Variable | Step 1 | Step 2 |
---|---|---|
Constant | 4.43** | 4.18** |
Firm Age | 0.005 | −0.002 |
Ent XP | 0.52* | 0.59* |
Age | −0.02** | −0.02+ |
Education | 0.08 | 0.04 |
Case sample | −0.61* | −0.69* |
High Tech Firm | −0.10 | −0.16 |
0.09+ | ||
Write business plan | ||
Secondary data | −0.02 | |
Business plan feedback | −0.02 | |
Business plan funding | −0.05 | |
0.09+ | ||
Interview | ||
Prototype | −0.02 | |
Show prototype | 0.04 | |
Experiment | −0.02 | |
Preorders | 0.15* | |
Pivot | 0.06 | |
0.19 | 0.30 | |
Adjusted | 0.15 | 0.19 |
change | 0.19 | 0.10 |
Business planning | Lean startup | ||
---|---|---|---|
Supported? | Supported? | ||
: Write Business Plan | Yes | : Interviewed Customers | Yes |
: Secondary Data | No | : Created a Prototype | No |
: Feedback on Business Plan | No | : Showed a Prototype | No |
: Funding from Business Plan | No | : Experiment | No |
: Preorders | Yes | ||
: Pivoted | No |
Summary regression results for the growth DV
Variable | Business plan | Lean startup |
---|---|---|
Constant | 2.18 | 2.10 |
Firm Age | 0.03 | −0.01 |
Ent XP | 1.13 | 1.24 |
Age | −0.04** | −0.05* |
Education | 0.18 | 0.16 |
Case sample | 0.65 | 0.25 |
High Tech Firm | −0.61 | −0.48 |
0.30* | ||
Write business plan | ||
Secondary data | −0.17 | |
Business plan feedback | 0.01 | |
Business plan funding | 0.19 | 0.25 |
Interview | ||
Prototype | −0.11 | |
Show prototype | 0.14 | |
Experiment | −0.09 | |
Preorders | 0.89* | |
Pivot | 0.34* | |
0.39* | 0.51* |
Business planning | Lean startup | ||
---|---|---|---|
Hypothesis 1 | Supported? | Hypothesis 2 | Supported? |
: Write Business Plan | Yes | : Interviewed Customers | Yes |
: Secondary Data | No | : Created a Prototype | No |
: Feedback on Business Plan | No | : Showed a Prototype | No |
: Funding from Business Plan | No | : Experiment | No |
: Preorders | Yes | ||
: Pivoted | Yes |
We do not believe that business planning exists as a latent construct necessarily comprised of these activities, but rather each of these activities are potential components of the concept referred to as “business planning” in prior research.
Similar to business planning activities, we believe that lean startup is not a latent construct but rather these activities in some combination is what is meant when practitioners and scholars refer to lean startup. As such we test each of the activities individually rather than as a construct.
Following the extant guidelines on regression assumptions ( Osborne and Waters, 2002 ), we tested our model to ensure the regression assumptions were met. First, to check if our error terms ( Flatt and Jacobs, 2019 ) are normally distributed, the P - P plot suggests normality as the plot is largely linear. Second, to check for a linear relationship between the independent and dependent variable, our residual plot showed a linear relationship. Third, as our variables were not latent, there is no concern for measurement error for this approach. However, we did follow best practices suggested by Flatt and Jacobs (2019) and tested the Durbin–Watson statistic. Our value for this measure is 1.5 and their guidelines are that this statistic should be close to 2. Values between 1.2 and 1.6 represent only a minor violation of the statistical independence of error terms. Finally, to address the assumption of homoscedasticity, inspection of our standardized residuals showed our residuals scattered around the 0 (horizontal line). Therefore, for our dependent variable of success, we can feel comfortable our data meets the assumptions of linear regression.
As this dependent variable was analyzed using logistic regression, we analyzed our data following best practices from Garson (2012) . First, our dependent variable is dichotomous. Second our scatterplot showed no outliers in our data. Third, the correlation table showed no evidence for multicollinearity as no correlations were above 0.9 ( Tabachnick et al. , 2007 ). Hence, we feel our data meets the assumptions for logistic regression.
[Business Background]
Started (or am starting it) myself
When you first started pursuing the business, how many people were on the founding team (including yourself)?
High Tech Startup (External/Venture funded)
Steady Growth Business (Internally/Self-funded)
Lifestyle Business
Business Idea
Decision to Start a Business
Occurred Together
Month (1–12)
Year (YYYY)
[Lean Start Up, Business Planning Practices]
Interviewed potential customers
Created a prototype
Showed a prototype to potential customers for feedback
Conducted an experiment to better understand some portion of your business
Wrote a business plan
Accepted money for pre-orders
Used customer feedback to alter the direction of your business ("pivoted")
Gathered secondary data on industry statistics or trends
Shared your business plan with people outside the company for feedback
Shared your business plan with people outside the company for funding
[Demographics]
How old are you? 0.5
Prefer not to answer
Black or African American
American Indian or Alaska Native
Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
Living with a partner
Never married
Up to 8th grade
Some High School
High School Diploma
Some College
Associate's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Some Graduate School
Master's Degree
More than 1
[Success Criteria]
My business is a success
Increased Annual Revenue
Increased Annual Customers
Increased Number of Employees
Thank you for completing the survey!
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A portion of this research was funded by the Downing Scholars research grant at Xavier University.
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Table of Contents
How to make a good business plan: step-by-step guide.
A business plan is a strategic roadmap used to navigate the challenging journey of entrepreneurship. It's the foundation upon which you build a successful business.
A well-crafted business plan can help you define your vision, clarify your goals, and identify potential problems before they arise.
But where do you start? How do you create a business plan that sets you up for success?
This article will explore the step-by-step process of creating a comprehensive business plan.
A business plan is a formal document that outlines a business's objectives, strategies, and operational procedures. It typically includes the following information about a company:
Products or services
Target market
Competitors
Marketing and sales strategies
Financial plan
Management team
A business plan serves as a roadmap for a company's success and provides a blueprint for its growth and development. It helps entrepreneurs and business owners organize their ideas, evaluate the feasibility, and identify potential challenges and opportunities.
As well as serving as a guide for business owners, a business plan can attract investors and secure funding. It demonstrates the company's understanding of the market, its ability to generate revenue and profits, and its strategy for managing risks and achieving success.
A business plan may seem similar to a business model canvas, but each document serves a different purpose.
A business model canvas is a high-level overview that helps entrepreneurs and business owners quickly test and iterate their ideas. It is often a one-page document that briefly outlines the following:
Key partnerships
Key activities
Key propositions
Customer relationships
Customer segments
Key resources
Cost structure
Revenue streams
On the other hand, a Business Plan Template provides a more in-depth analysis of a company's strategy and operations. It is typically a lengthy document and requires significant time and effort to develop.
