Before the Business Plan

Purveyors of conventional wisdom would have you believe that the very first thing you ought to do when setting up a new business is to create a business plan.







It doesn't matter whether you are selling odds and ends on eBay from your living room or something larger and more complex,






Business plans are excellent and necessary. Far too few of us self-employed and freelance people use them.






They force us to spell out our objectives. We have to assign numbers to our expectations and assign a time-line to our goals. They become our roadmap and keep us on track.






But I suggest that you can't make a business plan that is worth anything until you've done your homework.






And that means knowing what you want to do and how you want to do it. And determining that there is sufficient demand for your product to generate enough income to cover your costs and allow a profit.






In other words, before the business plan comes research.






If a body of knowledge already exists, it makes sense to tap into it and save you some work. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics and other such sources, for example, publish a great deal of demographic information. Some of it is very useful.






But it is also likely that as a creative sole-proprietor, meaningful statistics don't exist about your specialty.






Many micro-businesses target a very specialized niche. And many owned by creative types exist to sell a product or service that don't follow well-worn prototypes.






It is particularly difficult for such people to find meaningful published data.






If you fall into these categories, you'll have to generate your own information.






Don't limit your research to purely business data. You are building a life as well as a business.






Are the demands and conditions of your proposed business compatible with the life you want to create?






For example, illustrators often work on short deadlines - meaning that sometimes they have to work far into the night to complete a project on deadline. Plus, some clients are demanding and some do not pay on a timely basis. After all of that, can you still "love it" enough?






Or, maybe your business is such that sales fluctuate during the year. How will you make it through the lean months? Can you handle the uncertainty of a fluctuating income?






So, how do you find information?






First, if other people provide services similar to yours, talk to them. You will gain a lot of information quickly. Their answers to your questions will save you a lot of legwork and open your eyes to factors you may not have considered.






Try to talk to at least five or six people so you can get a range of viewpoints.






You can find them through trade associations, schools, word-of-mouth. If the locals are reluctant to share information - perhaps because they see you as direct competition - look for similar people in a different locale.






Second, create the information you need.






Mimic and simplify what large businesses do. Reduce their methods down to a level that is practical and affordable.






For example, perhaps you want to survey potential clients and customers to get feedback.






If you are a creating a micro-business on a shoe-string, it may not be affordable nor practical to commission a focus group. But you may be able to speak to potential targets informally or use direct mail to send a simple survey.






Eventually you'll have to 'put your toe in the water.' Try it out in a small way - so you won't lose much if it doesn't work - and observe the results. Then experiment and modify as needed. Once it works to your liking you can plunge right in.






This approach, known by the technical term "trial and error," can be applied to any facet of your business.






After all, even the largest producers test market new products before rolling them out.






Put some parameters around your efforts. Decide, in advance, how much time you want to allow and how much you want to budget.






Then test, test, test.






Use trial and error for every aspect of your business. Experiment with different ways of packaging your services, different rates and prices, different types of marketing, etc.






You'll soon find that certain approaches work better than others. Eventually your experience and data will suggest viable strategies.






And then you'll be ready to create your business plan.










Source: Free Articles

Technical Writing Advice

Nowadays technical development occurs at an extremely fast speed. Brand new software program and merchandise are now being released each and every hr during the day. Building as well as starting technologies is simply one facet of the company. For that item to market as well as the company in order to prosper, potential clients have to be informed about the technical development. This must be done inside a non-technical method because everyone doesn't understand the actual technical lingo. This is when technical writing comes into the picture. Technical writers create content which clarify technologies inside a method that may be understood by a techie in addition to a normal individual.




A technical writer should be able to communicate info with a method that doesn't require any kind of decoding. The info may be used by the person the exact way that it's offered. The primary reason for the technical writer would be to assist the consumer understand using an item within very little terms so that its simple. articles which use very technical terminology to describe the actual services and products fall short to accomplish this objective and therefore are consequently ignored because bad technical writing. Consequently, simplicity is an extremely essential characteristic associated with a great technical writer.



