How to write a business plan. Watch the video: “The most successful small business in the world.” What is SWOT analysis and how to apply it in practice

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When starting a business, an entrepreneur must take into account all the risks, and also be aware of costs and profits. How to do this if the company has not yet been created and your company does not sell anything yet. A clearly and competently drawn up business plan will help you assess the profitability of a particular business.

There are many business plans. For each type of enterprise, a plan must be developed that takes into account the nuances of this type of business. However, each document has sections and structure that can be used to prepare any type of business plan.

Sections of a business plan: sample sample

Here we provide the basic structure of a business plan so you can make one yourself. A quality document should contain the following categories and sections:

1. Title page.

name and address of the company or full name and address of the entrepreneur;
names and addresses of the founders, if any;
name and description of the project; objective of the project;
The total cost of the project.

2. Overview section.

Name;
organizational and legal form of the enterprise;
form of ownership (state, municipal, private, common joint, shared);
authorized capital (for organizations);
average number of employees (determined according to the rules established by Rosstat);
annual turnover (the last year is taken into account);
postal address of the actual place of business, telephone;
bank details (including ruble, currency, deposit accounts);
last name, first name, patronymic, characteristics of the project manager (age, qualifications, etc.).

3. Summary (introductory part).

main provisions of the project;
description of the company's condition;
an indication of the goods and services offered for sale;
potential consumers;
benefits for the organization (entrepreneur) and customers;
financial forecast and general goals of the company for 3 – 7 years;
the amount of required investment;
investment return period;
net profit for the investor from the project.

4. Schedule.

project implementation - time plan (table).

5. Description of the business (company).

company status;
planned activities;
tasks for a period of up to 3 years;
tasks for a period of 5 – 7 years;
the reason for the decision to organize this type of commercial activity;
indication of existing partners (supply and sales);
company goals and means of achieving them;
characteristics of the leadership team.

6. Organizational plan.

information about partners (shareholders), form of ownership;
degree of responsibility of partners;
composition of the company's governing bodies;
organizational structure of the company;
redistribution of responsibilities and functions within the organization.

7. Essence of the project.

products, works and services;
premises;
equipment;
staff.

8. Competition.

assessment of the current state of the sales market (regional, national, international);
buyer benefit;
expected demand;
demand for products, works, services in the future;
planned market share and sales volume;
intended customers and competitors;
solvency of buyers.

11. Products.

example of product application;
product compliance with standards;
competitive advantages of the product compared to similar ones;
the state in which the product is at the stage of drawing up a business plan (development, creation of prototypes, production, etc.);
forecast of the impact of an increase in production volume on the cost of products;
patents, know-how that an organization (entrepreneur) has for a given product.

12. Production plan.

calculation of the required areas for the implementation of the project;
equipment;
fixed assets, their value;
nomenclature, volume of commercial output;
subcontractors;
list of materials;
components of the product planned for production by the company and parts that will be purchased;
raw material suppliers;
reserve sources of raw materials;
methods for improving quality and reducing costs;
ensuring control over the production cycle;
production personnel;
planned changes in staffing in connection with a possible expansion of production.

13. Plan for marketing products or services.

sales tools and channels at this stage and in the future;
costs of contract work;
prices;
marketing policy (pricing issues, discounts, promotions, etc.);
guarantee period;
forecasting the release of new types of products.

company media plan (types of advertising campaigns, quantity, timing, cost).

13. Investments.

required investment amount;
form of making investments;
directions of use;
conditions for providing investments, investor benefits;
lending terms;
warranty obligations.

weaknesses of the company;
the possibility of the emergence of more modern technologies;
alternative activities;
reliability of partners;
inflation;
new competitors;
other risks;
ways to reduce risks;
SWOT analysis.

15. Company costs.

one-time and ongoing expenses;
expenses for the creation, acquisition, rental of fixed assets;
costs of raw materials;
operating costs;
staff remuneration;
taxes;
registration, licensing, permits, admissions, presentations;
interest, dividends;
methodology for estimating the cost of a company's finished products.

16. Revenue.

income from sales of products, works, services;
revenue from other sources of income;
calculation method.

17. Financial and economic assessment.

financial results;
structure of assets (non-current and current);
structure of liabilities;
efficiency of the activities carried out;
financial stability indicators;
comprehensive assessment of the company's financial condition.

