Open your own business from scratch. We calculate the profitability of your future business using a real example. Numbers. Terms. Data. We are looking for an idea to open our own business

Hello dear friend! Alexander Berezhnov, entrepreneur and one of the founders of the business magazine HiterBober.ru, is in touch.

Today we will talk about how to start your business from scratch. Is it really possible to do it at all? I answer unequivocally - YES!

After studying this article, you will find answers to the most common questions:

How to start your business from scratch if you have no money and experience?
Where can I find a working business idea to start a project?
What (what business) should you do to get your first profit tomorrow?

Here I will describe a step-by-step technology for starting a business, and will give examples from my own business practice, as well as talk about the experience of my entrepreneurial friends who started their own business without money or other material assets in the form of premises, equipment or goods.

All you have to do is study this material and apply the knowledge gained in life.

Content

Why is it better for beginners to start a business from scratch?
Where to start your business so as not to burn out - 10 iron rules!
How to start your own business from scratch - 7 simple steps using the example of a fictional aspiring entrepreneur Vasya Pupkin
My own experience of starting a business from scratch in the service sector
Real story about how my friend Misha worked as a security guard and became a businessman

1. Why is it better for beginners to open a business FROM ZERO?

Dear readers, this section of the article is very important! I sincerely advise you to study it carefully. I guarantee you won't regret it.

Here the key points on starting a business for beginners will be explained from the point of view of the psychology of entrepreneurship.

Before you start new project, be sure to think about what determines your desire.

Understand yourself and your motivation to open a business, and my small test, compiled in the form of two blocks of different beliefs, will help you with this.

Belief block No. 1.

What thoughts SHOULD NOT open your own business with:

How can you quickly earn a lot to pay off your debts?
The idea I have in my head will definitely work, but I need money to make it happen;
Am I worse than others? My neighbor is engaged in business and everything will work out for me;
I'm tired of these idiot bosses, I'm quitting tomorrow and starting my own business!

Yes, friends, business is more psychology than technology. I'll explain why a little later.

Belief block No. 2.

On the contrary, you are READY to start a business if you think like this:

I am very good at doing something that is in demand by the “market” and on its basis I want to open my own business;
I realize that at the beginning, large investments in business are very risky, and I can only invest free money in the business, but I will not borrow it, since the risk of losing money without business experience is very high;
My own business takes a lot of time, and in order to develop it I must have a cash reserve or source of income until my project generates tangible income;
Having started my own business, I will no longer have bosses and supervisors who guided me in my work and I need to become a sufficiently organized person to act independently and achieve success in entrepreneurship.

If you have dominant beliefs from block No. 1, do not rush to get into a fight. After all, most likely, such judgments indicate the emotionality of your decisions and underestimation of the risks that arise when starting your own business.

The beliefs prevailing in your head from block No. 2 indicate that you are fully aware of what business is and are going to take a responsible approach to its start and further development.

I already wrote above that business is mainly psychology and only then technology.

It's time to explain why this is so.

The thing is that our internal “cockroaches” and delusions prevent us from starting our project.

Here are just some of the myths that hinder the start of successful projects:

You can’t open a business without money and connections;
Taxes will eat up all profits;
Bandits will take my business;
I don't have a commercial streak.

Surely you are familiar with all these fears of beginners. In fact, if you overcome them, or rather just score and don’t think about all this nonsense, then your chances of success will increase MANY TIMES!

2. Where to start your business so as not to burn out - 10 iron rules!

I had to open a business myself more than once. I opened my first business at the age of 19 and registered myself as an individual entrepreneur. If you are interested in how to register an individual entrepreneur, then I explained in detail all the intricacies of this procedure using my own example in the article “How to open an individual entrepreneur in 3 hours.”

Then I bought 2 payment terminals. You yourself have probably used the services of such terminals more than once when paying for a mobile phone. But this business cannot be called open from scratch, since at that time (2006) I invested about 250,000 rubles in it.

So, friends, perhaps you know both successful examples of business projects and examples where entrepreneurs with their “brainchild” failed.

By the way, basically everyone hears stories of great successes, but it seems that it is not customary for us to talk about failures and is even embarrassing.

Like, I’m a fool, a loser, I’m broke, I lost money, I got into debt. So what's now? And now there is nothing left to do, all that remains is to live on and step by step get out of the current situation.

So that you don’t find yourself in the place of this poor fellow, here are the simplest rules that will help you start a business with minimal risks and great chances for the success of the enterprise.

How to start your business from scratch and not go broke - 10 iron rules:

Never take out loans to start a business if you do not have experience;
Before starting a business, take off your rose-colored glasses and ask yourself the question: “What will I lose if I fail”?;
Get ready for different options developments, take into account both the optimistic and pessimistic scenarios;
Under no circumstances should you open a business with money intended for other strategic goals in your life (children’s education, loan payments, treatment, etc.);
Carefully study the market and your capabilities, that is, the resources you have to start your own business;
Do not get involved with obscure or “super profitable” projects that require serious investments;
If possible, talk to experienced entrepreneurs who are successful in business and take note of their advice;
Start a business in a field you are familiar with;
Plan your upcoming actions in writing and clearly formulate each stage that you have to go through to achieve your goal;
Be optimistic and don't stop at the first difficulties!

3. How to start your own business from scratch - 7 simple steps using the example of a fictional aspiring entrepreneur Vasya Pupkin

For clarity, I propose to go through all 7 steps of technology for organizing your business using the example of a fictitious entrepreneur, let his name be Vasily.

This is the hero of our story, who decided to open a business from scratch.

Step 1. Determine your value

Look, friends, I think you will agree that business can be called the exchange of money for some value that you can give to your clients, that is, solve their problem for money.

Let's say you're good at driving a car, or you can make beautiful designs on a computer, or perhaps you have a talent for creating DIY crafts - in all these cases, you have value that people are willing to pay for.

Let's get straight to the point and get it done. practical exercise, which will help you start your business from scratch:

Take a piece of paper and a pen, then write a list of 10 things that you feel are better than others.

Once you have this list ready, think about what you are good at that you really enjoy doing. Maybe you are doing this as a hobby now.

The fact is that a person cannot do something for a long time that he does not like, and business is a big creative process, which requires you to be versatile, willpower and dedication.

For example, as a result of this exercise, you came to the conclusion that you like to teach something, explain things, communicate with people and work with information, and most importantly, that you are good at it.

Then, by combining your abilities, you can become a private tutor, consultant, or succeed in the network marketing industry.

This is a general principle.

So, once upon a time there lived Vasya...

Vasily decided to open a business and approached this task responsibly.

