Business plan writing rules. Business plan: what is it and how to make it yourself. Balance sheet profit

All novice businessmen are faced with the need to build their own business model. To understand firsthand how to start your own business, you should write a business plan. It is he who becomes the basis and foundation of any undertaking, because without a competent, structured and correctly painted business model, it is extremely difficult to create something worthwhile and profitable. Consider step-by-step instructions on how to write a business plan in more detail.

Business plan - what is it?

Many think, and someone succeeds and makes a profit, while someone is left without money. There are many reasons for this, but the basis of any startup is good business plan. A business plan is a visual aid for launching a specific idea, it is a document that contains all the information about a startup or company: characteristics, market and risk analysis, financial position, marketing plan, organizational structure and other.

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

Business plan structure

1. Title page;
2. Introduction;
3. confidentiality memorandum;
4. Brief summary;
5. The main idea of ​​the project;
6. Marketing analysis;
7. Idea disclosure.

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

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

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

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

In a short summary, you should answer all key questions:

• What service will you provide or product - produce?
• Who will be interested?
• Volume of production - how many goods / services do you want to supply?
• What will be the profit?
• How much will it take to start a business?
• Sources of financing?
• How many people will be involved in production?
• Approximate desired profit for a certain period?
• When will the business start to pay off?

When answering these questions, you need to try to show your project as profitably as possible from all sides (but in no case lie!) In order to interest potential investors, advertisers or possible co-founders.

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

Also at this stage it is worth doing a SWOT analysis. It is a planning method that helps to identify weak and strengths product / company / business / person, as well as their opportunities and threats.

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

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

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

Marketing plan

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

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

Of course, in large companies, special marketing departments do all this, but novice businessmen often cannot afford to hire professionals. Do not despair - you can do everything yourself. Of course, it will take more time and the results may not be so accurate, but in general, the necessary information is freely available, and understanding it is a matter of time and desire.

organizational plan

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

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

The main task of the organizational plan is to show the prospective investors that human resources and their competent use will be sufficient to achieve the set goals. In the organizational plan, you need to indicate how many people are in the state, and who does what, because everyone should be in their place and perform the task.

Financial plan

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

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

The financial plan is the most important for a potential investor, since it is in it that all the possibilities of a startup are indicated, as well as its expected success or failure is analyzed. is at a low level, and a competent financial plan allows you to immediately see all the attractiveness of the project for the investor. Therefore, for those who do not know how to write a business plan for an investor, you should pay special attention to this item. is extremely small and you should rely only on your own strength.

Risk Analysis

There are several types of business risks:

• Uncontrollable - risks that cannot be controlled. But they can be taken into account and reduce their likelihood when starting a business. As the saying goes, forewarned is forearmed. Uncontrollable risks include crises, natural disasters, currency risks, changes in legislation, and more. To minimize the consequences, it is necessary to insure property, create cash reserves, and the like;
• Controllable risks are risks that can be minimized or eliminated altogether. These include problems in production, lack of funds, problems with employees (layoffs, strikes), changes in the market, and more.

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

business plan requirements

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

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

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

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Mistakes in writing a business plan

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

Do not load the business plan with unnecessary information and “water” - it is better to write briefly and to the point than to spread your thoughts along the tree. But you shouldn’t cut the text too short either - try to give everything important facts and data. You can find an example of how to write a business plan correctly on specialized sites or take a master class at various events.

conclusions

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

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

And even if you've never written a business plan yourself, don't be afraid to try. Creating a business plan does not take much time, and there are a lot of benefits from it, so do not neglect this document and do not be lazy!

Creating a business from scratch begins with thinking through the concept of the project: in what area will the company operate or individual entrepreneur and what exactly he is going to offer a potential client. The next, no less important step is the choice. But this is not enough: before you cook, you need to draw up a business plan - on your own or with the involvement of marketers.

How competently, concisely and clearly written a business plan depends on how a small business will look in the eyes of investors, creditors, target audience and potentially interested buyers. Below I will show you how to write a detailed, compelling business plan on your own, as well as two examples of finished projects.

Why write a business plan and who needs it?

Before getting acquainted with the step-by-step instructions for drawing up a business plan, it does not hurt for a novice entrepreneur to find out in what cases such a document is needed and when it can be dispensed with.

The answer to the second question is simple: the more promising the project seems and the more it is planned to attract investors and lenders, the more the need for a business plan increases. If we are talking about, which can be equipped, launched and "introduced" into the market on its own, it is not necessary to draw up a plan; enough own start-up capital or consumer credit and perseverance of the entrepreneur.

Otherwise, when a truly large-scale enterprise is created, which will function for many years in the future and not only bring income to the owner, but also be an investment object, one cannot do without a correctly written and calculated business plan: not a single serious investor will invest in dubious project.

In this way, business plan is a kind of business card project that is at the stage of creation or development. After reviewing it, potential lenders, investors and partners will get an idea:

• about the essence of the idea;
• about the main parameters of development and functioning;
• about prospects and risks;
• about the readiness of the business owner to overcome problems and correct possible miscalculations.

