How To Solve Credit Problems

If you are having problems getting credit or paying your monthly bills, you may be tempted to turn to businesses that advertise quick and easy solutions to credit problems. But do not be misled. There are no instant solutions. Although some credit counseling businesses “guarantee results or your money back,” you may find that there are hidden strings attached or that the company is gone when you want your money back.

There are steps you can take to help solve your credit problems. However, solving them takes time, patience, and some understanding of the law. This topic threads may help you. It explains why your credit history is important, how to build a credit history and establish credit, and what can be done to improve a bad credit history. Please read the topics that follows this blog. It also suggests ways to help deal with debts you may have, possibly by using a nonprofit Consumer Credit Counseling Service.

GUIDELINES TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SALES

Here are some guidelines that will definitely improve your gross sales, and quite naturally, your gross income. Look them over; give some thought to each of them; and adapt hose that you can to your own selling efforts.

1. If the product you’re selling is something your prospect can hold in his hands,
get it into his hands as quickly as possible. In other words, get the prospect
“into the act.” Let him feel it, weigh it, admire it.

2. Don’t stand or sit alongside your prospect. Instead, face him while you’re
pointing out the important advantages of your product. This will enable you to
watch his facial expressions and determine whether and when you should go
for the close. In handling sales literature, hold it by the top of the page, at the
proper angle, so that your prospect can read it as you’re highlighting the
important points.

Regarding your sales literature, don’t release your hold on it, because you want
to control the specific parts you want the prospect to read. In other words, you
want the prospect to read or see only the parts of the sales material you’re
telling him about at a given time.

3. With prospects who won’t talk with you: When you can get no feedback to
your sales presentation, you must dramatize your presentation to get him
involved. Stop and ask questions such as, “Now, don’t you agree that this
product can help you or would be of benefit to you?” After you’ve asked a
question such as this, stop talking and wait for the prospect to answer. It’s a
proven fact that following such a question, the one who talks first will lose, so
don’t say anything until after the prospect has given you some kind of answer.
Wait him out!

4. Prospects who are themselves sales people, and prospects who imagine they
know a lot about selling sometimes present difficult selling obstacles, especially
for the novice. But believe me, these prospects can be the easiest of all to sell.
Simply give your sales presentation, and instead of trying for a close, toss out a
challenge such as, “I don’t know, Mr. Prospect – after watching your reactions
to what I’ve been showing and telling you about my product, I’m very doubtful
as to how this product can truthfully be of benefit to you.”

Then wait a few seconds, just looking at him and waiting for him to say
something. Then, start packing up your sales materials as if you are about to
leave. In almost every instance, your “tough nut” will quickly ask you, Why?
These people are generally so filled with their own importance, that they just
have to prove you wrong. When they start on this tangent, they will sell
themselves. The more skeptical you are relative to their ability to make your
product work to their benefit, the more they’ll de mand that you sell it to them.

If you find that this prospect will not rise to your challenge, then go ahead with
the packing of your sales materials and leave quickly. Some people are so
convinced of their own importance that it is a poor use of your valuable time to
attempt to con vince them.

5. Remember that in selling, time is money! Therefore, you must allocate only so
much time to each prospect. The prospect who asks you to call back next
week, or wants to ramble on about similar products, prices or previous
experiences, is costing you money. Learn to quickly get your prospect
interested in, and wanting your product, and then systematically present your
sales pitch through to the close, when he signs on the dotted line, and reaches
for his checkbook.

After the introductory call on your prospect, you should be selling products and
collecting money. Any call backs should be only for reorders, or to sell him
related products from your line. In other words, you can waste an introductory
call on a prospect to qualify him, but you’re going to be wasting money if you
continue calling on him to sell him the first unit of your product. When faced
with a reply such as, “Your product looks pretty good, but I’ll have to give it
some thought,” you should quickly jump in and ask him what it is that he
doesn’t understand, or what specifically about your product does he feel he
needs to give more thought. Let him explain, and that’s when you go back into
your sales presentation and make everything crystal clear for him. If he still
balks, then you can either tell him that you think he’s procrastinating, or that
overall, you don’t think the product will really benefit him, or it’s purchase be to
his advantage.

You must spend as much time as possible calling on new prospects. Therefore,
your first call should be a selling call with follow-up calls by mail or telephone
(once every month or so in person) to sign him for reorders and other items
from your product line.

6. Review your sales presentation, your sales materials, and your prospecting
efforts. Make sure you have a “door-opener” that arouses interest and “forces”
a purchase the first time around. This can be a $2 interest stimulator so that
you can show him your full line, or a special marked-down price on an item that
everybody wants; but the important thing is to get the prospect on your “buying
customer” list, and then follow up via mail or telephone with related, but more
profitable products you have to offer.

