Algorithm for drawing up a business plan. How to write a business plan: step-by-step instructions with examples. Studying the design requirements

Typically, a classic Business Plan consists of twelve main elements, including a cover page and a confidentiality memorandum.

A well-drafted business plan can either simply become the basis for organizing a business or 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 instructions, 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 example

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

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

We can say that developing a business plan is half of creating a business. It describes the details of the management technological processes, accounting, the state of affairs in the industry, as well as documentation.

Thus, business plan in simple words - This detailed description planned project, containing calculations and expected results for the next few years.

Sample Business Plans (download)

Below you will find several 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. This business plan is intended solely for private use among the founders. With its help, expenses, production volumes and necessary inventories are planned, and the like. Such a business plan should be as close to reality as possible and reflect all risks even in the worst case scenarios. Some details of such a business plan that are obvious to the founder can be omitted, since in this case there will be no one to evaluate the unnecessary details.
2. For external users. Such business plans are prepared for presentation to investors or creditors, as well as to authorities state support from whom funds are expected to be received. This type plan is distinguished not only by greater detail, but also by wider evidence base, a large number calculations. In this case, it is necessary to convince your counterparties of the validity of the calculations and prospects described in the plan. The logic and consistency of the 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 it 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 the facts and figures contain sources that support their authenticity. A business plan that has visual materials will also benefit.

You cannot write a business plan for yourself and for an investor at the same time, since 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 worst case. Plans for external users should be logically and neatly presented, and the values ​​​​in them usually are 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 business plan items may vary. A typical business plan usually consists of the following elements:

1. Front page.
2. Confidentiality Memorandum.
3. Resume.
4. Project goal.
5. Analysis of the enterprise's position in the industry.
6. Description of the product of labor.
7. Production plan.
8. Organizational plan.
9. Risk analysis.
10. Applications.

Some elements that are required for writing a business plan for a job center or lenders are optional for writing documents for internal use. For example, it doesn't make much sense to create 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.

Where to start making your Business Plan - Instructions

First, you need to clearly define the scope of activity and the product that will be produced by the newly created enterprise. To do this, it is necessary to conduct a preliminary analysis market situation in real time and identify niches that are underrepresented on the market. Choosing one of these niches will make it more likely to successfully take your market share in a short time.

Next, you need to collect all publicly available information about this field of activity. The greatest attention should be paid to real stories and reviews from people working 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, a cafe or a beauty salon, you can find a sample business plan for reference or even special services that help in its formation. In the case of more specific industries the amount of information publicly available may be limited.

If there is a clear lack of data for analysis, it is best to seek paid advice 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 an idea when information about the latter is available. 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 name encodes the essence of the method as an abbreviation: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is in these four columns that the data is distributed in the SWOT analysis.

• Towards strengths include the advantages that the chosen niche has.
• Weaknesses 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 influenced by the founder.

Opportunities and threats, on the contrary, are considered external factors, which 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:

Writing a resume

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

This element is always located at the beginning of the business plan and contains a certain brief information about it, forcing people who decided to familiarize themselves with the contents of the document to become interested in it and continue reading.

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

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

Accordingly, work on the resume is the last thing the founder begins - 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 profitability from investing in the development of a project, as well as the risks assumed for such investments.

Often the purpose of the project is included in a separate section.

In this subparagraph, it is necessary to indicate the goals and objectives set for the business, as well as argue for the success of the future enterprise. Often at this point the results obtained from 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 is present.

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

• Check it 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 occupied in the future and in what time frame this should happen. If a business plan is drawn up for external users, then this point is one of the fundamental ones and should be disclosed in detail.

As advantages, you 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 marketing plan such elements are product promotion tools, demand analysis, as well as 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: will it be a special department, a separate employee, or outsourced services from companies and inviting third-party specialists.

Marketing demand research is an extremely complex and serious job, therefore, if you do not have confidence in your own skills, it is better to leave it to professionals. In this case, the likelihood that such research will be positively assessed by creditors will be higher.

However, if it is important exactly how to draw up a business plan yourself from start to finish, 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, and the possibility of stimulating demand.

If there are already preliminary options for selling products, it would be good to indicate them and draw up your own sales program for each, 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 specify the rules and content of future promotions and discounts, if there are any developments on them.