A business model shouldn’t replace a business plan, and vice versa. Business owners should lay the foundations and visually capture the most important information with a Business Model Canvas Template . Because this is a fast and efficient way to communicate a business idea, a business model canvas is a good starting point before developing a more comprehensive business plan.
A business plan can aim to secure funding from investors or lenders, while a business model canvas communicates a business idea to potential customers or partners.
A business plan is crucial for any entrepreneur or business owner wanting to increase their chances of success.
Here are some of the many benefits of having a thorough business plan.
A business plan encourages you to think critically about your goals and objectives. Doing so lets you clearly understand what you want to achieve and how you plan to get there.
A well-defined set of goals, objectives, and key results also provides a sense of direction and purpose, which helps keep business owners focused and motivated.
A business plan requires you to consider different scenarios and potential problems that may arise in your business. This awareness allows you to devise strategies to deal with these issues and avoid pitfalls.
With a clear plan, entrepreneurs can make informed decisions aligning with their overall business goals and objectives. This helps reduce the risk of making costly mistakes and ensures they make decisions with long-term success in mind.
Investors and lenders often require a business plan before considering investing in your business. A document that outlines the company's goals, objectives, and financial forecasts can help instill confidence in potential investors and lenders.
A well-written business plan demonstrates that you have thoroughly thought through your business idea and have a solid plan for success.
A business plan requires entrepreneurs to consider potential challenges and risks that could impact their business. For example:
Is there enough demand for my product or service?
Will I have enough capital to start my business?
Is the market oversaturated with too many competitors?
What will happen if my marketing strategy is ineffective?
By identifying these potential challenges, entrepreneurs can develop strategies to mitigate risks and overcome challenges. This can reduce the likelihood of costly mistakes and ensure the business is well-positioned to take on any challenges.
A business plan serves as a framework for measuring success by providing clear goals and financial projections . Entrepreneurs can regularly refer to the original business plan as a benchmark to measure progress. By comparing the current business position to initial forecasts, business owners can answer questions such as:
Are we where we want to be at this point?
Did we achieve our goals?
If not, why not, and what do we need to do?
After assessing whether the business is meeting its objectives or falling short, business owners can adjust their strategies as needed.
The steps below will guide you through the process of creating a business plan and what key components you need to include.
Start with a brief overview of your entire plan. The executive summary should cover your business plan's main points and key takeaways.
Keep your executive summary concise and clear with the Executive Summary Template . The simple design helps readers understand the crux of your business plan without reading the entire document.
Provide a detailed explanation of your company. Include information on what your company does, the mission statement, and your vision for the future.
Provide additional background information on the history of your company, the founders, and any notable achievements or milestones.
Conduct an in-depth analysis of your industry, competitors, and target market. This is best done with a SWOT analysis to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Next, identify your target market's needs, demographics, and behaviors.
Use the Competitive Analysis Template to brainstorm answers to simple questions like:
What does the current market look like?
Who are your competitors?
What are they offering?
What will give you a competitive advantage?
Who is your target market?
What are they looking for and why?
How will your product or service satisfy a need?
These questions should give you valuable insights into the current market and where your business stands.
Provide detailed information about your products and services. This includes pricing information, product features, and any unique selling points.
Use the Product/Market Fit Template to explain how your products meet the needs of your target market. Describe what sets them apart from the competition.
Outline how you plan to promote and sell your products. Your marketing strategy and sales strategy should include information about your:
Pricing strategy
Advertising and promotional tactics
Sales channels
The Go to Market Strategy Template is a great way to visually map how you plan to launch your product or service in a new or existing market.
Document detailed information on your business’ finances. Describe the current financial position of the company and how you expect the finances to play out.
Some details to include in this section are:
Startup costs
Revenue projections
Profit and loss statement
Funding you have received or plan to receive
Strategy for raising funds
Define how your company is structured and who will be responsible for each aspect of the business. Use the Business Organizational Chart Template to visually map the company’s teams, roles, and hierarchy.
As well as the organization and management structure, discuss the legal structure of your business. Clarify whether your business is a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or LLC.
At this point in your business plan, you’ve described what you’re aiming for. But how are you going to get there? The Action Plan Template describes the following steps to move your business plan forward. Outline the next steps you plan to take to bring your business plan to fruition.
Several types of business plans cater to different purposes and stages of a company's lifecycle. Here are some of the most common types of business plans.
A startup business plan is typically an entrepreneur's first business plan. This document helps entrepreneurs articulate their business idea when starting a new business.
Not sure how to make a business plan for a startup? It’s pretty similar to a regular business plan, except the primary purpose of a startup business plan is to convince investors to provide funding for the business. A startup business plan also outlines the potential target market, product/service offering, marketing plan, and financial projections.
A strategic business plan is a long-term plan that outlines a company's overall strategy, objectives, and tactics. This type of strategic plan focuses on the big picture and helps business owners set goals and priorities and measure progress.
The primary purpose of a strategic business plan is to provide direction and guidance to the company's management team and stakeholders. The plan typically covers a period of three to five years.
An operational business plan is a detailed document that outlines the day-to-day operations of a business. It focuses on the specific activities and processes required to run the business, such as:
Organizational structure
Staffing plan
Production plan
Quality control
Inventory management
Supply chain
The primary purpose of an operational business plan is to ensure that the business runs efficiently and effectively. It helps business owners manage their resources, track their performance, and identify areas for improvement.
A growth-business plan is a strategic plan that outlines how a company plans to expand its business. It helps business owners identify new market opportunities and increase revenue and profitability. The primary purpose of a growth-business plan is to provide a roadmap for the company's expansion and growth.
The 3 Horizons of Growth Template is a great tool to identify new areas of growth. This framework categorizes growth opportunities into three categories: Horizon 1 (core business), Horizon 2 (emerging business), and Horizon 3 (potential business).
A one-page business plan is a condensed version of a full business plan that focuses on the most critical aspects of a business. It’s a great tool for entrepreneurs who want to quickly communicate their business idea to potential investors, partners, or employees.
A one-page business plan typically includes sections such as business concept, value proposition, revenue streams, and cost structure.
Here are some additional tips for creating a business plan:
A template can help you organize your thoughts and effectively communicate your business ideas and strategies. Starting with a template can also save you time and effort when formatting your plan.
Miro’s extensive library of customizable templates includes all the necessary sections for a comprehensive business plan. With our templates, you can confidently present your business plans to stakeholders and investors.
Avoid overestimating revenue projections or underestimating expenses. Your business plan should be grounded in practical realities like your budget, resources, and capabilities.
