How to Prepare a Financial Plan for a Hotel

Isn’t your childhood dream to own a high-rise building with an elegant interior and one of the city’s best hotels? What would be the next step if you suddenly decided to open a hotel? The next step is to make a financial plan. It’s like a blueprint for the hotel’s day-to-day operations and activities. Entrepreneurs are submerged in troubled waters at this point.

Many entrepreneurs face a dilemma in the planning stage of their businesses, whether they are new to the industry or have been in it for a long time. One of the most common problems they experience is with their finances. When you don’t know how to plan for business finances, who wouldn’t get grumpy?

Your hotel budget should be as clear as a crystal to you. It will assist you in developing a feasible plan or strategy for allocating budget to key areas that can generate profit.

Here are some tips on how you can prepare a Financial Plan for a hotel:

1. Determine the type of hotel you want to open.

This is critical because it will serve as a guide and a starting point for understanding your target market. It’s important to remember that different types of hotels require different budgets.

2. Make a list of all the factors that could affect a hotel’s profit generation and all the accommodation units, services, and amenities that you have.

All the factors that may affect the hotel’s finances must be considered, and all the hotel’s offerings and services must be acknowledged. You will have a better idea of what you can offer your customers this way.

3. Make a budget for the hotel’s expenses.

Even if you are still in the planning and development stages, you must anticipate or estimate how you will allocate the budget for all the services, accommodations, and amenities you will provide. This will assist you in gaining insight and determining whether it is necessary for the long run to generate profit despite its costs.

This will also serve as a guide for keeping your company running smoothly. Forecasting startup costs will help you decide how to adjust and allocate your finances to finally open your hotel. 4. Use a plan to project or predict assumptions.

4. Use a plan to project or predict assumptions.

If you’re starting from scratch, creating a plan that projects your forecast of the overall performance of the hotel will help you determine the probable profit, cash flow, and risks. These forecasts or assumptions will assist you in predicting the hotel’s demand and future performance.

Forecasting or generating forecasts is an important component of managing finances or creating a financial plan since it will better prepare you to deal with future uncertainties. You must be ahead of the game in order to make modifications to maximize revenue, resources, and prevent any dangers, as they say, “If you plan to fail, you plan to fail.”

If you’re having trouble organizing your business’s finances and don’t have a basic understanding of how to plan and anticipate cash flows, as well as prepare reports and analyses, we offer a simple and painless solution for you. You can check out our best-tailored fit financial model for your business at http://www.efinancialmodels.com.

Have a great time, hustlin’!

Presentation Skills & Public Speaking – 10 Tips to How to Design & Prepare for a Presentation

Top 10 Tips to help you Plan and Design and Prepare for your Presentation

Next time you are faced with the daunting prospect of having to write a presentation, try out these tips from Skillstudio and you’ll be surprised at just how effective they can be at helping to design and prepare for a presentation.

  1. Prepare Prepare Prepare – The more time you spend preparing your presentation beforehand the more confident you will be on the day.
  2. Get to know your audience. Put yourself in their shoes. What’s in it for them? What understanding do they currently have? Do they want a detail or strategic level talk from you?
  3. What’s the one key goal you want to achieve by giving this presentation? Make sure that this is clear to your audience at the beginning and end of the presentation.
  4. Split your presentation into a beginning a middle and an end. Use the middle section to develop your ideas.
  5. Remember the power of three. Wherever possible think of things in threes. eg three key points to make at the beginining, three key points to develop further in the middle and three key points to make at the end. Your middle can further expand on the three points with three additional points each. etc
  6. Brainstorm the likely questions you will be asked by your audience. Prepare answers using the Power of three.
  7. Try using a mind map to help you organise your ideas into logical chunks. The clearer your thinking is the easier it should be to understand when you are presenting.
  8. Avoid the trap of preparing for your presentation at the last possible minute. It will only mean you lose a night’s sleep – on the night before you have to present!
  9. Lead your audience through your presentation using sign-posting. Recap on what you’ve just covered and then use rhetorical questions to move onto the next section. Always summarise your main points just prior to the end of your presentation.
  10. Plan to end your presentation with a call to action, a request for a decision to be made, or whatever you believe is the most appropriate means to achieve your overall goal.