Conciseness is yet another main characteristic associated with a great technical writer. The author will be able to supply the person with the info that's required without having gone crazy using the terms. An excessive amount of info exactly where unnecessary, may be the reason for misunderstandings as well as monotony. Articles ought to be to the idea however simultaneously it will supply all the details that the consumer requires. Reading the content, the consumer ought to really feel content material instead of becoming overcome with info.



Another essential purpose of technical writing is to be exact. The author must be careful concerning the info he or she provides in the content of the articles. The info must be from a reliable source and really should just supply real scientifically proven or medically proven information. Articles can't supply fake numbers, claims, details or statistics. Supplying fake info may generate a poor track record of the technical writer. All writers should be sure to proofread their work. The actual author must always check for proper grammar. This can help when trying to come across as professional as well as omits the likelihood of producing errors which might have been fixed. Becoming precise within the information offered within an article works well for building a great name for that author. It may also help within making the faithful client base.



Order within the terminology is a extremely important characteristic associated with a great technical writer. The author must be aware of the terminology well enough to express himself unrestrained and correctly. Selecting the incorrect terms can alter the actual meaning of an article, therefore increasing the chance of becoming misunderstood. Consequently, correct usage of the actual terminology is very important so the person has the capacity to understand what the author is attempting to express without having become puzzled. These types of easy points if applied properly can result in an extremely prosperous as well as guaranteeing profession as a technical writer.



Looking for modern engagement rings?



Go get information at: http://modernengagementringsreview.com/.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vince_Armstrong

Mobile Marketing Services

Mobile marketing offers businesses countless opportunities through which their products and services can be promoted well. The problem, however, does not lie on whether you have to invest in mobile marketing or not, but on what types of mobile marketing services are best for your company. Below are three of the basic and highly efficient strategies that you can employ for your mobile marketing plan. You can choose to focus on one strategy or a combination of strategies depending on the objectives of your marketing campaign.




The most common and no doubt the oldest type of strategy is of course utilizing the phone's short message service or SMS feature. Here you just have to feature your business' mobile phone number or short code in your other media like print, radio, and web ads, give your target customers a reason why they have to send you a text message, and then give them a good answer once they respond. By replying, opportunities to provide mobile marketing services abound. You can ask the willing subscriber to register his or her name, age, sex, and location in exchange of a contest entry. You can offer the subscriber invites to your company's future events, parties, and gigs. You can plug latest products and offers, and provide discount coupons that subscribers can use in your store.



Mobile phone technologies today allow almost all phone subscribers to get online wherever and whenever they want. It is essential, therefore, to use a mobile website on which the subscribers can learn more about the brand and its products and services. A well-designed website with flawless navigation, great graphics, interesting content, and free useful downloads can easily ensnare the heart of a subscriber. The company website can win prospect customers and even close a sale if the features are placed in the right sections and at the right timing.



Offering a brand specific application is the grandest way to promote products and services through mobile phones. Many companies have successfully pulled off developing apps that greatly increased public awareness of their brands, heightened interest of their target consumers, and most of all positively affected their sales revenues. The challenge here though is how to produce and advertise the app. As a business owner, you should make sure that you have an efficient plan on the design and functionality of the application. You should also find a way to make the app known to the public and available for download anytime and anywhere. You should also make sure that your apps can be supported by an array of mobile device platforms of different phone manufacturers.



Businesses are free to develop models and systems through which they can offer a wide range of mobile marketing services. If you're still exploring the field, it will be very helpful to read several case studies on successful mobile marketing campaigns and join different professional marketing associations aiming to develop the mobile marketing industry through conferences, seminars, and symposia. The world of mobile marketing is still unmapped, and it is inviting you to plot out its unexplored geographies.



Are you looking for more information regarding mobile marketing services? Visit www.ad4text.com today!



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Chris_B_Jenkins

Giving Your Computer The Boot

If your computer is no longer brand new, then it is likely that you have noticed that your computer does not start up as fast as it did when you first purchased it. Over time, your computer will seem to take longer when it is starting up than it did in the past. This is fairly normal out of any computer. Once a computer has been used for a period of time, the speed of the computer will begin to slow down. The slowing down of your computer will even effect the speed of the boot up process when you turn your computer on.



Unless you have extensive knowledge of computers then you may not know whether or not there is anything that you can do to give your computer back some of the speed it had in the past. Just because your computer is not brand new does not mean that you have to lose a lot of speed. You do not need to go out and purchase a new computer just to increase the speed of your computer.



