Step by step business plan with examples. Writing a business plan, complete structure of a business plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

“And if his warehouse is robbed?”

“The warehouse is guarded, but we still insure the inventory – this insurance company pays out a refund within a couple of weeks without quibbles and delays, so the client will quickly recover the losses and be able to order a new batch of goods.

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

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

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

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

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

What is the difference from TEO?

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

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

Why do you need a business plan

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

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

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

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

Internal - for making managerial decisions. A businessman needs such a document for himself, for partners, for employees.

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

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

1. Money from the budget

Tasks of the business plan when attracting budgetary funds:

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

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

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

2. Bank loan

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

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

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

3. Investor funds

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

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

4. Internal resources

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

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

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

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

The main sections of the business plan

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

What sections does a business plan include

Detailed content of business plan sections

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

Business Description

date of creation, official registration of an individual entrepreneur or legal entity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Production plan

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

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

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

For example, this section might look like this:

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

organizational plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Financial indicators

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

Risk assessment

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

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

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

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

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

Project Summary

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

Common mistakes when writing a business plan

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

How to get money for a business plan

Studying the design requirements

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

Business plan protection

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

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

Download ready-made business plans

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

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

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

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

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

From idea to implementation

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

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

The document is written for:

• internal use;
• external use.

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

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

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

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

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

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

What is a document?

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

A good business plan is the key to success

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

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

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

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

How does a business plan help an entrepreneur?

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

Rules for a successful business plan

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

   

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

   

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

   

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scheme of a standard business plan

A standard business plan consists of the following chapters:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The following parameters are specified here:

1. Summary.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The organizational part must necessarily contain the following data:

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

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

This chapter evaluates:

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

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

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

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

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

Strengths typically include:

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

Weaknesses of the project include:

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

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

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

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

1. Description of the product or service.

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

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

1. Marketing and strategic plan.

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

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

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

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

Consider the following points:

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

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

This section must contain information about production costs.

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

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

Calculating the potential profit, we take the formula:

Profit = sales revenue - costs.

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

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

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

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

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

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

When determining your target audience, consider the following:

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

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

1. Production plan.

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

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

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

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

Set up your budget as follows:

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

1. Financial plan and investments.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Additional business plan chapters

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video. How to write a business plan from scratch

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

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

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

How good is this from a business point of view?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Video. How to write a business plan

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

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

What is a Business Plan in simple words and an example

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

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

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

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

Sample Business Plans (download)

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

Types of business plans

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

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

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

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

What does a Business Plan consist of - Structure

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

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

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

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

How to start making your Business Plan - Instructions

To begin with, it is necessary to clearly define the scope of activity and the product that will be produced by the newly created enterprise. To do this, it is necessary to conduct a preliminary analysis of the market situation in real time and identify niches that are not sufficiently represented on the market. Choosing one of these niches will make it more likely to successfully occupy your market share in a short time.

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

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

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

SWOT analysis

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

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

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

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

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

Resume writing

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

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

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

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

Accordingly, the work on the summary is the last thing the founder starts - this is, for the most part, the business card of the project for external users of information.

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

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

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

Analysis of the company's place in the market

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

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

• Check out (download).

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Production plan

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

An exception may be a business in which no actions are taken by the staff at all with the products - 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 of maintaining existing equipment and mechanisms .

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

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

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

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

organizational plan

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

• (download in PDF).

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

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

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

Be sure to remember that the enterprise has fixed costs that do not depend on the volume of production, such as rent, and variables determined by the volume of output. It is also necessary to take into account the cost of maintenance and repair of units, and all this must be taken into account when calculating the cost of a unit of production. Fixed assets transfer their value to finished products gradually, therefore their cost is included in the cost price depending on the useful life in the form of depreciation.

• (download).

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

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

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

Identification of risks

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

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

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

Formation of applications

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conclusion

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

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

And when you find attractive, you only get halfway through studying it in detail? Next comes the impossible for you?

Thinking of a great option for creating your own project, but can't move beyond your plans?

