Develop a Business Plan

After you have a full understanding of your market, you will want to create a business plan. This will be the foundation of your business and will include your products, strategies, and goals. By taking the time to go through your business concept step by step, you will have greater access to finance and be better prepared for any barriers that might come up in the future.

Business Plan Templates

BPlans is a website that provides examples industry specific business plans. There is no charge to review various samples, but there will be a charge if you want an interactive template. You can review the various plans on the BPlans site. 

Concepts to include in a business plan:

• What is my company and how will it be successful?
• What problem does my company solve?
• Who is my target market?
• Who are my competitors? What do they do successfully?
• What is my business advantage over other firms?
• What services do I offer?
• How will my company be structured?

Cash Flow Analysis

One of the most important things you should do as a part of your business plan is to complete a "Cash Flow Analysis." This allows you to estimate your start-up costs and monthly income and expenditures over a period of twelve months. The ending balance (positive or negative) carries forward to each subsequent month. From this you can estimate how much income you'll need to generate every month to cover expenses. Generally speaking you'll probably show a negative carry over for at least three to six months. It is advisable to estimate expenses high and income low and have a professional business accountant review your numbers.

Cash Flow Analysis(XLS, 27KB)

Self-Employment Payroll Tax Estimator

Anyone that is self-employed needs to estimate, track and pay "Self-Employment Tax". Self-employment tax is a tax consisting of Social Security and Medicare taxes primarily for individuals who work for themselves. It is similar to the Social Security and Medicare taxes withheld from the pay of most wage earners. You can estimate your self-employment tax using the following sheet. It is advisable to have a payroll expert or professional business accountant review your numbers.

Self Employment Payroll Tax Estimator(XLSX, 19KB)

Payroll Tax Estimator

If you plan to hire employees, you need to estimate the payroll taxes base on wages. It is advisable to have a payroll expert or professional business accountant review your numbers.

Payroll Taxes Estimator(XLSX, 20KB)