Every week we tackle articles regarding essential needs for business and its entrepreneurial spirit. These week we cover various articles varying Lifehacker, Mother Nature Network and About.

Business Plan

1. Executive Summary: An overview of your company or “the business idea”. Basically, the who, what, where, when, why, and how of your business. It’s the section you might want to write at the end, and the most important one that summarizes why you think the business will be successful and what your business is all about.
2. Company Description: This section should answer: What products and/or services will you sell? Who’s behind it? Who are your customers and what needs are you fulfilling with your products and/or services?
3. Organization and Management: Include in this section your company structure (sole proprietorship, limited liability company, etc.) as well as your background and years of experience. If you’ll have employees, list them here with their titles or roles. For more on business structures, see the IRS’s descriptions (most people working on their own will be sole proprietorships, but there are benefits to forming a Limited Liability Corporation, LLC, or other structures).
4. Products or Services: Detailed descriptions of what you’re going to sell, including prices and specific benefits compared to your competitors. If you’re selling products, you’d include here your sources and how much markup you’re adding. For services, include your hourly rate or project rate (not sure what to charge yet? Here are some tips).
5. Marketing and Sales: To grow your business, you’ll need a sound marketing strategy—for the next three years at least. Plan on investing in corporate identity design (e.g., logo design, website development, business cards), expenses like advertising in newspaper or search engine listings, and think about other ways you’ll reach your customers.
6. Market Analysis: Research on your competitors—what they’re charging, how they position themselves, what their products are compared to yours is also an important exercise. For an informal business plan, a simple Google search of local and online competitors might do, but for more in-depth market research, you might want to turn to sites like Hoovers to get more detailed business and industry information. The more research you can do, the better (if there’s a lot, just add it in an appendix).
7. Financial Information: This is probably the most involved part of your plan. You’ll need to know exactly how much you will need to start up and what the money will be used for—list every expense you can think of for the next three years at least; how much you expect to make each year (financial forecasts); and set some financial assumptions like your tax rate and how many days you’ll give your customers time to pay your invoices (e.g., net 30 days). The business plan templates and tools in the next section will help you create these plans, but you may also need to research standard assumptions for your industry or sample rates similar companies use. Joining an industry association, such as the Graphic Artists Guild, might get you access to financial planning tools and industry-standard rates.
8. Funding Request: If you’re looking for a loan, create a funding request section where you outline how much you’ll need, what the money will go towards, the terms you’d like to have applied, and any expected business developments that could impact your loan in the future (e.g., you expect to get a new partner in the future).

Recycling

1. Step into a leadership role. Every program needs a leader to step up and take charge. Why can’t that person be you? If you’re passionate about the environment and have a little time each month to spend on the cause, this is a great way to hone your leadership skills while also doing something good for the planet.

Your first task as leader should be to conduct an assessment. Go around to high-traffic areas – the kitchen or break room, the copier area, the entrance to the office – and make sure recycling bins are accessible and easily identifiable.

While you’re at it, check to see if the bins are being used properly (or at all). This tends to be the biggest issue in most offices. People don’t know what goes where so they take the easy route — the trash can.

So, your next task is to label the bins as well as the area around them. Write down exactly what items should be put in each bin (such as “white office paper”) and any special instructions (such as “remove staples”) so you don’t end up with contamination. Attach this label to each bin and to the wall next to it.

2. Plan special events. Most company recycling programs take care of the basics – paper, aluminum cans and glass bottles. But there are plenty of other materials that can be recycled – electronics, toner and old office equipment. Organize a semi-annual event to collect these items. Encourage employees to have fun finding them around the office and to feel free to bring them from home. Make getting rid of clutter easy and convenient – something everyone will appreciate!

Call your recycler and ask if it accepts these materials. You want to find a company that also offers pickup service since the load may be heavy given the materials.

Also, make sure everyone knows in advance when this event is taking place so they can gather the materials to turn in at the event instead of simply throwing them away.

