Requirements for a business plan and recommendations for its preparation

Motivate clear and well-set goals on their own. Therefore, it is important to correctly and clearly plan short-term and long-term goals. Let's look at an example of a plan to achieve a goal, broken down into 8 steps.

Many people have a question: “Why set goals for yourself, work to achieve them and ultimately get what we want?”

Achieving a goal is much more than doing the same things every morning. Wake up, eat, go to work. If daily actions do not have a vector, they do not drive us . We don’t feel that there is anything more behind them, that they are another step towards the implementation of a big plan.

To have such a meaningful life, you need to start by realizing your goals . After awareness, there is a need to formulate main goals that will lead to achieving results.

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Statement of purpose

Goals are a force that requires you to focus on what you want to achieve in life. Without a clear plan for the outcome, it will not be possible to achieve not only quick execution, but no execution at all.

You need to understand what you want to achieve in your life, both in the short term and for the longer term. To do this, you can create a vision of an ideal day in 10 years and decide to realize it. This will be your big goal .

Everyone knows how to formulate goals in words. But, in addition to scoring, you also need to know how to record them and how to achieve them . For many, this is a completely different challenge. To which special techniques can be applied.

Read useful tips on how to formulate goals that will change your life. Step-by-step instructions on how to set a goal in life.

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Main sections of a business plan and instructions for filling out

The preparation of a business plan in any country in the world occurs in accordance with established standards, therefore there is a standard structure of this document, consisting of certain sections.

• Project Description

This section includes a complete description of the project and a title page, which indicates the name and location of the enterprise, the names and addresses of the founders, the nature of the activity and the amount of the authorized capital.

• Description of the enterprise

The description of the enterprise includes not only the main provisions regarding the new project, but also the specific goals and objectives of the planned business. This section provides general information about the company’s activities, the novelty of the products offered, data on the possible sales volume, the expected level of income and expenses.

• Description of products (goods or services)

This section includes the consumer properties of goods or services, as well as the distinctive features of products from competitors. In addition, the name of the patents protecting the product is indicated.

• Marketing plan

No business plan can do without quality marketing research. Typically it includes a price forecast, a description of distribution channels, a description of the advantages and disadvantages of the enterprise, a product promotion plan, an advertising strategy, and the like.

• Production plan

This section contains information about the production process of the enterprise, namely a description of the necessary equipment, production costs and production costs. In addition, the section describes the scheme for supplying raw materials or components to the enterprise.

• Calendar plan

The work schedule describes each employee's planned work schedule, their job descriptions, and their remuneration scheme.

• Financial plan

The financial plan consists of forecasting the possible profit of the enterprise and planned expenses, describes all cash receipts and various expenses, and also takes into account the balance of assets and liabilities.

• Risk assessment

Not a single well-executed business plan can do without an assessment of possible risks, a description of preventive measures and planned measures for crisis management in the event of serious financial problems. This section also describes how the property will be insured.

Write down your goal

You have identified a goal, you need to write it down. Although the main argument of the 1979 Harvard study in favor of goal writing is bogus, writing down goals is half of achieving a goal .

Writing on paper is a way to think and not lie to yourself . In our heads, we are capable of being #1 in Forbes in a few years. And practice - a sheet of paper and writing down the goals for achieving such a result, will not allow us to lie about our flourishing exaggeration of our abilities.

Building a hierarchy of complementary goals in your mind is like playing chess while keeping in mind the placement of the pieces on the board. Few people are able to mentally agree on 30 goals, eliminate conflicts in the required resources, and agree on periods of achievement.

So have some paper and pen ready. Writing down a goal will help you achieve more than anything else combined.

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Plan for achieving the goal, broken down into steps

Answer the question honestly: do you plan your every day? Or maybe there are plans for a month, a year, ten years? If your daily routine does not yet provide for this, we will correct the situation.

Let's add an example of ideal planning of goals and their achievement - American politician Benjamin Franklin. Do you know anything about him? Wikipedia will tell you more, and we will tell you what we consider the most important about this person.

As a 20-year-old guy, Benjamin drew up a global plan to achieve his goals, which he followed throughout his life. And, you know, the goals “obeyed” him. The future co-author of the American Constitution said: “The master plan for achieving goals is the fixation of specific intermediate goals on the way to achieving a global goal.” To achieve more through little, you know? Remember this example and never lose sight of it.

5 Simple Steps to Effective Planning

How to set goals correctly in order to achieve them quickly? There are only 5 steps, and pay special attention to step #3.

Step #1. Write and write again!

If the thought flashed in your head: “I want a business with access to the international digital market,” it will disappear as quickly as it appeared. Your brain will not perceive abstract problems. He will always demand specifics from you.

