• Legal status/ownership – e.g. sole trader, partnership, company, corporation (e.g. 
• limited and unlimited, public limited and international equivalents) 
• Structure and size 
• What they offer (Products and/or services) 
• Image 

• Private – e.g. manufacturing, service e.g. hospitality, finance 
• Public – e.g. healthcare, education 
• Not for profit’ – e.g. supporting others, conservation and heritage organisations, campaign groups

• International 
• National 
• Local 

• •To shareholders 
• To employees 
• To other stakeholders 
• To customers 
• To the environment 
• Ethical issues 

• Human resources policy 
• Environmental strategy 
• Equal opportunities policy 
• Ethics policy 
• Financial plan 
• International partnering policy 
• Electronic modes of marketing and communication 
• Reliable import and export processes 

• Technological factors
• Transport revolution 
• Information and communications 

• Increasing incomes 
• Global trade 
• World financial markets 
• Market forces 
• Global competition and competition rules 
• Country specific differences – costs, logistics 

• Consumerism 
• Convergence in customer tastes 
• Education and skills 
• Environmental conservation 

• Reduced trade barriers 
• Intellectual Property Rights 
• Privatisation 
• Technical standards, regulations, legislations 
• Global strategies 

• Monetary policies, interest rates, quantitative easing, unemployment 
• Fiscal policies, spending (in central and local government), public sector borrowing, controlling demand, taxation, distribution of income 
• Competition Policy 
• Sector regulation e.g. in UK OfGem, OfQual, OfGas, CAA, OfCom – equivalents in other countries and globally where applicable 
• Regional policies 
• Skills agenda, apprenticeships 

• Trading blocs 
• World Bank, IMF, Global/trading bloc policies and directives (e.g. EU), G20, OPEC and other relevant organisations 
• Market size 
• Transnational corporations 

• Opportunities e.g. emerging markets 
• Growth 
• Protectionism 
• Trading blocs, partnerships and agreements and their regulation/restrictions (e.g. EU) 
• Trade duties and tariffs 
• Increased competition; outsourcing to other countries; increased customer choice, 

• Structure appropriate to effectively manage operations across numerous locations; agreed systems, protocols 

• ICT technologies 
• Remote workforce – advantages of being able to locate workforce in other countries where labour may be cheaper/may have more relevant skills etc. 
• The role of the internet in trade 
• Easy communication e.g. Skype, email, social networking 

• Potential for different decisions depending on the culture and value of different locations 
• Leadership; appropriate range of skills, experience in different locations, expat managers and staff; issues with language and communication 

• Domestic market in chosen country 
• Global market 
• Domestic and global policies 
• Other global factors 
• Government policies 
• Trade blocs 

• New markets 
• New environments e.g. move business 
• New technologies 
• Growth/shrink 
• Change of suppliers, importers, exporters 
• Change in business structure e.g. from sole trader to company/ corporation 

• Internal issues 
• Cultural issues 
• Ethical issues 
• Problems with suppliers 
• Limited resources 

Indicative Content

1. Understand how organisational structure, culture and other factors impact on people in organisations 

Structure: 

• Hierarchical
• Flat/tall
• Matrix
• Inverted triangle
• Functional
• Product, market, and geographical structures

Culture: 

• Organisational leadership style
• ‘The way we do things’
• Assumptions
• Behaviours
• Values
• Codes
• Stories and myths
• Ceremonies and rituals
• Working practices

Organisational factors:

• Workforce development
• Talent management
• Intrinsic and Extrinsic Incentive and reward schemes
• Community engagement
• Environmental responsibility
• Working practices e.g. flexible or hybrid working
• Remote working
• Equality, diversity and inclusion
• Psychosocial factors, e.g. job design, workloads, resource availability

Impact factors:

• Power/influence of individuals
• Power/influence of teams
• Leadership power/influence (span of control)
• Communication channels, ease of communication
• Motivation levels
• Creativity
• Line management structures

