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Five Aspects of a Business Plan You Need to Get Right

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Five Aspects of a Business Plan You Need to Get RightBuilding a business cannot be done without planning. The second you start a business your future and your financials are at risk. While the pay-off can be great, and you can even start a legacy, none of that will come to fruition if you don’t have an accurate plan on how to get from place A to place B.

Take opportunities as they arise by all means, but never go into a new business without creating a solid business plan:

Business Model

Choosing your business model is very important, especially with all the options available today. You can go for a subscription model, an advertising model, a pay now model, and so many more, and that’s just the payment plan. Decide in advance how you plan your company will be run and what it needs so that you can strategize around a real product.

Competitor Research

Your competition will offer a lot of valuable insight into what does and does not work. You should try to extend this research into companies that have failed previously and learn from their mistakes. Not only will you be able to improve upon your business model, but you will also be able to devise services and marketing strategies that appeal to your customers.

Cashflow Forecasting

You need to work out overhead beforehand so that you can predict how much you need in sales. This way you can either improve your business model or diversify your incomes to meet your base needs and hopefully exceed them. Once your business gets off the ground for a year redo your cash flow forecast so that you can better predict where spending will be tight.

Your Financing Options

Knowing your financing options is critical, especially as a new business. Without any previous business credit history or substantial enough assets banks will not provide you with a loan. Instead, you will need to diversify between personal funding and third-party loans.

Then there is the type of loan in question. A secure loan is secured against your assets, but if you do not have substantial enough assets, there are unsecured loans you can look at. You can learn all about the pros and cons of an unsecured business loan on biz2credit.com, and though it can be a good way to launch or expand your business you need to be aware of the risks ahead of time, as rather than leverage an asset you will often have to provide a personal guarantee.

Location

If you are opening a physical store the last part of your business plan that you will need to address is the location. Rent costs will be high, but more than that you will need to ensure your location serves your needs and is where your demographic is located.

It is important to remember that, though business plan size recommendations might only be a few pages, the work that goes into those few pages needs to be substantial. Consider your final business plan like a summary for a much larger report that works out what you need for your business to succeed. The effort you put in early on will be a key factor in any success you see.

How to Limit Personal Risk When Starting a Business

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You’ve got to be pretty brave to start a company. The failure rate is pretty high, it’s a lot of hard work, and, if it goes wrong, you might find that you’re in a difficult position. However, it’s probably not fair that people are punished for trying something and failing — the hit to their pride will be hard enough, must they really suffer in other ways too? We think not. There are ways that you can limit your risk when it comes to running a business. We take a look at a few ways how below. Incorporate them into your business strategies, and you’ll find there’s a reduced chance of your business having a negative impact on your life.

StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | How to Limit Personal Risk When Starting a Business | EntrepreneurshipDo Your Research

It all begins with your initial research. You could save yourself a lot of potential heartache and trouble by simply ensuring that what you’re trying to establish is, indeed, a good idea. Too many companies begin trading before figuring out whether there’s a demand for their products or services, who the competition is, and so on. If all the evidence suggests that it’s not a great idea, you should pull the plug.

The Right Set Up

It’s recommended that you limit the legal risk that you could face if your company isn’t as successful as hoped. You can do this by having the right set up for your company. As a business owner, an LLC offers the highest level of protection. Your business debts will stay tied to the business, rather than to your name. Similarly, if there’s an issue of negligence, then your assets could be at risk, even if you were only indirectly involved. It’s much better to set up as an LLC, rather than a sole proprietorship, with which your company’s debts would also be yours.

Stringent Quality Checks

Of course, while you can protect yourself financially and legally, there’s no hiding when it comes to your reputation. If your company is involved in an accident that was verifiably your fault, then it won’t just be your business that it affects – your name will be affected, too. As such, it’s imperative that you’re conducting stringent quality checks to ensure that everything is safe and high-quality. It’s when corners are cut and checks are not carried out when troubles can arise.

