Business plan matrix

A business plan is an opportunity to carefully think through every step of starting your company so you can prepare for is your chance to discover any weaknesses in your business idea, identify opportunities you may not have considered, and plan how you will deal with challenges that are likely to arise. A well-written business plan can help convince investors or lenders to finance your  template includes instructions for each section of the business plan, followed by corresponding fillable worksheet/ you complete the 11 worksheets, you will have a working business plan for your business plan sections include:Products and ment & p expenses & last section, “refining your plan,” explains ways you may need to modify your plan for specific purposes, such as getting a bank loan, or for specific industries, such as te this template to create a working business plan for your startup. Since 1915, deluxe has recognized the vital role that small business plays in our communities, from job creation to business development. For these reasons, the deluxe corporation foundation provides financial support to nonprofits that help entrepreneurs and small business owners succeed. In recent years, with the majority of these funds supporting the creation and updates of online training and certification for score topicsbusiness ed webinar how to develop a business plan in six easy 5, 2014, 1:00pm edt this webinar will give you pragmatic, straightforward tools for setting goals, developing action plans for achieving them, measuring how you are doing on an ongoing basis and adjus read te business planning & financial statements template tools can be your first step towards small business success. To write a one-page business you’ve been putting off writing your business plan, you’re not alone. Writing a business plan can seem like a daunting task, and it’s an easy one to it doesn’t have to be. An easy way to start your business plan is with just one ’s really not a lot of differences between a “one-page business plan” and a good executive summary. The only real possible difference is the that the “one-page plan” must absolutely fit on one page in a font that most people can still read, while a traditional executive summary can extend to two or three ors don’t have lots of time to read and one page can get the idea of your business across quickly and succinctly. It’s actually a very good exercise to trim down your business plan to the absolute minimum—it forces you to trim needless words and communicate your business idea clearly, with minimal at bplans, we’ve developed a formula for the one-page business plan that we call “the pitch. The pitch format gets all of the critical information that you need to define the strategy for your business. Some people like to call this your “business model,” but it’s really the same r you want to call it a one-page business plan, an executive summary, or a pitch, it should contain the following:A description of the problem your customers solution (your product or service). You feel like you have writer’s block, or you don’t know where to start, i have a couple of , you can get a detailed, read our step-by-step set of instructions for building your one-page business plan. You’ll be able to do it in under an , you can download our free one-page business plan template and use that as a starting , you can try out liveplan’s pitch feature: just answer the questions it asks and click “publish”, and you’ll have a professionally-designed, one-page business plan that is easy to share and covers everything an investor wants to know. Another good option is to follow my colleague caroline cummings’ advice and write your business plan like it’s a series of tweets (seriously, it works). Content of your plan (or pitch) is by far the most important thing – don’t stress about the design. Too many companies spend time focusing on presentation and graphical display of their plans when what they are saying and how they are saying it is really the most critical aspect of it ’t get me wrong—you don’t want to have an ugly presentation. But focus on the content, because it’s more important than anything er: the executive summary (or pitch, or one-page business plan) is usually your introductory communication with investors, so it will be your first impression. Investors will use this document to get an understanding of your communication skills as well as your ability to think critically about your business. You should spend more time on this part of your plan than on any other one-page business plan will be an extremely useful tool to help you refine your business strategy quickly and easily. It might even be all the business plan that you , if you do need to expand your one-page business plan into a more full-fledged plan that includes more details on your company and your target market, you can follow our step-by-step guide for writing a detailed business plan, download our free business plan template, or review any of our over 500 complete sample business plans. Use a one page business plan format that is far simpler than this with startup businesses or for a strategic/marketing plan for emerging businesses. The 8 points you’ve presented in a single page would indeed require a very fine focus on the part of the author – a focus which can only be achieved by undertaking a complete planning process. In your discussion you correctly note that this is an executive summary of a business plan but should it be introduced as a one page business plan? Can you please provide an example of what you would put under “business model in your onepage u please share some format for a  lot for this article. E recently started work on my business plan which has been looming over my head for quite some time now. This really helps bring things into ck: uptown bests: articles and news from july « uptown business(). Ve often wondered whether a business plan is actually worth the effort if you’re not applying for any funding. Forces management to think thoroughly about every critical aspect of their business and thereby creates a document to share with other employees, new partners, vendor partners. It serves as a roadmap to ensure you keep your business on the long-term business path. If you can’t or won’t do a business plan then you would be leaving blind spots and loose ends that could derail you down the road. Try these:7 reasons to create a one-page pitch before you to write a business plan: use this checklist to keep yourself on page business pitch template download [free]. Reasons to create a one-page pitch before you to write a business plan: use this checklist to keep yourself on the #1 business planning software risk-free for 60 contract, no risk. Built for entrepreneurs like this simple formula to build a one-page business plan and jump-start your business planning process. Download our free one-page plan template to get smartsheet for tsmartsheet collaboration more, manage te work with r work at scale with control and onsbusiness solutionsmanage customer processes moving ze marketing budget and line facilities es & supportservicesservices ng & tsupport strategic planning templates. Strategic planning may be utilized on a large scale, such as planning for business growth over several years or to help a nonprofit or governmental organization reach its stated mission. A strategic plan can also be used on a smaller scale, such as crafting a marketing plan or developing strategy for the goals of one department within a business or organization.

Concise business plan

Strategy looks at why certain steps should be taken, whereas a plan outlines how to enact those steps. The strategic planning process marries these two concepts in order to determine the best possible course of action. However, it’s not a document that is fixed in stone - instead, it’s wise to revisit and adjust a strategic plan periodically based on the evolving vision, objectives, needs, and resources of a business or benefits of strategic planning may include aligning the goals of a department or project with larger business goals, providing clear communication to team members, stakeholders or clients, clearly defining the vision and mission of an organization, providing clarity on how to deal with internal or environmental changes, and more. Depending on the scope of your plan, you may be working with a team of multiple stakeholders during the strategic planning process. Different parties may be responsible for providing data, reviewing the plan, or authorizing strategic decisions. As you prepare for planning, make sure all participants understand what’s involved in the process and have received any relevant information prior to of a strategic gic business plan fit strategic plan strategic plan strategic planning gic marketing plan media strategy plan analysis strategy -page strategic planning gic vision sity strategic plan a comprehensive strategic plan with of a strategic way to think about strategic planning is that it identifies any gaps between a current state and desired future state, and then dictates how to close those gaps - how to get you from where you are to where you want to be. To that end, various factors are taken into consideration in order to formulate an effective plan. Here are some of the elements often included in a strategic uctory statement - if you include an introductory statement, it should briefly describe why the strategic plan was developed and for what time period, plus the authors of the ound statement - this section may provide information about the organization such as history, management structure, and supporting partners or agencies. Alternatively, you could use this section as a brief business statement - more of an elevator pitch - to concisely describe your business. Organizational structure - include this information if it’s relevant to evaluate how your business or organization operates and is structured - from governing board to staffing. Many businesses create core value statements to guide company n statement - a mission statement describes the purpose of a business or organization. This is distinct from a vision statement because it is not a projected goal for the m statement - some plans include a problem statement, which can outline key or discrete issues that need to be analysis - a swot analysis provides a foundation and context for developing strategy by examining the strengths and weaknesses within and organization as well as external opportunities and - as stated earlier, a strategic plan may include long-term as well as more short-term (monthly and quarterly) goals. Objectives should be measurable and broken down into actionable steps, and the action plan for each goal should specify who is responsible for implementing the strategy, a timeline for starting and ending the action, and how the outcome will be tion - methods for evaluation should be spelled out in the strategic plan. This could include tracking key performance indicators (kpis) and documenting the progress of action steps on an ongoing ive summary - this final summary helps employees, investors or other readers quickly understand your matter what type of strategic plan you are working on, using a template provides a simple and quick outline to organize your process. Below you’ll find planning templates for business, nonprofit, human resources, marketing, it strategic planning and more. For enhanced collaboration features, you can also create a strategic planning template with gic business plan template. Comprehensive, strategic business plan may include company information, swot analysis, research, goals, resources, risks and more. A template provides structure for your business planning process as well as a communication tool that’s simple to update or modify. Use the template as a guide for evaluating your business, identifying opportunities for growth and development, and creating a strategic . Nonprofit strategic plan often emphasizes vision, values, and mission as the foundation for future objectives. As with a business plan, nonprofit planning may include sections for evaluating risks and opportunities, measuring financial resources, developing a marketing plan, and creating objectives for organizational . Download nonprofit strategic plan strategic plan a detailed human resources strategic plan for your organization, or modify the template to focus on one specific area, such as recruitment or employee relations. Download hr strategic plan strategic planning is an essential part of any business, nonprofit, school, or government agency. While information technology is just one part of an overall business strategy, creating a separate strategic plan for it will help ensure that you have a comprehensive roadmap to follow for managing and purchasing new assets, understanding your current and potential technology usage, and aligning your it goals with business . Download it strategic planning gic marketing plan this free template to help shape your marketing strategy. It combines information on your target market and business with marketing tactics to help you think strategically and create a plan of action. Download strategic marketing plan media strategy plan media is an integral part of online marketing, and creating a strategic plan can help ensure that you are using your time and resources effectively. Download social media strategy plan analysis strategy matrix template combines swot analysis with strategic planning. One-page strategic plan is perfect for small businesses or for summarizing a longer planning process. Download one-page strategic planning gic vision ize your strategic vision and plan, highlighting key information for stakeholders, management, investors, or for your own reference. Combining a vision statement with a brief summary of goals, actions and kpis makes it easy to see how your business values and purpose relate to your objectives. The actual strategic plan may cover multiple pages and provide an in-depth analysis and detailed mission and vision statements. Strategic planning is an opportunity for universities to look closely at campus needs, institutional values, infrastructure, long-term goals, important obstacles, and more. Download university strategic plan a comprehensive strategic plan with heet is a cloud-based work management tool in a familiar spreadsheet layout. You can use smartsheet to create a strategic plan for your business or organization - in fact, the built-in corporate strategy planner template can help you streamline and organize your strategic plan. Use the corporate strategy planner template as an information hub to develop a strategy around your vision, mission, objectives, and tactical initiatives. Additionally, track stakeholder progress and cell history so you can adjust or refine the plan along the way.

