Journal for Successful Startups: How to Easily Write a Winning Business Plan for a Startup Business or Charity

By Ed Pisani Jr.

Our country needs you more than ever!

 

Have you ever dreamed of starting a business or charity but were not sure how to get rolling? Or having started, not sure how to ensure your startup's success? With a lifetime of professional experience in business and charity planning, administra

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ed Pisani Jr.
• Release date: Mar 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9798989902705

Book preview

Contents



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Contents

Introduction

Let’s Get Started!

[ 1 ] The Big Three

[ 2 ] The Business Plan

[ 3 ] The Cover Page

Story Time – Cover Page

[ 4 ] The Legal Page

Story Time – Legal Page

Sample Confidentiality Agreement

[ 5 ] The Table of Contents Page

Sample Table of Contents

[ 6 ] The Executive Summary Page(s)

[ 7 ] The Executive Summary  Sub-Sections

Executive Summary Problem Subsection

Executive Summary Solution Subsection

Executive Summary Why Now Subsection

Executive Summary Market Subsection

Executive Summary Competition Subsection

Executive Summary The ‘Why Us’ Subsection

Executive Summary The Expectations/Forecasts Subsection

Executive Summary The Funding Needs Subsection

[ 8 ] The Company Summary

Congratulations!

Story Time – Company Summary

Company Summary Watch TV Time

Things to Think About

Company Summary Story Time #2

Company Summary Story Time #3

[ 9 ] The Company Summary Breakouts

Where Will You Operate From?

Who Are You?

The Sole Proprietor

The Partnership

The Single Member LLC

The Multi-Member LLC (or Partnership)

The S Corp

Story Time – Company Structuring 1

The C Corp

Story Time – Company Structuring 2

Company Identity

Company Operations

Property & Logistics

Technology & Software

Equipment & Tools

Free Goodwill

[ 10 ] The Startup Summary

Sample Startup Requirements

[ 11 ] Products and/or Services

Story Time – Jeff Bezos

Story Time – Kmart

[ 12 ] Market Analysis Summary

Table: Market Analysis

[ 13 ] Strategy & Implementation Summary

Marketing Plan

Story Time – Starting Up A Charity For My Buddy

Sample Three-Month Marketing Plan

MONTH ONE (Discovery & Onsite Optimization)

MONTH TWO (Building Digital Marketing Channels)

MONTH THREE (Maintenance Mode)

Sales Plan

Creating A Customer Profile

Implement A Buyer’s Guide

30-60-90-Day Plan

Market Expansion Plan

Marketing Alignment Plan

New Product/Service Plan

Share Your Sales Forecast For A Timeframe of Three Years

Understanding and Explaining  Company Milestones

Milestones

Key Metrics

Table: Milestones

[ 14 ] The Management Summary

Story Time SC4S

Shared The Details

[ 15 ] Financial Plan

Story Time The Stolen Laptop

Useful For Securing Funding

Start-Up Funding

Projected Profit & Loss

Profit & Loss Statement Sample

[ 16 ] My Final Thoughts

About the Author

Meet Ed Pisani Jr

Learn More!

Introduction



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HELLO THERE, my name is Ed Pisani Jr. and I've been an entrepreneur for numerous years. I wrote this book because I want you to be successful with your startup, and I hope you and I have a great journey as we explore a good deal of useful information together. Thank you for choosing this book, it means a lot to me.

Let’s Get Started!

And now for a question—Yes! I am starting this book with a question. You might be thinking that is weird, but just go with it:

Why do you want to go into business for yourself or start a charity?

This is something you really need to consider. There could be a list of different reasons, and none are wrong, by the way. But each one is really tied to you—who you are, why you’re doing this in the first place—and you need to really take that in consideration. Why do you want to be in business?

With that in mind, this book is a good place to write down your notes, maybe in the book or on a separate notepad, or maybe with one of those new digital devices. But whatever you use, I'm going to put some space in here just to allow you to actually write down your reasons why you want to go into business for yourself. By doing so, you can use this book as a template for your business as you go forward, and look back on it as the place where you got started. So I recommend writing notes in the margins, and using this as a workbook or journal, and not just as a traditional book you read one time and put on the shelf thereafter. Instead, really use this book, make it a piece of your success.

List the top three reasons you want to go into business for yourself or start a charity here:

1.

2.

3.

Now, if you can't easily come up with three reasons to go into business for yourself, you need to really take a hard look in the mirror. Ask yourself, yes literally say to yourself:

Is this the right time?

Am I doing this for the right reasons?

How will everyone think of me for doing this?

So many times, I've had people come into my office, ready and excited about starting a business, but without good reasons behind their excitement. And that's a problem. Not for me, of course. It's not a problem for me. I'm totally fine with people going into business for themselves. It was a problem for them. Because they often didn't have a real passion to go above and beyond where they needed to be and be successful. Because being in business for yourself, there are going to be times where it's going to get hairy and tough. And you're going to put blood, sweat, and tears into your business or charity.

And I'm not even making that up when I say blood, sweat, and tears.

I have literally bled from my business equipment breaking in front of me. I have sweated profusely because the air conditioning was broken. And yeah, I have cried because things have gone so sideways, so poorly, that I was up all night trying to fix it. But you know what? That's part of business and that's what it’s about.

And if you don't have those good reasons, when you get to the blood, sweat, and tears moment in your business, you're going to be tempted to walk away. And that's not going to be a good day for anyone, not you, your clients, and potentially your vendors. So, you want to take that into consideration.

Therefore, it is critical that when you get started in your business you have good reasons to be in business. This really, really matters. And I hope I have stressed that enough, because those reasons come first—We start with why.

Hopefully, you get a lot of value out of this book. We’ll be diving deep into creating your business plan. Along the way I’ll share my perspective and some of my stories, too. As I wrote this, I wanted to think about things through the eyes of a new business owner and/or a potential new charity organization board members’ eyes, too.

My goal is simply to help you become successful.

[ 1 ]

The Big Three

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ONE OF THE most popular questions I've been asked over time is, Ed, how do I make this startup successful? I want to answer that question for you by looking at the business plan and considering what things you need to do to make it successful. It is a big undertaking, but you too can eat a whale one bite at a time.

There are many important facets to pay attention to. Therefore, I recommend you get the Big Three to help you out. What are the Big Three? you ask? The Big Three are:

Accountant

Lawyer

Insurance agent

Now, with that statement, marketing people everywhere would lose their minds, because traditionally, they (me included) are number four. And while that’s correct—I'm a marketing web guy myself, and I know I'm part of the Big Four—the Big Three are to me almost more important. And here's why. You don't want to:

Accountant: Defend yourself from the IRS. You want to have someone helping with that.

Lawyer: If there's a lawsuit, you don't want to go before the judge yourself, you want to have someone helping you out here as well.

Insurance agent: And of course, if there's a payment for something that's gone sideways, you want to have the necessary insurance in place and in force for your business, so you don't pay out of pocket.

And while that's the Big Three, first we need to make sure your startup is successful. Thankfully, there are some key things you can do to help increase your chances. By focusing on everything from your target market to your marketing strategy, you can give your business the best shot at success. This is all