How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Determined female African-American entrepreneur scaling a mountain while wearing a large backpack. Represents the journey to starting and growing a business and needing to write a business plan to get there.

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated February 2, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

  • The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

  • Raise money
  • Grow strategically
  • Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

What’s your biggest business challenge right now?

  • What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

  • A summary of the problem you are solving
  • A description of your product or service
  • An overview of your target market
  • A brief description of your team
  • A summary of your financials
  • Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

  • Supply chain management
  • Manufacturing processes
  • Equipment and technology
  • Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

  • A description of each task
  • The proposed due date
  • Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

  • Website launch date
  • Store or office opening date
  • First significant sales
  • Break even date
  • Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

  • Conversion rates
  • Customer acquisition costs
  • Profit per customer
  • Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

  • Sole proprietor
  • Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

  • Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
  • Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
  • Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
  • Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
  • Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

  • Company logo
  • Business name
  • Value proposition (optional)
  • Business plan title
  • Completion and/or update date
  • Address and contact information
  • Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: How to collaborate with AI on your business plan

  • Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information you need to cover in a business plan sometimes isn’t quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

If you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template to get you started, download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

  • Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
  • Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
  • Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
  • Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
  • Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

  • Did you meet your sales goals?
  • Is spending following your budget?
  • Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

  • Write a brief executive summary
  • Describe your products and services.
  • Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
  • Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
  • Outline your organizational structure and management team.
  • Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
  • Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

  • 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
  • Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
  • Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
  • Failing to establish a sound business model.
  • Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

  • How will your business make money?
  • Is there a need for your product or service?
  • Who are your customers?
  • How are you different from the competition?
  • How will you reach your customers?
  • How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

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Content Author: Noah Parsons

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

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Table of Contents

  • Use AI to help write your plan
  • Common planning mistakes
  • Manage with your business plan
  • Templates and examples

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Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Simple Business Plan

By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021

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A business plan is the cornerstone of any successful company, regardless of size or industry. This step-by-step guide provides information on writing a business plan for organizations at any stage, complete with free templates and expert advice. 

Included on this page, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan and a chart to identify which type of business plan you should write . Plus, find information on how a business plan can help grow a business and expert tips on writing one .

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that communicates a company’s goals and ambitions, along with the timeline, finances, and methods needed to achieve them. Additionally, it may include a mission statement and details about the specific products or services offered.

A business plan can highlight varying time periods, depending on the stage of your company and its goals. That said, a typical business plan will include the following benchmarks:

  • Product goals and deadlines for each month
  • Monthly financials for the first two years
  • Profit and loss statements for the first three to five years
  • Balance sheet projections for the first three to five years

Startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses all create business plans to use as a guide as their new company progresses. Larger organizations may also create (and update) a business plan to keep high-level goals, financials, and timelines in check.

While you certainly need to have a formalized outline of your business’s goals and finances, creating a business plan can also help you determine a company’s viability, its profitability (including when it will first turn a profit), and how much money you will need from investors. In turn, a business plan has functional value as well: Not only does outlining goals help keep you accountable on a timeline, it can also attract investors in and of itself and, therefore, act as an effective strategy for growth.

For more information, visit our comprehensive guide to writing a strategic plan or download free strategic plan templates . This page focuses on for-profit business plans, but you can read our article with nonprofit business plan templates .

Business Plan Steps

The specific information in your business plan will vary, depending on the needs and goals of your venture, but a typical plan includes the following ordered elements:

  • Executive summary
  • Description of business
  • Market analysis
  • Competitive analysis
  • Description of organizational management
  • Description of product or services
  • Marketing plan
  • Sales strategy
  • Funding details (or request for funding)
  • Financial projections

If your plan is particularly long or complicated, consider adding a table of contents or an appendix for reference. For an in-depth description of each step listed above, read “ How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step ” below.

Broadly speaking, your audience includes anyone with a vested interest in your organization. They can include potential and existing investors, as well as customers, internal team members, suppliers, and vendors.

Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?

Your business’s stage and intended audience dictates the level of detail your plan needs. Corporations require a thorough business plan — up to 100 pages. Small businesses or startups should have a concise plan focusing on financials and strategy.

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business

In order to identify which type of business plan you need to create, ask: “What do we want the plan to do?” Identify function first, and form will follow.

Use the chart below as a guide for what type of business plan to create:

Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?

There is no set order for a business plan, with the exception of the executive summary, which should always come first. Beyond that, simply ensure that you organize the plan in a way that makes sense and flows naturally.

The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans

A traditional business plan follows the standard structure — because these plans encourage detail, they tend to require more work upfront and can run dozens of pages. A Lean business plan is less common and focuses on summarizing critical points for each section. These plans take much less work and typically run one page in length.

In general, you should use a traditional model for a legacy company, a large company, or any business that does not adhere to Lean (or another Agile method ). Use Lean if you expect the company to pivot quickly or if you already employ a Lean strategy with other business operations. Additionally, a Lean business plan can suffice if the document is for internal use only. Stick to a traditional version for investors, as they may be more sensitive to sudden changes or a high degree of built-in flexibility in the plan.

How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step

Writing a strong business plan requires research and attention to detail for each section. Below, you’ll find a 10-step guide to researching and defining each element in the plan.

Step 1: Executive Summary

The executive summary will always be the first section of your business plan. The goal is to answer the following questions:

  • What is the vision and mission of the company?
  • What are the company’s short- and long-term goals?

See our  roundup of executive summary examples and templates for samples. Read our executive summary guide to learn more about writing one.

Step 2: Description of Business

The goal of this section is to define the realm, scope, and intent of your venture. To do so, answer the following questions as clearly and concisely as possible:

  • What business are we in?
  • What does our business do?

Step 3: Market Analysis

In this section, provide evidence that you have surveyed and understand the current marketplace, and that your product or service satisfies a niche in the market. To do so, answer these questions:

  • Who is our customer? 
  • What does that customer value?

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

In many cases, a business plan proposes not a brand-new (or even market-disrupting) venture, but a more competitive version — whether via features, pricing, integrations, etc. — than what is currently available. In this section, answer the following questions to show that your product or service stands to outpace competitors:

  • Who is the competition? 
  • What do they do best? 
  • What is our unique value proposition?

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

In this section, write an overview of the team members and other key personnel who are integral to success. List roles and responsibilities, and if possible, note the hierarchy or team structure.

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

In this section, clearly define your product or service, as well as all the effort and resources that go into producing it. The strength of your product largely defines the success of your business, so it’s imperative that you take time to test and refine the product before launching into marketing, sales, or funding details.

Questions to answer in this section are as follows:

  • What is the product or service?
  • How do we produce it, and what resources are necessary for production?

Step 7: Marketing Plan

In this section, define the marketing strategy for your product or service. This doesn’t need to be as fleshed out as a full marketing plan , but it should answer basic questions, such as the following:

  • Who is the target market (if different from existing customer base)?
  • What channels will you use to reach your target market?
  • What resources does your marketing strategy require, and do you have access to them?
  • If possible, do you have a rough estimate of timeline and budget?
  • How will you measure success?

Step 8: Sales Plan

Write an overview of the sales strategy, including the priorities of each cycle, steps to achieve these goals, and metrics for success. For the purposes of a business plan, this section does not need to be a comprehensive, in-depth sales plan , but can simply outline the high-level objectives and strategies of your sales efforts. 

Start by answering the following questions:

  • What is the sales strategy?
  • What are the tools and tactics you will use to achieve your goals?
  • What are the potential obstacles, and how will you overcome them?
  • What is the timeline for sales and turning a profit?
  • What are the metrics of success?

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

This section is one of the most critical parts of your business plan, particularly if you are sharing it with investors. You do not need to provide a full financial plan, but you should be able to answer the following questions:

  • How much capital do you currently have? How much capital do you need?
  • How will you grow the team (onboarding, team structure, training and development)?
  • What are your physical needs and constraints (space, equipment, etc.)?

Step 10: Financial Projections

Apart from the fundraising analysis, investors like to see thought-out financial projections for the future. As discussed earlier, depending on the scope and stage of your business, this could be anywhere from one to five years. 

While these projections won’t be exact — and will need to be somewhat flexible — you should be able to gauge the following:

  • How and when will the company first generate a profit?
  • How will the company maintain profit thereafter?

Business Plan Template

Business Plan Template

Download Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

This basic business plan template has space for all the traditional elements: an executive summary, product or service details, target audience, marketing and sales strategies, etc. In the finances sections, input your baseline numbers, and the template will automatically calculate projections for sales forecasting, financial statements, and more.

For templates tailored to more specific needs, visit this business plan template roundup or download a fill-in-the-blank business plan template to make things easy. 

If you are looking for a particular template by file type, visit our pages dedicated exclusively to Microsoft Excel , Microsoft Word , and Adobe PDF business plan templates.

How to Write a Simple Business Plan

A simple business plan is a streamlined, lightweight version of the large, traditional model. As opposed to a one-page business plan , which communicates high-level information for quick overviews (such as a stakeholder presentation), a simple business plan can exceed one page.

Below are the steps for creating a generic simple business plan, which are reflected in the template below .