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

If possible, it is better to provide accompanying documentation with the amounts so that prices and volumes are not taken out of thin air. Also, you should not deliberately overestimate the prospects if such documentation is not available - this section should not raise doubts among investors.

Production plan

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

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

If we consider the business plan of a restaurant or coffee shop, then the production plan includes everything from the purchase of products for cooking and the time of preparation of 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 mechanisms.

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

• Costs of raw materials and other production costs.
• Costs for purchasing equipment and premises.
• Labor costs.
• General production and general business expenses - rent, public utilities etc.
• Overheads.

In addition to costs, this paragraph describes in detail the work processes, the timing of each production cycle and storage of products, the timing beneficial use equipment, mechanisms of interaction between different departments, requirements for employees, planned sizes wages, its accrual schedule, and so on.

As a result, you can present a production plan outlined in 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 table, information about the management of the enterprise, founders, organizational and legal form, planned management mechanisms, distribution of responsibilities.

• (download in PDF).

This section also discusses the process of documenting activities in the process of its organization, with references to the primary regulations, according to which the registration and operation of the enterprise will take place. As a rule, this item is written in order, starting with the rental of premises and ending with the launch 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 determines how much planned expenses and income in the future will coincide with real ones.

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

It is imperative to remember that the enterprise has fixed costs, independent of production volume, such as rent, and variables determined by output volume. 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 unit cost of production. Fixed assets transfer their value to finished products gradually, so their cost is taken into account as part of the cost depending on their useful life in the form of depreciation.

• (download).

After the cost per 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 product 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 volumes will mean increased 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 initial costs to monthly net profit. The result will be in months.

This section can also include other indicators necessary depending on the scope of the enterprise’s activities. In general, the more detailed information will be presented in this section, the better. For example, in the case of opening an online store, you can create a table like this:

Risk identification

At this point, 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 how to counter them, highlighting those that will be used in certain situations.

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

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

Formation of applications

Applications are a mandatory element of a business plan, especially those compiled for external use. All possible documents confirming the points expressed earlier by the founder are attached to the plan as appendices.

It is highly advisable to confirm all figures, for example, with official statistics, reporting documentation of similar companies, letters of guarantee and certificates, and so on.

It is also important to attach to the appendices various agreements concluded with counterparties 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.

Such documents must be referenced in the text of the plan. Here too much can be taken volumetric calculations or diagrams.

Each business plan requires an individual approach, but there are some general recommendations, applicable to most similar documents, according to which you can either draw up a business plan for an individual entrepreneur for internal use, or 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 on raw materials, in the end you can get something completely different financial result, which was calculated in the marketing plan.
• Write competently in clear language . If the business plan is written confusingly and with a lot of errors, no investor or lender will consider such a document seriously.
• Take into account the nuances. It is necessary to pay attention to such things as seasonal changes in prices for certain goods and services, and climatic conditions affecting production. For example, in different regions, the cost of heating workshop premises, especially large ones, can vary greatly.
• Draw up a business plan succinctly, but without unnecessary volume. The usual length of this document is 20-25 pages, excluding attachments. If it turns out to be much larger, then it is better to include all documents, voluminous calculations and diagrams in 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 is no unpleasant surprise in the form of a loss of profitability.
• Read similar 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 that can be taken as a basis.

Conclusion

Drawing up a business plan is a rather complex and time-consuming task. However, a well-drafted business plan can be considered half of starting your own business. Each industry has its own specifics in drawing up 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.

Welcome readers of the “site”! Today we will talk in detail about what is a business plan and why is it needed? , how to draw up a business plan as clearly, competently and succinctly as possible (we will provide a sample with calculations), and also provide links so that you can download ready-made examples for free .

This material will be useful to all novice entrepreneurs and businessmen who plan to attract money from banks (investors).

Every entrepreneur comes across the concept of a business plan sooner or later.

Business plan(from English business plan) is a project of your business, in which the goals and objectives of its creation are clearly defined. In it, the entrepreneur must describe his actions over a specific period of time to make a profit.

2. Rules for drawing up (writing) a business plan 📝

Rule 1. Study the market situation in advance

Before starting to draw up a business plan, it is necessary to analyze the situation on the market as a whole. Collect as much information as possible about the upcoming enterprise or successful implementation.