Advice: before the presentation (individual or group) of the business plan, it does not hurt to conclude with each of the representatives financial institutions, investment companies and commercial partners a memorandum of non-disclosure of the information heard. This will protect the original project from plagiarism, and non-original - from the premature readiness of potential competitors.

Drawing up a business plan - detailed instructions

As already mentioned, you can write a business plan yourself, focusing on the following algorithm and ready samples or seek the help of professionals.

The first option is preferable for small business owners who plan to develop according to standard scheme. It is hardly possible to create a fundamentally new scheme for selling ice cream, hot tea or demi-season clothing: the demand for these items is almost the same in any era and depends little on the efforts of a businessman. Marketing tricks do their job, but it is impossible to sell more than the target audience is ready to buy.

Relying solely on his own strength, the business owner will be able to:

• save money on expensive help from marketers and experts;
• more clearly understand what exactly he is doing;
• immediately correct the identified shortcomings of the business plan, without waiting for the onset of a crisis situation;
• get full control over your own project.

By entrusting the preparation of the plan to professionals, you can achieve:

• minimization of time and energy costs: a businessman will receive finished project in the shortest possible time, without the need to understand marketing and economic subtleties;
• early identification of all possible risks and errors: a novice businessman who does not yet have sufficient experience may not pay attention to an error that has crept into his calculations, which will be much more difficult to correct in the future;
• getting all the information: although a business plan is usually not a very voluminous document, a specialist can make it really capacious by filling every page with valuable information.

The choice remains with the owner of the business: both options for drawing up a business plan have their advantages and are implemented not only within the framework of individual entrepreneurship or a small firm. The main thing is understanding the situation, possession general terms and desire to understand the current situation.

Advice: do not save on the preparation, development and presentation of the document. A business plan is a long-term project designed to bring an enterprise or product "from scratch" to the level of stable operation or demand. The process can take from a month or two to a year or more; all this time it is required to attract investments and repay the loans taken, and, consequently, to ensure the profitability of the company. And this is much easier to do, relying not on your own intuition, but on a clear and clear plan for everyone.

If the project is new, unusual and its implementation seems difficult to implement, the business plan should, if not drawn up by professionals, then at least be tested by competent persons: you can never be sure that an attractive business for an inventor will turn out to be completely unpromising from a commercial point of view and “will burst » is still at the stage of attracting resources. Nevertheless, loans must be repaid and investments returned; in order not to be bankrupt, a novice businessman should not neglect expert opinion; it is better to step back a little and think over everything again than to be left without money and reputation.

A business plan, by whomever it is drawn up, usually meets the following standards:

1. The volume of the text is from 30 to 50 pages. You should not get carried away by immersing the reader in excessively detailed information: investors and creditors are unlikely to be interested in what kind of food additives will be present in ice cream or which supplier's threads are planned to be stitched into shoes. We need specific numbers, as in the samples, which can be downloaded from the links below - and nothing more.
2. The document consists of four mandatory sections:
   • abstract - the most concise description of the enterprise; ideally should take up from half to three-quarters of an A4 page;
   • summary - should contain key provisions relating to the project as a whole and the business plan in particular, from possible difficulties to expected results;
   • the main part is actually a business plan, the structure of which will be presented below;
   • application(s) - Additional Information: photos, graphs, diagrams, recommendations of partners and managers, marketing research etc.
3. The text of the document, handouts and presentation should be easy to read and pleasing to the eye. A novice entrepreneur needs to remember: attracting creditors, investors and partners is in his interests, and therefore, he must seek their goodwill, and not vice versa. A sloppy document with illegible type will definitely not promote positive relationships - and maybe turn the audience away from a really good idea.
4. The language of the document should be business-like, not burdened with frills, but not too dry. Still, a business owner or a project developer turns to living people for support, who are unlikely to want to understand the intricacies of scientific terms and turns. Of course, a professional will not make such a mistake, so the recommendation is addressed primarily to businessmen who decide to act independently.
5. The plan should contain only real, reliable facts and figures. None of the potential investors and lenders will take the trouble to double-check the numbers and conduct repeated studies, however, if the project collapses, its creator will have to explain why this happened, and the presence of intentionally made inaccuracies in the text in this situation will definitely not help him.

Advice: Do not overload the Applications section too much. Although theoretically any information related to the business plan can be included in it, the number of pages with applications should not exceed the volume of the main text - otherwise the project will become too difficult to study.

In order to simplify familiarization with visual information, you can build and place at least some of the graphs and diagrams directly in the text, without referring them to another section. This is especially convenient if you plan to open, the idea of ​​​​which can be found in a few minutes, and not a branched complex enterprise.

Formatting the introductory part

Now, knowing the basic rules for drawing up a business plan (you can familiarize yourself with specific examples by clicking on the links below), you can start writing it yourself.

