Business Plan Help

Guide to successful business planning

When you're thinking about what to put in your business plan, following the practical tips given in this great guide to successful business planning will help you to ensure your business starts positively and achieves results. The successful business planning guide helps you to think about your objectives, how you can achieve your goals and how to convey all of this into a realistic and effective business plan.

Securing funding with a business plan - The Dragons' Perspective

The BBC2 show Dragons' Den is now in its fifth series and while the show is obviously edited to entertain (more than anything else); it seems as if the current bunch of contestants has not watched any of the previous shows! This article will help you to write a business plan that gets you the funding you need. Read the full article

Dragons' Master Class - the numbers you need to know!

Why do entrepreneurs consistently fail to appreciate how important it is to have financials in hand when pitching an idea? Why do they consistently present a business plan without even a rudimentary knowledge of basic financial concepts, such as turnover or margin? This article highlights some of the financials that any aspiring entrepreneur needs to know before submitting or pitching a business plan to a ‘dragon’ of any hue. Read the full article

Common Business Plan Mistakes

While including the necessary items in a business plan is important, you also want to make sure you don’t commit any of the following common business plan mistakes: Read this article to find out the most common business plan mistakes and how you can avoide them. Read the full article here.

5 Warning signs that your business plan is unrealistic

When you're preparing your business plan it's always difficult to know whether you're being realistic or not. After all, most of the figures you have in your plan are your best 'guesstimate' of what will happen at some point in the future. As none of us have the benefit of a crystal ball, this article highlights 5 warning signs that signal your business plan is unrealistic.

Business planning help for inventors

Inventor Resource is a useful site with over over 60 articles covering everything you need to know about getting your idea or invention patented, manufactured and into the shops.

Top 10 Internet Products for Starting a New Business

Starting a business is an incredibly exciting time for any entrepreneur; however it can also be stressful with so much to do in so little time. The start-up phase is also characterized by significant expenditures against a backdrop of uncertain income. However, there are a number of products and services that can help you maximize your chances of success while also saving you considerable time and money. Click here to read this article in full.

Top 10 UK Resources to Help you Write a Winning Business Plan

Writing a business plan is one of the most important things an entrepreneur must do when starting a new business. However, writing a compelling business plan is easier said than done, particularly when time can be so precious. This article outlines the key resources available to UK entrepreneurs when preparing a business plan.  Click here to read this article in full.

Why Business Planning is not just for Start-ups

One of the greatest misconceptions about business planning is that a business plan is useful only for start-ups. While start-up companies are indeed one significant segment of business planners, business planning is being utilised by an increasing number of companies as a means to manage growth better, to ensure new ideas have been assessed for commercial viability, and to value a business on exit. Click here to read this article in full.

Written by Alan Gleeson, MD of Palo Alto Software Ltd, creators of Business Plan Pro 2007.

Top 10 Business Plan Mistakes to Avoid

The importance of business planning is widely documented; however, guidance as to what constitutes good business planning is less clearly defined. This article aims to redress that imbalance by describing 10 of the most common mistakes that occur in business plans. Click here to read the full article.

Article written by Alan Gleeson, MD of Palo Alto Software Ltd, creators of Business Plan Pro 2007

Top Ten Tips for Writing a Business Plan

Writing a business plan can seem a daunting challenge. However, this skill is a vital requirement for any entrepreneur or business seeking to increase their chances of survival. Click here to see a list of my top ten tips for writing that winning plan.

Written by Alan Gleeson, Managing Director of Palo Alto Software Ltd, creators of Business Plan Pro 2007.

Business Planning Tips and Small Business Advice

Bytestart, the small business portal, has a range of useful articles on writing a business plan. They include; How to Avoid Classic Business Plan Mistakes, Five Reasons Why You Need a Business Plan and Top Ten Tips for Writing a Business Plan. Bytestart also has a fortnightly e-mail newsletter that provides helpful tips and advice for any start-up or small business owner.

How to Structure and What to Include in Your Business Plan

Ibis Associates specialise in creating expert systems for business planning and monitoring, and their website provides a wealth of information and research on business planning. There’s a range of business planning articles you can download for free, including a paper exploring the structure and content of the ideal business plan for start-up and existing businesses and an article investigating 3 factors affecting business plan content – (1) Best practice, (2) Stage of business and (3) Business plan audience.

3 Good Reasons to Write a Business Plan

If you need to know why you should write a business plan, Strategy Consulting gives you 3 good reasons: (1) It provides a current assessment and a roadmap for the future, (2) It helps a business grow and (3) It’s essential to raise finance for your business. Having given 3 main reasons why you should write a business plan, the article goes on to provide useful tips and exercises that will help through the business planning process.

3 Business Plan Mistakes

Business Bricks –the email newsletter for small business owners – reckons that there are 3 main mistakes made when it comes to writing a business plan: (1) You don’t produce a business plan (or it’s in your head), (2) You spend too long at the drawing board, (3) You write a business plan and never update it. While you’re on the Business Bricks website subscribe for free to receive the excellent weekly newsletter.

Developing Your Business Plan

Skill Up provides a range of guidance and tools for small business owners and start-ups. The site has a specific Business Planning area that helps you to plan more effectively. They also provide an interactive Business Check-Up that can help businesses that are up and running to isolate strengths and weaknesses and prioritise more effectively.

Why Bother with a Business Plan?

Barclays-owned website, Clearly Business, has an article that answers the question, 'Why bother with a business plan?' It highlights three good reasons why you should write a business plan: (1) it stops you cheating, (2) it forces you to address tricky issues that you might otherwise conveniently ignore and (3) it stops you from getting distracted.

Business Planning Tips for Start-Ups

The business planning section of popular small business website StartUps.co.uk is well worth a visit. You’ll find a range of articles on business plans such as: (1) What is a Business Plan? (2) What goes in a business plan? (3) Pitching a business plan and many more. The articles are geared towards small businesses for which the section on SWOT analysis is also relevant.

Business Plan Worksheet for A-level Business Studies

This worksheet will help you to get your brain thinking about your business plan. It aims to help you to understand why you need a business plan, look at the different types of business entities, enable you to complete financial projections and outline overall business objectives. A useful link is provided to help you complete each step of the worksheet.

15 Reasons Why You Might Need a Business Plan

If you’re wondering why you should take the time and effort to write a business plan download '15 Reasons Why You Might Need a Business Plan' free from ExpertBusinessPlans.co.uk. There’s no rocket-science in there but it will serve as a good reminder as to why you’re burning the midnight oil over another cash-flow spreadsheet.