2. Understand how to manage individuals and teams to achieve sustainable business performance

• Individual differences o Knowledge, skills, and experience o Attitude  o Personality traits o Culture  oReligion and beliefs  o Mental health o Physical health oWork pattern
  • Work location preferences

• Theories of Managing individuals and Teams/Theories of Motivation
  • McGregor’s theory X and theory Y o Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs o Contingency Theory oHerzberg’s Theory  o The Hawthorne studies 

• Effect of management styles on o Motivation  oCreativity  o Trust and respect 
  • Productivity o Commitment 

• Managing teams o Setting a goal and planning to achieve it o Getting buy-in
  • Belbin – Understanding individual strengths, weaknesses, and team roles o Tuckman model of team development
  • Motivating staff
  • High-performing teams
• Management style o Trait theories o Behavioural approach  o Contingency approach  oAutocratic/democratic/laissez faire  o Hersey and Blanchard Situational theory  o Charismatic leadership  oTannenbaum and Schmidt 
  
  
• External factors which impact on management of teams and individuals o Economic situation; availability of labour, full employment, interest rates, inflation/deflation, government economic policy
  • Infrastructure, transport availability
  • Legislation: minimum wage, immigration policies, maternity/paternity leave, working hours
  • Education: access to HE, tuition fees, access to in-house training/coaching o Union membership, industrial action

3. Understand how to develop and motivate individuals and teams to achieve sustainable business performance 

• Training and development o Talent management
  • Training workshops and conferences
  • Online training
  • Books and websites o CPD
  • Membership of professional body o Sharing good practice
  • Celebrating achievement and success o Coaching and mentoring
  • Work placement and exchange, job shadowing oQualifications

• Developing high-performing teams o Leadership oAccountability o Processes o Shared purpose oCommunication o Recognition o Continuous improvement

• Benefits of training and development – individuals o Self-actualisation, developing potential 
  • Increased motivation o Developing talent 
  • Promotion/enhanced pay

• Benefits of training and development – organisations oIncreased productivity  o Workforce retention  oEnhanced profit 
  • Effect of incentives and rewards

• Development of Individuals and teams o Delegation oPerformance review o Incentives and rewards 
• Theories of Motivation (see LO2 above)

4. Review people management strategies in an organisation    

People management strategies:

• Working environment
• Management and leadership style
• Structure
• Culture
• Staff development opportunities
• Flexible working practices
• Ethical practices
• CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) agenda

Strategies for improving performance 

• Incentives, bonus schemes, incremental rises, improved job satisfaction
• For organisational improvement
• For organisational productivity

Impacts on employees and stakeholders

• Individuals/teams
• Performance
• Staff retention         
• Employee satisfaction.

Indicative Content 

 1. Understand the sources of finance available to organisations                                           

Sources of finance

• Internal sources of finance
• External sources of finance
• Short term sources of finance
• Medium term sources of finance
• Long term sources of finance

Types of organisations

• Sole trader
• Partnership
• Private limited company
• Public limited company
• Third sector organisations

Appropriate sources of finance for a specific project  

• Savings
• Reserves
• Overdraft
• Loan
• Mortgage
• Credit card
• Trade credit
• Venture capital
• Share issues
• Crowd funding
• Bond issues

Consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of each source, and their appropriateness to specific business decisions.

2. Assess an organisation’s financial performance

Annual financial statements

• Sole traders
• Partnerships
• Private Limited Companies, I.e. o Income statement o Statement of financial position
• Public Limited Companies – annual reports, i.e. o General corporate information o Accounting policies  oIncome statement o Statement of financial position o Statement of cash flows o Notes to the financial statements o Chairperson’s and directors’ reports o Auditor’s report

Differences between internal final accounts and the publicly available final accounts of a limited company

Financial Statement Interpretation

Relevant legislation

• Companies Act
• Partnership Act
• Charities Act

Impact of relevant legislation on different forms of business ownership: o Sole traders o Partnerships oPrivate Limited Companies o Public limited Companies

