Do I need to draw up a business plan? How to write a business plan: step-by-step instructions with examples

Not a single entrepreneurial project is complete without a business plan. This document is a detailed instruction for opening a commercial business, which describes step by step the tasks that need to be solved to achieve the final goal (that is, obtaining maximum profit), as well as the methods and means that the entrepreneur is going to use. Without a business plan, it is impossible to receive investment in a commercial project or apply to a bank for a loan for business development. However, even if an entrepreneur does not plan to attract third-party funds, he still needs a business plan - for himself.

Why is this document needed, and what is its exceptional importance? A well-written business plan, which contains verified information and verified figures, is the foundation of a commercial project. It will allow you to analyze in advance the state of the market and the severity of competition, predict possible risks and develop ways to minimize them, estimate the size of the required start-up capital and the total amount of investment, as well as the expected profit - in short, find out whether it is advisable to take a financial risk and invest money in this idea .

"Business idea"

The basis of any project is a business idea - that is, for the sake of which, in fact, everything was conceived. An idea is a service or product that will bring profit to the entrepreneur. The success of a project is almost always determined by the right choice of idea.

Which idea is successful?

The success of an idea is its potential profitability. So, at any time there are directions that are initially favorable for making a profit. For example, some time ago it was fashionable to import yoghurts into the Russian Federation - this product instantly gained popularity among the population, and in proportion to this popularity, the number of companies involved in import grew. Only a completely unlucky and incompetent entrepreneur could fail a project in this area and make the business unprofitable. Now, the idea of selling yoghurts with a high degree of probability will not be successful: the market is already oversaturated with domestically produced products, imported goods are unlikely to be favorably accepted by consumers due to the high price and customs difficulties, moreover, the main players in this segment have already established themselves in the market and established supply and sales channels.

Most entrepreneurs, when choosing an idea for making a profit, think in the categories of the majority - they say, if this business brings income to my friend, then I can also improve my business. However, the more “role models” there are, the greater the level of competition and the less opportunity to dictate their prices. In a mass business, approximate prices have already been established, and a newcomer, in order to increase its competitiveness, has to set prices below market prices in order to attract customers - which, of course, does not contribute to making a big profit.

Potentially highly profitable ideas now are those proposals that help an entrepreneur occupy a free market niche - that is, offer something that other businessmen have not yet thought of. To find an original business idea, sometimes all you need to do is look around and think about what consumers are missing in a certain area. Thus, a successful idea was the production of mops that allow you to wring out a rag without getting your hands wet, or special lamps that cannot be dismantled without the use of special tools - this know-how has significantly reduced the number of thefts of light bulbs in hallways.

Often, you don’t even need to generate original ideas yourself - you can use new products that have been successfully implemented in other countries or cities, but have not yet occupied the corresponding market niche in your region. By following this path, you will become the first to offer this know-how to consumers in your region or country, and, therefore, you will be able to set prices for this product (service).

However, originality alone is not enough for a successful business idea. There are two objective prerequisites for a business to be successful:

- a potential buyer needs your product or at least understands its usefulness (for example, a person may not yet know about a certain medicine, but he realizes that something similar can cure his illness);
- the buyer is ready to pay for your product or service) exactly the price that you plan to ask (for example, almost everyone wants to buy a car - however, as we know, not everyone can afford a car).

And one more note regarding innovative business ideas - excessive originality can only harm profits, since the potential audience may simply not be ready for your proposal (most consumers are conservative by nature and have difficulty changing their habits). The least risky option is to stick to the golden mean - that is, to bring already familiar goods or services to the market, but in an improved form.

How to determine if a given business idea is right for you?

Even a potentially successful business idea may not turn out to be successful in practice if it is not suitable for a particular entrepreneur. So, opening a beauty salon is relatively easy - but if you do not understand the intricacies of the salon business, then your brainchild is unlikely to bring you good profits. A business idea must be supported by the entrepreneur’s experience, knowledge and, of course, capabilities. What indicators indicate that your project will be within your capabilities?

- Professionalism. You can have a specialized education in your chosen field, or you can just as easily be a passionate self-taught person. The main thing is that you have an understanding of the production process and other necessary knowledge in the chosen field.
- Passion. You must like what you are going to do and offer. Moreover, you should like not only the final product, but also the process itself, because you won’t be able to give all your strength to a job you don’t like, which means it will be difficult to bring it to a good level. Remember the famous proverb: “find a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.”
- Personal characteristics. If you are a closed and uncommunicative person and feel uncomfortable in the company of other people, then it will be difficult for you to negotiate. And if you, for example, are a convinced vegetarian, then there is no point in considering selling semi-finished meat products - even if this business can bring good profits, you will still feel uncomfortable doing it.
- What you have (land, real estate, equipment, etc.). Starting any kind of production will be much less expensive if you already have the appropriate equipment. And if you inherited, say, a private house not far from the road, then this is a good opportunity to make a profit from roadside trading, because your competitors, if they are found, do not have such a good location, and this advantage can overcome even your inexperience.

