I'd like feedback on my Hub: 10 Steps to an excellent Small Business Plan

1. 34

   mssmallbizposted 7 years ago

   Hi Hubbers,
   
   I'd like some help with passing the Quality Assessment Process. Will you please give feedback on my Hub 10 Steps to an excellent Small Business Plan. What can I do to improve? Thanks!

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   1. 98

      theraggededgeposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi there,
      
      The problems that stand out for me are:
      
      Too many long and rambling sentences. Articles about business practice require crisp, clear writing, not long-winded run-on sentences. Try to break them up so your sentences are of varying length.
      
      Don't use 'A small business plan is basically the document that can help you....' Too vague. What is a business plan? A business plan is your road map to success. Don't use empty adjectives like 'basically'. It's bad enough when people overuse it in conversation without it popping up in factual articles.
      
      Go through the article and tighten up the writing. Just the facts, ma'am. Clear and straightforward.
      
      Remove the bio info from the end of the article. And while you're at it, delete all those exclamation points from your actual bio. They look unprofessional.
      
      You might have a problem with this remaining featured because of lack of traffic. Your page is competing with thousands upon thousands of other pages out there on 'how to write a business plan'. What can you add to yours to make it unique?
      
      Hope that helps.

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      1. 95

         Glenis Rixposted 7 years agoin reply to this

         I agree with all of the comments above. Edit to make shorter, more concise, sentences and make use of bullet points.
         
         Also, I feel that the advice that you provide needs to be more specific if it is to be of value. For example, a business plan requires a comprehensive projected cash flow statement and some people may need a template (or help from someone with financial expertise if they intend to submit the information in support of an overdraft, loan or grant application). You could perhaps suggest a suitable software application, such as Excel spreadsheet.
         
         In the U.K. new start-ups have access to training,advice and mentoring by professional small business advisors. The local Chamber of Commerce should be able to proved details.

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         1. 95

            Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

            Here we have the SBA, Small Business Administration, to help small business owners.  They occupy the first two spots for: how to make a small business plan.

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   2. 95

      Solarasposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      WOW - such a saturated market.  If you search for business plan  for: and type in any letter, Google completes it with a myriad of business types you might need a plan for, and lots of good results come up for the ones I checked.  If you have special niche industry knowledge for how to do a business plan, I would narrow down on that to start.  You have a good start, but tons of competition.  Picking one industry and making specifics for it could be the start of a good thing, especially if you can do more niches.  You need at least 2000 words to compete with the templates etc...offered out there.

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   3. 77

      Jason mackenzieposted 7 years agoin reply to this

      Hi, how about adding some images and may be break down any given point into bullets? That could improve readability and also render your hub attractive. Hope it helps, thanks, regards...

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2. 93

   FatFreddysCatposted 7 years ago

   Sez "page does not exist."
   
   Oh well. (shrugs)

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3. 88

   Luke Holmposted 7 years ago

   Hi there, I have two suggestions for you.  First, lower the image to just before the text box where you begin your 10 steps.  I've read that Google spiders look for text above images, so this should help your view count.  Second, break each step up into a separate text box.  The title of the box should work as SEO and help to get you a few more views.  Good luck

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