Venture Adventures Flipping Workbook 11.01.20 PDF

BUSINESS WORKBOOK
2020

© 2020 Venture Adventures Ltd | www.ventureadventures.co.uk 1

“The greatest danger
in life is not to

take the adventure”

- George Leigh Mallory

2 © 2020 Venture Adventures Ltd | www.ventureadventures.co.uk

WELCOME

Hello, and welcome to Venture Adventures!

About Us

We are a business/copyright lawyer (Jon) and a graphic designer (Julie). When we
each started our own independent consultancies, we struggled to find all the informa-
tion and services we needed in one place.
So, we founded Venture Adventures with a simple aim: to create a one-stop-shop for
starting a business, doing the hard work for you, providing you with the information and
finding you the right services you need to launch and grow.
Our checklist overleaf sets out the essential issues all businesses face on their journey,
wherever it takes them. These issues apply when you first start up and continue to be
relevant as your business evolves over time.

This Workbook

We’ve designed this workbook as a single, ‘go-to’ practical resource to help you work
through all these issues on your business journey each year in a structured way, de-
veloping and capturing your thoughts in each area.
If you are just starting up, we include an ‘Essential Start-Up Actions’ list at the start
of each section setting out the key actions you must take, even if you decide to leave
other issues till later.
Later in the book there’s a section pulling it all together into a business ‘plan on a page’
and a full business plan, so you can be ‘investor ready’ when the time is right to look
for external funding.
There’s also a weekly planner at the back to capture key dates for your business, and
a records section where you can log sales and purchase invoices and expenses.

© 2020 Venture Adventures Ltd | www.ventureadventures.co.uk 3

More Help Available

This workbook will get you started, but you will probably need further help at some
point: we’re there for you.
There’s a lot more guidance available on our website: www.ventureadventures.co.uk.
In addition, we’re continually talking to different service providers to be sure we can
always connect you with good quality services across all areas: accountants to mar-
keting consultants, lawyers to website designers, who all have appropriate experience
and understand the constraints of small businesses.
Just go to the ‘Get Help’ section on our website, submit your request and we’ll make it
happen.
As you grow, you may find you need more funding. We may be able to help there too:
by connecting you with potential lenders or investors, or at least helping you prepare
a compelling application or pitch. Take a look at the Funding page on our website for
more on this.

Your Business

So, over to you.

Venture into business - take the adventure. You can do it. Yes, you. Now is the time.
Just pick up this workbook and get started.

This book will help you stay on top of your business needs and goals for the year
ahead, and should certainly leave you better placed to submit that application or make
that pitch when the time is right.

If we can help you make a success of your business, or if you have any suggestions on
how we could improve any of our content or services, we would love to hear from you.

Wherever your venture takes you - enjoy the adventure!

All the best,

Venture Adventures

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THE BIG IDEA

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THE BIG IDEA

Your big idea is the foundation of your business.

You need to be clear on what it is you will be selling, how this compares with any com-
petitors’ offerings, and why people should come to you.

It can take time and many iterations to get it right, but it is well worth persevering. You
need to be able to articulate this clearly, time after time, to a range of potential custom-
ers, business partners, lenders and investors.

We break it down into:

•• Business Proposition: your products and services and why they are different.
Story: how you have got to this point and what your experiences and motivations
are.
• Vision: where you see your business going in the short and long term.

Essential Start-Up Actions
Clarify what you will sell
Develop your unique selling proposition
Prepare initial elevator pitch

Can we help? 7

Try our website’s ‘Get Help’ pages: go to Business Proposition.

© 2020 Venture Adventures Ltd | www.ventureadventures.co.uk

Business Proposition

Your Unique Selling Proposition (‘USP’)

What is your business ‘value proposition?’ What value will your products or services
add for customers?
Comparing your products /services with those of your competitors, why would people
come to you in particular? What is different about what you will be offering? Will you
differentiate yourself on price, on quality, or in some other way?
What gap in the market will you fill? What problem will you solve for customers? What
is your unique selling proposition?

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Story

People may buy into who you are and what you are doing as much as the product or
service you offer. What is your back-story? How did you get to this point?

Even if your new venture represents a career change, you will most likely bring valu-
able experiences and qualifications: what are they? Who are you? What are your
drivers and motivations? Any particular influences or inspirations?

What is your business narrative? What story do you want to present that customers
will relate to?

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Vision

Big picture: where are you going with this? If all goes well, where do you see your
business in 1, 5 and 10 years’ time?

This Time Next Year

5 Years

10 Years

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Elevator Pitch

Try to pull this together into a concise summary in a sentence or two.

Imagine you are in an elevator (or lift – we’re British) with a potential customer or in-
vestor, and you only have the time between floor stops to make a compelling pitch to
convince them to buy from you or invest in your business.

What would you say? What’s your big idea? What’s your unique selling proposition?
What’s your story? Your vision for your venture? Why will it succeed?

Note: this is an intentionally small box!

External Support

Defining your business proposition can be very difficult: consider seeking external
help. If you don’t have a mentor to turn to, who would you ask to provide these ser-
vices? What is the likely cost? (Try the ‘Get Help’ Business Proposition section on
our website.)

Service Provider Likely Cost

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BRAND & MARKETING

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BRAND & MARKETING

A distinctive brand should represent your business purpose and values, with a look
and feel that embodies the reputation and goodwill that you develop over time with the
right behaviours.
Your marketing can then raise awareness of this brand, and in turn of your products
and services, attracting and keeping the customers you want.
You’ll need to think about:
• Creating your brand: a name, logo, slogan, style, colour, font, writing style, etc.

that represents your purpose and values.
• identifying and adopting behaviours (including good customer service) that will

develop and protect your business reputation.
• Developing a marketing plan that best suits your products and services.

Essential Start-Up Actions
Create a business name & logo
Create an initial marketing plan

Can we help?

Try our website’s ‘Get Help’ pages: go to Brand Design and Marketing.

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BUSINESS WORKBOOK 2020
Whether you are just starting up or looking to grow your business, this practical workbook helps
you develop and capture your thoughts and needs for the year on each aspect of your journey,
from the Big Idea to Launch and beyond. We pull it all together into a full business Plan. There’s
also a Weekly Planner to stay on top of key dates and a Records section to log sales and pur-
chase invoices and expenses.
Venture Adventures is the business start-up one-stop-shop, providing the guidance and con-
nections to services you need to succeed. Whatever your venture, we’re here to help you enjoy
the adventure!

14 © 2020 Venture Adventures Ltd | www.ventureadventures.co.uk