  • Write the Executive Summary This section is the same as in the traditional business plan — simply offer an overview of what’s in the business plan, the prospect or core offering, and the short- and long-term goals of the company. 
  • Add a Company Overview Document the larger company mission and vision. 
  • Provide the Problem and Solution In straightforward terms, define the problem you are attempting to solve with your product or service and how your company will attempt to do it. Think of this section as the gap in the market you are attempting to close.
  • Identify the Target Market Who is your company (and its products or services) attempting to reach? If possible, briefly define your buyer personas .
  • Write About the Competition In this section, demonstrate your knowledge of the market by listing the current competitors and outlining your competitive advantage.
  • Describe Your Product or Service Offerings Get down to brass tacks and define your product or service. What exactly are you selling?
  • Outline Your Marketing Tactics Without getting into too much detail, describe your planned marketing initiatives.
  • Add a Timeline and the Metrics You Will Use to Measure Success Offer a rough timeline, including milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you will use to measure your progress.
  • Include Your Financial Forecasts Write an overview of your financial plan that demonstrates you have done your research and adequate modeling. You can also list key assumptions that go into this forecasting. 
  • Identify Your Financing Needs This section is where you will make your funding request. Based on everything in the business plan, list your proposed sources of funding, as well as how you will use it.

Simple Business Plan Template

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel |  Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF  | Smartsheet

Use this simple business plan template to outline each aspect of your organization, including information about financing and opportunities to seek out further funding. This template is completely customizable to fit the needs of any business, whether it’s a startup or large company.

Read our article offering free simple business plan templates or free 30-60-90-day business plan templates to find more tailored options. You can also explore our collection of one page business templates . 

How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup

A Lean startup business plan is a more Agile approach to a traditional version. The plan focuses more on activities, processes, and relationships (and maintains flexibility in all aspects), rather than on concrete deliverables and timelines.

While there is some overlap between a traditional and a Lean business plan, you can write a Lean plan by following the steps below:

  • Add Your Value Proposition Take a streamlined approach to describing your product or service. What is the unique value your startup aims to deliver to customers? Make sure the team is aligned on the core offering and that you can state it in clear, simple language.
  • List Your Key Partners List any other businesses you will work with to realize your vision, including external vendors, suppliers, and partners. This section demonstrates that you have thoughtfully considered the resources you can provide internally, identified areas for external assistance, and conducted research to find alternatives.
  • Note the Key Activities Describe the key activities of your business, including sourcing, production, marketing, distribution channels, and customer relationships.
  • Include Your Key Resources List the critical resources — including personnel, equipment, space, and intellectual property — that will enable you to deliver your unique value.
  • Identify Your Customer Relationships and Channels In this section, document how you will reach and build relationships with customers. Provide a high-level map of the customer experience from start to finish, including the spaces in which you will interact with the customer (online, retail, etc.). 
  • Detail Your Marketing Channels Describe the marketing methods and communication platforms you will use to identify and nurture your relationships with customers. These could be email, advertising, social media, etc.
  • Explain the Cost Structure This section is especially necessary in the early stages of a business. Will you prioritize maximizing value or keeping costs low? List the foundational startup costs and how you will move toward profit over time.
  • Share Your Revenue Streams Over time, how will the company make money? Include both the direct product or service purchase, as well as secondary sources of revenue, such as subscriptions, selling advertising space, fundraising, etc.

Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Lean Business Plan Templates for Startups

Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Startup leaders can use this Lean business plan template to relay the most critical information from a traditional plan. You’ll find all the sections listed above, including spaces for industry and product overviews, cost structure and sources of revenue, and key metrics, and a timeline. The template is completely customizable, so you can edit it to suit the objectives of your Lean startups.

See our wide variety of  startup business plan templates for more options.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan

A business plan for a loan, often called a loan proposal , includes many of the same aspects of a traditional business plan, as well as additional financial documents, such as a credit history, a loan request, and a loan repayment plan.

In addition, you may be asked to include personal and business financial statements, a form of collateral, and equity investment information.

Download free financial templates to support your business plan.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

Outside of including all the key details in your business plan, you have several options to elevate the document for the highest chance of winning funding and other resources. Follow these tips from experts:.

  • Keep It Simple: Avner Brodsky , the Co-Founder and CEO of Lezgo Limited, an online marketing company, uses the acronym KISS (keep it short and simple) as a variation on this idea. “The business plan is not a college thesis,” he says. “Just focus on providing the essential information.”
  • Do Adequate Research: Michael Dean, the Co-Founder of Pool Research , encourages business leaders to “invest time in research, both internal and external (market, finance, legal etc.). Avoid being overly ambitious or presumptive. Instead, keep everything objective, balanced, and accurate.” Your plan needs to stand on its own, and you must have the data to back up any claims or forecasting you make. As Brodsky explains, “Your business needs to be grounded on the realities of the market in your chosen location. Get the most recent data from authoritative sources so that the figures are vetted by experts and are reliable.”
  • Set Clear Goals: Make sure your plan includes clear, time-based goals. “Short-term goals are key to momentum growth and are especially important to identify for new businesses,” advises Dean.
  • Know (and Address) Your Weaknesses: “This awareness sets you up to overcome your weak points much quicker than waiting for them to arise,” shares Dean. Brodsky recommends performing a full SWOT analysis to identify your weaknesses, too. “Your business will fare better with self-knowledge, which will help you better define the mission of your business, as well as the strategies you will choose to achieve your objectives,” he adds.
  • Seek Peer or Mentor Review: “Ask for feedback on your drafts and for areas to improve,” advises Brodsky. “When your mind is filled with dreams for your business, sometimes it is an outsider who can tell you what you’re missing and will save your business from being a product of whimsy.”

Outside of these more practical tips, the language you use is also important and may make or break your business plan.

Shaun Heng, VP of Operations at Coin Market Cap , gives the following advice on the writing, “Your business plan is your sales pitch to an investor. And as with any sales pitch, you need to strike the right tone and hit a few emotional chords. This is a little tricky in a business plan, because you also need to be formal and matter-of-fact. But you can still impress by weaving in descriptive language and saying things in a more elegant way.

“A great way to do this is by expanding your vocabulary, avoiding word repetition, and using business language. Instead of saying that something ‘will bring in as many customers as possible,’ try saying ‘will garner the largest possible market segment.’ Elevate your writing with precise descriptive words and you'll impress even the busiest investor.”

Additionally, Dean recommends that you “stay consistent and concise by keeping your tone and style steady throughout, and your language clear and precise. Include only what is 100 percent necessary.”

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

While a template provides a great outline of what to include in a business plan, a live document or more robust program can provide additional functionality, visibility, and real-time updates. The U.S. Small Business Association also curates resources for writing a business plan.

Additionally, you can use business plan software to house data, attach documentation, and share information with stakeholders. Popular options include LivePlan, Enloop, BizPlanner, PlanGuru, and iPlanner.

How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business

A business plan — both the exercise of creating one and the document — can grow your business by helping you to refine your product, target audience, sales plan, identify opportunities, secure funding, and build new partnerships. 

Outside of these immediate returns, writing a business plan is a useful exercise in that it forces you to research the market, which prompts you to forge your unique value proposition and identify ways to beat the competition. Doing so will also help you build (and keep you accountable to) attainable financial and product milestones. And down the line, it will serve as a welcome guide as hurdles inevitably arise.

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When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

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How to Write a Business Plan, Step by Step

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What is a business plan?

1. write an executive summary, 2. describe your company, 3. state your business goals, 4. describe your products and services, 5. do your market research, 6. outline your marketing and sales plan, 7. perform a business financial analysis, 8. make financial projections, 9. summarize how your company operates, 10. add any additional information to an appendix, business plan tips and resources.

A business plan outlines your business’s financial goals and explains how you’ll achieve them over the next three to five years. Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan that will offer a strong, detailed road map for your business.

Bizee

A business plan is a document that explains what your business does, how it makes money and who its customers are. Internally, writing a business plan should help you clarify your vision and organize your operations. Externally, you can share it with potential lenders and investors to show them you’re on the right track.

Business plans are living documents; it’s OK for them to change over time. Startups may update their business plans often as they figure out who their customers are and what products and services fit them best. Mature companies might only revisit their business plan every few years. Regardless of your business’s age, brush up this document before you apply for a business loan .

» Need help writing? Learn about the best business plan software .

This is your elevator pitch. It should include a mission statement, a brief description of the products or services your business offers and a broad summary of your financial growth plans.

Though the executive summary is the first thing your investors will read, it can be easier to write it last. That way, you can highlight information you’ve identified while writing other sections that go into more detail.

» MORE: How to write an executive summary in 6 steps

Next up is your company description. This should contain basic information like:

Your business’s registered name.

Address of your business location .

Names of key people in the business. Make sure to highlight unique skills or technical expertise among members of your team.

Your company description should also define your business structure — such as a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation — and include the percent ownership that each owner has and the extent of each owner’s involvement in the company.

Lastly, write a little about the history of your company and the nature of your business now. This prepares the reader to learn about your goals in the next section.

» MORE: How to write a company overview for a business plan

write a comprehensive business plan

The third part of a business plan is an objective statement. This section spells out what you’d like to accomplish, both in the near term and over the coming years.

If you’re looking for a business loan or outside investment, you can use this section to explain how the financing will help your business grow and how you plan to achieve those growth targets. The key is to provide a clear explanation of the opportunity your business presents to the lender.

For example, if your business is launching a second product line, you might explain how the loan will help your company launch that new product and how much you think sales will increase over the next three years as a result.

» MORE: How to write a successful business plan for a loan

In this section, go into detail about the products or services you offer or plan to offer.

You should include the following:

An explanation of how your product or service works.

The pricing model for your product or service.

The typical customers you serve.

Your supply chain and order fulfillment strategy.

You can also discuss current or pending trademarks and patents associated with your product or service.

