Not every business needs a formal, written business plan - but you have to know where you are going, so see if you can write down the answers to these five simple questions:

1) What are your main business objectives?

2) What is it about your own skill or knowledge that will make people buy from you and make a success of your business?

3) How much money will you need, when will you need it and where it is coming from?

4) What do you realistically expect sales and profit to be for the next year?

5) What will you do if you don’t get the sales and profit you expect?

If writing the answers to these questions was easy for you, and you don’t need to borrow any money, you may not need to do any more planning than this. If you found them tough, or if you need to borrow money, you may benefit from a more structured business plan and some cash-flow projections, in which case give us a call on 0845 257 6835 and we’ll gladly assist you in preparing them.