Business plan of the plant instructions for drawing up. How to write a business plan: sample, instruction, errors, examples. What is SWOT analysis and how to apply it in practice

Term business plan went from the English expression business plan. A business plan is a structured document describing the stages of a company's development, its main areas of activity, its strategies and risks. At its core business plan is a roadmap designed to lead the business to the planned goal, passing the planned routes, taking into account the intermediate stages and shows the results obtained as a result.

💡 Write a business plan or download a ready-made one?

When starting a business, aspiring entrepreneurs often have a question to download a business plan or write their own? Of course, if you have sufficient experience, it is better to write your own unique business plan. True, not many entrepreneurs who first thought about starting a business have the skill of such an activity. In this case, it is better to keep in mind that writing a business plan is necessary if your business:

unique
requires a lot of calculations
implies non-standard stages of development
involves non-standard risks
there are non-standard format requirements, for example, for a potential investor

In most cases, when starting a small business, it is quite possible to use a ready-made business plan from a trusted source, of course, with its revision according to your data.

💡 Where can I get a ready-made business plan?

On the Internet there are a huge number of paid and free business plans... Despite the greater variety, we recommend using the business plans presented on our portal. All business plans are provided absolutely free of charge, contain detailed financial calculations and take into account risks. In addition, the portal contains a huge number of business ideas structured by areas of activity.

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

A business plan is a document that outlines your business. In it you talk about what exactly you will be doing, about the structure of the business, the state of the market, how you plan to sell your product or service, what resources you need, what is your financial forecast, and also give permits, leases and any other you need. documentation.

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

In this article, we share tips for writing a successful business plan, describe the points to include in the plan, and provide examples.

The translation of the article was prepared with the support of the online school of English. Before diving into the details, let's start with some basic, general tips.

Focus on your specifics

Before you go headlong into drawing up a business plan, you should carefully consider what makes your business unique. For example, if you're looking to start a sportswear brand, you need a way to stand out from the many other sports brands already on the market.

What makes your brand stand out from others? Are you planning to design clothing for a specific workout or activity like yoga, tennis or hiking? Are you using environmentally friendly materials? Do you donate part of your proceeds to charity? Does the brand promote a positive body image?

Remember: you are selling more than just a product or service - you are selling a product, value and brand experience... Consider and answer these important questions before delving into the details of the research for your business plan.

Be short

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

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

Make a good decoration

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

Edit as you compose

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

Here are the key elements in a business plan template:

Marketing and sales plan
Application

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

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

Fundamentals should be about a page. Please spare 1-2 paragraphs for each of the following points:

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

Example of a Fundamentals Section

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

JJB is committed to offering products at competitive prices in order to meet the market demand of the area's residents and tourists with middle and upper middle incomes.

The next item in the plan is a description of the company. Here you can describe what your company is doing, articulate a mission, talk about the structure of the company and its owners, location, as well as the market needs that your company is trying to meet and how you are going to do it.

Example of a "Company Description" section

NALB Creative Center is a startup that enters the market this summer. We will offer our customers a wide range of goods for creativity and handicrafts, primarily goods that are currently not available on the island of Hawaii. Our competitor remains the Internet, as artists tend to buy familiar products online. We will supply items that are not necessarily well known to local artists. We will also continue to monitor prices and include products available online in price comparisons.

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

We also organize a tourist program "Artist's Oasis". We will provide local bed and breakfast reservations, open-air maps and routes, easel and material rentals, paint and other supplies, and deliver finished artwork to customers after the canvases are dry.

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

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

Add specifics. Let's say you sell bedding. Don't include everyone who sleeps in bed in your target audience. First, define a small target customer group for yourself. This could be, for example, adolescents from middle-income families. Having decided on the target audience, try to answer the following questions:

How many middle-income teenagers live in your country?
What kind of accessories do they need?
Is the market growing or remains the same?

