Business planning
Greetings, Habrahabr.
First of all I want to thank ssneg for an invite, as well as publish an article for which I received it.
The fact is that I study in the financial specialty, and one of the courses that I study is entrepreneurship and business planning. Therefore, in the course of the course I want to share the knowledge gained with Habr. I hope my articles will interest you, if not, at least you will know what is taught in American business schools.
')
This article is the beginning of a series of articles on business planning. Within the framework of the cycle, a detailed review of the stages of preparing a business plan is assumed - starting from the inception of the idea and ending with the nuances of obtaining financing.
So business. Mostly we are talking about the so-called. startups when a business is built from scratch. You made this decision, and no matter how you came to him - perhaps you had an idea, maybe you just don’t want to just work for someone. There is a widespread belief that business needs substantial initial capital. Start-up capital is necessary, but not obligatory , and there are a number of successful examples of a business based almost on spending money. As one of my professors, a former member of the board of directors of Exxon Enterprises and the Genesis Group, says, “when starting a startup, do not worry about capital investments, just prove that your business is capable of generating income and that you are able to manage it, and then you will not be lacking in the capital. "
After we put aside the problem of financing (don't get it wrong, financing is important, but not at the initial stage), it is time to think about what exactly to do. Agreeing with Schumpeter (“an entrepreneur is an opportunist who profits from disequilibrium in the economy”) should begin with what the market needs .
The overwhelming majority of successful businesses either:
• met market needs
• solved any problem
• created a new opportunity
Therefore - look around you. Take a closer look. There are a lot of problems around, one of which your business could solve. For example, you notice that your area does not have such a place where such necessary services as copying, printing and so on would be. Or do you think that the sites of most companies in your city are so bad and that they do not even suspect about web 2.0. Or do you every day encounter poor service in organizations and would like to change that. All these three examples are different in terms of the initial investment, but one thing unites them - they solve problems, give the market what it needs. In the first case, your area will receive an excellent copy-center with a range of services; in the second, your city will receive a decent web design studio; in the third case, you will create an excellent feedback site that allows companies to receive feedback on their service and gives them the opportunity to improve it.
So let's say you have an idea. Often this idea comes from the area in which you are well versed - this is either your profession, hobby or just what you are interested in. Therefore, it is better to start with these areas.
If this is a good idea, you will definitely start thinking about it day and night without your desire . The idea is contagious , and you will devote more and more time to it, and rightly so, because of the idea you will see something more concrete out of the idea. And one more important point - the idea is at the same time idealism. It is very important for an entrepreneur to believe in his idea , and in the first stages it is still more important to be an idealist. If someone told me that the next analogue of the “yellow pages” would become a popular service on the Internet, I would be very critical of the idea. But the founders of the red beacon had a bit of idealism and unshakable faith. Most recently, they received a tranche of $ 7.4 million from a venture capital fund.
However, the above example also suggests that the idea itself is worthless . Moreover, I agree with Artemy Lebedev, who says that any idea has a negative value , since it requires an investment in itself.
That is, the example puts the realization of the idea at the forefront, in fact, you. The success of a business, its profitability is estimated not according to the idea, and not even according to a business plan, but according to you. More precisely, according to your actions. How well you are able to realize your idea, how you will cope with difficulties, be flexible - all this determines success. There are hundreds of sites that offer T-shirt printing services, but there is only one of the few that has achieved significant success.
One of the main problems of start-up entrepreneurs is the desire to quickly make a profit , while some do not even really understand where to get it. It is these entrepreneurs who, on a proposal from a potential investor to participate in a joint project, are primarily interested in material rewards , completely forgetting that this is a great opportunity to prove oneself without remuneration.
So, suppose you have an idea, you are interested in it and you are “sick” of it. You believe in its success, and intend to invest in it personal time and a certain amount of personal funds. Your goal at this stage is not profit, but the realization of your idea in order to prove that your project is worthy of existence.
With all of the above, it's time to ask yourself the following questions:
• what is this business?
• What will your business offer? Service / products?
• What markets do you plan to cover?
• at the expense of what you intend to be better than your competitors?
• Do you have people in mind who you could take to the team?
These questions are very critical at the first stage. Clear direction and stability are as important for business as it is for the tightrope walker.
If you have already thought about your business, and you even have ideas, I suggest you think about these issues.
And remember, if you are not able to clearly and clearly describe your business in a couple of sentences, you need to think more carefully.