I Flopped Badly At The National Finals!(How Not To Prepare For/Deliver An Important Presentation)

Background

In November 1997, while observing my annual leave from work(as a 27 year old brewer in Guinness Benin Brewery), I wrote and presented a paper titled “Statistical Process Control (SPC) and Target Setting” at the 1997 edition of the Nigerian Institute of Management’s Young Manager’s Competition. The paper was based on work I had done(mostly in my free time) in setting up various process control/reports computerisation systems in departments(Production/Brewing and Packaging/Bottling) where I worked.

The paper discussed the use of CUSUM(Cumulative Sum Deviation) charts, Total Waste Unaccounted For(TWUF)(TM) – a concept I developed in the process of carrying out a beer waste investigation on one of the brewery’s product lines – along with other simple SPC tools, based on the real-life projects I had carried out at various times during the course of the year(1997).

Regarding TWUF(TM), I had returned to the brewing department from another secondment as Packaging Shift Manager to the Packaging (bottling) department in February 1997, when I was recalled on the request of the Packaging Manager – Alex Okorodudu – to carry out a beer waste investigation on one of the bottling lines. In the course of that investigation, I developed the concept of TWUF(TM), which through mass balancing made it possible to quantify beer losses that could not be traced to a known waste point.

Eventually, I used TWUF(TM) to identify the startup and shutdown operations at the bottle filler machine as being responsible for creating an apparent(i.e. false) beer waste situation. Modification of the mentioned filler procedures led to an immediate normalisation of waste values recorded.

Deciding To Enter For The Competition/Getting Approval From Management

My decision to enter for the NIM competition was influenced by a need I felt, to share the experiences I had gained in the practical application of statistical tools for useful purposes in a business.

Prior to entering that paper for the competition, I had given out copies of it to senior managers in the company’s Lagos office, like Alistair Reid(then Operations Manager, Lagos), and Abiola Popoola(Head of Human Resources). Apart from seeking their input, I did this to get their consent and be sure it was okay to use the company information I had included.

Important Note. If you plan on using any data from your current workplace in an activity outside the company, it is imperative that you consult competent officers of the company to advise you on how to go about doing it. Play safe by getting the responsible person(s) to give you the go-ahead, before you send out any information or material regarding the company’s activities. That way, you are unlikely to make the mistake of giving out sensitive information that could get you into trouble.

You may not have plans to enter a paper for a competition like I did, but you might want to send out an article for publication in a newspaper or other media. Check with those concerned to be sure that all you have put into your write-up is “safe for public consumption”.

Presenting The Paper At The Zonal Finals

On 15th November 1997, I presented my paper before a packed audience in Kakanfo Inn(Ibadan, Oyo State) where the Western Zonal finals were held. At the end of the day, I was announced as runner up, which meant that I had qualified for the Lagos national finals along with the winner of the zonal competition. Looking back, I recall feeling very confident during the delivery of my paper on that day.

Not long after I resumed work from my annual leave, I informed my boss – Greg Udeh – of my outing at the NIM zonals, and the fact that I would have to travel to attend the National Finals in Lagos. He was naturally pleased to learn of my initial achievement at the zonals and the next day, announced my achievement at the brewery meeting for departmental heads. Not long after, I found myself – midway through conversations – getting asked about the competition and being wished best of luck etc. Maybe all that attention got to me, and made me “forget” to at least mentally rehearse my presentation.

Travelling For The Lagos National Finals

Due to limited number of brewers available that day, I had to cover afternoon shift duty on Friday (2.00pm till 9.00pm) before I could take off on my journey to Lagos. It was nobody’s fault really – just one of those unexpected developments that shift workers have to deal with.

The finals were scheduled to hold from 9.00am prompt on the morning of Saturday December 13th 1997 – so I knew I had to get into Lagos before 7.00am, in order to pick up a cab in time to reach the Victoria Island “Management House” of the NIM – venue of the finals.

Within thirty minutes of arriving at the ever busy Benin city Iyaro motor park, the Peugeot station wagon I boarded took off with six passengers for Lagos. This was at about 10.30pm. Some four hours later, we arrived at Ojota park in Lagos. All the cabs and buses had retired for the day by this time(approx 2.30am Saturday morning), so there was nothing else to do but plead with a taxi driver to let me catch up on some sleep in the passenger front seat of his cab. 🙂

Suddenly I heard the loud chanting of a bus conductor calling passengers for Palmgrove. The time was about 5.45 am. I quickly thanked my “sleeping companion” and picked up a taxi heading towards Pedro/Shomolu. Arriving at my parent’s house in Gbagada Estate, I hurriedly took a shower, changed my clothes, and explaining to my surprised mother that I had little time left, jumped back into the taxi, which sped off towards Victoria Island. At about 7.30 am, we arrived at the NIM Management house on Idowu Taylor street.

