Writing a Business Plan
Please put in key information about WHO you are, WHAT you want to do, WHERE you want to go, WHEN you think you can achieve your aims and HOW you intend to get there.
This also helps you to understand what you want from your business, and what you need to do to make it work.
Who: Introduce you and your business. What is the status of the business? Have you started trading? What is your (intended or established) legal identity (sole trader, partnership etc.) Who are the key people involved? What experience, skills and knowledge do they bring to the table? Where will your business be based?
What does your business do? What product(s) or service(s)? How will they be produced? Who else is involved? e.g Do/will you work with any key suppliers? Do you own any intellectual properties– patents, copyright etc?
Is there a proven demand for your service/product? What is your target market? What are the market trends in your sector?
What is the competition? Who are your chief competitors? What do you have that might give you a competitive edge over your competitors? What is innovative and different about what you have to offer?
Where do you want to go with your business? What are the internal strengths and weaknesses of your business in its current stage that you need to take into consideration (skills, knowledge, experience, contacts). What external threats might there be to your success and what opportunities for you to take advantage of? (political, economic, social and technological factors: such as government policy, economic trends, new technologies…)
Think about:
• How to make the most of your strengths to take advantage of opportunities • How you might try to convert weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities
Based on this analysis, can you define the strategic direction of your business and what key objectives do you need to achieve in order to get there?
When: Be realistic about what time scale you need to achieve each of these objectives.
How: How are you going to achieve your objectives?
a) What resources will you need to put in place?(premises, materials, equipment, staff) How will you manage them? (information and money management, recruitment, people management). If you are a sole trader these may not be very extensive. But you still need to have an idea how you will manage your finances, admin and resources.
b) How will you market your product(s)/service(s)? Can you define something that makes you unique in the market?
Who are you targeting and how will you do it? You may have different strategies for different market segments.
c) You need to think about your budget and your cash flow. How much money do you need to start up your business? What will you spend it on? How will you fund it? Your start up costs may be very low. But it still helps to define them.
How much will you need to spend each month to keep your business going? How much income will you need to generate each month to break even/make a profit. When will you start to generate income? How much? When do you expect to break even? When will you start to make a profit?
There are many advice books for small and startup businesses available. Here are a couple of suggestions:
Small Business Management. David Stokes (4th Edition), Continuum 2002
The Complete Small Business Guide. Colin Barrow, Capstone 2005
www.businesslink4london.com has useful advice for small businesses and startups and includes a specific section on the creative industries
www.bplans.com features advice and sample business plans to view, including startups