Six business proposals win at Startup Weekend

Six business proposals win at Startup Weekend
All eyes will be on a half-dozen winning ideas to see if the entrepreneurs behind those plans can get their businesses started. Innovate Mississippi held Startup Weekend Jackson May 16-18 at Millsaps College. Startup Weekend is an intense 54-hour event …
Read more on Mississippi Business Journal (blog)

W.Va. at climate change crossroads as EPA power plant rules loom
He also instructed the agency to work with other federal and state agencies “to promote the reliable and affordable provision of electric power through the continued development and deployment of cleaner technologies, and by increasing energy …
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Google's Strategy vs. Glass's Potential
When professor Tom Eisenmann first taught his newly released case on Google Glass at Harvard Business School, he asked his students which of three scenarios was most plausible: that Glass would catch on first in the enterprise setting, followed by …
Read more on blogs.hbr.org (blog)

Land development to begin by end of 2014 on Davidson County megapark …

Land development to begin by end of 2014 on Davidson County megapark
Robin Team, left, president of Carolina Investment Properties, talks about the development of a new industrial park while Camey Thomason with Wake Forest Baptist's Lexington Medical Center looks on during the Triad Business Journal's 2014 State of …
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Nutritious, delicious meals made easy
… in 2012, a blog that quickly gained more than 2000 devoted followers, which turned into a business mid-2013. "I turned Nat's Nutritious Delicious into a company and started the process of developing Nat's Nutritious Delicious meal plans," Ms …
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Latest Developing A Business Plan,Blog News

Woman to Know: Sonja Overhiser of 'A Couple Cooks'
But their free time is spent collaborating on recipe development, photographing food and writing blog posts. In 2012, the couple visited Cambodia to … My role models are: In the professional realm, I know many women in business leadership who are …
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Labor organizer mounts challenge to Sacramento Councilman Jay Schenirer
Much of the focus for WayUp in the future will be on creating a medical research zone along Stockton Boulevard, bordering the medical center, Schenirer said. Business consultants and graduate students are helping the organization develop a plan for …
Read more on Modesto Bee

Gautier High School to send off four sets of twins next week with class of 2014
With Gautier High School's developing twin trend, Tolbert joked that he's not sure whether to expect three or six pairs of twins next. While they all … The Nobles, who say they are very close, both plan to attend the University of Southern …
Read more on Mississippi Press (blog)

Why the Tale of 'Doc Holliday's Woman' Remains Unseen
HBO's announcement that they are developing a one-hour series from Ron Howard about Doc Holliday immediately brought up bittersweet memories of the Doc Holliday miniseries my former partner and I had set up at ABC in the late '90's. Following William …
Read more on TheWrap (blog)

Latest Developing A Business Plan,Blog News

An Entrepreneur's Social-Media Plan for Success
For entrepreneurs needing a little help developing their social-media plan, here are a few tips. Be crystal clear on who your target … Social Media Examiner, HubSpot and Buffer each use an outstanding blog with expert content that is so helpful …
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On SoS Field Poll: Maybe It's Not (Just) About Parties
While I would like to think these results are all due to my offering the most complete plan to reform the office, or even because – as KQED's Scott Shafer wrote – I'm “Hollywood handsome in a Clark Kent kind of way,” I have to agree with Joe's …
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New Zealand abolishes patents, and U.S. also gets it wrong

New Zealand abolishes patents, and U.S. also gets it wrong
In talks with a patent attorney, we discussed how patent trolls and big companies with strong legal teams can completely derail a smaller company's business plan. Part of this bullying occurs because the patent system is slow. Patents can take three to …
Read more on Machine Design (blog)

OnSIP has Launched WebRTC Signaling Platform, Available via API
OnSIP has launched the OnSIP Network today, a signaling Platform-as-a-Service (PaaS) that provides API-enabled access to platform infrastructure that can manage WebRTC applications. ProgrammableWeb spoke with John Riordan, CTO of OnSIP prior to …
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What the Papers Say, April 28, 2014
Tatyana Yedovina article headlined "Business fears internal sanctions" looks at a meeting between Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov and foreign businessmen, who are concerned about domestic economic measures more than about pending …. says that the …
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Latest Developing A Business Plan,Blog News

HART names first medical officer, transplants a rat esophogus
HART CEO David Green said in a statement that La Francesca's background “makes him superbly well-qualified to lead the clinical development of the HART-Trachea, and to work with the trachea transplant community to ensure the HART-Trachea meets the …
Read more on Boston Business Journal (blog)