Relief written all over my face, I quickly went in and confirmed that start time was 9.00am. That was when it dawned on me that I had not eaten anything since the night before. One of the security men at the gate kindly directed me to a “quick-snacks corner”, where I “quickly” downed some, with a bottle of soft drink.

Returning to the NIM premises, I found a place to sit that enabled me observe preparations being made for commencement, while I opened my folder and began studying the paper copies of my presentation (projector) transparencies.

Presenting At The Lagos Finals – The Unthinkable Happens!

Not long after, following some welcome speeches/opening remarks and introductions, the competition commenced. When the 3rd (of eight) finalists – Mitchell O. Elegbe – finished presenting his paper(titled “Achieving Competitive Advantage Through Information Technology In Emerging Economies“), I heard my name being announced. Minutes later, I was standing in front of the packed auditorium introducing my self and paper.

Based on hindsight, I now realise that the unavailability of a projector at the zonal finals(which caused the organisers to ask us to dispense with our transparencies and speak freely referring to any speaker notes we had) probably blinded me to the need to rehearse for the National finals with a projector.

As “luck” would have it, the projectors had been made available at the National Finals and I found myself having to pause intermittently to slot in the appropriate slide for the next set of points I wanted to make. This went well initially, but since I had not really taken time to rehearse since the zonals, especially following from the fact that I had found no need to use the slides back then, I struggled quite a bit. I cannot be certain, but it is possible that THAT also contributed to my not thinking “clearly” when I later experienced a little setback during the presentation.

To cut the long story short, about ten (10) minutes through my presentation, I turned to pick a slide containing charted data depicting the use of the CUSUM concept, but found it was missing. Feeling my heart skip a beat, I lifted the other slides up by the edges to see if the CUSUM chart was there but it was not. Speaking into the microphone, I apologised to the puzzled audience, explaining that I was missing a slide. One of the judges, after some seconds had passed, said “Mr Solagbade, your time is fast running out. “.

I nodded, but kept on looking – convinced I could still find it in enough time to use it and finish the presentation! Unfortunately when it was about 1 minute left(out of the 15 minutes allowed) I still could not find it. I had wanted so badly to impress the judges and audience like I had done at the zonals, that I could not help feeling at this point, that the mishap would have killed any chance I had of getting anything better than last place!

This made me decline to take up an offer from the judges to allow me three(3) extra minutes to do a decent round up of my presentation. Instead, I told the audience – in a very serious tone – that I was convinced the paper had a lot of useful information for companies in the manufacturing industry, and encouraged them to take time to visit the NIM library and read through it in future. Dropping the microphone, I returned to my seat as muffled applause/murmuring from the audience continued.

Surprise! Despite My Blunder, I Still Get Placed 5th Overall

Going by what I said above, you can therefore imagine how shocked I was, when the judges in announcing the final results later in the day pointed out that the verbal presentation(I had flunked) only carried 20% of the total marks available, while the quality of actual paper submitted carried 80%!

However, before they announced the results, they also read out other criteria for rating the contestants, one of which they defined as “the confidence demonstrated by a contestant in his/her paper“. Looking back, I believe it was the confidence with which I had recommended that the audience refer to my paper in the NIM library that led the judges to award me points that resulted in my winning 5th place despite my bungled presentation.

So it happened, that despite an aborted presentation, my paper which was adjudged to be of high standard(with the concept of Total Waste Unaccounted For – TWUF(TM) – being singled out for mention) eventually placed me 5th out of eight(8) finalists. As the results were being announced, my mind went back to what one of the judges had said to me during lunch after the last contestant – Friday E. Eboh – had completed his presentation(titled “Public Relations In Management: Issues and Challenges“).

He had said “Solagbade, you should have simply continued with your presentation when you could not find the slide quickly enough. You were doing well up to that point, and to be honest, I don’t think anyone would have noticed if you did not show THAT particular slide.” I realised he was right. I alone knew the slide existed – they did not! So, if I had chosen to skip it during my presentation, they would not have known better!

I learnt a painful but useful lesson that day, to always rehearse my presentation well ahead of time, no matter how well I think I know it. The experience also impressed upon me, the importance of running through a checklist of all the items I need to take with me for a presentation so as to avoid missing out any important ones – like I did the CUSUM charts slide.

