I know there are several other people who specialize in business plans as well.

Here's an article to get the discussion going.

It's almost 2009, time to make a fresh start: A fresh start in your personal relationships, with your family and your business. What's been holding you back? Why aren't you building your business as fast as you would like? Have you been wasting precious hours on activities that don't turn a profit? Frittering away your time by checking email over and over, visiting favorite forums and discussion lists? Or maybe just sitting there wondering 'what do I do next?'

At the end of 2009 what will be your accomplishments? Will it be the same old, same old, or will you be able to say 2009 was your most profitable year ever?

A business plan isn't just for bankers and investors. It's a management tool that simply tells you where you've been, where you want to go, and how are you going to get there. Realistically a business plan can be used for any part of your life. Think about it. If you're starting a diet, it's important to know what your eating habits are (that's the "where you've been" part of a business plan.) You then set goals for weight loss, say 20 pounds in six months (that's the "where you want to go" part). And finally you determine what specific strategies and action plans will achieve that goal ("the how are you going to get there" part.)

You can be an Internet marketer, a writer, a home business person, or involved in the corporate world. You still need a business plan.

Get started by thinking about your company, business, or job, if your business plan is for your career.

You need to consider answering questions like:

What is your business, how did it get started, what major problems did you face in 2008? How did you overcome them? What products do you offer? Who are your major customers?

What did you accomplish in 2008? You can include what happened in your personal life if it impacted your business. Sometimes we have to focus on one area of our lives at the cost of another and that's okay. As long as we don't use it as an excuse. And as long as we know we're doing it.

What were your disappointments for 2008?

The next step is to look at your financial picture. This schedule is simple, just list your revenues by month, by each product category and your expenses for each month by category. You don't have to be extremely detailed oriented, top line is fine.

For example: you could have three ebooks you sell, four products you sell through an affiliate program, and some miscellaneous consulting. List each ebook and the sales per title and each affiliate product. Then list the expenses.

Here's what you're looking for: Did one of the ebooks outperform the others? Did you spend lots of time promoting an affiliate product with not much in the way of results? Look for seasonality, perhaps one ebook title did great in the spring and fall, but sales dumped in the summer. Did you have lots of affiliate products but only one had major sales?

Relate the sales to the expenses. Did your best selling ebook also cost you the most in advertising? Or did you have a sleeper- a product that slowly took off without a lot of effort or expenses? How much effort did you expend? If you had to start a mailing list or newsletter from scratch you might not have seen much in the way of sales in 2008. The payoff, hopefully, will be in 2009.

How did you feel about the performance of your business? What aspects did you enjoy? What functions do you dislike?

Now take this information and summarize it in no more than two pages. Don't get tangled up in verbiage. Don't worry about your grammar and spelling. This document is for your own usage. If all you do is list bullet points, that's fine.

Congratulations! You've now completed the first part of your business plan.
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Dee