Vasya made a list of his favorite activities and compared it with what he does best.

Based on the results of the exercise, our hero decided that he would engage in computer design, since he had been working for several years in the company “DesignStroyProekt” LLC in Chelyabinsk, which develops interior design and then finishes the room according to the 3D project.

Vasily assessed his strength and decided that he would become a private interior designer, he already had a number of completed projects, positive reviews customers and an impressive portfolio.

Vasya loved his job and sometimes even took it home, since the company had a lot of orders.

Even then, our hero realized that, in essence, he was engaged in entrepreneurial activity, only the company buys his services at a low price, and clients pay the company much more for design development.

Here Vasily realized that if he could find clients on his own, then he would not have to go to the office at all, and his initial investment in the business would be minimal. After all, his design skills themselves are essentially a business.

This is how our newly minted entrepreneur came up with the idea to start a business.

While working in the company, Vasya even received a small percentage of completed projects, which means he could influence the level of his income.

Fortunately he lived in big city where he had quite a lot potential clients.

Step 2. Analyze the market and choose a niche for a future project

In order to understand whether your business will be successful, you need to conduct an appropriate analysis of the market in which you will sell your goods or services.

So, Vasya decided not to rush and carefully prepared for the new life stage, which was called “free floating in the world of business.”

Over the few years that our designer worked for the company, he learned that there were about 10 similar companies in the market in his city, and they all provided similar services.

He asked his friend Pasha, under the guise of a client, to go to these companies and identify their weak and strengths in order to further develop competitive advantages working for yourself.

After commercial intelligence, Pasha identified a number of strengths and weaknesses of these companies. Pasha put these sides into a table so that Vasya could conveniently compare them.

Strengths of Vasya's competing companies:

The interior designer of these companies inspects and measures the property for free;
all companies provide a discount on subsequent finishing of the apartment;
7 out of 10 companies give the client a gift gift Certificate a 30% discount when re-ordering a design project from them;
Managers of 9 out of 10 companies carefully talk with the client, competently finding out his needs.

Weaknesses of Vasya’s competing companies:

8 out of 10 companies try to be too intrusive to sell a large number of additional products and services at the first meeting with the client. This causes his negative reaction;
the interior designer in all 10 companies, during the first conversation with a potential client, conducts a dialogue in complex professional language using a large number of special terms;
7 out of 10 companies take additional fee for making changes to the computer design project.

Taking into account all the above-described pros and cons of competitors, our hero Vasily decided to engage in interior design of houses and apartments in his city at a lower price. Similar companies on the market provide these services more expensively, since they spent a lot of money on maintaining the workplace and paying taxes for the employee.

The cost of our designer’s services was now one and a half times lower with the proper quality of execution of design projects.

This completed the second step of building his business from scratch with Vasily Pupkin.

Step 3. Decide on the positioning of your business and draw up a Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

In order for your customers to understand exactly what you offer them and what makes you unique, you will need to decide on your positioning. In other words, in what light will you present yourself to your client.

Let's return to our fictional hero Vasily, who wanted to open his own business and was at the stage of developing a proposal for the customer.

Vasya already had a good portfolio and a number of reviews from satisfied clients, but how to show all this to your potential customers?

Then Vasya said to himself: “I’m a designer!”, and decided to create his own website on the Internet.

Here he posted his portfolio, reviews, information about himself and his experience, as well as his contacts so that a potential client could conveniently contact him.

Vasily also formulated his Unique Selling Proposition (USP)*, which sounded as follows: “Creating the interior design of your dreams for a reasonable price. Creative. Bright. Practical."

So Vasya began to position himself as a professional designer who, at an adequate cost, develops a good quality product for people of average income.

Step 4. Draw up an action plan (business plan)

In order to launch your business and avoid many problems, you need to be prudent and try to present your idea and action plan on paper in as much detail as possible.

You can briefly write down the main stages that you will have to go through to organize and launch your project. Draw diagrams and drawings and provide explanations for them.

Correctly, this stage of starting your business from scratch is called business planning. These are your instructions, following which your chances of success increase significantly.

In one of the previous articles I already wrote how to write a business plan, be sure to read it.

Now we return to our hero Vasily, who decided to become an entrepreneur and quit his job. Vasily had long wanted to open a business without investments, because he did not want to risk money. He understood that without proper experience, such an experiment could end badly and lead to loss of money.

As a result, Vasya decided that his actions would consist of 3 simple stages with subtasks and would look like this:

Create your own website with a portfolio, reviews and contacts;
Post your portfolio online on sites for remote workers;
Inform your closest circle about your new project (friends, acquaintances and relatives).

Stage 2. Receiving first orders

Sign contracts and receive advance payments from clients;
Fulfill orders;
Get feedback and recommendations from the customer, add work to your portfolio.

Stage 3. Quitting your job

Write resignation letters;
Work the required 2 weeks, complete work projects and transfer tasks;
Agree on the supply of clients to contractors for repair and finishing work.

Now he was completely ready to take the first practical steps to transform himself from an employee into an individual entrepreneur.

Step 5. Advertise your project and find your first clients

In order to find your first clients when you already have an offer for your services, you must first notify your acquaintances, friends and relatives. Tell them that from now on you are engaged in such and such activities, and also try to conclude the first contracts with them.

In case in this moment your services are not relevant for them, ask them for contacts of people to whom they could recommend you.

It's no secret that in order to reach a large audience and automatic self-presentation, you will simply need to create a website for yourself.

To do this, you can use the services of website creation companies or, if you have the necessary knowledge, create a website yourself. By the way, about how my friend Vitaly and I earned about 1,000,000 rubles by creating websites, read our article about making money by creating custom websites.

Meanwhile, the hero of our business story, Vasily, did not sit idle and developed a personal website for himself, created groups in in social networks, notified those around him about the services he provided and sent out commercial offers to his potential clients.

A properly written commercial proposal is the key to success in your business. Read all the features and nuances of the technology in my article on how to make a commercial proposal.

The first orders have arrived...

Step 6. Launch a business, earn your first money and build a brand

Having completed all the previous steps, you are gradually approaching the most interesting stage - the first orders, and therefore the first profits.

Isn’t this what we strived for when we became entrepreneurs!?
“How to make money starting your business from scratch?” - Isn’t this the question we asked ourselves?

If you show the proper perseverance and follow my recommendations, then success will certainly await you. Just believe in yourself and don’t give up ahead of time, be prepared for difficulties, because they will come, I’m telling you that for sure.

So, our Vasily received and completed the first orders. As usual, he did this with his usual professionalism. The designer understood that simply making money was not enough, because he already knew how to do this in his office job in the company.

