If you are going to seriously do business, you cannot do without a business plan. The most successful idea must be supported by a well-designed action plan. The rules for drawing up a business plan for a small business will help you understand the sequence of actions.

There is little in common between dreams of owning your own business and real business - in fantasies we clearly imagine only the result, in business it requires planning. Even the most successful business idea is worthless without a well-designed action plan. We will look at the rules for drawing up a business plan for a small business, and we hope the information will be useful to aspiring entrepreneurs.

When we go on a trip, we draw up a route so as not to wander at random; starting a new business requires a similar approach.

What is a business plan

A business plan is a guide to action describing the idea, process, implementation mechanisms and goals.

Defining a specific goal in this chain is crucial, since it is this point that allows you to clearly formulate:

• What is your current position, i.e. where is the starting point to start.
• What should you get as a result?
• What steps need to be taken to promote and develop the business.

Purpose of the business plan

Drawing up a business plan is useful at the start of any business, but in two cases a plan is required:

To provide investors and creditors, as well as to obtain financial support from the state.

The purpose of drawing up a business plan is to confirm the viability of the idea and the efficiency of using money. The information presented in the plan should be detailed, appear reliable and logical. For clarity, it is useful to accompany the defense of the business plan with a presentation of slides.

Real business plan “For yourself”

A working version of a business plan for “internal use.” There is always a difference between the “front” and “working” plans.

Development forecast and prospects

Consider several business development options. Try to objectively assess the prospects based on expected income and expenses. Put yourself in the shoes of an investor and think about whether you would agree to invest money in the company described.

How to write a business plan yourself? What is needed for this? Here is a practical guide that will answer all questions related to writing a business plan.

Surely, everyone knows well that drawing up a business plan is not a matter of 2-3 minutes, so you should prepare for long and difficult work. I note that a business plan is a mandatory step for creating any project, and the advantages of drawing it up will more than repay your time spent writing a business plan. Don’t let everything take its course; take a responsible approach to writing it. After all, a business plan makes it possible to understand in advance the prospects of actions to implement the project.

Your business plan should answer only three most important questions:

“What do I want?”, “How to do this?”, “What do I need for this?”

But not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. It seems that the questions are not complicated, but there are many nuances that we will discuss in this article. Be optimistic about your project, but do not overdo it, because business is tied to real life, which often presents us with many surprises that do not always have a positive effect. Approach everything realistically, soberly assessing your resources, knowledge and capabilities.

The implementation of a business idea primarily depends on the correct writing of a business plan. To properly create a business plan, you must adhere to special rules, and it must comply with the generally accepted structure. The seriousness of the approach, the elaboration of all points and sections, as well as the level of interest are a guarantee of the quality of the new project. The generally accepted structure of a business plan consists of several sections; I will give it below.

Do not rush to write a business plan, it can take a lot of time, but careful consideration of all points and nuances will allow you to create a high-quality document that will attract potential investors if they are needed. The effort spent on writing a high-quality business plan will lead you to success.

An aspiring entrepreneur must first understand the need to create a business plan. Understanding what he wants to achieve and what methods will be used to achieve his goals is half the success of your venture. Often, unforeseen difficulties during the implementation of a project can undermine the entrepreneur’s desire to act and move forward. It is the step-by-step action plan prescribed in the business plan that will help get rid of problems, since their occurrence was theoretically predicted and methods for solving problems have already been prescribed.

Let's start by looking at all the sections of the business plan structure and talk briefly about them.

Front page. Resume

It’s good if you already have start-up capital to organize your business. What if you don’t have one, and you are going to take out a loan for a small business, or ask for a loan? That's when you need a well-written business plan. Without it, no one will provide funds for your project.

Money always means serious business, so be kind enough to “play” by the rules of a serious business - your business plan must be impeccably executed in order to make the right impression on the lender. Yes, even if you are drawing up a business plan for yourself, everything should be neatly “laid out on the shelves” - after all, a clear and consistent presentation of all points will help you not to “go astray” while implementing your business idea.

