How to write your own business plan. stage. We register a business. What is a business plan? Design rules

Brief instructions

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

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

End justifies the means?

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

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

Use a small cheat sheet for yourself:

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

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

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

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

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

1. Company summary(short business plan)

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

2. Marketing plan

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

3. Plan for the production of goods or services

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

4.Organization of the work process

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

5. Financial plan and risk forecast

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

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

Company summary. Briefly about the main thing

Marketing plan. Are there any free places?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Production plan. What are we selling?

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

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

When prescribing the technology for creating your final product, you will pay attention to many little things that you had not thought about before. There may be issues with storing goods or difficulties with imported raw materials, problems with finding employees with the necessary qualifications, etc.

When you have finally written down the entire path to creating a product or service, it’s time to calculate how much your project will cost you. It may well be that later, when making financial calculations, you will realize that you need to make adjustments to the production plan: cut some costs or radically change the technology itself.

Organization of the work process. How will it work?

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

Here you can describe the entire structure of the enterprise and identify duplication of powers, mutual exclusions, etc. Having seen the entire organization diagram, it will be easier for you to optimally distribute rights and responsibilities between departments and employees.

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

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

How to write a business plan yourself? What is needed for this? Here is a practical guide that will answer all questions related to writing a business plan.


Surely, everyone knows well that drawing up a business plan is not a matter of 2-3 minutes, so you should prepare for long and difficult work. Let me note that a business plan is a mandatory step for creating any project, and the advantages of drawing it up will more than repay your time spent writing a business plan. Don’t let everything take its course; take a responsible approach to writing it. After all, a business plan makes it clear in advance the prospects for the implementation of the project.

Your business plan should answer only three most important questions:

“What do I want?”, “How to do this?”, “What do I need for this?”

But not everything is as simple as it seems at first glance. It seems that the questions are not complicated, but there are many nuances that we will discuss in this article. Be optimistic about your project, but don’t overdo it, because business is tied to real life, which often presents us with many surprises, which do not always have a positive effect. Approach everything realistically, soberly assessing your resources, knowledge and capabilities.

The implementation of a business idea primarily depends on correct spelling business plan. To properly create a business plan, you must adhere to special rules, and it must comply with the generally accepted structure. The seriousness of the approach, the elaboration of all points and sections, as well as the level of interest are a guarantee of the quality of the new project. The generally accepted structure of a business plan consists of several sections; I will give it below.

Do not rush to write a business plan, it can take a lot of time, but careful consideration of all points and nuances will allow you to create a high-quality document that will attract potential investors if they are needed. The effort spent on writing a high-quality business plan will lead you to success.

An aspiring entrepreneur must first understand the need to create a business plan. Understanding what he wants to achieve and what methods will be used to achieve his goals is half the success of your venture. Often, unforeseen difficulties during the implementation of a project can undermine the entrepreneur’s desire to act and move forward. Exactly step by step plan actions prescribed in the business plan will help get rid of problems, since their occurrence was theoretically predicted and ways to solve problems have already been prescribed.

Let's start by looking at all the sections of the business plan structure and talk briefly about them.

Front page. Resume

It’s good if you already have start-up capital to organize your business. What if you don’t have one, and you are going to take out a loan for a small business, or ask for a loan? That's when you need a well-written business plan. Without it, no one will provide funds for your project.

Money always means serious business, so be kind enough to “play” by the rules of a serious business - your business plan must be impeccably executed in order to make the right impression on the lender. Yes, even if you are drawing up a business plan for yourself, everything should be neatly “laid out on the shelves” - after all, a clear and consistent presentation of all points will help you not to “go astray” while implementing your business idea.

If in many documents the summary is written at the end, summing up everything that has been said, then when writing a business plan it is written at the beginning. The purpose of this is to immediately interest a possible lender, be it a bank or an individual. I know many cases when a responsible person at a bank immediately closed a business plan, refusing a loan, as soon as he read the resume. Remember - the first impression is the most important!

The first section describes the idea of ​​the project itself. It is necessary to set out the premises that served as the impetus for writing a business plan. Describe your vision of the project, its brief description, operating principles. What can your business give to society? What benefits will you bring to people with your project? Writing a business plan will explain this to you first, and then show it to all interested parties.

