What sections does the plan consist of? Test tasks

How to develop a business plan? What sections does a business plan consist of?

In response to these business planning questions, below areRecommendations for developing a business plan

Business plan: Introduction

Business plan is a comprehensive description of a business and the environment in which it operates, and the management system it needs to achieve its objectives.

There is no standard for developing a business plan due to the diversity of business goals and the endless variations in the environment in which it operates. Therefore, it takes skill and perseverance to describe a 3- or 5-year business outlook, especially in a rapidly changing economy.
conditions of the NIS. Therefore, a significant part of any business plan will be sections on systematic control and regulation of business.

Although business plan Generally considered a tool for obtaining credit, it also serves other purposes:
. identifying business goals
. assisting in the development of strategy and operational tactics to achieve business goals
. creating a performance measurement system
. providing business management tools
. providing a means of assessing the strengths and weaknesses of a business, as well as identifying alternative survival strategies.
There are a significant number of developments for drawing up a business plan, but they are all similar and differ only in the sequence of sections. This material should be considered as a guide to writing a business plan.

Main sections business plan are the following:
1. Brief description
2. Business and its strategy
3. Market and marketing strategy
4. Production and operation
5. Management and decision-making process
6. Finance
7. Risk factors
8. Applications

This section, unfortunately, is often underestimated by developers. Although it is one of the most important sections of the plan, as it may or may not arouse the interest of the reader (who could become a potential banker or investor).

Business plan: Checklist for writing a brief

Business
_ a brief history of the business, describing the period of its creation and growth
_ a brief description of the current stage of business development and the environment in which
it is underway
_ a brief description of the distribution of shares, responsibilities, etc., and the participation of management in strategic decision-making
_ a brief description of the business objectives (for example, instructions on the added value of products in processing and marketing)
_ a description of how it was decided to implement the proposed business plan and
where can this take the company?

Products
_ a brief description of what makes the product unique and those distinctive features that make it unbeatable in terms of pricing and/or quality and/or duration of supply of raw materials

Market
_ existing market capacity, growth
_ domestic and/or international
_ distribution channels
_ projected growth
_ estimated market share (based on confirmed estimates)

Management and staff
_ How staffed are you?
_ what is the educational level?
_ what is the unemployment rate in this area of business?
_ brief description of existing experience (emphasize strengths!)

Financing
_ description of the exact purposes of the required funding
_ forecasting income and net income after taxes for three periods
next years
_ designing the start of profit receipt

Business plan: Short description

This section provides a thorough description of the company. It should not exceed 5 pages.
_ Checklist of questions to describe the business and its overall strategy
_ description of the business organization, forms of participation in it, board of directors, management scheme and highly professional personnel
_ description of business goals
_ what do you think are the economic benefits?
_ will the added value of production of products or services be a characteristic of the processing and marketing process?
_ Description of business strategy
_ at what stage is the business currently?
_ what stages of growth can be predicted for the next 3-5 years?
_ Description of the main characteristics of products and services:
_ prices and quality
_ cost compared to competitors
_ any negative characteristics of the business, and how they can be adjusted or eliminated
_ rules and regulations and how they should be followed
_ Description of the management strategy and marketing strategy that needs
follow, for example, to reduce costs, obtain higher added value, acquire a leadership position in product quality
_ General description of the market
_ what market will you strive for?
_ does this business create new demand or satisfy existing demand?
_ what is the potential growth of the market?
_ what is the product for the buyer?
_ who are the buyers (for example, wholesale buyers, exporters)?
_ who are the competitors and what is their market share, their strengths and weaknesses?

Business and its overall strategy

Business plan: Marketing analysis

The entrepreneur must show that he has a good understanding of the market and requirements
market for its products. This section will evaluate the expected
progress of your business.
This section should consist of:
industry sector analysis
. the structure of this sector has a great influence on the success of the business
consumer needs analysis
. your business must meet the expectations of consumers, such as retailers or wholesalers, and/or end users who are store owners or processors of your products
competitor analysis
. A market economy is competition. To survive and be successful, you need to know who your competitors are, how they do business, and, if possible, the key factors for their success.
SWOT analysis
. Taking into account all the aspects described earlier, an analysis of the SWOT can be carried out.