Possessing a strategic vision, Vasily decided that in order to develop his business and increase the cost of his services, he needed to build a name for himself, or, as they say more correctly in business circles, a reputation.

Earn yourself a name that will help you earn everything else!

Folk wisdom

To do this, Vasya did not just sit at home and watch TV, but methodically engaged in self-education, attended thematic exhibitions and seminars, and went to creative gatherings of designers and entrepreneurs, where he could find potential clients and meet new partners.

A few months later, Vasya gained a reputation as an experienced and punctual professional in the field of interior design. The average cost of his order grew, and clients came to him based on the recommendations of their friends, to whom Vasya provided high-quality design services.

Step 7. Analyze the results and expand the project

When your business began to generate significant income, regular clients appeared, and you began to be recognized in the business and professional sphere, it’s time to sum up the interim results of your work and outline new horizons. Simply put, it’s time to expand your project in order to increase profits and your own “weight” (your name) in your chosen area of business.

Vasily did the same, he analyzed his results, income, outlined possible ways business expansion.

As a result, our designer drew up a new business plan.

Now Vasily could hire assistants who performed all routine operations for him. Our entrepreneur opened his own interior design studio named after Vasily Pupkin. In it he was now the leader and art director.

Thus, having gone from a novice designer to a company employee, our now big boss Vasily proved to everyone by his example that opening a business from scratch is real and does not require cosmic sums, much less loans, which inexperienced entrepreneurs like to take out.

Dear readers, perhaps someone will say that this is a fictional story and the issues of registering a company, proper negotiations with clients, legal issues and other subtleties are not covered here.

Yes, this is true, but believe me, if you take these simple 7 steps as a basis, then starting a business will turn into an exciting journey for you that you will remember for a very long time. And as an experienced entrepreneur, you will share your practical knowledge with newcomers.

I will say that I personally managed to open a business using the described model.

I wish you good luck and I am sure that by approaching the start of your own project responsibly, after a while you will be doing what you love and getting paid for it.

Below you will find working business ideas for starting your own business from scratch, as well as real entrepreneurial stories about how my friends and I opened our own business.

4. What you can do to open your business from scratch - 5 best business ideas

The business ideas below will help you get started in business and actually feel like an entrepreneur.

Some ideas will be related to making a profit using the Internet, others will not.

All you have to do is choose the type of business you like and start immersing yourself in it.

Business idea No. 1. Consulting and training

If you know how to do something well, then there will probably be many people who want to learn from your experience and knowledge.

Nowadays, training via the Internet is especially in demand. This is where you can find hundreds and even thousands of people who are willing to pay you.

For example, I have a friend Alexey, he lives with me in the same city of Stavropol and teaches foreign languages. Just a few years ago, Lyosha had to visit his students at home or invite them to his home. Now the situation has changed radically, everything has become much simpler.

With the advent of the Internet, my friend began teaching people English and German via Skype. I myself used his services for a year. During this time, I managed to learn English from scratch to a conversational level. As you can see, it works.

You can also start your own home business from scratch training or consulting people online.

Nowadays, many lawyers, accountants and teachers make good money this way. But there is an even more advanced option for making money on your knowledge; it is to create and sell your own training courses via the Internet.

To make a profit this way you need:

choose a topic in which you are knowledgeable;
record a training course on it;
start advertising this course online different ways and receive income from sales

The advantage of this type of business is that you record your training course once and sell it many times.

In general, selling information on the Internet in the form of methods and manuals is called information business. You too can open it and make it your main source of income.

Business idea No. 2. Earning money using the social network Twitter (Twitter)

Today, almost every person has their own profile on one of the social networks. But few people know that here, in addition to entertainment and communication, you can make good money.

One of these opportunities is Twitter, which is common for many - a social network for exchanging short messages of up to 140 characters.

Ordinary people spend their time and money here, while smarter people have turned this social network into their source of permanent income.

It's no secret that wherever people hang out, there is money.

After all, our Internet users are an active paying audience. So why don't you get some of their money. Moreover, this is absolutely legal and does not require outstanding knowledge.

It's enough to just do a few RIGHT ACTIONS and get your first profit. We have previously written about how to start your own business on Twitter and receive income comparable to the average salary in Russia. Read our article “How to make money on the social network Twitter” and implement the methods described in it.

Business idea No. 3. We are engaged in mediation - we earn money on Avito.ru

Making money using electronic ad boards is the simplest and most accessible for most people.

You are required to have minimal computer knowledge, a few hours a day and a desire to work for yourself.

With the help of sites that specialize in posting free advertisements, you can build your own very profitable business.

This can be done in 3 steps:

Find something to sell
Post an ad on the website
Receive a call from a buyer and sell the product

As a site for posting advertisements for sale, we will use the most popular board Avito (avito.ru).

Hundreds of thousands of advertisements are posted here every day, and the site’s active audience numbers tens of millions of users.

Can you imagine how many potential buyers there will be for your product here?!

First, you can start here by selling unwanted items you have around the house, and then post ads for goods and services that you don't even have in stock.

Don't believe that this is possible and want to know how it's done?

I myself tried to earn quick money with the help of Avito, I won’t say that I became a millionaire, but I managed to earn several thousand rubles in a week.

I wrote a separate article about this, “How to make money on Avito - 10,000 rubles in one week.”

Business idea No. 4. Growing from an employee to a business partner

If you are currently employed, you do not have to quit your job and open your own business. You can do this within the company you work for.

If your company is not too big, and you are one of the key specialists there, then under certain conditions you can get a share in the company’s business. This will allow you not just to receive a salary, but to become a full-fledged managing partner on a par with the current owner - your main manager.

This is possible if your actions can directly influence the increase in the company’s profits.

Become an indispensable specialist and it is quite possible that the owner of the company himself will invite you to become his business partner.

This method is proposed by the legendary Russian entrepreneur Vladimir Dovgan. Yes, you will have to work hard here, but you will become a co-owner of an already operating company without risks and really from scratch.

Dovgan himself gives the example of a guy who became a co-owner of a large restaurant chain in Moscow, and before that was a simple cook in one of the restaurants.

This young man I really liked what he did, he was professional in preparing food and courteous with the guests of the establishment.

The owners, seeing his passion for work, first promoted him to restaurant manager, and then offered him a share in the business for developing their network of establishments and training staff.

I don’t remember this man’s name, but now he has become a dollar millionaire, without actually opening his own business, but by starting to develop someone else’s.

This is also a good way to start your own business, especially if you have a good career in a small or medium-sized commercial company.

