Free Business Plan Guides

• Guide to getting the best from your Cash Flow.
  Included with the bought version of BusinessPlanWiz is a Cash Flow spreadsheet that we asked our accountant to create (because she’s an expert and we’re not), for us to pass on to you. You can use it to show you what is happening now with “live” figures, and to forecast ahead with estimated figures.  Here’s how to get the best from your Cash Flow.

• Guide to Alternative Uses for a SWOT Analysis
  As with any planning, it’s worth stepping back from the business periodically and examining it, realistically and honestly. One of the tools that is useful is a SWOT Analysis. We might think that SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) is only to do with marketing because that’s where many of us first encounter it. But it is a useful tool to use as a guide to decision-making in many ways, although it should never be used in isolation.

• Guide To Inserting Duplicate Worksheets in Excel
  Sometimes you can spend ages getting a worksheet right in Excel; everything formatted as you want it, all the formula working properly.  If you want the same/similar layout in another worksheet in your workbook, to save time and angst the best thing to do is to make a duplicate of your original one.

• 5 Alternative Uses for a Business Plan
  It’s accepted that most people write a business plan only when they need to raise money, and that the process is considered to be a chore.  But it doesn’t need to be like that. Put simply, your Business Plan can be more than a money-raising tool.  Writing a Business Plan can provide you with the time to really think carefully about your business and where you want to take it.  This will translate into a very good plan, as the time spent on thinking will clarify your ideas, set your goals and show in the planning for all aspects of your business.  (In fact, that’s also just what the Bank Manager is looking for!).

• Guide to Defining Your USP
  Defining your USP or unique selling point is necessary if you want to make a success of your marketing activity, so you’ll find it in section 5 of MarketingPlanWiz (promoting your business), and it’s also in Section 6 of the Business Plan tool (Competition and Suppliers).

• Guide to Conducting Market Research: The most important step of your business or marketing plan?
  So you just know that your product/service is unique and that folk will fall over themselves to buy it from you.  How do you know that? Is it a gut feeling or have you done your research?
  
  If you’re starting up in business this is really important, but even if you’re already trading, keeping an eye on what’s happening in the marketplace is good practice as it can help you to spot opportunities.

• Guide to Defining your Customer Profile
  Why do we ask you to define your customer in your business plan?
  When you create your business or marketing plan, identifying your target audience is one of the most crucial sections you will need to complete. You’ll find this question in step 5 of the business plan tool and in step 3 of the marketing plan tool.