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Although the template is labelled for corporate use, smartsheet is fully customizable, so you may edit the columns and organization of the template to fit the needs of a nonprofit, school, or any other your strategic plan across executive teams, board members, and other departments to keep everyone up to date on your plan. Ultimately, smartsheet is a comprehensive tool that can help maintain order and organization in your strategic plan to help you achieve your smartsheet for freeif you found this post helpful, visit our resources page to get more marketing tips and are very useful is a very useful guideline to the beginners like us to enhance proficiency in the organisational strategy 's five forces model market analysis tool peters - in search of excellence ss planning and marketing strategy wiki. R smiths sostac planning model business plan or operational plan template gy implementation and realisation uity and contingency management tation of change and innovation ed scorecard, theory, template, examplesbusiness and management dictionarycontracts and legal terms glossaryfinancial business terms and ratios explainedmarketing guide, from start-up to advertisingpest market analysis - free templateporter's five forces of competitive positionsostac® - pr smith's business marketing planning systemswot analysis - theory, history, templates and examplesfree diagrams, tools, tests, and working ss planning and marketing strategyfree business planning and marketing tips, samples, examples and tools - how to write a business plan, techniques for writing a marketing strategy, strategic business plans and sales r-friendly versionbusiness planning and marketing strategytable of contents1. Free business planning and marketing tips, samples, examples and tools - how to write a business plan, techniques for writing a marketing strategy, strategic business plans and sales plans1. Write your business plan - include sales, costs of sales, gross margins, and if necessary your business overheads1. Quantify the business you seek from each of your market sectors, segments, products and customer groupings, and allocate investment, resources and activities accordingly1. Business planning and marketing tips, samples, examples and tools - how to write a business plan, techniques for writing a marketing strategy, strategic business plans and sales are tips, examples, techniques, tools and a process for writing business plans to produce effective free online guide explains how to write a marketing or business strategy, a basic business plan, and a sales plan, using free templates, tools and examples, such as swot analysis, pest analysis, the 'ansoff matrix' and the 'boston matrix'. The marketing guide offers more specific explanation and theories and tools for marketing strategy and marketing planning, including techniques and tips for advertising, public relations (pr), press and media publicity, sales enquiry lead generation, advertising copy-writing, internet and website marketing,  sales training guide offers detailed theories and methods about sales planning and selling, extending to cold calling and negotiation skills and techniques, especially relating to mes people use the term business plan when they are referring to a project. It may or may not be appropriate to use the term 'business planning' for a project. Some projects are very substantial and equate to an autonomous (independent) business activity, in which case a business plan is entirely appropriate. Other projects are smaller, perhaps limited to internal change or development, and are less likely to require a conventional business plan, and are quite adequately planned and managed via project management ss planning terminology can be confusing because much of it is used very loosely, and can mean different things. When people talk and write about business planning different terms may mean the same thing, and a single term can mean different term 'business planning' itself covers all sorts of different plans within a business, or potentially within a non-commercial words 'strategy' and 'strategic' arise often in the subject of buisness planning, although there is no actual difference between a 'business plan' and a 'strategic business plan'. Everyone involved in planning arguably adopts a 'strategic' businesses and plans are primarily driven or determined by market needs and aims. This increasingly applies to many non-commercial activities (government services, education, health, charities, etc), whose planning processes may also be described as 'business planning', even though such organizations may not be businesses in the way we normally imagine. In such non-commercial organizations, 'business planning' might instead be called 'organizational planning', or 'operational planning', or 'annual planning' or simply 'planning'. Essentially all these terms mean the same, and increasingly the tendency is for 'business planning' to become a generic (general) term to refer to them. Should clarify that finance is of course a major and unavoidable aspect of business and organizational activities, but in terms of planning, finance is a limiting or enabling factor; finance is a means to an end, or a restriction; finance in itself is not a basis for growth or strategy. Markets/customers, product/service development, and sales, provide the only true basis for businesses to define direction, development, growth, etc. And thereby business strategy and ss planning always starts with or revisits the basic aim or need to provide products or services to customers - also called a market or 'market-place'. Consequently business plans tend first to look outwards, at a market, before they look inwards, at finance and production, means that most business plans are driven by marketing, since marketing is the function which addresses market opportunity and need, and how to fulfil ing in this sense is also called 'marketing strategy' - or more broadly 'business strategy'. Many simple, small, and/or old traditional businesses, 'marketing' is often seen instead to be 'sales' or 'selling' (usually because in such businesses selling is the only marketing activity), in which case a 'sales plan' may be the main driver of strategy and the business people use the words 'sales' or 'selling' and 'marketing' to mean the same thing - basically selling products or services to customers, in the broadest sense. Marketing involves the strategic planning of a business (or other organizational provider) through to every aspect of customer engagement, including market reserach, product development, branding, advertising and promotion, methods of selling, customer service, and extending to the acquisition or development of new businesses. Sales or selling is an activity within marketing, referring to the methods and processes of communicating and agreeing and completing the transaction (sale) with the all this, it is hopefully easier to understand why, depending on a person's role or standpoint or the department in which they work, 'business planning' may be referrred to in many and various ways, for example as 'sales planning', 'marketing planning', 'strategic planning', etc. And that all these terms might mean slightly different things, according to the there is a technically correct definition of 'business planning', then perhaps we can best say that 'business planning' refers to the plan of the overall organization, or to a unit or division within an organization with responsibility for a trade or profit. A business plan technically contains and reflects the individual plans for the different functions within the whole operation, each of which may have its own detailed 'business plans', which might be called business plans, or more correctly departmental or functional plans according to their purpose, such as a marketing plan, sales plan, production plan, financial plan, onal help regarding terminology is offered by the business planning definitions below. Other definitions and explanations are offered in the business glossary, and in the shorter glossaries of the sales and marketing ology will be further explained to clarify meaning and avoid confusion throughout this article. Ched correctly, writing business plans and marketing strategy is usually simpler than first ss planning may seem complex and daunting but mostly it is common ing strategy - which often drives the aims and 'shape' of a business plan - is mostly common sense ss plans, and the strategy which drives them, are based on logic, or cause and effect:"i want to achieve a certain result - so what will cause this to happen? Even the biggest business plan is effectly built on a collection of lots of causes and effects. Format or template for the written business plan, including numbers as required, is given we see lots of numbers in a computer spreadsheet we can forget this, but the numbers are merely a reflection of scale and detail, and of computerised calculations and modelling, fact often when we are confronted with a complex planning spreadsheet containing thousands of numbers, what we are actually being offered is a ready-made planning tool. In many cases, where business planning is a continuation of an ongoing situation, the most frightening spreadsheets can provide a very easy template for future plans, especially with a little help from a colleague in the acciounts department who understands how it all ally, a blank sheet of paper - in other words a 'new business start-up' - is usually a much more challenging starting is generally more difficult to write a business plan for a start-up business (a new business) than for an existing is because an existing business usually has computerised records of the results of past activities and trading (usually called 'accounts'). Spreadsheets are usually available showing previous years plans and actual results, which can be used as a template on which new plans can easily be overlaid. Writing a new business plan for the continuation or development of such an existing situation obviously enables much of the planning to be based on existing figures, ratios, statistics, business start-up situations by their nature tend to have no previous results, so we often refer to this sort of planning as 'starting with a blank sheet of paper'. Business start-ups - especially if you are the owner or entrepreneur - present bigger planning challenges in some respects because we have no previous records to act as a guide, but in other respects they offer wonderful opportunities to create genuinely innovative and exciting founding principles - your own new business philosophy - on which your plans can be built and this page there is specific guidance for business start-up situations. See the simple business start-up ing on the constraints applying in the planning for existing continuous business activities, the principles are very similar for start-up and existing business planning. It's essentially cause-and effect, and using the computer to calculate the the free business plan and marketing plan sample/template. And begins withto explore personal direction and change (for example for early planning of self-employment or new business start-up) see the passion-to-profit exercise and template on the teambuilding exercises also the simple notes about starting your own business, which to an extent also apply when you are starting a new business initiative or development inside another organisation as a new business development manager, or a similar 's a free profit and loss account spreadsheet template tool (xls) for incorporating these factors and financials into a more formal phased business trading plan, which also serves as a business forecasting and reporting tool it to suit your purposes. This plan example is also available as a pdf, see the profit and loss account (p&l) small enterprise business plan example (pdf).

