Algorithm for drawing up a business plan. How to write a business plan: step by step instructions with examples. The main sections of the business plan

We present detailed instructions from business institute experts, which will help you draw up the right and effective business plan for your business.

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

The list of preliminary studies includes the following sections:

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

Study thoroughly manufacturing process , demand for products, features of pricing.

Competitor analysis. Who else works in your field, produces the same goods, is located near your establishment?

Carefully study what they offer and at what price. Your task is to offer consumers better conditions and prices than competitors.

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

For yourself, you need to develop a table with an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your enterprise, or the so-called SWOT analysis. This will help strengthen your strengths and deal with weaknesses.

In the Strengths line, write down your strengths, Weakness - vulnerable, Opportunities - opportunities and prospects (for example, the ability to significantly reduce the cost of products, create a whole network of enterprises, etc.), Threats - threats (what threatens the corporation).

The last point will help you find ways to solve possible problems in the future, plus these obstacles will not come as a surprise to you.

Business plan structure

Below is a sample of a clear structure that will allow you to step by step describe the scheme for opening a company.

The main components of a business plan

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

Summary

Section gives general idea about the project: what the organization does, what resources it uses (for example, raw materials), what schedule it works in, how much money it plans to invest and bail out, what are the payback periods.

It is worth specifying what results the company wants to achieve, for what period of time.

Usually investors decide on the summary, whether it is worth continuing reading, considering the offer and investing your money in the business. A business plan summary consists of 5-7 sentences.

Company Description

This part is a kind of short pomace» from the entire document describing the project.

Its structure:

1. Industry (e.g. clothing store, kitchenware, app development, etc.);
2. A brief description of the manufactured products or services (names, scope, features);
3. Areas of work;
4. Advantages and used innovations;
5. Structural structure of the organization (departments, subdivisions);
6. Available licenses and certificates.

Let's analyze in detail the main and most important points of a business plan.

Marketing plan

well-formed marketing strategy will allow you to successfully start in the market and make good profits from the very beginning.

It uses the research and market analysis that was carried out prior to the drafting of the document.

Description of activity

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

Features and geography of the sales market. In which region do you plan to work or where to supply products? Does demand depend on the season, political or economic situation?

For example, if demand falls during a crisis period, you should think in advance about ways to reduce the cost of a product, stimulate sales (for example, promotions and bonuses from the category “Third product as a gift”, “Installments for regular wholesale customers”, etc.).

Competitor analysis. What do they offer and how are they progressing? What features can be used in own business how to move better?

It is worth adopting all the advantages from competitors and analyzing their disadvantages in order to avoid other people's mistakes. This will give you additional competitive advantages.

Buyer portrait. Gender, age, financial situation of your main audience, their needs and interests.

Thanks to this information, the most profitable proposition for a particular category of the population, the benefits that may be of interest to them. Appropriate advertising channels are also selected.

How to draw up a business plan yourself, taking into account the portrait of the consumer?

Example : The average youth prefers to purchase clothes and accessories through online stores with delivery. The selection criteria are a low price, a large and frequently updated assortment, the presence of sales, and a pleasant design of the store site itself.

Main advertising channel– Internet (direct advertising, communities in social networks). Depending on the gender of the buyer, the design of the store, salon, website, advertising slogans and offers is selected, and an assortment is formed.

For wholesale buyers low prices, fast delivery, possible installments, etc. are important.

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

Sales promotion

Your business plan must contain ways to stimulate demand and sales.

This includes various promotions (promotions, discounts, tastings, leaflet distribution, sponsorship at events and festivals, "guerrilla marketing"), unique offers for customers, marketing techniques, such as the correct layout of products in the store.

Manufacturing program

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

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

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

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

A good business plan includes various schemes, tables, charts. In this form, it is worthwhile to draw up data on production volumes, deliveries, and repair activities. They can be placed in the Appendix.

Mandatory schedule production / sales, clearly illustrating the required volumes of output and sales for 3, 6 and 12 months of work.

Organizational program

All details related to the organization of the case, the internal structure of the organization, personnel and work schedule are given in this section.

It will become a kind of scheme according to which you will create a company.

General structure of this section

To open a business questions need to be addressed:

1. Legal form (IP, LLC, etc.), OKVED codes, The best way taxation;
2. Permissive papers: licenses, certificates. List the services with which you will need to sign service agreements (disinfection, disinsection, garbage collection, etc.);
3. Organization structure: division into departments, management staff, number of employees in each department;
4. Possible personnel training system;
5. Information about partners;
6. List of products or offers;
7. Schedule.

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

Legal support

In addition to registration and permit documentation, need to prepare the charter of the company, product patents, quality certificates, licenses for engineering supply, lease or purchase / sale of premises, agreements with partners and suppliers.

At this stage, the prospects for participation in government programs, tenders, obtaining grants for benefits and reducing the cost of starting a business.

Personnel management

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

Internal structure of the company

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

Specify what employees are needed(heads, managers, workers, their profile) for each position in the company.

Write them down official duties and qualification requirements, selection criteria.

Are on-site training and staff development planned, in what way, with what regularity and at what cost?

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

Employee salaries and incentives

Here we determine the size wages for each position, form of payment (rate, percentage), bonuses (conditions of receipt and size), other tangible and non-material incentives.

With this item, the entrepreneur can easily calculate the payroll.

Work Schedule

Even in order to draw up a business plan, you will need to make a table with a project launch schedule. It is necessary to describe the sequence of actions (registration, purchase of equipment, hiring personnel, etc.), what resources and investments are required.

The table will help you plan the launch, control the preparatory process, make changes in time and, if possible, accelerate the course of events.

Financial plan

This includes all financial transactions of the company., ranging from obtaining a loan and paying taxes and ending with utility bills. This part brings together all sections of the business plan.

If a loan is required to start, the first step is to indicate the bank and the conditions for obtaining a loan, repayment terms. We need data on insurance, what amount is planned as a "buffer" - for unforeseen expenses and risk coverage.

Design Two Tables: for one-time and recurring costs.

1. One-time expenses (fixed assets ) is the money to open a business. This includes the lease or purchase of premises, equipment, registration and permits, outdoor advertising, investments in the Internet site and advertising printed or souvenir paraphernalia.
2. Recurring costs (working capital ) are the monthly expenses of the company for the purchase of raw materials, rent, salaries, taxes and other payments (utilities, loans), advertising, transportation costs, etc.

How to write a business plan for a project with a profit calculation? To do this, you need to specify the sales volumes and calculate the break-even point.

This is the number of sales that will be able to cover regular expenses. Upon reaching it, the business will begin to make a profit. A successful project reaches this indicator in a few months.

The next step is to calculate the payback period. When capital investments in opening a company are fully covered by net profit, the business pays off.

The table-scheme for calculating profits consists of the following points:

• Organizational costs (or prime cost);
• Total revenues;
• net income;
• Payback periods.

Risks and how to overcome them

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

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

It is realistic to predict other problems and develop ways to overcome them.

The most frequent situations:

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

Applications

The development of a business plan involves the preparation of graphs, charts, tables, charts for visualization and convenient calculation.

This also includes copies of certificates, licenses, contracts, photographs of products, diagrams and drawings of premises and communications. In the text, place references to the documents in the appendix.

This is a detailed description of how to make a business plan yourself with calculations and development forecasts.

As a rule, a classic Business Plan consists of twelve main elements, including title page and a confidentiality memorandum.

A well-written business plan can both simply become the basis for organizing a business, and help raise funds for the development of a project if it turns out to be attractive to an investor or lender. Below is step-by-step instruction how to write a business plan, with a description of its most important elements and recommendations for drafting.

What is a Business Plan in simple words and an example

A business plan is a document that provides a detailed justification for the project and the ability to comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of decisions made, planned activities, and answer the question of whether it is worth investing in this project.

A ready-made business plan includes all elements of the development and operation of a business on planning period. How detailed and competently a business plan for starting a business is written depends on how much the idea will be evaluated from the outside, as well as the number of sudden nuances that were not taken into account initially.

