1.      Have cash available for professional services – Just like everything else in life, starting a business takes money.  You’ll likely need professional assistance on your business plan and legal advice from a good business attorney.  These services are generally needed prior to you receiving any funding, so therefore, they must come out of your pocket.  If you can’t afford these services, start saving now and wait until you can before trying to go in to business.

2.      Have money in the bank to live on – Many investors and bank officers don’t like to have business owners take money out of the business, including a standard salary, for the first several months of business operations.  If you can avoid it, it’s best to have money in the bank and take no salary at first.  Instead, by keeping the money in the business, you can provide yourself with the best opportunity to really make it big, for you and the investor.

3.      Continue to work and bring in income until you can’t anymore – While we all want to quit our jobs right away when we have a good business idea and want to work on it full-time, this in many cases can be counter-productive.  Until your business needs you full-time, don’t leave your current position.  It’s better in the long-run to build up your personal financials.  Instead, work on your business when you are not at your job and find professionals who can be more efficient on certain tasks, such as the business plan and addressing legal concerns.

4.      Pay off your debts and work on your credit score – Just like all other loans, having lower debts and a good credit score are important.  While this isn’t nearly as important to an investor, having less debt and lower payments will allow you to work more and take less from the business.

By following these simple tips, you can prepare yourself financially for jumping in to your new business.

Many people who say these things are not true entrepreneurs or they simply haven’t trained themselves to trust themselves just yet.  While normal people sit on the sidelines and wait for things to come to them, entrepreneurs are out finding solutions for everyday problems and making a great living doing it.  It’s not all riches and glory; in fact, it’s a lot of hard work.

Overall, true entrepreneurs have a “can do” attitude and make things happen.  We move forward to study concepts thoroughly to determine the right method for going about the business, generally through the course of putting together a business plan.  True entrepreneurs aren’t afraid to pay to have it done right in order to maximize the return on their investment and give them the best opportunity to succeed.  That business plan then doubles as a tool to achieve capital investments to move forward.  All of this while the fake entrepreneur sits on their couch and waits for their big break (which normally never comes).

As an owner of a business plan development company, ideas and business concepts come across my desk every day.  Some of them are truly terrific ideas, ones that solve real world problems and provide incredible solutions.  In many cases, nothing ever comes of these ideas, because they are simply in the hands of individuals who are unmotivated to move forward.  It’s disappointing to me because I know these ideas can help people to better their lives and make the business owner a good amount of money.  Instead, they are simply ideas, and never become a reality.

When you have a great idea, whether for a medical breakthrough or a physical business in your local community, I encourage you to not let it waste away.  Act on it.  Study it.  Plan it.  Can you make it work?  Can you be profitable?  Sometimes the answer is no, and you go back to your current life.  Sometimes the answer is yes, and you may have changed your life forever.  You’ll never know if you never get up to give it a shot.

Here are the top 5 reasons why your current business plan probably isn’t good enough to get what you need.

1.      It’s written for the wrong audience – Many business owners make this very simple mistake – they write the plan for the wrong audience.  Keep in mind who the reader will be.  Is it an angel investor?  A venture capital firm?  The landlord?  Each of these individuals will have different requirements and different information they want to get out of the plan.  You must remember that the investor may not understand your industry or product.  You have to explain it to them in terms that they can understand.  Get technical enough to show your knowledge, but not so technical that it is over someone’s head.  It’s a tricky line, but the experts know it.

2.      It hasn’t been updated or has outdated research – I get a number of business plans sent to me each week that are old and outdated.  Financial projections that start in 2011 and research from 2009 doesn’t cut it.  Don’t you think our economy and financial picture have changed a little since the end of the 2000s?  The plan should contain the latest research and findings to better indicate the real market and industry for investment purposes.

3.      The financials aren’t realistic – Can you really make $2 million profit in the first year?  Financial projections are exactly that – projections.  But, they must be reasonable, contain all of the costs that will be absorbed by the business (plus a miscellaneous expense allowance), and they have to be in line with what similar companies are doing out there.  If you don’t know what other companies are doing, research it.  This should be in your Competition section of your business plan anyway.

4.      The plan doesn’t clearly outline the business concept – Your business plan is your pitch to the investor and an opportunity to show someone with money available that you can do it.  It’s a chance to prove that your concept works.  There is no other aspect that is more important to the plan than to have a detailed concept description, many times in the lamest terms, so that the investor understands what you are trying to do.  Don’t be vague…explain!  If you can’t explain it on paper with as much time as needed to prepare, how are you supposed to sell it in a pressure situation to a potential investor?

5.      The plan is too short or too long – A good rule of thumb for most business plans is to be somewhere between 20 and 40 pages.  Sure, that’s a big gap.  Every business (and business plan) is different.  Don’t bother taking a 10 page business plan to a venture capital firm.  At the same time, they don’t want to see a 95 page document either.  Keep it to the important information only with as much detail as possible on the business operation and why the company will be successful.  Knowing what to include and what to scrap is best done by experts.

Companies like Optimus are swamped this time of year, trying to keep up with the calls and emails from entrepreneurs ready to give it their all in 2013.  It’s refreshing, exciting, and motivating for us too.

What we hear a lot is that entrepreneurs get trapped in corporate environments or find themselves comfortable in a traditional medium-income job.  Rather than working on their idea and trying to better themselves, many simply just go through the motions of their everyday lives.