Lenders and investors will want to know what sets your product apart from your competition. In your market analysis section , explain who your competitors are. Discuss what they do well, and point out what you can do better. If you’re serving a different or underserved market, explain that.

Here, you can address how you plan to persuade customers to buy your products or services, or how you will develop customer loyalty that will lead to repeat business.

Include details about your sales and distribution strategies, including the costs involved in selling each product .

» MORE: R e a d our complete guide to small business marketing

If you’re a startup, you may not have much information on your business financials yet. However, if you’re an existing business, you’ll want to include income or profit-and-loss statements, a balance sheet that lists your assets and debts, and a cash flow statement that shows how cash comes into and goes out of the company.

Accounting software may be able to generate these reports for you. It may also help you calculate metrics such as:

Net profit margin: the percentage of revenue you keep as net income.

Current ratio: the measurement of your liquidity and ability to repay debts.

Accounts receivable turnover ratio: a measurement of how frequently you collect on receivables per year.

This is a great place to include charts and graphs that make it easy for those reading your plan to understand the financial health of your business.

This is a critical part of your business plan if you’re seeking financing or investors. It outlines how your business will generate enough profit to repay the loan or how you will earn a decent return for investors.

Here, you’ll provide your business’s monthly or quarterly sales, expenses and profit estimates over at least a three-year period — with the future numbers assuming you’ve obtained a new loan.

Accuracy is key, so carefully analyze your past financial statements before giving projections. Your goals may be aggressive, but they should also be realistic.

NerdWallet’s picks for setting up your business finances:

The best business checking accounts .

The best business credit cards .

The best accounting software .

Before the end of your business plan, summarize how your business is structured and outline each team’s responsibilities. This will help your readers understand who performs each of the functions you’ve described above — making and selling your products or services — and how much each of those functions cost.

If any of your employees have exceptional skills, you may want to include their resumes to help explain the competitive advantage they give you.

Finally, attach any supporting information or additional materials that you couldn’t fit in elsewhere. That might include:

Licenses and permits.

Equipment leases.

Bank statements.

Details of your personal and business credit history, if you’re seeking financing.

If the appendix is long, you may want to consider adding a table of contents at the beginning of this section.

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We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

Once we uncover your personalized matches, our team will consult you on the process moving forward.

Here are some tips to write a detailed, convincing business plan:

Avoid over-optimism: If you’re applying for a business bank loan or professional investment, someone will be reading your business plan closely. Providing unreasonable sales estimates can hurt your chances of approval.

Proofread: Spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors can jump off the page and turn off lenders and prospective investors. If writing and editing aren't your strong suit, you may want to hire a professional business plan writer, copy editor or proofreader.

Use free resources: SCORE is a nonprofit association that offers a large network of volunteer business mentors and experts who can help you write or edit your business plan. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers , which provide free business consulting and help with business plan development, can also be a resource.

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

write a comprehensive business plan

A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

  • A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
  • Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
  • For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
  • There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

  • Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
  • Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
  • Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
  • Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
  • Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

  • Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
  • Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Business Plan in 2024

A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Business Plan in 2024

Table of contents

write a comprehensive business plan

Do you remember the first business plan you made? It could be with your school pal to open a restaurant or with your college buddy to start a design firm. No matter what stage of life you’re at, every new business needs a plan. It’ll help you lay the foundation.

A business plan comprises your company’s goals and intentions. 

Here are the top strategic tips on writing a winning business plan to give life to your entrepreneurial dream.

Do I really need a business plan?

When evaluating how to structure a business, you might wonder:

  • How do I convey my ideas clearly?
  • How can I assess each approach?
  • How can I effectively talk about the company’s goals?
  • What will help me partner with potential companies?
  • How do I make my business lucrative in a  competitive market?

Investors rely on a comprehensive business plan to understand how you expect to make profits. 

1. Research for strategic decisions

You can’t develop a business plan without investing time in research. To better understand market trends, consumer behavior, and competitor’s strategies, perform extensive research that a business plan mandates.

2. Vision through words

It helps you compellingly present the ideas to gain investors', partners’, and consumers’ interests. 

3. Earns potential partners

It helps get investors or collaborators interested in your business by showcasing how it is worth investing in. 

5 things to keep in mind while writing your business plan

Writing a stellar business plan demands attention to detail. Here are the crucial elements to bear in mind while composing a plan. 

1. Audience

Are you writing it for an investor or a partner? Based on the audience, you need to understand their perspective, concerns, and expectations. 

Is your business plan clearly defining the goals? Ensure it gives a clear picture of the company's short-term and long-term objectives. 

3. Comprehensive research

Did you analyze market trends? Dig deep into the research to get a comprehensive industry analysis. It will help you exhibit your company’s innovative approach.

Who could be your most effective research partner? Wordtune!

Let’s say you’re planning to begin a packaging venture. While preparing the business plan, you need to know the facts and figures about the industry's growth. So, how do you go about it? 

write a comprehensive business plan

With Wordtune’s AI feature, you can write a detailed prompt mentioning the data that you need to procure. For example, ask ‘How is the packaging industry performing?’ and Wordtune will develop relevant, up-to-date information.

Get Wordtune for free > Get Wordtune for free >

4. Crisp points

Do you prefer reading through lengthy texts or crisp points? The latter, right? Make sure to present the data with crisp and precise facts. 

5. Tone and style

While a business plan is the key to exhibiting your business approach, don’t miss out on reflecting your personality. While you keep the content in a professional tonality, make it more enjoyable with a little hint of quirkiness. 

Wordtune helps in effortlessly jazzing the tone and style of your business plan. Let’s understand with an example of a venture’s brief. 

‘FurniturePro is a leading venture in the furniture design industry specializing in sustainable design. We’re transforming modern spaces through our eco-friendly and innovative approach. Our designs speak all about sleek and functional designs.’

Do you wish to add a casual touch to the tonality? Here’s how Wordtune works.

write a comprehensive business plan

This tool helps you refine your tone by giving suggestions according to your intended style.

9 Steps to Writing a Comprehensive Business Plan

To outline your business’ goals and approach holistically, here is our step-by-step guide on writing a compelling business plan. 

1. Executive summary

An executive summary is the first page of a business plan, offering a trailer for more to come. Thus, it needs to be well-written and captivating. Consider it an elevator pitch and summarize your company’s plan by highlighting the critical points like the objective, mission, growth trajectory, unique value proposition, etc.

Pro-tip: As an executive summary offers insights into the overall plan, write it at the end. It will make the task more manageable as you can pick information from the relevant sections and precisely mention it here. 

With Wordtune, you can curate the executive summary by offering a brief prompt. For example, you’re an architect seeking investors for your firm. What do you need to grab their attention? A holistic business plan that helps them understand the perks of funding your business.

write a comprehensive business plan

Let’s see how Wordtune helps in this case. All you need to do is feed the details that must be present in the summary and witness the magic. 

write a comprehensive business plan

To convey the ideas better, it breaks up the details under sub-headings to enhance readability and mention every detail.

2. About your company

What is your company’s name? Where is it located? Who are the leaders of the company?

Whenever we’re going through a business plan, aren’t these the first questions popping up in our heads? After the executive summary, introduce your company.

Define the overall business structure, whether a corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. While mentioning these details, include each leader's ownership and involvement percentage. Give a gist of the past and present through a brief timeline, and prepare the readers to delve into the future that follows in the next section.

3. Your business goals

Nobody prefers sailing a boat without a compass, right? Similarly, every investor or potential stakeholder needs a clear picture of the business and its growth strategies before investing. This is why this section is crucial. Define your short-term and long-term objectives of the company.

Make sure to cover the following points in the business goal:

  • Why do you need funds for the business?
  • What are the benefits financing brings to the growth of your company?
  • What is your approach to achieving growth targets?

It must exhibit a win-win case for your company and investor’s ROI.

4. All about your products and services

With the company’s past, present, and future in line, it’s time to delve into the details of the product.

  • What is the product or service your company offers?
  • What is the typical pricing?
  • What is your target audience?
  • What is your strategy to fulfill the supply chain and demands?
  • What is your sales path?
  • What is the distribution strategy for a product or service? 

Make sure to mention every minute detail about the offerings and throw light on their unique features, advantages, and how they add value to consumers. 

5. What does market research say?

As you step into a niche, research is vital. 

Once you’ve researched the market, present your unique approach in the business plan. Mention how your product or service is better than the rest. Explain about your competitors, discuss their approach, and define how your course stays a step ahead.

Pro-tip: Sequence it by showcasing your market understanding first. After that, mention the critical pain points, identify the challenges, and how you transform them into opportunities.

6. Outline the marketing plan

What is your marketing strategy? Address your roadmap to reach and engage with the target audience. How are you planning to promote your products, and what is your process for building a lasting impression?

Mention details about the sales tactics, channels, and promotional campaigns. 

7. Business financial analysis

Numbers can speak volumes. If you’re writing a business plan for an existing business, flaunt the profit-and-loss statements to showcase the financials. List the assets, debts, cash flow, etc., through a balance sheet. Consider adding the following details:

  • Current Ratio– the company’s current liquidity and potential to repay the debts.
  • Net Profit Margin– what is the percentage of revenue reserved as net income?
  • Accounts Receivable Turnover Ratio– details about the frequency of collecting receivables annually.

Present the data through graphs or charts to gain the reader's attention. It offers better clarity on financial health and sustainability in the future.

