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Which is incredible when you consider the fact that the majority of new or currently trading small businesses don't have a formal plan at all. And never will, other than the one that's in their heads or scattered around various notebook scribblings, e-mails, and other scraps of paper.

But maybe it's not so incredible when you consider that just about every single business adviser in the UK, many of whom happen to be our customers, will be suggesting to their budding small business punters that they need to have a written business plan before they start trading.

So get to the bloomin' point, we can hear you screeching at the screen.

The point is that having a business plan is not the be-all and end-all for anyone setting up, running, or aspiring to grow a small enterprise. Or at least, having a single written document that tells the complete story (for entrepreneur read clairvoyant) about how you will plant your little business acorn and grow it into an enormous, profit-generating forest of money trees in the blink of an eye. Yeah, right.

The point, and yes we're getting to it, is that in the real world of start ups and small businesses it's not actually having "a plan" that's important, but having "plans", and lots of them.

You need a plan for just about every critical part of your business, and you should certainly have these written down, no matter how short and sweet they are. And they should be read and understood by everyone involved with each relevant area of your enterprise.

An advertising plan, a financial forecast plan, a sales plan, a purchasing plan, a recruitment plan, an Internet plan, a legal compliance plan, a direct mail plan, a succession plan, a disaster plan, an exit plan, and so on.

And you can do this easily according to the stage you are at with your new venture, focusing on the particular priorities that relate to your unique business situation. Make a list of the most important aspects of the business you want to address, and for each one start off by jotting down, on a single side of paper, a summary of what you want to achieve and how you propose to achieve it.

If you need to write more, or do more research, you can do this for each aspect of your business as you find the time.

Then, and if you really have the need, such as in the case of requiring a prospectus to present to a bank or other funder to raise finance, you will be much better placed to quickly pull together a single master business plan for exactly that purpose.

But concentrate on your real priorities first. Plan in small chunks, and get the detail right so you've got some immediate targets and objectives to get yourself working on.

Marketing tip

Relationship networking

Legal tip

We've talked about the Disability Discrimination Act quite a lot this year, but it's worth taking a quick look at exactly what 1 October will bring.

That's the date when the final clauses of the 1995 Act will be brought in. Businesses with 15 or fewer employees may have to make "reasonable adjustments" to avoid discriminating against employees - present or future. And businesses of any size may also have to adapt their workplace by removing physical barriers hindering or preventing disabled access to their premises.

There are no hard and fast rules, however, and the Government's Disability Unit recommends a common sense approach. To help, they've published a list of examples of what might be a "reasonable" adjustment.

Sole traders are less likely to be affected by these provisions. Somebody working alone in a workshop with no public access will probably be unaffected. But if you run a shop, for example, you may have to arrange your premises so that the disabled will be able to enter and move around.

The Disability Unit emphasises that big businesses can afford to make adjustments that are beyond the financial reach of smaller firms, but also concludes that the Act is an opportunity for businesses of all sizes to open up to a new clientele.

There are more suggestions about complying with the law here.

The Red Tape BUSTER also has a range of information about the Act, and hundreds of other scenarios, factsheets and frequently asked questions.

Windows seems to be under permanent siege from hackers, worms, spyware and scumware these days. So it pays to keep your PC updated with the latest patches and service packs Microsoft offers. However, with the proliferation of versions - XP Millennium, 2000, and so on - it can take a bit of time before you work out which downloads you need to combat any given threat.

But there are ways of making life a bit easier when it comes to updates.

• Firstly, it's worth remembering there's a difference between service packs and patches. Service packs are released on the second Tuesday of each month, and they're basically a bundle of all the updates and patches written over the month. Patches are much smaller, and they're designed to deal with a specific urgent threat such as a new worm. Microsoft releases them as soon as it can.
• If you're reasonably familiar with computers in general, it's a good idea to sign up to Microsoft's e-mail alert service - it gives you a list of patches available and which version of Windows they can be applied to. The threats are labelled according to urgency, and you can make a decision on whether or not to go ahead and download the relevant patch.
• If you're not confident enough to decide what your system needs or doesn't need, you can let Microsoft decide for you. When you're online, click your Start button (at the bottom left of your screen), and then Windows Update. You'll be transported swiftly to the relevant part of the Microsoft website, where you can find out what updates your computer needs. Then you can download and install the ones you choose in a single click.

Still baffled? There's a user-friendly guide to patch management and the Microsoft support website is also worth visiting.

a. a virus-infected e-mail which looks like it's from a friend
b. a legal term for something that has two opposite meanings
c. an indicator of trends
d. an unusually favourable market

Answer at the end of Bulletin.

The Internet might be about to collapse under its own weight, if you can believe everything you read. Global technology firm Intel said last week that the technology the Internet is based on is more than 30 years old, and can no longer support today's volume of information and users. As millions more users in developing nations gain Internet access, Intel reckons the system will buckle under the pressure. Intel's claims have been backed up by other leading communications firms, and it has set out a strategy for updating the Internet's network, which would make it more reliable by monitoring and re-routing traffic to combat surges in usage.

However, other sceptics are claiming that the 'end of the world' scenario has been overstated, and are dubbing Intel's proposal the 'Intelnet', as the strategy - yes, you've guessed it - pivots on the use of Intel's products to save the day.

Get a load of Intel's warnings, plus the sceptics' reaction, at:
http://www.contractoruk.com/news/001697.html

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