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The numbers could be anything: ten times less, ten times more, a hundred times more - the principle is the s the end of this article there is also a simple template/framework for a feasibility study or justification report, such as might be required to win funding, authorisation or approval for starting a project, or the continuation of a project or group, in a commercial or voluntary you are starting a new business you might also find the tips and information about buying a franchise business to be helpful, since they cover many basic points about choice of business activity and early planning. How to write strategic marketing plans, business plans and sales use various terms referring to the business planning process - business plans, business strategy, marketing strategy, strategic business planning, sales planning - they all cover the same basic principles. When faced with business planning or strategy development task it's important to clarify exactly what is required: clarify what needs to be done rather than assume the aim from the description given to it - terms are confused and mean different things to different people. Plan - a statement of intent - a calculated intention to organize effort and resource to achieve an outcome - in this context a plan is in written form, comprising explanation, justification and relevant numerical and financial statistical data. In a business context a plan's numerical data - costs and revenues - are normally scheduled over at least one trading year, broken down weekly, monthly quarterly and cumulatively. Business - an activity or entity, irrespective of size and autonomy, which is engaged in an activity, normally the provision of products and/or services, to produce commercial gain, extending to non-commercial organizations whose aim may or may not be profit (hence why public service sector schools and hospitals are in this context referred to as 'businesses'). Plan - this is now rightly a very general and flexible term, applicable to the planned activities and aims of any entity, individual group or organization where effort is being converted into results, for example: a small company; a large company; a corner shop; a local window-cleaning business; a regional business; a multi-million pound multi-national corporation; a charity; a school; a hospital; a local council; a government agency or department; a joint-venture; a project within a business or department; a business unit, division, or department within another organization or company, a profit centre or cost centre within an an organization or business; the responsibility of a team or group or an individual. The business entity could also be a proposed start-up, a new business development within an existing organization, a new joint-venture, or any new organizational or business project which aims to convert action into results. The extent to which a business plan includes costs and overheads activities and resources (eg. Production, research and development, warehouse, storage, transport, distribution, wastage, shrinkage, head office, training, bad debts, etc) depends on the needs of the business and the purpose of the plan. Large 'executive-level' business plans therefore look rather like a 'predictive profit and loss account', fully itemised down to the 'bottom line'. Business plans written at business unit or departmental level do not generally include financial data outside the department concerned. Most business plans are in effect sales plans or marketing plans or departmental plans, which form the main bias of this gy - originally a military term, in a business planning context strategy/strategic means/pertains to why and how the plan will work, in relation to all factors of influence upon the business entity and activity, particularly including competitors (thus the use of a military combative term), customers and demographics, technology and ing - believed by many to mean the same as advertising or sales promotion, marketing actually means and covers everything from company culture and positioning, through market research, new business/product development, advertising and promotion, pr (public/press relations), and arguably all of the sales functions as well. Marketing is the process by which a business decides what it will sell, to whom, when and how, and then does ing plan - logically a plan which details what a business will sell, to whom, when and how, implicitly including the business/marketing strategy. The extent to which financial and commercial numerical data is included depends on the needs of the business. The extent to which this details the sales plan also depends on the needs of the  - the transactions between the business and its customers whereby services and/or products are provided in return for payment. Sales (sales department/sales team) also describes the activities and resources that enable this process, and sales also describes the revenues that the business derives from the sales plan - a plan describing, quantifying and phased over time, how the the sales will be made and to whom. Some organizations interpret this to be the same as a business plan or a marketing ss strategy - see 'strategy' - it's the ing strategy - see 'strategy' - it's the e contract - a formal document usually drawn up by the supplier by which the trading arrangement is agreed with the customer. See the section on service contracts and trading gic business plan - see strategy and business plan - it's a business plan with strategic drivers (which actually all business plans should be). Business planning - developing and writing a strategic business ophy, values, ethics, vision - these are the fundamentals of business planning, and determine the spirit and integrity of the business or organisation - see the guide to how philosophical and ethical factors fit into the planning process, and also the principles and materials relating to corporate responsibility and ethical can see that many of these terms are interchangeable, so it's important to clarify what needs to be planned for rather than assuming or inferring a meaning from the name given to the task. That said, the principles explained here can be applied to business plans of all sorts. Business plans are often called different names - especially by senior managers and directors delegating a planning exercise that they do not understand well enough to explain. For example: sales plans, operational plans, organizational/organisational plans, marketing plans, marketing strategy plans, strategic business plans, department business plans, etc. Typically these names reflect the department doing the planning, despite which, the planning process and content required in the document is broadly useful and relevant business planning definitions are in the business dictionary; the sales and selling glossary; some are also in the financial terms glossary, and more - especially for training - are in the business and training acronyms listing, which also provides amusing light relief if this business planning gets a little dry (be warned, the acronyms listings contain some adult content). Useful first rule of business planning is to decide what you are actually trying to achieve and always keep this in mind. Keeping your central aim visible will help you minimise the distractions and distortions which frequently arise during the planning increasingly vital and perhaps second rule of business planning is to establish a strong ethical philosophy at the outset of your planning. It is very difficult to introduce ethical principles later into an enterprise, especially when planning shifts into implementation, and more so if problems arise relating to integrity, honesty, corporate responsibility, trust, governance, etc. Nevertheless ethics and corporate responsibility are highly significant in planning, and strong justification for their proper consideration can now be made. The world is changing and learning, slowly, but it is, and anyone ignoring ethics in planning today does so at their own peril. Third crucial requirement for business plans is return on investment, or for public services and non-profit organisations: effective use of investment and resources, which is beyond simple 'cost control'. The need for financial viability is vital also because business planning is often done - rightly - to achieve something new and special. Which can easily distract planning away from the basic need to be financially viable - and crucially not to make a loss. By treating return on investment as a vital requirement of planning we increase the likelihood that plans will be viable and therefore on investment is however a variable feature of business planning. It is flexible according to the type of enterprise, its main purpose and a conventional profit-driven corporation return on investment (at an optimal rate) is typically a strong strategic driver for local planning and decisions, and by implication also a basic requirement of the enterprise as a whole. On the other hand, in a business or organization less focused on shareholder reward, such as a public services trust or charity, or a social enterprise or cooperative, return on investment (at a relatively lower rate), may be a requirement simply to sustain viable operations, according to the aims of the enterprise. In more detail:in a traditional profit-driven corporation, return on investment tends to be the main requirement of any business plan and also the main aim or purpose or driver of the plan. In most traditional corporations return on investment tends to be at the heart of all activities, since typically the corporation exists to maximize the yield (profit and growth effectively) of shareholder funds invested in the business.

