Do You Act Like a Professional?

Written by Betty Ann Wilkins


What does it take to be considered a Professional? Webster's dictionary defines a professional as engaging in an occupation for money. Does this mean that by just engaging in a profession you are a professional? Of course not. To be considered a professional you not only need to have a great deal of knowledge and experience in your chosen field, but you must also conduct business in a professional manner.

To develop a professional image requires time and effort. Let's take a look atrepparttar areas of your business where you should show professionalism.

* Communications *

Your attitude can make or break you. The way you deal with clients, associates, suppliers, other business people, questions, requests, complaints, and all other types of business communications will highly reflect on your own professional image. In all communications you should consider this before responding.

Always be courteous. Be well mannered, respectful and warm. Say, "thank you", "please", "You're welcome" whenever appropriate. Make sure you let people know that you appreciate their time and effort ---- don't forget to include letting your clients know that you appreciate their business.

Never misrepresent yourself or your products/services. Your honesty with clients and associates will go along way. Remember that you must earn their trust -- you cannot do that if you are not honest to a fault. Being honest will gain you life-long relationships with your clients and associates.

* Products & Customer Relations *

Always deliver more than was expected. Make sure your clients receive even more value than they anticipated. If you don't they will most probably be disappointed with you and will not become a repeat customer. Repeat customers are more important thanrepparttar 106880 sale. A repeat customer will buy more of your products and will praise your products to others that may buy from you as well.

Prepare Your Business For Opening Day

Written by Brett Krkosska


Every new business venture begins with a plan. Before opening your doors for business, whether virtual or physical, you must be prepared forrepparttar many details involved in running a business. Thinking through these details and putting them on paper helps you to be prepared.

OBJECTIVES OF YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

A business plan lays outrepparttar 106879 future of your business. It is a written document which tells what you do and how you plan to do it. While your plan is a unique document designed for your type of business, there are certain objectives contained within any good business plan:

1. Sets forth goals and how they will be achieved.

2. Defines obstacles and outlines strategies to overcome them.

3. Statesrepparttar 106880 legal and organizational structure ofrepparttar 106881 business.

4. Quantifies financial needs and makes financial projections.

LENGTH OF YOUR BUSINESS PLAN

The length of your plan depends onrepparttar 106882 purpose you will use it for. If you need to acquire venture capital for your business, you may need to provide extensive detail for prospective investors. If your plan is simply a roadmap for you to follow, it can be quite short. Whether it is one paragraph or 100 pages depends entirely on your objectives.

YOUR BUSINESS PLAN IS UNIQUE

Business plans vary from industry to industry and from business to business. No two plans are alike. Your emphasis should be on providing an accurate and realistic presentation of your business. Your plan is about you and your business - this makes it a unique creation.

That said, you can still benefit by studying sample business plans - like those at Bplans.com. Noticerepparttar 106883 various formats and styles used byrepparttar 106884 authors. Do you see categories you should include in your plan? How didrepparttar 106885 author structure their writing to conclude a point? Takerepparttar 106886 lead from sample plans to capturerepparttar 106887 tone and refine your own plan.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF

A good business plan tackles three major areas. Look at repparttar 106888 questions within each ofrepparttar 106889 three areas below and answer them as they apply to your business.

1. The Business

What isrepparttar 106890 legal structure of your business? Will it be a sole proprietorship, a partnership, or a corporation? What isrepparttar 106891 name of your business? Who arerepparttar 106892 people in your business? How is your business uniquely positioned to succeed? What are existing conditions within your industry? How do you intend to grow? What is your product? What does it do? How will you handle and deliver orders?

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