Business Plan versus Business Planning

If you are considering a home based business, the best place to start is with a business plan. That term scares a lot of people. It conjures up images of a complex huge page that takes months to put together. It doesn't have to be that way when you consider what a business plan really is.

'Business planning' is the action and 'business plan' is the result of your action. That's really all it boils down to. Unless you're planning to show your business plan to investors, it doesn't have to even be formal. A casual document created in Word or PowerPoint will do just fine; whatever tool you are comfortable using to pen your thoughts.

I know someone who created her business plan on audio recording. She did that because she thinks better out loud I guess. Then she just had someone transcribe it for her. So you don't have to get all hung up how you will do your business, just start planning.

Some of the things you should address in a business plan are laying out the resources you have, answering the question of what kinds of problems you will be solving, how you will plan to acquire and retain customer or clients, and what value you bring to the table. If you are starting your home based business while still working at a job, you might also include a section on how you plan to work around your job and how you plan to grow your business to phase out the job.

If you don't know where to start, search the internet for 'business plan template' and see how that jogs your creativity. Whatever you do, don't keep your business plan in your head! It's ok to think in your head, but commit it to a document and you will be surprised at the clarity it gives you.