• • Third sector organisations – clubs and societies/charities

The application of accounting concepts and principles to financial statements

• Valuation of non-current assets  
• Valuation of inventory
• Matching principle
• Provision for depreciation
• Irrecoverable debts
• Provision for doubtful debts 

Ethical requirements

• Responsibility to stakeholders
• Responsibility to members as the owners
• Legal requirements for some Third Sector organisations 

3. Use costing methods to make informed organisational decisions

Organisational costs

• Fixed costs
• Variable costs
• Direct costs
• Indirect costs
• Semi-variable costs
• Stepped costs
• Total costs
• Unit costs
• Marginal costs
• Opportunity costs
• Start-up costs
• Operating costs
• Overheads 

Break-even calculations

• Calculation of the break-even point by use of the formula
• Produce break-even graphs
• Produce contribution to sales (profit/volume) graphs
• Evaluate break-even data / graphs and contribution to sales graphs            Apply break-even analysis to specific business decisions, i.e. 
  • Make or buy o Special order decisions o Acceptance of additional work
  • Discontinuing a product or service based on contribution o Price setting  o Scarce resources 
  • ‘What if’ scenarios

Consideration of impact of changes in costs and revenues on break-even calculations.

Uses, benefits and limitations of break-even calculations.

Break-even chart – graphical representation of break-even output.  The graph should include:

• Fixed cost line
• Total cost line
• Total sales revenue line
• Break-even output
• Area of profit
• Area of loss
• Margin of safety

Consideration of impact of changes in costs and revenues on break-even charts. Uses, benefits and limitations of break-even charts

Indicative Content

1. Produce a research proposal

Selecting a research problem/issue

• Identifying the objectives of the research – what is the researcher, or their organisation, interested in finding out and why.
• Project resourcing – how much time and resource is needed to undertake the research and is this available.
• Skills and knowledge – does the researcher have access to appropriate skills and knowledge, including individual expertise and literature, necessary for them to undertake the research

Formulating a research problem/issue

• Stating the research problem/issue in terms of the research objectives
• Identifying what is to be included in the scope of the research and what is to be excluded

Identifying a suitable research methodology

• Use of primary and secondary data – accessing relevant information
• Data Collection – surveys, interviews, observation, Focus Groups, literature review etc.
• Research methodology
• Ethical issues – access to sensitive data and respondents
• Data collections e.g. GDPR/data protection, confidentiality agreements etc.
• Data analysis – qualitative, quantitative, statistical, results of interviews
• Gathering information – company documentation, outcomes of similar research, reading about ow to implement research methodologies, theoretical concepts and ideas etc.

Project Planning 

• Project tasks – primary and secondary data collection, data analysis, write-up, presentation
• Project timelines – sequence, task duration, start and end dates using appropriate tools e.g. Gantt or flow chart
• Project monitoring – risk factors and mitigation, key milestones, review dates
• Use of project resources – human, financial, technical, physical

2. Undertake a research project

Undertaking research

• Application and implementation of the research project plan, including data collection, data analysis, write-up and presentation
• Retaining focus on the intended purposes and outcomes of the research
• Systematic recording of data and information
• Taking account of bias, validity and reliability of information and control of variables
• Consideration of the sufficiency of the data and information collected
• Analysing data – qualitative, quantitative, trend analysis, statistical analysis
• Presentation of data – graphs, tables, bar charts, pie charts, case studies, quotes etc

Reviewing progress 

• Monitoring and reviewing the project including paying attention to resource and time allocation
• Modifying the plan in relation to monitoring information
• Adhering to the scope of the research

Evaluating the research project

• Review the successes and difficulties encountered in the project e.g. delivering the purposes and outcomes of the project, effectiveness of the project plan and research methods used, volume, validity and value of the data

3. Evaluate research project outcomes  

• Understand to what extent the research outcomes answer the research question
• Understand the limitations of the research and what improvements could be made
• Developing recommendations including possible areas for future research or changes to the research methodology
• Reach conclusions
• Understand the significance, application, and possible impact of the research outcomes