Provide as much detail as possible in your business plan. A specific plan is easier to execute because it provides clear guidance on what needs to be done and how. Without specific details, your plan may be too broad or vague, making it difficult to know where to start or how to measure success.
Conduct thorough research to fully understand the market, your competitors, and your target audience . By conducting thorough research, you can identify potential risks and challenges your business may face and develop strategies to mitigate them.
It can be easy to become overly focused on your vision and ideas, leading to tunnel vision and a lack of objectivity. By seeking input from others, you can identify potential opportunities you may have overlooked.
A business plan is a living document. You should update it regularly to reflect market, industry, and business changes. Set aside time for regular reviews and revisions to ensure your plan remains relevant and effective.
Starting or growing a business can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting, a well-written business plan can make or break your business’ success.
The purpose of a business plan is more than just to secure funding and attract investors. It also serves as a roadmap for achieving your business goals and realizing your vision. With the right mindset, tools, and strategies, you can develop a visually appealing, persuasive business plan.
Ready to make an effective business plan that works for you? Check out our library of ready-made strategy and planning templates and chart your path to success.
Plans and pricing.
Writing a business plan could be a really great idea or a really bad one, depending who you ask. two start-up experts make their cases..
You're starting a new business. Should you take the time to write up a business plan?
Absolutely! says David F. McShea, partner at law firm Perkins Coie. Absolutely not! says Will Hsu, co-founder of the LA-based start-up accelerator MuckerLab, and an entrepreneur in his own right.
Here's their reasoning--you decide which makes most sense for your business:
What's wrong with not having a business plan?
McShea : Many business ideas sound great--until you really stop and think about them. Writing a business plan may actually convince you to dispense with or change your original business concept and create a better, stronger business concept instead. It is much cheaper to do this on paper than with a payroll.
Will your business go according to the plan? Doubtful. But knowing that you will need to reevaluate your business plan when circumstances change is no reason to forgo creating one, any more than knowing that you'll need to bushwhack a washed out trail is reason to throw away your map and compass.
What's wrong with having a business plan?
Hsu : The biggest risk in starting a company is the so-called "product market fit risk"--it is the risk that the target customer will not purchase or use your product at the price you have decided charge. An entrepreneur's time and energy should be put into solving that problem by talking to as many customers as possible and continuing to iterate the end product and the pricing. Time spent on writing a 40-page business plan would be better spent talking, selling, and understanding customers and their needs.
What's the biggest advantage of having a business plan?
McShea: The knowledge you gain from the hard-headed research, analysis and thinking you must do. This will enable you to make wiser business decisions and execute more smoothly and efficiently. It can be the margin between business success and failure.
Another advantage is that preparation of a business plan will enable you to portray your vision for the business more credibly and persuasively to potential investors, business partners, customers and employees. Many prospective investors will ignore you if you don't have a written plan to share.
What's the biggest advantage of not having a business plan?
Hsu : Faster time to market. By cutting out the months needed to do research and write a business plan an entrepreneur can focus on building products and selling to customers. As a result, the entrepreneur can beat competitors to market and begin to get real data back around the needs of the customer. This will increase the probability of success for the new venture significantly.
The business plan-centric approach to company building forces an entrepreneur to focus on strategies and plans as the first step of the process. By not having a business plan entrepreneurs will be forced to focus on their customers first and foremost.
For courting investors, a short 10-15 page presentation that summarizes the business opportunity is good enough. In fact, at the early stages, most investors do not ask for a business plan--they care much more about any data you can give them that helps them understand how much product-market risk has been mitigated.
What's your advice?
McShea : Write your business plan clearly and simply. Use concrete words, and minimize jargon. An average reader should be able to clearly grasp what your product or service is, how it creates value, who will use it, and what is the market opportunity. Beware of inflated hype--it's a turn-off for most savvy investors.
A business plan isn't static. Your strategies will evolve as circumstances change and you learn what does and does not work. But with a plan, you'll know more clearly what path you've taken and what path you're on, even as you correct course to achieve your ultimate goals.
Hsu : Don't create a business plan. Purchase a couple large whiteboards and write down all the things that typically are included in a business plan: target customer, pricing, product, value proposition, promotional channels, positioning, competition, etc. The most important part is to rank what the entrepreneur believes will be some of the major reasons the business will fail (e.g. "my price is too high"). This combined exercise should take less than a couple days, and it's completely fine to be wrong--whiteboards can be erased.
Secondly, start building and selling the product to its presumed customers. Use this customer development opportunity to get as much data on the highest risk factors (is my pricing too high?) and go back to the whiteboard and adjust your strategies and plans. As you continue to build and sell your products, check off the risks that you have proved or disproved which will help you change your strategies and even the product itself for better acceptance in the marketplace. The whiteboard may well become a living road map to success.
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Written by Jesse Sumrak | May 14, 2023
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Business plans might seem like an old-school stiff-collared practice, but they deserve a place in the startup realm, too. It’s probably not going to be the frame-worthy document you hang in the office—yet, it may one day be deserving of the privilege.
Whether you’re looking to win the heart of an angel investor or convince a bank to lend you money, you’ll need a business plan. And not just any ol’ notes and scribble on the back of a pizza box or napkin—you’ll need a professional, standardized report.
Bah. Sounds like homework, right?
Yes. Yes, it does.
However, just like bookkeeping, loan applications, and 404 redirects, business plans are an essential step in cementing your business foundation.
Don’t worry. We’ll show you how to write a business plan without boring you to tears. We’ve jam-packed this article with all the business plan examples, templates, and tips you need to take your non-existent proposal from concept to completion.
Table of Contents
What Is a Business Plan?
How to Write a Business Plan in 6 Steps
Startup Business Plan Template
Business Plan Examples
Work on Making Your Business Plan
What is a business plan why do you desperately need one.
A business plan is a roadmap that outlines:
While it’s not required when starting a business, having a business plan is helpful for a few reasons:
Beyond the reasoning, let’s look at what the data says:
Convinced yet? If those numbers and reasons don’t have you scrambling for pen and paper, who knows what will.
Don’t Skip: Business Startup Costs Checklist
Before we get into the nitty-gritty steps of how to write a business plan, let’s look at some high-level tips to get you started in the right direction:
You might be tempted to get cutesy or revolutionary with your business plan—resist the urge. While you should let your brand and creativity shine with everything you produce, business plans fall more into the realm of professional documents.
Think of your business plan the same way as your terms and conditions, employee contracts, or financial statements. You want your plan to be as uniform as possible so investors, lenders, partners, and prospective employees can find the information they need to make important decisions.
If you want to create a fun summary business plan for internal consumption, then, by all means, go right ahead. However, for the purpose of writing this external-facing document, keep it legit.
Your official business plan document is for lenders, investors, partners, and big-time prospective employees. Keep these names and faces in your mind as you draft your plan.
