Business Plans Kit For Dummies, UK Edition

Whether you’re a business beginner with big ideas or an established company looking to review you plans in a changing business environment this practical, user friendly guide gives you everything you need to get started. Complete with an interactive CD packed with planning templates including; planning documents, forms, financial worksheets, checklists, operation surveys and customer profiles in both Word and PDF formats you’ll be armed with all you need to kick start the planning process and create a winning business plan that suits you and your long-term business vision.

Business Plans Kit For Dummies includes UK specific information on:

• UK business practice
• Currency
• UK business and financial institutions and advisory services
• UK taxation and VAT
• Partnerships and Limited company information
• UK legal practice, contractual considerations and insurance matters
• UK specific forms
• UK specific case studies
• New content covering online business opportunities and resources, alternative ways in to business including franchising, network marketing and buy outs, research methods and choosing suppliers and outsourcing will all be added to the UK edition.

Table of Contents:

Part I: Laying the Foundation for Your Plan

• Chapter 1: Starting Your Planning Engine
• Chapter 2: Generating a Great Business Idea
• Chapter 3: Defining Your Business Purpose

Part II: Developing Your Plan’s Components

• Chapter 4: Understanding Your Business Environment
• Chapter 5: Charting Your Strategic Direction
• Chapter 6: Describing Your Business and Its Capabilities
• Chapter 7: Crafting Your Marketing Plan
• Chapter 8: Deciphering and Presenting

Part III: Tailoring a Business Plan to Fit Your Needs

• Chapter 9: Planning for a One-Person Business
• Chapter 10: Planning for a Small Business
• Chapter 11: Planning for an Established Business
• Chapter 12: Planning for a Not for profit Nonprofit Organization
• Chapter 13: Planning for an E-Business

Part IV: Making the Most of Your Plan

• Chapter 14: Putting Your Plan Together
• Chapter 15: Putting Your Plan to Work

Part V: The Part of Tens

• Chapter 16: Ten Signs That Your Plan Might Need an Overhaul
• Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Evaluate a New Business Idea
• Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Fund Your Business Plan
• Chapter 19: Ten Sources of Vital Information to underpin your Business Plan
• Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Use Your Business Plan

Note: CD files are available to download when buying the eBook version

Introduction 1

Part I: Laying the Foundation for Your Plan 7

Chapter 1: Starting Your Planning Engine 9

Chapter 2: Generating a Great Business Idea 25

Chapter 3: Defining Your Business Purpose 43

Part II: Developing Your Plan’s Components 65

Chapter 4: Understanding Your Business Environment 67

Chapter 5: Charting Your Strategic Direction 91

Chapter 6: Describing Your Business and Its Capabilities 117

Chapter 7: Crafting Your Marketing Plan 139

Chapter 8: Deciphering and Presenting Your Financial Situation 153

Part III: Tailoring a Business Plan to Fit Your Needs 183

Chapter 9: Planning for a One-Person Business 185

Chapter 10: Planning for a Small Business 203

Chapter 11: Planning for an Established Business 217

Chapter 12: Planning for a Not-for-Profit Organisation 237

Chapter 13: Planning for an E-business 253

Part IV: Making the Most of Your Plan 271

Chapter 14: Putting Your Plan Together 273

Chapter 15: Putting Your Plan to Work 291

Part V: The Part of Tens 307

Chapter 16: Ten Signs That Your Plan May Need an Overhaul 309

Chapter 17: Ten Ways to Evaluate a New Business Idea 315

Chapter 18: Ten Ways to Fund Your Business Plan 321

Chapter 19: Ten Sources of Vital Information to Underpin Your Business Plan 329

Chapter 20: Ten Ways to Use Your Business Plan 337

Appendix: About the CD 341

Index 349

Steven Peterson is CEO of Strategic Play, a top management training company. Peter Jaret is an award-winning author and journalist. Barbara Findlay Schenck is a business and marketing consultant. Colin Barrow is a venture capitalist, entrepreneur and the best-selling author of Starting a Business For Dummies.

Learn to:

• Tailor your plans to the needs of your business
• Assess the competitive market
• Find funding and plan your finances

An interactive guide to every element of the business planning process

Are you an entrepreneur who wants to make it big? A manager grappling with logistics? A small business owner trying to map out a future in shaky economic times? Then look no further! Business Plans Kit For Dummies is a nuts-and-bolts guide to evaluating and invigorating your commercial strategy, no matter how big or small your business.

• Lay the foundations – identify your long-term goals and brainstorm your business options
• Develop the skills – sketch out a working model, size up competitors and fire up your marketing machine
• Make it personal – scrutinise the ins and outs of your budget and diagnose what you need to take your ideas forward
• Maximise your plan's potential – take advantage of the latest online resources and e-technology to give your venture the edge
• Fix faulty strategies – recognise weak spots, build on strengths and make preparations to update your plan a year from now

Open the book and find:

• Advice on stimulating business creativity
• Effective ways to research your start-up needs
• How to get the most out of your industry
• Tips on sharpening your marketing drive and developing a customer profile
• Forecasting strategies for every kind of business
• Planning sheets, sample budgets and managerial forms
• How to use libraries, directories and search engines to your advantage

The interactive companion CD-ROM is packed with templates, worksheets, assignments and checklists to help you kick-start the planning process, monitor progress and get your business on track.