How to write a business idea sample. Business plan, a sample of creating a business on paper. Step-by-step instruction

Here is a simple example of a business plan. It should be borne in mind that this is only one of the possible options, and filed in a very concise form.

Target: To produce confectionery, mainly cakes, for the inhabitants of the city. Take a leading position in the upper price segment in this market.

Tasks:
1. Create a compact pastry shop.
2. Provide the production process with the necessary raw materials and labor, part of which will be hired.
3. Initially occupy 30% of the market segment through the implementation of the developed marketing strategy, which involves squeezing out the main competitors with dumping prices and new recipes for the consumer.
4. Attract the missing investment funds in the bank on the security of the available real estate.

An example of drawing up a business plan for an enterprise

Consider an example of a manufacturing business plan. It is planned to open a small atelier for tailoring. Consider how promising this business is in a particular market.

1. Summary. Opening of a small production from January 1, 2014. Form of ownership - LLC. The planned term is 42 months.

2. General provisions. Purchase of equipment that will allow the use of a variety of fabrics and various finishes. It is planned to partially raise borrowed funds for the purchase of equipment and rent of premises. The tailoring service will be provided to the population, as well as to legal entities in need of special clothing, as well as tailoring of curtains and bedding for subsequent sale.

3. Market analysis and marketing plan. There are currently 350 companies on the market. Due to strict adherence to deadlines and quality, it is planned to create a positive image of the company, which will allow it to occupy a niche in the market.

4. Costs. Estimated direct and variable costs, including wages and rent of premises, for 3 years will amount to 13.5 million rubles. Of these, own funds 50 million rubles. The planned volume of sales will amount to 15 million rubles, which, minus tax deductions, will make it possible to bring the project to payback by the end of the third year.

5. Production schedule. Release of 1000 units of goods.

6. Investments. Attracting partners on the terms of joint business.

Brief Example Business Plan

If you have to open a shoe repair shop, then in the most general form, the development of a business plan using an example looks like this:

• - Fixed costs (equipment) - 300 thousand rubles.
• - Variable costs (threads, glue, rent) - 10 thousand rubles.
• – Required investment – ​​100 thousand rubles in the form of a bank loan at 23% per annum for 10 years with a progressive scale and a 1-year repayment delay.
• – Form of ownership – IP
• – Tax deductions of 24 thousand rubles.
• – Planned revenue – 20 thousand rubles per month.
• - Revenue for 1 year - 97 thousand rubles.
• - Financial result - 73 thousand rubles.

As a result, the entrepreneur has a reason to invest in this project. The margin of safety is large enough so that possible deviations from the predicted values ​​do not lead to financial collapse.

An example of a business plan with calculations

Opening a small store that sells used children's items also requires a preliminary assessment. Enterprise business plan example:

The assessment of goods purchased from the population will be made on the basis of the cost of 1 kg.
First you need to make an assortment of 100 units.
The cost of 1 kg is 400 conventional units. One product weighs an average of 1 kg. Thus, the cost of goods will be 100 * 100 = 40,000 c.u. The cost of replenishing working capital will be 100 units, which equals 10,000 USD. per month
The rent of the premises will be 10,000 USD.
Variable costs, including advertising and contingencies - $10

Sales volume in the first 6 months will be 130 items per month;
in the next - 280 products per month.
The unit price will be on average $250.
Revenue for 1 year = 130 * 250 * 12 + 280 * 250 * 12 = (10,000 * 12,000 + 40,000 + 10,000 * 12 + 10,000 * 12,000) = 420,195 - 361,240 = 58,955.
The tax will be 25,000 USD.
Financial result - 33 955 USD

At first glance, the business seems attractive, given the low entry costs and quick payback, but after performing a simple calculation, the entrepreneur will come to the conclusion that the profitability is very low and, although the risk is low (the product is in stable demand), it is unprofitable to engage in this business without reaching the scale .

View sample business plan

Schematically, planning, for example, growing vegetables looks like this:

1. Summary. This is a summary of the remaining pages.
2. Marketing part. Who will be the buyer and how will it be possible to win the market? Estimated part - 5 tons of carrots at 100,000 USD
3. Costs. Rent of a land plot and inventory - 27,000 c.u.
Remuneration of hired labor - 30,000 c.u.
4. Revenue- 23 c.u.
5. Sources of funding. Bank loan for 50,000 c.u. at 18% per annum for 10 years.
6. Financial result- 9 c.u.

This activity, if the pessimistic scenario is fulfilled, will not bring income at all in the first year. In addition, an entrepreneur will be able to fully work and invest in development only after repaying the entire loan amount.

Download ready-made examples of business plans

On this resource you can download examples of business plans for free. Downloading the file makes it possible to get acquainted with more detailed calculation options that will allow not only to understand the essence, but also to make, by analogy, your own calculation-justification for the expediency of investing.

If there is no experience at all, it is not at all necessary to order the development of a specialized company. It is enough to get acquainted with an example of planning for a similar activity, where you can study in detail the features of market analysis and calculation of production costs for a particular business.