Competition: how to become special:

As mentioned above, to apply your entrepreneurial efforts, it is most advisable to choose those areas where competition is frivolous or absent altogether. However, in most cases, entrepreneurs one way or another have to face competitors, and businessmen are faced with the question - how to stand out from them? This can be done due to the following advantages:

Competitive advantages

When introducing yourself to potential consumers, try to immediately draw their attention to the advantages that distinguish your offer from similar ones, so that buyers see that you can satisfy their needs in the best way. Don’t be shy to highlight your merits and don’t rely on consumers’ ingenuity - they are unlikely to guess why your product (service) differs from the product (service) of your competitors for the better. For example, if the recipe for the bread you bake involves enriching the product with vitamins and other useful substances, then be sure to convey this fact to your future customers. You should not position your bread simply as a tasty and fresh product, because your competitors have exactly the same product - it is unlikely that anyone will sell tasteless and expired goods. But vitamins are your competitive advantage, and the buyer must definitely find out about it, so advertising needs to be thought out accordingly.

So, we have examined some of the nuances of preliminary preparation for writing a business plan, and now we can closely pay attention to this particular document and its main sections.

1. Title page.

The title page is the “face” of your business plan. This is what your potential investors or bank employees see first when deciding whether to issue you a loan for business development. Therefore, it should be clearly structured and contain all the key information about your project:

- Project name (for example, “Production of self-squeezing mops” or “Creation and development of a commercial Internet radio station called “XXX”);
- The organizational and legal form of the project and the name of the legal entity (if there are several such entities, then a list indicating areas of responsibility is required);
- Author and co-authors of the project
- Abstract to the project (for example, “this document is a step-by-step plan for the founding and development of a commercial radio station...”);
- Project cost (required starting capital)
- Place and year of creation (“Perm, 2016”).

2.Resume.

This paragraph is a brief description of the project idea, the timing of its implementation, the main goals and objectives for the implementation of the idea, the expected turnover and production volumes. forecast of key indicators - project profitability, payback period, initial investment, sales volume, net profit, etc.

Despite the fact that the summary is the first section of the business plan, it is compiled after this document has already been completely written and double-checked, since the brief description covers all other sections of the business plan. The summary should be concise and extremely logical and fully disclose all the advantages of the project, so that investors or a potential lender see that this business idea is really worth investing in it.

3.Market analytics

The section reflects the state of the market sector in which the project will be implemented, an assessment of the level of competition, characteristics of the target audience and industry development trends. It is very important that the market analysis is carried out on the basis of high-quality marketing research containing real indicators (falsified or inaccurate analysis reduces the value of the business plan to almost zero). If an entrepreneur is not competent enough in the chosen field, then in order to avoid inaccuracies and errors, he should outsource marketing research by ordering it from a trusted marketing agency.

This section usually takes up at least 10% of the total volume of the business plan. His approximate plan is as follows:

- General description of the selected industry (dynamics, trends and development prospects - with specific mathematical indicators);
- Characteristics of the main market players (that is, direct and indirect competitors), an indication of the competitive advantages and features of your business project compared to other entities;
- Characteristics of the target audience (geographical location, age level, gender, income level, type of consumer and user behavior, etc.). Creating a portrait of a “typical client” indicating the main motives and values that guide him when choosing a product (service), pessimistic forecasting (that is, the minimum flow) of consumers of the product (service);
- Review of the most effective channels and ways to promote goods (services);
- Review and identification of the most likely risks that an entrepreneur may encounter in this market segment and suggesting ways to eliminate or minimize them (it must be remembered that risks are external circumstances and factors that do not depend on the entrepreneur);
- Forecast of possible changes in this market segment, as well as an overview of factors that may affect the profitability of the project.

4. Characteristics of goods (services) and their sales

This paragraph describes in detail the goods that the entrepreneur is going to produce, or the services that he is going to sell. Particular attention should be paid to the competitive advantages of a business idea, that is, what will distinguish this proposal from the general variety. However, you should not remain silent about the shortcomings and weaknesses of the idea, if any - it is better to play fair with investors and creditors, besides, they can analyze this point on their own, and in the case of a one-sided description, you risk losing their trust, and with it - and hope for financial investment in your idea.

The presence of a patent will make the idea described especially attractive - if an entrepreneur offers some kind of know-how and has already managed to patent it, then this fact must be reflected in the document. A patent is both a competitive advantage and a basis for a greater likelihood of obtaining loans or investments.

