| Purveyors of conventional wisdom would have you | | | | Or, maybe your business is such that sales fluctuate |
| believe that the very first thing you ought to do when | | | | during the year. How will you make it through the lean |
| setting up a new business is to create a business plan. | | | | months? Can you handle the uncertainty? |
| It doesn't matter whether you are selling odds and | | | | So, how do you find information? |
| ends on eBay from your living room or something | | | | First, if other people provide services similar to yours, |
| larger and more complex, | | | | talk to them. You can gain a lot of information quickly. |
| Business plans are excellent and necessary. Far too | | | | Their answers to your questions will save you a lot of |
| few of us self-employed and freelance people use | | | | legwork and open your eyes to factors you may not |
| them. | | | | have considered. |
| They force us to spell out our objectives. We have to | | | | You can find them through trade associations, schools, |
| assign numbers to our expectations and assign a | | | | word-of-mouth. If the locals are reluctant to share |
| time-line to our goals. They become our roadmap | | | | information - perhaps because they see you as direct |
| keeping us on track. | | | | competition, consider finding similar people in a different |
| But I suggest that you can't make a business plan that | | | | locale. |
| is worth anything until you've done your homework. | | | | Second, create the information you need. |
| And that means knowing what you want to do and | | | | Mimic and simplify what the 'big boys' do. Reduce their |
| how you want to do it. And determining that there is | | | | methods down to a level that is practical and |
| sufficient demand for your product to generate | | | | affordable. |
| enough income to cover your costs and allow a profit. | | | | For example, perhaps you want to survey potential |
| In other words, before the business plan comes | | | | clients and customers to get feedback. |
| research. | | | | It will probably be neither affordable nor practical to |
| If a body of knowledge already exists, it makes sense | | | | commission a focus group. But you may be able to |
| to tap into it and save yourself some work. The US | | | | speak to potential targets informally or use direct mail |
| Bureau of Labor Statistics and other such sources, for | | | | to send a simple survey. |
| example, publish a great deal of demographic | | | | Eventually you'll have to 'put your toe in the water.' Try |
| information. Some of it is very useful. | | | | it out in a small way - so you won't lose much if it |
| But it is also likely that as a creative sole-proprietor, | | | | doesn't work - and observe the results. Then |
| meaningful statistics don't exist about your specialty. | | | | experiment and modify as needed. Once it works to |
| Many micro-businesses target a very specialized niche. | | | | your liking you can plunge right in. |
| And many owned by creative types exist to sell a | | | | This approach, known by the technical term "trial and |
| product or service that don't follow well-worn | | | | error" can be applied to any facet of your business. |
| prototypes. | | | | After all, even the largest producers test market new |
| It is particularly difficult for such people to find | | | | products before rolling them out. |
| meaningful published data. | | | | Put some parameters around your efforts. Decide, in |
| If you fall into these categories, you'll have to generate | | | | advance, how much time you want to allow and how |
| your own information. | | | | much you want to budget. |
| There is more to your research than just the purely | | | | Then test, test, test. |
| business information. You are building a life as well as | | | | Use trial and error for every aspect of your business. |
| a business. | | | | Experiment with different ways of packaging your |
| Are the demands and conditions of your proposed | | | | services, different rates and prices, different types of |
| business compatible with the life you want to create? | | | | marketing, etc. |
| For example, illustrators often work on short deadlines | | | | You'll soon find that certain approaches work better |
| - meaning that sometimes they have to work far into | | | | than others. Eventually your data will suggest your |
| the night to complete a project on deadline. Plus, some | | | | strategies. |
| clients are demanding and not all pay on a timely basis. | | | | And then you'll be ready to create your business plan. |
| After all of that, can you still "love it" enough? | | | | |