When analyzing the market, take into account both the already available research conducted by others, and the primary data that you have collected yourself, through surveys, interviews or in any other way.

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

An example of a consolidated section "Market Analysis"

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

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

Market segmentation

Green Investments segmented their target audience into two separate categories based on family wealth: over and under $ 1 million.

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

This is where you can go deeper into the details of what exactly you are selling and what your customer benefit is. If you can't articulate exactly how you can be of service to your customers, your business idea may not be all that great.

Start by describing the problem your business is solving. Then take a look at how you plan to tackle the problem and how well your product or service fits into the big picture. Finally, think about the competitive landscape: what other companies provide solutions to this particular problem, and how is your solution different?

Example of the section "Products and services"

AMT provides computer products and services to help small businesses. We mainly provide networking equipment and network maintenance for small and medium businesses. These are both LAN-based computer systems and server-controlled minicomputer-based systems. Our services include the design and installation of network systems, training and support.

Description of goods and services

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

Super Home is our smallest and least expensive line of computers that are initially marketed as home computers by the manufacturer. We mainly use them as low cost workstations for small businesses. Specifications include ... [additional details omitted]
Power User is our main premium line. It is our main system for organizing high-performance home stations and basic workstations for small businesses, thanks to ... The main advantages of the system ... Specifications include ... [additional details omitted]
Business Special is a mid-level system, intermediate in positioning. Its specifications include ... [additional details omitted]

When it comes to peripheral, auxiliary and other hardware, here we provide a complete set of necessary equipment, from cables to molds and mouse pads. … [Additional details omitted]

We offer a wide range of service and support services in our office and onsite, as well as service and warranty contracts. So far, we have not been successful in securing support contracts. Our networking opportunities ... [more details omitted]

Competitive analysis

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

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

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

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

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

Include a curriculum vitae of each member of your team here. Explain why these people are the right people for the job - talk about their experiences and backgrounds that are relevant to your business. If you haven't already hired performers for the planned roles, that's okay - but make sure to be clear about those gaps and explain what the people in those roles will be responsible for.

An example of a personnel plan in the section "Operational management"

DIY Wash N 'Fix doesn't require a lot of manpower. The company will hire a general manager who will work part-time to handle corporate responsibilities and inter-organizational issues. DIY Wash N 'Fix will also hire three certified mechanics / managers to handle the day to day tasks at the firm. These responsibilities fall into two categories: managerial and operational. Management tasks include planning, inventory and general accounting. Employees are also responsible for operational tasks: security, regulatory matters, customer service, and repair advice.

In addition, service staff will be hired to carry out the most basic tasks. Their functions will include customer service and content and storage control. DIY Wash N'Fix will hire one general manager to coordinate all external business operations and partnerships. Business relationships include accounting services, legal advice, communication with manufacturers and suppliers, as well as service providers, advertising and marketing, and investment services. This managerial position will be taken by Laurie Snyder. She will receive an MBA from the University of Notre Dame in May 2001.

The day-to-day business management tasks will be handled by a lead mechanic. While DIY Wash N 'Fix does not provide a full range of repair services, it can be expected that some customers will try to do repairs that they have never done before, which means they will need advice. Therefore, we intend to hire three fully certified mechanics. These mechanics will be prohibited from performing any work on the customer's car, but they will be able to inspect the car and assess the breakdown. We believe that only professional mechanics should advise clients - this will reduce our liability for incorrectly performed repairs. The main task of the mechanics will be customer service and management functions.

6) Marketing and sales plan

Here you can describe your marketing and sales strategies and how you are going to sell your product. Before you start developing your marketing and sales plan, do a complete market analysis and target your ideal customers.

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

When it comes to sales, try answering questions like: What is your sales strategy? How will the sales department work and how will you develop it in the future? How many sales calls does it take to close a deal? What is the average selling price? Talking about the average cost of sale, you can go into the details of your pricing strategy.

