Business Plan Template for Start Up Loan Application | Desklib

A good business plan is essential for your Start Up Loan application. Use this business plan template to validate your business idea and show why it will be a success.

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LET’S GET THAT BUSINESS OF
YOURSDOWN ON PAPER…
A good business plan is essential for your Start Up Loan
application. The process of completing it helps you to validate
that your business idea is going to stack up. We’re here to
guide you through the Start Up Loan application process
starting with this business plan template, so you can show us
why your business is going to be a success!
This document is designed to help you create a business plan that is relevant for your
application for Start Up Loan funding through Virgin StartUp.
WHAT MAKES A GOOD BUSINESS PLAN?
Check out our diagram on what makes up a good business plan.
We are big believers in doing as much planning and research as possible before starting your
business – knowing the market and who your customers are will dramatically increase your
chances of success.
The idea, your ability to launch and operate the business, and the logistics, are all very
important considerations but first you need to demonstrate that there are customers for your
business and that you have access to this market.

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WHERE DO YOU START?

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PART 1: YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
BEFORE YOU START Details about you and your business.
1 YOUR BUSINESS IDEA 10
%
Once you have your initial idea it’s important to build up each layer to inform the next. See steps 3 – 6. As you
research your market and customers you should refine and improve your idea to make sure it is something your
customers want.
2 YOU 10
%
We want to know all about you, the brains behind the idea. You’ll be responsible for driving your business forward
so it’s important that we understand a bit more about your past experience and what gets you out of bed in the
morning.
3 MARKET RESEARCH 20
%
Market Research forms the base of a good business plan. You have to know what is happening in your market to
make sure you understand current trends and what your competitors are doing.
4 CUSTOMER RESEARCH 30
%
Once you have established where your business will sit in the larger market, it’s time to think more about your
customers. This is the most important part of the plan and should be given the most attention. It’s really important
that you are able to present your own information that you have gathered yourself directly from your customers.
5 MARKETING 20
%
Now that you know who your customers are you can use that information to make a marketing plan that will help
you launch and grow your business.
6 OPERATIONS 10
%
Premises, staff, suppliers, rules and regulations – Now that you know all you can about your market and customers
you can make an operational plan about how you’re going to pull it altogether.
PART 2: GUIDE TO
COMPLETING
YOUR BUSINESS PLAN
For each of the 6 sections of your business plan noted above there is a handy guide jam-packed with tips, links and
examples. As you work your way through Your Business Plan make sure you benefit from all this extra advice by
selecting‘Click here for more guidance’to link you with the relevant advice for that section. You’ll spot this link throughout
the plan so make sure you use it!
Remember!Completing a business plan for your business is a process of exploration that helps you to look objectively at your idea. A good business is the product

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of refining of the initial idea over time using what you learn through your research and experience with your customers. Listening to and learning from the people
who’ll be paying for your product or service is the key to creating a successful business! Good Luck!

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BEFORE YOU START
We need to grab a few details about YOU and YOUR BUSINESS
Your Name ABC
Your Business Name Custom Store
Describe your business
in one sentence
We make customize clothing, skin care and jewellery products according to customer’s need and
preference.
Your Business Partner MNO and PQR
(if also applying for a Start Up Loan)
Loan Amount
Requested £ 20,000
(Minimum £500 – Maximum £25,000)
To be Repaid over
(months) 30 Months

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Business Website www.customstore. Com
Business Social Media Facebook: @customstore
Instagram: @customyourproducts
Twitter: @customstore
Snapchat: @storeforcustom
Other:
Your Living Costs
1.How do you currently pay for
them?
Operating this business
2. How will you pay for them
when the business launches? Planning to pay living costs from drawings/ salary from this business
Contingency Plan
As this is a personal loan we must
consider how you would be able to
make the loan repayments and
meet your living costs if the
business was to fail or generate
less income than forecast. Please
describe in detail how you would
do this referencing your living
costs, loan repayments, and
earnings ability.
We are insure that our business idea is best which help us in generating high amount of profit so which
can able to repay loan in decided amount. Along with this, we also conduct market analysis for knowing
customers requirement and we find audiences like our ideas of business as well as they are waiting for
the opening of store.

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1. YOUR BUSINESS IDEAClick here for more guidance
What will your business do and what is the opportunity? Describe, in detail, the products and/or services your business will be selling, what
channels you will use to sell them and who you will sell them to. What does your brand stand for? What is the business philosophy and
values? Include any pictures, drawings, or links that help bring this to life.
Our business name is Custom Store we offer customized products according to the customer need and demand. We offer customized
products like clothing, jewellery and skin care products which is totally based on customer’s requirement. In addition to this according to
current situation of COVID 19 we are also offer matching mask with customer choice cloths so that our potential customer is safe.
According to the gap study which we conducted in today’s time every person required something different so that they can flaunt in the
society as well as due to current environment condition people are facing skin problems. So we decided to establish a business which offer
customize product according to customer’s requirement as well as we also have professional or experts who provide suggestions so that
audience needs get satisfy properly or successfully. Due to this reason we come up with idea of custom store. Our business philosophy
and value is to provide best products to our potential customers in customized manner so that they get satisfied and happy. Our brand i.e.
Custom Store stands for a place where individual can make customize products and services according to their requirement as well as for
appealing about it we use different promotional channels such as social media, digital media, TV promotion and many more. Our
customers are all age as well as income group people because we make products according to them. Till now we conduct analysis on
social media so that we can understand audiences reaction but we analysis that society like our store idea as well as we also get
comments that they are waiting for our store as they love the store idea. Our business structure is partnership as we are three partners. In
addition to this we didn’t have any other directors or stakeholders.

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2. YOU AND WHY YOU’RE STARTINGClick here for more guidance
Tell us about yourself, where the idea came from, and how your knowledge and experience will help to make the business a success.
Curriculum Vitae
Name – XYZ
Phone no. – 6537831109
Email ID – [e-mail]
CAREER OBJECTIVE: - I want establish a successful business venture through which I can resolve issues of society in
effective manner.
ACADEMIC QUALIFICATION:-
MBA- University of Dubai
Passing year 2018
BBA- University of Dubai
Passing year 2015
PERSONALITY HIGHLIGHTS:-
 Willingness to learn
 Punctual and Responsible
 Positive attitude
 Hard Working
 Team management
COMPUTER PROFICIENCY:-

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 Operating System: Window XP/07/08/10
 Data base: MS Access.
 MS Office: MS Word, MS Excel, MS Power Point.
Professional area:-
Store manager – Mango Dubai
From 2018 to till now
Entrepreneurial experience-
Establish business of handmade jewellery within University campus during the internship time i.e. for 6 months.
DECLARATION:-
I hereby declare that the above-mentioned information is correct up to my knowledge and I bear the responsibility for the
correctness of the above-mentioned particulars.

