3 Key Steps In Business Planning
Business planning for solo entrepreneurs can be
quick and simple if you do not require funding to start your
business. I don’t believe in spending days and weeks “planning.”
If you have a solo business, it should take you 2-3 hours tops
to write your business plan and then you leap into action to
start bringing in the clients and cash.
We’ll assume this subscriber's path is solo
entrepreneurship. Here are 3 critical questions to ask about the
business endeavor:
1) Who will I be selling to? Who is my ideal
client? Many entrepreneurs are unable to articulate this with
crisp clarity and they become confused with trying to create
products and services for ‘everyone' which then attracts
'no-one.'
2) What exactly is the problem I’m solving for
them? Without this knowledge, it’s hard to get the attention of
your ideal customers and it’s hard to say you provide the ideal
solution.
3) What exactly will I do to attract clients and
customers to my business? This means consistent marketing
actions that would bring in a steady stream of customers into
your business. Marketing is the gas in your business engine.
Without marketing, it would be difficult to move your business
forward.
I usually take clients through a 9-step business
viability assessment to clearly evaluate the strength of your
business endeavor. I found that this type of assessment is
critical for new entrepreneurs and for those who have been
struggling to get customers. The 3 questions above is part of
this assessment. #3 above is where I see most entrepreneurs
failing. They have the great idea, they may have an idea who
they’ll sell to, but no plan, strategy, actions or repeatable
process for how to actually attract customers.
Learning More About Your Customers:
Berta also asked about market analysis and
research. When you get crystal clear on who you are creating
your products and services for, those are the people you want to
connect with to discover their key needs and the solutions you
can provide to them. I would also suggest looking at companies
that may already be doing what you desire to do (or something
similar) so you can check out different business models to get
clearer on launching your own.
Resources to Learn More
7 Biggest Mistakes Small Business Owners Make
The Ultimate Clients & Cash Home System For Solo Entrepreneurs
Article on Business Planning
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