If in many documents the summary is written at the end, summing up everything that has been said, then when writing a business plan it is written at the beginning. The purpose of this is to immediately interest a possible lender, be it a bank or an individual. I know many cases when a responsible person at a bank immediately closed a business plan, refusing a loan, as soon as he read the resume. Remember - the first impression is the most important!

The first section describes the idea of ​​the project itself. It is necessary to set out the premises that served as the impetus for writing a business plan. Describe your vision of the project, its brief description, principles of work. What can your business give to society? What benefits will you bring to people with your project? Writing a business plan will explain this to you first, and then show it to all interested parties.

Try to explain your goal and methods for successfully bringing your business idea to life. Make it clear that your intentions are serious. This section can be described as the foundation for subsequent sections of your business plan.

Company activities

In this section you can write down a huge number of questions that depend on the chosen activity. I will describe only a few sub-points that, in my opinion, are the main ones. This:

1. Determination of the organizational and legal form of doing business.
2. Distribution of the role of founders.
3. Legal information (address, telephone, etc.).
4. Goals of a business project and ways to solve them.
5. Prospects for your business for the next few years.

In this section you must answer the questions:

• Why should consumers choose you? It is necessary to understand and explain why your idea will be interesting and competitive.
• What are your advantages over your competitors? If your actions are not aimed at meeting customer needs, then your idea will not be promising.

Provide in the structure of the business plan for such a case when production suddenly stops due to factors such as lack of raw materials or when trading you have a gap in the supply of goods. Create a plan that can reduce costs during these extreme business conditions.

Description of products sold or services offered

Decide on the circle of people to whom your activities will be directed, i.e. determine your target audience. Carefully work out and identify the main characteristics of the product that you will provide to your customers. Such characteristics include: price, taste, color, design, packaging, etc.

Outline in detail all the attractive services that you will use to attract customers:

• Possibility to order goods or services by phone.
• Via the Internet. Nowadays, the Internet is becoming the main representative and distribution channel for goods.
• Include a description of promotions and various “promotional offers.”

Maybe you have some thoughts of your own, please state them when writing a business plan.

Market and competitor analysis

Before entering the market with a product or service, you need to carefully study this market. How much do people need the products offered, what “gaps” are you ready to fill with your product, etc. Well then -

Production process

This section of the business plan structure contains all information about production, technology and equipment, and personnel. As well as information about suppliers of equipment, raw materials, materials. Indicate what resources you currently have and what resources you will need to attract to fully implement the project.

All collected data in the production process section allows you to estimate the cost of running a business and its production capabilities.

The main goal of this section is to convince the potential lender, as they say - with numbers and “naked” logic, that your company will be able to produce products of appropriate quality on time, or provide the services offered at the highest level.

All information can be presented in the form of a table (or in another form, as you deem necessary), in which the stages of the enterprise reaching the planned capacity, or reaching the planned volumes of sales or services, will be spelled out according to specific deadlines.

Financial reporting

When drawing up a business plan, be sure to determine the financial indicators of the business. Such calculations are based on taking into account all costs and sales forecasts (profit). Only after calculations will you be able to understand how much you will earn and show it to your investor. In fact, this is the most important, most boring, and largest section.

All financial calculations are based on determining the break-even point. Let's ask Wikipedia what this mysterious point is:

The break-even point is the minimum volume of production and sales of products at which costs will be offset by income, and with the production and sale of each subsequent unit of product the enterprise begins to make a profit.

This break-even point divides the field into revenues and costs. The conditions under which it is obtained will be your minimum requirements for the project.

Let's take into account the costs of starting a business:

1. registration costs
2. buying or renting premises
3. arrangement of the premises
4. costs for the purchase of equipment and materials
5. license costs

Costs can be divided into fixed and variable.

Fixed costs:

1. premises rental
2. employee salaries
3. electricity, water, heating
4. connection
5. equipment maintenance
6. taxes

Variable flow:

• material costs
• piecework salary
• connection
• delivery

With income, everything is much simpler. To determine the income from a transaction, you need to subtract variable costs from the price.

To calculate the profitability of production, it is necessary to take the ratio of the cost of goods per month to the amount of costs. The payback period for production is calculated by the ratio of opening costs to net profit.