Fortunately, there is a great way that you can help give your computer the boot when you start your computer up. The best thing about this method is that it is not something that you will have to do every time you start your computer.



You can give your computer the boot by performing a registry clean up on your computer. A registry clean up will scan the registry of your computer and remove any files or information that are unnecessary or unwanted. The registry cleaner will also repair any files or information that is broken or corrupted.



Once the registry cleaner has performed its scan and has finished, your computer will be free of useless files and information that were just sitting around taking up memory space. Files and information that were damaged or broken will be fixed. This means that your computer will have more space and be able to run more effectively and efficiently. With your computer running more effectively and efficiently, you will be able to enjoy a shorter boot up time when you turn your computer on. In order to keep your computer running faster and performing better, you should run a registry clean up on your computer every couple of months in order to keep the registry from becoming cluttered with unnecessary files or information.



About The Author



Frank Breinling is running an established webhosting business founded back in early 2004. Click following links for high quality webhosting - http://php-community.com http://tldwebshop.com/

The Benefits of Commercial Walk In Freezers

If you own a business involving food, it is very important that you invest in the best equipment in order to maintain the food that you are offering for sale. Buying commercial walk in freezers is one way that you can make the food you have last longer than the current shelf life.




Anyone who has owned a restaurant for many years knows that one of the biggest problems you face is food that will spoil quickly. When this food spoils, it is very similar to throwing money in the garbage. In the current bad economic climate in the United States, the last thing any business owner can afford to do is to throw away money.



In order to prevent this, you should look into buying the best refrigerator and freezer that you can afford. It is very common that people choose to invest in some models that are low in quality, but you need to remember that the quality of the food you serve will depend on the equipment that you purchase.



Keep this in mind when looking for commercial walk in freezers. It would be a good idea to purchase the largest size that you can fit into your restaurant or kitchen, but smaller sizes are also available for those that only have a small amount of space for a freezer. There are many advantages to purchasing these types of freezers.



Obviously, it will allow you to store all of the food you have until it is ready to be cooked. Another great benefit of these large freezers is that you will be able to purchase in larger quantity when prices are low, thus saving you a lot of money in the long run.



Additionally, the large amount of space will allow you to store food for a longer period of time without worrying about issues of spoiling. If you have never used a large freezer, you will find that one of these will allow you to increase the amount of profits from your business. You will be able to maintain food quality for a longer period of time and this will prevent throwing away food because it has spoiled.



There is no reason why food should go to waste, but small businesses throw out millions of pounds of food every year. This could easily be avoided by purchasing one of the available commercial walk in freezers. These will not consume a lot of electricity and they will help you to store food for a longer period of time.



This longer period of storage will help you to make the most of the food you have purchased. Plus, you'll be able to buy larger quanitities when the price is right. This is the key to making more money from your business. The economy is currently in trouble and you need to make the most of what you have in order to increase profits.



Are you looking for commercial coolers for your business? If so, be sure to visit our store and let us design a commercial cooler for your custom application.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Tony_Hodgison

Finding Process Improvement Benefits

Identifying, analyzing and making changes to business processes takes time and effort, and incurs expense. Changing how things are done impacts roles and responsibilities and can trigger employee resistance. Before embarking on process reviews and changes, it is wise to consider the types of benefits you might gain.




Each organization is different and the actual benefit numbers will vary, but below are some common benefit areas to be aware of and better yet to plan for.



Revenue generating benefits. These are opportunities to change current processes and practices to directly or indirectly increase revenue. These benefits are often the hardest to achieve as the changes needed usually break current mindsets and can fundamentally change roles and responsibilities. They often also have the highest payback. Here are some examples:





Upsell opportunities. A telecom company wants to have its call center staff sell more products to existing customers whenever they deal with a customer. The process review, analysis and design work will focus on building in the analytic processes (and technology) necessary to ensure call center staff know exactly what products the client has and what products might be of interest, as well as adjusting the training processes and performance management processes necessary to skill and incent the call center staff.

