Business Plans: Plan for Success

There are a few things that are essential to do in order to have a successful business. Commented [EN2]: Can you make a stronger hook for
this paper?
Writing out a business plan is one of them. A business plan is an outline you create about the

different tasks necessaryyou need to do to start and run your business, including the goals of

those tasks , and how you planare going to accomplish them. Without a well-thought-out

business plan, it is not very likely that your business will be successful. This document will Commented [EN3]: Good thesis.

outline reasons for creating a business plan, important elements to include in your plan, and the

ways in which how I will incincludelude a few of those elements in my personal business plan.

There are several reasons why you should write out a business plan before you start a

freelance editing business. First off, business planning gives you the chance to think about

various options that are available to you now and in the future, so that when you launch your

business, you know exactly what you’ are trying to accomplish.1 You will put many of your

ideas into practice; however, many ideas will also be thrown out. Your business priorities will be

reflected in the ideas you choose to follow through on.2 A business plan is also a great way to get

organized. It gives you a space to figure out everything you have to do while starting and running

your business, after whichand then you can plan out how to efficiently do all of those things

efficiently and effectively. You should n’tot just wing all of these things; you want to be strategic

when it comes to planning out your duties and objectives as a business owner.3 Another reason to

develop a business plan before starting your freelance editing business is that you’ll needto be

1
Louise Harnby, Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers: A Guide for New Starters (N.P.:
Louise Harnby, 2013), 7.
2
Ibid.
3
Tim Berry, “15 Reasons You Need a Business Plan,” Entrepreneur, March 13, 2006,
https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/83818.
able to show it to others. PShow portions of your plan to potential clients will need to see at least

portions of it in order to trust and become allies with your businessbuild business alliances. Share

your goals and priorities with those closest to you so that they can help you stay on track with

your plan.4 Creating a business plan forces you to think strategically about all aspects of your

business: the field you are going in to, the resources you will need, the skills you already have or

need to develop, who your target market is, ETCetc.5 Your Having a business plan will helps you

know where you want to go and how you are going to get there in the competitive world of

freelance editingorial work.

A good business plan consists of a few crucial things. First, there should be an executive Commented [EN4]:
Commented [EN5]: This paragraph is not cohesive,
summary which includes general information like the company name and services offered, as especially in regards to talking about new sections of a
business plan. Consider separating into two paragraphs or
restructuring the beginnings of sentences. Also, pay
well as the business’s mission and vision statements of the business. It’s usuallycould be a good attention to verb tense.

idea to write the executive summary this part last after you’ have figured out the all the details in

the rest of your plan. The company description should include things like the nature of your Commented [EN6]: Are you referring to the executive
summary or something else?
business,and the company’s growth and goalsh, and the goals of the company. There should be a

separate section that talks in depth about the services you offered services in depth—what each

one entails, how much it costs, how the client would benefit from it, and why your services have

advantages over other editors’ work. A market analysis can show your knowledge of the industry

by outlining target markets, evaluating your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, and

discussing marketing data for your services. The strategy and implementation section of your

business plan will give an overview of your marketing and sales strategy and how you are going

to implement it, including a description of how you will enter the market and promote your

businesss and first enter the market. This is also where you can figure out how best to manage

4
Ibid.
5
Harnby, Business Planning, 7–8.
your time with all the tasks that come with running a business. The last thing you should be sure

to include in your business plan is your financial plan and projections. Include all financial

statements and realistic, potential financial information so that you can track the growth of your

business and whether or not you are achieving your monetary goalss when it comes to profit.