This specificity should be written down as a goal. Time consumption – up to 60 seconds. There's a minute, right? We recommend making a recording using the Smart method. You can read about this in the article Technique for setting SMART goals: decoding with examples

Science confirms the effectiveness of this step. 3% of Yale University graduates in 1950 knew how to set goals and achieve them. Of course, graduates from other years also knew, but we are only relying on facts. So, it was then, in 1950, that a group of graduates took part in the study. Each person was personally asked about their goals.

As it turned out, only 3% of respondents had specific goals in writing. The remaining 97% were even vague about their own goals. A few years later, the study was repeated with the same group of graduates. Can you guess the result? Those small 3% not only achieved their goals, but even exceeded them. The conclusion suggests itself: write it down.

Step #2. Visualize

Try to imagine the result of achieving your goal. Did you want a profitable business, an expensive car and a house? Now imagine that you already have all this. Concentrate on the sensations you get when visualizing the goal. Setting goals and achieving them requires visualization, no matter how skeptical you are about it. Here your time investment will be within 5 minutes. It seems to us that it is quite affordable, considering the future result.

Step #3. Relive pleasant memories

Very similar to step No. 2, but with one big difference: “immersion” occurs in the past. Remember the moment that inspired you. You were happy that you were able to get what you had been striving for for so long. For example: you wanted to buy a car. And now the keys to your own car are in your hands.

As soon as you “caught” the emotions you experienced then, project them onto the goals you are working to achieve now. Be sure to praise yourself for what you have already achieved. And here it will take no more than 5 minutes.

Step #4. Make your goals more specific

“I want to earn more” is not a specific goal. The correct statement of the problem looks like this: “I want to earn $5,000 a month with the help of...”. Or let's say you want to get a subscriber base of 5,000 people by the end of the month using trusted email marketing. In this case, the presence of a specific figure, deadline and means of implementation is the main thing.

The criteria for specifying a goal are very simple: numbers, time periods, percentages, dates and even names. In a word: everything that will make the goal measurable and realistic. Here you can “stop” for 10 minutes or several hours. Depends on the number of goals and their fullness.

Step #5. Follow

It sounds simple enough, but the scenarios may vary. Will there be obstacles on the way to achieving your goal? Yes, they can be. Missing deadlines? And it is possible. All you need is to confidently move towards achieving a specific result. People around you may tell you: “Give up this crazy idea.” But only in your hands are the tools to achieve the goal and its final result.

Real life example: Housewife Kim Levin came up with a relaxation pillow that had grain sewn into it. To obtain maximum relaxation, such a pillow had to be heated (even in the microwave). Initially, they were sewn for their children, and even small businesses did not show interest in such an invention. The Wuvit chain of stores nevertheless took over the sale of the products. Today, former housewife Kim Levine is a millionaire and blogger.

Another story is told by the American film “Joy”. Based on the true story of Joy Mangano, a single mother who invented the self-squeezing miracle mop. A very motivating story with many obstacles on the path to success.

Break big goals into small ones

If you set a very large goal for yourself in the annual plan, then its implementation may take from 50% to 80% of all your resources. Such a goal can be formed as a global line of behavior - a strategic goal or a lifelong goal.

But you shouldn’t set such huge goals to achieve in the short term for the following reasons:

1. You can already understand at the beginning of execution that in this form the task will not be completed .
2. Having looked at the deadlines, abandon its regular review . Why re-read the plan once a week if there are only 2-3 goals and it is clear that they have not been achieved.
3. You are depriving yourself of frequent victories . Instead of feeling progress from achieving 10 goals, you wait and languish when you close at least one.

Divide the huge task into parts, set a target time for completion. Break your big goal down into smaller, simpler mini-goals. This will allow the monstrous goal to be presented as a plan for achieving the goal, broken down into steps.

In addition, each short-term goal achieved guarantees progress in steps towards the completion of the grand plan. Divide and group your plan: by week, month, semi-annually and yearly respectively.

Make sure that each next step builds on the implementation of the previous one and brings you closer to the final achievement.

To make your plan a reality, create a to-do list every week and sort it according to the Eisenhower Matrix. A weekly list will help you understand whether you are making progress towards your goal or not.

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General criteria

The document that we propose to consider is especially important if your goal is to attract foreign investors. The reason for most failures is often an illiterate plan.

