Cashflow Forecast: The dreaded spreadsheet – more about this later.
Appendices: Anything else that doesn’t fit into the above sections
When you’re putting your plan together, start with the sections you find easiest i.e. description of the business and how it will work, the management of the business, pricing and marketing. Once you’ve done this, you’ve done over half and it’s not too bad to put the rest of it together.
5. The market research section is one of the hardest bits people have to complete. So, I would advise that you break this one down and complete it in the following order:
(a) Go to www.yell.com and the Internet. Look for other companies who are running the same type of business as you. Go to their websites, visit them or phone them up. What do you like about them? What don’t you like? How will you be different? What are their prices?
(b) Create a spreadsheet and list your competitors with the good bits and bad bits about them.
(c) Write a summary of your competitors and what you’ve found in your Business Plan.
(d) Now let’s look at your trends. Call into any bank on the high street and ask for a “Business Information Factsheet” about your business. You can see an example of one at http://www.exceptionalthinking.co.uk/docs/boarding.pdf . Print this off and ask for a factsheet about your business. This will give you an overview of your industry and is a really good starting point. You can also research your industry by looking at your industry’s trade association – they usually have loads of different facts and figures that help you back your idea up.
(e) Finally, let’s look at your customers – write down:
i) Who they are.
ii) Where they are.
iii) What they like / dislike.
iv) Why they would buy your product or service.
v) How they will find out about you.
vi) When they will buy your product or service.
You may also want to produce a questionnaire and give this to your customers to find out their views.
For the market research section, you are trying to answer the question of “Is there a demand for your product or service?” by giving the reader facts, figures and trends to prove this. You will need to show you have been thorough as this is the area that most business plans fall down on.
6. The other area that people usually struggle with is the cashflow section. For this section it is worth you getting hold of a business plan template, which you can get for free at your local Business Link or bank. Have a look at the cashflow section.
Start with your costs – have a look at the list on the left hand side of the cashflow. Go through each item one by one and see if it applies to you. If it does, when will you have to pay for it? Let’s take an example of a phone. You will probably be making some phone calls in your business. Let’s say you will be spending £20 on this every month – plot £20 in the columns for month 1, 2, 3, 4 etc all the way to the end.
Let’s say the next item is premises and you will paying the rent of £90 every three months – plot £90 in months 1, 4, 7, and 10. Do the same for all the other items in your cashflow. Once you’ve completed your costs, you now need to look at your sales. Work out how many customers you will have a month and on average how much they will pay. Will they pay immediately or will you send them an invoice and give them 30 days to pay? Remember your sales will vary according to the time of year so take this into account too.
Now you just need to add everything up and your cashflow will be complete.
7. I would definitely recommend that you go on a business start-up course to help you write your plan. Most Business Links (www.businesslink.gov.uk) will run one in your area and many of the local colleges do now too. They will be able to walk you through the process of writing a plan.
8. Don’t get hung up on making your plan so perfect that it never gets finished. If you think “Am I doing too much?” the chances are that you probably are doing too much, so you need to stop and evaluate what you’ve done and whether you’ve answered all of your questions.