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3. MARKET RESEARCHClick here for more guidance
3.1 The Big Picture
Describe the wider market you are planning to operate in and identify where your company will sit in this landscape, as well as any key
statistics or trends to support why you have chosen this area of the market.
I want to establish my business venture into the retail clothing or fashion industry which is one of the biggest industries at which numbers
of companies are operating for gaining high competitive advantages. In respect of my products which are totally based on the customized
concept, the whole market is highly competitive because there are many branded and well known company towards which customers are
attracted. Within the fashion industry there are several niches such as clothing, jewellery, footwear and many more on the other hand
these are considered as niches but it is big in the size as well as in these market there are several competitors are available. There are
several trends are in fashion industry such as customized products, virtual experiences, one size fit cloths and many more. On the other
hand factors which are driving change in trends are customers demand and preferences, change in technology, increase in competition
and so on. Fashion and skin care industry are mature market because in these industry there are several companies who are operating.
No customized products offering is not new for respective business but are offering it with some new innovative features such as we are
also customized products according to the customer’s requirement as well as budget. Along with this, we are also adding additional
products i.e. mask for free so that our customer will safe from COVID 19. According to our research our custom store fit into the middle of
landscape because there are several customers who like to purchase customized products according to their requirement and budget.

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23.2 Competitors
No matter how good your idea is, there will always be other businesses fighting for the same customers – either on price or features or
quality. You need to make sure you understand your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses.
COMPETITOR 1
Click here for more guidance
Name
J.Hilburn
Type of Competitor
Direct competitor- Respective person has established themselves as a custom luxury men wear company which
offer customized suit to dress shirt according to situation.
What will you be
competing on
J.Hilburn offer luxury men wear in the customized manner as well as their product price is high or expensive
which are not afford by all but it can be considered as competitor because customers like to buy branded
products.
Strengths of
Competitor
Strength of J.Hilburn is that they are operating in similar industry from numbers of year as well as they also have
wide numbers of loyal customers.
Weaknesses of
Competitor
Weakness of respective business is that they offer their products at the high price due to which they not able to
attract wide numbers of audiences but we are offering products of different price that can be considered as our
benefit or strength.
Summary of How
you will compete
with them
In order to compete with J.Hilburn our business offer custom clothing, jewellery and skin care products according
to requirement as well as budget of customers. Through this we able to attract wide numbers of customers or
audiences towards our store in successful manner.

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3COMPETITOR 2
Click here for more guidance
Name Skin Ceuticals Custom D.O.S.E
Type of Competitor
Respective company is introduced in 1992 and they are offer customized skin care products from that time so
they have high numbers of loyal customers. They have very effective research and development team which
help in making best skin care solution for customers.
What will you be
competing on
Our Custom Store is competing with Skin Ceuticals Custom D.O.S.E on the customized skin care products offering
because we also offer skin care solution to the customers so that they can flaunt their happy as well as glowing
skin in front of others.
Strengths of
Competitor
The strength of Skin Ceuticals Custom D.O.S.E is that they are into the market from very long time due to which
they have very strong market presence at the global market. Respective company also have numbers of loyal
customers whose skin issues get resolve from company products. Along with this, they also have effective
research and development department which help them in coming up with new technology as well as products.
Weaknesses of
Competitor
There is no major weakness of Skin Ceuticals Custom D.O.S.E but their products and services are expensive
which can be afford by every person around the world.
Summary of How
you will compete
with them
Our Custom Store is going to compete with Skin Ceuticals Custom D.O.S.E and for that we are developing
products according to the requirement and budget of customers so that our skin care products can be adopt by
each and every person.

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4COMPETITOR 3
Click here for more guidance
Name
Swarovshi
Type of Competitor
Direct competitor – Swarovshi is introduced in 1895 by Daniel Swarovshi. Respective company is considered as
mastery of crystal cutting which offer numbers of jewellery such as ring, watch, set, bracelets, earrings,
necklaces and many more.
What will you be
competing on
Our Custom Store is competing with Swarovshi on the basis of customized jewellery option because we are
offering high quality jewellery according to the customer requirement as well as budget.
Strengths of
Competitor
The strength of Swarovshi is that they are operating from many years as well as they have their presence at the
global marketplace. Respective company also offer high quality diamond jewellery with attract customers.
Weaknesses of
Competitor
Weakness of respective company is that they only focus high income group people because they offer expensive
jewellery. Due to this they not able to attract wide numbers of audiences around the world.
Summary of How
you will compete
with them
Custom Store is offering wide numbers of customized jewellery according to the customer need, demand and
budget which help them in attracting more and more audiences around the world.

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5COMPETITOR 4
Click here for more guidance
Name
Burberry
Type of Competitor
Indirect competitor - Burberry is the fashion company which is introduced in 1856 and they offer wide range of
accessories, sunglasses, cosmetics, clothing, fragrances and many more.
What will you be
competing on
Our Custom Store is competing with Burberry on the basis of offering because Burberry is also offering wide
range of different products which we are offering at the marketplace such as skin care or cosmetics, accessories
and clothing.
Strengths of
Competitor
The strength of respective company is that they offer wide range of products which attract more and more
customers. Along with this, respective company also operating their business at the international level which
help in attracting more audiences.
Weaknesses of
Competitor
Burberry weakness is that they offer expensive products which cannot be afford by each and every person at the
marketplace which impact on their sales as well as profitability ratio.
Summary of How
you will compete
with them
Our Custom Store is going to compete with Burberry as they both are offing similar types of products and
services as well as we are targeting same customers. But we are offering our products according to customers
demand, need and budget.

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4. CUSTOMER RESEARCHClick here for more guidance
This is perhaps the most important part of planning and launching your business - Validating your idea by talking directly to the people
that will be buying your goods or services is the only way to ensure you are solving a problem the right way, and that there are customers
willing to pay you to do it.
Customer research in general
4.1 Test Trading
If you have undertaken any Test Trading – Describe what test/existing trading you have carried out so far. How long have you been doing
this for and where? How much have you sold – provide a weekly/monthly breakdown of sales. Based on this trading what insights have you
gained into your business or customers and how will you be implementing these into your business going forward?If you haven’t
undertaken any test trading but are in a position to start, give it a go and come back and readdress this section.
For every company it is essential to conduct customer research because through it they can understand customers need, requirement and
expectation which help in developing effective decision related to the products and services development. In respect of our Custom Store
we decide to operating in industry at which customized products are develop according to customer’s requirement and budget but in
similar industry several companies are operating already which have goodwill at the marketplace. So according to analysis of that
company customer research we identified that customers like to customize products according to their requirement as well as in current
situation of COVID 19 they are looking for matching mask which are also available with us. So we determined that our business idea is
liked by audiences as well as they lover to purchase our products. Along with this we also estimate that demand of our products will get
high in few months as we offer high quality products according to customer’s budget and requirement as well as we also offers skin care
products according to need.

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74.1.2 Direct Research | Click here for more guidance
If you have not undertaken any test trading describe what research you have done with your potential customers, what the findings of the
research were, and how you have used this to validate your idea.
Companies also need to conduct direct research which helps them in developing most effective decision according to the market need and
requirement. For our business of Custom Store we conduct direct analysis through questionnaire method or approach at the social media
platform. This is so because through this we can understand true perspective of huge numbers of audiences in effective manner according
to which they can develop better decision related to the business as well as products.

