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Start Your Own Business Guide Moving on Programme S tart-up Contents Page Introduction 3 1 The Right Idea 4 2 Laying the Foundations 13 3 Up & Running 23 Appendices Sample Market Research Questionnaire 28 Advice on Completing the Business Plan Worksheet 29 Business Plan Worksheet Landscape Gardener Example 30 Business Plan Worksheet 32 Advice on Completing Projected Profit & Loss Account 34 Projected Profit & Loss Account 36 Advice on Completing Cashflow Forecast 38 Cashflow Forecast 39 Advice on Completing Projected Balance Sheet 40 Projected Balance Sheet 42 Help! 43 1 2 S tart-up Introduction This booklet has been produced by your going into business and it will help you local Enterprise Board as an aid to those produce your own business plan. You are people who are trying to set up in welcome to work through the booklet on business. As the title suggests a business your own, but you can always approach has to be built and just like a house there is your local Enterprise Board for help at any a need for a firm foundation. The firm stage. The contact details of the Board and foundation for your business should be a of many other organisations which may be solid business plan supported by good of assistance to you are at the back of this business advice. booklet. It is up to you to ask for help and you will find that help is readily available. This booklet will help you think through all the areas you need to consider before Good luck with your business. 3 1 The Right Idea Whether you are building a house or Interviewing potential setting up in business, the first step is to get the design right. There is little point customers building a house if you leave out the Whichever way you choose you should kitchen or bathroom or forget to look for design a short questionnaire for use in planning permission. Similarly, there is no your research. A sample is attached at the point setting up a business for which there back of this publication but here are some practical tips to help you: are no customers. The success of your business, just like the success of your G Think very carefully about what you house, will depend on a number of factors, want to find out. which will be covered in this guide. The G Keep the number of questions short. first of these is making sure your idea is right; right for finding customers, right for G Use simple language. making profits and right for you as a G Ask questions which encourage people person. to give straight and direct answers. G Try to put easy questions at the start. Finding Customers G Leave any sensitive questions, such as money spent or personal details, to the end of the questionnaire. The best way to establish customer needs is to ask your potential customers. G Especially if you are doing a postal Different ways to do this are set out on the survey, pilot or test your questionnaire next page with their advantages and design before spending lots of money drawbacks. on printing a questionnaire which does not give you the information you need. To find customers you need to do market Also, get someone else to check any research; you must find out who your printed material for spelling or customers are, what your customer needs grammatical mistakes; you never get a are, the size of your market and details of second chance to make a first your competition. impression. Needs are sometimes not completely G Take a look at any questionnaires you obvious. For example, people buy may have received or seen elsewhere. landscaping services to keep the grass If you do not want to use a full down but they might also want to add questionnaire, it is a good idea to have a value to their house, to save time, to list of questions you want to ask before impress the neighbours or to reduce hassle you go out to talk to people. It is also at home. When you know your customers' important to record all the information needs you can design your product or people give you. service to meet those needs. Consider how many potential customers you will interview. You need to contact enough to give you confidence in the Learning from others … Identifying your results of the research. As a rough guide, if customers' real needs you are going to do something like supply builders with steelwork you should aim to Based in Dunshaughlin, Co Meath, Shomera make talk to at least 20 builders; if you are high-quality permanent extra rooms to fit in your garden. They found that people buy extra space but planning a new hairdressing salon you the real needs they have are to save time and stress might talk to at least 100 potential by using the room as an office rather than travelling to customers. Do not just interview friends work. and neighbours; they will be anxious to help you and so may say what they think you want to hear rather than give you 4 S tart-up WAYS TO RESEARCH ADVANTAGES DRAWBACKS Talking face-to-face to people; G You are in complete control. G Can take quite some time this can be in the street, door- G You can "see" reactions as and therefore can be to- door, at exhibitions or well as hear them and you expensive. trade shows, on business can respond to people during G Not everyone will be premises or in small groups. the interview. prepared to talk to you. G There is less chance of G People can say what they misunderstanding what think you want to hear. people are saying. G Not all of us are good at asking questions. Talking to people on the G Can be quite fast; you can G You may not like using the telephone. contact a lot of people in a telephone. short time. G Not everyone will agree to G Inexpensive. speak to you and it is very G You can "target" people easy to say no on the easier by choosing those you telephone. want to talk to. G It might be difficult to get G If you listen well, you can through to the decision- answer people during the maker, especially in larger interview. businesses or public bodies. G You cannot see the person you are talking to and you may not be able to establish a relationship. G It can be difficult to pick the right time to talk to people. Carrying out a postal G Can be quite fast; you can G It is very difficult to design questionnaire contact a lot of people in a questionnaires properly. short time. G The number of replies from G You can estimate your costs postal surveys is usually exactly. very low. G There is at least a chance G People are used to high people will keep or pass on quality mailings so you may your material and you might have to spend a good bit of get business at some time money to get your from it. presentation right. G People can see your G It can be difficult and document and take time to expensive to get accurate read it. lists of people to contact. Using published material to EXAMPLE: research your market People spend €2 a week on shoes. There are 3,700 people in Donegal Town and so, by Estimating the size of the market can multiplying the two figures together, we see the sometimes be done by using published market for shoes in Donegal Town is €7,400 per material. week. This includes Government statistics and published market research reports. For example, the Census will tell you how Published material can also include trade many people there are in a town or village. magazines, newsletters and newspapers. It can include reports from different bodies If you were planning to open a shoe shop both government and private sector. The you could easily get the numbers of people best place to look for material like this is in the area of your shop. You could then your local library and much of it will also use the Household Budget Survey to find now be found on the Internet. Don't forget out how much people generally spend on the competition, however! You'll find their shoes and multiply the two figures details in the Golden Pages. You can access together to get an estimate of the market. it through the County Enterprise Board. 5 Checking out the made based on price. People also buy because of the quality of the product, competition the ease of purchase, the reputation of the seller for after-sales service, the Checking out the competition can be done availability of the product or service in a number of ways: and the packaging. Estimating your sales G Get copies of their printed material; brochures, leaflets, catalogues. G Look at their advertisements. The results of your market research should allow you to estimate the sales you expect G Ask other people, including to achieve. customers, their suppliers and people in the trade, what they think of them. You can do this by: G Especially if they are retailers, G Taking the estimated full size of your wholesalers or service businesses visit market. their premises at least two or three times, preferably on different days; G Dividing this amount by the number of check out what they sell, how they competitors you have plus yourself. promote it, what prices they charge, G Multiplying that amount by the how their staff handle customers, how average price per sale. the place is laid out and kept. Pretend to be a prospective customer or, if you G Multiplying that amount by the total are not comfortable doing this, get number of times a customer buys in a someone you trust to do it for you. year. Checklist One below contains a worked example and there is then a G Check their website, if they have one. blank checklist for you to complete for G Go to trade shows and exhibitions your business. they attend. G Think about what you can do to compete. Not all buying decisions are Checklist One: Researching the Market (Example of a Landscape Gardener) Who exactly do you hope to sell to? EXAMPLE: My customers will be house owners and other property owners, such as public bodies, hotels and factories. What are your customers' needs? EXAMPLE: My customers need to maintain the ground around their property in a neat and tidy condition. Home-owners need to save time and to maintain the value of their property. Where are you aiming to sell? EXAMPLE: I plan to sell throughout (specify your market area). What is the size of your market in the area in which you plan to operate? EXAMPLE: I estimate there are 8,230 households in my target area, 4 public bodies, 12 hotels and 23 factories. (Source: 1996 Census and local knowledge.) 