Business Tips: Developing a Business Plan

by Dr. Cheryl Cottle

Many small business owners take their business idea from a concept to implementation without writing a business plan. Common reasons why some business owners don't have a business plan is because it can be a time consuming task, which also requires some research and know how. Others identify the cost of outsourcing someone to write a plan as yet another reason for not having one. There are also those who see a business plan as something that only larger businesses do or only required when seeking financing.


A business plan can be perceived as a daunting, formal approach to business that takes too much time to conceptualize, thus it is often neglected as a valuable guide to entrepreneurial ventures. Thus, rather than devoting the time to getting an overview of their business, many choose to learn as they go; responding to events as they occur or on a need-to-basis. This reactive approach to business development means that you are jumping head first into business; however, you can face many pitfalls that can ultimately require a great deal of time and resources to change.

While an entrepreneur has been defined as "one who takes risk," and rightfully so risk taking is indeed a great entrepreneurial quality; it is also prudent to reduce risk since it can negatively impact the cost of operating and managing your business. A proactive approach to business development will help you to define a business path and serves as an invaluable tool for achieving your goals.
Here are some helpful ways that a business plan can help your business.

1. Define your business goals and objectives
2. Will help you to identify your target audience
3. Enable you to identify the best business model for your business
4. Assist with cash flow forecasting
5. Enables you to better understand the business sector of your business
6. Identify the skills needed to manage and operate your business
7. Identify the technology needed to manage and grow your business
8. Gain valuable information about your competitors
9. Develop your marketing plan
10. Identify and develop your branding strategy

There are many resources available for small business owners that will guide you on how to develop a business plan. While a business plan can be a very large document that requires a great deal of details, you can also develop one that will simply serve as a road map to where you will like to take your entrepreneurial vision.

Link

• Business Canada

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About the Author
Dr. Cheryl Cottle is the founder and chief consultant of Cottle's Professional Consulting. Dr. Cottle is an education and business development consultant, and has written several post for Crafted Spaces. She holds a Masters degree in Instructional Technology and a Doctorate degree in Education and Computer Applications. She has worked as a consultant for over ten years and is also a social media expert, who works with individuals and organizations to achieve their professional and business goals. Dr. Cottle also provides women entrepreneurs with valuable business development resources through her CPC Women in Business group and other initiatives.

Website | Facebook

Organizing Your Supplies

If you are anything like me, then keeping your countless amount of supplies in order is always a task. At the start of the year getting things organized for the year ahead might be on your list of priorities as it is on mine. I have two young children and running two creative ventures from the same home-based studio means organizing things down to every detail, if I hope to stay on top of things. Now no one is perfect nor why will you want to be, although in my mind there can also be some perfection in what might seem like chaos, but I'll leave that for another blog.

In speaking with other creative businesswomen, the topic of "How do I organize all the bits and pieces of things?" seems to be an ongoing challenge. We all find ourselves collecting items that we "might use" in a project. In my case, I often come across a piece of fabric that I fall-in-love with and just MUST have.

Here are a few suggestions for getting started:

Labels

Invest in a labeler or label maker or print tags or other labels. I have a very simple to use and fairly inexpensive DYMO LetraTag. It is very handy and uses a variety of labels. It sticks to a range of surfaces and are also easy to remove if needed. I have been using it on my plastic bins to label its contents.

Storage Containers

I have collected a range of storage containers including plastic shoe style boxes, baskets and stackable containers. I especially love using baskets. A collection of different size baskets are a great way to store supplies and adds a decorative element to your workspace.

The plastic and metal containers shown above are from Ikea, while the basket was a great find at WalMart. The studio also has a selection of baskets from HomeSense, which works well with the one featured.

Shelving

I use a variety of shelving units and store my fabric and other textiles on a shelving unit with glass doors. This allows for safe storage, but also allows me to see my supplies. It also forces you to keep things neat and tidy.

Over the next few weeks I'll be sharing more details about how Verona Collections - Crafted Spaces studio shapes up for the year ahead, and what we are doing to stay organized.

Learning to Knit

Knitting is among the list of things I will like to learn this year. When my eight-year-old son Matthew was born I started knitting a baby blue sweater for him, but I never completed the sweater. I learnt to crochet when I was little, and was always fascinated with knitting. Since picking up my crochet needle over the holidays, I have therefore decided to teach myself how to knit.

Armed with my knitting needles in hand and a vague recollection of what I had to do, I was determined to start and finish a project. I decided to use this wonderful Lion Brand yarn that I had left over from making my mom a crochet hat. With the almost overwhelming amount of information available at the library and online, I was able to figure things out. I now have my first knitted project.

{ lots of ways it can be worn }

When I was finished with the flat knitted piece, I felt like it needed something more, so I added a scalloped crochet edge and further embellished with crochet flowers and leaves. The flowers and leaves double as my closure. I cannot, by any stretch of the imagination call myself a knitter now; however, I did enjoy creating this project and will love to work on some more projects. I did not use a pattern, but instead created as I went along. Perhaps my next step should be to learn a pattern or two. A cheer to those who create wonderful knitwear designs!