Back At Work – A Senior Manager Tells Me Where I Went Wrong

When I returned to work the following week, I sent a little note about the outcome of the finals to one of the senior executives in Lagos – Ian Hamilton – who had been particularly supportive, telling him how bad I felt for not having done better etc. He sent back a post-it note attached to my note, on which he wrote “Tayo, 5th place overall in NIgeria! You should be proud of yourself” Then regarding the mishap during my presentation, which betrayed inadequate “practice” on my part, he wrote: “Even the members of the (Guinness) board rehearse their presentations many times before they have to deliver them!

I took his correction to heart and used it to drive myself to become proficient in delivering presentations subsequently. I believe an indication of how proficient I had become was evident during a presentation I was invited to deliver at the Center for Management Development, in Lagos. This event took place in September 2002, about 9 months after I had voluntarily resigned my appointment with Guinness to go into business for myself.

(Read my article titled http://ezinearticles.com/?Should-You-Quit-Your-Job-or-Start-Your-Business-Part-time?&id=172008″>”Should You Quit Your Job Or Start Your Business Part-Time?” to learn why I decided to quit my job despite the promise of a bright career future in the company).

On that day, less than 15 minutes after I was introduced/began delivering my paper, the following happened within about 5 minutes of each other:

a. The center’s Training Manager slipped me a note asking that I “Please finish in 1 hour” (instead of the two hours I had been originally told I would be making the presentation in).

b. An electric power cut suddenly occurred!

Both potentially disturbing/unexpected “changes” however did not bother me. When the lights of the PC projector went out that afternoon in the CMD’s main auditorium, I was fully prepared in every way. I simply picked up the printed power point speaker notes I had put on the table while preparing to start my talk, flipped to the page containing the points I was making before the lights went out, and – after making a joke about the loss of power supply – continued, and eventually concluded, my presentation well within the revised one hour time slot.

Useful Lessons You Can Take Away

The most important point I wish to make here is that this activity I chose to engage in (i.e. writing a research paper based on my workplace experiences/entering it for a national level competition) gave me an opportunity to interact with senior managers on an informal level – and get noticed/establish potentially useful relationships.

If nothing else, the fact that I had sought them out in the pursuit of a personal development goal could have made them think of me positively, and probably influenced the positions they would have taken if/when an issue regarding career moves had to be taken. In addition, I got considerable attention across the brewery for getting that far in the competition. All of these would have made me get noticed by a larger number of decision makers – which would NOT have been the case if I had not gone for that competition.

It is possible that the above possibly led them to recommend(or support) that I be given certain career advancement opportunities ahead of my peers in the company. I say the foregoing in light of the fact for instance, that a year later, in 1998, I would be nominated twice – first time for four weeks, and the next time ten weeks – to relieve the substantive
Technical Training & Development Manager(TTDM) – on a management grade one-step above that which I belonged to.

The point I have tried to make above, by referring to my career, is that you can intelligently create opportunities to showcase your unique abilities to decision makers in your company, by engaging in activities that afford you the desired exposure. However, it might be wise not to make impressing your superiors the main objective of venturing into such an activity as the one I took up for instance.

Towards improving your presentation skills, and taking needed actions/precautions, you may find the following lessons I learnt of some use:

1. Get Adequate Pre-Presentation Time: I should have sought the support of my boss/brewery management to get away from work earlier so as to be able to travel for the event and arrive on time. This might have helped to get myself organised and I could have discovered the absence of the slide BEFORE the presentation.

2. Practice, Practice, Practice! I would have fared better if I had made conscious effort to rehearse my presentation well ahead of the finals. The achieved familiarity with my presentation might have made me more confident to carry on despite being unable to find the slide.

3. Coaching Tips From Experienced Others: I could have sought tips about handling hitches or problems during presentations. Experienced speakers – like many of the company’s senior executives may have been able to share their personal ideas about how to prepare with me. Some may have prompted me to be ready for when things go wrong – drawing on their personal experiences. For instance, today, if I have to coach anyone on making presentations, one of the most important topics I would cover is “What Can Go Wrong, And What You Can Do – Inspite Of Setback(s) – To Ensure You Still Deliver A Good Presentation“.

4. Quitters NEVER Win: If I had remained calm, and carried on with my presentation without letting on that something was wrong, I could probably have earned enough additional points to eventually do much better than winning 5th place. Instead I let myself get upset upon discovering that my slide was missing. You will want to avoid making the same mistake if/when you find yourself in a similar situation.