Rule 2. Create a clear business strategy and follow it

The business plan must include specific actions throughout a certain period of time.

You must write down your actions month, 3 months, 6 months, year and 3 year.

Rule 3. Consider both the pros and cons of the chosen business

In a business plan, you need to describe not only your strengths, but also possible losses, so to speak, weaknesses.

For example , strengths include highly qualified specialists, market recognition, bright brand etc. TO possible losses or threats can be attributed to: great competition, high cost of goods or services.

3. How to write a business plan yourself - the procedure for writing and the structure of a business plan 📑

Regardless of your type of activity, the main components of a business plan will be the same.

1) Introduction

The introductory part should not be too lengthy, but it should describe the most important things:

• direction of the enterprise's activity;
• project payback period;
• specific indicators.

Your potential investor should know the time frame for returning his investment and possible losses.

2) Description of services

In this section, describe in detail the direction of your activity. Decide for yourself which market segment you will work with.

Important! Assess your competitors and your advantages over them.

Decide what you plan to focus on in your activities: low cost with high sales volumes, high service, or maybe something else.

To completethissection you need to do the following:

• Give a description and characteristics of the company’s main and secondary products;
• Take photographs of goods and services;
• Create a portrait of your intended consumer;
• Study and check your target market for the availability of similar goods or services;
• Organize a service;
• Provide a pricing model. Assess the competitiveness of your project on the market.

After carrying out such an analysis, you will definitely understand and be able to highlight the differences between your products on the market. You will also clearly formulate what you produce and who needs it.

3) Marketing plan

Marketing plan – perhaps the most important stage in the development of your business. A lot will depend on well-designed marketing. You need to identify your main competitors, understand how they are promoting their project, and do it better.

Business promotion methods can be different:

• Place advertisements on radio, in magazines, on websites. It is only important to determine which format of the advertising project is right for you;
• Be sure to work on direct sales. Starting with cold calls to your potential buyers, ending with the sale of goods and services with the help of representatives;
• Encourage your staff to achieve high results. Come up with promotions and bonuses for employees;
• Find out the most favorable season for your business;

Main, Really assess the situation, do not exaggerate your capabilities. Brainstorm regularly and come up with new routes. Read more about it here.

4) Organizational plan

Specifically write down all the steps of the activity, assign persons responsible for performing certain actions. Limit the deadline for completing the task.

5) Financial plan

When compiling financial plan it is necessary to take into account all the little things, expenses are divided into permanent and one-time ones.

• Fixed expenses – this is a monthly office, payment of rent, utilities, Internet, telephone, etc.
• One-time costs – this is the purchase of equipment for work, For example, computers, scanners, phones, etc.

After compiling expenses, determine for yourself the minimum sales volume that will cover running costs. Everything that is sold from above will be yours profit .

After calculating this, you will determine for yourself break-even point. You could say that this is the purpose of a business plan.

6) Conclusion

The conclusion is intended to attract investors. Optimal partition volume from 2 to 4 pages, which must be indicated:

• The main vector of your company’s activity;
• Project profitability;
• Analysis of the company’s place in the sales market;
• Company personnel, responsible persons;
• Expected quality and quantitative indicators each period.

The “Resume” section should provide answers to 2 main questions:

1. What results can investors expect from favorable business development?
2. What should investors expect in a worst-case scenario?

Of course, it is better to write a conclusion when the business plan has already been practically drawn up.

4. Sample business plan with calculations using the example of an anti-cafe

Let's take a closer look finished sample business plan using the example of an anti-cafe .

1) Overview section

In the table we will see everything general information about the project:

2) Goods and services

An amount will be charged for the time spent in the anti-cafe 2 rub./min . For this money the cafe will provide services such as:

• Mini library, you can retire and read books;
• Lots of games for large groups (mafia, board games);
• Game console;
• Karaoke, projector, tablets;
• Can be arranged various courses, For example, English, Spanish, psychology, makeup training;
• You can also order banquets, children's birthdays;
• There is Wi-Fi, any visitor can use it;
• Tea, coffee and various sweets.

Ideal clients: older people 17 -45 years of age who live an active life; they have an average income; without bad habits; these people like to spend time profitably; they would like to receive good knowledge and great emotions.