4. Present the research project outcomes to stakeholders

• Consider the prior knowledge and information needs of the audience
• Consider business expectations and norms for presentation
• Consider the advantages and disadvantages of different communication methods e.g. written and spoken presentation, visual representation etc.
• Select an appropriate presentation media, format and structure
• Be able to deliver a professional written or spoken presentation
• Present research projects and research outcomes accurately
• Reporting conclusions. Depending on the nature of the research, recommendations based on the research outcomes could also be produced, e.g. suggestions for improvements

Indicative Content

1. Understand channels and types of communication within and between organisations and their effectiveness

Communication types: internal (colleagues, other departments), external (between organisations) 

Communication channels: formal, informal, face to face, telephone, electronic (email, social media, forums, web conference, instant messaging, use of live and web chat where relevant), written (letters, reports, blogs), mass media (newsletters, promotional material),  noticeboards, presentations, briefings, meetings   

Benefits: suitability, appropriateness, clarity of information/message, adapting to individual needs and circumstances, speed, flexibility, reduced cost and time, transmission of documents with communication, multiple people contribution, audit trail, sharing ideas and best practice 

Potential barriers:

• Tangible: environmental, technology, time/timing, resources, language
• Intangible: culture (internal/external), structures, power and style, rumours and the grapevine, one-way communication, bias, emotions

2.Understand the factors that impact on workplace communication 

Factors 

Organisation structure (hierarchical, functional, horizontal, matrix, network, team-based) 

Culture, Management styles (e.g., autocratic, affiliative, coaching, democratic, pacesetting and visionary) 

Leadership styles (e.g., authoritarian, paternalistic, democratic, laissez-faire, transactional and transformational)

Role and responsibility (positional power, relationships) 

Organisational policy and processes (communication policy, whistleblowing policy, brand guidelines/house style, standard responses)

Resources (technology, time)

Location (same site, hybrid or remote working)

Stakeholders

External: customers, suppliers, competitors, shareholders, pressure groups/environmental groups, trade unions, finance and/or government authorities, regulatory bodies etc

Internal: team members, other employees within and outside own department (as relevant to the role), line manager, departmental managers, senior managers, specialists in organisation (e.g., finance, IT, human resources, sales, marketing, R&D, customer service, dispatch, administration)

Understanding audience needs, wants and expectations, preferences, limitations (e.g. compatibility of technology, access to and confidence with different technologies)

Technology

Types: intranet, extranet and internet, websites, email, collaborative meeting software, information systems (IS) and management information systems (MIS), networks

Role: provide flexibility to different stakeholders in terms of accessibility and convenience. Supporting remote workers. Ensuring that tasks are undertaken more efficiently and productively i.e. sending electronic documents, invoices and on-line payments (e-commerce)

3.Develop own communication skills within the workplace

Role and process of reflection

Situations could include: delegating, negotiating, motivating, briefing, providing information 

Appropriateness and suitability of method

Personal Development Plan (PDP) framework

Define and prioritise own goals, set out proposals for improving own communication skills, understand strengths, weaknesses, SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-framed)  

4. Understand how to improve communication within an organisation

Evaluation to include: timeliness, understanding, suitability, clarity, response, achieving outcomes 

Measures of effectiveness: reactions, feedback, checking understanding, surveys, customer complaints 

Recommendations: what, why, how and benefit

Indicative Content 

1. Understand the role of marketing in business

Role of marketing to achieve business objectives

• Establishing and growing relationships between a business and its customers
• Establishing and maintaining public image and reputation of business
• Growing customer base
• Branding the business via, publicity, advertising and customer interaction
• Launching new products and services
• Entering a new market
• Expanding market share
• Increasing sales
• Increasing profits
• Building competitive advantage
• Improving customer focus
• Increasing customer satisfaction
• Improving quality

External factors influencing marketing

• Political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental factors
• Pressure groups, competitors, Porter’s Five Forces

Role of marketing in a not-for-profit business

• The many overlaps with the role of marketing for a business
• Providing information in order to change attitudes e.g. health campaigns
• Providing information and generating income e.g. charities
• Social marketing e.g. political campaigns