To download, click on the link:

Be sure to watch the video: “What is a business plan?”

Cheat sheet for dummies, how to write a business plan.

A serious project must begin with writing a competent business plan. This is a document that describes the main points of future activities, anticipated risks, financial performance and much more.

Writing a business plan from scratch is often placed on the shoulders of third-party firms. This entails a number of disadvantages:

• extra costs - drawing up a document costs at least 50,000 rubles;
• consultants create it according to standard tracing paper, without delving into the individual features of the case, understandable only “from the inside”;
• if the document is written in a dry language, it will not attract the attention of investors.

The work should be done by current or future project leaders. They see the intricacies of the matter and will take responsibility for the implementation.

If you figure out how to write a business plan, you will not only be able to forecast future business activities, but also strengthen faith in the success of the business.

How to write a good business plan?

If the business plan is written correctly, it will perform three tasks:

• outlines the course of action for the entrepreneur;
• helps to assess development prospects;

The document should answer the questions: what is the value of the described project, who is the future competitor, what risks lie in wait?

In order not to miss the details, it is worth writing the document, adhering to the standard structure.

The most important point, which is necessarily disclosed in detail, is the financial side of the issue. You need to write future income and expenses, and supplement with information about the starting capital.

P.S. As for income, it is important to write in the document not only the amount of profit, but also when the amount will begin to be credited to the account. This item is especially relevant in the case of writing a business plan for the purpose of lending.

A section with financial indicators (for an existing company) or a reliable forecast for a future one is included in the text or drawn up as an appendix. Use more numbers, graphs.

Choose the type of plan

In Russia, there are several varieties of a business plan:

• Business plan of the firm.
  The most popular and widespread type. To write a document, use a standard schema. Needed by entrepreneurs for market and financial analysis.
• Credit document.
  Used to justify getting a loan from a bank. Answers the questions: where will the money go, how soon will the debt be repaid?
• Investment plan.
  Used for presentation to investors. Contains detailed characteristics of the case and data on niche market research and target audience.
• grant document.
  Used to receive development assistance from the state. Display the benefits of future activities for the region or the whole country.

Business plan structure

The plan looks like a complicated document. In fact, it is well structured. To write a business plan yourself from scratch, you need to follow each item.

The history of the existence of the company is written in stages: from the moment of creation to gaining stability. The text should be written in a business language, but lively and exciting enough for a potential investor to want to study it in its entirety.

Any type of activity has its own characteristics, so the standard tracing paper of the document exists to build on it, adjusting it to your own needs.

How to write a business plan point by point?

This part is called the “introduction” to the business plan or the “summary”.

It briefly reveals the essence of the project and consists of 5-7 sentences. It may seem that this part is not as important as the rest. However, the more interesting the section is written, the more likely it is to captivate the reader.

Goals and objectives.

Here the entrepreneur must write what and how he wants to achieve. Unlike the summary, this part of the document is revealed in detail, but without "water".

Write in the business plan the address of the location, the schedule of work, the characteristics of the building that is being purchased or rented.

Staff.

Be sure to include a section on the future state in the plan. It is necessary to write a list of positions, official duties, a table of payroll calculations is made.

There should also be information about the work schedule.

If you plan to raise your salary in the future, arrange refresher courses, or organize home deliveries for those who work late, indicate this.

Financial part.


The most important section of a business plan. It describes here:

• income and expenses;
• unexpected expenses;
• the movement of finance;
• taxation system;
• form of receiving money;
• types of contracts for future partners.

If it seems to you that writing this part of the document from scratch is beyond your power, delegate the financial section of the business plan to professionals.

The best data format for a business plan is graphs, tables and charts. Visual information is digested better and easier. All these figures must be supported by calculations.

Marketing.

This section of the business plan includes the following sub-items: an analysis of the state of affairs in the market, the presence or absence of a niche for the company, describes competitors and the advantages that will allow them to get around, the potential target audience.
Based on these data, you need to write in the document a conclusion about the most appropriate advertising techniques that will be used.

Production.

This point of the business plan is necessary if a manufacturing business is planned.

In this case, in the section you need to specify all the details of the release of products from scratch to the finish line (from ordering raw materials to shipping goods to sales outlets). It highlights all the important points: technology, the need for equipment, know-how. Taking into account every detail will help to avoid problems in the implementation of the plan.

If you are not going to manufacture products, but make bulk purchases with further sale, indicate in the document the suppliers, the method of delivery, and the place for storing the goods.

Risk analysis.


If the main purpose of the document is to find investors, this section of the business plan is a must.

It is important for any person who has a large sum of money sufficient to finance a project to invest in a reliable company. To confirm the seriousness of your intentions, you must write down all possible risks for the enterprise. These may include:

• drop in the level of demand;
• decrease in the level of sales;
• deterioration of the economic situation in the country;
• failure to deliver raw materials or send products to customers;
• emergency (war, fire, volcanic eruption).