18. Organizational performance indicators.

forecast assessment of the company's financial results;
forecast assessment of cash flows;
break-even level;
factor analysis of planned profit relative to the base period;
planned cost structure;
expected profitability indicators;
long-term comprehensive assessment of the company's financial condition.

19. Project sensitivity.

project sustainability to changes in the economic situation and changes in internal indicators;
break-even point.

20. Environmental and regulatory information

location of objects;
use of land under objects previously and at the moment;
construction work, other physical changes associated with the project;
environmental policy of the company;
impact of project implementation on the environment;
list of licenses and permits required for the implementation of the project (time frames and costs),
utility tariffs.

21. Additional information.

important information about the manager and leading employees (business, contact, etc.).

22. Applications.

results of marketing research;
technical characteristics of the product;
letters of guarantee, contracts with suppliers and customers;
lease agreement, rental agreement, etc.
conclusion of sanitary and epidemiological inspection, fire inspection, supervision services on environmental and safety issues;
inventory of basic documents;
financial and accounting information (copies of balance sheets, profit and loss statements, etc.);
quality certificates;
regulations;
articles about the activities of the enterprise (mass media);
reviews from other organizations;
other important information.

Now let’s move on to tips on what to base a business plan on.

If, nevertheless, you have chosen a niche where competition could not be avoided, try to find an opportunity to make your product or service more unique and inimitable. Then you will have the opportunity to set your own price, and the buyer will not compare it with the prices of other sellers.

How can you find something special in your business?

1. Improve a product or service compared to the product or service provided by your competitor.

2. Draw the client’s attention to the special quality of the product.

3. Convince the buyer of the need for your product or service.

SWOT Analysis

To assess the competitiveness of a future business, you need to make a list of advantages. This will help you leave your competitors behind. Marketers are always assessing risks and opportunities. In the language of specialists, this is called SWOT analysis. This abbreviation translates as:

— strengths (strengths and advantages of your business, your advantages over competitors);

- weaknesses (weaknesses, your weaknesses are listed here, what you should pay attention to, and what should be corrected);

- opportunities (opportunities - make a list of all the opportunities for your business);

— threats (threats - what could threaten your business, and what needs to be fixed to reduce risks).

To make it easier to understand what we are talking about, let's look at this using the example of an activity such as a store. The following factors may be the advantage of a future entrepreneur in this area:

if you do not have your own car, it is better if the distance between the house and the store is not large;
In order to understand the assortment and advise clients, it would be nice to have the appropriate education or in a similar matter.
price tags should be large so that it is easy to look at, and the display windows should be uncluttered (then the product will be clearly visible).

Weaknesses, for example, could be:

not very large initial capital;
limited number of suppliers of the required product.

Possibilities:

expansion of the store from one department to several;
the ability to conclude deals with several suppliers.

there is a successful competitor’s store in the next block;
the competitor also has an online store;
A competitor has a successful deal with a supplier.

If you follow these tips, you can make your work easier, since you won’t be asked the price of the product every time. Buyers love to take a good look at everything, or better yet, touch it. If the client leaves satisfied, then this is a guarantee that he will return to you. It is very important to provide the client with all the necessary information; the more complete it is, the better.

Nothing is done without risk. There are circumstances that can worsen the progress of business, such as a reduction in the number of clients or losses.

You must take calculated risks to:

1. Assess the possibility of failure or not achieving the planned number of clients;

2. Note what the dangers are and find a way to neutralize them.

It is difficult to assess the chance of a breakdown, but if you regularly carry out preventive maintenance, it is possible to eliminate it. Other risks can be predicted and neutralized, both the risk itself and its consequences.

Equipment for the enterprise

Also, you should think in detail about what machinery and equipment is needed, be it production or services. If you are in the manufacturing business, find out what features the equipment should have to make your job easier. It is also necessary to clarify whether the power supply system can withstand the load.

It is necessary to compile a complete list of not only the equipment, but also a list of work on its setup and connection, obtaining the necessary registrations and other work. Having created such a list, mark what you have, and what will be missing in the table, evaluate it by its cost and write a deadline for implementation.

It will also be nice if some purchases are made later, when your business improves and the business begins to make a profit. Not everything is necessary at first: there are things you can do without.

Initial capital

Everything you need to buy or pay for will be the main cost of starting your business. Those expenses that must be taken into account to start the operation of an enterprise are called initial capital.