Think about what they might be interested in seeing, what questions they’ll ask, and what might convince (or scare) them. Cut the jargon and tailor your language so these individuals can understand.
Remember, these are busy people. They’re likely looking at hundreds of applicants and startup investments every month. Keep your business plan succinct and to the point. Include the most pertinent information and omit the sections that won’t impact their decision-making.
You might not have answers to all the sections you should include in your business plan. Don’t skip over these!
Your audience will want:
Your answers can’t be hypothetical or opinionated. You need research to back up your claims. If you don’t have that data yet, then invest time and money in collecting it. That information isn’t just critical for your business plan—it’s essential for owning, operating, and growing your company.
Your business may be ambitious, but reign in the enthusiasm just a teeny-tiny bit. The last thing you want to do is have an angel investor call BS and say “I’m out” before even giving you a chance.
The folks looking at your business and evaluating your plan have been around the block—they know a thing or two about fact and fiction. Your plan should be a blueprint for success. It should be the step-by-step roadmap for how you’re going from Point A to Point B.
Not every business plan looks the same, but most share a few common elements. Here’s what they typically include:
Below, we’ll break down each of these sections in more detail.
While your executive summary is the first page of your business plan, it’s the section you’ll write last. That’s because it summarizes your entire business plan into a succinct one-pager.
Begin with an executive summary that introduces the reader to your business and gives them an overview of what’s inside the business plan.
Your executive summary highlights key points of your plan. Consider this your elevator pitch. You want to put all your juiciest strengths and opportunities strategically in this section.
In this section, you can dive deeper into the elements of your business, including answering:
Don’t overlook your mission statement. This powerful sentence or paragraph could be the inspiration that drives an investor to take an interest in your business. Here are a few examples of powerful mission statements that just might give you the goosebumps:
As the owner, you know your business and the industry inside and out. However, whoever’s reading your document might not. You’re going to need to break down your products and services in minute detail.
For example, if you own a SaaS business, you’re going to need to explain how this business model works and what you’re selling.
You’ll need to include:
Your market analysis essentially explains how your products and services address customer concerns and pain points. This section will include research and data on the state and direction of your industry and target market.
This research should reveal lucrative opportunities and how your business is uniquely positioned to seize the advantage. You’ll also want to touch on your marketing strategy and how it will (or does) work for your audience.
Include a detailed analysis of your target customers. This describes the people you serve and sell your product to. Be careful not to go too broad here—you don’t want to fall into the common entrepreneurial trap of trying to sell to everyone and thereby not differentiating yourself enough to survive the competition.
The market analysis section will include your unique value proposition. Your unique value proposition (UVP) is the thing that makes you stand out from your competitors. This is your key to success.
If you don’t have a UVP, you don’t have a way to take on competitors who are already in this space. Here’s an example of an ecommerce internet business plan outlining their competitive edge:
FireStarters’ competitive advantage is offering product lines that make a statement but won’t leave you broke. The major brands are expensive and not distinctive enough to satisfy the changing taste of our target customers. FireStarters offers products that are just ahead of the curve and so affordable that our customers will return to the website often to check out what’s new.
Your competitive analysis examines the strengths and weaknesses of competing businesses in your market or industry. This will include direct and indirect competitors. It can also include threats and opportunities, like economic concerns or legal restraints.
The best way to sum up this section is with a classic SWOT analysis. This will explain your company’s position in relation to your competitors.
Your financial strategy will sum up your revenue, expenses, profit (or loss), and financial plan for the future. It’ll explain how you make money, where your cash flow goes, and how you’ll become profitable or stay profitable.
This is one of the most important sections for lenders and investors. Have you ever watched Shark Tank? They always ask about the company’s financial situation. How has it performed in the past? What’s the ongoing outlook moving forward? How does the business plan to make it happen?
Answer all of these questions in your financial strategy so that your audience doesn’t have to ask. Go ahead and include forecasts and graphs in your plan, too:
It takes cash to change the world—lenders and investors get it. If you’re short on funding, explain how much money you’ll need and how you’ll use the capital. Where are you looking for financing? Are you looking to take out a business loan, or would you rather trade equity for capital instead?
Read More: 16 Financial Concepts Every Entrepreneur Needs to Know
Ready to write your own business plan? Copy/paste the startup business plan template below and fill in the blanks.
Executive Summary Remember, do this last. Summarize who you are and your business plan in one page.
Business Overview Describe your business. What’s it do? Who owns it? How’s it structured? What’s the mission statement?
Products and Services Detail the products and services you offer. How do they work? What do you charge?
Market Analysis Write about the state of the market and opportunities. Use date. Describe your customers. Include your UVP.
Competitive Analysis Outline the competitors in your market and industry. Include threats and opportunities. Add a SWOT analysis of your business.
Financial Strategy Sum up your revenue, expenses, profit (or loss), and financial plan for the future. If you’re applying for a loan, include how you’ll use the funding to progress the business.
Want to explore other templates and examples? We got you covered. Check out these 5 business plan examples you can use as inspiration when writing your plan:
If you find you’re getting stuck on perfecting your document, opt for a simple one-page business plan —and then get to work. You can always polish up your official plan later as you learn more about your business and the industry.
Remember, business plans are not a requirement for starting a business—they’re only truly essential if a bank or investor is asking for it.
Ask others to review your business plan. Get feedback from other startups and successful business owners. They’ll likely be able to see holes in your planning or undetected opportunities—just make sure these individuals aren’t your competitors (or potential competitors).
Your business plan isn’t a one-and-done report—it’s a living, breathing document. You’ll make changes to it as you grow and evolve. When the market or your customers change, your plan will need to change to adapt.
That means when you’re finished with this exercise, it’s not time to print your plan out and stuff it in a file cabinet somewhere. No, it should sit on your desk as a day-to-day reference. Use it (and update it) as you make decisions about your product, customers, and financial plan.
Review your business plan frequently, update it routinely, and follow the path you’ve developed to the future you’re building.
Keep Learning: New Product Development Process in 8 Easy Steps
Be as detailed as you can without assuming too much. For example, include your expected revenue, expenses, profit, and growth for the future.
The most common mistake is turning your business plan into a textbook. A business plan is an internal guide and an external pitching tool. Cut the fat and only include the most relevant information to start and run your business.
Co-founders, investors, or a board of advisors. Otherwise, reach out to a trusted mentor, your local chamber of commerce, or someone you know that runs a business.
Don’t let creating a business plan hold you back from starting your business. Writing documents might not be your thing—that doesn’t mean your business is a bad idea.
Let us help you get started.
Join our free training to learn how to start an online side hustle in 30 days or less. We’ll provide you with a proven roadmap for how to find, validate, and pursue a profitable business idea (even if you have zero entrepreneurial experience).