Is there a great version for you as a sole trader, but you don't have enough money and you don't know who can give it to you?

Can't find investors for your business idea?

Have you been denied a bank loan that you wanted to take in order to develop your business?

Most likely, you have difficulties with a business plan. Either with its writing, or with an understanding of what it is and what it is for. Actually, there is nothing special about this problem. For entrepreneurs of various levels of training, experienced or beginners, with a specialized economic education, or those who have a peculiar talent for a certain type of activity, writing business plans can be difficult. And it's not just the lack of skill or specific knowledge of how it's done. The main difficulty is in understanding what it is in principle.

Do you need a business plan for an aspiring entrepreneur?

Often, those who are just embarking on the path of entrepreneurship and creating their own project from scratch, there is a strong opinion that writing a business plan can be postponed “for later”, to do this only when such a document is required for taking a loan or other purposes. That is, it is considered a kind of "obligation" for situations of communication with banks and investors. And if the task of obtaining a loan is not worth it right now, then the business plan can wait.

This opinion is fundamentally erroneous, it deprives a novice entrepreneur of the opportunity to see the prospects of his project and does not allow him to comprehensively assess its potential risks, even if this is a “simple” enterprise. This approach is fraught with trouble in the future and, accordingly, can lead to the death of the entire project.

Having a business plan will not only allow you to see the whole picture, it solves a number of problems for the owner or someone who is trying to realize the idea. He shows:

• prospects and potential of the project;
• possible "thin places";
• in what direction it is necessary to move for development;
• how much time and money will be needed to implement the idea and promote it.

And, most importantly, a business plan is able to suggest that the project is not viable or unprofitable. That is, he will not let you make a mistake and waste time and savings.

Order a business plan or write it yourself?

There is another approach that is now in vogue among entrepreneurs of the “middle hand”. By the way, they are sometimes “sinned” by established businessmen, owners of large dynamically developing and profitable enterprises. They order the preparation of business plans for specialized companies that practice this type of service. The option is, of course, acceptable. But often the customer receives a voluminous document of one hundred pages, which absolutely does not reflect the features of his business, incomprehensible and too general.

Naturally, some calculations of a specific nature, market research, forecasting can be entrusted to a third-party company, where this will be done on a professional basis. However, only the owner of a business or a person who knows it from the inside is able to fully and comprehensively describe it, analyze prospects and possible problems, and also show it in a profitable way for obtaining investments. He will be able to do this so specifically and with reference to the company that it will immediately be clear what kind of business he is talking about, what his real potential and “problem areas” are, what can be done to minimize them, and the like. It is this format that attracts investors the most.

What is a business plan in essence?

This document is necessary for understanding the goals, objectives, direction of development and the required costs for the creation and development of any project, from, to a global one, where it is planned to organize a federal network of retail hypermarkets. It is worth considering that a business plan has several varieties, which directly depend on who it is intended for:

• drawn up for internal use or for yourself, in the case of a preliminary assessment of your own business idea;
• directed at an external user or "assessor" of the project.

The second option is about obtaining funding. Here the business plan is written for:

• credit organizations and banks in order to obtain loans;
• state structures and officials, on whom the allocation of funds from the budget depends, what can be obtained for business development;
• potential investors who may be interested in investing in the idea;
• various foundations and organizations that issue grants.

In the first option, special attention should be paid to the analysis of potential risks and threats for the development of the project. In the second, there must be a presentation component showing prospects and competitive advantages. Also important here is the design of the document, the presence of all standard subsections, financial calculations and applications with visual materials (graphs, tables, etc.)

Advice: when writing a business plan in any version, in no case should you embellish reality. It is worth remembering that the implementation of a project may require twice as much money and three times as much time as it was originally thought. An idea presented in the vein of “everything is great and there are no threats” will only cause irritation and indignation in the potential investor at the illiteracy of the entrepreneur who compiled such a document. For the project initiator himself, this is fraught with a one-sided vision, which in the future can lead to negative consequences.