As already known, the first part of the document is introductory; it includes:

• title page;
• abstract;
• summary;
• goals.

At first glance, it may seem that the title page of a business plan is an insignificant detail, correct design which can be neglected in favor of a more thorough study of the main text.

This is a mistake: the title is the "face" of the entire project, and potential partners, lenders and investors will judge the business plan as a whole by its quality. Of course, this does not mean that you need to decorate the document with unnecessary pictures or use non-standard fonts in the title; it is simple enough that each part of it is neatly designed and contains the necessary information in full.

The title page should include:

• full and, if any, short official name of the enterprise;
• organizational and legal form (IP, LLC, JSC, and so on);
• type of activity of the organization (if there are several, you need to indicate the one that the business plan concerns);
• address of registration and actual location of the company;
• information about the founder - parent company or individual entrepreneur.

The next obligatory subsection of the introductory part is the abstract as short and concise as possible. The information presented in it will be presented in more detail in the main part of the text, therefore, when drawing up a business plan, there is no need for a novice entrepreneur to increase the volume of the annotation to two or more pages: one incomplete one will suffice.

Advice: if it is planned to attract foreign investors or creditors, it makes sense to duplicate the abstract in their national or international (English) language. If foreign entrepreneurs are the main audience for which the presentation of the business plan is designed, a positive effect can be achieved by presenting the entire project in two languages. This is not required, but highly recommended; if it is not possible to translate the text, it is necessary to take care of high-quality parallel interpretation.

Now you can start writing your resume. It is clear from the title of this subsection that it should be as concise as possible. In addition, since it summarizes all the provisions of the business plan, the summary should be written after writing and checking the main text. It should provide basic information about the project, answering two main questions:

1. What will lenders and investors get? that provided a novice entrepreneur borrowed funds and invested their own money in his project? It is best to provide several options for the development of events:
   • complete success: the project was implemented exactly as written in the business plan - a rare, but the most attractive case;
   • partial success: problems arose during the development of the business, but were overcome at the cost of small losses - the most realistic option;
   • predominant failure: at a certain stage, the enterprise faced serious economic blows that did not depend on the will of the businessman's abilities, and as a result, most of the investments did not bring results - also a fairly common situation that should not be focused on;
   • a complete failure: the business collapsed, and loans with investments were lost - this item, due to the obvious consequences, can not be included in the summary.
2. What are the risks and how likely are they? It would be quite logical to list here all the main threats to the successful development of a business, bringing them into a list or table. It is not possible to give exact amounts of losses for each hazard, therefore it would be optimal to indicate its probability in percentage opposite to each negative factor.

Subsection "Goals" ("Setting goals") can be included in the resume or highlighted in a separate category. Goals should include:

• directly intended goals - in a list, in the form of a table or in any other visual form;
• tasks set to achieve the goals;
• problems that may arise in solving these problems;
• the procedure for the project manager to get out of each specific situation - it is not necessary to be limited to solving one issue with a single algorithm: the variability of the project will make a good impression on investors and creditors;
• deadlines for achieving goals;
• weighty arguments in favor of investing in a project and providing loans to a novice businessman.

Advice: Do not get too carried away with bringing arguments in your favor. It is enough to indicate the main ones, and if necessary, tell the rest in words.

Description of goods or services

In the first subsection of the main part, it is necessary to tell in sufficient detail, but without going into unnecessary details, what exactly the businessman plans to offer the consumer. This should be done in several stages:

1. By giving a short list of goods and services, if necessary - with small characteristics in front of each position.
2. Learn more about each part of the proposal or about individual proposals included in a single business plan.
3. Explaining how positions are related- if, of course, there is such a connection.

For example, a small business producing dairy products would be perfectly logical to use its own rather than purchased milk to produce sour cream; this should be mentioned in your business plan.

Advice: since the document should be as visual as possible, it is highly recommended to bring directly in the text or in the annexes, as mentioned earlier, photographs or drawings of goods (if they are not unique and have already been put on stream) and simplified schemes for the provision of services. In general, an entrepreneur can act at his own discretion, not forgetting the main condition: potential investors, creditors and partners should be interested. Acquainted with good examples business plans can be found by clicking on the links below.

Next, you need to specify which target audience calculated goods and services. Ideally, the audiences for each position should be partially or completely the same; otherwise, it makes sense to draw up and present several separate business plans.

It is imperative to draw the attention of potential investors and lenders to product characteristics:

• the main and secondary advantages and disadvantages of each individual product or each service for the consumer / user;
• strong and weak sides all positions relative to the proposals of competitors;
• technological and actual features of the production of goods and the provision of services, including from the point of view of current local legislation;
• general conclusions about competitiveness.

Important: do not tell investors and creditors about, LLC or other intended form of activity. But it won’t hurt to bring a list of documents necessary for the uninterrupted legal production of goods or the provision of services: although this does not directly apply to a business idea, potential partners will be able to assess the complexity of implementation and the prospects of the planned plan.

