I get lots of questions about graphic Headers for blogs as bloggers seem to like graphic (image) instead of plain text blog Header. Here is where I put links to all posts connected to graphic blog Header and also one on graphic post title.

Whatever it is, I for one is very reluctant to delete a text Blog title as to me, it is very important from SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as search engines uses the text blog Header to try to figure out what your blog is all about and can help surfers searching for topics you put in your blog find your blog. I for one will never remove the text blog Header, but will find other means to add a graphic blog Header.

Sometimes bloggers request help for setting up online business with minimal expenses. It is possible to make money online by setting up business blogs. A good example will be Good Pharmacy Online. It is planned, among others as an affiliate for Online Canadian Pharmacy Escrow Service.

When you set up a business blog, you should pay particular attention to the template such as things like having a fast page loading time. If a page takes too long to download, visitors will just surf away to another site. It should also have a navigation bar to assist in getting around the website easily and finding the information they are seeking. This business blog uses a sub-domain of Blogger, that is, its URL is something like myblog.blogspot.com. Registering your own domain that have a URL that is something like www.mywebsite.com may command more respect and may be more suitable for a business blog. Good Pharmacy Online may be converted to a New Blogger custom domain, which will use a similar URL minus the .blogspot.com soon. However, even after conversion to use own domain, the original blogspot blog URL will automatically redirect all visitors to the new (own) domain. I will post more about this, how to do it in the easiest and best way possible hope I will remember to update this post with a link to the new post about using custom domains. In the meantime, you may read about the Advantages of New Blogger custom domain (click BACK button to get back to this page).

If you would like to set up something like this, you may contact

to discuss the possibilities.

The Good Pharmacy Online currently have been set up to assist online purchase of medications like acne medications. It has just been recently set up and currently you will not see much there, but now mainly set up for demonstration, but it will be updated and improved slowly as one don't want to set up the whole thing all at once. If you do that, and then just leave it without updating, as time goes by, the search engines will start ignoring (or ranking lower) your website. I think it is better to go slowly, update it frequently. Search engines love websites that are regularly updated.

When I am asked to explain why business planning is so important, my first inclination is to quote Lewis Carroll. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Alice comes to a fork in the road and asks:

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"
"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," said the Cat.
"I don't much care where--" said Alice.
"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," said the Cat.

For me this scene encapsulates perfectly the problems of not having an over-arching goal and plan for your business. Without a plan, a business is essentially rudderless, and day-to-day activities are likely to be haphazard and reactive, in stark contrast to those businesses implementing a well thought out business plan.
The following represents a list of my top five reasons a firm needs a business plan.

On Saturday I was boozing at Borough Market with my mate Alec. He reminded me of another time we'd met for a drink, back in our university days.

We were sitting outside of The King's Arms on the Broad in Oxford. It was summer, and term had finished. We were about to head of up to the Edinburgh Festival to put on a show, and were taking a break from rehearsals. One of us went in to get the pints. Mine was a Stella. This was back in the day when the lager had yet to earn the "wifebeater" tag, and was still considered to be "reassuringly expensive". Alec, being a posh Old Etonian with tastes more refined than mine, had opted for Young's Bitter.

Unfortunately, the two very different beers had been poured into identical, unmarked pint glasses. They were indistinguishable to our untrained eyes. We sat pondering this problem in the sun, as cyclists ambled past and grotesque stone heads glowered down from Wren's Sheldonian Theatre. In the end, I took a sip of each, and confidently declared which was which. After a few more gulps, we decided I'd got it wrong and swapped again. Eyeing each other nervously as we drank, we never were quite sure.

This, from a man who - less than a decade later - professes to be a beer writer.

Pubs that serve past 11pm on a Tuesday night are few, even in the heart of London. When the midnight hour approaches, they take on a sinister aspect. The staff are edgy, desperate to get home. The punters know these last drinks are a mistake, any meagre pleasure to be paid back in the morning as they tumble into hangover hell. They have their uses though: when you've worked all day in a pub, sometimes you long for an after hours pint in someone else's gaff. That's my excuse for breaking my self-imposed Wetherspoons ban tonight.

The Sir John Oldcastle is a classic 'Spoons: converted from offices, unlovely location, dreadful atmosphere. Flashing fruit machines and a forest of tacky posters and table-top menus dominate the vista. The scattered, low level furniture is reminscent of an airport departure lounge. Looking around, one sees drinkers conspicuously failing to enjoy themselves. Time to go home.

Lots of pubs suffer from nuisance neighbours. When the government liberalised licensing hours a few years ago, landlords were encouraged to apply for extensions as a matter of course. When local residents were notified of these applications, wrong-headed challenges were mounted across the country, often led by celebrities. The reality, as we all know, is that 24 hour drinking never came to pass. After all, staying open into the night is rarely attractive to those who work in the pub trade: the extra turnover simply doesn't justify the anti-social hours.

Back then, the tenants of a community pub near my flat were instructed by their brewery to apply for a licence to serve until 2am on special occasions. They were a lovely old couple who wouldn't have dreamed of serving past eleven in any event, but orders are orders. The stress and upset caused to them by snooty neighbours who launched a campaign of vilification nearly drove them out of the trade altogether. There are people on my street I won't ever look in the eye again after witnessing the harm their ignorant, knee-jerk reaction caused to two people who were pillars of Clerkenwell community when I was a toddler on Tyneside.

In case you're wondering, my pub suffers no such problems. We never serve past eleven, and we get on fine with those who live and work alongside us. However, other places I frequent live under constant threat of unreasonable neighbours. These are people who've moved right next door to a pub, and then have the temerity to try and hound it out of business.

This may sound over the top, but to me Britain's pub culture is one of the very best things our country has to offer: when it comes to boozers, we're champions of the world. If the NIMBY faction get their way, you can kiss goodbye to that. Love your local, and learn to live with the occasional annoyances it might cause you.

The beer delivery is normally a happy time for publicans, even if it does require an early start. Seeing the empty barrels disappear and the stocks piled high is a joyous opening to the working week. Not so when two cretinous cack-monkeys have been sent to do the business.

I should have twigged when they couldn't open the hatch. One was a bona fide coffin dodger, the other barely out of school. The old boy followed me downstairs, chatting away manically, as the nipper stood nervously on the pavement. The first real sign of trouble came when grandad stood further away from the crash mat than I did, like a batsman scared of the ball. When an 11 gallon keg of lager smashed into a case of bottles, I grimaced and assessed the damage: I can live with losing two 33cl beers, though it's hardly ideal. Sadly, the worst was yet to come.

