(approximate scheme)
There is one tried and true principle of drawing up any business plan: it should always be brief. Some business plans are designed to attract large capital and can be up to 50 pages. However, most projects should be limited to 10-20 pages.
The present content of the business plan can be used in its preparation.
1. Review (brief conclusions)
Purpose of the plan
The needs for finance, their nature and for what purposes they are needed.
Brief description of the business and its target market segment.
What makes your business different from the business of your competitors?
What exactly should inspire confidence in your business (reporting materials, managerial staff qualifications, etc.?
Excerpts from the main financial proposals.
2. Analysis of the situation in the industry.
The main directions and objectives of the company.
History of the company.
Potential competitors.
Potential consumers
3. Products and services
Description of products (services) and their application.
Distinctive quality or uniqueness of products (services).
The technology and expertise required in your business.
License (patent rights).
Future potential.
4. Markets
4.1. Buyers.
4.2. Competitors (their strengths and weaknesses).
4.3. Market segments.
4.4. Your estimated market share.
4.5. The composition of your clientele.
4.6.Special characteristics of the market.
4.7. The impact of competition.
5. Marketing plan.
5.1. Marketing arrangement (ensuring the competitiveness of products or services) - the main characteristics of products (services) in comparison with competing ones.
5.2. Price policy.
5.3. Distribution channels (trade policy).
5.4. Advertising and product promotion on the market.
5.5. Forecast new products.
6. Production plan.
6.1. Description of the manufacturing process, what operations are supposed to be entrusted to subcontractors.
6.2. Industrial premises.
6.3. Equipment.
6.4. Sources of supply of basic materials, equipment, labor.
7. Organizational plan.
7.1. Type of ownership.
7.2. Information about the partners or main shareholders.
7.3. A measure of responsibility of partners, shareholders.
7.4. Information about the members of the management team.
7.5. Organizational structure, distribution of responsibilities.
7.6. Consultants, advisers, managers.
8. Evaluation of risk.
8.1. What are the weaknesses of the enterprise.
8.2. Organizational risk prevention measures.
8.3. Risk insurance program.
9. Financial plan.
9.1. Plan income and expenses.
9.2. Plan cash receipts and payments.
9.3. Balance sheet.
9.4. Self-sufficiency point.
9.5. Sources and use of funds.
10. Applications.
And now we will expand each chapter.
1. REVIEW (conclusions)
A business plan usually begins with a summary, i.e. with conclusions. They should be prepared at the very end of the work, when all sections are ready and complete clarity in all aspects of the project is achieved.
Conclusions should be brief - no more than two or three pages and are treated as an independent advertising document, because It contains the main provisions of the business plan.
Special attention is paid to explaining what YOU are going to do and at the expense of what, how your products will differ from the products of competitors. It also provides information about the forecast sales, sales revenue, production costs, gross profit, the period during which you can guarantee to return the funds you want to borrow (if you decide to resort to a bank loan).
2. ANALYSIS OF THE SITUATION IN THE INDUSTRY.
It is very important to present the idea of a new enterprise in the context of the state of affairs in the industry - after all, one of the criteria on the basis of which a potential investor judges the chances of a new enterprise to win the competition is precisely the situation in the market for products of this class. Thus, the business plan recommends a brief historical excursion, an analysis of the current state of affairs in the industry and information on the emerging development trends. It is also recommended to give information about the latest updates, list potential competitors, indicate their strengths and weaknesses and what role each of them can play in the fate of your business.
It is also necessary to answer the question of exactly which consumer the goods or services of the new enterprise are designed for.
Approximate range of issues that should be covered in this section of the business plan:
1. What was the dynamics of sales in the industry over the past 5 years?
2. What are the expected growth rates for the industry?
3. How many new firms have emerged in this industry over the past 3 years?
4. What new products have appeared in the industry in recent years?
5. Potential competitors: who are they?
6. Due to what you can move forward?
7. How are competitors doing: do their sales increase, decrease or keep at the same level?
8. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors?
