Writing a business plan

Writing a business plan (or project plan) is a great way to gather all your thoughts and ideas together in one place, no mattter how poorly formed they might be at this stage.

Don't worry about getting it right first time as it's likely that your business plan will change over time and should ideally be updated each year once you are up and running. The important thing is to get started as soon as possible as your plan will serve as the blueprint for your business and is likely to be needed whenever you approach funders, banks, lenders, investors or business partners. It also helps you spot any gaps in your knowledge and makes it easier to see the way forward for your ideas.

A vital element of the business plan and a good place to start is market research. It's important to spend time carrying out thorough market research as this will help you gain a much better understanding of your market, who is likely to buy your products or services, which ideas are more popular than others and who your competitors might be.

For help writing your business plan, make sure you download the free Shell LiveWIRE guide ‘Writing your First Business Plan’ from the My Business Kit (www.shell-livewire.org/my-business-kit) section of this website. (Note: you will need to register for a free account before you can login and download this guide).