Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Name of Enterprise
Business Plan
Address
City, County, Post Code
Phone
E-mail
Author’s Name
Day Month Year
NB. This document.is fully editable and so page layout will be affected by what you insert or delete.
Use it to record and organise your ideas and research findings, so that everything is kept together.
KEEP A BACKUP.
We suggest that you work through the document several times updating and improving your entries.
You can edit the template as you work through the document, inserting your information and deleting anything that is not
appropriate to you.
(We do however recommend that you do not delete any sections until you are ready to finalise the document).
When you are ready to present your Business Plan to others, edit and ‘tidy up’ one of your copies by removing instructions, notes,
etc and backup that ‘finalised version as your presentable plan. We suggest that you retain the unedited copy as a working
document calling it something else such as “Development Plan” you can then use it for further developments.
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Table of Contents
I. Executive Summary
1. Business Owner(s) & Product/Service
2. Mission Statement
3. Company Structure
4. Target Market(s)
5. Current Opportunity
6. Projection of Business Future
7. Financial Summary
II. Market Analysis
1. Industry, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
2. Competitive Analysis (Appendix B)
3. Demographics & Target Market
4. Entry Barriers
III.
Marketing Strategy
1. Product/Service
2. Sales Strategy
3. Promotion
4. Pricing Strategy
5. Web Strategy
6. Differentiation (Competitive Advantage)
IV.
Operations Plan
1. Location
2. Operation
3. Organisation Structure
4. Employees
5. Space
6. Capacity:
7. Critical Suppliers
8. Financial system
9. Computer system.
10.
Equipment
11.
Permits and Licenses
12.
Insurance
13.
Contracts
14.
Patents and Copyrights
15.
Credit Policy
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Table of Contents – cont.
V. Financial Plan
1. Product and Service Pricing
2. Funding Source(s)
3. Cash Flow Projection (Appendix A)
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
Appendix A: Cash Flow Statement
Appendix B: Competitive Analysis
Appendix C: Resume (Enterprise)
Appendix D: Resume (Personnel)
Appendix E: Notes (to yourself).
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Support from the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium:
When completing this template please consider the support that may be available from the
Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Community Empowerment Ltd: is a charitable society for the benefit of the community and our charitable
aims include the reduction of poverty through the creation and retention of employment.
We also operate “Enterprise Clubs” for unemployed persons considering self-employment or incorporated
business models.
Co-operative Service Solutions CIC:
We are primarily a Co-operative Development Body (CDB).offering incubation to new start Co-operatives
and social enterprises..
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC: is a Community Interest Company holding contracts in the area of
‘welfare-to-work’.
Our main tasks are improving individual employability, enterprise development (for the creation of further
employment) and supporting existing enterprises in order to sustain levels of employment.
We also offer a ‘Community Routes into Employment’ project to assist unemployed people to gain useful
work experience in order to enhance their CVs. This project aims for mutual benefits for:
The Community
The unemployed person
Your enterprise.
Please contact us to discuss these potential benefits.
Co-operative Admin Solutions CIC: is a Community Interest Company providing “Back Office” support so
that you can concentrate upon your core activities.
We aim to help you to make substantial savings related to administration as well as seeking to ensure that
you can direct your attention to the success of your business plan.
We also offer substantial savings on stationery based upon collective buying power.
Please see our ‘catalogue’ for an overview of the range of services that we provide.
You can obtain information related to the above via our portal page at www.empower.coop
You can also visit the mutual-self-help forum at www.empowerus.coop
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Executive Summary
Overview of the business explaining the fundamentals.
1. Business Owner(s) & Product/Service
i. Who are you and what qualifies you to operate this business?
ii. What is the product or service (brief description)?
2. Mission Statement
i. Briefly describe what you will do to be successful and guiding principles (service,
quality, community focus, passion for the business, etc)
3. Enterprise Structure
i. Sole proprietorship
ii. Unincorporated
iii. LLP
iv. Registered Company Co-operative (state type)
v. Company Limited by Shares
vi. Company Limited by Guarantee
vii.
Industrial & Provident Society – Co-operative (state type)
viii.
– Community Benefit Society
ix. Other
x. Incorporated Charity (not yet available).
xi. Registered Charity
xii.
Exempt Charity
NB. Advice on choice of Enterprise Structure may be available from
Co-operative Service Solutions CIC via the enquiry form at:
http://empower.formstack.com/forms/cooperative_service_solutions_cic1
Please be aware that many mainstream advisors may have limited expertise
across the full range of structures. You should not opt for a common structure
just because your advisor is familiar with those. Make sure you undertake an
exercise to determine what is best for your needs. Community Empowerment Ltd
and other organizations offering Advice & Training in association with the
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Co-operative Enterprise Hub have a free toolkit for this purpose.
What is the ‘Status’ of your enterprise?