The chapter must include:

- brief description of the idea;
- ways of its implementation;
- description of the life cycle of the product (service);
- percentage of secondary purchases;
- the possibility of creating additional product lines or service options, the possibility of segmenting the offered product;
- expected modification of supply in accordance with changes in the market situation and factors affecting profit.

5. Ways to promote business (marketing and strategic plans)

In this chapter, the entrepreneur describes exactly how he is going to inform potential consumers about his product and how he will promote this product. Shown here:

6.Description of the production process

A production plan is a detailed description of the complete algorithm for producing a product from its being in its raw material state to the moment when the finished product appears on store shelves. This plan includes:

- a description of the necessary raw materials and the basic requirements for them, as well as the suppliers from whom you plan to purchase these raw materials;
- reception, processing and pre-production preparation of raw materials;
- the technological process itself;
- yield of the finished product;
- the procedure for testing the finished product, its packaging and transfer to the warehouse and subsequent delivery to the buyer.

In addition to the actual description of the production process, this chapter should also reflect:

- characteristics of the equipment used, as well as the premises where the production process will be carried out - indicating all the necessary standards and requirements;
- list of main partners;
- the need to attract resources and borrowed funds;
- calendar plan for business development - from the launch of production until the time when the funds invested in the project begin to pay off.

7. Enterprise structure. Personnel and management.

This chapter describes the internal scheme of the functioning of a business project, that is, the administrative and organizational plan. The chapter can be divided into the following subsections:

- organizational and legal form of the enterprise (LLC, individual entrepreneur, etc.);
- internal structure of the enterprise, distribution of responsibilities between services, channels of their interaction (it would be best if this sub-item is further illustrated by appropriate diagrams);
- staffing table, list of responsibilities of each employee, his salary, channels and criteria by which personnel will be recruited;
- list of activities on the personnel policy (training, training, personnel reserve, etc.)
- participation in business development events (competitions, conferences, fairs, grants, government programs, etc.).

8.Risk assessment. Ways to minimize risks.

The purpose of this paragraph is a preliminary assessment of possible negative circumstances that will affect the achievement of the desired indicators (business income, customer flow, etc.) - the basis for this assessment is again marketing market research. Risks are divided into external (for example, tougher competition and the emergence of new strong players in this segment, increased rental rates and utility bills, natural disasters and emergencies, changes in tax legislation towards increasing rates, etc.) and internal (that , what can happen directly inside the enterprise - equipment breakdowns, unscrupulous employees, etc.).

If an entrepreneur has information in advance about what exactly he should be wary of in the implementation and promotion of his project, then he can think in advance about the ways in which he will neutralize and minimize negative factors. For each risk, a number of alternative strategies should be proposed (a kind of table of emergency measures). You should not hide certain risks from investors or creditors.

Special attention should be paid to such a form of protection as insurance against various risks. If an entrepreneur plans to insure his business, then this must be mentioned - indicating the selected insurance company, the amount of insurance premiums and other details related to the matter.

9.Forecasting financial flows

Perhaps the most important chapter of a business plan. Because of its importance, it should be written by professionals if the entrepreneur himself does not have a financial and economic education. Thus, many startupers who have creative ideas, but do not have sufficient financial literacy, in this case resort to the services of investment companies, which later put their certification visa on the business plan - this is a kind of guarantee of reliability of calculations and will give the business plan additional weight in the eyes of investors and creditors.

The financial plan of any business project includes:

- balance sheet of the enterprise;
- calculation of expenses (employee payroll, production expenses, etc.);
- profit and loss statement, as well as cash flow statement;
- the amount of required external investment;
- calculation of profit and profitability.

The profitability of a project is a key indicator that has a decisive influence on investors’ decisions regarding investing in a given business. Calculations on this topic cover the period from the entry of start-up capital and third-party investments into the project until the moment when the project can be considered break-even and begins to generate net profit.

When calculating profitability, the basic formula R = D * Zconst / (D - Z) is usually used, where R is the profitability threshold in monetary terms, D is income, Z is variable costs, and Zconst is fixed costs. However, in long-term calculations, the calculation formula should also include such indicators as the inflation rate, renovation costs, contributions to the investment fund, increases in wages for enterprise employees, etc. As a visualization method, it is again advisable to use a Gantt chart, which is convenient for tracking the level of growing income and reaching the break-even point.

10.Regulatory framework

All documents that are necessary for legal support of a business are indicated here - certificates and licenses for goods, permission for certain types of activities, acts, permits, etc. – with a description of the conditions and terms of their receipt, as well as the cost. If the entrepreneur already has any documents in his hands, this must be indicated, and this fact will also become an advantage in the eyes of investors.