Business idea No. 5. Building your business on the Internet

If you have good computer skills, know how to create Internet projects, or at least understand the principles of their functioning, then you should consider the Internet as a way to start your business from scratch.

There are two main ways to start an online business:

1. Freelancing. This is a business of providing you paid services through the Internet. If you have professional skills, for example, you can draw beautiful designs, write texts professionally, or know programming languages, then you can easily make money on the World Wide Web. More precisely, it can rather be called working for yourself. Although successful freelancers earn between $500 and $10,000 per month.

You can start earning money this way on popular exchanges for freelancers “Freelance” (fl.ru) and “Workzilla” (workzilla.ru).

2. Classic business on the Internet. Building a full-fledged online business on your own is not so easy; it’s best to follow the beaten path.

To do this, just read my article on ways to make money online. There I talked about how you can make money from games, on social networks, from selling information from 50,000 rubles a month and gave examples of real people who are already doing this.

This concludes my review of business ideas. I hope that they will help you get started and start making your first money.

5. My own experience of starting a business from scratch in the service sector

As I wrote earlier, I opened my first business at the age of 19 - it was a vending business (terminals for accepting payments). Yes, this required funds. Then I had several more projects. All of them had nothing to do with the Internet.

And so, about 3 years ago, my current friend and business partner Vitaly and I opened our own website creation studio without a penny of money. We ourselves learned to make Internet projects literally on the fly, but in the end, after a few months, we earned about 500,000 rubles in our website creation studio.

Naturally, I often had to work with legal entities who transferred payment for services by bank transfer. To do this, you had to either open your own company or work through someone.

We chose the second method, having agreed with our current business partner Evgeniy Korobko. Zhenya is the founder and leader of his own advertising agency. I interviewed him, you can read about him in the article about opening an advertising agency from scratch, the material was published on our website.

Our first clients were entrepreneurs we knew.

We approached our business responsibly and fulfilled orders with soul. Soon the “word of mouth” effect worked when our satisfied clients began to recommend us to their friends.

This allowed us to receive a continuous flow of customers, and sometimes we could not even cope with orders. This experience helped us to believe in ourselves, and today we have a complete picture in our heads of how to start a business from scratch and make it successful.

I would like to note that with the development of information technology in the world, your sales market today is the entire planet!

There are no more distances, any information is available and now starting a business is much easier than even just 10 years ago.

I hope that all the materials in this article will help you take the first step towards your dream - your own business, which over time will turn from a small home project into a huge company with a worldwide reputation.

Therefore, dear readers, I assure you that everything is in your hands, just act, because the city takes courage!

6. The real story of how my friend Misha worked as a security guard and became a businessman

Here is one of my favorite stories about a real entrepreneur who started a business from scratch. After all, I promised to give examples from life in the article.

Do you want to know how Mikhail became an entrepreneur from a laborer, opened his own company, bought a foreign car and an apartment?

A few years ago, my friend Mikhail worked everywhere he could: as a construction worker, loader, security guard.

In a word, he was not engaged in the most monetary and intellectual work. It all started when my friend was guarding a sales company building materials. One day a client came to them who wanted to buy a large batch of building insulation, but it was not in stock.

Misha knew that literally 100 meters from the company he was guarding there was another hardware store that definitely had such insulation. Having taken a contact from a potential client, he went to this store in the evening and agreed that he would bring them a large client if they would give him a percentage of the purchase made from them. The management of this store agreed and Misha worked as a freelance sales manager, earning about 30,000 rubles for just one transaction (recommendation).

And this was an amount equal to his monthly salary!

Mikhail thought it was an interesting business, and the financial result of the deal gave him confidence. So he quit his job and began by agreeing with various companies that he would sell their goods. Since Misha already worked as a laborer and security guard in a construction company, he also chose construction goods for sale: windows, doors, fittings, roofing, and so on.

My friend simply walked around the construction sites of the city and offered his goods. Some people bought from him, some they didn’t. As a result, Mikhail created an assortment of the most popular products and understood how to properly negotiate with construction site foremen.

After 2 years, Mikhail opened his own company selling building materials and involved his brother in this business. Before this, his brother Kostya worked at Gorgaz and received the usual small salary. Now the guys are quite successful in sales and earn good money.

By the way, I have been to their office more than once and have known Misha for several years. He told me this story himself.

By starting a business from scratch, you avoid the risk of losing money, and this is the most important thing. Also, starting with no material resources teaches you to make better decisions to make money. After all, if you are able to make a profit without investing, then with money you can even become a successful entrepreneur.

See you in the next articles and good luck in your business!

Please rate the article and leave comments below, I will be grateful for it.

How to open your own business without initial capital: 3 promising options for beginners + 3 interesting ideas for starting your own business without investment.

Every good and promising employee has a period when he thinks: is there any point in doing own work so good, working for hire?

After all, you can open your own business and become your own boss!

Any thoughts on how to open your own business, first of all, are “limited” by financial calculations and the need to have a certain start-up capital.

Often thoughts about the necessary expenses, which cannot be avoided, become the very “stopper” that stops further actions on the path to your own business.

But it is worth understanding that many successful businessmen, billionaires and even some politicians started their own businesses from scratch.

At the same time, not everyone had start-up capital (it’s worth remembering at least Steve Jobs, whose name is now known to everyone).

The main thing that is required to start a business is an Idea.

It is original ideas that, thanks to efforts, grow into large companies that are now worth a lot of money.

Today, with the advent of the Internet, there are only more opportunities.

Where does the idea of starting your own business begin?

First, you need to choose a suitable topic for yourself, something that is needed, because many empires were built precisely during periods of crisis.

How more relevant idea business - the higher its chances of success.

You can start with your own small-scale production, and as profits come in, increase the scale of your own activities.

Or simply find people who are ready to fully provide the business with initial capital if the project seems sensible to them.

What is the most profitable business to open and why?

Idea No. 1. Open a service business

Naturally, the lower the costs, the more profitable it will be to open this business.

The most extensive “field for experimentation” is the service sector.

Since a product is something that cannot be taken or touched, therefore, practically no materials are needed.

People have long been introducing to the masses such types of services as “husband for an hour”, personal chef, tutor and similar innovations.

Idea No. 2. The production sector is a business with minimal investment

If the business is organized in the production of any goods, you will no longer be able to do without at least a minimum start-up capital.

You will need raw materials, certain tools, equipment, and a place to do this.

Although sometimes it is possible to refuse the last point.

Many entrepreneurs go broke precisely because payback is not an instantaneous concept.

And you have to pay monthly for rent, consumables and labor.

Therefore, if you want to produce with minimal investment, it is better to start with manufacturing at home.

