So. You want to own your own business.

This article is a hypothetical. But maybe not. Maybe this can happen, yes?

Anyway, it was for a school assignment.

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    And you came to me? Seriously!?

    It's all good.

    If I were to give serious advice about owning and operating your own business, it would be this: WRITE A BUSINESS PLAN!

    It's hard, it's arduous, it can crush all hopes and dreams with the cold hard facts of doom! But it's supposed to. It's supposed to take the mystery out of your business approach.

    Your business plan is there to serve as a window into reality. Once you have the facts; once you have the rulebook for your business and industry, then you can get creative.

•     Creative with your image.
•     Creative with your product or service.
•     Creative with your market reach.

    The most effective purple cow can come from already having a clear grasp on the rules and your business plan is, again, that rulebook. Now, don't let this intimidate you and don't run at it like an angry bull charging that irritating little man the red flag. Be calm, open-minded, willing to change and tackle each section one at a time until it's finished and you'll get a clear idea of what your business is and where it could be.

    This also doesn't mean you can't be working on your product or service in the meantime. For example: I finished the First and Second chapters of 'Descendant' while writing my business plan. It was through this process that I realized the only way I could reach my audience was through smart Marketing and knowing how and where to talk to them.

    Marketing and skill. These are what I needed to have in order to draw in my audience.

    So, you can then start to set priorities with your business. For instance: I did my financials last because I wasn't going to be asking for money because I knew I wouldn't be able to pay it back within a decent amount of time. I wanted to, first, prove that my product could at least break even so when my investors did help me with capital, I was able to attend more functions, put more effort into advertising and marketing and turn a business that was just breaking even into a business that became a profitable share in the comic book industry. And, when you turn a profit and can show you're doing it, you become more attractive to investors, your audience and anyone else who may draw inspiration from you.

    The business plan is, by far, the most important thing you can do for yourself as a small business owner. If you have an existing business, you could do this as well. You can then easily see if your practices are making you the most profit it can or if you're missing something.