Business Plan UK Blog

Business Plan Pro in France

I am delighted to announce a recent partnership with I&B based in Biarritz, France. Founded in 1999 by Philippe Bost, I&B is a strategic marketing and business planning company. Philippe has been an avid user of Business Plan Pro for a number of years and was particularly pleased with the recent enhancements to Business Plan Pro 11.0 which included the addition of a French Language Pack!

For more information please visit the I&B website.

Growing Your Own Business Conference (London)

The Growing your own Business exhibition returns to London Olympia on April 4th and 5th. I will be speaking on The Importance of Planning in the context of expanding globally. One of my key themes is that while 'global expansion' sounds daunting, it can be as simple as creating some microsites and using Google AdWords to test the market in certain countries. My speaker slot is on Saturday April 5th at 3PM. The conference is free to attend provided you register in advance at either www.sme-events.com or by calling T: 0870 777 1048. For further information on business planning please visit BPlans.co.uk

The One Life Live show

The One Life Live show is running at Olympia, London from today 29 February through to Sunday, 2 March.

It has a specific Be Your Own Boss Zone for those looking to start a business, and is well worth a visit.

The Essential Business Guide is available at the show - a very useful resource for British Business which I've blogged about previously.

Other stands to look out for are the home business stand - Enterprise Nation (with Emma Jones), the Business Link stand and a wide range of others promoting their wares.

Tickets are available on the door or from the One Life Live website ticket page.

Business is Negocio es Les affaires sont Geschäft ist Commercio

Business is global. We have a global economy. Planning should be global as well. Business Plan Pro® Version 11.0 is designed to facilitate planning in the global environment.  When starting a business plan use the Plan Setup to choose a language pack, Spanish for example. The software then formats your topic outline and financial table row labels into Spanish.

El negocio es global. Tenemos una economía global. El planeamiento debe ser global también. Business Plan Pro® Version 11.0 se diseña para facilitar el planear en el ambiente global. Al comenzar un uso del plan de negocio la disposición del plan de elegir un paquete de la lengua. El software ajusta a formato sus etiquetas de la fila del contorno del asunto y del cuadro financiero en español.

Les affaires sont globales. Nous avons une économie globale. La planification devrait être globale aussi bien. Business Plan Pro® Version 11.0 pour l'union européenne est conçue pour faciliter projeter dans l'environnement global. En commençant une utilisation de plan d'affaires l'installation de plan de choisir un paquet de langue. Le logiciel compose vos étiquettes de rangée d'ensemble de matière et de tableau financier dans le Français.

Geschäft ist global. Wir haben eine globale Wirtschaft. Planung sollte global außerdem sein. Business Plan Pro® Version 11.0 für den europäischen Anschluß ist entworfen, um, im globalen Klima zu planen zu erleichtern. Wenn ein Unternehmensplangebrauch die Plan-Einstellung begonnen wird, einen Sprachensatz zu wählen. Die Software formatiert Ihre Aufkleber Reihe der Themaumreiß und der Finanztabelle in Deutschen.

Il commercio è globale. Abbiamo un'economia globale. La progettazione dovrebbe essere globale pure. Business Plan Pro® Version 11.0 per Unione Europea è destinata per facilitare progettare nell'ambiente globale. Nell'iniziare un uso di programma di affari la messa a punto di programma scegliere un pacchetto di lingua. Il software formatta le vostre etichette di fila del profilo di soggetto e del quadro finanziario in italiano.

Editor's Caveat:  My paragraphs were translated using Babel Fish. Mon employer traduit par paragraphes Babel Fish. Mein Punkte übersetztes Verwenden Babel Fish. Mio usando tradotto paragrafi Babel Fish. El mi usar traducido párrafos Babel Fish.  AltaVista-Babel Fish Translation

--Steve Lange
Senior Editor (and soi-disant humorist)
Palo Alto Software

Business Plan Pro Version 11.0 Releases

I am delighted to announce the release of Business Plan Pro Version 11.0 (New for 2008).

