In my last article, I discussed the legal and tax components of owning a business. Check it out:
Getting these pieces to your business is critical to you starting off on the right foot.
Now that you have the legal and tax pieces taken care of, next we will look at your business plan/strategic plan for your online business.
Unless you planning on getting a loan for your online business, you do not need a FORMAL plan (i.e. 10-20 page plan).
Instead, you can create a business plan/strategic plan that is a few pages. With your business plan, you want to include your goals for your business for the next 1, 5, 10 years. Include such things as:
1. Business Name
2. 1, 5, 10- year business goals
3. Business objectives
4. Financial goals (i.e. weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly)
To take it a step further, some people also have a strategic plan. This is how you plan to market and promote your business (you can also combine the two and call it your strategic business plan). In your strategic plan, include things such as:
1. Description of the product/services you offer
2. Ideal client description
3. How you will get your product/service in front of people (maybe by using companies like Promotion Choice to think of `new and innovative ways of getting your name out there. Or you could go down the route of advertising- social media, in person networking, etc.)
4. How you plan on reaching your financial goals each week, month, quarter, year etc. Include how many of your product/service you must sell to achieve the goals.
Do not get bogged down in writing your plans. There are so many people that never start their business because they feel they must have a 20-page plan written out. Instead, Google 1 page business and strategic plans. This way, you have everything you need in a few pages!
As entrepreneurs, we should always think about how to grow our businesses over time. Having a business/strategic plan is a great way to track your growth and hold you accountable! If you don’t have a plan in place, make plans to do so as soon as possible. Without a detailed, strategic Business Plan for HVAC Company, your business will be set up to fail.
If you are struggling with your business/strategic plan, make sure you reach out to someone who has a lot of experience with organizing businesses and setting them up to succeed. Perhaps trying to contact a company, similar to fuel_COO (owned by Ginny Wood Martin), could be a good idea. By using those sorts of companies, your business will be on track to success. Of course, you can always feel free to reach out to me. I would LOVE to hear from you.