How to Write a Business Plan for the Home-based E-entrepreneur
Writing a business plan for home-based e-entrepreneur is easy and you can do the job within 10 minutes. If you are an e-entrepreneur, all you need is to learn how to write a business plan that is simple and practical. Just visualize why you get involved with your Internet business, define what your dreams are, set realistic goals, plan your business activities, and then work your business plan.
The Internet is a source of profits for all e-entrepreneurs. And as an e-entrepreneur, the main purpose of your business plan is to guide your Internet business activities and to keep them focused so that you can grow your Internet business substantially to achieve your dreams and goals of making money on-line.
Here are five simple steps on how you write a business plan for your home-based Internet business.
Firstly, you develop a vision of your Internet business and write your vision statement. Ask yourself why do you want to be an e-entrepreneur. If you are into affiliate marketing, what is your main reason that you join an affiliate program? What you value most of your Internet business? Do you have a strong desire to be your own boss? Why do you want to be your own boss? Why do you want to run your own home-based business? What do you want to do with the remainder of your life? These are some of the crucial questions you must answer as you write down your vision statement in your Internet business plan.
Secondly, you define what your dreams are and write them down. Of course, you want to have lots of time and money to do what you want. To make your dreams work, you must write a clear, concise statement in your Internet business plan on why do you need more time and money. You must be specific in your dreams. What kind of a car you want to drive – what model, cost, color, etc.? What home do you desire – by the beach, on top of a hill, etc? What debts you like to pay off – credit cards debts, housing loans, car loans, etc? As an e-entrepreneur, visualize as clearly as you can the kind of Internet lifestyles you want to enjoy if you have all the time and money to do what you want..
Thirdly, you set your goals that you want to reach in a specific time – short-term, medium term and long-term. You use your goals to fulfill your dreams. Remember, what you write for your Internet business plan is a personal matter. No one can write your dreams or goals for you. It is up to you to decide which level of success you want to take your Internet business. Whatever level that you have set for yourself, you have to work it. Nobody is going to do the work for you. You need to set your goals for the next three months, six months, twelve months, two years and five years. Make sure to write down your goals that are realistic, achievable, and quantifiable.
“The reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them, or ever seriously consider them as believable or achievable. Winners can tell you where they are going, what they plan to do along the way, and who will be sharing the adventure with them.” – Denis Watley
Fourthly, you create your action plan around the goals you have set for yourself as a e-entrepreneur. A good, solid action plan includes your daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly activities. Your action plan for your Internet business will probably include how you are going to use your marketing aids, marketing methods, and your budget to promote your products or services. Don’t forget to allot time to continuously educate yourself in your chosen Internet business. A successful e-entrepreneur must keep abreast with current trends happening in the Internet. This will give you the extra leverage against other e-entrepreneurs in your market.
Once you have listed down all your Internet business activities, you must assign your time to do them. Time management for the e-entrepreneur is very important when you write your Internet business plan. One of the most practical ways of managing time is to schedule blocks of time for every activity that you must complete each day for your Internet business. You must stay focused on your business activities. You must not be distracted by other activities that do not contribute profitably to your goal of making money on-line.
Finally, you must take action according to the business plan that you have just created. You must carry out what you have written in your Internet business plan. You must be committed, consistent and persistent. Also, you need to have lots of patience. You build your Internet business step-by-step. As an e-entrepreneur, you must believe in yourself and that you can do something to change your present situation using the Internet as a source of profits. By taking positive actions, you will develop profitable habits that can make your dreams come true. All the hard work that you put into developing your vision, dreams, goals and action plan will be wasted if you do not take actions. If you do nothing, nothing will happened.
Your business plan is the compass that points you the way to Internet success. And success is just the progressive realization of your dreams because of the actions you take to achieve your goals. Your opportunity for success as an e-entrepreneur is absolutely possible if you carry out this simple and practical business plan that you have just created for your home-based Internet business.
