business plan

I never finished writing my business plan for my crafting business. When I crunched the numbers awhile back and learned that I’d never be able to make this the kind of business I wanted it to be, and also be able to give up my day job, I stopped working on it.

I won’t go into the details about that decision again – it’s in a previous blog post if you missed it and are interested.

I’m not stopping or giving up on this business. I love it too much for that. But I’m no long putting all my energy into growing or developing it any further than where I have it right now. I will do all the work I need to do to keep it as successful as I already am. I love the happy e-mails from customers, and the pictures of kids enjoying something I made. How could anyone walk away from that? But I’m not expanding. This is good, this is where I want to be.

I did promise you all some advice on writing a business plan. So I’m here tonight to fill that promise. Even if you don’t ‘need’ a plan ( if you’re small and don’t plan to seek investors or a loan there’s no business law that says you must have a written business plan to be legitimate) it can still be a good idea to help you focus and organize your business. It may get you to think about things you haven’t addressed before. Anything that helps your business move forward is helpful.

I am going to wimp out of actually walking you through the whole process myself. I found these links that do a great job of detailing what goes into a plan. They explain it probably better than I could myself anyway.

Another wonderful resource to look into is to find your local Small Business Development Center. My husband took a class on how to write a business plan from them for his IT business and it helped a great deal in focusing our marketing efforts. Ours offers all sorts of classes, and free one on one counseling too. Don’t ever feel that you’re company is too small to talk to someone at a Business Development Center. I’ve taken a class and also spoken with them on several occasions. Helping small business is what they’re all about. They’ve probably seen plenty of businesses that are smaller and less organized than you.

Business plan instructions:
http://www.isitebuild.com/simplebusinessplan.htm
http://www.businessplanning.ws/

I have so many business topics swimming around in my head that I want to discuss it’s hard to know where to begin. Maybe it’s an end of the year thing. A time to look back on how this year has gone, and to begin thinking about where I want to go in the future. Making changes is uncomfortable for me (and I don’t think I’m alone here.) It’s so much easier to just keep doing what I’m used to doing. But I’m old enough now to realise that when things aren’t going the way I want them to after a time and my best effort, it’s time to make changes. One of my greatest mistakes in the past, I believe, is that I tend to lose sight of the goal and get caught up or distracted by the path. I’m a creature of habit, and change has to be a thought out effort for me.
It’s strange, actually. This year has gone well for me. My Etsy business has donebetter than I ever originally hoped for. My children are thriving. We’re moving forward, if slowly, tword our goals. And yet, there are problems that can’t be overlooked. Years ago, I never would have made changes to what I thought was a sucessful year. This is where I’ve grown. Now I see that while, by many standards, I’m having some successes, even this won’t bring me to my ultimate goals, and that’s what matters. Maybe the little successes has given me the courage to make changes where I need them. It has become easier to keep the big picture in sight.

I’m working on a business plan, and will write more details about that as I go. I think it’s a good tool for any business. I probably should have made one from the beginning, but I had more of a hobbist attitude when I began. If you’re wanting to get more serious with your business, and don’t know how to start – a business plan is a must. It isn’t a little project – it’s huge, and it’s hard, but it’s also important. I’ll provide some better information on how to write one in a comming entry.

Tag: business plan

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