practical steps to business planning

Practical Steps to Business Planning

Dr A Yoxall

• Introduction– About our company

• Our strategy– What did we put in place?

• Running a business– 101 things they don’t tell you

• Introduction

• Set up Ansolve Ltd approximately five years ago with some colleagues and ex-colleagues from industry

• Specialist engineering consultancy firm

• Set up since we were fed-up of working for somebody else

• Introduction

• Our experience primarily in the rail, automotive and biomedical fields

• The market is extremely crowded

• Finding our niche very important

• Introduction

• No contacts in fields outside of our expertise

• Reliance on a single market

• Needed to spot future trends

• Introduction – Development of a business plan

• Where are we?

• Where did we want to be?

• How were we going to get there?

• What resources would we need?

• What obstacles do we anticipate?

• Introduction

• Data mining

• SWOT Analysis

• Marketing

• Introduction

• Future trends

- renewable energy

- fuel cell technology

- biomechanics

• Summary

• Really difficult – but fun!

• Best results came from contacts

• Need to take risks

• Be organised

• Plan your growth strategies

• 101 things they don’t tell you

• Easy things

• Hard things


• Easy things


• Setting up your business

• UK one of the easiest places in the World to start a business

• You can do it on-line for a few hundred pounds

• Choosing a name is probably the hardest part


• Different types of business

- Sole trader

- Partnership

- Ltd company

• Ansolve is a Ltd company

• Requires shareholders


• Strangely, the tax office and VAT people are incredibly friendly and helpful


• Get a good accountant

• Be organised

• Get advice from wherever you can

- Business Link

- your bank

- local chamber of commerce


• Hard things


• The forms

• Companies house

• Taxes

• Corporation tax

• Income tax, National Insurance

• VAT


• VAT

• You charge VAT on your invoices

• You claim VAT on your purchases

• Fortunately all tax issues can be dealt with online

• Not payable until business generates approximately £45k of turnover


• Legally you must keep everything to do with your business


• As a limited company for example you must keep records of shareholder meetings

• Keep your cheque stubs !

- and fill them in


• Legally you must be aware of health and safety


• Legally you must have the correct insurance

• Summary

• Don’t let the hard things put you off

• It can be great fun and financially rewarding

• It’s a challenge but that’s why you do it