Country of residency

Date of birth / /

Telephone

Home STD No. Work STD No.

Mobile telephone Email address

Education (eg qualifications, university degree)

Relevant work experience

Training (list any relevant courses that you’ve been on or plan to take in the near future)

Business details

So, what’s your business idea?

What resources, expertise and equipment will you need to get it started?

What’s the name of your business?

Remember to check that your business name isn’t already being used. Take a look on the Internet or check the index of company names held at

Companies House.

What date did your business start/will it start?

Type of business Sole trader

Partnership

Limited company

Franchise

Knowing your business Knowing your business

Planning

What do you want to get out of owning your own business? It’s important to set yourself short- and long-term goals,

like whether you want to become a market leader or make a certain amount of money, right from the start. Outline

your goals in the spaces below.

My short-term business goals are:

My short-term financial goals are:

My long-term business goals are:

My long-term financial goals are:

This is what I want to achieve over the next few years:

Year 1

Year 2

Year 3

Knowing your product or service

Think about your product or service and how you can make it stand out from the competition.

The Unique Selling Proposition of my product/service is:

Pricing

It’ll pay (in more ways than one) to get your prices right. They’ll need to do more than just cover your costs if your

business is going to grow – they need to make you a profit. Keep an eye on what your competitors are charging and

what your customers are willing to pay so you don’t undersell your product or service.

Answer the questions below to quickly check whether your prices will be enough to make you money. The table

on page 8 will help you to work out the ‘breakeven point’ of your business in more detail.

£

(a) Price per hour/per day/per item* that I’m going to charge

(b) Direct costs per hour/per day/per item* excluding

£

overheads are

(c) Gross profit – per hour/per day/per item* is (a)-(b)

£

(d) Gross profit margin (c)/(a)x100 = (sometimes called ‘mark-up’)

%

(e) Overhead costs estimate for the whole first year of trading

£

Based on your pricing, the minimum amount you’ll have

£

to sell in the first year to make a profit = (e)/(d)%

Check whether the minimum you need to sell in a year looks realistic. If it doesn’t, take another look at your pricing

or, if you need to, review the costs involved in running your business.

*Delete the ones that don’t apply.

Knowing your market

Your market is your area of business, like catering or building, as well as the people that make up your customers. You

need to understand how your market behaves and what your customers want. To answer the following questions, you’ll

need to do some research. Your answers will help you to figure out whether you can realistically earn enough money

from your business to live on.

1. The number of customers available to my business is approximately:

2. My market is currently in decline/undergoing growth (delete the one that doesn’t apply). What are the reasons for

this? Have there been any legislation changes? Are you aware of anything that might impact on it in the future?

3. I would say the demand for my product is a one-off purchase/repeat purchase (delete the one that doesn’t apply).

If it’s a one-off purchase, how are you going to keep up sales?

Customers

It’s important to have a clear picture of who your ideal customers are – what are they like and what are they buying?

You should remember that your customers are price-sensitive, too. They’ll want a competitive price that’s fair for

what they’re buying. Your answers below will help you to target your product/service at your customers better.

My typical customer profile

Age

Sex

Income bracket

1. Their needs are:

2. How would my typical customers tend to buy products and services?

3. Customers will use my product/service for:

4. What they value most about my product/service is:

5. What these customers would value (but don’t really get from existing businesses) is:

6. I could deliver this by:

7. They will buy my product/service through the Internet/at my shop/over the phone/other:

8. Buying my product/service will be a one-off purchase/repeat purchase:

9. The after-sales service they expect from me is:

10.They would choose my product/service over my competitors because:

Competitors

It’s important to understand what your competitors are offering so that you can make your product/service different,

or better, than theirs. If it is different or better, you might attract more customers, and you might also be able to charge

more. By filling out the following table, you’ll have a clearer picture of just how well your business measures up.

Comparing your competitors

My business Competitor A Competitor B Competitor C

Product/service

Price

Availability

Reputation

Delivery

Location

Special offers

After-sales service

Strengths

Weaknesses

Unique Selling Proposition

Promotion/sales

My product/service is better than each of my competitor’s because:

Competitor A

Competitor B

Competitor C

Location Location

Think carefully about your business location. Will you work from home to save money?

If not, how are you going to pay for your premises? What insurance will you need to take out?

The location of my business will be:

Advantages of this location are:

I’m going to rent/lease/buy my business premises (delete the one that doesn’t apply).

Other must-haves (eg loading bay, customer parking, etc) will be:

Promotion

Being able to market and sell your product/service cost-effectively is one of the most important aspects of running a

business. Promoting your business tells potential customers that you exist and entices them to buy more.

Once you’ve settled on a marketing budget for your business, figure out which methods will be best for your business

and write them down below.

Type of advertising/promotion Success to be measured by Method used Budget

by competitors

Method 1 Yes/No £

Method 2 Yes/No £

Method 3 Yes/No £

Method 4 Yes/No £

Method 5 Yes/No £

Method 6 Yes/No £

Total budget £

Finance Finance

Having a good understanding of the financial side of your business right from the start will increase your chances

of success.

Remember, you can always get help from a Local Business Manager, as well as through your local Business Link or

Enterprise Agency.

Profit and loss forecast

I have completed a profit and loss forecast to check that my business will make a profit: Yes/No

Cash flow forecast

I have completed a cash flow forecast to check that my business can meet its day-to-day costs: Yes/No

Sales projections – the amount I think I’ll sell is based on these assumptions:

Initial sales orders – the orders I already have in place are:

Order 1 Details: Value £

Order 2 Details: Value £

Order 3 Details: Value £

Purchase arrangements – I’ve negotiated credit terms from the following suppliers:

Details: Value £

Order 1

Details: Value £

Order 2

Details: Value £

Order 3

Fixed costs – the average monthly costs that I always have

per month

to pay to keep my business running (eg rent, heating, etc) are:

Variable costs – the average monthly costs of running my business

per month

that are irregular and might change (eg advertising, stationery, etc) are:

Current business assets – my current business assets (eg vehicles, equipment, machinery, etc) are:

Details: Value £

Asset 1

Details: Value £

Asset 2

Details: Value £

Asset 3

Future business assets – I think I’ll need the following assets when I start my business and in its first year:

Details: Value £

Asset 1

Details: Value £

Asset 2

Details: Value £

Asset 3

Funding your business – I’ll finance the start-up of my business through the following:

Details: Value £

Grants

Details: Value £

Own resources

Details: Value £

Loans

Details: Value £

Creditors

Calculating my breakeven point Calculating my breakeven point

The table below will help you to figure out your ‘breakeven point’, which is when the amount your business sells

matches what it spends.

Personal drawings

Salaries/wages

National Insurance

Tax

Stationery/postage/printing

Management services payable to franchisor (if applicable)

Advertising

Telephone

Rent/rates/water

Heating and lighting

Vehicle depreciation

Petrol

Servicing

Road Fund Tax

Insurance

Business insurance

Bad debts

Bank loan

Bank charge

Accountant’s fees

Direct/variable costs eg raw materials

My breakeven point is how much I need to sell to cover the total

of all the costs listed above

I intend to keep my books up to date myself/with the help of a book-keeper/with the help of an accountant:

If you’re keeping your books up to date yourself, what book-keeping package will you use?

If a book-keeper or accountant will manage your books, please write down their name, address and telephone number.