Business Loans Application Form

Star Academy Solutions
Burford Road, London E15 2SP
0208 534 7555

BUSINESS LOANS APPLICATION FORM

Please complete this form with as much information as possible about yourself, your skills, knowledge and relevant experience in your chosen field of enterprise. Please also tell us about your business concept, how you came up with the idea, why you would like to start-up a business and why you think it will succeed. This information will also enable us to prepare a detailed Business Plan of your proposed venture; which will subsequently demonstrate to the source of funding that your business idea is viable, achievable and will generate sufficient turnover to sustain the business and repay the loan so that others can also benefit.

Full Name:
Home Address:
How long have you lived there:
Do you rent/own your property or live with parents?
Home Telephone no:
Mobile No:
Email:
Date of Birth:
Ethnicity:
National Insurance Number (NI)
Nationality / Residency Status
BUSINESS DETAILS
Proposed Company name:
Date business will commenced trading:
Proposed number of employees:
Legal Status of the proposed business
(E.g. Limited Company, Partnership or Sole Trader etc.)
Company registration no. (if applicable)
What product(s)/service(s) the business will offer
Business contact:
Contact’s position in the proposed business:
Web Address:
Telephone/Mobile number:
Email Address:
Company Registered Address:
Postcode:
Trading address:
Postcode:
Name of Adviser/Consultant:
1. Executive Summary
You cannot complete this section until you have finished preparing the business plan. It provides a summary of all you have said and written in the document. The section is meant to entice potential investors’ or lenders’ to turn over the page and read on, for a badly written executive summary is a turn off for most funders. Therefore, what you write in this section must be a brief and accurate reflection of the information you have provided in the business plan. The executive summary should cover the following headings:
1.1 Brief background information about yourself
Example (1)
I am John Smith aged 40 and I am single. I am a fully qualified plumber with 10 years experience and I am planning to start-up a new business in this sector, and this is my business plan.
Example (2)
I am Jane Jones, I am aged 28, I am single and I live with my parents. I am planning to start-up a new business in the ‘hair and beauty’ sector. I have practical experience in hairdressing (unisex) and beauty care. This document is my business plan that I am using to raise finance needed to start-up my business venture.
1.2. Products and Services
State in brief the products and services you are going to manufacture or sell
Example ( 1 ) As a plumber, the services that I plan to offer includes installation of new baths, flushing of central heating systems, dealing with blocked drains and sinks.
Example ( 2 ) The services that I plan to offer in my salon includes weaving, plaiting, wash, blow/dry, extensions and barbering.
1.3 Customers
Describe in brief who are your target customers
Example (1 ) My target customers’ will be general households, and I’ll be focusing from the start on my local and regional areas in Walthamstow, and North London.
Example (2 ) In my hairdressing business I will be targeting professional people aged 25 to 40 with high levels of disposable income. These women and some men, regularly visit hairdressing and beauty salons, because they desire to look goods at all times.
1.4 Financial Requirements
If you intend using this document to raise finance, please state the amount of money you are looking for, where you intend to raise the finance (bank or the Start-Up loan Scheme), the repayment period and the cost of the loan.
1.4.1 Own Money
If you have your own money to invest in the business please indicate here how much.
1.5 Financial Projections
Please indicate here the annual sales that you have shown in your Cash flow forecast (money coming in and money going out of the business). It would be ideal if you can work-out from the cash flow how profitable your business is going to be, as well as the annual Break-even Sales (break-even is the point where sales are equal to overheads and you are neither making a profit or a loss).
2. Background
Example
I came by the idea to set-up my own business whilst working as a plumber for J. Plumbing Company. I saw that the call-out charges, supply of parts, fittings and the hourly rate were exorbitant and unjustifiable. I therefore realised that with my experience I can set-up my own business that would not rip the customers’ off. I am a qualified plumber by trade and profession with several years experience, and I am confident that the skills and knowledge acquired over the years will put me in good stead to succeed in my proposed venture.
3. Form of Incorporation
In this section p-lease state the legal structure of your proposed business i.e. would you be trading as a:
i) Sole Trader ( a one person entity)
ii) Partnership (going into business with another person(s); please indicate the percentage of ownership.
iii) Private limited company; is the company registered? Also, please state who the shareholders are and if you are the only one, please say so.
4. Location
Please state the address from where you would run the business.
5. Mission Statement
The mission statement defines the reason why the business or company exists.
Example (1)
The business proposes to manufacture top quality footwear at affordable prices that are readily available to all customers irrespective of their disposable income.
Example (2)
To become the first choice for quality, reliable and affordable services in the market.
6. Vision Statement
A vision statement is sometimes called a picture of your business in the future; please state how you see your business in the near future.
Example
My vision is to concentrate on areas with strong growth opportunities to achieve a well known brand status.
7. Personal Objective
Please state your reason(s) for going into business and what you expect to achieve.
Example (1)
To get rich quick and sell the business for a profit
Example (2)
To make a good living in a business that can be passed on to the next generation.
8. Business Objective
Example (1)
To grow the business at a rate of??% in turnover and??% in profitability
Example (2)
To open branches locally, regionally and nationally, and export my product or service to overseas markets.
9. Market Overview
In this section you must show that you understand the industry or the sector that you are going into, for instance, what are the technological development taking places i.e. there are fewer people now using postage because of the Internet; who are the major players in the market and who are your Direct Competitors?; Are there any current and proposed legislation likely to impact the market? (i.e. are you aware of any new laws that could affect the business?).
9.1 Market Research
Have you carried out any primary market research i.e. developing questionnaires and getting people to respond?
What is the market trend i.e. is the market growing or in decline? Is there any evidence of the size of the market?
You should also show any evidence of secondary research i.e. desk research in the library or online.
For secondary market research it is vital to show the source of any statistical data you quote in your business plan.
9.2 Competition
Here you should name your direct competitors and state how much you know about them for instance, their strengths and weaknesses, their prices, the quality of their products/services, their location, and method of service or product delivery.
9.3 Marketing Strategy
In this section you must describe what you are going to do to get your products/service know in the market, and how they will reach your target customers’. You should also estimate your turnover i.e. sales for years 1, 2 and 3 and the expected market share you hope to achieve.
9.4 Marketing and Promotion
If you are going to advertise your services or products you should describe the medium that you would choose to promote what you are offering, and the reasons why you choose a particular newspaper, radio or other media i.e. the Internet. Please also state how much each of these media charge for placing the advert.
9.5 Unique Selling Point (USP)
It is vital that you state clearly what you believe is special about your product/services i.e. what would make customers’ come to you rather than going elsewhere. Please also state how your uniqueness gives you a competitive advantage.
9.6 Customers
Your customers’ are your business and you must indicate that you know who your potential customers’ are, where they are, their occupation, their disposable income, age group and gender where applicable.
9.7 Pricing
In this section you must describe how much you are going to charge for your products/services, how you arrived at the price, and how it compares with your competitors prices.
9.8 SWOT Analysis
Here you should show your Strengths i.e. what you are very good at, your qualifications, experience, knowledge or the uniqueness of your product/service; Weaknesses i.e. areas where you need training or support such as bookkeeping etc; Opportunities i.e. please state any potential opportunities discovered during the market research and how you would be able to take advantage of it; Threats i.e. Please state anything that you foresee that could be a threat to your business in the future.
9.9. Start-up Costs
Please indicate the start-Up costs for which you require the loan
Example
·  Rent/Deposit on Premises £
·  Materials/stock £
·  Equipment i.e. motor Vehicle/Laptop £
·  Insurance £
·  Website Development £
·  Telephone Installation £
·  Professional Service £
TOTAL £
Please add other costs not shown above if applicable and delete any that is not relevant.