Summary

Overcoming temporary defeat(i.e. failure) or adversity; recovering from setbacks, or correcting and learning from mistakes we make, will ALWAYS make us improve in our abilities to do what we do. It is for this reason that I end this article by saying: even if you DO have a bad presentation outing, know that the experience presents you with a potential learning opportunity to become BETTER at delivering presentations.

Simply make up your mind to identify where you went wrong, and learn what you need to do differently in future, to make your presentation successful. Do this as/when necessary, and you will eventually achieve your desired goal of being able to deliver successful presentations repeatedly and consistently.

Good luck!

How To Prepare A Business Plan That Guarantees Big Profits

It is always said “If you Fail to Plan, you Plan to Fail”

Success in business comes as a result of planning. You have to have a detailed, written plan that shows what the ultimate goal is, the reason for the goal, and each milestone that must be passed in order to reach your goal.

A business plan is written definition of, and operational plan for achieving your goal. You need a complete but success tool in order to define your basic product, income objectives and specific operating procedures. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A BUSINESS PLAN to attract investors, obtain financing and hold onto the confidence of your creditors, particularly in times of cash flow shortages–in this instance, the amount of money you have on hand compared with the expenses that must be met.

Aside from an overall directional policy for the production, sales effort and profit goals of your product–your basic “travel guide” to business success–the most important purpose your business plan will serve, will be the basis or foundation of any financial proposals you submit. Many entrepreneurs are under the mistaken impression that a business plan is the same as a financial proposal, or that a financial proposal constitutes a business plan. This is just a misunderstanding of the uses of these two separate and different business success aids.

The business plan is a long range “map” to guide your business to the goal you’ve set for it. The plan details the what, why, where, how and when, of your business–the success planning of your company.

Your financial proposal is a request for money based upon your business plan–your business history and objectives.

Understand the differences. They are closely related, but they are not interchangeable.

Writing and putting together a “winning” business plan takes study, research and time, so don’t try to do it all in just one or two days.

The easiest way to start with a loose leaf notebook, plenty of paper, pencils, pencil sharpener, and several erasers. Once you get your mind “in gear” and begin thinking about your business plan, “10,000 thoughts and ideas per minute” will begin racing through your mind…So, it’s a good idea when you aren’t actually working on your business plan, to carry a pocket notebook and jot down those business ideas as they come to you–ideas for sales promotion, recruiting distributors, and any other thoughts on how to operate and/or build your business.

Later, when you’re actually working on your business plan, you can take out this “idea notebook” evaluate your ideas, rework them, refine them, and integrate them into the overall “big picture” of your business plan.

The best business plans for even the smallest businesses run 25 to 30 pages or more, so you’ll need to “title” each page and arrange the different aspects of your business plan into “chapters.” The format should pretty much run as follows:

Title Page Statement of Purpose Table of Contents Business Description Market Analysis Competition Business Location Management Current Financial Records Explanation of Plans For Growth Projected Profit & Loss/Operating Figures Explanation of Financing for Growth Documentation Summary of Business & Outlook for The Future Listing of Business & personal References

This is a logical organization of the information every business plan should cover. I’ll explain each of these chapters titles in greater detail, but first, let me elaborate upon the reasons for proper organization of your business plan.

Having a set of “questions to answer” about your business forces you to take an objective and critical look at your ideas. Putting it all down on paper allows you to change, erase and refine everything to function in the manner of a smoothly oiled machine. You’ll be able to spot weakness and strengthen them before they develop into major problems. Overall, you’ll be developing an operating manual for your business–a valuable tool which will keep your business on track, and guide you in the profitable management of your business.

Because it’s your idea, and your business, it’s very important that YOU do the planning. This is YOUR business plan, so YOU develop it, and put it all down on paper just the way YOU want it to read. Seek out the advice of other people; talk with, listen to, and observe, other people running similar businesses; enlist the advice of your accountant and attorney–but at the bottom line, don’t ever forget it has to be YOUR BUSINESS PLAN!

Remember too, that statistics show the greatest causes of business failure to be poor management and lack of planning–without a plan by which to operate, no one can manage; and without a direction in which to aim its efforts, no business can attain any real success.

On the very first page, which is the title page, put down the name of your business-ABC ACTION–with your business address underneath. Now, skip a couple of lines, and write it all in capital letters: PRINCIPAL OWNER–followed by your name if you’re the principal owner. On your finished report, you would want to center this information on the page, with the words “principal owner” off-set to the left about five spaces.

