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How to Start a Software Company PDF | Software Business Plan PDF

start a software company
Free Small Business Templates and Tools
Here's a collection of business tools featuring dozens of templates, books, worksheets, tools, software, checklists, videos, manuals, spreadsheets, and much more. All free to download, no strings attached.
► Free Small Business Templates, Books, Tools, Worksheets and More

How to Start a Software Business - Software Business Plan PDF

Are you considering starting a Software and you’re in need of a software business plan PDF? if yes, you'll find this free book to be extremely helpful.

This is a practical guide that will walk you step by step through all the essentials of starting your business. The book is packed with guides, worksheets and checklists. These strategies are absolutely crucial to your business' success yet are simple and easy to apply.



Don’t Start a New Software Business Unless You Watch This Video First!

Checklist for Starting a Business: Essential Ingredients for Success

If you are thinking about going into business, it is imperative that you watch this video first! it will take you by the hand and walk you through each and every phase of starting a business. It features all the essential aspects you must consider BEFORE you start a business. This will allow you to predict problems before they happen and keep you from losing your shirt on dog business ideas. Ignore it at your own peril!


Here’s a Valuable Free Gift for You
This is a high quality, full blown business plan template complete with detailed instructions and all related spreadsheets. You can download it to your PC and easily prepare a professional business plan for your business.
Click Here! To get your free business plan template

The Single Most Important Ingredient for Business Success

The first and most important thing you need to acquire in order to succeed in a small business is... knowledge.

Sounds exaggerated? Listen to this...

According to research conducted by Dun & Bradstreet, 90% of all small business failures can be traced to poor management resulting from lack of knowledge.

This is backed up by my own personal observations. In my 31 years as a business coach and consultant to small businesses, I've seen practically dozens of small business owners go under and lose their businesses -- not because they weren't talented or smart enough -- but because they were trying to re-invent the wheel rather than rely on proven, tested methods that work.

Conclusion: if you are really serious about succeeding in a business... If you want to avoid the common traps and mistakes... it is absolutely imperative that you acquire the right knowledge.

"Why Invent Mediocrity, When You Can Copy Genius?"

That's an excellent quote I picked up from a fellow business owner a few years back. What this means is that you should see what is working and try to duplicate Printing Business. Why go through all the trouble of inventing something new, that you don't even know will ever work, when you can easily learn from and duplicate something that has been a proven success?

[ Note: One of the BIGGEST mistakes almost all new businesses make is that they WASTE tons of valuable time, energy and money on trying to create something "new", that has never been tested or proven... only to find out later that it was a total loss. Don't make the same mistake! ]

Hi! My name is Meir. I'm the founder and president of BizMove.com, a successful internet based information business. I'm also the author of numerous books, mostly in the area of small business management.

I've been involved in small business for the past 31 years of my life, as a business coach, manager of a consulting firm, a seminar leader and as the owner of five successful businesses.

During my career as a business coach and consultant I've helped dozens of business owners start their businesses, market, expand, get out of troubles, sell their businesses and do practically every other small business activity you can think of.
You see, I have been there .... done it ... and bought the Small Business t-shirt! -- This free book contains techniques and strategies I've learned during my 31 year small business career.

Here's what you'll discover in the 'How to Start a Printing Business' book:

How to determine the feasibility of your business idea - a complete fill in the blanks template system that will help you predict problems before they happen and keep you from losing your shirt on dog business ideas.

A detailed manual that will walk you step by step through all the essential phases of starting your business

A complete software business plan PDF template. This fill-in-the-blanks template includes every section of your business plan, including Executive Summary, Objectives, SWOT Analysis, Marketing Analysis and Strategy, Operations Plan, Financial Projections and more (a similar template is sold elsewhere for $69.95).

All this and much much more.

Success Tip: Setting Goals

Good management is the key to success and good management starts with setting goals. Set goals for yourself for the accomplishment of the many tasks necessary in starting and managing your business successfully. Be specific. Write down the goals in measurable terms of performance. Break major goals down into sub-goals, showing what you expect to achieve in the next two to three months, the next six months, the next year, and the next five years. Beside each goal and sub-goal place a specific date showing when it is to be achieved.