That’s what makes this time of year different.  People, especially the entrepreneurial type, get very reflective around the start of a new year.  It’s an opportunity to better yourself, your life, your income, and your happiness.

What you don’t want to do is be like a number of those that join the gym.  They go 2, 3, maybe 4 times, and that’s it.  Then, they slip back in to their comfort zone.  It’s easy to do.  We’ve all been there.

Getting your business plan done is one of the best ways to set yourself up for success in 2013.  It will make the year memorable, probably a little bumpy, and a lot of fun.  Make 2013 the best year yet!

The business plan is your sales pitch, a guide that helps a potential investor or loan officer understand your concept, your vision, and the financial picture.  Most importantly, it gives the investor an understanding of what’s in it for them, and what you are contributing to ensure the success of the venture.

I see a number of business plans that are rushed through, using poor pre-designed templates or lacking adequate research.  A good business plan can’t be developed in a few hours or days, or even a week.  Business plans take hundreds of hours for most entrepreneurs.  Even the most skilled writers will still spend dozens of hours working on a business plan.

Don’t rush through your plan just to get something to an investor quickly.  Take your time to ensure you have all of your bases covered.  If you have your plan developed professionally by a firm such as Optimus Business Plans, make sure that company is writing your plan from scratch and spending time doing research to enhance your plan.  Unfortunately, too many people/firms skip over the important steps to be more “efficient,” only to come up with a document that that will never get funded.

This is a growing industry where a number of new companies are getting started, particularly here in Dallas-Fort Worth.  The market opportunity is there for PintaPaint, who will differentiate themselves by also traveling to clients for classes in their home or business and offering sessions in Spanish.  The company will also sponsor painting classes for children and seniors during the day and on weekends. 

As generally recommended, PintaPaint will have a soft Grand Opening Celebration on Thursday, November 29 that is an invitation only event.  The company will be open to the public on Friday, November 30.

Be sure to stop by their location at 4835 N. O’Connor Blvd. in Irving or call them at 214-502-8776.  To learn more, visit http://pintapaint.com/.

All of us at Optimus wish the management staff at PintaPaint the highest levels of success.

On Election Day, we actually think about the future.  We go out and vote for who we believe best represents our views and who can lead our country to greater prosperity.  Today is a great day because we take time out of our lives to take our stance on our future, for ourselves, our families, and our nation.

And come tomorrow, many of us will slip back in to thinking about our immediate needs again.  We’ll most likely fail to do something to put ourselves in a better position going forward.  We won’t move to make progress on our startup business idea we’ve had in our heads since Clinton was in office.  Or we won’t go that extra mile to get our struggling business back on its feet and moving forward again.

Why don’t we have the mentality of Election Day every day?  Why does it take a special day to get us to think about our future? 

Regardless of tonight’s winner, life will go on in America.  New businesses will still be starting, entrepreneurs will still be coming up with new ideas, and business owners will still be working to create maximum profitability. 

I encourage you to take the time to vote today.  Tomorrow, make progress on your business idea.  Get feedback from friends and family.  Get a business plan together.  Go invest in your future.  The most successful entrepreneurs and small business owners have the Election Day mentality every day.

August wasn’t the only monthly gain.  In fact, fiscal 2012 has been 12.6% higher than fiscal 2011.

When combining with the latest unemployment coming in at 7.8% nationwide, we are starting to see the economy coming back and recovering at a reasonable rate.  This is certainly good news for all entrepreneurs and especially those on the fence about when to start their business.  If you are still undecided, I strongly recommend beginning the process now.  Otherwise, you will still be working out the kinks in your business when the economy really comes back.

Store layout
Big box chain stores often resemble an aircraft hangar due to their immense size. Just one or two aisles in a national chain could have enough products that would stock the shelves of a local hardware store. Customers can spend up to half an hour just wandering the store looking for a certain product. This is often viewed as an unavoidable necessity for consumers that shop at such stores. Having a simple yet high-density shop layout is not only the key to optimizing floor space, but also integral in allowing customers to come into contact with a maximum variety of products. If customers are viewing a large selection of products while browsing a more compact space, it helps to weaken the perception of chain shops as being the only option for choice and selection.

Shelving Units
The most critical part of maximizing layout and storage is in the actual shelving units used in the store. One way to maximize floor space is to incorporate a modular storage system that uses vertical modules. This way, the lower level of a shelf can be used for displaying single items, while the upper levels of the shelf are used for storing the stock of the display items. It is important to plan what the stock shelves will hold in advance so that they are not over-loaded with heavy items. Thinking vertically can also be applied to the aisles themselves. If an aisle has excessive headroom, other than what the browsing customer’s needs, beams can be added between aisles for more pallet space. In addition to the aisles, the walls of the building can be used as display space with hanging shelving units that use part of the wall. Either adjustable shelves or fixed brackets can be used in a hanging unit.

Supply Chain Management
Optimizing incoming and outgoing products are just as important as optimizing floor space. Having an inventory system is critical for maintaining stock and meeting customer demand. Premium inventory systems can be configured to order new shipments from a variety of sources automatically when stock gets low. The primary source for most stock items is going to be from hardware wholesalers. Other products are going to be sent in directly from hardware manufactures. If stock room space is limited, items can also be drop shipped directly to customers. Items that are not brand name specific or require high volumes are the most attractive for drop shipping. Preventing overstocking will also free up space for additional stock or display items.

This has been a guest post by the Schaefer Shelving, helping customers improve their supply chain, logistics, storage and distribution processes.