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84.2 Evidence of Demand |Click here for more guidance
Describe how you have you used your customer research or test trading to build up a picture of your sales forecast.
In order to build up a picture of sales a company can adopt different methods through which they able to forecast according to which they
can develop most effective as well as appropriate decision related to the products development and designing. In respect of our business
i.e. Custom Store we can adopt crowd funding methods, in this method small amount of money is generated from the large numbers of
audiences through the internet. This method is appropriate for our business because through this we can determine interest of customers
toward our product or idea. Along with this, it will also help us in generating some amount for establishing business at the marketplace of
Dubai as well as it is also help in conducting promotional activities.

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5. MARKETINGClick here for more guidance
5.1 Customer Profile
Based on your market and customer research/test trading you should now have built up a good idea of the different types of customer
your business will appeal to and how to reach them with your marketing activity.
CUSTOMER PROFILE 1
Customer Local Resident
Description of
Customer
These customers are local people of all age group who like to wear fashionable products or they are suffering
from any skin related issues and they want to resolve it in effective manner in their limited budget.
Why are they your
Customer
These are our Custom Store customers because local people are common as well as regular buyer of the
products as well as they can reach to the store in less time.
Channels you will
use to market to
them
In order to market Custom Store we will adopt numbers of promotional channels such as social media (facebook,
twitter, instagram, snapchat and many more), digital media, local newspaper, e mail marketing, advertisement
through TV and Radio and many more.
Activities within
channel and related
costs
Social media – In respect of this we can post our store and their products picture on the different social media
platform such as facebook, instagram, snapchat, twitter and many more. This is so because through it we able to
attract more and more audiences toward our store in effective as well as successful manner.
Local News Paper - For this our store will do advertisement at the local news paper in which we will promote
our products and services along with pictures because that will help in attracting more and more audiences
toward the Custom store successfully.
Digital Media – According to this promotional channel we will opt pop up advertisement according to which our
store promotion will pop while surfing internet.
Advertisement through TV and radio – According to these we will conduct advertisement through the radio
and television according to which we will able to attract more and more customer for our customized products
and services.
E mail marketing – According to this channel of promotion we will do advertisement through the emails
according to which people get email out our Custom Store and its feature. Through this we able to attract
customers and encourage them to visit to store.

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1CUSTOMER PROFILE 2
Customer Fashion Blogger
Description of
Customer
These are the customers who are young or teenagers as well as they are always looking for the new store which
offers more variety of fashionable products in affordable price. Along with this, fashion blogger also review stores
online which help in attract more customer if fashion blogger review positively about the store or products.
Why are they your
Customer
The fashion blogger are my customers because are always looking for fashionable products at the affordable
prices so that they can make collection of numbers of cloths. Moreover these people also have high influence on
the society which helps our Custom Store in attracting more and more customers towards the specific products
and services which we are offering.
Channels you will
use to market to
them
In order to attract fashion blogger Custom Store will conduct advertisement through local news paper, fashion
magazines, social media, TV and radio advertisement and many more. It is so because through that we able to
attract more and more customers or fashion bloggers towards our store.
Activities within
channel and related
costs
Local news paper – According to this we will publish article on the local news paper because fashion blogger
ready news paper and through that we able to attract them toward our store for purchasing products and
reviewing well about store.
Social Media – It is the best method for attracting customer because in today’s time almost every person is on
social media platforms such as facebook, instagram, twitter, shapchat and many more. Through this store able
to attract fashion bloggers as well as other potential customers.
Fashion magazines – It is one of the main channels through which fashion bloggers can be attracted, in
respect of this we can publish advertisement on the magazines so that bloggers see as well as get encouraged
to visit at the store at once for reviewing products and services.
Advertisement at TV and radio – According to this respect company will advertise about their store and products
on the television and radio because through that they can attract more and more customers.

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2CUSTOMER PROFILE 3
Customer College or University Students
Description of
Customer
These are those customers who are pursuing their studies at university or college and they have limited amount
of money which they can spend. But they are highly attracted toward the fashionable product.
Why are they your
Customer
College or University students are my target customers because we offer customized products according to the
budget customer’s need and budget so they can be out potential customer because they have limited amount of
money but they like to wear fashionable cloths. Along with this these people are highly suffer with skin related
issues so they can also get its solution at our store.
Channels you will
use to market to
them
In order to attract collect student best channel are social media, news paper, TV and radio advertisement,
pamphlets and so on. This is so because these people are highly active on these sites or medium so that we can
attract them from here.
Activities within
channel and related
costs
Social media –There are different types of social media sites such as facebook, instagram, snapchat and so on.
By posting information about Custom Store we able to attract more and more college or University students
which help in increasing sales as well as profitability successfully.
TV and radio advertisement – According to this we can advertise about our products and services at the
television as well as radio because that will help in attracting more and more college or university students.
News paper – Students also read news paper so we can also publish about our store in newspaper because that
will also help in attracting as well as encouraging them to visit store and purchase products.
Pamphlets – We can also publish about store in pamphlets and distribute in college or university because that
will help in attracting more students and encouraging them to visit store once to see the stock.

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3CUSTOMER PROFILE 4
Customer Shopaholic Person
Description of
Customer
It refers to those types of customers who like to do shopping of different products. So they are considered as my
customers because due to shopaholic nature an individual send huge amount of money but in our store a person
can shop more according to them in their preferred or decided budget.
Why are they your
Customer
The shopaholic nature person is my customers because they love to do shopping and for that they spend huge
amount of money. But in our custom store these people able to customized their products according to their
requirement as well as budget through this we able to earn high profit and reduce their expenses.
Channels you will
use to market to
them
In order to attract these customers we may adopt different promotional channels such as social media,
magazine, TV and radio advertisement and many more. These are best medium through which Custom Store can
attract their potential customers in successful manner as well as it also help in encouraging them for visiting
store.
Activities within
channel and related
costs
Social media – There are different social media channel which Custom Store may adopt in order to attract
shopaholic person. This is best way for attracting people because at respective medium store can post attractive
picture through which people get attracted and encourage purchasing products successfully.
TV and radio advertisement – Custom Store can also conduct advertisement on the TV and radio because
through it they able to cover wide numbers of shopaholic ratio around the society in successful manner.
Magazines – According to this channel Custom Store can post advertisement on magazines because through
that they able to attract more and more shopaholic person as well as through it they also able to encouraged to
visit at store.

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45.2 Route to Market | Click here for more guidance
Whether through a personal connection, an existing network of contacts, an audience you have built up on social media, or sign-ups you
have collected on your website, it’s important to demonstrate you have access to the market you plan to sell to – Who are your first
customers going to be and why have you chosen this as your route to market?
Our business Custom Store is operating on the business to customer business model according to which we will directly sell our products
to the customers in order to fulfil their need, demand and requirement. According to which we are also do customization of products
according to customers need and demand as well as we also provide skin care solution according to customer’s issues. In this respect our
first customer will be college or university students because they like to be fashionable as well as every student want that they must have
numbers of cloths but at the some point of time their budget get impacted due to which they not able to do more shopping. So our store
will provide solution to that because we design as well as make fashionable products according to customer’s requirement as well as
budget. In addition to this, student are at the growing stage during which they face several skin related issues so for that we are also
providing solution in the effective and budgeted manner.