6 S tart-up How much do customers usually pay for your product or service? EXAMPLE: What my customers will pay depends on the size of their area. For an average house I estimate a customer would pay €25 to have the grass cut; other customers would pay a daily rate which I estimate to be €200. (Source: own market research.) Where do your customers usually buy? EXAMPLE: Customers buy in a number of ways; households buy through Golden Pages or through advertisements in the local press or shop windows or through recommendations from other people. Hotels buy as a result of direct approaches and public bodies buy as a result of a tendering process, which is usually advertised in the press. When/how often do your customers usually buy? EXAMPLE: Householders buy usually from March until October; hotels and public bodies buy during the same season but also buy during winter if they need major cleaning-up work or planting done. Householders have their lawns cut around 10 times a year; hotels and public bodies use landscape gardeners about 20 times a year. (Source: own market research.) Name your competitors and indicate what they do well or do badly: Competitor name Do well Do badly Jimmy Boyle Landscapes Good range of equipment Very unreliable; breaks Good reputation for tidiness. promises. McDaid Landscape Services Very reliable. Only works locally. Individual service. Hughie Magee Excellent at tree surgery Not interested in grass and planting. cutting generally. Reputation for being expensive. What will you do to compete? EXAMPLE: I intend to travel all over the area, to get a reputation for reliability and to specialise in grass-cutting. What will be your estimated level of sales? EXAMPLE: I estimate there are 8,230 households in my area. 6,000 of these have gardens and 1,200 of these use landscape contractors. There are 3 other competitors plus myself so I estimate I could get 200 households. I estimate each household will buy 10 cuts a year so at an average of €25 per cut that gives a total of €250 per household and multiplied by 200 households gives a total income of €50,000. So far as public bodies, hotels and factories are concerned I estimate there are 500 days' work a year between them all. Dividing that between four firms gives an average of 125 days each but as I am just starting I estimate I will only get 75 days in my first year and at a charge of €200 per day this gives a total sales income of €15,000. My total sales, therefore, will be €65,000 in my first year. 7 Checklist One: Researching the Market Who exactly do you hope to sell to? What are your customers' needs? Where are you aiming to sell? What is the size of your market in the area in which you plan to operate? How much do customers usually pay for your product or service? Where do your customers usually buy? When/how often do your customers usually buy? Name your competitors and indicate what they do well or do badly: Competitor name Do well Do badly What will you do to compete? What will be your level of sales? 8 S tart-up Making Profit However, you can only charge a price that customers are prepared to pay. There is You should ideally enjoy business but the more about setting your price in the key aim of business is to make profits; no section below on marketing. profit, no business. To ensure you make a profit, identify all The way to make money is to charge prices your costs as accurately as possible. Use which not only cover your costs but also Checklist Two to estimate your costs for a make a profit. year. Checklist Two: Estimating Your Costs (EXAMPLE, LANDSCAPE GARDENER) YOUR OWN BUSINESS Cost item Cost in Cost item Cost in Staff costs: Staff costs: Wages (one part-time worker) 10,000 Wages PRSI 850 PRSI Materials/goods for 1,000 Materials/goods for resale re-sale (seed, etc.) Rent (shed) 1,000 Rent Heat and light 500 Heat and light Electricity 500 Electricity Postage 100 Postage Telephone/email/mobile 800 Telephone/email/mobile Stationery 100 Stationery Website development & 2,500 Website development & hosting costs hosting costs Transport costs: Transport costs: Fuel 4,500 Fuel Servicing 1,000 Servicing Insurance/Vehicle Tax 2,000 Insurance/Vehicle Tax Hire Purchase/loan repayments 3,600 Hire Purchase/loan repayments Insurance: Insurance: Public liability 1,000 Public liability Employer's liability 1,000 Employer's liability Advertising 2,000 Advertising Audit/Accountant 1,000 Audit/Accountant Sundries 1,200 Sundries Total costs 34,650 Total costs On this basis, the business will have to sell paid and some people starting in business around €666 every week just to cover do not take any wages for a period to costs. Anything missing from the allow the business to build up some checklist? Yes, your own costs. You set capital, but you may not be able to afford your own wages and so you decide what to do this. The best way is to use Checklist you should take from the business as a Three to estimate what amount you need wage each week or month. Remember, in a to live. business you may be the last person to be 9 Checklist Three: Your Personal Budget for a Month Cost item Cost in Mortgage or rent Electricity Heating Insurance: Buildings Contents Life VHI Clothing: Self Partner Children Car costs: Fuel Servicing Insurance/Vehicle Tax Personal pension costs Groceries Holidays, Christmas, etc. Entertainment School fees Donations Personal loans, credit cards, etc. Sundries Total You will need to decide whether the estimates their sales so, as a general rule, amount you calculated above can be be cautious in setting sales targets and be earned in your business. If it cannot, you very realistic when setting your costs. will have to look at what savings you can You need to know that your business will make in your personal expenses. make you not only enough money to live Whatever you actually take from the on but also enough money to put back into business in cash, you must include a the business so it can survive. Remember, reasonable amount in your costings. the van or machinery in the business will Otherwise, you are just subsidising your not last forever and you will have to customer. replace them sometime. This is taken care of usually by building You must consider if the total amount of into your costings what is called your wages can be recovered through the "depreciation". This can be explained in business in the year; that can only be done more detail by your accountant or by looking at your estimated sales. business adviser. Practically everyone setting up in business It is not unusual for a business in its first under-estimates their costs and over- year to make a loss as it can take some time 10 S tart-up to get established but you obviously G Will you enjoy the work? There is cannot go on making losses forever. nothing worse than doing something you detest. Learning from others … You can set G Will the business fit with your family a range of prices circumstances? In almost every new business you will have to work longer Patricia Harrington in Boyle, Co hours than you would work if you Roscommon, offers a wide range of were to be employed by someone else beauty treatments – for some products she has a minimum charge and then but in some businesses you will have prices rise depending on the amount of to work really irregular and long time a customer wants. For other hours. Will this impact on your family products, there are fixed charges. and will they support you? G How do you handle pressure, commitment and stress? Being your own boss can be lonely at times. It can be full of ups and downs and you are responsible for everything. The Right Business For You? G Are you a people person? To succeed in business you need to be able to get on well with all kinds of people. You are the only person who can answer this question so think of the following G Have you the total commitment points and get someone who knows you needed to make the business work? well to talk to you about your answers: G Can you cope with taking calculated G Does the business fit with your own risks? personal goals – what you really want out of life? G Have you the self-confidence needed to set up a business? G Have you the skills to make the business work – not just the skills to G What do your family and friends make the product or deliver the think? They know you best of all. service but also the management and Use Checklist Four and the tool overleaf other skills needed to make a business to help you decide if this is the right grow? If you haven't all the skills, is business for you. there any way you can make up for the gaps? Checklist Four: The Right Business Question Yes No This business will help me get what I really want from life I have the skills to make this business work If I lack any skills I can either learn them or employ someone with the skills I think I will enjoy the work My family and friends are in favour of what I am doing and will support me I believe I can handle the pressures of being my own boss I get on well with all kinds of people 11 A SWOT analysis G Difficulties in recruiting good staff. It would be useful to prepare what is G Your location. called a SWOT analysis of your business, where S stands for Strengths, W for Examples of opportunities might be: Weaknesses, O for Opportunities and T for Threats. G Expand your customer base to new areas. Examples of strengths might be: G Develop new products or services. G Your location. G Open a new location. G The quality of your goods. G Your reputation for reliability. Examples of threats might be: Examples of weaknesses might be: G Loss of key staff. G Too much competition. G New competition. G Your lack of finance. G Changes in people's tastes. Exercise: Use the box below to prepare a SWOT analysis for your business: Strengths: Weaknesses: Opportunities: Threats: 12 S tart-up 2 Laying the Foundations You have decided the business idea is right your home. so what do you have to do next? G Some people setting up in business want to own their own premises. That can be a good idea, but money tied up Choosing Premises in bricks and mortar is money which cannot be used in the business. There You will need a base from which to is not much point in having a lovely operate the business. The nature of that building if you cannot pay your bills. base depends on your business; if you are G Get the best premises you can afford, going to retail you will need a shop, if you especially if you are retailing. are going to manufacture you will need a workshop, if you are going to provide a G Some landlords will allow a rent-free service you may need an office and/or a period if you are making workshop or store. In retailing it is often improvements to their building. said the three things which decide the success of a business are location, location G Get premises which are big enough to and location. allow for some expansion. There are some points which almost make G If you are asked to sign a lease, get the decision for you about where to locate: professional advice from a solicitor; Do you expect your customers to come to you may think you understand your you? If you do, then the easier you are to find and to reach the better. If not, then the Learning from others … Your premises time it will take you to get to your needs can change as your business grows customers is the deciding factor, bearing in P.J. Boner & Co. in Clondalkin specialise in mind that time is money when you are a industrial instrumentation and started with 3 small business and there is always the cost employees in a small living room. of travel. In a few years a 2,000 sq. ft. factory was purchased and then in 1999 the company Some other pointers around premises: moved into a high-tech factory unit almost 3 G Apart from staff, premises costs will times the size of the first workshop. In the probably be your biggest costs so same year the company opened an office in Derry to provide a better service to customers choose wisely. in Northern Ireland and the North West. G You may well be able to work from home, but check the planning situation and be sure you won't have lease but it is worth getting advice objections from the neighbours. Think from a professional. also about the effects on your home Use Checklist Five below to help you life of combining your business with think about premises, especially if you 13 Checklist Five: Choosing Premises Questions Yes No Action Needed Does the location of the premises suit the business? Do you have planning permission for what you want to use the premises for? Is there adequate parking nearby? Are all mains services available, i.e., water, electricity (Three Phase if you need it), sewerage? Is there room for modest expansion? Are there any health and safety issues to be concerned about? (For example, do you need a fire escape?) Do the premises comply with disability legislation? Are there adequate toilet and canteen facilities? Will you have enough storage space? Do you have or can you erect adequate signage? Is the rent reasonable in comparison with other similar premises? Will you have to pay a service charge, e.g., to cover cleaning or lighting of common areas, in addition to any rent? Do you know exactly what you are responsible for and what the landlord is responsible for, e.g., who maintains the outside of the building, who insures the building? Do you have access to the premises on a 24 hours, 7 days a week basis? Are the premises accessible for customers and staff? Have you got proper professional advice? Taking on staff Many new businesses employ family members, partly to keep costs down but You may also need staff but try not to also because they feel more comfortable employ any staff until you absolutely have working with someone they know. There to. are good and bad points in this Moving from being a one-person business arrangement. Family members are less to a business employing even one worker likely to be dishonest or unreliable and does not automatically mean your they may work harder. However, how do earnings will double. you discipline or sack a close member of In the early stages of employing someone, your family? It is often best to keep you will spend time instructing and personal and work relationships separate. supervising the new worker, time which you then cannot use to earn money or Use Checklist Six on the next page to help make sales yourself. you think about taking on staff. 