A business plan is one of the main documents for a startup, in which goals, business ideas, and ways to achieve them are voiced.

Having drawn up a business plan, the founder of the business will be able to soberly assess the idea, what are the risks of achieving it, and what financial benefits can be obtained. And not only a startup: investors will definitely ask you for a business plan. They need to understand what they are investing in and how it will benefit them.

Therefore, if you have any idea for a business, before looking for investors, hiring people and closely involved in its implementation, draw up a business plan.

You can, of course, do without it, relying on "maybe". But without thinking through a strategy, without trying to predict problems and risks, you will definitely encounter them. And you will not be ready for them, and this will not be reflected in your business in the best way.

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Business is not a toy. Nothing happens by itself. If you want to achieve success, you need to think through everything to the smallest detail.

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A well-written business plan is a strategy; it is the mechanism of operation of such a complex machine as a startup set out on paper. This is the face of your enterprise and a tool for managing it.

Who needs a business plan?

First of all, you need a business plan for you, as for a person who opens a business . This document will help you navigate your ship without losing your course. you provide possible problems and ways to solve them. You can soberly calculate losses and profits. You will have a clear plan of action - and this is already half the battle.

A business plan is required of you investors who are ready to help you financially. But no one will give money without knowing where they will go and whether they will return with interest (it is also desirable to know with what).

You may also be asked to develop a business plan customer or your leader.

What sections does a business plan consist of?

There is no single standard for a business plan, although it is the main document for a business. Everything is explained by the fact that there are different spheres, different goals, different kinds business. But highlight the main sections that must be in it :

Project Description. A brief summary of the essence of the business, its goals and history. Investors pay attention to it first of all.
Market and competitor analysis. Is there a lot of competition, will there be demand, in what conditions will the business develop.
Marketing plan. Where are you going to advertise, how, how much money is needed for this.
Receiving a profit. Where, how, how are you going to make money on your business. In other words, a sales plan.
Production plan- where the premises will be located, what resources are needed, what equipment.
organizational plan- what employees are needed to achieve the goals, what are the requirements for them, who manages the company.
Financial plan- how much money is required for implementation, to start a business, losses and profits.

pay attention to appearance document: print it on good paper, bind; use charts, graphs and tables.

Resources for developing a business plan online

Businessmen often complain about the lack of time and full employment - they say, I have no time to deal with such a trifle as a business plan. We have already figured out that this document is not a trifle.

And you can quickly compose it online on some resources.

Foreign resource for businessmen and startups. Bplans contains the largest collection of free business plan samples. There are helpful tools and guides to help you manage your business better. Bplans includes practical advice on planning, interactive tools and calculators, and publishes daily tips to help you grow your business.

Click here to download a business plan template quick guide on its compilation, or start working on it online. If you absolutely do not want to write the plan yourself, here you can find a person who will do it for you - you just need to fill out a contact form.

I think it would be superfluous to say that to work with the resource you need to know English.

This is a subsite of the Bplans project. It allows not only to draw up a business plan, but also to fully manage a business online. You can start working on your plan simply by home page. You are offered a convenient and simple interface, accounting software and much more.

The service is paid. Offers two subscription options: annual package ($11.90 per month) and monthly ($19.95 per month).

Ukrainian portal for businessmen. You can create a business plan in the Basic format or see examples for free. To create a full-fledged, professional business plan, you need to pay 58 UAH. You can also connect access to the designer for 30 days.

This is an online business plan program that allows you to create business plans of any complexity. Try the demo to see if it works for you. Builds charts and tables financial statements, helps to choose a taxation system and much more. The business plan you created can be downloaded as a Word document. Samples are also available for download.

Tariffs available:

Free(free, access for 30 days, focused on students);
Mini(1450 rubles, access for 60 days, focused on individual entrepreneurs);
Midi(2950 rubles, access for 90 days, for small and medium businesses);
maxi(5950 rubles, access for 180 days, for professionals and accountants).

Cloud service for developing business plans. It is convenient because you can work in the cloud from any computer - for example, you start working on a plan at home, finish it in the office. The finished document can be downloaded in PDF format.

Rates:

standard– 3,000 rubles for 30 days;
PRO– 6,000 rubles for 60 days;
Corporate– 12,000 rubles for 90 days;
tutorial- 120,000 rubles per year.

Software based on cloud technology. There are three options for working with this service: you can draw up a business plan yourself, buy a ready-made one, or order it from a specialist.

Free business plan builder. Here is a questionnaire - fill it out, click "Generate a business plan" and use it. Everything is simple - it just takes time and perseverance to fill in all the fields. As a result, you will get such a business plan.