9. Potential consumers: who are they?
10. Is the possible range of consumers of your products different from the circle of consumers for which the products of competitors are designed?
3. PRODUCTION (SERVICES)
The main part of the business plan begins with a section that describes the goods and services that you want to offer to your future customers and for whose production, the entire project is thought out. This part of the plan describes the main characteristics of your products (services), while emphasizing the benefits that your products (services) bring to potential buyers, i.e. it is necessary to emphasize the uniqueness or distinctive features of the products (services). This can be expressed in different forms: a new technology, the quality of the goods (services), low cost and other advantages. At the same time, at any given time, you can build your competitive strategy, relying only on one type of competitive advantage: - either at lower costs, attracting buyers with the relative cheapness of your products compared to similar products from other manufacturers, or specialization, causing interest for the most demanding and demanding, above all, high quality customers. But combining both types of competitive advantages is not recommended - such an attempt will lead to failure.
All types of competitive advantages are mainly divided into two groups: the advantages of low order and the advantages of high order.
The advantages of low order are associated with the possibility of using cheap labor, materials (raw materials), energy. The low order of competitive advantages is related to the fact that they are very unstable and can be lost either due to rising prices and wages, or due to the fact that these competitors can also use (or outbid) these production resources. In other words, the advantages of low order are those with low stability, unable to provide an advantage over competitors for a long time.
The advantages of a high order are the following: unique products, unique technology and specialists, good reputation of a company or enterprise.
It is also necessary to indicate the possibility of improving these products (services).
Describe your patents or copyrights for your inventions, or give other reasons that might prevent competitors from invading your market (for example, exclusive distribution rights, etc.)
Suppose you have chosen the range of goods or services that will be the subject of your business, and now you need to convince potential investors of the correctness of your choice.
To do this, you will need to clearly answer the following questions:
- What needs is your product or service designed to meet?
- What is special about it and why will consumers distinguish it from the products (services) of your competitors and prefer?
- How long will this product be a novelty on the market (an approximate assessment taking into account previously established trends)?
- What patents or copyright certificates protect features of your product or technology?
This section also describes the organization of the service.
4. MARKETS
Analysis of the future market is one of the most important stages in the preparation of a business plan. Experience shows that the failure of the majority of commercial projects that failed over time was due precisely to poor market research and capacity reassessment.
A typical market research process involves 4 steps: determining the type of data you need; data retrieval; data analysis; the implementation of measures that allow on the basis of these data to properly organize the sale of your goods.
The most ingenious technologies are useless if they do not have their customers.
You need to convince the investor in the existence of a market for your products (services) that you understand it and can sell your products on it.
The first information you need: who, why, how much and when will he be ready to buy your products tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and in general over the next two years?
Such work requires a certain phasing in the search for an answer.
The first stage is the assessment of the potential market capacity, i.e. total value of goods that buyers of a particular region can buy, say for a month or for a year. It depends on many factors: social, national-cultural, climatic, and most importantly economic, including the level of income (or earnings) of your potential buyers, the structure of their expenses), including savings and investments, inflation rates, availability of purchased goods of similar purpose, etc. Of course, the set of factors taken into account depends on the nature of your project. It’s one thing if you draw up a business plan in connection with the introduction of a new type of machine tools: here you need to take into account the structure of the existing machine park and shifts in the range of products manufactured by these machines (will your product be useful in making new products to your customers) and investment climate in consumer industries (levels of interest rates on loans, the availability of tax incentives, etc.). And it is quite another thing if you plan to create a workshop for the repair of household appliances and you are primarily concerned with how many residents of nearby areas have this kind of equipment and which similar workshops already serve this circle of clients.
The second stage is an assessment of the potential amount of sales, i.e. the market share you are hoping to capture, and, accordingly, the maximum amount of sales that you can count on with your capabilities.