We can say that the development of a business plan is half the creation of a business. It outlines the details of the technological processes, accounting, the state of affairs in the industry, as well as documentation.

In this way, business plan in simple words - this is a detailed description of the planned project, containing calculations and expected results for the next few years.

Sample Business Plans (download)

Below you will find some more examples and samples of business plans that you can download and study in detail.

Types of business plans

When deciding how to write a business plan correctly, you must first determine for whom it will be written. There are two main formats for this document:

1. Interior. Such a business plan is intended solely for private use among the founders. With its help, expenses, production volumes and necessary stocks, etc. are planned. Such a business plan should be as close to reality as possible and reflect all the risks even in the worst case scenario. Some details of such a business plan that are obvious to the founder can be omitted, since unnecessary details in this case no one will appreciate it.
2. For external users. Such business plans are drawn up for presentation to investors or creditors, as well as to authorities state support from which funds are expected to be received. This type plan is distinguished not only by greater detail, but also by a wider evidence base, a large number of calculations. In this case, it is necessary to convince your counterparties of the validity of the calculations and prospects described in the plan. Logic and sequence of presentation of information, the quality of its presentation, design and accuracy are important. It is often possible to use the maximum and minimum possible real numbers where this directly affects the result of the calculation and efficiency, in order to increase the attractiveness of the idea for those who can invest in it. It will be good if all facts and figures contain sources that support their reliability. A business plan that will have visual materials will also win.

You cannot write a business plan for yourself and for an investor at the same time, because they have different purposes.

Internal plans should be more meaningful and practical, and the values ​​​​in the calculations should be closer to the average or even worse. Plans for external users should be logical and neat, and the values ​​in them are usually close to the ideal scenario.

What does a Business Plan consist of - Structure

Depending on the specifics of the business and the purpose of the document, the number and content of the points of the business plan may vary. A typical business plan usually consists of the following elements:

1. Title page.
2. Confidentiality Memorandum.
3. Summary.
4. Objective of the project.
5. Analysis of the position of the enterprise in the industry.
6. Description of the product of labor.
7. Production plan.
8. Organizational plan.
9. Risk analysis.
10. Applications.

Some elements required for writing a business plan for an employment center or lenders are optional for writing documents for internal use. For example, it doesn't make much sense to write a confidentiality memorandum or cover page for yourself.

At the same time, a business plan for a store may not contain a paragraph describing the product of labor, since in this case all goods are purchased for resale, and the list of services is standard.

How to start making your Business Plan - Instructions

To begin with, it is necessary to clearly define the scope of activity and the product that will be produced by the newly created enterprise. For this it is necessary to carry out preliminary analysis market situation in real time and identify niches that are underrepresented in the market. Choosing one of these niches will make it more likely to successfully occupy your market share in a short time.

Next, you need to collect all the information available in the public domain about this field of activity. The greatest attention should be paid to real stories and reviews of people applying in this area. Only they are able to give an idea of ​​the nuances that at first glance are implicit.

For popular industries, for example, for a cafe or a beauty salon, you can find a sample business plan for review or even special services that help in its formation. In the case of more specific industries, the amount of information freely available may be limited.

In case of a clear lack of data for analysis, it is best to seek a paid consultation from specialists - they will help fill in the gaps in knowledge.

SWOT analysis

This type of analysis is used to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the idea in the presence of information about the latter. Conducting a SWOT analysis helps to visually correlate the pros, cons and dangers of a future project in order to conduct a holistic assessment of them.

The essence of the method is encrypted in the name as an abbreviation: strengths, weak sides, opportunities and threats. It is for these four columns that the data is posted in the SWOT analysis.

• To the strengths refer to the advantages that the chosen niche has.
• Weak sides should be described in as much detail as possible, as they are needed in order to eliminate them in the future. This column includes all the shortcomings in the theoretical implementation of the plan, from low profitability to the lack of own premises.

Strengths and weaknesses, for the most part, are internal factors that are directly affected by the founder.

Opportunities and threats, on the contrary, are considered external factors that must either be used or adjusted and kept in mind. A sample table for conducting a SWOT analysis of a production project for a business plan is presented below:

Resume writing

One of the elements of writing a business plan from scratch is resume writing.

This element is always located at the beginning of the business plan and contains some brief information about it, forcing people who decide to read the content of the document to become interested in it and continue reading.

This is most important when looking for potential investors and lenders.

Despite the location of this element in the document, the founder does not start working on it before writing a business plan for a small business, since the summary is a section that presents consolidated information from the rest of the business plan.

Accordingly, work on a resume is started last by the founder - this is, for the most part, business card project for external users of information.

The main points that counterparties want to see in a resume are usually the possible level of return on investment in the development of the project, as well as the risks taken on such investments.

Often, the purpose of the project is taken out in a separate section.

In this subparagraph, it is necessary to indicate the goals, tasks set for the business, and also to argue the success of the future enterprise. Often in this paragraph, the results obtained from the SWOT analysis are used.

Analysis of the company's place in the market

This section usually contains an overview of competition in the selected industry, presented by the number of competing firms and their market shares, product specifics and sales volume, if such data are available.

Also, this section usually includes data on the planned size of the organization being created and competing organizations: the number of employees, production capacities, and so on.

• Check out (download).

Based on this analysis, a promising place in the industry is usually determined, that is, the market share that is planned to be taken in the future and in what time frame this should happen. If the business plan is drawn up for external users, then this item is one of the fundamental ones and should be disclosed in detail.

As advantages, one can take into account the experience of hired employees and managers, possible prospects for the development of the organization, various know-how, and so on.

When it becomes necessary to write a business plan yourself, you need to pay special attention to some mandatory elements in its content. In the case of a marketing plan, such elements are promotional tools, demand analysis, and preliminary sales directions, especially when it comes to production.

Product promotion tools are usually advertising, direct sales, and other options, depending on the field of activity.

In some cases, competent merchandising can be used as a promotion tool. It is also necessary to indicate by what means the promotion will be carried out: whether it will be a special department, individual employee, or the services of outsourcing firms and the invitation of third-party specialists.

Marketing demand research is an extremely difficult and serious work, therefore, if you are not confident in your own skills, it is better to leave it to professionals. In this case, the likelihood that such a study will be positively assessed by creditors will be higher.

However, if it is important how to draw up a business plan yourself from and to, then it is necessary to take into account not only the volume of demand at a particular moment, but also its seasonal fluctuations, elasticity under the influence of the price factor, average prices for goods, the possibility of stimulating demand.

If there are already preliminary sales options for products, it would be good to indicate them and draw up for each its own sales program, which will include sales volumes for the period, revenue, tax administration (for example, payment of VAT if the counterparty is not its payer etc.), methods and terms of delivery and payment. Here you can also specify the rules and content of future promotions and discounts, if there are any developments on them.

It would be good to make a forecast sales table with calculations of the total revenue for each counterparty or for each product. Tables can have a simple but informative look:

If possible, it is better to give accompanying documentation to the amounts so that prices and volumes are not taken from thin air. Also, do not deliberately overestimate prospective indicators if such documentation is not available - this section should not cause doubts among investors.

Production plan

One of the most important elements of any business plan. It must be understood that this part of the plan applies not only to manufacturing enterprises – production plan includes the entire process of the functioning of the organization.

An exception may be such a business in which no actions are taken with the products at all by the staff - for example wholesale store, which simply purchases products, stores them in a warehouse, and then sells them.

If we consider the business plan of a restaurant or coffee house, then the production plan includes everything from the purchase of products for cooking and the time it takes to make a dish or drink, to the equipment used, the cost and shelf life of the finished dish, as well as the process Maintenance available equipment and machinery.

This paragraph, depending on the field of activity, should include:

• Raw materials and other production costs.
• The cost of acquiring equipment and premises.
• Labor costs.
• General production and general business expenses - rent, utilities etc.
• Overheads.