Try to explain your goal and methods for successfully bringing your business idea to life. Make it clear that your intentions are serious. This section can be described as the foundation for subsequent sections of your business plan.

Company activities

In this section you can write down a huge number of questions that depend on the chosen activity. I will describe only a few sub-points, which, it seems to me, are the main ones. This:

  1. Determination of the organizational and legal form of doing business.
  2. Distribution of the role of founders.
  3. Legal information (address, telephone, etc.).
  4. Goals of a business project and ways to solve them.
  5. Prospects for your business for the next few years.

In this section you must answer the questions:

  • Why should consumers choose you? It is necessary to understand and explain why your idea will be interesting and competitive.
  • What are your advantages over your competitors? If your actions are not aimed at meeting customer needs, then your idea will not be promising.

Provide in the structure of the business plan for such a case when production suddenly stops due to factors such as lack of raw materials or when trading you have a gap in the supply of goods. Create a plan that can reduce costs during these extreme business conditions.

Description of products sold or services offered

Decide on the circle of people to whom your activities will be directed, i.e. determine your target audience. Carefully work out and identify the main characteristics of the product that you will provide to your customers. Such characteristics include: price, taste, color, design, packaging, etc.

Outline in detail all the attractive services that you will use to attract customers:

  • Possibility to order goods or services by phone.
  • Via the Internet. Nowadays, the Internet is becoming the main representative and distribution channel for goods.
  • Include a description of promotions and various “promotional offers.”

Maybe you have some thoughts of your own, please state them when writing a business plan.

Market and competitor analysis

Before entering the market with a product or service, you need to carefully study this very market. How much do people need the products offered, what “gaps” are you ready to fill with your product, etc. Well then -

Production process

This section of the business plan structure contains all the information about production, technology and equipment, and personnel. As well as information about suppliers of equipment, raw materials, materials. Indicate what resources you currently have and what resources you will need to attract to fully implement the project.

All collected data in the section production process allow you to estimate the cost of maintaining a business and its production capabilities.

The main goal of this section is to convince the potential lender, as they say - with numbers and “naked” logic, that your company will be able to produce products of appropriate quality on time, or provide the services offered at the highest level.

All information can be presented in the form of a table (or in another form, as you deem necessary), in which the stages of the enterprise reaching the planned capacity, or reaching the planned volumes of sales or services, will be spelled out according to specific deadlines.

Financial reporting

When drawing up a business plan, be sure to determine the financial indicators of the business. Such calculations are based on taking into account all costs and sales forecasts (profit). Only after calculations will you be able to understand how much you will earn and show it to your investor. In fact, this is the most important, most boring, and largest section.

All financial calculations are based on determining the break-even point. Let's ask Wikipedia what this mysterious point is:

The break-even point is the minimum volume of production and sales of products at which costs will be offset by income, and with the production and sale of each subsequent unit of product the enterprise begins to make a profit.

This break-even point divides the field into revenues and costs. The conditions under which it is obtained will be your minimum requirements for the project.

Let's take into account the costs of starting a business:

  1. registration costs
  2. buying or renting premises
  3. arrangement of the premises
  4. costs for the purchase of equipment and materials
  5. license costs

Costs can be divided into fixed and variable.

Fixed costs:

  1. premises rental
  2. employee salaries
  3. electricity, water, heating
  4. connection
  5. equipment maintenance
  6. taxes

Variable flow:

  • material costs
  • piecework salary
  • connection
  • delivery

With income, everything is much simpler. To determine the income from a transaction, you need to subtract variable costs from the price.

To calculate the profitability of production, it is necessary to take the ratio of the cost of goods per month to the amount of costs. The payback period for production is calculated by the ratio of opening costs to net profit.

Your business plan should spell out risks that are designed to provide for difficulties along the entire path of development and will allow you to avoid troubles.
Possible risks:

  • Accidents, natural disasters
  • Economic situations (price increases)
  • Termination of contracts
  • Fall in demand for products
  • Low sales volume
  • Credit and cash gaps

Write down how you will get out of trouble with the least losses. Calculate the losses that may occur and justify their solution in your calculations.