Your business plan should spell out risks that are designed to provide for difficulties along the entire path of development and will allow you to avoid troubles.
Possible risks:

• Accidents, natural disasters
• Economic situations (price increases)
• Termination of contracts
• Fall in demand for products
• Low sales volume
• Credit and cash gaps

Write down how you will get out of trouble with the least losses. Calculate the losses that may occur and justify their solution in your calculations.

Here, if necessary, you need to indicate the impact of your business on the environment. Environmental problems, which at first glance are insignificant, may turn out to be a “braking” factor for your business project.

Applications

All tables, diagrams, graphs, regulatory documents, legislative acts, etc. necessary for your business. must be presented as separate annexes attached to the business plan.

How to write a business plan from scratch? To begin, conduct a small analysis of your project, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and set specific goals. Based on this, you will draw up a development strategy.

We include the following sections in the list of preliminary studies.

Research of the selected market niche, be it industry, trade, or services.

Study thoroughly production process, demand for products, features of price formation.

Competitor analysis. Who else works in your field, produces the same products, and is located near your establishment? Research carefully what they offer and at what price. Your task is to offer consumers better conditions and prices than competitors.

Research of customer requests and needs. Think about what is most important to them when choosing a product or service (price, quality, service, discounts, wholesale purchasing opportunities, etc.)

You can develop a table for yourself assessing the strengths and weaknesses of your company, or the so-called SWOT analysis. This will help strengthen your strengths and overcome your weaknesses. In the Strengths line, write down your strengths, Weakness - vulnerable, Opportunities - opportunities and prospects (for example, the opportunity to significantly reduce the cost of products, create an entire network of enterprises, etc.), Threats - threats (what threatens the corporation). The last point will help you find ways to solve possible problems in the future, plus these obstacles will not come as a surprise to you.

Business plan structure

We will draw up a sample of a clear structure that will allow you to outline a step-by-step scheme for opening a company. Main components of a business plan:

• Project Summary;
• Description of activity;
• Marketing plan;
• Industrial;
• Organizational;
• Financial calculation;
• Risk assessment;
• Application.

Resume

The section gives a general idea of ​​the project: what the organization does, what resources it uses (for example, raw materials), what schedule it works on, how much money it plans to invest and earn, what the payback period is. It is worth indicating what results the company wants to achieve, over what period of time. Investors usually use the summary to decide whether to continue reading, consider the offer, and invest their money. A business plan summary consists of 5-7 sentences.

Company Description

This part is a kind of brief “squeeze” from the entire document, describing the project. Its structure:

1. Industry (for example, a clothing store, tableware production, application creation, etc.);
2. Brief description of manufactured products or services (names, scope of application, features);
3. Directions of work;
4. Advantages and innovations used;
5. Structural structure of the organization (departments, divisions);
6. Available licenses and certificates.

Let's figure out how to draw up a business plan: step-by-step instructions for considering the project point by point.

Marketing plan

A well-formed marketing strategy will allow you to successfully start in the market and make a good profit from the very beginning. This uses research and market analysis conducted before the document was compiled.

Description of activity

To conduct successful trading, you need to think through a number of issues.

Features and geography of the sales market. In which region do you plan to operate or where to deliver your products? Does demand depend on the season, political or economic situation? For example, if during a crisis period demand falls, you should think in advance about ways to reduce the cost of the product, sales promotion (for example, promotions and bonuses such as “Third product as a gift”, “Installment plan for regular wholesale customers”, etc.)

Competitor analysis. What do they offer and how are they promoting? What features of them can you use in your own business, and how can you move forward better? It is worth adopting all the advantages from competitors and analyzing their disadvantages in order to avoid the mistakes of others. This will give you additional competitive advantages.

Buyer's portrait. Gender, age, financial situation of your main audience, their needs and interests. Thanks to this information, the most advantageous offer for a particular category of the population is formed, advantages that may interest them. Suitable advertising channels are also selected.

How to draw up a business plan yourself, taking into account the consumer profile? Example: The average youth prefers to purchase clothes and accessories through online stores with delivery. The selection criteria are low price, large and frequently updated assortment, availability of sales, pleasant design of the store website itself.