Stuck on the ideas part? No problem. When you attend the masterclass, we’ll send you a free ebook with 100 of the hottest side hustle trends right now. It’s chock full of brilliant business ideas to get you up and running in the right direction.
Jesse Sumrak is a writing zealot focused on creating killer content. He’s spent almost a decade writing about startup, marketing, and entrepreneurship topics, having built and sold his own post-apocalyptic fitness bootstrapped business. A writer by day and a peak bagger by night (and early early morning), you can usually find Jesse preparing for the apocalypse on a precipitous peak somewhere in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado.
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This free step-by-step guide to writing a business plan was built just for you, if you aren’t really sure what planning a business is all about. To save time, stress and energy we’ll walk you through everything you need to know without fluff or heavy brain work.
Instead, we’re focusing on the basics. If you’re looking to create a super-dense collegiate 40-page plan, then you should probably take a business planning course at the nearest college.
This guide just covers what your average startup needs to dramatically increase chances of follow-through and success. Enjoy!
Note: Business planning software can help you write a professional business plan that will lead you to success.
For the sake of argument, let’s say you’re the most gifted cat burglar on earth– a real savvy savant of the steal. Put yourself in the mindset where strategy and planning are time-erasing pleasures, delicious treats that reward you with immense prosperity– not complex tasks that can be skipped or shelved.
Too many entrepreneurs perceive putting a business plan together as some kind of chore. It’s not. When the product or service is something you believe in, it’s as awesome as it is for those cat burglars in the movies, except you’re plotting honest work.
Fact : It’s possible to create your initial business plan in less than an hour!
Let’s build a “lean plan” that’s simple to create and helps you identify core assets. You start with a pitch, a single page overview which can become your executive summary later on. It’s your business strategy all on one page that’s easy to update as you evolve.
You may be thinking,
“ Wait a minute. If I’m not raising money from investors, why do I need a pitch? ”
Well, after years working with entrepreneurs we’ve found a pitch is really the ideal format to document your business idea , share it with others, and quickly adjust as you learn more about/analyze how you’re going to build your brand.
Furthermore, once you have your pitch done you can easily convert it into a presentation-ready business plan with massive clarity. To begin, follow the simple outline below or allow tools like LivePlan (what we used for Startup Savant) to walk you through the entire process with examples and video tutorials.
As you tackle your one-pager, mentally channel Twitter and try to keep each section as short/concise as possible– the size of a solid tweet.
That might seem like a fair amount of work if you’ve never put together a real pitch before, but remember, that’s just one page of content. Another way to look at it is a one page resume for your business.
First, you start with the putty. Don’t try to self-edit or curate, just barf everything out on paper as it flows from your brilliant mind. Format each section out and just let it go. That’s putting the basic shape together.
Now you need to let it dry, so walk away for a day (week) or two. After that, begin chipping away and condensing. Cut the fat and keep tightening the ideas until you’re down to one page. Be brutal! Stick to the facts. Numbers are easier, but when you’re tackling words remember the average person these days has a shorter attention span (if not compelled by your ideas) than a goldfish.
Create a pitch outline from the points mentioned above and refine down to one or two sentences. If you need help, check out LivePlan. It’s a solid tool that walks you through the entire process. Plus, they offer a 50% Discount .
Now that you have a running outline, it’s time to go deeper into the framework of your platform.
Perhaps you’re thinking the one-page pitch is all you’ll need? That would be like going on a road trip in unfamiliar territory with a map that only shows destinations– no routes, no roads, no other icons whatsoever. Even if you never plan on showing this to anyone, the process of creating a solid plan optimizes everything about you and your business! Here’s a quick overview of what you need to include in your business plan:
If you need extra space for product images, detailed financial forecasts, or general additional info, use the appendix. There are three layers of complexity here. First, your pitch with a very brief summary. Then, your Executive Summary that adds details and context. Then into the finer points of the overall business plan.
Not too shabby, right?
Please revisit your pitch and find a good way to optimize it just a smidgen. The better your pitch, the better the overall plan.
As you fill in the structure, first focus on providing “mental barf” data you can go through and optimize later. Remember, if you need help, LivePlan will walk you through the entire process with video tutorials and examples.
When copywriters are given a business idea to optimize, they often begin by defining the USP (unique selling proposition) and mini-pitch. A USP can be just a couple words or an incomplete sentence, while the mini-pitch is usually one or two concise sentences.
Just in case you’re fuzzy on the whole copywriter thing, these folks are paid big bucks to write sales and marketing copy which often includes core slogans.
As an example, here’s what the USP and Pitch for Startup Savant sound like:
USP : “ Entrepreneurship Simplified “
Pitch : “ Startup Savant is a free website that shows you how to start a business and own your future .” Now let’s get past the “How to Write Your USP 101” stuff and dive straight into three core truths.
The first thing a copywriter will tell you if you’re struggling with this is to relax. They know sales and branding copy optimizes (matures) over time, especially in the first 2-5 years in business.
If possible, avoid thinking your USP is set in stone, never to be altered. It’s more like a sculpture that the market chips away at. Your pitch evolves as you and your platform do. What matters is whether your USP & Pitch are as refined as they can be based on where you are now.
Always be ready to “kill your darlings” as copywriters would say. Meaning, get rid of any and all words,
“ That aren’t necessary for the idea or concept you’re conveying to make perfect sense within the context it’s delivered, and to whom it’s being written to. ”
You can begin with half a page, but systematically chisel down to a core concept like, Entrepreneurship Simplified.
Copywriters care what you have to say as a business owner or marketing manager, but they know you’re not the ultimate authority in terms of advertising copy.
They’re writing for buyers. In any and all ways your business can optimize over the years, your customers, clients and users should steer the course as much as possible. Be on the lookout for their valuable signals and indications!
Copywriters ask TONS of questions. They’re a bit like copy-detectives in how they search high and low for very precise data from their clients. Never fear giving your users, clients or customers a megaphone with which to bark their concerns.
We all love sharing our opinions, right? Yes we do. Let us. Prompt us. Ask us. Bribe us with incentives and discounts… then listen… carefully. Easily 9 out of 10 entrepreneurs are given the ultimate USPs on silver platters by their customers but fail to recognize when they see, read, or hear them.
In brief, what exactly is an executive summary? An executive summary (ES) is an overview of your business and your vision. It comes first in formal/informal business plans and is ideally 1-2 pages.
The ES introduces your business to your reader. If you don’t nail it, no one’s going to read any further. And if an ES sucks, despite it being professionally crafted, then the business model itself needs work or isn’t worth your time. Every ES should include a brief overview of the following:
If you’re raising money or presenting to investors, you’ll also want to cover:
Ideally your ES should fit on one or two pages and be able to stand alone, apart from your business plan. A common strategy is to send your ES out to investors/family/friends and then the complete plan if more detail is requested.