This is an analysis of the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats of a business, based on a study of actual and potential markets. This analysis serves as a means of identifying the comparative advantages of your business.
_Market Analysis Checklist

Business plan: Industry Sector Analysis
_What is the total sales for this sector?
_ What is the total sales volume of the products considered in the business plan?
_ How much of the product needs to be sold on regional, national and international markets?
_ What are the trends (forecasts) for product sales in the domestic and international markets?
_What is the typical gross profit?
_ What are the market segments (geographical, industrial, wholesalers,
etc.) in the industrial sector that this business represents?
_ Describe all relevant market segments and their growth trends
_What is the average profitability of the respective products?
_ What are the restrictions on sales of the products of this business, and how are they supposed to be overcome?
_ Describe the size and location of a business similar to the one in question.

Business plan: Assessing consumer needs
Mediator:
_ What kind of product packaging is needed?
_What is the shelf life of the products?
_ How often can deliveries be made?
_ What are the terms of payment (credit)?
_What are the required guarantees?

Business plan: End user:
_ Who are the end users?
_ Where are they located?
_ How often do you buy products?
_ How do they react to the price of products?
_ How is product quality determined?

Business plan: Marketing analysis and marketing strategy
_What special product qualities do they want?
_ How much would you like to pay for the service?
_ How satisfied are you with existing products?
and especially for consumers:
_ Types of people buying products
_On what factors do they base their purchasing decisions?
_What is their income level or what group do they belong to?
_What stores do you visit to buy products?
_Do they do comparison shopping?
_What type of product promotion will stimulate their purchases?

Business plan: Competitor analysis
_ What is the quality of products and services?
_What is the reputation?
_Are their customers loyal to them?
_ What is the size of the business (quantitative assessment)?
_What type of guarantees are offered?
_ How do they distribute their products?
_How effective?
_Are there reliable financial resources?
_Is the business managed well?

Business plan: SWOT analysis

It is impossible to create a checklist of questions for conducting a SWOT analysis, since the content of such an analysis is very specific (the main points are not set out anywhere). To make the task easier, we provide only a description of the concept of SWOT analysis and give some examples...

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Before you start investing money and time in any business project, it is strongly recommended that you carefully weigh and think it over.

The result of these mental efforts should be a document called a business plan.

Purpose and goals of the business plan

The better the business plan is drawn up, the more attention it pays to the cornerstones of the business in question, the higher the likelihood of its successful start, good profitability and payback. . Otherwise, without such a document, all activities risk turning into chaotic movements and a hopeless search for luck and success.

A business plan is needed not only for the business owner to use it as a road map. With a well-developed plan, you can go to investors or potential creditors, who, through this document, will be able to conveniently get acquainted with the proposed project and make a decision on it.

This plan is unique and describes non-recurring events. It has a clear structure, which is generally accepted for this type of document. Its main task is to comprehensively reflect all aspects of the project implementation. That is, a business plan is a planning document that has its own structure, which reflects the directions of development of the project.

Compilation methods

There are different compilation methods. Each of them was developed by individual international organizations for the effective provision of loans. Among them are such techniques as:

UNIDO Methodology intended to evaluate investment projects. According to this methodology, the project, or rather its progress, should be designed as a cycle of pre-investment, investment and operational phases.
KPMG methodology provides for the creation of such a document, which was intended for the leaders of the organization, and not for investors. According to this method, the plan is more saturated with information that is of interest to the management of the enterprise and its employees.
Methodology of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development provides for more attention to be paid to credit accounting and SWOT analysis. This method produces the most concise plans of all.
BFM Group Methodology proposes to work out plans aimed at investors.

Standard structure

Depending on the method used, the structures of business plans differ. Nevertheless, among them there are many similar sections. Most business plans have a summary, a description of the product or service being promoted, market analysis, marketing and production plans, risks and a financial component.

A summary appears at the beginning of the document. Any business plan begins with this section. It states:

objective of the project;
who is its leader;
how much money is needed for its implementation;
payback period.

All this data must be based on calculations that are carried out further in the text of the document.

The summary also indicates the idea of the project, what it is supposed to do and why it should be profitable. This section should interest the investor and if this happens, he will begin to study the rest of its contents.

We describe the goods or services provided

In this section, which follows the resume, you need to fully describe the type of activity, what and how you plan to do. The main thing you pay attention to in this section is to indicate the reasons why the product or service will be in demand.

Again, you need to indicate the amount of finances and what they will be used for, how exactly the planned business will develop, and how many personnel will be required for this. If your business needs to purchase equipment, then you should attach price lists of companies that sell it, and in the section make a brief overview and a link to the attached sheets. It is not recommended to make this section more than 1 page.