The main advertising channel is the Internet (direct advertising, communities on social networks). Depending on the gender of the buyer, the design of the store, salon, website, advertising slogans and offers are selected, and the assortment is formed. For wholesale buyers, low prices, fast delivery, possible installment plans, etc. are important.

Consumer characteristics of the product. Describe in detail the properties of the products manufactured or services provided, and their availability. Why are they useful and unique, what needs do they satisfy, why should you choose them. This will help in writing advertising texts.

Describe the service, process and conditions of implementation, guarantees and bonuses for customers.

Sales promotion

A company’s business plan must necessarily contain ways to stimulate demand and sales. This includes various promotions (promotions, discounts, tastings, distribution of leaflets, sponsorship at events and festivals, “guerrilla marketing”), unique offers for customers, marketing techniques, such as the correct layout of products in the store.

Production program

This paragraph carefully considers the entire production process, technology and innovation, necessary equipment, procurement, storage. This is true for any type of activity.

If a company is engaged in wholesale purchases and retail resale, then the emphasis is on suppliers (analysis of the best offers, selection criteria, terms of cooperation), storage of goods, and methods of sales.

How to correctly draw up a business plan for the production part? Main sections:

• Location of the enterprise, requirements for the premises, necessary communications, repairs (list of works and calculation of their cost);
• Technological process, if we are talking about production;
• Necessary equipment. Here you should list all the machines, machines, apparatus, equipment, indicating their cost and manufacturer's brand. What power will you need, will you have to increase it later? Describe the equipment installation process (sequence), how much time and money it will take.
• Volumes of production and/or sales of goods and services;
• Raw materials, where they are purchased and in what quantities. For stores, purchases of necessary products for resale are prescribed here. For the service sector - consumables. A scheme for the delivery of raw materials and consumables to a factory, store, salon, etc. is needed;
• Calculation of the cost of goods and services;
• Storage of products and raw materials (where, under what conditions);
• Will production or sales dynamics increase over time? Describe how and what is required for this.

Competently drawing up a business plan includes various diagrams, tables, and diagrams. In this form, it is worth documenting data on production volumes, supplies, and repair activities. They can be included in the Appendix. A production/sales schedule is required, clearly illustrating the required volumes of production and sales for 3, 6 and 12 months of labor.

Organizational program

All details related to the organization of the business, the internal structure of the organization, personnel and work schedule are given in this section. It will become a kind of scheme according to which you.

The general structure of this section:

To open a business, you need to resolve the following issues:

1. Organizational and legal form (individual entrepreneur, LLC, etc.), OKVED codes, the best method of taxation;
2. Permits: licenses, certificates. List with which services you will need to sign service agreements (disinfection, disinfestation, garbage removal, etc.);
3. Organization structure: division into departments, management team, number of employees in each department;
4. Possible personnel training system;
5. Information about partners;
6. List of products or offers;
7. Work schedule.

To write a business plan yourself, you need to consider some points in more detail.

Legal support

In addition to registration and permitting documentation, you need to prepare a company charter, product patents, quality certificates, licenses for engineering supplies, a lease or purchase/sale agreement for premises, agreements with partners and suppliers. You need to calculate how much time and money it will take for each document.

At this stage, prospects for participation in government programs, tenders, obtaining grants for benefits and reducing costs for starting a business are considered.

Work with personnel

We consider the internal structure of the company, the interaction of its departments, the selection of personnel and contacts with them.

Internal structure of the company

Describe in detail all the divisions of the company: their number and names, responsibilities, number of employees, what goals they must achieve for the stable development of the company as a whole.

Indicate what employees are needed (supervisors, managers, workers, their profile) for each position in the company. Write down their job responsibilities and qualification requirements, selection criteria. Is on-site training and staff development planned, in what way, at what frequency and at what cost?

Describe the internal regulations, work schedule, possible penalties and fines for non-compliance with the rules.

Salaries and incentives for employees

Here we determine the amount of wages for each position, the form of payment (rate, percentage), bonuses (conditions of receipt and size), and other material and non-material incentives. Using this item, an entrepreneur can easily calculate the payroll.