Remember to try and position your writing for people who don’t know anything about your business before they start reading. Explain things simply so that anyone can understand your opportunity, whether they be an in-tune player, an 8th grader, or a grandma.
Well done, in the next step we’ll help you explain your product or service and how it makes an impact on customers.
Once upon a time there was this lovely, vibrant and ambitious entrepreneur who decided to sell organic breast enlargement cream. It sold well for a while, but then her numbers plateaued, and eventually began to decline.
She knew her business needed a makeover after years in the trenches. So, she created an automated incentive program, a 25% discount coupon code offer sent with every order in exchange for an anonymous review with a photograph. Just a simple before/after image showing the front of their body from neckline to belly button (to confirm usage).
They started rolling in and here are the gems she unearthed :
She went back and dusted off her original copy she put together years before.
From: “ A certified organic breast enlargement cream. ”
To something more along the lines of: “ Increase confidence and femininity through an organic non-allergenic breast enlargement cream. ”
When stuck in a rut, and we all get there as entrepreneurs, the quickest and most effective way out is to look at your predicament from different perspectives.
Begin with the fundamental question, “What problem does my product/service solve for customers?” then look deeper and from unique angles. Who are your buyers? They have the answer. And remember, actions speak louder than words.
Oftentimes we rationalize buying things for one reason, but in reality have a more potent ulterior motive. Sure, her customers want larger breasts, that’s what prompt initial sales. But the needs her product solves in their day-to-day lives are more interesting. It actually made her customers feel more confident, happy, and healthy.
Find one deeper way your product or service materializes in everyday life for your customers. Pay close attention to the simple verbiage you and others use to describe it, e.g. “Your earphones really get rid of all the noise on the bus.”
If possible, get hold of one fresh buyer perspective. Who and where are they? That woman in our example had spent years excluding nearly half her customer base in her advertorial copy. Do you use your own product or service? If so, find a way to record yourself explaining it in the most natural language possible. Use a smartphone or leave yourself a voicemail. Then, just listen.
But wait, what if you’re just starting out and don’t have much to draw on in terms of direct customer or user feedback? Glad you asked! In the next section we’re going to talk about competition, which is another valuable source of indicators.
What products and/or services are people choosing instead of yours?
Whether you’re new to the market or not, these so-called “competitors” are really the ideal source of optimization for your brand. And it’s not about being better per se. All things equal, it’s more about uniqueness.
Would you rather be a prettier, more flashy brand trying desperately to stand out, or develop intense brand-character that the right people notice? Once you’ve narrowed down your competitors, look at them from new angles to discover what makes you distinctive.
A common practice entrepreneurs use in pitch presentations to venture capitalists or investors is the Comparison Matrix.
You’ve seen these a zillion times. In short, list your competitors across the top of the page and your features and benefits along the side, then check the boxes for which company offers each. Don’t forget you can be creative here. You may even already use one of these on your website, or within some other marketing media.
Got time to put something simple together? In reality what we’re looking for are the things about your competitors that help you stand out.
All in all, understanding your competition is an important part of the planning process. This is where you find your true competitive advantage.
For a more in-depth look at how you stand up to the competition, check out LivePlan’s Benchmark feature. You can see at-a-glance how you compare to companies just like yours. Tell LivePlan your industry and location, and it shows if/how you’re doing better or worse than your competition.
Now let’s talk about your unique marketing approach. This will help you stand out and connect with your customers on multiple levels.
Fred is a brand spanking new entrepreneur with a neat new fitness product he believes is going to make a big splash.
He knows exactly who his ideal customers are and his niche is carved out like a Renaissance marble sculpture. Fred’s also managed to get his hands on $100k in debt-free funding (don’t ask us how, this is hypothetical)…
Admittedly, that would be pretty amazing, but that’s because we’re coming from a standpoint of experience. Fred’s just showing up to the 21st-Century party. He’s never built, owned, or managed a business before, let alone an ecommerce platform.
He’s never outsourced a graphic artist or content writer before; never had to choose which analytic dashboard to use; never designed a conversion model or tangled with paid advertising platforms. Let’s say Fred called and begged us to lunch. We accepted. And so there we are, the three amigos with Fred sitting on a huge meal ticket drooling for answers.
Once the table conch gets passed to us, we’re going to hit him hard with massive bombshells:
Question is, what advice would you give Fred? That’s what we’d like you to consider. And it needs to be marketing-based. The money’s there, the production system’s in place, it’s just a matter of reaching his fitness-based audience and selling.
Let’s imagine Fred’s offered you a lifetime, no questions asked, 5% share of his company from now till doomsday. All you have to do is provide valuable direction in these three areas:
Just let your mind wander, and don’t worry, in the next section we’ll talk about setting milestones for your business.
If there’s one specific part of the entrepreneurial journey that we get really nerdy about, it’s the way people verbally describe their trials and successes. We’re listening intently for clues as to how they set milestones and metrics and then track them.
Let’s spend some time pondering the way(s) you’re measuring your journey and how you approach KPIs (key performance indicators) in relation to both your marketing and your competition. Or, if you’re trying to figure out how viable a product idea is, how you’re calculating acceptable setbacks and struggle.
What have you achieved so far and what are your major goals for the next few months or years?
Sure, it’s cliché to talk about tracking milestones in an era of big data, but truth be told too many aspiring entrepreneurs either skip this part until much further down the road when it can’t be ignored anymore, or they only take it seriously in the beginning then fail to stick to the plan.
Of course there are folks who obsess on this part and try to manage a small army of analytic dashboards and amazing software solutions like FreshBooks or Xero.
Once it becomes too much they end up transforming their perspective of the customer journey from something organic into a mesh of math and graphs. Most of their day is spent pouring over dense numbers or marketing data and trying to figure out how to alter this metric or that.
Find ways to do more with less data. It’s always within reach these days, especially when you’re tuned in to your customers!
Need help in this area? LivePlan has a really impressive dashboard to help you set goals and stay accountable over the lifetime of your business. This dramatically increases your chances of success.
Without question, failure to clearly know the cost of acquiring customers is a mighty new business demolisher. It’s crushed more entrepreneurial dreams than every economic collapse combined since the creation of fiat currency. To come to grips, or optimize your Customer Acquisition Costs (CAC), begin by figuring out exactly how you’re reaching customers.
Or, if you’re building an initial business plan, how much will it cost to reach buyers on the platforms where they spend their time? Your financials should easily allow you to calculate CAC.
Now, in the simplest terms here’s how:
If you happen to run a purely web-based business, headcount likely doesn’t need to grow as you scale customer acquisition, but it’s a useful metric to include nonetheless.
