Business Planning Worksheet
Motives
What is this section about?
It will help you highlight the main things that drive you, both in your work and in life generally. Understanding your priorities up-front will help you plan more effectively for the changes you will have to make in your life and work. You will then be able to seek the right kind of help to ensure you succeed. This will help you reflect on your life as a whole, not just your business. Starting a business will greatly affect you and those around you. If you do not understand what drives you, you could end up starting a business that is not as fulfilling as it should be. “Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labour in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.” Psalm 127:1 Time 15 minutes Score the importance of each motive statement between 1 and 9. If the statement describes you exactly, then enter 9. If you are the exact opposite, then enter 1. [ ] I need to earn enough to support the lifestyle I want [ ] I need to provide for my family [ ] I need to earn enough to save [ ] I need job security [ ] I want to provide financial assistance to the Church and missions effort [ ] I want a job that will allow me to learn new skills [ ] I want a job that allows me to use my strengths [ ] I want a job that gives me a sense of achievement [ ] I want to exploit a gap in the market [ ] I want a job that gives me freedom and flexibility [ ] I want to help the Church grow [ ] I want to work the hours that suit me [ ] I want to be my own boss [ ] I want to choose who I work with [ ] I want to be a witness to my employees 1
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[ ] I want to put something into the community [ ] I want to spend reasonable time with my family and friends [ ] I want to provide and excellent product or service [ ] I want to provide excellent quality of service [ ] I want to be respected by my family and friends [ ] I want to influence the business environment [ ] I want to provide employment for others [ ] I want to be respected by the business community [ ] I want to be a witness to the business community What other things motivate you? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Having completed this, summarise the things which motivate you most below. _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Further ideas and questions - Have I got the time to start a business? - Is my motivation built upon Kingdom success or worldly success? - How can I get the right work/home/church balance right?
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Planning your business
What this section is about
It will get you started on preparing your plan of action and covers the major questions you need to think about. Preparing a detailed plan will help you clarify exactly what you hope to achieve in the first year of your business and how you will do it. If you expect to need financial help, it will be a useful document to show prospective lenders and investors. It will also help you track progress against your goals, so that you can take action on any areas that are not going according to plan. Time 1 hour
The Basics
Your long-term vision: - What’s the main aim of your business? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Your short-term objectives: - Are there things you need to achieve in the short-term to get your business started? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Your product - What product or service are you thinking of offering? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Which type of business structure will suit you best? (sole trader, partnership, etc.) _____________________________________________________________________ Which type of business will you choose? (start-up, franchise etc.) _____________________________________________________________________
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Your business name - Write down any ideas you have here _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Patents, copyrights, and trademarks - Do you know enough about them? Do you need to get some advice? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Your customers and competitors
Who are your customers going to be? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Why do they buy? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Where are you customers and where do they buy? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ When and how do they buy? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
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Who are your competitors and what are their strengths and weaknesses? Competitors Direct or indirect Strengths Weaknesses
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How do your competitors promote their business? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ How could your own product or service be better than or different to the competition? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Promoting your business
How are you going to advertise your idea? Can you give an approximate idea of how much you will spend on advertising? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Your message: what do you want to tell your customers about your business? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Your reputation: what can you do to encourage word of mouth? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Your image: how can you present the right image for your business? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
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Sales and pricing
How much will you charge? How will you price your product e.g. per item, per hour? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ How does this compare with your competitors? Can you undercut them or offer better value for money? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ What will be your policy on late payments? How will you collect them? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ What approximate level of sales do you expect each month? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Stock Control
What materials or stock items will you need? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ How much will you be spending on materials each month? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Your Suppliers
What criteria are you going to look for in a supplier? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
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If you already have some suppliers in mind, list them here _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ What credit terms will you receive from your suppliers? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Your people
What skills would you like them to have? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ What will you pay them? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
Your premises
Where will you work from? Can you work from home? If not, what kind of premises do you need? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Where will your premises be? What benefits could your location give to your business? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ Will you rent, lease or buy? What will the annual cost be? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ What insurance will you need? 8
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Your finance
Set-up costs: estimate the things that you will need to get your business started. Think of where you will have costs, and try to estimate what those costs will be. For example: 1. Computer $500 2. _____________________________________________________________ 3. _____________________________________________________________ 4. _____________________________________________________________ 5. _____________________________________________________________ 6. _____________________________________________________________ 7. _____________________________________________________________ 8. _____________________________________________________________ 9. _____________________________________________________________ 10. _____________________________________________________________ 11. _____________________________________________________________ 12. _____________________________________________________________ What sources of finance do you need? Looking at what you need to get you going – do you have the funds? _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________
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