Our members tell us time and time again that the very beginning of an enterprise journey is the hardest part. Setting up a business is fraught with challenges, from securing the finance and fine-tuning the idea to getting the word out and winning those first few vital clients. Central to every successful start-up is a carefully considered, detailed and well-researched business plan. That’s why the Get Started Challenge is so close to our hearts. Open exclusively to IOEE members, the challenge invites new entrepreneurs to submit their own business plan masterpieces for our expert judges to select the best and and award the creator with a much-needed cash injection for their business. They can do this using our specially designed, easy-to-use online Business Plan Builder or by using their own innovative approach. Our Business Plan Builder can be used to create and amend business plans, with entrants revisiting it anytime to finetune the details and make sure every element of their fledging business is considered. Once their plans are perfected, IOEE members can enter the Get Started Challenge. The entrepreneur who submits the strongest plan will receive a cash prize, as well as an award, which will be presented at 2016’s IOEE Celebrating Enterprise Awards, taking place next year at the House of Lords.

It’s been shown that people who start businesses having made firm business plans, which are regularly revisited and reflected upon, are twice as likely to still be trading two years after starting up. Our online Business Plan Builder is free to use and helps new entrepreneurs answer questions about the market they’re entering, whether their ideas will be profitable and how to understanding their competition.

So, if you or someone you know is taking those first tentative steps towards running a business, isn’t it time you found out more about the Get Started Challenge 2016?