Example of a "Marketing Plan" section

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

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

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

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

Internet... Skate Zone already has its own website on which we have already received several applications. At the moment, work is planned to optimize the site. We expect the site to become one of the main marketing platforms for the company in the future.

Finally, detail your financial model, including start-up costs, financial plans, and required investments if reaching out to investors.

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

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

An example of a financial plan for an online store

Application

You can add an attachment at the end of the plan if you want. There is room here for your resume and resume of co-owners, as well as legal documents, including permits and leases.

That's all. We hope this article helped you better understand what your business plan should look like. There is little left to do - to translate the idea into reality. Good luck!

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"Plans are the dreams of knowledgeable people" Ernst von Feuchtersleben (English scientist, philosopher, literary critic).

Business planning goals

Having chosen your business, you need to decide how you will organize it, which means you need to plan for the near future. Everyone needs a business plan:

To those from whom you try to lend money for the implementation of your project, that is, bankers and investors.
To your employees who want to understand their tasks and perspectives.
And to you yourself - to test the rationality and realism of your ideas.

Business plan Is a document that:

Describes all the main aspects of a future enterprise or project.
Analyzes all the problems it may face.
Determines how to solve the identified problems.

Correctly drawn up business plan- this is a clear answer to the questions: "is it worth investing in the business you have planned and will it bring income that will pay off all the costs of manpower and resources?"

Important! Planning should be carried out by present or future companies, that is, those people who are not afraid to take responsibility for the implementation of the business plan. But this does not mean, of course, that you do not need to use the services of consultants and experts in this area. Admittedly, consulting firms charge a decent amount to compile it, ranging from $ 2,000 to $ 40,000. But you can make it yourself, while incurring minimal costs. By engaging in this work personally, you will not only model your future activities, but also check your strength and the idea itself.

So, the main purpose of the business plan: he helps entrepreneurs to solve the following problems:

- To study the capacity and development prospects of the future sales market.

- Estimate the costs for the production of products needed by the market. Weigh them against prices.

- Determine those indicators by which it will be possible to regulate the state of affairs.

Keep in mind! A business plan is usually written for the future, and it should be drawn up approximately 3-5 years in advance. At the same time, for the first year, the main indicators should be divided in a monthly breakdown, for the second - quarterly, and only starting from the third year, one should limit ourselves to annual indicators. Although if we take into account our economy, its volatility, then planning for a period of more than a year is not entirely effective. Therefore, many now limit themselves to writing a plan for the year.

Business plan structure

The business plan has a complex structure. The whole life of a company from the moment of creation to the moment of stability and stability should be spelled out in business language, at the same time intelligibly and vividly. A business plan should be understandable to any entrepreneur, financier and banker, as well as potential partners. The confidentiality memorandum is drawn up in order to warn persons familiar with the business plan about the confidentiality of the information contained in it. The memorandum may contain a ban on copying, transferring the project to third parties and a requirement to return the project to the author.

A business plan should always be short and succinct. True, sometimes, in order to reveal the essence of the problem, it is made quite deep in content. Recommended volume: 30 - 70 pages, no more. It is advisable to include all additional materials in the attachments to the business plan.

Remember! It is important to provide dosage information.

Here are the main points that you will need to consider:

annotation(up to 1 page) - written request for senior management.
Summary(1-3 pages) - basic information to get acquainted with the business plan.
Business plan(45-60) - for a detailed study of the project by the investor's specialists and experts.

Remember! Any business has its own characteristics, therefore, there cannot be a certain "standard" plan that is acceptable in all cases. There is, so to speak, only a general principle, a structure for drawing up a business plan.

Summary

Your business should always start with conclusions, you write them last, but they should be the very first paragraph of your business plan. A resume is the result of an already written business plan. This is the only part that most potential investors read.

The purpose of the business plan.
The need for finances, for what purposes they are needed.
A brief description of the business and its target customer.
The main differences from competitors.
Key financial indicators.