Work schedule

Even in order to draw up a business plan for, you will need to make a table with a project launch schedule. It is necessary to describe the sequence of actions (registration, purchase of equipment, hiring of personnel, etc.), what resources and investments are required. The table will help you plan your launch, control the preparatory process, make changes on time and, if possible, speed up the progress of events.

Financial plan

This includes all financial relations of the company, from obtaining a loan and paying taxes to utility payments. This part combines all sections of the business plan.

If you need a loan to start, first of all, you should indicate the bank and the conditions for obtaining a loan, repayment terms. We need information about insurance, what amount is planned as a “buffer” - for unforeseen expenses and risk coverage.

Develop two tables: for one-time and recurring costs.

One-time expenses (fixed assets) are money for opening an enterprise. This includes renting or purchasing premises, equipment, registration and permitting documentation, outdoor advertising, investments in an Internet site and printed advertising or souvenir paraphernalia.

Periodic costs (working capital) are the company’s monthly expenses for the purchase of raw materials, rent, salaries, taxes and other payments (utilities, loans), advertising, transportation costs, etc.

How to write a business plan for a project with profit calculations? To do this, you will need to indicate sales volumes and calculate the break-even point. This is the number of sales that can cover regular expenses. Once it is achieved, the business will begin to make a profit. A successful project reaches this target within a few months.

The next stage is calculating the payback period. When the capital investment in opening a company is completely covered by net profit, the business pays off.

The profit calculation table consists of the following points:

• Organization costs (or cost);
• Total revenue;
• Net income;
• Payback periods.

Risks and ways to overcome them

Any idea is associated with certain risks. To avoid bankruptcy and loss of invested money, think in advance about what could threaten your corporation and how to deal with it.

Uncontrolled risks. These are factors beyond the control of the entrepreneur: natural disasters, changes in the political and economic situation, various force majeure events. To mitigate the consequences, develop an insurance system and a scheme for attracting additional funds from investors.

It is realistic to predict other problems and develop ways to overcome them. Most common situations:

1. Exceeding the planned budget. Typically this figure reaches 5-15% of the planned costs. The solution is to initially budget 15% more after all the calculations have been made;
2. The cost is too high, the volume of production or sales is insufficient. It is necessary to develop “backup” options for the supply of raw materials, options for increasing production capacity, and sales promotion campaigns. You must be prepared to reduce the cost of the product without harming yourself;
3. A decrease in the relevance of the presented product or service, increased competition. You need powerful marketing tools to maintain audience interest (advertising, promotions, sales) and the opportunity to improve your product or move into a new direction.

Application

Developing a business plan involves drawing up graphs, diagrams, tables, diagrams for visualization and convenient calculation. This also includes copies of certificates, licenses, contracts, photographs of products, diagrams and drawings of premises and communications. In the text, place references to the documents in the Appendix.

This is a detailed description of how to make a business plan yourself with calculations and development forecasts. We also recommend that you look at it, where you can quickly and clearly draw up your strategy for opening a company.

Choosing a niche and an idea to create your own business is half the battle. No one can guarantee the success of a future enterprise.

It is important to understand how to organize the process and spend start-up capital.

Carefully thought out and correctly composed " scenario» on the implementation of the idea allows not only get the business started faster, but also prevent potential mistakes leading to loss of funds.

With a plan, you will be able to assess the feasibility of your plans and immediate prospects. In addition, creating a business plan from scratch is mandatory in cases where lending is to be done.

Purpose and structure

A business plan is a road map of the future business, which reflects:

• main aspects of operation;
• possible problems;
• risks of loss;
• prospects;
• anti-crisis measures.

The business plan must contain all aspects of the existence of the future company from the moment of creation to a state of stability when a transition to a new level is required. The description must be detailed and extremely simple without complex economic terminology, so that the document is understood by all interested parties (owner, employees, bankers, partners, investors).

Advice from the author! It would not be superfluous to enter into a memorandum (agreement) of confidentiality with those to whom the document is transferred for study. This step will protect the author of the written project from the theft of the idea and unauthorized use of the information contained in the business plan.