How a marketing strategy supports the sales function in businesses

• Satisfies customer need
• Establishes clear responsibilities, process and goals

Determines the messaging

Establishes and use common tracking and reporting systems

• Identifies areas for improvement
• Aligns marketing content with the selling cycle
• Shares data and intelligence

2.     Understand marketing principles 

Marketing process 

• Carrying out a marketing audit
• Undertaking an environmental analysis e.g. PESTLE
• Undertaking a SWOT analysis
• Setting aims and objectives
• Planning
• Understanding constraints and options

Methods of segmenting markets

• Demographic
• Socio-economic
• Geographic
• Psychographic
• Behavioural

Principles of digital marketing

• Ratio of use of digital to traditional marketing: depending on business and products, there is normally still a need for some community involvement, networking and face-to-face marketing
• Timing of marketing
• Content
• Maintenance of currency of marketing material
• Allocation of time, effort and budget

Benefits of market segmentation

• Better matching of customer needs
• Enhanced profits for business
• Better opportunities for growth
• Retain more customers
• Build relationships with customers via targeted marketing communications
• Gain share of the market segment

Challenges that a business faces to market effectively

• Time
• Expertise
• Budget
• Fitting in with the buying/selling cycle
• Pricing correctly

Matching product to market

Placing product correctly

3. Understand marketing methods

Marketing research methods

• Primary, secondary
• Qualitative/quantitative
• Surveys, questionnaires
• Sampling methods
• Interviews, structured, unstructured, focus groups
• Observation
• Experimentation
• Ethnography

Use of channels for digital marketing 

Use of internet for digital marketing

• IC Search engine optimisation
• IC Pay per click advertising
• IC Responsive website

Use of social media 

• Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter
• Viral marketing

Use of emails

• Email newsletters
• Personalised emails

Use of hand-held devices for marketing

• Increased security risk
• Cluttered market
• Less focus on keywords, more focus on search phrases
• More ad blockers
• Increased ad costs

How current challenges for digital marketing could be overcome or mitigated

• Answers will vary depending on the challenges identified

4. Develop a marketing plan for a specific product or service 

Strategic objectives

• To introduce a new product feature or service
• To enter a new market

To expand market share

To increase sales

• To increase profits
• To enhance reputation

Target markets

• Specific demographic
• Geographic area
• Socio economic group
• Defined psychographic group

Consideration of factors relevant to the implementation of the plan 

Implementation factors

• Barriers to implementation of the plan and their resolution
• Marketing budget
• Monitoring and controlling the marketing plan People and (lack of) knowledge, skills and experience
• Technical factors.

Indicative Content 

1. Understand the issues relating to sustainability of an organisation

Issues

• Natural environment e.g. pollution, waste, water usage, natural habitats, transport management
• Global e.g. fair-trade, child labour
• Built environments e.g. carbon management, energy efficiency of buildings
• Financial sustainability e.g. business planning and development
• Resource management and resource efficiency
• Market awareness and responsiveness to the market
• Talent management e.g. recruitment, development, and retention of staff
• Stakeholder management e.g. customers, suppliers, partners, collaborators, competitors
• Good governance e.g. board make-up and performance
• Community engagement and social responsibility
• Environmental impacts, performance, and priorities
• Natural disasters and public health issues (such as Covid-19)
• Climate change: environmental, social, and governance (ESG) evaluation criteria
• Mitigating climate change via policy and business

Impact of issues 

• Business activities and implications for sustainability
• Benefits to stakeholders
• Areas of relevance for specific businesses – global and local issues affecting and affected by business activities
• Related costs e.g. taxation, cost of water use, cost of waste; importance to business of sustainability in relation to cost, social attitudes, compliance with law