Business plan:

1. Goals and objectives

Here you will need to provide an analysis of the idea (SWOT-analysis). Disclose strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

Analysis of the idea.
The purpose of the activity (what you want to achieve).
Characteristics of the industry.

2. Product (service)

It is important that this part is written in clear, concise language that can be understood by a layperson.

Description of the product or service and their application.
Uniqueness
Technologies and qualifications necessary for business.
License / Patent Rights.

3. Market analysis

Market and marketing is a decisive factor for all companies. You need to first collect and process a large amount of "draft" information.

Buyers.
Competitors (their strengths and weaknesses).
Market segments.
Market size and growth.
Estimated market share.
The composition of your clientele.
Influence of competition.

4. Marketing plan

At this stage, the main task is to gain the trust and disposition of a potential investor. If you do not have a special education, you should read books on marketing, contact a specialist.

Marketing alignment (main characteristics of products, services in comparison with competitors).
Pricing (how to correctly set the price of a product).
Distribution scheme of goods.
Sales promotion methods.

5. Production plan

Here you should consider all issues related to the premises that you occupy, their location, equipment, personnel.

Location of premises.
Equipment.
Sources of supply of basic materials and equipment.
Use of subcontractors.

6. Management staff

Investments are made in specific people, and not in a business plan, therefore this section is one of the most important.

The main management team.
Staff composition.
Reward.

7. Sources and amount of required resources

In this section, you should present your thoughts on:

Amount of funds required.
Sources of their receipt, form, timing.
Terms of refund.

8. Financial plan and risk analysis

Business people are divided into those who like to work with numbers and who are afraid of them. For those in the first category, this section of the business plan is undoubtedly the most important.

Sales volume, profit, cost, etc.
Risks and how they can be avoided.

9. Detailed financial plan

You need to include a detailed financial plan in your business plan:

Sales volume forecast.
Profit and loss estimates.
Cash flow analysis (monthly for the first year, then quarterly).
Annual balance sheet.

And finally, I would like to give some useful tips for drawing up a business plan:

To get started, read a few other business plans.
The business plan should reflect your personality.
Preparing a business plan is a job that requires the use of imagination.
Gain experience and skills in the chosen direction.
Write only on days when you are full of energy, not when you are mentally and physically exhausted.

Wish you luck!

For a business to flourish, planning is necessary, and for its dynamic development, it is necessary to develop a business plan. In addition, a competently drawn up plan will help you find an investor or lender to develop your business.

Describe your business idea, present it as necessary at the moment
To give detailed description of the future enterprise, what exactly will represent your business
Describe the future manufactured products, provision of services to the public or production process
Lead sales market analyst, your competitive features: low cost, unusual packaging
Draw up a detailed production plan, outline steps to implement your project
Give a description product marketing how are you going to organize channels and distribution methods
Make up financial plan... It includes the costs of organizing a business and the approximate income from its implementation.
Conduct a full analysis of your business project, where will be presented evaluative opinions of experts about your project
Do development schedules, fill out sales tables, supply schemes and procurement of manufactured products or provision of services

These are the main stages of drawing up a business plan that will help you get investments for your project.

How to write the right business production plan

In many ways, the production process cannot be solved without organizing the planning of the entire production, and it is best to fix this in a business plan. In him:

The purpose of writing a business plan is to determine the feasibility of investing in production, whether it will be profitable, and at what time it will take for it to start making a profit. First of all, it is necessary to carry out calculations of the profitability of the future enterprise, thus you can avoid the occurrence of problems in the future, and give yourself an answer to the question: is it possible to overcome them on your own.

What should be displayed when writing a business plan?

The first and second parts of the plan consist of a summary and description of the main idea of the business.

It should resemble a commercial proposal for investment in your project sent to prospective partners or investors.

