The man with the plan: if you've never run a business before, where do you begin? Over the next three months, Alick Jones, head of franchising at Lloyds TSB, examines the foundations for building a solid business. First ask yourself what you want to achieve from running your business as a franchise, and figure out how you will go about achieving your aims.(franchise advice)

WHEN YOU GET GUIDANCE from the professionals to start your own business, they all talk about business plans and their importance, and rightly so. If you don't know where you want your franchise business to go, then how can you take it there? However, if you've never run a business before, where do you start?

The key is to have a structured process to follow, and to build the plan in stages. I am going to suggest a structure to follow that is a little different from just the usual cash flow and profit forecast, but will help you build a solid blueprint to run your business.

In every case, before you start your business as a franchisee you need to carefully research your chosen franchise system, and make sure you have spoken to existing franchisees to find out how the business has worked for them.

Equally, you will need an idea of what you want to achieve from running your own business--what success looks like for you. This may mean a certain lifestyle, the business reaching a certain size, your dream home/car/yacht. One thing is certain, different people have different aims and objectives, so what's your definition of success?

YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS

Everybody wants something different from their own business--a lifestyle, independence and security are just a few possibilities. It's therefore important to define what you want clearly, and make sure your chosen franchise can help you fulfil your dreams.

YOUR MOTIVES