The detailed plan is 30-40 pages in length. The information is presented concisely, but informatively. The project includes 4 main blocks:

1. Annotation– outlines the main concept (on half a page).
2. Resume– contains the main conclusions of the business plan and the results expected in the course of business.
3. Main part– the “body” of the project is signed.
4. Applications– graphic materials (diagrams, tables, graphs, resumes of managers) are displayed on them, allowing you to visually assess the prospects of your business.

You need to understand that a template plan for a specific idea may not be useful. Each type of activity has nuances, and the principles of its functioning may differ radically from other forms of business. Therefore, it is advisable to understand the structure of its writing. An analysis of the niche in which it is planned to implement the idea, competitors and features will have to be carried out by a potential businessman individually in each case, depending on the scale and scope of activity.

Compilation algorithm

By correctly drafting this important document, you will give the green light to your business. Let's consider the main components of a business plan:

Annotation. Essentially, this is an appeal to stakeholders, explaining what the project is, how and by whom it will be implemented. Describe the main idea briefly but interestingly.

Resume. Approach writing this part responsibly, because it is this part that all potential partners and investors, without exception, will read to the end. The resume determines whether the idea is interesting in principle. If the investor may ask to change any part of the business plan, then the project, the summary of which is not impressive, will be rejected at the first stage. The summary should reflect the rationale for the success of the idea, the expected results of the project and how to achieve them. To do this, specify:

• purpose of the project;
• business maintenance;
• financial needs (project budget);
• target audience of consumers;
• information about the demand for a product (service);
• difference from analogues;
• financial indicators of project success.

Important! It is worth noting that the resume is written based on the results of the business plan. Only by understanding the whole picture of the project will you be able to present a summary clearly and convincingly.

Goals and objectives

They provide a quantitative understanding of the project's results. The goal is what the project is being implemented for. Objectives are the effect that must be achieved. Analyze the business idea, its strengths and weaknesses, and the selected market segment so that it is clear who will benefit from the project.

Product or service

Explain this part in detail so that it is extremely clear what you are supposed to do. It is necessary to reflect: description of the product (service), uniqueness (advantages), possibilities of use, required personnel qualifications, technology, need for licensing (patent).

Market analysis

It will be necessary to collect and systematize information regarding: the composition of consumers, the state of the selected market segment and its prospects, and the capabilities of competitors. It is advisable to show the share that your product (service) occupies in the selected niche on a graph or diagram.

Marketing plan

This section aims to win over a potential investor. A carefully described strategy for promoting a product (service) will help to inspire trust.

Be sure to indicate what characteristics distinguish the idea from competitors, how this will help in its promotion, and how it will affect pricing.

Also describe all the ways to sell the product (service), advertising moves and sales promotion opportunities.

Production plan

This paragraph reveals the material component of the future business. Must contain information about: type and location of premises, involvement of subcontractors, necessary equipment, supplies, purchase of equipment (materials).

Management personnel

Indicate the personnel (management and ordinary employees) who will be involved in the implementation of the idea, as well as ways to motivate them (salary, compensation).

1. Required resources. Describe the amount of funds needed, timing and sources of raising them. In case of lending, indicate the terms and possibilities of repayment of funds, investment - the amount of monthly dividends. It is appropriate to display the project budget in the form of a table indicating salaries, direct and indirect costs of the project.
2. Financial plan. An important section that allows you to predict business development, as well as avoid unnecessary expenses. It is necessary to calculate: sales volumes, balance of assets and liabilities, profit and loss ratios, cash flow, payback of the project. This also includes an analysis of risks indicating ways to overcome them.

Applications

This section comes as a separate block. It contains statistical information, graphic materials, product design.

Important! All materials contained in the Appendix must be signed and numbered. Links to them are indicated directly from the text from the main part of the document. Applications usually take up to 10 pages.

Example of a business plan

Download an example of a business plan from scratch for solar energy:

More business plans:

• Organization of a workshop for reinforced concrete products ();
• Children's animation school ();
• Construction of a telecommunication network ();
• Brewery();
• Bakery ().

Benefits of Business Planning

When planning to open a mini-factory, shopping center or water park, it is advisable to entrust the development of a business plan from scratch to specialists. It is worth understanding that a business, the creation of which involves the injection of substantial investments, significantly increases risks.

