Using small business case studies, this program examines key business functions including marketing, accounting and finance, operations and employment relations and how these functions are interdependent. The small businesses include a massage & natural therapy clinic and teahouse, a picture framing business, a restaurant, a fruit cake & shortbread shop and a company manufacturing sporting accessories.

Using a case study of a newly established restaurant, this programme investigates: · What a business plan is, and why it is important. · Different types of business plans. · The key elements of a business plan - vision and mission statements, operations, marketing, finance, the executive summary. · Common planning tools - SWOT analysis, break-even analysis. · The importance of regularly evaluating the business plan.