11.Applications

At the end of the business plan, the entrepreneur provides all calculations, diagrams, graphs and other supporting materials that were used to draw up financial forecasts, market analysis, etc., as well as all materials that visualize the points of the business plan and facilitate its perception.

“The main mistakes when drawing up a business plan”

At the end of the article, I would like to say a few words about the most common mistakes that inexperienced entrepreneurs make when drawing up business plans. So, what should you avoid if you don't want to scare potential investors away from your project?

Excessive bloating and bulk. A business plan is not like homework, where large writing increases the chances of a good grade. The approximate volume of a business plan is usually 70-100 sheets.

Difficulties of presentation. If an investor reading your plan cannot understand your idea after reading two or three sheets, then there is a high probability that he will put the BP aside.

Lack of necessary explanations. Remember that an investor is not required to understand the area of the market in which you are offering him to invest money (and in most cases, he really does not understand it, otherwise he would have already launched an independent business). Therefore, you need to succinctly introduce the reader to the main details.

Streamlined phrases-characteristics (“huge market”, “great prospects”, etc.). Remember: only accurate and verified information and forecasts.

Providing approximate, unverified or deliberately false financial information. We have already focused on this topic above, so no comments.

Business planning is an important link on the path to creating a new business.

Before we talk about how to draw up a business plan, let's first decide why it is needed and what its purpose is, and then consider its structure.

In fact, this is a step-by-step guide to organizing a new business, which describes what methods and means you are going to achieve your goals. I will describe the structure of this document and immediately give an example (based on a health club).

A well-written business plan should make a good impression on investors, as they should see that you understand how and by what means to achieve the goal, solve all problems, that you are proactive and disciplined.

Decor

A business plan begins with the cover. And you need to take its design seriously. A beautifully designed document will immediately endear you to potential investors. A beautifully designed plan, this means: with a cover on branded paper, with the logo of your company, in a folder with springs and a transparent cover, printed on only one side of the sheet. In the document itself: fonts Times New Roman or Arial size 12-14, all headings are highlighted.

On the title page we indicate information about the company: name, legal address, telephone numbers, e-mail, contact person.

Structure

I would like to make a reservation right away that there is no clearly regulated structure of this document. It is determined by the specifics of the business. Therefore, here we will consider the general structure, on the basis of which it will be possible to draw up a business plan taking into account your specifics.

1. Business resume

A very important section. It is usually read first and already here you can determine how interesting your plan is to the investor. A summary is a condensed business plan. Here you very briefly describe the goals and objectives of your project, forecasts of sales volumes, future profits, the amount of necessary investments, and payback periods.

Therefore, although it is located at the beginning, you need to write this section after writing the business plan itself, when you already clearly understand all the key points of your business project and have calculated the entire economic component of the business.

I repeat once again, a competent investor reads this section first and very carefully.

The health club was created in the year xx.xx.xxxx. registration certificate number xxxxx.
The main activity of the company is providing health services and maintaining physical fitness. The main advantages are high quality of service provision and consumption of high-tech equipment.

Uniqueness is the effective and efficient use of those technologies that are provided in comparison with conventional and familiar simulators. You can also note the opportunity to play sports without grueling workouts.

2. Market analysis

At the very beginning, describe the market you are going to work in. An investor may not know your business niche and needs to understand what prospects and trends are in this niche, assess opportunities for business growth, and understand economic trends in the industry.

For example, this: by geographic location, demographic data, by type of consumer behavior, by user behavior, by income level, and so on. All this should be reflected in this section. Describe projected changes in these markets, trends and factors influencing business processes.

Market segmentation can be carried out according to the principle of profitability, that is, this service will be in demand among people with different income levels.

The most advantageous position in the eyes of the consumer belongs to organizations that have a swimming pool in their structure, because swimming is in greatest demand among visitors (45.6%). only in 27.2% of cases are consumers ready to receive the entire range of fitness clubs.

Almost 11% of potential clients of fitness clubs want to work out in a gym. The shares of other services in total demand do not exceed 5%. The main consumers of fitness services are women – 71%. Men – 40%.

Market segmentation can be carried out according to the criterion of profitability: the majority of the population is employed.
Firstly, this service is aimed at the private client, the average buyer.
The planned volume in the pessimistic version will be 10 people on weekdays and 20 people on weekends. Optimistically, 30 people on weekdays, 40 people on weekends.

Competition and competitive advantage.

Considering the competitive environment of the company, it should be noted that in the city there is a fairly large number of companies selling this service.

Our company will be based:

at an affordable price.
on unique equipment.
on discounts and promotions.
availability of shower and rest area.
individual approach to the client.
friendliness and friendliness among the staff.
effective recovery.