To begin with, it will be important to highlight the general requirements for a business plan that must be adhered to when creating your document:

• The design should be attractive, but not too conspicuous. After all, your business project is the first thing a potential lender learns about you, and therefore it is necessary to remain committed to your image;
• The level of detail depends entirely on your goals. At the same time, we must not forget that the project should not contain unnecessary details, but there should be structure, brevity and clarity of thought. The optimal length is 40 pages. If necessary, the document can be increased to 80 pages or reduced to 30;
• It is better not to include any background or secondary information in the plan. If its presence is still necessary, it is better to include it in applications, the volume of which is not limited. Moreover, be prepared for the fact that the investor will still ask for additional information, and therefore it is better to be prepared for this;
• do not forget about the language and style of presentation - it should be understandable and accessible to the reader. Your text should not be replete with terms unknown to anyone. The meaning of the above should be clear to any reader, and not just to specialists in this field. Stick to a laconic, persuasive style;
• requirements for a business plan include the use of tables, graphs, and diagrams. Do not forget that information presented in numbers is remembered much better;
• the analysis itself must be based on reliable data. All forecasts and your assumptions must be confirmed with references to sources of information;
• Don't neglect discussing risks. It is better if you initiate this yourself rather than independent experts brought in from outside;
• the plan should be as comprehensive as possible, giving the lender a complete idea of ​​how much you are asking for, what you will spend it on, and what he personally will receive from all this.

Another important point: investors prefer to first read a summary of the project, which should fit on two or three pages and contain the main points.

In the process of drawing up the document, do not forget to take into account the individual requirements for a business plan that a particular investor puts forward. And lastly, the number of propagated copies must be sufficient. Therefore, do not forget to ask how many people will consider your project.

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Setting SMART goals

It is not always possible to set the right goal. When tasks are vague, it leaves us confused : how to complete them, how to measure progress.

Your goals must be precise and specific . Setting SMART goals involves being specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.

By being able to set goals using a smart framework, you immediately get the details and context you need. Setting smart goals is not difficult. You just need to go through each letter of the abbreviation and adjust the wording of the goal.

Specificity means that the goal should not be achieved in general, but only at a specific point.

For example, you want to read a lot of books by 2030.

But setting a goal as “Read 26 books a year” will become specific and ensure that every book read is aimed at achieving that goal.

We get a ready-made action plan to achieve the goal: read two books a month.

Achievability refers to your abilities. To set realistic goals for yourself, you need to study your capabilities well.

Let's return to the example of books.

To read 2 books a month, you need to read about 25 pages a day. It takes 30 minutes.

But in reality, you only have the time and energy to read 15 pages. Question: can you achieve your goal? Not quite, unless you adjust the goal itself or the required resources.

Measurability refers to the quantification of progress. If your goal is to write 1000 posts on Instagram in 5 years to get a huge audience, then you need to calculate how many posts you need to publish per day (every 2 days).

And you definitely need to monitor the progress and the result - new subscribers. The only way you will see results is if you keep up with your plan.

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Where to start drawing up a business plan for a new enterprise?

Drawing up any business plan always begins with planning, and the planning stage cannot do without the formation of a promising and clear business idea. Having an idea and a strong desire to bring it to life are the driving force on the path to creating new projects.

At its core, an entrepreneurial idea is a clear idea of ​​what specific actions will be used to satisfy a particular need of a potential consumer of a particular product or service.

Sources of new ideas usually include:

• Consumer reviews of similar products or services.
• Competitors' products.
• Thematic publications about the latest patents.
• Opinion of authoritative experts in the field of marketing and sales.
• Various research works.

A business idea can only be considered effective after its successful implementation. Successful implementation implies achieving the goals set at the beginning.

Taking action to implement

It's never too late to start doing what you dream of. Once the plan is written down on paper, immediately begin achieving your goal. Any path begins with the first step [1].

Your first step determines the outcome you will get in both your career and life. Most people do not even take the first step , remaining at the level of “keeping the goal in mind.” Provide the situation so that your first step will definitely happen.

Remember that even a small action brings you closer to something bigger. If after a while there is a feeling that you are going in the wrong direction, the plan can be changed. But at any moment there must be a plan and work on it should not fade away.

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Why is a business plan drawn up?

There are two main options:

• when it comes to a new business project (start-up), a business plan allows you to calculate in advance its profitability and profitability, take into account risks, and provide for possible developments;
• If a business plan is drawn up for an existing company, it usually allows you to build a plan for modernizing or transforming the business. The plan allows you to adjust deadlines, minimize costs and risks, and achieve all your goals.

In addition, in both cases, a business plan can serve the following purposes:

• become the basis for a presentation that will be shown to investors, creditors, clients or potential counterparties of the business;
• simplify the development of official assignments and job descriptions for employees;
• become part of a larger business plan when it comes to a corporation or holding.

It should be remembered: a full-fledged business plan must be clear and formulated, without uncertainties and subjunctive mood. It must clearly express the businessman’s expectations from the implementation of the project and clearly demonstrate all the advantages.

Of course, force majeure circumstances and changes in realities are always possible. But a business plan must always take into account possible risks. Otherwise, not a single lender or investor will take it on.

