Sunday, August 12, 2007

Writing a Small Business Plan - 7 Great Tips for Mature Business Entrepreneurs

Mature business owners - entrepreneurs in the 40+, 50+ and 60s age group – are in a prime position to start up on their own after retirement from their mainstream career. Great ideas from experienced minds may be flowing, but without a good business plan format any new venture is much more likely to fail. Transforming your vision into reality begins with writing a small business plan, outlining your structure, costs and staffing, and making sure that your new business has the best chance of success from the outset!

Writing a small business plan – tip #1. Outline your structure.

Begin with the simplest ideas, using your existing knowledge and strengths, and start to build up your business plan format with the basics first. Think about how you want your new venture to run, how much time you’ll be able to commit, and what you ultimately want to achieve. Using a business start up kit is an excellent solution for new mature entrepreneurs.

Writing a small business plan – tip #2. Investment and capital.

Consider the financial side of your new business, how much money you personally have to start up with, and if you’ll require investment from elsewhere – banks or other lenders, venture capital, small business loans or even family and friends. When you’re looking at how to format a business plan, the financial side of your new enterprise is all too important, so making sure that you have the capital and investments in place from the beginning is an essential part of writing a small business plan.

Writing a small business plan – tip #3. Running costs.

Now that you’ve sorted out the initial capital, think about the day-to-day costs of running your new business. As well as the obvious overheads – materials, staffing costs and transport - remember to include the smaller items such as paper and envelopes, ink for your printer, telephone calls, internet and website charges in your business plan format.

Writing a small business plan – tip #4. Staffing.

No matter how large or small your new venture will be, you’re likely to need help with setting up or running your business, and this should be reflected in your business plan format. Consider the possibility that you’ll need to employ a few people, or if you’re working on your own, whether you’ll require to outsource some of your tasks, for example web design or copywriting.

Writing a small business plan – tip #5. Operations, sales and marketing.

A business start up kit for the home office could be a good choice when you’re moving into a new business after retiring. Planning the day to day running of your business, marketing and selling your product are all necessary components when writing a small business plan, so you’ll need good software to help you keep on track.

Writing a small business plan – tip #6. Time.

As a mature entrepreneur, you will no doubt have built up various skills over the years, which you will find invaluable when starting your own business. Keep in mind though; you want your business to work for you, not the other way round. Your business plan format should include the ability to automate and delegate tasks to streamline your business, giving you free time to enjoy the benefits of having your own company.

Writing a small business plan – tip #7. Organization and vision.

A key element when writing a small business plan is to ensure that the components of your business are neat and tidy. This includes files, documents, spreadsheets and software applications. Your business plan format must be adaptable, allowing you to change and grow your business in the future.

After retirement from a regular job, forming your own business can be an extremely rewarding experience. Starting out in the right way when writing a small business plan will not only save you time and money, but will give your new business the best opportunity for success in the future!

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Friday, August 3, 2007

How to Create a Logo

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Thursday, August 2, 2007

Top 10 Tips For Using Web 2.0 To Promote Your Business

We hear a lot about "Web 2.0″ these days. It sounds neat and it's trendy to talk about blogging and social media. But does it really affect our businesses? Is Web 2.0 just for kids and tech-hipsters or is it something we business owners should use to help promote our businesses?

I can't tell you if Web 2.0 is right for your business but I can tell you it's something to be aware of Ignoring it means ignoring a possible tool that could be valuable in helping you get more customers.

So, to help you get started in thinking about Web 2.0 for your business, here are some things for you to consider.

1. Have a plan.

Don't dive in just because it's cool or because you read an article about it. Be clear about what you're trying to accomplish, how much you're willing to invest and what time frame you are working on. Like any aspect of your business - plan ahead.

2. Make sure your target audience is online.

Web 2.0 tools are fun but useless if the people who see your stuff don't want what you offer. Or if they don't look to the Web for information to help them buy what you sell, then your efforts will be less effective. Like any marketing channel, it only works if your prospective customers are there to see (or hear) your message and they are receptive to it.

3. Create good content.

Web 2.0 is the social web but it's still content-driven. Lousy content leads to lousy marketing, no matter how flashy it is. Make your content relevant, interesting and real. Put yourself in your customer's shoes and answer their questions with your content.

4. Don't sell.

Help, inform, educate but do not sell. Web 2.0 is all about people connecting by helping each other. No salesman allowed! Think education, not advertising. Deliver useful, nuts and bolts stuff or honest opinions they can believe. That's how you build credibility and trust that lead to new customer relationships.

5. Start with a free hosted blog.

www.Wordpress.com and http://www.Blogger.com both have very useful and simple blogs you can setup for free. Use them to start blogging and get a feel for how it works and how people use Web 2.0. Dip your toe in the water before diving in.

6. Talk to kids

Chat with some kids (ages 8 to 18) and find out how they use the web. They are the trend-setters. What they're doing now, the rest of us will be doing soon. Learn what they do and why. This helps you understand the web from a different perspective.