Plan the action you must take to attain the goals. While the effort required to reach each sub-goal should be great enough to challenge you, it should not be so great or unreasonable as to discourage you. Do not plan to reach too many goals all at one time.

Establish priorities. Plan in advance how to measure results so you can know exactly how well you are doing. This is what is meant by "measurable" goals. If you can’t keep score as you go along you are likely to lose motivation. Re-work your plan of action to allow for obstacles which may stand in your way. Try to foresee obstacles and plan ways to avert or minimize them.

Click here! to download your Software Business plan PDF book for free

Here're other free books in the "how to start a business" series that may interest you:

Agriculture Assisted living Auto repair Bakery Bar Beauty salon Bed and breakfast Bookkeeping Boutique Bowling alley Carpet cleaning Car wash Catering Cattle farming Charity Cleaning Coffee shop Computer repair Construction Consulting Convenience-store Cupcake Daycare Dental Dog daycare Ecommerce Electrical Embroidery Engineering Farm Fashion Film Financial advisor Fitness center Flower-shop Food Food truck Franchise Frozen yogurt Furniture store Gas station Goat farming Grocery store Gym Hairdressing Hair salon Ice cream Insurance agency Interior design Internet Internet cafe IT Jewelry Landscaping Laundromat Laundry Law firm Magazine Manufacturing Microbrewery Motel-hotel Music Nightclub Nonprofit Nursery Online-retail Photography Pizza Plumbing Poultry farming Preschool Printing Private investigator Pub Real-estate Resort Restaurant Retail School Security company Service Software Spa Sports-bar Startup Supermarket Travel agency Trucking Vegetable-farming Website

Here's a Sample 'Executive Summary' for a Software Business plan:

COMPANY NAME develops a photo cataloging system to assist end-users in increasing efficiency through the use of Web based technology. The Company's customers are 1) people who want to upload, organize and document their personal photos and images, and 2) people who want the ease of creating a movie of their images that were uploaded to their account.
COMPANY NAME is a photography / picture capture social networking niche site for families to document growth of a child growing up, a home renovation, photo tracking for weight loss, etc. Because of the time it takes it document any event, the end user will keep coming back making it appealing for advertisers to invest advertising dollars in the site.  The technology will make it easy to create movies and slide shows for end users to display to family and friends.  Comment areas and communities will be available including a comment area under each photo.  COMPANY NAME will slightly resemble a scrapbooking type of site with a twist.  End users can embellish and personalize each photo. 
COMPANY NAME offers the expertise an end-user needs in order to create a personal photo catalogue system. The Company's ultimate service would be an automated photo image management system and hosting relationship with customers, in which the customer only needs a Web browser to log on to the COMPANY NAME site customized to their needs.
Secondary services will be focused on advertisers. COMPANY NAME will offer other companies the ability to use the site and customer database to advertise products and services to. 
The Market
COMPANY NAME's customers can be divided into two groups. The first group is familiar with the Internet and desires a progressive and inviting atmosphere where they can upload photo images, catalog them and display as a movie easily for other members, family and friends. The second group is companies providing products and services that wish to advertise them to members using this debut photo cataloging niche social network website.
Management
The founder, OWNER’S NAME, will be managing and operating the day to day activities for the Company.
Initially, everyone will be an independent contractor with the company including outsourced data storage and servers for the website.   Later in time, the founders plan to have everything in house, with employees and computer equipment.
Financial Plan
COMPANY NAME will require a $178,500 investment. Growth will be slow at first, but once the infrastructure is created through branding and positioning, growth will be explosive. COMPANY NAME should not need additional funding according to projections, because once advertising revenues are generated, a captive market of media and advertisers will generate a revenue stream that will pay for future acquisition of sales.