Planning in traditional corporations at times forgets this basic obligation, especially when a junior manager is asked to 'write a business plan' for the first traditional profit-driven corporations, when a new manager starts to write a business plan or operational plan for the first time (and for some experienced managers also, for the umpteenth time), the manager wonders: what is the aim? The central aim is usually return on businesses or 'non-profit' organisations where shareholder enrichment is not the main purpose, return on investment is less of a driver in business planning, but is nevertheless a crucial requirement. Such enterprises are becoming more popular, and will continue to become so, since the collapse of the western economies in 2008, and increasing disillusionment with old-style business thinking. Here, while return on investment may seem less crucial or appropriate to planning and operations, the enterprise must nevertheless remain financially viable, or it ceases to be able to operate at such examples, return on investment in business planning is not usually maximized, but must still be treated as an underpinning requirement to planning, and flexed according to the fundamental aims and financial requirements of the planning, therefore, it is helpful to understand clearly:what are we actually aiming to achieve? Basic methodology of business planning is identifying causes and effects, according to your relevant business requirements (financials and ethics) and strategic drivers (what we are actually aiming to achieve). A cause is an input or action or resource; an effect is an outcome or result or consequence of some want to achieve xyz effect (for example a given return on investment, or a certain sales level or market share, whatever) - so what should we plan to cause this to happen? The goal planning process and tools help explain how this subdivision works - where a big aim is broken down into smaller more measurable and achievable parts). Managers have responsibility for plans and activities which feed into larger departmental plans and activities of senior managers. The plans and activities of senior managers feed into the divisional plans of executives and directors. There is a hierarchy or tree structure of cause and effects, all hopefully contributing to the overall organizational many good businesses a substantial business planning responsibility extends now to front line customer-facing staff, and the trend is increasing. In this context, the business plan could be called also be called a marketing plan, or a sales plan - all departmental plans are basically types of business planning:"what you are going to sell to whom, when and how you are going to sell it, how much contribution (gross profit) the sales will produce, what the marketing and/or selling cost will be, and what will be the return on investment. Where a department is a 'cost centre' not a 'profit-centre' - providing products or services internally to other departments rather than externally to customers - then the language and planning elements may alter, but the principles remain the , these principles and methods apply to very large complex multinational organizations, which tend to entail more and different costs, fixed overheads, revenues, and consequently larger planning formats; more and bigger spreadsheets, more lines and columns on each, more attention and people working on the numbers, more accountants, and typically - especially at middle-management level and above - more emphasis on cashflow and the balance sheet, alongside basic 'profit and loss' out your market research, including understanding your competitor activity. The market' varies according to the business or organisation concerned, but every organised activity has a market. Knowing the market enables you to assess and value and plan how to engage with it. A common failing of business planning or operational planning outside of the 'business' world, is to plan in isolation, looking inward, when ideas can seem very positive and reliable because there's no context and nothing to compare. The principles of marketing will explain additionally how to put meaning and values into what you market research should focus on the information you need, to help you to formulate strategy and make business decisions. However there's no point spending days researching global statistical economic and demographic data if you are developing a strategy for a relatively small or local business. For businesses of any size; small, local, global and everything in between, the main elements you need to understand and quantify are:customer (and potential customer) numbers, profile and mixcustomer perceptions, needs, preferences, buying patterns, and trends, by sub-sector if necessaryproducts and services, mix, values and trendsdemographic issues and trends (especially if dependent on consumer markets)future regulatory and legal effectsprices and values, and customer perceptions in these areasdistribution and routes to marketcompetitor activities, strengths, weaknesses, products, services, prices, sales methods, etcprimary research is recommended for local and niche services. Useful frameworks for research are pest analysis and swot ish your corporate philosophy and the aims of your business or establish or confirm the aims of the business, and if you are concerned with a part of a business, establish and validate the aims of your part of the business. These can be very different depending on the type of business, and particularly who owns to and consider issues of ethics and philosophy, corporate social responsibility, sustainability, etc - these are the foundations on which values and missions are at the reasons ethics and corporate responsibility are so important. And see also the fundamental organisational planning er the psychological contract and the benefits of establishing a natural balance and fairness between all interests (notably staff, customers, the organization). The world is constantly changing, and establishing a new business is a good time to challenge preconceptions of fundamental business structure and purpose. A business based on a narrow aim of enriching a few investors while relegating the needs and involvement of everyone else may contain conflicts and tensions at a deep level. There are other innovative business structures which can inherently provide a more natural, cooperative and self-fuelling relationship - especially between employees and the organization, and potentially between customers and the organization you have established or confirmed your philosophical and ethical position, state the objectives of the business unit you are planning to develop - your short, medium and long term aims - (typically 'short, medium and long' equate to 1 year, 2-3 years and 3 years plus). In other words, what is the business aiming to do over the next one, three and five years? In mind that you must reliably ensure the success and viability of the business in the short term or the long term is merely an academic issue. It announces clearly and succinctly to your staff, shareholders and customers what you are in business to do. You can involve staff in defining and refining the business's mission statement, which helps develop a sense of ownership and responsibility. Producing and announcing the mission statement is also an excellent process for focusing attention on the business's priorities, and particularly the emphasis on customer service. Whole businesses need a mission statement - departments and smaller business units within a bigger business need them your 'product offering(s)' or 'service offering(s)' - your sales proposition(s). This description should normally go beyond your products or services, and critically must include the way you do business, and what business benefits your customers derive from your products and services, and from doing business with you. Develop offerings or propositions for each main area of your business activity - sometimes referred to as 'revenue streams', or 'business streams' - and/or for the sector(s) that you serve. Develop your service offering to emphasise your strengths, which should normally relate to your business objectives, in turn being influenced by corporate aims and market research. For example, if a strong feature of a business is that it has 24-hour opening, this feature would translate into something like: "we're open 24 hours (the feature) which means that you can get what you need when you need it - day or night. Clearly this benefit represents a competitive advantage over other suppliers who only open principle, although a little old-fashioned today, still broadly important thing is to understand your services and proposition in terms that your customer will recognise as being relevant and beneficial to businesses have a very poor understanding of what their customers value most in the relationship, so ensure you discover this in the research stage, and reflect it in your stated product or service proposition(s). Service-offer or proposition should be an encapsulation of what you do best, that you do better than your competitors (or that they don't do at all); something that fits with your business objectives, stated in terms that will make your customers think ‘yes, that means something to me and i think it could be good for my business (and therefore good for me also as a buyer or sponsor). This is the first 'brick in the wall' in the process of business planning, sales planning, marketing planning, and thereafter, direct marketing, and particularly sales lead generation.

