Business Plan
When you're setting up a business, good planning is vital. It helps you to think about the viability of your business idea and also focuses your mind on how you spend your money, and how you make it.
Good business plans are flexible and can be used as daily tools to help you monitor your businesses performance.
Areas to think about and plan when setting up your business include:
Introduction
Who is involved in the business; what is the address; who are the directors.
Objectives
What are your aims and goals for the first/next 12 months.
Your product or service
What will you be selling/providing.
Marketing
Do you need to conduct market research? Is there demand for your product/service?
How will you promote your business, and how much will you spend doing that?
Pricing
How much will you charge, and what are your costs? Look at the competition: are you charging more for a premium product or less for a cheaper version? And are you driving volume sales or high margin sales?
Location
Where will you do business? Do you need to rent premises or will you work from home?
Finances
Outline the sales plan including cash flow. (E.g. when will you get paid? When will you need to spend money? How will you cover the gap between paying for goods/people and receiving payment from your customers?) You also need to establish profit forecasts and break even points - this will help to identify your financing requirements.
Legal requirements
Will the business be a limited company, sole trader etc.