Your New Business – Business Plan ? ? Like so many others before you, you have decided to set up your own business. Havi

Your New Business – Business Plan

Like so many others before you, you have decided to set up your own business.

Having investigated various options, you have concluded that your ‘idea’ is viable, it suits you and can be developed to be an interesting enterprise with rewarding financial results. Your project can be as small or as big as you want to. Similarly, your ‘idea’ does not have to be ’unique’. In fact you might consider bringing an established service or product to a new market or develop an existing concept to a new application. It is advisable that you select a business that is not totally fictitious or imaginary. The closest you are to reality, the easier it will be for you to think your project through properly and present it to others. Ideally, you want to present something that you are genuinely considering as an alternative for your future. Who knows? Maybe it will happen one day!

To get your new business started, you need to approach financiers / lenders / investors to help you raise the necessary capital for your purposes. You therefore need to put together a business proposal (else known as a Business Plan (BP)) which will include a comprehensive description of the new business and any other additional material that will convince your audience to back you up. You should be clear in how much funding you need, for how long and how you are going to pay back in a way that will be worthwhile for your supporters. The structure of a good plan has been discussed in class (Please check Topic 4: Business Plan on Moodle). Please take use Topic 4 as template for your report.

It is important that your Business Plan adequately covers what you plan to achieve, in a way that it generates interest and confidence in your arguments. It is worth keeping in mind at all times the golden rule:

you + idea + (money/credit + facilities/people) = Product/service +

marketing = Money/credit = Profit