The point in the distance that you need to focus on is the need your audience has and the solution you have that will fill it. A business plan will be a blueprint for your success and allow you to grow in the right direction and to meet the ambitious goals that you set for yourself. It requires you to understand your audience – who they are, what they need and what concerns stand in the way of them choosing your solution. Its way too easy for us to focus on details, namely, on the latest traffic building tips or tools, the latest bells and whistles we can add to our site. Details are usually driven by facts, and facts are something we feel we can learn and control. Understanding the people who make up our pool of potential customers is a lot scarier. It requires us to step outside ourselves into the hearts and minds of other people.

Business plan financial projections seem daunting because they are so uncertain. Given the choice between dealing with predictable facts and details, or dealing with unpredictable human nature, most of us will jump at dealing with facts any time. But that just gets us stuck staring at our own feet as our feet inexplicably slip off the track. The only way to stay on track is by looking toward your ultimate goal: you helping people solve some problem in return for them repaying you fairly for the time and effort you put into it.

Another common misconception is that start up business plans are only needed if you are going to raise capital through pubic share offerings, taking on private investors, or looking for angel investors. The fact is, there are a tremendous number of benefits to putting together a simple start up business plan regardless of the type of business you intend to launch.Even if the start up business plan will only be read by you or your spouse, the benefits are undeniable.  The things you will learn about your business by going through the process of writing a start up business plan far outweigh the time you will spend writing it.

The Benefits of a Start Up Business Plan

Motivation:  your start up business plan can help you get back on track with your original business concept giving you wisdom and guidance. It helps you see your original vision.

Planning:  your start up business plan is a map showing where you are today and where you want to end up. Following it gives you confidence that you know where you’re going.

Analysis:  your start up business plan helps you to think about things you wouldn’t normally consider. It forces you to analyze the relationships among different parts of your business. How sales ties together with lead generation, how that ties into services, delivery, profit margins, cash flow forecasting, etc…

Strategy:  your start up business plan highlights the relationship between your business and the local competitive marketplace. By writing it you will have tapped into the primary sources of information about the competition; sources that will be invaluable in the future.

The Bottom Line On Start Up Business Plans

Having a start up business plan is extremely valuable. The process of researching and compiling the information about your business provides motivational, organizational, analytical, and strategic advantages.  These advantages will continue to accrue long after your start up business plan is written.

While I understand he was attempting to look out for my best interest, I felt cheated. He was not even going to give me the opportunity to fail. On some level, everyone that goes into business for themselves understand that chances are, the business will not make it past it’s first year, and I was no different. The only thing was I had faith in myself that I would not give up trying. The loan processor took that as I would spend my life savings before giving up, and he did not want to see me financially ruin myself.So what did I do? I set out on the adventure on my own, only using the limited resources and financial backing that I had. I bought second hand office supplies and furniture. I bought the small cheap laptop instead of the multi-thousand dollar computer specifically designed for what I would be doing. Without the proper money for advertising, I had to get creative. My advertising methods were unconventional, but they worked. I found that I did not need large amounts of money in order to get my business to the world.

So would I have been so successful had the loan processor gave me the business loan I asked for? I am not sure, because after all, I made it without the money, what would have happened if I would have had the proper money for advertising? Whatever the case may have been, I am glad he did not, because I am not better able to understand the limited resources that many small businesses face.

So how can you run your business on limited resources? Here are a few things that I learned along the way.

1) New vs. Used- When starting your business, you do not need everything to be “new.” Second hand items cost substantially less then new items, and work just as well. Plus, if you think about it, customers will be more comfortable around your office if it feels “broke-in”, rather then new and sterile. It gives them the feeling that you have been in business awhile.

2) Creative Advertising- You does not need the hundreds of dollars that it takes to place ads in papers or put commercials on TV.  It costs very little to design and print you own flyers and put them in places where your potential clients would gather. Turn your vehicle into a moving billboard by investing in a vinyl signage for your doors or windows. What is the best thing? Face to Face meetings with your potential clients do not cost a penny, so look for every opportunity to talk with our potential clients.

3) Work At Home- Depending on your type of business, you may consider working at home rather then renting office space. This will save you a lot of money on rent and furnishing an office. Once your business becomes more successful, then you can always rent office space later.

Overall, be thankful for the struggles that you go through now, because in the future, they will have been well worth it. Plus, it will give you a better understanding when it comes to other small businesses.

And, no matter what, never give up on yourself.