Business Plans Necessity or “nice to have”? Roderic Rennison Director, The Ideas Lab

Objective of workshop To enable you to decide if your firm needs a business plan to increase the chances of success and if so, how to go about writing it

A business plan is more than numbers

Agreeing what and who the plan is for The Plan content should reflect its purpose and audience To enable the firm to plan and manage its future activities To set up a new business or venture To raise finance To sell the business

What to include and what to omit What’s relevant! “Less is more” What you have been asked to – and sometimes not

Business Plan Content Executive Summary The business Market demand Competition Strategy Resources Financials and forecasts Risk, opportunity and sensitivity Conclusion/Recommendations

Whether, how and where to get help If in doubt, do – a second opinion is helpful Sources of assistance Business colleague Accountant Business consultant Books/The web “Writing a Business Plan” – Vaughan Evans FT Publishing

How to write the plan; get the resource, and buy-in Writing the plan Research Preparation Drafting Review Presentation Getting resource Ask! Obtaining buy-in Know your audience

Putting the Plan into operation and monitoring it Implementation Present clearly and effectively and disseminate Allocate responsibilities Agree timelines and reporting Monitoring “What get’s measured, get’s done” Don’t let timelines slip Update at appropriate intervals Adapt to changing circumstances

Let’s debate!