In addition to expenses, this paragraph describes in detail the work processes, the timing of each production cycle and storage of products, the useful life of equipment, the mechanisms for interaction between different departments, the requirements for employees, the planned wages, the schedule for calculating them, and so on.

As a result, we can present a production plan painted by sub-items, starting with the purchase of raw materials and ending with the payment of wages and the sale of final products.

organizational plan

In this section, it is necessary to describe the structure of the company and its management system. This includes organizational structure, staffing employees, information about the management of the enterprise, founders, organizational and legal form, planned management mechanisms, distribution of responsibility.

• (download in PDF).

This section also discusses the process of documenting activities in the process of its organization, with references to the primary legal acts, according to which the registration and activities of the enterprise will take place. As a rule, this item is signed in order, starting with the lease of the premises and ending with the start of production.

This section of the plan, regardless of the purpose of the document, must be disclosed in as much detail as possible, since it depends on how much the planned expenses and incomes will coincide with the real ones in the future.

This item is the preparation of settlement documentation for planned costs, as well as approximate amounts of revenue. The best option for presenting this information is tabular, with separate explanations, since the amount of information in the financial plan of even a small enterprise is quite large.

Be sure to remember that the company has fixed costs, independent of the volume of production, such as rent, and variables determined by the volume of output. It is also necessary to take into account the cost of maintenance and repair of units, and all this must be taken into account when calculating the cost of a unit of production. Fixed assets transfer their value to finished products gradually, therefore, their cost is included in the cost, depending on the useful life in the form of depreciation.

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After the cost of a unit of production has been calculated, as well as the volume of fixed costs over a period of time, the break-even volume of production is calculated - that is, the amount of products that must be produced and sold at a given price in order to fully cover the cost and fixed costs. A further increase in production and sales will mean an increase in profits.

Also in this section, it is necessary to present the payback period of the project, which in a simplified form is calculated as the ratio of initial costs to monthly net profit. The result will be in months.

Also in this section, you can include other indicators necessary depending on the scope of the enterprise. In general, the more detailed information provided in this section, the better. For example, in the case of opening an online store, you can create a similar table:

Identification of risks

In this paragraph, it is necessary to consider the various risks that are inherent in the industry, region or type of activity, assess their theoretically possible impact on the organization's activities and possible damage, and also describe in detail the ways to counter them, highlighting those that will be used in certain situations.

If the business plan is for internal use, this section should be as detailed as possible - this can be very helpful in the future.

When drawing up a document for investors, some implicit risks can be omitted, but in no case should the obvious ones be omitted - this will be noticed and perceived as a flaw or short-sightedness of the founder. When developing this item, the founder will also be helped by the SWOT analysis carried out at the beginning.

Formation of applications

Annexes are an essential element of a business plan, especially for external use. All possible documents confirming the theses expressed by the founder earlier are attached to the plan as annexes.

It is highly desirable to confirm all figures, for example, with official statistics, reporting documentation of similar firms, letters of guarantee and references, and so on.

It is also important to attach to the annexes various agreements concluded with contractors or other founders, existing company documentation, documents certifying the qualifications and data of the founders and planned management personnel, and in general all possible documents confirming the information and judgments presented in the business plan itself.

These documents should be referenced in the text of the plan. Here you can also make too voluminous calculations or schemes.

Each business plan requires an individual approach, however, there are some general recommendations that apply to most of these documents, according to which you can both draw up a business plan for an individual entrepreneur for internal use, and develop a plan for creditors of an existing large enterprise.

• reflect the real situation. If the plans take into account highly inflated profitability indicators or too low prices for raw materials, as a result, you can end up with a completely different financial results, which was calculated in the marketing plan.
• write literate, plain language . If the business plan is written confusingly and with an abundance of errors, no investor or lender will take such a document seriously.
• Take into account the nuances. It is necessary to pay attention to such things as seasonal changes in prices for some goods and services, climatic conditions that affect production. For example, in different regions, the cost of heating workshop premises, especially large ones, can vary greatly.
• Make a business plan concisely, but without unnecessary volume. The usual length of this document is 20-25 pages, excluding appendices. If it turns out to be much larger, then it is better to transfer all documents, volumetric calculations and schemes to applications.
• Calculate costs as accurately as possible. If the price of a particular product or raw material fluctuates greatly, it is better to take the maximum values ​​so that in the event of another price fluctuation there will be no unpleasant surprise in the form of a loss of profitability.
• See related documents. Working on a plan is much easier when you have an example of writing a business plan at hand. To do this, below are examples of business plans in different areas which can be taken as a basis.

Conclusion

Drawing up a business plan is a rather complicated and time-consuming task. However, a well-written business plan can be considered half of starting your own business. Each industry has its own specifics for compiling this document, but there are some general points that must be taken into account when drawing up a high-quality business plan.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

Speaking plain language, a business plan is a document that defines the goals of your business and describes how to achieve those goals. In this guide, I will describe in detail all the steps in drawing up a business plan that will help you open a successful one. A well-thought-out business plan is the key to success for any entrepreneur, no matter what goals he sets for himself - from attracting investments to developing a plan for the strategic growth of the company.

Here are the four basic rules for writing a business plan:

1. Be brief.

Your business plan should be short and concise. This requirement is due to two reasons:

• Your business plan should be such that the reader has a desire to read it in its entirety. Who wants to waste time on a document that is 40 (and sometimes all 100) pages?
• As a tool for business growth and development, the business plan should change with your company. A long document is more difficult to work with, which means that a business plan that is too long is more likely to get covered in dust on the shelf.

2. Know your audience.

Write your business plan in a language that your target audience can understand. For example, if your company is in the sciences and your potential investors don't understand complex terminology, you must tailor your investors' needs.

Here is an example of overly complex wording:
“Our technology is a single-connection accessory for CPAP machines. When connected to a CPAP machine, our product provides non-invasive dual pressure ventilation.”

Simplified wording:
“Our product is an easy-to-use device that replaces traditional medical ventilators and does not require an electrical connection. The cost of our product is 1/100 of the cost of a traditional ventilator.”

Focus on investors. Describe your product as simply as possible and avoid complex terms. More detailed information it is better to take out in applications.

3. Don't be afraid.

Most entrepreneurs are not business experts. They have no special education, and they are forced to learn as they go. Writing a business plan may seem like a daunting task, but it's not. If you know and love what you want to do, it will not be difficult for you to write a good business plan and adjust it as your project develops.

Moreover, it is not at all necessary to immediately create a full-fledged, detailed business plan, the structure of which will be described in this article. It's better to start with a simple one-page business plan and build on it in a more detailed document.

Before writing a business plan, it is better to look at a sample business plan for a company in your industry (cafe, beauty salon, car wash, online store). You will be able to understand how it should look like, how to make the right calculations, what to include in a business plan, industry features, etc. Examples ready-made business plans you can find and download . You can also search for examples on the Internet - just type in the search bar, for example, "coffee shop business plan" or "barbershop business plan."

Six things you need to include in a business plan

Having dealt with the basic rules for writing a business plan, let's move on to describing the structure of the document. In the rest of this article, I'll cover the do's and don'ts of your business plan, list key financial projections, and provide links to additional resources to help you write a smart document.

remember, that your business plan is not some boring document that has nothing to do with practice. A good business plan is a tool that can help you build a more efficient and profitable business. This is a flexible document that you will return to from time to time. As you get to know your customers, identify the strengths and weaknesses of certain marketing strategies, evaluate the accuracy budget planning and forecasts, you will constantly make changes to your business plan. Your business plan defines the goals you want to achieve and you should use it to track your progress and correct your course.

1. Resume

A business plan begins with a summary - a brief description of your business and plans. The summary should take no more than 1-2 pages. In some documents, this chapter is listed last.

2. Opportunities

In this chapter, you should tell what you want to sell and how you are going to solve the problem (satisfy a certain need) of your market. Also here it is necessary to pay attention to the description of the target audience and main competitors.

3. Implementation

How are you going to take advantage of this opportunity and launch your business on it? Here you should describe your marketing plan, sales plan, operations and success rates.