Conduct a market analysis that is based on objective research. Research information can be taken from the expert data of various analysts. It is necessary to describe the potential client, indicate their category, approximate number.

The numbers should convince the investor that there is demand for the final product of your business in the region, and it will be bought for specific objective reasons.

Following this, describe the level of competition in the region, indicate your potential direct competitors. This will interest investors. By studying competitors, they can additionally come to a conclusion for themselves to what extent the niche is profitable and filled.

Marketing

Often this section is described in a general way, not specifically. Those starting their own business mistakenly believe that the entire business consists of purchasing equipment, renting premises, hiring staff and organizing the production process. Therefore, their business plans focus on these processes. But this is not true, especially if such a plan is designed to obtain an investment or loan.

The diagram shows the presentation of a business plan from a marketing point of view

Those who give money are interested in the question of how exactly the clients who bring in the money will be attracted. The absence or presence of a sufficient number of customers makes a business either unprofitable or profitable. And attracting them, making them buy is a whole art.

Even if the product is of at least three times the quality, if the system for attracting customers is weak, it will sell poorly. Conversely, a mediocre product or service can sell very well through effective promotion.

The investor knows this, so this section will be of particular interest to him. And if he sees only general phrases in it, he will not read further. Therefore, in the marketing section you need to answer the following questions:

How is pricing done, what market research is used to make this conclusion?
How will the advertising campaign be organized, how much money will have to be spent on it and how quickly will it pay off?
How will the fight against competitors take place, what promotions and discounts will be used for this?

Production

The next section in the business plan concerns the production process itself. It needs to indicate how the process and payment, work with suppliers and clients will occur. If production is planned, then you need to indicate the components required for it, who the supplier is, what will be produced at each stage and how the final product will be protected from defects.

In the organizational section, you need to indicate the number of personnel that the business needs, what requirements are for it, what functions each employee performs, and what costs the company will incur for wages.

In the financial part of the business plan, it is necessary to calculate all investments in the business that are foreseen. This includes costs for:

paperwork;
renting or purchasing premises;
purchase of equipment and raw materials;
wages;
public utilities;
advertising, etc.

It is better to divide all expenses into two positions - at the start and every month. But the entire required amount must be combined into a total. This is what appears in the summary of the business plan.

After this, calculate the project’s profitability for the year. Make two options, one of which would be pessimistic and the other optimistic. Here you need to indicate the predicted flow of customers, how much the product and service cost, staff work schedule, etc.

The profitability of the project is calculated based on a pessimistic forecast, on the basis of which a conclusion is made about the return period of the investment.

In the risk analysis section, it is necessary to provide for those probable factors that could negatively affect the functioning of the project. These could be changes in state tax policy, energy prices, increased competition, etc.

Possible additions to the structure

If necessary, the business plan can be supplemented with other sections. For example, you can enter a section justifying the choice of the legal form of the enterprise.

It needs to show why the chosen form will be optimal, and how financial resources will be saved due to this choice. Sometimes the plans indicate the form of the enterprise, but why exactly it is not answered.

What needs to be written about in each section was indicated above. Now about how it should be written. It is advisable to write briefly and to the point. They need dry numbers and facts to make everything clear and simple. The more the plan meets these requirements, the greater the chance of obtaining agreement from investors or creditors. More information about writing a business plan correctly is described in this video:

Results of drawing up and applying a business plan

A business plan is drawn up not only so that an investor or lender will give money for a project. It is needed for planning the economic activities of an enterprise for various periods. It serves to help the entrepreneur:

determine specific areas of activity - for example, or;
formulate goals, both long-term and short-term;
establish marketing activities;
provide for possible adverse factors, etc.

You should not approach a business plan as an application for receiving money from investors. It should not be a dead document, which, after its preparation and review, is put aside in a drawer.

If so, it means it was drafted incorrectly, and the investor or lender sensed this and denied the request. But in the case when the plan is really working, worked out in each section, it yields a positive result. You not only receive investments, but also have clear guidelines for action.

Greetings, dear friends! Alexander Berezhnov is in touch.

This is part 2 of the instructions “How to write a business plan” and today I will answer the questions: what is the structure and content of a business plan? What sections does a business plan consist of and how to fill out each of them correctly?

Let me remind you that in Part 1 I explained what a business plan is, why it is needed, what a SWOT analysis is, and also briefly touched on the sections of a business plan.

In part 3 of our instructions, we will consider a simplified model of a business plan using the example of opening an antique cafe.

