34 business support feature
The business of planning What’s your Business plan? This should be a straight forward question for anyone running their own business yet many business owners simply won’t know. What is a Business plan? In simple terms a business plan is a written summary of future goals and how those goals are going to be achieved. Why do I need a Business plan? The most successful and profitable businesses are forward thinking and have a good understanding of where their business is going. You wouldn’t get into a car without knowing where you are driving to. You’d have made sure you had enough fuel and you’ll have planned your arrival time. A business is no different – it needs to be driven in a clear direction with thought given to how to reach goals such as increased profitability or growth. How do I a write a Business plan? A business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. In truth, it’s better to have
something short, succinct and workable than not have one in place at all. Think through where your business is now; where you want it to be in say 3 years time and how you think you can achieve that. Write it down, share it with your team, take action as necessary, and review it, tweaking as necessary, if you go off course. Whilst it is perceived that the majority of accountants spend their time looking at historical data, most are more than interested in helping clients grow their businesses and will be happy to help. For further advice call 01323 412277 or visit our website www.honeybarrett.co.uk
Abi Newbury is a Director at Honey Barrett Chartered Accountants.
From Corporate to SME Banking Nat West continues to maintain its strong presence in Corporate and SME Banking across Sussex with a Corporate Banking office in Crawley plus Business and Commercial Banking offices in Chichester, Worthing, Crawley, Brighton and Eastbourne. To add value to the customer proposition, a number of the Relationship Manager’s based in these offices are sector specialists focusing on such sectors are Healthcare, Leisure, Education, Professional Practices, Manufacturing and Agriculture. In addition, there are also managers providing asset finance, invoice finance, structured finance and international trade services based locally. The overall team includes Branch based Business Specialists who are on hand to assist business start ups right through to Corporate Relationship Directors working with our larger customers. Gary Chown is the Director leading the Brighton and Eastbourne offices with a team of nine Relationship Manager in place. “Our focus continues to be on providing an excellent level of service and expertise for our customers whilst supporting them with
business edge may/june 2015
the appropriate products and services to help their business progress.” Nat West has been working with Entrepreneurial Spark across the UK and has just announced that it will be opening the doors of its office at 149 Preston Road, Brighton to become a hub for the latest free business accelerator for early stage and growing ventures. As a city with a growing entrepreneurial culture Brighton is considered to be an ideal location.
Gary Chown Chartered Banker Director Commercial Banking 153 Preston Road, Brighton Email: gary.chown@natwest.com Mobile 07748 704484