2. Understand how legislation, regulation, and guidance impact on the sustainability of organisations

Legislation, regulation and guidance

• The Environment Act (2021)
• The UK Companies Act (2006)
• Audit Reform in the EU (2014)
• Employment Rights Act (1996)
• Environmental Impact Assessment (2017)
• The Water Resources Act 1991
• Control of Pollution (oil storage) (England) Regulations 2001
• Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005
• Clean Air Act 1993
• Climate Change Agreements 2006
• Habitat Protection – Wildlife & Countryside Act 1981
• Source of guidance and regulation – industry bodies, local authorities, government, organisations (e.g. soil association, climate change bodies)
• Influence of pressure groups, social attitudes, moral issues

Ethical Operations

• Impact on people, the environment etc.
• Fairness to employees e.g. wages etc.
• Effect on brand image
• Effect of bad publicity

Impact on

• Physical and human resources
• Processes and systems
• Vision and strategy
• Marketing and marketability
• Operations and costs

3. Audit the sustainability of an organisation

• Carrying out a sustainability ‘audit’ for an organisation to identify areas of relevance
• Ensuring compliance with legislation, regulation, codes of practice etc.
• Suggesting how sustainability can be improved – actions and policies to improve sustainability of business activities
• Reporting – report formats, recommendations, cost, and implementation

4. Understand the quality standards relevant to organisational sustainability

Quality standards 

• ISO14001
• ISO 9001
• ISO 27001
• ISO 26000
• ISO 31000
• Investors in People
• Internal quality standards; benchmarking; value added

Organisational characteristics to achieve a quality standard

• Requirements as per the quality standard
• Buy-in from senior management, staff and other stakeholders
• Practical implications of applying standards
• Relevance to specific operations
• Systems design and implementation
• Reporting to stakeholders
• Preparing for inspection
• Communication, training and dissemination

Financial costs and benefits

• Advice and consultancy
• New systems and processes
• Training
• Staffing to support the process
• Cost of applying for quality mark
• Marketing and communications
• Good news story

Moral and ethical imperatives

• Protecting the environment
• Ethical labour and employment practices
• Growing talent
• Corporate social responsibility
• Good governance

Indicative Content

1. Understand different ethical perspectives in business

The history and development of ethics  

• An outline of moral philosophy and the modern day study of ethics
• Applied ethics: its meaning and how ethical problems are resolved in the context of the business or corporate and individual conduct
• Normative and descriptive business ethics
• Institutions and frameworks: The Society of Ethics, the European Business Ethics Network (EBEN)

Absolute v. relative ethics 

• Public morality and ethical codes
• Absolute v. relative
• Contextual ethics

Role of governance in ensuring ethical behaviour

• Ethical standards part of the corporate agenda; Charity Governance Code; Good Governance Code
• Have broad ethical awareness
• Lead in setting ethical standards
• Ensure enforcement of ethical behaviour – governance mechanisms to ensure lawful and effective corporate behaviour and operations
• Build commitment and respect for values
• Meet social obligations
• Train employees, management and the board in best business practices and the issues

Issues of unethical behaviour (corporate and individual employee)

• Misleading product information
• Unfair competition
• Mistreating employees
• Manipulating accounts
• Bribery
• Misusing company time; abusive behaviour; distortion of facts
• Violating/disregard of company policies

2. Understand business objectives from an ethical perspective 

Business objectives and ethics 

• Business objectives such as shareholder value, profit, meeting customer and employee expectations, increasing market share etc.
• How these objectives are affected by ethical considerations such as compliance, environment, CSR, human rights, sustainability, ethical treatment of suppliers, workers, investors and other stakeholders

Implications for business and its stakeholders of unethical practice

• Stakeholders such as employees, customers, owners, suppliers, wider population
• Implications o Criminality/unethical approaches may break the law o Reputation/Trust o Profitability

And hence the need for:

• Ethical trade
• Compliance with legislation and codes of practice o Designing ethical processes and relationships  o Responding to ethical pressures  o Ethical policy and responsibility reporting 

3. Understand ethics in business and workplace relationships 

The business as an ethical agent 

• Stakeholder/business responsibilities, obligations and duties
• Moral obligations
• Psychological contract
• Transparency and accountability
• Sustainability

