Writers' Business Planning Course

I'm thinking of teaching another business planning for writers online course. It would run from late Sept./early Oct. to the middle of Nov., ending before Thanksgiving. Here's the info, and if you're interested, please click on my profile and drop an email.

Learn how business planning can help you take control, get more done, make more money, have more fun, and generally see things take off.

This isn't some dry, head-pounding, hair-tearing forced march to a written business plan, but practical techniques that can help you make the big decisions and then put them into practice. Calculate just how much money you actually need, and explore what is important to you and how that can connect to your business. Rank your clients and assignments to see how they fit with your goals, and use simple analysis to anticipate assignment and pay crunches while you can still do something about it. The course ends with some time-management techniques that will help you keep on top of what you want to achieve.

Here's what some people who have taken the class in the past have said:

• "I really got a lot out of this class. It forced me to make some decisions that are actually getting me to move ahead, and that is very good news."


• "I just wanted to let you know how much I learned from the biz planning class ... What was most beneficial to me was developing formulas to track, on an ongoing basis, which clients/types of work represent the majority of my income."


• The frame of reference you've provided is quite useful, and I feel I've already gotten my money's worth."

The class runs six weeks and is meant for people who already have some experience in freelance writing.

Planning Class Syllabus:

• The need to plan


• Self examination to set the direction


• A layered approach to planning


• Using results to improve planning


• Baseline financial analysis


• Establishing bare bones and and full budgets


• Performing a time utilization analysis


• Determining client and assignment mixes


• Identifying personal inertia points


• Taking personal work inventories


• Evaluating past and current clients


• Calculating minimum rates


• Building a foundational financial plan


• Identifying areas for expansion


• Balancing work/client categories for plan optimization


• Taking stock of planning efforts so far


• Creating a planning feedback loop


• Cash flow analysis


• Discounting expectations and assignment values


• Other metrics


• Time management


• Developing time-based plan implementation


• Juggling tasks