I Network

The following 40 questions are not intended for everyone who is starting out in business, but will hopefully point you in the right direction and get you thinking about areas of running a business that you may never have thought of.

• Do you think you are ready to start a business?
• Have you ever worked in a business similar to what you are planning to start?
• Would people that know you say you are well suited to be self- employed?
• Do you have support for your business from family and friends?
• Have you ever taken a course or seminar designed to teach you how to start and manage a small business?
• Have you discussed your business idea, business plan or proposed business with a business coach or enterprise board?
• Do you have a family member or relative who owns a business?
• Do you consider yourself a leader and self-starter?
• Would other people consider you a leader?
• Are you willing to invest a significant portion of your savings or net worth to get your business started?
• Do you have enough confidence in yourself and your abilities to sustain yourself in business, if or when things get tough, could you sleep at night knowing you owed the bank or suppliers money?
• Do you like to make your own decisions?
• Are you prepared, if needed, to temporarily lower your standard of living until your business is firmly established?
• Do others turn to you for help in making decisions?
• Are you willing to commit long hours to make your business work?
• Would others consider you a team-player?
• Do you have a business plan for the business you are planning to start?
• Do you know and understand the components of a business plan?
• Do you know what form of legal ownership (sole proprietor, partnership or corporation) is best for your business?
• Do you know why some consider business planning to be the most important factor determining business success?
• Do you know if your business will require a special license and how to obtain it?
• Do you know where to find demographic data and information about your customers?
• Do you know how to compute the financial ‘break-even point’ for your business?
• Do you know how to compute the start-up costs for your business?
• Do you know about the various loan programs that are available from banks?
• Do you understand how a business loan can impact on obtaining personal loans?
• Do you know how to prepare and/or interpret a balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement?
• Are you sure your planned business fills a specific market need?
• Do you know your target market?
• Do you understand the tax requirements associated with your business?
• Do you know how to prepare a marketing strategy for your business?
• Do you know how to learn about your business competitors?
• Do you understand marketing trends in your business industry?
• Do you feel comfortable using a computer or other technology to improve business operations?
• Do you have a payroll process planned for your business?
• Do you have a customer service strategy in mind or in place?
• Do you know if your business should have some form of intellectual property protection?
• Do you know where to obtain information about regulations and compliance requirements that impact your business?
• Do you know how to register your business with the revenue?

If you have any further questions or queries about any of the questions in this post, please feel free to get in touch with Sean McEvoy & Co Accountants

It is essential to have a realistic, sensible and well thought out business plan when thinking about starting up any new business venture.

A business plan is basically a document that once completed, allows you to determine and plan for the future of your business. It can also be used to secure any funding which is required as well as provide you with a forecast on everything from your running costs to projected income.

This guide will show you how to prepare a high-quality plan using a number of easy-to-follow steps.

The audience for your business plan

There are many benefits to creating and developing a realistic business plan. Even if you are to use it just for your own purposes, it will will allow you to:

• Spot any problems before they happen.
• Effectively forecast the financial area of your new business.
• Allow you to focus on any areas that you may need to develop.
• Be used as a blueprint for the success of your business.

Many people use a business plan simply for the purpose of recieving funding from an investor or though a loan from their bank.

The following will request to see your business plan if you are looking for funding.

• Banks.
• External Investors.
• Grant Providers – such as your local enterprise board.
• Potential Partners.

Review, change and implement

You should always look at reviewing you business plan at regular intervals to ensure that you are on track with any targets which you have set out.

When reviewing your business plan, you must quickly point out any problems you are having in achieving your targets and be able to quickly make any adjustments.

Reviewing your business plan will allow to also look at ways in which you can develop your business and how any development on your business will be implemented.

What your plan should include

Depending on the type of business you have, or are about to setup, depends on what will be included in your business plan. However, most business plans should include the following:

An executive summary

This is a vital area of your business plan which should include an overview of your business. Many judgments from investors are made on this section of the plan.

Business Description

This section should include information such as who you are, what you are going to provide and to who.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

How you are going to sell your product or service and why they should decide to use your product or service.

Management and employees

This section should include a comprehensive description of your own credentials as well as the kind of people which you will need to employ and the skills which they will need.

Operations

This will include information on the kind of premises you will be working from, the facilities and machinery you will be using along with any IT solutions which you will need to acquire.

Financial details

This area determines the financial forecast of your business.

Document

The following document is a template that will show you in more detail the information that you will need in your business plan.

• View the I Network template business plan (PDF)