, what is it that you will do? For example, I am a freelance photographer. I will take primarily landscapes and sell them.
- Goals: Specific milestones for future growth. For example...For the first three months I will be taking, developing and preparing landscapes, for the next 6 months I will market the business and sell at least 10 landscapes for just over cost, then I will double my productivity and increase my profit each three months until I am selling (X) landscapes at (X) percent profit.
- Start Up: How much cash you need to get started. Include any licensing fees and legal expenses in this figure. For example, I will need approximately 3,000$ for camera, and $5,000 for film, developing and framing for the first three months, as well as $200 in licensing and branding.
- Financial Info: Regular expenses, sales predictions, how much your estimated profit will be. For example, I will need (X) monthly for film and developing, (X) monthly for marketing and (X) for maintenance of my equipment and gas to take pictures and transport merchandise. Sales should averages (X) landscapes at (X) with a profit of (X).
- Market Research: Who are you marketing your business to and how will you reach them?I will be marketing my landscapes to art lovers of varying ages and will need to therefore advertise in diverse places. *Note* This can change. I might start off just selling at a flea market and thus I would have combed the local areas to find one which was not already saturated with artwork and I might have set up for a weekend or two as an experiment. However, as business expands I might need to do research to see which businesses locally and nationally would be interested in selling my product and if would be worth while to give them merchandise to sell. The market research section of the plan would therefore change. Market research is very different for each type of business, so you may want to read up on it before you conduct your own. But don't skip this section, especially if you wish to get financial help to start.
- Production: How the stuff you do gets done For example, I will take the pictures with my camera and varying lenses. I will develop the pictures with so and so company or I will download the digital image and tweak these images with such and so program then develop them with so and so company. I will then mat and frame them myself if necessary
- Management Info: Your bio and contact information
- Debt/Loan Info: If you are getting a loan or asking to be sponsored or receive a grant...what collateral do you have, how will you pay your debt, and what is the exact purpose of the money you receive (Start up costs, expenses for the first three months, inventory...how are you planning to spend the money?)
This may be tedious, especially if you are into MLM, but it will help you have a clear picture of where you are headed and how you are getting there. You will also be able to tell at a glance if you are on track or if you are in trouble later on. Do not skip this step.
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