Carrying out market analysis

The next most important subsection is market analysis (more precisely, of its niche in which the enterprise will operate). As usual, in a business plan, which is not a very large document, one should not describe the current situation in excessive detail, and even more so give historical parallels and own forecasts.

The market analysis should consist of the following points:

1. Current state of affairs: what is the demand for the product or services being produced (or being prepared for production), what are the expectations of the target audience and how ready is it for the introduction of original products, technologies and methods. Of course, when collecting data, one cannot completely get rid of the subjectivity factor: both the researcher and the entrepreneur will inevitably reflect their own opinion on the issue in this paragraph. There is nothing wrong with this: the main thing is that it does not differ too much from the average.
2. Presence of competitors. It is not necessary to list all the domestic companies that carry out similar activities; it is enough to limit yourself to your region or internal network.
3. Strengths and weaknesses of competing enterprises. The data should be as objective as possible, without overly emotional assessments and reckless judgments.
4. Best ways to compete. In this paragraph of the business plan, only legal methods should be listed; investors and creditors do not need to know about all the plans of the entrepreneur, no matter how exciting they may seem to him.
5. General portrait of the buyer. Compiled on the basis of surveys; it is clear that the more honestly a novice businessman approaches this task, the more benefit he will be able to derive from the project in the future.
6. Brief marketing plan consisting of the following items:
   • effective ways to attract customers, taking into account the specifics of the product and the situation on the market;
   • projected sales volume for several critical time points;
   • price per unit of product or service rendered;
   • ways of selling goods (directly, through private intermediaries, retail networks, via the Internet, and so on);
   • legislative base - to what extent all of the above corresponds to the provisions of domestic law.

Advice: as evidence of the integrity of the surveys, an entrepreneur can provide several completed questionnaires, fragments of video recordings and other documentary evidence for consideration by the audience.

Production part

An optional part for enterprises that do not produce goods and are engaged only in their sale. In other cases, the procedure for presenting production information in the business plan is as follows:

1. First of all, it is necessary to list the production capacities that are available and to be acquired in the future: machine tools, apparatus, etc. technological equipment, as well as the premises at the disposal of a novice businessman. The data can be presented in the form of a table or a list.
2. Next - describe the order and delivery schemes current assets(raw materials). It does not hurt to familiarize investors, creditors and future partners with the scheme of the production process; in this case, detail is more of a plus than vice versa. The scheme can be given both in the text and in the appendix to the business plan.
3. Approximate number of employees and, at least in outline, staffing. The latter should include:
   • positions of employees;
   • their schedules;
   • calculation procedure wages;
   • other important information.

Advice: an indisputable advantage will be the opportunity to acquaint the audience with job descriptions employees, as well as with the planned ways to improve labor safety.

organizational plan

In this subsection, you need to list the steps to bring the business plan to life, describing them:

• possibility of implementation;
• complexity;
• perception by competitors and target audience;
• legality;
• execution schedule.

Each project has its own steps.

Required costs

In the penultimate subsection of the main part of the business plan you need to bring, in the form of a list or table, all planned expenses:

• for renting premises;
• for depreciation of technological equipment;
• for consumables;
• for employees' salaries;
• on mandatory deductions (taxes and fees).

Further, summing up the costs and evaluating the cost of a product or service, you can determine the break-even point of the project (the value of the sales volume at which the business goes from “minus” to “zero” and then to “plus”), for greater clarity, attaching the appropriate schedule to the calculations .

Important: Profit and income are different concepts. The first is obtained by subtracting the monthly expenses from the second; this must be remembered when making calculations using the formulas used in the document.

Expectations, risks and prospects

This subsection is a more detailed description of the opportunities and risks presented in the summary. It is built in free form and may include the following items:

• list of prospects and risks;
• the probability of each of the listed events, as well as their combination;
• probable financial losses;
• ways to prevent and overcome problems.

Advice: if it is planned to insure the enterprise against a number of risks, it should be mentioned in the business plan: such foresight will make a good impression on investors.

Download Successful Sample Business Plans

You can get acquainted with examples of successful business planning in various areas by clicking on the links.

How to write a business plan - video tutorial from an expert

Common mistakes when writing a business plan

The most common mistakes made when working on a business plan include:

• ignoring the nature of work: daytime (5/2, 6/1), shift (2/2, 3/3) or seasonal;
• an overly optimistic sales forecast or an overly positive assessment of one's own products, coupled with an underestimation of competitors;
• wrong definition working capital and others economic indicators project;
• incorrect estimate of the amount required Money: exclusion from their volume of equity, non-use of part of the investment, errors in planning the repayment of the loan, and so on;
• an excessively large amount of a business plan: the thicker the project, the less likely it is to be read to the end;
• intentional or accidental use of false data;
• the uncertainty of a novice businessman, in writing or in speech, in his abilities.