8. Generate financial projections

You must clearly show your investors or partners the company’s future finances. It outlines your potential to repay the loans or how the company will provide promising ROIs. Add monthly or quarterly sales, expenditures, and estimated profits for at least three years.

Develop realistic projections, as these are the financial roadmap guiding significant decisions and strategies. 

9. Added information

Do you have additional information, like licenses, certifications, permits, contracts, credit history, etc., that didn’t fit elsewhere? Add it to this section.

Use it as a miscellaneous section to add relevant information driving your business growth.

Download our free business plan template here

Examples of the top-selling business plans, 1. patagonia.

Start your business plan with a strong mission statement that sets a tone at the beginning. For example, this being an environmentally friendly company, the entire plan for this brand revolves around how their clothing is eco-friendly for silent sports that don’t have engines. 

write a comprehensive business plan

2. NALB Creative Center

This business plan covers every aspect of the venture, including summary, services, market analysis, etc. The market analysis offers insights into the breakdown of target customers, clearly communicating the potential for business growth. 

write a comprehensive business plan

In this business plan, visuals help narrate the brand’s story. The rich usage of images aligns with the brand’s ethos of adopting an innovative approach. An addition of financial charts further helps in portraying the finances clearly. 

write a comprehensive business plan

4. LiveShopBuy

This business plan effectively focuses on investment opportunities through strategically positioning facts. It talks about investments first to seek funding and then leads to the further details and services the company offers.

write a comprehensive business plan

5. Lula Body

This business plan doesn’t shy away from reflecting the finances. From service charges to expected revenues, it covers every aspect precisely and presents it crisply for readers to grasp the takeaways. 

write a comprehensive business plan

Say hello to your business buddy!

Coming up with an impactful business plan sounds challenging. But not when you have Wordtune as your assistant.

From generating fresh ideas to enhancing existing ones, there is an array of tools Wordtune offers. It helps you refine the tonality and introduce a unique style to the content. Whether the plan is to build a network through a business plan or gain collaborators, with Wordtune, you can rest assured to strike the right tone.

Building a roadmap with a business plan

The business plan is much more than just a document. A business plan can help investors and owners better understand what the future holds for the business.

A holistic business plan exhibits the vision and aspirations you aim to achieve. Thus, give thought and weightage to every word in that document. It should be detailed, realistic, and achievable. Regularly check the business plan to ensure that it stays relevant and updated with the transforming industrial trends.

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A Comprehensive Business Plan Template for Small Business

Business Plans Differ, But Have Several Common Elements

Alyssa Gregory is an entrepreneur, writer, and marketer with 20 years of experience in the business world. She is the founder of the Small Business Bonfire, a community for entrepreneurs, and has authored more than 2,500 articles for The Balance and other popular small business websites.

write a comprehensive business plan

Executive Summary

Company description, products or services, market analysis, marketing strategy, management summary, financial analysis, appendices and supporting info.

Business plans are a challenging startup step for many small business owners who are pitching their business ideas to investors or credit institutions for funding. Because of the vastness of information, business plans can be one of the most overwhelming parts of starting a business.

However, it's an important part of starting a business that you should not skip. One survey found that people who created a business plan were twice as likely to successfully grow their business and attract lenders or investors than those who don't.  

Business plans come in many shapes and sizes; your goal is to convince individuals to buy into your vision, and there's no one-size-fits-all approach to that. However, there are a few common elements no plan should lack. Follow this business plan outline that walks you through each section of a basic plan in the order they typically appear.

The executive summary is the first section of your small business plan that is typically written last. This section highlights at least one important statement from each of the other sections in your business plan, while also including basic information about your business such as your business name and location, description of your business and its products and/or services, your management team, and the company's mission statement.

The company description section of your business plan is typically the second section, coming after the executive summary. The company description outlines vital details about your company, such as where you are located, how large the company is, what you do, and what you hope to accomplish. This section also describes the vision and direction of the company so potential lenders and partners can develop an accurate impression of who you are.

The products or services section of your business plan should clearly describe what products and/or services you're selling with an emphasis on the value you're providing to your customers or clients. This section will also include pricing information, a comparison to similar products or services in the market, and an outline of future offerings.

The market analysis section of your business plan comes after the products and services section and should provide a detailed overview of the industry you intend to sell your product or service in, including statistics to support your claims. This section also includes information about the industry, target market, and competition.

The marketing strategy section of your business plan builds upon the market analysis section. This section outlines where your business fits into the market and how you will price, promote, and sell your product or service.

The management summary section describes how your business is structured, introduces who is involved, outlines external resources, and explains how the business is managed.

The financial analysis section should contain the details for financing your business now, what will be needed for future growth, and an estimation of your operating expenses and gross revenue.

The appendix includes information that supports your statements, assumptions, and reasoning used in the other sections of your business plan. This may include graphs, charts, statistics, photos, marketing materials, research, and other relevant data.

Bplans. " Why Plan Your Business? Look At This Data ." Accessed Jan. 26, 2020.

24 of My Favorite Sample Business Plans & Examples For Your Inspiration

Clifford Chi

Published: February 06, 2024

Free Business Plan Template

write a comprehensive business plan

The essential document for starting a business -- custom built for your needs.

Thank you for downloading the offer.

I believe that reading sample business plans is essential when writing your own.

sample business plans and examples

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As you explore business plan examples from real companies and brands, it’s easier for you to learn how to write a good one.

But what does a good business plan look like? And how do you write one that’s both viable and convincing. I’ll walk you through the ideal business plan format along with some examples to help you get started.

Table of Contents

Business Plan Format

Business plan types, sample business plan templates, top business plan examples.

Ask any successful sports coach how they win so many games, and they’ll tell you they have a unique plan for every single game. To me, the same logic applies to business.

If you want to build a thriving company that can pull ahead of the competition, you need to prepare for battle before breaking into a market.

Business plans guide you along the rocky journey of growing a company. And if your business plan is compelling enough, it can also convince investors to give you funding.

With so much at stake, I’m sure you’re wondering where to begin.

write a comprehensive business plan

  • Outline your idea.
  • Pitch to investors.
  • Secure funding.
  • Get to work!

You're all set!

Click this link to access this resource at any time.

Fill out the form to get your free template.

First, you’ll want to nail down your formatting. Most business plans include the following sections.

1. Executive Summary

I’d say the executive summary is the most important section of the entire business plan. 

Why? Essentially, it's the overview or introduction, written in a way to grab readers' attention and guide them through the rest of the business plan. This is important, because a business plan can be dozens or hundreds of pages long.

There are two main elements I’d recommend including in your executive summary:

Company Description

This is the perfect space to highlight your company’s mission statement and goals, a brief overview of your history and leadership, and your top accomplishments as a business.

Tell potential investors who you are and why what you do matters. Naturally, they’re going to want to know who they’re getting into business with up front, and this is a great opportunity to showcase your impact.

Need some extra help firming up those business goals? Check out HubSpot Academy’s free course to help you set goals that matter — I’d highly recommend it

Products and Services

To piggyback off of the company description, be sure to incorporate an overview of your offerings. This doesn’t have to be extensive — just another chance to introduce your industry and overall purpose as a business.

In addition to the items above, I recommend including some information about your financial projections and competitive advantage here too.:

Keep in mind you'll cover many of these topics in more detail later on in the business plan. So, keep the executive summary clear and brief, and only include the most important takeaways.

Executive Summary Business Plan Examples

This example was created with HubSpot’s business plan template:

business plan sample: Executive Summary Example

This executive summary is so good to me because it tells potential investors a short story while still covering all of the most important details.

Business plans examples: Executive Summary

Image Source

Tips for Writing Your Executive Summary

  • Start with a strong introduction of your company, showcase your mission and impact, and outline the products and services you provide.
  • Clearly define a problem, and explain how your product solves that problem, and show why the market needs your business.
  • Be sure to highlight your value proposition, market opportunity, and growth potential.
  • Keep it concise and support ideas with data.
  • Customize your summary to your audience. For example, emphasize finances and return on investment for venture capitalists.

Check out our tips for writing an effective executive summary for more guidance.

2. Market Opportunity

This is where you'll detail the opportunity in the market.

The main question I’d ask myself here is this: Where is the gap in the current industry, and how will my product fill that gap?

More specifically, here’s what I’d include in this section:

  • The size of the market
  • Current or potential market share
  • Trends in the industry and consumer behavior
  • Where the gap is
  • What caused the gap
  • How you intend to fill it

To get a thorough understanding of the market opportunity, you'll want to conduct a TAM, SAM, and SOM analysis and perform market research on your industry.

You may also benefit from creating a SWOT analysis to get some of the insights for this section.

Market Opportunity Business Plan Example

I like this example because it uses critical data to underline the size of the potential market and what part of that market this service hopes to capture.

Business plans examples: Market Opportunity

Tips for Writing Your Market Opportunity Section

  • Focus on demand and potential for growth.
  • Use market research, surveys, and industry trend data to support your market forecast and projections.
  • Add a review of regulation shifts, tech advances, and consumer behavior changes.
  • Refer to reliable sources.
  • Showcase how your business can make the most of this opportunity.

3. Competitive Landscape

Since we’re already speaking of market share, you'll also need to create a section that shares details on who the top competitors are.

After all, your customers likely have more than one brand to choose from, and you'll want to understand exactly why they might choose one over another.

My favorite part of performing a competitive analysis is that it can help you uncover:

  • Industry trends that other brands may not be utilizing
  • Strengths in your competition that may be obstacles to handle
  • Weaknesses in your competition that may help you develop selling points
  • The unique proposition you bring to the market that may resonate with customers

Competitive Landscape Business Plan Example

I like how the competitive landscape section of this business plan below shows a clear outline of who the top competitors are.

