Your Business Idea /
  1. Business Information

Firstly, pleaseprovide some basic information about your business.

Business Name:

When will/did your business start trading?

Full names (of each founder):

National Insurance Number (of each founder):

Phone Number (of each founder):

Email Address (of each founder):

Business Website Address (if applicable):

  1. Description of your business idea

Please provide as much information as you can – the more we have the better!

What does/will your business do?

Provide a brief description of the main activities of your business.
List the range of different products and services you will offer.

How did you arrive at this business idea?

Does your business require premises? If so, please provide details of the costs involved and the current status of discussions with the landlord.

Please provide a web link to the property on an Estate Agent or landlord website.
If available please provide a copy of communications with the landlord, including any documentation such as draft lease agreements.

Do you or your business require any specialist training, licences, certificates or insurances to trade? (e.g. health & safety certificates, food hygiene, public liability insurance, trade qualifications, certificates from training courses)

Please list any legal requirements here and provide any documentation/certificates to help support your application.

List the people involved (including yourself) and their roles in the business.

You can also add details of you and your team’s knowledge and experience in your industry.
What skills and qualities do you have that will make your business a success?
Please also provide a CV for those people in the business who are applying for a loan.
  1. Your Market

Please provide as much information as you can – the more we have the better!

Who are your customers?

How would you describe your typical customer? Think about their:
- age
- gender
- location
- interests
- any other relevant information that helps you to define who will buy your products/services.
Try to identify different groups of customers. e.g. you may sell to a certain segment of the general public, but also be able to agree contracts with organisations – these would be considered two different groups of customers.

How you will advertise / promote your business?

Describe how customers will find out about your product/service - what methods you will use to promote the business, provide details of target audience, medium chosen, costs, frequency?
Examples: adverts in papers or trade magazines, direct mail shot, leaflets, brochures, flyers, email, exhibitions, events and trade fairs, canvassing, personal contact with clients, online advertising (Google, Facebook etc), online banners, business websites
How you will monitor the response?

Competitor Analysis Table

Regardless of how unique your business idea is, you will always have competitors. Let us know who they are and what makes them successful.

Competitor / Location / Price / What do they do well

SWOT Analysis. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your business idea? What opportunities and threats could it face?

Strengths
Internal characteristics of the business that give it an advantage over others / Weaknesses
Internal characteristics that place the business at a disadvantage relative to others
Opportunities
External factors that the business could exploit to its advantage / Threats
External factors that could cause trouble for the business
  1. Pricing and Selling

Please provide as much information as you can – the more we have the better!

List the prices you will charge for the different products and services you offer.

Describe how you will set prices for your product service. Include details of prices charged by the business and how they are calculated.
Take into account your costs, hourly rate, the going rates in your industry, competition, demand etc.
Remember that what people will pay for your product is determined by the value they place upon it, not its cost of production to you.
Don’t worry if you don’t know all of this information yet just enter whatever you can.

Have you made any sales so far, do you have any pre-orders, or customers waiting to purchase your product(s) and service(s)?

If you do not have any sales or pre-orders, what research have you done to identify that there is a demand for your products/services?
e.g. Desk Research (any statistical evidence from internet, magazines, newspapers etc.)
e.g. Primary Research (any questionnaires/surveys you have done, or conversations you have had)

Are there certain periods of the year when your sales will vary? If so, when will you have high sales, average sales and low sales, and why?

e.g. Retailers may find that the run up to Christmas is the busiest time of the year but for garden maintenance businesses December may be one of the quietest months.

Which suppliers will you need to use to deliver your product or service?

Why was this supplier(s) chosen? (quality, cost, reputation etc)
If required, have you got a suppliers contract in place?
Will you need to pay your suppliers upfront, or will you have a credit account?
Is there a back-up plan in place if this supplier lets you down?

5.How much do you want to borrow?

Please provide as much information as you can – the more we have the better!

What start-up expenses will your business incur? Which of these start-up expenses do you need to fund with your start-up loan? Please provide any links or quotes for the things you need to buy.

Notes:
The loan is intended to cover expenses that will help you start your business, but not for longer-term expenses.
Aim to break down the different expenses as much as possible. For example, if you intend to spend some money on marketing and advertising, explain exactly what different things you will spend money on.
Final loan amounts are assessed on the needs of the business and our average loan value is £6,000.
Over 90% of loans we approve are for under £10,000 and high value loan requests will be subject to closer scrutiny.
Loans are provided to each business founder (e.g. a business that requires £9,000 could be split £4,500 each to two founders, £3,000 each to three founders etc.).
We require evidence (such as a quote, proposal or link to pricing online) for any item over £1,000.
Item / Cost / Will you use the loan for this item (Yes/No) / Have you supplied a quote, proposal, website URL etc (Yes/No/Enter URLs)
Required for any item over £999
Total: :

Has any other finance been committed to the business? If so, how much and what is the source of the money?

Please provide any evidence you have of this finance e.g. additional bank or savings statements, letters from investors.

The start-up loan is a personal loan and must be repaid even if your business is not as successful as you hope. How would you intend to make loan repayments if your business is struggling or you decide to close in future?