A firkin of Timmy Taylor came bouncing down, taking flight when my useless new friend failed to trap it with his foot. It careered off to one side, smashing into one of its brethren that I'd lovingly conditioned over the weekend. The tap was smashed clean off the stillaged cask, then ripped from the line. Beer spilled everywhere. Our pair of numb-nutted dimwits stood dumbly by as I rushed to mitigate the disaster, turning the shaken, gushing cask on its end. The young lad peered down - "well mate, your bitters are a bit close to the hatch aren't they?" It took some resolve not to drag him down by his chavvy gelled hair, snap off his head and shove it up Uncle Albert's arse.

So, thanks to a duo of dodgy draymen, I've had to call cellar maintenance out to fix a beer line, and I won't have any Timmy Taylor ready to serve until Wednesday. To add insult to injury, when I was out and about later, I spotted the same pair delivering to another boozer. They waved and smiled. I didn't.

Last year, this blog hosted Visions of Beer, a photography competition. Prizes were dished out, and the winning entry ended up framed on the wall of the Suffolk pub in which it was taken. As we head into summer, it's time for another contest. Online retailer and new site sponsor Beer-Ritz are celebrating their tenth anniversary. To mark the occasion, they'll be sending one of you a case containing two dozen British, Belgian and international bottled beers. I'll publish full details on Wednesday.

Middlesex brewery Grand Union folded back in January. I was a fan, after tasting a number of their beers at festivals and in pubs, and was sad to hear the news. However, one of the comforting things about brewery closures is that the kit often finds a good home somewhere else. Step forward Betwixt Beer Company, the latest venture of Mike McGuigan (formerly of ZeroDegrees, Brakspear and Meantime, among others). They snapped up the distinctive orange vessels from Grand Union, lugging them up to the Wirral for a new lease of life.



The photos show the GU plant being broken down, in transit, and arriving at its new home. Click on them for a closer look.

One of the greatest misconceptions about business planning is that a business plan is useful only for start-ups. While start-up companies are indeed one significant segment of business planners, business planning is being utilized by an increasing number of companies as a means to manage growth better, to ensure new ideas have been assessed for commercial viability, and to value a business on exit.

Secondly, the importance of the business planning process is often under-emphasized relative to the primary focus on the final output, the business plan. The very process of producing a business plan enables management to take a holistic view of their organization. It helps them give due consideration to the various factors that mesh together to create the opportunity they are seeking to explore, as well as the resources required and the key drivers needed for success. This article aims to justify a more expansive remit for the business plan, by highlighting a number of key areas where its application is of considerable benefit for all companies.

1. Intrapreneurship

Companies are increasingly encouraging employees to create new growth opportunities as competition intensifies in their core (mature) business lines. Mature invariably means competitive, so the focus on growth opportunities is via innovation and creativity, especially in emergent areas. The term intrapreneurship thus refers to “inside entrepreneurs”; where intrepreneurs personify the key characteristics of an entrepreneur, but do so within the company bounds.

Intrapreneurship is not new - 3i, a venture capital/equity investment company, has been one obvious practitioner for many years - and its application of intrapreneurship has helped to spawn a number of new products. Google, a company renowned for innovation, operates a 70 percent rule, whereby employees are expected to spend 70 percent of their time on the core business, 20 percent on related projects, and 10 percent on unrelated new business opportunities. While the generation of new ideas is paramount, ensuring their commercial viability is of critical concern, and writing a business plan is one key way to assess the merits of an innovative proposal in a more rigorous fashion. The plan can thus be produced for an internal opportunity as if it were a stand-alone entity, with the author being required to detail both the opportunity and the resource implications of pursuing it.

2. Managing Performance

A business plan can also be used as a management tool to assess ‘actual results’ against ‘planned results’. Using these figures in conjunction with an assessment of year-on-year performance can ensure that managers reflect on performance not just based on the previous year’s achievements, but also in relation to the original planned figures. This enables managers to analyse deviations from plan so as to understand what figures are materially different from the planned ones and what drivers shaped the disparities. It also helps to shift the focus away from solely historic comparisons –instead the manager is tasked with planning for the year ahead and hence there is an agreed goal up front and greater transparency on a month by month basis when ‘actuals’ can be compared with ‘planned’.

Such analysis helps to enhance a manager’s understanding of the changes that have impacted recent performance. If planned results and actual results are considered on a monthly basis, this analysis may also help the manager take remedial action in a more urgent time frame.

3. Planning Strategically

The process of business planning is in itself a worthwhile pursuit as it forces the authors to remove themselves from the day-to-day tactical/responsive mode in which many managers operate. The planning process forces any manager to consider the future. In particular, they must take into account the resources at the company’s disposal and plan to maximise the return on capital, as limited by the wider context.

For many companies, a desire on the one hand to maximise the return from the existing product/service revenue stream, needs to be balanced on the other by a desire to develop new additional revenue streams. By putting a business case together for a particular course of action, a manager ensures that the proposal is financially robust (i.e., worthy of pursuit), that the goals are kept in focus and that resources are allocated accordingly. Hence, a business plan can support a company’s focus on exploiting a particular market segment, creating a new product, promoting a new use for a product, etc. Once the plan is committed to paper, it is easier to ensure that there is consensus, ownership of the plan, and a breakdown of tasks, milestones and deliverables to help achieve the goals set out in the plan.

4. Preparing for a Future Exit

At some point in the life cycle of a business, the founders/investors may decide that they want to cash out of the business. The exit strategy will typically focus on extracting the highest value possible from the sale. An up-to-date business plan detailing the opportunity for new buyers will support any valuations put on the business by its current owners.

Before a company reaches the point of sale, it is important to get everything ready by making sure that all historic accounts, cash flow statements and business plans are up-to-date. It is generally accepted that thorough preparation for a sale, well in advance of the sale date, improves internal management focus, aids performance, and ultimately serves to increase the final valuation.

Once management identifies the key drivers for a typical potential acquirer, a business plan can be put in place to focus the minds of employees and ensure that the sale value is maximized. For example, if the general bases for valuation for the industry are focused more on cash generation than profit, a company can drive short term revenues by undercutting sales prices of competitors by selling at cost + 5%. While such activity may not be sustainable in the long run, it can serve to help cash flow when a sale is being considered and prospective acquirers are reviewing performance. While some managers are not that comfortable with planning and projections, the preparation of a thorough business plan plays a vital role in extracting the maximum value from a sale.


