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traditional or lean?
i vote naked business plan
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@yyzed Good suggestion to try here on the site lol
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Depends on if you need funding or not
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Depends on how well you are financed, what your resources are and what your time table looks like to start making profits from the business.
Know your market and know your numbers inside-out, and you should be ok.
Expect frustration as you start, but don’t be afraid of changes (you control) for your plan.
My lumber company back east turned into a shipping company when we had to get our own transport, and that lead to overseas/international projects, and that lead to contracts with major corporations.
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@ultimatejohn We're still debating on if we're going to approach starting our business that way. We actually have two business ideas. One requires little to nothing to start and one may require additional funding outside of what we're able to fund. We're listing out the pros and cons.
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SBA has some great funding, you should check it out!
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@sherkahn Thank you for the insightful comment back. I was actually starting the Traditional Business Plan when my friend said I should do the lean business plan instead. I do like the fact that when you start out the traditional way it's much more thorough obviously. The amount of research intake I've mentally processed is truly benefiting. Typing out the Industry Overview was very exciting for me. I geeked out a bit. 
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@ultimatejohn Oooooh we're definitely going to check it out and do some research on it. Thanks for the suggestion love.
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Very important.
Learn to discipline your time, and keep work and work and make personal time for yourself. Do not burn out.
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If possible, try to test the business concept with the least amount of money invested first. Only make large investments after you know the concept is viable.
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As was stated above, the only reason you need a well written business plan is if you are seeking some type of funding. What type of plan you write depends on the funding you are seeking. Venture Capitalists want to see certain features of the plan, banks want to see income and projections, friends and family will not read it.
Of your two choices I would go with the one that requires little to no funding. Still it is a good idea to have a business plan but since you do not require funding there is no requirement to polish it. A general outline will help with considering all the variables and help to keep you on track.
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Many great comments here. I would just recommend that you move quickly with preparing and completing the business plan so you can get your service/product to the market asap.
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if possible start your business as a side hustle - once it takes off, be prepared to work your ass off for a while.
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If you need to set up an LLC, Corporation, or S-Corp it is super simple through IncFile and you can incorporate in Wyoming for far far less that in California.
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It depends on the specific goals and circumstances of the business. A traditional business plan is comprehensive and used for securing funding, while a lean plan is simplified and focuses on early validation and flexibility. Choose based on your goals and needs.
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(Post Covid) SBA won't help you unless you can show your last two years of profit, and most major banks won't even take an application. Right now, you need show capital and look for a smaller bank that will offer projection loans. If you or your partners have any retirement account or investments, people forget you can apply for a secure loan against the assets. Also, smaller banks are still offer home Equity Lines when the larger banks are completely avoiding them.
https://www.sba.gov/funding-programs
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@sherkahn Time management is something we definitely have to work on. Luna and I are both perfectionist so I know we tend to lose track of time.
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@mildlyamusing1 We think we might just try both? Do you think that’s overly ambitious? Or should we just go for it?
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@hornytoad Thanks for your input love.♥ We are very open to trying both. We do have the time right now to try out the business that requires little to no funding so we’ll start off with it first.
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@sondermoments That’s what we figure. The process alone is so fun and motivating. Why not create the traditional business plan? It will be a great exercise like you said. ♥ We are both big believers in the Law of Attraction so steps like this - make us feel like we’re getting closer to what we’re trying to achieve. I do tend to go a little overboard with planning though so I’ll try not to because like you said Nothing Ever Goes As Planned. Thank you so much for your time love.
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@frankiegaf We agree with you love. To be honest, all last year we kept saying we're gonna do this and I think all in all we were very intimidated by the idea of starting a business. Now, a year has passed and we still really want to start the same businesses. So we don't want to waste time. We just need to go for it.
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@lapierre Oh love.. we're ready to just go all in when we do. We like to work "hard" if you know what i mean  lol now I'm just being silly.
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Id definitely go with the route to start with little to no funding if you were to start something today or this year.
