Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

Hi everyone, my name is Denise and I wanted to know if there was anyone out there that has started their own party planning business. I am actually interested in decorating kid parties, baby showers... something on a small scale. I don`t want to quit my job (I have a regular 9-5) but want to get my feet wet first.

Any ideas on how I should get started? I know what I want to do, the website suggets making up a business plan but I am not sure who is supposed to see it. The other thing is making the company legal... when does that happen? How do I go about making my prospective business legit.

Any feedback would be great.

Thanks =)

Denise

A business plan isn`t always or necessarily for someone else to see. :-) The point of a business plan is to have a well-developed, detailed "plan" of exactly what it is you want to do (your mission statement), how you intend to do it, how much all of it will cost, and all the specific things you`ll need in order to accomplish the project.

Think of it as planning a party for yourself. But instead of it being a party, it`ll be a business. What details would you examine if you had a customer who wanted you to plan a kid`s party from start to finish?

Now how would you do the same thing to plan your own business. Instead of the party being 1 day, it would be 1 year long. How much time would you spend ahead of time, talking with the customer (the parents)? What would you say to them? How would you overcome their objections, and persuade them that they should leave the whole party to you?

So too, your business plan is "you" talking to "you." You`re trying to sell yourself on the idea that you should have this business. Why? What`s special about you? Write that down, then expand on the details of exactly how you would "prove" it to yourself. See? :-)

A business plan mostly helps the new business owner make things Real. When you have to put down how many phone calls you expect to deal with in a month, and how you`d pay for those phone calls, then you begin to really visualize exactly what you would be doing each day---part time or otherwise. And that helps you begin taking care of one thing at a time, until you`re suddenly In Business.

Hi DeDe,

I think the direction Craig gave you is right on.

I would also add that you should research your market first. For example, is there a market for your service, who is your ideal customer, where does that customer spend time, what does that customer need, how are you going to meet that customer, and what are you going to say to them.

When I wrote my business plan, I found those questions to be very helpful in the preparation process. It also gave me a reality check on what the market consisted of and when I was ready how to talk to potential customers. I recently got my first client from a Google search not a referral and was able to have positive conversation with them. And the best part was because I was prepared, I felt confidant. All of which would have never been possible had I not gone through the process of writing a business plan and understanding my customer.

Best of Luck!

 

Wow... thank you so much Craig & Nohea. I never thought about it quite that way and your advice is definitely alot of help to me.

I was not sure where to start first. I bought a notepad to write down a business plan and all I did with the book was doodle since I wasn`t sure how to even begin.

Thank you very much for the feedback =)

Good luck, and always remember that even the longest journey begins with the first step. Then it takes step after step. Don`t worry so much about the destination, just keep an eye on what you`re doing right at the moment...y`know? It`ll happen.