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Write your business plan - include sales, costs of sales, gross margins, and if necessary your business ss plans come in all shapes and sizes. Essentially your plan is a spreadsheet of numbers with supporting narrative, explaining how the numbers are to be achieved. A plan should show all the activities and resources in terms of revenues and costs, which together hopefully produce a profit at the end of the trading year. The level of detail and complexity depends on the size and part of the business that the plan concerns. Your business plan, which deals with all aspects of the resource and management of the business (or your part of the business), will include many decisions and factors fed in from the marketing process. In a marketing plan there may also be references to image and reputation, and to public relations. All of these issues require thought and planning if they are to result in improvement, and particularly increasing numbers of customers and revenue growth. Above all a plan needs to be based on actions - cost-effective and profitable cause and effect; inputs required to achieved required outputs, analysed, identified and quantified separately wherever necessary to be able to manage and measure the relevant activities and fy the business you seek from each of your market sectors, segments, products and customer groupings, and allocate investment, resources and activities principles apply to a small local business, a department within a business, or a vast whole business. What sales volumes, revenues and contributions values do you need for each business or revenue stream from each sector? How is your market share per business stream and sector changing, and how does this compare with your overall business aims? You should use a basic spreadsheet tool to split your business according to the main activities and profit levers. Useful planning tool in respect of markets and products is the matrix developed by igor ansoff (h igor ansoff, 1918-2002), who is regarded by some as the 'father of strategic management'. Titled the ansoff product-market growth matrix, the tool was first published in harvard business review, 1957, in ansoff's paper strategies for ansoff product-market matrix helps to understand and assess marketing or business development strategy. Any business, or part of a business can choose which strategy to employ, or which mix of strategic options to is a fundamentally simple and effective way of looking at strategic development options. Existing productsnew productsexisting marketsmarket penetrationproduct developmentnew marketsmarket developmentdiversificationeach of these strategic options holds different opportunities and downsides for different organizations, so what is right for one business won't necessarily be right for another. Think about the strengths of your business and what type of growth strategy your strengths will enable most naturally. This sort of activity should generally be regarded as additional and supplementary to the core business activity, and should be rolled out carefully through rigorous testing and er also your existing products and services themselves in terms of their market development opportunity and profit potential. The boston matrix is a useful way to understand and assess your different existing product and service opportunities: boston matrix model - product/service boston matrix model (also called the bsg matrix, growth-share matrix, and variations around these titles) is a tool for assessing existing and development products in terms of their market potential, and thereby implying strategic action for products and services in each of the four categories reflected in the model. The boston matrix model was devised by bruce henderson (1915-92), founder of the boston consulting group in the has been adapted in many ways. A simple version is shown here other four-part 2x2 matrix models, the boston matrix is a very quick and easy method for analysis, thinking and decision-making, while being unavoidably limited in its handling of subtlety and detail. Often in business and strategic thinking too much detail is unhelpful - instead, clarity and ease of understanding are extremely helpful, especially in communicating ideas to teams and groups, in which circumstances the boston matrix is an excellent aid. Businesses that have been starved or denied development find themselves with a high or entire proportion of their products or services in this quadrant, which is obviously not very funny at all, except to the m child (also called question marks or wildcats) - these are products which have a big and growing market potential, but existing low market share, normally because they are new products, or the application has not been spotted and acted upon yet. New business development and project management principles are required here to ensure that these products' potential can be realised and disasters avoided. This is likely to be an area of business that is quite competitive, where the pioneers take the risks in the hope of securing good early distribution arrangements, image, reputation and market share. Gross profit margins are likely to be high, but overheads, in the form of costs of research, development, advertising, market education, and low economies of scale, are normally high, and can cause initial business development in this area to be loss-making until the product moves into the rising star category, which is by no means assured - many problem children products remain as star - or 'star' products, are those which have good market share in a strong and growing market. When it does not these products are likely to move down to cash cow status, and the company needs to have the next rising stars developing from its problem considering your business in terms of the ansoff matrix and boston matrix (which are thinking aids as much as anything else, not a magic solution in themselves), on a more detailed level, and for many businesses just as significant as the ansoff-type-options, what is the significance of your major accounts - do they offer better opportunity for growth and development than your ordinary business? Do you have a high quality, specialised offering that delivers better business benefit on a large scale as opposed to small scale? If so you might do better concentrating on developing large major accounts business, rather than taking a sophisticated product or service solution to smaller companies which do not appreciate or require it, and cost you just as much to sell to as a large er customer matrix model is used by many companies to understand and determine strategies according to customer types. Good productsnot so good productsgood customersdevelop and find more customers like these - allocate your best resources to these existing customers and to prospective customers matching this profileeducate and convert these customers to good products if beneficial to them, failing which, maintain customers via account managementnot so good customersinvest cautiously to develop and improve relationship, failing which, maintain customers via account managementassess feasibility of moving these customers left or up, failing which, withdraw from supplying sensitivelyassessing product type is helped by reference to the boston matrix model. This kind of customer profiling tool and exercise is often overlooked, but it is a critical aspect of marketing and sales development, and of optimizing sales effectiveness and business development performance and profitability. Identify prospective new customers who fit this profile, and allocate your business development resources (people and advertising) to this er also what are your competitor weaknesses in terms of sectors, geographical territory and products or services, and how might these factors affect your options? Use the swot analysis also for assessing each competitor as well as your own organization or organizations issue a marketing budget from the top down (a budget issued by the centre/hq/finance director), so to speak, in which case, what is your marketing budget and how can you use it to produce the best return on investment, and to help the company best to meet its overall business aims? Use the models described here to assess your best likely returns on marketing best way to begin to model and plan your marketing is to have a record of your historical (say last year's) sales results (including selling and advertising costs if appropriate and available) on a spreadsheet. Data is vital and will enable you to do most of the analysis you need for marketing planning. In simple terms you can use last year's results as a basis for planning and modelling the next year's sales, and the marketing expenditure and activities required to achieve business plan or sales plan tools templates examples help the planning process. Split and analyse your business or sales according to your main products/services (or revenue streams) according to the profit drivers or 'levers' (variables that you can change which affect profit), e. Add different columns which reflect your own business profit drivers or levers, and to provide the most relevant measures.

Quantitytotal sales valueaverage value% gross margintotal sales or gross marginproduct 1     product 2     product 3     product 4     totals     do the same for each important aspect of your business, for example, split by market sector (or segment): quantitytotal sales valueaverage value% gross margintotal sales or gross marginsector 1     sector 2     sector 3     sector 4     totals     and, for example, split by distributor (or route to market): quantitytotal sales valueaverage value% gross margintotal sales or gross margindistributor 1     distributor 2     distributor 3     distributor 4     totals     these simple split analysis tools are an extremely effective way to plan your sales and business. Analysis to develop the best you are a competent working with spreadsheets it is normally possible to assemble all of this data onto a single spreadsheet and then show different analyses by sorting and graphing according to different you are happy with the overall totals for the year, convert this into a phased monthly plan, with as many lines and columns as you need and are appropriate for the business. Develop this spreadsheet by showing inputs as well as sales outputs - the quantifiable activity (for example, the numbers of enquiries necessary to produce the planned sales levels) required to produce the planned performance. A business plan needs costs as well as sales, and will show profit as well as revenue and gross margin, but the principle is the same: plan the detailed numbers and values of what the business performance will be, and what inputs are required to achieve 's a free msexcel profit and loss account template tool for incorporating these factors and financials into a more formal phased business trading plan, which also serves as a business forecasting and reporting tool too. The numbers could be anything: ten times less, ten times more, a hundred times more - the principle is the er also indirect activities that affect sales and business levels, such as customer service. These performance factors won't normally appear on a business plan spreadsheet, but a separate plan should be made for them, otherwise they won't your marketing plan or business marketing plan is actually a statement, supported by relevant financial data, of how you are going to develop your business. As stated above it is easiest and best to assemble all of this data onto a spreadsheet, which then allows data to be manipulated through the planning process, and then changed and re-projected when the trading year is under way. The spreadsheet then becomes the basis of your sales and marketing forecasting and results reporting well as sales and marketing data, in most types of businesses it is also useful to include measurable aims concerning customer service and marketing plan will have