Personal Survival Budget

The following is a request for information about your own personal financial needs during the first 3 months after start-up, and the cost of setting-up the proposed business venture.

Notes on preparation of your Personal Survival Budget
The following chart is an example of a Personal Survival Budget (PSB) list for a start-up business person, and whilst all categories may not be applicable to your circumstances, please choose those that does, and subsequently draw-up your own individual PSB list to show the amount of money you’ll need to support yourself/family until the business generates sufficient turnover to support your needs. Please be as realistic and as accurate as possible when determining the amount of money that you’ll require to support your needs, and don’t over/underestimate the amounts as it’ll not bode well with funding organisations.
For easy calculation, please double click the document below to access Microsoft Excel.
Personal Survival Budget

NOTES - On the Preparation of the Business Start-up Budget

Nearly everyone who has ever started a business has underestimated the costs, and then faced the danger of running the business with inadequate funding, which is a recipe for disaster.. The key to avoiding this pitfall is to adopt a rigorous approach to your research and planning.

EXPENSES - Begin by estimating expenses.

What will it cost you to get your business up and running? The key to accuracy here is attention to detail. For each category of expense, draw up a list of everything you will need to purchase. This will include both tangible assets (for example, equipment, tools etc/machinery) and services (for example, remodelling, insurance etc).

WORKING CAPITAL/CONTINGENCIES - Add a reserve for contingencies (unforeseen occurrences) and you’ll need working capital; because you cannot open with an empty bank account. You’ll need a cash cushion to meet expenses while the business gets going.

SOURCES - Now that you have estimated how much capital will be needed to start-up the venture, you should enter the amounts you will put in yourself, how much will be injected by partners or investors, and how much will be raised from borrowing.

COLLATERAL - If you will be using this business proposal to support a Loan application, show what assets you are bringing into the business as your contribution to start-up, and give your estimate of the value of these items.

For easy calculation, please double click the document below to access Microsoft Excel.

Notes on Preparation of the Sales Forecast

Forecasting sales of your product or service is the starting point for the financial projections. The sales forecast is the key to the whole financial plan, so it is important to use realistic estimates. Type in all the items, product or services you intent to sell or provide and how much you intend to charge for them (Unit Price). Next, forecast how much you believe you can sell in each month (this must be based upon your Market Research findings), and don’t forget to include Seasonal Variations e.g. the impact of summer/winter time upon your sales, if applicable. Finally, please ensure that your forecast is realistic as funding bodies strongly dislike unachievable and unrealistic sales projections because they send the wrong message, so keep it real.

Please complete the forecast below:

1

Sales Forecast For easy calculation, please double click the document below to access Microsoft Excel

1

Appendices

Appendix 1

Cash Flow Forecasts

A Cash Flow is money coming in or going out of the business and for the purpose of completing this section, a cash flow template is attached.

Appendix 2

Cash Flow Notes

The sales that you project should be realistic and achievable and you should be able to explain how you arrived at the figures. Please remember two other things;

(1) Sales for new businesses usually start low and gradually build up

(2) Most businesses are affected by Seasonal Variations, which means that they face both slack and peak periods; therefore these 2 factors should reflect your sales forecast and you should avoid monthly sales figures being the same for each month throughout the forecast.

1