I am starting a business
From a tested idea to a plan you can take to the bank.
- Test your idea before you invest
- Choose a legal structure
- Write a business plan
- Make a cash flow forecast
- Funding and grants for start-ups
Knowledge base for founders and business owners
Practical guides on starting and running a business, with international sources and the figures of your industry alongside.
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Updated 2026
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Firmfocus Knowledge Base
Knowledge you can put to work in your business
The knowledge base brings together the practical guides of Firmfocus for founders, business owners and their advisers. Every article turns rules, models and figures into decisions you can take tomorrow. It explains the principle that holds everywhere and shows how it works in the major markets, with links to the official sources. Where it helps, you put the explanation next to the figures of your own industry.
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01
Theme
Start a business
From an idea to a business that stands, in six pillars: the eight steps, your starting situation, the business plan and financial forecasts, money and income, the first year and starting in a specific industry. Written for founders in any country.
Key questions
- In what order do I start my business?
- Which rules apply to my starting situation?
- What does a lender want to see in my plan?
02
Theme
Strategy
Strategy is choosing what you will and will not do. This theme follows the route from analysis to execution: the strategy process, the analysis models, the strategic choices, execution and control, the issues that shape strategy now and trends by industry. For small businesses and large organisations.
Key questions
- How do I set my strategy in clear steps?
- Which model fits my strategic question?
- How do I turn choices into goals, measures and results?
Strategy in five steps
- Step 1: Approach and frameworkThe strategic question, participants, rules of play and a one-page process plan.
- Step 2: External analysisFrom macro environment to competitors, ending in ranked opportunities and threats.
- Step 3: Internal analysisStrengths and weaknesses backed by figures, and the capabilities that give an edge.
- Step 4a: SWOT analysisA SWOT that leads to choices, with a confrontation matrix and a worked example.
- Step 4b: TOWS matrixWeihrich's TOWS matrix and the questions that produce real options.
- Step 5: Choose and implementCriteria, a scoring model and the step from choice to execution.
Put it in writing and apply
- Mission, vision and valuesWhat they are, what research says and how to write them so they steer.
- One-page strategic planYour choices summarised for the whole team, with a complete example.
- Strategy for small businessesSharp choices with limited time and money, and a business organised around them.
- Strategic planning in large organisationsFrom the annual planning round to a continuous process, and the role of the board.
Strategic analysis
- PESTLE analysisThe macro environment in six factors, ending in a shortlist instead of a long list.
- Porter's five forcesWhat makes your industry profitable, with questions per force and the pitfalls.
- Competitor analysisFrom who your competitors are to how they will react to your moves.
- Market and customer analysisMarket definition, segmentation, buying criteria and the market you can win.
- Porter's value chainPer activity what it costs, what it gives the customer and what you must do yourself.
- Core competences and VRIOThe few capabilities competitors cannot quickly copy, and how to protect them.
- McKinsey seven-S modelTest whether structure, systems, style, staff and skills fit your strategy.
- Scenario planningDeciding when the future is uncertain, with four scenarios and early signals.
- Financial analysis for strategyThe ratios that matter strategically, set against the figures of your industry.
Strategic choices
- Porter's generic strategiesCost leadership, differentiation or focus, and the risk of being stuck in the middle.
- Value disciplinesChoose where you excel and what that asks of your organisation.
- Ansoff matrixFour growth directions, the rising risk and growth spread over time.
- BCG matrix and portfolioWhich units generate cash, which consume it and how you invest.
- Business Model CanvasDesign, compare and choose business models with the nine building blocks.
- Value proposition and jobs to be doneBuild a proposition around the job the customer wants done.
- Blue Ocean StrategyCreate new demand with the strategy canvas and the four actions.
- What good strategy isThe marks of good and bad strategy, and ten questions to test yours.
- Acquisitions and alliancesBuy, partner or build, and why integration is the biggest risk.
Execution and control
- Strategy implementationFrom chosen course to results, with goals, resources, owners and rhythm.
- OGSM modelYour strategy on one page, from ambition to action, with a worked example.
- OKRsAmbitious objectives and measurable key results per quarter, and the known pitfalls.
- Balanced ScorecardStrategy translated into objectives, measures and a strategy map.
- KPIs and dashboardThe figures that belong on the dashboard and how they lead to decisions.
- BenchmarkingCompare your business with the industry and turn differences into targets.
- Change managementLand a new strategy in phases and with support.
Strategic themes
- AI strategyWhere AI affects your business model and productivity, and what the EU AI Act asks.
- Sustainability and reportingWhat reporting rules still ask after the Omnibus, and where sustainability pays.
- Talent and labour shortagesCapacity as a limit to growth, and the options from automation to price.
- Geopolitics and supply chain riskFind the dependencies in your chain and build resilience where it counts.
- Energy costs and grid capacityGrowing and investing when energy is expensive and the grid is full.
- Succession and exitChoose the route and make the business transferable in time.
Trends by industry
- Retail trendsTen developments that decide the margins of retailers.
- Restaurant trendsTen developments for restaurants and food service, with the choices that follow.
- Hotel trendsDemand, booking platforms, staff and pricing, and the choices they ask.
- Hair salon trendsSelf-employed stylists, wages, prices and new channels in the salon trade.
03
Theme
Marketing
Good marketing starts with a sharp plan and ends with results you can measure. This theme covers the classic models, building campaigns and using digital channels and social media in a small or medium-sized business.
Key questions
- How do I write a marketing plan with measurable goals?
- Which channels fit my customers?
- How do I set up a campaign whose results I can see?
Plan and models
Campaigns and promotion
Digital and social media
04
Theme
Finance
Finance is more than bookkeeping. This theme covers records and taxes, profit and costs, public funding, the safety net of the self-employed and the choices around a company car, with the principle first and the rules in major markets alongside.
Key questions
- How do I set up records that hold up?
- Where can I cut costs without losing quality?
- How do I protect my income as a self-employed person?
Administration and tax
Profit, costs and funding
The self-employed
Company car
05
Theme
Sustainable business
Sustainable business lowers costs and strengthens your position with customers and lenders, while new rules keep arriving. This theme shows which obligations apply to you, where you save and which funding helps.
Key questions
- Which sustainability rules apply to my business?
- How do I map the emissions of my business?
- Which funding fits my investment?
Rules and obligations
Energy, emissions and transport
Procurement, circular and funding
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