14 S tart-up Checklist Six: Taking on Staff Questions Yes No Action Needed Have you written down exactly what the new worker will do? Does this require a full-time or a part-time post? Might there be advantages in having two part-time workers rather than one full-time worker? Have you written down what experience, skills and knowledge you expect the new worker to have? Have you thought about how you will recruit and select a new worker? Are you good at interviewing? If not, who can help you? Have you approached FÁS or the Local Employment Service for help? Have you checked out the wages that someone in this post might expect? Have you considered the practical issues, such as where the new worker will sit/work and what training/tools/equipment they will need? Have you thought about a contract of employment? Are you aware of the rates of PRSI you will have to apply? Have you checked out employer's liability insurance and what it will cost? Choosing Equipment, Keep records and receipts for all the money you spend on equipment, tools and Tools & Raw Materials raw materials. If you need equipment or tools, think seriously about buying second-hand. Newspapers often advertise auctions for machinery and fixtures and fittings for Making Contacts sale. Use the Internet to source suppliers if Business success is know how plus know you prefer to buy new. If you are buying who. new equipment, you should consider registering for VAT, so you can claim back Having a good range of contacts and using the VAT. those contacts to help your business is If you need raw materials or goods for re- called "networking". sale, try to open trade or credit accounts with a number of suppliers, so you can The most successful business owners are buy at wholesale prices. Because you are a the best networkers so, from day one, keep new business, it may be a while before you a record of all the contacts you make. Your will be allowed credit. You will probably network can be the most important be asked for references before credit is resource you have. granted, but buying at wholesale prices makes a huge difference to your costs. Of Use Checklist Seven on the next page to course, if you are paying cash, negotiate see just how big your network is and who for discounts. might be of particular use to you. 15 Checklist Seven: Your Network People How They Might Help Me Family 1 2 3 4 5 Friends 1 2 3 4 5 Neighbours 1 2 3 4 5 Workmates, Past & Present 1 2 3 4 5 Past Employers 1 2 3 Former Teachers/Schoolmates 1 2 3 People I Play Sports or Socialise with 1 2 3 4 5 People in my Community 1 2 3 People I do Business with 1 2 3 4 5 16 S tart-up Surprised at the numbers? You might Estimating what you will need for fixed easily have 100 people on your list. assets is usually straightforward and often Remember, each one of them has probably involves no more than looking for 100 people on their list also so, if every one quotations or negotiating. of the people on your list knew that you have just set up a dressmaking business Working capital is the money that works in and they told everyone on their list, then a your business. Think of it this way: you lot of people will know you are in business need money to buy raw materials, to pay and it hasn't cost you a cent. your own wages and to meet your overheads so you can produce goods for Some tips on networking: sale. You won't usually get money for the goods you sell until you make and deliver G Grow your network. Go to events and them. You need therefore to have the cash meetings. If the County Enterprise to meet your bills until you get paid. That Board offers a training workshop, or money is called your working capital. the Small Firms Association or Chamber of Commerce is having a workshop, go along, not just for what Wages you might learn but for who you might meet. Swap business cards with everyone you meet; keep the cards you get carefully. The author of this Materials booklet got a €12,000 contract from a Money from Sales business card he had given out seven years previously! That card paid for Goods or itself and many more! Services for Overheads sale G A network has to be a two-way street; you must be prepared to give as well as to take. Remember, the longer you have to wait to get paid, the more working capital you G Finally, keep confidences and don't need and the more sales you make, the badmouth people, especially your more working capital you need. Working competition, in your network; you capital is the blood in the veins of your might be surprised how quickly business. More businesses fail because comments get around and people they do not have enough working capital wonder, if you badmouth others, what than for any other reason, so it is essential you are saying about them. you manage your working capital. Raising Money Cashflow forecasts Using a tool called a Cashflow Forecast You will need money to start your allows you to estimate your working business but what will you need it for, capital. A cashflow forecast involves how much will you need and where and working out how much money you expect how will you get it? to receive in the business over a year, and then estimating how much money will go Estimating your financial needs out of the business over the same period. In doing this, you take account of the Generally, you will need money for two credit you may be giving your customers things: getting started and keeping the and the credit you may be getting from business going. To start the business, you your suppliers. You then subtract the may need what are called fixed assets, and incoming cash from the outgoing cash on a to keep the business going, you will need monthly basis, and the difference is your what is called working capital. working capital requirement. There is a Fixed assets are things which you can see worked example of a cashflow forecast at and which are fairly permanent. They the end of this publication, together with a include premises, building alterations, blank form to help you to prepare your cars, vans, equipment, tools, machinery. own cashflow forecast. 17 If you need to borrow money to start your Learning from others … You can raise money business or to grow your business, the first from a variety of sources thing any lender will want to see is your John Boyle Joinery Works was funded by a cashflow forecast. mix of personal investment from the owner, an overdraft from the bank and grant aid from his How much money will you need to set up local Enterprise Board. your business? Checklist Eight: Money Needed to Set Up the Business Amount in € Building Equipment Vehicle Setting up costs (legal costs, consultancy, phone installation, etc.) Working Capital Total Finding where you might get G If your business idea is in the money you need manufacturing or tradeable services, you may be eligible for grant aid from your local Enterprise Board. The first source for money is you. No one will finance all your start-up costs. If you G If you live in a rural area and have a do not have anything invested in the tourism business, you may be entitled business, investors and bankers will not to grant aid from a LEADER+ see that you are committed to the business Company. and are willing to risk your own money. You need to be prepared to invest all you G If you are from a disadvantaged can in the business. This may be in cash background, you may be entitled to and/or in tools or equipment or transport assistance from a Partnership you already have, or it may be a personal Company . loan to you from a family member or a friend. Contact details for all these agencies are at the back of this booklet. The second source can be grant aid. A grant is money you do not usually have to The third possible source of finance is loan pay back, unless you do not observe the finance from First Step. Again, your conditions attached to the grant. There can business has to be in manufacturing or sometimes be a small amount of grant aid tradeable services. which is repayable. The Fund has a number of schemes aimed G If you are unemployed, you may be at different groups of people, including eligible for the Back to Work long-term unemployed people, women Enterprise Allowance operated by the and existing businesses. Loans to the first Department of Social and Family two groups are interest-free. Affairs. This allows you to keep your benefits and start up your business. 