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Free advice on offer as National Business Planning Week returns

National Business Planning Week returns next month, offering small businesses the chance to use free planning serivces and access to experts.

Coordinated by Your Business Matters and BIS the week aims to provide small business with a host of free online tools, including free access to LivePlan.com.

The week runs February 10-16 and will cover topics such as defining your business and aims, market research, operations and logistics and financials.

Steve Ashton, managing director of YBM HQ, welcomed the arrival of the 2nd National Business Planning Week and explained what it means to UK owner managed businesses: “Last year’s campaign was conceived and launched in a very short time period and the focus was the traditional view of writing a business plan in order to gain finance.

“This year, we are addressing the fact that many people forget that a good business plan is more than a begging letter to a bank manager, VC or angel investor. A good plan is dynamic as a reality check, communication tool and a strategy for growth. Modern thinking is that your business plan is the ‘roadmap’ for your business strategy.”

A spokesperson for co-organiser, BIS’s Business Is GREAT Britain, said: “Businesses need the right advice and access to the right tools to help them grow or get up and running. Not only can a good quality business plan help businesses develop a strategy for growth, it can also help secure finance or investment and help a business decide if it needs new assets or resources.

“This is a great initiative and businesses that do not yet have a business plan should take advantage of the opportunities National Business Planning Week is offering.”

All UK owner-managed businesses and start-ups are invited to register with this free initiative by visiting this address.

Registered participants can now download the planning templates, pose questions in the Planning Forums and gain access to a developing library of business planning resources. Registered participants will also be eligible for a free trial of the LivePlan cloud service and take part in Palo Alto Software’s planning webinars.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Tom Keighley .