Problems need not only to be listed in the document, but also to write solutions in a given situation. This will not only emphasize your level of responsibility, but also instill confidence in your own abilities. In case of emergency, you will not panic, but will use the ready-made instructions from the business plan.

At the end of the business plan, the results are summarized.

They include data on the amount invested, a graph of profit growth and the payback period of the project. All words must be supported by specific figures, calculations and graphs.

Traditionally, calculations for a business plan need to be written for 3-4 years.

However, in the conditions of our unstable economy, it makes sense to take a period of no more than 1-2 years. Moreover, for the first year it is necessary to make a breakdown by months. And already from the second one can be reduced to a quarterly plan.

Don't pour water.

A good business plan requires conciseness, but at the same time the disclosure of all necessary aspects. It is enough to write 40-70 pages of a business plan.

It is allowed to include additional materials in a separate appendix of the document.

Don't try to turn it into War and Peace. The presence of details and full coverage of the topic is good. But only if dry facts are used, and not “water”. Leave artistic turns for personal correspondence.

There is no need to write in the business plan the phrases “a product without analogues”, “there is no competition”.

The service market is huge and growing rapidly. Due to the long-term planning, no one can guarantee that a product like yours will not appear in the near future. Even if at first glance it seems that you are a monopolist, tomorrow the situation may change.

Accurately analyze the market for prospects, potential customers.

The data in the business plan must be written in specific numbers. If you can't do that, then you don't understand the situation well.

Try to stick to the standard document structure above.


Pay special attention to financial tables and charts: they must be complete and correct. Otherwise, the document may simply not be accepted for consideration.

The text of the business plan should be literate, understandable and "alive".

Your goal is to interest the investor and make them read to the end.

Avoid strong emotional assessments in the business plan.

To give credibility and realism, you need to use only numbers and reliable facts.

To find an approach to future investors, study their activities: the history of projects, work with other entrepreneurs.

Before starting to draw up a business plan, be sure to study ready-made examples.

Even if your activity is unique in its kind, find the closest analogues. This will help you better understand the structure and writing style. But the calculations should be unique and based only on your specific indicators.

All calculations for the business plan must be written as accurately as possible.

Of course, it is simply impossible to correctly indicate the amount of future profit to the penny. In this case, it provides an analysis of the sales of the nearest competitors and the average cost of the most popular of your services.

A detailed methodology for writing a competent business plan

featured in this video:

« How to write a business plan? - this is only the first question that the future businessman must answer.

The finished document should not be left gathering dust on the shelf. It is not enough to simply write a development course from scratch until a break-even point is reached. You need to constantly return to it: analyze successes, correct mistakes, fill in the gaps ...

Useful article? Don't miss out on new ones!
Enter your e-mail and receive new articles by mail

In this article, we will analyze in detail what a business plan is, why it is needed and how to write it correctly.

Greetings, dear readers! Alexander Berezhnov is in touch. Today we will talk about business, or rather about business planning.

As you know, any business or project starts with. But it doesn't carry much value on its own, since most people come up with dozens of ideas every day.

Many famous entrepreneurs, outstanding people in the field of management training, leadership and planning speak about this. These are Stephen Covey, John Maxwell, Vladimir Dovgan, Alex Yanovsky, Tony Robbins and others.

Surely you had situations when an idea was born, but you didn’t have enough time and energy to bring it to life, and most importantly, you didn’t know where to start.

This article will be useful for both beginners and existing entrepreneurs, because, as you know, any thriving company or project always has a plan to achieve its goals.

When I myself was trained in the field of business planning, I well remembered the words of one of the trainers:

A dream differs from a goal in that it does not have a clear plan to achieve it!

In other words, if you don't have a good plan to achieve your goal, it is unlikely that it will become something more than just a dream for you even after many years.

In this article, I will cover issues related to business planning, as myself I have experience in writing business plans for my own entrepreneurial projects. And in order to convey information in an accessible language, before writing the article, I talked with two of my acquaintances who are professionally engaged in writing business plans for entrepreneurs to order in order to attract third-party capital to their clients' businesses. The guys help by writing professional business plans to entrepreneurs in obtaining loans, grants and subsidies.

Dear readers, I draw your attention to the fact that in these articles we will consider a simplified model for writing a business plan for starting a small business. And if you are faced with the task of writing a business plan for a large company, then I advise you to use the services of professionals who specialize in this.

I won't take any more of your precious time, let's get started...

1. What is a business plan

Every term has many definitions. Here I will give my own, it is quite short and reflects the main meaning of the concept of "business plan".

Business plan- this is a document or otherwise a guide that describes the idea of ​​the project, business processes and mechanisms for their implementation in order to achieve the goals stated by the author of the document (business plan).

In general, business planning, like any process, should have a goal, in this case, the success of your project will depend on 3 key factors:

1. Awareness of your level at the current time (point "A");
2. A clear idea of ​​​​the ultimate goal of where you (and your company) plan to be (point "B");
3. A clear understanding of the sequence of steps to get from point "A" to point "B".