Stick to the plan

Setting goals and creating a plan to achieve them is not easy for a beginner. For an experienced person, this is pure pleasure, maybe difficult, but joyful.

The real challenge for a newbie comes when it comes to sticking to the plan. When implementation problems arise, one must not lose hope and give up.

Stay focused on the goal, find motivation and work day in and day out.

If the initial goal “didn’t work”, replace it with another one that will lead you to the planned result, albeit in a different way.

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Vision of the result

Once your goal is determined, I highly recommend sitting down and thinking about what outcome you want to achieve. Thinking about it is the minimum you should do. It will be better if you draw your result or at least write it down. It’s much easier to work with something visual. Remember that when you have an “image” of the result in your hands, the goal will be achieved much faster.

So you know your result. Then you can visualize it. For example, if you want to get a brand new iPad 3 and are saving money for it, counting every penny, then you can, for example, hang a picture of this device on your computer desktop. Why is this being done? It's simple. Firstly, you will clearly see why you are making such a big effort. Secondly, by seeing this picture, you will visualize the moment when you will hold it in your hands, when you will explore all its possibilities, etc. And this moment of visualization should not be neglected. Although this seems absurd at first glance, this technique works very well. It is also worth noting that the pictures should be as realistic as possible.

You determined your result, wrote it down, and drew it. What will we do next

Set up regular checks

When you set out to do something new, you get a rush of adrenaline and a feeling of excitement.

But, it is enough to move a couple of steps forward and this feeling begins to disappear. This is the reason why so many New Year's resolutions are never implemented or are pushed back to February.

Any goal worth achieving is not realized in an instant. It takes time. To achieve results, it is important to regularly check progress , each time to make sure that you or your team are on track.

The possibility of feedback from the world, the presence of repeated reminders, will allow you to be motivated to achieve your goal. This is very important for large tasks that take months or years to complete.

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Prices

Calculations can be carried out both in constant prices and current ones. In this case, VAT may not be taken into account. The calculation is carried out in constant prices if we are talking about a business plan for an investment project. This does not take inflation into account. There are situations when you have to make calculations in current prices. In this case, it is necessary to take inflation into account. Moreover, it is calculated separately for each region in which products are sold. All basic prices are taken into account in the currency that is the main one in the territory of the state where the products are sold.

Celebrate victories, even the smallest ones

A good idea for self-management to achieve a goal is to reward yourself. Reward yourself every time you complete even the smallest of steps .

Even the simple act of crossing out a task from a notepad can bring pleasure as good as a cup of delicious coffee. As a result, you will be charged with a small dose of joy in life, and fulfilling your dreams will seem like an unusually large source of high.

Do not think that until the goal has been achieved, you need to wait to celebrate small victories. Get rid of such thoughts, this is a very stupid idea. Of course, you shouldn’t set off fireworks, but you definitely need to learn to just be happy.

Small victories are the main source of energy to move on and stick to the right direction.

Here's what's going on in your head: A brain chemical called dopamine spikes when you're anticipating something important (like doing something you're intending to do) and gets a boost. This is motivation for the brain.

And by setting ourselves smaller tasks and then thanking ourselves for completing them, we increase the number of dopamine surges. These surges encourage us to stay in the resource.

How to make a plan if your head is a mess

In the situation described above, when you find yourself feeling overwhelmed and not knowing what to do now, the recipe is simple: take a piece of paper and write. Write down everything that sits in your head and haunts you. All the things you need to do today, this week, this month and even this year. Write down everything that torments you.

Once the list is ready, I'm sure you will feel relieved. Now we need to rank things by importance and urgency.

Look carefully at your list and mark with an asterisk (or whatever you like) those things that should have been completed “yesterday”. Mark with a circle those things that are important to do today, but not right now. Use an arrow to mark things that can be moved or removed from the list altogether. Do this for all your tasks for the week.

Now that you've sorted your cases, you can see where you need to start. Don’t delay, take the first task with extreme urgency (a case from the “needed yesterday” category) and get to work on it. Next, move on to the tasks that need to be completed today. If there is time left after these tasks, do something from the list with arrows. If you don’t have time, move things to other days.

Economic efficiency of the project

This indicator is perhaps one of the most important for both investors and the business owner himself. When carrying out this kind of calculations, it is necessary to adhere to the basic recommendations for their implementation. Such nuances are specified by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of the Russian Federation. The economic efficiency of the project should attract investors and give a realistic assessment of the effective operation of the future enterprise. Only in this case will investors be interested in investing money in the project. Economic efficiency is also very important for banks. They look at this indicator very carefully before approving a loan. So it is worth considering the calculation of economic efficiency very carefully and competently, so that no one can find fault with the business plan as a whole.