December is write a business plan month

December is Write a Business Plan month. You may wonder what that has to do with quilting, but for lots of quilters, quilting is their business.

If you plan to open a quilt shop or a long-arm quilting business, host retreats, design patterns or fabrics, teach classes, make custom quilts, sell your art quilts, or write about quilting, you will be in business and should have some kind of business plan before you get started. How else will you know if all this effort will be worth it? And more importantly, if you need to borrow money to start your business, you will need to convince the bank that you know what you're doing. Your business plan is the tool to do that.

Some businesses need much more detailed plans than others, (especially if they have inventory, employees and suppliers) but even a very simple business should have some kind of plan.

A basic business plan should include the following topics:

1. Executive Summary
2. Table of Contents
3. Company Description
4. Description of your Product or Service
5. Market Analysis
6. Marketing Plan
7. Operations Plan
8. Financial Plan
9. Management
10. Exit Strategy
11. Appendices

Appendices can include:

1. Vision statement
2. People (management & employees)
3. Business profile
4. Economic assessment
5. Cash flow assessment
6. Expansion plan

I started a business plan for my dream quilt shop in 1999. Work and life got in the way and I never did start that business, but the plan is still here on my hard drive waiting for the day when I can dust it off, update it and put it to use. I hope these resources help you get started on your own quilt-related business.

For some stories of people who have gone into business in various aspects of quilting, including shop owning, quilt appraising, and as a traveling quilt guild entertainer, check out my book, Open Your Heart with Quilting, and read the chapter on careers in the quilting industry. You can order an autographed copy in time for Christmas!

If you want some help getting started with writing a business plan, check out these helpful sites:

• My Own Business has info on the what, why, and how of a business plan. It includes lists such as top ten do's and don'ts of a business plan and sample business plans that you can adapt for your own use.
• The National Retail Federation has all kinds of information for small retail businesses including a wholepage of resources.
• The government has a few sites designed especially to help small businesses including the aptly named US Small Business Association.
• The IRS of course has the lat word in tax and expense information for small businesses. You can read all about it on their Small Business page.