If you accept our statement that there are no born salesmen, you can readily absorb these “commandments.” Study them, as well as all the material in this report. When you realize your first successes, you will truly know that “salesman are made – not born.”

THE ART OF BUYING: AT A SWAP MEET

Start with going to a swap meet, find out what sells and at what prices. You can find them advertised in the newspapers. Check the yellow pages or ask at a local store that sells used goods.

If you’re going to buy something in particular, be sure to bring a tape measure or rope if you need to tie something to the top of your car. Check retail prices for what you’re looking for so you’ll have an idea of what the objects are worth. And never give the price asked. Always offer less.

Take a look at the type of people that are at the meet. Talk to booth sellers and find out how much they sell. If others make a profit, you can too. What things sell best?

The most important aspect of buying and selling anything is the price. KNOW YOUR PRICES. You might start with a certain type of goods such as furniture or used appliances. Check with other stands to see how much things sell for.

Look in the newspapers to see how the new items are priced. You can respond to ads in the newspapers to see how much private parties sell used objects for. Even pawn shops will give you a good estimate on the selling value of things.

The best time to shop at a swap meet is early – just as it opens. If you’re the first sale of the day you’ll get a better deal. Or, just as the meet is closing is equally good. People are reloading items to take back home; often any reasonable offer might be accepted, especially if it’s for a group of things.

Depending on what you want to buy, you have to know good craftsmanship or whether or not something can be fixed. They key to buying and selling is to buy cheap, and sell at a profit. So you need to know what can be turned around into profit.

A genuine antique must be at least one hundred years old. But period pieces can be very valuable if you know how to recognize them. Get to know what things are worth. You have to be able to tell the difference between value and junk.

Sometimes appliances such as vacuum cleaners, toasters, or small hand tools can be easily fixed, cleaned up and resold at a profit to you. But you have to know if you can fix it. Always bid low. Often you can pick up something for fifty cents, a dollar, or two dollars, that you can turn around and sell for ten. You should be able to judge the seller. Has that person been a longtime regular at the swap meet? Then you may not get far. Usually, new people who are just unloading old things will be happy to make a few dollars and get rid of those things.

If the seller won’t accept your low bid and you’re not willing to pay more, go ahead and leave you name and phone number. You’d be surprised how many will call back because they couldn’t get the price they wanted.

SELLING OVER THE WEEKEND: GET INVOLVED

Selling used goods and handmade objects can be a great family business. Swap meets and craft shows are friendly, communal efforts, where everybody is making profit from leisure.

Younger and older members of the family can help refinish, clean up or fix objects to increase their value. And, almost anyone can run a small stall. What better way to make money than out in the fresh air and sunshine?

Generally, rummage or garage sales are not long-term endeavors. They’re for getting rid of unused, stored, or old items not of value to the owners. But they have great value to other people – you’d be surprised.

Swap meets or flea markets usually are long-running enterprises, often only on weekends. They are on special empty lots, in parking lots, or in stadiums. They are professionally organized and supervised by a small group or individual, and require a fee to participate.

Craft shows are generally seasonal, and craft presenters travel long distances to set up in the fairs. But they are excellent places to sell high quality art and crafts at good prices. And don’t forget the fast-selling items for a couple of dollars.

WHAT WILL SELL?

ANYTHING WILL SELL!

You can acquire furniture and fixtures from basements and garages; you can scout for throwaways; or you can offer to take away what people don’t need.

Household goods, appliances, cameras, bicycles, tools, baked goods – you can sell any useful object. You can sell surplus goods, irregulars, or nostalgia items. Antiques, or course, are always marketable.

Homemade woodcrafts, leather goods, photographs, postcards, stamps and coins all sell quickly and at a good profit. Think about what you have around the house. You probably have a whole truckload of things you’d like to get rid of. Why throw them away? Turn them into cash for the things you’d really like.

What can you make? If you think about it, you know how to creat things that can sell. What about making jewelry, wooden boxes, or working with shells? Walk through a crafts fair and see what’s selling. And those prices have built in profit. With a little ingenuity, you can make anything sell.

HOW TO MAKE UP TO $500 IN YOUR SPARE TIME OR WEEKENDS

Do you have a garage filled with unused furniture, household goods, broken appliances or outgrown toys and clothes? Maybe your neighbor does, or your relatives do.