Therefore, it is advisable to carefully study the market, competitors, calculate the budget, profitability, work patterns, and anti-crisis measures. All this can only be done by professionals. At the same time, it is quite possible to write this document yourself to implement a small idea without investments. This has its advantages.

Firstly, independent development of a plan will allow you to put together a holistic picture of the future business (weaknesses and strengths of the service (product), the amount of start-up capital, operational work plan, marketing strategy, the need to attract personnel and staffing).

When the smallest details are spelled out, it will become easier to understand whether the calculations are wrong. For example, attracting 20 thousand clients in the first year contradicts hiring 2 sales managers, setting them impossible tasks in advance.

In this case (if it is not possible to reduce the level of market entry), it would be appropriate to orient the business towards forming partnerships or cooperation with distributors.

Secondly, Having a self-written business plan in hand, an individual entrepreneur will be able to control success. Clear planning broken down by dates, fixed on paper, disciplines and allows you to impartially evaluate achievements. If the indicators indicated in the document are lower than those that were achieved in practice, this indicates the right choice of strategy.

Analyze due to what factors you were able to exceed your own expectations (seasonality, course jump, specialization). Continue to focus on this in the future. This way the company will generate even more income.

Failure to achieve the set goals should prompt an analysis of the reasons why this happened (overestimation of certain factors, problems with financing, improper organization of work, unforeseen circumstances).

Thirdly, a business plan specifies the goals of the business owner. The wording “generating income” is unlikely to lead to success. If you state that you plan to sell 1 thousand units of product by the end of the year, then this is a specific goal, not a passive forecast.

The team's actions should be aimed at achieving it. The document contains goals for all points: income, sales volume, expense items, attracting clients, recruiting personnel. A goal formulated in quantitative terms becomes a task that predetermines an action plan.

Advice from the author! What is once done well is done forever. If the foundation of a business is built correctly and step by step, this significantly increases the chances of “surviving.” If necessary, the company can easily be repurposed or expanded.

Fourth, a good plan helps attract talented employees. Business prospects are an effective motivation for staff. When goals and their implementation schedule fixed on paper, company employees it becomes clear how to get to the maximum in achieving results.

Many beginning entrepreneurs, when implementing a certain entrepreneurial idea, ignore drawing up a plan, considering it just a tool for obtaining loans or investments. This opinion is wrong. A business plan is intended not so much for finding funds to open your own business, but for its successful step-by-step implementation and competent management.

Your future project. How to write a business plan? The step-by-step instructions in this article will help in this matter.

Business plan goals

Writing a business plan can be different depending on why it is needed. One of the most common purposes is to present it for investment. This kind of project business plan is the most complex. Often, third parties are involved in writing it - experts in their field, who will create a suitable business plan for approval by the investor.

It happens that a manager instructs you to write a business plan for a company, for example, to open a branch. In this case, they also often turn to third-party specialists to draw up such plans. Ultimately, the contractor may only need to make some adjustments to the needs of the company.

Well, when a business plan is needed to open your own business, it is best to write it from cover to cover yourself. Although this is a difficult process, it is exciting and very interesting. After all, your own business is the real brainchild of an entrepreneur. And therefore, its creation is treated with great care and thoroughness. The article provides instructions on how to draw up a business plan for your business.

Initial idea

Basically, those who decide to open their own enterprise have already chosen and know their field of activity well. But there are entrepreneurs who want to have their own business, but still do not clearly know what exactly they will do. They are looking for a business idea. It is difficult to overestimate its importance. The idea must suit the interests and desires of the entrepreneur himself.

This could be a hobby that a person is willing to do even for free, or a business that already brings in a guaranteed income. In any case, having chosen a niche for yourself, it is important not to be distracted by anything else and not to dream of unattainable heights, but to gradually bring your real idea to life. A business plan will really help in this matter.

How to write a business plan? Step by step instructions

So, having imagined what the future business will be like, you can move on to writing a business plan. There are special planning standards. Therefore, if it is to be submitted for investment, you should choose an appropriate standard and adhere to it when writing.

To understand how to write a business plan, step-by-step instructions and generally accepted standards will serve you well, since they are approved by people who are professionally versed in these issues. An entrepreneur will be able to sort out his, perhaps not yet fully formed, thoughts and bring his business to life.