The second part of this is your Lifetime Customer Value, or LCV, because in most cases 80% of your revenue will come from 20% of overall customers and happen AFTER the initial sale. Never shortchange the follow-through!
If your CAC is too high, it must be able to come down through optimization. If LCV is horrid, then in the long run it’s an unsustainable business model. Or in other words, once CAC exceeds LCV, something needs to change or you’ll have to close shop.
After you make these calculations three or four times, it starts becoming second nature. LivePlan’s forecasting handles this pretty well. It walks you through creating expenses that are a certain percentage of sales.
Smart entrepreneurs start forecasting sales early on.
And while ‘the numbers’ part of business planning can be intimidating, this exercise is definitely a small mountain worth karate chopping down.
Keep in mind that if you get stuck at any point, LivePlan’s Forecasting and Budgeting feature is extremely helpful. Whether you’re starting a bakery, a subscription software business, or a manufacturing company, LivePlan walks you through the entire forecasting process within a few clicks.
Don’t be too generic and just forecast sales for your entire business. But on the other hand, don’t go nuts and create a forecast for everything you sell if you’ve got a large assortment.
For example, if you’re starting a restaurant you don’t want to create forecasts for each item on the menu.
Instead, focus on broader categories like lunch, dinner, and drinks. Or if you’re starting a clothing brand, forecast key categories like outerwear, casual wear, and so on.
In our humble opinion, forecasting “from the top down” can be costly. What that means is figuring out the total size of the market you’re in and trying to capture a small percentage.
For example, in 2015, more than $1.4 billion smartphones were sold worldwide. It’s pretty tempting for a startup to say they’re going to get 1% of that total market. After all, 1% is such a tiny little sliver it’s got to be believable, right?
The problem is this kind of guessing isn’t based on reality. Sure, it looks like it might be credible on the surface, but you have to dig deeper.
Instead of “from the top down,” do a “bottom-up” forecast. Just like the name suggests, bottom-up starts at the bottom and works its way up to a forecast. Start by thinking about how many potential customers you might be able to make contact with.
This could be through advertising, sales calls, or other marketing methods. Of the people you can reach, how many do you think you’ll be able to bring in the door or get onto your website?
And finally, of the people that come in the door, get on the phone, or visit your site, how many will buy?
Here’s an example:
Obviously, these are all nice round numbers, but it should give you an idea of how bottom-up forecasting works. The last step of the bottom-up forecasting method is to think about the average amount that each of those 100 people in our example ends up spending (remember LCV).
On average, do they spend $20? $100? It’s fine to guess here, and the best way to refine your guess is to go out and talk to potential customers. You’ll be surprised how accurate a number you can get with a few simple interviews.
Try forecasting monthly for a year into the future and then just annually for another three to five years.
The further your forecast into the future, the less you’re going to know and the less benefit it’s going to have for your company. After all, the world’s going to change, your business is going to change, and you’ll be updating your forecast to reflect them.
And don’t forget, all forecasts are wrong—that’s fine. Your forecast is just your best guess at what’s going to happen. As you learn more about your business and your customers, you’ll adjust. It’s not set in stone.
Just remember that sales forecasting doesn’t have to be hard. Anyone can do it and you, as an entrepreneur, are the most qualified to do it for your business. You know your customers and you know your market, so you can forecast your sales.
But if you decide you’d appreciate help, we highly recommend forecasting your sales with LivePlan. LivePlan automatically generates all the charts and graphs you need and automatically includes them in your plan.
The format of your business plan is critical. It goes a long way toward refining and achieving your goals: raising money, setting the strategy for your team and growing your platform. That being the case, let’s breeze through seven tips that can help you create, refine, and optimize your brilliant business plan.
1. Always Start with Your Executive Summary
An ES should be written for ideal readers, customers, potential investors or team members, or even just to help you ‘goal-map’ your way to where you need to be. Regardless, nailing the Executive Summary is critical in terms of understanding the potential behind your business idea.
2. End with Supporting Documents
The appendix is composed of key numbers and other details that support your plan. At a minimum, your appendix should include financial forecasts and budgets. Typically, it’s wise to include a Profit & Loss statement, Cash Flow forecast, and a Balance Sheet. With practice and a smidgen of savvy software like LivePlan these pages can take a couple hours or so.
You might also use your appendix to include product diagrams or detailed research findings, depending on your business, your industry, and how deep your business plan needs to go given the reader/purpose.
Quick Recap of the Lineup Pitch Executive Summary Products & Services Target Market Marketing & Sales Plan Milestones & Metrics Company & Management Team Financial Plan & Appendix
3. Keep it Short
Let’s face it: no one has time to read a 40-page business plan. If you’ve nailed your ES, you’ll want to follow up with 8 to 12 additional pages at most in support. Instead of trying to cram everything in using small fonts and tiny margins, focus on trimming down your writing (‘kill your darlings’). Use direct, simple language that gets to the point.
4. Get Visual
As the old adage goes, “ A picture is worth a thousand words. ” This is especially true when you’re formatting a business plan. Use charts and graphs to explain forecasts. Add pictures of your product(s). Again, there are plenty of software solutions that make it easy to do more showing and less telling. That said…
5. Don’t Obsess on Looks
It’s your ideas that matter. A beautiful plan that talks about an ill-conceived business with incomplete financial forecasts is never going to beat a plan that’s formatted poorly but discusses a great, clearly explained vision. Spending days making a beautiful plan isn’t going to make your business ideas better. Instead, focus on polishing the words. Trim extra content you don’t need, and make sure ideas are well-presented.
6. Keep Formatting Simple
Why choose different fonts for on-screen versus off-screen? Well, research shows readers have higher comprehension when they read a document with a serif font on paper, and higher comprehension reading with a sans serif font on a screen.
Don’t stress too much about this, though. Choose any one of the four fonts mentioned above and move forward.
Cover pages are always a good idea, too. Use the cover page to show off your logo, tagline, and pitch.
Finally, make sure your plan document flows well and doesn’t have any “widows” or “orphans” when it prints out. A “widow” is when the last line of a paragraph appears alone at the top of a page, and an “orphan” is a single word that gets left behind at the bottom of a paragraph.
7. Get a Second Pair of Eyes
The last piece of advice is to get a second pair of eyes. When you’re the only one working on your plan, you can become blind to common errors. Recruit a friend or family member, or even hire a copy-editing professional to give it that last bit of polish. There’s nothing worse than a plan with grammatical or spelling errors. A second pair of eyes will go a long way toward catching the majority of those potential problems or holes.
If you’d like to try LivePlan yourself, here’s an exclusive 50% off LivePlan promo code offered to our readers. You’ll have 60 days of risk free planning with their 100% money back guarantee. Enjoy!