2. What is a business plan for?

From my own experience, I will say that a business plan is needed globally in 2 cases, and in each case its writing is different in a certain way.

These are the cases:

1. Business plan for investors(creditors, grant givers, bodies providing state support in the form of subsidies, etc.)

Here, the main purpose of the business plan is to prove the viability of the project and the efficient use of funds. And it does not matter whether you will return them, if it is a loan or not, if it is a subsidy or a grant.

In a situation when you are thinking about how to write a business plan for investors, you need to emphasize the logic of the actions you plan to take, perhaps even bluffing about certain points that will help you get funding. When writing a business plan, you can embellish something, but the main thing is not to get carried away.

In a word, your finished plan should be clean, neat, logical. Everything should be beautifully painted in it, explanations of the facts you have given, and so on.

It will not be superfluous to prepare a good computer presentation and speak publicly to investors.

Therefore, when I am asked how to write a business plan, I ask the question in response: “For whom is a business plan being drawn up? For yourself or for investors?

2. Business plan for yourself(according to this plan, you will actually act for the successful implementation of your own project)

Let me explain with an example. If, when writing a business plan to attract funding, you write that you need 300,000 rubles to buy 10 computers, then further in the form of a table you paint a detailed estimate:

№	Expense name	Quantity (piece)	Cost, rub.)	Amount (rub.)
1	Intel based system unit	10	20 000	200 000
2	Samsung monitor	10	8 000	80 000
3	Mouse	10	300	3 000
4	Keyboard	10	700	7 000
5	Speakers (set)	10	1 000	10 000
Total:				300 000

That is, you really need 10 computers to run the project. This is how you write it. BUT!

If you are making a business plan for yourself, then most likely even this small estimate for computers will look different for you. You will ask why?

Example

You know that you and your partner, with whom you are going to open a business, already have 3 computers for two, and you can find 3 more computers at your father at work, at home on the loggia and at your grandmother in the garage, having upgraded them a bit.

This is very figurative, but I think you understand the meaning. All this concerns the available resources, but for the investor, you will request funds for the purchase of new office equipment, since you will need to document it.

The same thing, if you are going to open a business in the field of cargo transportation, then in the business plan for the investor you write that you need 5,000,000 rubles to buy 5 trucks. Then it will be easier for the investor to navigate the expediency of using his funds.

Even if you already have 1 or 2 similar trucks, you can simply add them to a new fleet when you receive funding and everyone will be happy.

Because often there is a situation when in negotiations with an investor you say that for the successful operation of your project you need 5 trucks, but in principle you have 2 ... And then you start to disorient the investor, saying that one of these trucks was bought in half with your friend, and the other belongs to your wife and she may not give it to you for a new project, and so on.

Conclusion

Write a business plan for investors as much as possible detailed and beautiful.

When writing a business plan for yourself, focus on the resources you have and write such a plan as close as possible to yours. realities.

Moving on to the technology of writing a business plan ...

3. How to write a business plan

Drawing up a business plan begins with a preliminary analysis of the current situation.

Before moving on to formulating, describing and filling sections, you need to gather together all the information that you own, and if it is not enough, then fill in these gaps using third-party sources or by contacting specialists.

One of the recognized technologies for preliminary analysis before the upcoming business planning is the so-called SWOT analysis.

It is quite easy to understand and clearly structures all the information you have.

4. What is SWOT analysis and how is it applied in business planning?

SWOT is an abbreviation and stands for:

• S trends- strengths;
• W eakness- weak sides;
• O pportunities- possibilities;
• T hreats- Threats.

SWOT analysis is needed in order to assess the internal and external factors of the company, making an objective picture for the upcoming business planning.

For example, in your case it could be the following indicators:

Strengths:

• Low cost of production;
• High professionalism of the project team;
• The company's product (service) has an innovative component;
• Attractive product packaging or a high level of company service.

Weak sides:

• Lack of own commercial premises;
• Low brand awareness among potential buyers.

Opportunities and Threats are characteristics of the external environment that the company cannot directly influence, and therefore, they can influence the outcome of its work in the future.

These factors can be:

• Economic and political situation in the country or region;
• Socio-cultural environment (features of the mentality of consumers);
• The level of technology development in the territory of doing business;
• Demographic situation.

According to the analysis of the current conditions, it is possible to highlight the potential of the future project.

Possibilities:

• Introduction of new materials and technologies for the production of the company's product;
• Obtaining additional funding for the project;
• Product design adaptation to the cultural and age characteristics of the region.

Threats:

• High customs duties on raw materials for the production of goods;
• Strong competition in this market segment.

After the SWOT analysis is done, you can proceed to the description of the sections of the business plan. Below I will describe each of them, explain my point of view, and in the 3rd part of this instruction I will give in a concise form examples of filling out each section. This will help you visualize the technology of writing a business plan.