Summing up

You don't have to be a professional to write a business plan yourself, just put in a little effort and follow the simple plan above.

Attracting investments requires a responsible approach and the use of exclusively reliable information: only then the document turns from an attempt to interest the lender into a full-fledged "road map" that can be guided in difficult and unpredictable circumstances.

A business plan is a detailed description of the future small, medium or large-scale enterprise, its theoretical image is a model that will subsequently be embodied in a firm, company, store, production. This is a kind of extended estimate that needs to be drawn up in order to understand how much investment will be needed, their sequence - determining what is needed first and what things can be purchased later. In this article, we will tell you how to write a business plan yourself. Sample drafting will be considered for starting a small business.

Why is this needed?

Drawing up a business plan indicates a serious approach to business and allows you to progressively, orderly go towards its implementation. A detailed business plan takes into account everything, including possible changes in the market and the economy, which will lead to unexpected expenses.

One more important point- without a detailed description of the project, a thorough analysis, banks will not give a loan to organize their business. In this case, the business plan should take into account all possible points so that the bank's specialists have no doubts about the success of the enterprise.

From simple to complex

You can write your own business plan. It is not difficult and this step-by-step instruction will help you master the basics of such an important process for an entrepreneur. The skill of independent business planning will save money when organizing your own business, and will also become a good source of income if you use the theoretical base correctly.

To draw up a business plan, one should move from simple to complex, gradually developing and deepening the degree of economic research. This, in particular, concerns the substantiation of the commercial feasibility of a business by studying the market.

Sample structure

In order to draw up a simple business plan yourself, for example, on opening a women's handbag store, first you need to know it overall structure, examine the skeleton, which consists of:

• A summary is a general description of the future project, which briefly describes the essence of the business plan. Compiling a resume takes place in an arbitrary form and should be extremely concise, capacious, concise. Its volume is up to 10 sentences.
• Tasks and goals, where the goal is the end result, and the tasks are a description of how it is planned to achieve it. Compilation of this paragraph is mandatory, as it is the basis for further research.
• The description of the end result is an already operating business. Here it is told about its functionality, the visualization of what is planned is carried out. This is perhaps the most difficult, it is necessary that everything be done correctly. Here the structure of the future enterprise is signed: departments, divisions, their functions, responsibilities. Accordingly, it is necessary to draw up a staffing table. This can be done as a separate sub-item in the form of a diagram, so that structural interaction was obvious. Creating such a scheme for a small business is a simple matter, it is much more difficult to write a description of a large-scale project.
• The financial plan is a voluminous part, which implies a detailed description of expenses, including the payment of wages, monthly expenses for the maintenance of the enterprise. In addition, profitability calculations and a payback period should be included here. The last points are purely theoretical calculations, which are based on the desired data. But at the same time they are a benchmark for business development. For example, if the real profit is significantly lower than the calculated one, it is necessary to conduct a deep functional analysis and work on the mistakes. This is important both for a large project and for a company with no more than a dozen employees. Sources of funding should also be listed here. This equity or a loan with calculations of the interest rate on it and the repayment period. Here you will need calculations from the marketing section of the business plan. They largely affect the profitability indicators, and therefore determine the solvency of the enterprise. This also includes drawing up a price list or tariff scale - determining the cost of services or goods.
• Marketing plan - this section should contain information about which audience the product or service is aimed at. For example, a spare parts store will sell components for foreign premium or budget cars. It can also be specific brands or even one manufacturer.

May be of interest: Business on breeding and selling purebred dogs

Here the business plan should also answer the questions:

1. Where will the company, shop, enterprise be located. This item includes a detailed description of the required geographic location. For example, it is desirable for a beauty salon to be located on busy streets, close to business and entertainment centers, public transport stops. Drawing up a subparagraph requires the study of theoretical material - the basics of marketing policy.
2. Competition research, which includes counting the number of firms and businesses that provide the same services or sell the same products. It is desirable to monitor their activities or at least their pricing policy. You can do it yourself or hire people. You can draw up a subparagraph using official economic and social studies.
3. Development directions should be determined. The ultimate goal of this subparagraph is always to increase profits, so it is rather difficult to correctly compose it yourself. Most entrepreneurs often rely on promotions, but here you should definitely pay attention to the development of the service. Indeed, a 100 percent result will give innovative ideas that you need to come up with yourself. Also an excellent option would be the introduction of concepts that have just appeared and have not yet been widely used.

Compiling answers to all of the above questions is the justification for the feasibility of organizing a particular type commercial activities and determining the possibilities of its future development.

• Organizational plan - effective structural organization company enterprises. Here the business plan answers the questions:

1. Which employee reports to whom?
2. What are the responsibilities of each employee?

At the same time, the division of labor should be as rational as possible, but at the same time reasonable. This means that the burden on employees must be adequate.