Here, if necessary, you need to indicate the impact of your business on environment. Environmental problems, which at first glance are insignificant, may turn out to be a “braking” factor for your business project.

Applications

All tables, diagrams, graphs, regulatory documents, legislative acts, etc. necessary for your business. must be presented as separate annexes attached to the business plan.

A business plan is a short-term course of action for a subject entrepreneurial activity. The document contains information about the company and ways of its further profitable operation. It contains information and proposals for the production of a new product, the provision of a service, the sales market is assessed, and calculations are made necessary materials and equipment, marketing moves, and also a conclusion is drawn about the feasibility of implementing the project from a financial point of view, the profit received and the payback period are predicted.

A business plan is an important strategy, management and planning tool. Any investment agreements and transactions are concluded subject to the mandatory availability of this document. Having seen the forecasts set out on paper, confirmed by real figures, investors will make a deal with the entrepreneur, enter into a contract, and invest the necessary resources.

When issuing loans to start-up entrepreneurs, the bank needs a guarantee of repayment of funds. The provided business plan informs the credit institution about the existing or future activities of the businessman in a succinct, understandable form. By and large, such a document answers the question that interests every business owner: is it worth investing in a particular project?

Writing a business plan is a long, labor-intensive process that will require the author to have extensive knowledge in the subject area and the ability to analyze - in total, this data will allow you to clearly define tactics and strategy to achieve the desired result. There are 3 ways to become the owner of a finished document:

  • Compose yourself. In this case, the entrepreneur will need knowledge of the economy, legislative acts, all the nuances of his business, and, finally, the rules for drawing up a business plan.
  • Use the services of specialists. There are companies that, in a number of services provided, prepare and compile similar documentation. TO negative aspects This method should include the high cost of the service and the subjectivity of the information presented.
  • Download from the Internet. Rather, this option is recommended to help the first.

You can see how to correctly compose such a document in the following video:

Stages of document preparation

A competent business plan should contain maximum information about the company’s activities.

Its approximate structure:

  1. Resume.
  2. Overview section.
  3. Description of the product (service).
  4. Marketing plan.
  5. Production plan.
  6. Financial plan.
  7. Assessment of upcoming risks.

Although a summary belongs to sections, it should be written separately, after completing the entire document. It performs the function of an extended output, a summary. After reading it, the investor, lender or business owner will have a general understanding of what is written below.

A standard resume is 1 page in A4 format.

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Overview section

The purpose of compiling this paragraph is to provide information about the enterprise. The section should provide answers to the following questions:

  • What is the organizational and legal form of doing business?
  • The main activities of the company?
  • Job profile: sales, production, intermediary, etc.?
  • What does the company intend to offer to the potential target audience?
  • What goals does the organization pursue in implementing this project?
  • In what geographical area does the company plan to develop?
  • What is the main difference between this company and its main competitors?
  • How does the company see its development prospects in the next few years?

At the end of the paragraph, the legal details of the organization must be provided: address, contact phone number, website (if available).

Description of the product (service)

The main objective of this section is to present in a concise form the features, qualities and characteristics of a product or service offered by a specific business. The section should contain a physical description of the product or service, a description of the benefits, possibilities of use, problems that the described product helps to solve, and the stage of readiness to enter the market.

It would not be amiss to indicate the data of experts and consumers who had the opportunity to familiarize themselves with the products and give positive reviews. If we are talking about a product, it is recommended to attach high-quality photos from different angles.

Marketing plan

The section allocated for marketing research is one of the largest and most important parts of the business plan. The main task of the compiler is to explain how the described business will influence the market and respond to its rapidly changing trends in order to ensure the sale of goods in the stated volumes. The marketing plan should reflect the following aspects:

  • demand for the products offered;
  • market expansion opportunities;
  • analysis of competitors, factors influencing the internal and external environment;
  • market research results;
  • projected sales volumes.

To confirm the information described, one can cite ready-made versions of SWOT analysis tables. To summarize the point, a description of the marketing strategy is given (the expediency of using marketing means is explained, in particular a description of sales strategies, product promotion, advertising, pricing, and sales promotion).

Production plan

The purpose of creating this section is to describe the technological process of product production. A general approach to organizing production is indicated. Characteristics are given to suppliers of raw materials and auxiliary materials that will be used. Attached is a description of the main technological processes. Options for purchasing equipment, its main characteristics, and power are considered.