A standard business plan consists of the following chapters:

• General provisions.

  Market analysis.

  Marketing and strategic plan.

  Costs.

  Production plan.

  Investments.

  Financial plan.

Resume

The essence of the matter, a description of the business idea, information about its objective need in the market, timing of implementation, and competitiveness should be briefly displayed here.

Of course, this part is largely intended for potential investors. It is they who, after reading the summary, make a conclusion about whether it is worth getting acquainted with this plan further or not. Therefore, if it is intended to be presented to an investor, it is necessary to describe this part carefully, perhaps returning to it again and again, making adjustments after compiling subsequent chapters.

However, for his own needs, this part is also important, since it helps the entrepreneur to better see the entire process of organizing the business as a whole.

General provisions

If the resume is written on about one - maximum two pages, then this chapter can be written in more detail. That is, in fact, the “General Provisions” chapter contains the same information as the summary, but in a more detailed form invites the reader to become familiar with the project as a whole.

It describes the characteristics and implementation of the project, its life cycle, the possibility of additional development and the forecast of changes in the product with a possible change in market trends.

The service business plan in this chapter should contain information about what the specific service is and how it will attract customers. For example, a business plan describes all proposed services, their characteristics and distinctive features. An attractive feature here is the legend of how celebrities undergo procedures in the salon or how individual specialists provide them with these services, how specialists were trained directly with the brand of product with which they work.

Market analysis

In parallel with writing a business plan or before drawing it up, it is necessary to conduct a market analysis. This is an extremely important part, because the success of the future project directly depends on it.

Having chosen a market niche and target audience, they conduct a thorough analysis to determine how relevant the project’s business plan, the initial proposal and its idea are. If the analysis reveals an excess supply, then it is worth returning to the idea and trying to adjust it so that it corresponds to the state of affairs on the market. If there is increased demand, then everything is in order, and you can safely proceed to further actions.

Market analysis is carried out in different ways. But if problems arise with its implementation, there are companies where you can outsource market analysis.

Nevertheless, the entrepreneur is recommended to look into this issue himself, since any third-party organizations will give only an objective average result, not fully taking into account the business plans of a small business and all the nuances of the business idea of ​​the project author.

Marketing and strategic planning

This plan includes introducing the product to the market, its development, pricing, sales and distribution system, as well as advertising. To launch a product, it is advisable to build a Gantt chart, which will display the dates of implementation of various activities. Based on market analysis and competitiveness, a strategy is calculated, how the market will be conquered and what tactical actions will be required for implementation.

Pricing is based on economic calculations and the company's expected income. Sales and marketing can be presented in the form of a diagram, where the entire process will be visible in stages. For example, from receipt of goods at the warehouse to receipt of money for the goods and its sale.

Costs and production schedule

This chapter includes the purchase of necessary equipment, repairs, rental of premises and other costs. The production schedule must reflect how many people are required to implement the project, their work schedule, deductions of wages and related payments.

They will become much more attractive to an investor if there is a ready-made team that will work on the project, as this proves the entrepreneur’s ability to implement his plans. Therefore, it would be appropriate to highlight this fact in the business plan.

Production plan

If the company is a manufacturing company, then it is necessary to describe the production process, as well as the partners and suppliers who will participate in the business. For example, the farm business plan in this chapter should include equipment for milking, bottling, packaging milk and a mechanism for marketing it through specific suppliers.

Financial plan and investments

The most important part of the entire business plan is, of course, the financial plan. Moreover, if the project is intended to be familiar to the investor, then after reading the summary, a serious investor will most likely look at the financial plan. After all, this is where the real ability of an entrepreneur to implement business ideas will be visible. This is the essence of entrepreneurial activity.

The financial plan provides all the information about the possible costs and income of the project. Based on the marketing, strategic plan and costs, a table is compiled for several years, which displays the required investments and their repayment schedule, all costs and possible income.

The final part of the financial plan must necessarily be a calculation of the profitability of the future business.

Now the reader knows how to write a business plan. The step-by-step instructions given in the article are a short guide demonstrating the importance of understanding goals and the need for business planning.