Unit 11

DRAWING UP A BUSINESS PLAN

Learn the active vocabulary of the Unit and get ready to use it in your further work.

tax return - податкова декларація; freelance – позаштатний праців-ник; estimate – оцінювати (попередньо); кошторис; competative edge – конкурентна здатність; premises - службове приміщення; overheads – накладні видатки; invoice - рахунок-фактура; personnel – персонал, штат; venture - комерційне підприєм-ство; ризикована справа; business performance – діяльність підприємства (результати); anticipate – передбачати, плану-вати;

staff – штат працівників; to reach the market – дійти до ринку збуту (до покупця); to keep the record – вести записи, облік; quotations – котирування, курс (встановлення поточної ціни); profit margin –валовий прибуток; spending power – витратна здат-ність; bill – рахунок до оплати; cost -1.pl витрати, затрати 2. ціна, вартість; собівартість. cash flow – потік грошових кош-тів; balance sheet –балансовий звіт; income statement –звіт про ре-зультати господарської діяльності.

Text A

Setting up a successful business requires careful preparation and planning but also involves a degree of risk-taking. There are a number of questions that all entrepreneurs must ask themselves concerning the products or services that they intend to sell, the competition that they will face, the structure of the business itself and the sources of finance that they will need to open their new venture. This means that all of these parameters must be defined in a business plan: a document that shows how the entrepreneur will organise his or her business, how much he or she expects to sell and where the capital will come from.

Whatever your business, making a plan of how it will operate will be crucial for success. There are always stories circulating of people who just set up a business and prosper without any planning. But, unfortunately, for everyone who succeeds like that thousands fail - which can mean a lot of disappointment and problems and a distressing waste of time, energy, money and potential.

When setting out to start your own business, keep the word plan in your head at all times. The more homework you can do before going ahead, the better. There is a natural tendency in all of us to exaggerate what we know and to ignore the gaps in our knowledge.

A business plan form usually covers:

• your objectives • your market • your product or service • pricing and costs • suppliers • premises and equipment • personnel

• personal details • marketing and promotion • a book-keeping or record system • other information • putting together a profit and loss forecast and a cash flow forecast.

Your objectives. Describe what you want to get out of the business and over what period. Try to give an idea of how you see the business developing over this period of time. Suggested periods are:

Short-term - up to one year. Medium term - one year to three years.

Your market. How is your product or service to be sold? How much will it cost you to reach potential customers?

What is it about your business that is special? Who are you aiming at? How big is your market (e.g. number of potential customers and their spending power)? What sort of people will be buying from you? Where are they located?

If you have researched your potential customers properly you should be able to give a good indication of their number and requirements, and give as much detail about the competition as you can, including details of where you fit in.

Your product or service. Exactly what is it? What does it look like, feel like? How is it to be packaged if it is a product, or presented if it is a service? If you are manufacturing, who will supply your materials, and what are the costs? How have your potential customers been coping without your product or service (e.g. have they been obtaining it from other sources, or is your product or service different from others on the market)? How much will your potential customers pay for it? How often will they buy, and in what quantities? What is the competition charging (e.g. are there recommended retail prices)? How will you compete (e.g. by price, quality of service)? How much does it cost to produce your product or provide your service? To obtain this information you need to undertake some market research.

 

Exercise 1. Read the text and answer the questions.

1. Is it possible to be a success without drawing up a proper business plan?

2. Why do many businesses fail?

3. What does failure of a business lead to?

4. What do we usually tend to?

5. Do you think it is important what the product looks like? What are the ways of improving the image of a product?

Exercise 2. Match the words/phrases on the left with those on the right.

1) crucial	a) purchasing power
2) to prosper	b) a flow of money into and out of a business
3) spending power	c) of deciding importance
4) cash flow	d) to receive
5) to cope with	e) to deal successfully with difficulties
6) to obtain	f) to become successful and especially rich
7) to exaggerate	g) to make seem better, larger, etc than it really is

Exercise 3. There are a lot of direct questions in the text. Pick them up and change into indirect ones using the introductory phrases as in the example below. Mind the word order.

Example: How is your product or service to be sold?–

You have to decide how your product or service is to be sold.

Are there recommended retail prices? –

You have to find out if there are recommended retail prices.