3 Weeks to Startup

Fast-Track Your Success

Three weeks? Can you really start a business in three weeks?
Yes, you can.

Tim Berry, business planning expert and principal author of Business Plan Pro, the country's bestselling business plan software, and Sabrina Parsons, co-founder of Palo Alto Software UK, unveil a new, more innovative business landscape and show you how to streamline your startup using the fastest resource in the world--the internet.

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Eliminate the exhausting, time-consuming legwork involved in traditional startup plans, and instead fast track your business using a wealth of online tools and services. Berry and Parsons help you build your business step by step, including establishing your business plan, making your business legal, financing your venture, hiring your staff and more--using online tools and resources at every stage.

Discover how easy it is to reach your dream of opening your own business faster than you ever thought possible. Let the countdown begin--you're just 3 weeks away from opening the doors to your new business!

• ENTREPREURS--START YOUR BUSINESS IN 3 WEEKS!

• Irvine, CA--Can you really start a business in three weeks? According to Tim Berry and Sabrina Parsons, co-authors of 3 Weeks to Startup($19.95, Entrepreneur Press, October 2008), the answer is a firm "yes."

• "The world has changed dramatically in the last few years; today we can use online tools, information, contacts, and services to do things much faster than was possible just five years ago," explains Berry, the founder and president of Palo Alto Software, the manufacturer of Business Plan Pro, the country's bestselling business plan software.

• Parson's adds, "Plus when you look at the core elements of new business, the actual tasks involved—just the real tasks, not the thinking and studying and researching and long time deciding--don't take that much time. Technically, it takes about an hour to register a name for your business and become a legal entity. And setting up a location can take a couple of hours if it’s in your home and as little as a day or two if it’s an office somewhere near where you live. Delaying decisions doesn’t make them better."

• For those entrepreneurs who are ready to start their business but have halted the startup process because of "the startup process," Berry and Parsons provide a three week timetable. Here’s where they suggest entrepreneurs start.

• Week One

• To get going, Parsons and Berry recommend pinpointing your business identity--who you are, what you want, what you do well and how you’re different.

• "What works best is trying to build something you want to build, in an area where you like to operate, doing something you want to do," explains Berry. "Very few businesses start because somebody looks at a list of good businesses to start. They start because somebody wants to do something that needs doing."

• To kick start your concept, which is what week one is all about, you also need to identify what you're selling and to whom as well as develop your strategy. Parsons and Berry advise writing a mission statement, mantra or vision statement to help you focus your strategy. They also offer a list of online resources to help get this done.

• In this first week, you will also focus on making your business legal. If you have co-founders, you should determine basic ownership and responsibilities, and get what you’ve agreed on in writing before you take the formal legal step.

• Week one, is also the time to name your business. If you're not selling under your own name, then you have to check possible names for availability, and start taking the legal steps required to establish ownership rights. Berry and Parsons provide a list of web sources by state in 3 Weeks to Startup as well as the following sites for free legal advice:

• • Freeadvice.com
  • Law.com
  • Lawguru.com
  • Legal.com
  • Alllaw.com
  • Gigalaw.com

• Additionally, Parsons and Berry walk you through creating your initial sales forecast and initial expense budget, estimating your starting costs and lastly, they encourage you to make your first sale should the opportunity arise.

• "Making the sale is a week three item, but we also include it in week one plans because for some businesses, the first sale is what really gets the rest of the startup process started," says Parsons.

• The next few weeks cover market strategy, branding, website, payment plans, insurance, employees, location, bookkeeping, final finances and making the sale. All plans are supported by online tools and resources and include entrepreneur notes and red tape alerts.

• "Of the 28 million business in the United States, 21 million have no employees. And, the average investment in a new business in the United States, according to a recent study by Wells Fargo Bank, is $10,000. And the average time to start? Who knows. But it might as well be three weeks as three months, or three years," claims Berry.

• "The vast majority of new businesses are like the one you want to start, meaning they aren’t multi-million-dollar new manufacturing businesses, but rather they are your business--manageable, focused, and ready for you to get going!"

• Tim Berry is the founder and president of Palo Alto Software, the manufacturer of Business Plan Pro, bplans.com and co-founder of Borland International. He is the author of three business-planning books and is a popular blogger and speaker.

• Sabrina Parsons is CEO of Palo Alto Software as well as the co-founder of Palo Alto Software UK Ltd. and Lighting Out.

• 3 Weeks to Startup is a high-speed guide to starting a business. This innovative startup plan shows aspiring entrepreneurs how to eliminate the exhausting, time-consuming legwork involved in traditional startup plans, and instead fast track their business using the fastest resource in the world--the internet.

Tim Berry is the founder and president of Palo Alto Software, the manufacturer of Business Plan Pro, bplans.com and co-founder of Borland International. He is the author of three business-planning books and is a popular blogger and speaker.

Sabrina Parsons is CEO of Palo Alto Software as well as the co-founder of Palo Alto Software UK Ltd. and Lighting Out.