photo credit: hughelectronic

A business plan, in its simplest form, defines where you want your startup to be within a certain period of time and how you plan on getting there. A business plan is as important for launching your startup as blueprints are for building your house.

Diligent research (online or libraries) can help you answer questions about pricing structure, sales, funding and other issues you might come across in the planning process. One interesting thing you’ll notice is that while writing a business plan you will confront important issues you might not otherwise think of.

One important suggestion we would like to give all startup owners is that “write your business plan” yourself and avoid outsourcing it to specialists. The process of writing a business plan is much more important than the final document. You can either use software such as Business Plan Pro or make a structured business plan with a proper format.

Various types of people may read your business plan – your bank manager, business advisory organizations, alternative providers of finance or even friends and work colleagues who will be running the business and using your plan on a daily basis. Therefore, make sure that your plan is exhaustive, clear and well structured for everyone to understand.

You can also have a look of the following articles:

http://www.askdavetaylor.com/how_important_is_my_business_plan.html
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-inbox12-2010jan12,0,1591095.story

A new idea is often the basis for starting up a business. Many entrepreneurs spot a gap in the market and start businesses that provide a product or service that fills it. Though having an idea is important but entrepreneurs get so involved in their ideas that they lose focus and objectivity. Here is where researching your business idea becomes important.

It is important to research the viability of your idea before launching a startup. Thorough assessment and market research at an early stage will help you to establish whether there is a market for your product or service.

The research plan should clearly spell out the objectives of your research. Research can be conducted by gathering information from the web, periodicals, federal and state agencies, industry associations, and so on. You can categorize the research by following the 4C’s – Company, Customer, Competitor and Collaborators.

A detailed article on the same is written by Karen E. Spaeder in Entrepreneur.com:
http://www.entrepreneur.com/startingabusiness/businessideas/evaluatingyouridea/article70518.html

Shenker, president of the ONswitch LLC, a full-service marketing firm in Westchester, New York. "Rather than taking the time to thoroughly plan and research, they sometimes plow ahead with execution, only to spend valuable dollars on unfocused or untargeted activities."

A common mistake many startups make is that they don’t conduct strict research to check the feasibility of their ideas.  Research is of vital importance to startups if they want to be successful.

Don't start up your own business because you want to be your own boss. People prefer to become entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons. For some it’s a chance to get rid of their mundane nine-to-five routine while other wants to devote their lives to something that is much closer to their hearts.

Here are a few actual reasons by George, why you really should give it a try and start up your own business: http://www.onlineinvestingai.com/blog/2009/07/14/5-reasons-to-start-your-own-business/

2. No such thing as Job Security
People used to believe in job security. They thought that if they spent decades working for a company, the company would take care of them and give them money for retirement. Many people even thought that they could not be fired because they had been working there for so long. That seems like a pretty dated notion in today’s globally competitive world. Even unions, which attempt to ensure job security, cannot survive when their employers and industries disappear.
 

It's time to stop creaking. The economy might be melting down like a dab of butter on a hot Hummer roof, but for startups this could be a great opportunity. There's no better time for startups than the present, especially when the competitors around you have their list of reasons why they shouldn't start following their own business dreams right now. Here is a nice post by Mike Butcher: http://www.guardian.co.uk/tech-media-invest-100/no-better-time-startup

So, what do we have? The right economic climate and lots of market spaces left to fill. And - for the right people, teams and ideas - capital. Just remember which companies started up in the mid-1970s - one of the world's worst economic dips? Microsoft and Apple. Now all you have to do is go and do it.

As a start up entrepreneur there are many decisions that you need to take everyday. And if even 50% go correct, chances are that you will rise above the other umpteen competitors and create a brand of your own. Robert Scoble of the Scobelizer has a great post and follow up comments going here: http://scobleizer.com/2009/11/13/the-worst-things-startups-do/.
Some points that he mentions are a bit over the top like this one

11. Startups pick old technology because it’s familiar. You’re a startup, you should be picking the best of breed for everything you do. If you are using Microsoft Office “just because” then you are making a mistake. Have you considered Jive, SocialText, Zoho, Google Docs and Spreadsheets and Wave before making your choices? Have you really looked at ways to make your small company more productive? Or you just going with the same stuff your dad’s company used?

The other ones are more reasonable and offer some great insights into what you should NOT do as a start up.