Discussion
go to www.lloydstsb.co.uk and order their new business starter pack. It comes witha free package called Routemap which is a very easy and comprehensive way to put a basic business plan together.
I used it and its very straightforward
I used it and its very straightforward
This might be useful to have a look at, think it creates a document for you as well:
www.aib.ie/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=AIB_BusinessPortal%2FBP_Tool%2Fbp_d_tool&c=BP_Tool&cid=1015492476876&channel=SYB#
www.aib.ie/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=AIB_BusinessPortal%2FBP_Tool%2Fbp_d_tool&c=BP_Tool&cid=1015492476876&channel=SYB#
obiwonkeyblokey said:
go to www.lloydstsb.co.uk and order their new business starter pack. It comes witha free package called Routemap which is a very easy and comprehensive way to put a basic business plan together.
I used it and its very straightforward
Am I being blind?
I cant see anything about this on the website?
Could be rather usefull :P
Chim_Girl said:
Use the tabs at the top of the page provided in the link - select the one with 'Business Banking' on it, then the 'Open an account with LTSB', you should be able to work the rest out - if not, then I suggest you may find this link useful
Thanks, the second link was pretty amusing as well :P
A Decent business plan has three significant elements:
1) The What
Write a paper that defines:
- What you intend to do, the business you are entering
- Who are you customers
- Who are your competitors
- What do you offer that will appeal to your customers and beat your competitors
- What are the risks, and what are you planning to minimise them.
2) The Filthy Lucre
A detailed financial plan (create it in Excel). For each month, for at least two years, define your costs and income
- Split costs between overheads (salaries, office space, capital spend, etc.) that get you ready to trade, and trading costs (items that you buy and sell.
- Create a summary page that lists (for each month), business costs, trading costs and income. Base eveything on cashflow, so income for sales will normally be 1 month or more after you've payed out for goods.
Start by making guesses, and ask around for advice on costs that you will have forgotten.
From this you can calculate the capital you require each month to stay afloat, profit & loss. Calculate for each month and cumulative. This will show you how you need investment, when & how you move into trading profit, and when & how you reach payback
3) Financial Rationale
Once you've set up the spreadsheet, start a partner document that explains how you got your numbers.
For example, under "Computers & Hardware", you can state that you'll buy an ADSL connection @ £24.99 per month, a new computer, scanner & printer in Month1, a 2nd computer in Month 5, etc.
For trading, rationalise your figures. Rather than just putting "£10,000" in the box, you can now say explain that that equals four jobs designing bathrooms typically worth £2,500 each.
Go over both the rationale and numbers about 100 times. Bit by bit you will spot:
- Things you missed completely
- Logic problems (like you expect to do 20 jobs concurrently with just 2 staff - therefore you need to include more staff or reduce the workplan)
- Where the high and low profit areas are, and then better ways of addressing them.
- Over-optimism
Dropping out of it all is a clear presentation that you could bind up for your boss/bank manager. You have explained:
- What you intend to do
- Why it should be successful
- How you are going to do it
- How you are going to make money
- How much investment you need and when
- Why someone should invest (ie when they get their money back and how much they get)
And most importantly, you've thought it all through, and even more importantly, it all makes sense!
Also, having detailed your financial forecast, you have a ready made plan for measuring performance. So if you don't hit monthly targets, you know why, what the impact is, what you need to do, and worst case whether it serious or not.
1) The What
Write a paper that defines:
- What you intend to do, the business you are entering
- Who are you customers
- Who are your competitors
- What do you offer that will appeal to your customers and beat your competitors
- What are the risks, and what are you planning to minimise them.
2) The Filthy Lucre
A detailed financial plan (create it in Excel). For each month, for at least two years, define your costs and income
- Split costs between overheads (salaries, office space, capital spend, etc.) that get you ready to trade, and trading costs (items that you buy and sell.
- Create a summary page that lists (for each month), business costs, trading costs and income. Base eveything on cashflow, so income for sales will normally be 1 month or more after you've payed out for goods.
Start by making guesses, and ask around for advice on costs that you will have forgotten.
From this you can calculate the capital you require each month to stay afloat, profit & loss. Calculate for each month and cumulative. This will show you how you need investment, when & how you move into trading profit, and when & how you reach payback
3) Financial Rationale
Once you've set up the spreadsheet, start a partner document that explains how you got your numbers.
For example, under "Computers & Hardware", you can state that you'll buy an ADSL connection @ £24.99 per month, a new computer, scanner & printer in Month1, a 2nd computer in Month 5, etc.
For trading, rationalise your figures. Rather than just putting "£10,000" in the box, you can now say explain that that equals four jobs designing bathrooms typically worth £2,500 each.
Go over both the rationale and numbers about 100 times. Bit by bit you will spot:
- Things you missed completely
- Logic problems (like you expect to do 20 jobs concurrently with just 2 staff - therefore you need to include more staff or reduce the workplan)
- Where the high and low profit areas are, and then better ways of addressing them.
- Over-optimism
Dropping out of it all is a clear presentation that you could bind up for your boss/bank manager. You have explained:
- What you intend to do
- Why it should be successful
- How you are going to do it
- How you are going to make money
- How much investment you need and when
- Why someone should invest (ie when they get their money back and how much they get)
And most importantly, you've thought it all through, and even more importantly, it all makes sense!
Also, having detailed your financial forecast, you have a ready made plan for measuring performance. So if you don't hit monthly targets, you know why, what the impact is, what you need to do, and worst case whether it serious or not.
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