Before you can began rolling on the fast track with your new business, it takes planning. Don’t skip any of the original 10 step business plan we’ve listed below. Some things are absolute necessities in advance of your opening date for business.

Let’s make it easy and simple. Listed below is a 10 step plan you need to undertake well in advance of your new business opening date. This is only the beginning list but you’ll discover and add more in coming days and weeks.

Your own business expertise and experiences will obviously come into play as you work on your complete business plan. For now, let’s get underway and begin to work through the following list of important business decisions…

1. Decide on Service and/or Product you plan to market/sell.

2. Select Accounting Firm or CPA if required

3. Hire Competent LEGAL COUNSEL

4. LOCATION is an important key to your success

5. Know your FINANCES, Money Source, before making any investments

6. Determine Employee Requirements – background; education; professional; etc.

7. Recruit a Mastermind Team

8. Is a new building required before you can open for business?

9. What licenses are required, certifications, etc.?

10. What is your opening Date for business?

Shooting from the “hip” or without a plan is a disaster waiting to happen. Even the smartest entrepreneurs are NOT willing to take such risks. Are you going “solo” or is this a franchise with a long-term history of success? 90% Vs 10% success rates may give you a reason to make the investment for a franchised business.

Weigh the odds. Research the history, do your due diligence. Don’t let anyone rush you into making a decision because someone else wants the same territory and is waiting with money in hand, ready to roll and cut you off at the pass. Don’t believe it without proof and then only if you are sure this is your choice.

Everyone dreams of owning their own business. Making BIG dollars, driving fine cars with all the goodies, BIG houses in beautiful places to vacation at will, club memberships at the finest golf courses, places for fine dining and meeting the upper crust of society.

Where’s the problem? For most of us, it takes 25 to 30 years of hard work without any guarantees that we’ll ever reach the pinnacle of success. Far too many businesses bite the dust than hit the big time. Taxes, employees, thieves, bankrupt customers are the main culprits of business disasters.

Not a pretty picture but awareness is extremely important. The more YOU know what can happen the better prepared you’ll be. Watch out for any employee with too much “power” in your business who likes to take charge.

Many services you need to run your business are better outsourced than handled internally. Hire reputable people in all areas whether in house or outsourced. Pride yourself on building a company with competent staff, well paid, good benefits simply because it’s your key to a successful business long-term.

When we think of a business, whether it is online or offline, whether it is residual income business or a one time profit sale, we always, and I mean, every time need a business plan. Why is it so necessary? Have you ever failed in a business and said to yourself that this was not the business for me? Then read on, because I am going to shed some light on this important aspect of having a business plan and why you failed in the business because of not having it. But, first let me ask you a question.

Have You Ever Joined An Opportunity, Which You Thought is The Best For You To Earn Money But You Failed?

I think your answer would be yes. Then why did you fail or are not getting results the way you desired? Think about what did you do wrong. The one answer which will creep into your mind would be, I did not have a good plan to grow my business. This is nothing but a business plan. A step-by-step action plan we create for ourselves and follow it no matter what other things come in between.

What Is An Effective Business Plan?

What exactly is an effective business plan? It is nothing but, how you are going to perform your day-to-day activities to achieve your goals in your residual income business. It gives you a work plan to do every single day. And, most importantly, you get satisfied if you complete the days’ work and are happy that things for today are completed, even if you do not get results tomorrow. This is the main reason to have a business plan. Because, if you are happy with what you do today, you will do it more effectively tomorrow. And you will get better results if you continue to do it everyday.

Using A Business Plan As A Tool To Grow Your Business.

Yes, you heard it right, it is indeed a tool in your way to growth of your residual income business. It is how you are going to work for your prosperity and financial freedom. It is how you are going to approach certain aspects like creating a website, generating traffic to it, how you are going to follow up to your potential prospects, what ways of traffic generation you are going to use. Every single thing comes under your business plan, and it will enhance your productivity to your own business. With it, you would be able to know what works and what does not work in your business, and most importantly, which method works for you.

So, Is It Necessary?

I would say yes, it is necessary and ask you to go ahead and create a business plan, do not think about the results you will get, just think about what you are going to do everyday?, how you are going to do it?. Write it down on a piece of paper or on the notepad of your PC, and follow it day in day out, sooner, or later you will edit it, or make it more complex, and get better results from it.

One of the most common questions we hear from potential entrepreneurs is “Where do I start?” The short answer is Plan Your Business. You don’t need a formal, extensive business plan at the earliest stages, but you do need to have a clear idea of the business idea. That is, you should know what a typical workday will look like, who your customers will be, how they will find and buy from you, where you want the company to go, and the like. Planning your startup will also give you a good idea of how much money you will need to get your venture off the ground and force you to think through any potential obstacles in your way. Here are a few options to get your business planning started.

There are hundreds of free business plan templates available on the web. They all cover basically the same topics, and most include the broad areas that you need to consider to really plan your business. However, many first-time entrepreneurs have trouble actually making a plan from these templates, and for good reason.

In general, those outlines are useful once you already have a pretty clear plan in mind and just need to organize it for the bank or investors. They do not help you decide what to look for, or how to evaluate your idea, or even really explain what each section means. For most startups, the ready-made, fill-in business plan forms are not the best option.

There are also several good business plan software programs out there, but they have a similar problem to the templates. They are excellent tools for putting your developed ideas into a logical, presentable order for investors and banks, but don’t really help with the actual planning process.

A fairly recent addition to the small business outsource community are planning consultants. For a fee, these folks will tell you, step by step, what you need to do during the startup process and beyond. While this kind of hand-holding can be very tempting, it is also very expensive…costing money that would be better spent on marketing your new venture!

One popular consultant charges $750 per session and leaves you with a “homework assignment” of the next three steps to starting your business. Can they help you improve your business? Probably, because they should be experienced with the startup learning curve. Will they give decent advice? Possibly, though since it is an unregulated industry just about anyone can claim to be an expert. Will using a planning consultant make your business a sure success? Definitely not. YOU need to become the expert yourself in order to ensure long-term success for your startup.

Rather than relying on business plan templates or disconnected consultants, look for opportunities to learn the fundamentals of entrepreneurship for yourself. Most successful entrepreneurs will tell you that learning to plan effectively is an important key to success. And, since experience is the best teacher, you are better off finding resources that will teach you more than just what needs to be done, but also how to be an entrepreneur.