A separate paragraph indicates the qualification requirements for personnel involved in production. Divisions are formed (if we are talking about a large business). The terms of payment, labor incentives, and proposed changes in the personnel structure as the enterprise's capabilities expand are considered.

Below it is recommended to draw up a production flow diagram that will clearly demonstrate the processes of receipt of raw materials and components, the processes of their processing into a finished product, where the goods will be stored, how and where they will be delivered from the enterprise.

In the case of the provision of services, the scheme will have a slightly modified form. It should reflect the way services are provided to clients, where initial stage will provide the necessary tools and materials.

The following aspects of the production process should not be ignored:

  • estimated production capacity;
  • need for land, buildings, structures;
  • the need to purchase equipment;
  • terms of supply of raw materials;
  • quality control of received materials;
  • requirements for sources of energy, water, gas;
  • quality control of manufactured products.

Financial plan

An important condition for drawing up a business plan is to determine the financial indicators of the business. These calculations are based on taking into account costs and sales (income) forecasts. The result of the calculations will be the amount of profit that the enterprise will receive from the implementation of this project. In essence, this is basic information that is of interest to investors and credit institutions.

Investment costs (to start a business):

  • registration of an organization;
  • purchase or lease of production space;
  • arrangement of the premises;
  • acquisition of equipment and auxiliary materials;
  • registration of a license.

Basic costs are usually divided into fixed and variable.

Volume fixed costs does not change depending on the increase (decrease) in the volume of output:

  • rental of premises;
  • depreciation of fixed assets;
  • employee salary (rate);
  • tariffs for water, heating, electricity, gas, communications;
  • equipment servicing;
  • payment of taxes.

As a rule, the basis for calculation is a time period: month, six months, year, etc.

Volume variable expenses directly proportional to production volumes:

  • costs of raw materials;
  • salaries to employees (piece-rate form of accrual);
  • transportation costs (gasoline, etc.);
  • payment for communications equipment.

To determine operating profit, it is necessary to subtract expenses from the cost of production. An important condition for making correct calculations is the construction of a break-even point - a graph displaying the minimum permissible volume of production and sales at which costs will “cover” income. This means that the production and sale of each subsequent unit of production will bring profit.

To calculate the level of profitability of production, it is necessary to relate the cost of goods for a certain period to the amount of costs. The calculation of the payback period for production is carried out by the ratio of investment costs to net profit.

Risk assessment

This section provides an approximate assessment of the risks that are most likely to occur for this project. In addition, a number of preventive measures are proposed to prevent or minimize their negative impact on business.

If you are going to seriously do business, you cannot do without a business plan. The most successful idea must be supported by a well-designed action plan. The rules for drawing up a business plan for a small business will help you understand the sequence of actions.

Between dreams of owning your own business and real deal a little in common - in fantasies we clearly imagine only the result, in business it requires planning. Even the most successful business idea is worthless without a well-designed action plan. We will look at the rules for drawing up a business plan for a small business, and we hope the information will be useful to aspiring entrepreneurs.

When we go on a trip, we draw up a route so as not to wander at random; starting a new business requires a similar approach.

What is a business plan

A business plan is a guide to action describing the idea, process, implementation mechanisms and goals.

Defining a specific goal in this chain is crucial, since it is this point that allows you to clearly formulate:

  • What is your position in present moment, i.e. where is the starting point to start.
  • What should you get as a result?
  • What steps need to be taken to promote and develop the business.

Purpose of the business plan

Drawing up a business plan is useful at the start of any business, but in two cases a plan is required:

To provide investors and creditors, as well as to obtain financial support from the state.

The purpose of drawing up a business plan is to confirm the viability of the idea and the efficiency of using money. The information presented in the plan should be detailed, appear reliable and logical. For clarity, it is useful to accompany the defense of the business plan with a presentation of slides.

Real business plan “For yourself”

A working version of a business plan for “internal use.” There is always a difference between the “front” and “working” plans.

Development forecast and prospects

Consider several business development options. Try to objectively assess the prospects based on expected income and expenses. Put yourself in the shoes of an investor and think about whether you would agree to invest money in the company described.