(start-up, expansion of a going concern, take-over of existing business, franchise, etc.).
4. Target Market(s)
i. Who are the customers?
1. Industrial
2. Consumers
3. Government
4. Are the customers also the owners?
ii. Is your business B2B (business to business), B2C (business to consumer), B2G
(business to government), etc. Explain.
5. Current Opportunity
i. Why is the opportunity currently available to you?
1. New idea or technology?
2. No competition?
3. Consumer Demand?
4. Special skills?
5. Consumer Demand?
6. Response to change?
6. Projection of Business Future
i. What is the future of the business?
1. Limited (time) opportunity or timeless?
2. Why?
7. Financial Summary
i. Total amount of funds sought for venture: £
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
ii. Total amount of estimated startup costs: £
iii. Total amount of projected average monthly expenses: £
iv. Total amount of projected average monthly revenue: £
II. Market Analysis
1. Determines access to the market by studying the industry, competitors and customer
demographics (so you can choose a target market).
2. Industry, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow
i. What industry does your product/service mix fall under? What has this industry done
in the last several years, what is it doing today, and what do industry analysts (trade
organisations) predict for the future?
3. Competitive Analysis (Appendix B)
i. Who is the competition? If there are many it will be easy to enter the market, but hard
to get significant share- If there are few, it might be harder to enter, but you could gain
significant share.
4. Demographics & Target Market
i. Do a thorough study of the population demographics in the market your business will
sell in. Then, decide what type of person (target market) will buy your product. Does
the population demographic in your area match well? Is there enough of this type of
client (target market) in your area to have a successful business?
ii. Market Segments can include:
1. Age
2. Sex
3. Income
4. Education Level
5. Occupation
6. Location (region, neighbourhoods)
7. Lifestyle (psychographics, hobbies)
8. Business Organization (size, industry)
9. Religion
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
5. Entry Barriers
i. Are there barriers to entry? High entry cost? High risk and cost to get in, but limits the
amount of competitors. Low entry cost? Low risk and cost to get in, but likely to have
many competitors. Are there permits or regulatory approvals required?
ii. Are there other competencies you need to develop? Are they easily achievable?
III.
Marketing Strategy
1. Build strategy from core competencies (quality, speed, service, product, price, convenience,
location, etc.) The strategy is to tell customers what you will do better than the competition.
Customer must be able to clearly see value.
2. Product/Service
i. Give a detailed description of your product or service. Including photos creates a more
powerful presentation.
3. Sales Strategy
i. How will you get to your product/service to the market? Direct sales? Through a
channel (distributor, manufacturers representative, retailer, internet)?
4. Promotion
i. How will you promote your product/service to the customer? Examples are:
Shop Front
Press Adverts
Other Adverts
Door – to –Door (sales)
Leaflet Distribution (how? Who to?)
Events
Mail Shots
Email
Website
Social Media
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
1. This goes back to demographics and figuring out what types of person (target
market) will buy your product. So, what kind of advertisements does this person
respond to the best?
5. Pricing Strategy
i. How you are going to price your product or service? Look at the competition’s price,
what you believe your costs might be, and can you get the same price or a premium
over the competition?
ii. Penetration pricing strategy
1. Price charged is set artificially low to gain market share. Once achieved, price is
increased.
iii. Skimming pricing strategy
1. Charging a high price because you have a substantial competitive advantage.
However, the advantage is not sustainable. The high price tends to attract new
competitors into the market, and the price inevitably falls due to increased
supply.
iv. Follow-the-leader pricing strategy
1. Set price based on competitors (leads to “price wars”).
v. Variable pricing strategy
1. Price fluctuates based on (changing) cost of production.
vi. Economy Pricing
1. No frills low price; the lowest possible regardless of what other are doing. Cost
of marketing and manufacture are kept at a minimum.
vii.
Premium Pricing
1. High price is for a uniqueness about the product or service. This approach is
used where a substantial competitive advantage exists.
6. Web Strategy
i. What will you use your web site for? Examples: simply marketing, sales transactions,
inventory, customer education, partner networking, etc.
7. Differentiation (Competitive Advantage)
8. This brings your entire marketing strategy together.
i. Why will you succeed? What will you do different than the competitors? These are
called your “core competencies”, what you do well that perhaps the competition does
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
not. List your core competencies. Examples would be superior service levels,
exceptional quality, speed, better product or service, better location, etc.
ii. If there is enough differentiation, you can be successful. If there is little or no
differentiation, then you will usually need to rely on price to get business; not the best
option for a start up business.
IV.
Operations Plan
How product is made and/or service fulfilled, and other core characteristics of your business:
1. Location
i. (include complete address).
2. Operation
i. When business will or did open
ii. Hours
iii. seasonal or not
3. Organisation Structure
i. sole proprietor, unincorporated, Co-operative, charity, Company, etc
4. Employees
i. Number of employees needed.
ii. Are the employees also the owners of the business?
iii. Volunteers?
iv. Number of volunteers required
v. List each position and what its primary responsibilities will be.
vi. Type of employees needed (special skills, knowledge or education).
