A short time back, we added a ‘Feedback’ tab that you’ll see along the right hand side of nearly every page when you are logged in to Bizplan.com.  You can also click on the ‘Feedback’ link at the very bottom of the site regardless of whether you are logged in or logged out.  This is a great way to let us know if you have any suggestions for features that we can add or any other improvements we can make to the site.  Many of you have already offered some great suggestions.  Keep them coming!

In the Feedback area, you can see suggestions that other people have added and you can vote on whether you’d like us to make those changes to the site.  If you have an idea that you don’t see, go ahead and add it.  The ideas with the most votes get built the most quickly.  Also, you’ll often see comments that the Bizplan team has made on some of the suggestions.  This is our chance to explain why a certain feature works a certain way.  We also use the Feedback area to let you know how quickly we’ll be able to build each of the top suggestions.  Remember, the majority rules in most cases (not always though).  So, if one idea gets 200 votes and another only gets 2 votes, chances are pretty good that we won’t spend much time on the less popular idea.

So, get busy in the Feedback area and let us know how to improve the site!

1)      Get incorporated.  This step officially turns your idea into a business in the eyes of Uncle Sam.  There are a number of websites out there that will help walk you through the incorporation process for an added fee.  This is a good route if you have a little extra money and you’re completely clueless about the whole process.   Otherwise, you can just file via the Secretary of State’s website in most States for a fee of around $150.  Most entrepreneurs file as a Limited Liability Company (LLC) these days.  But, you may opt for an S-Corp or a C-Corp.  Do some research online to make sure you pick the right corporate entity.

2)      Write a business plan.  This one stumps a lot of people who aren’t sure what to put in a business plan or how to create the financial statements.  That’s actually why we created BizPlan.com .  We’re entrepreneurs ourselves and we noticed that it was really difficult to create a business plan as a team.  Plus, we wanted a way to share it with our friends or potential investors and get feedback from those groups.  Bizplan.com allows you to quickly create and share a business plan online.  We give you guided templates, let you collaborate 24/7 with team members, and even track activity once you’ve shared your plan.  It’s a great tool for beginners.  But, many experienced writers use the site for its sharing and tracking capabilities.

3)      Get Funded.  The reason that most established businesses fail is due to a lack of proper funding.  Funding can come from your own savings, family, friends, or even professional investors.  If you can’t fund the business yourself, you’ll definitely need to cover steps 1 and 2 before looking for outside funds.  We suggest tapping into your own contacts first to see what kind of funding you can get.  If you don’t know anybody that can help you, we recommend checking out www.GoBigNetwork.com.  GoBigNetwork  is the largest online network that connects startups with early stage investors.  You can reach 20,000+ investors for a very small fee (around $59 at the time of this post).

The three steps above are crucial to getting your business off the ground.  But, the most important step is ‘Action’.  If you simply read this list or sit around contemplating all of the issues you will face when building your business, you’ll never turn your idea into reality.  So, what are you waiting for? Take action now!