The return to recycling old and used objects is more popular than ever. There are swap meets and flea markets all over the country where people buy and sell objects – AT A GREAT PROFIT!

Maybe you know how to repair simple motor-driven tools, or can refurbish battered furniture. You can turn that skill into money.

Are you clever and somewhat artistic? The market for handmade crafts is higher than it ever was. Maybe you’d like to make quilts, or candles, or decoupage plaques become hard cash. Rummage sales are great ways to change unused items into money. And it’s easy. You need to overhead, very little time and effort, and make pure profit.

Perhaps you have church bazaars, school fairs, or crafts shows that occur seasonally in your area. Fall and Spring festivals are great places to sell everything from handmade dolls to recycled lawn mowers.

Are you ready to turn stored potential into real money? Just review some of these tips and you’ll find you can make more money than you could ever imagine from seemingly worthless objects.

Starting right now, you could gather and produce enough to sell next weekend to make over $500.00. And who couldn’t use that?

HOW TO BE SUCCESSFUL IN SALES

Most people are always striving to better themselves. It’s the “American Way.” For proof, check the sales figures on the number of self-improvement books sold each year. This is not a pitch for you to jump in and start selling these kinds of books, but it is an indication of people’s awareness that in order to better themselves, they have to continue improving their personal selling abilities.

To excel in any selling situation, you must have confidence, and confidence comes, first and foremost, from knowledge. You have to know and understand yourself and your goals. You have to recognize and accept your weaknesses as well as your special talents. This requires a kind of personal honesty that not everyone is capable of exercising.

In addition to knowing yourself, you must continue learning about people. Just as with yourself, you must be caring, forgiving and laudatory with others. In any sales effort, you must accept other people as they are, not as you would like for them to be. One of the most common faults of sales people is impatience when the prospective cus tomßer is slow to understand or make a decision. The successful salesperson handles these situations the same as he would if he were asking a girl for a date, or even applying for a new job.

Learning your product, making a clear presentation to qualified prospects, and closing more sales will take a lot less time once you know your own capabilities and failings, and understand and care about the prospects you are calling upon.

Our society is predicated upon selling, and all of us are selling something all the time. We move up or stand still in direct relation to our sales efforts. Everyone is included, whether we’re attempting to be a friend to a co-worker, a neighbor, or selling multi-million dollar real estate projects. Accepting these facts will enable you to understand that there is no such thing as a born salesman. Indeed, in selling, we all begin
at the same starting line, and we all have the same finish line as the goal – a successful sale.

Most assuredly, anyone can sell anything to anybody. As a qualification to this statement, let us say that some things are easier to sell than others, and some people work harder at selling than others. But regardless of what you’re selling, or even how you’re attempting to sell it, the odds are in your favor. If you make your presentation to enough people, you’ll find a buyer. The problem with most people seems to be in making contact – getting their sales pre sentation seen by, read by, or heard by enough people. But this really shouldn’t be a problem, as we’ll explain later. There is a problem of impatience, but this too can be harnessed to work in the salesperson’s favor.

We have established that we’re all salespeople in one way or another. So whether we’re attempting to move up from forklift driver to warehouse manager, wait ress to hostess, salesman to sales manager or from mail order dealer to president of the largest sales organization in the world, it’s vitally important that we continue learning.

Getting up out of bed in the morning; doing what has to be done in order to sell more units of your product; keeping records, updating your materials; planning the direction of further sales efforts; and all the while increasing your own knowledge – all this very definitely requires a great deal of personal motivation, discipline, and energy. But then the rewards can be beyond your wildest dreams, for make no mistake about it, the selling profession is the highest paid occupation in the world!

Selling is challenging. It demands the utmost of your creativity and innovative thinking. The more success you want, and the more dedicated you are to achieving your goals, the more you’ll sell. Hundreds of people the world over become millionaires each month through selling. Many of them were flat broke and unable to find a “regular” job when they began their selling careers. Yet they’ve done it, and you can do it too!

Remember, it’s the surest way to all the wealth you could ever want. You get paid according to your own efforts, skill, and knowledge of people. If you’re ready to become rich, then think seriously about selling a product or service (prefer ably something exclusively yours) – something that you “pull out of your brain;” something that you write, manufacture or produce for the benefit of other people. But failing this, the want ads are full of opportunities for ambitious sales people. You can start there, study, learn from experience, and watch for the chance that will allow you to move ahead by leaps and bounds.

HOW TO RAISE MONEY FOR STARTING A BUSINESS

The task of raising money for a business is not as difficult as most people seem to think. This is especially true when you have an idea that can make you and your backers rich. Actually, there’s more money available for new business ventures than there are good business ideas.