The third stage is the forecast of sales volumes. In other words, at this stage you will have to estimate how much you can actually sell (earn for services rendered) under the existing conditions of your activity, possible advertising costs and the price level that you intend to set and, most importantly, how this indicator can change from month per month, from quarter to quarter, and for several years in a row.
The preparation of such a forecast is possible with the help of various methods, the most complex of which involve the use of large arrays of statistical information, mathematical modeling methods, computer technology, marketing experiments, and therefore require large expenditures. In the same case, when it comes to small business, it suffices to restrict ourselves to just expert estimates based on your own experience or the experience of specialists.
Evaluation of competitors . Any business will sooner or later face the challenge of competition. Therefore, it is very important to identify your immediate competitors.
Specifically, you should answer the following questions:
- Who is the largest manufacturer of similar products?
- How are things going: with sales, with income, with the introduction of new models, with technical services?
- Do they pay much attention and money to advertising their products?
- What is their product: basic characteristics, quality level, design, customer opinion?
- What is the price level for competitors' products? What, if only in general terms, is their pricing policy?
It is useful to establish its main competitors in the market, to try to identify their strengths and weaknesses. How? Here will help the analysis of specific products, the collection and processing of information about the financial situation, goals, features of competing firms. The ratio of prices for own and competitive products should always be before the eyes of an entrepreneur, about their “types” to other markets, about additional services for consumers.
Taking into account competitiveness strategies, you can choose a course for price competition (offering a similar product at a lower price) or quality competition (selling at the same price as competitors for a better or more universal product) to fight business rivals, or, finally, on the competition of the service (providing their products with more reliable after-sales service).
5. MARKETING PLAN
In this section you will have to think and explain to potential partners and investors the main elements of your marketing plan (this is a special and extremely important document for your use), which include:
- distribution scheme of goods;
- pricing;
- advertising;
- methods of sales promotion;
- organization of after-sales customer service (for technical goods);
- formation of public opinion about your company and products.
You need to state the main point:
- how you will sell your product - through your own brand stores or through wholesale trade organizations;
- How will you determine the prices of your products and what level of profitability of the invested funds are you going to realize;
- how will you implement the advertisement and how much are you going to allocate funds for it;
- How will you achieve a steady increase in sales: - by expanding the sales area or by searching for new forms of attracting customers;
- how will you organize the service of the service (only factory maintenance, contractual maintenance, service contracts, etc.) and how much funds will be required for this;
- How will you achieve a good reputation for their products and the company itself.
Special mention should be made of the problems of commercial pricing. The process of formation by the firm of market prices for its products includes at least seven stages:
- setting pricing objectives;
- definition of demand;
- cost estimation;
- analysis of prices and products of competitors;
- choice of pricing method;
- determination of the final price and the rules of its future changes;
- accounting of measures of state regulation of prices.
Setting a pricing task is an attempt by an entrepreneur or company manager to answer the question: what is desirable to achieve with the help of the pricing policy for their goods?
At the same time you are interested in:
- increase in sales, gaining reputation, seizing the largest possible market share (attracting the largest number of buyers) by setting lower prices for products, i.e. appeal to the model of price competition;
- getting the most profit as soon as possible, which may be caused by the need to quickly return borrowed funds or pay increased dividends for the sake of raising the value of their shares and carrying out their additional issue, for example, with the aim of receiving funds for new investments.
Pricing policy aimed at ensuring stability, for example, the range of manufactured goods, is widespread. Mastering any new product is a big risk for the company and a reason for large expenses. If the market allows, it is wiser for some time to refrain from the development of new products. In this case, the firm can go to lower prices, even to a level that provides only minimal profitability.
Determination of demand for goods. A marketing specialist would formulate this task differently: “determining the elasticity of demand for your products from the prices at which you want to sell them”.
It is a question of determining not the capacity of the market at all, but how much goods can be sold at various price levels. Let us show the form of expression of this dependence (PRINT THE SCHEDULE ON LIST 13).