3. Description of products or services

In this section you need to describe your product or service, how it can satisfy market needs, what unique advantages it has, and its life cycle.
If there are patents or copyrights, reflect the same in this section.

Description of the company and industry

Registration date xxxx, registration certificate number, organizational legal form - individual entrepreneur (PE, LLC, etc.).
Actual address and legal address: city N, st. Nth, etc.

Analysis of the location of the company.

Advantages:

Proximity to the city center.
Possibility of unhindered entry and exit.
Located in a populated area.
Proximity to bus stop, trolleybus, taxi.

Flaws:

High rent (if the property is not owned).
Distance from the center and so on.

The main goal of the service is to attract the majority of clients (women) due to the optimal price, high-quality work, and the rarity of services.

This industry was founded to attract women; the uniqueness of the exercise machines is that they allow you to spend less time and effort on restoring health and physical fitness than conventional exercise machines.

Swot analysis.

High quality service.
Favorable location.
Providing jobs.
Optimal price.

Weaknesses:

Narrow range of services.
Lack of your own premises.
Based only on attracting females.

Possibilities:

Expansion of the range of services.
The company's differentiation is the opening of a healthy nutrition center.

High competition.

Service characteristics

Nowadays, this industry is developing rapidly. The main structural divisions of this industry are health centers, tourist centers, institutions, shaping, aerobics, fitness, etc.
This club is an opportunity to restore and improve a woman’s appearance and well-being.
The equipment includes toning tables, a vibration platform, a climb simulator, and a massage bed.

Let us describe the equipment a little.

Toning tables are an excellent alternative to traditional fitness, a set of electronically controlled movement simulators. Toning tables are 7 times more effective than traditional aerobics, shaping, etc.

Toning tables avoid unnecessary stress on the spine and cardiovascular system.

A vibration platform is a device that strengthens the body without excessive effort and with minimal wear and tear. The effectiveness of the vibration platform lies in synchronized and mutually dependent movements down, up, back, at a speed of 30-50 times per second.

The climb simulator is a fundamentally new simulator that looks like a mini-escalator along which one moves upward.

Attractive factors:

optimal prices.
safety of service provision, presence of a medical worker.
exclusivity of services.
high quality of service provision.
cozy and pleasant environment (design).
provision of an oxygen cocktail.

4. Promotion of goods on the market

Describe how you will promote your products or services to consumers. Conditions and organization of product sales. What promotion channels will you use?

In this section, describe pricing issues.

The health club is developing several market segments:

consumers (private individuals),
corporate groups.

Product policy.

The company focuses on:

Focus on quality
Design direction.
Branding.

high quality of service,
optimal prices,
discounts,
club cards (subscription).

Calculation of services per 1 client:

Energy – x rubles,
Salary – x rubles,
Social Security contributions.
Depreciation.
Renting premises.
General production expenses.
Total.
Extra charge.
Service cost.

Sales policy.

The work will be carried out on the basis of marketing - attracting customers (calls, negotiations, concluding contracts with organizations). The width and length of the sales policy at the initial stage will be narrow.

Communication policy.

The goal is to conquer a certain niche in the sales market and form a permanent circle of clients.
For a successful solution, we will use advertising (print media and television).

5. Production

Everything related to production is described here: premises, equipment, requirements for resources and working capital.

Describe technologies, production flow diagrams.

Schedule: what work, in what time frame and who should complete it.

To carry out activities, it is necessary to use appropriate equipment and premises.

Tables of equipment and premises are compiled.
A brief description of the equipment and technical specifications are provided.

A table is also compiled regarding the direction in which the loan is spent:

Total loan amount:
Equipment acquisition costs.
General running costs.
Rent.
Wage.
Room renovation.
Delivery of equipment.

6. Enterprise structure. Control. Staff

Describe the organizational and legal form of the enterprise. The organizational structure of the enterprise, that is, who is responsible for what, how the interaction of services is carried out. You can draw a diagram of the structure.

The second thing to write about is management. Who will manage, their work experience, rights, responsibilities, functions, management methods. Sometimes they write autobiographies.

Third section, personnel.

Personnel, their rights, responsibilities, qualification requirements, salary level.

Organizational management structure.

In total, it is planned to attract 5 employees.

A table of the staffing table is provided.

The selection of personnel will be carried out through a recruitment agency and interview, through the recommendations of the Medical College and the Ministry of Sports.

7. Risk assessment and insurance

It describes what risks may arise for your company, as well as what you will do to reduce the negative consequences of the risks or even prevent them.

If you insure risks, write down the amounts you will insure and the types of insurance policies.

