Freelancer to Entrepreneur

Ground Rules of Learning Session

Ground Rules of Learning Session

Be punctual No phones will be allowed in the learning room

Allow others to speak do not interrupt

Ground Rules of Learning Session One speaker at a time Limit side conversation

Ground Rules of Learning Session Be respectful to others views and opinion

Encourage everyone to contribution

Do not make derogatory remarks

Every one participate no one dominate

Ground rules of Learning Session Listen to understand

All ideas are valid

No question is

Ground rules of Learning Session Seek common ground and understanding (not

problems and conflict)Respect confidentiality of conversation

A Freelancer:

• A freelancer is someone who performs tasks, usually for multiple employers over the course of a year. A freelancer is somewhat like a free agent in professional sports - he or she essentially sell their services to the highest bidder - except that they usually work for more than one employer.

• Freelancers may work part-time or full-time. Because they are not considered employers, freelancers are allowed to work for other employers and are usually permitted to perform tasks in their own way, so long as the work gets done to the client's specifications.

An Entrepreneur

An entrepreneur is a person who develops a new idea and takes the risk of setting up an enterprise to produce a product or service which satisfies customer needs. All entrepreneurs are business persons, but not all business persons are entrepreneurs.

Freelancer to Entrepreneur

Freelancing is the single easiest way to start a new business. A freelancer who creates a new thought new idea to made a big industry with freelancing field we can call them freelancer entrepreneur.

There is a difference between being a freelancer and being an entrepreneur. Freelancers just focus on delivering work and getting paid for it whether it is per hour or per project. On the other hand, entrepreneurs are more focused on building long-term businesses that work. They earn money while they are sleeping. In return they accept risks involved and have to be open to new challenges.

Objectives

Business planning Business Law Finance Marketing Operation Communication

Business planning

A business plan is a written description of your business's future, a document that tells what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. If you jot down a paragraph on the back of an envelope describing your business strategy, you've written a plan, or at least the germ of a plan.

Business plans are inherently strategic. You start here, today, with certain resources and abilities. You want to get to a there, a point in the future (usually three to five years out) at which time your business will have a different set of resources and abilities as well as greater profitability and increased assets. Your plan shows how you will get from here to there.

What will be the business plan

ORGANIZATION VISION, MISSION& VALUES MARKETING VISION & MISSION SITUATION ANALYSIS ORGANIZATION& MARKETING OBJECTIVES STRATEGY TACTICS ACTIVITY PLAN CONTROL AND EVALUATION

ORGANIZATION

This section should set your organization's destination and tone. Taking time to write this will help you focus on how your plan is going to get you there.

VISION Simply Digital Marketing example: Delivering up to date information on all things

Digital Marketing; we have thousands of visitors each month and support academics and professional achieve their Digital Marketing goals.

MISSION Simply Digital Marketing example: To deliver up to date and interesting content on

Digital Marketing, supporting academics and professional to succeed in this progressive profession. To practice what we preach and have a strong digital presence; being found, clear and memorable.

People Brand

Positive Trustworthy

Professional Reliable

Pioneering Progressive

Values

MARKETING VISION & MISSION

VISION Simply Digital Marketing example: We are a fully functional Marketing

department delivering a strong brand, message and presence. Our Marketing team has all the skills required to generate hundreds of quality leads each year through thoughtful Marketing strategies in SEM, Social Media, Website optimization and Advertising.

MISSION Simply Digital Marketing example: To support Simply Digital Marketing

and ensure a strong digital presence through SEO, Social Media and Display Advertising. Raise brand awareness and be recognised as a leading resource for academics and professionals.

SITUATION ANALYSIS

Your current situation will be driven from the analysis in your audit. The following sections are suggestions on what to include, but you only need to include the analysis which will become the foundation of your plan. It’s important to review all of your internal and external environments to highlight where you need to focus in order to improve your competitive situation.

LEARNING FROM LAST YEAR EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS MARKET OVERVIEW CURRENT TARGET MARKETS CURRENT AUDIENCES CUSTOMER TOUCH POINTS COMPETITION INTERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS

General SWOT Analysis

SWOT Analysis is a great way of highlighting what you’re good at and what you need to invest time and resources into.

Strengths E.g. Strong and clear website

Weaknesses E.g. Weak organic presence

Opportunities E.g. Build a strong Digital Marketing brand

Threats E.g. Large number of free resources already available

STRATEGY

What is your marketing strategy going to be? How are you going to achieve your objectives? It can be useful to take each objective and outline what you will do at a high level to achieve it within the term. This section can have as much detail as you need, but you can fully break your strategy down in the tactics and actions section.

There are so many possibilities it’s worth keeping this as an open section, but here are some pointers to get you thinking:

Raise brand awareness Increase internal communication Develop a distribution channel Develop a new product Go global

TACTICS• The finer details of your strategy should go in here – this could include

breaking down each strategic line above, for example raising brand awareness through online, TV and Radio advertising.