This graph of the elasticity of demand for prices shows what quantity of goods can be sold at a given level of prices for them. The area of the shaded rectangles is the revenue from sales at different price levels (A, B, D). As can be seen on the graph, the maximum sales volume is not always good if it is reached at the lowest price.
For each product, the elasticity curve of demand for prices has its own appearance and changes over time under the influence of many factors. Marketers divide all products into two main groups:
- goods with inelastic demand;
- goods with elastic demand.
The products of the first group are such that their sales almost do not change as prices rise. This can be explained by several reasons:
- it can be an essential commodity, without which it is simply impossible to live
( Food);
- the product has no replacement or it is produced by monopolies;
- Consumers of this type of product are accustomed to it and are not in a hurry to refuse to buy it, even with rising prices;
- consumers may believe that price increases are justified by rising quality or inflation and come to terms with price increases, reducing the rest of their expenses.
Товары эластичного спроса отличаются сильной зависимостью объемов продаж от уровня цен: при росте цен объемы продаж быстро падают.
Точная оценка фирмы кривой эластичности спроса – дело довольно сложное и дорогостоящее, требующее привлечение специалистов. Но обойтись без неё нельзя. Но если у вас нет средств на проведение таких исследований или трудно отыскать специалистов-маркетологов, надо попытаться определить вид этой кривой хотя бы приближенно, на основе оценок опытных специалистов по торговле товарами этого типа, который Вы собираетесь выпускать. Опираясь на свой опыт и знание рынка, они могут сказать, сколько примерно товаров можно будет продавать при том или ином уровне цен, а также – при каком уровне цен может начаться затоваривание и покупатели не станут брать этот товар.
На основе такой информации Вы сможете построить полезную для предпринимателя кривую. (НППЕЧАТАТЬ ГРАФИК СО СТРАНИЦЫ 14).
Кривая валового дохода от реализации товаров показывает: как будет меняться выручка от реализации товаров при существующей эластичности спроса от цен. Она называется кривой валового дохода фирмы. Под «валовым доходом» следует понимать выручку от реализации товаров. Эта кривая показывает, как при данном состоянии рынка будет изменяться Ваша выручка по мере роста объемов производства товаров. Очевидно, что пока товар будет в новинку и будет хорошо распродаваться при исходном или даже более высоком уровне цены, Ваши доходы будут расти почти прямо пропорционально росту объемов выпуска.
Then saturation of demand may begin or competing goods will appear. This will lead to the emergence of balances of unsold goods, or the need to reduce prices. In any case, the consequence of this will be a decrease in the total amount of revenue, even with an increase in the number of goods manufactured from the moment they are developed.
Therefore, with the help of this curve you can estimate in advance the consequences of various options for your promising commercial strategy, and then describe it in a business plan. This will show investors that you are realistic in your activities and are ready to cope with any surprises that the market can give you.
Finally, an expert assessment of the elasticity of demand from prices will show you the maximum price at which your product can be accepted by the market.
Estimating costs and finding ways to reduce them. The lower the cost, the higher your profitability from each unit of goods and the easier and faster you can collect enough to invest money without getting into debt.
When analyzing the cost can be divided into two parts: conditionally constant and conditionally variable.
Conventionally fixed costs are those costs that are practically independent of changes in the number of output. These include, for example, rent for premises and equipment, payments in repayment of previously received loans, administrative and other overhead costs.
Conditionally variable costs - vary in direct proportion to the volume of release of goods. These include the cost of materials, energy, components, wages.
Such a division is necessary to justify your commercial strategy and its explanation in the business plan.
On the graph, we will consider the cost structure and the differences in the dynamics of conditionally fixed and conditionally variable costs, which ultimately determine the change in cost in general. (CHECK SCHEDULE FROM PAGE 16)
Schedule changes in the cost of production.
The upper curve characterizing the dynamics of the total amount of production costs, first goes up steeply, then flattens or even decreases, and then goes up again. What do these bends mean?