The business plan is just for your own mental excercise...or what others have said...is needed to request money. Consider it as your marketing pamphlet to people with money. Banks/VCs.
Economy is not in a healthy place, liquidity is continuously being sucked out. Tread with caution on any large projects.
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I have been a business owner for the last 23 years I have learned the only time you can secure funding is when you have money or collateral (i.e. property, cars etc). Outstanding credit helps but you are limited in the amounts they will approve. My advise is dig deep start saving every penny you can no splurging on anything buy cheap food, eat in, buy only necessities and save save save...
Put together a solid business plan outlining your structure and potential growth. Approach SBA look for loans that are structured toward minorities, woman, college grad, whatever you fit into. If you have money saved and can show proof of it and credit is solid. You have a better shot at getting your loan.... Good luck
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As people mentioned above, you need a written business plan.
And yeah, you can't disclose much here.
I would suggest if you are starting out & need help writing a business plan for FREE check out:
Service Core of Retired Executives.
www.score.org
In addition to that, the Small Business Development Centers -
https://americassbdc.org/
A nit pick of prior comment, SBA does NOT fund, they "guarantee" is an insurance policy to YOUR bank. They charge your bank a fee & your bank isn't fully covered - they retain risk.
Bottom line, first go to SCORE to get the business plan running.
concurrently work with the SBDC to get your financial statements in order - balance sheet/ profit & loss.
THEN find a good SMALL bank.
NOT the big BofA, JPMorgan - find a credit union, regional bank (uner a billion in assets).
What people won't tell you is unless you can help your bank make money, they won't help YOU make money.
Oh, and if your business is viable, be willing to give up a large percentage to equity/ angel investors if you go that route.
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Call me 949-744-6262
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A business plan is always a good to keep you focused and on track. It cant hurt you to have a business plan. I will only help you.
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@bango You make a good point. So much to consider... The economy is Not in a healthy place. You're right. *getting a little worried now*
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@mxracer This is great advice. We've been talking about waiting just a little bit more until we're financially ready to approach anyone in regards to funding. Thank you love.
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No matter what happens... pay yourself a good wage; to show on your 1040s.
You don't know how many "business owners" I've talked to this past tax season that brag about their business deductions and losses, but can't get credit/loans because they self reported pennies on the dollar or deducted/wrote-off-losses.
At the end of the day... only your gross income on your 1040 or W-2 matter.
Or, get really good at planing ahead, so you can have a 2-year ramp up on your 1040 before you make a big purchase, like a house etc.
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Allow for contingencies for everything taking longer, costing more and being harder than you expect. Be aware of the "the planning fallacy" but don't let it stop you pursuing your dreams. Hard work and a little luck can go a long way but, as others have said, timing is also important so make sure you're ready before committing.
Good luck!
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I deal mostly with southeast Asian/mainland China/Hong Kong/Taiwan/Macao investors, factories and vendors. Forget some fancy business plan simple or traditional. They want to see liability insurance coverage, and audited income statements/profit/loss statements
They want to see if you can sustain your business during tough financial times and how you will remain viable when cash flow is an issue. What is your credit line? What is the interest you are paying on that credit line? What is your business and personal bank credit card debt? What is the interest rate?
If you are going in on a start up with no debt and a lot of assets, someone at some point will ask you where you got that money. Maybe the IRS will have some questions so keep track of every dollar you earn and every dollar you spend. Trust me, someone eventually will ask you about that.
Your business plan is to protect yourself from the government asking you questions that you can't answer or account for.
If you are smart and follow the rules you will succeed.
FYI the number one business killer in California is Workers Comp Insurance and the one thing that sill surely kill your business in California is the EDD - Employer Development Department.
If you declare employee payroll taxes on folks you paid salary to, they will sniff you out and the fines they impose are business killers.
Also, avoid setting up your business in LA County. They have a gross receipts tax and will add another tax on whatever your gross income was.
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| There are 32 comments on this blog. |