1.1 Objectives

The COMPANY NAME objectives will evolve in a three-phase concurrent development cycle.
Learning
Knowing the customer, the product and services offered by the company as well as knowing the competition are imperative for success. Planning, research and development are critical procedures for this cycle. Objectives for this phase are:

  • Become experts on the social network website market and have a database of competitors, market analysis, and customer needs.
  • Have a trial version completed within three months of capital formation.
  • Establish good working relationships with web programmers and developers by meeting with them and plotting a mutual plan for success based on trust, reliability and service.
  • Get commitments for support, services and products by May 2011 to support the launch of COMPANY NAME.

Earning
Marketing, sales, customer support, execution of action plans and continued learning will ensure COMPANY NAME a market position that will generate earnings and promote growth, both in new customers and new products and services.

  • Establishing brand awareness and brand recognition that positions COMPANY NAME as the market leader for safe, simple, creative and reliable web based electronic photo catalogue system to end users of all ages.
  • Many end-users are without comprehensive computer knowledge; COMPANY NAME 's easy to use Web based photo catalogue system allows customers to manage personal images and internally document management.
  • Market metrics for evaluating market penetration success include, a market presence in the top social network markets in the country, market share, customer satisfaction ratings and click through traffic. COMPANY NAME will strive to double this metrics semi-annually until the company reaches market dominance.
  • Begin generating positive cash flow by the end of 2011.

Returning
Balancing long-term sustainability and profitability with short-term necessities and change will the Achilles heel of many Internet companies. Therefore, COMPANY NAME believes that with a policy of returning or giving back to the community (employees, customers and shareholders) COMPANY NAME will ensure apportionment of resources without excessive waste and redundancy. Objectives for this cycle are:

  • Developing a mission statement which reflects the values of the founders while providing a mandate for culture creation that will attract and retain the best and brightest talent.
  • Develop a comprehensive holistic internal structure that is responsive to market demands and rapid change. This model is predicated on the idea of "a continuous learning organization" with the training and marketing functionality binding the entire organization.
  • Develop value-added modules that will launch COMPANY NAME from a niche player to the premier photo catalogue social networking site on the Web by 2012. This means creating features that are action oriented, that is, coming up with solutions that allow end-users to document via imagery, easily allowing them to upload them to the web, organize them and displays them to family and friends.
  • A balanced and focused approach of developing products with the customer in mind by enthusiastic and innovative employees will ensure the success of COMPANY NAME, ultimately leading to increased shareholder value.

1.2 Mission

COMPANY NAME's mission is listening to our customers' requirements in order to fulfill their individual needs for photo cataloging. In doing so the Company will strive to become the leading provider of secure and simple to use electronic photo filing systems for end-users, using Web technology.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to success in this business are:
Marketing:

  • Establishing brand name.
  • Creating barriers-to-entry by competitors through the building trust based relations between end-users and COMPANY NAME.
  • Building credibility.

Simplicity:

  • Create a system that is simple to use.

COMPANY NAME develops a photo cataloging system to assist end-users in increasing efficiency through the use of Web based technology. The Company's customers are 1) people who want to upload, organize and document their personal photos and images, and 2) people who want the ease of creating a movie of their images that were uploaded to their account.

2.1 Company Ownership

COMPANY NAME is a sole proprietorship company owned by OWNER’S NAME (60%) and CO-OWNER’S NAME (40%).  The Company plans to file for a limited liability corporation in the State of California shortly before product launch. 

2.2 Start-up Summary

After the trial version is completed, salaries, operating overhead and marketing expenses will kick in. COMPANY NAME anticipates this happening in the second half of 2011. Seed funding will be sought from angel investors.

Table: Start-up

Start-up

 

 

 

Requirements

 

 

 

Start-up Expenses

 

Legal

$4,000

Stationery/Business Cards

$500

Brochures

$2,000

Consultants

$3,000

Insurance

$6,000

Rent

$18,000

Research and Development

$95,000

Expensed Equipment

$10,000

Website Creation

$15,000

Total Start-up Expenses

$153,500

 

 

Start-up Assets

 

Cash Required

$25,000

Other Current Assets

$0

Long-term Assets

$0

Total Assets

$25,000

 

 

Total Requirements

$178,500


Get Your Leadership Skills On The Right Track By Using These Tips!

