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Business Planning

Business planning is one of the most important aspects of setting up your business, but one which is neglected by many people. it is crucial to write a plan before you start as this will help you keep on tack and focus on what needs to be done.  

Writing a business plan is essential before you launch your new business. The plan will help you to focus on your goals, decide how you are going to reach them and will also enable you to see if you are progressing as well as you had expected to. This will help you to take action before problems become out of control.

You'll need a business plan if you are approaching a bank, other financial institution or an individual for a loan, but the most important person when it comes to the business plan is you.The bank will want to know how much your set up costs and outgoings will be and how much you expect to make in the first year of trading. This second set of figures will be a work of fiction as you have no way of knowing how much you will make, but you have to make a reasonable guess.

To work out the approximate cost of your proposed business, write down everything you'll need and add up the prices.

For example, if you are setting up as a massage therapist, your list might look something like this:

Room rental
Receptionist/telephone/answering machine
Oils
Paper towels
Stationery
Membership of professional association
Insurance
Filing cabinet
Computer
Brochures for publicity
Advertising
Travel (if going to clients' homes)
Massage table (if going to clients' homes or working in your own home)
Annual payment to local council

Bear in mind that different regulations will operate in different parts of the world and so be sure to check exactly what you need to do in order to have permission to run your business in the area in which you live.

As far as income is concerned, you would consider how you might market the business and the results you would expect to see. Don't assume that clients will be flocking to your door as soon as your press release goes out, but also don't underestimate your likely success.

You will need to write a marketing plan for the year and estimate the number of clients who will respond to each aspect of this, how much you will charge for each session and then calculate your profits.

In addition to financial information, you will need a detailed plan which covers all aspects of the business for the first year. This document is for you - it sets your goals and describes exactly how you will get there. It's a week by week, month by month plan which you will follow to get your business going.

Of course, nothing is written in stone and if a particular strategy doesn't work, you may need to modify your plan as you go, but it is your starting point.

Some of the things you'll need to include in your business plan are:

Your qualifications and experience
Your target groups
Your competitors
The results of your market research
Your marketing strategy
A SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats)
Your USP (unique selling proposition)

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