Putting the flesh on the bones

Working up the business case and firming up exactly what you are going to do and really testing your idea.

After the initial rush of enthusiasm, the co-operative now needs to focus on what it is going to do in terms of trading and how it is going to do it.

If you have divided up the start-up into different parts you should at this point know who is doing what, with whom and by when. This is also the time when you start to create your business plan. The business plan has two major functions. Primarily, it is an internal document – the organisation’s route map as to where it’s going and how it’s going to get there. It is also the document that you are going to show to other people in order that they can understand who you are and what you intend to do.

You will also at this point start to put some numbers to what you are trying to do in terms of income required, overheads, prices etc. and this will require research. At this point you should be confident of your business case.

Key questions

Exactly what are you going to do?

How are you going to do it?

What is your product or service;

• is there a demand for it?
• can you provide the product or service?
• who are your customers and will they pay?

In other words what is your business model?

Now you have more information, will it really fly?