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55.3 Launch Marketing | Click here for more guidance
How are you planning to get the word out that you’re open for business? For each channel or medium you’re planning to use explain how
and why you’re going to use it – this should be relevant to the customers you have identified in your customer profile.
In order to launch business in successful manner every company need to conduct several activities so that targeted audiences get know
about the business successfully as well as that will also help in attracting towards the store. In respect of Custom Store they are offering
customized services and products to the customers and for attracting them they need to adopt different practices such as they need to
conduct promotion through different channels such as social media (facebook, instagram, twitter, tik tok, snap chat and s on), digital
media, e mail marketing, advertisement on TV and radio, newspaper, pamphlets, billboards and many more. This is so because through it
we able to attract more and more audiences towards our store so that they can encouraged to visit store. In addition to this we also need
to adopt several other methods such as offering discount on first day, special offer on weekends, occasional offer like buy one get one,
additional discount and many more. During all this, we also need to conduct evaluation of budget so that we can plan further activities
accordingly as well as it will also help in determining whether these practices will be effective or not.

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6. OPERATIONSClick here for more guidance
6.1 Premises
Where will your business operate from? If your business premises plays an important part in your marketing/attracting customers (shops,
restaurants etc.…) you will need to have a specific premises identified and explain why you have chosen this premises. Also explain any fit
out costs that will be incurred.
If the business is less dependent on a specific location (operated from a readily available type of premises such as an office or industrial
unit) you may not need to provide this but you should provide evidence of example properties that are currently available within your
budget that suit your requirements.
While establishing a business company need to considered and take several permissions so that they can operate business operations and
functions in effective as well as legal manner. Taking permission also provide businesses a proper guideline according to which they can
conduct their operations. In respect of Custom Store, we are opening it in the Dubai because we believe that we can able to attract more
and more customers. Along with this it is a tourism place which also leads to increment in the numbers of customers in effective manner.
In order to conduct operations there we need to take permission from government as well as we also need to purchase a shop or get it on
rent for that we also need original documents. This is so because that will help in showing that we are operating in the legal manner at the
Dubai marketplace.

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76.2 Staff | Click here for more guidance
Are you planning to employ any staff in the first 12 months of trading? If so, make a list of them here, what their role will be, when they
will start, how many hours per week they will work and what they will be paid. You should ensure the timings are accurately reflected in
the Cash Flow Forecast and that 10% is added to the cost to reflect employer’s national insurance.
Role/Job Title
What will the job title be or what
will the functions be?
Hours per month/week or FT
How many hours per month will the
employee work if part time? Or
state if full time.
Cost
What will their monthly salary, or
average monthly costbe? – This
should include employer’s national
insurance and any other employer’s
costs. If they will be paid by the
hour please include the hourly rate
as well.
Month Start (1 – 12)
What month in year 1 will they start
assuming the month you receive
the loan is month 0.
Store Manager
Full time Salary of £ 40 K per annum
Total cost of £ 42,710 including
staff’s National Insurance
Month 1
Sales Assistant x 5
3 x full time working + 2 (part
time working)at the weekend or
rush time
Part time employees will get
£12/hour and full time
employees will be paid a salary
of £ 25 k to £ 27 k depending on
experience. Including employer’s
NI this will cost up to £ 32,330
per FT sales assistant.
1 full time to start in Month 1,
1 part time to start in month 4,
and an additional full time and
part time to start in Month 7

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Role/Job Title
What will the job title be or what
will the functions be?
Hours per month/week or FT
How many hours per month will the
employee work if part time? Or
state if full time.
Cost
What will their monthly salary, or
average monthly cost, be? – This
should include employer’s national
insurance and any other employer’s
costs. If they will be paid by the
hour please include the hourly rate
as well.
Month Start (1 – 12)
What month in year 1 will they start
assuming the month you receive
the loan is month 0.
Cashier Full time Salary of £ 32 K per annum
Total cost of £ 38,710 including
staff’s National Insurance
Month 1
Designer x 4
2 x full time working + 2 (part
time working)at the weekend or
rush time
Part time employees will get
£15/hour and full time
employees will be paid a salary
of £ 27 k to £ 29 k depending on
experience. Including employer’s
NI this will cost up to £ 35,330
per FT sales assistant.
1 full time to start in Month 1,
1 part time to start in month 4,
and an additional full time and
part time to start in Month 7

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96.3 Suppliers and Third Parties | Click here for more guidance
Make a list of all suppliers and major third parties your business will deal with throughout the first 12 months, what they will be
supplying, and how they are relevant or connected to your business.
Every company has numbers of suppliers which help them in conducting business operations and functions in effective manner by
supplying useful materials. In respect of Custom Store they also required numbers of suppliers who will supply them products such as
suppliers of organic material, flower and plants through which experts at respective store make skin care products according to
customer’s requirement. In addition to this they also have suppliers of cloth material, stones, laces and many others. Through these
materials Custom Store able to make their products effective according to customer’s need and requirement.

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06.4 Risks | Click here for more guidance
What are the operational risks facing your business and what are you doing to mitigate the effect these will have on you and your
customers.
While establishing a business a company go through several risks, so it is essential for their management to understand those risks and
develop strategies to overcome it. In respect of Custom Store, below risk are given which they may face along with strategies through
which it can be resolve:-
Risk Factor Impact on Business Mitigation and Outcome
Reliant on single distributors for huge
products
If we rely on the single supplier then there
will be high chance that sometime they not
able to fulfil requirement due to which our
business operations get impacted.
In order to overcome this we will develop
relationships with 3 – 4 supplier so that
when main supplier not able to fulfil
requirement we can order material from
others.
Competitors It is main risk because they can also come
up with similar type of products and
services.
In order to overcome it we will conduct
innovation on regular manner.
Delay in supply According this risk supplier will transport or
supply raw material delay due to which
company operations get impacted.
In order to avoid this issue or risk Custom
Store will contact with several supplier who
will conduct delivery of product at that time.

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16.6 Legal and Regulatory | Click here for more guidance
What legislation and regulations apply to your business? Are there any specific licenses or qualifications required for you to operate the
business either legally or for credibility? Please provide evidence of these.
While developing a business unit a person or company need to considered numbers of rules, regulations and legislations so that they can operate in effective and
appropriate manner. In respect of Custom Store they also need to considered or determine several legislations by which they operate their business operations as well as
functions in successful manner at the market of Dubai. Below some legislations are given -
Relevant Law, regulation, or qualification Evidence of Compliance provided
Permission license According to this licence our company need to take permission from
the local authority so that we can establish and run business.
Employment legislation According to this we get permission to hire or recruit employees in
respect of business requirement.

