What's my best bet for getting all the information I need for a simple business plan?
I have someone who is interested in one of my ideas. They want me to find out about what I’ll need to get the ball rolling, and what the outlook is like for the business in the area if I’d be starting small.
They were even ok with me asking businesses and doing my own homework about how the market is looking, but I want to try to put something with just a tad more effort than my own sleuthing skills.
Any advice you’d like to share could probably change my life. I’ve read up on business plans, and I understand what it means to put one together. Now it’s down to demographics, and the PITCH! Hmph…
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7 Answers
Best way is get a business plan and change it to fit your business, of course you will have to do the demographics to fit your business and target audience.
I don’t really understand what you’re looking for. Is this about a business plan? It seems like you are down with that. Is it about marketing and market research? If so, then you can find plenty of information about that in the same place you found the business plan info.
Just in case it’s about market research, here’s a little run down.
Identify who the customers are for this product. Gather a few together for a focus group. Find out what they want in such a product and how far they will go (in distance and in research) to get one. Find out how they want to purchase the thing. Then, very important, find out who they are: race, education, income, interests, and how they got into whatever it is that motivates them to want the thing.
Then do your demographics. Go to the census and find out how many people there are around you who fit the right demographic. Break it down as you need to.
The other stuff—competition, pricing, management, financing, etc, etc, is all for the business plan. Sounds like you got that under control. Hope this helps with marketing, if that is what you need.
Yes, that sounds like a good start wundayatta. I guess I need cold hard facts about the reality of the market for this product.
“and how they got into whatever it is that motivates them to want the thing.”
So if they like bouncy balls, find out what led them to their desire for bouncy balls?
So, is it sexy to have bouncy balls? Is it a status symbol to have bouncy balls? That’s how I take your meaning.
@Ltryptophan First, define your industry. Then look up its size and growth rates (on the Web you can usually find this). Then find out about your customer base. Define who is going to buy your product and how (distribution channel) you’re going to reach them. Then project your sales and growth figures. You will also have a section on competition where you describe your direct and indirect competitors and write why your product will win in the market.
@Ltryptophan Yes. You want to know as much about what motivates and interests your customers as you can.
Just to set the record straight—my balls don’t bounce that much and yet I am still told they are sexy. Just saying. ;-)
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