And so that my examples are not general phrases like “it’s better to be healthy and rich than poor and sick,” I will reveal the question “How to write a business plan” using the example of opening anticafe or in another way time cafe * .

anticafe(or time-cafe) is a new format of cultural and entertainment establishments that first appeared in Moscow in 2010.

Their essence lies in the fact that visitors do not order food and drinks for money, as in an ordinary cafe, but pay by the minute for the time they are in the establishment. For this payment, they get the opportunity to play board games (for example, the very popular game ""), play video games on the X-BOX game console, organize their own events: birthdays, corporate parties, parties, and also use free WI-FI Internet.

Here, visitors can also participate in entertainment and educational activities: musical and theater evenings, trainings, foreign language clubs, take training courses on playing musical instruments, and so on.

By the way, personally, as a person leading a healthy lifestyle, I am glad that in these establishments it is not allowed to drink alcohol and smoke.

5. What sections should be in a business plan

In order to understand the structure of a business plan, you need to decide on its sections. I will offer you my own version, which is classic for most business plans.

Business plan sections:

1. Introduction (summary);
2. Description of goods and services;
3. Market analysis and marketing strategy;
4. Production plan;
5. Organizational plan;
6. Financial plan (budget);
7. Expected results and prospects (final part).

When starting to develop a business plan, I recommend that you conduct a small brainstorming session, describing your idea on 1-2 A4 sheets. This is necessary in order to understand the big picture and only then proceed to the detailed description of the above sections.

Important point!

Before filling out the sections in detail, collect as much information as possible on the topic of your project (business).

It can be:

• Industry analysis with quantitative indicators;
• Ways to promote your products or services;
• Current competitors in the market;
• The amount of tax deductions for your company;
• Technologies applied in the industry of your future business.

All this will help you write a business plan as efficiently as possible on your own and not look for material for its sections along the way. This way you save a lot of time and get good results.

In the second part, we will analyze in more detail how to fill out the sections of the business plan.

Before starting to implement your own business, you need to carefully analyze the competitive environment, assess the strengths and weaknesses of the project, calculate the amount of investment and the payback period. Without preliminary preparation, it is impossible to implement any business project. In this article, we will tell you how to write a business plan, what are the nuances of document execution, and share 10 tips for effective planning.

A business plan is a step-by-step guide that will allow you to clearly follow your goals without deviating from the main idea.

From idea to implementation

Before you start drafting a document, it is important to understand why it is needed. This document summarizes the essence of the business activity on paper and describes the implementation of the idea step by step.

The business plan reflects all aspects of the activity and helps to plan the sequence of actions necessary for the successful implementation of the company's goals.

The document is written for:

• internal use;
• external use.

Moreover, these can be completely two different documents, with different calculation of the payback period, investments, etc.

For external use, a plan is drawn up to show the business idea at its best. This information, as a rule, is intended for investors, business partners, which demonstrates the strengths of the project, shows its quick payback with minimal investment.

For internal use, a more detailed and realistic calculation of risks and possible factors is compiled. It already details all the weaknesses of the process, which can reduce profits, increase the payback period, etc.

It is this document that will serve as the main tool for business management, and suggest in which direction to move forward. The main rule to follow when writing an internal business plan is the real picture.

While an external document can be slightly embellished to showcase the strengths of a business idea, an internal document can serve as a step-by-step guide that will point you in the direction and help you calculate all the possible risks along the way to realizing the idea.

It is better to start compiling a business plan immediately from a document for internal use, in order to consider production in the process of creation, taking into account its weaknesses, analyzing the competitive market, and identifying risks. Most likely, a lot of information will not be included in a document intended for investors and business partners. But for you it will be a serious help in the proper organization of the case.

What is a document?

The business plan describes all the features of the future organization of the business, it reflects the analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the business idea, describes possible risk factors and problems, and identifies solutions.

A good business plan is the key to success

A good business plan is the key to a successful future for your business.

The development of an internal document will not only help to calculate the total estimate, but also indicate whether it is necessary to attract investors' money. It is important to understand that attracting investors is not always expedient and will have the best effect on the business. It is possible that at the first stage it will be possible to manage with existing capital, and as production develops, it will be possible to think about attracting external investments.

Attracting an investor - only at first glance, many seem to be a lifeline that will help launch the project. But sometimes such an investment of funds turns into unfavorable conditions for cooperation and financial bondage, from which the entrepreneur will not be able to get out for a long time.

On the other hand, significant financial injections from outside in some cases help to take the first step, purchase equipment, rent premises, hire staff, etc. And if, besides the idea, a novice entrepreneur does not have financial resources, then, of course, one cannot do without third-party investments.

How does a business plan help an entrepreneur?

• find a market;
• determine development prospects;
• assess the potential market capacity;
• act as a tool to attract investors and business partners;
• define short-term and long-term goals;
• evaluate production potential;
• calculate production and commercial costs;
• reflect the performance of the company.

Rules for a successful business plan

1. Never fool yourself! The biggest mistake in business is data corruption in the early stages of planning. Draw a clear line between the two documents: for internal and for external use. And, if a business plan for external use can demonstrate predominantly the strengths of the idea, then the internal document must fully reflect reality. It is on the basis of this document that you decide on the possible implementation of this idea.

