Hi
Am near the end of my VTCT holistic therapy course, we have been guinea pigs for this course as it's been a new way of doing the course, they are going to turn it into a 2 year course this year as it's so intense, even the tutors have been learning along the way.
after this half term we have three weeks left then we have finished, they told us in the beginning that we did not have to do a business plan, they gave us a template and said, 'there you go put that in your portfolio that will do' NOW, at this stage they've decided we've got to do one.....we have all worked so hard to get this far, I've had no problems doing the work upto now, i've enjoyed it but this, I feel is going to fail me as writing this business plan is way beyond my capabilities I think!
I have health issues which led me to take on this course and I intend to work from home because I have the space and at my own pace, I don't expect to made alot of money, I'm happy to make, say £100 a week, my life does not depend on it so I do not know what to write as I dont' need any funding, I have all my equipment, my room, everything is set up......I don't wish that someone do this for me, but an simple example would be a big help, I've scoured the net and they are all very complicated, not the example i'm looking for ...
Can anyone point me in the right direction, so much appricated...cheers Susan
Hi Susand,
I have been considering setting up my own business since being made redundant, I attended a workshop which really did help. The tutur is on linkedin he's called: Allan Smith. He's running some workshops at the moment, so pm me if you would like his details. I found his workshop really informative and I was able to put together a business plan.
Is it that its been termed a Business plan which puts you off? If it does try to make it more simple and don't think of it as a business plan, maybe try the following headings.
What are your aims?
Describe the type of service you want to provide
What are your objectives?
The above are a good place to start and will help lead you onto the other elements. It could be one sentence for each or a number of sentences.
Then move onto the areas which need a little more thought, again just a draft version of this, it doesn't need to be perfect on the first version its a working and evolving document, anyway consider the following:
How much time do you want to spend on your business?
e.g to earn £100 I need to see 5 clients, thats one a day mon-fri maybe?
Overheads - put down everything your equipment cost, what is the likely maintenance costs going to be etc. Include Insurance (public liability, home insurance will need to be considered, subsciptions to magazines etc can be included, mobile stuff like this).
How much money do you expect to earn after overheads/consumerables etc have been deducted. You have already stated that this isn't that important to you, so finger in the air for now is fine.
How are you going to market yourself e.g facebook, friends/family, and advert somewhere.
Then a section for anything else.
I hope that this helps and if you need anyone to read it over for you I'll gladly provide you with some feedback.
Good luck!
Love & Light
Sorry for the late reply am suffering from the flu at the moment so haven't been near the pc...
thanks for your reply, it's most helpful, I will take the info on board and see what I can come up with...cheers susan
I got a business pack from my bank. In it was a form to fill in for the business plan. It had all the necessary questions on it.
Also the small business centre held free workshops covering marketing, business plan, accounts. It was very informative.
The purpose of a business plan is to make you think about your business realistically. When you have to state your business, it makes you stop and think about what you area really going to do, whether it is foot massage or selling hardware. As Meadowsweet wrote: your aims, service, objectives. This gets you thinking that you can do "feel good" foot massage, theraputic reflexology, sell oils and essential oils, offer gift certificates. What kind of mood do you want to set? Professional, of course, but folksy or sophisticated, light or muted? And what do you need? How much will it cost to have a table, a stool, a cabinet, oils, and so on. How much space do you need? How private? etc. It would help to get a form from a bank, but you can easily use your own computer to modify it to your circumstances.
Isn't there a Sirolli project in your area (enterprise facilitation)? Google it.