Concept, functions, sample business plan. The business plan is

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

Planning in any business is its foundation. In business, it is especially important to make a plan, because an entrepreneur must visualize how profitable his enterprise is.

What is a business plan

So, it should be immediately indicated that not a single undertaking can do without proper planning, regardless of the scale of the planned enterprise. A business plan is a document that regulates the activities of a company. It contains all the important information about the owner, industry, competition, sales and more.

The concept of a business plan is quite extensive, in fact it is a step-by-step guide to the action of the entrepreneur himself, in which everything is described point by point. It also takes into account possible risks and ways to solve potential problems. A business plan necessarily contains calculations, not only current expenses, but also the estimated profit.

In general, you need to consider in detail what business planning is, a sample, its tasks and functions. It should also be noted that for each individual enterprise, the planis individual, and the businessman composes it exclusively for himself.

Guidelines

How to write a business plan? Its definition means business planning. In the future, not only the organizer himself, but his entire team will strictly act according to the plan. Accordingly, this should not be a collection of scientific terms, but a guide to action written in a simple and accessible language that everyone, even a non-specialist, can understand. For example, if an investor is involved in an organization, he must understand the essence of the business plan.

Also keep in mind that depending on the circumstances, the plan may be adjusted. Calculations, terms of project implementation and much more can change. However, the business plan has certain objectives.

Business plan objectives

It is clear that the entrepreneur faces not one, but several tasks. Here are some of them:

• Designate the purpose of the enterprise and the prospect of its development, how it will behave in the market.
• Determine sales flows, for which category of the population the final product is designed.
• Find out what percentage of the market the company should win.
• Determine the assortment of the company and designate the pricing policy of the enterprise.
• Find out what difficulties an entrepreneur may face at different stages of the project, and how to solve problems.
• In what direction will the enterprise move and how it will develop in the future.
• How much does the project cost? itobligatory calculations that will help the organizer to assess their financial capabilities.

Completely mistakenly, many businessmen believe that a business plan is not a mandatory component, and it is quite possible to do without it. But this is not at all the case, because without it it is impossible to clearly coordinate their actions. By the way, a business plan is needed not only at the stage of organizing an enterprise, but also for its development.

Business Plan Purpose

The main goal of a business plan is to make sure that the enterprise is profitable and to properly distribute actions and forces. In addition, you need to clearly understand how the organization will behave in today's market.

Another important goal of a business plan is market research. To determine the profitability of an event, you need to find answers to important questions:

• How much is the product in demand in today's market?
• Is there any competition?
• What do you need to start a business?
• Where to look for suppliers?
• Where and how to find clients?
• What will be the cost/market value ratio of the product?

To answer these and other similar questions, market research should be done. It is better to entrust it to a marketer. Only the best business plans, written by professionals, guarantee success in entrepreneurial activity, and it is impossible for a beginner to cope with the task.

Business plan features

In the modern economy, there are four functions of business planning:

1. Planning is mandatory at the stage of organizing a new company and throughout a certain period of its activity.
2. The main function of a business plan is to assess the capabilities of the enterprise and control the processes of organization and development.
3. Get a loan: this will require a spending plan.
4. Attract investors: Without a detailed business plan, it is impossible to raise funds to start or grow a business.

Do not forget that the functions of the business plan are not limited to the above. The main one is to help the entrepreneur correctly assess his capabilities and distribute actions to achieve the goal.

Business plan structure

There is no clear definition of how to create a business plan, and there are no clear requirements for writing it, every entrepreneur writes it in any form. It can be divided into several articles:

1. Summary, it should briefly describe what will be discussed next.
2. Next, you need to identify the goals and objectives of planning. That is, you need to conditionally determine what needs to be done to get a certain result.
3. Create a real description of the company, how many employees it will have, where and on what area it will be located.
4. Financial plan, that is, determining the amount of start-up capital, how it will be distributed as a percentage, estimated income and pricing policy of the enterprise.
5. You need to draw up a marketing plan, consider competitors, identify their weaknessessides and understand how they can be surpassed.
6. Production plan, that is, a description of the technological process - from finding a supplier and purchasing raw materials to determining the final buyer.
7. Next, you need to designate the organization of the workflow and the enterprise management system.
8. The last thing to consider is the staffing of the enterprise and the distribution of responsibilities among staff.

Since the concept of a business plan is ambiguous, its structure may vary depending on the size of the organization and many other factors.

Sample business plan

There are no clear requirements for writing a plan, so you can just look at an example and write it yourself. For example, a sample business plan for a small business would begin with a summary, that is, a summary of the project.

Next, you need to write in detail what the company will specialize in, for example, food retail or building materials. It is also necessary to determine where the office or store will be located, in what area and with what population density.

The next step is marketing research. First of all, it is necessary to identify the presence of competitors and evaluate their activities. Then designate the target audience, that is, the circle of consumers for whom the product or service will be calculated. If, for example, this is a grocery store, then residents of the nearest houses will be its regular customers.

The next step will be the calculation of financialcosts. It is necessary to calculate everything - from the lease of premises and the purchase of equipment to the purchase of raw materials and payment for the work of personnel. You also need to calculate the profit that the company will bring, that is, make a forecast.

Don't forget that in any business there are risks, they need to be minimized. For example, if there is real competition, then you first need to think about promoting the enterprise, that is, about high-quality advertising, and this entails additional costs.

Actually, if you need a sample business plan for a small business, then it is easy to find it on the net, but only for reference. You should not be guided by it, because each case is individual.

Main mistakes when writing a business plan

Unfortunately, without experience, it is difficult to plan correctly. Despite the fact that a business plan is a document that does not have a specific form, some nuances must be taken into account. For example, it should not contain unnecessary information, everything written should have a certain meaning.

Before you create a business plan that is clear and understandable, you need to clearly identify the goals of the enterprise. Because the ways to achieve them must be real and accessible. In addition, you need to clearly analyze the market, adequately assess the competition. It is present in any industry, it must be taken into account first of all.

Conclusion

So, a business plan is a guide to action for an entrepreneur that will help him properly distribute hisopportunities and attract investment. You need to prepare a plan yourself and know it very well. It is not necessary to write a lot, the main thing is to highlight the key issues and the essence of the entire event.