When someone thinks they want to make a break from, their familiar work pattern and say branch out on their own, it is truly daunting. Once the initial excitement is over and the planning starts, the realisation that it’s not a game suddenly crashes in. If banking assistance is to be sought, they all have a clearly defined set of rules that have to be considered before they can consider your ideas and needs. The very first point will be your business plan – do you have one. It doesn’t need to be pages long or anything elaborate. Just by asking yourself some basic questions will point you in the right direction. For example, what are the start up and ongoing cvosts likely to be for the first 12 months; are you in a position to be out of pocket for a little while as you build up the business; do you have any money set aside of your own or are you expecting to get finance from the start; how much are you charging for your product or services and have you costed them honestly and effectively; how much money does the business need to make from week to week or month to month to cover personal and business costs.
This business plan should be flexible but truthful in all aspects before a bank will consider helping.
