How to make your own business plan. The most common mistakes

First, I’ll tell you briefly about my results in business. At the moment, I am the owner of several large Internet projects, the total cost of which is more than several million rubles, including a portal site. It is for this reason that I can openly express my opinions regarding business planning and various business processes. The knowledge and skills that I possess were acquired not in a university or a textbook, but in conditions of market competition through dozens of experiments.

To write or not to write a business plan?

Let's open any of the university textbooks about business, and in each of them it will be written that a business begins with a business plan. And even if the bearded professors with glasses don’t like what I say next, let’s build on the results these professors have achieved in business. As a rule, these are theorists who have never led large companies. But they all echo that a well-drafted business plan is 50% of the success of your future company.

To be honest, I even feel funny at such moments. You can plan for at least a whole year, make a plan for 100 A4 sheets, and then your business will fail.
Do you know why? Yes, because it's a market! The market is constantly changing, transforming, and it is cruel, especially for newcomers. You will never be able to predict everything that can happen to you or your business idea. That is why my personal opinion is that drawing up a business plan for a long time is a waste of your time.

Although there are several situations where a business plan can come in handy.

When is a business plan really needed?

In our age of bureaucracy, you simply cannot do without a business plan in two main cases:

— You want to receive a grant or subsidy for business development from the state.
Unfortunately, the entrepreneurship support system in the Russian Federation is such that you won’t even be accepted without a business plan. The main reason is that most of the officials in business support centers have no idea what business is, because... They have never studied it and are used to acting according to textbooks and regulations. The principle works here: the more paper in the business plan, the better. In the eyes of officials, such a business plan will look as if serious work has been done on it.

— You are preparing a business plan for an investor.

It is important to clearly understand that an investor is far from an official! As a rule, this is already an experienced businessman who will not tinker with the stack of papers that you brought him. For him, two things matter most:
1) The idea you came up with. She must “infect” him, he must want to do this business.
2) How well you understand the topic. Be prepared for dozens of questions. And you will have to answer all these questions.

These are probably the two main situations in which you really need a business plan.

When you don't need to make a business plan!

I remember when I was 22 years old, I even bought myself a smart book called “Business Planning.” At that time, I generally had vague ideas about business. I can already say that this was one of my most stupid purchases. I wanted to write a business plan FOR MYSELF! Never write business plans for yourself! It’s better to devote this time to studying the market, study it inside and out, and finally launch your business. The maximum time you can spend on creating a business plan is 1–2 hours of working time! Just take a piece of paper, a pen and calculate all the indicators. A business plan should fit on a maximum of 1 piece of paper, no need to write 30-page Talmuds!

Sample business plan “Business on social networks”

One of the main areas of my business is business on social networks, namely business on public pages.

I would like to immediately note that the data presented is already confirmed, and I drew up this business plan after launching the project and receiving profit from it. That is, after the fact. I will add my comments to each paragraph.

Idea: creating a public VKontakte page for the purpose of selling advertising, your products, and participating in affiliate programs on it.

Ways to make money on the project:
- advertising sales,
- partnership programs,
- selling your goods.

Main affiliate programs:
— ,
— .

What products can be sold:
— women's beauty and health products,
- Products for children,
- household goods.

Analysis of a competitor's project

Sample business plan “Car Parking”

Of course, I couldn’t help but use an ordinary university business plan as an example! And such an example was the sample BP for organizing a parking lot. As for my opinion about this business plan, I can say that the abundance of numbers in it can only please an official or a university teacher, but not a real entrepreneur. You can download this business plan from the link below:

Startup basics: a good financial plan, not drive and cats

Having a business is a great way to start earning money on your own, but it cannot be opened without first developing a special project. In this publication you will find the answer to the following questions: what is a business plan, how to draw up this document, are there any nuances of its design.

What is a business project?

A business project describes all the features of the future organization. It analyzes possible problems, identifies options for solving them, and predicts the result. How to draw up a correct business plan is a question asked by people who are planning to attract investors. Competent preparation of the document will guarantee the successful future of your enterprise.

Drawing up a correct business project is not easy even for an experienced entrepreneur, so it is advisable to entrust this work to a team of competent economists. The plan must contain, regardless of the type of activity:

1. Justification of economic feasibility.
2. The state of the economic environment in which it is planned to open a business.
3. Financial results (sales volume, revenue and profit).
4. Sources of financing.
5. Task execution schedule.
6. Appointment of people responsible for the implementation of the business.
7. Determine indicators that allow you to monitor intermediate results.

Development of your business. Now it's time to calculate everything in detail. Step-by-step instructions will help you with this: how to write a business plan.