5. Supporting a Company Valuation at Sale Time

Ascertaining the value of a company is a difficult and ultimately subjective process whereby the sellers are naturally looking to maximise their return and the buyers to minimise their outlay. The bases for valuation are numerous and tend to be the subject of much negotiation, with various multiples being considered as both parties attempt to come up with an agreed price.

The primary aim of the acquirer will usually be to assess the future income generation capability of the company. As a result, negotiations will usually include attempts to agree on an ‘earnings multiple’, a common method of valuation which focuses on the ability of the firm to generate revenue and cash. These earnings multiples can vary but are correlated with perceived risk, so they tend to go down for smaller companies, where the perceived risk is often higher. Conversely, a higher earnings multiple is likely when a company has strong historic growth figures and a robust business plan. This will usually lead to a higher price.

This analysis of earnings potential will typically be assessed in conjunction with an analysis of historic financial data that is already available, e.g. audited Income Statement/Profit and Loss. This valuation will be used to assess the likely return on investment, and the preparation of a sound business plan valuation document can save both time and money. At the very least, a business plan will identify the key drivers of growth, assess future conditions, and provide a structure to support a more accurate estimate for the value of the company.

6. Conclusion

Business planning is a vital process for any business seeking to effectively focus resources to maximise future value, be it for exit or for maximising return. Much like the value of a map is only truly appreciated when one is driving a long distance and gets lost, the benefits of a business plan may only be truly appreciated when the journey has begun, and different events conspire to alter the company’s path along that desired route.

Writing a business plan is one of the most important things an entrepreneur must do when starting a new business. However, writing a compelling business plan is easier said than done, particularly when time can be so precious. This article outlines the key resources available to UK entrepreneurs when preparing a business plan. Use them for assistance with the writing of the plan, as well as for understanding the implications of certain business decisions you make in the process, such as those regarding corporate structure, sources of funding, and more.

1. Business Plan Pro® UK Software[1]

Business Plan Pro is the best selling business-planning software available for several reasons. It is easy to use, saves time, and has over 500 sample plans to get you started. It also provides a structure whereby you can complete a plan in a methodical manner, while enabling you to benefit from a helping hand at every step.

Where: Business Plan Pro 2006 is available from Amazon, PC World and http://www.paloalto.co.uk/

Cost: RRP is only £99.99 for the Standard version and £159.99 for the Premier.

2. Business Plan Competitions

Numerous business-planning competitions are taking place in the UK at any given time. These competitions test a wide range of skills that are often neglected by entrepreneurs. By producing a credible business plan and presenting your case persuasively, you will significantly enhance your ability to secure funding. These competitions are an invaluable resource enabling you to road test your business plan in a safe environment before submitting the plan to potential investors.

The main advantages of submitting a business plan to a competition include:

o Tap into Increased Support for Entrepreneurs in the UK

o Obtain Critical Independent Analysis of Your Business Plan

o Gain Access to Mentors and Networking Opportunities

o Improve key Transferable Skills, e.g. Presentation Skills

o Enhance Your Understanding of What Investors Want

For further information visit www.bplans.co.uk/write_a_business_plan/article.cfm/285

Where: A list of some of the main UK business plan competitions is available here:
www.paloalto.co.uk/academic_sales/business_plan_competitions.cfm

Cost: Entry costs are usually negligible, although some competitions limit entry to students or locals.

3. Start-up Websites

There are a number of start–up websites that can help you understand what needs to be done and how. These websites normally consist of a mix of articles and relevant products and services from third-party vendors. Most also have specific business-planning sections to help you with your plan. The following three well-known UK sites can give you some further insights into the building blocks that make up a winning business plan.

Where: http://www.startups.co.uk/ , http://www.clearlybusiness.com/, http://www.bytestart.co.uk/

Cost: Free

4. Government Sites

There are also a number of government websites designed to assist people in starting a business which can also help you in writing a business plan.

· Companies House http://www.companieshouse.gov.uk

The website contains information on incorporation procedures. It also provides annual accounts of companies which can be purchased so as to enable you to assess the financials of comparable companies.

· HMRC http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/

HM Revenue and Customs has an easily accessible site where you can access information and calculators relating to employing people, paying VAT, paying Corporation Tax, and so on.

Where: As above

Cost: Free

5. Local Advisor

Despite the availability of a range of different online resources, there are occasions when professional advice is highly recommended. While there is undoubtedly a trade off (professional advice usually costs), there are some decisions that should be made only after consultation with professionals, such as choosing the legal structure of the company. While local accountants are a natural starting point, there are also a number of other bodies that can provide information and advice, and can point you in the right direction for more complex concerns.

· Business Link http://www.businesslink.gov.uk/

Business Link provides information, advice and support to help people start, maintain and grow their business. It is an excellent site with some really great sections and clear sign posting to additional resources. There is also a postcode search facility so you can track down your nearest local advisor.

· National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA) http://www.nfea.com/

The National Federation of Enterprise Agencies (NFEA) is the membership body for Local Enterprise Agencies, and other similar organisations. It forms a network of independent, not-for-profit local agencies that provide a comprehensive range of free services including a facility to search for your local agency.

Where: As above

Cost: Free

6. Funding Websites

Entrepreneurs need to consider their financing at the start-up stage and most will look to outside help to assist them in financing the start-up phase. A good understanding of the implications of the various sources of funding is important, not least with respect to the various obligations arising under each. At its most basic, the sources of funding are either debt based or equity based, and each class confers certain obligations on the recipient of the funds. If the business plan is used to secure funding it will need to clearly outline the benefits to the investor, and the terms of investment, as they’ll be seeking to assess their risks, as well as the ability of the firm to generate free cash flows. Outside of the traditional sources of finance, it is also worth exploring the following sites, which explain the merits of grant or VC funding. Obviously the conditions for securing either are fairly strict, so both sites will indicate which issues you should consider, as well as information on the availability of the funding.

· J4B http://www.j4b.co.uk/

The site allows quick and simple searches of the j4b database of business grants and loans — the most comprehensive database of its kind in the UK.

· BVCA http://www.bvca.co.uk/

This is the website for the British Venture Capital Association (BVCA) which has over 170 full members and contains a directory that enables users to search for a local member.