First of all, the rise in the cost curve indicates that the first time after the creation of a new enterprise and the introduction of a new product, the costs are usually high and even increase as output increases. The reason is that during this period, usually the technology and organization of production activities are not yet well established, and therefore labor productivity is low.
Further alignment of the cost curve and its slight decrease are due to two factors:
- development is completed, labor productivity increases;
- “the effect of scale” (effect of growth in output) begins to affect.
Its essence lies in the fact that, due to the stability of conditionally fixed costs, an increase in output leads to a reduction in the value of these costs, which must be included in the cost of each unit of production to finally cover the total amount of these costs.
Finally, a new rise in the cost curve indicates that with a rapid increase in production volumes, costs usually also increase initially because of the need for additional investments in production related to the expansion of space, the acquisition of additional equipment, the hiring and training of workers. If your products are in steady demand, justifying such an increase in the volume of its production, then this increase in costs will pay off in the future and go into a new cost reduction. But it will be later, but in the beginning you will have a temporary decline in the profitability of production, which will require financial security. And you should also say this in your business plan, since this will directly affect the overall size of your financial needs in the perspective on which the business plan is drawn up.
Analysis of prices and products of competitors. One of the most difficult tasks in preparing a business plan. The fact is that in a truly existing market economy, price information on specific transactions is most often a commercial secret of the manufacturer.
The study of goods and prices of competitors pursues a very specific goal - to determine the so-called prices of indifference, i.e. the price at which the buyer will not care whose product to buy - yours or your competitors. Having determined this price, you can, pushing off from it, decide how you will overcome this “Indifference” and achieve that it is still bought from you (lower prices, higher quality, terms of payment, improved services, etc.). ).
Pricing method. In the practice of market pricing uses several methods.
Costly. This method is convenient for its simplicity and the ability to do without complex market research. But it can be used only in the case when you have no competitors in the market and you are not afraid of their appearance.
"Stupid following the competitor." In this case, you determine who in your market is the leader in terms of sales and enjoys the loudest reputation. Next, you will learn the approximate level of its prices and distribute it to your own products. This method is acceptable and convenient for small firms who cannot afford to carry out their own marketing research, and they can therefore rely on the marketing skills of leading firms. But having chosen a similar pricing method, you bind yourself to the leading company and lose your independence.
"Cost-marketing". This is the most difficult, but the most reliable method of pricing. It combines cost analysis and pricing based on your marketing technique.
The stage of establishing the final price. Implemented in the course of specific negotiations with your customers. At this stage you will have to solve two main tasks:
- create your own system of discounts for buyers and learn how to use it (discount for payment in cash, for exceeding the standard size of the purchased batch, discount for the purchase of goods before the start of the next season, etc.);
- to determine the mechanism of price adjustment in the future, taking into account the stage of life of your product and inflation processes. To do this, apply the formula
Цф = Цх / Ах а: af + Bh b: bf + B /.
Where TSF and TSH - the price of the goods at the time, respectively, the actual delivery to the buyer and at the time of the conclusion of supply contracts;
A, B and C - the share in the price of the goods (at the time of the conclusion of the supply contracts), respectively, the cost of purchasing materials, raw materials, wages and other expenses, A + B + B = 1;
b and bf - the average wage of your employees, respectively, at the time of the conclusion of contracts and delivery of goods.
Accounting for measures of state regulation of prices. When deciding pricing issues, it is necessary to estimate whether these measures can influence you and how: positively (for example, your products fall into the number of those goods for which manufacturers are given subsidies) or negatively (state limitation of upper price levels can lead to a fall in your prices). profitability and even create a threat of ruin).
Advertising and product promotion. Describe the approaches that your company will use to connect potential buyers to the product.
For manufacturers of unique equipment and industrial products, it is necessary to develop plans for participation in the exhibition, advertising in trade magazines, advertising sent by mail, the preparation of advertising leaflets and promotional literature on products, the use of advertising agencies. For consumer products, you should specify what kind of advertising and propaganda company will represent your product and what kind of sales assistance will be provided to dealers.