As you can see, there are many resources online to help startups get started. It is not difficult to understand their work, but in some places you will have to invest money.

Good luck to your business!

Translation

Bob Dorf is a well-known entrepreneur (led 8 companies to IPO), consultant and mentor of the Startup Academy, who began his career in business when he was 12 years old. Today he is a welcome participant in many conferences, because, like no one else, he knows how to create successful startups, firmly stand with them on their feet and turn them into large companies.

Recently, Bob Dorf spoke at the Business of Software 2012 conference, where he spoke about the basic principles of living a "healthy" startup. To your attention are the main theses of his speech, in which I sincerely believe and try to use every day:

Why do most startups fail?

Most of today's startups cannot scale, they fall apart due to lack of a large number loyal users and customers passionate about the product.
Writing code is only half the job. Today, technology allows you to create almost everything that fantasy is capable of, so the ability to determine the exact portrait of a potential client, as well as find it in the general mass and “fall in love” with your product, comes first.
If you are passionate about your idea, then after 20,000 hours of hard work, you will have a 1 in 8 chance of success. The only way.
Each team needs 3 people: "hacker", "businessman" and "creator". Every morning, the "hacker" and "businessman" should have mini-meetings. After discussing the key issues, the "hacker" should devote himself to creating a product, and the "businessman" to finding the ideal client.
Half a century ago, the success of a company depended on how the entrepreneur overcame obstacles, on the process. But times have changed.
Most startups die because they think that:
A) know their customer
B) know their product
Founders see everything as a linear process: “concept - prototype - test - launch”, and they make a lot of mistakes in doing so.

The business plan is the #1 startup enemy.

A business plan is about creating creative texts, but not about developing a real business.

Don't stop asking yourself, "What can I change to make the product better?" Always try to get feedback from users and customers.

Test your business model! Any, even the most elegantly written, business plan will not stand up to scrutiny at the first meeting with a real client. The Webvan example is very instructive.

What is a startup for me? This is a gang of pirates who get together from time to time to match the pieces of the "map" and see if they are moving in the right direction. Always be on the lookout. Only after a detailed analysis will you be able to understand your "business plan" based on nothing but bare facts. There is no such “documentary” concept of “a startup with an expectation of 8 years”, there are real “several years of ups and downs”.
A startup needs an action plan rather than a business plan. In this sense, Alexander Osterwalder's Business Model Canvas fits perfectly. It has 9 components (main blocks of questions), the most important of which are:

Benefits Offered – What problem are we solving?
Consumer segments – Who do we solve it for?
Relations with customers - Where do we find them, how do we make them loyal and how do we increase their number?
Revenue Streams - How do we earn?

Customer segments should be defined as clearly as possible. Successful relationships with clients are the constant fulfillment of our duties to them, the justification of their expectations.

Build a business model with multiple partners. When you're done, you end up with a product that satisfies the needs of the market. But your canvas is just 9 thoughtful guesses! How to turn assumptions into facts? That's right: go to your potential customers and ask them! This is how good customer relationships are built.

Customer Relations

Customer relations is the process of setting the criteria for an "ideal" customer, justifying and approving them, adapting the product, finding customers and, finally, building a company around their needs. The first three stages are the classic "search" stage in the development of a company. The turning and key moment, as a rule, occurs just at the “search” stage. The very process of searching and building a company is already the “action” stage.

"Search" is the defining stage. How to put your plans into practice correctly, you will be taught in any decent business school. And only in the process of searching, you yourself must choose those of your assumptions that, in your opinion, are correct.

Prototype / "pilot" sample

The entire search process begins with the creation of a prototype. Create a product with a minimal set of features, a test sample for new ideas.

If you want users to start interacting with your product, create a “toy” for them as soon as possible! Even if it doesn't work to the end: the reaction of users to the prototype is many times more valuable than their reaction to your words about the imminent launch of the ideal product. After all, it is their feedback that invaluably helps to improve the product itself!

A prime example of the value of prototyping is Diapers.com. The creators launched a website and began taking orders for diapers even as long as they actually had them in stock. Entrepreneurs just wanted to see if their idea was worth developing further. As a result, they spent a lot of time buying diapers from all over the city and delivering them from other parts of the country. The number of orders was growing, and the project already needed a truck to deliver the orders. The founders lost money in the process, but they didn't set themselves the goal of self-sufficiency. They were just testing the chosen business model. The benefits offered are what they took as a basis in the process of communicating with customers.

Decreased sales are only a small price to pay for the information you get from testing.

The prototype is your primary communication tool with the client. The faster you create it, the faster you will get answers to questions:

Is it all that bad?
What qualities allow our competitors to meet your needs?
What can make our product better?