To start your own business, it is better to rely on personal money, because the loan funds will need to be repaid with interest. There is a certain risk in this: since you are a new businessman, there is always the possibility of bankruptcy. By investing only your own funds, you only risk them. If you take out a loan, then, regardless of the success of your business, you will have to return this money soon.

However, many banks offer convenient programs. Try contacting your bank, maybe they can offer you a loan on favorable terms.

We recommend that you start your business with something simple, do not plan complex schemes. Starting small will make it easier for you to build up your strength. For a small business, you need, accordingly, less goods and workers, and this is a significant saving.

Calculating expenses and profits

Have you taken into account all expenses? As a rule, a new businessman invests almost all his money in business. However, here you need to be careful, calculate all the details so that you have enough money not only to start your own business, but also to live. The fact is that profits will begin to flow only after opening, and then not immediately.

The preparatory period is a must, but the calculation of financial indicators and the possible income of your company for the month remains important. How to make a calculation if you have not yet started selling? Your competitors will help you with this.

First, we calculate the monthly income of such enterprises. It is advisable to find out its profit, the number of clients and calculate the approximate monthly income. Do not overestimate the income of your competitors in your calculations; this may lead you astray. If you take 100 customers per day as a basis, you may be wrong, because the number of customers depends on many factors, for example, profit on weekends and weekdays is usually different for most companies. An adequate estimate of the number of buyers will help you more accurately calculate possible profits.

If you have several products in your assortment, estimate the demand for each of them. This is necessary for a detailed calculation of possible income. When calculating, you need to take into account only fixed expenses; all other one-time expenses must be taken into account when calculating the necessary funds to open a business.

For convenience, group your expenses:

— wages to employees;

— purchase of goods;

— insurance payments;

- rent;

- communal payments;

- repair of equipment.

One-time expenses must be calculated separately. This is, for example, equipment repair, or replacement of parts. Repairs to the premises can also be added to such expenses. You need to consider exactly when this work needs to be done and how much money it will cost.

When calculating expenses, you need to divide them into different categories. After this, we sum up all the expenses, the resulting monthly expenses must be subtracted from the monthly income, and we get net profit, without paying tax. Only after this we calculate the tax.

There are several options for paying taxes, these are:

standard taxation;
simplified taxation system;
single tax on temporary income.

For example, your net income is 20,000 rubles, expenses are 40,000 rubles, and your annual income is 60,000 rubles. In this case, VAT is not paid, and the financial system works according to the following scheme:

sales tax 60 thousand x 5%: 105%;
social tax: 20,000 x 22%: 100%;
personal income tax (20,000 – 9,120 (unified social tax)) x 13%: 100%.

After all the calculations, we can subtract the net profit after taxes. To do this, taxes are subtracted from profits, and the resulting number is earnings.

When we are talking about seasonal work, where the profit is not constant, we draw up a monthly calculation. Then we will be able to track the turnover of funds.

One more tip: even if an accountant is in charge of your affairs, we advise you to keep a table of expenses and profits. Constantly monitoring the dynamics of income and expenses will help you avoid a situation where you need to pay taxes or make any other payment, but there are not enough funds in your account. After all, payment must sometimes be made before the receipt of money from clients. When the movement of funds is controlled, you can quickly and, most importantly, resolve your problems on time and avoid troubles.

Each business plan is drawn up for a specific person; copying other people’s business plans is a bad idea, because everything depends only on the capabilities of a particular businessman. When drawing up a business project, you need to focus on the fact that it answers the main questions:

1. Will it be viable?

2. Will this project bring profit?

There must be an accurate and detailed description of the activities of your enterprise, the categories of clients you are targeting. It is necessary to clearly state the sequence of work that must be carried out and the exact lines of their implementation. Another important point: the necessary resources to start a business.

Using a detailed business plan, you can assess competitiveness and assess risks. It will also be clear how familiar you are with the type of your activity and whether you are able to implement this project. The calculation of income and expenses must be up-to-date, prices should not be understated or inflated. You must clearly justify this data. This will help you see all aspects of your future business, avoid risks and lead your company in the right direction.

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A business plan is a valuable document that will help you formulate clear goals, analyze all possible difficulties and problems, as well as ways to solve them.

As the English philosopher and scientist Ernst von Feuchtersleben subtly noted, “plans are the dreams of knowledgeable people.” Thanks to a well-written business plan, you will be able to understand whether it is worth investing in your planned business and whether it will bring the expected income. Another important nuance: if you are going to take out a loan from a bank or look for private investors, they will definitely want to read this document to be sure that the money will not be wasted. A business plan is written for the future and describes the development of the company for 3-5 years forward.