How to write a business plan: step by step instructions

Each project, whether it's an idea or an online gift store, must have its own "face", features, specifics. In addition, they differ by regional affiliation, nuances of the range of goods or services, and the audience of customers for which they are designed. It is impossible to “squeeze” all of them into any standard scheme.

Advice: do not download a ready-made business plan from the Internet, even suitable for the type of activity, in order to use it for yourself. You can take a few of those offered on specialized resources and, having carefully analyzed them, taking them as a basis, write your own, original and fully consistent with your project.

This document should fully answer three main questions:

• what do i want to achieve?
• how do i plan to do it?
• what do I need for this?

If any of these points is not fully disclosed, an indistinct answer is given, there are understatements - the document needs to be improved, it is not effective.

A business plan has several mandatory sections:

• title (name, address, contacts, table of contents);
• introduction (short description and summary);
• marketing part (an analysis of the market and its prospects in relation to the project, potential threats and risks, as well as the tools that will be used to deal with them);
• review of the market and competitors;
• project executors and possible partners;
• business model or calculation of income and costs;
• financial forecast and existing indicators (for existing projects);
• threats and risks for the development of the project (all possible) and scenarios for overcoming them;
• calculation of the use of funds for launch, development or modernization, as well as sources of income;
• applications (this includes all key documents, as well as materials that help you understand your idea to the end).

Please note that a business plan aimed at an external user cannot be too short or without any of these sections. As a rule, its volume is 30-40 sheets. In the “for yourself” version, some items can be excluded.

If some sections are clear to almost every novice entrepreneur, then there are those that can cause considerable difficulties.

Particular attention should be paid to the first two or three pages that come after the title, the so-called introduction. This is the main thing that will allow you to present your idea to both investors and the business owner himself. Some experts recommend writing the introduction at the very end, after everything has been analyzed, calculated, and presented in facts and figures. But there is another opinion. Start with the introduction section. And it is more correct in cases with novice entrepreneurs who are just creating their own project from scratch. It is when writing an introduction, a summary of their future or a business that is just getting on its feet, its owner or initiator can understand what prospects his idea has, what risks it has, whether it has a profit potential, what can result, how much investment will be required And is there any prospect of finding this money. Naturally, the initial version can be edited and made as necessary to interest a potential investor if the business plan is written for this purpose. But you need to start the document from this chapter. It will give an understanding and a complete picture.

What you need to cover in the introduction for a newly created project:

• what type of activity you plan to engage in;
• what is your target audience (future customers);
• how much money is needed to launch and further implement the project;
• Where will the funds come from?
• what is the planned revenue for the first six months / year of work (depending on the specifics of the project);
• the main estimated financial indicators (its profitability, income, profit);
• form (organizational and legal), the number of involved employees, partners.

For an ongoing business, this section should be written with existing data and metrics in mind.

How to write a business plan for a small business yourself: a sample of the main sections

A standard business plan consists of several main sections that display various aspects of the project. The financial part, as it were, sums up everything that has been stated earlier. It is in the descriptive chapters that we present our idea, give it a comprehensive analysis and show what ways and tools we plan to implement it.

Marketing part

Many novice businessmen and even those who already have some experience have serious difficulties in writing a section on marketing. It is not entirely clear what should be in it and where to get data on a comparative market analysis. Questions that need to be reflected in this part of the document:

1. What product or groups or services do you plan to focus on?. Here it is necessary to dwell on the following points:
   • where the product is used;
   • What customer needs will you satisfy?
   • what are the advantages of your product and why it will be in demand;
   • Which customer groups are you targeting?
   • how you will convey your product / service to the buyer;
   • what are the disadvantages of your product, and how do you plan to minimize them;
   • your USP or unique selling proposition.

The last point needs to be considered in more detail. It should be borne in mind that there are practically no truly unique products today. Rather, they exist, but they are few. In addition, an innovative idea, which is simply not yet on the market, requires money, time and knowledge to develop. A success story can be written not only with the new iPhone, like the legendary Steve Jobs. Taking an already existing product, service or product as a basis, and adding your unique selling proposition to it, you can conquer the market. What may be the USP:

• in service;
• as a service and its diversity;
• in the loyalty system;
• in sales format.

