Your Questions About Internet Business Plan

Chris asks…

What needs to be submitted with a business plan for a small business loan?

I’ve finally finished my business plan but need to know if there is anything else I need to submit with my application for a small business loan. This is a startup so I don’t really have any other documentation to submit. Any info is appreciated!

Jere answers:

I completed a 128 page Bus. Plan a few years ago. After taking 6 months to research and 6 months to put together I finally did it. Everyone (banks, sba, ect.) said for a small business startup I really blew them away. Later I found out that I could have gotten away with about half. Here is a basic list of what I included.
1. A written resume, not just a time line. Out lining your accomplishments.
2. A synopsis of your business. Be very creative. Include Designs of the inside and outside of your establishment if it is going to be a retail sales. Basicly how the building will impact purchases
3. Research. In your own words. Keep copies of all articules and include them in a seperate area for reference for the investors. Include Graphs to help them visulize things. This helps during the stage when you meet with the investors
4. Marketing/ Advertising. How do you plan on doing this. Newspaper Ads. Radio Spots, TV Spots, Internet, ect. Show researching proving the best posible approach and how these people are going to be reached. The cost assoc. With this and what percent of your budget you will dedicate. Dont forget for retail you will want to include traffic counts
5. Demographics. This is more for retail. How lives where, How much do they make, ect. Show research that proves the demographics match the demographics that utilize your type of bus.
6. List of all equipment or materials including opeining inventories need with quotes on costs.
7. Operating Capital. How much, how did you come to this number.
8. Pro Forma, Month to Month of all costs and revenues with economic indicators showing what percentage of revenue will be generated in that month compared to the overall year.
9. Money. How much do you need xxx for equipment, xxx for operating cost, xxx initial inventory, xxx buildout of the building or real estate. What you have put into the business so for. And how do you plan to pay it back. 5yr loan at 8% with a balloon payment in 3yrs. Operating Capital Loan will be on line of credit with no payments due for the first year. You get the picture.
10. Employees. How many, who are they, what is there requirements to work for you. Are there key employees that you know are going to work for you, if so include there resume.
11. Business references. People who are known and respected in the community. Also include people who have already agreed to purchase your product or service. Have them write a nice letter outlining the agreement. This will help prove your revenue.
12. A Personal financial statement. You can get one from any bank. Of course try to chose one from one your going to use.
13. A copy of your credit report. They will pull their own but this helps show that you have done everything. And if you seek private money they will appreciate that you did this easy step.
14. News clippings or Periodical articles that prove your case. That the business you are venturing into is good
15. A copy of a list of all research. Web sites, ect.
I would suggest that you place all of your personal financial info into a separate binder. So if you want to show it you can with out devulging everything. Then if there is real interest you hand it over
Bind everthing in a nice hard plastic cover. Office Depot does a nice job for a low cost. Spend the money for color copies on quality paper. Make extra copies. Banks will need two. Private investors will need one and always ask for a second. You will want to keep one. But its always great to have two extra copies. You will need it in a hurry and wish you had it.
Good Luck

Susan asks…

Where can I advertise to hire someone to help me write a business plan ?

I want to hire a full time admin assistant with experience writing, prospectus / business plans. The person can telecommute over the internet and phone. Where can I advertise to find someone? How much should I pay?

Jere answers:

You can advertise in the newspaper, and you can try contacting the Small Business Administration to see if they have a referral service. Congrats on the business adventure!

Linda asks…

How can I start my own internet business?

Hi people,

I hope that someone can help me out or in right direction, i am looking to start up my own internet business but don’t know what I can do or how to start.

I have been working on how to do this for nearly a week now my main plan is to get established on the net and slowly move to a small store as well, if anyone out there that can help me with some advice i would be very much grateful.

Thank you in advance
Dan

Jere answers:

If your in UK go on princes trust.

Maria asks…

How to prepare a business plan for a website business?

Hello,

Can someone please advise how to prepare a business plan to ask the bank for a loan for new website business as quickly as possible. Thanks in advance.

Jere answers:

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

Ruth asks…

How to make an Effective and short Business Plan?

If you have to make a business plan for entering into a new market to sell your companies services and act as a profit center head of that particular office, what all points should be taken care of?

Is there any website available on the same?