We calculate the monetary expression of risks associated with the activities of the enterprise:

1. External risks:

1.1. increase in electricity tariffs (14% of revenue).
1.2. Legislative risk (30% of net profit).
1.3. Risk of emergency situations (5% of net profit).
1.4 Increase in rent (4% of revenue).
1.5 Increased competition (7% of net profit).

2. Internal risks.

2.1 Lack of quality services (20% of revenue).
2.2 Low-skilled personnel (10% of revenue).
2.3 Equipment malfunctions (2% of revenue).

Measures to minimize risks:

Insurance.
Reservation.
Avoid.
Preventive measures.

8. Financial forecast of your future actions

I’ll just list what should be in this section:

balance
Profits and Losses Report
cash flow statement
timing of reaching the break-even point and payback of the project;
amount of required investment
profit and profitability calculations

Lending is carried out for a certain period - for 2 years, 4 years, etc. A debt repayment schedule is drawn up.
A plan of expenses and income is drawn up - the first year by month, the rest by year.
A forecast balance is drawn up and the payback period is calculated.

Investment size.
Net profit.
Depreciation deductions.
Net cash flow (item 2 + item 3)
Payback period (clause 1/clause 4)

We calculate return on investment and discount income.

Net profit for 4 years.
Depreciation over 4 years.
Net cash flow for 4 years.
Investment size.
Return on investment, %. (item 1-item 4/item 4*100%)
Discount rate,% ((15-8.25)+8.25).
Discount factor at the end of the year, (1/(1+0.15)4).
Discounted income.

We calculate the break-even analysis.

Revenue.
Variable costs.
Fixed costs.
Marginal income.
Marginal income share.
Profitability threshold.
Margin of financial strength.

Let's calculate the budget effect.

Income tax for the year,
Contributions for social needs.

9. Applications

Here you can include: diagrams, graphs, photographs, copies of contracts and agreements, clippings from information sources, biographies, reports, etc.

This is the general structure that should be followed when drawing up a business plan.

A business plan is what helps an entrepreneur navigate the market environment and see goals. Many successful people note that an idea must be written down on paper, otherwise it will never be realized. Therefore, a business plan is necessary for running a successful business. How to write a business plan yourself: a sample and step-by-step instructions are contained in our new publication!

A business plan is a program according to which a company operates. It is necessary in order to competently coordinate the actions of the organization and see the directions of its development.

A business plan can be called a kind of rehearsal. The entrepreneur plays out various scenarios during which he can see problems and find ways to solve them. In this case, the person does not lose money, as would happen in a real situation.

Business plan objectives

Formulate the goals of the organization (both short-term and long-term)
Set project deadlines
Determine the target audience and markets for products
Analyze the competitiveness of the organization
Determine the company's advantages
Assess the level of costs
Develop an action plan aimed at increasing the economic efficiency of the organization
Predict the amount of profit and the level of profitability of the business.

General scheme for developing a business plan and feasibility study.

What's included in a business plan?

1. Title page and contents

Here the company's imprint and contact details of the founders, as well as the contents of the document, should be indicated.

2. Summary (introduction)

This part is a summary of the entire business plan. The most important thing should be here, i.e. justification of the relevance of the business and the financial part.

The resume should not be approximately two pages long. Although it is located at the very beginning, its compilation should begin at the end. You need to approach this responsibly, because this is the part that the investor studies.

3. Company history

If you already have an existing organization, then you need to talk about the history of its origins and its successes.

4. Market opportunities

In this section, it is necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis of the enterprise, i.e. identify its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

7. Business model

This is a financial plan. Here you need to describe all sources of income and costs. You also need to indicate your suppliers and main buyers.

A cafe business plan: an example with calculations and step-by-step instructions for creating your own cafe from scratch can be found

8. Forecast

In this section you need to create a financial forecast. It is necessary to write about the amount of profit and payback period of the project.

The entire business plan should be 30-40 pages.

How to write a business plan yourself: a sample for a small business

Let's look at some sections of a business plan using an example

SWOT Analysis Matrix

How to write a business plan yourself: a sample for small businesses.

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.

All aspiring businessmen are faced with the need to build their own business model. To understand firsthand how to start your own business, you should write a business plan. It is this that becomes the basis and foundation of any undertaking, because without a competent, structured and correctly written business model, it is extremely difficult to create something worthwhile and profitable. Let's look at step-by-step instructions on how to create a business plan in more detail.

Business plan - what is it?

Many people think, and some succeed and make a profit, while others are left without money. There are many reasons for this, but the foundation of any startup is a good business plan. A business plan is a visual aid for launching a specific idea; it is a document that contains all the information about a startup or company: characteristics, market and risk analysis, financial situation, marketing plan, organizational structure and more.

