Business Plan

dark knight

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Guys:

New to the forum ....dropping by to say hi. I'm in the process of looking at starting up on my own after 10 years 1st/2nd line and Citrix support and based in the UK........Any way before your eyes start glassing over I'll get to the point...

1. Did any one write a full business plan before starting and or just play it by ear and guestimate as you went along

2.Just would like you opinions on my homepage design pluses, minuses etc...I have started the frontpage and would like your professional opinons.

Any help is appreciated ....Sorry i may have put this in the wrong forum
 
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I wrote up a semi-full business plan, with demographic research, competitor's pricing, services offered by competitor's, a sales projection/estimate.
It wasn't complete because I didn't full research some of the information. I was initially going to have another person involved in the company, but he backed out during the initial planning stages due to his other business dealings. I was confident enough that after my initial research and own planning, I jumped right in.

As far as the website, it's a beautiful site and really says "Professional" to me. I'd like to see the finished product.
 
I would say a business plan is not necessary but can really help you out. A B.plan is always ongoing. What I did and as a suggestion is any time you have go ahead and start working on one. You don't have to have it finished but you should at least work on it when you have time. Start out working on a section at a time and go from there. Mine is probably 85% complete. I always am working on it when I "Remember" to. I have learned a lot about the industry just working on it and it also helps me spark new ideas and implement them even if I don't fully get it down on the plan.

So just take what ever time you ahve and work on it. Just have a basic plan in your head before you start.

e.g. what will I need to do what I want in this business. (cash, equiptment, b.cards etc.)

what will happen if it does not start of as planned. (backup plan to cover expenses, rent, utilities etc.)

How will you advertise and market.

How will you charge, list of services.

Get this basic stuff down and you should be alright.


I am about 5 months into my company so I am still new and still fresh with what I have went through and what has worked and not so if you have any specific questions let me know. This forum has a lot of knowledgeable people so the information here is invaluable imho.

Also check out the bussiness kit technibble offers here. It is really a great value and even though I dont really use it. Just seeing the documents and how they are written up helped me tremensously in vreating my own. It really is a good insigt in the forms you will need. I thought I knew all the forms I would need but after purchasing this kit I have seen a lot I never thought of that I have to use all the time and the kit was well worth the money to have working examples to see and use.
here is the link to the kit.
http://www.technibble.com/products/computer-business-kit/
 
I would say a business plan is not necessary but can really help you out. A B.plan is always ongoing.

This, in my opinion, is VERY good advice. It helps to have a business plan at least partially formed so that you can refer back to it, make updates, and have an idea of where you want the company to go.
Additionally, if you grow extremely quickly, it helps others have an understanding of what your company is about.
 
They are very good on gas, affordable price, and dependable. What else could you ask for? Well good image! but I think people are starting to realize that a car for work is just that a work vehicle if it can get the work done you need then who cares what it looks like. I owned a scion but not for my company car. I was commuting 50 miles to work and was having a $500 dollar gas bill so I instead decided to invest that gas money into a brand new car. This way I had something to show for and not for any more money then I was already paying.
 
My initial business planning was devoted to demographics and competition but it involves much more. I never really did a formal business plan. Instead I focused on acquiring and keeping customers. That should be your first and foremost objective since that is what will keep you in business.

1) How do I expect to find new customers?
2) How much will each customer cost?
3) How much profit can I make per customer initially? Down the road?
4) How do I keep customers I have acquired?
5) How do I charge for my work? Is that palatable to my customers?
6) How are my PC skills?
(you have to really read deep between those lines - and see below)

My first 2 years my advertising costs were high. Now they are not. This is because once I figured out how to get a customer - I then devised a way to keep them (generally speaking).

Truth is some customers you see once or rarely see but some customers you get to know very well because you see them all the time. You become a part of their team. They rely on you and you rely on them. You have to figure out what it takes to keep that relationship alive because that is where your core income comes from.

The rest of your income comes from other peripheral jobs. Those are very important to you too. You have to figure out how to attract that business and rapidly dispense of it while making them happy. You won't see them again for a long time (if ever) but that income is very important to you. Another reason you have to manage those short and fast relationships very well is because you will get referrals from them. Do not treat them poorly because you know you won't see them again.

Here is my business plan (how to glue all the above together):
It all boils down to me. How are my interpersonal skills? Do I have nice teeth? Do I smile a lot? Do I smell good? How do I look? Am I funny (but not politically incorrect)? How does my voice sound when I talk?

Most importantly: am I an introvert? or an extrovert. I have to be frank. If I'm an introvert I will NOT make it in this business. A lot of us "geeks" are introverts and thus the death rate is high in this business. I must be able to walk out my front door, walk into homes and businesses and handle myself AND my customers very well. Otherwise I'm just another technician they will hate to write a check to. I cannot have that if I want low cost-to-acquire customers.

I must have a polished, repeatable approach to dealing with people in order to guide each session to a closed, profitable invoice. Period. That's the business plan I follow. It works.
 