These sections are some of the most important elements to have in a business plan and will help

your business have a clear focus and goal.6

One of the things I want to include in my business plan is my niche. In terms of

content, I am very interested in social justice issues—especially how they interact with formal

politics—so I want to work on projects that surround that, whether it be books, articles, or

potentially even textbooks about race, gender, ETCetc. II do not want too just work on projects

that focus on primarily on countries outside thethe United States ; I would like to work on pieces

that focus on other countries around the world as well so that I can continue learning about the

world as I work. In terms of my actual the editingactual work I will be doing work, I would

mostly like to copyedit and proofread since that is what I enjoy most. Through this sort of

specialization, IBy specializing my work in this way, I will beam able to to offer more to my

clients since I can build up pertinent skills and knowledge that actually has to do with their

specific projectsthat will allow me to better assist my clients with their individual projects. IIt

will also means that there will be able to lessen the competition with other freelancers editors

because most other editors will not be working in my exact field. Unfortunately, this niche also

means that my pool of clients will not always be very large; nevertheless, I can more easily focus

on the projects and clients that I want.

6
“Parts of a Business Plan: 7 Essential Sections,” National Federation of Independent Businesses, September 24,
2009, https://www.nfib.com/content/resources/start-a-business/7-essential-sections-of-a-business-plan-49946/.
 The services I will offer as part of my business include substantive editing, Forma&ed: Indent: Le^: 0.5"

copyediting, proofreading, fact checking, and reference checking. I can do any or all of

these things for any particular client. While the cost dof my work depends on things like

how long the manuscript is, substantive editing will definitely be the most expensive. I

will charge more for fact and reference checking than copyediting or proofreading

because it is it is much more tedious and tiresome to check references than to copyedit.

My services in these areas will be particularly helpful to clients because of my experience

editing in these different ways. I currently work for MuggleNet—the biggest Harry Commented [EN7]: Your experiene is amazing,but
unnecessary for this paper. Consider cutting it.
Potter fan website in the world—copyediting podcast transcripts and doing substantive

editing and copyediting on articles to be published. I have also done substantive editing,

copyediting, and proofreading for Schwa, a BYU student journal about linguistics, for

two years now. Lastly, I have worked with Terryl Givens on multiple book projects over

the past couple years, giving insights on content, fact checking, reference checking, and

proofreading his work before it goes to the publisher. Because of my experience working

with a range of content, levels of editing, and mediums of publication, the services I offer

will be invaluable to clients.

Another elementconcept I willould include in my business plan is timehow I am

going to management my time. Being a freelance editor means that I do not’t just edit; I run an

entire business all by myself. This means that I have to keep track of finances, appointment

scheduling, marketing, and everything else that comes with running a business. In my business

plan, I plan to work on a forty hour per week schedule as if I had a normal job that I went to

eight hours a day. I will start working at 8:00 AMa.m., and my entire morning will be dedicated Forma&ed: Small caps

to working on projects since that is the time of the day that I am the most focused and
productive. After taking a lunch break around noon, I will work for another four hours. I will

start my afternoon by working on the business side of things: answering emails, networking on

social media, and following up with potential clients, scheduling meetings with clients, keeping

track of finances, ETCetc. By doing these things daily, I will hopefully minimize the time I will

not have to spendd too much time working on them each day, and I will be able tocan go back to

working on projects for the last couple hours of my workday. I will make sure that clients know

my hours: 8:00 AMa.m.–5:00 PMp.m. on weekdays. During those hours, I will answer their calls Forma&ed: Small caps
Forma&ed: Small caps
and emails, and I will be happy to meet orwith them or talk withto them about their projects, but

outside of that block of time, I willam not working. By having this schedule set into my business

plan, it will be easier for me to manage my time well and not be overworked.

Creating a business plan will help you realize your to have a clear focus and goals

and standards as you launch your business. By thinking through the various aspects of running a

business, you will be able to be effective and efficient in all areas of your work. ThoughWhile

starting a business can be intimidating, yourhaving a business plan will make it much more

manageable.
 References

Berry, Tim. “15 Reasons You Need a Business Plan.” Entrepreneur. March 13, 2006.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/83818.

Harnby, Louise. Business Planning for Editorial Freelancers: A Guide for New Starters. N.P.:

Louise Harnby, 2013.

“Parts of a Business Plan: 7 Essential Sections.” National Federation of Independent Businesses.

September 24, 2009. https://www.nfib.com/content/resources/start-a-business/7-essential-

sections-of-a-business-plan-49946/.