Business Plan for a Small Business ? Answer Three Important Questions

If you are contemplating starting or have just recently started your very own business, one of the top items on your to-do list should be writing out your business plan for a small business.  Many business plans you have looked over so far may have been overly confusing, setting you up for failure because mimicking them may seem quite impossible at this point in your business.  Your top concerns at the start of your business are not likely to be the legal elements.  Instead, you are probably concerned about making money, finding prospects, and selling your products.  To find solutions to these problems, there are three important questions you need to answer.
 The first section of writing a business plan for a small business is answering, why are you starting this business and what do you plan to bring to the public?  You undoubtedly have some goals for yourself and for your business that can be accomplished once you get it off the ground.  You must
know who your customers are that you plan to serve and how they will find you if you expect to be successful.  If you plan to solve a frustration for your customers or offer them something unique that they need, you will want to ensure they can find you.  Therefore, will you run ads, set up a blog, run a website, or do a combination of these?
 How will you make money?  When you include this in your business plan for a small business, you will need to decide if you will be selling physical products, offering services, acting as a freelance worker, creating informational products, or selling affiliate products online.  Only when you define these parameters will you be able to determine how this business is going to make you money.
 What resources do you need to make your business efforts a success?  You will undoubtedly require funding, expertise, and time to get your business up and running.  Can you supply these resources yourself or will you need to turn to an
outside source?  You can only answer this question when you define how much of each you realistically need.  If you are feeling overwhelmed about all the requirements there are to get a business started, define three things you can do today to begin moving forward.  By pacing yourself, you will soon have your business plan for a small business beautifully defined and working for you.
The Startup Garage is your one stop shop for business plan writing for all industries. Whether you’re a sole proprietor, small business or high growth business we can help you through our business consulting, business plan writing, or business plan coaching services.

Blogging – How Much Money Can You Really Earn From Your Blog?

Blogging – How Much Money Can You Really Earn From Your Blog?
So How Much Money Can You Actually Make With Your Blog?
Whilst it is fairly easy to set up your own blog about something that interests you, or on a topic that you are knowledgeable about, it is another thing generating a decent income from it.
It is also fairly common knowledge that some bloggers are making in excess of ,000 a month and some are making in the region of 0,000.
Furthermore, it can also be assumed that most of us would be more than satisfied if our blogs were earning in the region of the former figure, however the reality is that most bloggers are not even making enough to cover their blog hosting costs.
2 Things That Could Influence the Earning Potential of Your Blog
1. Traffic
Let’s face it – without traffic your blog, no matter how great it looks and works, will not generate much money.
Targeted traffic therefore plays a significant role in
the earning potential of your blog.
2. Niche or Theme
The niche or topic of your blog is the other significant factor.
For instance, if the niche you have targeted for your blog does not have much of a following or interest you probably won’t get much traffic but on the other hand if your theme is in an extremely hot niche the competition could be too high and you would be competing against the big guns for little traffic.
So the trick is to position yourself in a less competitive niche that has a strong demand which will provide highly targeted traffic to your blog.
Niche targeted traffic and site visitors are also more likely to take some sort of action, by either making a purchase or clicking an ad, once they are on your blog.
So How Much Are Bloggers Earning From Their Blogs?
In a poll done to determine bloggers’ earnings, whilst 29% made less than a month, almost 10% were earning in excess of 000 a month just from their blogs. So for those whose earnings are not exactly where they should be, hopefully you will get some inspiration by knowing that it is totally possible to make decent money with your blog by finding out exactly what tweaks you need to make to your blog and blogging activities.

 

Market Penetration Pricing – A Quick Market Entry Pricing Strategy

This strategy is used in price sensitive markets. For example, consider the market for DVD players; it is a high volume market, it has a high number of competitors, the costs to produce DVD players have fallen, and new and/or changing technology allow businesses to rapidly introduce new features and benefits on new models. The businesses that introduce DVD players quickly, sell high volume at low or reasonable prices, are following a market penetration strategy.
Businesses using market penetration pricing are usually trying to penetrate the market by growing their share of the market. They assume that the lowest price will win market share. Make sure that if you use this pricing strategy that you test your market, your price sensitivity and your price elasticity or in-elasticity first. Also be sure to do your market research to gain an understanding of how your competitors will react to this penetration pricing strategy. For example, your low price may
cause your competition to lower price, then you will lower your price again, and so on – no one wins with a strategy like this.
But your market penetration pricing strategy can also be a deterrent for new competitors who are considering entering the market. When they see how low your pricing is and realize that their margins will be low and the risk of gaining market share for new entrants is high, they might choose not to enter the market. For your business to be successful with this strategy, it must have the capability to enjoy the economies of scale that high volume will bring and be the low cost provider in the market.
If you are an existing business and your competitor is following a market penetration strategy, do a thorough market research assessment of your capabilities:

Can you drive your costs down?
Can you produce high volume?
Do you want to sell your product at a low price (and hope volume sales will get you both the market share and the
profitability you want)?

If you answer no to any of these questions, don’t follow this penetration strategy (or at least, consider this strategy very carefully). However, if you are a new business considering this strategy in a new, or scarcely populated, market, focus on how to drive your costs down and your efficiencies up.
Whatever pricing strategy you use, make sure that you specify it in your marketing mix plan and write down the reasons you chose that strategy. Then, at least on an annual basis at the time of your business plan update, review your chosen marketing strategy (including your pricing strategy) and ensure it is the right strategy for the product life cycle, for the market conditions, for your buyers, and for the competitive environment at that time.
For more information on pricing strategies, visit hhttp://secretul-afacerilor-pe-internet.blogspot.com/ and for more information on small business strategies and advice, visit http://www.more-for-small-business.com/
Kris Bovay is the owner of Voice Marketing Inc, a business and marketing services company. Kris has 25 years of experience in leading large, medium and small businesses.