The Economist Guide To Business Planning

To get any new business idea off the ground you must have a plan- and if you need to raise finance to fund the business or get the approval of senior management, it must be a convincing plan.

This comprehensive guide covers every aspect of preparing a business plan: * how you analyse the market, customers and competitors, and the business environment * how you model the business and prepare the financial statements * how you examine and explain strategic options * the analysis of risk and the assessment of both the upside and potential downside * funding issues * the all-important executive summary - often the only part of a business plan that is read * how you use a business plan to help put your plans into practice and to monitor and measure the performance of the business.