We decided this year to give the product a complete overhaul and the outcome is fantastic. The new version has taken on board feedback from our customers while benefiting from the range of features we've introduced over the years.

Business Plan Pro Version 11.0 is easier to use and faster than ever before. Users who require only the bare minimum plan have the option of selecting a quicker ‘simple business plan’ at the outset which serves to tailor the number of sections.

Customers in Europe are likely to be happy with the new language pack option. Italian, French, German and Spanish speakers can now have all the headings and titles display in their native languages making it easier than ever to write a plan. Other changes include better control of charts with more colours, enhanced designs, etc.

For a full list of feature improvements visit our website.
To order a copy of Business Plan Pro Version 11.0 please visit www.paloalto.co.uk

SmallBizPod Interview with Tim Berry and Alan Gleeson

Business Plan Interview with Tim Berry and Alan Gleeson – London (January 09, 2008)

Tim Berry, President and Founder of Palo Alto Software, and Alan Gleeson, from Palo Alto Software Ltd met Alex Bellinger from SmallBizPod earlier in the week to discuss business planning.

Alex runs the UK’s first small business podcast, and it is a fantastic free resource for UK entrepreneurs. Our interview commences with a discussion on Tim’s background with business planning before progressing to an exploration of some of the key elements involved in producing a winning business plan.

To listen to the interview click on the following link

http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk/2008/01/10/smallbizpod-60-inspirational-business-planning/

New Year’s Resolutions for Entrepreneurs

The New Year is synonymous with resolutions and promises of making changes. If you are an entrepreneur, this time of year offers you a perfect opportunity to take stock of your business, as emails are probably at an all-time low over the holiday period. Here is my list of priority resolutions for all entrepreneurs for the New Year.

1. Review your business plan
2. Run through the numbers
3. Optimise your website
4. Familiarise yourself with Google AdWords
5. Identify a business book and read it

I've posted a full discussion of these salient points at our www.bplans.co.uk articles page.

One thing common to all entrepreneurs is their perceived lack of time. Most are required to cover a huge breadth of areas (particularly at the start-up stage). However, this incessant focus on day-to-day issues can mean that they spend little time reflecting on the wider picture. The New Year period affords you the perfect opportunity to make some changes to ensure that day-to-day management issues do not distract you from your wider business objectives.

The Essential Business Guide

I recently received a copy of The Essential Business Guide (3rd edition) by Julie Stanford and Jane Priddis. It is a fantastic publication packed with lots of tips, advice and real world examples. From Planning to Marketing to IT there is something for every entrepreneur in it. Palo Alto Software also gets a number of favourable mentions in it!

The Essential Business Guide also includes an extensive resources section as well as a jargon buster.

If you want further information on The Essential Business Guide visit their website at www.essential-business.co.uk

To obtain £5 off The Essential Business Guide use discount code PA02 when ordering.

Business Plan Masterclass: Securing Funding - The Dragons' Perspective

The BBC2 show Dragons' Den is now in its fifth series. While the show is obviously edited to entertain (more than anything else) it would appear that few of the current contestants have watched any of the previous shows!

Week after week they come before the Dragons – often repeating the mistakes of previous contestants. This article, Securing Funding - The Dragons' Perspective, attempts to shed some light on the key mistakes being made and recommends some key changes required by future entrepreneurs pitching to investors. Obviously, the lessons here will apply regardless of which finance sources you intend to approach.

http://www.businessplanuk.co.uk/Articles/BusinessPlanMasterClass/Securing_Funding.htm

Business Planning - 10 Critical Cash Flow Rules

I thought I'd post the following article by Tim Berry, President of Palo Alto Software, Inc. Tim is the principal author of Business Plan Pro® and has been writing on business planning for many years.

His most recent post, 10 Critical Cash Flow Rules, focuses on the importance of cash flow for all businesses. His ten rules neatly encapsulate the main lessons that all entrepreneurs and business people should heed when running a business. Cash is indeed king!

Visit Tim Berry's blog Planning, Startups, Stories