Leadership may seem like something innate within certain gifted individuals, and which cannot be manufactured or duplicated. However, there are particular traits and qualities possessed by strong leaders that really can be learned and emulated to great result. Review the tips found below and you can learn how to take the lead and achieve business success starting today.

You may be a visionary with excellent insight into your company's market sector, but you don't know everything. Your subordinates may be in more intimate contact with part of the market as part of their job. If your marketing director says that your advertising isn't appropriate for your target audience, listen to her. She's probably right.

Good leaders must focus on what is to come. You should be able to anticipate things before they occur, so you can handle anything that gets thrown your way. While you aren't a mind-reader, you will find that you can achieve some success this way. Visualize where'd like to be in the future.

A good leader should always try to remain optimistic. Even when things aren't going as planned, a leader should be positive so that the people around you will remain positive. No matter what the problem is, a good attitude will give you, and your team, hope that the problem will be handled.

If you have an employee that goes above and beyond the call of duty, do not hesitate to give them extra praise and rewards. Even though it may seem like you are playing favorites, you are giving them what they deserve. be open with other employees about it so they are aware of what rewards come with hard work.

Be sure to finish everything you start or you risk losing the respect of the people that work under you. Even if something seems particularly difficult, you should give it your all and see it through to the end. No one will look at you the same if you turn into a quitter.

As a business leader, every success will be attributed to you and every mistake will fall on your shoulders. You must offer feedback to your employees on a regular basis. They need to know what they're doing right and where the could use some improvement. Ensure that your employees understand what is expected of them.

Even when things do not seem to be going very well, a good leader is able to see the positive side of things. While there may be a lot of issues that make something negative, he or she will always be able to find something good in every single situation.

Don't hesitate to recognize people for their accomplishments. It is easy to forget to thank people for what they do, especially in a work environment where everything is moving quickly. Make sure you look for reasons to thank people for their good work, instead of simply chiding them when they make mistakes. This will encourage loyalty, and you will find you have an easier time leading when those you lead are loyal.

Have a vision. Planning for the future is important. Things might be great now, but will it still be a year from now? What about ten years from now? Try to keep abreast of any change that might be relevant to your business. Shape your plans and your vision accordingly.

Maintain a positive attitude. As the leader, you set the tone for your business. You need to make sure that the tone you set is one of possibilities, positivity and patience. Always encourage those under you to think in terms of the solution and not the problem, so that they too can keep an air of positivity as they go about their work.

A leader should never be alone. A good leader helps the group to grow in a positive manner. As a leader, bring all of your team members on board to collaborate and offer different perspectives. Having a responsible, hard working staff gives you the opportunity to be an effective leader.

There are many types of leadership styles but none of them is the absolute best. The secret to being a good leader is knowing your strengths and weaknesses and working with them. You also need to assess the group that are leading and make the most of their personal skills. Use your ability to make the best of everyone's unique skill set.

Great leaders believe in those they are leading. Surround yourself with talented people and then inspire them to greatness by believing in their ability to reach their full potential. When you expect the best of someone, they will typically go out of their way to live up to that expectation.

Any role in leadership includes bringing in new team members, or employees. Part of this responsibility is to make new hires feel welcome, included and comfortable. Be sure to introduce newbies to the team, include them in luncheons and meetings. You could even organize a welcome committee to help acclimate new workers to the group.

If you are new to leadership, you must accept the fact that you have a lot to learn. You may be an expert in your field, but learning to lead can be daunting. Don't be afraid to take advice from others, including your team, or workforce. Ask questions, and ask for suggestions. Most great leaders began as followers.

A successful leader makes decisions quickly. People will respect you more as a leader if you make speedy decisions and you stick with them. If you have little follow through, others will be uncomfortable with you. You work hard to build confidence, and changing you decisions with regard to important matters undermines the confidence.

You may feel as though leaders are born, not made. But, the truth is that leadership skills can be studied, practiced and honed to perfection by anyone willing to dedicate themselves to the effort. Keep the tips and advice you have just read close at and, and you can succeed beyond your wildest dreams.

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