Business Plan Help

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.

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