4. Team and company

In addition to attractive ideas, investors are also looking for good teams of specialists. In this chapter, you should talk about those who already work in your company, as well as list the specialists that you plan to recruit into your team. If your project has already started, please provide information about the legal form and location of your company, as well as a brief description of the history of its creation and development.

5. Financial plan

Any business plan should include a financial forecast, which we will discuss in more detail a little later.

6. Application

Applications contain images of products and Additional Information.

Now let's look at each chapter in more detail and try to write a business plan that would make a favorable impression on your potential investors and creditors.

Summary

In a resume, you introduce people to your company, describe your line of work, and explain what you want from your readers. Since this is the very first chapter that potential investors will read, it is best to write it last. Why? By already describing other aspects of your business, you will have a clearer picture of your project and therefore be able to write a more accurate and concise summary. The resume should sum up the entire business plan, so start with the Opportunities chapter and return to writing the resume when the entire document is ready. Ideally, a resume should serve as separate document, which summarizes the most important aspects detailed in your business plan. Often, in order to evaluate a project, investors only need to read the summary. If they like the resume, they will ask you to provide the entire business plan, organize a presentation, or request other information of interest to them.

Thus, the summary is the most important chapter of the business plan, on which the success of your entire project depends. Therefore, try to present the information as concisely and clearly as possible. Highlight the main aspects of your business, but do not go into details. The resume should not exceed 1-2 pages. This should be some kind of bait that will arouse investors' interest in your project and the desire to get to know it better.

Key elements of a good resume:

Brief description of the business in one sentence

At the very top of the page, right below , express the essence of your business in one sentence. It can be a slogan, but it's still better to state what your company does.

Problem

Each business solves a specific market problem by satisfying the demand for that or any other product or service. In one or two sentences, describe the problem you intend to solve.

Solution

The solution is your product or service. How are you going to decide existing problem?

Target market

What is the profile of your ideal customer? How many buyers might be interested in your product? Try to provide as accurate information as possible.

Just because you're in the shoe business doesn't mean that your target audience is absolutely everyone (because almost everyone has feet). . Your activities should target a specific market segment, such as runners or fashion-conscious men. This will make it much easier for you to develop the appropriate marketing strategy and sales strategy, as well as attract potential buyers who may be interested in your products.

Competition

How does your target audience solve the existing problem? Are there alternatives or substitutes for the missing product on the market? Any company has competitors, and in your resume you need to pay due attention to this aspect of your business.

Team

Briefly describe your team. Justify why you and your team can successfully bring your idea to market. Remember that for investors, the team is even more important than the idea. Without a strong team, even the most attractive idea will not get a decent implementation.

Financial plan

Provide basic information from your financial plan. Ideally, this should be a chart that clearly shows your planned sales, costs, and profitability. If your business model (i.e., how you are going to make money) requires further explanation, this chapter is perfect for that purpose.

Financing

If you are looking for funds to start or grow your business, you should describe your needs on your resume. It is not worth thinking about the timing of potential investment yet, since such issues are usually discussed at later stages of the project discussion. For now, you only need to indicate how much money your project will require.

Milestones and work done

Finally, we come to the last important part of the summary. Tell us about what has already been done, and also indicate the main goals (stages) that you are going to achieve. It will be great if you demonstrate to investors that you already have buyers who are interested in your product, or are already buying it. If you are writing a business plan for internal use, then you can significantly reduce the length of the summary or omit this chapter altogether. In this case, you can choose not to provide information about the management team, funding, and work already done. In essence, the internal plan is created as a description of the strategic development of the company, so that all team members know what to strive for.

Capabilities

This chapter can be called the heart of your business plan. Here you should describe in detail the existing problem and its solution, as well as tell who your potential buyers are and how your product or service will fit into the competitive environment. Also indicate how your solution differs from other similar solutions and how you plan to expand your product line in the future.

Since readers have already read your resume, they already know something about your project. However, this does not detract from the importance of the "Opportunities" chapter, since here you provide more detailed information and answer additional questions that were not covered in the Summary.

Problem and Solution

Begin this section by describing your problem. potential clients you want to solve. What are your potential clients missing right now? How do they solve their problems? Maybe existing solutions are too expensive or inconvenient?

The description of the problem you intend to solve for the benefit of your potential customers is the core of your business plan and directly affects your success. If you can't clearly identify the problem, you won't be able to deliver a viable business concept that would be of interest to investors. How do you know that you can really solve a problem that makes customers uncomfortable? Turn off your computer, go outside and talk to your potential customers. After confirming that the problem really exists, tell them about the solution you propose. What do people think of your decision? After paying attention to the problem of the target market, proceed to the description of the solution you have developed. In other words, tell in detail about the product or service that you intend to offer customers. What is your product and how will you offer it? How will he solve the problem of your potential customers? For some goods and services, it will not be superfluous to give specific cases and situations in which this product or service can be used. So you can clearly explain to a potential buyer how to interact with the proposed solution and how it can improve his quality of life.

Target market

Once you've figured out the problem and the solution, focus on your target market. Who are you going to sell your product or service to? How much detail you describe your target market depends on the nature of your business and the type of business plan you have. But in any case, you should have a clear idea of ​​who your potential buyers are and what their approximate number is. If the number of potential customers is small, this calls into question the feasibility of your project. If you are going to conduct a full market analysis, it should be preceded by a little research: you need to determine the target market segments and the size of each of them. A market segment is a group of people (or companies) who may be interested in buying your product or service.

Here we want to warn you against a common mistake: your target market is not "all buyers". Let's take a shoe company as an example. Theoretically, such a company could claim that their target market is all people who have legs. But in real life, in order to survive in the market, a company must focus on a certain segment of the market - athletes, businessmen, families with children, etc.

SDR, SDR, LDR

A good business plan must identify target market segments and contain data that characterizes the growth rate of each segment. The standard measures of SDR, SDR and LDR allow target market sizes to be determined using both a top-down approach and a bottom-up approach.

Let's start with definitions:

• ODR: This is your General Available Market (everyone you would like to offer your product to)
• HAPPY BIRTHDAY: This is your Segmented Available Market (the part of the ODR that you are going to target)
• ldr A: This is your Market Share (the portion of the SDR that you will actually offer your product to, particularly in the first few years).

Once you have identified your main market segments, indicate the trends prevailing in each market. For example, is the market shrinking or expanding? Describe the needs and preferences of each market, as well as the changes that await it.

Now you can start building a portrait of the ideal buyer in each market segment. The ideal buyer is an average image of a representative of your market, which should have a name, gender, income level, preferences, and so on. After identifying market segments, drawing up a portrait of the ideal buyer may seem like redundant work, but it is not. Such a portrait will be a useful tool for you to help you develop marketing events to attract ideal buyers.

Key Buyers

The final part of this chapter should be devoted to key buyers. This information needs to be provided only for companies that work with a very small number of customers. Ordinary companies that sell goods and services primarily to ordinary consumers can skip this section. If you sell products or services to other companies, you must have several key customers, abouton which the success of your business depends, and which set trends in your niche.At the end of the Target Market chapter, talk about these customers and describe their relevance to your business.

Competition

After describing your target market, move on to describing your competitive environment. What other companies offer their products or services in an attempt to solve customer problems? What are your advantages over competitors?

Business plans often present this information in the form of a "competition matrix" that compares competitors' solutions to yours. A simple competitive matrix is ​​a table that lists competitors vertically and comparison criteria horizontally. If a competitor's solution meets a certain criterion, a mark is placed at the intersection of the corresponding row and column. Your main job is to show that your solution is different or superior to what other companies offer. Investors will be interested to know what competitive advantagesdo you possess and how do you plandifferentiate your solution.

Many entrepreneurs make the serious mistake of claiming they have no competition. Remember that every business has competitors. It is not necessarily "direct competition" when another company offers a solution similar to yours. Often we are talking about "indirect competition", when consumers find completely different solutions to their problem. For example, when Henry Ford first started selling his cars, he had almost no direct competitors in the face of other automakers. However, Ford had to compete with other modes of transportation (horses, bicycles, trains, and hiking). At that time they were all alternative ways solving the problem of moving from one point to another.

