Having opened any normal article dedicated to the topic of business, you will find there a piece of advice about the fact that everyone, even the smallest start-up, can not be run without having made a pre-business plan - an elaborate commercial document with real calculations.
But not all beginning entrepreneurs know what a business plan is and how to write it correctly?
In principle, this is easy if you have a clear vision of what your startup should be, what scenario it should develop, and there is enough money to realize your ideas.
What is a business plan and what are its functions?
The business plan of is the main document of every entrepreneur, in which the company and the target market are characterized, what it is about to occupy, the launch of the startup is phased in, the specific calculations are carried out.
All this helps to facilitate the process of opening a new company and avoid many unpleasant surprises.
And, of course, you can not do without it when you are going to involve a partner or sponsor in your project.
If you start explaining on your fingers what exactly you want to do, no business person will listen to you, considering you an absolutely frivolous businessman, who should not be dealt with.
Quite different situation you will encounter when you come with a thoughtful document that contains specific calculations.
The business plan can be compiled not only in case of launching a new start-up, but also when it is necessary to expand production, take the company out of the crisis, reorient its business, etc.
In short, we see that the business plan is a multifunctional document.
Functions that the business plan fulfills:
- Indicates the main direction by which the company will move.
- Promotes a real assessment of the market segment that you are going to occupy, and your main competitors.
- Contains description of marketing moves to promote a new business, competitive advantages and other.
- Helps to formulate the development of the company, both at short-term stages, and a long-term growth strategy.
- Visually demonstrates how much money you need to have to start a startup, taking into account all the risks and unforeseen circumstances.
- Includes a full startup startup characteristic: personnel, equipment, room, products, etc.
- Insures the owner of the enterprise against major risks.
- Allows you to predict potential revenues and how they will be distributed.
- Identifies the individuals who will be responsible for implementing each of the startup or expansion phases of the startup.
- Demonstrates how much time you need to open and untwist the project.
What is a business plan and what structure should it have?
As the business plan is a serious document, it has a clear structure.
You can slightly change the backbone on your own, but the main sections, which describe all aspects of the startup, the development plan, financial calculations, etc., it should contain.
1. Summary
This is one of the most important components of the business plan, because often it is read by investors and possible partners.
In no case should not be frivolous to write a resume, but should give this section enough attention, strength and time.
You should state as briefly and clearly as possible in the summary of the business plan:
- name and description of the company;
- main objectives that you intend to achieve;
- the relevance and prospects of your startup;
- the sales and profit that you want to achieve;
- the amount of estimated costs;
- payback period of business, etc.
2. Description
This section is necessary so that you and your partners understand:
- what exactly will your enterprise do;
- on which market will work;
- what will be its legal form;
- what products and services the company is going to release on the market;
- as far as these products and services are competitive;
- which niche the company plans to occupy, etc.
Do not make this section too big not to get confused yourself and not to tire out before time those who will read your description.
3. Analysis of competitors
It is very important even before starting a start-up and even before writing a business plan to evaluate their direct competitors in order to understand:
- how their affairs are;
- is there a free niche for you;
- can you compete with them on an equal footing;Does the
- have sufficient capacity to form a client base?
- what features of the work should be borrowed from their competitors, and what their errors can be avoided, etc.
Based on this analysis, you will form your competitive advantages, which will help you in the development of the client base and making good profits.
The more important your competitive advantages, the more income you can expect.
4. Marketing features of
Each new company must report itself to the greatest possible number of potential customers in a short time.
That's why it's so important to think ahead of the advertising campaign and describe it in your business plan.
You can compose this section not independently, but together with your advertising manager.
The more advertising tools you attract, the faster you will spin your business.
And in this section, you can describe the marketing strategy for the production of goods, its branding, expanding the product range, and so on.
5. Organization of work
In this structural element of the business plan should think:
- on what schedule will work your company;
- in what specialists it needs;
- how different parts of the enterprise will interact with each other;
- what working conditions and social guarantees you will provide your employees;
- what will be the organizational and functional structure of the company and so on.
Some entrepreneurs believe that the organization of work can be thought of already at the stage of startup startup.
This is a big mistake, after all, having painted this section in detail, you will save time when you start working.
