How to write a business plan: step by step instructions. Small business business plan
Your future project. How to write a business plan? The step-by-step instructions in this article will help in this matter.
Business plan objectives
Writing a business plan can be different depending on why you need it. One of the most common goals is to present it for investment. Such a business plan for a project is the most difficult one. Often, third parties are involved in writing it - specialists in their field who will create a suitable business plan for the investor's approval.
It happens that the manager instructs to write a business plan for the company, for example, for opening a branch. In this case, too, they often turn to third-party specialists in drawing up such plans. Ultimately, the contractor may only need to make some adjustments for the needs of the company.
Well, when a business plan is necessary to start your own business, it is best to write it from cover to cover yourself. This is a difficult process, but exciting and very interesting. After all, your own business is a real brainchild of an entrepreneur. And therefore, their creation is treated very reverently and thoroughly. The article provides instructions on how to draw up a business plan for your business.
Initial idea
Basically, those who decide to open their own enterprise have already chosen and are well aware of their field of activity. But there are entrepreneurs who want to have their own business, but do not yet clearly know what they will be doing. They are looking for a business idea. It is difficult to overestimate its importance. The idea should fit the interests and desires of the entrepreneur himself.
It can be a favorite business, which a person is ready to do even for free, or a business that already brings a guaranteed income. In any case, having chosen a niche for yourself, it is important to no longer be distracted by anything else and not dream of unattainable peaks, but step by step to bring your real idea to life. A business plan will really help in this matter.
How to write a business plan? Step-by-step instruction
So, having imagined what the future business will be, you can proceed to writing a business plan. There are special planning standards. Therefore, if it will be submitted for investment, you should choose an appropriate standard and adhere to it when writing.
To understand how to write a business plan, step-by-step instructions and generally accepted standards will be of great help as they are approved by people who are professionally versed in these matters. An entrepreneur will be able to sort through his, perhaps not yet fully formed, thoughts and bring his business to life.
A standard business plan consists of the following chapters:
General Provisions.
Market analysis.
Marketing and strategic plan.
Costs.
Production plan.
Investments.
Financial plan.
Summary
Here, the essence of the matter, a description of a business idea, information about its objective necessity in the market, terms of implementation, and competitiveness should be briefly displayed.
Of course, this part is mostly intended for potential investors. It is they who, after reading the resume, conclude whether it is worth reading this plan further or not. Therefore, if it is supposed to be presented to the investor, it is necessary to carefully describe this part, perhaps returning to it again and again, making adjustments after the compilation of the following chapters.
However, for their own needs, this part is also important, since it helps the entrepreneur to better see the whole process of organizing the business as a whole.
General Provisions
If the resume is written about one - maximum two pages, then this chapter can be written in more detail. That is, in fact, the chapter "General Provisions" contains the same information as the summary, but in a more detailed form invites the reader to get acquainted with the project as a whole.
It describes the characteristics and implementation of the project, its life cycle, the possibility of additional development and the forecast of product changes with a possible change in the market trend.
The service business plan in this chapter should contain information about what the particular service is and how it will attract customers. For example, a business plan describes all the proposed services, their characteristics and distinctive features. An attractive feature here is the legend of how celebrities undergo procedures in the salon or how individual specialists provide them with these services, how specialists were trained directly with the brand of product with which they work.
Market analysis
In parallel with writing a business plan or before drafting it, it is necessary to conduct a market analysis. This is an extremely important part, because the success of the future project directly depends on it.
Having chosen a market niche and target audience, they conduct a thorough analysis in order to identify how relevant the project's business plan, the initial proposal and its idea are. If the analysis reveals an excess of supply, then it is worth returning to the idea and trying to correct it in such a way that it corresponds to the state of affairs in the market. If there is an increased demand, then everything is in order, and you can safely proceed to further actions.
Market analysis is carried out in different ways. But if there are problems with its implementation, there are companies where you can outsource market analysis.
Nevertheless, the entrepreneur is advised to sort out this issue himself, since any third-party organizations will give only an objective average result, not fully taking into account the business plans of small businesses and all the nuances of the business idea of the author of the project.
Marketing and strategic planning
This plan includes bringing the product to market, its development, pricing, sales and distribution system, and advertising. To display the product, it is advisable to build a Gantt chart, which will display the dates of the implementation of various activities. Based on the analysis of the market and competitiveness, a strategy is calculated, how the market will be conquered and what tactical actions will be required for implementation.
Pricing is based on economic calculations and the expected income of the company. Sales and distribution can be represented in the form of a diagram, where the entire process will be visible in stages. For example, from the receipt of the goods at the warehouse to the receipt of money for the goods and their sale.
Costs and production schedule
This chapter includes the purchase of the necessary equipment, repairs, rental of premises and other costs. In the production schedule, it is necessary to reflect how many people are required to implement the project, the schedule of their work, deductions of wages and related payments.
They will become much more attractive for the investor if there is a ready-made team that will work on the project, as this proves the entrepreneur's ability to implement his plans. Therefore, it would be appropriate to emphasize this fact in the business plan.
Production plan
If the company will be a manufacturing company, then here it is necessary to describe the production process, as well as the partners and suppliers who will be involved in the case. For example, the farm business plan in this chapter should include equipment for milking, bottling, packaging milk and a mechanism for marketing it through specific suppliers.
Financial plan and investment
The most critical part of the entire business plan is, of course, the financial plan. Moreover, if the project is intended for an investor's acquaintance, then after reading the resume, a serious investor will most likely look at the financial plan. After all, it is here that the entrepreneur's real ability to implement business ideas will be visible. This is the essence of entrepreneurial activity.
The financial plan contains all the information about the possible costs and revenues of the project. Based on the marketing, strategic plan and costs, a table is compiled for several years, which displays the required investments and the schedule for their repayment, all costs and possible income.
The final part of the financial plan must necessarily be the calculation of the profitability of the future business.
The reader now knows how to write a business plan. The step-by-step guide provided in this article is a short tutorial demonstrating the importance of understanding goals and the need for business planning.
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