That is, this is not necessarily the uniqueness of the product itself, on the contrary, most often the USP is created precisely on a “near-commodity” base. If you perceive this concept as a lower price than competitors, then you are mistaken. For example, you decide to build your business in the field of agriculture and engage in. Planning to conquer the market by underestimating the price and putting a figure much lower than that of competitors is fundamentally wrong. Thus, you can systematically lose profits and become a loss-making enterprise. In addition, dumping is not always expedient in terms of fighting for the client. This may cause the buyer to doubt the quality of the product. It is much more efficient to find “your” consumer and organize such an accompanying service for him that your pricing policy, where the cost of the goods will be the average market price or even higher, will look justified for him.

Advice: When developing your own unique selling proposition, proceed from the premise that you can give your buyer something that your competitors do not have. There are a huge number of quite successful businesses that are built on this principle. This may be the concept of selecting an assortment for a store, focusing on a specific target audience of customers, quality or environmental friendliness of products, and much more. The main thing is not only to develop and formulate a USP, but also to think over tools that can convey it to the consumer.

1. What is your market. This part of the marketing section should describe:
   • which segment of the market you want to cover in terms of geographic location;
   • What type of buyer are you targeting?

This section can be difficult for a novice entrepreneur who does not have a successful sales record in the past. This should be based on reasonable assumptions and analysis of the work of competitors. It is also worth looking at information about projects similar to yours and ways to implement them.

When determining the type of your client or drawing his portrait, you need to consider the following:

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

Having created a kind of collective image of the target audience for your product, you can start counting the number of future customers. To do this, you need to take the geography of coverage and the estimated number of residents that fit the profile of the target audience.

To determine the potential volumes of consumption of your product, you should take into account the regularity and frequency of demand for them (naturally, what is bought daily, and what is purchased every five years, will be radically different both in the format of the offer and in the algorithm of promotion to the market, and many other aspects). It is also necessary to take into account fluctuations in demand (seasonality, changes in the solvency of consumers, fashion trends, rivalry within the product group between analogues, and the like, which is typical for your product).

1. This section of the business plan also includes competitor analysis. The description algorithm can be built on:
   • listing companies that operate in your segment;
   • what are the distinguishing characteristics of their services/products;
   • the ways they use to promote their products;
   • their pricing policy;
   • nuances of how their business develops.

Particular attention should be paid to competitors closest in geography and assortment.

It also requires you to specify in what ways you will realize your benefits. This moment needs to be devoted to a separate, albeit small, subsection. It may include answers to the following questions:

• how do you plan to organize sales;
• what will you do to inform customers about your entry into the market;
• what ad format you will choose (or do without this tool);
• How will you shape your pricing policy?

In the final part of the marketing section of the business plan, it is worth giving a preliminary forecast of sales for any period. As a rule, it is better to take a year with a monthly or quarterly breakdown.

Advice: a fairly common mistake novice entrepreneurs make is that they overload this part of the business plan with too many details and details. This is understandable, they want to thoroughly describe their actions that will lead them to success, and this will prove to a potential investor that their project is promising. You don't need to do this. For greater persuasiveness, you can use applications - diagrams, diagrams, graphs that visualize and clearly show your potential. The very essence of the marketing part of the business plan is better to state on 2-3 sheets.

Production part

Do not confuse it with the production process, thinking that if you are engaged in trade or provide services, then you will not need this section, this is not true. Here you will find all the information about a particular project. To do this, you need to answer the following questions:

• what technologies, formats and methods of project implementation will be used;
• what production facilities will be used (office, retail space, equipment, storage areas, vehicles, raw materials, goods, materials and other things that are important for the project);
• who will be involved (and whether) as employees, partners, suppliers, etc.).

As a kind of result, you can attach a brief estimate showing the expenditure side. It is better to do it in dynamics, broken down into periods (month/quarter).