[ Continued here ]
First of all I want to thank ssneg for an invite, as well as publish an article for which I received it.
The fact is that I study in the financial specialty, and one of the courses that I study is entrepreneurship and business planning. Therefore, in the course of the course I want to share the knowledge gained with Habr. I hope my articles will interest you, if not, at least you will know what is taught in American business schools.
')
This article is the beginning of a series of articles on business planning. Within the framework of the cycle, a detailed review of the stages of preparing a business plan is assumed - starting from the inception of the idea and ending with the nuances of obtaining financing.
So business. Mostly we are talking about the so-called. startups when a business is built from scratch. You made this decision, and no matter how you came to him - perhaps you had an idea, maybe you just don’t want to just work for someone. There is a widespread belief that business needs substantial initial capital. Start-up capital is necessary, but not obligatory , and there are a number of successful examples of a business based almost on spending money. As one of my professors, a former member of the board of directors of Exxon Enterprises and the Genesis Group, says, “when starting a startup, do not worry about capital investments, just prove that your business is capable of generating income and that you are able to manage it, and then you will not be lacking in the capital. "
Where to begin?
After we put aside the problem of financing (don't get it wrong, financing is important, but not at the initial stage), it is time to think about what exactly to do. Agreeing with Schumpeter (“an entrepreneur is an opportunist who profits from disequilibrium in the economy”) should begin with what the market needs .
The overwhelming majority of successful businesses either:
• met market needs
• solved any problem
• created a new opportunity
Therefore - look around you. Take a closer look. There are a lot of problems around, one of which your business could solve. For example, you notice that your area does not have such a place where such necessary services as copying, printing and so on would be. Or do you think that the sites of most companies in your city are so bad and that they do not even suspect about web 2.0. Or do you every day encounter poor service in organizations and would like to change that. All these three examples are different in terms of the initial investment, but one thing unites them - they solve problems, give the market what it needs. In the first case, your area will receive an excellent copy-center with a range of services; in the second, your city will receive a decent web design studio; in the third case, you will create an excellent feedback site that allows companies to receive feedback on their service and gives them the opportunity to improve it.
I have an idea
So let's say you have an idea. Often this idea comes from the area in which you are well versed - this is either your profession, hobby or just what you are interested in. Therefore, it is better to start with these areas.
If this is a good idea, you will definitely start thinking about it day and night without your desire . The idea is contagious , and you will devote more and more time to it, and rightly so, because of the idea you will see something more concrete out of the idea. And one more important point - the idea is at the same time idealism. It is very important for an entrepreneur to believe in his idea , and in the first stages it is still more important to be an idealist. If someone told me that the next analogue of the “yellow pages” would become a popular service on the Internet, I would be very critical of the idea. But the founders of the red beacon had a bit of idealism and unshakable faith. Most recently, they received a tranche of $ 7.4 million from a venture capital fund.
The idea is not a business
However, the above example also suggests that the idea itself is worthless . Moreover, I agree with Artemy Lebedev, who says that any idea has a negative value , since it requires an investment in itself.
That is, the example puts the realization of the idea at the forefront, in fact, you. The success of a business, its profitability is estimated not according to the idea, and not even according to a business plan, but according to you. More precisely, according to your actions. How well you are able to realize your idea, how you will cope with difficulties, be flexible - all this determines success. There are hundreds of sites that offer T-shirt printing services, but there is only one of the few that has achieved significant success.
One of the main problems of start-up entrepreneurs is the desire to quickly make a profit , while some do not even really understand where to get it. It is these entrepreneurs who, on a proposal from a potential investor to participate in a joint project, are primarily interested in material rewards , completely forgetting that this is a great opportunity to prove oneself without remuneration.
Ask yourself
So, suppose you have an idea, you are interested in it and you are “sick” of it. You believe in its success, and intend to invest in it personal time and a certain amount of personal funds. Your goal at this stage is not profit, but the realization of your idea in order to prove that your project is worthy of existence.
With all of the above, it's time to ask yourself the following questions:
• what is this business?
• What will your business offer? Service / products?
• What markets do you plan to cover?
• at the expense of what you intend to be better than your competitors?
• Do you have people in mind who you could take to the team?
These questions are very critical at the first stage. Clear direction and stability are as important for business as it is for the tightrope walker.
If you have already thought about your business, and you even have ideas, I suggest you think about these issues.
And remember, if you are not able to clearly and clearly describe your business in a couple of sentences, you need to think more carefully.
[ Continued here ]
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/105971/
All Articles