Examples: ABC ACTION 1234 SW 5th Ave. Anywhere, USA 00000

PRINCIPAL OWNER: Your Name

That’s all you’ll have on this page except the page number -1-

Following your title page is the page for your statement purpose. This should be a simple statement of your primary business function, such as: We are a service business engaged in the business of selling business success manuals and other information by mail.

The title of the page should be in all capital letters across the top of the page, centered on your final draft–skip a few lines and write the statement of purpose. This should be direct, clear and short–never more than (2) sentences in length.

Then you should skip a few lines, and from the left hand margin of the paper, write out a sub-heading in all capital letters, such as: EXPLANATION OF PURPOSE.

From, and within this sub-heading you can briefly explain your statement of purpose, such as: Our surveys have found most entrepreneurs to be “sadly” lacking in basic information that will enable them to achieve success. This market is estimated at more than a 100 million persons, with at least half of these people actively “searching” for sources that provide the kind of information they want, and need.

With our business, advertising and publishing experience, it is our goal to capture at least half of this market of information seekers, with our publication. MONEY MAKING MAGIC! Our market research indicates we can achieve this goal and realize a profit of $1,000,000 per year within the next 5 years…

The above example is generally the way you should write your “explanation of purpose,” and in subtle definition, why you need an explanation. Point to remember: Keep it short. Very few business purpose explanations justify more than a half page long.

Next comes your table of contents page. Don’t really worry about this until you’ve got the entire plan completed and ready for final typing. It’s a good idea though, to list the subject (chapter titles) as I have, and then check off each one as you complete that part of your plan.

By having a list of the points you want to cover, you’ll also be able to skip around and work on each phase of your business plan as an idea or the interest in organizing that particular phase, stimulates you. In other words, you won’t have to make your thinking or your planning conform to the chronological order of the “chapters” of your business plan–another reason for the loose leaf notebook.

In describing your business, it’s best to begin where your statement purpose leaves off. Describe your product, the production process, who has responsibility for what, and most importantly, what makes your product or service unique–what gives it an edge in your market. You can briefly summarize your business beginnings, present position and potential for future success, as well.

Next, describe the buyers you’re trying to reach–why they need and want or will buy your product–and the results of any tests or surveys you may have conducted. Once you’ve defined your market, go on to explain how you intend to reach that market–how you’ll these prospects to your product or service and induce them to buy. You might want to break this chapter down into sections such as..publicity and promotions, advertising plans, direct sales force, and dealer/distributor programs. Each section would then be an outline of your plans and policies.

Moving into the next chapter on competition, identify who your competitors are–their weakness and strong points–explain how you intend to capitalize on those weaknesses and match or better the strong points. Talk to as many of your “indirect” competitors as possible–those operating in different cities and states.

One of the easiest ways of gathering a lot of useful information about your competitors is by developing a series of survey questions and sending these questionnaires out to each of them. Later on, you might want to compile the answers to these questionnaires into some form of directory or report on this type of business.

It’s also advisable to contact the trade associations and publications serving your proposed type of business. For information on trade associations and specific trade publications, visit your public library, and after explaining what you want ask for the librarian’s help.

The chapter on management should be an elaboration on the people operating the business. Those people that actually run the business, their job, titles, duties, responsibilities and background resume’s. It’s important that you “paint” a strong picture of your top management people because the people coming to work for you or investing in your business, will be “investing in these people” as much as your product ideas. Individual tenacity, mature judgement under fire, and innovative problem-solving have “won over” more people than all the AAA Credit Ratings and astronomical sales figures put together.

People becoming involved with any new venture want to know that the person in charge–the guy running the business knows what he’s doing, will not lose his cool when problems arise, and has what it takes to make money for all of them> After showing the “muscle” of this person, go on to outline the other key positions within your business; who the persons are you’ve selected to handle those jobs and the sources as well as availability of any help you might need.

If you’ve been in business of any kind scale, the next chapter is a picture of your financial status–a review of your operating costs and income from the business to date. Generally, this is a listing of your profit & loss statements for the six months, plus copies of your business income tax records for each of the previous three years the business has been an entity.

The chapter on the explanation of your plans for the future growth of your business is just that–an explanation of how you plan to keep your business growing–a detailed guide of what you’re going to do, and how you’re going to increase your profits. These plans should show your goals for the coming year, two years, and three years. By breaking your objectives down into annual milestones, your plan will be accepted as more realistic and be more understandable as a part of your ultimate success.

