Business plan from scratch
Suppose you have decided which business you want to open and how to organize it. What’s next? Further it is desirable, and in some cases even necessary, to draw up a business plan.
This document may be needed:
those from whom you intend to borrow funds for the implementation of the project (to creditors and investors);
your employees can contact him to study the enterprise;
you, to analyze the prospect of conducting this or that activity, a commercial plan.
To begin work on this important document, you need to decide what goals you pursue when compiling it. The content of the person will depend on who you want to present your business plan to, in many respects, as well as some initial figures.
Goals and objectives of a business plan
First, a business plan may be needed to raise additional funds. Making such a plan yourself is quite difficult. It is best to immediately look for a professional consultant who will assist you on all necessary issues.
IMPORTANT: Never purchase a ready-made business plan. He will not take into account the features of the business and location. In addition, it can often appeal with incorrect numbers.
If you want to see what a business plan looks like, then you can download one of the templates, of which there are a lot of online, or order its development on special sites like our service – http://bplan.bizoomie.com/.
Secondly, you may personally need a business plan to organize the work of a new enterprise.
It’s better for you to draw up such a business plan personally, even if it takes a lot of time. It will be faster to order a document to third-party specialists, however, you yourself must make the calculations and deal with future prospects. After completing work on the document, it can be given for revision to a specialist who will correct all the flaws.
IMPORTANT: It is better to give the finished project to a specialist from your city who will give really worthwhile recommendations.
Based on the purpose of drawing up a business plan, you must choose a standard business planning. There are several such standards (EBRD, KPMG, Tacis, UNIDO), among which the most recommended for Russia will be the standard recommended by the Federal Fund for Small Business Support (FFMPP). This standard is designed to help entrepreneurs opening their first business.
Components of a business plan
According to this standard, a business plan should consist of:
1. Overview section
The initial section, which is a summary of all work and should contain all information about the founders and a brief description of the project.
2. Description of the enterprise
This is a detailed description of your project and the objectives pursued by the enterprise.
3. Product Description
In this section, you need to provide a detailed description of the products manufactured, their use, compliance with one or another standard, as well as product codes assigned by OKP, describe warranty service, and service life.
It is also necessary to analyze the products of competitors and compare with your own.
Where to get money to start your own business? It is this problem that 95% of beginning entrepreneurs face! In the article “Where to get money for a business” we revealed the most relevant ways to get start-up capital for an entrepreneur. We also recommend that you carefully study the results of our experiment in exchange earnings: “see the results of the experiment”
4. Market analysis
This section should contain a description of the market for your products, a description of the consumers of your products, and how you plan to distribute your product.
5. Production plan
It is worthwhile to describe in detail those innovations that will contribute to the most efficient production of goods or services in the future. For this, it is necessary to describe in detail the technological process, the equipment used, and the need for personnel of a certain qualification.
6. Sales Plan
The sales plan will necessarily include a sales strategy for the goods for a certain period, the cost of products, schemes for its implementation, advertising costs and payment terms.
7. Financial plan
One of the most important sections, which allows investors to evaluate the profitability of the project. It necessarily contains sources and financing schemes, indicates the responsibility of borrowers and the guarantee system. It is important to describe the current state of the external and internal economic environment, as well as give an assessment of the future economic state.
You need to calculate project performance indicators and the conditions under which your production will reach maximum or minimum levels.
If such a business plan is drawn up in order to attract additional funds to the project or obtain start-up capital, this section should be given special attention.
Read how to draw up a business plan with the aim of attracting investors here.