Legitimate Home Based Businesses

Archive for October, 2010

Question: Should I write a business plan if revenues will no be in the thousands?

I am a start-up business baking pastries and cakes in my home. I have seen sample business plans and my business does not have a projected revenue yet. I am told by others write a business plan. All of the plans I have seen have large financial projections.

Answer: You will need a business plan if you will use it to:

- Support a loan application
- Raise equity funding
- Define objectives and describe programs to achieve those objectives
- Create a regular business review and course correction process
- Define a new business
- Define agreements between partners
- Set a value on a business for sale or legal purposes
- Evaluate a new product line, promotion, or expansion

You will get a lot of advice that a business plan is needed.

However, what you need is the process that a business plan entails -- that is, the process of thinking through the business.
It will help if you follow the outline of a business plan -- e.g. defining your business, determining your unique selling proposition, identifying your target market, determining how you will market the business, knowing how much you need to launch the business successfully.

If you will not use it to apply for a loan or find an investor, you need not write your business plan.

There was an article from the Wall Street Journal that questioned whether a startup really needs to write a business plan and this is one of the studies they found http://startup.wsj.com/columnists/enterprise/20070110-spors.html

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A study recently released by Babson College analyzed 116 businesses started by alumni who graduated between 1985 and 2003. Comparing success measures such as annual revenue, employee numbers and net income, the study found no statistical difference in success between those businesses started with formal written plans and those without them. The study concludes that "unless you need to raise external start-up capital from institutional sources or business angels, you do not need to write a formal business plan."
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You don't need a written formal business plan to succeed. However, you need to understand your business and know how to navigate the market in order to succeed

Paths to Profit: Unlimited Income, Learning from Successful Entrepreneurs

Question: i am an individual having huge loans in uae. now im completly bankrupt, but i want to repay:? pls advice?

i have loans amounting to 450,000 in dubai through various credit cards and personal loans. recently i suffered huge losses in some business in my home country. i am employed in dubai and my monthly salary is Dhs8000/- but my monthly emi's comes to around 18,000/-. kindly if someone can advice if it is possible for banks to reduce amount of montly emi's so that i can repay them. pls advice. thanks.

Answer: This is a question for an attorney. Also it might help to contact each of your creditors personally, in person or by mail (no email). Contact a senior loan officer, if possible, explain your case and tell them that you want to repay your debts. Ask if they are willing to work with you on a repayment plan. Since you are employed and making payments, they might be willing to do this rather than having to write off your debt as a loss. But first contact an attorney who specializes in bankruptcy law or financial law, etc., or a certified credit counselor.

How to start a "legal Home Business" in DUBAI

Question: How can I find and do business with good, legitimate, manufacturer, Distributors or wholesalers?

I am interested in buying and selling fashion items mainly lingerie/sexy intimate wear, clothing for young women and perhaps giftwear. When I'm ready to start buying the products my budget will be a few thousand dollars to buy products, then I can sell and re-buy. I have searched online and found an endless number of people posing as wholesalers, when their prices are much too high to be wholesalers. I don't want to charge my customers too much, but I also want to make a profit. I also am willing to go to trade shows, but the best ones are in New York and internationally. I don't have the tools to do that kind of traveling (mainly financial). Any ideas?

Answer: go to http://www.toptenwholesale.com

They give you free access to their entire database of wholesale suppliers.

How To Find A Legitimate Home Based Business?