July 17, 2003
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Business Plan and
Start Up Newsletter
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July 2003
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Written by Shaunta Pleasant
President, TL Manage Inc.
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*********Table of Content**********
Writing An
Executive
Summary...
Question For The TL...
Starting A Home Based Business...
A Positive Note...
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~~ Writing An
Executive
Summary
~~
An Executive
Summary
is the summing up of the purpose of your business. It is a brief statement or account that covers the substance and main points of your company.
The Executive Summary is a very important part of your Business
Plan. It is one of the key component in write your plan.
The Executive
Summary Has Seven Main Components;
Introduction
Product/Service
Target Market
Competitive Position
Goals and Objectives
Management
Finances
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Introduction
The Introduction should include your company name, when it was founded, whether it is a Sole Proprietor, A Partnership, LLC or Incorporation. It should also include whether your product is manufactured by your company or another one. How are you going to distribute your product, who owns it? What percentage of it do they own?
You can add information about the owner or the principal stock holder and the percent of ownership that they have in the company.
You may also add information about present and future finances of the company.
Product/Service
This section briefly explains your products and tells what the benefits of owning them are.
You can add information about your products and/or service. Describe their unique features, what make them newer, better or different from anyone else’s products and/or service. What are the benefits for the customer going to be?
Remember to add the
(What’s In It for me?). What are your customers going to get out of your product and /or service?
Target Market
Your Target Market should define the type of people you are marketing. What does your specific niche provide for your company marketing strategy?
Competitive Position
You should add specific information about your niche.
You should indicate the type of research that helped you to pick the type of niche that you will market.
Goals and Objectives
You should add information about your present and future business goals.
You should add a time line that you plan on reaching those goals;
12 months
24 months
5 years
And so on...
Management
In this section you should add the names and the titles of your management team. If you are a corporation you should include the President, Vice President, the key share holders and so on.
You may also include their knowledge and their experiences. This should take a form similar to a resume.
Finances
You should list all of your present and future financial projects that you working on.
List what you plan and intend on paying for those projects.
So What Are The Steps Writing An Executive Summary?
YourBusinessPal.com has put together a four fold process to help you get your Executive Summary written in an expedient amount of time.
The first fold
of the process tells you what an Executive
Summary is and what components are included in it.
The second fold of the process shows you how an Executive Summary is broken down into it separate parts.
The third fold of the process is gives you an actual sample Executive Summary. This will show you what one looks like, therefore helping you to prepare your own.
The fourth fold includes another example Executive Summary to help you get a better understanding of it. At This point you should be able to complete your own.
After you have completed the YourBusinessPal.com Four Fold Executive Summary Process, you will be ready to write your Executive Summary to help you succeed in business in today's ever changing tough business environment.
For more information about the four fold mission statement program;
http://www.yourbusinesspal.com/executive_summary.html
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~~~~~ Question For The TL ~~~~~~
I started my own business a couple of months ago;
needless to say it has been very hard, but fun at the
same time.
In the last couple of weeks I have started
to research government grants for small businesses and
women owned businesses and minority businesses.
Well, I got nothing, I must have called 50 different places
and I keep running into walls. Can you please help?
Alssandra B –
Santa Monica, CA
A lot of people seem to ask about getting government
grants and loans. A good place to search for grants
is in the web site listed in question 1.
The government
doesn't give out grants without you giving them
something in return. You will have to offer a product or
service that they need.
You can ask one of our consultants a question about your
business start up concerns. We will publish the top 5
questions in the TL Newsletter. You must be a member
to view any replies.
http://www.tlmanage.com/askquestion.html
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How Do I Write A Business Plan?
This is the question you will need to ask yourself over and over again. And once you come up with the answer that is right for your business, you will be ready to get started...
The idea of a plan is to help keep you mentally focused. In a sense it is sort of like a goal. You write it down, follow it and make changes and updates as needed.
To download our FREE Business Plan Workshop go to;
http://www.yourbusinesspal.com/start_up_business_plan.html
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~~~~
Starting A Home Based Business ~~~~
Get A Fictitious Business Name
This is a list of the
final steps you will need to do before you start a home based business. You need to file a fictitious business name (DBA), doing business as.
You file it with the Secretary of the State for the state you live in. Once you have filed it, you are basically in business. You have the title of your business.
