What investors are looking for is a very simple question, with a very simple answer. Investors want a return on their investment. In other words, they want to be assured that if they invest money in an enterprise, that they have a better than average chance of that investment of money making more money for them. They want to see profit.

Getting a little more specific, investors want an assurance that there is a need for the product or service that a company is marketing. For instance, there would be very little market for pork sandwiches in a predominantly Muslim country because the people there don’t eat pork. On the other hand, a gourmet coffee bar in a college town would have a built in demand for the product offered, gourmet coffee.

After this assurance, investors want to know that the management team and key players involved in the business are competent, that they know what they are doing and are capable of running the business and making a profit. That is the reason that most business plans include resumes for the managers and key personnel.

After key personnel are scrutinized, investors will look closely at a marketing plan to see how the company plans to make a profit. Marketing is a misunderstood work. Because telemarketers are so common, many people think marketing just means selling. Actually selling is a part of marketing. So is advertising, which is paid for and publicity, which is hoped and prayed for. And that is the difference between the two.

Publicity is acquired when a newspaper writes about your company, or a TV station features it on a news program. Advertising is what a company pays to have appear in various media. Other parts of marketing are promotional efforts like trade show. Investors usually like to see an integrated marketing plan, with a specific goal of selling more of the product or service offered.

The IMC, or integrated marketing communications approach, holds to the idea than a coordinated and consistent plan across all levels of marketing will yield better results, and investors love to see this type of plan.

In the end however the answer is still very simple. Investors want to make a profit, and if they invest in your company they want to know how you will go about making that profit.

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Choosing a structure for your business is an important step, and requires doing your homework. Not all structures as suited for all people and all businesses. Basic structure types are sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company and corpor-ations. Variations within these structures occur in different states according to various state laws, but are all very close.

Sole proprietorship – the most common type of structure is the sole proprietorship. In this structure, the businesses is in essence another name for the business owner. All profits belong to the owner, and all debts and liabilities are the responsibility of the owner.

This is the simplest type of business structure to set up and simple bookkeeping procedures can be used. The upside to this business type is being taxed only once. The owner’s profits are taxed as income. Most sole proprietorship owners save receipts on all purchases and look for ways to declare items as business expenses to keep taxes low. On the downside, if the business is sued the owner is liable, and if the business acquires debt is personal debt to the owner.

Partnerships – a partnership is just like a sole proprietorship but with more than one individual. Most business professionals recommend, rather than a partnership, dividing shares in a corporation or limited liability company to keep things neater and less confusing and to offset personal liability.
Limited Liability Company – or LLC, actually a very simple form of corporation in most states. It limits the liability of the partners or shareholders and is formed for a specific purpose, such as operating as a business. It is seen as a separate legal entity legally and offers taxation benefits to owners of small companies that are not always available to corporations.

The LLC offers, as the name implies, limited liability. If the company is found liable in a lawsuit only the assets of the LLC can be attached, whereas in a partnership or sole proprietorship the owner’s assets are at risk. The LLC offers many of the benefits of a corporation, with a simpler structure.
Corporation – the corporate structure offers the most protection for shareholders.

It is also the most complicated type of structure to set up. While an owner can set the corporation up on his own, most people hire lawyers to assist in the process. Corporations are regulated by the states in which they are registered and by the federal government. While an individual can form a corporation and own all of the stock himself, he must have officers and a board of directors, and these individuals are tasked with ensuring that the corporation follows all state and federal laws and regulations.

Advantages to a corporation include legal protection from debt and liability, but disadvantages include double taxation – the salary of the owner as well as corporate profits are taxed, and less flexibility of action.

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Creating a business plan is much like drawing a blueprint for the success of your business. It is an exercise that helps the entrepreneur get all of his thoughts in the proper place, and determine what you need to do for success and how to get there, much the way a road map takes you from one town to another.

Parts of the plan usually include: an introduction – defining the purpose of the plan; overview of company – defining what the company is and will be; product description – describing the product the company will sell; marketing and sales-outlining the venues which will be used to selling product such as TV advertising, personal selling, public relations, newspaper advertising, etc; market comparison-describing the current market for the product; stage of development-showing exactly where the company and products fit in the big picture; market trends—how the market is changing, for instance in the world of fast food the trend today is towards multi-concepts at one location; competition—showing who the company is competing against, their strengths and weaknesses, the way a general views his opponent during wartime; management—bios or resumes of managers and key personnel, showing their qualifications and how they can symbiotically interact with each other for the good of the company; and financial information, especially current financial statements and sales forecasting—predictions of future sales.

Your business plan is a living document in that it can be changed as the market and other conditions change, but gives a guide to adhere to. Creating the plan requires the entrepreneur and his key associates to look at each section, pool their knowledge and take and honest inventory of all of the factors involved. They need to discover the strengths and the weaknesses of their business model, and where they are weak determine ways to either de-emphasize that aspect, or find key personnel who have skills in that area. While it may seem to some like a mundane chore, writing and creating a business plan is the first step to success.

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Choosing the best name for your business is a creative act, but it demands common sense as well. The business name should be catchy and easy to remember, it should reflect what the business does, and it should inspire confidence.

One school of thought is that your business name should include the name of the town in which you live because that inspires some sort of official status. In previous years names of that type were popular and there may have been a point to that.

If that is the case and you are an accountant living in Pittsburgh, then a name like Pittsburgh Accounting and Tax Service may serve you well. That name will appeal to more traditional and conservative customers. But, if your accounting service takes the stress away from doing taxes, and you want something a little more catchy, then Stress Free Accounting might serve your needs more.

Avoiding the boring is important. Nothing is more boring than the first thought most people have—Your Name Enterprises. A business is an enterprise of course, but the name really doesn’t say anything to your customer about what you can do for them.

Another business took the traditional approach, but added to it with a slogan that was used as a part of the name. That company was Springfield Writing Service, a company that produced resumes for job seekers. The slogan “Resumes That Work” appeared under the company name on all company literature for several years, and eventually the company was thought of by most people simply as Resumes That Work. When the internet age came, they simply adopted their slogan as the new company name and even the address for their web site, resumesthatwork.biz.

A great way to find a business name is to glance through the Yellow Pages and newspapers of other cities, far away from yours. Look for businesses like yours that have names that appeal to you, and think of variations, and ways you can alter the names to fit you. And always remember that it is the name of your business that leaves a first, lasting impression.

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