The client must be taken to the cafe near 22 hours per month. From this the profit per person is calculated about 3600 rubles per month.

3) Marketing strategy

There is currently one cafe in this segment in the city. It poses a potential threat since they already have an established customer base.

• Social networks (Instagram, telegram and others);
• SMS mailings;
• Discounts, coupons;
• Radio announcements.

Promotion strategy for a new anti-cafe:

1. Direct attraction. Search for clients or organizations that will come to us big company. Conducting children's matinees. Discounts for regular customers. Advertising in institutions.
2. Advertising on Odnoklassniki, Agent and many different networks. Reaching a group of people who are at home. Advertising in social networks allows you to obtain a lot of information from clients and very quickly answer all questions of interest, while requiring very little financial costs.
3. Building partnerships with companies that specialize in various holidays, show programs, corporate evenings, etc.
4. Club card. This card gives you the right to spend as much time as you like in the anti-cafe. Price 4 800 rubles, validity period 1 month.
5. Radio advertising. After a month of work, a story about events in the anti-cafe.

Such a business has seasonality . The anti-cafe has the highest attendance in autumn and winter seasons. And in the summer and spring there are fewer clients ↓.

Therefore, the plan should be drawn up in such a way as to increase profit several times, so as not to go into lesion .

4) Financial plan

5) Conclusions

Having analyzed all expenses for the reporting month, we can say that if the establishment’s profit is greater 167 000 rubles, that's what it will be break-even point .

Given:

Simultaneous costs = 500 000 rubles
Expense per month = 167 000 rubles

Find: Payback period -?

Solution :

Payback period = One-time costs / emergency per month

1) We find an emergency per month

Emergency per month = Income per month - Expense per month

Profit for the month = (Profit per day) * 30 days = ( 30 Human * 2 hours * 120 rubles/hour) * 30 days = 216 000 rubles
Emergency per month = 216,000 rubles - 167,000 rubles = 49,000 rubles

2) Finding the payback period

Payback period = 500,000 rubles (down payment) / 49,000 rubles (PE per month) = 10 months

*Of course, all calculations made above are approximate and may differ from region to region.

5. Ready-made business plan examples for free + template 📎

Introducing ready-made template to write your plan, into which you can easily enter your data for calculation and overview analytics.

📌

Last update: 02/17/2020

Reading time: 24 min. | Views: 40308

Hello, dear readers of the online magazine about money “RichPro.ru”! This article will talk about how to write a business plan. This publication is a direct instruction to action, which will allow you to turn a crude business idea into a confident one. step by step plan to implement a clear task.

We will look at:

• What is a business plan and why is it needed?
• How to write a business plan correctly;
• How to structure it and write it yourself;
• Ready-made business plans for small businesses - examples and samples with calculations.

To conclude the topic, we will show the main mistakes of novice entrepreneurs. There will be a lot of arguments in favor of creating quality And thoughtful business plan that will bring your idea to fruition and success things in the future.

Also, this article will provide examples of finished works that you can simply use or take as a basis for developing your project. Ready-made examples submitted business plans can be download for free.

In addition, we will answer the most frequently asked questions and clarify why not everyone writes a business plan, if it is so necessary.

So, let's start in order!

The structure of the business plan and the content of its main sections - step by step guide on its compilation

1. How to write a business plan: detailed instructions on how to write it yourself 📝

7. Conclusion + video on the topic 🎥

For every entrepreneur who wants to develop himself and develop his business, a business plan is very important. He performs many important functions that no other person can do differently.

With its help, you can secure financial support and open and develop your business much earlier than you can raise a significant amount for the business.

Investors react mostly positively to a good, thoughtful, error-free business plan, because they see it as a way to make easy money with all the troubles invented and described.

In addition, even before the establishment opens, you see what awaits you. What risks are possible, what solution algorithms will be relevant in a given situation. This is not only favorable information for the investor, but also a necessary plan if you get into trouble yourself. In the end, if the risk calculation turns out to be too daunting, you can slightly redo it, transform the general idea in order to reduce them.

Creation good business plan is an excellent solution for searching for investment and developing your own action algorithms even in the most difficult situations, of which there are more than enough in business.

