create a business plan

[Seasoned Warrior]

I have been reading this site and it seems that the questions of business, profit, how much to charge and other business related questions are asked regularly. One of the tools of successful businesses is to create a business plan before you start. The business plan answers a lot of questions before you go to the expenses necessary to be successful and defines what many of those are. The business plan is one of the most overlooked tools of business and yet it is one of the most improtant. There are many books written on the subject and there is even software available to help you write one. Many comunity colleges and other learning instituions will have courses designed to help you create your business plan. I'm very curious to see how many actually have gone to the trouble of setting down some of the rudiments of their business. As a little background I am a commercial real estate investor, broker, mortgage broker and insurance broker in California. I specialize in brokering business properties and do a lot of business analysis. I've been at this for over 35 years. Incidentally, I also have a business that manufactures leather goods as well as other art and craft products.

Best regards,

Charles

[CitizenKate]

Very good point, Charles. What are the main considerations for craftspeople/artisans?

Kate

[Seasoned Warrior]

Very good point, Charles. What are the main considerations for craftspeople/artisans?

Kate

The considerations are basically the same as those for any other manufacturing business. You need to define you product, your suppliers, have an idea of production anticipated, set your prices based on your costs and time involved, have a plan for marketing and an anticipated sales volume. A lot of people get stumped becasue they can't conceive how to plan something that is in the future and they have no experience. A business plan is not something that you do once and then forget, it is a map for your business. The initial plan is the hardest but you need to take it out every once in a while (I do mine on a monthly bases) and see if you are on track and if not why. Then you adjust your plan and go forward. I keep mine in my computer and its easy to update. Its a great tool for seeing where you've been and what you've done right and then you can project where you are going and what o might have to do differently to get there. There is software available and lots of books have been written on the subject. I also keep track of time and costs on all my projects and so I have an idea of how to price future custom work. I find a lot of artisans tend to price way too low and so no one appreciates the work. At the same time when one prices too low it demeans everybody else since the work is not appreciated. I have one rule, if I can not make a decent profit on a job its not worth doing! This doesn't mean that I don't give to charity or give discounts but when I do I do it conciously and have other types of payback. Sometimes payback is in just feeling good about doing something for someone! But for general work you have to make a living so you need to know your costs and how much profit you need to make.

[Jordan]

Very good topic, How about some examples and ideas for business plans? I am working on mine and would like to see some general examples of others ideas for sales methods, marketing reseach, startup costs, pro forma spread sheets, demographics etc. I have used Business plan Pro software in the past for a few ideas over the years but I always seem to get stuck on the financial stuff, the wife says it's because I'm a idea man with the talent, and can't be bothered with the numbers. LOL, that would get me in trouble if she wasn't around to pull me out of the clouds once in awhile.

[Go2Tex]

Here's my business plan:

Build 'em, sell 'em, buy more stuff......

[hiloboy]

Very good topic, How about some examples and ideas for business plans? I am working on mine and would like to see some general examples of others ideas for sales methods, marketing reseach, startup costs, pro forma spread sheets, demographics etc. I have used Business plan Pro software in the past for a few ideas over the years but I always seem to get stuck on the financial stuff, the wife says it's because I'm a idea man with the talent, and can't be bothered with the numbers. LOL, that would get me in trouble if she wasn't around to pull me out of the clouds once in awhile.

i maybe the same way as you Jordan. i got the know how and the what for.and a wife that knows how to run a Business. or i would have given away everything long ago. 20 plus years as a hand engraver and a scrimshaw artist working for myself .i still have a hard time when it come to the financial side of my Business..i think maybe thats how starving artists came about. i know a lot of artist maybe not all that are the same way.we love to do the work but hide our heads in the sand when it come to the money side of our business.. before my wife told me we got to eat.. i would give my work away just because someone said they like it..(old days) not anymore now i'm fat and happy thanks to a good woman that knows business..

Edited October 6, 2007 by hiloboy

[Jordan]

I don't know if this will work but I am trying to post a .pdf file of my business plan and I would appreciate any feedback from you guys as to format, am I on the right track ideas etc. all I ask is that if anyone wants to copy it for thier own use that they not use it verbatim, you know change some words around and such I have only done the first couple of pages the rest is a template I downloaded for msword. Thanks..Jordan

[Jordan]

so how bout it, any others out there willing to share their ideas for marketing, research, pro formas etcetera? It's very helpful for those of us that are struggling to write a plan to get a fresh outlook on the business end of things, without having to pay a professional business plan writer that probably has no idea what we are trying to do. LOL

[Jordan]

Sorry had to remove the pdf someone used it to send me a bunch of crap. Apparently I forgot to edit it and it has personal contact info on it. Ah well livinlearn. Hopefully will end due to lack of response.

[Seasoned Warrior]

Sorry I didn't get back to this topic for a while but I've been really busy especially with the holidays coming up. One of the hardest things to do is do the numbers because we are always taught to think linearly. Like from a to z. With the business plan you need to define z first and then figure out all the stuff in between. I tell people that the best way to set out is to figure out how much you have to have in your pocket to survive. Once you can figure that out you just go through and break it down. Say for instance (using round figures) you wanted to have $50,000 a year for income. You already know what you have to do to create a piece that can be sold so you work backwards. You figure out your costs and make sure that you figure out how much everything costs including your workplace, your utilities, your tools, replacements for your tools, everything from your wool dauber to your hide. Then you figure out what you would like to get for profit, 10% is a nice round figure that is frequently used because it is often what it winds up at. So if you are making a piece that retails for $100 then $10 goes into your pocket and everything else can't cost you more than $90 that include things such as taxes etc. literally everything. So nwo you have a point of beginning. Most people make the mistake of thinking that the business plan has to be exact or else you failed. Its just like you going from Salt Lake City to San Francisco. You know where you want to be and you know kinda what it takes you to get there but there are a number of ways to do it and each is uniquely your own. The important thing is to update your plan if you wind up in Elko on the way you need to know how to get from Elko to San Francisco. Its ok if you wanted to catch Elko on the way over or even if you get lost but you need to update your plan on a regular basis. Just look at where you've been and figure what you still need to do to get where you want to be. Then you do what you need to.

Sorry about your posting. I hate F g Spammers! Die Spammer!

[ClayB]

My dad sent me this link from the Wall Street Journal that might be of some help to someone.

http://online.wsj.com/small-business/mini-...p;affiliate=wsj

[Jordan]

If anyone is interested the template I was using to write my plan is one I found on the microsoft word web site it was a free download in the template section of their site. It is pretty easy to use as it is already formatted, and full of suggestions, you just start writing and delete the information they have included in each section as you go.