Course description

A good business plan does two jobs. It helps you decide whether your idea will work, and it shows a lender, loan scheme or landlord that you've done your homework. This course takes you through writing one, step by step and in plain words: from describing your business and researching your market to building forecasts you can explain and writing a summary someone will actually read.

It's a full course, not a quick tour. There are 10 sections and 50 written lessons, and you build your own plan as you go. You follow a dog groomer in a Shropshire market town as she researches, writes and costs her plan, applies for a Start Up Loan and opens her studio, then compares her first months with her forecast. Every section has a worksheet, model answers, a cheat sheet and ready-made templates and spreadsheet workbooks.

What you'll learn

• Your business and goals: a clear description, your offer, SMART goals, the owner section and your legal structure in outline.
• Market research: reliable desk research, sizing your local market, and planning, running and making sense of a customer survey.
• Customers and competitors: customer profiles, a competitor comparison, what makes you different and a SWOT analysis.
• Marketing, operations and risks: pricing, marketing channels, a launch plan, sales targets, premises, insurance, people and a risk register.
• Forecasts: start-up costs, funding, a sales forecast, running costs, a personal survival budget, a 12-month cash flow forecast, profit and loss, break-even and what-if planning.
• Writing and presenting: the executive summary, clear writing and layout, applying for a Start Up Loan and answering a lender's questions.

Who it's for

Anyone in the UK starting or planning a small business, including people applying for a Start Up Loan, a bank loan or a grant. It ends with a final project: your own complete business plan, reviewed against a checklist, and a routine for keeping it up to date once you start trading. This course is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice.

What will I learn?

• Explain what your business does, who it's for and what you want it to achieve, with SMART goals
• Plan and run simple market research, including a customer survey, and use the results honestly
• Compare competitors, find what makes you different and write a SWOT analysis
• Set prices, choose marketing channels and build sales targets you can explain
• Plan premises, equipment, people, insurance and the main risks to your business
• Build start-up costs, a sales forecast, a personal survival budget and a 12-month cash flow forecast
• Work out break-even and plan for setbacks with what-if forecasts
• Write a clear executive summary and a full plan ready for a lender, loan scheme or landlord

Frequently asked questions