That is why, in addition to our own efforts It’s worth using “other people’s brains”. A business plan involves many sections and calculations, research and knowledge, only with successful operation, which can achieve success.

The ideal option would be to study all aspects yourself. To do this, it is not enough to sit and read the relevant literature. It is worth changing your social circle, turning to courses and trainings, finding specialists for consultation on certain issues. This is the only way really figure it out in the situation and dispel all your doubts and misconceptions.

A business plan is worth writing for many reasons, but home- this is a clear algorithm of actions by which you can quickly get from point A(your current situation, full of hopes and fears) to point B(in which you will already be the owner of your own successful business stably and regularly generating income). This is the first step towards achieving your dreams and secure middle class status.

If you have any questions, then perhaps you will find answers to them in the video: “How to draw up a business plan (for yourself and investors).”

That's all for us. We wish everyone good luck in their business! We will also be grateful for your comments on this article, share your opinions, ask questions on the topic of publication.

Many people come up with business ideas – the question is what these ideas are worth. That is why, if you are going to implement an idea into a business, it is worth creating a business plan in which you can detail your concept and prove its effectiveness, both organizationally and financially.

A business plan is a document in general outline describing your business. In it you talk about what exactly you will do, the structure of the business, the state of the market, how you plan to sell your product or service, what resources you need, what your financial forecast, and also provide permits, lease agreements and any other documentation you need.

Essentially a business plan helps you prove to yourself and others whether your business idea is worth pursuing. This best way take a step back, consider the idea from all sides and protect yourself from possible problems for years to come.

In this article, we share writing tips. successful business plan, we give a description of the points that should be included in the plan and give examples.

Translation of the article was prepared with the support of the online school English language. Before we get into the details, let's start with some basic, general tips.

Focus on your features

Before you dive headfirst into creating a business plan, you should carefully consider what makes your business unique. For example, if you're going to start a sportswear brand, you need a way to stand out from the crowd. sports brands that are already on the market.

What makes your brand stand out from others? Do you plan to create clothing for a specific type of workout or activity, such as yoga, tennis or hiking? Do you use environmentally friendly materials? Do you give part of your proceeds to charity? Does the brand promote positive body image?

Remember: you are not just selling a product or service - you are selling a product, value and brand experience. Consider these important issues and answer them before diving into the details of the research for your business plan.

Be brief

The modern business plan is required to be shorter and more concise than ever before. Resist the temptation to include all the results of your marketing research, talk in detail about each product you plan to sell, and describe in detail what your website will look like. In the format of a business plan, this information will not provide much benefit, rather the opposite.

All of the above details are important to collect and keep in mind, but Only the most important things should be included in the business plan itself. Otherwise, readers may lose interest in you.

Make a good design

Your business plan should not only be easy to read - it is important that the reader can understand the essence without going into details. Formatting plays a big role here. Use headings and bulleted lists, and highlight those in bold text or color. key points and indicators you want to draw readers' attention to. You can even use shortcuts and bookmarks throughout your document (both digital and print) for ease of reference.

Edit as you go

Remember that your plan is a living, breathing document, which means you can edit it as you work. For example, update the plan a year or two after launching the business, before submitting a new funding request.

Here are the key elements in a business plan template:

1. Marketing and sales plan
2. Application

Let's take a closer look at what is included in each element of a business plan:

The purpose of this section is to give readers a clear understanding of the company and the market before you delve into the details. Tip: Sometimes it is worth writing the main points after you have written the rest of the business plan so that you can easily isolate the key points.

The main points should take up about a page. Dedicate 1-2 paragraphs to each of the following points:

• Overview: Tell us briefly about what your company is, where it will be located, what exactly you are going to sell and to whom.
• About the company: Describe the structure of your business, tell us about the owner, what experience and skills you already have and who you are going to hire first.
• Products and/or services: Briefly describe what you will sell.
• Market: Briefly summarize the key findings of the market research.
• Financial Forecast: Tell us how you plan to obtain financing and what your financial expectations are.

Example of a “Basics” section

Startup Jolly's Java and Bakery (JJB) is a coffee and baked goods store located in southwest Washington. JJB plans to gain an audience regular customers, offering them a wide selection of coffee and confectionery. The company plans to take a strong market position in the city thanks to the professional experience of its partners and the mild competitive climate in the area.