7. Bplans

Bplans.co.uk contains extensive business-planning resources and is also owned by Palo Alto Software, makers of Business Plan Pro 2006. There is an extensive back catalogue of articles, with new additions a regular occurrence. It also contains a number of free sample business plans, some calculators. and links to a range of appropriate resources.

Where: http://www.bplans.co.uk/

Cost: Free

8. Scavenger by Cobweb

Scavenger reports are essential reading material for anyone starting up a business in the UK. The Business Opportunity Profiles are reports on specific industries and are updated frequently. With over 800 reports in total, the range includes everything from ‘Children’s Day Nursery’ profiles to ‘Coffee Shop’ profiles to a profile on ‘Complementary Therapy’.

Where: http://www.scavenger.net

Cost: Individual reports cost around £5.

9. Sites with Demographic Data

There are also numerous resources you can use in assessing likely demand for your goods or services. Websites such as www.caci.co.uk/acorn and http://www.upmystreet.com/ provide extensive free demographic data about areas based on UK postcode searches. These enable you to build up profiles of the local population and are ideal when you are looking to set up a shop to serve the local community specifically. If you want to consider setting up overseas, then websites such as / give an excellent insight into various local conditions in advance of undertaking more detailed localised research.

Where: As above

Cost: Free


10. Your Local Library

Finally, libraries can be excellent resources, helping you access information from a host of disparate sources. They can be particularly useful for researching hard-to-access data relating to markets and potential suppliers.

The Business and IP Centre at the British Library is just one example of a new resource specifically created to support entrepreneurs in the UK. It enables users to access a range of databases including Amadeus, Economist Intelligence, Mintel, Datamonitor, One Source, LexisNexis, Dialog and the Complete Business Reference Adviser (COBRA).

Alternatively, your local library may stock one of Pearson’s excellent titles on starting a business and writing a business plan.

Summary and Conclusion

Writing a winning business plan can take time and effort. However, utilizing the above resources should make the job a lot easier and help you to gain a thorough understanding of the fundamentals that underpin every successful business. Good luck!

1. Introduction

In a world increasingly affected by globalisation, increased competitiveness and maturing products, the need for creativity and entrepreneurship has never been greater. Luckily, the attractions of becoming an entrepreneur have never been greater either, especially since a shift from a predominantly manufacturing- to a service-based economy has lowered the cost and barriers to entry for entrepreneurs. The British government has moved entrepreneurship (and support for it) to the top of their domestic agenda. Meanwhile, entrepreneurship has become a hot topic, with conferences, exhibitions, and even TV shows, such as “Risking it All” and “The Dragons’ Den” evidencing the popularity. But while the environmental conditions may be attractive, entrepreneurs still need a workable idea that is commercially viable. This article endeavours to assist wannabe entrepreneurs (wantrepreneurs) in coming up with ‘the plan’ so as to enable them to finally take the plunge into the world of entrepreneurship.

2. The Environment

Before deciding on ‘the idea’ it is worth assessing the landscape thoroughly so as to consider the broader context and the impact that trends or changes may have on it, i.e. whether it is future-proof, etc. There are three main trends to look at – global trends, national trends and local trends.

Keeping up to date with global developments via The Economist or the BBC will certainly give you a good base to start from. However, to gain a more in-depth understanding of global changes from a business opportunity perspective, websites such as Trendwatching (www.trendwatching.com) and Springwise (www.springwise.com) are very useful. In an increasingly homogeneous global economy, it is obvious that what works well in one market can easily transplant into other ones with the minimum of localisation. Between them, these sites give a more in-depth insight into some of the latest emergent business ideas and can be considered in tandem with macro trends affecting us all, like environmental challenges, the increasing cost of oil, volatile currencies, etc.

On a national level, there are a number of trends that we are all familiar with in the UK: increased ubiquity of broadband access, the fact that as a population we are aging, increased expected life spans, growth in the number of single-person households, and so on. The key with all of these trends is to focus on the opportunities associated with these demographic shifts and trends. For example, it is safe to predict that an aging population will increase the demand for certain goods and services, such as home-help services, medication, nursing, and glasses, and that the growth in single-person households will increase the demand for convenience food products and more economical white goods such as smaller fridges and washer/ dryer all in one’s.

On a local level, there are also numerous resources we can use in assessing the local environment and, in particular, the likely demand for our goods or services. Websites such as ACORN (www.caci.co.uk/acorn) and UpMyStreet (www.upmystreet.com) provide extensive free demographic data about areas based on UK postcodes. These enable you to build up profiles of the local population and are ideal when you are looking to set up a shop or service to serve the local community specifically. Of course when it comes to local opportunities, these need to be assessed in conjunction with plenty of ‘on-the-ground’ research: walking in and around the area targeted for the new enterprise.

3. The Options

The Big Idea

Whilst the majority of new businesses are replicas of existing businesses, some entrepreneurs will strive to create something completely unique. One of the most powerful things the Internet enables us to do is to search for solutions to problems more efficiently than ever before. Goods and services are designed to fulfill the needs of people. In other words, goods and services solve people’s problems; and while your proposed solution may be unique, it is likely the problem is not. Hence, an Internet search focusing on the problem your solution is trying to address is likely to highlight substitutes and competitors, which may all help to shape the nascent idea.

Using the Internet, you can often assess the potential demand for your service by gauging the number of people who search for a term related to the problem that your good or service satisfies. For example, our company, Palo Alto Software, produces business-planning software. One way people find us online is by searching for help for their problem: their need to write a “business plan”. Using the Key Word Assistant on Overture, we can find out how many times “business plan” and other related terms were searched for in the previous month.
This data can help us assess whether “business planning” is a significantly more popular term than “business plan”? If so, we might consider renaming our product “Business Planning Pro” instead of “Business Plan Pro”.

On another level, the phrase “dog grooming London” had only 81 searches in April 2006, according to the Overture search, so the U.S. affection for this service clearly hasn’t reached UK shores yet. Half of the searches were for dog grooming courses, so any thoughts of opening a new dog grooming shop in London would need some more clear-cut evidence of demand, given the preliminary findings of this rough and ready search. By analysing the search terms for your idea with these tools, you can assess potential market demand, get ideas for appropriate names for your good or service, and use the findings as one reference point in your analysis.

