Driving Success with a Business Plan

WHAT IS A BUSINESS PLAN?It’s the road map used to guide your decision-making for both short-term and future profitability.

It’s how you’ll gauge how close you are to meeting your goals (or how much further you still need to push).

A simple business plan clarifies your ambitions

–Troy Dean, Episode 81 OfficeHours.FM

“What do you want?”

If you haven’t figured that out then all of the courses and all of the learning and everything that you can discover

isn’t going mean anything because you don’t know where you’re headed. You don’t know what the end looks like.

WHO DO YOU SERVE?

Finding new clients doesn't need to be so difficult

• Who is your ideal client? • What’s your evaluation criteria? • How/where do you find these clients?

Finding web design clients who are the right fit

–Carrie Dils, this webinar

“It’s okay to say no to someone who wants to do business with you.”

WHAT’S YOUR OFFERING?

What do you not offer?

Think deep, not wide.

–Michael Port, Book Yourself Solid

“A primary reason that many service professionals fail to build thriving businesses

is that they struggle to articulate — in a clear and compelling way —

exactly what solutions and benefits they offer.”

WHEN WILL YOU LAUNCH?

• Set a date and say it out loud • Launch early and often

–Matt Mullenweg

“If you’re not embarrassed when you ship your first version you waited too long.”

WHERE WILL YOU SELL?

Online? Offline?

Your property? Someone else’s?

HOW MUCH DO YOU WANT TO MAKE?

• Set financial goals • Moving from corporate to self-employed?

Add 25% • Break your goal down into quarterly, monthly,

weekly targets • Evaluate often (don’t obsess, though)

All About Pricing (Chris Lema), OfficeHours.FM Episode #27

Breaking the Time Barrier (Freshbooks)

–Simon Sinek, How Great Leaders Inspire Action (TED Talk)

“People don't buy what you do; people buy why you do it.”

WHY DO YOU DO IT?

WHY DO YOU DO IT?

WHY DO YOU DO IT?

RECAP• Who do you serve? • What’s your offering? • When will you launch? • Where will you sell? • How much do you want to make? • Why do you do it?

Questions?

CARRIE DILS @cdils

Carrie Dils and Diane Kinney have 25 years of combined freelance experience. They've learned many things the hard way, and can make the path easier for you. This is the book they wish they’d had.

REALWORLDFREELANCING.COM

OfficeHours.FM is a weekly podcast hosted by Carrie Dils targeting small business owners, freelancers, and others providing WordPress-based products or services.

OFFICEHOURS.FM

Carrie Dils is a teacher, speaker, writer, and podcaster serving the WordPress community. For articles on tech and business, visit:

CARRIEDILS.COM