Startup Advice

How to Start an Educational, Charitable or Nonprofit Organization

Launching an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization is an excellent entrepreneurial opportunity if you do it right. Here are nuts-and-bolts information that demystifies what it takes to be successful.

Wondering how to start an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization? We take you step-by-step from start to success.

How to Draft an Educational, Charitable or Nonprofit Organization Business Plan

We know - writing a business plan can be a daunting task for a new entrepreneur.

But here's the good news: With a few tips, any entrepreneur can create a successful plan for their business. If you can get past the mystique, you'll see that a business plan just describes where your educational, charitable or nonprofit organization is headed and how you intend to get there.

Although there are many uses for a business plan, it's most important function is to guide your decision making and strategic planning.

Before you begin, we recommend reviewing a few sample business plans.

Look Over the Competition

Before you open an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization within your community, it's worthwhile to determine what the competition looks like. Use the link below to generate a list of competitors in your area. Just enter your city, state and zip code to get a list of educational, charitable or nonprofit organizations in your community.

Is the local market large enough to support another educational, charitable or nonprofit organization? If not, you had better be sure that you are doing things much better than the competition.

Talk to People Who Are Already in the Business

After you've evaluated your local competitors, it's essential that you learn as much as you can from somebody who is already in the business. If you think owners of nearby educational, charitable or nonprofit organizations will give you advice, think again. It'd be crazy for them to teach you the business.

However, a fellow entrepreneur who has started an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization on the other side of the country may be more than happy to give you a few tips, given that you don't compete with them in their area. Many business owners are happy to give advice to new entrepreneurs If you are persistent, you can find a business mentor who is willing to help you out.

Where can you find an owner of an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization on the other side of the country to talk to?

Easy. Find them using our link below and start calling until you are successful.

Purchasing an Educational, Charitable or Nonprofit Organization

Many experts advise against starting an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization if you can buy an established operation. Yet the process of buying an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization introduces a new set of challenges.

As you would expect, there are a number of steps in buying a business. For most prospective business buyers, the first step is to contact a business broker.

A good business broker serves a number of useful purposes. From locating available companies to helping seal the deal, your broker will have the experience and skills to help you successfully navigate the purchase process.

Don't Rule Out Franchising

As an entrepreneur, your chances growing your business greatly improve if you buy a franchise rather than going it alone.

Before opening an educational, charitable or nonprofit organization, a smart move is to determine whether buying a franchise could alleviate your startup process.

The link below gives you access to our franchise directory so you can see if there's a franchise opportunity for you. You might even find something that points you in a completely different direction.

Related Articles on Starting a Company

These additional resources regarding starting a business may be of interest to you.

Coming Up With Good Business Ideas

Buying vs. Starting a Business

Characteristics of Successful Entrepreneurs

Share this article


Additional Resources for Entrepreneurs

Lists of Venture Capital and Private Equity Firms

Franchise Opportunities

Contributors

Business Glossary