If the intention is to set up a local service, then familiarity with the local area will be as powerful a resource as any Internet search method. The lesson here is also that ‘entrepreneurs’ don’t necessarily have to be inventors, merely people who can spot opportunities to do something better or more cheaply than others, or provide a local version of a business run elsewhere. Having decided upon the good or service to be provided, a wantrapreneur must research the opportunity to ensure familiarity with some of the key issues. You can search for sample plans from similar ideas on www.bplans.co.uk or look at Business Opportunity Profiles from Cobweb at www.scavenger.net to help you understand your specific business. Savvy entrepreneurs will back up online research with face-to-face conversations with potential customers and other business owners. Finally, an extensive search of Google is recommended to ensure that your market research is as up to date as possible.

The ‘Bricks to Clicks’ Model

You can also do an analysis of incumbents in the various markets of your potential interest to see if there are inefficiencies or unnecessary costs in the process of getting the goods to the consumers. It is pretty obvious that the Internet has enabled a more efficient means to showcase product wares to a much larger audience (and also a more geographically dispersed one). It is also clear that more traditional retailers with high street stores carry a much higher cost burden. Providing you can configure your business accordingly, there are opportunities here to undercut the traditional behemoths. An online store can take the place of the high street store in many instances and offer the same good or service at a much more competitive price level. Glasses Direct (www.glassesdirect.com) is one such example, where the young British entrepreneur James Murray Wells decided to set up his own online optician as a direct response to the prohibitive cost he believed he paid for glasses while he was a student. Without the overheads of the likes of Specsavers, Glasses Direct is able to undercut the standard retail prices by significant margins while still being very profitable.

The growing rental market for DVDs, spearheaded by the likes of Amazon and ScreenSelect, is similarly targeting the long-standing high street players such as Blockbuster. They both recognise that ultimately, the consumer just wants to be able to choose a DVD and play it, and this can be facilitated without a costly store infrastructure. If you think something is bad value and you do some research regarding the industry structure, competition, distribution, product components and so on, you may stumble across a brand new idea for improving the overall offering by replacing the most costly elements, such as the overhead on a high street store.

Finally, a popular way to dip your toes into entrepreneurship is to set up an eBay shop. eBay even has a facility called ‘eBay pulse’ http://pulse.ebay.co.uk/ which can help you to assess the potential demand for any product by enabling you to see what the hot products selling on eBay are. No prizes for guessing that PlayStations, DVDs and iPods are amongst the most popular.

The Branch Out Strategy

While setting up in business always contains elements of risk, there are ways to reduce the levels of inherent risk. The most obvious one is to branch out into an area in which you have previously worked. For example, a Manchester-based nursery school teacher deciding to open her own nursery in Cheshire is a considerably less risky proposition than if she moved overseas to France to open up a boulangerie. Indeed, branching out is how many people start up. After spending a number of years in a particular industry or firm as an apprentice, they decide to go it alone. This is undoubtedly a sensible strategy, particularly as you are a subject matter expert who understands the market and you may have an existing base of clients who will follow you to your new company.





The Acquisition

Another option to consider is acquiring an existing business. The key here is to have a clear idea of the sorts of industries and geographic locations in which you want to work before you start. Sites such as those run by BusinessesforSale.com (http://uk.businessesforsale.com ) have a database of 1,000s of businesses that are for sale and that may be of interest. While not a low-cost method of going it alone, there are advantages in that the business will already be trading and there will be a record of how it is performing and whether there is room for improvement. One of the critical elements in this option is setting a value for the business. Valuations for a particular business can vary wildly and there is no generally agreed method for valuing a business objectively, although there are several standard calculations which are often used in conjunction. The key challenges are assessing the current cash-generation capability of the business, and realistically assessing its future capabilities. In short, acquiring a business is best left to the more sophisticated entrepreneur who has a team in situ looking for undervalued businesses with strong growth potential.

The Franchise

According to the British Franchise Association (http://www.thebfa.org/whatis.asp ), “Business format franchising is the granting of a licence by one person (the franchisor) to another (the franchisee), which entitles the franchisee to trade under the trade mark/trade name of the franchisor and to make use of an entire package, comprising all the elements necessary to establish a previously untrained person in the business and to run it with continual assistance on a predetermined basis.”

Franchising is an increasingly popular route to going it alone. As with the acquisition option, franchising requires that you have capital to invest and are looking to introduce an existing ‘winning formula’ into your own area. There are a number of franchise websites and magazines, such as whichfranchise.com (www.whichfranchise.com) which contain further details regarding the benefits of franchising. Again, once you have decided that franchising is something you want to pursue, you’ll need to decide in what industry you want to franchise. Past personal experiences and franchise coverage in your area should play a role in the decision.

The Add On

By observing successful products and growing trends it is also possible to piggyback on the successes of others at very low cost. As the saying goes, “success breeds success”. For example, when I searched for “iPod” on eBay (May 2006) I found in excess of 50,000 ‘solutions’. While the iPod has been a phenomenon in its own right, it has also resulted in major successes for the likes of Belkin, which creates cables, cases and chargers for the iPod, Bose, which produces speakers, and Griffin Technology, which produces iPod accessories such as the iTrip, an FM transmitter. In other words, one new product can create a whole raft of opportunities in ancillary products and services. Is there a new product that you can exploit with a complementary device that makes the whole experience of using the core product a better one?

Although the above examples may relate to larger companies, there are also thousands of smaller eBay-based companies benefiting from identifying the success of one item and offering all optional complements to enhance the user’s experience. Indeed, even eBay itself has been the target for one such company, iSold It (www.isolditonline.co.uk ). iSold It is a nationwide chain of eBay drop-off stores that makes it easy for anyone to sell their wares on eBay. The lesson is simple. Once something becomes successful, it is likely to spawn a myriad of resulting opportunities. The key is to identify them before anyone else does.

4. The Plan

Having decided upon the business you want to pursue, the next challenge is to create a business plan to exploit the opportunity you have identified. Creating the business plan is a very important part of the process as it forces you to consider the opportunity in a holistic manner. You need to give some thought to everything from sourcing raw materials, to competitor analysis, to pricing, to distribution. If you are replicating an existing business, the scale of research required is not as rigorous, as there will be some existing players which you can study. If completely pioneering an idea, your task will be more difficult, but the rewards will be potentially greater. Regardless, a plan will force you to do a thorough analysis of a range of issues and commit them to paper. There are extensive resources available at www.bplans.co.uk to aid you in the business planning process.






