Useful Resources Archives - Cool Ventures

Just One Thing: The Power of Small Changes

Megan — Thu, 01 Aug 2024 13:39:07 +0000

Just One Thing: The Power of Small Changes

As small business owners, freelancers, and entrepreneurs, there are so many things to consider it can feel overwhelming.

When we look to the biggest challenges facing our world, it is easy to feel helpless. But collective action starts with individual choices. By focusing on one manageable change, we can each contribute to a larger cultural shift towards a more equitable, prosperous, and environmentally sustainable future.

The cumulative effect of many people making small changes can lead to significant environmental benefits. We can each vote with our wallets, by choosing how we spend our money and with whom.

Making ethical, responsible, and sustainable choices is not about a few of us doing things perfectly, but all of us doing something.

“But it’s just one coffee cup in the bin, what harm could it do?”, said 7 million people.

(*In the UK, around 2.5 billion disposable coffee cups are used each year, which amounts to roughly 7 million cups per day.)

There is power in incremental change and we each have a role to play.

Here are 10 suggestions:

1. Reducing Single-Use Plastics

Change: Switching from single-use plastic bags to reusable bags. Impact: Reducing plastic waste, which decreases pollution in oceans and landfills, and lowers the demand for plastic production.

2. Energy Consumption

Change: Replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-efficient LEDs. Impact: LED bulbs use up to 80% less energy and last significantly longer, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and lowering electricity bills.

3. Transportation Habits

Change: Using public transport, biking, or walking instead of driving a car for short trips. Impact: Reducing carbon emissions, decreasing traffic congestion, and promoting healthier lifestyles.

4. Dietary Choices

Change: Having one meat-free day per week. Impact: Reducing the demand for meat, which in turn lowers the environmental impact of meat production, including deforestation, water use, and methane emissions.

5. Water Conservation

Change: Installing a low-flow showerhead. Impact: Significantly reducing water use, which conserves water resources and lowers energy consumption related to water heating.

6. Waste Management

Change: Starting a compost bin for organic waste. Impact: Diverting food waste from landfills, reducing methane emissions, and producing nutrient-rich compost for gardening.

7. Consumer Choices

Change: Choosing products with minimal or eco-friendly packaging. Impact: Reducing waste and encouraging manufacturers to adopt sustainable packaging practices.

8. Energy Sources

Change: Opting for renewable energy options if available. Impact: Supporting the development and use of clean energy sources like wind or solar power, which reduces reliance on fossil fuels.

9. Supporting Sustainable Brands

Change: Buying from companies with strong sustainability practices. Impact: Encouraging businesses to adopt sustainable practices and influencing market trends towards sustainability.

10. Digital Consumption

Change: Unsubscribing from unnecessary email lists. Impact: Reducing the energy consumption associated with data storage and transmission, as well as decluttering personal digital space.

The post Just One Thing: The Power of Small Changes appeared first on Cool Ventures.

Checklist: Reels Planner

Megan — Fri, 03 Feb 2023 10:13:32 +0000

Using this checklist is a confident way to plan Instagram Reels for your small business marketing.

It can be especially useful when you have the opportunity to batch-create multiple Reels at a time, so that you can focus on, and keep on top of, the different elements needed for each Reel.

Map out each one separately ready to film, edit and upload them as needed.

Download the Reels Planner

For more support with how to create Reels and when they’re most usefully applied in order to strategically grow your business, join our Instagram Reels for Beginners webinar.

This workshop is hosted by our social media marketing expert Ruth Southorn, of Swallowtail Social (www.swallowtailsocial.com) and is fully funded for all South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset established businesses, start-ups and residents.

All fully funded workshops can be viewed on: www.coolventures.co.uk/workshops. If you need help to start or grow your business, Get in Touch, to talk to one of our friendly advisors.

The post Checklist: Reels Planner appeared first on Cool Ventures.

Business Plan Template

Megan — Tue, 13 Dec 2022 12:56:59 +0000

Download a PDF version

If you need help with completing this Business Plan template, book a place at our fully funded How to Write a Business Plan for Funding workshop.

1. Business contact details and structure

Date
Your Name
Home Address
Post Code
Phone No
Email

Business Name
Business Format	Sole Trader /Partnership / Limited Company
Other Business partners /directors
Business Address
Post Code
Business Phone No
Business Email Address
Business Web address
Proposed date of registering the business
Proposed date of starting to trade

2. The Business

2.1 Business overview. A brief description of what your business is all about; what product or service will be sold, and what is the vision for its future. 300 words max.