Simply put, this is a description of your entire future business on paper. In addition, this document helps you understand whether your startup needs to be launched and whether it will generate income, or whether it is better to “curtail” this idea at the development stage, otherwise there will be more losses than profits.

Business plan structure

Let's look at the steps of how to create a business plan yourself. A business plan is a step-by-step instruction that should lead you from point A (initial data) to point B (desired result). The main task of this document is to identify all the shortcomings of your initiative and eliminate them at the development stage. By describing all the data on paper, you can understand whether the project can compete with current market leaders and whether it will generate income in the future. In order to understand how to correctly draw up a business plan, consider the structure of this document.

Title page;
Introduction;
Confidentiality Memorandum;
Brief summary;
The main idea of the project;
Marketing analysis;
Revealing the idea.

And so, let's look at the step-by-step instructions on how to write a business plan in more detail.

The first step in how to write a business plan correctly is to create a title page, where you should indicate the working name of the project, contact information, and the names of the founders. Also, on the first pages, you need to write an outline of the document: indicate the number of pages and the names of sections. The document itself takes on average 30–40 pages. An example of how to draw up a business plan can be found on the Internet or at special master classes.

In the introduction, you should briefly describe the idea of your project, its advantages and uniqueness, why you think it will be successful and what benefits it can bring to the market. The introduction, oddly enough, is better formulated after writing the business plan - this way you will understand the whole essence of the idea and will be able to briefly describe all the information in an accessible and understandable way.

The next small but important step in how to draw up a business plan yourself is writing a confidentiality memorandum. This is a sheet in which you indicate that your business plan is copyrighted and all rights belong to you. That is, when you submit a document for consideration by potential investors, it will be protected from full or partial copying. For those who do not know how to draw up a business plan correctly, this point is a must have.

In your short summary you should answer all the key questions:

What service will you provide or product will you produce?
Who will be interested in this?
Production volume - how much product/service do you want to supply?
What will be the profit?
How much will you need to spend to open a business?
Sources of financing?
How many people will be involved in production?
Approximate desired profit for a certain period?
When will the business start to pay off?

When answering these questions, you need to try to show your project from all sides as advantageously as possible (but never lie!) in order to interest potential investors, advertisers or possible co-founders.

The next stage of how to write a business plan for a small business is traditionally devoted to describing the main idea of your startup. At this stage, you should describe what goal and objectives you set for yourself, and what problems may arise along the way. You should also describe what actions you are going to take to achieve your goal as quickly as possible. It is important to write not in the abstract, but by precisely formulating everything you will do step by step. For example, it’s not easy “let’s launch an advertising campaign”, but “let’s hire a PR manager who will promote the brand using social networks by attracting popular bloggers with the audience we need.”

It is also worth doing a SWOT analysis at this stage. This is a planning method, the use of which helps to determine the weaknesses and strengths of a product/company/business/person, as well as their opportunities and threats.

This analysis looks as simple as possible - only four columns, but with its help you can clearly see all the advantages and disadvantages of your future business, and weigh all the pros and cons. So, if there are many times fewer weaknesses compared to strengths, the project is unlikely to be successful.

Another point on how to create a business plan for yourself is to do a marketing analysis. This is a description of the financial viability of your business, where you need to provide examples of successful sales of similar things/products or services; talk about the success of the industry in which you want to start a business; make an assessment of the ability to compete with competitors: study the current market and understand the features of pricing, as well as the prospects for its development. This analysis can be done either independently or by specialists. You can find out how much it costs to create a business plan from marketing companies.

And the last stage of how to write a business plan is to reveal the idea. At this stage, you need to describe in as much detail as possible, with all the details, your product or service that you want to launch: appearance, color, size, production stages, implementation, project cost, and more.

Marketing plan

In addition to the above data, the business plan also needs to draw up marketing, organizational and financial plans, as well as conduct a risk analysis.

Let's start with a marketing plan. A marketing plan is a part of an enterprise's business plan that describes the steps necessary to achieve its goals. To do this, the current market situation is analyzed; goals are actually set; a work strategy is created and tips are described that will make it easier to complete the assigned tasks. That is, this is an action plan for the company, using which the set goals will be achieved.

If you are going to launch any product, be sure to describe the entire process of creating it, including the required equipment, floor space, production capacity and other technical details.

Of course, in large companies special marketing departments deal with all this, but novice businessmen often cannot afford to hire professionals. There is no need to despair - you can do everything yourself. Of course, this will take more time and the results may not be as accurate, but in general the necessary information is freely available, and understanding it is a matter of time and desire.

Organizational plan

The organizational plan describes the principles of startup management, management, discloses information about the founders and personnel, the legal and actual address of the company, and more.