5. The Implementation

Finally, once the plan has been drafted, you must put it into action. Perhaps it will be used to secure funds, or communicate an idea more widely. Either way, to bring the idea to fruition, the plan must be turned into concrete actions. Create a small team with clearly defined roles, and undertake the less attractive components of starting up, such as legal obligations, red tape, etc. Again, help is at hand with websites such as www.startups.co.uk , www.bytestart.co.uk and start-up books from the likes of Pearson.

6. Conclusion

The path to entrepreneurship is varied, with a range of different options available to the ‘wantrepreneur’, all with different risk/return profiles. While never easy, entrepreneurship is rewarding and the Internet has reduced the risk of starting up even further. The key to a successful start-up is to prepare a robust business plan and get a solid team in place to put it into action. While the odds are stacked against all start-ups, you can improve your chances by carefully managing certain key areas. Cash flow is the life blood of any company, and all entrepreneurs must guard against the dangers of insolvency by careful forecasting and appropriate financing. A second, related area that is often the cause of failure is over-estimating demand for the new product or service. All forecasts predicting demand levels should be conservative with a capital ‘c’. That vital characteristic of all entrepreneurs, ‘excessive optimism’, needs to be reined in while revenue predictions are being discussed.

Starting a business is an incredibly exciting time for any entrepreneur; however it can also be stressful with so much to do in so little time. The start-up phase is also characterized by significant expenditures against a backdrop of uncertain income. However, there are a number of products and services that can help you maximize your chances of success while also saving you considerable time and money. This article aims to introduce you to some of the less obvious ones that are available via the Internet. These products and services can help you set your business on the right path from Day One. While these recommendations will not be appropriate for all, those who need to bootstrap and build their business the hard way will benefit the most.

1. Create a Website

Regardless of whether you intend to sell online or not, all new start-up businesses should secure a domain name and create a website as soon as they can. Thankfully, the cost of getting a site set up has fallen significantly over time and there are now a host of different packages and providers to choose from.

Where: Uni-Trader from www.unitechnology.co.uk

Cost: RRP from only £99.99

2. Download a Profile of Your Industry

The factsheets, reports and guides from Scavenger are essential reading material for anyone starting up a business in the UK. The Business Opportunity Profiles are downloadable reports on specific UK industries. With over 800 reports in total, the range includes everything from ‘Children’s Day Nursery’ profiles to ‘Coffee Shop’ profiles to a profile on ‘Wedding Planners’.

Where: www.scavenger.net

Cost: Individual reports cost around £5.

3. Set up Your Company Accounts

One of the big challenges start-up companies face is managing cash flow. Insolvency is one of the main causes of failure for entrepreneurs in the UK. However, with some careful and appropriate financial planning, cash crunches can be avoided. While this in itself is an important reason for buying a bookkeeping package, there are countless other reasons ranging from the ability to manage invoices through to managing payroll. The two main recommended introductory packages are QuickBooks® Simple Start from Intuit® and Sage® Instant Accounts. View online demos before you purchase.

Where: www.sage.co.uk and www.quickbooks.co.uk

Cost: From £43.97 at www.amazon.co.uk

4. Download Business Planning Software

When you start up it is important to write a business plan to ensure you adequately plan the future of your business. The very process of creating a plan is beneficial, not least because it forces you to take a holistic view of your company. Business Plan Pro® is the best-selling business-planning software available. It is easy to use, saves time, and has over 500 sample plans to get you started. It is also available via download so you can get instant access to it and hence pay no postage and packing.

Where: Business Plan Pro 2007 is available from www.paloalto.co.uk

Cost: RRP is only £99.99 for the Standard version and £159.99 for the Premier.

5. Save Costs on Your Phone

Using applications such as Skype together with a headset, it is now possible to make telephone calls from your computer at a very low cost. There is no need to commit to a monthly phone contract with line rental. Instead you can just pay as you go. You can also obtain a Skype number so people can call you back. However it is recommended that all start-up businesses do have at least one fixed line number they can be contacted on. Finally, you should also consider getting a portable number that is easy to transfer if you move offices.

Where: www.skype.co.uk

Cost: Free

6. Protect Your Computer

Once you connect to the Internet, it is important to ensure you have adequate protection in the form of anti-virus software. Many computers these days come with anti-virus software installed already. If not, you should consider downloading Ad-Aware from Lavasoft and AVG anti-virus from GRISOFT. These products are either free or reasonably priced, and are very effective. Finally, it is also recommended that you backup your data to an external hard drive such as those manufactured by Maxtor.

Where: www.lavasoft.com , www.grisoft.com and www.maxtor.com

Cost: Free (Maxtor cost dependent on GB size)

7. Explore Google

Google is famous for being the world’s favourite search engine. Additionally, there are a growing number of online applications owned or developed by Google that are ideal aids when setting up a new business. Google AdWords are the little adverts you see alongside search returns when you search in Google. These are a great way to attract customers at a low cost. Google Desktop enables you to search all the files and folders on your computer so you can track down any stored information at the click of a button. Both are very useful applications in helping you to market your business and to manage your internal data.

Where: www.google.co.uk

Cost: Free (AdWord prices vary)

8. Open an Instant Messaging Account

Along with email, Instant Messaging has proven to be one of the most used online applications for Internet users. By opening a messaging account, you are adding an extra communication tool to your portfolio and it ensures you can communicate effectively with colleagues and customers. If you want to offer an IM service to your customers, you can add applications such as LivePerson to your website.

Where: www.yahoo.co.uk , www.msn.co.uk , www.liveperson

Cost: Free for IM, LivePerson comes at a cost per seat.

9. Open an Account with an Online Fax Company

Harnessing the power of the Internet means you do not have to invest in hardware, such as a fax machine, that you may use infrequently. Instead, you can open an account with an online fax service so you can send and receive faxes directly from your computer.

Where: www.j2.com

Cost: From £8.50 per month and 12p a fax

10. Try Online Word Processing

Everyone is familiar with Microsoft Office®. However, if you need MS Office but can’t afford it, then there are a number of alternatives to consider. Star Office™ from Sun Microsystems is available for a fraction of the cost of MS Office but is just as powerful. Google Docs & Spreadsheets is a web-based word processing and spreadsheet programme that keeps documents current and lets the people you choose update files from their own computers. Finally Zoho Virtual Office provides an integrated online suite of collaboration tools including Email, Calendars, Documents, Tasks, Notes, Contacts and Groups.