A very important rule of the game to learn: Anytime you want to raise money, your first move should be to put together a proper prospectus.

This prospectus should include a resume of your background, your education, training, experience and any other personal qualities that might be counted as an asset to your potential success. It’s also a good idea to list the various loans you’ve had in the past, what they were for, and your history in paying them off.

You’ll have to explain in detail how the money you want is going to be used. If it’s for an existing business, you’ll need a profit and loss record for at least the preceding six months, and a plan showing how this additional money will produce greater profits. If it’s a new business, you’ll have to show your proposed business plan, your marketing research and projected costs, as well as anticipated income figures, with a summary for each year, over at least a three year period.

It’ll be advantageous to you to base your cost estimates high, and your income projections on minimal returns. This will enable you to “ride thru” those extreme “ups and downs” inherent in any beginning business. You should also describe what makes your business unique – how it differs from your competition, and the opportunities for expansion or secondary products.

This prospectus will have to state precisely what you’re offering the investor in return for the use of his money. He’ll want to know the percentage of interest you’re willing to pay, and whether monthly, quarterly or on an annual basis. Are you offering a certain percentage of the profits? A percentage of the business? A seat on your board of directors?

An investor uses his money to make more money. He wants to make as much as he can, regardless whether it’s a short term or long term deal. In order to attract him, interest him, and persuade him to “put up” the money you need, you’ll not only have to offer him an opportunity for big profits, but you’ll have to spell it out in detail, and further, back up your claims with proof from your marketing research.

Venture investors are usually quite familiar with “high risk” proposals, yet they all want to minimize that risk as much as possible. Therefore, your prospectus should include a listing of your business and personal assets with documentation – usually copies of your tax returns for the past three years or more. Your prospective investor may not know anything about you or your business, but if he wants to know, he can pick up his telephone and know everything there is to know within 24 hours. The point here is, don’t ever try to “con” a potential investor. Be honest with him. Lay all the facts on the table for him. In most cases, if you’ve got a good idea and you’ve done your homework properly, an “interested investor” will understand your position and offer more help than you dared to ask.

When you have your prospectus prepared, know how much money you want, exactly how it will be used, and how you intend to repay it, you’re ready to start looking for investors.

As simple as it seems, one of the easiest ways of raising money is by advertising in a newspaper or a national publication featuring such ads. Your ad should state the amount of money you want – always ask for more money than you need so you have room
for negotiating. Your ad should also state the type of business involved (to separate the curious from the truly interested), and the kind of return you’re promising on the investment.

Take a page from the party plan merchandisers. Set up a party and invite your friends over. Explain your business plan, the profit potentials, and how much you need. Give them each a copy of your prospectus and ask that they pledge a thousand dollars as
a non-participating partner in your business. Check with the current tax regulations. You may be allowed up to 25 partners in Sub Chapter 5 enterprises, opening the door for anyone to gather a group of friends around himself with something to offer them in return for their assistance in capitalizing his business.

You can also issue and sell up to $300,000 worth of stock in your company with out going through the Federal Trade Commission. You’ll need the help of an attorney to do this, however, and of course a good tax accountant as well wouldn’t hurt.

It’s always a good idea to have an attorney and an accountant help you make up your business prospectus. As you explain your plan to them, and ask for their advice, casually ask them if they’d mind letting you know of, or steer your way any potential investors they might happen to meet. Do the same with your banker. Give him a copy of your prospectus and ask him if he’d look it over and offer any suggestions for improving it, and of course, let you know of any potential investors. In either case, it’s always a good idea to let them know you’re willing to pay a “finder’s fee” if you can be directed to the right investor.

Professional people such as doctors and dentists are known to have a tendency to join occupational investment groups. The next time you talk with your doctor or dentist, give him a prospectus and explain your plan. He may want to invest on his own or
perhaps set up an appointment for you to talk with the manager of his investment group. Either way, you win because when you’re looking for money, it’s essential that you get the word out to as many potential investors as possible.

Don’t overlook the possibilities of the Small Business Investment Companies in your area. Look them up in your telephone book under “Investment Services.” These companies exist for the sole purpose of lending money to businesses which they feel have a good chance of making money. In many instances, they trade their help for a small interest in your company.

Many states have Business Development Commissions whose goal is to assist in the establishment and growth of new businesses. Not only do they offer favorable taxes and business expertise, most also offer money or facilities to help a new business get
started. Your Chamber of Commerce is the place to check for further information on this idea.