Of course, you can order the development of this document from special consulting firms. But firstly, this pleasure is not cheap: different companies charge from $2,000 to $40,000 for drawing up a good business plan. And secondly, it is better if the planning is carried out by the future leaders of the company, those people who will then be responsible for the implementation of the intended goals.

Let's figure out how to write a business plan yourself. You need to understand that in one document you need to collect all your thoughts, assumptions and ideas, and in order to make your work more convenient, the document must have a clear structure.

How to draw up a business plan yourself: main sections

The first, introductory section of the document is the summary. Write a concise description of the future enterprise or project, the goals of creation and development plans for the next few years, and the target audience. It would also be a good idea to indicate what starting capital is needed to get started and where this money will go.

After this, you can begin writing the main sections of the business plan.

Strategy, goals and objectives

Here you need to describe exactly what you are going to do and in what sequence, with clear financial and time restrictions. That is, what goods and services will be produced, in what volume and when, through what channels they will be sold, etc. It’s good if you immediately write down possible threats and ways to solve such situations.

Product or service description

When thinking about how to write a business plan yourself, do not forget that it will most likely not be read by specialists. Therefore, it is very important to express yourself in simple, understandable and accessible language. In this section, you should talk about your product and its application, how it is unique and different from other analogues, what technologies and qualifications are needed to run a business, and also highlight issues related to licenses and patents.

Market analysis

This is one of the most difficult and important sections of the document. Serious preliminary work will be required: collecting “rough” information, analyzing competitors and the target audience, surveys, etc. You must describe everything you know about your potential buyers, products or services of competitors, their strengths and weaknesses, study volumes, growth and market prospects. By the way, you need to analyze not only alternative products, but also the competitors themselves, their marketing strategy and service.

Management and staff

In this section, you describe the composition of your work team, their professional and personal qualities, work experience, etc. Try to describe in as much detail as possible the functions and tasks of each employee, as well as the form of reporting on the work performed. In addition, you need to resolve issues related to wages and benefits.

Marketing plan

In order for your business to generate income, you need people - your potential buyers - to know about it. When you decide to write a business plan, be sure to indicate the advantages of your company and products compared to competitors, product distribution schemes, advertising and sales promotion methods.

Detailed production plan

Here you can describe where and what premises you plan to rent, equipment that needs to be purchased, sources of supply of materials, etc.

Detailed financial analysis

The writing of this section should be treated as the most important stage of the entire work. It is by this that potential investors will evaluate you, and your profit will depend on how well it is compiled. We need a detailed sales plan, with volumes and timing for several scenarios. Carry out all the necessary calculations for a favorable, standard and unfavorable development of events - it is desirable that even in the latter option you can break even.

Making a business plan yourself is easy! 3 golden rules

Look at a few other people's successful business plans. It is not even necessary that they be related to the area of business in which you plan to work. The main thing is to see which sections the entrepreneurs placed the greatest emphasis on, how they looked at different problems and situations, what they did to analyze the market, etc.
Follow a clear structure. Your document should not contain “jumps” from one topic to another - everything is clear, understandable and accessible. It is believed that one page should be an abstract (a written appeal to senior management - your readers), 1-3 pages should be a summary of the project, and the business plan itself should be from 45 to 60 pages. Any additional materials can be included in the appendices.
Be honest. First of all, to yourself. If you objectively assess all the risks and critical situations that may occur, and try to think through everything to the maximum, this will only add advantages to you in the eyes of experienced investors.

Even if you know how to write a business plan yourself, don’t be afraid to turn to specialists to re-read and check it - perhaps with “fresh eyes” they will see something that you had not noticed before.

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

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

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

We set ourselves the ultimate goal

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

Awareness of the initial location (what we will start from, the so-called point “A”).
Determining the final goal, the achievement of which will be the most important result (let it be point “B”).
Drawing up a clear sequence of how to get from point “A” to point “B”, as well as understanding the mechanism and its elaboration.

We determine for whom we are drawing up a business plan

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

For potential investors . These may be creditors, government support bodies that provide subsidies and other incentives to developing businesses, and various grant providers.

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

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

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

Presentability will depend on the presentation in front of potential investors; you will need to use slides and visual aids (samples, research results, etc.).

