FAQs for Step 46: Describe Your Operation
Q: What are the factors I need to look at in determining “how” my business will operate?
Q: What are the factors I need to look at in determining “how” my business will operate?
Businesses operate in different ways. This topic is as wide and deep as the marketplace, but after a couple examples, you’ll be able to determine for yourself what to describe in your business plan. Keep in mind, your task is to clarify how and where your business will operate.
Consider this. A consulting business operating from a home office will house the administrative functions of the business in the home office, and might have the ability to entertain a client or two in the office, but for the most part operations (meeting and working directly with customers, etc.) will take place somewhere else. Consultants might travel to the client’s location or meeting in a suitable location to do the work. Professional services necessary to operate the business (bookkeeper, accountant, lawyer, etc.) will all have their own offices. The location of the home office, for this style of business operation, is not so critical as long as the home is within easy driving distance of the customers. These dynamics and this type of description might work well for a variety of home-based service businesses.
Contrast this with a storefront retail business, where location is critical to the success of the business. Business operations focus on the store location and getting customers in the door. Parking now becomes a significant consideration, and visibility and traffic counts take on a major role. Shipping costs become more important. Business operations for a storefront will be more concerned with the floor layout and how to present the goods. Most likely there is concern about travelling to client’s locations.
The two examples above are not only different from each other, but also starkly different from how a lumber manufacturing business would operate. Vastly different from all of the above would be an eCommerce business, selling its goods exclusively via the Internet.
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