Improved products and new product opportunities. In this example a retail organization believes its own customers hold the key to identifying improvements needed in the current products and in identifying new product opportunities. Given its target markets, the organization knows it needs to include social networks in its product development strategy. The process review, analysis and design work will focus on how best to expand its current engagement processes to leverage social media. The organization has proven in the past that customer-focused product changes and development leads to getting higher revenue per product and getting it faster.

Client experience and business reputation. In this example, a financial services organization wants to ensure its target market of high-wealth clients receives exemplary service. In their target market there is a strong correlation between the experience of the customer and their willingness to do and grow their business with the organization. In this case the process review, analysis and design work are focused on identifying the business processes from the customers' perspectives, ensuring that all customer touch points are identified and that the internal functional processes are seamless from the customers' perspective. The organization needs a reputation of service excellence, effectiveness and efficiency to attract and keep its target market.



These are just 3 examples. What examples can you imagine for revenue generating process improvements in your lead generation processes, your product placement processes or your sales processes?



Cost saving or cost avoidance benefits. These are process and practice changes that allow you to remove costs from the organization or to delay or avoid new expenses. This is where process improvement efforts are often focused. Every organization should be looking at running as efficiently as possible. Remember though that no organization has ever cost-cut their way to roaring success!



Here's some benefit areas to look for:





Improve the efficiency of work in the office. Any changes and improvements to your business processes that make it simpler and faster for your team to get their work done or to coordinate on tasks results in time saved. That time saved my result in the need for less people or more often it frees up time for existing people to focus on higher-value and revenue generating work. Looking for efficiency involves looking for unnecessary hand-offs, storing of information never used again, unnecessary approval processes, processing rules that made sense once but are no longer of value and of course ways to use technology to reduce manual handling.

Get rid of invisible reporting processes. Over time, requests from management for information or reports can lead to tremendously time consuming efforts of questionable value. What reporting and information gathering is done in your organization? Are the reports used anymore? Is the method to create useful reports as efficient as it should be?

Onboard and train people faster. Documentation that makes processes easy to find and easy to use reduces the training time for new people and the people that have to train them. Getting new hires up and running faster means they are also working on client revenue activities that much sooner.

Reduce key-person syndrome. Improve the ability for the office to function effectively if one or more of the team is away. Small businesses are particularly hard hit when a team member needs to be away. Good process documentation makes it far easier for someone else to step in and handle their work.



Risk reduction or risk reaction benefits. There is little doubt that this is a growing area of process work. Benefit areas include:





Security of data, premises and people

Ensuring privacy of customer/client data

Meeting regulations



The ultimate benefit to risk reduction or being able to react to a realized risk, is maintaining the organization's reputation. Fines can hurt but rarely kill an organization. But if customers, clients or funders lose faith in your ability to provide the product or service they expect, you may never recover.



Process review and redesign to build in the needed controls, checkpoints and governance are often required. The trick is to balance the cost of the process work, and the ongoing execution of the changed processes, with a realistic assessment of various risk scenarios actually happening. It is far too easy to paint emotion-laden pictures of horrific happenings that sway leaders to build in process controls that are just too heavy and ultimately hurt the organization's ability to run efficiently. Worse, processes heavy with rules and controls are the ones people most often don't follow, defeating the purpose of the process work in the first place. In some cases it is better to have a process to react to a risk when it happens than to have a heavy process that tries to eliminate or reduce the risk.



Measurement benefits. Process reviews and improvements provide an opportunity to define and build in key metrics for processes. It really is true that you can't manage what you can't measure. More importantly you can't improve if you don't know how things are currently working. Having the ability to measure current reality sets the stage for continuous improvement. As with process work to reduce risk, it is necessary to carefully assess what needs to be measured and ensure it can be done efficiently without adding unnecessary weight to the process. Beware the seemingly endless human desire to create and consume statistics whether they add real value or not!



Process review, analysis and redesign work can and must result in benefits that surpass the cost of the work to change the processes. Make sure you are looking in all the right places for benefit opportunities.