Business plans examples: Competitive Landscape

It also highlights specific industry knowledge and the importance of location, which shows useful experience in this specific industry. 

This can help build trust in your ability to execute your business plan.

Tips for Writing Your Competitive Landscape

  • Complete in-depth research, then emphasize your most important findings.
  • Compare your unique selling proposition (USP) to your direct and indirect competitors.
  • Show a clear and realistic plan for product and brand differentiation.
  • Look for specific advantages and barriers in the competitive landscape. Then, highlight how that information could impact your business.
  • Outline growth opportunities from a competitive perspective.
  • Add customer feedback and insights to support your competitive analysis.

4. Target Audience

Use this section to describe who your customer segments are in detail. What is the demographic and psychographic information of your audience?

If your immediate answer is "everyone," you'll need to dig deeper. Here are some questions I’d ask myself here:

  • What demographics will most likely need/buy your product or service?
  • What are the psychographics of this audience? (Desires, triggering events, etc.)
  • Why are your offerings valuable to them?

I’d also recommend building a buyer persona to get in the mindset of your ideal customers and be clear on why you're targeting them.

Target Audience Business Plan Example

I like the example below because it uses in-depth research to draw conclusions about audience priorities. It also analyzes how to create the right content for this audience.

Business plans examples: Target Audience

Tips for Writing Your Target Audience Section

  • Include details on the size and growth potential of your target audience.
  • Figure out and refine the pain points for your target audience , then show why your product is a useful solution.
  • Describe your targeted customer acquisition strategy in detail.
  • Share anticipated challenges your business may face in acquiring customers and how you plan to address them.
  • Add case studies, testimonials, and other data to support your target audience ideas.
  • Remember to consider niche audiences and segments of your target audience in your business plan.

5. Marketing Strategy

Here, you'll discuss how you'll acquire new customers with your marketing strategy. I’d suggest including information:

  • Your brand positioning vision and how you'll cultivate it
  • The goal targets you aim to achieve
  • The metrics you'll use to measure success
  • The channels and distribution tactics you'll use

I think it’s helpful to have a marketing plan built out in advance to make this part of your business plan easier.

Marketing Strategy Business Plan Example

This business plan example includes the marketing strategy for the town of Gawler.

In my opinion, it really works because it offers a comprehensive picture of how they plan to use digital marketing to promote the community.

Business plans examples: Marketing Strategy

Tips for Writing Your Marketing Strategy

  • Include a section about how you believe your brand vision will appeal to customers.
  • Add the budget and resources you'll need to put your plan in place.
  • Outline strategies for specific marketing segments.
  • Connect strategies to earlier sections like target audience and competitive analysis.
  • Review how your marketing strategy will scale with the growth of your business.
  • Cover a range of channels and tactics to highlight your ability to adapt your plan in the face of change.

6. Key Features and Benefits

At some point in your business plan, you'll need to review the key features and benefits of your products and/or services.

Laying these out can give readers an idea of how you're positioning yourself in the market and the messaging you're likely to use. It can even help them gain better insight into your business model.

Key Features and Benefits Business Plan Example

In my opinion, the example below does a great job outlining products and services for this business, along with why these qualities will attract the audience.

Business plans examples: Key Features and Benefits

Tips for Writing Your Key Features and Benefits

  • Emphasize why and how your product or service offers value to customers.
  • Use metrics and testimonials to support the ideas in this section.
  • Talk about how your products and services have the potential to scale.
  • Think about including a product roadmap.
  • Focus on customer needs, and how the features and benefits you are sharing meet those needs.
  • Offer proof of concept for your ideas, like case studies or pilot program feedback.
  • Proofread this section carefully, and remove any jargon or complex language.

7. Pricing and Revenue

This is where you'll discuss your cost structure and various revenue streams. Your pricing strategy must be solid enough to turn a profit while staying competitive in the industry. 

For this reason, here’s what I’d might outline in this section:

  • The specific pricing breakdowns per product or service
  • Why your pricing is higher or lower than your competition's
  • (If higher) Why customers would be willing to pay more
  • (If lower) How you're able to offer your products or services at a lower cost
  • When you expect to break even, what margins do you expect, etc?

Pricing and Revenue Business Plan Example

I like how this business plan example begins with an overview of the business revenue model, then shows proposed pricing for key products.

Business plans examples: Pricing and Revenue

Tips for Writing Your Pricing and Revenue Section

  • Get specific about your pricing strategy. Specifically, how you connect that strategy to customer needs and product value.
  • If you are asking a premium price, share unique features or innovations that justify that price point.
  • Show how you plan to communicate pricing to customers.
  • Create an overview of every revenue stream for your business and how each stream adds to your business model as a whole.
  • Share plans to develop new revenue streams in the future.
  • Show how and whether pricing will vary by customer segment and how pricing aligns with marketing strategies.
  • Restate your value proposition and explain how it aligns with your revenue model.

8. Financials

To me, this section is particularly informative for investors and leadership teams to figure out funding strategies, investment opportunities, and more.

 According to Forbes , you'll want to include three main things:

  • Profit/Loss Statement - This answers the question of whether your business is currently profitable.
  • Cash Flow Statement - This details exactly how much cash is incoming and outgoing to give insight into how much cash a business has on hand.
  • Balance Sheet - This outlines assets, liabilities, and equity, which gives insight into how much a business is worth.

While some business plans might include more or less information, these are the key details I’d include in this section.

Financials Business Plan Example

This balance sheet is a great example of level of detail you’ll need to include in the financials section of your business plan.

Business plans examples: Financials

Tips for Writing Your Financials Section

  • Growth potential is important in this section too. Using your data, create a forecast of financial performance in the next three to five years.
  • Include any data that supports your projections to assure investors of the credibility of your proposal.
  • Add a break-even analysis to show that your business plan is financially practical. This information can also help you pivot quickly as your business grows.
  • Consider adding a section that reviews potential risks and how sensitive your plan is to changes in the market.
  • Triple-check all financial information in your plan for accuracy.
  • Show how any proposed funding needs align with your plans for growth.

As you create your business plan, keep in mind that each of these sections will be formatted differently. Some may be in paragraph format, while others could be charts or graphs.

The formats above apply to most types of business plans. That said, the format and structure of your plan will vary by your goals for that plan. 

So, I’ve added a quick review of different business plan types. For a more detailed overview, check out this post .

1. Startups

Startup business plans are for proposing new business ideas.

If you’re planning to start a small business, preparing a business plan is crucial. The plan should include all the major factors of your business.

You can check out this guide for more detailed business plan inspiration .

2. Feasibility Studies

Feasibility business plans focus on that business's product or service. Feasibility plans are sometimes added to startup business plans. They can also be a new business plan for an already thriving organization.

3. Internal Use

You can use internal business plans to share goals, strategies, or performance updates with stakeholders. In my opinion, internal business plans are useful for alignment and building support for ambitious goals.

4. Strategic Initiatives

Another business plan that's often for sharing internally is a strategic business plan. This plan covers long-term business objectives that might not have been included in the startup business plan.

5. Business Acquisition or Repositioning

When a business is moving forward with an acquisition or repositioning, it may need extra structure and support. These types of business plans expand on a company's acquisition or repositioning strategy.

Growth sometimes just happens as a business continues operations. But more often, a business needs to create a structure with specific targets to meet set goals for expansion. This business plan type can help a business focus on short-term growth goals and align resources with those goals.

Now that you know what's included and how to format a business plan, let's review some of my favorite templates.

1. HubSpot's One-Page Business Plan

Download a free, editable one-page business plan template..

The business plan linked above was created here at HubSpot and is perfect for businesses of any size — no matter how many strategies we still have to develop.

Fields such as Company Description, Required Funding, and Implementation Timeline give this one-page business plan a framework for how to build your brand and what tasks to keep track of as you grow.

Then, as the business matures, you can expand on your original business plan with a new iteration of the above document.

Why I Like It

This one-page business plan is a fantastic choice for the new business owner who doesn’t have the time or resources to draft a full-blown business plan. It includes all the essential sections in an accessible, bullet-point-friendly format. That way, you can get the broad strokes down before honing in on the details.

2. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

Sample business plan: hubspot free editable pdf

We also created a business plan template for entrepreneurs.

The template is designed as a guide and checklist for starting your own business. You’ll learn what to include in each section of your business plan and how to do it.

There’s also a list for you to check off when you finish each section of your business plan.

Strong game plans help coaches win games and help businesses rocket to the top of their industries. So if you dedicate the time and effort required to write a workable and convincing business plan, you’ll boost your chances of success and even dominance in your market.

This business plan kit is essential for the budding entrepreneur who needs a more extensive document to share with investors and other stakeholders.

It not only includes sections for your executive summary, product line, market analysis, marketing plan, and sales plan, but it also offers hands-on guidance for filling out those sections.

3. LiveFlow’s Financial Planning Template with built-in automation

Sample Business Plan: LiveFLow

This free template from LiveFlow aims to make it easy for businesses to create a financial plan and track their progress on a monthly basis.

The P&L Budget versus Actual format allows users to track their revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, operating profit margin, net profit, and more.

The summary dashboard aggregates all of the data put into the financial plan sheet and will automatically update when changes are made.

Instead of wasting hours manually importing your data to your spreadsheet, LiveFlow can also help you to automatically connect your accounting and banking data directly to your spreadsheet, so your numbers are always up-to-date.

