Why Write a Business Plan?

I have some friends who are batting around the idea of starting a business. I asked them if they had written a business plan and received two different answers.

One friend said he hadn’t decided which of three options (for example: a bakery, an ice cream parlor, or a clothing store) he was going to choose and was waiting until he had made that decision before he started a business plan. One asked what a business plan was and why he would need one.

A business plan does two things. First, it is a tool that will help define the pros and cons of each option and clarify your decision. It can tell you which option or business will be the most profitable within your community or which has the least start up cost; among other things.

Second, it defines your products or services, your pricing, and your schedule. This allows you to go to an investor and explain exactly what you are selling. It will also point out any issues before they become problems.

This is just the tip of the ice berg of what a business plan can do for you and your business. We are willing to help you bring your business to life.

Hit and Miss; Our Marketing Flier Mistake

When we first started this business, we printed up fliers to hand out to potential customers and clients. We created something quick and did not revisit it until almost six months later. Here is the original, keep in mind it is two fliers on one page, DragonTechone page flier

It has all the pertinent information such as business name, services, blog address, names, contact information, etc. However, it is a jumbled mess. There is no organization for a reader’s eyes to follow. There was no thought what so ever put into this flier; other then to get our name out quickly. This is a mistake that most businesses make, including ours.

Anything that has your businesses name, logo, or information needs to be carefully planned, discussed, and executed to make sure that it reflects your business and the audience you are targeting. It could be as simple as a flier or as complex as a website. The point is you have about 3 seconds to catch your audience’s attention before they move on to the next business.

This flier is part of our marketing campaign to introduce us to professionals and businesses that may need our services and it does not show who we are or the services that we offer. We quickly came up with a layout and design that reflected what we could do for other professionals and businesses. Here is the new flier, still two fliers on one page, DragonTech Writing, Flier. Can you spot the differences?

This flier has the exact same information as the first with some tweaks. It catches the eye and is organized for our audience to scan it quickly. Our business name and logo are now separated from the information by stylistic elements. Okay, it is just a line but it still allows a reader to zoom in on the business name. The second line lets the audience know that they are done reading. It also tells us where to cut the flier so we don’t accidentally cut out information.

This is the flier we should have started with to market our company. This is what we can do for you or your company, point out the flaws in your documentation then create a design and templates that represent your business accurately.