It should display:

The purpose of your project: what do you intend to release, or what services to provide
Who is your product for, definition sales audience
Outline the volume of the expected turnover in the first year of existence
Calculate approximate amount of costs to open, establish a production process at your enterprise
Define legal form: open, closed or joint-stock company you decide to organize
Which the number of employees are you going to involve in your production
Define all sources of financing your project

After carrying out all the necessary calculations, the businessman will be able to form an opinion whether it is worth organizing this business, since the risk and ways of overcoming it are found out so that the enterprise does not suffer collapse.

The simplest example of how to draw up a business plan, for example, for an LLC that is going to establish the production of sweet baked goods, can be represented by the following diagram:

Designate a goal: Baking confectionery, mainly cakes, for the urban population. To be at the forefront of your market segment

Outline the tasks:

Organize the work of a compact confectionery shop
Arrange the supply of the necessary raw materials and hire employees
Preliminarily try to occupy a third part of the market by developing a marketing strategy for doing business, according to which there will be a gradual squeezing out of competitors with low prices and a new recipe

Find missing funds by taking a loan secured by existing real estate.

A good example of a small business business plan

For example, you are about to open a tailor shop.

initially need to figure out the perspective this business in the existing market.

We are writing a resume where you are going to open a small production workshop.
Describe the form of ownership, for example LLC. The planned payback period of the project is 40 months
Describe the general provisions of the enterprise:

purchase of equipment,
textiles,
furnishings and accessories.

If your own money is not enough to complete the project, write about raising borrowed funds.
Then describe who your services will be provided to:

for individuals, by individual measurements,
and for legal entities that need overalls.

You can include services for sewing curtains, bed linen for further sale.

Conduct market analytics and draw up a marketing plan. The plan should develop the necessary measures that will bring your workshop to the forefront.
Analyzing the costs of the enterprise:

payment of salaries to employees,
payment of rent for the premises where your workshop is located.

Based on the analysis carried out, the payback period of the project is calculated.

Schedule production, gradually increasing production to 1000 units per day
Analyzing the investment market: where and how to find partners for joint business
Make financial calculations:

calculate the amount of fixed costs for the purchase of equipment
calculate the amount of variable costs for the purchase of materials for production: threads, accessories, needles. This includes the rent for the premises.

Find out the missing amount for the full opening of the enterprise, describe the conditions for the provision of credit funds
Describe the form of ownership and taxation of the company
Calculate estimated monthly and annual revenue
Based on the financial analysis of the company, you find out the result of the work (it must be positive).

An example of drawing up a business plan for an individual entrepreneur

Financial institutions are reluctant to issue loans to individual entrepreneurs, and recent bank failures have led to the need to submit a detailed business plan in order to obtain loans.

This is one of the most basic documents, and it must be drawn up competently, with the display of the financial component of the business, the analysis of the market and the prospects for the development of the activities of an individual entrepreneur.

How to independently and competently draw up a business plan

At first, a competent business plan for an individual entrepreneur should be as detailed as possible, reflecting the performance analytics (various factors should be taken into account, including indicators of the financial component).

Secondly, it should display both current activities and make a forecast of future development, taking into account interest rates, current exchange rates.

Thirdly, it should find a display of the current state of the entrepreneur's main fund, its market value, and how the money will move:

purchase of the necessary equipment, materials,
ways of selling a product group or providing services to the population.

Sample Business Planning for Small Business

In order to get credit with confidence, you can create a simple business plan, and give a full description of the planned expenses and incomes, but the practical value of such a plan will be small for several reasons:

It will not be possible to simulate all the data, and if they change, you will have to rewrite the document again
It does not display the full state of the business: no fixed asset credentials, equipment depreciation is not included
Such planning makes it impossible for an entrepreneur to pursue previously set goals.

It is best to prepare a working business plan electronically using software such as Microsoft Excel. Open the program and enter the table names in the field:

Fixed assets

The first table should display all the assets of the enterprise that belong to an individual entrepreneur and are involved in the production of products.

