Rural entrepreneurship in Wales

5.4 Conclusion

In this section you have:

  • looked at the key financial challenges facing entrepreneurs today
  • examined many different ways of raising finance and considered the most appropriate for your business
  • understood the difference in each of the key financial statements required by any business, the cash flow statement, the profit-and-loss account, the balance sheet and budget statements
  • looked at a break-even analysis based on fixed and variable costs
  • seen how these statements can help manage business risk.

Now open the BPPR (or the template) and reflect on the activities completed in this section. Review the output from each activity and complete the questions raised in Section 4 of the BPPR. While these activities will take you some time to complete, they are essential when planning the first year of your business. A bank or any formal source of funds for your business will require this information and probably much more besides.