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

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

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

We do a preliminary analysis

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

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

What is SWOT analysis and how to apply it in practice

The name of this technique stands for “Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.” It is used to assess all internal and external factors affecting the organization. An important advantage is the objectivity of the SWOT analysis; it reflects a truly real picture.

It is necessary to take a serious approach to the development of each of the indicators. At the same time, strengths are the initial advantages of working in this field. Weaknesses are studied to eliminate them. So, for example, if the weakness is the lack of your own premises, it is worth considering the possibility of purchasing them, while eliminating this disadvantage. These two parameters relate more to internal factors, because they are determined by the position of the organization itself.

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

After working through all aspects of the SWOT analysis, you need to begin considering individual sections of the business plan. In addition, it is necessary to pay attention to assessing the resources of the described project, including monetary, labor, intellectual, and time. This will significantly save time and also help to preliminary assess the effectiveness and costs of the project.

You can familiarize yourself with the structure and sections in the corresponding article presented earlier.

We create a title page, a resume, and set goals for a business project.

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

Next they move on to writing a resume. It is important to understand what this section consists of after working through the rest. It contains consolidated information about what will be considered in the project. Conventionally, a summary can be called a kind of “squeeze” from the remaining sections of the project. It is important that in this section the reader receives an answer to the two most important questions:

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

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

Analyzing the market

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

	Advantages	Flaws	How to increase your chances of winning the competition
Our organization
Competitor #1
Competitor No. 2
…

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

We evaluate the organization’s capabilities in this industry

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

For those companies that are just planning to open, it is necessary to take the choice of open pension fund and tax system very seriously. It will also be necessary to study legislation: various regulations and other documents.

We describe the product or service

In this section, special attention should be paid to goods and services that will generate profit. You first need:

Make a detailed description of the major and minor items. It is advisable to provide the project with photographs of finished products (samples) or the samples themselves.
Compare the product with the description of the portrait of the potential consumer.
It is worth highlighting the advantages and disadvantages of each product and comparing it with competitive products in the industry. Based on the information received, competitiveness is assessed. This data can be presented in the following tabular form:

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

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

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

We draw up a marketing plan

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

It is necessary to study in great detail the demand in the market segment in which you plan to operate. In this case, it is worth determining average prices, elasticity (variability) of demand, and methods of stimulation. It is also important to study target segments and buyer groups.

It is worth thinking about the methods of distribution, as well as consumers, be they legal entities, individuals or end consumers. For each of them, you can develop a separate sales program.

You also need to think about possible ways to attract customers. In addition, you can think about advertising campaigns and exhibitions.

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

It is important not to overestimate projected sales so that the data looks realistic. It is necessary to justify the amount while giving confidence to creditors.

If desired, you can create realistic, pessimistic and optimistic scenarios, justifying each of them.

In general, any marketing program can be represented as:

We draw up a production plan

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

In this case, it is initially necessary to consider the available and necessary production capacities, including premises and equipment. The information can also be presented in tabular form:

It is also very important to draw up plans for the supply of raw materials and their storage. In addition, you need to clearly depict the production process itself (this information can be placed in applications).

Information about the required employees is also indicated, a staffing table is drawn up, indicating qualifications, the method of calculating wages, work schedule and other information.

We draw up an organizational plan

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

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

In addition, legal aspects must be included here.

Making a financial plan

This section is devoted to drawing up a detailed estimate. In other words, all costs that will be necessary are planned. This is best done in tabular form, ensuring clarity and ease of study.

It is worth understanding that any organization has one-time and recurring costs. Non-recurring costs include fixed assets, but periodic ones, in turn, are divided into constant and variable. Fixed costs do not depend on production volume. Of course, it makes sense to talk about fixed costs only in the short term, since in the long term any costs become variable.

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

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

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

To calculate payback periods, you can use a simplified formula:

Payback period = One-time costs/Net monthly profit.

You can also include calculations of profitability here (it is worth considering that there are many formulas, you need to choose the one that is suitable for the type of business and what exactly the profitability of is being calculated).

Considering the risks

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

Possible risks.
The likelihood of their occurrence.
Ways to avoid.
Possible losses.

If you plan to insure any risks, this also needs to be reflected in the business plan. Don't forget to include insurance costs in your financial plan.

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

Sometimes various applications are added, which include diagrams, graphs, tables, certificates, contracts, licenses. We can say that this is a kind of visual material, which is placed in a separate section in order not to clutter up the project itself.

