CSEC Principles of Business  /  Establishing a business  /  The business plan, research and feasibility

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The business plan, research and feasibility

Before opening a business, the owner researches the idea, tests whether it can work in a feasibility study, and writes a business plan. The plan begins with the executive summary, a condensed overview of everything else. Paper 1 asks for that term in most years.

By the end of this page you can

  • Give the reasons for preparing a business plan
  • Tell primary from secondary sources of information
  • Describe the elements of a business plan
  • Explain why a feasibility study matters

Goals tick themselves off as you try the activities below.

A spreadsheet forecast listing expected cash inflows, expected cash outflows for salaries, programmes, equipment and rent, and the expected ending cash balance.

Photo: Smallbones, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped, a web address blurred, resized, JPEG q74.

The financial forecast: money expected in, money expected out, and what is left.

How often it shows up in past papers

All papers16 of 23 papers
Last 55 of 5 · 2023–2026

Paper 1 counts come from our past-paper bank of CSEC Principles of Business Paper 1s. The last-5 row shows how often it came up in the five most recent papers.

Inside this topic

  1. Before you start a businessLocked
  2. Inside the planLocked
  3. Key termsLocked
  4. Test yourselfmarkedLocked
  5. Practise for real · 16 past questionsLocked