Brenda Kerton is the principal consultant and owner of Capability Insights Consulting. http://www.capabilityinsights.com



Brenda has over 25 years of leadership, business and information technology experience. Her strengths are strategic analysis, change leadership and aligning business with IT. Her passion is the creation of business solutions that respect the people and the work and truly achieve the benefit opportunities.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Brenda_Kerton

Hosting a Tea Party

Hosting a Tea Party is not going to do the trick for all businesses, but for those that attract a great number of women, this is a terrific plan. The idea is to get to know some of your customers on a more personal level. Not all businesses today can even attempt to learn the names of all their customers, but you ask any customer who comes in our door if they like to be greeted by name and they'll say, "That's why I come to your store."




Those words are music to a shopkeeper's ear. We want customers to come to our store, and if they feel welcome and that our store is friendly, then that is all the more reason for us to continue working hard to perpetuate that feeling.



To us, at our gift shop, there is nothing more welcoming than having a tea party. It gives the chance to slow down, to set aside our cares and worries of the day and enjoy the company of other like-minded women. We've had several versions of a tea party, but the one that everyone enjoys the most is when we get someone else to actually cater the tea party.



This could be a sandwich shop, a caterer who is just starting out and wants to get known, or perhaps you know someone who runs their own tea shop and wouldn't mind catering yours in return for the list of your customers who attend.



When you have someone else do the catering, the process is really simple. Have them plan the menu and give you a cost per person. At this point you have two choices, you can either choose to host the party yourself, and invite some of your very best clients as a type of "customer appreciation" event. Or, you can have people sign up on a first come, first served basis and their place at the table will be held with full payment for the food.



After that, you advertise the tea party (trust me, it will fill up very quickly) and you'll soon be telling people, "I'm so sorry, we're fully booked. Shall I put you down for our next one?"



All that you have to do now is to arrange the tables, get tablecloths, napkins. Plates and silver need to be discussed between you and your caterer. Teacups and teapots are essential for a successful tea party, so you must have a supply of these as well. Many such items can be hired, so investigate early and pick them up a day ahead of time.



On the day of the tea party, have some soothing music playing, a few subtly scented candles burning (obviously in places where they won't be knocked over), and be prepared to play hostess. Believe me, the customers who attend this tea party will never forget it, and they won't forget you. They'll tell everyone they know where they went, what they had, and how much fun they had.



You can't get any better advertising than that, can you?



Kit Birmingham has learned over the years that to maintain customers, you must forge a relationship with them. Her experiences have helped her to develop ways to help all people improve their customer relations.



http://auntiekitandcousins.blogspot.com



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kit_Birmingham

Small Business Marketing Tips to Succeed

When it comes to small business marketing you need to understand a few tips to succeed. The most important thing you need to know about marketing is that you need to establish a certain budget, doing this will make sure you don't spend too much on marketing. Remember these small business marketing tips to succeed and always stick to them.




Don't overspend



The problem with many newer small businesses is they are eager to make money quickly so they overspend their marketing budget which leads them to having to force sales in order to get their money back. When it comes to marketing it is very easy to overspend but the trick to staying on budget is to create a plan and slowly increase your budget over time. If you don't increase your budget over time you will have a hard time getting your small business to grown.



Create a marketing plan



Creating a marketing plan is something that many people forget to do. The one plan that people do create is a business plan, but they normally do it for the wrong reasons such as getting financing. Think of a marketing plan as your strategy to move forward, without one you will be lost. Creating a marketing plan doesn't have to be tough, you just need to understand what goes in one. The most important things to go inside a marketing plan are target market, competition and competitions marketing strategies, potential markets to explore, and an 8 week marketing strategy. The reason you want an 8 week marketing strategy is because small businesses will most likely fail with the first 8 weeks upon starting and if not then you know you have something special.



Use free methods



What many small businesses do is spend a bunch of money on marketing right off the bat, but what they need to do is use free methods along with paid methods. Using free methods along with paid methods is great because you can cover more ground and get your small business in front of more people. The one thing you need to understand about using both methods is that free methods will reach different people that paid methods will and vice versa.



If you can follow these 3 small business marketing tips then your business should be well on its way to becoming a profitable one. Always remember to track how well a certain marketing strategy is working because if all other strategies aren't working then you can save money using just one. If you need more ideas to make money with your strategy then check out dormroomcash.com.