Remember, a business plan will change over time as your situation and focus change. It is dynamic and has to be reviewed and tweaked regularly to meet new goals you have set according to your current situation. As an e-entrepreneur, you must also constantly fine-tune your business plan to reflect the needs of an ever-changing Internet environment.
To help you get started on how to write your Internet business plan, you can download this printable form HERE.
Question about business plan
Business PLan?any resources on where to look at a simple business plan, or better yet, how to write one?
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18 Responses
Andrew Miller’s video on Business plan layout and writing tips
Take a look at these articles for some inspiration and good luck!
Sure, I can help. Email me the plan.
Helpful video. Inpiring and informative. Does anyone know any good business plan competitions to enter? Has anyone heard about the launch together business plan comp? Is this the first year they are doing it? I love the video they have on the website. Someone should post it on here. Comments appreciated
thank you very much sir
I don't recommend anything other then a good word processor. There is no need to purchase software specifically to write the plan.
Resources showing what a plan should look like are avaiable at the SBA and Score as you mention, after that using a good word processor should be all you need.
The best thing you can do is speak with your accountant or a business consultant and they will help you write this part of your business plan.
According to the book “The ABC's of Writing Winning Business Plans: How to Prepare a Business Plan That Others Will Want to Read — and Invest In” http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446694150/powerhomebizguid by Garrett Sutton, below are some tips to make a winning business plan that can get funding:
- Money follows management. Investors look first at the people involved in the company. If you are just starting out and don’t have relevant experience, investors expect to see that you have an experienced team of advisors and employees helping you in the business.
- Make sure you “sell” the one reason your business will become profitable.
- State clearly the strategies you will employ to get the word out about your business. Your business plan must show how you will leverage the Internet, public relations, viral marketing, and other strategies to attract customers.
- Present realistic estimates of the time, energy and costs of building a successful business. Do not underestimate or overestimate revenues. While investors know your numbers are simply guesses, they want to see that your numbers are within the “range of reality.” Be careful of your financial statements: this is one area where you can easily lose credibility if presented poorly.
- Benchmark similar companies to show that you’ve done your homework and researched the market.
- Your Executive Summary is your calling card. If it is not a winner, investors may not even read your entire plan. Emphasize your own as well as your team’s track record in the Executive Summary.
- Before sending your business plan to lenders and investors, send it out first to a few in order to get feedback. You’d want to correct your plan if someone tells you that you’re way off mark, rather than have a potential investor tell it to you and lose the chance to get the funding you need.
Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:
- SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/businessplan.htm
- Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,7253,,00.html
You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:
- Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm
- MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners
http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html
- VFinance – View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&ToolPage=bps_main.asp
- Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_m.asp
- PlanWare Planning software and information. http://www.planware.org/
- Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html
-SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/businessPlan.pdf
- Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid
- Business Plans Index – A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/bplansindex.html
Some recommended books are :
- Business Plans Kit for Dummies
- The Complete Book of Business Plans : Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan
- Writing Business Plans That Get Results : A Step-By-Step Guide
- Business Plans For Dummies®
- Your First Business Plan : A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your Own Plan
Hope that the above resources help
Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:
- SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/businessplan.htm
- Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,7253,,00.html
You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:
- Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm
- MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners
http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html
- VFinance – View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&ToolPage=bps_main.asp
- Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_m.asp
- PlanWare Planning software and information. http://www.planware.org/
- Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html
-SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/businessPlan.pdf
- Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid
- Business Plans Index – A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/bplansindex.html
Some recommended books are :
- Business Plans Kit for Dummies
- The Complete Book of Business Plans : Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan
- Writing Business Plans That Get Results : A Step-By-Step Guide
- Business Plans For Dummies®
- Your First Business Plan : A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your Own Plan
A business plan does not guarantee a businesses success. However, if it is a well written business plan then it will provide a good platform for the success of your business.
You wouldn’t build a house without a plan right? Well, with business its the same thing, planning provides the foundations that you can then build your business upon.
Nice & Helpful video.
Good and to the point video Matt. Definitly will use it again for reference towards build my buisness plan outline. Thanks!
Hi Adam, more videos are on the way shortly to help demystify the process..
