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Step. No. |
Description of Steps |
Completion Date |
Comments |
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1 |
Decide to go into business for yourself |
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2 |
Analyze your strengths and weaknesses, paying special attention to your business experience, business education, and desires. Then answer this question: Why should I be in business for myself? |
Third Week |
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3 |
Choose the product or service that best fits your strengths and desires. Then answer these questions: What is unique about my project or services? How do I know it’s unique? What will my product or service do for customers? What will it not do? What should it do later but does not now do? |
Fourth Week |
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4 |
Research the market for your product or service, to find answers to such questions as these: Who are my customers? Where are they? What is their average income? How do they buy? At what price? In what quantities? When do they buy? When will they use my product or service? Where will they use it? Why will they buy it? Who are my competitors? Where are they? How strong are they? What is the total marketing potential? Is it growing? |
Seventh Week |
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5 |
Forecast your share of market if possible. Then forecast your sales revenues over a three-year period, broken down as follows: First year – monthly; Second year – quarterly; Third year – yearly; Next, answer this question: Why do I believe my sales-revenue forecast is realistic? |
Eighth Week |
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6 |
Choose a site for your business, then answer this question: Why do I prefer this site to other possible sites? |
Eight Week |
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7 |
Develop you marketing plan, answering such questions as these: How am I going to create customers? At what price? By what kinds of advertising and sales promotion? Through personal selling? How? |
Tenth Week |
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8 |
Develop your organizational plan, answering this question: What kind of talent will I need to make my business go? Draw up an organizational chart that spells out who does what, who has what authority, and who reports to whom. |
Twelfth Week |
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9 |
Develop your legal plan, focusing on whether to form a sole proprietorship or a corporation – and then explain your choice. |
Twelfth Week |
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10 |
Develop your accounting plan, explaining the kinds of records and reports you need and how you will use them. |
Twelfth Week |
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11 |
Develop your insurance plan, explaining the kinds of records and reports you need and how you will use them. |
Twelfth Week |
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12 |
Develop your financial plan by preparing these statements: 1. A three-year cash budget. Show how much cash you will need before opening your business and how much cash you expect will flow in and out of your business, broken down as follows: First year – monthly; Second year – quarterly; Third year – yearly. 2. An income statement for the first year only. 3. Balance sheets for the beginning and ending of the first year. 4. A profitgraph (breakeven chart) showing when you will begin to make a profit. Then determine how you will finance your business and where you expect to raise money. |
Sixteenth Week |
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13 |
Write a cover letter summarizing your business plan, stressing its purpose and its promise |
Sixteenth Week |
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