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You should copy this article and make notes on it and then take the outline below modify it to fit your business model and write several paragraphs for each number and lettered item to cement your new franchised outlet marketing plan. While reading this policy and outline below realize that it was written for a mobile car wash business and your plan will be significantly different but this will help you in making a first class strategy to win market share for your newest team members. The Ideal Length of Your Business Plan How long should a business plan be? A business plan needs to be whatever length is required to excite the investor, prove that management truly understands the market, and detail the execution strategy. From surveys of investor needs, Growthink has found that 15 to 25 pages of text is the optimum length in which to accomplish this. Any more and the time-constrained investor will be forced to skim certain sections of the plan, even if they are generally interested, which could lead them to miss essential elements. Any less and the investor will think that the business has not been fully thought through, or will simply not have enough information to make an investment decision. Innovation incubator: Build it and keep it running If your company is like the one I work for, your people are talking about the need for innovation. Mine has just announced a new program "that will bring a standardized approach to gathering and evaluating your ideas for generating new revenue and improving our business." An Innovation Team has just formed, with a new electronic mailbox and a contest offering cash prizes for the year's best ideas. Time Management Tips for Solo Entrepreneurs Does it seem like everyone and everything is vying for your attention all at once? 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By law, all unused and out-dated equipment must be sold back to the public at a public auction! That's right. Everything is available to you and I the American taxpayer. There are primarily two ways that the government does this: on- site auctions or online auctions. The Myth of Undercapitalization - Six Ways Entrepreneurs Achieve Success in Spite of Start-Up Money This year more than 17 million people will become entrepreneurs, according to the National Association of Self Employed (NASE). By the end of the year, 8 million of them will return to the corporate world because their entrepreneurial effort did not succeed. Many will say the businesses failed because of insufficient capitalization. Actually under-capitalization is not the cause of failure, but a symptom of a far more serious problem. Be an Entrepreneur The Department of Labor predicts that the #1 employer in 2010 will be "self." 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Outcomes - Thats What You Need to Focus On Successful business owners and managers need to be very clear about what outcomes they want. Whether you call them goals, objectives or targets, these are the factors that you're ultimately judged on. Outcomes determine whether your business is a success or a failure. Will Your Business Survive Without You? I had a health scare in December. Financial Issues in Business Startup A primary inhibitor of business start-up is that few people have the financial cushion to give up a job for the uncertain income of a start-up venture. In a recent survey, about 30% of new business founders identified inadequate funding as their biggest hurdle, and a similar amount said lenders were too conservative. About 15% reported being unable to find investors, and a similar amount claimed a lack of collateral.
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