Where: www.sun.com , www.zoho.com , www.google.com

Cost: Free or reasonably priced.

Summary and Conclusion
Starting up a business is never easy given the wide range of ‘things’ that need to get done and the costs that have to be paid out before you start. However, the Internet has helped bring down the cost of starting up and has also made it easier to set up, thereby providing the entrepreneur with access to a wide range of different products, services and market research from the comfort of their desks.

Do you run a business but believe that a business plan is just for starting up? Or are you one of those people who believe they just don’t have the time to plan? Well, I have news for you. Business planning is not just for start-ups; it is an essential element of running any successful business, particularly given the growing uncertainty we face and the unyielding shifts in consumer behaviour.
If you think time is the problem, think again and make time to plan. One of the key benefits of planning is that it helps you understand what you need to prioritise.
A business plan is not just a document. It is a holistic analysis of your company, the environment it operates in, and a route map to achieving success based on the resources available. Unfortunately, the image most of us have is of a 30-page bound document. The focus is on the output when the real value in a business plan is the business-planning process itself.

The following list represents some of the key benefits of planning:

1. To plan for an uncertain future
Business planning is vital to help you manage your business more effectively. By committing your thoughts to a plan, you can understand your business better and also chart specific courses of action that need to be taken to improve your business. A plan can also detail alternative future scenarios, set specific objectives and goals, and list the resources required to achieve these goals. In short, it can help ensure that you are prepared for all sorts of eventualities.

2. To help grow your business
In an ideal world, all businesses would be self-financing in exploiting business opportunities. In reality, few are afforded this luxury, and hence, will be required to secure external investment. The production of a credible business plan is one of the primary requirements for any entrepreneur seeking investment to grow.

3. To commit to a particular course of action
A business plan can help a company assess future opportunities, choose one, and then commit to a particular course of action. By committing to one opportunity, all other options are effectively marginalised and the company is aligned to focus on key deliverables.

4. To manage cash flow
Careful management of cash flow is a fundamental requirement for all businesses. The reason is quite simple—many businesses fail, not because they are unprofitable, but because they ultimately become insolvent (i.e., are unable to pay their debts as they fall due).

5. To value a business
Given that valuing firms is notoriously difficult and subjective, a well-written plan will clearly highlight the opportunity for any prospective investors, explain the value of the business, and increase the likelihood of a successful exit by the current owner.

6. To ensure all areas are covered
When you start a new business, the temptation is to spend time on the idea and then react to events as they come up rather than focusing on what is important. The very creation of a business plan ensures that you cover all the various bases you need to when taking an idea from conception through to launch.

As you’ll have garnered from the above, business planning is an essential activity, regardless of the stage of business you’re at. The very process of producing a business plan enables management to give due consideration to the various factors that mesh together to create the opportunity they are seeking to explore, as well as the resources required and the key drivers needed for success.

Alan Gleeson is the Managing Director of Palo Alto Software Ltd, creators of Business Plan Pro® 2007. He holds an MBA from Oxford University and an MSc from University College, Cork, Ireland.

Here We will Dicuess abot "How to Write an Effective Marketing Plan"

A marketing plan is a core component of a business plan. It relates specifically to the marketing of a particular product or service and it describes:

o An overall marketing objective
o A broad marketing strategy
o The tactical detail related to specific marketing activities
o The various costs associated with these activities
o Those tasked with delivering these activities by name

The starting point for any marketing plan is an analysis of the strategic context, as a typical objective for most plans is promoting a good or service as effectively as possible. An assessment of the company, its environment and its customers helps to ensure that the author of the plan obtains a holistic view of the wider context. In turn this helps them to focus their energies and resources accordingly. This is particularly important given that most marketing managers will be subject to that all-too-familiar constraint—limited resources (invariably financial). In effect, a marketing plan is produced to ensure that limited resources are allocated to activities that are likely to bring the maximum return.

An assessment of the context will include analysis of both internal and external factors. There are a number of frameworks and tools designed to assist you with this:

o A SWOT analysis forces you to consider internal Strengths and Weaknesses alongside external Opportunities and Threats.

o Porter’s Five Forces is a framework designed to assist you in considering the broader competitive and environmental context.

It is also vital that you have a thorough understanding of your customers; look to whether segments exist within your broad customer group that can be profitably served utilizing specific and targeted marketing activities.
Following an analysis of broader conditions, a marketing strategy can then be put in place. This strategy needs to include financials so that all activities can be assessed in the context of their cost as a portion of the overall marketing budget. Regardless of the product or service, the objectives tend to be similar for most managers; create awareness, stimulate interest in the offering, and ultimately (profitably) convert this awareness into sales. All these factors are intertwined and, hence, the importance of effective market planning.

Using a local restaurant as an example, their marketing activities are going to be predominantly concentrated within a two to three mile radius of their restaurant, as this area is where the vast majority of their customers are likely to come from. Tactically, there is no point in such a restaurant advertising on TV (even locally) as the cost would be prohibitive in the context of their business model. They are limited in terms of capacity (number of seats) and their average cost per head so that, even if they created huge awareness and interest via TV advertising, the resultant revenues would still be unlikely to cover the cost of the specific marketing activity. On the other hand, stuffing leaflets through local letterboxes is extremely targeted and comes at low relative cost, which explains the sheer volume of fast-food flyers most of us get on a daily basis.

The reader of the plan should clearly be able to relate to the marketing initiatives in terms of the message, the target audience and the means to accessing this audience. A good marketing plan will detail specifics, i.e., a number of marketing activities, their respective costs, and the expected return on investment. Measuring return on marketing has historically been one of the greatest challenges the industry has faced. The advent of PPC (pay-per-click) advertising via the Internet has finally resulted in managers being able to track sales resulting from specific campaigns and adverts. However, this is just one means of advertising, and calculating effective ROI (return on investment) figures for other forms, such as billboards and TV, remains as elusive as ever.

In summary, a marketing plan should enable marketing managers to document their assessment of the opportunity in terms of effective allocation of limited resources. While most managers would love the luxury of a seven-figure marketing budget to spend on every conceivable advertising medium, the reality is that most need to market effectively on a pittance. A marketing plan assesses the most efficient means to attract potential customers and ultimately convert them to sales. Without a plan, a business is essentially rudderless and marketing activities are more likely to be reactive and, hence, considerably less effective.