Applications

You really need to include all the documents that were discussed in the business plan and that would serve as confirmation of all of the above. These can be various schemes, plans, resumes, certificates of creditworthiness, letters of guarantee, various statutory documents, etc.

The most common mistakes made when drawing up a business plan

Ignoring the seasonality of work. Such a defect nullifies all the calculations made. If the business is seasonal, then this must be taken into account when calculating sales volumes, while trying to compensate for the shortfall in other months.
Overestimation of planned sales (production) volumes. This indicator will also affect the efficiency of fixed assets and production capacity utilization.
Incorrect calculation of working capital. It is important not only to determine the profit, but also the part that will have to be used for the further functioning of the business.
Mixing of cash flows. This refers to the situation when the company itself finances the project.
Understating the discount rate. Also applies to own resources. The error is due to the fact that the possibilities of using funds are assessed not in the amount in which they could be used.
The business plan is too large. There is no need to clutter the project with unnecessary information.
Unrealistic data. All information must be supported by compelling arguments.
There is no uncertainty about additional funding. It either exists or it doesn’t.
Incomplete information about financial forecasts. Before the project pays off, all financial data must be indicated separately for each month.
Superficial market analysis. You need to thoroughly study the segment in which you are going to work, because the success of the business depends on it.
"Approximate" costs. All of them must be taken into account and be accurate, because the profit of your enterprise will depend on this.

Instead of a conclusion

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

Useful instructions on how to write a business plan. Take note!

Even if you first asked the question, how to write a business plan, then you understand that it is impossible to get a finished document in 10-15 minutes. However, all the time spent will be fully paid off.

A well-drafted plan will help outline the opening stages, a project development plan, assess the risks of the activity and get help from investors.

Being able to articulate what you want and how you plan to achieve it means doing half the job.

It often happens that a novice entrepreneur, faced with risks that he did not draw up on paper in advance, loses motivation and gives up developing his business. Therefore, you need to pay due diligence and write a competent business plan.

How to create a “Summary” section in a business plan

This part of the document is the shortest; 5-7 sentences are enough.

But its value cannot be underestimated. This is especially true for those who need to draw up a business plan to receive financial assistance from investors or a bank!

The summary should concisely indicate the essence of the project. Depending on how interesting and capacious this section of the business plan is, potential investors will either enthusiastically study everything from cover to cover, or immediately close and put the document aside.

Having outlined your goals, you can move on to specifying practical information, figures and activity forecasts.

We draw up a business plan: company activities

To draw up this section of the business plan, you need to dwell in more detail on the activities of your future company. Moreover, we are talking not only about the name, details, location and other characteristics.

What goals do you set?
How should you achieve them?
If there are several founders, indicate the distribution of roles.
What will be your competitive advantage?
What prospects for the development of the business do you see?

Be sure to conduct an analysis of your target audience. It needs to be presented as specifically as possible in order to be able to determine the ways of “enticement”.

A separate item in the business plan should include a description of the product or services provided by the company. This includes any information: from technical parameters to color and packaging design.

How to Analyze a Market Niche When Writing a Business Plan

An analysis of the current state of affairs on the market will help you and potential investors correctly identify a possible niche, potential business risks, customer flow and other important parameters.

The phrases “has no competitors” and “one of a kind” should definitely be avoided when drawing up a business plan. Even if at the time of opening you have a monopoly on the market.

In the case where the services or goods offered really have great prospects for development, tomorrow there may be those who also want to make money on it. This must be taken into account and be able to predict.

If there are already competitors, the situation becomes simpler. You just need to specify them and describe the activity using the following parameters:

Quantity and names.
The share that each holds in the market.
If there are too many competitors (as is often the case in retail), describe the main ones.
Determine their strengths and weaknesses independently and honestly.
Based on this data, you need to create competitive advantages for the previous section.
Describe the advertising methods used and their effectiveness in such activities.

During this work, you also need to isolate the strong behavioral drivers of these firms (pricing, customer acquisition, special services) and use them to grow your business.

How to create a “Production” section for a business plan

Planning without action is a dream. Action without planning is a nightmare.
Japanese proverb

No less important is the section of the plan describing production.

The business plan must indicate how, from what and on what equipment products will be produced or services will be performed. What equipment do you need to achieve your goal, and what do you need to purchase? Technology also matters, especially if you plan to introduce any innovations that no one else has yet introduced.