JJB strives to offer competitively priced products to meet market demand among area residents and tourists with middle and upper-middle incomes.

The next point in the plan is a description of the company. Here you can describe what your company does, state its mission, talk about the structure of the company and its owners, location, as well as the market needs that your company is trying to satisfy and how exactly you are going to do this.

Example of a “Company Description” section

NALB Creative Center is a startup that is entering the market this summer. We will offer buyers large selection arts and crafts supplies, primarily items not currently available on the island of Hawaii. Our competition remains the Internet, as artists tend to buy familiar products online. We will be supplying items that are not necessarily well known to local artists. We will also continue to monitor prices and include products available online in price comparisons.

We will conduct master classes on working with new materials and techniques.

We also organize a tourist program “Oasis of the Artist”. We will provide local bed and breakfast reservations, plein air maps and directions, easel and material rentals, paint sales, and more. consumables, as well as deliver finished works to clients after the canvases have dried.

In the future, the store will turn into an art center that will combine: a gallery artistic arts, where you can purchase original works of art at wholesale prices; studio space with musical instruments; classrooms for music and art lessons; literature on music and art; coffee bar with live music; handicraft items such as branded T-shirts, badges, postcards, ceramics for trade with tourists.

One of the first questions to ask yourself when testing a business idea is whether there is a place for it in the market. It is the market that will dictate how successful your business will be. Decide what audience you are targeting and why customers will want to buy from you.

Add specifics. Let's say you sell bedding. Should not be included in your target audience everyone who sleeps in bed. First, identify a small target group of clients for yourself. These could be, for example, teenagers from middle-income families. Once you have decided on your target audience, try to answer the following questions:

• How many teenagers from middle-income families live in your country?
• What supplies do they need exactly?
• Is the market growing or staying the same?

When analyzing the market, consider both already available research conducted by others and primary data that you have collected yourself, through surveys, interviews or any other means.

This should also include competitor analysis. In our example, questions might include: How many other bedding companies already have market share, and who are these companies? Describe the strengths and weaknesses of your potential competitors, as well as the strategies that will give you a competitive advantage.

Example of a summary section “Market Analysis”

Green Investments has identified two separate target groups clients who differ in family wealth. One group included clients with a family income of less than a million dollars, the other - with an income of more than a million. The main thing that characterizes both of these groups and makes them attractive to us as a company is their desire to change the world for the better by making financial investments that take into account environmental factors.

There are many different niches in the financial services industry. Some advisors provide general investing services. Others offer one type of investment, such as mutual funds or bonds. Some service providers focus on a specific niche, such as technology or socially responsible business.

Market segmentation

Green Investments segmented the target audience into two separate categories, by family wealth: more and less than $1 million.

• <1 миллиона долларов (семейный бюджет): представители среднего класса, которых волнуют проблемы окружающей среды и которые вносят личный вклад в ее защиту, приобретая акции компаний, которые демонстрируют высокие экономические и экологические показатели. Так как свободных денег у таких людей немного, они предпочитают инвестировать в акции без особого риска. В целом акции составляют 35%-45% от общего портфеля.
• $1 million (family budget): These clients have an average or above average income. They have managed to save over a million dollars and invest quite carefully (either themselves or the people they hire). These people are usually concerned about return on investment, but they are also concerned about environmental issues.

Here you can delve into the details of what exactly you sell and what your advantage is for customers. If you can't articulate how you can benefit your customers, your business idea may not be that good.

Start by describing the problem your business solves. Then address how you plan to solve the problem and how well your product or service fits into the big picture. Finally, think about the competitive landscape: what other companies are providing solutions to this particular problem and how is your solution different?

Example of the “Products and Services” section

AMT provides computer products and services to help small businesses. We primarily provide network equipment and network services to small and medium-sized businesses. These include LAN-based computer systems and server-controlled minicomputer-based systems. Our services include network system design and installation, training and support.

