Entrepreneurial Business Plan The Down And Dirty Way. The Benefits of Keeping A Journal.
Does the idea of running your own business sound exciting? Do you have a business up and running and want to take it to the next level?
After coaching hundreds of entrepreneurs at various stages of their evolution, I've found that the answers to these 5 questions can make or break any endeavor. Of course there are lots of other areas that must be addressed, however these will get you moving in the right direction quickly.
Shhh, don't tell anyone. Once you have these answers, you've created a basic and relatively painless (dare I say it?) Down and Dirty Business Plan(tm).
Are you ready? Go for it!
1. What problem do you solve?
You MUST begin here. If you don't know what problem you solve, you don't have a snowball's chance. What real need do your potential customers/clients have that isn't be fully addressed yet? Where's their pain?
2. For whom do you solve it? or What is your niche?
In today's economy, the best (many say the only) way to market your goods or services is to be very specific about targeting your potential customers. You can locate them, they can find you, and others can refer to you. This is scary for most entrepreneurs because it means saying "No" to some people. Let it go. It works!
3. Who's your competition?
It's time to become a stealth researcher. Who else is doing anything like what you're doing? What's their niche? How do they market? What do they charge? How long have they been in business? How are they unique?
4. How will you market your business?
Study your competition. What's working for them? Model their success. Improve it. Think outside the box. Where does your niche hang out? Will you network, place ads in local papers, or do some PR? How about using Google pay per clicks?
5. Why you?
Why will your potential customers go to you instead of the competition? What makes you uniquely qualified to solve their problem(s)? Is there a specific solution you have that they don't? Can you be more cost effective and/or efficient? Is your service unparalleled? If you don't know why they'd choose you, your market won't know why either!
So there you have it - your Down and Dirty Business Plan(tm). Feel free to revisit your answers and tweak them as you take in new information and experiences.
Take care of business and remember to have fun! Suz
Since 1992, Suzan Fiskin has loved being a Master Coach for ADD-ish entrepreneurs (and most entrepreneurs are ADD-ish!) as well as a motivational speaker http://www.motivationalspeaker.com She served on the Boards of the Forum of Women Entrepreneurs, Association of Women in Technology and the Professional Coaches and Mentors Association. She has a free online assessment, bi-weekly teleconference calls and a number of other resources for ADD-ish entrepreneurs on her website http://www.ADD-ish.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
Keeping a journal
has many advantages and benefits. Whether you write a few lines or pages, through journaling, you can record and track a lot of information that can be easily retained for future reference. You can actually see what you were thinking because your thoughts and experiences are in a journal. When you commit to writing them down, you have put your thoughts and experiences into a solid form. Below are some examples of the benefits of keeping a journal.
Reduces stress - Journaling has a proven benefit of reducing stress. Once you've journaled, you don't carry as much of what you have written about within you. It is on the paper or in the computer. By journaling, you give yourself a powerful form of self-expression, and through that expression you can gain clarity, release, and relief.
Setting goals and resolutions - You can actually see and better understand what you want, what is important to you, and how you feel, through journaling. Then you can create goals and resolutions to support what you are thinking and writing about.
Organizes - Journaling your goals and what you want to accomplish for the day, the month, the year, or a lifetime, is an excellent tool to help you get those things done. You can create a personal checklist of "things to do."
Helps focus - Writing in a journal creates more personal awareness, and therefore more focus on the issues that are important to you.
The routine and habit of journaling means making time for you - When you set aside time for yourself, you can feel the benefit and gain from doing something specifically for yourself. It can show up in other areas of your life as you carry that time you have spent on yourself within you, and everywhere you go.
Start your journal on any day of the year - Journaling is something you can start today, stop tomorrow, and pick up again next year. You can start and stop as you want. You can skip a day. It is your journal.
Journal entries record the day, tracking your life - When keeping a journal, you record your experiences, dreams, ideas, desires, thoughts and more, for reflecting on now, and in the future. You are telling your story to yourself.
Can better understand and accept yourself and others - Whether you re-read your journal or not, you can gain benefits from writing down your story, and your thoughts. You are writing about how you see and experience life.
You can compare and explore the times of your life - Awareness of the past can teach and support your future.
Creates a good personal reminder - As you journal the times of your life, if you are still writing about the same things over and over, it can help support your idea of what is working in your life and what is not. You are creating a record, and with that record in hand it is easier to see patterns, changes, and shifts. You can always ask yourself, "What do I want to carry with me?"
Provides personal growth and freedom - Journaling can be a wonderful tool to help better understand yourself and the world that surrounds you.
Becomes a treasured keepsake, a written scrapbook - A journal is a catalog of your memories. Over time, your memories become an irreplaceable treasure that can be looked at years from now, by you, or, if you wish, by others.
Records and tracks business, personal or financial information -There are many ways to benefit from journaling, because there are many ways to keep a journal. A business journal can track appointments, meetings, finances, or log data. A personal journal can be about dreams, family, health, diets, hobbies, travel, or any other topic you want to record and track.
Journals are great gifts for friends, family or to give yourself - You can give the benefits of journaling to a friend, or to yourself. With the benefits of journaling in mind, and the insights and power it can give to someone else or to YOU, consider journaling. If you never journaled, consider starting. If you have journaled, but have quit, consider starting a journal again.
Remember - write it down, get it out. There is power in the expression of writing.
Doreene Clement, a cancer victor and author of The 5 Year Journal, is currently writing a new book, Blessed, about her life and her cancer experience. For more information http://www.the5yearjournal.com
info@the5yearjournal.com
480.423.8095
Copyright 2003 Doreene Clement All Rights Reserved
Feel free to pass this along to your friends. If you want to see my column, About Journaling, subscribe at http://www.the5yearjournal.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/
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