Start Your Business Week by Week

Contents

Introduction

How to use this book

The Website

A few warnings before you start

Week One: Getting Ready

Technology

Using your workspace

Identifying your local business support service

Scan through this book and prepare for the weeks ahead

Week Two: Think About Your Dreams

Think about what?

How do I do that?

What should I daydream about?

So many questions!

Turning mind pictures into real pictures

More than pictures

Is there really any point to this?

What do I do with this picture of the future?

To finish the week

Next week

Week Three: Where Are You Now?

The current reality

Time

Money

Emma

What do you know?

Who do you know?

Week Four: Start Learning and Start Work

Sharpen your entrepreneurial skills

Find out about local banks and accountants

Week Five: Find and Develop An Idea

Your business idea

Emma’s idea

Following up from previous weeks

Week Six: Take Your Idea to the World

Communicating your work of genius

Test your pitch on yourself

A word of caution

Telling other people about your idea

Improving your idea

Starting to think of a name for your business

Arrange meetings with bank managers

Week Seven: Customers

What type of business are you?

What industry are you in?

What marketplace are you going to be operating in?

Emma

Becoming an expert

Looking for customers

Look your customer in the eyes

Your business plan

Writing the ‘Customers’ section of your business plan

Week Eight: Management

Decide on roles

Decide on pay

Emma

Remember

Writing the ‘Management’ section of your business plan

Week Nine: Sales

Meeting the bank managers

Selling your services

Emma and Alan

Week Ten: Resources 1

Remember you’re flying a kite

Premises

Equipment

Week Eleven: Resources 2

People

Technology

Writing the ‘Resources’ section of your business plan

Meeting your shortlist of accountants

Week Twelve: Suppliers

Getting information

Understanding pricing

Writing the ‘Suppliers’ section of your business plan

Week Thirteen: Competitors

Who are your competitors?

Writing the ‘Competitors’ section of your business plan

New ideas?

Week Fourteen: Planning to Avoid Trouble

What could cause a challenge to your business?

Trends

Planning for these challenges and trends

Don’t panic!

Opportunities

Week Fifteen: Forecasting for Profit

Will you register for VAT?

Setting your prices

Forecasting your sales

Emma and Alan

The Profit Forecast

The moment of truth

Think about your company structure

Week Sixteen: Forecasting Cash Flow

The Cash Flow Forecast

How does it look?

Funding your business

Back to your forecasts

Emma and Alan

Week Seventeen: Finishing the Plan

Executive Summary

Test your plans on others

Week Eighteen: Send the Plan Out

Time to reflect

Decide on your company structure

Emma and Alan

Send it off!

Week Nineteen: Sell and Promote

Get selling

Press coverage

Plan your weekly cash flow

Week Twenty: Raise the Money

Meeting the bank managers

Investors: external

Investors: family and friends

Keep selling!

Week Twenty-One: Start Your Business

Resigning!

Get legal advice

Registering your company

Domain names

Start getting your other resources in place

Keep selling!

Week Twenty-Two: Do the Important Paperwork

Opening supplier accounts

Register with the Inland Revenue

Is there anyone else you need to register with, or comply with their regulations?

Keep selling!

Week Twenty-Three: Last Few Forms

Registering for VAT

Issuing shares to investors

Emma and Alan

Keep selling!

Week Twenty-Four: Final Preparations

Taking stock

Sales

Emma and Alan

Week Twenty-Five: Launch!

B2C business

B2B business

Emma and Alan

Week Twenty-Six: Up and Flying!

Keep selling!

Keep your customers

Keep learning

Keep proper records

Keep checking your progress against your plan

Keep going

Keep in touch

Racing Greens