The section is designed to create a personnel structure of the enterprise, which will determine its efficient work with an opportunity further development, which implies a certain increase in the workload on staff without the involvement of additional specialists. For beginner dummies, there are ready-made templates of organizational plans that are easily adjusted depending on specific conditions and tasks. Drawing up an organizational plan does not take much time.

• Personnel policy - here the main milestones of work with personnel are laid. This concerns, first of all, the training of employees and their professional development. The subsection also provides for the education personnel reserve. The definition of personnel policy is extremely important for large companies with a large staff, but for a small store it is not very important. But it’s worth compiling it for yourself if you plan to expand and transform one outlet to the network. There is no way to do without a well-thought-out personnel policy.

May be of interest: Business plan for opening a photography studio

Creating a business plan using the template above is quite simple. This is a practical guide for beginners, where there are no complex theoretical calculations with abstruse terms and complex calculations, everything is extremely clear and easy to understand. At the same time, it should be noted that production planning is the most complex process that requires a professional approach.

Where to invest 50 thousand rubles

In this article, we have collected all the possible options where you can invest your money.

So we looked at how to write a business plan yourself. We hope that the provided sample for small business has helped you in preparing for writing such a document on your own!

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

Business plan goals

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

It happens that the manager instructs to write a business plan for the company, for example, to open a branch. In this case, too, they often turn to third-party specialists in the preparation of such plans. From the contractor in the end, only some adjustment to the needs of the company may be required.

Well, when a business plan is necessary for starting your own business, it is best to write it from cover to cover yourself. Although this is a difficult process, it is exciting and very interesting. After all, your own business is the real brainchild of an entrepreneur. And therefore, its creation is treated very reverently and thoroughly. The article provides instructions for drawing up a business plan for your business.

initial idea

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

It can be a favorite thing that a person is ready to do even for free, or a business that already brings a guaranteed income. In any case, having chosen a niche for yourself, it is important not to be distracted by anything else and not to dream of unattainable peaks, but to turn your real idea into reality step by step. A business plan will really help in this matter.

How to write a business plan? Step-by-step instruction

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

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

A standard business plan consists of the following chapters:

• General provisions.

  Market analysis.

  Marketing and strategic plan.

  Costs.

  Production plan.

  Investments.

  Financial plan.

Summary

It should briefly display the essence of the matter, a description of the business idea, information about its objective need in the market, the timing of implementation, and competitiveness.

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

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

General provisions

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

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

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

Market analysis

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

Having chosen a market niche and target audience, a thorough analysis is carried out in order to determine how relevant the business plan of the project, the initial proposal and its idea are. If the analysis reveals an oversupply, then it is worth returning to the idea and trying to correct it in such a way that it corresponds to the state of affairs in the market. If there is an increased demand, then everything is in order, and you can safely proceed to further actions.

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

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

Marketing and strategic planning

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

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

Costs and production schedule

This chapter includes the purchase necessary equipment, repair, rent of premises and other expenses. The production schedule must reflect how many people are required to implement the project, their work schedule, salary deductions and related payments.

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

Production plan

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

Financial plan and investments

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

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

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

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

Often, aspiring entrepreneurs are faced with a rather difficult problem - how to write a business plan. This task is not easy, because in order to work out each element, you need to have certain knowledge and understanding of the activity in which you are going to start a business. If they are not there, then you will first have to get acquainted with the information, various methods, and only then move on to practice.

By the way, we have made a series of articles with examples and sample business plans in the section. We also recommend that you read the article:. This will help you write your business plan correctly.

In the meantime, let's move on to how to write a business plan yourself.

Set an end goal for yourself

Before writing a business plan, it is very important to understand for yourself at the beginning of the project development what specific goal the organization will pursue. For successful implementation, it is necessary to take into account the importance of three significant factors:

1. Awareness of the initial location (what we will start from, the so-called point "A").
2. Definition ultimate goal, the achievement of which will be the most important result (let it be point "B").
3. Drawing up a clear sequence of how to get from point "A" to point "B", as well as understanding the mechanism, its elaboration.

We determine for whom we draw up a business plan

Next, you need to understand for whom this plan is being drawn up. The choice of the final "reader" will depend on the detail of the presentation, the evidence base. Any project is compiled for one of the following "consumers":

• For potential investors . These can be creditors, state support bodies that provide developing business subsidies and other incentives, various grant givers.

When writing in this case, special attention should be paid to the evidence base of the viability of the project being developed, as well as the belief in the effectiveness of the use of the funds provided. This information will be relevant both for those who lend money and for those who give it free of charge (subsidies, grants).

It is very important at the same time to make all your actions logical and consistent. Some of the information may be presented slightly embellished to obtain financial support. However, there is no need to be zealous with this.

The main parameters of such a project will be such qualities as cleanliness, accuracy and consistency. All facts must contain specifics, explanations. Details in this case are also welcome.

Presentability will depend on speaking to potential investors, you will need to use slides, visibility (samples, research results, etc.).

• For myself . Such a plan is drawn up for the actions that will be used in the implementation to achieve maximum efficiency.

