This is a good time for you to get creative!  I want you to go find the biggest piece of paper you can.  Once you have that come back and read the rest of this post. 

Glad you are back!  Now, take that BIG piece of paper and start drawing a picture of what you want your business to look like.  That’s right!  Start drawing what you want your business to look like. 

It does not matter if you can draw of not.  Just start putting things on paper.  Start with the central part of your business.  Let’s say for illustration purposes, that we start with the sugar house.  Draw what the inside of the sugar house looks like.  Put in the evaporator, (that was easy).  What else will be in your sugar house?  A counter, a stove, what about a filter press, a canning unit, containers for the syrup?  You get the idea.  Draw away.  One thing leads to another.  A sink, paper towels, lights, shelves, hooks, etc.  Everything that you can think of or dream of. 

Be creative!  Now you also need to do this for other parts of your business.  Let’s stay with the Maple Syrup Business and draw a picture of the sugar bush (or orchard) as some people say.  What does that look like?  Put a number of how many taps are in the woods, (I don’t think you would like to draw even 50 trees).

Then, for selling your syrup, draw how that looks.  Maybe it is a website, or a store front, or a little shop of your own.  What does it look like?  For a website, for instance, draw the home page, then each and every other page.  If you have a store front, how is it set up?  What is in it?  Shelves, cash register, products, etc.  If you sell in your own shop, what does that look like?  How are your products displayed? 

Now, look over all of your drawings.  Keep them for future use.