Tara West » business plan

MLM Business Plan: How to Develop An Effective MLM Business Plan

Tara — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 02:27:04 +0000

Can you imagine taking a 6 month holiday – the holiday of your life – without first giving thought to where you would like to go, where you would like to stay, and what attractions you would like to visit? Whilst it may be fun and exciting at first to just set off into the sunset without a plan or care in the world, it would begin to wear a little thin when you get lost and don’t enjoy the towns or cities you’re visiting.

This is why it is important to plan first.

Your MLM business plan gives you the opportunity to objectively look at your options, analyse your market and competitors, devise appropriate strategies, and set your goals so you can hit your targets and have success in your business.

With thousands of people starting and failing in MLM each year, your MLM business plan will be your blueprint to staying on track and, importantly, saving yourself time and money in the long run.

Why Research Is The Backbone To Your MLM Business Plan:

Consider your research as the backbone to your business plan. The research you conduct now will form the basis of your plan and allow you to objectively analyse each key component of your business plan, namely: the industry; your target market; your competitors; and your operational requirements.

Once you have researched and defined these areas, you can then begin to develop your business plan.

But before your begin your research, take time in thinking about the questions you would like answers to; in alignment with the industry, target market, competitors and operational requirements.

What do you need to know?
What problems must be solved in each area?
Who are your customers? Dependable on the MLM company you are involved with and how you intend to market, there will be certain customer characteristics that need defining such as: geographics, lifestyle, age, gender, customer requirements, motivations, brand loyalties, and so on.
What type of people would you like to attract as business builders?
How are you going to find your business builders / leaders?
What type of marketing channels will work best for you?
What type of product do your customers buy and why?
What do your competitors do to attract those customers?
What have been the trends in the industry; and what are the forecasted trends?
What are the legal or regulatory requirements in your industry / niche?
What are the costs to starting your business?
How should you structure your business (i.e. sole trader / company / trust / etc)?

Prepare your questions beforehand so you don’t waste valuable time in re-visiting your research sources to gain additional information.

Dependable on the MLM company you are involved in (or wish to be involved in), your research can be conducted via a number of different methods, including (amongst others):

Reviewing the company’s website and marketing material.
Personally calling the company.
Reading third-party reviews.
Talking to leaders in the company.
Accessing statistical data by Government agencies and other independent bodies. This is also important to define industry trends.
Gathering information from trade or industry associations associated with your niche.
Contacting educational institutions to access research projects.
Examining the competition: opt in to lists, talk to leaders from competitor companies, and research competitor websites.
Consulting with a qualified accountant.
Networking with other people and leaders who are already involved in network marketing.

The 6 Key Parts (or Elements) In Your MLM Business Plan:

Executive Summary: This is an outline that may describe such matters as your background, goals, assets, financial returns, vision / mission, and so on.
Business Description: Outline your business name and structure and describe your product (or service), industry, your market, customers and so on.
Competitor Analysis: Outline your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) in accordance with your own business and competitor analysis.
Sales & Marketing Plan: Outline your sales and marketing strategies, which should also link to your financial plan.
Financial Analysis: Include an income statement, cash flow statement and balance sheet which also provides a break-even analysis and ratio analyses to determine stability of certain aspects of your business.
Appendices: Include references, examples, case studies, spreadsheets, etc.

In closing, your MLM Business Plan should be approached in the same or similar manner as a business plan for a ‘traditional’ business.

FREE RESOURCES:

SWOT Analysis Template, including methods and examples.
The Game of Business and How To Play It by Paul Gorman: free eBook

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Defining Your Wants & Needs For Business Success

Tara — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 04:46:11 +0000

Part 2: How to define your values, wants and needs so you can create a road-map and mindset that is crucial to defining who you are, where you want to go, and the Entrepreneurial vision to succeed.

Once you’ve clearly Defined Your Values For Business Success (Part 1) you’ll then want to work out what your wants and needs are in alignment with your Values.

Now you know what truly matters to you and makes you fulfilled (aka your values), how does that fit into the whole business plan? How can you fit that into your business life?

Next step is in defining your strengths; what you love doing and that makes your heart sing with joy… incidentally, can you see how this is starting to fit with your Values? Think of it like a jigsaw puzzle

The first piece of the jigsaw puzzle is your Values, the next piece is listing out what you’re good at or love doing. Everything can be learned, so don’t be concerned if you’re not a ‘master’ of something you love doing or would love to do… when you consistently apply that skill and continuously upgrade your knowledge, you WILL become a master and leader.

Below is a Worksheet to help you out, but hang on to your horses… don’t open it yet. Because there’s another piece of the jigsaw that makes it all fit together.

And that is your Needs.

When you’ve identified what you love doing and of which speaks to your heart, the next piece of the jigsaw puzzle is to define what your needs are at this point in time. For instance, given that you want to find or start a home based business, one of these needs may be flexibility and freedom to work the hours you want. Complete this part of the Worksheet and jot down all the reasons you are starting a home based business; and I mean EVERYTHING, no matter if you feel something is trivial – jot it down.

You’re nearly there…

Final step of the jigsaw puzzle is to define your Wants.

And I want you to dream BIG here. What do you REALLY want out of life, out of your business? Your home based business will determine the QUALITY of life you have, so consider your personal life as well, not just your business wants.

As an example, one of your wants for a home based business may be to earn $250k annually; so this would affect your personal life too in what you want for yourself and your family. DREAM BIG. Imagine this part of your Worksheet as your Life & Business Canvas; here you can design the life and business that you REALLY want – not just need.

Once you’re done defining your Values, Strengths, Needs and Wants, you will start to see an emerging pattern of what really matters to you.

Only then can you can start to put all the jigsaw pieces together to map out your future life and identify a business that is in alignment with all four areas.

Once you do, and once you find or start that home based business which is in alignment with all four areas, then you will truly step out with passion and purpose and enjoy the LIFE you created for yourself.

Have fun piecing it together!

Download Your Wants & Needs Worksheet

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