18 S tart-up The fourth possible source of finance is the G If a lot of your business is dependent bank. Obviously you need to have a bank on giving credit to your customers, account first so, if you do not have one, you may want to think about using a you will need to open one immediately. scheme called "invoice discounting". Banks offer money in a variety of ways: Your accountant or bank manager can advise you fully on this option, but it G An overdraft allows you to take more may allow you to get up to 70% of money out of your account than you your invoiced amount on the day the put in. The amount is fixed and you invoice is issued so that you are cannot exceed that amount, without getting cash to a large extent. the consent of the bank. The overdraft is usually for a period of 1 year, but G Private investment may be an option. the bank may end it at any time, There are some people who have especially if it feels you are abusing money to invest and who are the facility or if you appear to be sometimes prepared to put it into getting into financial difficulties. small businesses. However, they will Banks may want some form of be looking for a return on their security for an overdraft. money, and may even want a say in how the business is operated. G Banks also lend money as loans. Loans differ from overdrafts. They are G The Government may repay you, usually set for periods of more than 1 under certain conditions, the tax you year; some are short-term, say 3 years have paid over the last three years, if and others can be long-term, say 10 you are setting up in business. This is years. Short-term loans are usually for called the Seed Capital Scheme. You funding needs such as equipment; can get full details from the Revenue long-term loans are usually for Commissioners or your accountant. funding things like premises or building alterations. The interest rates Remember, money is something you buy are usually fixed for short-term loans like any other product. and more flexible for long-term loans. Banks may require security for loans. You wouldn't buy a computer or a drill Provided you keep making your without bargaining or shopping around repayments in line with your for the best price. Do the same with agreement, the bank is very unlikely money. Lenders need you as much as you to call in a loan. One tip – always keep need them. your bank manager fully informed; All money carries a cost. Too many people banks do not like surprises. Establish borrow money, without realising how a good working relationship with much it costs. There is an example below your bank by telling them in advance of how much a loan from a bank could cost when you see troubles coming and it over three years. will be very helpful at a later date. There are some other possible sources of EXAMPLE: finance, including: If you borrow €10,000 over 3 years at 7%, you G The Credit Union. Again, you will will pay €2,100 in interest. If your business need an account. Credit Unions lend makes profits at 10% each year you would money to members on quite have to sell at least an additional €21,000 of favourable terms and they will goods or services over the 3 years simply to normally be less demanding in terms repay the interest. That works out at around of seeking security. €140 of extra sales per week. G Hire Purchase or leasing may be suitable, if you are thinking of buying a car or van or piece of equipment. Where do you expect to raise the money There are some technical differences you need? between the two methods but essentially you are paying a fixed amount each month which allows you to use the goods. 19 Checklist Nine: Sources of Money for the Business Amount in Own investment € Family loans Bank borrowing Hire Purchase Grant aid Other Total Your Business Plan G Why will they be likely to buy the goods on sale? When you are looking for money, the G How much will they pay and how lender will almost always ask for a copy of often? your business plan. Apart from this, and perhaps even more importantly, a business G How will sales be obtained? plan is a tool that allows you to control G Where will the business be based? your business. It is just like the steering wheel of a car. It sets out what you aim to G How many staff, including the owner, do in your business and how you propose will be employed? to do it. You can then check how you are G How much money does the business actually doing and ask yourself why need to get started and to operate? things have turned out differently. You may need to steer the business in a G Where will this money come from? different direction. A sample business plan G How much of the money is coming is at the back of this booklet and there is from the owner of the business? also a blank form which you can complete to produce your own business plan. G How much is the business looking to borrow? Try to prepare as much as possible of the G Can the business meet the costs of this business plan yourself. When you go to borrowing and can it repay the loan in the bank or any other lender, they will ask a reasonable time? you questions about the plan and, if you have not been involved in preparing the G Will the business be profitable? plan, you might not understand it and be When? unable to answer questions. That makes a G Who will manage the business and lender nervous. control the finances? However, if you feel you need help to G Who are the advisers to the business? produce a business plan, contact your local G What is the legal format of the Enterprise Board. business? A business plan does not have to be It is not enough just to state the facts as complicated, but it must be written in such you see them; you need to be able to back a way that anyone reading it will know: up your statements. For example, to show G Who is setting up this business? What you stand a chance of getting sales, you skills background and experience does should have some orders or at least some the promoter have? letters from possible buyers. G What products will they make, what To back up the financial statements you services will they provide, what will are making, you will have to prepare they be selling? financial projections. G Who are the customers? These include the cashflow forecast 20 S tart-up The cashflow forecast has already been perhaps even unconnected with the explained. The profit/loss forecast is business, and they are unable or unwilling simply your estimate of the amount of to pull their weight, then it can be money your business will make or lose unpleasant. Many good friendships have over a year. been lost through broken business partnerships. Remember, a partnership A balance sheet is a snapshot at a set time, does not mean you share the risks; if usually at the end of a year, of the financial things go wrong in a partnership and you position of the business. What and how owe money to a bank or other creditors, much does the business own? What and they will chase you for all of the money, how much does the business owe? Taking not just half of it. If you decide to go into one sum away from the other, how much business as a partnership, here are a few is left? If the difference is a plus, then this tips: is what the business is worth. If the difference is a minus, the business is said G Try to choose as partner(s) people to be insolvent; in other words, it cannot who have skills or contacts which are pay its bills. different from yours. G Sort out at the beginning exactly who The balance sheet will also show where does what in the business. this money came from, in other words how the business has raised the money it G Agree what each partner is going to needs to operate. earn from the business. Samples of each of these documents are at G Get a solicitor to prepare a written the end of this booklet together with blank partnership agreement which sets out copies so you can make your own. all the understandings between you and your partner(s). G Have regular meetings to discuss how The Legal Forms of the business is doing. Business The third possible form of business is a limited company, which can be set up by The easiest and most common form of two or more people. It is possible for two business is a sole trader; in other words, people each to invest €1 each and they are you are in business on your own and you then the shareholders in the company. This are responsible for everything. could be a married couple or two people who are unrelated. There are very few formalities involved in setting up as a sole trader and there are no The shareholders own the company and costs involved. Some of the disadvantages are entitled to any profits. They appoint are that you are personally responsible for directors to manage the company; all debts and there may be some tax shareholders and directors can be the same disadvantages. You do not have to stay as people. a sole trader; you can decide at a later date A limited company can be private or to set up a limited company or to enter a public. If it is private, the shares cannot be partnership. bought on the open market but, if it is a When two or more people set up in public company, shares can be bought business together, it is usually called a publicly. partnership. A company is a formal structure and it is Partnerships can be difficult. At the advisable to ask a solicitor to set it up for beginning, when everyone is enthusiastic you. A limited company is a completely and working hard, it is great and you have separate legal entity from the owners of someone to talk to and share the worries the business. This means it can give you and the joys. Unfortunately, if things get some protection, in that you are not tough or a partner runs into difficulties, personally responsible for the debts of the 21 unless you have given a personal you will have to comply with guarantee to the bank or other creditor. environmental health legislation. Your There may be some advantages, such as workplace must be a safe place for tax benefits. A limited company presents a your staff and customers and any professional image in the marketplace. other visitors. However, it carries a number of legal G If you are going to employ people, responsibilities and it is more expensive to you must observe the employment set up and maintain a limited company. legislation and you will have to give You should seek advice from your staff Contracts of Employment. accountant and your solicitor before finally deciding on the type of business G For some businesses, especially in format you will choose. You also need to consider the tax implications of your Exercise: decision. Which specific laws will you have to observe? transport and broadcasting, you will Exercise: need a licence or permit. Which form of business will you choose? G If you are changing the use of a building or building new premises, The Law & Your Business you will need planning permission. G There are also regulations around the Business today has to comply with a registration of your business name, if considerable amount of legislation: you use a name other than your own name. Contact the Companies G You have to register your business Registration Office, whose address is with the Revenue Commissioners and in the Help section at the end of this you must pay PRSI for any staff you booklet. employ. G If your annual turnover is above a It is important to check whether there is certain level (currently €25,394) you any other legislation which applies to your will also have to register for VAT. business. All of the agencies responsible for this legislation produce guides to help G You will have to observe Health and you and their addresses are at the end of Safety legislation. If you are involved this booklet. in making or selling food or drinks, 22 S tart-up 3 Up & Running If you have got this far, you will be in right. No matter what business you are in business. There are now two key things this applies to you. The fitted kitchen you you have to do: make has to look right, it has to be strong enough to do the job, it has to fit into the G Get orders by marketing your space properly. The meal you offer in your business. snack bar has to be tasty and presented on a clean plate in clean surroundings. If you G Keep the money flowing and look cut lawns, the grass must be cut properly, after it. the sweepings must be removed, the edges must be done and so it goes on. Marketing Use Checklist Ten to think about your Marketing has been described as "Finding product in terms of your marketing. out what people want and selling it to them at a price they are prepared to pay and at a profit to yourself". It has also been Learning from others … It helps to offer a described as "Selling goods which don't choice come back to people who do". Marketing Cloaks of Ireland in Bandon, Co Cork, have is not complicated, it is basic common addressed the product question. They offer a sense and there are just four things you range of traditional