How To Plan A Start-Up Business

Starting a small business is not as complicated as it once was. Start-up costs can be significantly minimized through Internet use. The modern day company can even be run from a small corner of a very modest home. In spite of greater access and reduced overheads, however, people still need to have a plan if they are going to succeed. Following are some of the most important aspects of the start-up process to consider when attempting to get a new business off the ground.

Your Products Or Services
The first thing to consider is what you will offer your clients. You cannot turn a profit without a tangible good, a service or information that others will be willing to pay for. If you plan on selling products, you must decide how you will build your inventory and should additionally determine how production or acquisition costs will impact your profits.

Your Market
There must be people who want what you have to offer and these individuals must be qualified to buy it. When you opt to sell products that are already available on the market, you can assess past product demand. If you have services to sell instead, you will need to research your competitors carefully to ensure that there is sufficient room for your operations.

Marketing Plan
How you will present your goods to the world is another crucial consideration. This is where the web comes in handy. Social networking sites, video hosting sites and other online marketing platforms will help you to get this portion of your operations up and running with very nominal investments.

Your Sales Platform
With a limited start-up budget you want to make sure to use the Internet to the fullest in order to both promote and sell. This requires a functional website with secure socket layer technology. Once you have this, you can start reaching out to people all over the world and leading them back to your sales pages.

The Money
The money that will be required for these efforts is usually the first thing that people are encouraged to consider. By outlining all other elements first, many people are able to find low-cost or even free ways to get started in spite of their limited budgets. If additional funding will be required, you can use the information that you have gathered in these areas to draft a comprehensive business plan that can be presented to lending institutions.

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Choosing a Time Tracking Tool for Your Freelance Business

Author: Kelly Drill

If you bill your clients by the hour, accurate time-tracking data is critical to the success of your business. A search of the Web reveals no shortage of time-tracking applications. However, most are designed for teams and, therefore, cost-prohibitive (or simply too complex) for the average freelancer.
Here are some tips for choosing a time-tracking tool for your freelance business so you can spend less time on administrative minutia and more time serving your clients.

Capture Hours in Real Time
Time-tracking apps generally fall into one of two categories: timer-based tools and online timesheets. As you consider your options, bear in mind that there are three primary benefits to tracking your hours in real time. First, real-time data capture is more efficient. Clicking "start" and "stop" on a timer is infinitely faster than entering your hours at the end of the week (or the month) into a spreadsheet.

Second, tracking your hours in real time allows you to more closely monitor your clients' budgets as compared to your progress on their projects. This allows you to identify problems immediately and communicate them to your clients before they become unexpected expenses.

Third, real-time hours tracking can dramatically improve the accuracy of your data, which means ensuring that you get paid for every minute of your hard work. It's all too easy to short-change yourself when you rely on manual or after-the-fact time-tracking methods. Relying instead on a timer eliminates the potential for human error and oversight.

Invoice Your Way
If you've been operating a freelance business for any amount of time, you already have an invoicing process in place; but many time-tracking apps box you into a particular invoicing format. Switching formats mid-stream can be both confusing for your clients and disruptive to your accounting processes. The solution? Keep it simple. You don't need another invoicing tool and you shouldn't pay for functionality you won't use. The time-tracking app you choose should provide for easy, customizable exports that work seamlessly with your existing invoicing process.

Don't Break the Bank
Don't be fooled into thinking that the best time-tracking tools are the most expensive. Most freelancers operate on fairly lean budgets, and an added expense of $20 or more each month simply doesn't make sense. Before you invest in any time-tracking tool, be sure you've done your homework. Rest assured, there are some good tools available for just pennies a day. Just be sure, however, that the tool you choose will adequately suit your needs. Many apps that offer free accounts also limit the number of projects or clients you can include, and others don't allow for exports. Opt for an app that is both cost-effective and full-featured.

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