In this second section of the book, we are going to look at the key initiatives that you need to undertake in the start up period for a new business. Essentially, these are the things that you need to do before you get to the point where you can start trading.

1. Firstly, we will discuss the importance of developing your core idea into a meaningful proposition. This will in turn help you formulate reasonable goals and enable you to develop a strategy to achieve them. This is the important first stage of constructing your overall business plan.
2. You need to create a financial plan that allows you to manage the key elements impacting upon the potential success of the business, including a profit forecast, cash flow and balance sheet. We will offer guidance on their preparation and illustrate with simple examples.
3. How and when you use external advisors in the business will depend on the type of business you have. We will discuss how to determine the right time to use external advice so that you do not waste valuable resource paying for something you can do yourself.
4. You will need to decide how to structure your business, both in terms of who owns it and the legal entity you choose to operate under. We will look at your options in this chapter.
5. Deciding on a name is the first step in establishing your business brand. You will also need to develop a range of other tools including logo, stationery, websites and so forth which will begin to give your business its unique identity and be available to use as you launch the business.
6. All good business management involves an awareness of the risks that the business faces. It is especially important in the start up phase and many a young business has floundered because it neglected to assess and manage risks. We explore the key ways to minimise your exposure to such issues.
7. The encapsulation of all your planning into a final formal business plan creates a valuable tool that you can use with the people you need to influence to help make your business a success. It is the culmination of much of the thinking in the book thus far and signals that you are ready to start the doing!