How to draw up a store business plan

Video: How to Write a Business Plan - Entrepreneurship 101 2024, July

There are two types of business plans: for the investor and for the founders of the business. The first aims to attract investment in the project, the second - rather, to realize how to build a business. Let's consider how business plans of both types are compiled for a store.

Instruction manual

Let's start by drawing up a business plan for ourselves. It should not be large and very detailed, but it is necessary to highlight all the important points in the creation and promotion of your store. You can build something like this list of questions for drawing up a store business plan:

1. The form of existence of the store (regular store or online store? Supermarket or boutique?).

2. Target audience and assortment.

3. Location (a cheap supermarket place in a residential area, a boutique in the center).

4. Trading area (size, rental costs).

5. Equipment (what is needed, suppliers, prices).

6. Staff (how many people to hire and how much to pay them).

7. The cost of registering the store, the necessary licenses (for example, for the sale of alcohol).

8. Advertising.

Such a business plan, first of all, will help you better understand how you want to see and what your store can do, and how much money it will take. For each issue, you need to conduct a little research on the Internet and go to competitor stores. If you looked at a place for a lingerie boutique in the center, you should check to see if there are any similar boutiques nearby, and if so, what kind of lingerie is there and what prices. To select competent staff and not to spend extra money on salaries, you should ask how much a good seller in the labor market "costs" and, accordingly, offer the same salary or a little higher if you can afford it.

The business plan for investors is a slightly different document. In it you should give primary information about your store and show that your store is a promising, developing project in which you can and should safely invest. This does not mean that the business plan should be similar to a dissertation, rather, on the contrary, it should be quite short and understandable. But the list of key points that need to be addressed in it will be special.

Business is people. When thinking about the prospects of your store, an investor will first of all look at you and your team members - can you really make such a project profitable? Therefore, your business plan should begin with a brief biography of you and those who create the store with you. Biographies should highlight your accomplishments, demonstrate your determination and ambition, and be concise.

What is your store and what will be special in it? It is important for an investor to know what your assortment will be, what your target audience is, how you selected the sales area. Here you need a market assessment, a certain marketing research. If you cannot evaluate the market from the point of view of prospects, customers, market share and other things, then you do not fully understand the market situation.

The most important item in the plan is the financial forecast. When will you pay off? What profit do you expect to bring? What will your turnover be in two years? The answers to these questions should be as clear as possible and not contain vague wording. These are questions that you should spend any amount of time on research, but give an accurate (and honest!) Answer. Imagine a monthly forecast for the first year, and then a quarterly breakdown of 3-5 years. Investors are interested in when their investment will pay off, and they need to show it.

Imagine briefly the operating costs of opening a store — something that was listed in some paragraphs of the business plan “for yourself”: how much money will be needed to register the store, licenses, equipment, staff, advertising.

Of no small importance is how you can present your business plan. Make a beautiful presentation, try to interest the investor, let him be pleased to look at your business plan. A lot depends on the impression you make. The investor must be sure that in front of him is a real entrepreneur - energetic, active and creatively thinking, who can open a profitable store.