Day 2: Just Do It!

Written 8/8/12

Today I woke up and wanted to bury my head under the covers and stay there. Some how I rallied my spirits and said, "I can do this! I can start my own business, one day at a time, one step at a time." Now mind you I have a history of entrepreneurial ideas that have led nowhere but this time it feels different, it feels real, like the universe is whispering, "It is time!" Actually, more like yelling, "WHITNEY, IT IS TIME, STOP WAITING, YOU ARE READY FOR THIS!" All arrows point to this, all signs say yes.

I'm not coming out of the gate naive or inexperienced. Starting my own photography business is not out of left field. Actually I've been making money taking photos since I was 15 years old, when my high school photography teacher said to me, "Whitney, you're really good at this,  you have an incredible eye and talent, you could make money off of your gift." That was 13 years ago and I never put my camera down. Over the years I have been professionally paid to photograph weddings, portraits and events but that was sporadically; now I'm looking to create something, building something that is meaningful. I want to building a company that believes in happiness, a place where people want to work, where customers feel special and where I profit with easy and positive results.

My aim: To own a profitable photography studio that takes personalized and stylized portraits of people; a place that is magical, playful, creative and free spirited. I want to bring in $350,000 and have three employees by the end of September 2013. *Ambitious, I know, but aim high and see how close you can get is my policy.* Long term goal, have 3 locations in NYC and franchise out, roll over the profits into a movie production company.

My next task: Write up a solid business plan!

Business Planning 101

Resources I Used: 

http://www.sba.gov/content/business-plan-executive-summary

http://www.sba.gov/content/templates-writing-business-plan

http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/guest-blogs/industry-word/6-easy-steps-simple-practical-business-plan

6 Easy Steps to a Simple Practical Business Plan

by Tim Berry, Guest Blogger

Share:

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on linkedin

2 comments

So you wonder whether you want a business plan for your business. You've heard that business plans are about raising money, perhaps, and it sounds like it might be hard to do. You don't have that MBA degree or CPA certification. So thank goodness, you don't need it. What a relief.

Here's my suggestion:

1. Take some time to think about your business strategy. Think about what's unique about you, what you do best, and what you like to do. Think about what others want you do do. Then think about whom you want to sell to and what types of people. And apply strategic focus; think about what you're not doing. Remember, you can't do everything. Strategy is focus. Write it down, for yourself, as simple bullet points. Do just enough to help you remember. Leave it on your computer.
2. Promise yourself you're going to have a review every month. Set the day for the review ahead of time.
3. List your important assumptions.
4. List important dates and deadlines; what is supposed to happen when. Consider your strategy as the long-term goals and directions, and these are steps to make that happen. Make a list you can manage, short and sweet, of key dates. Make sure you know who is responsible for each deadline.
5. Do a sales forecast. Break it down into some meaningful units, even if they're like hours or days or trips for a service business, and average price and average cost per unit. Do it for 12 months.
6. Do an expense budget. Include payroll, and include your own value, even if you're just taking a draw on profits.

Now that didn't take long, did it? Now you have a business plan. Be true to your promise to yourself and keep the schedule to review planned vs. actual results every month, and then you have a planning process.

And suddenly, without that much effort, you're managing your business better and controlling your own destiny. And see: it wasn't that hard.

From: http://www.sba.gov/community/blogs/guest-blogs/industry-word/6-easy-steps-simple-practical-business-plan

Writtien by Founder and Chairman of Palo Alto Software and bplans.com, on twitter as Timberry, blogging at timberry.bplans.com. Stanford MBA. Married 42 years, father of 5. Author of business plan software Business Plan Pro and www.liveplan.com and books including The Plan As You Go Business Plan, published by Entrepreneur Press, 2008.