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7. NEXT STEPSClick here for more guidance
If your application is successful what are the next steps you need to take to successfully launch your business, when do you need to
complete them by and what is the cost associated at each stage?
In order to establish a business a person or company need to consider several steps so that business operations and functions will
conduct effectively and properly. In respect of Custom Store, for us it is essential to determine all steps which we need to follow before
starting a business in successfully. This process will also help us in developing effective decision as well as plan according to which we can
conduct business activities. Below those steps are given:-
Need to do By When Associated Cost
Sign a lease as well as pay deposit Day loan is drawn down (end of March) Deposit - £ 6,000
Legal costs - £ 3,500
Start shop fit-out 1 April £ 6,000
Contac with suppliers 10 April £ 0
Determine Equipment End of fit-out circa 30 April £ 2,500
Contact web developer to build website Day loan is drawn £ 1,500
Conduct social media analysis 20 April £ 1,000
Attract customers through social media 25 April £ 1,500

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Need to do By When Associated Cost
Contact mailing list about launch party 30thApril £ 0
Send invites to local social media influencers
about pre-launch 10th May £ 1000 – cost of pre-launch party.
Finalised Suppliers 12th May £ 6,500
Buy stock 15th May – 30th may £ 5,500
Buy Equipment End of fit-out circa 30 may £ 2,500
Start Business 5th June

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GUIDE TO COMPLETING YOUR PLAN
This is your how-to guide for completing your business plan for your Start Up Loan application. We have
provided you with everything you need to complete a solid first draft of your business plan, there’s advice on
what to write, research and attach as well as providing handy examples and links to online content.
ThisGuide should be read alongside the relevant section in the business plan and we’ve included helpful
links between each section in the business plan and this guide to make this as easy as possible.
You really can’t go wrong if you follow this guide!
1. THE BUSINESS IDEA
2. YOU
3. MARKET RESEARCH
4. CUSTOMER RESEARCH
5. MARKETING
6. OPERATIONS

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1. THE BUSINESS IDEAClick to jump back to your business plan
In this section provide a summary, which someone who has never met you, and knows
nothing about your business, would be able to use to gain a basic understanding of your
proposition. We recommend finalising this section after you have completed your
customer research.
Check out some great content on our website
to help you with this section
Common Business Plan Mistakes and How to
Avoid Them
Business Plan: How to Write an Executive
Summary
Business Planning - Six Entrepreneurs Pitch
their Business Idea
Include a summary of:
 What your business will do.
 What products and/or services the business will sell.
 What the market opportunity is –Why is there a need for it? And how will you address
this gap in the market?
 Your business’s philosophy and values, and tell us about what your brand stands for
and who it appeals to.
 Who your customers are.
 What you have achieved so far – Website, social media following, test – trading,
existing trading etc.…
 What the business structure will be.
 Any other directors or shareholders as well as what their input into the business will be
and what shareholding they have if applicable.
Supplementary attachments to provide:
1. If the look and visual impact of your business is important to its success (e.g. a clothing company, or anything reliant on design such
as packaging or branding material) please attach any photos or mock ups of your products, work you have done on your brand and
identity, mood boards or anything else that would help tell the story of your business visually.
2. If your business is already trading or you have carried out test trading please provide evidence of your sales in the form of bank
statements or management accounts.
3. Anything else that will provide evidence of the work you have done on the business so far.

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2. YOU AND WHY YOU’RE STARTINGClick to jump back to your business plan
In this section tell us a bit about you and your experience in each of these areas:
 Professional
 Academic
 Entrepreneurial
 What is your motivation for starting the business
Be sure to emphasise how your knowledge and experiences are relevant to the business.
What triggered the idea and why have you decided to start the business now.
Supplementary attachments to provide:
An up-to-date copy of your CV

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3. MARKET RESEARCH
The Big Picture|Click to jump back to your business plan
In this section tell us all about the market you are planning to operate in. This should be
formed of information and data you have gathered from reading case studies, market
research reports, relevant articles and web content. Some key information would be: How
big is the total market for your products or services? What are the niches within this
market and how big are they? What are the trends within the market and what factors are
driving these? Is this a new or mature market? If it is for a new or innovative product how
does the market for this work or how will you be doing things differently? Where does your
company fit into this overall landscape? The more complex your business or market, the
more detail you will need to provide to make sure the proposition is clear.
Check out some great content on our website
to help you with this section
How to Research Your Market When Starting
How to Validate your Idea with Google Trends
Competitors|Click to jump back to your business plan
In this section provide an analysis of:
Direct Competitors Indirect Competitors Substitute Competitors
Someone who is competing with you for the
same customers for the same good or services.
Someone solving the same problem or fulfilling
the same need as you but in a different way.
Someone who is competing with you for the same
customer spend but for a different product
Example:
Coffee Shop vs Coffee Shop
Two coffee shops located in the same area will
be competing for customers on the exact same
basis – somewhere to sit and have a coffee/drink
or to get a takeaway coffee/drink.
Example:
Coffee Shop vs Online coffee bean subscription
From a purely functional point of view, if a
customer just wants coffee and is not interested
in, or dislikes the experience of going to coffee
shops, they may prefer to drink coffee at home,
which is also more cost effective and
convenient.
Example:
Coffee Shop vs Pub
If it is a sunny afternoon in the weekend people
may prefer to meet friends in a beer garden over a
drink rather than at the local coffee shop.
John’s Deli: P.34 Tesco: P.35 The Farm Café: P.36
Keep reading to see how to best represent your market research of your competitors.

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8Example of a Direct Competitor|Click to jump back to your business plan
Name The name of your
competitor John’s Deli
Type of
competitor
What type of competitor
are they and
background information
about them.
Direct Competitor. John’s deli has been established locally since 2001 and has a strong local clientele.
John’s has a strong focus on imported goods from continental Europe and America.
What will you
be competing
on
What will you be
competing with them on
– Price? Convenience?
Quality?
We will sell a lot of the same types of products at approximately the same price, and will be based on
the same High Street.
Strengths of
competitor
What does this
competitor do well?
John’s is very well established and has additional revenue streams working as a distributor for a lot of
their suppliers, supplying wholesale to local cafes and restaurants as well as retail directly to
consumers. They have exclusivity of a number of high demand products.
Weaknesses of
competitor
What does this
competitor do badly?
While all the staff are very friendly their lack of use of technology makes it very unreliable and the
service is very slow. They do not have a proper POS till system and have no website to show what they
do and don’t have in stock. When you call to place a larger order it is written down on a piece of paper
and called through to suppliers rather than being entered into a system to track the order - As a result
orders are often not passed on or fulfilled. They also have no database of customers to use for
marketing purposes instead relying entirely on “inbound” sales.
Summary of
how you will
compete with
them
Based on these factors
what will your business
do, and what specific
activities will you
engage in to make
customers choose you
instead?
We will be exclusively selling products that have been sourced from within a 100 mile radius of our
shop. There is a strong trend to localism as a more sustainable way to do business, and as an area rich
in producers of all kinds there is a huge range of products available. This will be a strong USP compared
to John’s. We will be buying directly from the producers ensuring our prices remain competitive while
maintaining margins. We have our stock database linked to our website so customers can see at any
time what we have in stock, and can also place orders online and track the orders. We will capture all
customers email addresses so we can market new and related goods to them as well as keep them
informed with what is going on with producer hosted events at the shop.

