10 STEPS TO STARTING A BUSINESS

1. Start-up business plan essentials: Testing your business idea


Field research is a key part of analysing your market and will help you build a successful business plan and brand. Here's how to carry it out effectively...

2. Choosing the right business structure

Sole trader, partnership, limited company or LLP? We look at how to choose the right legal structure for your start-up

3. How to choose the perfect name for your business

Choosing the right start-up name is extremely important. Here's a practical guide on how to pick out the best name to ultimately build a better business

4. How to create a logo that properly represents your business

Five fundamental points your logo should convey to your customers

5. Applying for a Start Up Loan: What to expect

Looking to raise finance for your new business? Join the 30,000 plus Start Up Loan recipients today…

6. How to choose an accountant

Tips from Startups on how to pick the number cruncher that's right for your small business

7. What to consider when choosing office space for your business

What exactly do you need to consider when looking for the perfect premises?

8. How to save money on business software when starting out

John Paterson rounds up the free and low-cost software options available to help you start your business

9. Red tape checklist: What your small business needs to know

Dealing with business red tape? Startups has complied the five key legal issues and how best to deal with them…

10. 3 key selling techniques that could help your start-up

What types of selling do you need to use? Startups covers a few of the most important selling techniques for your business

Lean Business Plan to Get What You Want From Your Business

Are you running your own business or looking to start a new business? The lean business plan is an easy way to set down your strategy, tactics, milestones, and essential business numbers. Just do it for yourself and your team, with a few streamlined bullet points for strategy and tactics; plus lists of key milestones, tasks, assumptions, and performance metrics; and essential business numbers. Then review and revise it regularly and you’ll have your progress towards goals, and accountability.

Lean Business Plan in Four Steps

One: Strategy

Strategy is focus. A lean business plan uses a few bullet points to remind yourself and your team of your focus on a well-defined target market, and how your business offering solves the problem your business solves for that target market, and how your unique business identity makes you different.  Keep it in bullets, reminders you’ll use yourself.

Two: Tactics

Strategy is useless without tactics. In a lean business plan, tactics define your choices related to pricing, channels, website, mobile app, launch dates, features, benefits, messaging, media, promotion, platforms, locations, signage, financing, recruitment, bundles, and so forth. There is no reason to define all this in detail, or defend it for outsiders. Just decide and set it down as a bullet points. These are the core thoughts of marketing plan, product plan, and financial plan — but just what you need to do it. You don’t need elaborate text. Keep what you say about your tactics simple.

Three: Concrete Specifics

A lean business plan includes milestones to make your planning real. Milestones include dates, deadlines, tasks, responsibilities, and plan your budget and goals to reach specific milestones. List your important assumptions. Set dates for review and revision, plan vs. actual analysis, at least once a month. Set performance metrics you can track. Match every key task with somebody who owns it and lives with its results.

Four: Plan for Cash Flow

A lean business plan includes a sales forecast, spending budget, and cash flow. Profits don’t guarantee cash in the bank. Allow for time to wait for clients to pay, and money to buy what you have to before you sell. The purpose of forecasting is management not accurately predicting the future. Connect the dots so sales depends on drivers of sales like traffic, conversions, leads, closes, and so forth. Match sales forecast to projected spending on sales and marketing expenses.

Review and Revise Often

Always track results and review and revise often. What’s happened with the plan? Were assumptions valid? Was it executed?

Management is tracking results and revising as needed. Leadership is knowing when to stay the course and when to pivot.

Lean startup? Yes. Borrow the concept of minimum viable product and apply it to minimum business plan. Borrow the concept of small steps and frequent reviews and apply it to planning and management.

Nothing lends credibility like milestones met. Nothing says planning better than a revised fresh plan. Be a line, not a dot.

The Lean Business Plan is to Get Stuff Done

Times have changed. Don’t do a big traditional business plan but don’t throw out planning either. Do it right. Do a lean business plan. Your business deserves it. Focus, set priorities, highlight execution and specifics, manage cash. Get what you want from your business, whether that’s high-tech growth and funding or independence and peace of mind. It’s not about a plan; it’s about optimizing your life.