costs that relate to a marketing budget in the overall business plan. The marketing plan will also have revenue and gross margin/profitability targets that relate to the turnover and profitability in the overall business plan. This data is essentially numerical, and so needs also some supporting narrative as to how the numbers will be achieved - the actions - but keep the narrative concise; if it extends to more than a half-dozen sheets make sure you put a succinct executive summary on the marketing plan narrative could if appropriate also refer to indirect activities such as product development, customer service, quality assurance, training etc. If significantly relevant to achieving the marketing plan pragmatic - marketing plans vary enormously depending on the type, size and maturity of business. Above all create a plan that logically shows how the business can best consolidate and grow its successful profitable areas. The marketing plan should be a working and truly useful tool - if it is, then it's probably a good business plan, marketing plan or sales plan sample structure and example format/ the written part of the business plan as concise and brief as possible - most situations and high-ranking executives do not need to see plans that are an inch thick. Particularly if your plan is more than 5-6 pages long, produce an executive summary (easiest to do when you have completed the plan) and insert it at the beginning of the document. If you need to include lots of reference material, examples, charts, evidence, etc, show these as appendices at the back of the document and make sure they are numbered and referenced during the main body of the plan. All business plans should be professionally and neatly presented, with no grammar and spelling errors, clearly laid out in an easy to read format (avoid lots of upper-case or fancy fonts or italics as these are all difficult to read). Your business plan contents and structure should be as follows: business plans structure - a business planning page: title or heading of the plan and brief description if required, author, date, company/organization if applicable, details of circulation and ts page: a list of contents (basically the sections listed here, starting with the introduction page) showing page numbers, plus a list of appendices or addendums (added reference material at the back of the document) allowing the reader to find what they need and navigate the document easily, and to refer others to particular items and page numbers when reviewing or uction page: introduction and purpose of the plan, terms of reference if applicable (usually for formal and large plans or projects). Summary page: optional and usually beneficial, this should normally be no more than a page long (or it's not an executive summary) - the key points of the whole plan including conclusions, recommendations, actions, financial returns on investment, etc. Clearly readable in a few body of plan: sections and headings as required, see template ledgments and bibliography/reference sources: if relevant (only required normally for very large formal plans)appendices: appendices or addendums - additional detailed reference material, examples, statistics, spreadsheets, etc. For reference and not central to the main presentation of your ss plans - main body sections examples sample template is typical for a sales/marketing/new business development business plan. A business plan for a more complex project such as an international joint-venture, or the formation of a new company including manufacturing plant or other overhead activities would need to include relevant information and financials about the overheads and resources concerned, and the financials would need to show costs and profits more like a fully developed profit and loss account, with cashflow projections, balance sheet, etc. While these aspects are not mechanisms within the plan, they are crucial reference your market - sector(s) and segment(s) definitionsquantify your market (overview only) - size, segmentation, relevant statistics, values, numbers (locations, people/users, etc) - make this relevant to you businessexplain your market(s) - sector trends, eg. Growth, legislation, seasonality, pest factors where relevant, refer to ansoff matrix, show the strategic business drivers within sector and segments, purchasing mechanisms, processes, restrictions - what are the factors that determine customers' priorities and needs - this is a logical place to refer to ethics and csr (corporate social responsibilityexplain your existing business - your current business according to sector, products/services, quantities, values, distributor, e your existing customer spread by customer type, values and products/services including major accounts (the 'pareto principle' or the '80:20 rule' often applies here, eg. 80% of your business comes from 20% of your customers)explain your products and services - refer to boston matrix and especially your strategic propositions (what these propositions will do for your customers) including your usp's and upb's (see sales training section and acronyms)explain you routes to market, gatekeepers, influencers and strategic partners - the other organizations/individuals you will work with to develop your market, including 'what's in it for them', commissions, endorsements, accreditations, approvals, licenses, studies and track record - the credibility, evidence and proof that your propositions and strategic partnerships workcompetitor analysis, eg. Swot analysis of your own business compared to swot analysis of each competitorsales/marketing/business plan (1 year min) showing sales and margins by product/service stream, mix, values, segment, 'distributor', etc, whatever is relevant, phased monthly, in as much detail as you need. This should be supported with a spreadsheet, showing cost and return on investment for each : if the business plan concerns an existing activity, use the previous year's sales/business analysis as the basis for the next year's sales/business plan. Other business planning and marketing ng and training people are unlikely to have all the skills they need to help you implement a marketing plan. Are all of your people aware of the aims of the business, its mission statement and your sales propositions? Many of these issues feed back into the business plan under human resources and training, where budgets need to be available to support the investment in these er service standards and the sla's established for large customers need to be visible, agreed with customers, absolutely measurable. Customer complaints handling is a key element:measuring customer complaints is crucial because individual complaints are crucial areas to resolve, and also as a whole, complaints serve as a barometer for the quality and performance of the business. Most businesses are too defensive where complaints are concerned, preferring to minimise their importance, or to seek to justify and excuse them. It is imperative that you capture all complaints in order to:put at ease and give explanation or reassurance to the person the chances of them complaining to someone r exactly how many dissatisfied customers you have and what the causes are, and that's even more important if you're failing to deliver your mission statement or service offer! Appropriate corrective action to prevent a appropriate (ie for large customers) review sla's and take the opportunity to agree new sla's with the ations for it, premises, and reporting relating to your business plan are the issues of:information technology - are your computers and communications systems capable of giving you the information and analysis you need? How do you use email - is it helping or hindering your business and the quality of service you give to your customers? It and communications systems increasingly offer marketing and competitive advantage to businesses in all sectors - make sure you know hat it can do for you and for your es - review your premises and sites in light of your customer service, distribution, and customer relationship requirements. Pay particular attention anywhere in your organization that your customers visit - the impression and service you give here is ing systems - if you can't measure it you can't manage it, and where finance and business performance is concerned this is certainly true. Identify every aspect of your service or performance that is important - then you need to be able to measure it and report on it, and where people are involved in performing to certain standards then the standards and the reporting needs to be transparent to them do you report on sales, marketing and business performance and interpret the results?

There's a double benefit to your business in ensuring this happens:you nip problems in the bud and stay aware of how you're customers feel better about the service you provide as a result of the communications, or from the fact that the channel is open even if they don't use it - it's human to devise a standard feedback form. Tips for starting a small business or self-employment - for non-financial of us are not naturally inclined towards the sort of detailed financial thinking that is required for traditional detailed business planning. If this is you, you'll possess other valuable capabilities that will be useful in your own enterprise, and you'll maybe find it helpful to use this alternative approach to planning a new enterprise or self-employment. Not everyone is naturally good at business planning, but everyone who dreams of being self-employed or who wants to start and run their own independent enterprise is capable of doing so, provided they work to their strengths, capabilities and running successful enterprises come in all shapes and sizes, from all backgrounds, all ages, with skills, passions, and capabilities in any field you can imagine. Anyone can run their own business or be successful in self-employment given the simple determination to do so. Business and enterprise is not just for stereotypical 'business-types'; the benefits and advantages of being your own boss are available to us are some pointers for people considering starting their own new enterprise, or for helping others to do the , and especially if you are not clear of your own real strengths, or what direction to pursue, focus on using tools to understanding your own personality style and strengths. They assess people's strengths completely differently to traditional iq or academic evaluations, which are extremely narrow and generally not relevant at all for people who want to be their own tanding personality is also useful since personality-type greatly influences the way that a person approaches self-employment or running an enterprise, and what sort of service or business to offer. The personality styles page provides a lot of explanation about people are conditioned by schools and over-cautious parents to under-estimate their own potential and capabilities, which is a big reason to take a fresh look at what you are good at, and to re-think and understand better the ways that your personality type tends to be successful in life and are many ways to be successful and independent in life aside from building and running a conventional business and adhering to conventional financial planning basic economics of becoming successfully independent in any sort of venture are actually extremely simple, and focusing on the following simple fundamentals (a process really) can help many folk turn your dream or an idea into a successful enterprise or self-employment reality. Ideally small businesses need a healthy profit margin or mark-up - doubling the cost is good if the market will accept it. Service businesses that use only the person's time are often very attractive and profitable because there is no added complication of buying and holding stock - hence why window-cleaning, sign-writing, repairs, gardening, decorating, tutoring, writing, therapy, training, coaching and consultancy, etc. Are such good