7. Do it yourself.

Web 2.0 is about being real. It's real people connecting with each other. It's okay to hire a pro to advise you. But to keep it genuine, make sure you or your employees create the content and do the work. Otherwise people will know you're faking it.

8. Buy a camcorder and start shooting

Go to Best Buy or Radio Shack and buy an inexpensive camcorder, tripod and lapel microphone. Buy 20-30 tapes too. Then take a weekend and shoot film. Practice, practice, practice. Get comfortable being on camera so you're not nervous or dorky. Then, write a funny or useful how-to sketch and film it. Use Microsoft MovieMaker to edit and then upload to http://YouTube.com.

9. Buy an inexpensive audio recorder

MusicBarn.com has a package that includes M-Audio's MobilePre USB recording interface. Add a microphone and you have a high quality setup to record podcasts and MP3 audio files whenever you want. Then buy NGWave sound editing software to make it sound professional and you're in business.

10. Surf 'till it Hurts

Surf blogs, YouTube, Google Videos, http://Del.icio.us, Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, Technorati and other social media websites. Get a feel for how they work and who goes there. Become part of some social media communities. Make new friends online. Immerse yourself in the Web 2.0 culture so you know how it works and if it might fit your marketing plans.

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Wednesday, August 1, 2007

175 Power Verbs and Phrases for Resumes, Cover Letters, and Interviews

While you’re revamping your resume or cover letter or constructing your proof-by-example stories for interviews, you’ll find you need to watch your word choice. Why? Communication is powerful if the words we use to communicate are powerful. That’s not all it takes, but the right words make for a good beginning.

So as you craft achievement statements or write paragraphs that sell your skills or draft interview responses to knock the employers’ socks off, consider these suggestions:

  • Use verbs in active tense, not passive tense.
  • Use verbs that convey power and action.
  • Use verbs that claim the highest level of skill or achievement you can legitimately claim.
  • Use verbs to accurately describe what you have done on the job.
  • Use adjectives and adverbs sparingly, but when you use them, use them well.
  • Use nouns that are as specific and as descriptive as possible.
  • Use numbers whenever possible.
  • Use the most impressive (and still honest) form of the number you use.
  • Never lie! It IS NOT worth it. It WILL catch up with you.
  • Proofread all your verbs and nouns for agreement, tense and appropriateness.

Here, then, are 175 powerful verbs and phrases to make use of in resumes, cover letters and interviews:

  • abated
  • abolished
  • accelerated
  • accomplished
  • achieved
  • actively participated
  • administered
  • advanced
  • advised
  • aggressively analyzed
  • applied
  • assumed a key role
  • authored
  • automated
  • built
  • hired
  • closed
  • coached
  • co-developed
  • codirected
  • co-founded
  • cold called
  • collected
  • co-managed
  • communicated
  • completed
  • computerized
  • conceptualized
  • conducted
  • consolidated
  • contained
  • contracted
  • contributed
  • controlled
  • convinced
  • coordinated
  • cost effectively created
  • critiqued
  • cut
  • dealt effectively
  • decreased
  • defined
  • delivered
  • designed
  • developed
  • developed and applied
  • directed
  • doubled
  • earned
  • eliminated
  • emphasized
  • enforced
  • established
  • evaluated
  • exceeded
  • executed
  • exercised
  • expanded
  • expedited
  • facilitated
  • filled
  • focused
  • formulated
  • fostered
  • founded
  • gained
  • generated
  • ground-breaking
  • headed up
  • helped
  • identified
  • implemented
  • improved
  • increased
  • initiated
  • innovated
  • instituted
  • instructed
  • integrated
  • interviewed
  • introduced
  • investigated
  • lectured
  • led
  • leveraged
  • maintained
  • managed
  • marketed
  • motivated
  • negotiated
  • orchestrated
  • organized
  • outmaneuvered
  • overcame
  • oversaw
  • penetrated
  • performed
  • permitted
  • persuaded
  • planned
  • played a key role
  • positioned
  • prepared
  • presented
  • prevented
  • produced
  • profitably
  • project managed
  • promoted
  • proposed
  • prospected
  • protected
  • provided
  • published
  • quadrupled
  • ranked
  • received
  • recommended
  • recruited
  • reduced
  • removed
  • renegotiated
  • replaced
  • researched
  • resolved
  • restored
  • restructured
  • reversed
  • satisfied
  • saved
  • scheduled
  • scoped out
  • selected
  • self-financed
  • set up
  • sold
  • solved
  • staffed
  • started
  • stopped
  • streamlined
  • substituted
  • supervised
  • taught
  • tightened
  • took the lead in
  • trained
  • trimmed
  • tripled
  • troubleshooted
  • turned around
  • upgraded
  • yielded

While you certainly can use the list anytime you’re looking to say something in a more powerful way, you can also use it to help jog your memory about accomplishments on present and past jobs that you might otherwise overlook. Also, consider using the list to help you refine your resumes and cover letters to be more powerful in their presentation and communication.

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