Understand
A business plan records what you intend to offer, who needs it, how you will deliver it and whether the numbers work. Its purpose is to support decisions, not to produce a long document. A lender or funding programme may require its own format.
Check
Write down the decision this plan must support: testing an idea, opening a premises, seeking funding or expanding an existing business. Separate what you know from what you assume. For every important assumption, name the evidence you still need.
Compare
Compare at least two practical ways to deliver the offer: for example, a small paid trial before a full launch, or a service before a stocked product. Compare customer demand, setup cost, monthly commitments, delivery capacity and the consequence if demand is lower than expected.
Prepare
Collect customer research, competitor alternatives, supplier quotes and the costs of delivering each sale. Prepare a cash-flow forecast showing when money is received and paid. Keep legal registrations and tax requirements in a separate jurisdiction-specific checklist rather than copying another country’s rules.
Do
Write a short first version covering the customer problem, your offer, evidence of demand, sales approach, operations, people, risks and finances. Finish with named actions, owners and decision dates. Keep a list of assumptions alongside the plan so readers can distinguish estimates from established facts.
Verify
Ask someone unfamiliar with the idea to explain back who the customer is, why they would buy and how the business receives money. Check that the sales forecast fits your delivery capacity and that the cash forecast can pay commitments when they fall due. Reconcile figures across the plan before sharing it.
Maintain
Set a review date and compare actual sales, costs and cash with the assumptions. Record what changed and why. Revisit the plan before accepting a new lease, hiring or making another substantial commitment; do not treat the first version as permanent.
A worked example
Illustrative exercise: a repair business plans five paid trial appointments before buying a second van. Its plan records the target customer, the appointment price assumption, travel time, parts payment timing and the evidence needed to justify expansion. This is a teaching example, not a reported customer result.
Common mistakes
- Writing a sales target without explaining the evidence or delivery capacity.
- Confusing an invoice issued with cash already received.
- Copying another business’s plan or importing another jurisdiction’s legal requirements.
Put it into practice
Work through these prompts. Ticks last only while this page is open; no answers are sent or stored. Download the blank worksheet to keep your own notes.
Supporting reading
Sources inspected 7 November 2026. Exercises and examples above are original teaching material; the linked organisations have not endorsed this guide.
- Jersey Business — developing a business plan
Jersey business support; general planning guidance.
- GOV.UK — write a business plan
UK reference for general planning; not Jersey or Guernsey formation rules.