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In Step 3 of " 10 Steps to Open for Business ," answering the “Defining Dozen” questions is vital to writing a good business plan . The Sloan brothers describe them in detail in StartupNation: Open for Business , their book. Here is the ninth of those questions, in a special book excerpt:

How much money do you need and how much will you make? Now’s the time to start mulling over your financials. The two fundamental ingredients here are the expenditures required to transform your idea into a viable, operating business and the revenues that that business will generate. You’ll start by thumbnailing how much you’ll spend on things like facilities (be it a retail store or a home office), product development, travel, legal fees, inventory, office supplies, marketing, and salaries for your employees. Be thorough. Talk to other people in your field , join an entrepreneur networking group in your industry, and pick their brains about how much it cost them to get started .

Then rough out your revenue projections. This should be the exhilarating part. It’s when you start to see how your idea will turn into actual dollars. Although this will be exciting, don’t project outlandish revenues. You’re setting yourself up for failure if you do. First, you’ll feel less than successful if you don’t meet those revenue targets at the end of the year. Second, overhyped revenue projections may lead to hiring too many people or building up huge inventories that you can’t sell.

Author: The Sloan Brothers

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