If you have ever thought of starting your own business then one of the most important things you will need is a business plan. Writing a business plan can seem like a daunting task but it will ensure that you have a viable business before you start spending money. It will also help if you are looking for outside investment. Don’t feel to overwhelmed at the prospect of so much writing. Just take it one section at a time and you will get there. It will really help you think about every aspect of your business and how it will be run and this will ensure you know exactly what to expect from it when it is up and running.
Feel free to copy and paste this straight into word and get to work on it. Please leave a comment below if you have any questions and I will be happy to help you out!
Getting started
Whose plan is this?
Business and owner details:
Business name:
Owner(s) name:
Business address and postcode:
Business telephone number:
Business email address:
Home address and postcode (if different from above):
Home telephone number (if different from above):
Home email address (if different from above):
Section one
Executive summary
1.1 Business summary:
1.2 Business aims:
1.3 Financial summary:
Elevator Pitch
1.4 Your business name:
1.5 Strapline:
1.6 Elevator pitch:
Section two
Owner’s background
2.1 Why do you want to run your own business?
2.2 Previous work experience:
2.3 Qualifications and education:
2.4 Training:
Details of future training courses you want to complete:
2.5 Hobbies and interests:
2.7 Additional information:
Section three
Products and services
3.1 What are you going to sell?
a product
a service
both
3.2 Describe the basic product/service you are going to sell:
3.3 Describe the different types of product/service you are going to be selling:
3.4 If you are not going to sell all your products/services at the start of your business, explain why not and when you will start selling them:
3.5 Additional information:
Section four
The market
4.1 Are your customers:
individuals
businesses
both
4.2 Describe your typical customer:
4.3 Where are your customers based?
4.4 What prompts your customers to buy your product/service?
4.5 What factors help your customers choose which business to buy from?
4.6 Have you sold products/services to customers already?
yes
no
If you answered “yes”, give details:
4.7 Have you got customers waiting to buy your product/service?
yes
no
If you answered “yes”, give details:
4.8 Additional information:
Section five
Market research
5.1 Key findings from desk research:
5.2 Key findings from field research – customer questionnaires:
5.3 Key findings from field research – test trading:
5.4 Additional information:
Section six
Marketing strategy
|
What are you going to do? |
Why have you chosen this marketing method? |
How much will it cost? |
| TOTAL COST |
Section seven
Competitor analysis
7.1 Table of competitors
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Name, location and business size
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Product/service
|
Price
|
Strengths
|
Weaknesses
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7.2 SWOT analysis :
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Strengths
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Weaknesses
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Opportunities
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Threats
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7.3 Unique Selling Point (USP):
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Unique Selling Point (USP)
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Section eight
Operations and logistics
8.1 Production:
8.2 Delivery to customers:
8.3 Payment methods and terms:
8.4 Suppliers:
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Name and location of supplier
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Items required and prices
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Payment arrangements
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Reasons for choosing supplier
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8.5 Premises:
8.6 Equipment
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If being bought
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||||
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Item required
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Already owned?
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New or second hand?
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Purchased from
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Price
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8.7 Transport:
8.8 Legal requirements:
8.9 Insurance requirements:
8.10 Management and staff:
8.11 Additional information:
Section nine
Costs and pricing strategy
| Product/service name | ||
| A | Number of units in calculation | |
| B | Product/service components
|
Components cost
|
| C | Total product/service cost | |
| D | Cost per unit | |
| E | Price per unit | |
| F | Profit margin (£) | |
| G | Profit margin (%) | |
| H | Mark up (%) |
Section ten
Financial forecasts
10.1 Sales and costs forecast
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Month
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1
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2
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3
|
4
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5
|
6
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7
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8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
TotaL
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A
|
Month name |
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Sales forecast
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B
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Product/service
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|||||||||||||
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C
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Product/service
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|||||||||||||
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Costs forecast
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D
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Product/service
|
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E
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Assumptions (e.g. Seasonal trends)
|
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10.2 Personal survival budget
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Section
|
Monthly cost (£)
|
|
|
A
Estimated costs |
Mortgage/rent
|
|
| Council tax | ||
| Gas, electricity and oil | ||
| Water rates | ||
| All personal and property insurances | ||
| Clothing | ||
| Food and housekeeping | ||
| Telephone | ||
| Hire charges (TV, DVD etc.) | ||
| Subscriptions (clubs, magazines etc.) | ||
| Entertainment (meals and drinks) | ||
| Car tax, insurance, service and maintenance | ||
| Children’s expenditure and presents | ||
| Credit card, loan and other personal debt repayments | ||
| National Insurance | ||
| Other | ||
| B | Total costs (£) | |
|
C
Estimated income
|
Income from family/partner | |
| Part time job | ||
| Working tax credit | ||
| Child benefits | ||
| Other benefits | ||
| Other | ||
|
D |
Total income (£) | |
|
E |
Total survival income required (£) |
10.3 Cashflow forecast
| Month | Pre-start | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | Total | |
| A | Month name | ||||||||||||||
| Money in (£) | |||||||||||||||
| B | Funding from The Prince’s Trust | ||||||||||||||
| Funding from
other sources |
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| Own funds | |||||||||||||||
| Incomes from Sales | |||||||||||||||
| Other | |||||||||||||||
| C | Total Money in (£) | ||||||||||||||
| Money out (£) | |||||||||||||||
| D | Loan repayments
The Prince’s Trust |
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| Personal drawings | |||||||||||||||
| E | Total money out (£) | ||||||||||||||
| F | Balance (£) | ||||||||||||||
| Opening balance | |||||||||||||||
| Closing balance |
10.4 Costs table
| Cost item | What is included and how you worked it out | Total cost |
Section eleven
Back-up Plan
11.1 Short-term plan:
11.2 Long-term plan:
11.3 Plan B:
11.4 Plan B continued…:
Millennial Mum In Business 