   

2. A resume is one of the key points in business planning. This paragraph is one of the first in the document, but it is drawn up last. In this chapter, you clearly state the essence of the business idea, the purpose and mission of the enterprise. Imagine that you were asked in a nutshell to state the purpose and idea of ​​the business. Here is a summary and should answer these questions.
3. Do long term planning. When compiling a document, keep in mind that the payback can be several years, profit does not always come in the first six to twelve months. And this does not mean at all that the business idea is unsuccessful. This only indicates a high cost of resources. Ideally, the plan is drawn up for 2-3 years. Only by the end of this period can one determine how profitable it is to engage in production.
4. Put down temporary landmarks in the plan, which will serve as a kind of beacons indicating whether you are moving in the right direction. This is especially important in the long-term planning of a large project, the payback period of which is 3-4 years. This is a very important point that will allow you to feel the course of doing business, not lose heart and objectively evaluate the results that have already been achieved. With long-term planning, mark the entire implementation period into 6-12 points. Calculate how much income the company should bring after 3 months, after 6, after 12? If you deviate from these points, you will be able to assess the factors affecting the decline in profits, find solutions and correct the situation.

   

5. Realistically assess the weaknesses of the business idea. Do not close your eyes to the possible risks that can jeopardize your business. In order not to face a force majeure situation already in the process of implementing a business, you need to calculate all the “pitfalls” in advance, calculate the possible consequences and find ways out of the situation in advance.
6. Stick to a clear plan structure. The document should be short and understandable. This is important in two respects. Firstly, it will be read by investors and partners, so you should not write out a 50-page plan. The optimal length of a successful business plan is 15-20 pages. State the information and figures as clearly as possible. Secondly, do not forget that this is a reference book, a guide to action. Therefore, in the process of work, it should be easy for you to work with it, add and correct existing information.

   

7. If you feel that you cannot write a good and competent business plan, involve experts from outside. No matter how relevant and attractive from the point of view of investment your business idea is, a poorly written document can nullify all efforts. Starting from the search for investors and the presentation of the document to them, and ending with a step-by-step strategy on the way to the realization of this idea. Therefore, if you feel that you do not have sufficient knowledge in the field of strategic planning, but at the same time you clearly understand the purpose and objectives of the future business, turn to professionals.
8. When compiling a document, do not forget about competitors. This is the first thing you should pay attention to when calculating profits, payback periods and assessing weaknesses. Carefully study the market in this area and identify about 5 main competitors. At the same time, carefully study their products, services, descriptions and prices. Realistically evaluate their strengths and your main differences. This will help to form the right price segment for your own goods / services, and secondly, it will allow you to assess your weaknesses and chart the right course for business implementation.
9. Describe in detail the organization of the workflow, who will manage the enterprise.
10. Do not use a ready-made business plan downloaded from the Internet for your company, even with a suitable type of activity. Each business has its own geographical location, market features and position in the competitive environment. Therefore, it is necessary to create your own plan that would take into account the specifics of the region, would include a thorough analysis and miscalculation of financial risks.

Today, experts work with several classifications of a business plan and basically distinguish them according to the following features:

1. The type of plan is determined depending on the area of ​​activity for which the project is being developed. It could be:

• organizational;
• technical;
• investment;
• social;
• economic;
• mixed business plan.

1. The class determines the business plan depending on the size of the object. It could be:

1. Depending on the scale of the plan, regional, sectoral, state, national are distinguished.
2. By project implementation timeline:

• short-term (less than three years);
• medium-term (for 3-5 years);
• long-term (more than 5 years).

1. Educational, organizational, research, etc. are distinguished from the nature of the sphere.

As mentioned above, when you start writing a document, you should immediately determine what type of plan is being developed: internal or external.

A distinction is made between an internal production plan, which is written to modernize or expand production, and a marketing plan, the purpose of which is to improve the position of the enterprise in the market, reach the next level, etc.

The internal production business plan should take into account the following points:

• analysis of the technical condition of the enterprise;
• the need to modernize production;
• development of measures for the implementation of modernization;
• information about the resources that should be involved in the modernization program;
• risk analysis and solutions.

Scheme of a standard business plan

A standard business plan consists of the following chapters:

1. Summary.
2. General provisions.
3. Product Description.
4. Marketing and strategic plan.
5. Production plan.
6. Organizational plan.

While studying the document, investors will pay attention to the following points:

• market analysis;
• the planned volume of sales of goods, its range;
• description of the product packaging;
• price policy;
• procurement and marketing system;
• advertising strategy;
• overseeing the implementation of the marketing strategy.

Regardless of the scope of the future enterprise and the direction of the business, the document has its own standards that you need to rely on when drawing up a plan.

1. Substantiation of economic feasibility.
2. Analysis of the economic environment in which the business will develop.
3. Financial results (sales volume, revenue and profit).
4. Sources of financing.
5. Task execution schedule.
6. Engagement of staff.
7. Economic indicators that allow you to control intermediate results.