cloaks, capes, shawls and need to manage to ensure you get sales. wraps. Some products are replicas of the classic clothing worn by people up to the turn Product/service of the century and others are based on modern Your product or service needs to be right designs suitable for casual wear or a special for the customer. That means the design occasion. Fabrics include wool, cashmere, has to be good, the quality has to be at velvet, silk, satin and tweed. Products are least reasonable, there has to be a choice if available in all sizes – petite, tall, small, fuller possible (sizes, colours, materials, etc.) and figure, etc. the packaging and presentation has to be Checklist Ten: Getting the Product/Service Right What are the essential things or features my product/service must contain? What quality is my customer looking for? How can I make sure I offer that level of quality? How can I offer customers a choice? How can I present my product/service so that it looks right? How do I make sure my product/service looks at least as good as the competition's? 23 Price This is really more of a decision about your promotion and advertising, but Remembering that you are in business to special offers can draw in new make a profit, you have a number of customers. Calculate what they are choices to make about your selling price: costing before you start. G You can sell cheaper than the competition Exercise: If you do this, you may attract sales How will you set your prices? Cheaper than, for a while but all that might happen same as, dearer than the competition? is that your competitor will undercut your prices and there is a price war. The only person to benefit from that is the customer. Remember, your selling Sales and distribution price makes a statement about your You have to sell in the right place and get product. If you go in to a shop and see your product to the customer. something which is a lot cheaper than you expect, what is your reaction? It There are lots of places to sell, depending must be no good or not as good as the on your product. Look at some of the dearer item on the shelf beside it. options: Remember, it is a lot easier to lower prices than it is to raise them. Try not G Door to door. to sell on price only. People are G Shops of all kinds. influenced by many things when they go to buy. They look at appearance, G Market stall. colour, size, fit, novelty, reputation, G Business to business (calling on other image, after-sales service, guarantee businesses using a sales and above all, they buy from people representative). they like. G Mail order (responding to orders sent G You can sell at the same price as the to you as a result of advertisements competition you place in newspapers or Choosing this option is saying to the magazines). customer, "My product is as good as my competitor's". It is a fairly safe G Direct mail (sending offers out to option, because you may have room potential customers through the post). to drop a little if you find you need to. G At exhibitions or trade shows or events like wedding fairs. G You can sell at a dearer price than the competition G On the Internet, either on your own Yes, this is an option. You might website or on a host website. choose to do this if you are convinced G Through a catalogue. that your product offers more than the competition's product. Your higher G Through party plans. price is making that statement. You G At the roadside. are also appealing to people's basic instinct, which says, if it is dearer, it G Car boot sales. must be better. However, this will G By tendering to public bodies. only work with items which are not everyday buys, though the staff in the G By getting sub-contracts from larger office will happily pay over the odds businesses. for their daily sandwich if they get G By acquiring a franchise (paying a unusual fillings. It is a risk, so do your successful business for their know how). homework well before going down this route. You must have something Some people sell through "middlemen", extra to offer if you decide to charge a usually called agents or distributors. higher price. Agents are people who sell on your behalf and get a commission for all they sell (after G You can have special offers 24 S tart-up Distributors or wholesalers do buy goods G Get press publicity when you launch from you and carry stock of your products. your business; most newspapers and You sell to them at a price cheaper than other media are always on the lookout people normally buy from you, so they can for human interest stories. If you have sell at a profit themselves. an angle it will help. Are you the first woman car mechanic locally? Do you Whichever way of selling you choose, it make clothes specially for disabled must fit your product. You wouldn't try to people? Are you opening a shop sell lingerie at the side of the road, nor especially for asylum seekers and would you sell fitted kitchens through refugees? Are you the first person party plans. Choose the way you will sell locally to open a business on the based on the costs and on the ease of doing Internet? Have you just won a big it. contract from Northern Ireland? Think Exercise: of an angle or a hook like this to hang Where and how will you sell? your story on. G Make sure your business can be easily Promotion/advertising found; get the biggest sign you can afford. You must promote your product as widely as you can. G Use community noticeboards in supermarkets. One of the biggest challenges for any new G Sponsor the local school or youth business is getting your story out. How do football team or whichever group fits you make sure people know you are in your business and be sure the group business? Most people reply, that you sponsor gets you publicity. "advertising". G Use flyers through door-to-door drops. But do you know what newspaper or G Consider an advertisement in the television advertising costs? Even a one- Golden Pages. off small advertisement in a local newspaper could cost over €100 and a G Give incentives to encourage loyalty very short advertisement on television among your customers; have free could cost thousands of euro. Most small draws for regular customers, have a businesses cannot afford huge advertising loyalty card if you operate a restaurant budgets, so what do you do? – buy nine meals and get one free. Say thanks to regular customers; even a The best advertisement is a satisfied Christmas card is appreciated. It is a lot customer. Get it right first time and your easier to keep existing customers than it customers will do all the advertising you is to get new ones so keep them sweet. need. Don't you tell people about the great G Reward customers who introduce or meal you had or the great deal you got on recommend you to another customer. a car repair? You'll also tell people about the terrible service you got in a shop or G Make sure your telephone is answered about how you stayed in for a whole promptly and in a friendly manner. Saturday and the boiler repairman didn't Have an answering machine, or use a turn up. telephone answering service if you are often away from the phone. There are other things you can do which G Keep appointments, answer letters and don't need to cost a lot of money and they return phone calls. can be effective if you do them right: G Make promises and keep them. G Get business cards printed; never go G Ask customers if they were satisfied out without them and give one to with your work and ask new ones how everyone you meet. Tell everyone you they heard about you. meet you are in business and ask them to tell others … but don't bore G Put right any mistakes and apologise if people or push too hard. you are wrong. Treat a complaint as a 25 G Do one thing each week to generate Pick the actions from the list above that sales; it might be a sales letter to two you could use in your business and use or three leads or a phone call or a Checklist Eleven to draw up a simple quick visit to a potential customer. promotion plan for the next 6 months. Checklist Eleven: Your Promotional Plan What will be done? When will it be done? How much will you Who will do it? spend on it? As you work through these areas try to immediately. Remember, if someone come up with something which is different owes you money for longer than 90 or unique and which will distinguish your days, you will lose an element of your business from your competitors. profit due to interest charges and recurring overheads. If you think carefully about each of these four areas – product, price, promotion and G Actively pursue your debts. distribution – and if they all fit together, you will get sales. That is what marketing G Finish a job, do not give the customer is about. the excuse you are not finished. G Take as much credit as you can yourself without doing damage to the Managing Cashflow trading relationship with your supplier. Keeping the money flowing is critical to Keeping the books the survival and success of your business. To look after the money when you get it, Cashflow is the lifeblood of any you will need a book-keeping system. business; cash is king in a business. There are some options here for you. To keep the money flowing in, you should: One is to start with a computerised book- G Deal in cash when you can, but keeping system. These are now remember to keep records. inexpensive and fairly simple to operate. If you can do this, or if you can get someone G Only give credit when you have to; to do it for you, it is the best option remember, giving credit is actually because someday your business may grow lending money. Before you give credit, to the point where you have to have a ask yourself, "Would I lend this computerised system and you will spend a person €500 (or whatever the amount lot of time and money changing from a is)?". manual system to the computerised G Ask for a deposit or negotiate stage system. payments if you are starting a long piece of work. You may want to consider enrolling for a training course in book-keeping. Contact G Send out your invoices promptly. your local Enterprise Board for details of G Have trading terms and stick to them; suitable courses. if someone does not pay within the trading terms, get on the phone If you cannot, or do not want to, use a computer, there are a number of very good 26 S tart-up businesses which you can buy from any incurred in this way. good office supplies company. G Ask your bank to send you a Try to avoid using old files and scraps of statement at least every month and paper. keep all the statements in the wallet the bank will give you (for free). Book-keeping is covered in more detail in another publication in this series, but here Now you have the records, what do you is a quick guide. do with them? A good general rule is to keep every piece Every month you should prepare a simple of paper belonging to your business until profit and loss account, showing what you your accountant tells you it is not needed. earned (your sales) and what you spent G Start by writing out an invoice (a bill (wages, materials and overheads). or docket) for everything you sell and Take one from the other and see what keeping a copy of each invoice. profit or loss you have made for the G In a book or on a page record all of month. Compare your figures with the these invoices, in other words, what forecast you prepared at the beginning of you sold and who you sold it to. This the year and look carefully at any big book is called your sales invoice differences. book. G Get an invoice for everything you Look also at who owes you money and order or buy yourself and keep these what money you owe. Make a list of those in a file. who owe you money and chase payment. G In another book, or on another page, List those you owe money to and decide record these invoices, in other words, who you will pay. Include VAT and PRSI what you bought or what you have in your list. been charged. This book is called your purchases invoice book. Check your bank statement. First, you G When you receive money, whether by want to see how much money you have in cash or cheque, write the details into the account or how much money you owe another book; that book is called your the bank. Remember the bank statement cash book. may not show all the cheques you have written and it may not include some G When you write a cheque, put the lodgements. Second, check the account to details in another book; that book is make sure it is correct; banks can make called your cheque journal. mistakes too. G From time to time, you will need small sums of cash to pay small bills It is a good idea to revise your cashflow or costs like meals or parking fees; and your profit/loss account forecasts this is called petty cash. You should every quarter using the information you also keep details of any expenses have from your books. 