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6 Spring Cleaning To-Dos

 

As springtime brings the promise of warmer days and longer stints of daylight, now is an ideal time to get cracking on your spring cleaning responsibilities—both at home and at your small business!

 

Six Small Business Spring Cleaning Tasks to Tackle Now

 1. Tidy up your online presence.

Check to make sure your NAP (name, address, phone) info is consistent and correct across all platforms where your business appears online. This includes any online directories and review sites, such as Yelp, Trip Advisor, Citysearch, and others. Most SEO specialists agree that Google and other search engines look for NAP consistency across the web as a way to validate that a business is legitimate. If your NAP info is outdated or incorrect on various sites, Google might reflect the wrong information in (or omit your business from) search results.

Also, review your website for broken links and other errors that should be fixed. The more hassle-free and user-friendly your website, the more likely potential customers will make repeat visits to it.

 

2. Review your business plan.

Revisit your business plan and identify any sections you should update to better reflect your aspirations and goals. A business plan is meant to be a living document that changes over time. As a roadmap for your company, it may need to be tweaked to reflect a modified course that will help you overcome competitive pressures, regulatory changes, and other influences.

 

3. Assess your cash flow.

Are you receiving income from your customers in time to meet your expense obligations? If not, you might want to consider updating your payment policy (or creating one in the first place). Some potential ways to fix a sluggish cash flow are requesting a down payment or full payment in advance of providing products or services, invoicing immediately after you’ve provided services (rather than waiting until the end of the month), and following up with customers sooner rather than later when invoices are past due.

 

4. Eliminate clutter.

This is spring cleaning in the literal sense. Clear your desk and files of unnecessary paperwork that’s taking up space and creating a distracting environment. Declutter your digital files, too. Identify and delete messages in your inbox that no longer require your attention. Archive and organize the files on your computer or in the cloud for easier access.  If you need to keep a record of them, consider creating a special folder for that purpose or using an online app like Evernote or Dropbox to save them.

 

5. Be a task master.

Explore productivity and task lists apps like or Hours or Todoist, or a good old fashioned desk calendar and notebook to keep yourself on track.  Consider new, streamlined ways to work with your team with task management software such as Asana or communication apps such as Slack. Identify you or your teams obstacles (prioritizing tasks, delegating tasks, meeting deadlines) and create a system to overcome them.  Remember, it’s all about creating a system that works best for the way you work and your goals.

 

6. Get a fresh perspective.

Contact SCORE to connect with a business mentor. SCORE mentors provide unbiased feedback that can help your company succeed. From marketing to product development to pricing to customer service and more, SCORE mentors have expertise in all aspects of running a small business.

No matter what the season—spring, summer, fall, or winter—SCORE can help your business move in the right direction and achieve its goals.

Back to the Basics: What is a Business Plan?

If you’re driving cross-country to a destination you’ve never visited before, would you want to leave home without your GPS?

Probably not.

However, new business owners sometimes make the mistake of accelerating at top speed to launch their companies without having a business plan to guide them.

A business plan serves as your roadmap. It describes your objectives and the strategies you’ll use to achieve them. Like a GPS, it offers assistance to help you get to where you’re going. And like a GPS’s directions—which change depending on traffic conditions, detours, and other unexpected circumstances—a business plan is a flexible tool. As you encounter market demand changes, new competitive pressures, altered regulatory requirements, and more, you can revisit your business plan and make adjustments to reset your course.

What does a good business plan cover?

What a company includes in its business plan depends on the nature of its business, whether it wants to pursue funding, and other factors. Some companies might find that a simple two-page business plan provides enough direction while others will need one that’s far more extensive and detailed.

The following elements are commonly found in business plans:

  • Executive Summary
  • Business Details
  • Market Analysis
  • Management and Organization
  • Description of Products and Services
  • Marketing and Sales Strategy
  • Financial Projections
  • Supporting Data

 

Executive Summary

This section of a business plan summarizes what your company is, what it does, where it’s located, and its mission. You might decide to include an overview of your leadership team, staff, finances, and growth objectives.