In this case, it is important to reflect information about the necessary and available resources. The business plan should be as close as possible to what it actually is.

It should be understood that these are two completely different cases that require an individual approach. You cannot write the same business plan for yourself and for potential investors. And of course it is worth noting that the project is for those who may provide financial resources, will be more complete and detailed.

Doing a preliminary analysis

Work on any project begins with an analysis of the situation in the present time. To systematize all available information, describe and fill in all sections, you need to study the data, analyze them in aggregate. If the initial information is not enough, it is necessary to fill it up by contacting specialists or additionally study all aspects of the situation.

Very often, for a preliminary assessment of the situation, as well as its analysis, a method recognized throughout the world is used, which is called SWOT -analysis . Its popularity is due to its simplicity, clarity and accuracy.

What is SWOT analysis and how to apply it in practice

The name of this technique stands for "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats". It is used to evaluate all internal and external factors affecting the organization. An important advantage is the objectivity of the SWOT analysis, it displays a really real picture.

We need to seriously approach the study of each of the indicators. At the same time, strengths are the initial advantages of working in this area. Weaknesses are studied to eliminate them. So, for example, if weak side there will be a lack of own premises, it is worth considering the possibility of acquiring them, while eliminating this drawback. These two parameters are more related to internal factors, because they are determined by the position of the organization itself.

But the opportunities and threats are directly related to the external environment. The company cannot directly influence them. So, having considered the available opportunities, you can use them to your advantage, increasing efficiency or saving on something. For example, to adapt the packaging design for the consumer market, while increasing the demand for the product itself. But considering threats and responding to them will help to avoid difficulties and losses. Here it is important either to use the policy of "avoidance", or try to use the current situation for your own good.

After working out all aspects of the SWOT analysis, you need to start considering individual sections of the business plan. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to the assessment of the resources of the described project, including monetary, labor, intellectual, and temporary. This will save a lot of time and will also help you to estimate the efficiency and costs of the project in advance.

You can get acquainted with the structure and sections in the corresponding article presented earlier.

We draw up a title page, resume, set the goals of a business project

The design of any project begins with writing a title page, which must indicate: type of activity, legal form, name of the organization, its legal address, as well as information about the founder and location of the company itself.

The next step is to write a resume. It is important to understand what constitutes this section after working through the rest. It contains consolidated information about what will be considered in the project. Conventionally, the summary can be called a kind of "squeeze" from the rest of the sections of the project. It is important that in this section the reader gets the answer to the two most important questions:

1. What benefits will potential investors have if they invest money in the project and it is successfully implemented?
2. What are the possible risks of loss, and what is their extent (partial or total loss)?

In the “Goal Setting” section, it is very important to indicate the goal itself, the tasks set, possible problems, actions, terms, as well as arguments that will allow the investor to be confident in the success of the proposed project. Here you can display the results of the SWOT analysis in a tabular form of the form:

We analyze the market

In this section, it is very important to reflect the current situation by collecting the most latest information rather than use the outdated one. You can consider competitors, as well as their strengths and weaknesses, in tabular form:

It is necessary to draw up a portrait of a potential buyer (objectively assessing the situation), consider the possibility of attracting other segments of the population.

Assess the capabilities of the organization in the industry

This section contains information about the organization itself. It is worth paying attention to the mode of operation and seasonality, since these factors directly affect the size of possible income, their constancy. If a business plan is drawn up by an already existing organization that plans, for example, to start producing a new product, then the description of the section is reduced to listing already known data (legal form, taxation methods, goods, information about the company, and others).

For those companies that are just planning to open, it is necessary to take very seriously the choice of OPF and the taxation system. Legislation will also need to be studied: various regulations and other documents.

Describing a product or service

In this section, special attention should be paid to goods and services that will be profitable. Pre-required:

• Make a detailed description of the main and secondary goods. It is desirable to provide the project with photographs finished products(samples) or the samples themselves.
• Compare the product with the description of the portrait of a potential consumer.
• It is worth highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each product, compare with competitive products in branch. Based on the information received, competitiveness is assessed. This data can be presented in a tabular form as follows:

• Describe the process of supplying goods or providing services (wholesale, retail, end consumer).

Such a detailed consideration will help to understand what are the features of your products and the sales market as a whole.

Attention should also be paid to what additional documents will have to be issued (various patents, certificates, copyrights).

We draw up a marketing plan

Based on the previously obtained results, you can proceed to the development of a marketing plan. Particular attention should be paid to promotional tools. They can be: advertising, merchandising, direct sales, sales promotion and others.

It is necessary to study in great detail the demand in the market segment in which it is planned to work. At the same time, it is worth determining average prices, elasticity (variability) of demand, and methods of stimulation. It is also important to study target segments and customer groups.

It is worth thinking about marketing methods, as well as consumers, whether legal entities, individuals or end users. For each of them, you can develop a separate sales program.

You need to think about possible ways to attract customers. In addition, you can consider promotions, exhibitions.