RESOURCES Detailing the resources you require to deliver your plan will help you

identify areas for internal or external recruitment. You can detail each resource here and the role they will play in delivering your plan.

BUDGET Once you understand the tactical elements of your plan you can put

together the budget you require to deliver it.

ACTIVITY PLAN

This is where you can really break your plan down into clear actions. If you’re experienced in project management you may choose to create a full project plan, which could include Gantt charts, network charts etc. – however there are other options such as the ones shown below:

MARKETING MIX CAMPAIGNS DISPLAY ADVERTISING SOCIAL MEDIA EMAIL MARKETING OTHER ACTIVATES

CONTROL AND EVALUATION

It’s important that you track and evaluate your plan, objectives and strategies. This will be particularly important for justifying marketing budget in the future.

What Is Law?

The system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members and may enforce by the imposition of penalties.

a statement of fact, deduced from observation, to the effect that a particular natural or scientific phenomenon always occurs if certain conditions are present.

What Is Business Law Business law, also known as Commercial law, is the body of law that

applies to the rights, relations, and conduct of persons and businesses engaged in commerce, merchandising, trade, and sales.

Broadly speaking, business law refers to the laws that apply to business entities, such as partnerships and corporations.

Why is Business Law So Important?The power to keep business functioning  in a fair manner is what makes business law so

important. It is essential to know about business law before starting a business, as it will help you

operate your business without the hindrances of ignorance• Business structure laws: There are different laws for different business entities. Be

certain you learn about the business laws that govern the kind of business entity that you choose to start

Zoning Laws: It is essential to know about zoning laws, as certain zones are restricted in certain areas. It deals with the kind or type of business allowed in certain areas, how the land surrounding a business is used, signboards, advertisements, and parking.

Licensing Laws: In order to operate a business certain licenses are required and there are some important business laws you need to know. If a business operates without these licenses, it is illegal and the business may be dissolved or forced to close.

Why is Business Law So Important? Trademark and Patent Law: These are laws that deal with ownership; Intellectual

property rights, and inventions. They are necessary to protect the business. Employment Laws: These are laws regarding the hiring and firing of employees,

their rights, compensation, safety, work place discrimination, child labor laws, overtime pay structure, disability laws and unemployment laws.

Tax Laws : This section deals with filing of tax returns and depends on the kind of business entity and the state the business operates in, sales tax . These include franchise tax, income tax and other state and federal tax requirements of a business. These are very important business laws you need to know before starting a business.

Beware Of LawsThe list above contains basic business laws you need to know before starting a company. It is necessary to take precautions that you are not violating any law by operating your business.

Finance The financial plan section is the section that determines whether or not

your business idea is viable, and is a key component in determining whether or not your plan is going to be able to attract any investment in your business idea.

Basically, the financial plan section consists of three financial statements:

The income statement Cash flow projection The balance sheet and a brief explanation/analysis

Creating financial projections for your startup is both an art and a science. Although investors want to see cold, hard numbers, it is tough to predict your financial performance three years down the road, especially if you are still raising seed money. Regardless, a short- and medium-term financial projection is a required part of your business plan if you want serious investors’ attention. Here are some tips for crafting solid financial projections.

Get Comfortable with Spreadsheets Spreadsheet software is the starting point for all financial projections.

Microsoft Excel is the most common, and chances are you already have it on your computer; there are also special software packages you can buy to help with financial projections. Spreadsheets offer flexibility, allowing you to quickly change assumptions or weigh alternate scenarios.

Go Beyond the Income Statement

The income statement is a standard measuring tool used to convey your projected revenues and expenses. A good financial projection also will include a projected balance sheet, which shows the breakdown of assets, liabilities and owner’s equity. In addition, it will include a cash flow projection, which reveals the actual movement of cash through your company in a given period. Your financial projections should include estimates of how much money you plan to borrow and interest repayments on those loans

Provide Short-Term and Medium-Term ProjectionsYou should be able to offer investors:

A short-term projection of the first year, broken down by month A three-year projection, broken down by year A five-year projection. Don’t include this one in the business plan, since

the further into the future you project, the harder it is to predict; however, have it available in case an investor asks for it.

Account for Startup Fees

Fees related to licenses, permits and equipment should be included in the short-term projections. Also keep in mind the difference between fixed and variable costs; differentiate where appropriate. Variable costs usually will be included under the category of “cost of goods sold.”

Offer Two Scenarios ONLY Investors will want to see a best-case and worst-case scenario, but don’t

inundate your business plan with myriad “medium-case” scenarios. It will likely just cause confusion.

Make Your Assumptions Reasonable and Clear As mentioned before, financial forecasting is as much art as it is science:

You’ll have to assume certain things, such as your revenue growth, how your raw material and administrative costs will grow, and how effective you’ll be at collecting on accounts receivable. It’s best to be realistic in your projections as you try to recruit investors. If your industry is going through a contraction period and you’re projecting revenue growth of 20 percent a month, red flags will begin to pop up.