Business Details

This includes detailed information about your company and the problems it solves for its customers. In this section, share about your business’s competitive advantages (e.g., team expertise, use of advanced technology, etc.)

Market Analysis

To complete this section, you’ll need to do some research to learn about your target market and industry outlook. This is where you’ll identify what your competitors are doing, the market challenges you anticipate, and how you intend to successfully compete in your market.

Management and Organization

This section explains how your company is structured and managed. Will you operate as a sole proprietor, partnership LLC, or some form of corporation? It should also share about the people who are running your company, including their level of experience, education background, and skills they bring to the table.

Products and Services

In this part of your business plan, share details about the products and services you offer. How do they benefit your customers? Are you safeguarding your intellectual property by applying for patents or copyright protection? What is your research and product development process? What is your pricing strategy?

Marketing and Sales

Describe your strategies and tactics for attracting new and retaining existing customers. How will you reach your target audience and what does your lead generation process look like?

Financial Projections

This portion of the business plan has a two-fold purpose. It’s for your own benefit (to help you establish your financial goals and expectations) and for potential lenders who want to assess how well your business might perform financially. Within this section, businesses often include sales and income projections, an expense budget, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and break-even analysis. Graphs and charts can be particularly helpful in this section to aid understanding and highlight key information.

Supporting Data

Having an appendix at the end of your business plan will allow you to provide supplementary documentation and information, such as credit history, resumes, patents, licenses and permits, contracts, product guides, or items specifically requested by a lender or investor.

Where to Find Help in Developing Your Business Plan

You can find many online resources that offer business plan templates. For example, the Small Business Administration has a Build Your Business Plan tool, which provides a step-by-step guide for creating a business plan. Also, SCORE has a downloadable Business Plan Template for startups. As you use these tools to get started with your business plan, consider reaching out to a SCORE mentor for guidance and feedback, too. With experience in helping business owners in nearly every industry start their companies, our mentors can offer valuable insight as you develop your business plan and use it as your company’s GPS to success.

 

Business Model or Business Plan? You Need Both!

 

As a startup entrepreneur, you’ve likely heard and seen the terms “business model” and “business plan” in conversation and online.

 

While they sound nearly the same, they’re distinctive in their structures and purposes. When used together, they can help you keep your small business focused and on the path to success.

 

The Big Picture View: Your Business Model Canvas

A business model canvas is a one-page diagram of the essential components your business needs.

A business model should answer important questions, such as:

  • Who are your customers?
  • What do those customers expect and what do they value?
  • What is your value proposition? What problem are  you solving?
  • How will your business make money?
  • How do you intend to deliver value to your customers while making a profit?

It should also identify:

  • Customer segments
  • Customer channels
  • Revenue streams
  • Key vendors and partners
  • Cost structure
  • Value proposition
  • Resources
  • Key activities

 

The Roadmap For Staying On Course: Your Business Plan

A business plan is meant to help you navigate to where you want to go in your business. As important as it is for starting a business, it’s also a valuable tool for managing and growing a business.

A business plan includes:

  • Your business opportunity
  • Your products and services
  • Your marketing strategies
  • Your financial projections
  • Your staffing needs

In relation to your business model, a business plan defines how you intend to operate your business. The length of your business plan can vary—it just depends on the size and complexity of your business and the depth of information investors ask for.

 

Together, a Business Model Canvas and Business Plan Provide a Strong Foundation to Build Your Business

Having a business model canvas and a business plan can help you operate your company with purpose so you stay on track to accomplish your objectives. If you have one without the other, you might put time, effort, and money toward resources and initiatives that won’t sustain or grow your business. And when you do that, you risk missing out on opportunities, falling short of goals, and losing morale.

If you’re worried about the time it takes to develop a business model and business plan, relax. You don’t have to tackle them in one fell swoop. Work on them in smaller bits and pieces and set aside time on your schedule for them. To help you structure your business model and think through your business plan, consider using the Business Model Canvas. Also, explore the various business plan templates and software available online.

And remember, our SCORE mentors have experience in helping small businesses of all types start and run their companies. Contact us today to schedule a free mentoring session. We’re here to provide you with expert guidance as you work on your business model and business plan.