With the dashboard, you can view your runway, cash balance, burn rate, gross margins, and other metrics. Having a simple way to track everything in one place will make it easier to complete the financials section of your business plan.

This is a fantastic template to track performance and alignment internally and to create a dependable process for documenting financial information across the business. It’s highly versatile and beginner-friendly.

It’s especially useful if you don’t have an accountant on the team. (I always recommend you do, but for new businesses, having one might not be possible.)

4. ThoughtCo’s Sample Business Plan

sample business plan: ThoughtCo.

One of the more financially oriented sample business plans in this list, BPlan’s free business plan template dedicates many of its pages to your business’s financial plan and financial statements.

After filling this business plan out, your company will truly understand its financial health and the steps you need to take to maintain or improve it.

I absolutely love this business plan template because of its ease-of-use and hands-on instructions (in addition to its finance-centric components). If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of writing an entire business plan, consider using this template to help you with the process.

6. Harvard Business Review’s "How to Write a Winning Business Plan"

Most sample business plans teach you what to include in your business plan, but this Harvard Business Review article will take your business plan to the next level — it teaches you the why and how behind writing a business plan.

With the guidance of Stanley Rich and Richard Gumpert, co-authors of " Business Plans That Win: Lessons From the MIT Enterprise Forum ", you'll learn how to write a convincing business plan that emphasizes the market demand for your product or service.

You’ll also learn the financial benefits investors can reap from putting money into your venture rather than trying to sell them on how great your product or service is.

This business plan guide focuses less on the individual parts of a business plan, and more on the overarching goal of writing one. For that reason, it’s one of my favorites to supplement any template you choose to use. Harvard Business Review’s guide is instrumental for both new and seasoned business owners.

7. HubSpot’s Complete Guide to Starting a Business

If you’re an entrepreneur, you know writing a business plan is one of the most challenging first steps to starting a business.

Fortunately, with HubSpot's comprehensive guide to starting a business, you'll learn how to map out all the details by understanding what to include in your business plan and why it’s important to include them. The guide also fleshes out an entire sample business plan for you.

If you need further guidance on starting a business, HubSpot's guide can teach you how to make your business legal, choose and register your business name, and fund your business. It will also give small business tax information and includes marketing, sales, and service tips.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of starting a business, in addition to writing your business plan, with a high level of exactitude and detail. So if you’re in the midst of starting your business, this is an excellent guide for you.

It also offers other resources you might need, such as market analysis templates.

8. Panda Doc’s Free Business Plan Template

sample business plan: Panda Doc

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is one of the more detailed and fleshed-out sample business plans on this list. It describes what you should include in each section, so you don't have to come up with everything from scratch.

Once you fill it out, you’ll fully understand your business’ nitty-gritty details and how all of its moving parts should work together to contribute to its success.

This template has two things I love: comprehensiveness and in-depth instructions. Plus, it’s synced with PandaDoc’s e-signature software so that you and other stakeholders can sign it with ease. For that reason, I especially love it for those starting a business with a partner or with a board of directors.

9. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

sample business plan: Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several free business plan templates that can be used to inspire your own plan.

Before you get started, you can decide what type of business plan you need — a traditional or lean start-up plan.

Then, you can review the format for both of those plans and view examples of what they might look like.

We love both of the SBA’s templates because of their versatility. You can choose between two options and use the existing content in the templates to flesh out your own plan. Plus, if needed, you can get a free business counselor to help you along the way.

I’ve compiled some completed business plan samples to help you get an idea of how to customize a plan for your business.

I chose different types of business plan ideas to expand your imagination. Some are extensive, while others are fairly simple.

Let’s take a look.

1. LiveFlow

business plan example: liveflow

One of the major business expenses is marketing. How you handle your marketing reflects your company’s revenue.

I included this business plan to show you how you can ensure your marketing team is aligned with your overall business plan to get results. The plan also shows you how to track even the smallest metrics of your campaigns, like ROI and payback periods instead of just focusing on big metrics like gross and revenue.

Fintech startup, LiveFlow, allows users to sync real-time data from its accounting services, payment platforms, and banks into custom reports. This eliminates the task of pulling reports together manually, saving teams time and helping automate workflows.

"Using this framework over a traditional marketing plan will help you set a profitable marketing strategy taking things like CAC, LTV, Payback period, and P&L into consideration," explains LiveFlow co-founder, Lasse Kalkar .

When it came to including marketing strategy in its business plan, LiveFlow created a separate marketing profit and loss statement (P&L) to track how well the company was doing with its marketing initiatives.

This is a great approach, allowing businesses to focus on where their marketing dollars are making the most impact. Having this information handy will enable you to build out your business plan’s marketing section with confidence. LiveFlow has shared the template here . You can test it for yourself.

2. Lula Body

Business plan example: Lula body

Sometimes all you need is a solid mission statement and core values to guide you on how to go about everything. You do this by creating a business plan revolving around how to fulfill your statement best.

For example, Patagonia is an eco-friendly company, so their plan discusses how to make the best environmentally friendly products without causing harm.

A good mission statement  should not only resonate with consumers but should also serve as a core value compass for employees as well.

Patagonia has one of the most compelling mission statements I’ve seen:

"Together, let’s prioritise purpose over profit and protect this wondrous planet, our only home."

It reels you in from the start, and the environmentally friendly theme continues throughout the rest of the statement.

This mission goes on to explain that they are out to "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to protect nature."

Their mission statement is compelling and detailed, with each section outlining how they will accomplish their goal.

4. Vesta Home Automation

business plan example: Vesta executive summary

This executive summary for a smart home device startup is part of a business plan created by students at Mount Royal University .

While it lacks some of the sleek visuals of the templates above, its executive summary does a great job of demonstrating how invested they are in the business.

Right away, they mention they’ve invested $200,000 into the company already, which shows investors they have skin in the game and aren’t just looking for someone else to foot the bill.

This is the kind of business plan you need when applying for business funds. It clearly illustrates the expected future of the company and how the business has been coming along over the years.

5. NALB Creative Center

business plan examples: nalb creative center

This fictional business plan for an art supply store includes everything one might need in a business plan: an executive summary, a company summary, a list of services, a market analysis summary, and more.

One of its most notable sections is its market analysis summary, which includes an overview of the population growth in the business’ target geographical area, as well as a breakdown of the types of potential customers they expect to welcome at the store. 

This sort of granular insight is essential for understanding and communicating your business’s growth potential. Plus, it lays a strong foundation for creating relevant and useful buyer personas .

It’s essential to keep this information up-to-date as your market and target buyer changes. For that reason, you should carry out market research as often as possible to ensure that you’re targeting the correct audience and sharing accurate information with your investors.

Due to its comprehensiveness, it’s an excellent example to follow if you’re opening a brick-and-mortar store and need to get external funding to start your business .

6. Curriculum Companion Suites (CSS)

business plan examples: curriculum companion suites

If you’re looking for a SaaS business plan example, look no further than this business plan for a fictional educational software company called Curriculum Companion Suites. 

Like the business plan for the NALB Creative Center, it includes plenty of information for prospective investors and other key stakeholders in the business.

One of the most notable features of this business plan is the executive summary, which includes an overview of the product, market, and mission.

The first two are essential for software companies because the product offering is so often at the forefront of the company’s strategy. Without that information being immediately available to investors and executives, then you risk writing an unfocused business plan.

It’s essential to front-load your company’s mission if it explains your "Why?" and this example does just that. In other words, why do you do what you do, and why should stakeholders care? This is an important section to include if you feel that your mission will drive interest in the business and its offerings.

7. Culina Sample Business Plan

sample business plan: Culina

Culina's sample business plan is an excellent example of how to lay out your business plan so that it flows naturally, engages readers, and provides the critical information investors and stakeholders need. 

You can use this template as a guide while you're gathering important information for your own business plan. You'll have a better understanding of the data and research you need to do since Culina’s plan outlines these details so flawlessly for inspiration.

8. Plum Sample Business Plan

Sample business plan: Plum

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How to Write a Comprehensive Business Plan

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  • Business Planning & Strategy
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Business Plan Vs. Feasibility Study

How to create an annual report for sales & marketing, who reads business plans.

  • Business Plan for a Start-Up Clothing Store
  • What Do Business Documents Include?

Planning plays a critical role in starting and building your business. It acts as a blueprint for where you want your business to be in the next three to five years and an idea of how to make it happen. It can also illuminate potential problems before they occur. While businesses have been launched with a plan that consisted of notes on scratch paper, a comprehensive business plan covers all aspects of your new venture.

Executive Summary

The executive summary tells people about your business, its goals, and how and when it will accomplish the goals. Even though it’s the first section people see, it’s generally written last. Even though it's just a few paragraphs or pages long, it serves as your first contact with potential investors and lenders. The U.S. Small Business Administration suggests if you have an established business, you should also include your mission statement, company information including products and services, company growth statistics and a financial overview.

Company Overview

The company overview section offers a high-level description of your business’s purpose, its products or services and who your target customers are. It also explains how your business differentiates itself from its competitors and how that helps you meet your goals. This information is also referred to as market analysis. It gives readers an idea of how much market share you plan to gain and how you plan to gain it, as well as a projection of your gross profit margins. This section can help you determine the strengths and weaknesses of your competition to give you an idea of the feasibility of your business.