Marketing

What is marketing?

"Marketing is the management process responsible for identifying, anticipating and satisfying customer requirements profitably.“

This means the ideas, the brand, how you communicate, the design, print process, measuring effectiveness, market research and the psychology of consumer behavior all count as part of the bigger picture of ‘marketing’.

Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large. (American Marketing Association)

Marketing Plan

A marketing plan is an essential marketing tool for every small business.

Marketing takes time, money, and lots of preparation. One of the best ways to prepare yourself is to develop a solid marketing plan. A strong marketing plan will ensure you’re not only sticking to your schedule, but that you’re spending your marketing funds wisely and appropriately.

A marketing plan includes everything from understanding your target market and your competitive position in that market..

Why Marketing Plan? A Marketing Plan is essential for every business operation and for

efficient and effective marketing of any product or service. This is true of a brand new business, or even for marketing a product, service or product line within an established company.

Seeking success for any project without the use of a Marketing Plan is like trying to navigate a ship in bad weather, through stormy waters, while under torpedo attack, and with neither a compass nor a clear idea of where you are going. Ok, may be I've gone a little over the top but I hope you get the importance of having a Plan.

Lets see some of question! Marketing Strategy: How will your marketing plan support your business goals? Mission Statement: What are you trying to accomplish, and why? Target Market: Who are you trying to reach with your marketing activities? Competitive Analysis: Who are you up against, and where do you rank? Unique Selling Proposition: What makes your business unique? Pricing Strategy: What will you charge, and why? Promotional Plan: How will you reach your target market? Marketing Budget: How much money will you spend, and on what? Action List: What tasks do you need to complete to reach your marketing goals? Metrics: How are you implementing, and where can you improve?Once you have completed each step, you will have a marketing plan that you are ready to use

as a blueprint for your marketing activities in your small business.

Operations

Operation Management

Operations Management is important, exciting, challenging, and everywhere yourlook! Important, because it’s concerned with creating all of the products and services upon which we depend. Exciting, because it’s at the Centre of so many of the changes affecting the world of business. Challenging, because the solutions that we find need to work globally and responsibly within society and the environment. And everywhere, because every service and product that you use – the cereal you eat at breakfast, the chair you sit on, and the radio station you listen to while you eat – is the result of an operation or process. Our aim in writing Operations Management is to give you a comprehensive understanding of the issues and techniques of operations management, and to help you get a great final result in your course.

Ten steps to getting a better grade inoperations management:ep 1: Practice, practice, practice. Use the Key questionsand the Problems and applications to check your understanding.

Step 2: Remember a few key models, and apply themwherever you can. Use the diagrams and models todescribe some of the examples that are contained withinthe chapter.

Step 3: Remember to use both quantitative and qualitativeanalysis. You’ll get more credit for appropriately mixingyour methods: use a quantitative model to answer aquantitative question and vice versa, but qualify thiswith a few well chosen sentences.

Ten steps to getting a better grade inoperations management:Step 4: There’s always a strategic objective behind anyoperational issue. Ask yourself, ‘Would a similar operationwith a different strategy do things differently?’

Step 5: Research widely around the topic. Use websitesthat you trust – we’ve listed some good websites at theend of each chapter.

Step 6: Use your own experience. Every day, you’reexperiencing an opportunity to apply the principlesof operations management. Why is the queue at theairport check-in desk so long? What goes on behindthe ‘hole in the wall’ of your bank’s ATM machines?

Ten steps to getting a better grade inoperations management:Step 7: Always answer the question. Think ‘What isreally being asked here? What topic or topics does thisquestion cover?’.

Step 8: Take account of the three tiers of accumulatingMarks for your answers.

Ten steps to getting a better grade inoperations management: (a) First, demonstrate your knowledge and understanding.

Make full use of the text and centrenic to find out where you need to improve.

(b) Second, show that you know how to illustrate and apply the topic. The Short cases, Case studies and ‘Operations in practice’ sections,

(c) Third, show that you can discuss and analyse the issues critically. Use the Critical commentaries within the text to understand some of the alternative viewpoints.

Generally, if you can do (a) you will pass; if you can do (a) and (b) you will pass well, and if you can do all three, you will pass with flying colours!

Ten steps to getting a better grade inoperations management:Step 9: Remember not only what the issue is about, butalso understand why!.

Step 10: Start now! Don’t wait until two weeks before anassignment is due.

COMMUNICATION

What is communication?

The process of communication is what allows us to interact with other people; without it, we would be unable to share knowledge or experiences with anything outside of ourselves. Common forms of communication include speaking, writing, gestures, touch and broadcasting.

Planning your communication Establish a clear vision and objectives Divide the project into phases Confirm key milestones for each phase Identify your target audiences Select your channels Select your spokesperson/people Determine resources and timetable

Why we communicate?

Funding requirement Legislative requirements Due-Diligence (bylaws) Change behaviors/attitudes Build community support Raise awareness Exchange information

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