Before moving on to the description of the sections, I will say that there is no specific technology for writing a business plan that has been adopted as a standard. In each specific case it is individual. The main thing is not to complicate this process too much, so that everything is clear to you and your potential investors.

I will describe the sections from my experience in obtaining investments for commercial projects. This information will be enough to open your own small business without large investments or to secure additional funding by attracting an outside investor for your project.

Introduction (summary)
Organizational plan
Financial plan (budget)
Expected results and prospects (final part)

1. Introductory part (summary)

The purpose of this section is to make a positive impression on investors and provide an overview of the business plan as a whole. The resume should not be long; its optimal length is from 2 to 4 pages.

Only the most important things should be included here:

Direction of the company's activities;
Target markets and the company’s place in them;
Profitability and return on investment;
Personnel and responsible persons;
Planned quantitative and qualitative indicators as a result of work by period.

The “Summary” section when writing a business plan should provide answers to 2 main questions:

What will investors receive if the project is successfully implemented?
What are the chances of losing capital or part of it in the event of unfavorable developments?

The summary should be written at the very end, when the main part of the business plan has already been written. As you noticed, the resume contains a “squeeze” of the sections of your business plan.

Describe here the goods and services that your company plans to sell. To do this, carry out preliminary work, which will include:

Description of the company’s main goods (services) and secondary ones;
Photography of your products;
Defining a portrait of your ideal consumer;
Conducting market analysis to determine the availability of similar products or services in your target market;
Planning the organization of the service (if the specifics of your company require it);
Description of the pricing model. Will you be able to compete with existing companies in your segment?;
Drawing up a single detailed table of your goods (services) according to the parameters described above.

Having carried out such an analysis, you will clearly understand what and for whom you produce, as well as understand the features of your products and the sales market.

Has it ever happened to you that you want to launch your project, but all your thoughts are confused, a lot is unclear? I think yes. It is especially important to clearly formulate everything when you are planning to launch a commercial project.

Who will be your buyer and what is their place in the market? This is necessary to know.

Marketing is one of the most important business processes.

It includes an analysis of the market environment, competitors and your strategy for promoting a product (service) in current conditions to the end consumer.

To describe the marketing section as accurately as possible, answer the following questions:

What market conditions will your company operate in?
What competitors can you identify in your field?
What promotion methods are your competitors using and can you promote better?
What promotion tools do you plan to use? (perhaps this is advertising, direct sales, merchandising, sales promotion, etc.)
Why should the consumer choose your product (service), given other conditions? Refer to the description of the product (service) from the “description of goods and services” section of the business plan.
Is your business seasonal and if so, at what time?

All these questions must be answered in writing in this section and logically connected between these answers.

For example, you are engaged in sales in the b-2-b sector (business to business) and find that there are many competitors in your market, but your advertising budget is limited. In this case, it is better to focus on direct sales (individual work with the client), rather than on image advertising or handing out flyers on the street.

At the end, be sure to draw up a rough sales plan by quarter to understand how much revenue and net profit your business can potentially generate.

The main thing is not to raise the bar for expected sales, look at things realistically.

Remember that you need to believe in the best and work towards it, but you also need to be prepared for pessimistic developments.

This point of the business plan is not mandatory for companies that do not plan to engage directly in production. You can skip this section if your company is going to provide services or sell goods, that is, engage in trade.

If your company plans to engage specifically in the production of products, then in this section you will need to answer the following questions:

How much production capacity will you need to implement the production (production line)?
In what sequence will the equipment be installed and prepared for operation?
What is the expected rate of increase in production over time?
How will the necessary materials be delivered to the production site, and who will be the supplier of raw materials? Here it is necessary to describe logistics issues and characterize your suppliers;
If your business has any fixed assets or production facilities, how will they fit in with the newly installed equipment?
What will the entire production process look like? Here it is advisable to provide a visual diagram with explanations (it can be included in the appendix to the business plan).

5. Organizational plan

In this section, you need to reflect your actions to organize your business, broken down into specific steps with deadlines for each stage, the person responsible and the expected results.

This is best done in the form of a table like this:

Here write what needs to be done first, what needs to be done second, and so on.

For example, you already know that you have a base of potential customers, and they are ready to buy goods and services from you immediately after you start your business.

In this case, one of the first things you need to do is to officially register as an individual entrepreneur in order to legally conduct your business and be able to accept payments by bank transfer.

6. Financial plan (budget)

In this part of the business plan, you draw up a detailed estimate, that is, you plan your expenses down to the smallest detail.