Organization and Management

This section describes the way your business is organized based on its legal business structure and outlines who does what. An organizational chart along with explanations of the roles clarifies your business structure. You may want to include your management team’s biographies, board of director information and the owners and percentage of ownership. The section should also include compensation schedules and rates.

Services and Products

Describe your business’s products and services including how they benefit the consumer. Include your product’s life cycle, what stage it’s in and how this affects its future. Intellectual property such as patent fillings or copyrights can be listed in this section. If your product involved research and development, include those activities.

Marketing and Sales

Now that you know what you’re selling, writing about how and to whom you sell comes next. This section describes your target audience, where it shops for your item and what media you will use to reach it. This marketing strategy helps you figure out the most efficient and effective way to reach customers, which is essential to the growth of your business. Sales come hand-in-hand with marketing. Describe who and how you plan to sell your products.

Funding Request

Write about your funding needs including start-up and operational over the next five years. Write about what you plan to spend the money on, indicating if it is on capital expenditures or working capital. Describe how your business would navigate a buyout or acquisition and include a repayment plan or description of what would happen in the event you sold your business.

Financial Projections

An established business can use historical data to outline its financial performance. Use information from the past three years minimum. These include income statements, balance sheets and cash flow statements. You should also include any collateral the business owns such as real estate, equipment, vehicles or inventory. According to the SBA’s research, creditors want to see projections and how you plan to meet your goals. Include an overall analysis on the company’s financial health.

The appendix includes supporting material that further illustrates your business’s goals and purpose. These could include letters of reference, product photographs, financial charts and forecasts.

  • SBA.gov: Marketing & Sales
  • Entrepreneur.com: How to Write a Business Plan
  • SBA.gov: How to Write a Business Plan

Tracey Lamphere has more than 15 years of experience as a reporter and editor. She has contributed to Sound Publishing newspapers in Washington state. Lamphere also specializes in marketing communications and copywriting. She has a Bachelor of Science in business journalism from the University of North Texas.

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How to Write a Business Plan Complete Guide

Business Plan Template

Free Business Plan Template

Paresh Balar

  • January 3, 2024

24 Min Read

how to write a business plan

Welcome to the journey of entrepreneurship . You are here because you have a great business idea and want to know how to write a business plan to convert that idea into reality.

Before you start writing your business plan, let’s understand What is a business plan? Why do you need one in the first place? And What should you include in your business plan?

Table of Contents

  • What is a business plan?
  • Why do you need a business plan?
  • What to include in your business plan?

Business Plan Outline

  • Key things to remember
  • How to write a business plan?

Let’s get started with an important question.

What is a Business Plan?

In simple words, a business plan is a document that outlines your business goals and details how you plan to achieve those goals. It is a living document that will prove to you and the rest of the world that your idea is not just a dream but can be a viable reality.

Also, it will help investors learn about your business, and vision, and convince them that your business idea is worth investing in. Your business plan will provide concrete evidence that your business idea is sound and has every chance of success.

Your business plan is the backbone of your business.

What Should You Include in Your Business Plan?

Every business idea and plan is unique in its terms. You should include all the details that explain your business idea in the best possible way. However, there are a few elements that every entrepreneur should include in their business plan.

The following is a full guide for creating a comprehensive business plan. We’ll first list out the sections that must be included in the business plan and in the later part, we’ll explain what should be added to each section:

Business Plan Cover Page

  • Executive Summary
  • Company Overview
  • Problem Analysis
  • Products & Services
  • Product Features
  • Market Overview
  • Market Size
  • Target Customers
  • Customer Needs
  • Direct Competitors
  • Indirect Competitors

Competitive Advantages

Swot analysis.

  • Promotions Plan
  • Distribution Plan
  • Key Operational Processes

Management Team

  • Management Team Gaps
  • Board Members
  • Revenue Model
  • Financial Highlights
  • Funding Requirements
  • Use of Funds
  • Exit Strategy
  • Appendix – Supporting Documentation

Now you are ready to write your business plan, let’s understand in detail how you can write your business plan and what you should include in each element of the business plan.

business plan cover page

The business plan cover page is the first and most important part of the business plan because it will create the first impact and will set the platform for how investors or readers will engage with your business plan.

Just by looking at the business plan cover page, an investor or reader can get a quick idea about the purpose of your business idea and business plan.

However, many entrepreneurs do not pay enough attention to the cover page, which is their biggest mistake.

business plan table of contents

In any document, the business plan table of contents provides a quick overview and works as navigation to navigate across the document. The same does for a business plan as well.

A table of contents is important to provide a quick overview of the sections that you have included in your business plan and help readers to navigate to the section that interests them the most. If investors are excited about a particular part of the business plan first, they will find the table of contents extremely useful in finding the relevant sections within the business plan.

Usually, the table of contents needs to be added at the start of the document and just after the business plan cover page.

Here’s a Quick Overview of Each Key Chapter:

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first section of your business plan. However, the executive summary is always written at last as it is a brief introduction to your business plan and a summary of your entire business plan document.

A good executive summary should answer the following basic questions:

  • What are you trying to achieve with your business idea?
  • Why is your business idea important? and
  • How are you going to achieve your business goals?

Generally, a good executive summary should include the following details:

  • A brief description of the problems you will be solving
  • Summary of your business goals & vision
  • Products or services you are going to offer
  • A solid description of the market you are targeting
  • A quick look at your competition and your competitive advantages
  • A basic financial projection of your revenue, expenses, and profits
  • Your funding requirements (if any) and how you will be using that funds.

It does seem like lots of details are required to write a good executive summary but at the same time, it is important to get it right because if your summary does not clearly explain how you will solve a customer problem and make a profit, then investors or readers might not find it worth reading.

Most of the investors just read the executive summary and decide if they should read the rest of the business plan or not. So make your efforts count in this part of the business plan.

In short, write your executive summary in such a way that readers would want to turn the page and keep on reading.

Always remember, that a good executive summary should not be more than one or two pages long. However, in some cases, it can be longer if there is an absolute requirement.

2. Company Overview

The company overview section provides a brief history of your company if it already exists. However, if you are starting a new business, here you will need to write about yourself, your achievements, and how you will set up and form your business as a company.

Here you need to answer questions such as how and when your company was formed, what type of legal entity you are, and what are your achievements to date. Your past journey and achievements are the best sign of your possible future success, so make sure to include all the important milestones you or your company have achieved to date.

As a startup, your company overview can be very much short, so focus on your personal history, achievements, and the journey that led you to start your business in the first place. Sharing your original idea is important because it shows how you think and how you were able to craft your idea into a business.

Even if you are just starting, your educational background, professional experience, achievements, and the details of your best business idea can give potential investors a vision of what you are trying to achieve.

Have a look at this company overview example

  • Starbucks company profile
  • Puma company page

3. Problem Analysis

You have started the business because you have identified the unique problem that customers are facing and in this section, you just need to explain that problem.

The problem statement section can be explained with three simple questions.

  • Whom does the problem affect?
  • What are the causes of the problem?
  • Why is it important to fix it?

When you write your problem statement, just describe how bigger the problem is and why it is most important to fix it. Also, there might be multiple problems you will be solving, but always try to focus on the main problem because you don’t win on the number of problems you solve; you win on how well you solve a specific problem .

While writing the business plan, most entrepreneurs focus on the solution they are going to offer, and in that process, they forget to explain the actual importance of the problem. Remember the more accurately you will explain the problem, the more valuable the solution will be.

Remember to keep the problem statement as simple as possible and should be self-explanatory. Also, it is good to include the key statistics that explain the severity of the problem.

After you explain the problem, it is also important to describe the world once a particular problem will be solved and that will set the stage to introduce the solution you are proposing.

4. The Solution

Business Plan Solution Section

The solution section is also called the product & services section . In this section, you will need to define your best-proposed solution to the problem you explained in the previous problem analysis section.

Your solution details should be as simple as possible. It is not recommended to use too many technical or industry details while writing about your product details. Keep in mind your readers will not have the same education or technical background as you.

The length of this section will depend on the nature of your business. for example, if your business is product-focused and the product is relatively new in the market, then you should write more about the product, its design, its features, etc. However, if your business is relatively common like selling bicycles or restaurant business and you are planning to compete with better pricing or customer service then you probably don’t need to write more about products.

If your product is hard to explain it’s a good idea to include a picture. Also, if you are planning to expand your business and will come with new products or services in the future, then you can mention those details here as well.

Your product or service pricing should be mentioned here in this section. Apply the right pricing strategy to set the best pricing for your product or services. Also, if you have any product patents, copyrights, licenses, etc then add those details here in this section.

In short, your solution section should answer the following common questions:

  • Your products or services are currently under development or already available?
  • If not available, what will be the timeline for delivering products and services to the market?
  • How are your products or services different from the competition?
  • How will you get your products? Are you the manufacturer or do you purchase products from suppliers or wholesalers?

When you write this product and services section, think of your reader as a person who knows little to nothing about your business. so make it as simple as possible.

5. Market Analysis

Before you start your business, it is essential to check if there is a viable market available for the products or services you are planning to offer, and that makes market research the most critical and key to success for any business.

In simple words, market analysis is studying the industry your business will operate in, the size of the industry, and its trend & direction (growing, stable, or in decline).