Industrial banks are usually much more amenable to making business loans than regular banks, so be sure to check out these institutions in your area. Insurance companies are prime sources of long term business capital, but each company varies its policies regarding the type of business it will consider. Check your local agent for the name and address of the person to contact. It’s also quite possible to get the directors of an other company to invest in your business. Look for a company that can benefit from your product or service. Also, be sure to check at your public library for available foundation grants. These can be the final answer to all your money needs if your business is perceived to be related to the objectives and activities of the foundation.

Finally, there’s the Money Broker or Finder. These are the people who take your prospectus and circulate it with various known lenders or investors. They always require an up-front or retainer fee, and there’s no way they can guarantee to get you the loan or the money you want.

There are many very good money brokers, and there are some that are not so good. They all take a percentage of the gross amount that’s finally procured for your needs. The important thing is to check them out fully; find out about the successful loans or investment plans they’ve arranged, and what kind of investor contacts they have – all of this before you put up any front money or pay any retainer fees.

There are many ways to raise money – from staging garage sales to selling stocks. Don’t make the mistake of thinking that the only place you can find the money you need is through the bank or finance company.

Start thinking about the idea of inviting investors to share in your business as silent partners. Think about the idea of obtaining financing for a primary business by arranging financing for another business that will support the start-up, establishment and development of the primary business. Consider the feasibility of merging with a company that’s already organized, and with facilities that are compatible or related to your needs. Give some thought to the possibilities of getting the people supplying your production equipment to co-sign the loan you need for start-up capital.

Remember, there are thousands upon thousands of ways to obtain business start-up capital. This is truly the age of creative financing.

Disregard the stories you hear of “tight money,” and start making phone calls, talking to people, and making appointments to discuss your plans with the people who have money to invest. There’s more money now than there’s ever been for new business
investment. The problem is that most beginning “business builders” don’t know what to believe or which way to turn for help. They tend to believe the stories of “tight money,” and they set aside their plans for a business of their own until a time when start-up money might be easier to find.

The truth is this: Now is the time to make your move. Now is the time to act. The person with a truly viable business plan, and determination to succeed, will make use of every possible idea that can be imagined. And the ideas I’ve suggested here should serve as just a few of the unlimited sources of monetary help available and waiting for you!

HOW TO PREPARE A BUSINESS PLAN THAT GUARANTEES BIG PROFITS…

Success in business comes as a result of planning. You have to have a detailed, written plan that shows you what the ultimate goal is, the reason for the goal, and each milestone that must be passed in order to reach your goal.

A business plan is a written definition of, and an operational plan for achieving your goal. You need a complete business tool in order to define your basic product, income objectives and specific operating procedures. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN to attract investors, obtain financing and hold onto the confidence of your creditors, particularly in times of cash flow shortages – in this instance, the amount of money you have on hand compared with the expenses that must be met…

Aside from an overall directional policy for the production, sales efforts and profit goals of your product – your basic “travel guide” to business success – the most important purpose your business plan will serve, will be the basis or foundation of any financial proposals you submit. Many entrepreneurs are under the mistaken impression that a business plan is the same as a financial proposal, or that a financial proposal constitutes a
business plan. This is just a misunderstanding of the uses of these two separate and different business success aids.

The business plan is a long range “map” to guide your business to the goal you’ve set for it. This plan details the what, why, where, how and when, of your business – the success planning of your company.

Your financial proposal is a request for money based upon your business plan – your business history and objectives.

Understand the differences. They are closely related, but they are not interchangeable.

Writing and putting together a “winning” business plan takes study, research and time, so don’t try to do it all in just one or two days.

The easiest way is to start with a loose leaf notebook, plenty of paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, and several erasers. Once you get you mind “in gear” and begin thinking about your business plan, “10,000 thoughts and ideas per minute” will begin racing through your mind… So, it’s a good idea when you aren’t actually working on your business plan, to carry a pocket notebook and jot down those business ideas as they come to you – ideas for sales promotion, recruiting distributors, and any other thoughts on how to operate and/or build your business.

Later, when you’re actually working on your business plan, you can take out this “idea notebook” – evaluate your ideas, rework them, refine them, and integrate them into the overall “big picture” of your business plan.

The best business plans for even the smallest businesses run 25 to 30 pages or more, so you’ll need to “title” each page and arrange the different aspects of your business plan into “chapters.” The format should pretty much run as follows:

Title Page
Statement of Purpose
Table of Contents
Business Description
Market Analysis
Business Location
Management
Current Financial Records
Explanation of Plans For Growth
Explanation of Financing for Growth Documentation
Summary of Business & Outlook for The Future
Listing of Business & Personal References

This is a logical organization of the information every business plan should cover. I’ll explain each of these chapter titles in greater detail, but first, let me elaborate upon the reasons for proper organization of your business plan.