A business plan is a detailed description of your project with calculations and prospects for the next few years. Potential investors or the bank you go to for a loan need it; partners, intermediaries, your team and, ultimately, you as the creator of the project.

A business plan is usually written three to five years in advance. But you can take a year, since economic conditions change quickly.

The main task of a business plan is to convince potential partners that this is an interesting project from an investment point of view that will recoup the money and effort invested.

If you are going to open a typical offline business or a franchise business (for example, a café-patisserie), the Business Navigator of the Federal Corporation for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (SME Corporation) will help you automatically draw up a business plan in a minute.

Let’s say you are ready to invest 200,000 rubles of your own funds into the project and you managed to receive the same amount from investors. In total this is 400,000 rubles. It is also worth assessing the expected income in the first month. For example, you plan to sell 100 chocolates for 200 rubles each. In total, your expected income in the first month is 20,000 rubles.

Example of a cost plan for the first month

And this calculation will need to be done every month.

Don't forget about taxes that will need to be paid at the end of the calendar year. To calculate your taxes, choose one of five tax systems.

For a small online store, you can choose, for example, a simplified taxation system for individual entrepreneurs. Under this system, you only pay tax on individual entrepreneur income - 6%, and in some regions - only 1%. If the profit is negative, you do not need to pay tax.

Taking into account the financial plan, you will be able to calculate how much money you will need to launch the project, when it will reach self-sufficiency and when you will be able to return all the invested funds.

Example of a financial plan for an online chocolate store

Conclusion: the store will break even in the third month. By the end of the year, the project will fully recoup the investment. The business idea is worthy of implementation.

If you doubt your calculations, it is better to involve a specialist in drawing up a financial plan. It costs some money, but the costs will be much lower than if it were a mistake.

The text was prepared with the support of experts from the All-Russian Public Organization of Small and Medium Enterprises

How to write a business plan yourself: sample and tips.

A business plan is what helps an entrepreneur navigate the market environment and see goals. Many successful people note that an idea must be written down on paper, otherwise it will never be realized. Therefore, a business plan is necessary for running a successful business. How to write a business plan yourself: a sample and step-by-step instructions are contained in our new publication!

A business plan is a program according to which a company operates. It is necessary in order to competently coordinate the actions of the organization and see the directions of its development.

A business plan can be called a kind of rehearsal. The entrepreneur plays out various scenarios during which he can see problems and find ways to solve them. In this case, the person does not lose money, as would happen in a real situation.

Business plan objectives

• Formulate the goals of the organization (both short-term and long-term)
• Set project deadlines
• Determine the target audience and markets for products
• Analyze the competitiveness of the organization
• Determine the company's advantages
• Assess the level of costs
• Develop an action plan aimed at increasing the economic efficiency of the organization
• Predict the amount of profit and the level of profitability of the business.

General scheme for developing a business plan and feasibility study.

What's included in a business plan?

1. Title page and contents

Here the company's imprint and contact details of the founders, as well as the contents of the document, should be indicated.

2. Summary (introduction)

This part is a summary of the entire business plan. The most important thing should be here, i.e. justification of the relevance of the business and the financial part.

The resume should not be approximately two pages long. Although it is located at the very beginning, its compilation should begin at the end. You need to approach this responsibly, because this is the part that the investor studies.

3. Company history

If you already have an existing organization, then you need to talk about the history of its origins and its successes.

4. Market opportunities

In this section, it is necessary to conduct a SWOT analysis of the enterprise, i.e. identify its strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

7. Business model

This is a financial plan. Here you need to describe all sources of income and costs. You also need to indicate your suppliers and main buyers.

A cafe business plan: an example with calculations and step-by-step instructions for creating your own cafe from scratch can be found

8. Forecast

In this section you need to create a financial forecast. It is necessary to write about the amount of profit and payback period of the project.

The entire business plan should be 30-40 pages.

How to write a business plan yourself: a sample for a small business

Let's look at some sections of a business plan using an example

SWOT Analysis Matrix

How to write a business plan yourself: a sample for small businesses.

You will find the best franchises with prices and terms of purchase in our new publication at the link.

Business model

Thus, the starting capital is 290,000 rubles. At the same time, fixed costs amount to 105,000 per month.

The expected average income is 130,000 rubles per month, average profit – 25,000 rubles.

To find out the payback period, you need to divide the starting capital by the profit. It will be 11-13 months.

Making a business plan yourself is not at all difficult. If you are willing to spend enough time, then you can create a high-quality business plan.

How to draw up a business plan yourself - a sample for a small business, as well as step-by-step instructions with recommendations are contained in the following video:

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 plan.

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.