Business Plans Kit For Dummies, UK Edition

Steven D. Peterson, Peter E. Jaret, Barbara Findlay Schenck, Colin Barrow

• Publisher: For Dummies
• Year: 2011
• Print ISBN: 9780470743812
• eBook ISBN: 9781119997498
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Small Business
• Index: Business

Whether you're a business beginner with big ideas or an established company looking to review you plans in a changing business environment this practical, user friendly guide gives you everything you need to get started. Complete with an interactive CD packed with planning templates including; planning documents, forms, financial worksheets, checklists, operation surveys and customer profiles in both Word and PDF formats you'll be armed with all you need to kick start the planning process and create a winning business plan that suits you and your long-term business vision.

Business Plans Kit For Dummies includes UK specific information on:

• UK business practice
• Currency
• UK business and financial institutions and advisory services
• UK taxation and VAT
• Partnerships and Limited company information
• UK legal practice, contractual considerations and insurance matters
• UK specific forms
• UK specific case studies
• New content covering online business opportunities and resources, alternative ways in to business including franchising, network marketing and buy outs, research methods and choosing suppliers and outsourcing will all be added to the UK edition.

Table of Contents:

Part I: Laying the Foundation for Your Plan

• Chapter 1: Starting Your Planning Engine
• Chapter 2: Generating a Great Business Idea
• Chapter 3: Defining Your Business Purpose

Part II: Developing Your Plan's Components

• Chapter 4: Understanding Your Business Environment
• Chapter 5: Charting Your Strategic Direction
• Chapter 6: Describing Your Business and Its Capabilities
• Chapter 7: Crafting Your Marketing Plan
• Chapter 8: Deciphering and Presenting

Part III: Tailoring a Business Plan to Fit Your Needs

• Chapter 9: Planning for a One-Person Business
• Chapter 10: Planning for a Small Business
• Chapter 11: Planning for an Established Business
• Chapter 12: Planning for a Not for profit Nonprofit Organization
• Chapter 13: Planning for an E-Business

Part IV: Making the Most of Your Plan

• Chapter 14: Putting Your Plan Together
• Chapter 15: Putting Your Plan to Work

Part V: The Part of Tens

• Chapter 16: Ten Signs That Your Plan Might Need an Overhaul
• Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Evaluate a New Business Idea
• Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Fund Your Business Plan
• Chapter 19: Ten Sources of Vital Information to underpin your Business Plan
• Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Use Your Business Plan

Note: CD files are available to download when buying the eBook version

Part I

Laying the Foundation for Your Plan

In this part . . .

Having a business plan – which means writing a business plan – is the best way to turn your great idea into a thriving business.

The chapters in this part turn you into a business-plan convert. They present the case for why a plan is important, walk you through the process and guide you as you take the first steps towards creating a business with a long and prosperous future.

We provide tips on how to come up with a winning business idea and steps for conducting a reality check to make sure that your idea is worth pursuing. We also help kick off your planning process and offer a guided tour through the essential elements of creating your business’s mission, vision, goals and objectives.

Chapter 1

Starting Your Planning Engine

In This Chapter

Understanding the contents, use and value of a business plan

Identifying the people who are going to read your plan

Setting your business time frame and milestones

Launching the business-planning process

Because you’re holding this book, the task of writing a business plan has probably made its way to the top of your to-do list. Now you want to know what’s involved in the process and which actions to take first when writing your business plan.

Well, that’s exactly what this first chapter of Business Plans Kit For Dummies, UK Edition, is all about. It confirms your hunch that business planning is not only important, but essential, both when you start your business and at every growth stage along the way. Plus, it helps you think clearly about why you need a business plan, who your business plan is for, what key components you need to include and what time frame is reasonable.

Writing a business plan is a big task, but this book makes it manageable, and this chapter provides a quick and easy overview to get you oriented and on your way to business-planning success.

Committing to the Business-Planning Process

With a thousand issues clamouring for the precious hours in your day, committing time to plan your business’s future isn’t easy. But operating without a plan is even harder – and even more time-consuming in the long run. You took the most important step when you made the decision to write a business plan. Now you need to convert that decision into action – starting by dedicating your time and effort to the process.

As you carve time out of your calendar, these two steps are going to keep you motivated:

Define your business situation and how a business plan can help you move your business from where it is to where you want it to be.

List the ways that a business plan can heighten your business’s odds of success.

The next two sections lead the way.

Defining your business-planning situation

To get your business where you want it to go, you need a map to follow, which is what your business plan is all about. It starts with a description of your current situation; describes your future plans; defines your opportunities; and details the financial, operational, marketing and organisational strategies you’re going to follow to achieve success.

Take a minute to think of your business as a boat about to set sail on an ocean race. Your business plan defines your destination and the route that you’ll follow. It details the supplies and crew you have on board as well as what you still need to acquire. It forecasts the cost of the voyage. It describes the weather and sea conditions you’re likely to encounter along the way and anticipates the potential dangers that may lurk over the horizon. Finally, your business plan identifies the other crews that you’re up against and their strengths and weaknesses.

The same kind of planning is necessary on dry land. To navigate a new course for your business, you need to start with an assessment of where your business is right now – in other words, what current business situation you want to address or overcome. You need to define where you want to arrive and what strategies you’re going to follow to get there.

To define your current business situation, use Form 1-1 on the CD-ROM. It lists some of the many situations t...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Table of Contents
• Title Page
• Introduction
• Part I: Laying the Foundation for Your Plan
• Part II: Developing Your Plan's Components
• Part III: Tailoring a Business Plan to Fit Your Needs
• Part IV: Making the Most of Your Plan
• Part V: The Part of Tens