Description of goods and services

In the field of personal computers, we support three main areas:

1. Super Home is our smallest and least expensive line of computers, which are initially positioned by the manufacturer as home ones. We primarily use them as low-cost workstations for small businesses. Specifications include...[additional details omitted]
2. Power User is our main premium area. This is our premier system for organizing high-performance home stations and basic workstations for small businesses, thanks to... Key benefits of the system... Specifications include... [additional details omitted]
3. Business Special is a mid-level system, an intermediate link in positioning. Its technical characteristics include... [additional details omitted]

As for peripherals, auxiliary and other hardware, here we provide a full range of necessary equipment, from cables to molds and mouse pads. ... [additional details omitted]

We offer a wide range of in-office and on-site maintenance and support services, as well as service contracts and warranty agreements. So far we have not been successful in concluding technical support contracts. Our networking opportunities... [additional details omitted]

Competitive Analysis

The only way to gain an advantage and stand out from competitors is to offer information technology partnerships to our clients. We will in no way be able to compete effectively with network providers that offer out-of-the-box or hardware/software solutions. We must offer clients a true partnership.

The advantages of this approach include many intangible assets: reliability and confidence that the client will always receive help and answers to his questions at the right time.

The products we supply and work with require serious knowledge and experience, while our competitors only sell the product itself.

Unfortunately, we cannot sell products at a higher price simply because we provide service - market conditions demonstrate that this approach will not be effective. Therefore, we will provide service for a fee.

In this section, you can briefly describe the features of the organizational and management structure of the business (taking into account the fact that it may change). Who will be responsible for what? How will tasks and responsibilities be assigned to each person or team?

Include a short bio of each member of your team here. Justify why these people are the right people for the job - talk about their experience and education that is relevant to your business. If you haven't hired the roles you've planned yet, that's okay—but make sure you clearly identify those gaps and explain what the people in those roles will be responsible for.

Example of a personnel plan in the “Operations Management” section

DIY Wash N' Fix does not require much labor. The company will hire a general manager who will work part-time to perform corporate responsibilities and handle interorganizational issues. DIY Wash N’ Fix will also hire three certified mechanics/managers to perform day-to-day tasks for the business. These responsibilities fall into two categories: managerial and operational. Management tasks include planning, inventory control and general accounting. Employees are also responsible for operational tasks: security, regulatory affairs, customer service and repair consulting.

In addition, maintenance staff will be hired to handle the most basic tasks. Their functions will include customer service and content and storage supervision. DIY Wash N’ Fix will employ one general manager to coordinate all external business operations and partnerships. Business relationships include accounting services, legal advice, communications with manufacturers and suppliers, as well as persons providing service, advertising and marketing services, and investment services. This management position will be filled by Laurie Snyder. She will receive her MBA from the University of Notre Dame in May 2001.

The day-to-day business management tasks will be handled by the Lead Mechanic. Although DIY Wash N' Fix does not provide a full range of repair services, you can expect some customers to attempt repairs they have never done before, meaning they will need advice. Therefore, we intend to hire three fully certified mechanics. These mechanics will not be allowed to perform any work on the customer's vehicle, but will be able to inspect the vehicle and assess the damage. We believe that only professional mechanics should advise clients - this will reduce our liability for incorrectly performed repairs. The primary duties of mechanics will be customer service and management functions.

6) Marketing and sales plan

Here you can describe your marketing and sales strategies and tell us exactly how you are going to sell your product. Before you begin developing a marketing and sales plan, conduct a complete market analysis and identify target people - your ideal customers.

From a marketing perspective, you may need to answer questions like: How are you going to market? How will you grow the business? Which distribution channels will you focus on? How will communication with clients be organized?

When it comes to sales, try answering these questions: What is your sales strategy? How will the sales department work and how will you develop it in the future? How many sales calls will it take to close a deal? What is the average selling price? Speaking of average selling price, you can move on to the details of your pricing strategy.

Example of a Marketing Plan section

Skate Zone will be the first amateur inline hockey facility in Miami, Florida. Due to the extraordinary growth in popularity of inline hockey in the United States, the company has the opportunity to advertise in various media and advertising platforms. Below is a list of channels currently available.

Public Relations. Press releases will be sent to specialized trade magazines and leading business publications, such as USAHockey Inline, roller sports magazine INLINE, PowerPlay and others.

Tournaments. Skate Zone will be presenting its services at annual championships throughout the United States.

Print advertisements and articles. Our advertising campaign includes advertising in publications such as The Yellow Pages, Miami Express News, The Skate Zone Mailing, as well as printing school flyers and publications in specialized inline hockey magazines.