In this case, investments can be reduced to almost zero.

Idea No. 3. Open your own business while studying

Another profitable type of business that also does not require initial capital is training.

Not only schoolchildren, but also accomplished adults need tutors.

For example, because many of them do not speak any languages other than their native one.

Possession of knowledge is a huge power in our time.

And sharing this knowledge can be very profitable.

There is always a demand for training services.

How to open your own business without initial capital?

In any case, you will have to invest in your own business.

Another question is that you can do without financial capital, replacing it with your own efforts and time spent.

Indeed, there are many interesting ideas that do not require significant investments to implement.

One of the ways to reduce “infusions” is (saving on rent).

And if you perform all the tasks yourself at the initial stage, you don’t have to hire employees.

For any business, you can find your own ways to reduce costs.

But first you need to decide on the idea itself.

Let's look at 3 interesting ideas on how to open your own business without significant investment.

Option #1. Opening your own photo studio

If you have photography skills, it is possible to open a photography services agency.

You will have to constantly work to be better than your competitors, look for new interesting trends in the world of filming, and monitor the level and performance of your equipment.

Nowadays, few people want to pay for mediocre photographs, because the competition in the industry is enormous.

And if you don’t have the best portfolio or reviews, you can forget about the success of the business.

Since at the initial stage the agency has only one employee - you, you need to have the skills not only to create photographs, but also to further process them.

And also take on the responsibilities of an administrator, sales manager, and marketer.

The profitability of such a business directly depends on how much time and effort you invest in it.

Experienced specialists advise narrowing the range of services provided, although the field of photography gives big variety opportunities.

This way you can create a more effective marketing strategy, as well as more successfully “fight” your competitors.

What types of services can you provide by starting your own business:

for events (weddings, birthdays, etc.);
arrange photo sessions in the fresh air;
shooting in a studio (you will have to pay for studio rental, but this amount is usually included in the cost of the photo shoot);
shooting in a studio with an interior;
photograph sporting events.

All that is needed for photographic services is the presence of a certain information “base”, experience and the desire to constantly learn.

While promoting your business, you should strive to learn something new to improve the quality of services.

Option #2. Events agency

To provide this type of service there is no need to receive special education or take courses.

It is enough to be the type of person who likes to organize entire events, including even small family celebrations.

But remember that for clients this will have to be done at a much higher level.

The idea of starting a business to host events is still experiencing peak demand.

No matter what the economic situation is, people still celebrate holidays.

Moreover, in recent years, organizing events through specialists has become not just a fashion, but something mandatory, convenient and self-evident.

What events can be organized:

corporate parties;
children's birthdays;
adult birthdays;
graduations;
weddings;
holidays (for example, ).

For a business to prosper, it is important to do everything efficiently and professionally.

The same rule exists in any other area of provision of any services.

The main task of the organizer is to make sure that everyone enjoys the event.

And above all, to make the customer happy.

Often an entrepreneur has to adapt, implement ideas that he considers “last century” or bad taste.

This is also worth keeping in mind.

Ultimately, the more satisfied customers are, the more they will bring in new ones.

P.S. Also in this area of business, it is especially profitable to transfer clients to regular status.

Option #3. Opening of a craft studio (handmade)

The business of making handmade products does not require large expenses.

All you need is materials.

To begin with, it is advisable to choose a theme for the crafts.

For example, handmade leather wallets.

No machine seams or other equipment involved, only the touch of a human hand.

Such accessories are now in demand not only among young people.

A handmade wallet is an interesting and useful gift.

If you organize production correctly and promote it, the business can become quite profitable.

If you take the time to study the rules of effective promotion, you can attract clients without investment.

Important - to do this, you first need to create an attractive and convenient Internet resource (website, VKontakte group, Facebook page).

An advantage of the idea of opening such a business for the owner is that small work with hands allows a person to mentally relax.

This will help you take your mind off everyday problems.

Interesting thoughts on how to start a business without investment in the video:

Conclusion about the peculiarities of the idea of starting a business without initial capital

The risks are minimal if you are thinking about trying to open a business without investing money.

The most valuable thing you can lose is your own time.

So that it does not go to waste, it is necessary to think through the movement strategy from the very beginning.

Lack of investment is not a reason to refuse to draw up a business plan before opening a business.

It will allow you to predict potential profits, possible costs, identify failures and risks.

When you have strict instructions drawn up in your own hand, you just have to move forward, no matter what.

If you have plucked up courage and are thinking about... how to open your own business without starting capital, you can find many solutions and ideas.

The main thing is to stock up on perseverance and endurance.

At the initial stage it is always very difficult, especially without starting investments.

The task may seem almost impossible.

But practice shows that when you invest effort, a proper “return” will definitely follow.

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Millions of articles and tutorials have been written on how to start a business from scratch. Ideas may be different, but how to find an effective one that will bring big profits?

For organization profitable business? it is necessary to study the consumer market, decide on the area of development, develop competitive advantages, draw up a competent plan and promotion strategy.

But in practice, everything starts with an idea. You must navigate it well, correctly assess your capabilities, set realistic goals and tactics for achieving them.

If you notice, the above statement does not contain the words “money”, “capital”, “investment”. Is it possible to build your own business without financial investments? These and other aspects will be discussed in the article.

Business without investment: myths or reality

Start a business, make it profitable and without using Money very hard. Regardless of the chosen idea, money will be needed for purchase consumables, tools, renting premises, etc. But investments can be minimized.

From the point of view of financial benefits, the lack of large capital to start a business eliminates financial losses and damages.

For example, to open a hotel you need several million rubles. It will take several years to pay for the project. Only then should we talk about earnings.

Advice!According to statistics, 70% of newly opened enterprises in our country close without working for even a year, regardless of the initial investment. Therefore, if you have no experience in the field of entrepreneurship, do not invest a lot of money in the development of your business, even if you consider it profitable.

Before making a decision to start a small business, make sure you have a “financial airbag” - a reliable rear in case of force majeure situations.

In case of unsuccessful business development, you and your family should not be left without means of subsistence.

Important:Not spending a penny before making a profit will not work. Many companies reach a surplus of at least a year of hard work.

Starting a business

At the start, every newcomer to business asks the question: “What business should I start from scratch?” The organization of any business begins with an idea. Keep in mind that 90% of all options already exist.

Even T. Edison, an American inventor, said: “If you are looking for good ideas, know that it is better to borrow the best ones.” Select for yourself the parameters by which you will select ideas for organizing a business:

personal predisposition;
availability of start-up investments;
work experience and knowledge in the chosen field;
project payback period;
competition.