27 Sample Market Research Questionnaire This is based on a market research survey carried out by a lady planning to start a business, making specialist clothing for young children between 5 and 11 years of age. She approaches a number of young mothers whom she can meet at the school gates or in shopping centres. Before she starts, she does a test run with her questionnaire. Notice that she can record most of her answers very quickly by ticking or circling a phrase. Good morning/afternoon; my name is ……………… and I am thinking of setting up a small business locally to make clothes for small children. Would you give me just a couple of minutes of your time to answer some simple questions? Thank you. 1. Do you buy clothes for children between the ages of 5 and 11? Yes q No q (If No, thank person and move on.) 2. Which of these do you buy: Shirts Yes No Blouses Yes No q q T-shirts Yes No q q Sweatshirts Yes No q q Sweaters Yes No q q Short trousers Yes No q q Long trousers Yes No q q Dresses Yes No q q Skirts Yes No q q Other Yes No q q q q 3. Where do you normally buy these clothes? (Tick all the person mentions) Local small shop q Local large store, e.g., Dunnes, Roches q Through a catalogue q Elsewhere (please say where) 4. Which if any of these is important to you when you are buying clothes? Very important Important Not very important Design Quality of material q q q Choice of colours q q q Choice of sizes q q q Range of materials q q q Guarantee q q q Price q q q The brand name q q q Customer care q q q q q q 5. Do you have any difficulties buying clothes which meet your needs as you have just described them? Design Quality of material Choice of colours Choice of sizes Range of materials Guarantee Price 6. What is the single most important thing you consider when you are buying clothes? 7. How many children do you have and what are their ages? Child 1____ Child 2____ Child 3____ Child 4____ Child 5 ____ Child 6 ____ 8. Approximately how much money do you spend each month on children's clothing? more than €200 q 28 €50 q €75 q €100 q €150 q €200 q S tart-up Advice on Completing the Business Plan Worksheet There is an example of a completed Business Plan and a blank Business Plan worksheet following these notes to help you. Ideally, your answers should be typed. 1. Section 1 asks you to give a picture of yourself or anyone else involved in actually running the business. After writing in details, such as your name and address, you can give information on your education. This can include the schools or colleges you attended, the courses you studied, the qualifications you got. Then give information about your work record. Start with your first employer and work on from then, each time naming the firm and what it did. Give your position and details of any special responsibilities you had. 2. Section 2 asks you to describe your business idea. Give as much information as you can. Do not take anything for granted. You know what your idea is, but someone reading your plan may never have heard of it, so give a good clear picture of what you want to do. 3. Section 3 is where you set out details of your market and how you will sell. If you have completed the checklists in the early part of this publication (pages 8 and 9), you can simply transfer the information from those sheets to this section. You should make sure to answer these questions: • Who are your customers? • What needs do they have? • Where, when and how often do they buy? • How much will they pay? • How will you promote your business? • Who are your competitors? • How will you compete? 4. In Section 4, give details of your premises. Indicate if they are your own or rented premises. If they are rented, how long is your lease? Say where they are, how big they are, if they have all services available, if you will have to do any repairs or alterations, what rent or other costs you will have to pay. 5. In Section 5, give details of the machinery and equipment you will need. It is enough just to list each of the main pieces. 6. In Section 6, give details of the businesses which will supply you with raw materials or goods for resale. Names and addresses are fine and, if you have agreed any credit terms, you should give those also. 7. In Section 7, give details of any staff you will employ. This should include the names of each job, a brief description of the duties, whether it is full-time or part-time and what the hourly wage rate is. You do not need to name the actual workers. 8. In Sections 8 and 9, set out how much money you will need to start the business and where you intend to get it. If you have completed the checklists on pages 18 & 20 on these topics earlier in the booklet, just transfer the information. 9. In Section 10, set out a summary of your expected profit/loss using the following table: Sales: €______ Costs of materials: €______ Wages: €______ Overheads: €______ Net profit: €______ 10. In Section 11, give the names and addresses of anyone who is helping you. This could include your bank manager, accountant, a consultant or someone from a State agency. 29 Business Plan Worksheet Landscape Gardener Example 1. Details of yourself and anyone else involved in running the business Name: Address: Date of Birth: Tel No.: Education: Leaving Certificate at ABC College 1981 National Diploma in Horticulture at XYZ Institute, 1984 Work record: 1984 to 1990: Landscape Gardener Ltd. Responsible for landscape maintenance of open spaces in housing estates 1990 to 2001: (name of company) Horticulturist Responsible for design of new open spaces and all new planting 2. Your business idea I plan to set up a landscaping garden business which will service (state your market area). I will offer a garden design service, a garden establishment service, a routine maintenance service and specialist services, such as weed spraying, tree planting and tree surgery. 3. Where and how you will sell; how much you will sell? My customers will be house owners and other property owners, such as public bodies, hotels and factories. They need to maintain the ground around their property in a neat and tidy condition to preserve the appearance of the building and to save time. I will sell throughout (specify area) I estimate there are 8,230 households in my target area, 4 public bodies, 12 hotels and 23 factories. Each household will have their grass cut 10 times a year and I estimate I will get 200 households to buy my services. Other customers purchase on a daily basis and I estimate I will get 75 days' work a year from these customers. To promote my business, I will: • Advertise in the services section of the local newspapers. • Send flyers to home-owners in the area. • Create and maintain a website. • Put notices up on the community notice boards in the large supermarkets around the area. • Take an advertisement in the Golden Pages. • Prepare business cards and distribute them as widely as possible. • Offer a first-class service. • Have my name and telephone number clearly displayed on my van. To get sales, I will: • Call door to door in large housing estates. • Make personal calls to hotels and factories. • Submit tenders for work from public bodies. My competitors are: Jimmy Boyle Landscapes, McDaid Landscape Services and Hughie Magee. 30 S tart-up I have researched the prices my competitors charge and I plan to charge rates which are just slightly below their prices. I will also compete by being absolutely reliable, by travelling all over the area and by offering value for money. 4. Your premises I will operate from home as I have a large shed which can store all my equipment and has room to park my van and trailer. I also have a small greenhouse and a plot of ground which I can use to produce some plants. 5. The machinery, equipment you will use I have a lot of tools which I can use – for example, hedge clippers, strimmer, rakes, spades, etc., but I need a trailer, a van and a heavy duty lawn mower. 6. The suppliers you will use I can buy grass seed and most plants from suppliers such as ABC Nursery. They have agreed to give me a monthly credit account. Specialist plants will be obtained from XYZ Nurseries, but I will have to pay cash for these. 7. Details of any staff you will employ I plan to employ a part-time assistant from month three of start-up. This person will work 20 hours a week, but I will be able to extend this if necessary. I will recruit a local person who has some experience in grass-cutting, as I expect the worker to spend most of his time at this work. I will pay € 12.50 per hour. 8. How much money you will need to start the business? Van Equipment €12,000 Working capital €5,000 Total 20,890 €3,890 9. Where do you hope to raise the money you need? Own investment in cash Hire Purchase €10,000 Bank overdraft €9,000 Total 20,890 €1,890 10. A summary of your expected profit/loss for the first year Sales Less: €66,100 Materials Wages/PRSI €1,000 Overheads €10,850 Depreciation €17,800 Drawings €4,250 Profit 6,200 €26,000 11. Details of any business advisors you have Bank Manager: Accountant: 31 Business Plan Worksheet 1. Details of yourself and anyone else involved in running the business Name: Address: Tel No.: Date of Birth: Education: Work record: 2. Your business idea 3. Where and how you will sell; how much you will sell ? 4. Your premises 5. The machinery, equipment you will use 32 S tart-up 6. The suppliers you will use 7. Details of any staff you will employ 8. How much money you will need to start the business? 