businesses for people who prefer a simple approach to self-employment and enterprise. Selling to the general public - assuming your business is or must be vat registered. Private consumers of course are more sensitive to vat than business customers who can generally reclaim vat should you have to add it to your prices. Once the business is established, say after six months to a year, 'word-of-mouth' referrals are for some businesses all that is required to produce new customers - especially those based in a local community, but virtually any new enterprise requires marketing at its launch. If so then it's probably a good business basic questions represent the typical 'table napkin' business proposition that is the start of most businesses, including very large complex ones. People who dislike and are not fluent in detailed business calculations might find the above process a useful starting point when thinking about how to begin a new enterprise or a venture in this is you, you are not alone: many visionary entrepreneurs can run a huge profitable business but have great difficulty putting together a proper business plan. Hence many highly successful business leaders rely heavily on their financial directors to take care of the financial details, leaving them free to get on with the business activity that makes best use of their natural skill, be it creativity, selling, service-provision, people-skills, technical skills, or ntally the above factors are the essential components which make up a basic profit and loss account, which is the primary management tool for a business of any scale and complexity. Here's a free msexcel profit and loss account template tool for extending these factors and financials into a more formal phased plan, which also serves as a business forecasting and reporting tool too. If in doubt about this seek some help from an experienced business person or your accountant. Company types and financial set up - quick you have confirmed and refined the basic viability of your business idea you can then begin getting to grips with the more detailed aspects of forming the business necessarily includes deciding your type of business constitution - the legal format of your company - or 'company type' as it is often psychological contract is increasingly significant within and relating to business (uk) businesses are most commonly one of the following:sole-trader - essentially a self-employed owner - no limited personal liability - relatively easy set up and rship - essentially a group of self-employed partners/owners - no limited personal liability - easy-ish set up and administration, although ultimately dependent on the complexity of the company and d liability partnership (llp) - as above, except that liability is limited to personal investments and d company (abbreviated to ltd after the company name) - liability is limited to the assets of the company - registered with companies house and legally obliged to publish are less common variations of limited companies, and other business structures and constitutions, for example:social enterprise - various structures including , trusts, associations and especially cooperatives - these are not common typical or traditional business structures, but social enterprises are growing in popularity, and will be explained in more detail on this website in due course. Meanwhile here is useful information about limited company (plc) - not appropriate for small -trader and partnership companies are very easy to set up and administer, but the owner/partners are personally liable for all business debts and potential claims, so good insurance cover (including professional indemnity and public liability) is essential especially if business liabilities are potentially serious. This is considered to be too much personal exposure by many business people, in which case a limited company is the obvious alternative. Limited company exists in its own right - a tricky concept to understand for many people - basically meaning that financial liabilities belong to the company (its shareholders, to the value of their shares in other words) rather than the directors and executives of the business, as would apply in a partnership. Limited companies ultimately offer more flexibility for large complex businesses but can be over-complicated and administratively heavy if all you want to do is run a local shop or landscape gardening business or modest training or coaching er, consider carefully what type of company framework will suit you best. Once established it can be quite difficult to unravel and change if you get it wrong - not impossible, but a nuisance if you could have got it right first time with a bit of extra thought at the planning stage. Good accountant will help you decide what is best for your situation from a legal and financial standpoint, although before this you should think for yourself what sort of business structure best fits your wider business situation, and especially your business aims and philosophy. Broad guidelines about business types are available from the uk government business information businesslink 'll need a business bank account. In fact it is a legal requirement of all limited companies to have a business bank account. There are wide variations in services and costs offered by the different must also understand and organize the tax implications for your type of starting any business ensure also that you have the information and controls to account for and pay all taxes lly to learn more about this in the uk, most tax affairs are within the responsibilities of hm revenue and customs - until they too change their name to something very silly. God help us all, our country is run by alien wannabe noblemen from the middle (value added tax or your national equivalent) is an issue warranting serious thought if your business is small enough to have a choice in the matter. Being vat registered also enables you to reclaim vat that you pay on business costs, although there are some notable exceptions, like company and consumer businesses are especially affected by vat. Private consumers cannot claim back vat, so the effect of vat on pricing and margins needs careful thought in planning any consumer to a certain level of turnover (in the uk) becoming registered for vat is optional. If your business turnover is likely to be below the threshold for mandatory vat registration, you must decide for yourself if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. The main advantages of vat registration are:your business will be perceived by certain people - especially other businesses - to be larger and more credible (not being registered for vat indicates immediately that your turnover is below the vat threshold)you will be able to reclaim vat that you are charged on legitimate allowable business coststhe main disadvantages of being vat registered are:the administrative burden in keeping vat records and submitting vat returns (although this has been enormously simplified in recent years so that for small simple businesses it is really not a problem at all)risks of getting onto cashflow difficulties if you fail to set funds aside to pay your vat bills (see the tax tips below)information about vat (and all other tax issues) is at the uk government hm revenue and customs website: http:// is not the only tax. A sole-trader or partnership can employ staff, in which case national insurance tax is due on salaries paid to employees, which is different to the tax that employees pay g to retain funds in a company to pay taxes is a serious problem that's easily avoided with good early planning. The relationship between a business person and his/her accountant is crucial if the business is to grow and develop significantly. Accountants might seem at times to be from another planet, but i can assure you the good ones are bloody magicians when it comes to business development, especially when the figures get really interesting.

The statement that one stroke of an accountant's pen is mightier than the world's most successful sales team, is actually many entrepreneurs, the ideal scenario is to grow your business large enough to support the cost of a really excellent finance director, who can take care of all the detailed legal and financial matters for you, and leave you completely free to concentrate on growing the business - concentrating your efforts and ideas and strategy externally towards markets and customers, and internally towards optimizing innovation and your the quick tax tips below, especially for small businesses which might not easily be able to achieve immediate and accurate control of their tax liabilities, which is one of the major early risks for a new successful small business. Significant potential problem area for newly self-employed people, and for new business start-ups, is failing to budget and save for inevitable taxes which arise from your business activities. This section merely addresses a particular vulnerability of new start-up businesses in failing to set aside sufficient reserves to meet tax liabilities, especially small businesses, and even more especially sole-traders and partnerships and small limited companies, which lack expertise in accounting and consequently might benefit from these simple warnings and tips related to tax general these issues would normally be managed via a cashflow forecast, together with suitable financial processes to allocate and make payments for all costs and liabilities arising in the course of trading. I recognise however that many small business start-ups do not begin with such attention to financial processes, and it's primarily for those situations that these particular notes are notes in no way suggest that this is the normal fully controlled approach to planning and organizing tax liabilities and other cashflow issues within any business of significant scale. This is simply a pragmatic and practical method aimed at averting a common big problem affecting small business your type of company and business determines precisely which taxes apply to you, broadly taxes are due on sales (for vat registered businesses in the uk, or your vat equivalent if outside the uk), and on the profits of your business and your earnings. This is because bigger sales and profits and earnings inevitably produce bigger tax bills (percentage of tax increases too in the early growth of a business), all of which becomes a very big problem if you've no funds to pay taxes when risks of getting into difficulties can be greater for the self-employed and small partnerships which perhaps do not have great financial knowledge and experience, than for larger limited company start-ups which tend to have more systems and support in financial -ups are especially prone to tax surprises because the first set of tax bills can commonly be delayed, and if you fail to account properly for all taxes due then obviously you increase the chances of spending more than you should do, resulting in not having adequate funds to cover the payments when they are are increased further if you are new to self-employment, previously having been employed and accustomed to receiving a regular salary on which all taxes have already been deducted, in other words 'net' of tax. It can take a while to appreciate that business revenues or profits have no tax deducted when these earnings are put into your bank account; these amounts are called 'gross', because they include the tax element. Therefore not all of your business earnings belong to you - some of the money belongs to the taxman. It's your responsibility to deduct the taxes due, to set this money aside, and to pay the tax bills when onally, if you are a person who is in the habit of spending everything that you earn, you must be even more careful, since this tendency will increase the risks of your being unable to pay your g to get on top of the reality of taxes from the very beginning can lead to serious debt and cashflow problems, which is a miserable way to run a you must