Internet. Skate Zone already has its own website on which we have already received several applications. Currently, work is being planned to optimize the site. We expect that in the future the site will become one of the company's main marketing platforms.

Finally, detail your financial model, including start-up costs, financial plans and required investments if you are approaching investors.

The start-up cost of your business includes all the resources needed to get started, as well as an estimate of how much each of those resources will cost. Do you rent office space? Do you need a computer? Telephone? Make a list of your needs and expenses for them, try to be objective and economical. The last thing you want is to run out of budget.

Once you have decided on your expenses, justify them. To do this, write down your financial forecast in detail. This is especially important if you are looking for external funding for your business. Make sure your financial model is 100% accurate to ensure you convince investors and lenders to back your business.

Example of a financial plan for an online store

Application

If desired, you can add an appendix at the end of the plan. There is space here for your and co-owners' resumes, as well as legal documents, including permits and lease agreements.

That's all. We hope this article has helped you better understand what your business plan should look like. All that remains is to turn the idea into reality. Good luck!

Brief instructions

You have an idea. You want to create your own business. Great. What's next? Next, you need to “put everything into perspective”, 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 the business. Maybe the project should be improved a little, unnecessary elements should be abandoned, or, on the contrary, something should be introduced?

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

End justifies the means?

When starting to write a business plan, keep its goals and functions in mind. First of all, you carry out preparatory work to understand how realistic it is to achieve the planned results, how much time and money is needed to implement your plan.

In addition, a business plan is necessary to attract investors, obtain a grant or a bank loan. That is, it must 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 small cheat sheet for yourself:

• Analyze the market you are going to enter. What leading companies exist in this direction. Research their experience and work.
• Identify your project's strengths and weaknesses, future opportunities and risks. In short, conduct a SWOT analysis*.

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

• Decide clearly what you expect from the project. Set a specific goal.

The main purpose of a business plan is to help you, first of all, develop a company strategy and plan its development, as well as help in attracting investments.

So, any 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. Company summary(short business plan)

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

2. Marketing plan

• Defining the “problem” and your solution
• Determining the target audience
• Market and competition analysis
• Free niche, unique selling proposition
• Methods and costs of attracting customers
• Sales channels
• Stages and timing of market penetration

3. Plan for the production of goods or services

• Organization of production
• Infrastructure Features
• Production resources and space
• Production equipment
• Production process
• Quality control
• Calculation of investments and depreciation

4.Organization of the work process

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

5. Financial plan and risk forecast

• Cost Estimation
• 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 important things, as well as to take a deeper look at each aspect.

Company summary. Briefly about the main thing

Marketing plan. Are there any free places?

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

Having assessed the potential client, his interests and preferences, you must determine the optimal location of the office, retail outlet, etc. It should be comfortable. Calculate the required number of clients for your business to pay off and compare it with the audience living or working around the intended location of the business. For example, for a business in the field of public services, the size of this audience should not be less than 2% of the number of people living within a short walk or five-minute car ride.

It is quite possible that the market you were planning to conquer is oversaturated at the moment. Analyze the actions of your competitors, create your own strategy, focus on your uniqueness, bring in 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 level of services provided relative to nearby competitors.

You also definitely have to decide on sales channels. After reviewing the existing methods on the market, find the ones that are best for you. Calculate how much it costs you to attract each client.

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

Production plan. What are we selling?

This is where you finally get into detail about the core of your business: what do you do?

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

When prescribing the technology for creating your final product, you will pay attention to many little things that you had not thought about before. There may be issues with storing 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 to creating a product or service, it’s time to calculate how much your project will cost you. It may well be that later, when making financial calculations, you will understand that you need to make adjustments to the production plan: cut some costs or radically change the technology itself.

Organization of the work process. How will it work?

Will you manage the business alone or with partners? How will decisions be made? You need to answer these and many more questions in the “Workflow Organization” section.

Here you can describe the entire structure of the enterprise and identify duplication of powers, mutual exclusions, etc. Having seen the entire organization diagram, 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 reduce expenses in order to meet the amount of funds that you have, think about 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 arise, because you are starting a business in real time, and in life it is impossible without surprises. However, if you follow the recommendations from BIBOSS, you will be able to create a detailed and workable business plan that will save you many problems.

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