No matter what type of business you are starting – a brick and mortar or a home based Internet business – you need a business plan in order to be successful. Your business plan will be your essential step-by-step guide to success.
An Internet business plan should include all of the following:
Business Summary
Business Objectives
Marketing Plan
Product Pricing
Payment Processing
Product Delivery
Start-up Cost
Let’s take a look at each aspect of the business plan.
Your Business Summary
The Business Summary essentially sums up what your business is, and your business strategy. It may discuss items that will be further layed out later on in the business plan. Think of it as a Thesis Statement that is longer than one sentence.
Your Business Objectives
You can think of your business objectives as goals for your business. Here, you should describe your products and/or services, and state what it is that you hope to accomplish.
Your Marketing Plan
This is often the longest part of the business plan. In fact, many Internet business owners consider this to be the most important part of their business plan. In this section, you will include other elements of your business plan, including how your products will be advertised, how your product will be priced, information concerning your target market and your competition, how your product will be delivered, and how you will collect payment from your customers.
Most of this is self-explanatory; however, some needs further explanation. For example, you must identify your target market. This means that you will list all of the different groups of people to whom your product or service will most greatly appeal. With this information, you are better able to determine where and how you should advertise.
Identifying your competition is equally as important as identifying your target market. You have to know who the competition is, or you can’t compete. You need to know what they are offering compared with what you are offering. What is it that makes your product or service stand out from theirs?
With the information that you have gained so far in the creation of your Internet business plan, you should list different ways that you plan to advertise.
You will also need to decide on all of the following:
Search Engines and Directories in which you will submit your site
Web sites in which you would like to advertise
Ezines you would like to advertise with
How and where you plan to distribute articles
How and where you plan to distribute press releases
Where you will place pay-per-click ads
And, any other advertising spots or ideas that you may have in mind.
Product Pricing
When you price your products, you have to determine a fair price for the product or service that you are offering, and the price must compete with what your competitors are offering. A good way to determine your price is to visit several other sites that offer products similar to yours. See what they’re offering and how they’ve priced their product. This will give you some idea as to pricing your own product.
However, keep in mind, a cheaper price isn’t always your best option. Many times, you will find that your potential customers will judge the value of your product by the price. If you price your product too low, your potential customers may think your product isn’t very good. This is where the old adage “you get what you pay for’ comes into play. Keep that in mind when pricing your products.
Payment Processing
The more payment options that you can offer your potential customers, the more sales you’ll make. You will need to have the ability to accept credit cards, checks, and even money orders. If you don’t have your own merchant account, you will need to use a third party payment processor, such as PayPal or ClickBank.
Product Delivery
You will also need to determine how your product will be delivered to your customer. If you have a digital product, you can set up a download page for your customers to download your product upon completing their purchase. If you have a physical product, you will need to decide how you will ship it to your customers.
Start-up Costs / Investing in Your Business
You will need to decide how much money you’re going to need to start up your business and how much of your profits you will re-invest.
It doesn’t matter if you’re starting an Internet, or a brick and mortar business, there will always be a cost to get it going. However, starting an Internet business will be much less expensive. If you can’t save enough money to get started, you may need to put it on a credit card or even get a loan.
If you are unwilling to invest in your business, you’re setting yourself up for failure before you even get started.
Although this is a very basic guide to writing an Internet business plan and is far from complete, it will give you a basic idea of where to start. For further information, visit the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Although developing a business plan will take a little time, it will be well-worth your time and effort, as it will be your road map to success.