Adam Snyder is also the creator and designer of many small coffee tables.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_Snyder

Digital Printing Papers and What You Should Know

Dallas, TX - In the late 1990's the only a few types of paper were available to the digital printing industry. Until that time the color of digital papers was basic white and only a small amount of thicknesses and grade printing papers were available to accommodate the hungry digital presses.




While offset printing continued to produce high quality printed products, it seemed as though digital printing was relegated to warm the bench as the big guys could print on just about any substrate that could pass through it or under it. That was the rap, a technology starved for attention and inspiration. Having such a small arsenal of digital papers to make an impression, coupled with a young technology, digital printing, was still left trying to find a footing in the printing world.



In recent years the challenges and innovations of bringing substrates to the forefront have significantly enabled the ability of digital printing presses to amplify their brilliant colors. This is due not only to the latest innovations in digital printing equipment but by producing substrates that marry well with inkjet spray systems.



In today's digital printing environment the focus is to the marketer and the variety of substrates that can be digitally produced upon. The solution to putting ink to substrate is in the latest digital printing equipment and is based on the digital press and substrate at hand. For instance, roll based devices use a roll stand loaded form the rear and ink is delivered to the substrate much like a web presses and delivered roll to roll. This method enables you to print on a variety of surfaces like digital papers, vinyl, thin plastics and fabrics.



If you can print it on offset presses, you can print it on digital presses and quality is no longer an issue. The delivery of ink in text and four color graphics to digital papers of all varieties are now available. No longer can it be mentioned that digital printing has a short fall due to restrictions of available types of paper required for a particular job. Everything from uncoated stock to two sided coated stock and thicknesses of 80# stock are now common place in digital printing shops across the planet.



Where once it seemed farfetched, innovators and manufacturers of digital printing presses and digital papers have formed alliances to bring about a much more sophisticated product to bear, thereby delivering to the printer and marketers a viable product with brilliant sharp tones and consistent quality of image.



Large corporations such as IBM have broadened their horizons and initiated the production of digital papers that enhance their own digital printing engines. Already paper companies are producing stock that is of high quality and is engineered to conform to Green-e certified renewable energy standards to offer their commitments to a cleaner environment. Setting high standards of excellence is the prime focus to the new age digital papers manufacturer thereby leveraging themselves for future generational products. We wait anxiously and predict rapid increases in advancements to digital papers.



Phillip Crum is the Chief Idea Officer of Sir Speedy Addison located at 15323 Midway Road, and is committed to the idea of helping small business owners do a better job of finding their next customer or client. Sir Speedy is a nationwide chain of printing and marketing services facilities, and the Addison location where Phillip works is a perennial Top 10 facility worldwide.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Phillip_N._Crum

Gifting Promotional Conference Folders

Although the primary advantage of providing the records of meetings is monetary profit, it is not the only advantage you can get from these articles. Even if they are indeed great tools for brand promotion for a business or service advertising, these files are actually useful for other things too. Currently, there are many companies that provide these records as promotional gifts, not only for their effectiveness in achieving the monetary benefits alone, but also for other reasons.




Conference folders can be given out to create lasting bonds with a great number of people. Aside from being promotional gift items, these folders can also act as cool giveaways to the public, especially during trade shows and exhibitions. Their recipients will use these folders as a carryall for documents, notepads, pens, CDs and other papers.



They can provide ease and convenience to the people who matter the most; the mass public. As such, these gifts will reflect a company's thoughtfulness in providing items that have great functionality, which will in turn create a lasting bond between the company and the general public. This will then encourage the recipients to be loyal to the company that gave them the folders as gifts.



Employees can also benefit from the conference record when they receive these items as gifts. These files can be used as a reward for special events or occasions to boost morale of an employee. If they are given for exemplary performance in completing an assigned task or not being late or absent, even for one day, these files can become great gifts that will create a special bond between the employee and company. Because the company is to give these gifts will be considered as ways enough to recognize the achievements of its employees.



When the conference folders are given as gifts to the general public, it goes to show that the company cares to give to society. This event will show consideration for the public, creating a sense of goodwill among those who have sponsored their services or products. The giving of these folders to the public will create a sustainable printing company reflecting the public, and will undoubtedly result in greater success for the company.



A promotional promotional gift can be selected from a great array of items. Your gifts promotional could be anything with your company logo or company message attached.



Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ann_B._Christopher