Having a set of “questions to answer” about your business forces you to take an objective and critical look at your ideas. Putting it all down on paper allows you to change, erase and refine everything to function in the manner of a smoothly oiled machine. You’ll be able to spot weaknesses and strengthen them before they develop into major problems. Overall, you’ll be developing an operating manual for your business – a valuable tool which will keep your business on track, and guide you in the profitable management of your business.

Because it’s your idea, and your business, it’s very important that YOU do the planning. This is YOUR business plan, so YOU develop it, and put it all down on paper just the way YOU want it to read. Seek out the advice of other people; talk with, listen
to, and observe, other people running similar businesses; enlist the advice of your accountant and attorney – but at the bottom line, don’t ever forget that it has to be YOUR BUSINESS PLAN!

Remember too, that statistics show the greatest causes of business failure to be poor management and lack of planning – without a plan by which to operate, no one can manage; and without a direction in which to aim its efforts, no business can attain any real success.

On the very first page, which is the title page, put down the name of your business – ABC ACTION – with your business address underneath. Now, skip a couple of lines, and write in all capital letters: PRINCIPAL OWNER – followed by your name if you’re the principal owner. On your finished report, you would want to center this information on the page, with the words “principal owner” offset to the left about five spaces.

Example: ABC ACTION
1234 SW 5th Ave. Anywhere, USA 00000

PRINCIPAL OWNER: Your Name

That’s all you’ll have on that page, except the page number…
-1-

Following your title page is the page for your statement of purpose. This should be a simple statement of your primary business function, such as: We are a service business engaged in the business of selling business success manuals and other information by mail.

The title of the page should be in all capital letters across the top of the page, centered on your final draft – skip a few lines and write the statement of purpose. This should be direct, clear and short – never more than two (2) sentences in length.

Then you should skip a few lines, and from the left hand margin of the paper, write out a subheading in all capital letters, such as: EXPLANATION OF PURPOSE.
From, and within this subheading, you can briefly explain your statement of purpose, such as: Our surveys have found most entrepreneurs to be “sadly” lacking in basic information that will enable them to achieve success. This market is estimated at more than 100 million persons, with at least half of these people actively “searching” for sources that provide the kind of information they want, and need.

With our business, advertising and publishing experience, it is our goal to capture at least half of this market of information seekers, with our publication, MONEY MAKING MAGIC! Our market research indicates we can achieve this goal, and realize a profit of $1,000,000 per year within the next 5 years…

The above example is generally the way you should write your “explanation of purpose,” and in subtle definition, why you need such an explanation. Point to remember: Keep it short. Very few business purpose explanations are justifiably more than a half page long.

Next comes your table of contents page. Don’t really worry about this one until you’ve got the entire plan completed and ready for final typing. It’s a good idea though, to list the subjects (chapter titles) as I have, and then check off each one as you complete that part of your plan. By having a list of the points you want to cover, you’ll also be able to skip around and work on each phase of your business plan as the idea or the interest in organizing that particular phase, stimulates you. In other words, you won’t have to make your thinking or your planning conform to the chronological order of the “chapters” of your business plan – another reason for the loose leaf notebook…

In describing your business, it’s best to begin where your statement of purpose leaves off. Describe your product, the production process, who has responsibility for what, and most importantly, what makes you product or service unique – what gives it an edge in your market. You can briefly summarize your business beginnings, present position and potential for future success, as well.

Next, describe the buyers you’re trying to reach – why they need and want or will buy your product – and the results of any tests or surveys you may have conducted. Once you’ve defined your market, go on to explain how you intend to reach that market – how
you’ll alert these prospects to your product or service and induce them to buy. You might want to break this chapter down into sections such as… publicity and promotions, advertising plans, direct sales force, and dealer/distributor programs. Each sect ion would then be an outline of your plans and policies.

Moving into the chapter on competition, identify who your competitors are their weaknesses and strong points – explain how you intend to capitalize on those weaknesses and match or better the strong points. Talk to as many of your “indirect” competitors as possible – those operating in different cities and states.

One of the easiest ways of gathering a lot of useful information about your competitors is by developing a series of survey questions and sending these questionnaires out to each of them. Later on, you might want to compile the answers to these questionnaires into some form of directory or report on this type of business.

It’s also advisable to contact the trade associations and publications serving your proposed type of, business. For information on trade associations and specific trade publications, visit your public library, and after explaining what you want, ask for the librarian’s help.

