Tag: Business Plan

What is your plan for 2017?

Business Diagram

Now 2017 is in full swing, its time you thought about your business plan.

Before you do anything, sit down and think about

  1. How and where your income will come from
  2. What your Costs and Profit will be
  3. What your cash requirements are
  4. Which business structure will work for you and assess what tax you will need to pay

If you have a plan statistics show you are likely to make 20% more profit!

 

accountants-smaller

steve@bicknells.net

Business Planning made easy with Apps

Apps

A business plan helps you to:

  • clarify your business idea
  • spot potential problems
  • set out your goals
  • measure your progress

 

Businessman get idea

The problem with Business Plans is that they are time consuming to produce, so business owners put off doing them.

But new Apps might change this and make it much easier to produce high quality Business Plans.

http://www.enloop.com/features

There are other Apps too for example..

Business Plan Premier

StratPad

http://www.sage.co.uk/~/media/markets/uk/images/business-advice/infographic-starting-your-business.gif

steve@bicknells.net

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Do you have a great business proposal and strategy that will work?

Businessman get idea

Sometimes even the best ideas don’t get funding at first….

But if you have the right strategy you can still succeed, that’s why a business plan is really important

Approximately a third of all SME’s in the UK don’t have a Business Plan, that’s about 1.5m businesses, so if you don’t have one, here are some reasons why you should prepare one….

  1. Research by Exact Software shows that SME’s with Business Plans make 20% more profit
  2. Having a business plan doubles your chances of increasing profits, increasing revenue, attracting new clients
  3. A well-researched business plan which includes the right figures and realistic forecasts will reassure potential investors you are a sensible investment opportunity
  4. A Business Plan will help you set out and achieve your goals
  5. It will help you set goals for your managers and staff
  6. The Business Plan will help you plan your cash flow and forecast Capital Expenditure
  7. A Business Plan will help you secure Business Finance and Loans
  8. You can plan your succession strategy or prepare the business for sale
  9. A Business Plan tests the feasibility of your business idea
  10. It will help you plan for the recruitment of Staff

http://www.entrepreneur.com/dbimages/article/1392332798-how-build-business-plan-infographic.jpg

steve@bicknells.net

Government help to get new businesses started

Entrepreneur startup business model

The New Enterprise Allowance can provide money and support to help people start their own business if they get certain benefits and have a business idea that could work.

The scheme has resulted in:

  • around 460 new businesses being set up each week – around 53,000 in total
  • 12,360 businesses being started by people aged 50 or over
  • 10,040 disabled people becoming their own boss
  • 3,920 started by young people

People who don’t qualify for the scheme may be able to get other help with setting up a business.

Business Mentors have a key role to play

The New Enterprise Allowance is available to:

  • people over 18 who are claiming Jobseeker’s Allowance
  • lone parents on Income Support
  • people on Employment and Support Allowance in the work-related activity group

People on the scheme get expert help and advice from a business mentor who will help them to develop their business idea and write a business plan. If the business plan is approved, they are eligible for financial support payable through a weekly allowance over 26 weeks up to a total of £1,274.

There are also Start Up Loans…

A government funded scheme to provide advice, business loans and mentoring to startup businesses

steve@bicknells.net

10 reasons why you need a Business Plan and 10 tips for success

business plan tree

A business plan is a written document that describes your business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts.

A business plan helps you to:

  • clarify your business idea
  • spot potential problems
  • set out your goals
  • measure your progress

Approximately a third of all SME’s in the UK don’t have a Business Plan, that’s about 1.5m businesses, so if you don’t have one, here are some reasons why you should prepare one….

  1. Research by Exact Software shows that SME’s with Business Plans make 20% more profit
  2. Having a business plan doubles your chances of increasing profits, increasing revenue, attracting new clients
  3. A well-researched business plan which includes the right figures and realistic forecasts will reassure potential investors you are a sensible investment opportunity
  4. A Business Plan will help you set out and achieve your goals
  5. It will help you set goals for your managers and staff
  6. The Business Plan will help you plan your cash flow and forecast Capital Expenditure
  7. A Business Plan will help you secure Business Finance and Loans
  8. You can plan your succession strategy or prepare the business for sale
  9. A Business Plan tests the feasibility of your business idea
  10. It will help you plan for the recruitment of Staff

 

http://www.entrepreneur.com/dbimages/article/1392332798-how-build-business-plan-infographic.jpg

steve@bicknells.net

10 financial mistakes all new business should avoid

Stress business woman

Starting a new business is always a challenge but there are some common financial mistakes that all start ups should avoid.

  1. Lack of Planning – Businesses normally start with a great idea but you need to have business model that works and to at least have a basic business plan and cash flow.
  2. Over Trading – this happens when a business expands too quickly for its working capital, when you start a new business its tempting to accept every order without considering whether you can have the resources and the cash to deliver.
  3. Wasted Marketing and Advertising – new businesses are an easy target for marketing companies but its important to stick to the essentials to start with, having a website, e mail and business cards are essential, magazine advertising and other things can be done as the business grows, in the early stages you are experimenting and finding your market so if you spend too much too soon you might promote the wrong things at the wrong price.
  4. Wrong Business Structure – Before you start your business get some advice from your accountant, its important to choose the right structure not just for tax reasons but also for investment and ownership.
  5. Wrong Staff – Choosing the right team is critical for business success, choose staff that have the right skills, the right attitude and are dedicated to the success of the business.
  6. Over Ambitious – All too often businesses plans are over ambitious with sales growing rapidly, often they prove to be unrealistic, when preparing a sales forecast start with your order book and be cautious in your assumptions.
  7. Overheads – Many businesses over spend on overheads for example renting premises too early, work from home, if you can, to minimise costs.
  8. Stock Problems – Buying the wrong stock, under or over stocking are also issues for start ups, try to adopt a ‘just in time’ stock policy.
  9. Getting Paid – A sale is only a sale if you get paid, any one can give things away, make sure you manage your clients and get paid on time.
  10. Competition – Keep an eye on your competitors, they will be watching you and responding to maintain their market share.

steve@bicknells.net

Business Plans – Do you really need one?

business plan tree

A business plan is a written document that describes your business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts.

A business plan helps you to:

  • clarify your business idea
  • spot potential problems
  • set out your goals
  • measure your progress

But its no good unless you have business model that works as Doug Richards explains

Research by the national enterprise campaign showed that last year 484,224 businesses were started, compared to 440,600 in 2011.

According to the FSB at the start of 2012:
  • There were an estimated 4.8 million businesses in the UK which employed 23.9 million people, and had a combined turnover of £3,100 billion
  • SMEs accounted for 99.9 per cent of of all private sector businesses in the UK, 59.1 per cent of private sector employment and 48.8 per cent of private sector turnover
  • SMEs employed 14.1 million people and had a combined turnover of £1,500 billion
  • Small businesses alone accounted for 47 per cent of private sector employment and 34.4 per cent of turnover
  • Of all businesses, 62.7 per cent (three million) were sole proprietorships, 28 per cent (1.3 million) were companies and 9.3 per cent (448,000) partnerships
  • There were 907,000 businesses operating in the construction sector – nearly a fifth of all businesses

micro: 0-9 employees, small: 10-49 employees, medium: 50-249 employees (updated October 2012)

The best bit of advice I have heard is this piece from Doug Richards ‘Take the Order’

Once you have a business model that works, then create a business plan, here is a link to some free plans to get you started http://www.bplans.co.uk/sample_business_plans.cfm

steve@bicknells.net