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9Example of an Indirect Competitor
Name The name of your
competitor Tesco
Type of
competitor
What type of competitor
are they and
background information
about them.
Indirect Competitor. The UK’s largest supermarket chain.
What will you
be competing
on
What will you be
competing with them on
– Price? Convenience?
Quality?
On the most basic level we will be competing with them on the sale of food and ingredients to cook and
eat at home.
Strengths of
competitor
What does this
competitor do well?
Cheap and convenient – there is a large Tesco and 2 Tesco Express stores within a short walk of our
shop where similar goods are cheaper, and they have more convenient locations next to the main train
station and a large car park.
Weaknesses of
competitor
What does this
competitor do badly?
Tesco don’t have a very strong public image and are seen in some ways as the enemy of small local
businesses and suppliers; While they offer some premium lines the quality of their produce is generally
poor; They do not have a very good selection of organic sustainably sourced products which is
becoming increasingly important to our target customers; Due to their large scale they aren’t able to
offer the same niche range of products or offer any products from small, local suppliers.
Summary of
how you will
compete with
them
Based on these factors
what will your business
do, and what specific
activities will you
engage in to make
customers choose you
instead?
We will deliberately be sourcing a wide range of products that Tesco and other large supermarkets
don’t stock. We will focus a lot of our marketing on the local suppliers we are using, and communicating
how much more of the retail price they get to keep by buying from a small local business who sources
directly as opposed to large multiples who have to put constant downward price pressure on their
suppliers to keep margins high to cover their large overheads. We will focus our marketing on a very
small range of customers who we believe only go to Tesco or large supermarkets out of necessity
rather than choice.

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0Example of a Substitute Competitor
Name The name of your
competitor The Farm Café
Type of
competitor
What type of competitor
are they and
background information
about them.
Substitute Competitor – They have a very similar ethos to our business sourcing all of their products
from local producers but they are a restaurant that specialise in cooked meals for breakfast and lunch.
They have been open for two years and have a very strong reputation locally.
What will you
be competing
on
What will you be
competing with them on
– Price? Convenience?
Quality?
We will be competing with them for the same customer’s spend – while we provide ingredients to
prepare and eat at home, they use the same high quality ingredients in their meals – customers may
choose to go out for a meal rather than buy the ingredients to cook at home.
Strengths of
competitor
What does this
competitor do well?
High quality, sustainable, Locally sourced ingredients; Good reputation and very good reviews on
TripAdvisor; Provide very good service and have strong well followed social media presence.
Weaknesses of
competitor
What does this
competitor do badly?
Due to the size and type of their premises (large restaurant) their overheads are much higher, and as
they use more fresh ingredients that spoil their waste is higher, both of which mean their meals cost
well in excess of average for the area and it is definitely perceived as “expensive” whereas our
products are priced in line with, or are cheaper than comparative quality products at the supermarket.
Summary of
how you will
compete with
them
Based on these factors
what will your business
do, and what specific
activities will you
engage in to make
customers choose you
instead?
We will focus our marketing on the joy and advantages of cooking at home - we will provide free recipe
cards that will be available in the shop as well as on our website about how to get the most of the
ingredients, as well as creating short videos showing fast and easy recipes busy people can use to
prepare a meal with our ingredients in under 10 minutes. We also plan to launch free cooking classes
featuring our more interesting products that are hard to source elsewhere to encourage people to buy
them afterwards.

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Check out some more great content on our website to help you with defining your Competitors:
How to Sell Smarter than your Competitors: Skinsincere
Video on How to Beat your Competitors
Paul Munnery: How to Research and Beat Your Competitors
Business Plan How to Better Your Competitors
Click to jump back to your business plan

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4. CUSTOMER RESEARCHClick to jump back to your business plan
It is essential that you have either done some test trading or spent
considerable time conducting your own meaningful research with
your potential customers. You need to demonstrate that your idea
has been validated and that there is sufficient demand for your
product or service for the business to be viable. This will help you
test the original hypothesis about your business, and the feedback
you get from your potential customers can provide insights you may
have otherwise overlooked. It is important that you go into this
process under the assumption that your idea isn’t perfect - This will
help you be more objective in listening and applying what your
customers are telling you.
Check out some great articles from our website:
GEW: How to Validate Your Business Idea
How Four Entrepreneurs were Funded Through Virgin Startup and
Validated their Business Ideas
How to Build a Standout Startup Brand
Test Trading or Existing Business
In this section please provide as much information as possible about your trading to date and provide evidence of this in the appendices.
Provide monthly, weekly, or daily sales figures depending on the nature of your business and how long you have been test/trading.
Tell us what your assumptions were going into your trading, what actually happened once you started, and what you have learned from
your customers that you will be applying going forward.
Supplementary attachments to provide:
Please provide third party confirmation of sales such as bank
statements. If the business has been trading for more than 12
months provide annual accounts prepared and filed by an
accountant – in this instance a profit and loss statement must be
included. Note that invoices and any other documents you have
produced yourself will not be sufficient.
Check out some great articles from our website about how to pop-
up
How to Sell Pop at a Popup Stall
Four Reasons a Pop-Up can Benefit your Business
How to Run an Amazing Pop-Up: Lexie Sport
How to Run a Pop-Up at a Train Station
How to get Customers Before You Start Selling
Direct Research|Click to jump back to your business plan

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3Test trading will not always be possible depending on the nature of your
business. If this is the case for you it is really important that you have personally
spoken to as many people as possible who are potential customers for your
business. You need to gather your own information based on what is important
to your business succeeding – as well as providing vital information you can use
to shape your offering it will also go a long way to demonstrating you have
access to the market you want to sell to.
It is important to get feedback from the people who will actually be paying you.
If you are a wholesaler for example, selling to other businesses rather than
direct to the consumer, as well as validating your idea with consumers that it is
something they want or need, you will also need to contact the businesses you
will be selling to get their feedback and find out if it is something they would
potentially buy from you. In an ideal world you would be able to secure some
pre-sales or letters of intent depending on how far your business has
progressed. We know that as a start-up this isn’t always possible but it is very
important you are able to provide evidence of some “warm leads” - that is to
say customers who like your idea and want you to get back in touch with them
once you are up and running with a view to being your customer or client in the
future. You should use this feedback to inform your business plan to ensure the
idea behind the business you are trying to launch has been validated
In this section provide as much detail as possible about what research you
carried out, what your methods were, who you spoke to, and what their
feedback was.
How to Build a Great Website for less than £100
How to Prove your Business Idea Will Work
Michelle Lower: How to do Market Research on a Startup
Budget
How to Test a Product: Annabel Karmel
Supplementary Attachments to Provide
Please provide evidence of this having been done in the appendices - Email chains are a good example, as well as summarised survey results.

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4Crowdfunding|Click to jump back to your business plan
If you can successfully raise funds, or demonstrate meaningful interest through a crowdfunding
campaign, you can use this in addition to other research to demonstrate evidence of demand for
your business.
How we Validated our Idea
Crowdfunding: MBJ London
Evidence of Demand
In this section explain why you now
feel the business idea is validated,
and using the information from your
test/trading or research explain the
logic that will underpin the
assumptions that drive your sales
forecast.
Example:
An excellent example of this comes from a business we funded to open a small take-away coffee shop on
the platform of a suburban train station.
To establish if there would be sufficient customers for the business to be viable we counted the number of
people that use the platform between 6.30 and 8.30 from Monday to Friday over the course of 2 weeks. The
results varied a lot but on average 1200 people used the platform each day between these hours. We are
proposing that the business is open longer hours but have identified this as the key period that will make or
break our business.
Each day we asked 100 people if they would buy a coffee or tea from a shop located on the platform if one
existed. Roughly 10% of those asked said they would buy one every day, which we have assumed as 4
days/week to account for holidays etc.…
Another 10% of people said they would buy one regularly which we are conservatively estimating to be 2
days/week.
30% of people said they definitely wouldn’t buy one at all and the other 50% said they would buy one
occasionally which we are assuming to be once every 2 weeks.
Weekly sales calculations:
1200 x 10% x 4 = 480
1200 x 10% x 2 = 240
1200 x 50% x 0.5 = 300
Total Sales = 1020 units x average price £2.40 = revenue of £2,400/week, or £5,000/month.
We are assuming it will take 6 months to grow to this level and that our first month’s revenue will be half of
this figure.

