Small business structures

5 Choosing your own business structure

Figure 5  Applying your learning

You may now like to take the ideas discussed so far and link them to your own business idea. You can do this through two activities:

  • Activity 7: Create your own business case study in a similar format to the example case studies.
  • Activity 8:Answer the questions for the case study you created.

Activity 7

Allow about 10 minutes

Complete the case study information for a business you have recently started, are thinking of starting or have knowledge of through friends or family.

Name of business
Brief description of business and its objectives
Staffing of business
Business assets
Essential skills
Mandatory licences or insurance arrangements
Expected turnover for year 1, year 2 and year 3

To get the most out of this course we encourage you to keep notes on the ideas you have and the activities you complete. These notes could be very useful as you move your business idea.

This particular activity is also used in the other sections of this course and may have already been completed. It is suggested that you use the same ideas for each section, though you may wish to change or develop your ideas as you go through the different sections.

Activity 8

Allow about 20 minutes

Use the personal case study you have developed to answer the seven questions and suggest a suitable structure for your business.

Key question Answers Implications
How big is the business likely to be?
Who are the clients?
How many people will be involved in the business and will there be employees?
How will the business be financed?
What is the turnover for the business likely to be?
Is the business likely to be sold in the future?
What are the potential consequences if the business fail?

Recommended business structure and justification: