Ask About Business

To be able to convince anyone to risk their money in developing your idea into a business, you have to be able to present your idea well. An essential tool to help you do this is a business plan.

Preparing a business plan will help to organize your ideas and show that you have thought it through. A business plan basically explains how your business will operate.

Your business plan may contain:

• Business partner details
• An outline of the business
• Details of why people would buy your product or service
• Information about the competition and the market
• The resources you need - premises, equipment, etc
• How much money you need
• The price for your product or service
• How much profit you intend to make
• How you intend to operate - sole trader, co-operative, etc.

A good starting point is the COBRA database: it contains general information about writing a business plan, but you will also find specific information about the sort of business you are interested in starting. For example, if you are thinking of opening a hairdressing salon, take a look at their report: Hairdressing

COBRA report: Business Plan - A guide to writing a

COBRA is available at all Ask About Business libraries, or you can access it online using a library ticket from one of our partners. See here for details

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Links:

• Business help at GOV.UK
• National Statistics