It will be useful to predict the volume of future sales. This can be done visually using the following table:

It is important not to overestimate the sales forecast so that the data looks realistic. You need to justify the amount, while giving confidence to creditors.

If desired, you can make realistic, pessimistic and optimistic scenarios, substantiating each of them.

In general, any marketing program can be represented as:

We draw up a production plan

Drafting production plan not necessarily for those organizations that are not going to produce something on their own. So, if the company is only going to trade in goods or services, this section can, in principle, be omitted. But for those organizations that are directly related to production, drawing up a production plan is almost a paramount task.

At the same time, it is initially necessary to consider the available and necessary production facilities, including premises and equipment. Information can also be presented in tabular form:

It is also very important to draw up schemes for the supply of raw materials and their storage. In addition, you need to visualize yourself manufacturing process(this information can be placed in attachments).

Immediately, data on the required employees is indicated, a staffing table is drawn up, indicating qualifications, the method of calculating wages, work schedules and other information.

We draw up an organizational plan

This section displays all activities related to organizing a business. It is important to break them down into separate steps, while indicating the implementation timeline for each item. You can use a table view:

It is necessary to distribute all the steps in the correct sequence. You can also present the information in the form of an implementation schedule.

In addition, legal aspects must also be included here.

We draw up a financial plan

This section is devoted to the preparation of a detailed estimate. In other words, there is a planning of all costs that will be necessary. It is best to do this in tabular form, providing clarity and ease of study.

It should be understood that any organization has one-time costs and recurring costs. One-time costs include fixed assets, but periodic costs are further divided into fixed and variable. Fixed costs do not depend on the volume of production. Of course, it makes sense to talk about fixed costs only in the short term, as long period any costs become variable.

After all costs are taken into account, provided that the cost is known, you can also find the break-even point, which shows the sales volume at which income will be equal to expenses.

Everyone needs to find the break-even point in order to roughly represent the scale of production or sales that will ensure not only break-even, but also the profitability of the enterprise. For clarity, it is worth drawing up a graph showing the dependence of profit on the volume of goods (services) sold. It may look like this:

Depreciation costs should also be included in the calculations. Indeed, as a result of complete wear and tear, most fixed assets require replacement. In addition, tax and pension contributions (recurring costs) should be taken into account. The most complete display of all expenses will help to estimate the real size of profit.

To calculate the payback period, you can use a simplified formula:

Payback period \u003d One-time costs / Net monthly income.

You can also include profitability calculations here (it is worth considering that there are a lot of formulas, you need to choose the one that suits the type of business and what the profitability of which is calculated).

We consider risks

In this section, for clarity, you can create a table that will display:

• Possible risks.
• the likelihood of their occurrence.
• avoidance methods.
• Possible losses.

If you plan to insure any risks, this should also be reflected in the business plan. Remember to include insurance costs in your financial plan.

What is this section for? Everything is very simple. Any investor wants to be sure of the success of the project or at least compensation for losses. Knowing the possible dangers, you can always try to avoid them or reduce losses. The main thing in this case is the knowledge of vulnerabilities and their exclusion.

Sometimes various appendices are added, which include diagrams, graphs, tables, certificates, contracts, licenses. It can be said that this is visual material, which is placed in a separate section in order not to clutter up the project itself.

Applications

You really need to attach to it all those documents that were discussed in the business plan and which would serve as confirmation of all of the above. These can be various schemes, plans, resumes, credit reports, letters of guarantee, various statutory documents, etc.

The most common mistakes made when writing a business plan

1. Ignoring the seasonality of work. Such a defect nullifies all the calculations made. If the business is seasonal, then this must be taken into account when calculating sales volumes, while trying to compensate for the lack in other months.
2. Overestimation of planned sales (production) volumes. Such an indicator will also affect the efficiency of fixed assets, the workload of production capacities.
3. Wrong calculation of working capital. It is important not only to determine the profit, but also the part that will have to be used for the further functioning of the business.
4. Mixing cash flows. This refers to the situation when the company itself finances the project.
5. Understating the discount rate. Also applies to own resources. The error is related to the fact that the possibilities of using funds are not assessed in the amount in which they could be involved.
6. Too much business plan. No need to clutter the project with unnecessary information.
7. Not realistic data. All information must be supported by weighty arguments.
8. It is impossible to talk about additional funding uncertainly. It either exists or it doesn't.
9. Incomplete information on financial projections. It is imperative that until the project pays off, all financial data must be indicated for each month separately.
10. Surface analysis of the market. You need to thoroughly study the segment in which you are going to work, because the success of the business depends on it.
11. "Approximation" of costs. All of them must be taken into account and be accurate, because the profit of your enterprise will depend on it.

Instead of a conclusion

Now you know how to write a business plan. There are no universal business plans. Much depends on the chosen industry, production features and other factors. It is necessary to approach the development of the project consciously, spending a lot of time and effort on it.