The chapter on management should be an elaboration on the people operating the business. Those people that actually run the business – their job titles, duties, responsibilities and backfilled resume’s. It’s important that you “paint” a strong picture of your top management people because the people coming to work for you or investing in your business, will be “investing in these people” as much as your product ideas. Individual tenacity, mature judgement under fire, and innovative problem-solving have “won over” more people than all the AAA Credit Ratings and astronomical sales figures put together.

People becoming involved with any new venture want to know that the person in charge – the guy running the business knows what he’s doing, will not lose his cool when problems arise, and has what it takes to make money for all of them. After showing the “muscle” of this person, go on to outline the other key positions within your business; who the persons are you’ve selected to handle those jobs and the sources as well as availability of any other help you might need.

If you’ve been in business on any kind of scale, the next chapter is a picture of your financial status – a review of your operating costs and income from the business to date. Generally, this is a listing of your profit & loss statements for the past six months, plus copies of your business income tax: records for each of the previous three years the business has been an entity.

The chapter on the explanation of your plans for the future growth of your business is just that – an explanation of how you plan to keep your business growing – a detailed guide of what you’re going to do, and how you’re going to increase your profits.
These plans should show your goals for the coming year, two years, and three years. By breaking your objectives down into annual milestones, your plans will be accepted as more realistic and, be more understandable as a part of your ultimate success.

Following this explanation, you’ll need to itemize the projected cost and income figures of your three year plan. It’ll take a lot of research, and undoubtedly a good deal of erasing, but it’s very important that you list these figures based upon thorough investigation. You may have to adjust some of your plans downward, but once you’ve got these two chapters on paper, your whole business plan will fall into line and begin to make sense. You’ll have a precise “map” of where you’re headed, how much it’s going to cost, when you can expect to start making money, and how much.

Now that you know where you’re going, how much it’s going to cost and how long it’s going to be before you begin to recoup your investment, you’re ready to talk about how and where you’re going to get the money to finance your journey. Unless you’re independently wealthy, you’ll want to use this chapter to list the possibilities and alternatives.

Make a list of friends you can approach, and perhaps induce to put up some money as silent partners. Make a list of those people you might be able to sell as stockholders in your company – in many cases you can sell up to $300,000 worth of stock on a “private issue” basis without filing papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Check with a corporate or tax attorney in your area for more details. Make a list of relatives and
friends that might help you with an outright loan to furnish money for the development of your business.

Then search out and make a list of venture capital organizations. Visit the Small Business Administration office in your area – pick up the loan application papers they have – read them, study them, and even fill them out on a preliminary basis – and finally, check the costs, determine which business publications would be best to advertise in, if you were to advertise for a partner or investor, and write an ad you’d want to use if you did decide to advertise for monetary help.

With a listing of all the options available to your needs, all that’s left is the arranging of these options in the order you would want to use them when the time comes to ask for money. When you’re researching these money sources, you’ll save time by noting the “contact” to deal with when you want money, and whenever possible, by developing a working relationship with these people.

In your documentation section, you should have a credit report on yourself. Use the yellow pages or check at the credit department in your bank for the nearest credit reporting office. When, you get your credit report, look it over ant take whatever steps are necessary to eliminate any negative comments. Once these have been taken care of, ask for a revised copy of your report and include a copy of that in your business plan.

If you own any patents or copyrights, include copies of these. Any licenses to use someone else’s patent or copyright should also be included. If you own the distribution, wholesale or exclusive sales rights to a product, include copies of this documentation. You should also include copies of any leases, special agreements or other legal papers that might be pertinent to your business.

In conclusion, write out a brief, overall summary of your business – when the business was started, the purpose of the business, what makes your business different, how you’re going to gain a profitable share of the market, and your expected success during the coming 5-years…

The last page of your business plan is a “courtesy page” listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of personal and business references – persons who have known you closely for the past five years or longer – and companies or firms you’ve had business or credit dealings with during the past five years.

And, that’s it – your complete business plan. Before you send it out for formal typing, read it over once a day for a week or ten days. Take care of any changes or corrections, and then have it reviewed by an attorney and then, an accountant. It would also be a good idea to have it reviewed by a business consultant serving the business community to which your business will be related. After these reviews, and any last-minute changes you want to make, it’ll be ready for formal typing.

Hire a professional typist to type the entire plan on ordinary white bond paper. Make sure you proofread it against the original. Check for and correct any typographical errors then one more time – read it through for clarity and the perfection you want of it.

