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MY BUSINESS PLANFOR PREPARED BY:DATE:

FIRST OF ALL, SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT YOU:• Name: DOB:• Address:• Main Qualifications:• Previous business role(s):• What are your key strengths?• What is it that you most like doing at work?• What do you think that you are particularly good at?• What is your overall driving business passion?• Running a business is not easy. Do you think you have the necessary skillsand attributes to run your own business?• If not, what skills do you need to learn more about, or develop?• Why do you want to run your own business?2

BUSINESS PLANNING:1. INITIAL CONSIDERATIONS:Starting a new business is not easy. Getting excited about a new business idea is one thing but putting it into practice and making it a profitable business proposition is another. So bear in mind that around 60% of all new businesses fail within the first three years because either there was no real market demand for the services offered, the lack of a detailed business plan, cashflow problems and for various other reasons. Make sure that you have considered the following factors thoroughly: Is there a definite market for the services or product(s) that you want to sell? Is there a proven demand for this service/product within your area? Is there enough potential in your area to make this a profitable business? Do you have the right qualifications, skills and abilities to provide this service?If you understand this and think that you still have a viable business proposition, then let’s get down to the detailed planning:2. WHO ARE YOUR TARGET CUSTOMERS?Main considerations: Have you identified your ideal target customer & what their needs are? Have you considered how best to provide your intended service? Have you established that your potential client would pay you for this service? Will the level of fees envisaged be sufficient to make a profitable business?What service(s) or product(s) will I provide?Many of my target customers face the problem of:or have a need for:My business will be able to help them by:resulting in (insert how you will help solve this problem): 3

3. WHO ARE YOUR MAIN COMPETITORS?Main considerations:  Have you identified who the main competitors are in your area and how many? Have you identified what they provide & how much they charge? What is it that they do particularly well & what they do not do so well? What is it that you could do to make you really stand out from the competition?In order to get a clear competitive advantageyou will need to know what your closestcompetitors are providing for their customersand then work out how do it better. To make a start just go on to the internet and find the companies in your area who areoffering similar service(s) to you and thentake an in-depth look at what they offer andtheir service offerings, prices etc. This can be done through a SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (to you) on each of your main 4-6 competitors e.g. What are their main strengths and weaknesses and how could you do better? This will be your competitive advantage.A sheet has already been provided to help you do this. When you have done a SWOT analysis on your main competitors you can combine the findings and provide a brief summary below: SWOT ANALYSIS SUMMARY FOR MY MAIN COMPETITORS:THEIR MAIN STRENGTHS:1.2.3.THEIR MAIN WEAKNESSES: 1.2.3.THE MAIN OPPORTUNITIES (FOR ME):1.2.3.THE MAIN THREATS (TO ME):1.2.3.Additional notes:4

KEY QUESTION: CAN MY BUSINESS COMPETE?Now that you have done some research on your main competitors you should be able to clarify the main business questions that you need to answer before making completing your business plan:Who are your main target customers? (Describe):What are the 3 key factors that will give you a clear competitive advantage over your competitors (list)?1. 2.3. Now, what else could you do to add value to your product, or service, to make it better than your competitors (list)?1.2.3.What do you now need to work on to be really outstanding (list)?1.2.3.Are there enough potential customers to make this a profitable business? Yes No“What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone else, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.” (Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s). - If the answer is yes then let’s move on to the planning phase!5

MY BUSINESS DETAILS: A business idea on it’s own will not get you far and you will needto create a business plan. Now you will have to consider somepractical aspects of running a business such as your businessname, location, business address etc. This is your actual business plan, so give it plenty of careful thought and complete the details where required and it will help you to stay on track once you get started.• MY BUSINESS VISION: (State briefly, in one paragraph, why your business exists and theservices that it will provide):• MY BUSINESS NAME:• MY BUSINESS STRUCTURE:(i.e. will you be either Self-employed, a partnership or a Limited Company?):• IF A LIMITED COMPANY, ARE YOU REGISTERED WITH COMPANIES HOUSE?YES: NO:• YOUR COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER:• YOUR COMPANY REGISTERED ADDRESS:• MY BUSINESS OFFICE WILL BE LOCATED AT:• MY REGISTERED BUSINESS ADDRESS WILL BE:• MY TRADING ADDRESS WILL BE (IF DIFFERENT):6