Following this explanation, you’ll need to itemize the projected cost and income figures of your three year plan. I’ll take a lot of research, an undoubtedly a good deal of erasing, but it’s very important that you list these figures based upon thorough investigation. You may have to adjust some of your plans downward, but once you’ve got these two chapters on paper, your whole business plan will fall into line and begin to make sense. You’ll have a precise “map” of where you’re headed, how much it’s going to cost, when you can expect to start making money, and how much.

Now that you know where you’re going, how much it’s going to cost and how long it’s going to be before you begin to recoup your investment, you’re ready to talk about how and where you’re going to get the money to finance your journey. Unless you’re independently wealthy, you’ll want to use this chapter to list the possibilities and alternatives. Make a list of friends you can approach, and perhaps induce to put up some money as silent partners. Make a list of those people you might be able to sell as stockholders in your company–in many cases you can sell up to $300,000 worth of stock on a “private issue” basis without filing papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Check with a corporate or tax attorney in your area for more details. Make a list of relatives and friends that might help you with an outright loan to furnish money for the development of your business.

Then search out and make a list of venture capital organizations. Visit the Small Business Administration office in your area–pick up the loan application papers they have–read them, study them, and even fill them out on a preliminary basis–and finally, check the costs, determine which business publications would be best to advertise in, if you were to advertise for a partner or investor, and write an ad you’d want to use if you did decide to advertise for monetary help.

With listing of all the options available to your needs, all that’s left is the arranging of these options in the order you would want to use them when the time come to ask for money. When you’re researching these money sources, you’ll save time by noting the “contact” deal with when you want money, and whenever possible, by developing a working relationship with these people.

If your documentation section, you should have a credit report on yourself. Use the Yellow Pages or check at the credit department in your bank for the nearest credit reporting office. When you get your credit report, look it over and take whatever steps are necessary to eliminate any negative comments. Once these have been taken care of, ask for a revised copy of your report and include a copy of that in your business plan.

If you own any patents or copyrights, include copies of these. Any licenses to use someone else’s patent or copyright should also be included. If you own the distribution, wholesale or exclusive sales rights to a product, include copies of this documentation. You should also include copies of any leases, special agreements or other legal papers that might be pertinent to your business.

In conclusion, write out a brief, overall summary of your business- when the business was started, the purpose of the business, what makes your business different, how you’re going to gain a profitable share of the market, and your expected success during the coming 5 years..

The last page of your business plan is a “courtesy page” listing the names, addresses and phone numbers of personal and business references–persons who have known you closely for the past five years or longer–and companies or firms you’ve had business or credit dealings with during the past five years.

And, that’s it–your complete business plan. Before you send it out for formal typing, read it over once a day for a week or ten days. Take care of any changes or corrections, and then have it reviewed by an attorney and then, an accountant. It would also be a good idea to have it reviewed by a business consultant serving the business community to which your business will be related. After these reviews, and any last-minute changes you want to make, I’ll be ready for formal typing.

Type and print the entire plan on ordinary white bond paper. Make sure you proof-read it against the original. Check for any corrections and typographical errors–then one more time–read it through for clarity and the perfection you want of it.

Now you’re ready to have it printed and published for whatever use you have planned for it–distribution amongst your partners or stockholders as the business plan for putting together a winning financial proposal, or as a business operating manual.

Take it to a quality printer in your area, and have three copies printed. Don’t settle for photo-copying..Have it printed!

Photo-copying leaves a slight film on the paper, and will detract from the overall professionalism of your business plan, when presented to someone you’re trying to impress. So, after going to all this work to put together properly, go all the way and have it duplicated properly.

Next, stop by a stationery store, variety store or even a dime store, and pick up an ordinary, inexpensive bind-in theme cover for each copy of your business plan. Have the holes punched in the pages of your business report to fit these binders and then slip each copy into a binder of its own.

Now, you can relax, take a break and feel good about yourself..You have a complete and detailed business plan with which to operate a successful business of your own. A plan you can use as a basis for any financing proposal you may want to submit..And a precise road-map for the attainment of real success…

You just complete one of the important steps to fulfill of all your dreams of success.

How A Good Business Plan Sample Can Help You Prepare Your Plan

When it comes to writing a new business plan, there is nothing quite as valuable as having a guide to go by, and having a quality business plan sample at hand will make the task of writing a new business plan a lot easier.

While the exact needs of every business will differ, there are a number of elements that must be part of any type of business plan, and having a business plan sample at hand can help any business owner include these essential elements.