The estimate must be drawn up in the form of a table, where the following columns may be present:

• purchase of fixed assets;
• purchase of raw materials and supplies;
• the cost of rent, maintenance of premises and utility bills;
• expenses for the purchase of auxiliary consumables;
• wage fund;
• other current expenses, which include payment for communication services, representation, travel expenses and more.

Advice: for projects with different specifics, the cost graphs and figures will be very different. Keep this in mind when writing your business plan and don't take averages from the internet. In addition, you should not focus on the minimum. Even in the case when you have found a room for your future store with a very profitable lease, almost half as low as anywhere else in the city, do not take this figure as a basis for calculating a business plan. It can change for any reason in a big way. Therefore, the data of your business plan will become irrelevant, and it will turn from a guide to action into one that will be misleading.

Organizational part

This section should indicate which organizational and legal form is chosen for the implementation of the project, why, whether changes are planned in the future. It is also necessary to touch on permits. Here you should dwell on the need for licenses and how you plan to issue them, on obtaining certificates of conformity and hygienic conclusions (if necessary), on how you will get approvals in inspections of various formats to obtain permits for activities.

In addition, this part describes:

• composition of project managers;
• experience in the field of the initiator or involved persons;
• what kind of professional support do you expect and what are its sources.

You can add profiles of managers/initiator to the applications section, where you can reflect in more detail professional experience and specialized knowledge.

Financing or how to calculate a business plan

In this part of the document, it is necessary to provide a rationale for the fact that the project will be profitable, as well as determine the amount of investments, the period for reaching the break-even point and further prospects for repayment of the initial capital or borrowed funds.

In fact, it has already been written, you just need to take the necessary numbers from the previous sections and enter them here, filling them out correctly.

Here it is necessary to highlight:

• Project funding sources. These can be personal funds (investments), borrowed or credited funds, government subsidies or other forms, such as leasing.
• Initial stage of project implementation. At this point, it is necessary to make a forecast of the period required for organizing a business, that is, until it starts working.
• Stage before receiving the first profits. Here it is required to conduct a rationale for attracting funds and when they will begin to return. The point is necessary not only for obtaining loans or loans, but also for understanding whether it is worth investing your own funds in the project.
• Chosen system of taxation. Here it is worth considering that the amount and list of deductions will depend on what organizational and legal status you prefer for the implementation of your project. For individual entrepreneurs, there are some "indulgences" in this regard. By the way, they also differ in favor of simplification for the second format.

The same section includes the calculation of indicators and the plan of expected profits / losses. There is no need to be afraid of the term “losses” right away. The fact is that the initial stage and the period of business formation rarely pass without the need to attract additional funds or investments. Naturally, they are defined as losses, because they are not yet repaid by the profit from the project.

The form in which figures and data will be shown depends on the nature of the project, the status of the enterprise (LLC, IP) and the chosen taxation system. In its simplest expression, it may contain:

• costs of organizing a business (registration of an enterprise, purchase of equipment, materials, product range, arrangement of premises or a site for conducting activities, purchase of a license, etc.);
• fixed costs (payment of rent, utilities, salaries, etc., that is, those that do not change depending on fluctuations in sales or production volumes);
• variable costs (acquisition of consumables, transport, communications, payment to third parties or individuals for one-time work, piecework wages, that is, those that directly depend on sales or production volumes);
• income from the sale of goods / services and net profit.

The last indicator is quite easy to calculate. It is necessary to subtract from the revenue side all variable costs per unit of goods or for a certain period, as well as that part of the fixed costs that falls on the calculation period taken as the base (month, quarter).

As a result of this part of the business plan section, the profitability of the entire project is calculated. You can take as a basis the indicator of return on investment (investments of personal savings, loans, credits). As an example, a calculation scheme is given by which you can determine the efficiency and profitability of your own investments:

RR (Return on Personal Equity) is equal to NP (Net Profit) divided by the amount of RC multiplied by 100%. The payback period should be understood as the period of time for which the net profit received by the investor will cover all initial investments.

