Each successful entrepreneur can confidently declare that a well-designed business plan acts as one of the most important elements in forming your own business. Understanding how to properly design the future enterprise, you can predict a positive result when contacting a credit institution or investor. Consider the basic rules for writing a business plan.
Document Purpose
Writing a business plan (an example project will be discussed below) can be done in various ways. To do this, there are a variety of guidelines and manuals. However, in most of them the information is very specific and understandable only to economists or accountants. Along with this, the need for a business plan arises for all novice entrepreneurs. The document is necessary for providing to a credit organization, obtaining a loan from an investor for the development of the business at the initial stages. In addition, the business plan allows you to see the nearest and upcoming goals, to forecast investments at one stage or another of the enterprise’s development, to anticipate the moment when the first profit arrives, and to calculate the total income from the activity.
Specificity of enterprises
To obtain a loan for the construction of a plant or factory, it is more advisable to contact the appropriate organizations that can provide qualified assistance in writing a business plan. In this case, the document will contain economic calculations and be supported by financial documents drawn up in accordance with all the rules for their execution. A business plan drawn up in this way can be sent without hesitation to both foreign investors and domestic credit companies. However, in this case, it should be understood that the services for designing the project of the future enterprise will be expensive. For the opening of a mobile outlet or point for repairing clothes or shoes, for example, there is no need to study the investment climate in detail or calculate industry risks. In this case, it will be quite competent to organize production, determine a sales market, and forecast the payback period of an enterprise. A program for writing a business plan for such an activity will be understandable to a novice entrepreneur.
Important point
Entrepreneurs with a sufficiently large experience in doing business do not recommend unconditionally relying on the experience of acquaintances or friends and only on their intuition. Forecasting activity does not appear as an outdated component of socialist reality. Planning is an essential element of modern business. The analysis of the payback period, the determination of the periods of investment, development and subsequent returns are the most important aspects, even with a relatively small investment. Concepts such as “market” and “plan” are fundamental both in the East and in the West. At the present stage of economic development, it is enough to adopt the experience of successful companies and get positive results.
Sample writing a business plan
The project of the future business is necessary for the investor, credit organization, as well as the entrepreneur himself. The structure of writing a business plan includes a number of mandatory points. These include, but are not limited to:
- introduction;
- a brief description of the future enterprise;
- characteristics of services / products ;
- assessment of the market, competition, investment risks;
- production plan;
- sales forecasts for services / goods;
- financial plan;
- management organization;
- personnel composition ;
- Appendix.
Adaptation to the Russian market
The above plan for writing a business plan is recommended by Western analysts. However, in the practice of domestic entrepreneurship, some of its points require clarification and additional decoding. So, taking into account the peculiarities of the Russian business sphere, a section should be included in the plan for writing a business plan, which reveals an adequate understanding of problems and issues related to the quality of services and goods. Here it is necessary to give possible solutions. It is also advisable to include an item in the plan for writing a business plan that describes the ability to competently manage and regulate the cost of services / products. In the same section, it is worth disclosing ways to ensure its competitiveness. Another additional point will be a clear vision of the prospects for the development of the enterprise, a guarantee of the ability to complete the job.
Business Plan Writing Plan: Do It Yourself
First of all, one should clearly assess the competitiveness of the proposed services or goods, analyze the market, the timing of the first profit, the time during which the investment will pay for itself. The next step will be to determine the amount of required investment. Experts recommend dividing the investment into several parts, supporting the rationale with appropriate calculations. Given these points, it should be understood that a business plan drawn up independently can fundamentally differ from the above structure. It should also be noted that the form of the project, regulated by norms and standards, does not exist. Each entrepreneur has the right to independently establish a list of items, the amount of documentation for enterprise planning. However, if external investment is necessary to open a business, you should still adhere to the above scheme.
Introduction
This section of the business plan is a presentation of the future enterprise. It is necessary to describe the type of activity in an understandable form in the most optimistic light. It often happens that the introduction is the only section that the investor reads on his own and immediately decides whether to take the project into development or reject it. The study of the remaining parts, which display calculations, marketing research, financial justifications, he will entrust to his specialists. However, as practice shows, it is the introduction that decides the fate of the project. This section should be short and capacious at the same time.
Characteristics of the industry and enterprise
This is the next important part of the business plan. This section provides a general description of the enterprise and industry:
- Financial performance.
- Personnel composition.
- The direction of activity.
- Company structure.
- List and description of services / products.
- Development prospects and so on.
The section should contain the characteristics of the proposed production, a number of technological aspects. These points should be described in a simple and accessible language. There is no point in delving into the terminology, using a professional style. In this case, it is enough to indicate the uniqueness of services or products, the demand for the near and foreseeable future. You can also draw the attention of the investor to the benefits of the products offered.
Marketing research
Here you should describe the conditions under which consumers become customers of the enterprise. The section outlines methods of sales promotion, creating a positive image, distribution of services / goods. The marketing plan includes a list of advertising costs. In essence, it should be justified how and why consumers will purchase a service or product.
Production
This section should describe the processes. The characteristics of the premises are also given here, the established requirements for equipment and personnel are indicated. The production plan should also describe suppliers and contractors.
Organization of the enterprise and financial component
The business plan should contain a description of the management form, tasks of specialists in the administrative apparatus. For a domestic investor, a resume for each member of the management department is important. In this regard, in this section it is worth listing partners, noting the most truthful and objective contribution of each of them to the development of the enterprise, functional responsibilities and role in the company. The financial part provides economic calculations. In particular, a table of income and expenses is compiled, a balance is forecasted, variables and direct costs are indicated, costing is performed and so on. Usually in this section three forecasts are developed: realistic, optimistic and pessimistic. They are displayed as graphs.