Do not choose a field of activity in which you have not worked before and do not understand the main aspects. For example, a vegetarian should not open a meat store, but a glamorous girl should not.

The National Federation of Independent Business in the USA monitored where businessmen get their ideas from. Result:

past work – 42%;
interests, hobbies – 18%;
unexpected offers – 18%;
along the paths of parents or relatives – 12%;
a matter of chance – 8%;
education – 6%;
other factors – 6%.

When choosing an idea, approach it carefully and carefully select all options. Answer the question: “What do I like to do? What can I give people that they will be willing to pay me money for?”

Perhaps you know a foreign language at a professional level, know how to cook, play musical instrument or doing handicrafts.

Every girl or guy has their own interests. Business should be based on what you are good at and what you enjoy doing. The detailed algorithm is shown in the figure.

Crisis events, the fall of the national currency, and the instability of the domestic economy have made adjustments to development in every city and village.

Keep in mind that competition in profitable areas is increasing, and the consumer market is shrinking. But don't give up.

Before starting your own business from scratch, it is important to analyze the relevance and effectiveness of the chosen idea and the direction you plan to pursue. Let's look at current and profitable ones.

Production of foam concrete and aerated concrete

Begin own production in the village - a current direction that many consider profitable. Even a woman can do this business, but with hired workers.

It is possible to organize a mini-workshop in a small garage, saving on renting premises. It can be equipped both on the outskirts of the city and in the countryside.

The technology for manufacturing aerated concrete and foam concrete is simple, does not require special knowledge, and has minimal equipment requirements.

The result is a valuable, sought-after building material that can be used for the construction of a wide variety of structures.

Aerated concrete is produced by adding a special substance to the cement solution, which leads to the process of gas formation. The main ingredient in this case is aluminum powder, which reacts and leads to the formation of pores.

The cement mass grows in volume and hardens, forming porous concrete. In a village, organizing a mini-production can become promising direction and a source of stable income.

To produce foam concrete, you need to mix the cement mass with special foam. As a result, bubbles are formed, which are distributed throughout the entire volume and remain until it hardens.

To organize this business in the village, you will need to purchase equipment and consumables.

Financial plan:

purchase and organization of a mini-factory – 120-250 thousand rubles;
purchase of equipment (foam generator, compressor, peristaltic pump, molds) – 350-500 thousand rubles.
purchase of raw materials (sand, cement, foam concentrate, aluminum powder) – 520-560 rubles. per 1 cubic meter of material.

Today, the cost of a cube of aerated concrete and foam concrete in the village starts from 3,800 rubles. According to experienced players in the building materials market, it will pay off this project maybe in 1-1.5 years.

Virtual Assistant

According to experts, by 2018, online work will exceed $6 billion in turnover, and this is based on the most conservative figures.

The rapid growth rate of remote work (freelancing) has not spared our country. Moreover, it covers almost all areas of our lives, opening up new opportunities for a young girl, a mature woman, and a respectable man.

Hiring freelancers can be in any area: accounting, tax reporting, organizational documents.

Many organizations are already transferring their functions to virtual assistants - for answering Skype calls, sorting mail, and conducting negotiations.

Thanks to modern technologies both women and men can start organizing their own business providing master classes (make-up, cooking, hand-made), become a personal tutor for studying foreign languages or other areas - economics, mathematics, etc.

You can start a business without investment. All you need is a computer with an Internet connection. Both a business woman from a metropolis and a man living in a village can now share valuable knowledge and skills and receive income for it.

Advantages of virtual work:

the opportunity to organize a business without investment;
flexible work schedule;
a large selection of areas for development.

Coffee business

Anyone can start their own coffee business, although most often women are interested in the idea. Moreover, it is relevant both in the village and big city. It can be organized in different formats:

A traditional coffee shop is a cozy place where, in addition to aromatic drinks, you can snack on pastries and desserts. Both in the village and in the city there are always many similar establishments. The threshold for entering this business starts from 1 million rubles, the payback period is 2-4 years.
The mobile cafeteria is a coffee shop on wheels. The investment level for starting starts from 200 thousand rubles. – this amount includes the purchase of transport (possibly used), equipment and consumables (coffee, sugar, cream, milk, disposable tableware). With a favorable location, it is possible to earn 60-70 thousand rubles, so the payback period varies between 3-5 months.
Vending – installation of a coffee machine. The cost of installing one machine starts from 200 thousand rubles, but you do not need to hire staff or obtain a license to operate it. The average income from one point is 40 thousand rubles, the payback period is 6-8 months.

Advice:Despite significant investments, the coffee market is a promising industry, which in 2015 showed an example of stability and development. At a time when many businesses were facing falling sales and even bankruptcy, the coffee business was thriving.

Creative studio for children

The business idea is more suitable for a talented, patient woman who loves children. If you are a mother or plan to become one in the future, it is realistic to start a business in the field of development and provision educational services children.

Psychologists have found that during the rapid development of society, latest technologies and globalization, many women are devoting less and less of their precious attention to their children. As a rule, their responsibilities are small: take the child to kindergarten/school and pick him up in the evening.

But educational institutions do not sufficiently develop the child’s creative potential. The way out of the situation is to enroll in a development studio. The effect of such classes has already been appreciated by thousands of women who have seen changes in their children.

It’s possible to organize such a studio even at home by decorating one of the rooms. You can teach children various types applied arts or creativity - drawing, modeling from plasticine, cooking, embroidery, hand-made.

It will not be difficult for any woman to engage in this area of children’s development. The main thing is to start by studying thematic literature.

At the start, your clients may be the children of neighbors or acquaintances. This business is in demand not only in big cities. You can start a business in a village where there are no similar studios, and therefore no competitors at all.

The threshold for entering this business is minimal and does not require significant investments. It consists of paying rent (in the case of working in a separate room), purchasing consumables for creative activities and advertising.

Conclusion

Owning your own business is an activity for proactive, hardworking, purposeful and energetic women and men. If you are confident in your abilities and the chosen idea, start acting.

Analyze environment, think through each new step of action, develop a development strategy and don’t be afraid to make mistakes.

Be prepared to work hard, don't expect quick profits, and give your "whole self" to your business. This is the only way to build a strong and reliable “financial foundation” that will bring great income in the future.

Business ideas for 2018. TOP 10 proven niches for business from scratch

Starting your own business from scratch - Top Promising Ideas of 2017

How I decided to start my business from scratch. I’ll tell you about how I quit what I was doing for many years, that is, I quit going to work and started trying to make a living not by working for someone, but by working for myself. It was a long time ago, almost a year has passed and a lot has certainly changed, but I will start the story from the very beginning of my story. Well, along the way, you will share different useful information and your own insights.

