Small business business plan, sample structure and compilation tips

So, you decide to start your own business. The most important tool for starting your business is business planning. What is a business plan for small businesses, an example of the design of summary tables of a plan, what an effective and understandable plan should consist of, how to correctly describe goals and key indicators - you can find answers to all these questions right now.

What is a business plan for?

A carefully thought-out business plan describes the idea of ​​the project, its goals, various aspects of the activity, the main financial and economic indicators, actions to achieve the set goals, analyzes possible problems and suggests ways to solve them.

Drawing up a business plan should be aimed at solving the most important question: whether an entrepreneur should invest money in a business, after what time all the money spent will be paid off, and whether this business will bring real income. Such a plan is drawn up both for oneself (in order to understand whether it is worth doing this business) and for prospective investors.

The laws of the Russian Federation do not provide for a clear business plan structure. It all depends on the nature of the business that you are going to do (manufacturing, sales, services, etc.), on your goals and your desired income. But each business plan for small businesses is approximately the same in the context of some sections.

Structure

When writing a business plan for any area of ​​activity, you can use the following structure:

1. A brief overview of the idea.
2. Market analysis.
3. Marketing.
4. Project financing.
5. Production plan.
6. Economic assessment of indicators.

Project Overview

This is a brief summary, a possible biography of the project, designed to understand the entrepreneur and his investors (if any) how efficient this business can be. This is a brief description of all those indicators that will be discussed below. In a short review, it is necessary to provide the most important materials in order to interest investors in investing money in your business.

The topics of business plans depend on the category of activity that you intend to represent. This may be a plan for creating a cafe, restaurant, store, organizing a workshop, call-center, spa, production activities, etc.

Market analysis

This section should reflect the market situation of the segment of the business in which you intend to start working. It is necessary to clearly understand which market you are going to conquer in order to understand what goals your business plan for small businesses is aimed at. Examples of markets in Russia are:

• consumer (intended for ordinary people buying goods or using services for personal consumption);
• intermediate (intended for the further use of goods and services in the form of wholesale and retail sales, franchising, dealerships);
• state (purchase of goods and services for state needs or under state programs and tenders);
• international market.

In this section, it is necessary to analyze the segment market, fully disclose the characteristics of the main market players, their strengths and weaknesses, and also prove that there will really be a demand for your products or service.

Marketing

The business plan of the enterprise must foresee all your marketing moves. It should reflect the following indicators:

• ways to promote products or services;
• product sales scheme (through its own network, through other organizations, issuance for sale);
• types of advertising;
• pricing methods;
• terms of payment (prepayment, credit, in fact);
• availability of discounts, accumulative and one-time bonuses;
• availability of preliminary arrangements with future consumers.

Project financing

In this section, it is necessary to calculate all possible means in order to launch a project into business. These may be own sources of income, possible investments, the need for loans and credits, and government support.

Production plan

In this section, it is necessary to analyze all production indicators in order to understand how you can engage in this business with minimal costs for production capacity.

The production plan consists of two parts.

Production costs

1. The room and its costs (rent, property, maintenance costs, utility bills, taxes).
2. Equipment for the enterprise (composition, terms of purchase or provision, cost).
3. Capacities and technologies (composition, price, terms of provision).
4. Additional costs (the cost of purchasing the initial product or material for its manufacture, the composition and cost of funds not considered equipment, including stationery and materials for household needs).
5. Staffing, salary, taxes, bonuses.
6. Specific requirements (purchase of a license, patent, additional taxes, etc.).
7. Other costs.

Income from production

1. The number of goods sold (services rendered).
2. The average price per unit of goods (services).
3. The total income from operating activities.
4. The provision of additional services, the sale of additional (non-core) goods.
5. Other income.

Economic assessment of indicators

After collecting all the indicators, you need to analyze them and draw up a project schedule to understand how effectively your business plan for small businesses will be implemented. An example of a schedule is presented in the table below.

Thus, the preparation of a business plan is a serious matter that requires certain skills in the field of legislation, economics and finance. In any case, this document will allow you to see the whole picture of your future business in numbers and decide whether it is worth doing this business or it makes sense to correct something in it.