Glad you liked it, shortly there will be more being added to help start-ups and early stage businesses..
According to the book “The ABC's of Writing Winning Business Plans: How to Prepare a Business Plan That Others Will Want to Read — and Invest In” http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0446694150/powerhomebizguid by Garrett Sutton, below are some tips to make a winning business plan that can get funding:
- Money follows management. Investors look first at the people involved in the company. If you are just starting out and don’t have relevant experience, investors expect to see that you have an experienced team of advisors and employees helping you in the business.
- Make sure you “sell” the one reason your business will become profitable.
- State clearly the strategies you will employ to get the word out about your business. Your business plan must show how you will leverage the Internet, public relations, viral marketing, and other strategies to attract customers.
- Present realistic estimates of the time, energy and costs of building a successful business. Do not underestimate or overestimate revenues. While investors know your numbers are simply guesses, they want to see that your numbers are within the “range of reality.” Be careful of your financial statements: this is one area where you can easily lose credibility if presented poorly.
- Benchmark similar companies to show that you’ve done your homework and researched the market.
- Your Executive Summary is your calling card. If it is not a winner, investors may not even read your entire plan. Emphasize your own as well as your team’s track record in the Executive Summary.
- Before sending your business plan to lenders and investors, send it out first to a few in order to get feedback. You’d want to correct your plan if someone tells you that you’re way off mark, rather than have a potential investor tell it to you and lose the chance to get the funding you need.
Here are some resources that can help you write your business plan:
- SBA Business Plan Basics http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- PowerHomeBiz.com Creating a Business Plan section http://www.powerhomebiz.com/startup/businessplan.htm
- Entrepreneur.com Writing a Business Plan section http://www.entrepreneur.com/bizplan/0,7253,,00.html
You may also want to review some sample business plans to see how it actually looks like:
- Bplans.com http://www.bplans.com/sp/businessplans.cfm
- MOOT Corp Business Plan competition winners
http://www.businessplans.org/businessplans.html
- VFinance – View hundreds of real business plans in pdf format. http://www.vfinance.com/home.asp?bps=1&ToolPage=bps_main.asp
- Business Owners Toolkit Sample business plans and information on how to create a plan. http://www.toolkit.cch.com/tools/buspln_m.asp
- PlanWare Planning software and information. http://www.planware.org/
- Virtual Business Plan Walk through the design of a business plan. http://www.bizplanit.com/vplan.html
-SBA Business Planning Guide http://www.sba.gov/starting_business/planning/basic.html
- Small Business Advancement Center http://www.sbaer.uca.edu/business_plan/businessPlan.pdf
- Sample Business Plan General planning guide created by the Canadian Business Service Center. http://www.cbsc.org/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=CBSC_FE/display&c=GuideFactSheet&cid
- Business Plans Index – A subject guide to sample business plans and profiles for specific business types from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. http://216.183.184.20/subject/business/bplansindex.html
Some recommended books are :
- Business Plans Kit for Dummies
- The Complete Book of Business Plans : Simple Steps to Writing a Powerful Business Plan
- Writing Business Plans That Get Results : A Step-By-Step Guide
- Business Plans For Dummies®
- Your First Business Plan : A Simple Question and Answer Format Designed to Help You Write Your Own Plan
well, now that Paulson has his Tight Republican Grip on that 700 Billion i don't think he is gonna let any of it Trickle down to us regular folks, again~!
If you're only really asking about training, then it would depend on the size of the business. If there's only about 1 – 10 people, then it would usually be the duty of the owner to train new staff, as he or she would be the person with the most interest in ensuring that everyone knows what they are doing. If you go into 10 – 30 or so staff, you'd probably have an operational or production manager who should take care of training.
Most businesses don't fail because of inadequate training though. As you pointed out, it's more about lack of planning. I ran my own small businesses for a few years, and I made sure to only hire people that didn't need any training!
Is your concern that businesses fail because of no proper training programs?
Purchase a "Business Communications" textbook at the second-hand bookstore in your town. They will most definitely have reports and business plans which you can use as a guide.