Future products and services

All entrepreneurs make plans for how their business will develop if successful.

While it is a pleasure for any entrepreneur to dream of expanding their business, try not to get carried away. Share your plans for the future in a paragraph or two to show investors where you want to go. Refrain from describing long-term plans in detail, because now no one can guarantee that they will actually be implemented. Instead, you should focus on your current products or services.

Implementation

Once you've completed a comprehensive description of the market opportunities, tell investors how you're going to put your ideas into practice. In this section, attention should be paid to the following aspects: marketing and sales, operating activities, indicators of success, and milestones you plan to achieve.

Marketing and Sales

A marketing plan and a sales plan describe how you intend to bring your product or service to your target markets, how you plan to market your product to those target markets, what pricing scheme you will use, and what activities and collaborations will be needed to be successful. Before you start writing your marketing plan, you must clearly define your target markets and draw a portrait of your ideal buyer(s). Without a clear idea of ​​who you will be selling your product to, your marketing plan will be useless.

Positioning

The first part of your marketing plan should focus on positioning your company and product/service. Positioning is how you will present your company to potential clients. For example, you offer budget solution or are you a premium brand? Are you offering a product that none of your competitors have?

Before starting to develop a positioning strategy, analyze the current market situation and answer the following questions:

• Do you offer any benefits or benefits that your competitors don't? If so, which ones?
• What are the main needs of your customers?
• How are your competitors positioning themselves?
• How do you plan to stand out from your competitors? Why should customers choose your product?
• What place do you give your company in the current competitive environment?

With these questions answered, you can start thinking about your positioning strategy. Your positioning strategy doesn't have to be voluminous and very detailed. You need to explain how your company will position itself in a competitive marketplace and how your value proposition differs from that of your competitors.

Here are some examples of language that you can use in your positioning strategy:

For [target market description] that [target market needs], [this product] [how the product meets existing needs]. Unlike [major competitors], it [the most important distinguishing feature].

Pricing

Having decided on the positioning strategy, you can begin to consider pricing issues. In most cases, your positioning strategy will be the main factor in pricing your products/services. As a carrier of information, the price is able to tell buyers about how you position your product. If you offer a premium product, buyers will instantly recognize it from the price.

The pricing process is more like an art than a science. However, it is subject to some universal rules:

• Cost coverage. There are exceptions to this rule, but in most cases you should charge more for a product than you had to spend to produce it.
• Primary and secondary sources of income. The base price may not be your main source of income. For example, you can sell a product at cost (or even less), but charge a lot more for further contracted services.
• Compliance with the market situation. Your prices should match the demand and expectations of potential customers. If you set the price too high, you may not find buyers for your product. And if your price is too low, your offer risks being underestimated.

3 approaches to pricing

• Plus costs. You can set prices based on several factors. The cost-plus approach means that you determine your cost level and charge a price that exceeds that level. This approach is popular in manufacturing, where upfront cost recovery is critical to a company's success.
• Market pricing. Another view of the competitive environment and pricing is based on market expectations. Depending on how you position your product, you can work in the high or low price segment of a particular market.
• Cost pricing. With this approach, you price based on how much value you offer to your customers. For example, you offer lawn care services to busy people who do not have time for this. If you save them 1 hour a week and their hour costs $50, then you can rate your services at $30 an hour.

Promotion

Having dealt with positioning and pricing, you can move on to a promotion strategy. A promotion strategy describes how you are going to interact with your potential and existing customers. At the same time, you must be able to determine the cost of promotion and the volume of sales that it can generate. In the long term, maintaining ineffective promotion strategies becomes extremely unprofitable.

Your promotion strategy should cover several aspects:

Package

The way your product is packaged has a direct impact on the purchase decision. If there are images on the packaging, feel free to include them in your business plan. When describing the packaging of your product, answer the following questions:

• Does your packaging match your positioning strategy?
• How does your packaging communicate your value proposition?
• How does your packaging compare to competitors' packaging?

Advertising

Your business plan should describe what types of advertising you are going to spend your budget on. For example, are you planning to run ads online or on traditional media platforms? Particular attention in the advertising strategy should be given to evaluating the effectiveness of your advertising.

Public relations

Media coverage of your product is a great way to reach your target audience. A good media coverage of your product or service will give you the wide audience coverage you need to grow your business. If public relations is part of your promotion strategy, be sure to dedicate a few paragraphs to this topic.

Content Marketing

One of the popular promotion strategies is content marketing. It should be understood that your goal here is not to tell target market about their products or services. The essence of content marketing is to present potential buyers with an interesting and useful information on topics of interest to them.

Brief briefing

You have an idea. You want to create your own business. Excellent. What's next? Next, you need to “sort everything out”, think through the details (as far as possible), in order to first of all understand: is it worth developing this project? Perhaps after researching the market, you will realize that the service or product is not in demand, or you do not have sufficient funds to develop your business. Maybe the project should be improved a little, to abandon unnecessary elements, or, on the contrary, to introduce something?

A business plan will help you consider the prospects of your venture.

End justifies the means?

Starting to write a business plan, remember its goals and functions. First of all, you spend preparatory work in order to understand how realistic the achievement of the planned results is, how much time and money are needed to implement the plan.

In addition, a business plan is necessary to attract investors, receive a grant or a bank loan. That is, it should include information about the potential profit of the project, the necessary costs and the payback period. Think about what is important and interesting for your recipients to hear.

Use a little cheat sheet for yourself:

• Analyze the market you are going to enter. What leaders-companies exist in this direction. Study their experience and work.
• Determine the strengths and weaknesses of your project, future opportunities and risks. In short, do a SWOT analysis*.

SWOT analysis - (English)strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,Threats - strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A method of planning, developing a strategy that allows you to identify the main factors influencing business development.

• Be clear about what you expect from the project. Set a specific goal.

The main goal of the business plan is to help, first of all, you yourself in developing the company's strategy and planning its development, as well as assistance in attracting investments.

So every plan has a structure. Regardless of the specifics of the project and the requirements of investors, a business plan, as a rule, contains the following elements:

1. Firm CV(short business plan)

• Product description
• Description of the market situation
• Competitive advantages and disadvantages
• Brief description of the organizational structure
• Distribution Money(investment and own)

2. marketing plan

• Definition of a “problem” and your solution
• Definition of the target audience
• Market and competition analysis
• Free niche, unique selling proposition
• Methods and cost of attracting customers
• Sales channels
• Stages and terms of market conquest

3. Plan for the production of goods or services

• Organization of production
• Infrastructure features
• Production resources and areas
• Production equipment
• Production process
• Quality control
• Calculation of investments and depreciation

4.Workflow organization

• Organizational structure of the enterprise
• Distribution of powers and responsibilities
• Control system

5. Financial plan and risk forecast

• Cost estimate
• Calculation of the cost of a product or service
• Calculation of profit and loss
• Investment period
• Break even point and payback point
• Cash flow forecast
• Risk Forecast
• Ways to minimize risks

It is clear that a business plan is one whole and its parts are inextricably linked with each other. However, a well-designed structure will help you not to forget the important, as well as to look deeper into each of the aspects.

Company resume. Briefly about the main

Marketing plan. There are empty seats?

When drawing up a marketing plan, you will have to analyze the market you are going to enter. Thus, you will identify trends for yourself, collect information about competitors and get to know your consumer, your target audience better.

After evaluating a potential client, his interests and preferences, you must determine the optimal location of the office, outlet, etc. It should be comfortable. Calculate the required number of customers for your business to pay off and compare with the audience living or working around the intended location of the business. For example, for a public service business, this audience should not be less than 2% of the number of people living within a short walk or five-minute drive.

It is possible that the market that you were going to conquer is oversaturated at the moment. Analyze the actions of competitors, create your strategy, focus on your uniqueness, bring something new to fill an empty niche in a certain area.