The solution...is the starting point.

Starting your own business is the same as starting a new life..

Everything is changing dramatically, the familiar world is being transformed. At first, it was a generally unusual feeling, the work was very stressful for me, I didn’t like it, it took a lot of energy, and I also had to move around the country, live in some rented huts or it’s not clear where at all. These are all the reasons why I decided to quit my job for the illusory opportunity to start my own business and become financially independent ( well, or in case of failure, look for new job ). Therefore, at first there was just a buzz, a feeling of freedom, as if an unbearable weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Making life-changing decisions is a difficult thing. You can be where you don’t want to be for years, do what you don’t like, but don’t dare... life goes on and on in circles, you get used to it, and then where to go? It's always the unknown. Over the years, this ability to rush forward is lost, it is replaced stability. That’s exactly how this word appears in life, life becomes sort of stable. But this is self-deception. At any moment you can be fired, your job itself can be closed, a crisis like a wave can wash you overboard. So any stability in this world is mostly illusory.

Owning your own business requires more responsibility.

Such a simple thought did not reach me right away. You need to take full responsibility on yourself, no one will come to help, no one is responsible for me except myself. It’s not enough to go with the flow, you need to set a sail and catch a fair wind, and if there is none, then grab the oars and row. In life, as a rule, there is not enough responsibility, not that we rely on others. The point is that you often attribute the reason for failures to someone, some insurmountable events or your own shortcomings. It makes it a little easier, life just happens... it's time to end it.

To start your own business, you need much more self-discipline than I had when I worked at uncle. At work there was external motivation, various incentives and work is an organized system where everyone has their own role, bosses and subordinates. And when you start working for yourself, there is no longer any motivation from outside, you need to generate it yourself, there is no system, you need to create it. There is no demand from you, and this is very relaxing; you need to learn to ask yourself.

Many people argue Well, it’s your business... you need money, the idea of this very business, luck, knowledge, experience...

Well, that's pretty much what I thought. I prepared, saved some money, solved the housing issue, found a couple of ideas that will be discussed later, and found several training courses. Well, actually I didn’t have anything else.

But I forgot the most important thing, I didn’t even plan it, didn’t think it through and didn’t take it into account.

**How to become this same businessman?**

And start your own business.

Most people have probably read these books about business, where gurus of various stripes share their experiences. When you read these books, you agree, but the information received remains somewhere in the back of your memory, without turning into action. But in vain...

The understanding of this came to me after about six months, it could have been earlier if I had been smarter, but alas. Moreover, I knew all this, but did not realize it and did not use it.

We are talking about a way of thinking, a way of solving problems and self-organization. The main thing is to restructure your thinking. If this is not done, everything else becomes meaningless.

This is what happens if you ignore the above:

Not doing.

I have already said that I decided to start an Internet business. As a preparatory step, I decided to study several video courses on marketing to learn how to promote a product. Seems logical. Fortunately, these courses are like uncut dogs. A dime a dozen. And you don’t need to buy anything, the main thing is to find the right forum where they give it all away for free. Of course, by doing this I encourage piracy, but when you see the price tag of an information product at 40 thousand, and you planned to take more than one course or two, then you stop being scrupulous.

And this is what the situation turned out to be, I studied, prepared, started taking notes, but nothing changed in my life, just like I didn’t have a business and I never had any income. Another month passed, and the cart is still there.

And what happened was that I did something all day, worked on the computer, studied. But at the end of the day I could hardly say what exactly I did; you look back on the past day, and it’s like a fog. And there was still not enough time to do everything.

I called this state not by doing.

I studied courses, consumed a lot of information and did nothing else, I was just getting ready to take action. But I never started , I’ll take one more course and then I’ll definitely start earning money with a shovel, but this did not happen. I was marking time. Then I took a closer look at those who, just as they downloaded tons of courses, they were for the most part in the same trap. They talked in correspondence about the hard drive being full of useful information, they were looking for something fresh, but in terms of achievements they were at complete zero.

In general, it’s a sad situation, the cure for it is not just another motivational course, but doing.

You have to do it stupidly.

A simple recipe, but how difficult it is to execute, try it and you’ll understand what I’m talking about. After all, it’s so comfortable not to do it, study, plan, prepare, wait for better conditions... Throw it out of your head, if you want to start your own business, go change your life, start just doing it, right or wrong is the second question, the main thing is to develop it in yourself, acquire it the skill of doing (this will be discussed in another article).

But that is not all…

I found two global thinking errors in myself that jeopardized all my plans.

Firstly I noticed that when I plan a project (for example, quit my job and start my own business on the Internet), I miss a lot of details. The analysis of the situation and prospects comes out superficial and too positive, as if with a blindfold. And when it subsides, it’s already too late, you’re already halfway there. So I didn’t take into account a whole bunch of nuances, I didn’t detail all the options, I decided based on superficial data. This is a terrible mistake. Success is in the little things that are not noticeable at first glance, magic is at your fingertips.

Secondly. There are people who leave their jobs to gain independence and independence in finance, they have ideas and projects. But time passes and they return to what they abandoned; nothing worked out. They refer to global injustice, fate, high competition, lack of money and a hundred other reasons, shifting responsibility from themselves. But in some cases the reason is different. It's that fucking business mentality again.

I came to this formula for success as a result of my mistakes. But it took a long time to get this formula going. Change is hard. Of course, you also need emotional endurance, sometimes after a series of failures a feeling of hopelessness and a spark of despair comes over you, but I have learned to fight back. This is a difficult path, but it is worth it, I hope I will go through it, which I will later write about on the pages of this blog.

In conclusion, I summarized the main thoughts that will certainly help you on your path to your goal.

A short checklist.

If you have decided to go to work and start your own business or have set yourself a serious goal, then first of all format your thinking, along with time, this is our main resource.

Search strong motivation, develop self-discipline, how to do this effectively, read the following articles ( you can't write everything at once).

Assess your resources, don’t plan superficially, think through every little detail, every detail matters. Success lies in these very little things that we did not take into account. The world is too competitive for you to achieve success without working out the little things.

Learn to act, apply the information, remember: if you know and do not apply, then it is equivalent to the fact that you know nothing. There is no point in simply accumulating knowledge.

That's all... In the next article, I will talk about my first attempts to make money on the Internet. or join my

4 main stages of creating your own business: market research, selection of a business idea, development of a business plan and start.

