Start Your Business With A Plan and Goals

Set Some Goals

If you want to build a successful online business, then setting yourself goals and tasks is the way to go.  It works because it makes us think and focus on what we need to do to achieve.  Thinking and planning about what you need to do makes you aware of your thought processes and puts you in a positive frame of mind in order to deal with successes and failures, and we are better able to understand where we have failed or succeeded.  Think about where youwant to be in a year, or two years, or even five years from now and  set some goals using the following techniques.

• Be specific about what you want to achieve and provide detail so that you cannot be indecisive
  
• Be realistic about what you want to achieve
• Plan for your goals but remember that planning what you want to achieve is not actually you achieving the goal so don't spend a enormous amount of time planning.
• Write down your goals to help you organise your thoughts and commit to them.  We often resist doing this because it makes it real and we have a natural fear of failure.
• If you fail, don't dwell on the fact that you have failed.  Rather concentrate on where you go from here.  This is positive action.
• Break your goals down into more achievable goals, rather than huge, long-term ambitious goals.  Breaking the goal down in achievable objectives will make you more likely to succeed.  For instance, if your main goal is to earn $1,000 per month, make your first objective "how I will get to my first $100" then "how I will get to my first $500 if I triple my efforts in achieving the first $100" and then "can I reduce the amount of time I spend on low-earning campaigns and concentrate on the products that are working for me to achieve my $1,000"
• Tell others about what you hope to achieve.  You will then have their support and also you will be unable to change the goal posts or give up very easily.

 
Start With A Good Business Plan

To provide a concise overview, a business plan should include; reasons for choosing the type of business, targets, aspirations and objectives, adherence to legal and tax obligations, company image and purpose, customer service expectations, cash flow projections, profit and loss projections, comprehensive analysis and forecasts.  It is wise to include a crisis management plan for any eventuality, including force majeure or events that may hinder business continuity.

• Identify unique selling points about your business; what can you offer that the competition cannot.  This will mean conducting research into the market.  Learn from your opposition; look at their websites, marketing strategies and list as many of their good ideas as you can, then build on these.  Don't aim to match their offer, always enhance your offer to increase your customer base.
• Company image is extremely important in the world of marketing, no matter what size the business.  Your image will enable you to be identified, it provides you with a consistent  model for application, professionalism adds value to your business and promotes your credibility and it further protects you against plagiarism. 
• Research your competition's customer profile and identify your target audience.  Make a list of expectations; what do you need your customers to do to make your business successful. Formulate a strategy for reaching your target audiences and identify the methods you will employ, starting with techniques that are your strengths; if you are a strong writer then article marketing is for you, or e-mail marketing if you are disciplined and can effectively maintain mailing lists of potential customers.  Work to master each and every technique before moving onto the next. 
• Time management is a unique attribute.  The second main reason why new home-based businesses fail is complacency and a tendency to treat the business as a hobby.  Discipline will allow you to make the most of your time.  Your business requires time-attention if it is to grow.  It is not applicable to allow yourself the luxury of leaving work early or taking a few hours out for self-satisfaction just because you can. You are responsible for the success or failure of your enterprise, this can be determined by the time you are prepared to invest in driving your business forward.  Manage and organise your time as you would with an employer, define and stick to hours of business.  Set rules to limit yourself; avoid wasting time with personal issues, restrict personal calls between certain hours, stick to an hour for lunch and your expectations for meeting deadlines.  Write task-target list, including a projection of hours and three key strategies to ensure those targets are met.  Maintain a time sheet of the hours you are investing.  Make a note of increased hours and reasons, such as setting up a new campaign or a campaign involving increased competition, thus added input.  This can be used to analyse your business and encourages you to work more effectively.  Identify what is impinging on your time, endeavor to improve work practices to streamline time management. 
• The legalities of your home business need to be investigated.  Start with research into whether your business complies with legal obligations, county laws and any regulations, tax** and national insurance (for UK only) commitments.  Affiliate marketing is a low-risk business.  However, because you will be promoting products to consumers it is best to speak to your insurance company about Limited Liability. It is possible and easy to set up as an LLC and to put your earnings on a Schedule C as you would if you owned your own SSN for a business without making it LLC (for USA). In the UK, it is known as Public Liability Insurance and this is a voluntary insurance.  However, you must make the decision. 
• Your business may not require substantial financial investment, but insurance must be investigated.  Insurance for unscheduled loss of time, business insurance covering fire, theft and equipment.  Is liability insurance a requirement and does the home require additional insurance for running a business.
• Financial forecasting and planning will ensure your business is financially healthy.  Implement a concise budget and keep a basic accounting system, detailing expenditure (include everything).  Ensure you adhere to budget projections. Maintaining a balance sheet will provide you with your profit/loss projection, which details assets, liabilities and equity and this will form your first year budget.  This should be split into individual months.  As your business grows, you may consider a financial consultant or accountant to balance your books.  Alternatively there are resources online that detail how to execute a simple trial balance. Cash flow projections will determine the forecast of cash in and out of the business and this may be more applicable to affiliate marketing.
• Feedback is the most worthwhile resource to draw from.  Ask customers to comment, note complaints, late deadlines or poor customer service. Keeping records of successes and failures and detailing strategies implemented to overcome adversity will prevent further failings.  Track and re-implement techniques that increase sales and provide good ROI.  Analyzing your business after six months in the first year can assist with streamlining and progress in the second half.
  
• Draw up a rudimentary business continuity plan in the event of interruption.  You might lose internet connection, or the phone lines could go down.  You might be unable to work for a week due to sickness and you will want to take a vacation at some point.  Consider every eventuality to include; nature of the issue, impact on business, alternative mechanisms, financial considerations and what worked and what didn't for next time.

Finally, keep notes and record everything.  A six-monthly analysis and forward-planning can help you to ditch the deadwood and encourage re-growth. 
Speak to friends and acquaintances who have achieved success with their business models and ask them for their valuable input to make yours the perfect business plan.

** Tax commitments : In the USA obtain the “Business Use of your Home” IRS publication #587 and in UK form CWF1 Becoming self-employed and registering for National Insurance contributions