4. Your team

You may be setting up your company alone, in which case this section will be short. In this situation you write down your plans for hiring staff in the future and how this will impact on your business growth.

If you are starting your business with a team of people, however, you should use this section to elaborate on their skills, experience, interests and how each person will contribute to the business.

Give expected salaries or wages where available or if you don’t plan to take a salary immediately you should say at what stage you are expecting to start.

5. Operations and infrastructure

This is potentially the most helpful part of writing a business plan. It will help you get to grips with the many aspects of running your own business and remind you of tasks which you have yet to complete.

These topics should be included in your plan:

• Business premises – this should cover costs, location, whether you rent or own it, insurance and future plans for expansion
• Infrastructure – think about what technology and equipment you’ll need to get started
• Facilities, equipment and stock – suppliers, new or second hand items, insurance
• What investment is needed?
• Start-up costs
• Your provision for: managing accounts, payroll, health & safety, quality control

If you think you need some more detailed support on developing your business strategy, then feel free to contact me directly….