For Small Business owners. Some basic steps about starting up a small business.

1. How to Start Your Own Business

2. What we’ll cover in this seminar Business planning Goal setting Developing systems Hiring great people Using technology Legal stuff Creating a strong brand 2

3. Million $ Rules Develop excellent products and services You must persevere You must plan Never stop doing research about the market needs You need great systems to grow a business Hire the best possible people 3

4. Million $ Rules You must build a brand You must develop great relationships with your suppliers, customers and employees Setting goals is absolutely necessary if you want to be successful 4

5. Great Products and Services Develop products or services that satisfy your customers’ needs Find something somebody is doing and do it better Develop products and services that you can sell globally Develop products and services that you are proud of Keep improving your products and services 5

6. To Build a Successful Business You must persevere – never give up You must believe in yourself You must learn to trust your gut You must learn to focus You must be prepared to listen and learn Being passionate about your business is not enough 6

7. Know Your Industry Do market research Know your strengths and weaknesses Know who your competitors are Know their strengths and weaknesses 7

8. Get Good Advisors Accountant – find somebody that understands you and your industry Lawyer – use a lawyer for contracts and agreements Banker – find a banker you can communicate with Business advisors – find advisors that can give you specific advice for unique challenges you may have 8

9. To Succeed in Business You Need Mentors – find people that you can go to when you have business questions Inspiration – hang around with people that are positive and motivated Networking skills – learn to network with the right people Training – never stop learning and train your employees more than your competitors do 9

10. Set Goals Write down your goals – use a whiteboard so that you can regularly look at your goals Ensure that your goals are specific Ensure that your goals can be measured Put numbers to them Choose goals that stretch you but are attainable Commit to achieving your goals 10

11. Business Plan Develop a business plan A business plan helps keep you on track and focussed A business plan answers the what, when, how and where It should be updated regularly It can help you raise finances 11

12. Develop a Business Plan What market research have you done? Market analysis What do you know about your industry? Industry analysis How are you going to market your products and services? Marketing plan How are you going sell your product or service? Sales strategy 12

13. Develop a Business Plan What tools are you going to use to promote and when? Promotional plan How much are you going to spend on marketing? Marketing budget How are you going to manage and operate the business? Operations plan How many people are you going to employ and what will they do? Employee plan 13

14. Develop a Business Plan Con’t How much will you charge for your products and services? Pricing How much do you need to sell every month to survive? Break-even sales How much money will you need to keep the business running? Cash flow forecast How much profit will you make each month? Income statement projections 14

15. Develop a Business Plan Con’t How much will the business be worth at the end of the year? Balance sheet forecast How would summarize this into 1 or 2 pages? Executive summary 15

16. Develop Business Systems Develop systems, policies, and procedures to help you manage your business on a daily basis Good systems help you ensure that your customers get consistent products and services Systems enable you to delegate better Systems enable you as the owner to focus on growing the business 16

17. Develop Business Systems Develop systems for the following Sales Marketing Administration Staff policies Delivery and distribution Accounting 17

18. Develop Business Systems Once you have implemented good systems: Your business can really grow as you can extricate yourself from the business and hand over your duties You can replicate your business model You can sell your business You need good people to manage and operate the systems 18

19. Employ the Right People To build a successful business you need good people Develop a list of the people you need to help you achieve your goals Find good people through networking, online resources, and other methods Develop a good interview process Check references 19

20. Employ the Right People Develop clear job descriptions Find people with a great attitude Don’t be afraid to employ people that are brighter than you Train your people regularly Develop a great working environment 20

21. Legal Protection Get legal advice on how to structure your business as it grows Trademarks - ensure that you register your company name and any other product brand names Legal agreements – as your business grows getting proper legal agreements makes business sense If you have unique products patent them 21

22. Technology Use technology to help you grow your business Use computers to increase your productivity and efficiency Use technology and software that is scalable Develop an internet strategy Use online resources 22

23. Build a Brand If you really want to build a successful business you need to build a great brand A brand is a promise of the value a customer will receive from your business Your branding includes Your logo Your slogan Your colours 23

24. Build a Brand Your brand is about: What makes your product or services unique Your customer service What benefits your customer gets by buying from your business Branding helps build trust and credibility Branding helps build value in your business 24

25. 25 Spend 80% of your time marketing and selling, it’s the only way to build a million $ business

26. Manage Customer Relationships Spend time with your customers Develop great relationships Turn customers from: Prospects To customers To raving fans 26

27. Monitor Your Cash Flow To build a successful business you need to monitor the inflow and outflow of cash in your business Develop annual expense budgets Develop annual sales budgets Develop annual departmental budgets 27

28. Grow Carefully Focus on business vision and goals Don’t grow your business too fast Learn from your mistakes Don’t give up Canada needs us to build successful businesses to create jobs 28

29. Thank you for attending To register for the next BizLaunch seminar in your area go to www.BizLaunch.ca 29