Elements You Will Need To Include In Your Business Plan

Some of the most important elements of any business plan sample will be such things as a current a pro forma balance sheet, a current income statement and an up to date analysis of cash flow.

It is important to look for a business plan sample that includes all of these required elements, and just as important to tailor those elements to the needs of your own business.

Seeking Out A Business Plan That Is Similar To The Type Of Business You Plan To Start

When seeking out a business plan sample it is important to plan carefully and to look at several different business plan samples before deciding on a single one to use.

There are many different kinds of business plan examples available, both in books and magazines tailored to the business world and of course on the internet. It is a good idea to look around carefully until you find the business plan sample that best meets your needs.

Using a business plan sample from the same or a similar industry is a good idea, as is seeking out a business plan sample that matches your own style and needs.

Using The Business Plan Sample As A Guide Line

After you have your business plan sample in hand, it is important to use that business plan sample as a guideline and a starting point.

While having a business plan sample available will make the job of writing a quality business plan a lot easier, it will not replace the hard work necessary in the formation of a business plan.

It is best to think of the business plan sample as a template and a guideline, and to use it to create a business plan that is uniquely suited to your own special area of expertise.

7 Things to Do to Prepare For Your First Sales Call

Whenever you have a sales call scheduled with a new sales prospect – treat it like a golden opportunity.

Because in fact this first sales call, could be a golden opportunity for you. What if your new sales prospect has the potential to become your largest customer.

What would the lifetime value of your largest customer add up to?

Here are seven things you must do before calling on every new sales prospect.

Thing you must do # 1:

Be sure to do your homework and that means making Google your first stop. Do a search on the person’s name, the company name, and the name of their best selling product. You might be surprised with the results you get.

Thing you must do # 2:

Now this is a little thing that can have a big impact. It can create a powerful first impression for you.

Go to an office supply store and buy a dozen red file folders. While you’re at the store buy Avery product #8366 which are white file folder labels. Prepare a label with the name of your new sales prospect.

Imagine your prospect’s reaction to seeing his name on this red file folder. He will immediately consider you professional, organized, successful, and different from most other salespeople he has experienced in the past.

A little thing with a big impact.

Thing you must do # 3:

You must have a written sales call objective for your first sales call. Your written objectives for this sales call can include: to build rapport, establish credibility, to ask 3-5 open-ended questions, to identify one common interest you share, and to secure agreement for your second meeting.

Your written sales call objectives will scream “Professionalism.” By contrast most salespeople arrive like a tourist just taking in the sights – pity the poor sales prospect who must put up with this display of mediocrity.

Thing you must do # 4:

To get the ball rolling, building rapport and establishing credibility, I suggest you prepare and practice 3 – 5 open-ended questions.

Nothing shows your interest more than the questions you ask – so be sure to ask good questions.

You can start with… tell me about your business… what are your responsibilities… in addition to you who else is involved in making decisions for… what are the biggest challenges you’re facing growing your business?

Once again asking these questions will demonstrate your interest and professionalism and differentiate you from most salespeople.

Thing you must do # 5:

If you enjoy playing the telephone tag game you can immediately proceed to # 6. It’s absolutely amazing how many salespeople neglect to secure the meeting time and date for the second meeting.

Once you have qualified your sales prospect as a potential customer don’t forget and never hesitate to ask for the second meeting. Do not attempt improvisation. Prepare and practice how you will ask for the second meeting.

Thing you must do # 6:

This next thing is especially important if you happen to be a serious person. Before you get out of your car check your rearview mirror to make sure you’re smiling.

Trust me, when you’re caught in traffic, running a little late, just ended a telephone call with a disgruntled customer – please don’t think you have a happy face on. Check your mirror to check your smile.

Thing you must do # 7:

Try this affirmation on for size “This will be my best sales call ever to a new sales prospect.”

Right after you check to make sure you’re smiling saying this affirmation fills your mind with positive thoughts and words squeezing out any potential negativity.

You may not realize this but you are in complete control of your thoughts. And of course you know how you think is everything!

There’s a huge difference between self-doubt and self-confidence and both are controlled by your thoughts.

This affirmation creates the perfect mindset for a very successful sales call.

Just try it once and see how much better you feel.

Now you know the 7 things you must do to prepare for your first sales call. Believe it or not you now have a 7-point system for making sales calls on new prospects.

Use this system to make every sales call better than the last one.

Let’s go sell something…

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