Business Plan

Business Plan

Tips on writing a business plan when you are planning to start a new business

Starting up a new business is one of the biggest life decisions to make. It is risky but if successful, rewards are great and you would feel great satisfaction.

You should ask yourself before you planning to start your own business.

Is business for me?

If you are trying to buy a franchise business, you should ask yourself.

Am I trying to buy myself a job? Am I prepared to work long hours and work on weekends?

Whether you are starting a brand new business or buying existing business, it is essential that you must have a passion for your new business.

OK. How do you start your business? Firstly you should have your business plan formulated. Having a business plan is not going to guarantee you success, but people with no plan are less likely to succeed as the statistics show high percentages of start up business don’t survive first three years.

So what’s in the business plan?

Do your research. Contact business adviser and people in a business similar to yours. Contact your local council or NSW state government office. They can refer you to organisations that can help you plan your business and get access to the financial support.

While you are researching, you can start formulating your business plan. The business plan can be broken down to four main components.

  1. Strategic Plan – You will formulate your own personal strategic plan and objectives.

  2. Structure of Your Business – How is your business going to be operated? What services or goods you will be selling? Will you be employing staff?

  3. Financial Plan – You must examine the financial feasibility of your new business. You need to do budgeting using cashflow forecasting analysis.

  4. Growth Strategy – What is your long term plan?

  5. Risk Management - Ongoing planning is vital to the success of your business. However, your plans should not only incorporate potential threats or risks to the success of the business, but also address these potential risks with contingency plans or fall-back strategies.

Your business start-up checklist

  • Is this the right ‘economic’ time to start your own venture?

  • Have you established a clear set of business objectives?

  • Have you written a business strategy covering the next three years?

  • Have you checked industry requirements?

  • Have you reviewed insurance cover needs and relevant legal issues?

  • Have you looked into local government restrictions and zoning requirements?

  • Have you prepared a break-even analysis, cash flow projections and a series of budgets?

You can find additional useful information for rules and regulations for business at www.business.gov.au

Disclaimer

Every effort has been made to offer the most current, correct and clearly expressed information possible within this site. Nonetheless, inadvertent errors can occur and applicable laws, rules and regulations may change.

These materials on this website are general in nature. It is made available on the understanding that the JH Business Services & Taxation is not thereby engaged in rendering professional advice. Before relying on the material in any important matter, users should carefully evaluate its accuracy, currency, completeness and relevance for their purposes, and should obtain any appropriate professional advice relevant to their particular circumstances.