Theoretical and practical aspects of business activity business planning

ENA growing interest in entrepreneurship is a result of, on the one hand, its nature, which evolves and is reflected in new forms and expressions, and, on the other hand, the fact that entrepreneurship is a key factor ensuring economic growth, improving the competitiveness of economies and increasing the prosperity of local and regional communities. However, in a rapidly changing business environment, ready-made prescriptions are increasingly failing. This necessitates mental effort and out-of-the-box thinking. That is why there emerge a growing number of projects with an aim to stimulate outstanding individuals to set up a business. One of them is the project “Acceleration of business support ecosystem” (ACCESS), which was co-financed under the Interreg V-A Lithuania-Poland 2014–2020 Programme. ACCESS strengthens entrepreneurial initiatives by improving business support services in Kaunas and Marijampole region on the Lithuanian side, as well as Suwalki and Bialystok sub-regions in Poland. One of the many results of the project is the creation of two publications on theoretical and practical aspects of setting up and running a business. These publications aim to encourage people of all ages to try to start a business, while providing them with the knowledge and skills to reduce the possibility of failure. Entrepreneurs, before embarking on their brave activities, should check whether their product or service will meet the needs of potential customers. This attitude will definitely allow them to avoid risks associated with investing time and money in creating a product or service that no one will be interested in. For that reason the book contains the necessary content to help talented and courageous individuals take their own steps so that their actions will have the desired effect.This publication consists of four chapters. The first chapter refers to generating business ideas, the second to creating a product tailored to market needs, and the third is focused on creating a business plan. The fourth chapter is dedicated to the description of pre-acceleration and acceleration programmes. The publication concludes with a case study on activities supporting entrepreneurial initiatives. The book is dedicated to people seeking a good business solution and aiming to bring it to the market in a timely manner. It should be noted that this does not only apply to new businesses, but also those already existing on the market since they constantly have to generate ideas and adapt them to changing market conditions. Hence, anyone who intends to or already conducts business activity will find in this publication some development-stimulating content. In this case the stage a given enterprise is going through is of secondary importance.