Legal Matters

You might think that everything is going smoothly for your business, only to discover that you’re in trouble with the authorities. Why? Because you were lax when it came to your company’s legal matters. Because of the threat that unlawful practices can bring, it’s recommended that you outsource the jobs to a law firm. They’ll make sure that everything is watertight.

Keep Things Separate

Finally, for your own sake, ensure that you’re keeping your business and personal finances separate. There are plenty of advantages to this, but one of the most important is that it makes it much easier to manage your money, and to ensure that you’re not screwed should your business flop.

Why Online Tutoring Is the New Effective Way to Make Money at Home

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Why Online Tutoring Is the New Effective Way to Make Money at HomeWhen we think of someone working two jobs, we often picture people working in retail or the food service industry, or someone who is trying to break into acting and doing another job on the side. While these are all real-world examples, the reality of job juggling is a lot different than we assume. In fact, in the US there are about 13 million double-job holders that are working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

How popular is the gig economy?

The gig economy has been exploding recently, leading many people to picking up two or even three jobs to help make ends meet or to pay down their debt. Intuit performed a study that predicted that, by 2020, 40% of American workers would be independent contractors doing short-term, contract-based work for companies near and far.

While some people may think of this as misery inducing, the gig economy actually provides a lot of flexibility to a younger workforce that is demanding a more sustainable work-life balance. Gone are the days when people could start at a company at 22 and stay there until retirement. With our work rapidly shifting from a local to a global perspective, workers are finding themselves cashing pay cheques from far-flung employers who may only pick them up for a couple contracts before they move to another employer. This is perfect for stay-at-home parents who still want to contribute to the family’s income, people who prefer to travel too often to maintain a traditional office job, or for spouses of military workers or other workers who are forced to move on a regular basis.

The explosion of the gig economy is mostly thanks to a more mobile workforce due to our advances in technology. With reliable high-speed Internet, smartphones, and laptops available to almost anyone, anywhere in the world, working from where you are has become much more feasible.

Where are the biggest changes happening?

One of the biggest increases we’ve seen in the gig economy has been within the teaching and tutoring community. People with the skills to tutor people can help students across the world learn languages and basic skills like mathematics and science concepts. While it used to be that utilizing those skills meant moving to far-flung countries, you can now do it from anywhere with a decent Internet connection. However, you want to make sure you’re not going to end up accidentally giving away your services or getting ripped off. Money Done Right explains how you can earn money from tutoring without losing out.

Most people assume (incorrectly) that being an English tutor or offering tutoring in a subject means you have to be a teacher, but often it just means you need to be patient and skilled at what you’re trying to teach. This is a great way for college students to earn extra income while bolstering their own skill set.

But does it count in the “real world”?

Wondering if distance tutoring counts as something you can put on your resume? It does! A job doesn’t have to be with a large or local company to still be a real job. If you can demonstrate the skills you learned and what was expected of you, a part-time, distance contract can add just as much value to a resume as any “traditional” form of employment.

Keep These 7 Things In Mind Before Starting An Electronics Repair Business

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Keep These 7 Things In Mind Before Starting An Electronics Repair Business

Starting your own electronics repair business can be a daunting experience. Business registrations, gaining customers, making them come back for your service, and updating the company’s system are just a few of the things that will keep you occupied. To help you become successful in your electronics appliance repair business, here are 7 things that you must keep in mind.

1. Get Information Via Market Research

Knowing your market can help you get near to success in no time. Having enough knowledge about the latest trend and if your service is in demand can help you decide whether it is best to keep or quit your current job to start your own business. Surveying to check on how many of your competitors are currently in the area will help you find the best location for your business. Look for a place that has fewer market shares to gain more customers. Also, you have to be certain that people in your area will opt for repair rather than buying a new unit or equipment. Check if the repair volume in the market is considerable enough for you to start your own business.

