Proven Probable serves as your guide to making the best of these uncertain, crazy times. From advice on financial investments to health trends that work to running a business, we prove that so much more good is probable in your life than know.
Business Plans
Any individual wanting to start a business is commonly faced with the dilemma of creating a business plan. To many this may seem like a daunting task. Unfortunately, it is often a necessity in preparation for starting, and running, a business. The business plan is a useful and versatile tool. In today’s highly competitive business environment, enterprises, whether small or large, cannot hope to grow and compete without proper planning.
To help out with the process of creating your own business plan we have three useful documents, available for free download below.
The BUSINESS PLAN WRITING GUIDE is a PDF document that provides a detailed background on what a business plan is, and how to go about creating one.
The BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE is just that — an MS Word document that serves as a “fill in the blanks” template to develop your own personalized business plan.
Finally, the EXAMPLE BUSINESS PLAN is a complete business plan for a fictitious Real Estate Management business. Looking over a completed business plan can be helpful in developing your own plan (even though it will probably be in a totally unrelated market).
The Best Small Business Opportunities
If your goal in life is to become very wealthy, chances are you won’t get there as a small business owner. You’ll have a chance to generate a healthy income, be your own boss and make all the decisions. You could potentially have a more flexible lifestyle. Building something from the ground up can make starting a business very rewarding in itself. Here are our picks for the best small business ideas based on current trends in business and demographics.
Self Storage Units
The self-storage industry continues to be a booming business across North America, fueled by a more transient workforce, downsizing homeowners, the general trend for people to accumulate more and more possessions, and reality shows such as Storage Wars. In some locales such as New York, demand exceeds supply by 300%.
Ironically, the trend for businesses to reduce or eliminate storefront space has also contributed to the demand for storage space. Plumbers and electricians, for example, can store tools and equipment in self-storage at a much lower cost.
Modern self-storage requires a climate-controlled environment, lighting, and security. Initial capital costs for land and building construction are high but can be easily financed from rental income assuming there is a steady demand for storage space in your area — making your business plan attractive to banks and other potential investors, a great leg up when you’re starting a new business.
Mini storage facilities allow people to store extra items that won’t fit in their homes or offices. While you do not need experience in working in a mini storage facility, there are still a few things you need to know to start a mini storage business. Depending on your location, the demand for these facilities may be great. Start a mini storage business by purchasing an existing facility, buying into a storage franchise or building a new facility in a convenient location for customers.
Meal Kit Sales and Delivery
Meal kit services are becoming increasingly popular with busy people who don’t have the time to shop and prepare healthy meals and wish to lower their environmental footprint by reducing food wastage. The meal kit industry in the U.S. is expected to reach $10 billion in sales by 2020.
Customers select recipes online and meal kits with pre-chopped and measured ingredients are delivered to their homes on the chosen date/time, along with instructions for cooking and/or final preparation. Listed information such as calorie counts allows consumers to adhere to dietary requirements.
Meal kit suppliers often avoid large wholesalers and source ingredients from local farms, creating business opportunities for small to mid-size growers, ranchers, and seafood suppliers. Opportunities may also be available for delivery service providers to collect ingredients from producers and/or deliver the end product to customers homes.
Meal kits have been revolutionizing the way people cook food. People have been preferring getting a meal kit with fresh ingredients delivered to their door over a take-out. These ready to make meal packages have everything from perfect portions of vegetables and proteins to the exact measurements of spices and oils. They come in servings for two or four, generally. A meal kit is being seen as an efficient and convenient way of preparing meals as they it helps save trips to grocery stores and promotes as least wastage as possible. The calorie count per serving for the entire meal as well as the ingredients is clearly listed.
Software Engineering and Development
Software engineers and developers create, test and maintain software on a variety of platforms, from mainframes to mobile devices. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the demand for software developers is expected to increase by 18% each year through 2024, and the median pay in 2022 was slightly over $100,000 per year — making it a great business opportunity for those who pick up the skills. Spending years in university studying subjects such as math and science is a great way to improve your mind and increase your cognitive skills.
The nature of the software development industry makes it ideal for contract employment. Many software engineers start out as salaried employees and eventually become self-employed contractors. Cloud computing and ease of remote access make software development an ideal home-based business.
Other high demand, well-paid opportunities in the Information Technology sector include:
* Systems analysts
* Hardware/software technicians
* Network engineers
* Security specialists