9. Where do you hope to raise the money you need? 10. A summary of your expected profit/loss for the first year 11. Details of any business advisors you have 33 Advice on Completing Projected Profit & Loss Account There is an example of a completed projected profit and loss account on the next page and a blank worksheet on page 36 to help you. 1. Step one is to cautiously estimate your sales for the year. If you are providing a service, estimate the amount of hours you have available and then estimate how many of these hours you will sell. If you are manufacturing, estimate how many goods you will sell; for example, if you are making children's clothes, how many blouses, shirts, etc. will you sell and at what price? If you are running a shop, think how many goods of each kind you will sell or estimate an average spend per customer. Example of the landscape gardener: There are normally around 40 hours in the week. The gardener might work many more than that but he assumes he will only work 40 at most. However, he realises he will not have 40 hours to sell. He has to allow time for doing his books, going to the bank, meeting customers, chasing bills and so on. He has to allow for being ill or for funerals or dental appointments. He finds he has only 30 hours of his own time to actually sell. He plans to take on a part-time worker to help him cope with the busy season and estimates that this worker will be available for 20 hours a week. At the beginning, he will sell only some of his available 30 hours as it will take time to build up customers, so he reckons on building up sales slowly. His sales estimates per month based on hours worked are therefore: MONTH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total No. of weeks in month 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 5 4 4 5 52 No. of working weeks 4 4 5 4 4 3 4 4 3 4 4 4 47 No. of hours worked per week (self) 5 15 20 30 30 30 30 30 20 15 10 10 No. of hours worked per week (part-timer) 0 0 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Charge out rate per hour (self) 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 50 Charge out rate per hour (part-timer) 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 20 Hours sold (self) 20 60 100 120 120 90 120 120 120 60 40 40 1,010 Hours sold (part-timer) 0 0 100 80 80 60 80 80 60 80 80 80 780 Sales – self (hours x charge out rate) 1,000 3,000 5,000 6,000 6,000 4,500 6,000 6,000 6,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 50,500 Sales – part-timer (hours x charge out rate) 0 0 2,000 1600 1600 1200 1600 1600 1200 1,600 1600 1600 15600 Total sales 1,000 3,000 7,000 7,600 7,600 5,700 7,600 7,600 7,200 4,600 3,600 3,600 66,100 To cover his costs he will charge € 50 an hour for himself and € 20 an hour for the part- timer. His sales for the year will be 1,010 hours multiplied by € 50 (€ 50,500) and 780 hours at € 20 (€ 15,600). This gives him a total of € 66,100. He puts this figure in line A of his profit/loss forecast worksheet (see page 35). 2. He next estimates the cost of any materials to be used. He will charge his customers for all the materials he uses for their jobs, so he does not need to include that in his forecast, but he still reckons he will spend some money on things like seed and oil that he will not be able to charge for. He estimates he will spend € 20 a week on these items. Over a year, that is about € 1,000 (50 weeks at € 20 a week), so he puts that figure on his sheet. 3. He deducts this amount from his sales and he has his gross profit, the figure on line B. 4. He then has to estimate all his overheads. For each heading, he will base his estimates on his experience to date or on quotations he has received, for example, from an insurance broker. He inserts each figure on the correct line within the section on overheads. 5. He adds up his overheads and puts a total in line C and then deducts them from his gross profit on line B and he is left with his profit, the figure on line D. 34 S tart-up 6. However, there are two other things he has to account for. He has taken €500 a week out of the business for himself; that is called his drawings, which is another word for his wages. He has also bought a van at €12,000 and has spent €5,000 on other plant and machinery. It is good practice to charge some of the costs of these items each year against his profits. This is called depreciation. It is needed so that, at the end of their working life, the van and equipment can be replaced. He calculates the van and equipment will last four years, so he charges, or writes off, a quarter of their value each year. In his case, that is €3,000 for the van and €1,250 for the equipment. He includes these figures and that leaves him his net profit. PROJECTED PROFIT/LOSS ACCOUNT (Example, landscape gardener) A SALES 66,100 Less: Materials 1,000 B GROSS PROFIT 65,100 OVERHEADS Staff wages/PRSI 10,850 Rent 1,000 Heat and light 500 Electricity 500 Postage 100 Telephone/email/mobile 800 Stationery 100 Petrol/diesel 2,500 Car servicing 1,000 Car insurance/Vehicle Tax 2,000 Hire Purchase interest 600 Public liability insurance 1,000 Employer's liability insurance 1,000 Advertising 2,000 Website 2,500 Audit 1,000 Sundries 1,200 C TOTAL 28,650 D PROFIT/LOSS 36,450 E PERSONAL DRAWINGS 26,000 DEPRECIATION 4,250 F NET PROFIT 6,200 35 Projected Profit & Loss Account PROJECTED PROFIT/LOSS ACCOUNT (Example, landscape gardener) A SALES Less: Materials B GROSS PROFIT OVERHEADS Staff wages/PRSI Rent Heat and light Electricity 500 Postage Telephone/email/mobile Stationery Petrol/diesel Car servicing Car insurance/Vehicle Tax Hire Purchase interest Public liability insurance Employer's liability insurance Advertising Website Audit Sundries C TOTAL D PROFIT/LOSS E PERSONAL DRAWINGS DEPRECIATION F NET PROFIT 36 S tart-up Advice on Completing Cashflow Forecast There is an example of a completed cashflow forecast on the next page and a blank worksheet on page 39 to help you. 1. Start by looking at your sales as you have estimated them in your profit/loss account. Our gardener has decided he will mainly deal in cash, so he will get paid when he completes a job. He allows for some slow payers, however, and reckons he will probably be owed around € 2,000 at the end of the first year. He estimates he will get the following cash from his sales; remember he has calculated these using the table on page 34. MONTH 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Total Sales:Self 1,000 3,000 5,000 6,000 6,000 4,500 6,000 6,000 6,000 3,000 2,000 2,000 50,500 Sales:part-timer 0 0 2,000 1,600 1,600 1,200 1,600 1,600 1,200 1,600 1,600 1,600 15,600 Total sales 1,000 3,000 7,000 7,600 7,600 5,700 7,600 7,600 7,200 4,600 3,600 3,600 66,100 He inserts these figures along line A of his cashflow, the sales line. Normally the business will have slow payers most months but, for the purpose of this exercise, when it comes to the last month, he deducts €2,000 to allow for slow payers throughout the year. 2. He next inserts each of the items of his expenditure when he expects them to be paid in each of the lines in section B. Some will be paid monthly, but others may only be paid every quarter or even once a year. For example, he will pay his rent every quarter, he will pay his car insurance monthly for 10 months, he will pay his electricity every quarter and so on. 3. He then adds up each month's overheads and puts the total in each box across line C and subtracts them from the figures in line A. This gives him a monthly balance figure, which he puts in the boxes across line D. This figure is his working capital. It will change from month to month as income and expenditure changes each month. To get his working capital figure on an on-going basis, he adds the first month's total to the next and so on across the line. This results in movements up and down in the figures. If your working capital figure is negative, as it is in the first few months of this example, then you need to know how and where you will find the money to meet this shortfall. Usually this is done by using a bank overdraft. In the early stages of the business, there may be more money going out than coming in, so his figures in line D may be minus figures. Minus figures are shown in brackets. 4. The next step is to put in any money to be spent on buildings, equipment or transport. The gardener will spend €12,000 on a van and €5,000 on equipment, both in month one. He puts these figures on line F. 5. He then puts in the amount of money he is investing in the business in line G, and any grants or loans he expects to get in the lines underneath. The gardener is investing € 10,000 and expects to get Hire Purchase of €9,000 which will be paid to him in month one, though in practice it will go straight out to whoever he is buying the vehicle from. The figures from lines F and G are added and the answer is put into line H for month one to give the running bank balance for the business. He then moves to month two and adds the figure in line H from month one to the figure from line D in month two. The answer is put into the box on line H for month two. This is repeated across the page. If any figures in line H are in brackets, the highest figure in brackets in line H is the largest amount of money he will need to find from the bank by way of overdraft. 37 38 CASHFLOW FORECAST 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TOTAL INCOME A Sales 1,000 3,000 7,000 7,600 7,600 5,700 7,600 7,600 7,200 4,600 3,600 1,600 64,100 B EXPENDITURE Staff wages/ PRSI 0 0 1,085 1,085 1,085 1,085 1,085 1,085 1,085 1,085 1,085 1,085 10,850 Materials 250 0 0 250 0 0 250 0 0 50 0 0 800 Rent 250 250 250 250 1,000 Heat and light 100 150 150 100 500 Electricity 100 150 150 100 500 Postage 0 0 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 100 Telephone/ email/ mobile 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100 50 50 100 800 Stationery 25 25 25 25 100 Petrol/ diesel 100 200 220 220 220 220 220 220 220 220 220 220 2,500 Car servicing/ Vehicle Tax 250 250 250 250 1,000 Car insurance 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 2,000 Hire Purchase 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 300 3,600 Other insurance 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 200 2,000 Advertising 500 100 100 100 100 100 500 100 100 100 100 100 2,000 Website 2,500 2,500 Audit Sundries 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 100 1,200 Drawings 2,000 2,000 2,500 2,000 2,000 2,500 2,000 2,000 2,500 2,000 2,000 2,500 26,000 C TOTAL 3,975 3,150 7,765 4,790 4,265 5,365 5,190 4,265 5,365 4,590 3,865 4,865 57,450 D MONTHLY BALANCE (2,975) (150) (765) 2,810 3,335 335 2,410 3,335 1,835 10 (265) (3,265) E WORKING CAPITAL (2,975) (3,125) (3,890) (1,080) 2,255 2,590 5,000 8,335 10,170 10,180 9,915 6,650 F Van/ equipment 17,000 17,000 G OWN INVESTMENT 10,000 10,000 HIRE PURCHASE 9,000 9,000 H RUNNING BALANCE (975) (1, 125) (1, 890) 920 4,255 4,590 7,000 10,335 12,170 12,180 11,915 8,650 8,650 Cashflow Forecast CASHFLOW FORECAST 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 TOTAL INCOME A Sales B EXPENDITURE Staff wages/ PRSI Materials Rent Heat and light Electricity Postage Telephone/ email/ mobile Stationery Petrol/ diesel Car servicing/ Vehicle Tax Car insurance Hire Purchase Other insurance Advertising Website Audit Sundries Drawings C TOTAL D MONTHLY BALANCE E WORKING CAPITAL F Van/ equipment G OWN INVESTMENT HIRE PURCHASE H RUNNING BALANCE S tart-up 39 Advice on Completing Projected Balance Sheet There is an example of a completed projected balance sheet on the next page and a blank worksheet on page 42 to help you. The format used in these worksheets is the usual format for Balance Sheets. It is: Fixed Assets. Current Assets. Total. Less: Current Liabilities. Gives: Total Assets. Represented by (coming from): Own Investment. Profits Generated. 