Business areas and ethics, e.g., 

• Contracts
• Negotiations
• Customers
• Advertising/Promotion
• Sales and Marketing
• Information gathering and storing 

Mechanisms for supporting and developing ethical treatment of employees 

• Employer/employee relations
• Workers councils, employee ownership e.g. John Lewis, unionisation and employer accountability
• Discrimination and human resource policies e.g. equal opportunities
• Individual ethical rights, behaviours and responsibilities

Ethics of workplace relationships for global organisations 

• Shared core values and common standards; developing a culture of integrity, commitment from the Board, CEO and senior managers
• Code of conduct, managing for organisational integrity – Harvard Business Review

4. Assess a current ethical issue in an organisation 

• Current ethical Issues such as globalisation, labour issues, outsourcing, fair trade, modern day slavery, sustainability, environmentalism, global warming, energy security, access to resources, e.g. water, timber, biofuels, community relations, intellectual property, social networking and personal information
• Design of ethical code including ethical auditing, for example, supply chain; ethical environmental and social reporting; business processes and design; ethical practices, standards and codes of conduct

Indicative Content

1. Understand how to determine the market potential of a new business venture 

Market conditions 

• PEST (Political, Economic, Social/Ethical, Technical) PESTLE political Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental
• Competitor analysis e.g. characteristics and strategies of the competition
• Estimating market size

Market need

• Gap analysis
• Market conditions
• Specifying a product to meet market need e.g. details, dimensions, purpose, longevity, target market, international or national market, pricing, distribution, and marketing
• New products or services
• Emerging trends e.g. due to aging population, because of new technology
• Changing requirements            

Target markets 

• Socioeconomic
• Age
• Gender
• Occupation
• Sources of finance
• Special factors
• Personality indicators
• Geographical

Potential benefits, limitations and risks for the proposed new business venture

• Potential benefits – ownership, control
• Potential limitations – growth, image, operations, finance
• Potential risks – unlimited liability, loss of control e.g. to shareholders, closure, bankruptcy/insolvency

2. Understand the legal considerations of new business ventures 

Legal and regulatory considerations 

• Legal entity of business, eg sole trader, partnership, LLP
• Health and safety
• Environmental
• Employment and redundancy
• Contracts
• Insurance
• Data protection
• Equality and diversity

3. Develop a business plan  

Vision and mission 

• Market conditions
• Target market
• Opportunities due to a gap in the market

Skills/experience

• Project management
• Business planning
• Marketing
• Accountancy/book-keeping
• Leadership
• Communication skills both oral and written
• Delegation
• Organisation
• Sales
• Customer relations
• People management   

Other resources

• Human (fully committed and capable personnel)
• Financial (financially secure, access to funding)
• Physical (suitable premises, equipment)
• Mentoring (support, guidance) and training
• Information (in-depth knowledge of industry, stakeholders etc.)

Financial requirements

• Financial forecasts
• Physical forecasts
• Sales forecasts
• Short and longer term

Business structures and systems 

• Organisational structure
• Resource management systems
• Supply chain management
• Technology requirements/systems

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

• SWOT analysis
• Risk management
• Use of contingency funds
• Insolvency and bankruptcy
• New markets

4. Understand how to secure funding for a new business venture 

Sources of finance

• Savings
• Flotation on stock market
• Loans
• Investors
• Share capital
• Crowdfunding
• Private equity

Benefits and risks associated with different sources of funding eg

• Savings o Benefit – No interest to pay back o Risk – Could lose savings if business is not successful
• Loans o Benefit – A range of funding amounts and payback options.  Retain equity in the business.  Enables personal money to be used for operational purposes and savings are protected if business is not successful 

Risk – Interest rates and payments must be paid back and on time whether the business succeeds or not

• Investors o Benefit – Extends financial risk over more than one person o Risk – Will give up some control of the business

Pitching for funding

• Getting your facts correct, being on top of the detail
• Considering your investors’ needs
• Framing the pitch – ‘telling a story’
• Practice and developing confidence
• Following up – checking back in with potential investors
• Revising the pitch – what worked/what didn’t?