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5. MARKETINGClick to jump back to your business plan
Before getting started on this section you should have a look through the great articles and videos on our website about how some of our
successful applicants and other inspiring entrepreneurs market their businesses.
Virgin Startup - Examples of Successful Marketing
Social Media Strategy
Creating a Social Media Strategy
How the Meringue Girls built an instagram following of over130,000
How to use influencer marketing
How to build an email list of 80,000 subscribers
How to get influential people talking about your brand and grow
leads
How to build an instagram strategy
How to grow your business with linkedin
How I market my business with facebook
New social media marketing channels for startups
Brand Awareness/Get Noticed
Market your business by breaking a guinness world record title
How to get your business noticed
How to get your startup in the media
How to do PR on a budget by Frugl
Online and Social Media Advertising
How to create a great Facebook ad
How to get started with PPC
Customer Profile
While it’s important that your business is welcoming and open to doing business with all types of customers, from a marketing point of
view, it’s important to focus the time and resources you have at the specific groups your research or test trading tell you will be your best
customers. If you try to market your business to everyone you may spread yourself too thin, and by diluting your messaging to try to
appeal to everyone, it may end up appealing to no one. For example the language and methods you would use to market your business to
a teenager would be very different to what you would use to market to someone who is 60. It would be very difficult for a start up to find a
way to market effectively to both these demographics with a single marketing approach. By targeting specific customers via channels and
messaging tailored specifically to them, you increase your chances of your marketing being effective.
In this section provide a detailed analysis of who your customers are and how you are going to reach them.

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63 Examples of Customers for a Gourmet Burger Restaurant |Click to jump back to your business plan
CUSTOMER 1
Customer
Based on your research or
test trading, provide a
description of the type of
customer you will be
targeting
Burger Aficionados and bloggers.
Description of
Customer
What lifestyle factors or
behaviours does this group
of people have in common,
where do they shop, what
do they buy, if relevant
how much money do they
earn
These customers are predominantly male, aged 30 – 40. They are always on the look-out for new burger
restaurants so they can be the first to review and post to social media.
Why are they your
Customer?
Describe how these factors
are aligned with your
business’ values, price,
products/services and
location
We will be using high quality ingredients, such as grass fed beef and artisan baked buns, and focus on the
quality and provenance of our ingredients.
Channels you will
use to market to
them
List the channels you will
be using to reach your
customers. Be as specific
as possible and say why
you have chosen this
Instagram, Facebook – most used platforms by this demographic.
Personal Invitations – personal touch that will encourage people to attend more than a blanket email or social
media post. By only sending to a limited number of people it will also be more exclusive.
Activities within
channel and related
costs
For each channel you have
identified, describe in
more detail what specific
activities and strategies
you are planning to use
and what the associated
costs will be and how
regularly you will incur
these costs
Instagram – we will post pictures of all of our burgers taken by professional photographers. We will use hash
tags and tag relevant burger blogs and groups. Instagram is heavily used by this group.
Facebook - use Facebook ads and promoted posts to have content visible in the feeds of people who like other
burger restaurants and bloggers.
Invitations – we will have a soft launch evening where we will invite prominent burger bloggers to the
restaurant.

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7CUSTOMER 2|Click to jump back to your business plan
Customer
Based on your research or
test trading, provide a
description of the type of
customer you will be
targeting
Foodies
Description of
Customer
What lifestyle factors or
behaviours does this group
of people have in common,
where do they shop, what
do they buy, if relevant
how much money do they
earn
These customers are an even mix of male and female and generally aged 25 – 45. They like eating in new
restaurants and follow new food trends. They could live anywhere in the city but most weekends would make a
special trip to at least one new eatery they have heard about. They would prefer craft beer or real ale to lager
and would more likely favour independent businesses over buying from big chains.
Why are they your
Customer?
Describe how these factors
are aligned with your
business’ values, price,
products/services and
location.
As premium/gourmet burgers are a food trend at the moment, and we have a clear USP with our offering,
people who are interested in, and enjoy trying new food are likely to want to try our burgers.
Channels you will
use to market to
them
List the channels you will
be using to reach your
customers. Be as specific
as possible and say why
you have chosen this.
Instagram, Facebook – most used social media platforms by this demographic.
Activities within
channel and related
costs
For each channel you have
identified, describe in
more detail what specific
activities and strategies
you are planning to use
and what the associated
costs will be and how
regularly you will incur
these costs.
Instagram – we will be using Instagram stories to show our chefs creating new burger recipes. We will post at
least 5 photos of burgers to our feed per day as well as 5 funny or interesting posts such as quotes about food
or our ingredients.

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8CUSTOMER 3|Click to jump back to your business plan
Customer
Based on your research or
test trading, provide a
description of the type of
customer you will be
targeting
Local Residents
Description of
Customer
What lifestyle factors or
behaviours does this group
of people have in common,
where do they shop, what
do they buy, if relevant
how much money do they
earn
They live within an easily commutable distance of the restaurant
Why are they your
Customer?
Describe how these factors
are aligned with your
business’ values, price,
products/services and
location.
From a geographical point of view these are the customers who are most important to us and who we would
expect to make up a large part of our customer base.
Channels you will
use to market to
them
List the channels you will
be using to reach your
customers. Be as specific
as possible and say why
you have chosen this.
Resident’s discount, local newspaper, loyalty card
Activities within
channel and related
costs
For each channel you have
identified, describe in
more detail what specific
activities and strategies
you are planning to use
and what the associated
costs will be and how
regularly you will incur
these costs.
Resident’s discount – we will have an opening party offering free burgers and fries to the first 100 customers.
We will make conversation with customers and ask where they live; if they are local we will give them a key ring
which will allow them to have half price meals on Monday and Tuesday night. As we see people come in
regularly we will ascertain if they live locally and provide up to 100 key rings in total.
Local Newspaper – it’s very important for us to be part of the local community – we will advertise our monthly
special in the local paper every week.
Loyalty Card – those that live locally are the most likely to be repeat purchasers, to encourage this we will have
a loyalty card that will allow the customer to get every 10th burger for free.

