Do You Need an SBA Business Plan for your eBay Business?

Ask yourself these simple questions. Are you serious about making your eBay Store or online auction business a success? Do you want to make your eBay Store or home business your full-time career? Do you have a business plan good enough to gain an SBA loan?

If you answered yes to the first two questions but no to the first question about having a business plan in place, you may be headed for serious trouble. If you want to have your eBay Store be your primary income, then you have to start treating your eBay business like a true Business. And, a true Business has to have a business plan.

If you don’t have a business plan, make writing one a priority. A business plan is a road map that will help you get from where you are now to where you want to be. Creating a business plan forces you to contemplate possible obstacles to your business and prepares you to find solutions that will help you to overcome them. It’s not only a road-map that will help you stay on track, but a business plan forces you to look at all areas of your eBay business.

Your business plan will cover such areas as:

• Who are your potential customers
• What is your Competition
• What are your financial outlays (products, computer equipment, etc.)
• What are your short-term and long-term goals for your eBay business

In addition, if you need money to help your eBay business grow, such as buying inventory to sell, upgrading your computer and photography equipment, or paying yourself to quit your day job while you’re taking the time to build your eBay business, you must have a professional small business plan to gain financing. This financing can be in the form of a small business loan from a bank or an SBA loan.

What’s an SBA loan? SBA stands for Small Business Administration, and it’s a government agency formed to help people own their own businesses, including, yes, eBay businesses. You can go to an SBA office and obtain business counseling, as well as apply for a low-interest SBA loan.

How to Create a Business Plan

You can either purchase business plan software which will guide you through the process, hire someone to write your business plan, or create one yourself.  Many things go into making a successful business plan, including:

Mission Statement:

A good business plan includes your Mission Statement, that is, why you’re choosing this particular business. What is your purpose for having this business?

Short-term Goals:

What are your goals for the next three months? If you’re just starting your eBay business, your goal could be to find a name for your eBay store, find a product to sell, or find a dropshipper or wholesaler who will do business with you. Your short-term goal would also include the income you expect to make in the first three months. If you already have an eBay store, your short-term goal might be to find another product to sell, in addition to the products you’re already selling.

Long-term Goals:

This is where you project your business years in the future. You might want to pick a three-year goal. Your goal could include future product lines and any future marketing plans. For example, you might want to include a blog or website which links back to your eBay store. They might include the regular submission of articles to article sites with links to your eBay store.

Value Statement:

This differs from your mission statement in that you’re including your personal values. For example, your personal values might include honesty in your listings, good customer service, giving the customer a good product.

Potential Customers:

Who will buy your product? What are they looking for? Why do they need your product? This helps you focus on the type of marketing you need for your customers (titles and descriptions of your products, the look of your eBay store, potential blog, articles you might write, etc.)

Competition Analysis:

This is where you analyze your competition. How can you know your chances for success if you don’t know what you’re facing in the way of competition?

Financial Analysis:

This is where you look at what you realistically expect to make (short-term and long-term) versus how much you need for the business and your personal needs. Remember to list everything: ISP charges, computer upgrades, electricity, products (if you’re buying and reselling), housing, medical expenses, charge cards, etc. Make sure you will be able to afford the business and your current lifestyle.

You really should take the business plan seriously. Remember that old saying, “If you fail to plan then you’re planning to fail.”

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Synonyms:  online business plan is synonymous with internet business plan. Small Business Administration loan is synonymous with SBA loan.

Sab, bsa, ssba, sbba, and sbaa are all typos for SBA.  Lone, lon and loen are typos for "loan."