An organizational plan is an essential component of any business plan, however, it is often drawn up “for show.” This is a fundamentally wrong approach, because it is with the help of this plan that you can clearly distribute who in the company is responsible for what and manages what. An insufficiently thought-out organizational plan, on the contrary, leads to confusion and problems.

The main task of the organizational plan is to show prospective investors that human resources and their proper use will be sufficient to achieve the set goals. In the organizational plan, it is necessary to indicate how many people are on staff, and who is doing what, because everyone must be in their place and perform the assigned task.

Financial plan

One of the most important components of how to draw up a business plan for an investor is the financial component. The entire final economic indicator will depend on the choice of the most profitable and sustainable plan, the company’s budget. That is why it is necessary to write a financial plan. In this regard, you must predict the efficiency and financial results of your business.

Here you need to indicate the source of the initial capital, the total amount, register taxes, analyze the dynamics of exchange rates and do a break-even analysis, and much more.

The financial plan is the most important for a potential investor, as it outlines all the capabilities of the startup, and also analyzes its expected success or failure. is at a low level, and a competent financial plan allows you to immediately see the full attractiveness of the project for the investor. Therefore, for those who do not know how to correctly write a business plan for an investor, it is worth paying special attention to this point. is extremely small and you should rely only on your own strength.

Risk analysis

An equally popular section of any business plan is risk analysis. In risk analysis, potential threats are calculated that could cause a decrease in the company’s income.

There are several types of business risks:

Uncontrollable - risks that cannot be influenced. But they can be taken into account and their likelihood can be reduced when starting a business. As they say, forewarned is forearmed. Uncontrollable risks include crises, natural disasters, currency risks, changes in legislation and others. To minimize the consequences, you need to insure property, create cash reserves, etc.;
Controllable risks are those whose impact can be minimized or eliminated altogether. These include production problems, lack of funds, problems with employees (dismissal, strikes), changes in the market and more.

When creating a business plan, it is important not only to write down possible risks, but also to distribute them according to the level of threats: which of them are most likely for you, and which are the least likely. In the same paragraph you need to describe your action plan in case of unforeseen situations. Anyone who is interested in how to draw up a business plan on their own should understand that such an analysis should be carried out quite often, because the market is changing, and accordingly, the data from the document will not stand in one place either. The more up-to-date information you have, the easier it will be to calculate risks. And it doesn’t matter whether you are wondering how to draw up a business plan for agriculture or are looking for it, you must do a risk analysis!

Business plan requirements

Although a business plan is an official document, it must be written simply and clearly, without complicating the text with difficult formulations and excess terminology. The total volume of the plan is approximately 30 pages. Each point does not need to be described much - it is better to be brief, concise, and to the point.

Describe all the data that will be useful to a potential investor in more detail - he must see why you are creating your project and what are the prospects for its development in order to want to invest his money in it. But don't make anything up. Remember: all the data you provide in your business plan must correspond to reality. You can present the facts in a favorable light, but in no case should you invent or embellish anything.

And don't forget to make your plan easy to study. All sections should be structured and interconnected so that there is no need to re-read the same page several times. Of course, you can entrust this matter to professionals, but who can draw up a business plan for your startup better than you?

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Mistakes when drawing up a business plan

Of course, no one is perfect and it is unlikely that you will be able to avoid all mistakes when drawing up a business plan. But there are things that are very easy to fix or prevent, but they greatly affect the overall perception.

So, when drawing up a business plan, pay attention to its design. When the entire document is made in the same style, without errors and typos, with highlighted sections, it is much more pleasant to study it. Also try to avoid grammatical and punctuation errors, because an illiterately written text is repulsive, even if a sensible thought was written. Check it yourself or have the document proofread by a professional proofreader - it won’t take much time, and you won’t spend a lot of money, but the result is worth it.

Don’t overload your business plan with unnecessary information and fluff – it’s better to write briefly and meaningfully than to let your thoughts run wild. But you shouldn’t shorten the text too much - try to give all the important facts and data. You can find an example of how to write a business plan correctly on specialized websites or take a master class at various events.

conclusions

We have reviewed detailed instructions on how to write a business plan yourself. Thus, we can conclude that a business plan is a mandatory document that must be drawn up before launching any company/product/service. It doesn’t matter whether it’s this or that - it’s simply necessary to describe the concept and prospects for the development of your initiative.

Firstly, this document will help you structure all your thoughts and find the shortcomings of your business at the development stage. Secondly, with the help of this document you can clearly and simply show potential investors what you offer them and why, in your opinion, they can invest money in this business. Investors like to work with responsible people, and your business plan is an indicator of your commitment and reliability.