Alan Gleeson is the Managing Director of Palo Alto Software, Ltd, creators of Marketing Plan Pro®. He holds an MBA from Oxford University and is a graduate of University College, Cork, Ireland. For further information on marketing plans visit www.paloalto.co.uk

After a business plan has been written, the next stage often involves pitching the plan to prospective investors. This very fact means that the plan authors and management team should be one and the same and that ‘outsourcing’ the business plan writing process should not be considered. It is not just the content of the business plan that is being scrutinised. The capabilities of the management team are also on show and hence their ability to deliver a presentation in a clear, concise and convincing manner are vital to the overall objective - that of convincing an investor to invest in the business. These prospective investors are not investing in a physical document but in an idea and in those proposing to deliver the idea.

The following is a list of tips to maximise your chances of success when pitching to investors.

1. Know your audience

All presenters are taught about the importance of knowing their audience and engaging with them on a personal level where possible. The Internet has enabled us to research more effectively than we were able to in previous years, so it is important to use this resource to our advantage. Investors have a range of asset classes to choose from as they decide on the composition of their investment portfolio. Hence it is necessary to understand the backgrounds of the prospective investors and their motivations prior to presenting. Once you have done extensive research on the investors it is then possible to tailor the pitch accordingly.

2. Tell a Story

One of the most effective ways to pitch is to place the investment opportunity in the context of a story. Ideally, the story will focus on a problem encountered and the fact that the new idea being pitched solves this particular problem. If the investors can relate to the problem, they are more likely to invest in your business. After that they will be assessing how many people are affected by ‘the problem’ and whether the proposed idea satisfactorily resolves the problem. Finally, if they believe that the idea can solve the problem profitably and it is defensible (via patents, trade marks, etc.) it is likely they will be interested in investing.

3. Prepare to win

Pitching to an investor is not a last-minute afterthought – it is the culmination of weeks, if not months, of planning. All too often, entrepreneurs do not plan accordingly and then find that the preparation of their business pitch suffers. Preparation for the pitch should commence as soon as the business plan process commences. For many investors, the executive summary of the business plan is what opens the door for a presentation, and the full business plan may only be read after a successful presentation has been delivered.

4. Pay strict attention to the detail

Your typical investor will have a good eye for detail and hence the plan and its pitch need to be mutually reinforcing and containing no inherent contradictions. From the outset, there should be one owner of the process who can oversee all preparations and is ultimately responsible for the content. This is particularly important if a number of disparate contributors have worked on the plan and where the pitch consists of numerous participants.

5. Avoid death by PowerPoint®

While the average plan is produced in Microsoft® Word and Excel, PowerPoint tends to be the tool of choice for presentations. While it undoubtedly has advantages in terms of aesthetics, it can be misused when utilised at the pitch stage. The number of slides should be kept to the bare minimum, the content must be rigorously analysed to ensure relevance and clarity and time must be managed carefully. It is recommended each investor receives a slide deck, which contains more detail than the presentation itself (with Appendices used extensively). Finally, it is important to manage the subsequent Q&A process carefully as this is the stage where the investor gets to request information about details that they require to convince them that the proposal is indeed worthy of their investment.

6. Get the numbers right

Investors tend to be very focused on numbers, so all facts must be accurate. The numbers should be realistic and defensible and at least one of those pitching the plan needs to be prepared for in-depth questions relating to the projected financials. While it is easy to couch ‘the opportunity’ in technical terms, future growth projections, supporting demographic trends, etc., investors will focus on hard evidence. So if you have been trading, they’ll want to know turnover/sales figures, break-even points, gross and net margins (profits), and so on. These are indisputable facts and evidence that enable them to accurately assess the risk. If performance has been poor, the presenter will need to articulate clearly why this has been the case and also elaborate on why investment will solve the performance gap. If on the other hand you have not been trading, the risk increases considerably and there is likely to be a significant focus on supporting evidence to justify demand predictions. Remember that investors have options – it is a competition, so you need to sell your idea as the best option for their investment.

7. Practise the Presentation

It is clear that many entrepreneurs have not practised their pitches before impartial observers prior to pitching. This dry run should be arranged well in advance of the presentation date with a panel of critics who have a carte blanche to critique the plan and pitch. One attractive alternative to this is to submit an entry to the growing number of business plan competitions. These contests afford entrants a low-cost opportunity to “stress test” their plans in a very realistic role play. Such competitions test a wide range of skills that are often neglected in the day-to-day tasks of entrepreneurs, who are focused on bringing their idea to fruition. By producing a credible business plan and presenting your case persuasively, you will significantly enhance your ability to secure funding.

8. Excite them

Entrepreneurs pitch to investors to sell them an idea. There must be something unique about the idea, and it must be pitched with conviction, so as to grab the attention of investors who deal with hundreds of business plans every month. This was summed up by former Dragons’ Den investor Simon Woodroffe in a BBC2 show, when he said,

“You gotta make me feel like I’m going to miss out”.

Why would the investor be better off investing in your business rather than leaving money in a bank account, shares or investing in another business? If you are seeking investment in your business, it is important to clearly describe the investment opportunity - and also to sell it.

9. Learn the lessons

Do not get too downhearted if a pitch is unsuccessful. The investors are likely to give clear reasons for their lack of interest, and this feedback must be considered carefully as it may shape improvements in subsequent pitches. The presenter should segment the various feedback points into groups – is the issue or concern with the idea, the equity share on offer, the management team, etc. Most entrepreneurs need to pitch to a number of investors before securing an investment. If you can line up a number of pitches, remember not to organise the most attractive investor up front as there are likely to be significant improvements in the pitch after it has undergone a number of presentations.

10. Remember the purpose of the pitch

Finally, while the emphasis may well be on an idea, it is important to remember that the pitch has a very specific purpose. This must not get lost in all the details. If the purpose is to secure funding, the presenter needs to ask questions after the presentation to ensure the audience has gained sufficient information with which to make a decision. If an offer is made, the presenter must have a full grasp on whether it meets his requirements, and options if not. So as to maintain credibility, the presenter needs to consider all the various eventualities before undertaking the pitch so that the pitch does not go flat at the end when the issues of substance need to be agreed.

Alan Gleeson is the Managing Director of Palo Alto Software Ltd, creators of Business Plan Pro®. He holds an MBA from Oxford University and is a graduate of University College, Cork, Ireland. For further information on business plans visit www.paloalto.co.uk and www.bplans.co.uk