Of course, creating something that is not yet on the market is quite difficult. However, you can carefully analyze the situation and open, for example, a point where the consumer really needs it or play on the difference in prices and the level of services provided relative to nearby competitors.

Also, you will definitely have to decide on the sales channels. After reviewing the existing methods on the market - find the best for yourself. Calculate how much it costs you to acquire each client.

Finally, when deciding on pricing, you will need to calculate: which is more profitable? A high price with a small number of sales or a price lower than competitors, but a large client flow. We should also not forget about the service, because for many consumers it is crucial. They are willing to pay a price above the market average, but receive high quality service.

Production plan. What are we selling?

Here you will finally tell in detail about the essence of your business: what do you do?

For example, you decide to produce dresses and sell them. In the production plan, indicate the suppliers of fabric and equipment, where you will place the sewing workshop, what will be the volume of production. You will write down the stages of manufacturing products, the necessary qualifications of employees, calculate the necessary deductions to the depreciation fund, as well as logistics. From many factors: from the cost of threads to the cost of labor, the costs of the future business will also depend.

Prescribing the technology for creating your course product, you will pay attention to many little things that you have not thought about before. There may be issues with the storage of goods or difficulties with imported raw materials, problems with finding employees with the necessary qualifications, etc.

When you have finally written down the entire path of creating a product or service, it's time to calculate how much your project will cost you. It may well be that subsequently, composing financial calculations, you will understand that you need to make adjustments to the production plan: cut some costs or fundamentally change the technology itself.

Organization of the workflow. How will it work?

Will you manage the business alone or with partners? How will decisions be made? These and many more questions you need to answer in the "Organization of the workflow" section.

Here you can register the entire structure of the enterprise and identify duplication of authority, mutual exclusion, etc. Having seen the whole organization scheme, it will be easier for you to optimally distribute rights and responsibilities between departments and employees.

Having understood, first of all, for yourself how your company functions, it will be possible to more effectively develop a system of interaction between structures, a system for monitoring employees and the entire personnel policy.

The importance of this section is that it describes who and how will implement the project in reality.

Financial plan. Main section

The financial section is directly related to all points of the business plan. Therefore, if changes or additions are made to one of the sections, then the financial calculations also change. The reverse process is also possible, if adjustments are made to the financial plan - this means changes in other structures. So, if you understand that you will have to cut costs in order to keep within the amount of funds that you have, consider how you will carry out this optimization.

Of course, a business plan is an approximate model of how your project will develop and function. You need to remember that unforeseen situations will also arise, because you start a business in real time, and life is impossible without surprises. However, if you follow the recommendations from BIBOSS, you will be able to draw up a detailed and working business plan that will allow you to avoid many problems.

I know a lot about business planning. Planned and opened 3 family businesses. Drafted 4 business plans for grants and one subsidy from the Employment Center. Helped a few friends formulate their ideas, edited dozens of documents for clients, reviewed hundreds of submissions from business loan applicants.

For two years I worked in a credit institution that financed a business. Beginners and experienced entrepreneurs applied for funds, and we assessed the prospects and payback of the idea, drew up a business plan or corrected the client's existing calculations. Information about the applicant was presented at a meeting of the credit committee, where they collectively made a decision to issue the requested amount or to refuse.

In order to convince all loan officers to vote “yes” for financing, it was necessary to dismantle all possible risks project and find solutions for any situation, protect the creditor's money from all sides, provide exit options if everything goes according to a negative scenario.

The discussion of business projects at the credit committee was structured as follows:

- And what if he divorces his wife, who will sell in his store, because now she herself is behind the counter?

- Hire a second salesperson. By the way, for a loan, the wife acts as a guarantor, so she will take on half of the debt during a divorce.

- What will happen to the debt when the “off season” for sales comes?

– In the off-season, in the schedule, I propose to reduce monthly payments so that the client “pulls” this amount during a period of reduced profits.

“And if his warehouse is robbed?”

– The warehouse is guarded, but we still insure the inventory – this Insurance Company pays a refund within a couple of weeks without nit-picking and delays, so the client will quickly recover the losses and be able to order a new batch of goods.

Become such a strict commission for your own project and go through all the weak points of the business to find a plan B and C for any situation. Have a discussion about the idea and brainstorm with friends. It is better to find possible problems and think over their solutions on paper even before opening a company than to take risks and incur unnecessary costs later.

Quite everyday situations can turn into a disaster for a micro business and problems for a large enterprise. Take this into account when planning so that you don’t suddenly go into the negative.

My experience will help you draw up a business plan and get funding for it. It can be used to approach private investors, apply for a bank loan, or apply for a grant for start-up entrepreneurs from the local government.

Using the example of my new family business - a small blacksmith shop - I will show you how to create a business plan to raise funds from the budget.

A business plan is a document that comprehensively describes the idea, project, work and results of such work. It takes into account everything from the launch schedule and recruitment to different development scenarios and payback periods. The full version of the document lists possible risks and options for minimizing them.

What is the difference from TEO?

A feasibility study is a feasibility study for launching a project. The calculations in it relate only to the necessary investments, upcoming costs, expected income, payback period. It calculates the financial benefit from the planned activities. A feasibility study can be drawn up when a separate issue is being resolved, for example, about transferring accounting to.

A business plan, compared to a feasibility study, covers a wider range of issues, including promotion and marketing of the project, organizational arrangements, risk assessment. The social component of a startup is also considered here. A business plan is a more comprehensive document; it is needed when opening a restaurant or store.

Why do you need a business plan

The business plan shows the seriousness of the entrepreneur's intentions and the depth of his immersion in the topic. He needs this himself in order to understand what awaits in the process, how to avoid problems and get.

But this document is most important when raising funds. Without a business plan, an investor, loan officer or administration employee will not discuss the possibility of issuing loans or budgetary funds.

Let's go back to our forge. My husband and I need a business plan for internal use - in order to understand what launch costs will be needed, how much and what will have to be purchased, what and how to arrange for legal work, what income is possible, what to produce and how to sell.

But another purpose of compiling a BP is to apply for a grant. At the district level, budgetary funds are distributed to support start-up entrepreneurs. It is possible to receive up to 300,000 rubles free of charge when passing a competitive selection, during which the commission evaluates the business plan and its performance. To get around and get, you need to correctly compose this document and correctly present your project.

Internal - for acceptance management decisions. A businessman needs such a document for himself, for partners, for employees.

External - to attract funding and state support, search for an investor. It is compiled for communication with banks, applying to the district / city administration for a grant or subsidy, negotiations with possible partners.

The tasks that different business plans solve are different. It is impossible to draw up one document and go with it for a loan, and for budget support, and in search of a private investor.

1. Money from the budget

Tasks of the business plan when attracting budgetary funds:

• Demonstrate your vision of the project, convince officials distributing funds that you understand the chosen area and understand where to start. They do not care how and what you will do in the course of work, the main thing is that your business stays afloat for at least 3-5 years. That is how much they track the fate of support recipients.
• Choose priority development: to make and sell what the market needs, to engage in those services that are lacking in the area, to satisfy the demand of different categories of the population. This is important, again, to improve statistics in the area, so that the authorities can report that consumer market develops.
• Confirm social significance project: job creation and employment of the unemployed, youth, disabled people, parents with many children - the more workers a business needs, the better. The number of new jobs is one of the project evaluation criteria.
• Calculate the budgetary efficiency of the business - the volume of tax and non-tax revenues, including insurance premiums for employees and the more you plan to pay the state, the higher the likelihood of a grant. Ideally, these revenues should cover the cost of providing you with a grant in a couple of years, and then cover them.

Consider all these points when drawing up a business plan in order to correctly place the accents.

All indicators of the business plan and forecasts will be checked after the issuance of budget funds - once a quarter, six months or a year, the commission will go to the site and request financial documentation and reporting from you, and compare the indicators with the planned ones. If you do not hire employees or start delivering products to local stores as promised, then you may be forced to return the money, as you have not fulfilled your obligations under the contract. Therefore, on paper, do not overestimate the numbers and do not embellish anything, approach planning more realistically.