Be sure to enter the form of ownership and the value of assets. The depreciation values of the equipment for each year should also be entered here.

The main assets include:

own real estate and vehicles,
equipment and professional tools,
computers and equipment necessary for production.

Fixed assets most often act as collateral for bank lending; they reflect the actual position in business brighter than other indicators. Their total cost should be shown taking into account the depreciation process in the long term, for each month, quarter or year.

This key figure is required for the Enterprise Balance Sheet table.

The cost of goods or services to the population

The second table displays a complete picture of the enterprise's entrepreneurial activities.

Data is entered every month or quarter.

The data of all tables should be interconnected, because in many respects the cost will directly depend on the purchase prices for products.

The table records not only the revenue of the enterprise, but also the quantitative indicators of the sale itself.

Sales of products
Enterprise balance

The Balance table displays complete information about property and intangible assets, liabilities of the enterprise. If the balance sheet is drawn up correctly, then the amounts for the asset converge with the amount of the liability, and this will mean that the company has a healthy financial situation, there are no unaccounted cost items.

Received dividends and a list of required payments
List of employees and their salaries
Main factors

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

A competently drawn up 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 for an investor or lender. Below is a step-by-step instruction on how to write a business plan, with a description of its most important elements and recommendations for drawing up.

What is a Business Plan in simple words and an example

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

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

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

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

Sample Business Plans (download)

Below you will find a few more examples and sample 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:

Interior... Such a business plan is intended solely for private use among the founders. With its help, costs are planned, production volumes and necessary stocks, and the like. Such a business plan should be as close to reality as possible and reflect all risks, even in the worst case scenario. Some of the details of such a business plan, obvious to the founder, can be omitted, since there will be no one to evaluate unnecessary details in this case.
For external users... Such business plans are drawn up for presentation to investors or creditors, as well as to government support bodies from which funds are expected. This type of plan differs not only in greater detail, but also in 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 the prospects described in the plan. The consistency and consistency of the presentation of information, the quality of its presentation, design and accuracy are important. Often, you can use the maximum and minimum possible real numbers where it directly affects the result of the calculation and efficiency, in order to increase the attractiveness of the idea for those who can invest in it. It will be good if all the facts and figures contain sources that support their reliability. A business plan with visual aids will also win.

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

Internal plans should be more meaningful and practical, and the values in the calculations should be closer to the average or even worse option. Plans for external users should be logically and neatly designed, and the meanings in them are usually close to the ideal scenario.

What the Business Plan consists of - Structure

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

Title page.
Confidentiality Memorandum.
Summary.
Objective of the project.
Analysis of the position of the enterprise in the industry.
Description of the product of labor.
Production plan.
Organizational plan.
Risk analysis.
Applications.

Some of the 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 clause describing a 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 field 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 insufficiently represented on the market. Choosing one of these niches is more likely to successfully capture your market share in a short time.

Next, you need to collect all the freely available information about this field of activity. The greatest attention should be paid to real stories and reviews of people who apply 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 the knowledge gaps.

SWOT analysis

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

The name as an abbreviation encodes the essence of the method: strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. It is on these four graphs that the data in the SWOT analysis is distributed.

To the strengths include the advantages that the chosen niche has.
Weak sides should be described in as much detail as possible, since they are needed in order to eliminate them in the future. All the shortcomings in the theoretical implementation of the plan fit into this column, from low profitability to the lack of own premises.

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

Opportunities and threats, on the other hand, are considered external factors that must be either exploited or adjusted and kept in mind. An example of compiling a table for conducting a SWOT analysis of a production project for a business plan is presented below:

Writing a resume

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

In this sub-clause, it is necessary to indicate the goals, tasks set for the business, as well as to argue for the success of the future enterprise. Often in this paragraph, the results obtained from the SWOT analysis are used.

Analysis of the place of the company in the market

This section usually contains an overview of competition in the selected industry, represented by the number of competing firms and their market shares, product specifics and sales volume, if any.

