A guide to third sector trading - WCVA

It’s an idea, but is it business? A guide to third sector trading
Contents
Introduction 5
Who is this guide for? 6
1: Getting started – the absolute basics 10
2: First steps 17
2.1 Why start trading? 17
What trading organisations can’t do 17
The real benefits of third sector trading 19
Some examples of third sector trading 23
2.2 The very beginning 26
Before you start 26
Three basic questions 28
2.3 Involving the community 29
Why involve the community 29
Going public: holding community meetings 30
2.4 Forming the steering group 32
2.5 What is the trading for? 35
Points to bear in mind 35
Be clear about the needs 36
Putting your social objectives in writing 38
2.6 Should you be running a business, anyway? 40
Do you really want to run a business? 41
It’s an idea, but is it a business? 42
Do you want to make money? 43
2.7 A practical guide to selecting business ideas 45
Overview: 45
Step 1: If you want one good idea, think of several 46
Step 2: Apply some business judgements 48
Step 3: The back-of-an-envelope budget 49
Step 4: Time to take stock 52
3: Business planning 53
3.1 Do we really need a business plan? 53
What’s the point of planning? 55
Planning to be mediocre 57
3.2 Writing the business plan 61
A plan for every occasion? 61
Preparing the business plan – the general approach 63
Writing the plan 66
The cash flow forecast 67
Plans and studies by outside consultants 69
Pilot trading and small-scale startups 70
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