Many of us have the ideas to start a business but lack the startup funds! We need to be able convince an investor to invest in our business or attempt to get a loan from a financial institution.
So to action our ideas we need financial help! Therefore you need to approach investors or banks to assist you. An investor will need to be informed on the ins and outs of your idea and for that reason it is necessary to present a business plan.
A business plan is like a CV that you would send to a prospective employer. This is a document that you can submit to a potential investor that will provide them with both your proposal and a summary of the business itself.
This will include;
(The below is a rough outline of what will be needed and or included in your business plan and in no way comprehensive)
- Business concept
- Name of the business and proposed site from which to operate
- Who will run the business and who will make up the staff compliment – their back ground and experience
- What you need start-up capital for and how you plan on spending it
- How much Working Capital do you need and why do you need it. (Working Capital is the amount of money you need to keep the business going until it starts to make sufficient money to carry itself and start to repay the money it has borrowed).
- Whether you have collateral or security for the loan. This is a “safe” amount of money/property that you are prepared to sign over in the event that you cannot repay the loan.
- Over what period you want to borrow the money and at what interest rate you are prepared to pay or give to the investor as a “thank you” for giving you the money in the first place
- Financial information includes (but is not limited to):
- Day One Balance sheet – the financial position of your proposed business, once you “open your doors”
- Future (expected) forecast Balance Sheet – what you expect the business to look like in a year’s time
- Forecasted Income Statement – If you achieve your expectations – what income you expect over the next year and what expenses you will incur as well as your expected profits
- Cash Flow Projection – your physical cash inflows and outflows over the next year – what you expect to physically receive and what you will physically pay out – showing your expected cash surplus
- Each Business Plan is different and unique so a lot of time must be spent reflecting your “homework” and research to show that you know what you are doing. Investors and the bank will only partner with people who have done their homework
We at PATC (Professional Accountants and Tax Consultants) can assist you in this process. We will either provide; a basic option which will make all the “CV” information for your business available to you or we offer a detailed business plan that reflects all the figure work as mentioned above.
Make an appointment with us and we can guide you through the whole process. Remember the first +- 1 hour meeting is FREE* – we want to see you make a success of your business.
For a FREE* first consult or for more information, Contact us today.
*Approximately 1 hour is free T’s and C’s Apply