If advertising is a significant part of the costs, then you need to include a section on how and when these costs will be paid off.
6. PRODUCTION PLAN.
The main task of this section is to prove to your potential partners that you will be able to actually produce the right amount of goods in the right time and with the required quality.
The main questions to be answered in this section of the business plan are as follows:
- Where will the goods be manufactured at the existing or newly created enterprise?
- What production facilities will be required for this and how will they grow from year to year?
- Where and from whom, under what conditions will raw materials and materials and components be purchased? What is the reputation of these suppliers and is there any experience with them?
- Is production cooperation supposed and with whom?
- Is it possible to limit the volume of production or supply of resources?
- What equipment is required and where is it planned to buy it?
- Are problems possible and what kind?
The data of the “Production Plan” section should preferably be substantiated for the future in two to three years, and for large enterprises, four to five ahead.
The main points that should be disclosed in this section of the business plan.
1. Give a complete description of the entire production process, list the operations that are supposed to be entrusted to subcontractors.
2. Specify the names (company name) and subcontractor addresses.
3. Explain why these subcontractors were chosen. How much do you pay or are you going to pay subcontractors? Attach copies of contracts, if any.
4. Give the scheme of production flows.
5. What production equipment may be needed in the future?
6. What production equipment do you need to buy (rent)?
7. What is required raw materials (materials)?
8. Who will supply these raw materials and at what prices?
For trade and service enterprises:
1. From whom do you intend to purchase your goods?
2. How to build a stock management system?
3. Is there a suitable room for the store and for the warehouse?
7. ORGANIZATIONAL PLAN.
In this section of the business plan, you should indicate the type of ownership of the enterprise being created - whether it will be a sole proprietorship, a joint venture, a partnership or a joint stock company. If a partnership is supposed to be created, then it is necessary to provide the conditions on which it is built. If we are talking about a joint stock company, it is necessary to give information about the number of shares issued, what type of these shares are, specify the names, addresses and brief biographical information about all members of the board of directors and managers of this company. How responsibilities are distributed among members of the governing board.
Having familiarized with the organizational plan, the potential investor should get a clear idea of who exactly will manage the firm (company) and how the relations between the members of management will be developed in practice.
9. RISK ASSESSMENT
Each new enterprise inevitably encounters certain difficulties on its way. For an entrepreneur, it is important to be able to anticipate and develop strategies for overcoming them in advance. The “assortment” of risks is very wide: from fires and earthquakes to strikes, changes in tax regulation and currency fluctuations, from competitors, own miscalculations in the field of marketing, mistakes in the selection of leading personnel, etc.
You will be required to at least tentatively assess what risks are likely for you, what they may cost you. The answer should consist of two sections: organizational risk prevention measures, risk insurance program.
If in the coming years a modern commercial insurance system will be created, then in the business plan it will be possible to simply indicate the types of insurance policies and the amount to be purchased.
10. FINANCIAL PLAN.
The financial plan, as a rule, consists of three parts:
1. A consolidated forecast of income and expenses, at least for the first three years, and the data for the first year should be presented in a monthly breakdown. It includes such indicators as expected sales, cost of goods sold, various items of expenditure. Knowing the income tax rates, you can get a forecast of the company's net profit.
2. The forecast of complex cash.
3. Summary balance of assets and liabilities. In this section, you should build the assets and liabilities of the enterprise, the funds invested in the development by the entrepreneur himself and his partners and retained earnings.
In financial terms, all the proposals on the basis of which this forecast was made should be listed so that a potential investor can understand how these figures were obtained.
11. ANNEXES.
Attached to the business plan, you can bring documents that are not part of the main text, but to which the business plan has links.
These may be letters from customers of trade organizations, copies of documents from which information was obtained when drafting a business plan, copies of contracts concluded, supplier price lists, etc.
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