Who should start-ups talk to before writing a business plan?

Start-ups should talk to real potential customers before finalising a business plan, not after. Market research done early, through direct conversations rather than assumptions, often reshapes the whole business model: pricing, target audience, even the core offer. This is one of the founding principles behind our approach at Yorkshire in Business, and it's the same thinking our newest advisor, Adam Johnson, brings from years of running his own hospitality business.

Why does customer research change business plans so much?

Most business plans are written backwards. Someone has an idea, works out how to deliver it, then goes looking for customers to sell it to. We push our clients to reverse that order: find out what customers actually want and need first, then build the offer around it.

This matters because assumptions about a target market are usually wrong in small but costly ways. You might think your customers value speed, when actually they value reliability. You might price based on what you think is fair, when your customers would happily pay more for something you're currently underselling. Direct conversations with potential customers, before a penny is spent on stock, premises or marketing, surface these gaps while they're still cheap to fix.

Adam Johnson knows this from the inside. As founder of Neighbourhood Hospitality & Events, he's built a business spanning weddings, corporate events, festivals and private celebrations, and he's learned that understanding what a client actually wants from an event (versus what you assume they want) makes the difference between a booking and a missed opportunity. He's joined our team this month alongside operations director Jo Greenwood and indie revival director Jen Holden, bringing that first-hand experience of growing a business into the practical advice we give start-ups.

What is a business's 'why' and why does it matter?

Before market research, before financial projections, we ask new clients one question: why does this business exist, beyond making money? This isn't a branding exercise. It's the thing that keeps a founder going when trade is slow, that shapes decisions when two options both look profitable on paper, and that customers can sense when it's genuinely there.

A business without a clear 'why' tends to chase every opportunity that looks profitable, which usually means it ends up doing lots of things averagely rather than one thing well. Founders who can articulate their purpose clearly find it easier to say no to the wrong clients, the wrong partnerships, and the wrong pivots.

How do you actually research your target market?

Market research doesn't need to mean expensive surveys or agencies. Some of the most useful methods are also the most direct:

• Talk to people who fit your target customer profile, before you've built anything, and ask about their current habits and frustrations rather than pitching your idea to them.
• Watch what people actually do, not just what they say they'd do. Buying behaviour and stated intentions often diverge.
• Test small before committing large. A pop-up, a limited offer, or a small batch run tells you more than a spreadsheet forecast ever will.
• Ask existing customers of similar businesses what they wish was different. Gaps in current provision are often where new businesses find their footing.

We teach these established techniques to the start-ups and established businesses we work with, because collecting and analysing customer information properly supports better strategic decisions further down the line, not just at launch.

What should a business plan actually be for?

A business plan should serve the entrepreneur, not impress an investor. Too many founders write plans designed to look good in a pitch deck rather than plans they'll actually use to run the business day to day.

A working plan needs three things: a clear understanding of the target market (built from real research, not guesswork), a business model that explains exactly how the business makes money and delivers value, and clarity on the operational details that get overlooked in the excitement of launch: supplier relationships, commercial terms, cash flow timing. Get these fundamentals right and the plan becomes a working document you return to, rather than a paper exercise filed away after the funding round.

What other challenges do today's start-ups face?

Beyond the plan itself, entrepreneurs today are navigating digital transformation, increasingly complex funding options, and consumer expectations that shift faster than they used to. None of these are solved by theory. They're solved by practical guidance from people who've actually run businesses and hit these problems themselves.

That's the model we've built our advisory service around: qualified business advisors bringing over 100 years of combined experience working with businesses across the UK. It's also why we're glad to have Adam on board. Running Neighbourhood Hospitality & Events has meant building supplier relationships, managing commercial terms across weddings and corporate events, and adapting an offer as client expectations change, all things start-ups need to get right early.

Why does networking matter for start-up founders?

Business rarely grows in isolation. Founders who build relationships with other business owners get access to collaborators, suppliers, and peer support that would take years to find alone. We facilitate these introductions deliberately, because we believe that when businesses support one another, everyone does better. Adam has echoed this same view since joining us, having felt the value of that kind of network first-hand while growing his own business.

Common questions about start-up business planning

Do I need to finish my business plan before talking to customers?
No. Talk to potential customers first, or at least in parallel with your first draft. Their answers often reshape the plan significantly, so writing the whole thing before that research risks wasting time on assumptions you'll have to unpick later.

How many people should I talk to before I trust the research?
There's no fixed number, but look for patterns rather than a single opinion. If five or six conversations with your target customer type keep surfacing the same concern or preference, that's worth acting on.

What's the difference between a business plan for investors and one for me?
An investor-facing plan emphasises growth projections and market size. A working plan focuses on how you'll actually deliver value and make money day to day, including the unglamorous details like supplier terms and cash flow.

Is market research only for brand-new start-ups?
No. Established businesses benefit just as much, particularly when launching a new product, entering a new market, or responding to changing customer expectations.

If you're working through these questions for your own business, our advisors, including Adam, Jo and Jen, are here to help you turn research into a plan that actually works. Get in touch through Yorkshire in Business to talk through where your business is right now and what the next practical step looks like.