Now you’re ready to have it printed and published for whatever use you have planned for it – distribution amongst your partners or stockholders, as the business plan for putting together a winning financial proposal, or as a business operating manual.

Take it to a quality printed in your area, and have three copies printed. Don’t settle for photocopying… Have it printed! Photocopying leaves a slight film on the paper, and will detract from the overall professionalism of your business plan, when presented to someone you’re trying to impress. So, after going to all this work to put it together properly, go all the way and have it duplicated properly.

Next, stop by a stationery store, variety store or even a dimestore, and pick up an ordinary, inexpensive bind-in theme cover for each copy of your business plan. Have the holes punched in the pages of your business report to fit these binders and then slip each copy into a binder of its own.

Now you can relax, take a break ant feel good about yourself… You have a complete and detailed business plan with which to operate a successful business of your own… A plan you can use as a basis for any financing proposal you may want to submit… And a precise road-map for the attainment of real success…

Congratulations, and my best wishes for the complete fulfillment of all your dreams of success!!

HOW TO START A PROFITABLE HOME-BASED BUSINESS

In these days, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to make ends meet with just one source of income. Thus, more and more people are investigating the possibilities of starting their own extra-income business. Most of these part-time endeavors are started and operated from the comfort and privacy of the home.

Most of these people are making the extra money they need. Some have wisely and carefully built these extra income efforts into full-time, very profitable businesses. Others are just keeping busy, having fun, and enjoying life as never before. The important thing is that they are doing something other than waiting for the government to give them a handout; they are improving their lot in life, and you can do it, too!

The fields of mail order selling, multi-level marketing, and in-home party sales have never been more popular. If any of these kinds of extra income producing ideas appeal to you, then you owe it to yourself to check them out. But these aren’t the only fields of endeavor you can start and operate from home, with little or no investment, and learn as you go.

If you type, you can start a home-based typing service; if you have a truck or have access to a trailer, you can start a clean-up/hauling service. Simply collecting old news papers from your neighbors can get you started in the paper recycling business. More than a few enterprising housewives have found success and fortune by starting home and/or apartment cleaning services. If you have a yard full of flowers, you can make good extra money by supplying fresh cut flowers to restaurants and offices in your area on a regular basis. You might turn a ceramics hobby into a lucrative personalized coffee mug business. What I’m saying is that in reality, there’s literally no end to the ways you can
start and operate a profitable extra income business from your home.

The first thing you must do, however, is some basic market research. Find out for yourself, first-hand, just how many people there are in your area who are interested in your proposed product or service, and would be “willing to stand in line and pay money
for it.” This is known as defining your market and pinpointing your customers. If after checking around, talking about your idea with a whole lot of people over a period of one to three months, you get the idea that these people would be paying customers, your next effort should be directed toward the “detailing” of your business plan. The more precise and detailed your plan – covering all the bases relating to how you’ll do everything that needs to be done – the easier it’s going to be for you to attain success. Such a plan should show your start-up investment needs, your advertising plan, your production costs and procedures, your sales program, and how your time will be allocated. Too often, enthusiastic and ambitious entrepreneurs jump in on an extra income project and suddenly find that the costs are beyond their abilities, and the time requirements more than they can meet. It pays to lay it all out on paper before you get involved, and the clearer you can “see” everything before you start, the better your chances for success.

Now, assuming you’ve got your market targeted, you know who your customers are going to be and how you’re going to reach them with your product or service. And you have all your costs as well as time requirements itemized. The next step is to set your plan in motion and start making money.

Here is the most important “secret” of all, relating to starting and building a profitable home-based business, so read very carefully. Regardless of what kind of business you start, you must have the capital and the available time to sustain your business through the first six months of operation. Specifically, you must not count on receiving or spending any money coming in from your business on yourself or for your bills during those first six months. All the income from your business during those first six months should be reinvested in your business in order for it to grow and reach our planned first year potential.

Once you’ve passed that first six months milestone, you can set up a small monthly salary for yourself, and begin enjoying the fruits of your labor. But the first six months or operation for any business are critical, so do not plan to use any of the money your business generates for yourself during that period.

If you’ve got your business plan properly organized, and have implemented the plan, you should at the end of your first year be able to begin thinking about hiring other people to alleviate some of your work-load. Remember this: Starting a successful business is not a means towards either a job for yourself or a way to keep busy. It should be regarded as the beginning of an enterprise that will grow and prosper, with you as the top dog. Eventually, you’ll have other people doing all the work for you, even running the entire operation, while you vacation in the Bahamas or Hawaii and collect or receive regular income from your initial efforts.