1. This is a snapshot of what value the gardener will expect his business to have at the end of his first year. In Section A (Fixed Assets), he writes in the amount of money he has spent on the van less the amount of depreciation, and the amount he has spent on equipment less the depreciation. The total of the three items – buildings, vehicles, plant and machinery – goes on line B. 2. In Section C (Current Assets), he puts in the amounts for each item shown. Cash at bank is the amount he expects to have in the bank at the end of the year. It is the figure he finds on the very last box in line H of his cashflow forecast. Debtors is the money he is owed from any customers who have not paid him at the end of the year. He gets this figure by subtracting the money he got from sales in his cashflow (page 38, line A – €64,100) from the money he expected to get in his profit and loss account (page 35, line A – €66,100). Finally, he would put in the value of any stock he holds but he does not have any at this time. 3. He adds up the three sums in Section C and puts the total on line D. He then adds that amount to the total at line B. This gives him his total assets figure, which he puts in on line E. 4. In Section F (Current Liabilities), he puts in the amounts for each item shown. The bank overdraft amount is the amount of money, if any, he owes the bank at the end of the year. He would get that figure from the very last box of line H in his cashflow (see page 38), if it were a minus. Loans are the amount he borrowed by way of Hire Purchase, less any repayments he made during the year. In this case, he borrowed €9,000 and has paid back €3,000, so the figure he puts in is €6,000. Note in the cashflow forecast, he shows payments of €3,600; the €600 extra is interest on the Hire Purchase. Trade creditors are the suppliers to whom he owes money at the end of the year. He got this figure by adding up what he bought and subtracting from that figure what he actually paid. In this case, he bought €1,000 in materials and €17,800 in overheads (see Profit & Loss Account on page 35). He paid €800 for materials and €16,800 for overheads (see cashflow on page 38). VAT and Income Tax are the amounts he expects to owe at the end of the year, if he is registered for VAT and if he expects to pay Income Tax. Although this project has exceeded the threshold for VAT, for the purposes of the exercise, VAT is not shown but obviously payment of VAT and Income Tax would normally have an impact on the cashflow. 5. He then adds up all the sums in Section F and puts the amount in line G (Total Current Liabilities). He subtracts line G from line E and he has the net assets figure which he can put 40 S tart-up in on line H (Net Assets). This sum of money is what the business is worth at the date of the balance sheet. 6. Section I shows where the funding for the business came from. In this case, it is his investment and his profits. His investment is the amount of money that he put into the business (in his case, €10,000). Any profits or losses he has made; that figure will come from his projected Profit and Loss Account (see page 35). He adds the two together and the total is the same as line H; in other words, they should balance which is where the words balance sheet come from. PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET € A FIXED ASSETS (THINGS YOU OWN BUT WHICH CANNOT QUICKLY BE TURNED INTO CASH) Buildings 0 Vehicles 9,000 Plant and machinery 3,750 B TOTAL 12,750 C CURRENT ASSETS (THINGS YOU OWN AND WHICH CAN BE QUICKLY TURNED INTO CASH) Cash at bank 8,650 Debtors 2,000 Stock 0 D TOTAL 10,650 E TOTAL ASSETS (THE SUM OF THE FIXED AND CURRENT ASSETS) 23,400 F CURRENT LIABILITIES (MONEY YOU OWE) Bank overdraft 0 Loans/Hire Purchase 6,000 Trade creditors 1,200 VAT 0 Tax 0 G TOTAL 7,200 H NET ASSETS (WHAT YOUR BUSINESS IS WORTH, IF YOU TAKE THE CURRENT LIABILITIES FROM THE TOTAL ASSETS) 16,200 I REPRESENTED BY: (WHERE YOU GOT THE MONEY YOUR BUSINESS IS WORTH) Your investment 10,000 Your profits or losses to date 6,200 J TOTAL 16,200 41 Projected Balance Sheet PROJECTED BALANCE SHEET € A FIXED ASSETS (THINGS YOU OWN BUT WHICH CANNOT QUICKLY BE TURNED INTO CASH) Buildings Vehicles Plant and machinery B TOTAL C CURRENT ASSETS (THINGS YOU OWN AND WHICH CAN BE QUICKLY TURNED INTO CASH) Cash at bank Debtors Stock D TOTAL E TOTAL ASSETS (THE SUM OF THE FIXED AND CURRENT ASSETS) F CURRENT LIABILITIES (MONEY YOU OWE) Bank overdraft Loans/Hire Purchase Trade creditors VAT Tax G TOTAL H NET ASSETS (WHAT YOUR BUSINESS IS WORTH, IF YOU TAKE THE CURRENT LIABILITIES FROM THE TOTAL ASSETS) I REPRESENTED BY: (WHERE YOU GOT THE MONEY YOUR BUSINESS IS WORTH) Your investment Your profits or losses to date J TOTAL 42 S tart-up 4 Help! Setting up in business is not easy and there may be times you will be tempted to throw in the towel, but there is a lot of help out there for you, if you ask. Your first port of call should be your local Enterprise Board. Another excellent source of information is the BASIS website operated by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. It can be accessed at www.basis.ie. Your bank manager should also be seen as a source of help, if you develop a good working relationship. Another person you will undoubtedly need is an accountant. There are many good accountants around so how do you choose? Most of us take advice; we simply ask around and get comments from people who are customers of accountants. Possible other contacts for help are listed below. Organisation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Web Address Bord Bia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.bordbia.ie Bord Glas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.bordglas.ie City / County Enterprise Boards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.empower.ie Companies Registration Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cro.ie Craft Council of Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ccoi.ie Dept. of Community, Rural & Gaeltacht Affairs . . . . . . . . . . .www.pobail,ie Dept. of Social, Community & Family Affairs . . . . . . . . . . . .www.welfare.ie Dept. of Enterprise, Trade & Employment . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.entemp.ie Dept. of Justice, Equality & Law Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.justice.ie Enterprise Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.enterprise-ireland.ie Failte Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.failteireland FAS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.fas.ie First Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.first-step.ie Food Safety Authority of Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.fsai.ie Health & Safety Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.hsa.ie IDA Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.idaireland.ie Inter Trade Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.intertradeireland.ie Irish Exporters Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .wwwIrishexporters.ie Irish Franchise Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.IrishFranchiseAssociation.ie Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association . . . . . . . . . . .www.isme.ie Small Firms Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.sfa.ie South East Business Innovation Centre . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.sebic.ie South East Regional Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.sera.ie South East Regional Tourism Authority . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.southeasttourism.ie Companies Registration Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cro.ie IBEC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.ibec.ie Revenue Commissioners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.revenue.ie Chambers of Commerce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.chambersireland.ie LEADER Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.irishleadernetwork.ie Central Statistics Office . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.cso.ie Area Partnership Companies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.adm.ie Teageasc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .www.teageasc.ie 43 44 Carlow County Enterprise Board Enterprise House O'Brien Road Carlow Tel: 059-9130880 Fax: 059-9030717 Web: www.carlow-ceb.com St. Catherine's Community Services Centre
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At Aloha Overhead Door we bring over seven years of experience to fully service any and all of your residential or commercial needs. Feel safe in knowing that we are fully insured and commit to your standards of excellence. We stand by our labor with a full years guarantee, and or course, all manufa...
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by Brooke Bartlett
Motor vehicle crashes are very dangerous, especially for young children. Using a quality, appropriate baby car seat is very important for keeping your baby safe in the car. By purchasing the right car seat for each stage of your child's development and practicing safe baby car-seat usage, you will ensure that your baby is as safe as possible each time you get into a vehicle.
Infant car seats: When shopping for an infant car seat, there are several things to consider. First, check for weight restrictions and age requirements. Infant car seats come in a variety of types and sizes. Most infant seats are designed for babies who weigh between 5 and 22 pounds, although some manufacturers have designed seats that are safe for babies who weigh up to 30 pounds. There are also many different infant seat styles, including baby car seats that work as part of a stroller set and seats with multiple bases for different cars.
Convertible car seats: Convertible car seats are designed to be placed in a rear-facing position for infants and toddlers, and then be turned forward-facing for older children. Most convertible car seats offer side-impact protection and have energy-absorbing foam, as well as features that make children more comfortable, such as cup holders and soft covers. These baby seats are also perfect for parents who want to keep their child's car seat for many years because most are appropriate for infants and children weighing up to 65 pounds. Check manufacturer's instructions for specific weight limits.
Forward-facing seats: Forward-facing baby seats are designed for older children who have graduated from their infant seats. When shopping for forward-facing seats, carefully consider harnesses. A five-point harness is a good choice because it keeps your child in the correct riding position at all times, allowing the seat to work best in the event of a crash. These seats often offer the same safety and comfort features as convertible seats.
Booster seats: Booster seats are for children who have graduated from forward-facing and convertible seats but still need a car seat to ride comfortably in the car and to meet state height, weight or age requirements. Children under the height of 4 feet 9 inches should use a booster car seat to keep the seat belt positioned correctly and safely. Before you move your child to a booster seat, she should be able to sit correctly for the entire ride, and the belt should hit her hips and chest. When you think your child is ready to graduate from his booster car seat, check your state laws to decide if it is the safest choice.
Considerations: Read your owner's manual for each car seat and install it according to the directions. Aftermarket products, such as head supports, bundle bags, strap covers and car-seat covers, have not been crash-tested with your car seat, and these products should be used with caution. Remember that the safest car seat is the one that you install correctly in your car and use correctly each time you drive.