Proposal for part-time web design and word processing services

Marketing

As a struggling student, I have decided to offer out my skills in word processing. I believe that I can do this freelance for some money on the side. I do not have a professional background in word processing, but online typing tests have showed that I can reach speeds of up to 85 words per minute, which is quite fast. Working with modern word processing software that corrects my mistakes (online speed tests do not) I believe that I can conduct word processing at speeds exceeding 90 wpm. This is fast enough for me to make a decent hourly wage doing this, as long as I can keep my marketing costs down. The purpose of this plan, then, is to outline who I can make money by moonlighting in word processing.

The plan is simple. I first need to identify some target markets that might be interested in my services. The second step is to figure out ways of reaching these markets, and then the final step is to negotiate the terms of business. All of these tasks should take place fairly quickly, perhaps within a single week. It should take a couple of days to narrow down the best target markets, and then to draw up strategies to market effectively to these potential customers.

At present, the business would only have one staff member -- myself -- because a sole proprietorship is appropriate for a personal service, and additionally because I see this business as being temporary. If there is enough money in it, and I see that I have good marketing skills, I may consider bringing in other typists and paying them, while retaining a percentage for myself. The margins associated with this business, however, are tight so there is a reasonable expectation that I would not be able to ever grow profitably beyond a sole proprietorship model.

The budget for the business would be very small. One of the key attractions to the business is that I can use my existing technology to run the business. Thus, no additional investment needs to be made. I have the computer, cell phone and I have fax machine capabilities as well. These are the primary tools of the trade. I have an office in my apartment that I would use as a workspace.

My target market is likely to need very little authorization to procure my services. I envision my target market as being oriented towards students and independent professionals. This target market would not require a sophisticated authorization process for hiring me, and for the most part they would be able to pay cash for my services. One of the ideal features of this market is the lack of formality that is required to do business with individuals. It is unlikely that a company with an authorizations process would even allow the modest expenditure required to procure my services.