What Do You Need To Do To Get One?
You need to call the Secretary of the State for your state. Ask for the forms that you will need to file your fictitious business name. They will mail them to you. You will need to fill them out, get them notarized, get a money order for the fee and send it back to them to be filed.
The fee is $7.00 in the state of MO, but can range from about $7.00 to $100.00 to get one, depending on your state. About a week later they will mail you a copy of your registration. And you are registered.
This is only a name. It is not protected. To protect your business name you will need to trade mark it with the Patent and trademark office at: http://www.uspto.gov/
Your name is also protected if you become incorporated.
Take Care Of Your Taxes
It is always best to make sure you have qualified persons handling your business activities. But it is also good to know a little bit about it yourself so that you can have an idea about what is going on with your business. Call your state IRS, they will have all of the applicable forms you will need.
Plus they can help you with free government publications about this subject. You can obtain these publications by calling 1-800-829-1040. Some of them are free and some cost a few dollars or visit their web site at: http://www.irs.ustreas.gov.
Make sure you get a Tax ID number from your state. This will make it possible for you to pay the applicable taxes from your customers that are due from your business sales. Call your states IRS and they can direct you to filing for you State Tax ID number.
Keep good records of all of your business expenses…
Hire a qualified Account/CPA
Get A Separate Bank Account
This is simple. Even if you are a sole proprietor and your business activities are all covered under your personal Income Tax. It is still best to have a separate bank account. Good record keeping is a form of organization. You want all of your personal and business activities organized.
Make sure you separate your personal records from your business records. Set up a Federal Tax ID# or EIN and get a separate business credit card. This makes it easier at tax time to keep track of your personal and business records if they are separated from each other.
Other Necessary Licenses
Depending on the type of business you have, you may need a business license or permit. Call your local government office and ask them if you need any licenses to do business at your location.
Here is a list of licenses you may need to obtain depending on the type of business you start.
Business
Liquor
Cigarettes
Food
Get A Business Lawyer
A lawyer is a must. They can help you with every aspect of starting and running your business. They can help you with writing a contract and any legal questions and problems you might have. They will be able to make sure that any legal problems would be handled in the proper manner.
Get Commercial Business Insurance
This insurance is for people that are in business. This insurance can cover you if someone is suing your company. It kind of works like car insurance: If someone sues you, it will protect you. It will protect you up to the amount of coverage you have taken out. They will fight to protect you, just like car insurance does.
Contact a commercial insurance agent. They will be able to answer any questions you may have on this subject.
Set Up Your Inventory
Setting up inventory depends on the type of business you are a part if. You may or may not need to have inventory.
Market! Market! Market!
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We have put a huge emphasis on training. As long as I can remember I
was being trained on something or another.
From the early beginnings I can recall my mom and dad telling
me "No, No, No!" or "Stop That!” I guess they were training me to keep my
hands off of their stuff.
So as you can tell training has always been a part of all of lives.
That's why we have put together this Work Shop. The intentions of
this program is to direct you in the right direction to help you
start your business in a successful manner.
This Work Shop is also a good training opportunity for someone that
already has a business, but needs a boost to get it moving into a
more profitable direction.
To Download Now, Go to the link below:
http://www.tlmanage.com/business_start_up_work_shop.zip
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For a free copy of the SBA/IRS The Small Business Resource Guide
2003, What You Need To Know About Taxes And Other Topics at:
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/page/0,,id=q28,00.html
~~~~~~~Positive Note~~~~~~~
Before you can do anything in life successfully, you need to get
yourself mentally prepared. Just, as if you were getting ready for
anything of importance to you.
You need to have and idea of the type of small business you want to start up. You need to put together a plan for the way you want to start up your small business.
Work on how you want to accomplish this business idea of yours.
Then, you need to implement it until you succeed. Small Business Start Up Success Can Be Yours.
So, don't stop reaching until you get there.
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The Top rated business to start is a Net Auction Business.
This is the perfect business for start ups. You can and will
learn everything you need to know to help with a new or an
existing business. For more details about this opportunity
go to:
http://mynas.sitesell.com/tlmanage.html
See you next issue. :-)
All the best,
Shaunta
http://www.yourbusinesspal.com
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