A turning point

Pivot is the essence of customer relationship. Pivot is an iteration between creating a client profile and searching for it. A “pivot” is always swift, but it opens up new opportunities.

Change only if 20-40 of your customers say something is wrong. Ignore one-time complaints

For any changes, go back to evaluating the business model, then go back to your customers and see if things are getting better. The product adaptation process cannot be delayed, it cannot be avoided. As the creator of the product, you MUST go through it!

Usually changes in the process of product adaptation in large companies lead to the dismissal of employees. In a startup, this process is a “holiday” because it helps to modify the product in order to attract even more customers.

The main problem here is hasty decisions. Make sure you have collected enough data feedback to make changes? 3 people said bad things about your product, and you are already in a hurry to change something? Take your time: find a dozen more similar opinions before making life-changing decisions.

The faster you manage to change, the less money you will lose: the pivot is a time bomb.

How to stop in time?

There is really no end point in the process of creating a product, but you can always slow down the modifications when you understand who your client is and how he uses the product to meet his needs.

The business model canvas is your landmark, the map of your business and the road to your customer.

Make sure that all your assumptions are tested on the client - test runs are the main ones in determining the degree of product readiness.

And remember: the most important client is a passionate client, because he, like you and your investor, wants to bring your product to perfection.

If you decide to start a startup and don't know if you need a business plan, remember one thing: having a written business model allows you to solicit investments, ensuring the success of the business. Today we will tell you how to draw up this document correctly, what it should contain and why it is important at all.

But before moving on to the structure of the document, we advise you to adhere to the following rules:

First, do not use other people's business plans downloaded from the Web. It is unlikely that investors will begin to check the provided materials for uniqueness, but a deliberate, independently developed strategy will bring much more benefit. Use templates, take them into service, but do not get carried away with stupid copying.
Secondly, giving free rein to ambitions, look soberly at your own capabilities. The desire to get millions of profits in a month is commendable, but an investor needs a really working model for the development of an enterprise. It is important to adequately assess your prospects, directing the idea on the right path.

Below we have prepared a template that can serve as a guide when writing a commercial strategy.

Strategic planning standard

1. Company information

This is the introductory part of your business plan, so don't try to make it too big. General information is required, such as:

type of legal entity;
organizational form;
date of registration of the company;
postal address, place of registration of the owner;
names of managers, persons who registered the case;
expected completion date;
total cost of implementation.

It also includes a trade secret statement. All of the above is the so-called "protocol" data that must be filled in. Yes, they are likely to interest the investor less than practical reasoning or analytical references, but without them, it is unlikely that you will be able to receive funds for the development of your entrepreneurial idea.

2. Brief summary

Here it is necessary to describe the direction of the company, justify the effectiveness of the future undertaking, and then predict real opportunities. Remember - the more convincing your text is, the more likely it is to get investments.

Follow the diagram below:

describe the essence of the project, the method of its implementation;
give a forecast of future results;
indicate the total cost of the business;
mark the planned payback period;
give a financial justification for the implementation (here the economic terms “net present value”, “tax revenues to the state budget” will appear);
indicate in what form you are going to attract investments;
be sure to justify the return of investment data;
describe the social, environmental and other benefits of implementation.

3. Industry research, enterprise description

Within the framework of the mentioned section, it is necessary to analyze in detail the current state of affairs of the industry where you want to advance. Be sure to note your role in the positive transformation of a particular area.

The analysis also includes:

competitor research;
presentation of the general concept of business;
list of partners (future and present).

4. Description of the product/service

This section is your real chance to present your product/service as well as you know it. Please indicate your experience in the production of the items described.

In addition, it is necessary to analyze the characteristics of analogues from competing firms - this will determine.

5. Planned marketing campaigns

Try to justify the sales market, the tactics of dealing with competitors, present a working mechanism for promoting the product / service to the market.

This should include:

market assessment;
brand role analysis;
substantiation of the market niche of the product;
overall marketing strategy;
pricing characteristics;
mechanisms for the sale of goods;
after-sales service options;
advertising campaigns;
quality assessment criteria.

6. Logistics arrangements

A small section where it is worth including the estimated costs of maintaining and transporting products. For the IT sector, of course, there is often no need for suppliers of raw materials or warehouses for processing and storing products, but if you expect to sell material goods, you must complete this part of the plan.

7. Production or sales plan

A section describing how the firm will produce or sell the required volume of goods/services with specified quality characteristics. Develop a strategy for the medium term, including:

place of sale;
available production facilities;
future investments;
assessment of the provision of the needs of the enterprise with the appropriate personnel;
product quality analysis.

