Been interested in this for quite a while and have decided to apply for it.
I looked into it about 6 months ago but I hadn't been signing on for 12 months at that stage so didnt qualify. I'm over the 12 months now and would like to attempt it again.
MY questions are for anyone who has already applied, successfully or not. What exactly do I need to produce? I've the form printed out and I'm about to fill that in. I've started work on a business plan detailing what I plan on doing, and expectations etc. I'm a web designer and have already spoken with one company who want me to run a website for them, and I have some other projects that I want to work at myself also. I presume all these should be included in my business plan. How much detail should be in my business plan? I've seen samples plans that go on for pages and pages, I think I'd struggle to fill to many pages. Does it have to be a business plan like one would submit to a bank if going for a business loan?
In terms of experience, i studied it in college, and worked for 12 months with a design business that went bust, hence the reason I'm on JSA at the moment.
Will they require anything else from me? I'm lucky in that there is little to no start up costs with the exception of a bit of advertising. I already have a business name registered, with 2 years now, will this pose any kind of problem to me? Will they require any other documents from me, bank statements etc?
Also as regards the form, I flicked through it, all seems pretty simple stuff. One question I have is at the back under the office use section, it says STR1 form attached. Obviously I'm not gonna fill in anything there, but I'm wondering what and STR1 form is?
Thanks in advance to anyone who might be able to help me with this.
J