3. Educate the staff. Keep your co-workers motivated by educating them on why recycling matters. If you have a company newsletter, ask to contribute a regular article or “quick tip” about the environment.

It also helps to keep the staff informed about the impact of their contributions. Send regular company-wide e-mails or office memos to thank them for supporting the recycling program and let them know how many pounds of waste they kept out of the landfill each month. (Your recycling company can help provide statistics.)

4. Build enthusiasm. Nothing helps keep up the energy like a little healthy competition. Consider creating a game or contest between departments to see who can generate the least amount of trash, and come up with innovative ways to track progress and reward those who participate. Publicize the winners so others around the company can see the success.

5. Grow the program. With a recycling program in place, you can help expand the program to other businesses in your building or area. Consolidating your efforts may help reduce hauling and processing fees.

Building Wealth

1. Put Off Marriage
Your biggest obstacle to attaining wealth is YOU. Too often, people live their lives in a manner that is not conducive to creating riches and then get frustrated at “the system” when they only really have themselves to blame.

One of the most important financial decisions you will ever make is marriage (more specifically who you marry and when). By putting off the walk down the aisle for a few years, you can save a decade worth of frustration. Your first goal should be to become financially independent, with little or no debt, and have your investments in place. Once you have these three things, your odds of success are drastically improved by beginning your journey on a level playing field (after all, the number-one reason for divorce is financial trouble).

2. Debt is a Disease
With a few notable exceptions, debt is a form of bondage; a disease that enslaves the borrower. A few years ago, there was a young lady attending college who shot herself because she couldn’t pay back $2,300 in credit card debt. Although an extreme example, it is a testament to the power money has over peoples’ lives. Imagine your life without owing anyone anything; your car, your house, your education, all paid for in full. Like what you see? When you want it badly enough, you will make extinguishing your debt your number one priority.

3. If You Don’t Like Where your Parents Were at Your Age – Do Things Differently
The old cliché that “insanity is doing the same thing over and over expecting different results,” holds just as true today as it did when it was originally written. If you don’t like where your parents were at your age, stop what you are doing. During your childhood, they taught you all they knew about money. For many people, these early years established how they feel about their finances today. In order to become financially successful, you must do something different than they did. Otherwise, you will end up exactly as they are.

4. When you Begin a Job, Look at the Pay of the Highest Employee
Whether you are looking for employment now or are thinking about it sometime in the near future, one of the most important things for you to do is to look at what the top-dog gets at any company for which you are considering working. This will give you an idea of how high you can expect to climb in terms of earnings and promotion. If the CEO is making $30,000 a year, you have no chance to make six figures. Select a job accordingly.

5. Do Something You Love and Get Paid for It
I remember going into college and being surrounded with people who wanted to be artists, scientists, and businessmen, but instead did what their parents or grandparents told them to do. There is no honor in being a doctor or a lawyer if you wake up every morning and hate your job. Pick a profession you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.

6. Understand the Money Myth
Money is nothing more than a piece of paper with the image of a long-dead person on it. When you understand that any power it has over you is derived from your relationship with it, you suddenly become free from the constant pressures and stress of thinking about it. Especially at times such as these, if you are putting money away for ten, fifteen, or twenty years down the road, stop checking your portfolio every day! There is nothing you can gain from it except stress.

7. Your New Commodity is Not Your Labor, It’s Your Ideas
With the advent of the Internet and other technological advances, you are no longer limited to supporting yourself or making a living by your physical labor. The only limit you have on yourself now is your own imagination – your ideas are the most valuable thing you possess. Every man, woman, and child is a salesman for a living; if you don’t own a business or investments, then you sell your manual labor to a company in exchange for a paycheck. Change your product. The gap between the rich and poor does indeed grow larger with each passing year, but not because of inequalities or any other such injustices. Instead, it is because the rich understand money and how to use it. Capital is literally a seed; learn how to plant it to produce the best harvest. When you do this, you will rule your finances, not the other way around.

Sources

How Do I Create a Business Plan?, Five Secrets to Making Your Company’s Recycling Program Really Work and 7 Rules of Wealth Building

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