anticipate and set aside funds necessary to meet your tax liabilities from the very start of your business, even if you do not initially have a very accurate idea of what taxes will be due, or you lack effective systems to calculate them - many small start-ups are in this position. Nevertheless it is too late to start thinking about tax when the first demands fall when starting your business you do not have information and systems to identify and account accurately for your tax liabilities, here are two simple quick tax tips to avoid problems with the taxman:you must estimate your tax liabilities and ensure that you set aside funds to cover these liabilities while you are banking your payments received into the business. The easiest way to do this is to identify the taxes applicable to your business, for example vat and your own personal income tax and national insurance. Add these percentages together, and then set aside this percentage of all your earnings that you receive into your business. Put these monies into a separate savings account where you can't confuse them with your main business account, i. Having not enough money to pay taxes because you've under-estimated tax due is a problem; sometimes enough to kill an otherwise promising 's an example to show how quickly and easily you can plan and set aside a contingency to pay your tax bills, even if you've no experience or systems to calculate them precisely. This example is based on a self-employed consultancy-type business, like a training or coaching business, in which there are no significant costs of sales (products or services bought in) or overheads, i. Income tax and national insurance are calculated on taxable earnings, which exclude money spent on legitimate business costs, and vat figures in the above example are approximate i emphasise again, which is all you need for this purpose, moreover the approximations are on the high side of what the precise liabilities actually are. It's a pessimistic approach to forecasting liabilities rather than optimistic, which is fundamental to good financial planning and management: if the pessimism is wrong then you end up with a surplus (which is good), but if you are wrong in making optimistic forecasts and estimates (over-ambitious sales, and lower-than-actual costs and liabilities), then you run out of money (which is bad). Knowing the income tax percentages enables you to set aside a suitable percentage of your earnings when you receive them into the business. As stated already above, the risk of under-estimating tax liabilities increases the more successful you are, because tax bills get truth you will have some costs to offset against the earnings figures above, but again for the purposes of establishing a very quick principle of saving a fixed percentage as a tax reserve until you know and can control these liabilities more accurately, the above is a very useful simple easy method of initially staying solvent and on top of your tax affairs, which are for many people the most serious source of nasty financial surprises in successful start-up above example is very simple, and is provided mainly for small start-up businesses which might otherwise neglect to provide for tax liabilities. The figures and percentages are not appropriate (but the broad principle of forecasting and providing funds for tax liabilities is) to apply to retail businesses for example, or businesses in which staff are employed, since these businesses carry significant costs of sales and overheads, which should be deducted from revenues before calculating profits and taxes liabilities. Neither does the example take account of the various ways to reduce tax liabilities by reinvesting profits in the business, writing off stock, putting money into pensions, charitable donations, etc. Third tip is - in fact it's effectively a legal requirement - to inform your relevant tax authorities as soon as possible about your new business. Outline strategy and financial plan, including people, aims, philosophy, etc (ideally tuned to meet the authorising power's fulfilment criteria) for proposed start or continuation of project (assuming you have a case, and assuming there is no better alternative)keep it simple. Tips on finding and working with business planning advisors and you need help putting together a business plan, and if you want to get the best from the engagement, it's important to find the right person to work with, and to establish and maintain a good working relationship with them. If you are great big organisation you'll probably not need to work with outsiders, and if you do then you'll probably opt for a great big supplier, however there are significant benefits from working with much smaller suppliers - even single operators - and if you are a small business yourself, then this is probably the best choice anyway: to seek a good single operator, or small partnership of experts. Here are some ideas of what to look 'll be best finding someone who meets as much of this criteria as possible:lives close-by you so you can work face-to-face with them and get to know each other properly, and so that their time is efficiently used, instead of being in traffic on their way to and from your placeis high integrity and very discreetis grown-up and got no baggage or emotional triggers - wise and mature - and it needn't be an age thingcan help you see and decide where and how you want to take the business, rather than tell you where he/she thinks you need to go - a mentor not an instructorunderstands or can immediately relate to your industry sector and type of workis experienced working with small family companies, but is also a big picture strategist and visionary (advisors who've only ever worked with big corporations can sometimes be a bit free and easy with relatively small amounts of money - you need someone with a very very practical approach to managing cash-flow, and real business realities, who've worked in situations without the protection of vast corporate bureaucracy and the lack of transparency that this often brings)is triple-brained or whole-brained - mostly front-brained - (see the stuff on benziger) - intuitive-creative, thinking, but also able to be personable and grounded, subject to the point belowcomplements your own strengths and fills the gaps and weaknesses in your collective abilities (again see the stuff on benziger and jung etc) - ie. Start by talking to people you know and asking if they know anyone, or if they know anyone who might know anyone - and take it from chances of finding the right person in the local business listings or directory, out of the blue and from cold, are pretty ng to adverts and marketing material from consultants is a lottery too. You'll find someone eventually but you'll need to kiss a lot of frogs first, which takes ages and is not the cleverest way to spend your valuable something so important as business planning advice or consultancy use referrals every als work not only because you get to find someone trusted, but the person you find has a reasonable assurance that you can be trusted too, you see: good suppliers are just as choosy as good clients. Starting your own business - or starting any new are the simple rules for planning and starting your own business. The principles also apply to planning and starting a new business within an organisation for someone amongst the distractions and details of new business planning, it is important to keep sight of the basic rules of new business success:your successful new business must offer something unique that people ness is vital because otherwise there is no reason for customers to buy from can be or create a unique business proposition by thinking about it ness comes in all shapes and sizes - it's chiefly being especially good and different in a particular area, or field or ness can be in a product or service, or in a trading method, or in you yourself, or any other aspect of your business which makes what you are offering special and appealing to will develop your own unique offering first by identifying what people want and which nobody is providing you must ensure that your chosen unique offering is also an extension of your own passion or particular expertise or strength - something you will love and enjoy being the best at - whatever it successful business is built on someone's business start-ups by older you already have a career behind you, and you wonder if you've got it in you to compete and succeed in the modern world, consider - you have definitely got it in you to ence and wisdom are fundamental building blocks of success, and will be for you from the moment you start looking at yourself in this reassuring wisdom that older people generally possess is extremely helpful in forming trusting relationships - with customers, suppliers, partners, colleagues, etc - which are essential for good to this, as we get older we have a greater understanding of our true passions and capabilities; we know our strengths and styles and tolerances. Adapting to change and working around things are significant capabilities in achieving new business you are an older person considering starting a new business, think about the things you can do better than most other people - think about your strengths and use ss start-ups for younger r people can be very successful starting new businesses just as much as older people can essential principle of playing to your strengths applies, although the implications are different for younger people compared to older r people are likely to have lots of fresh ideas. Learn what you love and excel at, and focus on building success from brings us back to playing to your successful businesses (and people who become successful working for others) are based on the person using personal strengths and pursuing personal s in business is always based on doing something you love and enjoy, which is fundamentally related to your natural strengths and unique personal potential, whatever that sooner you identify these things in yourself, the sooner will build sustainable business ng business success - in sheets, mission statements, planning templates and other process elements of new business creation and development are tools. They are essential of course, but in themselves they don't determine ss success is determined by deeper singly business success depends on having a solid philosophical foundation - where relevant interests, inside and outside of the organization, are balanced rather than conflicting. The bigger the business, the more widely it must consider how it relates to external interests and responsibilities - to society and the world at large. Business with this sort of harmony and balance built into its shape and principles at the outset has a huge advantage over a business which contains tensions and competing pressures. Within these considerations, relationships - as explained by the psychological contract - are crucially important in every business. Businesses ultimately depend on people, and people depend on from this - and without diminishing the significance of other vital business components such as reliability, value, quality, etc.

Which are necessary merely to survive at a basic level - uniqueness and passion are the remaining special ingredients for success:uniqueness (just one word, with so many implications) - so that people will want what you offer, andpassion, so that you will enjoy being and offering your best - and so that this belief and commitment conveys to d materialsbalanced scorecard, theory, template, examplesbusiness and management dictionarycontracts and legal terms glossaryfinancial business terms and ratios explainedmarketing guide, from start-up to advertisingpest market analysis - free templateporter's five forces of competitive positionsostac® - pr smith's business marketing planning systemswot analysis - theory, history, templates and examplesfree diagrams, tools, tests, and working files.

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