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By Tim Berry Edited by Dan Bova Mar 1, 2005
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
When I first started working with business plans back in the late 1970s, the average plan was much longer and more complex than what I see today. That might be because business plans are more common than they used to be--they're used more and more often and by more people. It might also be a matter of trends among bankers and investors who read business plans. Or it could be because people have less time to waste wading through documents!
For whatever reason, the trend in business plans these days is to go back to the fundamentals, with good projections and solid analysis. An "easy to read quickly" format is more important than ever. If you want people to read the business plan you develop--and most people do--then my best advice to you is keep it simple. Don't confuse your business plan with a doctoral thesis or a lifetime task. Keep the wording and formatting straightforward, and keep the plan short.
But don't confuse simple wording and formats with simple thinking. The reason you're keeping it simple isn't because you haven't developed your idea fully. You're keeping it simple so you can get your point across quickly and easily to whoever's reading it.
With that in mind, let's get down to some specifics when it comes to simplifying your plan.
Rein in your prose. Effective business writing is easy to read. People will skim your plan-they'll try to read it while talking on the phone or going through their e-mail. Save the deep prose for the great American novel you'll write later. When you're crafting your plan, remember these tips:
Keep it short. The average length of most business plans is shorter now than it used to be. You can probably cover everything you need to convey in 20 to 30 pages of text plus another 10 pages of appendices for monthly projections, management resumes and other details. If you've got a plan that's more than 40 pages long, you're probably not summarizing very well.
Of course, there are exceptions to the rule. I recently saw a plan for a chain of coffee shops, for example, that included photos of the proposed location, mock-ups of menus and maps of other proposed locations. The graphics made the plan longer, but they added real value. Product shots, location shots, menus, blueprints, floor plans, logos and signage photos are useful.
Use business charts. Make your important numbers easy to find and easy to understand. Use summary tables and simple business charts to highlight the main numbers. Make the related details easy to find in the appendices. Also...
Polish the overall look and feel. Aside from the wording, you also want the physical look of your text to be simple and inviting. So take my advice:
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Instead of a formal business plan, an entrepreneur might use _____. financial projections. legal documentation. marketing strategy. social capital. 26 of 36. Term. Planning implies action. true. ... Instead of a formal business plan, an entrepreneur might use _____. Choose matching definition. financial projections. legal documentation ...
A business model canvas is a quick-start alternative to a business plan. It helps you think through the most important aspects of startup—such as your product or service, your target market, and ...
Business objectives will be clear. Use your plan to define and manage specific measurable objectives like web visitors, sales, margins or new product launches. Define success in objective terms ...
The formal business plan actually has a calendar, so you need this much money, and you'll hit these milestones. It's a management vocabulary, and we'll be out in five years at a 15 return on your ...
It pays to plan. Entrepreneurs who write business plans are more likely to succeed, according to our research, described in an earlier piece for Harvard Business Review.But while this might tempt ...
Don't tell yourself that in two years, if you don't have "x" in profit, this is a failed idea. Plan for shortcomings, write down ideas to help you pivot and keep reassessing your industry for ...
An in-depth formal business plan would follow at later stages after various iterations to business model canvases. The business plan usually projects financial data over a three-year period and is typically required by banks or other investors to secure funding. ... Some entrepreneurs prefer to use the canvas process instead of the business ...
Aspect Business Model Business Plan; Definition: A Business Model is a strategic framework that outlines how a business creates, delivers, and captures value. It focuses on the core components of a business's operations and revenue generation. A Business Plan is a comprehensive document that outlines a company's goals, strategies, financial projections, and operational details.
Moreover, companies with a business plan grow 30% faster than those that don't plan. According to a Harvard Business Review article, entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to ...
Mini plan: The reader may request a mini plan, or a condensed version of your business plan (1-10 pages), which includes most of the same components as in a longer traditional plan -- minus the ...
However, we would not encourage you to hire a consultant to help you develop a formal business plan with revenue, expense and cash-flow projections. Instead, test and learn. Fail fast and fail cheap.
Typically, business planning has been analyzed as the single act of writing a business plan (e.g. Honig and Karlsson, 2004).However, business planning is made up of a variety of activities (Gruber, 2007), which entrepreneurs may utilize as a whole, or simply choose parts of the business planning process.It is worth noting that these specific activities are not mutually exclusive with lean ...
The steps below will guide you through the process of creating a business plan and what key components you need to include. 1. Create an executive summary. Start with a brief overview of your entire plan. The executive summary should cover your business plan's main points and key takeaways.
And How to Create One. 1. Executive summary. This is a short section that introduces the business plan as a whole to the people who will be reading it, including investors, lenders, or other members of your team. Start with a sentence or two about your business, your goals for developing it, and why it will be successful.
An in-depth formal business plan would follow at later stages after various iterations to business model canvases. The business plan usually projects financial data over a three-year period and is typically required by banks or other investors to secure funding. The business plan is a roadmap for the company to follow over multiple years.
McShea: Write your business plan clearly and simply. Use concrete words, and minimize jargon. An average reader should be able to clearly grasp what your product or service is, how it creates ...
1. Executive Summary. While your executive summary is the first page of your business plan, it's the section you'll write last. That's because it summarizes your entire business plan into a succinct one-pager. Begin with an executive summary that introduces the reader to your business and gives them an overview of what's inside the ...
Vivid Vision is a concept developed to design marketing plans for entrepreneurs. false. Instead of a formal business plan, an entrepreneur might use ______. social capital. Planning implies action. true. An entrepreneur should do a feasibility study because it determines whether an idea is workable and profitable.
Finally, make sure your plan document flows well and doesn't have any "widows" or "orphans" when it prints out. A "widow" is when the last line of a paragraph appears alone at the top of a page, and an "orphan" is a single word that gets left behind at the bottom of a paragraph. 7. Get a Second Pair of Eyes.
A business plan is a written description of the future of your business. It is a document that tells the story of what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. If you jot down a paragraph on the ...
Instead of a formal business plan, an intrapreneur might use social capital. The best way to begin the vivid vision program is to find a relaxing spot True. If the entrepreneur wants a plan that is less visual, use the Business brief. Using lots of graphs, charts, and images helps the plan to flow better False. The founder of email app front ...
Entrepreneur might use forecasts instead of a formal business plan.So the correct option is (a) forecast. Forecasts are an alternative to formal business plans that entrepreneurs can use to communicate their business goals and strategies.Forecasts typically include financial projections and market analysis, along with a description of the entrepreneur's vision for the business.
The graphics made the plan longer, but they added real value. Product shots, location shots, menus, blueprints, floor plans, logos and signage photos are useful. Use business charts. Make your ...