How to write a business plan yourself: detailed step-by-step instructions

Before writing a business plan, drawing up a title page.

The following parameters are specified here:

1. Summary.

This section contains the entire most important part of the document about the company being created. It indicates the goal, short-term and long-term plans for the development of the company, the specifics of the product or service being created.

This paragraph must contain information on the amount of necessary investments, an indicator of efficiency.

Despite the overview information, it is the resume that investors and business partners pay attention to in the first place, so when writing this paragraph, be sure to adhere to the principle of conciseness.

1. General provisions (description of the company + information about the founders of the company)

It describes the main activities of the enterprise, mission, purpose, organizational and legal aspects.

In this chapter, you need to specify information about the author of the business idea, about the company responsible for its implementation (name, legal address, share in the authorized capital), partners.

This chapter reflects the principles of organizational strategic management of the company.

The organizational part must necessarily contain the following data:

• name of the organizational and legal form (IP, OJSC, partnership and others);
• management system, management structure, interconnection of departments;
• founders, their description and data;
• management team;
• interaction with staff;
• supplying the control system with the necessary material and technical resources;
• company location.

This chapter not only monitors the competitive environment with a detailed analysis and description of the main players in this market. Here are the potential risks.

This chapter evaluates:

• target audience of the product;
• geographical location of competitors;
• market volume;
• consumer interests.

When evaluating the degree of financial risks, it is advisable to use an analysis scheme where the following data is filled in: threat name, entity, minimization options and financial costs.

If there are problems with conducting market analysis, there are special companies where you can apply for this service, but experts recommend that the entrepreneur still figure this out on his own, since any third-party companies will provide only an objective average result, not fully taking into account the business plans of small businesses and all the nuances of the business idea of ​​the author of the project.

When compiling a business plan, it must be clearly remembered that it must correspond to the tasks and goals of the enterprise and directly give answers to specific questions.

When carrying out strategic planning, a SWOT analysis should be carried out, which evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the project, development opportunities and threats (risks) that may arise in the way of implementing the idea.

Strengths typically include:

• novelty of goods (services);
• inexpensive resources (as a result, low cost);
• professional team;
• creative and high-quality packaging, etc.

Weaknesses of the project include:

• low effectiveness of advertising;
• lack of novelty of the service (goods);
• lack of a warehouse;
• low efficient transport logistics;
• high cost of goods, etc.

When conducting a comprehensive market analysis, it is necessary to take into account all aspects and factors: political, economic, social, etc.

What threats can affect the low efficiency of business development? These can be strong competitors, customs and state clearance, market instability in this industry.

But the potential opportunities include the likelihood of obtaining a new product, a change in legislation, and an increase in professionalism.

1. Description of the product or service.

Describes in detail the product, its technical features, the possibility of using products (services), the degree of relevance and novelty of this proposal.

The level of readiness for the entry of this product (service) into the market is determined.

1. Marketing and strategic plan.

When compiling this section, it becomes clear how to attract customers, expand distribution channels. Here you can calculate in great detail the ways to sell products, ways to attract customers, and in the future this part of the business plan will become a step-by-step guide to action.

In this part, it is important to reflect the following aspects:

• sales channels;
• pricing;
• ways and methods of sales promotion;
• advertising;
• creating an image;
• technical and post-sales service.

Particular attention should be paid to pricing, which is one of the key success factors for a business idea.

Consider the following points:

• the price of the goods must be higher than its cost;
• the market must determine the price itself;
• it is the price that will determine the maximum profit.

It is a mistake to believe that a cheap price will become an incentive for successful business development. It should clearly meet the quality of the product, demand, and take into account the market analysis that you will conduct in the previous section.

This section must contain information about production costs.

It is necessary to take into account everything that should be included in the cost of goods:

• transport services;
• taxes;
• public utilities;
• wage;
• raw materials;
• rent, etc.

Calculating the potential profit, we take the formula:

Profit = sales revenue - costs.

If at this stage of planning you do not take into account any part of the costs, it is difficult to talk about the correct calculation of profit and payback period.

When determining the pricing of a product, marketers use several classic schemes:

1. Scheme No. 1 "Following competitors." This option is relevant if the entrepreneur enters the market where the capacity of this product or service is dense. The downside of this behavior is that by focusing on the leader's firm, you lose the ability to control situations. Today, the leader company can offer such a price, but tomorrow, having modernized its production, the competitor will lower prices, and you will not keep up with him and, as a result, will suffer a loss.
2. Scheme No. 2. Profit + Costs. This method will be effective if there are no competitors on the market as such.
3. Scheme No. 3. "Cost-marketing". This method combines pricing and product cost analysis. The price is largely influenced by the cost factor from marketing.

Advice! When writing this section, you should understand that you, in principle, cannot launch a product or service on the market that your competitors do not yet have. But you can offer the goods to the desired category of customers. It is on this concept that most successful business plans are built.