How to open your own business and not go broke without experience and special knowledge? Unlike the 90s, when everyone started by trial and error, today a large amount of information is freely available. This makes the process easier, but does not always protect a beginner from some common mistakes.

study the market, identify potential customers - even the most good idea doomed if the service, product or product turns out to be unnecessary;
purposefully select a business idea - it’s better not one, but several close options: at subsequent stages, some of them will be eliminated;
draw up a business plan for a future enterprise - it will become outdated quite quickly, but you can’t go anywhere without it: this is a guideline for yourself, a requirement of investors and banks;
start work, register the business officially - “experienced” entrepreneurs advise launching a “trial balloon” before paying taxes.

Let's take interesting statistics (Fig. 1) as a basis and consider each stage in detail. Why step on a rake that has already fallen under the feet of others?

Reason #1 is leading by a wide margin. This leads to a simple conclusion: success is what happens in the right place at the right time. When thinking about how to open your own business, where to start, it is important to realistically assess the surrounding situation. Business in a small town, a metropolis, or a rural area is completely different, but there are successful examples everywhere.

A pivot is the point at which the direction of a business changes dramatically. On financial exchanges - the moment of price reversal and switching to the opposite strategy. Example. An entrepreneur runs a kebab shop, but things are going so-so. I noticed that clients often ask where he gets good meat? I sold the establishment and organized a service for home delivery of fresh meat. There was less hassle, more income.

Stage 1. Finding a direction and a niche: where there are problems and what is missing

First of all, you need to look for future consumers of the service, buyers. How many of them are there, what can they, are they willing to pay for? Find narrow local needs, market needs - identify the potential of the future sales network and clientele. The pros and cons of the location of the enterprise are assessed: geography, transport accessibility, income level of the population.

Trade and the service sector are saturated and there is high competition. When choosing this business, professional marketing research will not hurt. It's not enough to imagine a good product: it needs to be better, cheaper than others. Such options are directly related to the end consumer - beginners usually look in this direction.

But enterprises and organizations also have needs, both small and large. The eternal problem of housing and communal services is waste removal and disposal; construction companies are constantly searching for building materials; schools and kindergartens need cheap furniture, and stores need containers and packaging. Entrepreneurs need accounting and legal consulting, and giant enterprises willingly outsource some of their simple production processes to SMP. The most simple methods search: observation, collection of information under the guise of a client, analysis of search queries, study of reviews, complaints and suggestions in the media and the Internet.

Theoretically, everyone imagines how to open their own business, a workshop - but it shows the same repeated mistakes:

focus on oneself, and not on the consumer: choosing a business based on your knowledge, skills, connections - this is excellent when the interests of the parties are mutual;
refusal of a promising business because you know little about the topic: there are professionals who willingly work with a skillful organization;
bet on an empty niche: complete absence competitors does not mean that you are ahead of everyone - maybe there is simply no money in this place;
choice according to the principle: a neighbor (matchmaker, brother, acquaintance) is engaged, lives well - no one will talk about the real problems of their business;
underestimation of competitors - if there are many of them, effective adjustment will be required,

narrowing the niche: not just “repair of foreign cars”, but “repair of VIP-class cars”.

Stage 2. Choosing a business idea: relevance is more important than novelty

Having chosen a certain direction, it is logical to look for ideas related to existing experience or knowledge. Of course, in the ideal case, everything matches, and in addition there is an original concept. But you shouldn't count on it. More often than not, money is made not from new products, but from what others are already doing - it is important to do better by attracting a new business model.

Even a major investor is not always willing to finance new projects. For example, the sales format is “all at one price” and Russian market was offered by one company, Best Price. With the onset of the crisis, Magnit and Pyaterochka moved in this direction, but it is difficult to rebuild their large networks. The newcomers quickly found their bearings: the ZaOdno network appeared, and there will be others. Google and Facebook also did not use original ideas, but radically improved existing ones.

Completely new, creative developments require large investments at the start. Even if they have the prospect of a long wait for returns, they can get ahead of others. In the time it takes to create an original product, you can implement several simple projects and receive financial benefits tomorrow. There are exceptions to the rule - but rarely.

The graph above shows that 20-30% of entrepreneurs quit because they ran out of money, the team was poorly chosen, or competitors were faster. This suggests that when choosing an idea you need to consider three important points.

What will the business be built on: on material resources that can be bought, or the main thing in it is people. It is much more difficult to motivate them to work with high returns, and it costs more.
Do you need to carefully calculate whether there will be enough resources to complete all tasks on time? When an idea is truly promising, it is visible not only to you, but also to others.
From the very beginning, you need to think about what kind of people you can hire and where to find them. It is not necessary to delve into all the intricacies of the business yourself. But at least one of the key employees must understand it thoroughly.

Competitive advantages must be clearly expressed and conscious. Let's take, for example, the field of IT technologies. If a company offers an inexpensive product, personalized service, it will attract customers from small businesses. A complex program with access control and information protection will be of interest to large companies. The direction is the same - different niches, ideas, buyers.

Let us add optimism: despite everything, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises is growing, and they have a place in all sectors of the economy (Fig. 2).

Stage 3. A business plan helps you stay in touch with reality

Planning eliminates illusions. When everything is broken down into pluses and minuses, it becomes clear what is realistic and what is not. The business plan itself, as a document, becomes outdated quickly and requires adjustments. But those who have it always win, no matter how often it is violated.

Typical option includes:

detailed analysis of the market and competitors;
description of the essence of the project, its “zest”;
marketing activities, planned returns;
technical, production plan(if needed);
financial breakdown for a 3-5 year period;
calculation of profitability, risk assessment.

First of all, the entrepreneur himself needs it; a template document with abstract numbers has no meaning. Without it, you won’t be able to get a loan from a bank or attract an investor.

Unwanted mistakes.

Attention is focused on profitability, while for small businesses cash flow is more important. Profit is calculated late at the end of the period. Free money is always needed: for salaries, for goods, for returns. You can have zero on your account - with a positive financial result on paper.
They ask the investor for money - and provide a deficit-free project, or even more interesting - they include investments in the income item. No one will lend you money to buy real estate or cover losses from another business.
If a negative cache is expected before reaching payback, for example, a shortage of 30%, this amount must be included in the loan calculation. A “financial cushion” is needed - but consider what share of the business you will have to give for it.

Cash flow - cash flow, that is, free funds in the cash register, liquid assets, on hand. The same term refers to a statement of cash flows. Investors and banks favorably view positive values. How to open your own business from scratch, and the next day - expect high profits. “Whoever wants to see the results of his work immediately should become a shoemaker” - Einstein spoke on a different topic, but this is a universal principle. Launching several projects in the hope that at least one of them will “take off” is a losing option. In every direction there will be competitors who put all their efforts into it - the result is predictable.