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9Route to Market|Click to jump back to your business plan
In this section tell us who you’re first customers are going to be. If you are planning to start a bricks and mortar business with street
frontage this will be less relevant as you will have passing trade to rely on, (the launch marketing section will be very relevant to you) but
if you’re business is Business to Business (B2B), or an online or office based Business to Consumer (B2C) business that can’t rely on
passing trade to get noticed, you need to be more specific in identifying who your first customers will be. This could be through an existing
network of contacts or through customers you spoke to during your initial research or test trading. You could have the best product or
service in the world but you need to be able to demonstrate you have access to the market so you can actually sell it - you need to be
able to provide evidence of these relationships (such as emails from customers who want to buy your product or service, or expressing a
strong interest in doing so when the business is operational) to verify you have a viable route to market. If you are an online business you
might want to think about how you can leverage existing audiences to hit the ground running, such as using popular platforms like EBay,
Amazon, or Etsy, or using influencer marketing through social media.
How to Partner with a Big Brand
Launch Marketing|Click to jump back to your business plan
How are you going to get people’s attention to let them know
you’re open for business? Depending on your business and how
progressed it is it may be a good idea to focus a lot of
marketing activity around your launch. This could be through
concentrated spend on advertising through channels you know
your target customers are using, opening day discounts, or free
trial periods.
If you are planning to use any of the start-up loan funds for
launch marketing, use this section to provide a detailed
breakdown of how much will spent on each activity.
Example:
Facebook Ads –
Launch Event – Approximately £500 for hire of venue plus
welcome drinks ½ page advertisement in local newspaper - £150
per issue, run for 4 weeks = £600
Flyers – Planning to a do a flyer drop in the local area 5,000 fliers
= £200 including delivery
Discounts – Free for first day promotion – total cost to us
approximately £1000 worth of raw materials.

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6. OPERATIONSClick to jump back to your business plan
Premises
In this section tell us where your business will operate from, why you have chosen this location and what the associated costs are.
If the businesses premises or location play an important part on the fabric of your business, such as a restaurant or retail premises
requiring footfall, you should provide a full description of the premises, the surrounding area (what other types of businesses and people
are nearby and what effect will this have on your business) detail of any fit-out work that needs to be carried out, and why you have
chosen this location. To do this accurately you need to have specific premises in mind that is available to rent. You need to provide
evidence that you have been in touch with the landlord or agent, and have an agreement in principle that you will be able to rent the
premises for your required purpose, along with the term and cost of the arrangement.
If your business premises is less dependent on exact location to reach customers (such as operated from an office, or an online business
that is not limited by geography to reach customers) it will be sufficient to provide examples of properties that are currently available
within your budget that fit your requirements. This is not required if you are planning to operate your business from home but you should
make reference to this specifically in the business plan.
Supplementary Attachments to Provide
 Email chains with landlord or agent confirming the property is under offer or that there is an agreement in principle to let the property
to you.
 Heads of Terms or a draft copy of the lease.
 Mock-ups, designs, floorplansetc.… that show what you plan to do with the property.
 Quotes for any fit-out work required.

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1Staff|Click to jump back to your business plan
Are you planning to employ any staff in the business other than yourself? If so, provide full details in this section. Include what the role will
be, what month the role needs to be filled, how many hours per week they will work or if it is full time, and how much they will be paid.
Role/Job Title
What will the job title be or what
will the functions be?
Hours per month/week or FT
How many hours per month will the
employee work if part time? Or
state if full time.
Cost
What will their monthly salary, or
average monthly cost, be? – This
should include employer’s national
insurance and any other employer’s
costs. If they will be paid by the
hour please include the hourly rate
as well.
Month Start (1 – 12)
What month in year 1 will they start
assuming the month you receive
the loan is month 0.
General Manager Full-Time
Salary of £35k/year, total cost of
£38,710 including employer’s
National Insurance
Month 1
Sales Assistant x 4
2 x part-time working
approximately 20 hours/week, 2
x FT.
Part time employees will get
£10/hour and full time
employees will be paid a salary
of £20k to £25k depending on
experience. Including employer’s
NI this will cost up to £27,330
per FT sales assistant.
1 full time to start in Month 1, 1
part time to start in month 3,
and an additional full time and
part time to start in Month 6

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2Suppliers and Third Parties|Click to jump back to your business plan
To ensure you are getting the best prices from your suppliers and service providers, and that your cash flow forecast is as accurate as
possible, you should have contacted a number of these parties to get quotes and discuss payment terms – take this into consideration
when preparing your cash flow forecast.
In this section make a list of the major suppliers and service providers you will use, what you will buy from them, at what prices, and what
the payment terms will be. Focus on larger costs that will have a material effect on your cash flow.
Risks| Click to jump back to your business plan
In this section identify key operation risks to your business, what the impact will be, and what steps you are taking, or have taken to
mitigate the effect of these risks.
Risk Factor Impact on Business Mitigation and Outcome
Reliant on one distributor for 80% of all
products
If there was a problem with delivery or
unfavourable change in terms it would
have an effect across all of our products
due to how much we purchase from this
supplier. We would have to increase prices
or reduce margins to remain cash flow
positive. In the instance of a delivery
problem we may not be able to open on
the effected days.
We have built relationships with 3 other
suppliers who between them can supply
everything we get from our main supplier.
They are located very close to us and have
provided assurances around their ability to
deliver at very short notice – this service
costs more which is why we do not use them
as our main suppliers, but would enable us to
stay open and limit financial and reputational
damage of being closed for periods of time.

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3Legal and Regulatory|Click to jump back to your business plan
In this section provide details of legislation and regulations that apply to your business. Are any specific licenses or qualification required
for you to operate the business either legally or for credibility?
Relevant Law, regulation, or qualification Evidence of Compliance provided
A3 Premises use (restaurant) Planning permission granted for change of use – letter from
local authority attached
Personal Alcohol License License attached
Premises License License attached
Food Hygiene Level 2 Certificate attached
Supplementary Attachments to Provide
Evidence of your compliance with each of the legal and regulatory requirements you have identified as applying to your business.

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4Next Steps|Click to jump back to your business plan
In this section provide detail and timelines for each step you need to take from when you get the loan to achieve your first sale.
Need to do By When Associated Cost
Sign lease and pay deposit Day loan is drawn down (end of March) Deposit - £4,000
Legal costs - £1,500
Start shop fit-out 1 April £5,000
Buy Equipment End of fit-out circa 30 April £2,500
Contact web developer to build website Day loan is drawn £1,500
Contact mailing list about launch party 30th May £0
Send invites to local social media influencers
about pre-launch 15th April £1000 – cost of pre-launch party.
Buy stock 15th April – 30th April £5,500

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CONGRATULATIONS - YOU’VE COMPLETED
YOUR BUSINESS PLAN TO APPLY FOR A
START UP LOAN FROM VIRGIN STARTUP!
You’re one step closer to turning your business idea into a reality and it’s a big step we want to celebrate
with you – share your progress with the startup community and tweet us @VirginStartUp.
If you have any questions about the business plan email [e-mail] and one of the Virgin StartUp team will be happy to help you.
Also, make sure you check out www.virginstartup.org for even more advice and inspiration.
Good luck and remember…
RICHARD BRANSON, FOUNDER VIRGIN GROUP
“BUILDING A BUSINESS IS NOT
ROCKET SCIENCE; IT’S ABOUT
HAVING A GREAT IDEA AND
SEEING IT THROUGH WITH