FT Guide to Business Start Up 2021-2023, 32nd Edition

Chapter 6

The business plan

Life can be very chaotic when you are starting or running a small business. The e-mails to answer, telephone calls to make, the decisions to take – all the day-to-day emergencies can push aside the long-term strategic planning that is essential to keep your enterprise on the right track. Do not let short-term problems divert you from your longer-term objectives.

Writing a business plan is merely encapsulating your longer-term objectives, estimates and forecasts in a succinct format, generally using spreadsheets or a software package, though it doesn’t need to be too complex. Once you have formulated your plan, do not consider that it is set in concrete. Forecasts and objectives change as new bits of information and ...