2.2 Borrowing required. If you are applying for a loan, how much money do you want to borrow? What for? Over what term?

Have you obtained a copy of your credit report? If so please detail if it is either:
Very poor Poor Fair Satisfactory Good Excellent

3. About You

3.1 Why do you want to run your own business? Why this particular business idea?

3.2 Previous work experience and relevant qualifications

3.3 Describe your knowledge and experience within this business’ industry.

3.4 Is there any other personal information relevant to this business? For example having family in the industry or an industry specific mentor, have you sourced suppliers or set up trade accounts, or have any contacts with potential customers.

3.5 What are your strengths and weaknesses relative to this business idea? How will you address any weaknesses?

3.6 Why do you think you can make a success of this particular idea?

4. The Product / Service

4.1 Describe the product or service you will be selling. Explain the basic product or service you plan to offer. If there is more than one product or service, explain the different types.

4.2 How will the product be produced or how will the service be carried out? Describe the flow of a typical job, with a walk through, talk through of all the steps involved in the customer journey from a business perspective.

4.3 Licences to operate. Do you need a specific qualification or licence to legally carry out this business?

4.4 Applicable legal issues to this product or service
	Applicable – yes or no?	Actions needed
Health and Safety
Data Protection
Food Hygiene and Safety
Intellectual Property – e.g copyright, trademarks
Business name – check does not infringe on trademarks of other businesses
Consumer safety tests or CE marking required
Consumer Contracts Regulations (re: online purchases)
Sales of digital products outside of the UK
Public liability insurance
Professional indemnity insurance
Business vehicle insurance
Any other insurances
Other:

4.5 Describe your pricing strategy. How have you come up with your prices? How will you position your business in the market as compared to your competitors? (e.g. budget, mid-range or premium?) .

4.6 How much profit will you make on a typical ‘unit’ of product or service? Give a worked example showing how much gross profit you will make on a typical product or unit of service. Explain how much you can sell it for, and what are the direct costs of producing it. How much gross profit do you make per unit?

5. The Market

5.1 Describe your typical customers. Will customers be private individuals or trade customers? Profile them. If you have different customer types for different products/services, profile a typical customer for each product/service.

5.2 Desk research. What have you learned from reading up about your industry area? Are there any seasonal trends? Is overall market for your industry increasing, static or declining?

5.3 Other market research. How do you know that you will have enough customers to support the business? Explain what research you have done.

5.4 Evidence of demand for your product or service. If you have sold any products or services already, or if customers have expressed a firm interest in buying your products or services, please give details.

5.5 Provide information on your principal Competition. Describe your closest competitors. Who are they and what do they offer? What are their strengths and weaknesses? What can you learn from them?

5.6. Why will customers buy from you rather than your key competition? Explain the key customer benefits that will make your business stand out.

6. Marketing Plan

How will you promote your business?

6.2 What promotional material will you use? (e.g. brochures, leaflets, fliers, etc)
6.3 How much will it cost to market your business?

Financials

7. Household Budget

A separate template is provided for this in Excel; please append.

8. Start Up Costs

8.1 Start up costs to date. What have bought for the business already. What has your total spend been to date, and where did the funds come from?

8.2 Start up costs yet to purchase. What do you still need to buy in order to launch and what will each item cost? What is the total of all these expenses? How will you fund these costs?

9. Running Costs

What ongoing business costs do you need to budget for once the business starts? Exclude any costs that vary directly with sales.

Item	How often do you need to buy or pay for this item?	What is the cost each time you have to pay for it?

10. Sales Assumptions

Explain what you will be selling to achieve your projected turnover for the first 12 months. If producing the product or service has any direct costs that vary according to how much you sell, then detail these in the Direct costs forecast column for each month. It is sensible to start out cautious, and be sure to factor in seasonal trends. These figures should match what is recorded in your cashflow.

10. Year 1 Sales assumptions
Month	What happens?	Turnover	Direct costs

11. Cashflow

11.1 Timings of customer payments. Explain when your customers pay. If you give your customers ‘credit’ (time to pay) explain how much. Will the payments in the sales assumptions in the previous section arrive in the month you do the work. If not, when do you think you will get paid?

11.2 What are your payment terms for your suppliers?

11.3 Will the timing of payments between your suppliers and customers cause you cashflow difficulties?

11.4 Cashflow forecast statement. Please construct and append a 12 month cashflow forecast

(there is a separate template for this).

12. Risks And Backup Plan

12.1 What are the key risks affecting your business? Is there anything you can do to reduce the impact of each risk?

12.2 What will you do if your business doesn’t go as well as you have forecast?

12.3 If you are applying for a Start Up Loan, this is a personal loan that must be paid back even if the business doesn’t work out. What can you do to afford your loan repayments if this should happen?

End of Document. N.B. This template is based on one currently used for the New Enterprise Allowance scheme. If you are applying for a different funding program, you are advised to check whether the funder has their own preferred template for you to use.

The post Business Plan Template appeared first on Cool Ventures.