Business Planning

In this blog, we are going to briefly consider the business planning stage and some of the overlooked matters.

The Business Plan

This is a necessary document when approaching the bank for some funding for your business idea and the financial considerations are extremely important, however there are non-financial considerations which are equally as important and we will briefly explain why.

Contents of the plan

To approach the preparation of a plan it is important to ask yourself certain questions such as:

• Where have we been and where are we now?
• Where are we now and where do we want to be?
• Where we want to be and how are we going to get there?
• How are we going to get there?

Asking yourself questions you are laying the foundation of your business plan. There needs to be a clear focus of what you intend to achieve.

There should be clear objectives and to achieve the objectives specific goals. This will become clear the more questions you ask.

You need to specifically ask yourself, what business am I in? This question formulates the basis of your strategy and helps with marketing your product of service.

If you cannot clearly define your business area, how is the customer going to define your offering? Starting with the basics such as intended services, price lists and delivery of services provides a great starting point for any plan.

Research/Research and more Research!!

A lot of good businesses fail due to inadequate business planning.

With the internet this task is a lot easier these days, it is beneficial to any business if the intended market has been researched and there are lots of ways to do this, direct email marketing to College students for example.

Competition, there is little point opening a hair salon on a street with four other salons unless your offering is unique, we have all heard of a unique selling proposition, the earlier mentioned questions really help here- Whats yours!!

It is useful to consider who the competition, a large threat to business is the unconsidered matters.

Substitute services, meaning that someone may choose to use another type of product of service, i.e. take a train to work instead of drive a car, how do you get around this? Why is your offering more beneficial?

The plan can be good and the strategy poor

As said at the start, a lot of plans are prepared for financial purposes. This is unfortunate as careful planning at the outset and a subsequent review of the plan enables a comparison of the intended outcomes against the actual.

Businesses constantly change and therefore the strategy needs to be regularly reviewed to ensure that the business remains competitive.

If you need any assistance with any of the aspects we have mentioned, please contact us via our website at the following address www.doyleandcoaccountants.co.uk

The information contained is of a general nature and is not a substitute for professional advice. You are recommended to obtain specific professional advice before you take any action.

The information contained herein provides only an overview of the regulations in force at the date of publication and no action should be taken without consulting the detailed legislation or seeking professional advice, no responsibility for loss occasioned by any person acting or refraining from action as a result of the material can be accepted by the authors or the practice.