2. Bank loan

If you decide to apply for money to a bank, then a business plan for a loan will perform other tasks:

• To prove understanding of the project by the entrepreneur himself, to give a calendar plan that will help to draw up a debt repayment schedule.
• Calculate the amount of income and expenses, taking into account mandatory payments to repay the loan.
• List the risks of non-repayment of the loan and suggest possible ways to minimize them - surety, insurance, pledge of property.

The lender needs the client to reach the planned income and be able to fulfill his obligations without delays and failures, even in case of emergency. In the business plan for the bank, it is necessary to focus on this. He does not care about the number of jobs created or the amount of taxes paid, more importantly - financial stability borrower.

3. Investor funds

For the investor, the financial component of the project is also important, he needs information about the payback period of investments. When investing his money, he must understand how quickly he will get some results - a return of money, part of the profit.

The business plan should immediately provide for options for distributing profits between investors, providing them with a share in the company, and the degree of involvement in the work.

4. Internal resources

A business plan "for yourself" can perform any tasks and contain a wide variety of information about a future or existing enterprise. With it, you can prepare a report for management and shareholders with calculations and arguments in favor of expanding production, opening a new outlet, entering the market of another region, developing a product line.

In such a document, you can delve into the details, paint all the nuances and take into account not only financial issues, but also organizational work, marketing policy, and production moments.

There is no universal business plan, you always need to understand what and for whom it is intended and, taking this into account, draw it up.

• To receive a grant, the business plan of the forge must tell more about what it will give to the district, what benefits the budget will receive from its opening.
• So, be sure to indicate that the nearest forge is located in another area of ​​the region 200 km away, so the opening of a new enterprise will provide local residents with affordable products. And it will be suitable for domestic needs and satisfy the needs of all categories of the population - hardware tools, interior items, furniture.
• It should be emphasized that in the first year the entrepreneur-blacksmith himself will be employed, and in the second year it is planned to hire one more employee as assistants. This will create 2 jobs.
• It is also worth calculating in detail how much insurance premiums a self-employed entrepreneur will pay for himself, and how much for an employee next year.
• An employee's salary must be more than average level wages in the relevant industry by region. So, in the Novgorod region, statistics say that workers in the manufacturing sector receive an average of 32,000 rubles. Payments to the employee in the calculations must be indicated not less than this amount.
• This will need to be mentioned in the brief description of the project - that part of the business plan that will be read and carefully studied by all members of the competition committee.
• If we went to the bank for a loan, then the emphasis would be on other details - payback, stable income, profitability, which allows you to repay the requested amount with interest.

The main sections of the business plan

Any business plan should contain a comprehensive description of the project, so as not to miss important information. The main sections can be called differently, be combined or divided into additional subsections, but their content must be in the document.

What sections does a business plan include

Detailed content of business plan sections

What to write about in the main points of this document in order to get a complete picture of the development of the company?

Business Description

date of creation, official registration of IP or legal entity.

Distribution of shares in the company between partners, co-founders, investors.

Businessman experience before that - education, experience as an employee. It is not necessary to indicate the entire working biography and attach diplomas, unless this directly relates to a new project. So, when a businessman planning to open a cafe has worked for several years as a manager in a catering business, this will be his plus. If he graduated from the university with a degree in restaurant business, then this is another point in the piggy bank of his experience. And if he has been twisting nuts in a car service all his life, trained as a veterinarian and then suddenly swung at the opening of a bar, information about education and experience will be superfluous.

Place of registration, area of ​​business. You need to specify not only the address, but also the general coverage of the territory.

Goals and objectives of the project. Here you need to describe the field of activity, as well as measurable results - open 1 cafe for 30 seats, sell 500 kg of pastries daily, etc.

I will show you how to describe an enterprise in a business plan, using the example of a forge. The Project Description section contains the following information:

• The date of registration of IP is May 2018.
• Business - the entrepreneur will conduct independently, without the involvement of partners. The employee will be hired in the spring of 2019.
• The entrepreneur was engaged in forging in his home workshop for a year. In the spring of 2018, he rented a room for a forge on the production site, equipped it and continued to work.
• At the end of 2017, he completed a three-month course “Hand Artistic Forging” at the Academy of Metalworking (St. Petersburg) and received the qualification “blacksmith” (a copy of the certificate of education is attached).
• The goal of the project is to open a forge in the N district for the production and sale of forged products to the population.
• By 2019, it is planned to produce products worth 250,000 rubles a month.

Sales market assessment. You need to estimate the size of the market, the population, the number of potential customers. It is quite difficult to do this without full-fledged marketing research. Therefore, it is worth looking for ready-made results of such an assessment for your region. In the extreme case, you can predict effective demand approximately.

The main thing is to formulate sales tasks for yourself: will you work only within the microdistrict, open outlets throughout the city, take products for sale throughout the region or deliver outside of it.

How exactly you plan to reach your target audience, how you will choose suitable promotion channels, you will describe in detail in the “Marketing Plan” section, now indicate only the direction.

Competitors. Make a list of your competitors who are already operating in this market.

Not only direct competitors offering similar goods and services are taken into account, but also those companies that produce replacement products and provide alternative services. If your city does not have a specialized tea boutique, this does not mean that the market is clear of competitors: you will have to fight for customers with those department stores and supermarkets that also sell various varieties of tea.

• There are no other blacksmiths involved in artistic forging on the territory of the district center itself and neighboring districts. Nearest company selling similar products self made located at a distance of 250 km (in the regional center).
• Hardware and factory-made entrenching tools - pokers, staples, machetes, axes, accessories - are offered in 6 hardware stores in the district, but consumers complain about their low quality, and monitoring of goods has shown that such goods do not last long. Forged handmade products are more durable, and a local blacksmith can compete with factory suppliers, guaranteeing not only high quality, but also tool sharpening, repair, and custom-made manufacturing with the right dimensions. Forged decorative interior elements and household items - door handles, hooks for gates and hinges for gates, hangers and hooks for clothes - are rare in stores, mainly plastic products are sold. Forged garden furniture - benches, gazebos, lanterns, tables - is not sold in the area.
• These products are in steady demand among the local population. Products of manual artistic forging are bought not only by rural residents for their village houses, but also by summer residents, owners of tourist camps and country cafes.
• The forge will supply goods to the market of the N-sky district, conclude contracts with shops for the supply of products for sale, and participate in craft fairs in St. Petersburg and Moscow.

Production plan

Business processes. Write a list of equipment, tools, raw materials and materials that are required to create the selected range of goods and services. Calculate the optimal production volumes that your equipment can handle. Specify which employees and with what load you will need.

Products. List the products, services and works that you will offer to customers. Calculations on the costs of organizing business processes will allow you to find out the cost and draw up a price list.

Starting investments. Calculate how much money you will need to start the project. Sum up the cost of all assets, fixed assets, repairs, materials and other costs that will be required to start production.