This is also best done in the form of a table. Moreover, you will most likely have one-time costs and recurring ones.

One-time costs include the purchase of equipment or premises, advertising signage, and so on.

In accounting terminology, such long-lived assets of an enterprise are also called fixed assets.

Example of a one-time cost table:

Periodic costs include consumables, raw materials, rent, utilities, wages, and purchase of goods.

These are expenses that you incur frequently, that is, periodically. In accounting terminology, such rapidly expendable assets of an enterprise are also called working capital.

Example of a periodic cost table:

After filling out these tables, you will need to calculate the break-even point *

The break-even point is the minimum volume of sales of goods or services of your company, at which all costs of organizing a business for a certain period will be covered by business income, and each subsequent sale will bring net profit.

For example, if you spend a total of 50,000 rubles per month on organizing your business, taking into account depreciation of equipment *, and your markup per unit of goods or services is 500 rubles, then you need to sell 100 units of goods per month in order not to go into the red. This will be your break-even point.

Depreciation is the transfer of part of the cost of equipment to the product or service it produces.

That is, if you are a hairdresser and bought a hair clipper for 3,000 rubles, then with each haircut its value will decrease due to its wear and tear. And the cost of such wear and tear will be included in the cost of each haircut using this machine, for example 5 rubles.

Don't forget to also include tax and pension contributions in recurring costs so you have a true picture of your business's costs.

7. Expected results and prospects (final part)

Here you can consider several options for the development of events regarding your business: from pessimistic to optimistic.

Based on the expected financial indicators, summarize all the material in the business plan, take a comprehensive and unbiased look at your project. What do you see? Do you understand it? If you were an investor and were offered to invest money in such a venture based on this business plan, would you agree?

If you answered yes to these questions, then congratulations! You have a pretty good chance of a successful outcome in your case.

Now, following this plan, start taking action!

In the next final part, as promised, we will consider the application of this business plan structure using the example of opening an anti-cafe.

A business plan is a detailed document that contains the main areas of activity, describes the necessary resources, working conditions, as well as the expected results of the business.

A business plan is necessary for any enterprise, but its sections and their content will differ significantly for a large company and for a small business. Developing a business plan, first of all, will help to adequately assess the company’s capabilities, use its strengths and find ways to cover up its weaknesses.

When building a new business or expanding and improving an existing one, it is necessary to develop an operating strategy. Constant reconciliation with the sections of the business plan will always help to correct events in a timely manner and direct the work of the enterprise according to the intended scheme.

A list of the main sections of a business plan might look like this:

summary;
goals and objectives of the company;
analysis of the market situation;
production plan;
marketing plan;
management organization plan;
financial plan.

Each of the points can be divided into other sub-points and have different names, but the essence remains the same as in the presented list. Also, the indicated main sections of the enterprise’s business plan can be supplemented with other necessary branches.

Characteristics and description of the main sections of the business plan

Summary - This is the first section of the business plan, and it represents a summary of the entire document.

The resume is compiled at the latest, when the entire business plan is already ready. The purpose of this section is to attract investors, interest them, and outline the prospects of the project in a nutshell.
Goals and objectives - A SWOT analysis is carried out, which shows the market opportunities for purchasing the offered products. The goals of the developed project and the tasks by which they will be achieved are described.
Analysis of the market situation – competitors are assessed.
Production plan - the production processes, technologies required for this, raw materials, workers, intermediaries are described in detail.
Marketing plan - a study of price levels and profitability of sales, and customer needs is carried out. The costs of advertising, increasing the company's image and the level of sales of goods and services are calculated and analyzed. This section is the main section of the business plan.
Organizational plan – contains information about partners, describes the process of organizing management. A diagram of the enterprise structure and examples of possible staffing are provided. The costs of remuneration and staff development are calculated.
Financial plan - summarizes all previous parts and presents the data in monetary terms. A financial plan is drawn up for the entire duration of the business project. Possible sources of funds are described.

In practice, the composition of the sections of a business plan almost always differs from what is proposed in theory. Each company develops it for its specific needs, has certain requirements and is looking for different ways for successful activities. Since there are no identical situations, it is impossible to find 2 identical business plans, since the characteristic feature of this document is individuality.

The main sections of a business plan help describe how the company will operate and how its goals will be achieved. This is not a static document - sections of the business plan can be updated, amendments and changes can be made to them. Such adjustments can be associated both with transformations within the company and with modifications in the external environment (in the market).