Also, this section usually includes data on the planned size of the created organization and competing organizations: the number of employees, production capacity, 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 a business plan is drawn up for external users, then this paragraph is one of the fundamental 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 of the mandatory elements in its content. In the case of a marketing plan, these elements include product promotion tools, demand analysis, and preliminary sales directions, especially when it comes to production.

Promotional 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, a separate employee, or the services of companies on outsourcing and the invitation of third-party specialists.

Demand marketing research is an extremely difficult and serious job, 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 research will be positively assessed by lenders will be higher.

However, if it is exactly how to draw up a business plan from and to that is important, 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 their own sales program for each, which will include sales volumes for the period, revenue, tax administration (for example, payment of VAT if the counterparty is not its payer etc.), methods and terms of delivery and payment. Here you can also specify the rules and content of future promotions and discounts, if there are any developments on them.

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

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

Production plan

One of the most important elements of any business plan. It is necessary to understand 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 there is no action at all on the part of the staff with the products - for example, a wholesale store that simply buys products, stores them in a warehouse, and then sells them.

If we consider the business plan of a restaurant or coffee house, then the production plan includes everything from the purchase of products for cooking and the time of preparation of the dish or drink, to the equipment used, the cost and shelf life of the finished dish, as well as the process of maintenance of the existing inventory and mechanisms. ...

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

Raw material costs and other production costs.
The cost of purchasing equipment and premises.
Labor costs.
General production and general expenses - rent, utilities, etc.
Overheads.

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

As a result, you can present a production plan, painted by subparagraphs, starting with the purchase of raw materials and ending with the payment of wages and the sale of the final product.

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 table of employees, information on the management of the enterprise, founders, organizational and legal form, planned management mechanisms, distribution of responsibility.

(download in PDF).

Also in this section, the process of documenting activities in the process of its organization is considered, with references to the primary regulatory 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 premises and ending with the launch of production.

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

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

It is imperative 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 cost to finished goods gradually, therefore their cost is accounted for as cost price depending on the useful life in the form of depreciation.

(download).

After the unit cost has been calculated, as well as the volume of fixed costs for a period of time, the break-even production volume is calculated - that is, the amount of products that must be produced and sold at a given price in order to fully cover the cost and fixed costs. A further increase in the volume of 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 the initial costs to the monthly net profit. The result will be in months.

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

Identifying risks

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

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

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. In developing this item, the founder will also be helped by the SWOT analysis carried out at the beginning.

Formation of applications

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

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

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

Such documents should be referenced in the text of the plan. Too voluminous calculations or schemes can also be taken out here.

Each business plan requires an individual approach, but 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 lenders of an existing large enterprise.

Reflect the real situation... If we take into account in the plans greatly inflated profitability indicators or too low prices for raw materials, as a result, you can get a completely different financial result, which was calculated in the marketing plan.
Write in a competent, understandable language... If a business plan is written confusedly and with an abundance of mistakes, no investor or lender will consider such a document seriously.
Consider the nuances... It is necessary to pay attention to such things as seasonal changes in prices for certain goods and services, climatic conditions affecting production. For example, in different regions, the cost of heating workshop premises, especially large ones, can vary greatly.
Draw up a business plan succinctly, but without unnecessary volume... The usual length of this document is 20-25 pages, excluding attachments. If it turns out to be much larger, then all documents, voluminous calculations and diagrams are better placed in applications.
Calculate costs as accurately as possible... If the price of a particular product or raw material fluctuates greatly, it is better to take the maximum values, so that in the event of another price fluctuation, there would be no unpleasant surprise in the form of loss of profitability.
Read similar documents... Working on a plan is much easier when you have an example of writing a business plan at hand. To do this, below are examples of business plans in different areas, which can be taken as a basis.

Conclusion

Drawing up a business plan is a rather difficult 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 drawing up this document, but there are some general points that must be taken into account when drawing up a high-quality business plan.

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