For example, this section might look like this:

• For the forge to work, it is necessary to equip the room with ventilation, a mining furnace, an anvil with a hammer, a vice, a table for cutting metal, spray booth for processing finished products heat-resistant paint, anti-rust and other coatings. All this has already been done by the entrepreneur himself.
• Increase work efficiency and productivity the following equipment and tools: a grinder for sharpening blades (40,000 rubles), a grinder for cutting metal (5,000 rubles), a grinder for processing forged products (10,000 rubles), a welding machine (20,000 rubles), a mechanical hammer (from 150,000 rubles). The total cost of equipping the forge is 225,000 rubles.
• In the manufacture of products, metal is used - a profile, sheet iron, fittings, wire. Raw materials are purchased in small bulk at a metal depot in a neighboring area, delivery is carried out by the supplier's transport. The cost of a batch of raw materials and materials, including delivery, is 10,000 rubles. In a month, taking into account the load and the amount of work, there can be 2-4 batches.
• Forging requires coal and gas in cylinders. Combined hearth allows you to process metal by heating it with coal or gas. The average consumption of these types of fuel per month is 1,500 rubles and 2,000 rubles, respectively.
• Ventilation supply and exhaust, electric. It is used to maintain the desired temperature in the hearth and remove combustion products from the room. Electricity consumption is accounted for by a separate meter in the forge and reaches the amount of 2,500 rubles per month.
• During the first 9-10 months, the blacksmith will work alone, then it will be necessary to hire a worker to help.
• The forge is located on the territory of the carpentry shop, so there will be no problems with the manufacture of mixed products - from wood with forged elements.
• List of products: benches, tables, bar stools, flower stands, fireplace sets (poker, scoop, stand for them), floor and wall hangers, coat hooks, latches and hinges for wickets and gates, door handles and cabinets, lamps , stands for the kitchen for hot or cutting boards, sickles, machetes, scrapers, knives.
• The forge is already working, but not at full capacity. Grant funds are needed to purchase additional equipment. Replenishment current assets You will pay your running costs at your own expense.

organizational plan

Organizational and legal form. Whether an individual entrepreneur or LLC, or some other form of organization, is suitable for the implementation of the selected project. What is the rationale for the choice. What system of taxation is chosen, why is it suitable.

Distribution of founders' roles. If there are several partners, their role in the management and operation of the company is described. What will they do, what will they be responsible for.

Staff. What employees will be needed, who should be hired, who should be temporarily involved, what functions can be outsourced or performed independently.

Settlements with counterparties. how it is planned to receive money from customers, whether it is necessary to open, buy an online cash register, or are there options to make payments somehow differently.

Calendar plan project. What needs to be done and when, what issues should be resolved immediately, which ones later. It is desirable to calculate the cost of each stage in order to clearly show when and how much funding is required.

• For a forge, it is enough for a self-employed blacksmith to be individual entrepreneur. This simplifies accounting and reporting. The accounting is carried out by the entrepreneur himself, using the appropriate online services provided to him by the bank.
• For settlements with customers and suppliers, a current account is used, and a cash desk will also be purchased, although goods can be sold at fairs without it. When buying a cash register, a special deduction will be used.
• After hiring an employee, it will be necessary to register with extra-budgetary funds as an employer, before off-budget funds enough to pay insurance premiums regularly.
• The activity is already underway. Upon receipt of the grant, equipment will be purchased, which will increase production volumes.
• When budgetary funds are issued in July, all the necessary equipment according to the list (for 225,000 rubles) will be purchased and installed within a month, and from August the productivity of the forge will increase several times. Hiring an employee is planned in the spring next year- in March-April, before that the blacksmith will work independently.

This section is devoted to channels and methods of promotion, the necessary actions to increase sales, and advertising costs.

Promotion channels. Advertisements in newspapers, commercials on radio and TV, online advertising, creating your own website and group in social networks, advertising in local publics and forums, participation in exhibitions and fairs.

The target audience. Who do you focus on when marketing? Who is your client - by age, gender, occupation, income level. Where to find him and how to contact him.

Promotion cost. How much will it cost to search and attract target audience. How often you will have to run ads, what options it is advisable to choose.

In our example business plan, this section would look like this:

Financial indicators

Calculate the cost of production, planned sales volumes, necessary costs, projected income and profit, profitability of the project. If there are many and different products, it is not necessary to provide all the calculations in the business plan, they can be placed in a separate application, and all indicators are calculated based on the average cost value. You need to show your own contribution to the project, the need for borrowed funds. If necessary, repay the loan - an approximate repayment schedule. When paying to an investor - calculation of his share of profits.

Risk assessment

External factors . Emergency and natural disasters, the negative impact of local authorities, a new competitor, a change in the economic situation and a drop in incomes of the population.

Internal factors . Misjudgment of the market, delivery delays, personnel problems, production errors, problems with renting premises, accidents at work.

Risk Mitigation Options. Life, health, property, third party liability insurance. Opportunity to reduce prices, change the assortment, switch to other products, change the circle of potential customers, expand the sales market and find new customers outside the area, region or country. Arrangements with partners and contractors, good personal relations with the authorities, a large number of skilled workers in the market who are looking for work, etc.

Something like this will look like the study of part of the risks for the forge:

• At first, the income of the forge will depend entirely on the entrepreneur himself. Health problems or injuries will negatively affect the volume of work and profits. Accidents at work can be prevented by observing safety regulations. Then it is planned to hire an employee who will remove the increased workload from the blacksmith himself.
• Fire, accidents, equipment breakdowns, natural disasters - the damage from these accidents will be covered by property insurance, which will be issued for the rented premises, equipment and tools in the forge at their market value. The forge had already passed a fire inspection, and representatives of the energy company were also there, they checked the electrical wiring, the extractor at the furnace, ventilation and fire alarms. There were comments, but all the shortcomings were immediately eliminated. The room itself with a separate entrance is located in a brick building and corresponds general requirements to production safety.
• In case of problems with the lease, it is possible to quickly move the forge to another place - there are enough suitable empty production areas in the area, the equipment is easily dismantled and can be installed elsewhere within 1-2 days.
• With low demand for products and small trade turnover, the sales market will be expanded, agreements will be obtained for the supply of products for sale to hardware stores in other districts of the region, the most popular goods will be selected, and the assortment policy will be revised. There is no need to change equipment or restructure work - it is enough to purchase other raw materials and materials for the production of other products, for example, forged fences, window bars, gates and wickets, entrance groups and canopies over the porch.
• If another competitor appears on the market, the entrepreneur will choose the most profitable niche and will produce products that the new market participant will not have, or change the sales strategy and supply finished products to other markets.

Project Summary

This section contains the most important things: the essence of the project, the necessary investments, the results after the launch, development prospects, possible risks and ways to reduce them. The remaining sections with details will be read only if the summary of the business plan is of interest to an investor, creditor, official. Therefore, remember once again what the goal of your project is and indicate important indicators that meet this goal. Repeat what you will produce, how much income you plan to receive, what expenses will be required, how much money you invest yourself, and how much you need to attract.

Common mistakes when writing a business plan

• Very optimistic. Insufficient knowledge of the market. Lack of adequate risk assessment.
• Copying other people's calculations. Using data without reference to reality and to the specifics of the business.
• Without considering the purpose and addressee. Lack of important indicators. A lot of unnecessary information and "water".
• Poor design, illiterate presentation of information, negligence in calculations. Confusing presentation and lack of a clear structure.

How to get money for a business plan

Studying the design requirements

When contacting a bank or municipal government to raise funding, ask for application rules. Often this is a simple and clear list. required documents, as well as a list of requirements for the content and design of the business plan. Sometimes even a template of this document is given with sections and subsections already indicated. where you just need to enter your information. There are also wishes for its volume, a list of questions for project analysis, a list of important indicators that you must calculate.

Business plan defense

In some cases, it is necessary not only to draw up this document, but also to defend it before the commission. Bank employees will make a decision on issuing a loan. Officials will assess your level of information proficiency in order to rate you for participation in the competitive selection for a grant, . The investor will get acquainted with your plans and decide whether he needs to participate in this.

With such protection, it is enough to retell the “Project Summary” section and speak the main indicators of the business aloud, answer the questions of the commission members in order to convince them of your readiness and ability to use the funds raised in accordance with the plan.

Download ready-made business plans

Above, we have provided you with the key points that you should rely on when drawing up a competent business plan, however, depending on where you want to provide a business plan, the requirements for its design and content change. Below you will find examples (samples) of ready-made business plans (40 pieces), which you can download absolutely free of charge.

Use them to create your business plan, model the most interesting and compelling places, see what numbers and calculations are used, marketing research, competitor analysis and also try to calculate your own project. Also below you will find additional business plan support documents from the Industrial Development Fund, Ministry of Investment and Innovation.

INSTRUCTIONS For ease of searching, all business plans are sorted alphabetically. Click on the desired letter and a list of finished projects will open in front of you.