Business Plan Guidance Notes
1. Summarise your business and any relevant experience/training you have.
You need to give a short description of what your business will do?
You should provide details of your experience, related skills, relevant qualifications /
achievements and any special aptitudes or qualities you may have that are pertinent
to your proposed venture.
1a. What is the product or service you will be providing?
The Product:
 If you intend to make your own products, what does the manufacturing process
involve?
 What types of materials are required and are they readily and consistently
available?
 Do your products comply with current safety legislation?
 Are your products of a bespoke nature or are they designed to appeal to a mass
market?
The Service:
 What will your service consist of in its entirety?
 Will you offer an emergency call out service, and if so, at what additional
cost?
 Does your service necessitate holding a nominal stock of spares, materials or
components?
 Will these be accessible as and when you require them?
 How many days / nights per week do you intend to trade and why have you
decided on these operating times?
 Will you provide an after sales service and if so what will it consist of?
 Do you have any strategic plans to broaden your range or develop your
product or service in any way?
1b. What are you objectives for the first 12 months in business?
Explain exactly what are you setting out to accomplish and why, in the first 12
months?
2. What will be the legal status of the business?
Sole Trader, Partnership, Limited Company, Social Enterprise or other and why you
have chosen this.
2a. What Legislative requirements does your business have? (Insurances,
Licences, H&S)?
 Have you insured yourself / your business adequately (personal injury, public
liability, professional indemnity, employer’s liability, Motor etc.)?
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Are there any statutory or legislative regulations you must comply with before
you can start trading or whilst you are trading?
Does the nature of your operations mean you may have a requirement for any
licences?
Do you need any basic competency qualifications, such as a CSCS card, a
Financial Planning Certificate, or a Food Handling and Hygiene Certificate?
3. How many employees will there be?
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What are your roles and responsibilities?
What are the roles and responsibilities of any employee’s or staff?
4. Where will your business be located?
Details of your proposed trading location.
Will you need premises or work from home?
Considerations:
 Layout
 Office space and storage
 Local infrastructure
 Details of your lease
If you will work from home describe how this will be possible:
 Why have you chosen to work from home?
 Have you got adequate storage?
 How will you manage work life balance?
 Do you require any permission from your local authority or landlord?
5. What market research have you carried out to establish the business?
In this section you should outline your understanding of the market you intend to
serve.
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What is the geographic spread of your trading area (local, UK wide,
international)?
What research have you done?
What methods did you employ (desk / field research, test marketing adverts,
product placement, footfall analysis, etc)?
How and where did you source your information?
What understanding do you have of your market (size, segmentation, etc.)?
Have you consider factors external to your business that may affect it within
the first year? E.g. political changes, economic factors, trends and fashions,
technology.
6. Who are your competitors?
 Describe who your competitors are?
 Why are they successful?
 Can you emulate them in any way?
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Do you have a Unique Selling Proposition or Differential Advantage over
them?
What are their strengths and weaknesses?
Do you have any weaknesses that they may be able to exploit?
What is the cost comparison between you and your competitors?
7. Who are your customers?
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What types of customers will use your products or service?
How much do you know about them (age groups, income groups, lifestyle
aspirations, business types, etc)?
Is the demand for your product or service likely to increase or decrease in the
foreseeable future and why is this likely to happen?
What are their wants and needs?
How much are your customers prepared to pay for your product or service?
(See section 9)
How do you know what they’ll accept?
8. Describe how your business will be advertised or promoted?
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How will you sell your product or service?
What promotional activities do you plan to utilise (website, e-mails, newspaper
/ magazine advertising, direct selling, mail shots, leaflet distribution, space
advertising, vehicle livery, promotional gifts, dealer incentives, etc.)?
Can you provide an illustration of your logo, if you intend to have one and
where will it be used (on stationery, work clothes, signage, packaging, etc.)?
9. What prices will you charge?
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Show how you have decided on the price for you product / service and what
considerations you have made as well as the actual price.
Is it a price your customers are prepared to pay? (See section 7)
10. Personal Survival Budget
Complete the spreadsheet to give you an idea of your household financial needs.
11. Explain how you will manage the finances of the business to meet your
needs.
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Will you pay yourself monthly?
How will you meet personal loan repayments and other agreed commitments?
12. Describe your business start-up costs.
What plant, equipment, stock, stationery, advertising costs etc. are there before you
can start to trade?
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13. Where will the money come from to pay for these costs?
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How much, if anything, can you afford to invest in your business?
What funding do you still require and where do you hope to obtain it? (Family,
friends, bank loan, grants, investors)
14. Cash-Flow Forecast
The cash-flow forecast is just what it says – a forecast of cash flowing in and out of
the business (on a monthly basis). This is normally for 12 months ahead.
The preparation of the cash-flow requires:
a) Estimates and assumptions which should be clearly stated in the business plan
narrative
b) Hard facts from your research.
Remember, it takes time for a business to establish itself and therefore the monthly
sales figures should reflect this, there should also be consideration for any seasonal
variations.
15. Assumptions and Comments
 Where could your plans go wrong?
 How would you counter any unexpected detrimental fluctuations in trade?
 If your product or service is seasonal or time sensitive how will you continue
to generate revenue when demand is in decline or it’s out of season?
 How will you deal with unexpected competition?
 What would happen if one of your customers went into liquidation owing you a
lot of money?
 How would you continue to operate if you, or one of your key members of
staff, became ill or incapacitated for a lengthy period?
 Have you made any contingency plans for dealing with machinery, equipment
or vehicle failure?
16. Action Plan
What do you need to do now to implement this business plan?
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