Business Plan Help

Do I need Professional Indemnity insurance for my business?

It is advisable to have professional indemnity insurance, or PI insurance, if you give advice to your clients, or provide any type of professional service. A professional indemnity insurance policy will provide cover for compensation you may need to pay, and any legal costs you incur, due to negligence in you work.

Hiscox Insurance offers a range of industry-specific business insurance policies to suit the risks you face in your particular profession, and allows you to tailor your policy to suit the precise needs of your business. Visit their website to find out more about professional indemnity insurance from Hiscox.

Business planning workshop - September 1

If you need a little guidance to help you write your business plan it's worth having a look at this business planning workshop being held at the British Library on September 1. The course is half a day and is suitable whether you are writing a business plan for a new business or writing a plan to help grow your existing business. You also get a free copy of the Business Plan Pro software package when you attend the business planning workshop.

Finding the right business insurance deal

Depending on the kind of business you are planning, you will need to look at different types of business insurance. If you are employing staff, you are required by law to take out Employers Liability Insurance and if the general public have access to your premises you will also need Public Liability Insurance.

The best way of finding a first rate policy with plenty of protection is to search online. If you need cover quickly you can get a quote and buy your commercial insurance policy online, from a broker such as Staveley Head.

2 Years Free Banking and Free £75 Google AdWords Voucher

NatWest are currently offering new businesses free business banking for 2 years. Plus, as an added bonus, when you apply to open any NatWest business account online you can also get a free £75 Voucher for Google AdWords.

AdWords is a really effective way to promote your business online, so you can use your £75 of free online advertising to give your venture a great kick-start. This offer isn’t being widely publicised so to get the low-down, click on this link and under ‘Special Offers’ click on ‘Find out more’.

Free business planning software

NatWest are currently offering a free business planning software package. The software allows you to produce a professional business plan, and includes a series of checklists and guides - to help you focus on key aspects of the business. You also get 12 months free use of the award winning MyBusiness Essentials software. You can find out more about the business plan software and download it for free here.

Free Report to Help You With Your Cash Flow

When you are planning your business, cash flow is a topic that you will need to deal with. Cash flow problems can strangle any business - from new start-ups to successful, profitable companies - so you need to know as much about the subject as possible.

To help you to learn about successful cash flow strategies, and how these can help to fund your business, NatWest have produced a brand new guide on cash flow. The report tackles cash flow issues head-on and includes case studies that show how real-life businesses have successfully overcome their cash flow problems. Download a free copy here.

Business Planning Workshop - London

If you are looking for a helping hand with your business plan there is a business planning workshop being held at the British Library on September 1. The course runs in the morning and costs £99.99. You also get a free copy of the Business Plan Pro software package when you attend the business planning workshop.

Free business planning software from NatWest

NatWest are currently offering a free business planning software package. The software allows you to produce a professional business plan, which will no doubt impress your NatWest bank manager when you're asking for that start-up loan. The software includes a series of checklists and guides - to help you focus on key aspects of the business - and also gives you 12 months free use of the award winning MyBusiness Essentials software. You can find out more about the business plan software and download it for free here.

Raising money through invoice and asset-based lending

If you need to raise money for your business try Venture Finance. They are a leading independent Invoice and Asset Based Lender celebrating 20 years of experience helping small, medium and large businesses meet their goals. Venture specialise in Factoring, Invoice Finance and Invoice Discounting. Visit Venture Finance to find out how they can help you to raise funding, fast.

Independent and impartial advice on starting your small business

If you are looking for some impartial and independent advice on starting your small business, you can contact your local Enterprise Agency. Enterprise Agencies are a network of, not for profit, organisations that support small businesses - in particular business start-ups and micro businesses - by providing a range of useful and independent services. Your first stop, should be to find your local Enterprise Agency.

The easiest way to write a business plan

This guide looks at the different options you have when it comes to writing your business plan. You can either pay someone to write the business plan for you, produce the plan yourself from scratch using a word processing package such as  MS Word and a spreadsheet like Excel, or use dedicated business planning software.

The big advantage of using business planning software is that it walks you through the entire process, giving you lots of examples and help to make sure your finished plan contains all the key elements. You can read the guide here.

Free business planning seminar at Growing Your Own Business

Alan Gleeson, MD of Palo Alto Software UK, the company behind the Business Plan Pro software programs, will present a seminar on business planning at the Growing Your Own Business Exhibition & Conference (GYOB) on Friday 4 and Saturday 5 April 2008 at Olympia, London.

As well as advice on writing your business plan, you will also be able to gain other specialist business start up advice and access a wide range of business services at the show. Find out more at Growing Your Own Business. Business Plan Help readers can get free access to GYOB, simply use the Promo Code GBPH when you register.