How many of you have a business plan for your IM business?

Just the act of writing things down will help focus your efforts. Highly recommended.

Absolutely, a comprehensive business plan is essential if you hope to be successfull in any type of serious business. One thing that kind of shocks me is how many people jump headfirst into something without a solid business plan - very little clue about what they plan on doing, how to do it or what they hope to achieve (definitive goals).

The business plan provides a number of things including a marketing plan, projected financials/cashflow, timelines, goals and targets, vision for the business, communication strategy and brand development etc.

You would be surprised what you will learn about your idea when you are forced to explain it in no more than 3 sentences!

I just spent 4 months on a comprehensive business plan for a 'pure play' business and it is still not finished. Sure, I have a document that gives a three year timeline and covers all of the above including outside funding and venture capital strategy BUT a business plan is fluid and should evolve with your business and knowledge about the market you are in.

How far you take your business plan depends on the idea and how serious you are about it. If you want to do more than make flash in the plan profits then you need to get started asap. Especially if you think your idea has the potential to make a serious living from.

Just imagine yourself sitting opposite your bank manager because you either need funding to develop your idea OR because you are in financial difficulty. a good solid business plan is the only way you will get a positive outcome from these two scenarios.

I think that a business plan is essential - it stops you getting overwhelmed.

For example within IM there are huge numbers of people who give up because they are not making immediate money - but if they had sat down and consider making a proper business plan the odds are they would have had a better understanding about where they are and where they're heading.

Do you know what percentage of your income you want from IM? Or how much money you need it to be making? Have you worked out specific timelines for these, or which ventures are going to make you X amount of money?

Even sitting down for an hour or two and hashing out a basic plan can give you a lot of incentive and structure your IM efforts.

By breaking down what you are doing, hwere you are going and what steps you need to get there you can see where you are falling behind, or getting ahead, on your plans - and therefore see where you need to be focusing more of your efforts.

Yes plans are fluid - but they should also be rigid enough to force you into action to keep within a plans boundaries.

I really do consider a business plan for IM an essential beginning point for anyone looking to break into it - as I am at the moment. An IM business is still a business, and good business practices apply across the board.

I think a business plan is essential for any business venture. I've had one for years and periodically revise it. I firmly believe in the old adage that "Failing to plan is planning to fail".

The Canadian Government has an excellent online business plan generator, there is nothing specifically Canadian about it so it will work for anyone. You can check it out at:

Canada Business

Bill

P.S. I also make a "mini" business plan when I start a new site. It's not as formal but it does serve as a guidepost when I'm building and populating the site.

sorry I don't get it. Do mean if I have any plan for my IM or I let it run as it goes along?

The thing is I do more plan compared to my action. That means I am slow at what I do. For instance I couldn't understand the inner meaning of your post.

Without a online business plan people will not find success.

Going without a proven online business plan means...

- falling to the charms of info-overload, confusion and inaction.

As Tony Soprano once said to his minions...

"more was lost through inaction than action"

The basic affiliate plan is simply...

- find a niche to work in

- find products for the people of the niche

- slap up some sort of landing page in order to pre-sell and warm up the prospects

( perfectly the fist landing page would be a lead capture page )

- generate visitors to that landing page

- monitor your results of your test promotion to determine what to do next with it

A traffic generation strategy is not a online business plan.

It is only a part of the online business plan.

Selecting a online business model and then writing out the business plan is a sure sign that you know what you're doing and exactly how you're going to do it.

Without taking these steps you are doomed to failure.

Hope This Helps!!

TL

The issue with business plans is that most people start with a BP template and try to mold their ideas into a preconceived container. Vision statement, unique selling proposition, target market etc. What ends happening is you get a dry document that's not coming from within your own unique personality or business idea.

I found that an action plan will work much better for me and it helps me get clarity on what I'm doing and my objectives.


One of my mentors showed me a really cool way to organize and implement a business plan. It's called Results Driven Management Chain.

You can use a Visio diagram or post-it notes on a wall, you can start from where you are or where you want to go and create different tracks such as Marketing, Operations, Production, Finance etc.

In each track you have a series of boxes or post-it notes that are organized and linked by results or dates.

Each box must contain a quantifiable objective/goal and a due date. As you start putting these boxes sequentially you'll figure out the action needed at each step to get to the next. You can go backward or forward and move the boxes around.

Later I can look at individual or group of boxes and decide if those tasks can be delegated, if they can be then I assign an owner to them.

The beauty about this system is that it's a visual process, you can see exactly where you are, where you want to go, the steps you need to take and by when.

Once the plan is complete you can print it and attach it to the wall and start checking off or delegating/outsourcing tasks.

In a more advanced application you can pinpoint risk factors and draw contingency plans right on the plan and so if an outsourced resource quits on you you know exactly what to do.

I know it sounds complicated but if you see the attached sample you'll see what I mean. It's from my offline business but you can get the idea and tweak it to IM. I've just started using this model in March and it's one of the best business planning tools I've ever used.

I have a few different ones for different areas of my business.. they all require different views, so it is best to keep them individual..

One thing is for certain... short, medium and long term goals are a must in any business. I couldn't make my desired progress without them.

Of course, plans can be tweaked and moved around as you go along, but I always start with a clear path..

Peace

Jay

I agree with Jay - that timed goals are important. My short-term goals always relate to the specific project that I am working on at the time, so they are always changing....except for the fact that their primary purpose is to get me to my ultimate, long term goals. But even though my plan is very flexible and allows for new ventures, it keeps me focused on what I am working toward.

My business plan(s) is developed around my goals.

First of all, before you go about making plans, set some goals.

Go ahead, take a pen and a piece of paper and write down:

1. Make xxx$ till [date]
2. achieve xxx 'till [date]
....

you get the point right? Make sure to set some time
frames/ deadlines - those are crucial!

Igor

Hi I think someone already said it but I write down each night before I go to bed what I need to do the next day. All I do then is tick off once ive done what I need to do. This goes for everything I do. Getting traffic building capture pages and everything else. Even things I need to do in my personal life. Its a really good way to keep orginised.

I don't have a formal business plan. I don't know any other Internet entrepreneur who has one either. It's a shame though. You should have one. I'll get down to it... when I have time.

Tyrus