How will they be recruited?
5. Space
i. for production needed
ii. for people needed
6. Capacity:
i. how much product/service can you provide in a certain time frame.
7. Critical Suppliers.
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
8. Financial system.
i. Bookkeeping - do it yourself or use the services of Co-operative Admin Solutions
CIC?
ii. Payroll – do it yourself or use the services of Co-operative Admin Solutions CIC?
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
9. Computer system.
i. You will need some sort of business system, even if it is manual to begin with. List
what it will be and what it will need to do.
ii. Do it all yourself or use support from Co-operative Admin Solutions CIC?
10.
Equipment
i. Computers
ii. Tools
iii. Fixtures
iv. Displays
v. Vehicles
vi. List everything you need to conduct business!
11.
Permits and Licenses
i. Permits
ii. Licenses
12.
Insurance
i. Type(s)
1. Public Liability – coverage amount?
2. Employers Liability – coverage amount?
3. Professional Liability – coverage amount?
4. Products Insurance -coverage amount?
5. Property – buildings – coverage amount?
6. Property – contents – coverage amount?
7. Other?
13.
Contracts
14.
Patents and Copyrights
i. Patents
ii. Copyrights
15.
Credit Policy
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
V. Financial Plan
Explain your financial strategy.
1. Product and Service Pricing
2. List all of your products and services and how they will be priced. Then, list how many you
will sell each month for the first year. Add these totals to your cash flow projection.
i. Product / Service
1. Price / Rate
ii. Product / Service
1. Price / Rate
iii. Product / Service
1. Price / Rate
iv. Product / Service
1. Price / Rate
v. Product / Service
1. Price / Rate
vi. Product / Service
1. Price / Rate
vii.
Product / Service
1. Price / Rate
3. Funding Source(s)
4. Explain where you intend to obtain funding and how much you will receive from each source.
i. Location
1. Amount
ii. Location
1. Amount
iii. Location
1. Amount
iv. Location
1. Amount
v. Location
1. Amount
vi. Location
1. Amount
vii.
Location
1. Amount
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
5. Cash Flow Projection (Appendix A)
Appendix A: Cash Flow Statement
Insert Cash Flow Statement
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Appendix B: Competitive Analysis
Take a look at your most prominent competitors and rate them on the following characteristics. Now
you have done that, decide how you will make your business appear different (better) to the public, by
rating how you want to be.
Factors
You
Competitor
1
Competitor
2
Competitor
3
Competitor
4
Competitor
5
1. Products
2. Price
3. Quality
4. Product
selection
5. Customer
Service
6. Product
Service
7. Reliability
8. Abilities:
Services
Offers
9. Image
10. Location
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
11.
Atmosphere
12.
Appearance
13. Sales
Methods
14. Credit
Policy
15.
Availability
16.
Management
17. Stability
18. Marketing
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Appendix C: Resume (Enterprise).
Please insert a summary (overview) of the Enterprise.
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Appendix D: Resume (Personnel).
Please introduce the key personnel involved in the enterprise, highlighting relevant skills and experience.
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Appendix E:
Notes:
Use this area to record notes (to yourself) during the development stage(s).
Delete the notes from the ‘finalised’ version of the Business Plan before presenting it to people.
We do suggest that you retain a copy of the document, with notes, to use as a Development Plan.
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Enquiry Form for Admin support services:
We offer these admin and compliance services so that you can concentrate upon your core activities:
http://empower.formstack.com/forms/enquiry
The most recent versions of our documents can be downloaded from the following links:
Indicative Rates for Bookkeeping and Allied Services:
www.empower.coop/admin/bookkeeping/pricelist.pdf
Payroll Services:
www.empower.coop/admin/payroll/pricelist.pdf
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.
Co-operative Education Solutions CIC – a part of the Community Empowerment Co-operative Consortium.
Buying Group:
Our Clients are invited to benefit from special rates for stationery from Lyreco
- thanks to the shared buying power of The co-operative.
Enquiries:
Co-operative Admin Solutions CIC:
Enquiry form http://empower.formstack.com/forms/enquiry
finance@empower.coop
Community Empowerment Ltd – for support to social enterprises that are based
upon co-operative values & principles:
Enquiry form http://empower.formstack.com/forms/cooperative_service_solutions_cic1
develop@empower.coop
For all of your training needs please use the form below:
https://empower.formstack.com/forms/ces
Community Empowerment Ltd – a charitable society for the benefit of the community.
Registered Offices & Training Centre: 113-115, Commercial Road, Portsmouth PO1 1BU.
W: www.empower.coop E: develop@empower.coop Forum: http://www.empowerus.coop/
T: 023 9217 8483.