Risk assessment

This is the final section of the business plan. Here, a description and analysis of the most likely risks to which the implementation of the project may be exposed is carried out. Among them:

• natural disasters, fires, floods, accidents that can damage equipment, premises, etc.;
• illegal actions, including theft, embezzlement;
• actions of state institutions, federal and local authorities;
• economic factors, decline in production and consumption, inflation;
• non-fulfillment of obligations by partners and suppliers.

Alternatively, here you can use the pessimistic scenario from the introduction.

In this part, you need to analyze the resilience of your business and your willingness to overcome risks.

How to write a business plan for agriculture yourself?

Actually, all the main sections of a document drawn up for a business in the field of agriculture differ little from the standard for any enterprise. Its features are that for this type of activity there is a special organizational and legal form of a peasant farm (peasant farm). There is a simplified registration procedure and a specialized taxation system.

When drawing up a business plan for an agricultural project, the following points should be considered:

• business seasonality;
• dependence on weather conditions;
• the level of crop yields for a particular region (if your direction is crop production);
• marketing system and logistics.

The last point needs to be given serious attention. When writing a business plan for obtaining government subsidies or grants, as well as loans from credit organizations, this issue needs to be covered in detail. The fact is that the investor is not interested in production for the sake of production, he is looking for potential profit.

And for agricultural enterprises, it is logistics and marketing that often present a problem, so part of the grown crop or other goods does not reach the consumer, becoming unusable and incurring direct losses instead of potential profit. If your business plan reflects how you plan to build the sale and delivery of products, moreover, confirmed by agreements of intent, preliminary agreements, then the investor's attitude will be much more loyal.

Starting any activity, it is important to have a visual idea of ​​where to start and where to go. There are business plans for this, and you need to know how to draw it up correctly.

Without clear planning, it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to consistently move towards the intended result.

Goals and objectives of the business plan

A business plan is an integral part of any venture aimed at success. The result of the future company depends on the quality of its compilation. Business planning is an important stage in the development of a future enterprise and contains certain goals and objectives.

Goals:

• determine whether the project is worth funding;
• provide complete information about the project to the investor or bank.

Tasks:

1. Outline the goals of the future company, develop a strategy and tactics.
2. Choose a line of business.
3. Analyze all costs.
4. Plan the necessary marketing activities.
5. Consider possible risks.
6. Draw up a budget in relation to the current financial situation.

Compilation Principles for Small Businesses

A business plan is a document that gives a detailed idea of ​​​​a project, and allows you to answer the question of whether it is worth financing. The project can be financed either by a lender or an investor. Since the goals of these individuals are different, the methods of evaluating a business project are also different. Therefore, before drawing up a project, it is necessary to immediately decide on who it will be provided to.

In any case, the business plan should be well designed and easy to read. The average document size is 40 pages. With a larger content, it is optimal to put some documents in annexes, and with a smaller content, it will be believed that the project was drawn up improperly.

If complex terms are used in the description of the organization, then a glossary of terms should be compiled at the end of the document.

Important in drawing up a business project is the orientation to the target market and to meet the needs of consumers. At the same time, it should be noted what benefit the consumer will receive by using a product or service from this enterprise compared to a competitive one.

It is good to highlight the uniqueness of your enterprise: the possession of certain patents, the presence of people in the state of rare professions, the advantageous location, etc.

The drafted project should reflect a real picture that would show what the organization can achieve with appropriate funding. The lender must have confidence in the repayment of the loan, and the investor - in obtaining high profits.

How to write a business plan yourself from scratch

If you plan to draw up a business plan yourself, then this issue should be approached with all seriousness. Only a carefully thought-out project can help achieve the goal - making a profit. Of course, to launch a huge company with multimillion-dollar investments, it is unlikely that it will be possible to do it on your own. But to start your small business is enough. This video is about developing a business plan on your own:

The process begins with a business idea. An idea is just a figurative idea of ​​what you want to do. But the idea must be realistic so that it can be implemented.

Having decided on the direction, we proceed to planning on paper. Most often, the preparation of this document is necessary to attract investment. In this scenario, we pay special attention to the section on financial planning and guarantees of return on investment.

