The Business Plan Workbook

Without a business plan, no bank, venture capital house, or corporate parent will consider finance for start-up, expansion or venture funding. The Business Plan Workbook is an essential guide to all aspects of business planning for entrepreneurs, senior executives and students alike. Using successful real life business plans, this book brings together the process and procedures required to produce that persuasive business plan.

The step-by-step approach covers the key topics, including:

-validating a business idea
-practical ways to research a market
-developing a marketing strategy
-branding a business
-raising finances
-forecasting and decision-making techniques
-structuring, writing up and presenting a business plan

This seventh edition has updated information on competitive strategy, the Five Forces Theory of Industry Structure and other strategic options, such as cost leadership, focus and differentiation. New, high profile case studies include companies such as IKEA, Starbucks and LinkedIn and cover businesses at various stages in their development, making the book a great value for business professionals from any background.

Colin Barrow is the author of more than 30 books in the fields of entrepreneurship, business management and international property development, and he has authored or co-authored ten books in the Dummies series. His books have been published by the BBC, The Economist, John Wiley, The Daily Telegraph, The Sunday Times and Kogan Page. Following a career in business where he held senior staff and line positions, including that of managing director of a substantial manufacturing enterprise with multi-plant and multi-country operations he was Head of the Enterprise Group at Cranfield School of Management, a leading International Business School. He has lectured, researched and collaborated with colleagues in business schools in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, Asia and throughout Europe. He is also the author of The 30 Day MBA series (Kogan Page).

Paul Barrow is an author, a Visiting Professor at Cranfield, and also a consultant advising SMEs on growth strategies.

Robert Brown directed the Graduate Enterprise Program at Cranfield where he led a course on entrepreneurship.