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Six Steps to Being Your Own Boss, Part 4

by Flexo on May 27, 2006. Career and Work 2 comments.

I’ve been developing a series about becoming your own boss, and this is part 4 in that series. The information is based on an article from MSN, but I’m pulling in information from other locations as well.

Step 4: Build a Bulletproof Business Plan

A young entrepreneur should want People Who Matter to take his or her business seriously.

The way to do this is to create a complete, documented business plan.

There is no other single process that can be more useful in beginning business problem-solving than addressing the risks and thoughtfully forecasting by writing the plan. Don’t fall into the excuse that you have the business plan in your head… Not only is it a good planning tool, but a solid business plan is also your key to raising capital.

If you need money to start your business, and most entrepreneurs do, most likely you’re going to ask individual investors or banks for loans. Undoubtedly with banks and definitely with smart investors, you’ll have to present a solid business plan before anyone hands money over to you.

While the article suggests some expensive software for developing the plan, there are two ways to look at this. There are tons of resources freely available on the internet. One place to start looking is bplans.com. They have examples for various types of business to inspire your own plan writing. Entrepreneur.com has several articles that may be useful.

The other optios is to look at the cost of business plan writing software as an investment that will help grow the value of your business quicker. One highly-regarded software applications is Business Plan Pro. Write the plan and package the presentation well, and it’s guaranteed that not only will your prospective investore be able to understand your business, but you’ll understand it more as well.

This is Part 4 of a series. Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6

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About the Author

Flexo, the owner and creator of Consumerism Commentary, has been blogging and writing for the internet since 1995 and has been building online communities since 1991. Find out more about him and follow him on Twitter.

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» Best of 2006, January Through June on Consumerism Commentary: A Personal Finance Blog
August 14, 2006 at 12:42 am
» This Week in the Archives: Be Your Own Boss, Graduation, and The Long Tail on Consumerism Commentary: A Personal Finance Blog
June 5, 2007 at 1:43 am

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