Creating a Business Plan

Starting a business is hard enough but you won't get anywhere without a solid business plan.

It is vital that you know what chance there is of making a return on your investment. And there is no chance of getting finance from banks or potential investors unless you can prove that you have weighed up the risks, have a product or service that people will want, and know what the competition will be like.

So a business plan needs to deal with the critical issues that set you apart - your strengths, your weaknesses, the opportunity and the potential threats.

• Is your idea a good one?
• How do you know? (you must research competitors and rival products)
• What makes your business different and likely to succeed?
• How much have you considered needs and motivation of potential customers?
• How much expertise do you have in delivering management and organisation?
• How much money will it take to set up, to staff it and to market it?
• How long will it take before you can start paying off the initial outlay?
• What problems are there likely to be - and how you will overcome them?
• What will you do if things don't go as well as you hoped?

There are also the day-to-day but vital issues of planning regulations, taxation, health and safety, national insurance and more.

Setting down all of these ideas is essential for the people to whom you will be presenting the plan – the people who are going to lend you the money. But the process is just as important to you, because the more you know about the way ahead, the more organised you will be and the more you will be able to recognise and deal with challenges.

You can trawl the web for all sorts of software packages to help you create a sophisticated and logical business plan, but don't be deceived by the hype. Companies may claim that their software helped people get millions of pounds of backing, and it may indeed have helped, but it is the idea that you have and the facts and figures you have come up with that will convince investors, not the software.

Nevertheless, the web is a great source of guidance for business plans – and a good place to start to do your market research on competitors, your product, and customers.

There are plenty more sources of advice. Business Link (http://www.businesslink.gov.uk) is an organisation run by the Government and is dedicated to helping new businesses and potential businesses. It can offer extensive free advice and has a range of local branches with which you can deal directly.

Your local Chamber of Commerce is another source of potential advice from people who have been in the same situation as you, but you may have to pay a membership fee to get that advice.

Your bank will offer advice, and many further education colleges run free business plan courses which will give a clear guide to what is required.