But what if you do not plan to produce products, but will order them from suppliers?

In this case, you need to indicate from whom you will buy the finished product. All details are important: names of organizations, terms and conditions of delivery, confirmation of reliability.

The main task of this section of the business plan is to convince investors that the activity will not “stop” a day after the start due to the banal lack of necessary materials.

Drawing up the financial section of a business plan

No matter how important all the previous chapters of the plan are, it is impossible to draw up a business plan without financial calculations and you need to pay special attention to them.

You can easily analyze your expenses yourself. They are divided into two categories: opening costs and monthly development costs.

What does it include?

Start-up costs

Cost of equipment.
To describe the equipment, it is worth creating a separate section in the business plan. You need to make a list of equipment, indicate technical characteristics and supplier.
Purchase of raw materials and consumables.
As with equipment, you need to not only list the items and their costs, but also where you will order them. The supplier must be reliable and, in addition, offer the best prices.
Paperwork.
This includes the costs of registering your state of emergency, purchasing a seal, and obtaining permits from the relevant authorities.
Repair and decor.
If the room requires renovation (and most often it does), you need to indicate who will do it and why. Also indicate in the business plan who will supply the building materials.
Purchase of premises (only if it is not rented).

Monthly expenses

Staff salaries.
In a separate section of the business plan, you should make a list of positions that will participate in the company's activities. For each, you need to write down your responsibilities, based on the labor code. The salary is also indicated. The total data on regular expenses for paying wages is entered into the corresponding column of monthly expenses. If you plan to increase your salary in the future, as well as conduct training courses and advanced training courses, you also need to write about this.
Rental of premises.
Most ideas for organizing a business require just such a solution. If in the future you want to become the full owner of the premises, look for an option with the possibility of subsequent purchase. As long as the building is leased, you do not risk anything. If the business fails, you simply break the contract. But if it is purchased, if it fails, you will have to suffer significant financial losses.
Replenishment of materials.
Indicate in your business plan what, in what volumes and from whom you need to buy. The list of consumables may include food, stationery, household chemicals and other small related products.
Public utilities.
Most often, utilities are paid separately from the rent for the premises. Therefore, data on the amounts also needs to be entered into the expenses table of the business plan.
Tax deductions.
To analyze the potential income from an activity, you need to study the sales figures of close competitors. It is somewhat easier for those who already have an existing business that requires additional investment. Then it is enough to take the current indicators and calculate their potential growth. Those who have not yet entered the market can make calculations based on data on the future cost of the most potentially popular positions or services.

Based on these data, it’s as easy as shelling pears to calculate the amount of future profit and the time the activity will reach the so-called break-even point.

P.S. Potential investors and bank representatives issuing commercial loans pay particular attention to this data in the business plan.

All the above data must be compiled in the form of tables and placed in a separate application. This makes it easier to study the indicators.

But information about profit growth or the development of sales levels should be presented in the form of a graph. Don’t overdo it, because a curve that suddenly goes from negative to sky-high profit is more likely to arouse suspicion than delight and approval.

We draw up a risk analysis in the business plan

No one will invest money in a project that may fail immediately after the start due to a lack of analysis of potential risks. Therefore, this data also needs to be included in the business plan.

What might be included in this category?

Decrease in consumer demand for your goods or services.
Sales level is too low.
Changes in the economic state of the country (“jumps” in exchange rates, price changes).
Emergencies (fire, work injury, natural disasters).

All these and other potential risks need to be more than just listed. You need to draw up a business plan for solving them for the company if you suddenly find yourself in such a situation. Such an analysis will help in an emergency to save the business and act correctly. In addition, it instills confidence in your activities and in yourself.

where practical and life recommendations are presented

on the correct preparation of a business plan!

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Brief instructions

You have an idea. You want to create your own business. Great. What's next? Next, you need to “put everything in order,” 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, the necessary costs and the payback period. Think about what is important and interesting for your recipients to hear.

Use a small cheat sheet for yourself:

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

SWOT analysis - (English)Strengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,Threats - strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats. A method of planning and strategy development that allows 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 of funds (investment and own)

2. Marketing plan

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

3. Plan for the production of goods or services

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

4.Organization of the work process

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

5. Financial plan and risk forecast

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

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

Company summary. Briefly about the main thing

Marketing plan. There are empty seats?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Production plan. What are we selling?

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

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

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

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

Organization of the work process. How will it work?

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

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

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

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