We highlight all the factors that can affect the implementation of the idea. We indicate all the reasons that, in your opinion, will contribute to the success of your undertaking.

We draw up a detailed financial plan, in which we indicate the necessary funding, its sources and possible costs. Do not forget to note the amount of your investments - this is important for a potential investor.

In the marketing strategy, we indicate ways to sell and promote products. It is better to provide several options. We also indicate the responsible persons for these events.

We do not forget about the possible risks. It is important at the initial stage to be able to anticipate potential negative consequences and how to manage them. This can directly affect the longevity of your business.

Standard structure to properly create a document

Of course, each business plan can have an individual structure depending on the direction of the enterprise and the planned results. However, at the heart of any project is always a typical structure.

The diagram shows possible options for using a business plan

The standard structure in a condensed form contains the following sections:

• summary;
• characteristics of the company;
• description of products and services;
• marketing plan;
• production plan;
• organizational plan;
• financial plan;
• risk assessment;
• applications.

What information should be included in sections

Summary

An introductory part containing brief information about the nature of the project. It depends on its content whether the reader will be interested in the project or not.

Company profile

It contains information about the company itself, about the stage of its development, about the profile of activities, about its competitiveness, about development plans for the future, etc.

If the company is not re-opening, then in this section it is necessary to indicate the technical and economic development indicators for the previous few years.

Description of products and services

This section should give detailed information about the goods produced by the enterprise or the services provided. Here you should talk in detail about the features of the product, about the possibilities of its use, etc.

If a list of experts or consumers who are already familiar with this product / service and ready to give positive feedback is indicated, then this will be an additional plus.

Marketing plan

The marketing plan is used to analyze the market in detail and draw up a marketing strategy, which includes:

1. Pricing methods.
2. Market coverage plan.
3. Development of new goods/services.
4. Product marketing method.
5. Advertising strategy.
6. Enterprise development strategy for future periods.

Production plan

This plan contains all the nuances of the production process:

• required raw materials, materials and conditions of their delivery;
• applied technologies for production;
• equipment and its capacity;
• the need for labor resources;
• product renewal plan;
• production development plan;
• work schedule.

organizational plan

This section should show how the entire business project is planned to be implemented. This includes a strategy for the implementation of the main plans outlined, as well as control over their implementation. You can also note the motivation for the implementation of plans on time.

In the event of changes in the internal or external environment of the organization, it is necessary to indicate how it is planned to regulate the processes for implementing the main plans.

Financial plan

This kind of plan should reflect all parts of the document. This section contains the value expression of all components of the company's development:

• forecast of production volumes;
• forecast of planned costs;
• balance of income and expenses;
• company budget;
• Management of risks;
• the main performance indicators of the enterprise.

Risk assessment

Here all possible risks and ways of insurance against them are analyzed. Preventive measures are planned to deal with potential risks, as well as actions to be taken in the event of unplanned risks.

Applications

Documents that supplement or confirm the information contained in the document are attached here.

The most important section of a business project is the financial part, which contains a detailed analysis of all cash flows arising in the enterprise.

How to use a business plan

To prevent your business planning from becoming a mere formality on paper, it should be regularly reviewed, analyzed and adjusted. To get the most out of it, it is important to turn it into the main tool for managing a company. It will optimally reflect in it all the current conditions and new information collected over a certain period of time.

All changes occurring in the field of activity of your company, and the conclusions drawn from them, should be reflected in the business plan. This will allow you to plan the company's development strategy for the future.

It is necessary to regularly outline the main stages that you plan to implement in the coming month. This information should be shared with your team members, along with a timeline for implementation.

At the end of each period, it is important to compare the current results with the planned plans. Draw appropriate conclusions and make adjustments based on actual performance. Based on the results obtained, forecasts are made and new plans are drawn up.

With regular use of the business plan, the planning process will not take much time. But positive results are sure to come.

Starting your business, do not be too lazy to plan it conscientiously. If you are not sure that you can handle it on your own, you can resort to the help of specialists. Of course, this will require additional financial costs, but it will save you from financial losses in the future.