This page provides links to download useful resources and tools created by Donncha Hughes:

 1. Guide To Self-Employment in Ireland (2013)

The following steps are worth considering by anyone considering setting up their own business.

 1. Claim your tax back from Revenue.

2. Apply to Social Welfare for Short-Term Enterprise Allowance.

3. Register as a Sole Trader with Revenue.

4. Register a Business Name

5. Secure your website URL and get a professional email address.

6. Prepare a business plan.

7. Attend a Start Your Own Business Programme.

8. Select an accountant.

9. Open a Business Bank Account.

10. Undertake self-assessment.

11. Get Started.

 The original pdf is still worth reading and it was expanded in 2017 when I created a short eBook of the same topic – and created a webpage with all the content (updated 2019).

2. One-Page Marketing Plan

Check out my blog post which details the 7 elements of the One Page Marketing Plan. The Slideshare ‘Startup Marketing in a Nutshell’ is embedded in the post.

You can type into this Word document to complete your One Page Marketing plan.

3. Business Plan Write-Up Case Study

The Case Study details how Business Advisor, Donncha Hughes worked with a real client to prepare a business plan. It details the project management process along with a detailed overview of the methodology used in preparing both the business plan document and the financial projections.

4. Business Plan – Executive Summary Example

I wrote a blog post entitled ‘Writing Business Plan Executive Summary – format, example and guidance’ and as the title suggests it contains an example. It is taken from my example business plan, TLC Dog Grooming which I wrote to accompany my online training ‘Writing your Business Plan’. I wrote an example business plan for TLC Dog Grooming, a fictitious business, using my business plan template (following Business Cube the Guide to Writing a Business Plan by InterTrade Ireland). The full plan is included as a resource in my online training programme. This download presents the Executive Summary.

5. Complete your Lean Canvas

I have published a free online training programme, “Complete your Lean Canvas” the one-page planning tool for startups devised by Ash Maurya, author of Running Lean. I found an Editable pdf of a Lean Canvas to include as a resource with the programme.

6. Editable Business Model Canvas

Defining your business model is a critical activity for every business. I highly recommend the Business Model Canvas as a great planning tool for small and medium businesses. Click the button below to download an Editable Word document to allow you to complete your canvas.

I provide training on the Business Model Canvas as created by Alex Osterwalder for the book Business Model Generation and have now published a FREE online programme. I also wrote a blog article discussing each of the 9 blocks of the Business Model Canvas within the context of Social Enterprise.

 7. Startup Goal Setting Worksheet

Some of my training will reference Milestones and Goal Setting. Goals should follow the SMART format – Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant and Timebound. I have created a one-page Goal Setting Template (MS Word) to record goals – the template has areas to record who each goal is assigned to and deadlines for meeting them. The Goal Setting Worksheet (pdf) has a short introduction to the SMART format. The first key step is establishing the desired end result.

So you have a business plan written and you want a shorter more updateable and action-oriented plan for execution purposes. One idea is to use a PowerPoint presentation (see template) with the key topics that you need to closely monitor in the business.

Maybe you don’t want to write or don’t feel that you need to write a full business plan but you still want something to create a plan for the business. I have created a Growth & Profitability Plan document for this very situation. It is an extension of the Goal Setting Template with some strategy points added.

 9. Self Assessment Checklist – Pre Startup

Have you got what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Can you be your own Boss? This worksheet should help you to answer these questions – it is important to ask the questions about the proposed business and the promoter’s fit with that business. Completing this Word document can be a useful exercise.

 10. Startup Action Plan Worksheet

This Pdf includes a checklist of items that startups need to consider – select from the list to create your own priority list and timeline. It complements the Goal Setting Template– #7.

11. Excel Template for Financial Projections

I have published an online training programme called ‘Creating Financial Projections for a Local Business’. This uses a case scenario to demonstrate how an Excel template can be used to create financial projections – it includes all the formulas so that the template does a lot of the work but it is still fully configurable and easy to learn how to use. In the version below you put all Sales and overheads in the Cashflow sheets for years 1, 2 and 3 and the P&L and Balance Sheet are automatically populated. The second download is a pdf which shows the output of the financial projections – how the P&L, Balance Sheet and Cashflow are copied into the business plan (see my blog post on business plans which explains how to copy from Excel into Word)

12. BrandScript from Building a StoryBrand by Donald Miller

 I have created a Guidance note with instructions on how to complete the Storybrand BrandScript by Donald Miller (a 4-page pdf) for your business.

For more see my blog post on 3 must-read books for the first quarter of 2021.

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