2. Having Enough Customers Before Starting

Put effort to gain enough customers before starting your business. A strong customer base that can give you a regular income and sustain your monthly expenses can be a good sign that you can already stand on your own. Earning new customers will take time and if it takes a much longer time than you expected, it may have a big effect on your business’ financial support. This tip particularly applies to businesses with no solid financial backup and may not apply to all.

3. Seek Advice From Pioneers

Be humble enough to ask for advice, opinions, and suggestions from those who are already successful in running a business. Always make room for improvement even if you feel that you have already achieved something. Try talking to those who are pioneers in the business field and get ideas on how to keep your business rolling. You will learn new tactics and you may be surprised by their humble beginnings. They may also give you a hint on what to avoid or how to face challenging situations that may put your business at risk of shutting down.

4. Make Friends Not War

Competition in the field of business is not new but it does not mean that you will treat all of them as your enemy. Being friends with other repairers can help you discover things that can improve your repair business. Information such as where can you buy inexpensive spare parts such as Current Sense Resistors, learning new techniques in fixing electronic problems are some of the benefits of being a good friend to other electricians.

5. Avoid Blaming Others

Avoid blaming others when you lose from your competitors. It is better to honestly examine yourself if your service is high enough to satisfy your customers. Are your repair fees reasonable or is it too expensive? Do you wear a smile when potential customers come to your shop to inquire? These are some of the things you may consider to help increase your sales.

6. Invest On Repair Tools Or Equipment

Do not settle for weak and low-class repair tools. You may lose your customers when your equipment keeps on breaking. This may damage your good reputation. Invest in durable tools and test equipment that can help you solve electrical problems quickly and accurately.

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7. Be Realistic With Your Goals

Expectation versus reality. Avoid unrealistic expectations because it can lead to frustration. In your infant stage, you cannot expect that you can make fast money. It takes time to make a business successful so do not give up easily. You can learn from your mistakes and eventually cope up with what is really good for your business. As the saying goes, “Quitters never win.”

May these tips help you become successful once you decide to put up your own electronics repair business. We wish you well!

Protecting Your Personal Finances When Starting a Tech Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article | Protecting Your Personal Finances When Starting a Tech BusinessAre you finally ready to build your dream of starting your own tech business? If so, you may be concerned about how your business will impact on the personal and family finances that you are responsible for. However, there are many ways that you can help to both protect your business and your family at the same time when starting your tech company, and this guide will provide an FAQ to help you.

How can you finance your business?

If you are thinking about starting your tech business, then you may be worried about how to get the right amount of capital if you do not have the full amount in personal savings. However, there are many ways to finance a business without dipping into your savings. These include finding funding from the government or a business awards scheme which can provide you with the funding that you need to research and produce your innovation.

You may also be able to find an angel investor through attending networking events or create a crowdfunding campaign where the public can help to contribute towards your business on websites such as Kickstarter. You should also look into getting loans from your friends and family as these will help to support you without the interest of bank loans.

How can you keep business and personal finances separate?

Many new businesswomen are concerned about their ability to both support their family and create their business from scratch, even though it is possible to do so. To keep your personal and business finance separate, you should create separate personal and business bank accounts, enabling you to keep track of your expenditure for both, know how much profit you are making in a glance, as well as how much money you have to re-invest into your business easily, and allow you to fill out tax returns quickly.

You should also set yourself a business budget and a personal salary to enable you to split your money into reinvestment and family funds and to ensure that you have enough money for both of your purposes. This will stop you from exceeding the amount of expenditure that you can afford. You should also consider employing a financial advisor who can help to separate your expenditure and advise you on how to manage your finances more effectively.

What should you do if you are struggling financially?

If you do find that you are struggling to manage your personal finances successfully, you should consider taking out a personal Quick Loan, such as those provided by Cash Lady between £100 and £2000. This can help you to deal with any unexpected expenses that you have at the same time as building up your business which you have failed to budget for, as well as helping you to balance your personal and business finances more effectively until you are able to manage these and repay the loan that you have taken out.

 

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