The very first step of your business career should be to start creating a highly focused Business Plan. Without a business plan you are setting out on the route to failure – guaranteed!

Look at it this way, when your build a house you must lay the foundations for the house to stand. The same rules apply for any business; whether it’s a home based business, high street business, or even an internet business; you simply MUST HAVE a business plan.

The problem is for the majority of aspiring entrepreneur’s, they do not know what to include in their business plane, or if they do, they put the business plan at the bottom of their drawer, never to be seen again!

So, the first step in writing a business plan that is guaranteed to bring you success is to get down the basics. The basics should include details of you as the primary business owner, and also any other ‘key players’ in the business. Within these details you should include contact details for every relevant person, just in case you need to contact them in an emergency. Once you have gained all of the relevant details should now start to focus on the following areas:

Your business idea Within this section you should write down your business ideas. Don’t worry, a business plan is a working document, and therefore you can change the business plan as your ideas and creativity progress.

The aim of the business Within this section of the plan try to detail what the main aim/objectives of the business are. You should try to include short, medium and long term aims of the business. Where do you want to be in 3 months time? Where do you want to be in 12 months/36 months and 60 months time etc?

Your product and services Within this section you should concentrate on providing details that are relevant to your product or service. Always, and I mean always, aim for quality in everything that you do. Who’s going to make your product? Who’s going to deliver the service and are they capable of delivering the same high standards that you expect? Remember, without other’s help, you will not succeed in business.

Trade accounts Within this section you should include define details that relate to your trade accounts. Are you going to meet with them face-to-face, or are you going to communicate b telephone and e mail? It is very important that you meet up with your trade accounts from time to time in order to build up a relationship/

Business funding Within this section of the business plan, try to define details that relate to the funding of your business. Are you going to fund the expansion yourself, or are you going to seek capital from a third party such as a bank or venture capitalists? Whichever you choose, make sure you can afford the repayments!

Other areas of your plan should include Business premises, staff details, further costs and expenses, inventory and action for progress.

A good jewelry business plan is essential to the success of anyone think about setting up a jewelry booth, jewelry shop or just selling via the internet. Decent jewelry business software should not be overlooked either.

I am an enthusiastic jewelry maker but marketing and business practices are not my forte. I love the design and artistic side of creating quality jewelry and love to chat with friends and associates about various methods and techniques. That’s what I personally enjoy, but I realized that it wasn’t enough if I actually wanted to sell my products and turn a profit.

That’s where my sister-in-law came in. She showed me how to evaluate jewelry business plans and software. As a fellow jewelry business friend, I was interested in what she had to say. Her business was turning over four times what mine was doing. We’d both started at around the same time, give or take a month or two, our jewelry was fairly similar and I had no less enthusiasm than she did. She showed me the jewelry business plan she was working from, but also demonstrated to me key points to look out for if I wanted to purchase a plan.

There is plenty of information to be had on the actual art of creating great jewelry, but jewelry business tips in a commercial sense are hard to come by. So my ears pricked up. This is what she told me to look for:

It sounds obvious, but make sure the jewelry business plan has an extensive general introduction on how to set up a jewelry business and what the market is looking for in terms of booth, shop and internet selling. You simply must know which market you should be trying to sell your own designs and creations into. As I’ve already alluded to, it’s fantastic to be creative and have wonderful ideas and skills, but if you want to make jewelry making more than just a hobby, you can’t ignore what people actually want to buy and what price they are prepared to pay for different merchandise.

Ensure the guide covers both selling online and also via stores, whether they be temporary (jewelry shows and fairs) or permanent.

The plan should fully understand and explain the relationships between costs, turnover and profit. If, like me, you are not a financial wizard, this should be clearly explained and relate directly to a jewelry business.

Look for personal examples. There is nothing to help you learn better than real life examples of going from making a loss to making a profit. A good plan should include mistakes made and lessons learned by the author. There is no substitute for personal experience, rather than theoretical pontificating.

Make sure the plan gives good advice on how to present your stall, booth or website. Presentation is crucial in the jewelry business.

Your plan should also cover all tax implications and how to keep records acceptable to the IRS. Also covered should be cash flow forecasting and how to negotiate with suppliers, show organizers and web-site designers. Useful tips on how to promote a web-site would also be advisable.

You should also learn about business licenses and insurance. They may not sound that interesting, but are, nonetheless, vital to sustaining a healthy business.

In effect, find a jewelry business plan that takes all the hassle out of the business side of things and leaves you free to do what you are most interested in: making great hand-crafted jewelry.