BTW ... you're web site does look very good! :D That is also very important but is a given (as are your PC repair skills). I listed things above that are not a "given"
 
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Echoing everyone else. Business plan is always a work in process. Not an absolute requirement (i never got around to it... my bad). But I gave lots of thought and scribbled lots of notes. Need to compile at some point into a plan. Prior to salle or financing, I will make sure to have it all on paper.
Also, your site looks very good. Really impressive.
You've got half the battle, that is, you have a nice site. Now to get people to the site. Might I suggest that you contact gabriel@clocktowermedia.com to handle your SEO and SEM campaigns. So far, I haven't relied on my site to do much but look nice. I've had enough organic growth that I haven't worried so much about advertising/marketing. But at some point I will optimize my site and launch a campaign.

Oh, and as far as the little cars go - I'm getting a smart car in the next 6 months for my business. Just to turn heads and get good gas mileage.
 
Oh I forgot to make my comment on the whole business plan bit anyhow yeah I don't think you can ever finish one. It seems to be that by the time you think your done you found something you want to change. So get it to the point you can get your feet off the ground and start rollin with it.

Those cars aren't bad but it just seems like I see it everywhere now. Someone mentioned a scion those things are just too ugly in my opinion. I would rather have a diesel that gets 10 miles to the gallon. I am mostly about function over form but I do have my limits I could never try a pt cruiser or scion no matter how good or bad they may function.
 
Guys:

Thanks for the response , it's nice to see others who have taken the plunge and opted to work for themselves...Its very scary not punching that 9-5 clock...So hats off to all of you

I will definitely start looking at putting together an ongoing business plan ....Like most of you guys said its a continuous work in progress...but does give you something to aim for initially ...which is good

@ 14049752 - Thanks fr the comments on the site ....its still a few pages short but coming together nicely...I've done most of the graphic work but will need a coder to turn it into a web pages...so if anybody knows a good and reasonably priced one let me know

@GeneralJ - I was looking at purchasing the Computer Kit ...But wandered if was relevant to the UK?...And thanks for the advice

@Wheelie - If you don't mind I think I'll take up some of the advice you have given..I like the way you approached the plan...also agree that techs can be introverted, I think customer service and personal skill s are just as important as the tech skills.

@hawks5999 - Having looked at some of your previous posts , I like the way you have approached your business and have to say I think my business is closes to yours more than any else on the board so far I have read...I'm leaning more to support side of the business rather just PC repair...which is where I think my skill set fits best...I'm also looking options for white label or even brand reseller for managed services...I have posted a few links below hope they come in useful as it was something I saw you researching on a previous post

mobilizesmb.com

mspmentor.net

externalit.com... and one more thing hawk being in Seattle the home of Microsoft and a ton of tech company's competition must be fierce where did you find your niche?

@Blues - Agree to a extent these cars can start getting=g annoying but provide a really good way to advertise as well as having a car for work

Any way that's enough of me rambling on..and thanks again guys
 
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I've done most of the graphic work but will need a coder to turn it into a web pages...so if anybody knows a good and reasonably priced one let me know

The contact info for gabriel@clocktowermedia.com would be relevant here, or the presidnet timmushen@clocktowermeida.com

I'm also looking options for white label or even brand reseller for managed services...

White Label/Branded opportunities:
http://exchangedefender.com and http://ownwebnow.com
http://securemycompany.com - hosted Kaseya. I'm using this for now and it allows for rebranding the agent icon, the service name, the add/remove agent name. Beyond that, the client doesn't see anything.

and one more thing hawk being in Seattle the home of Microsoft and a ton of tech company's competition must be fierce where did you find your niche?
There are something like 500,000 small business registered in the state of Washington. It's a big pool to swim in. Lots of room and lots of attrition in the space. So, every "competitor" out there is a good lead for potential future business. Several guys just get sick of all the hassles and cashflow uncertainty of being your own company. So they go back to work (probably back to Microsoft) or take a position in IT in one of the bigger companies (Boeing, Amazon, Starbuck's, WaMu, any number of large hospitals). Also, I'm finding that a lot of guys in this space just don't approach it like a business and so their message, methodology, etc. makes them less competition and more like a foil.
What has helped me in the first 4 months to get my business really off the ground has been my BNI group and prayer. YMMV with BNI, but it's been a great source of business for me.
 
Most resellers and IT Professionals get stuck on the business plan, but in most cases they simply don't need one. A business plan is excercise to formalize a business concept and to share the vision with others.

If you are a 1 or 2 person provider, do you really need to share your vision? Aren't you both on the same page?

What most providers want, need and don't have is an Master Operations Manual (MOM). MOMs are what you expect to receive when you purchase a franchise.

The difference is between a biz plan and MOM? A biz plan is 'what' you do and the MOM is 'how' you do it.

I would create flowcharts for the following:

* What is the sales process for my product/services?
* What is the services delivery process for my product/services?
* What is the billiing process for my product/services?

These are small questions with lots of supporting documents.
 
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