6. Financial component of
Another core section of your business plan, detailing which, you will know exactly how much money you will need to start a business, what profit you can expect and how soon capital investment will pay off.
Here are some tips on how to prepare a financial plan for a business plan:
- Investigate prices for everything you need: real estate, transportation, equipment, salaries, etc.
- Do not overstate or understate prices, submit real numbers in the business plan.
- Be sure to put the cost of maintaining the business in the amount of capital investments until it starts to give normal incomes( it usually takes 3 months for a small or medium-sized start-up to pay for itself).
If you do not have enough money to start a business and you need investments or loans, then be sure to indicate in this section of the business plan how much money you need and how quickly you plan to return them.
7. Risk Analysis
Any new business, even what seems promising and profitable - is a risk.
You can not be sure that your project will start to generate large profits, but will not be unprofitable.
Think about what risks your startup is expecting, and how you can minimize them.
It is also very useful to describe a few critical situations and ways out of them - so you will be ready for unpleasant surprises and can without special losses get out of tense situations and avoid mistakes that await many beginning entrepreneurs.
What mistakes are made by those who did not fully understand what a business plan is?
If you do not fully understand what a business plan is, you will make too many mistakes when composing it, which in the future will affect your work.
It's better to spend time on the preparatory period than to correct serious mistakes, to compensate for financial losses, to look for a new partner, etc.
8 basic mistakes of those who make up a business plan:
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Write a quick plan.
Of course, you, as a person who launches a startup, do a lot of work, but enough time is needed to write, check and adjust the plan.
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Feel free to rush for help when you need it.
Can not understand yourself on this issue?
So look at the network samples, which you can navigate, ask for help from people who have already drafted this financial document, hire a specialist, after all.
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Enter in the business plan approximate figures.
Before you prepare a document, study the cost of renting real estate in your city, prices for equipment and other points.
You need to know exactly how much money you will need to open one or another type of activity.
Both understatement and overestimation of prices will also entail serious problems.
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Unsolved issues.
For example, you think that you should not paint in detail the competitive advantages and marketing moves for business promotion, that with all this you can understand the process.
And then at a meeting with sponsors you do not know what to answer their questions.
Yes, even if you have enough money to start a company, it's better to think things over beforehand.
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An ill-conceived schedule.
You want to start the project as quickly as possible, therefore in the business plan you indicate that you will open the restaurant from scratch for a month and make it self-supporting for 2 months.
But this is not a realistic time frame for the implementation of calendar stages, so why lie to yourself?
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Unwillingness to take into account the human factor.
Run a single-startup - very difficult, you need to form a team.
But to make the main bet is not on the idea, but on people - it's wrong.
Is this what you will do if your team disintegrates?
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Lack of clear goals.
"I want to become a businessman" is not a goal, but a dream. The goal is: "I want to open a hardware store on the first floor of a block of flats in a densely populated area that will work without days off, etc."
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Pandering to your ambitions.
You have 50 000 rubles of starting capital, but you start planning to open an industrial enterprise that requires a capital investment of $ 1,000,000, while you do not really know what exactly your enterprise will produce, where there will be product markets, not allthe rest.
Why such Napoleonic plans, if much more reasonable - to think about opening a promising small enterprise?
The video presents practical recommendations for a competent business plan:
Where to find an example of a good business plan?
If you are not prepared to do your own business plan, because you are afraid of doing something wrong or missing important points, it makes sense to ask for help from a financier or marketer.
They will create for you an excellent document, which will be for you at the initial stage of support in the work and help attract investors.
If you are ready to independently understand all the nuances of the topic, but would not refuse samples of documents and useful advice, then I will recommend you some useful sites where you can find ready business plans with calculations on almost any topic.
The best resources for businessmen are:
- http://biznesprost.com
- http: //timesnet.ru/magazine/4/
- http: //openbusiness.ru/
- https://biznes-prost.ru /category/ biznes-plan
If we present a good business plan in the form of a scheme, it will look something like this:
If, in spite ofeverything that you have learned today is still difficult for you to understand, what is the business plan of and how to correctly compile it, it is better to contact a specialist who will write this document for you and help start a profitable and promising start-up.