8. Organizational part

Briefly describe the management of the company, the organization of the structure, and also provide the main scheme of business development activities.

9. Finance

When working on the "Finance" section, pay attention to several areas: the predicted movements of financial flows and the current state of the organization.

It is important not to take numbers "from the ceiling", but to calculate the data based on the items "Planned Marketing Campaigns" and "Production Plan", including:

analysis financial condition organizations;
planned income / expenses (the first year - monthly, the next two - quarterly, then - annual calculations);
possible monetary actions;
budget of tax payments;
estimated amount of sponsorship.

10. Performance evaluation

Any business plan for a startup must contain this item. In the IT sphere, it is especially important, since it is often difficult to evaluate high-tech projects objectively due to the peculiarities of the final result of the work.

This includes quite a lot of purely economic terms. The compiler must take into account:

payback calculation;
main types of risk (technological, economic, organizational, financial).

11. Applications

Applications traditionally contain documents confirming the data presented above.

Common mistakes

It is worth mentioning the most common mistakes in drawing up a business plan:

Unrealistic numbers or too long description own benefits. Experienced businessmen say that Objective assessment is important not so much for future sponsors as for the startup itself. It allows you to consciously evaluate your own project, avoiding borrowing.
Overloading the document with unnecessary information. The essence of the enterprise should form the basis of the material. Then pay attention to analytics and forecasts.
Lack of clear goals is another fundamental mistake. Set realistic goals and plan equally realistic ways to achieve them.
Inadequate financial performance. Obviously, inflated numbers are operated to attract attention, but they have little to do with reality. Give feasible indicators, then your arguments will become convincing.

Instead of a conclusion

The described business plan template is relevant for both IT business and any other industries. Tip: Include in your strategic plan

This is another article about preparing a business plan for your startup. I hasten to please you, no one writes business plans, in the usual sense of the word, in our super-fast time. So you don't have to make a 100 page document with a bunch of unnecessary letters, just 10 pages of very clear and important project information. The main thing is to do it right and include only the essentials. Here we will work out the business model of your startup.

Business Model Canvas- This is a method that allows you to show all aspects of your business based on 9 blocks. This is probably the most typical thing that all startups do. It's very simple and I like it because it's a quick way to test your business idea and see where your problem areas are. Let's call it in Russian business model picture your startup. To immediately indicate the beauty of what is happening :)

The picture template looks like a table with different zones:

Source www.kvk.nl , Alexander Osterwalder, ‘Business Model Generation’ (2010)

We start filling it from the center, the most important thing - value propositions. Write here the answer to the question - why customers will choose you? Usually you either solve a problem or offer something that your customers need / are looking for / appreciate. Reply here: How will you make your customers happy?

Next we go to the block - customer segments. Here we describe who will be your customers? Are they people or organizations? Can they be divided into different groups? Think right away about whether your proposal described above is suitable for these groups or something needs to be adjusted.

Relationships with your clients customer relationship block - as you want communicate with your customers offline or online? What you post here very much depends on who your customers are, as well as what your goals are. Whether you want to acquire new customers, retain existing ones, improve your service, or gain good feedback? How do you build a chain of interaction with customers creates a reputation for your company and this can be yours competitive advantage. Here's how Zappos did it, for example.

And the most interesting part for investors, block Revenue streams - where will the money come from? How much are customers willing to pay for your product or service? When do you expect the first receipts of money? If you have multiple customer segments - describe for each of them. Remember that in order to make a profit, you will need to deduct your expenses.

Key resources - what do you need to make your startup successful? These are the resources you need to enter the market, maintain customer relationships and ultimately make a profit. It can be items(e.g. equipment), intellectual property (patents), financial or human resources(skills and abilities of your employees).

What do you do as a company - Key activities. The main question that you should ask yourself here is what exactly we do and what we don't do how does a company make our business model work?

Your main partners key partners. Who will be your partners so that you achieve your goals faster? Think beyond your current operational partners and suppliers, think about your strategic partners for the future.

And the last - cost structure. We define your financial needs. Above, we have identified our key resources and partners, as well as activities, and now it is not difficult to understand what our expenses will be, and comparing them with receipts, understand how profitable we will be.

In total, in the final you will get a real picture for your startup! Remember that the key is to create a business model that will grow as your business grows. Good luck!

October 20, 2012 at 04:27 pm

Bob Dorf: How to work on a startup

Startup Academy Blog

Translation

Bob Dorf is a well-known entrepreneur (led 8 companies to IPO), consultant and mentor of the Startup Academy, who began his career in business when he was 12 years old. Today he is a welcome participant in many conferences, because like no one else he knows how to create successful startups, stand firmly on their feet and turn them into large companies.