BUSINESS FINANCE & ACCOUNTING:Have you set up a business banking account with a mainstream bank? YES NOIf so, the bank name & address:Business Account sort code and account number: • Do you need a merchant account for debit/credit card payments? YES NO• Your accountant details:• Have you registered for VAT? If so VAT Registration number:• Do you know how to manage your accounts and daily transactions etc? YES NO• For staff salaries, have you registered for Pay As You Earn (PAYE)? YES NO• Have you considered your insurance policy needs? YES NO• Do you have sufficient finance to cover you for the first 12 months? YES NO• Have you applied for a business loan? YES NOYOUR BUSINESS IMAGE & BRANDING:Have you taken time to attend to the work required to create a good business image e.g. Have you decided basic design ideas for your business logo, stationery, etc? Have you found a good designer/printer for your business stationery needs? Have you included all the necessary company details on invoices etc.PLANNING YOUR WEBSITE:Have you taken the time required to create a good website as per the guidelines provided? Have you found and registered a suitable domain name & email address? Have you reviewed other websites to get some idea of your ideal website? Have you found someone you would like to build and host your website? Will your website be easy to find, well laid out, and easy to navigate for visitors?• My business website domain name is:• My business email address is: 7

MY MARKETING PLAN:Now that you have got a good business plan, you needto tell everyone about your business and the services, or products, that it provides. These are the ways that I will reach my target audience to tell them about my business:MARKETING METHOD: STEPS TO TAKE:1. 1.2.3. 2.1.2.3. 3.1.2.3. 4.1.2.3. 5.1.2.3. 6.1.2.3. 8

ONGOING BUSINESS SUCCESS:By researching your intended business idea and then creating this detailed business plan you have done everything you can to make sure that your business gets off to a good start. Keep in mind the following business challenges as you progress to a fully-fledged business: Do you know how to really delight your customers better than your competitors? Do you under-promise, over-deliver & always provide excellent customer service? Do you ask for testimonials (e.g. Trustpilot) and put them on your website? Are you prepared for a lot of hard work, inevitable setbacks & the occasional success?Now set some (realistic) business targets: e.g.MY BUSINESS TARGETS: Following my initial research, my business targets are as follows:(a) Short term: “My aim is to have achieved new business customers/clients within six months of trading and to generate a business turnover in the region of £ .”(b) Medium term: (e.g. within one year) “My aim is to have achieved customers/ clients,generating a business turnover in the region of £ ”(c) Long term: “My aim is to have an established business that can be developed further toreach an estimated annual turnover of £ ”.ANY OTHER BUSINESS INITIATIVES (BUSINESS ALLIANCES ETC.) Now, bullet-point any other business initiatives, special alliances, opportunities etc. that you hope to incorporate into your business planning for the near future: Remember: “Success is never finally won and must be constantly achieved!”9

ONGOING BUSINESS SUCCESS:Once you have got your business up and running you have to work hard to make it successful. This will rely entirely on the level of customer service that you provide, compared with your competitors. You must constantly think of new ways to delight your customers to keep them coming back and also promoting you through word of mouth.The world of business is very competitive and people will continually be making judgements about you, these are called “moments of truth”. A “moment of truth” occurs whenever the customer comes into contact with any part of your organisation and makes a judgement on the quality of that contact, or experience. To be successful you must constantly manage your moments of truth. If you monitor and manage your moments of truth to a high standard on a daily basis you will be successful. Some initial suggestions (for a consulting company) have been made in the template below but you can modify them to suit your own business service. The important thing is to identify the most important points of contact to monitor on a daily basis:MY MOMENTS OF TRUTH:Your websiteTelephone answeringThe first email contactAn immediate responseHigh quality informationBuild good rapportA hassle-free serviceGets results!Good value for moneyWord of mouthIDENTIFYING YOUR ‘MOMENTS OF TRUTH’- AS SEEN THROUGH THE EYES OF YOUR CUSTOMERS:10

MANAGING YOUR MORALE:This will not be in any business planning guide but it is a daily consideration! It can be very lonely running your own business and no one else is likely to recognise the huge amount of effort that you will have to put into your business to be successful. You just have to accept this and learn to manage your own morale when times are not so good. Don’t let negative thoughts drain your energy levels. Stay positive, no matterwhat happens and learn to overcome problems one step at a time and keepyour spirits high. Become mentally resilient and develop a positive outlook on life. At the end of the day pat yourself on the back and say to yourself “well done!” That is what successful business owners are made of!“What do you need to start a business? Three simple things: know your product better than anyone, know your customer, and have a burning desire to succeed.”(Dave Thomas, Founder of Wendy’s)“Success is not final; failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”(Winston Churchill)“You have to believe in yourself when no one else does - that makes you a winner right there.” (Venus Williams, American professional tennis player).“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” (Walt Disney)“If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time.” (Steve Jobs)“I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have.” (Thomas Jefferson, Founding Father and President of the United States).“Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” (Thomas Edison)“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work and learning from failure.” (Colin Powell)11

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