A business plan is a document containing an economic justification for the development of an enterprise, the release of new products or the implementation of other commercial ideas. A business plan combines the features of strategic and current plans. It is drawn up when creating an enterprise or at turning points of its existence, for example, when expanding the scale of activities, attracting potential investors, issuing securities, etc. The planning horizon is from 1 year to 5 years, as a rule, a business plan is developed by year.
Analysis of the economic situation and the choice of rational and profitable for the enterprise options for solving economic problems characterizes the process of drawing up a business plan. Its ultimate goal is to form an integrated system for the development of production, by investing capital in activities that can bring maximum profit.
The development of a business plan allows you to predict various options for business development and identify problems that the enterprise may face.
Business plans can be classified by business object. This classification is shown in Figure 6.4.
Business plans according to the above typology are developed in various modifications depending on the purpose: business plan of the enterprise, business plan of the investment project for the production of new types of products (works, services, technical solutions).
The business plan of the enterprise is a program of effective enterprise management aimed at ensuring the competitiveness of the enterprise and the stable financial position of the enterprise. There are differences between the business plan of the enterprise being created and the current one. In the first case, the enterprise relies on forecast and evaluation data, which allow to develop the production, marketing and organizational structure of the enterprise, to interest potential investors in the future prospects and profitability of its enterprise. In the second case, the business plan is based on the results and experience of the enterprise, allows you to determine the possibilities of its development, predetermine the changes to be implemented, redistribute investments in those areas that will bring high income in the future.
The business plan of the investment project is a feasibility study for the introduction of innovations. It involves a comparative analysis of the effectiveness of the proposed activities, an assessment of the investments required for their implementation and the solution of problems related to the implementation of the project.
Business planning by its nature is a unique process, which is explained by the uniqueness of each investment project and enterprise. At the same time, when developing any of them, basic principles are used that are common, regardless of the industry in which the project is implemented, and the organizational and legal features of the enterprise implementing it. These include determining the goals of business planning and the requirements for its development, as well as choosing a typical structure of the business plan.
The most general goal of the business plan is to forecast the economic activity of the initiating enterprise for a certain period of time in accordance with the needs of the market and the possibilities of obtaining the necessary financial resources, including in the form of a foreign loan. In this regard, the business plan helps to solve the following main tasks:
determine the specific activities of the enterprise, its target markets; formulate long-term and short-term goals of the company, strategy and tactics for their achievement; select the composition and determine the characteristics of the goods and services produced, analyze production and trade costs; determine the list of marketing activities of the company; assess the material, personnel and financial capabilities of the enterprise, their compliance with the set goals.
In world practice, a business plan is developed on the basis of standard requirements for its design:
Simplicity and clarity of the plan; Sufficiency, reliability and reliability of information; Validity and objectivity; Achievability of the set goals; Completeness; Perspective; Flexibility and optimality; Control (drawing up work schedules, deadlines, indicators).
The content of a particular business plan depends on the following factors:
industry affiliation of the enterprise; the size of the enterprise; enterprise strategies (expansion, creation); terms of financing.
The business plan solves the following tasks:
determination of specific quantitative indicators and deadlines for achieving the goals of the enterprise; development of interrelated plans for production, marketing, finance; identification of necessary resources and search for their sources; identification of problems that may have to be faced; organization of a system for monitoring the implementation of the plan; preparation of a thorough justification in order to attract investors. The first five areas are necessary for the company for its development, even in cases where there is no need to attract third-party investments.
In the economic and scientific literature, there is a variety of structuring of business plans, it is proposed to divide into 7 sections, 9, 14 and so on. In our opinion, the important thing here is not the variety of different sections, but taking into account all the requirements for the development of a business plan.
The business plan in general form consists of the following sections:
general information (summary); analysis of current activities (developed for an operating enterprise); description of the type of activity, products, their characteristics; sales market assessment; marketing strategy; a plan of measures to improve products in order to ensure their competitiveness; production plan; organizational plan; risk assessment and insurance; financial plan; assessment of self-supporting economic efficiency of the enterprise; information about the developers of the business plan.
The volume and content of the sections of the business plan depends on the goals of its development and on the size of the enterprise.
The problems of business planning are also reflected in a number of existing regulatory documents of the Republic of Belarus. This is the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus of 27.06.2000 No. 1146 “On business plans of organizations engaged in the production of industrial products”, “Recommendations for the development of business plans for investment projects”, approved by the order of the Ministry of Economy of 31.03.1999 No. 25. These recommendations define uniform requirements for business plans for projects submitted for consideration by government.