Aspiring female entrepreneurs are invited to enter the Business Plan Awards, launched by women’s lifestyle website handbag.com.

Handbag.com is running the competition, in association with everywoman.co.uk, the online resource for women business owners. It is asking women intending to set up their own businesses or who have been running their own for less than a year to create and submit their business plans.

There will be six finalists, each winning a package from Everywoman, which includes legal help and workshops and seminars. One overall winner will benefit from 6 months’ use of a new car, £1,000 of Business Link services, free access to a Business Link adviser for a year, and a personal mentor for a year.

The business plan must contain, amongst other things, evidence of pre-planning and research, a mission statement, short- and medium-term goals, an overall ideology and a description of the product or service.

The website is running the awards to celebrate the increasing number of women starting up their own businesses, with over a quarter of all UK businesses and a third of all start-ups run by women.

Entries must be between 10 and 20 pages long and be received by 31 August. The awards ceremony takes place in London on 17 September. For more details, go to www.handbag.com. To enter the awards, email businessplanawards@handbag.com and register your details on the registration page.

See also our Business Planning section for more helpful hints and tips.