When describing the distribution channels of goods, it is necessary to be guided by the principle of "Four "hows"".

• How to find clients?
• How to get them interested?
• How to sell a product?
• How to meet the needs of the client?

When determining your target audience, consider the following:

• gender, age and marital status;
• geography of residence;
• social status;
• income level;
• occupation and hobbies.

Advice! Don't overload this part of the plan. As a rule, SWOT analysis and market analysis occupies a very large part of the entire business plan, and it becomes difficult for investors and partners to study it. Use graphs and tables for this part of the document.

1. Production plan.

Do not confuse the production plan with the production process. In this section of the document, you can find answers to specific questions:

• production technology;
• what capacities will be used;
• Where will the production be located?
• under what conditions and how raw materials will be purchased;
• How will product quality be controlled?
• who will be involved in the performance of production tasks.

The main task of this section is to confirm by calculations that the company being created is able to actually produce the required amount of goods (services) at the right time and with the required quality.

This section details the cost structure. It is better to use graphs and diagrams to visually see the entire cost part.

Set up your budget as follows:

• purchase of fixed assets;
• purchase of materials;
• rental costs;
• utility costs;
• expenses for the purchase of auxiliary consumables;
• wage fund;
• current expenses.

1. Financial plan and investments.

This part of the plan is one of the most responsible, and it will be the first thing that investors will watch when they get acquainted with the project (after the summary).

This chapter reflects the real picture of the viability of a business idea.

The section provides for planning expenses and investing funds to expand the business. The owner needs to develop a sales volume plan and various scenarios, each of which must be calculated:

• favorable - with good consumer demand;
• unfavorable - at low;
• pessimistic.

Here it is necessary to reflect information on the possible costs and income of the project, attach a schedule with the required investments, a schedule for the repayment of these investments, etc.

The final stage of the financial plan is the calculation of the profitability of the business.

Additional business plan chapters

In some cases, it is advisable to draw up a Confidentiality Memorandum. This document is necessary to protect the copyright of the idea and business plan. As a rule, they resort to compiling such a document if the author submits an innovative business idea.

This document reflects the prohibition on the dissemination of information and copyright protection.

There may also be an indication of the prohibition of copying, duplicating the document, transferring it to another person, a requirement to return the read business plan to the author if the investor does not accept the agreement.

Remember that a business plan is a kind of advertising business card for your business, so pay great attention to its writing and design.

Divide chapters by functionality, do not overdo it with tables and graphs, but at the same time give them a lot of attention.

A plan written in solid text will also not attract attention and will not allow you to quickly find sections of interest.

Video. How to write a business plan from scratch

Which is better: order a business plan from professionals or write it yourself

Many aspiring entrepreneurs who are just entering the path of their own business start to panic before developing a business plan.

Given the key role of this document and the importance of its information, many entrepreneurs order such a document from third-party organizations that provide this service at a professional level.

How good is this from a business point of view?

On the one hand, a well-written business plan is the key to successful business and an effective tool for attracting investors. But on the other hand, having ordered a document from a third-party organization, the entrepreneur does not heed the essence.

As a rule, companies providing services for writing a business plan work according to a template scheme, and no one will analyze the market and the competitive environment so scrupulously and thoroughly, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the company, assess possible risks and ways to solve problems, as the owner himself companies.

Often, when contacting an agency for writing such documents, the owner of a business idea receives a volume of 100 Talmud pages, where the essence of the business is reflected in very vague and general phrases, without going into its specifics.

How to be in this situation? You can order purely mathematical and investment calculations from the profile company, reflecting the projected profit, payback, etc.

But a comprehensive analysis of a business idea, a description of possible risks and prospects is better for the business owner to perform on his own. Only he will be able to do this specifically with reference to the specifics of the company and assess its real potential.

In order to make it easier for you to develop and write a competent, clear and understandable plan, let's look at the main mistakes that novice entrepreneurs make when compiling such documents:

Mistake #1. Illiterate syllable. Sometimes even the most promising business idea can die at the inception stage only because of mistakes in the business plan. No investor or partner will accept a document with grammatical or punctuation errors.

Mistake #2. Careless decor. The document should be clear, contain a structure, numbered chapters and pages.

Mistake #3. Incomplete information. We have sorted out a detailed list of all the chapters that must be contained in the document without fail. Incomplete information can distort the meaning of a business idea.

Mistake #4. Too much redundant information. Try to concisely and clearly answer the questions posed in the document and not go into the smallest details, stretching the plan for 100 pages.

Mistake #5. Distorted data. Wanting to attract investors and showcase their business idea in a favorable light, many authors provide unrealistic data that is immediately visible. Stick to clear data and calculations.

Mistake #6. No risk. Silence about weaknesses and risks only speaks of weak analysis. In fact, there is not a single industry in business where there would not be a single risk.

In order to make it easier to draw up a plan and clearly reflect all the necessary data in it, we suggest that you familiarize yourself with the video instruction.

Video. How to write a business plan