Stratechery goes solo: Ben Thompson on Asia, Apple, and the shifting tides of
Recently, upstart entities like Buzzfeed, Upworthy, and Business Insider have attracted the attention of media watchers for their tendency to appeal to a wide audience, as seen by their mastery of all-things viral. Those websites are … When I started …
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Cheap shale gas fueling boom for chemical industry

Cheap shale gas fueling boom for chemical industry
Thanks to low-cost shale gas, U.S.-based chemical makers will boost output capacity by 30 percent in the next decade, according to IHS Inc. The boost will also help to increase jobs, as chemical manufacturers like Dow Chemical Co. plan to invest …
Read more on Pittsburgh Business Times (blog)

Village working with MLG on another Germantown business park
A proposed 192-acre Germantown business park by MLG Development would get $ 9.5 million in village support for infrastructure work under a plan officials will consider next month. The park would be built on vacant land at Lannon Road and Highway 41/45.
Read more on Milwaukee Business Journal (blog)

SEDCO Holding Group goes dark for Earth Hour 2014
Press Releases. BMTS – Word Trade Centre Development- Abu Dhabi. …. development of the company's business and promotion of its services in the Middle East and North Africa region: inspection and testing of consumer goods, industrial products and …
Read more on AME Info (press release) (blog)

San Antonio craft spirits makers riding wave of momentum

San Antonio craft spirits makers riding wave of momentum
… San Antonio's growing craft spirits industry, read the March 7 print or online editions of the San Antonio Business Journal. W. Scott Bailey covers health care, tourism, sports business, economic development; he also plans and edits some special …
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KISS signs franchise agreement for Kansas, Oklahoma restaurants
Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the rock band KISS announced Thursday that they plan to expand their Rock & Brews restaurant brand into Kansas and Oklahoma and have signed a franchise agreement for five new locations, with the first set to open in May …
Read more on Wichita Business Journal (blog)

ANN ARBOR: Couple leaving town to care for orphans in South Africa
So we will have plenty of help,” he said. “Amy will focus on the child care and educational aspects. I will focus on the administrative, development, and facility management side, and plan to have many left over hours to work with the children and the …
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Co-op's True North heads east (London)
While the society's banking arm has lurched from crisis to crisis, and plans were revealed last week to sell off its farming arm and possibly its pharmacy chain, the food business has been working behind the scenes on its 'True North' strategy to …
Read more on The Grocer (blog)

H-E-B, USAA earn top scores in Temkin consumer survey
Sign Up for the San Antonio Business Journal Afternoon Edition Newsletter. See all newsletters … When it comes to creating a good experience for shoppers, H-E-B is ranked at the top of the list, according to a just-released study by leading customer …
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Developing A Business Plan

Paradoxically, developing a business plan is among the most important steps toward creating your business and establishing its credibility, yet many entrepreneurs seem to ignore researching how to develop one. This affects their credibility, hurts their chances of securing funding, and makes it difficult to keep the business on track.

To develop a business plan, you should first consider what your offering, both as-is and in relation to your customers and competitors. What do you offer customers (that your competitors don’t – and, no, it shouldn’t be some meaningless gimmick)? What obstacles exist in bringing the product to market? You must answer those questions.

As a continuation of that, you should also analyze your market. This means finding out what your customers want and how you can reach them. You must provide information about market size, potential market growth, and delivery plans. This should also provide a marketing strategy with detailed information regarding costs. If you are creating a retail business, you should include information about location, including market demographics.

You also need to consider competition, as well as your strengths and weaknesses over them. Find out how to exploit the competitors’ weaknesses, and cope with their strengths. However, be realistic about your prospects and don’t hide information. You’ll only hurt yourself in the end.

Your business plan must also include information about your planned organizational structure. How many employees? How many managers? How many senior personnel? If you have managers, provide information about their experience. Your plan should provide a detailed picture of who’s in charge. Investors want to know that your managers know the industry and your business’s operational procedure.

You should also provide information about manufacturing procedure, as well as any vendor and distributor relationships needed to get the product ready and delivered to the customers.

Provide financial information, including a three-to-five year historical summary and future projections. Of course, if your company is new, you won’t have a three-to-five year history, so just provide what is available. In addition, you should provide information regarding any potential collateral, which can help you secure funding if the numbers don’t help investors feel confident in your business, but be aware that such collateral will be forfeit if the investors are unsatisfied with your company’s performance.

Finally, you need to provide information about company history and objectives.

With this information, you should be able to develop a successful business plan.

Sean Gallagher is an Internet Entrepreneur helping other with developing a business plan that will allow them to start a successful business. You can visit http://www.StartupFreedom.com to learn how to start your online business!