The market analysis consists of main three parts:

  • Market Overview: This is a general overview of the industry. In this part, you will need to describe the current position of the industry, market trends, and where it is heading. Also, you can write about your knowledge and experience in the industry.
  • Target Market: In this part, you will need to be more specific about the segment of the market that will use your products or services. Not everyone from the industry will use your product or services, so it is important to find the right audience for your product. (For example, if you are starting a veg restaurant in the town, then all the people from town will not visit your restaurant. The only people who prefer and eat veg food will be your target customers).
  • Market Size: Market size is all about finding how many potential customers are there for your product or service. Here you will need to show some statistics about the size of the industry (e.g., total U.S. sales in the last year) and its growth rate over the last few years.

The main objective of the market analysis is to identify the opportunities and risks associated with the business. It will also help you to understand how you should prepare your marketing strategy , where you should invest in terms of marketing efforts, and avoid making the wrong decisions.

With market analysis, you can identify the market entry barrier, and market needs, and estimate the market attractiveness from a financial standpoint.

6. Customer Analysis

Once you complete your market analysis, it’s time to identify the customers and needs of customers who are going to use your product or services, and this process is called customer analysis . Customer analysis is a key element of any successful marketing plan, as well as your overall business plan.

Customer analysis is critical for any business to succeed because if you do not know who is going to your offerings, and what your customers want, no business can succeed.

Now that you know customer analysis is that important, it is time to learn how you can perform strong customer analysis.

Customer analysis consists of main three parts:

  • Demographics: Age, Sex, Ethnicity, Income, Family, Occupation, etc.
  • Geographic: Location (Neighbourhood, Region, Urban/Rural, Online)
  • Psychographic: Lifestyle, Personality, etc
  • Interests: Hobbies, Activities, etc
  • Growth: Size of the target customers and whether they are growing, shrinking, or stable.

It’s up to you what is the best way to get this information for your business. However, some practical methods include customer surveys, existing customer data analysis, social media listening, or talking with your customer support team.

  • Identify your customer’s needs: Once you identify who your customers are, it’s important to understand their needs as well, and the answer to this question should be your offering.
  • Explain how your product or services will meet those needs: Now that you know your target customers and what they need, it’s time to explain your products or services’ benefits. In this part, list out the key features of your products or services that will fulfill customers’ needs, explain the benefits of your offerings, and the outcome customers can expect by using your products or services.

Keep in mind, that a strong customer analysis must answer these three key questions:

  • Who are your customers?
  • What do they need?
  • How do your products or services meet those needs?

write a comprehensive business plan

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Generate valuable customer insights in minutes with our Free Customer Persona Generator .

7. Competitive Analysis

Business Plan Competitive Analysis Section

Competitive analysis is all about finding your competitors, analyzing their strengths and weaknesses, products and services, pricing, social media presence, marketing & sales strategy, etc.

Your competitors can be categorized into two classes:

  • Direct Competitors: Direct competitors are the ones who provide the same solution as you do. For example, if you operate an Italian restaurant, other restaurants that serve Italian food will be your direct competitors. In this section of your business plan, outline who your direct competitors are, and add their strengths and weaknesses.
  • Indirect Competitors: Indirect competitors are the ones who do not provide the same solution as you do. However, solve the same customer problem as you do. For example, if you operate an Italian restaurant, a Mexican or Spanish restaurant would be an indirect competitor. In this section of your business plan, outline who your indirect competitors are, and add their strengths and weaknesses.

Once you identify who your competitors are, it’s time to explain how different and superior you are compared to them and that will be the competitive advantage section of your business plan .

competitive advantages

SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Her strengths and weaknesses are subjective to your business which you can control and change like business location, pricing, uniqueness, etc. While opportunities and threats are external that are running outside your business, in the larger market. However, you can take advantage of opportunities and defend your business against potential threats, but you can’t change them.

It is always best if the business owners perform a SWOT analysis themselves. This task is not something that you should assign to someone else. A precise SWOT analysis will allow you to measure your strengths and weaknesses against the opportunities and threats in your business environment.

Once your SWOT analysis is ready, it will help you to form a strategy to achieve your business goals.

write a comprehensive business plan

Want to create a SWOT analysis for your business?

Craft a powerful SWOT Analysis in just minutes using our user-friendly and free online SWOT Analysis Generator Tool!

8. Marketing Plan

Now that you have explained your products or services and identified who is going to use those products or services, it is time to let your customers know about your products or services. And for this, you will have to plan strategy, and that planning you will need to explain in this section.

Your marketing plan can be divided into the following sections:

  • Pricing: Explain your product or service pricing here in this section. Mainly, discuss how you finalized your pricing and how your pricing is better than the competition. Also, discuss if it’s low-cost or premium offerings and how your pricing supports it. This will ensure investors also that you have finalized your pricing with proper research.
  • Promotional Plan: In this section, talk about your marketing activities and strategies that you will execute to attract your customers. It is always great to have some unique selling propositions (USP). However, Unique selling propositions should be short and self-explanatory. For example, Domino’s Pizza’s USP is “We deliver hot, fresh pizza in 30 minutes or less, or it’s free.” Also, discuss your other marketing or promotional activities that may include discount offers for early customers, media or online advertisements, product launches or social events, radio newspaper or magazine ads, affiliate or referral programs, etc. In this section, you can also write about your customer relation and support team and how they will work to retain your existing customers.
  • Distribution Plan: The main purpose of your marketing plan is that customers to buy your products or services. So it is important to explain how they can buy your products or services. Your distribution plan will include all details about your distribution channel, sales channel & strategy, and payment policies.

Once you complete writing your marketing plan , make sure your marketing plan answers these key questions.

  • What will be the pricing of your offerings?
  • How will you reach out to your target customers?
  • How will you retain your customers to buy from you repeatedly?
  • How and from where customers can buy your products and services?

Your marketing plan can be 7-8 pages long. However, while writing your business plan, make sure you do not go into details and try to keep it as simple as possible. You can separately write your marketing plan for internal purposes.?

9. Operations Plan

Your operation plan will explain how you will manufacture your product and run your business. It can include a lot of details depending on your business. For example, if you are in the production business, you will want to include all the information about how you will get raw materials, and equipment, build your products and ship them.

However, it is not recommended to include all these details while writing the operations section of your business plan . You should include only major details that you think will give you a competitive advantage or are important for your readers.

An operations plan is useful for internal purposes as it will help your team to understand their roles to achieve your business goals. However, it will help investors also to learn how you will run your business to make your business succeed.

Business Plan Management Team Section

The management team should be the easiest section of your business plan because, in this section, you will need to write about yourself and your core team members who will run the business.

Always remember, that businesses’ success will depend on the team who is running them. So you must write this section carefully and convince your readers or investors that you are the best person to execute and run this business.

Many investors believe it is not the business that succeeds, it is the team that makes the business successful. In fact, in some cases, investors have funded start-ups mainly based on the team who will run the business.

The ultimate guide to starting a business

In this section, list out important details of core team members like name, position in the company, contact information, qualifications, past experiences, achievements, etc.

You can also mention any management gaps present in your organization and when you are planning to fill those gaps. You can also mention if there is an advisory team or board of members who might not work in your organization but will advise you from outside.

10. Financial Plan

Business Plan Finance Section

The financial section of the business plan is the most important component of the business plan. Whatever you will write in the business plan will be conceptual until you do not add some numbers to support it.

Have a financial plan if you want to secure outside funding from investors or bank loans from financial institutes. Even if you do not need funds, it is always helpful to have a financial forecast to achieve your business goals and make your business successful. Financial forecasting will give you a clear idea of whether your business is viable or not.

Your financial plan will include the following sections.

  • Revenue Model: The main purpose of this section is to explain the different revenue streams of your business. Do you sell products?  Do you provide services? Do you provide third-party advertisements? Or do you sell all of the above? It is equally important to update this revenue model section, once you start generating revenue. Use the revenue model as a living document to improve your plans. Focus on revenue streams that work best, while changing your approach to those that aren’t doing well.
  • Financial Highlights: Include financial reports like cash flow, balance sheet, profit & loss, projected revenue, expenses, etc.
  • Funds Needed: This section is required if you are looking for funds to run your business operations. Before you directly request funds, it is good to explain your current financial situation, how much you have already invested, and how much funds you already have secured. Once you explain your current financial position, it is time to explain what type of funding you are looking for. What are your preferred options to secure funds? It is important to update this section once you secure funding.
  • Use of Funds: Once you explain how many funds you are looking for, it’s time to explain how you will use those funds. You will use it to hire new talents, expand your operations, pay your existing debts, or buy new equipment. If you are going to use funds for multiple things, mention each and also mention how much funds you are going to spend for each thing. Investors or financial institutes usually approve funds if they have a clear idea about how you are going to use your money.
  • Exit Strategy: If you are looking for equity funding, it is important to have an exit strategy. A common exit strategy includes selling your company to a larger firm (acquisitions), selling or diluting your ownership, initial public offering (IPO), etc. If you have such plans, provide a detailed explanation of them in this section.

With upmetrics, business financial forecasting is easy and fun. Once you add your data, the system will generate all required reports automatically. Later you can embed those reports into your business plan. learn more about the upmetrics financial planning feature .

11. Supporting Documentation (Appendix)

Adding supporting documents is not a mandatory section in your business plan. However, it is important to add the documents which you think can convince investors that your business will succeed.

These documents can include achievements, product patents, awards, financial statements, resumes of key team members, legal agreements, product or organization pictures, etc. These documents can help readers understand your story clearly and concisely.

Once you write your business plan, it is equally important to update your business plan as your business grows. Keep in mind, that a business plan is not just a document but it is a roadmap of your business.

Things to Consider Before Writing a Business Plan

Now before you start the actual writing of your business plan and learn what to include in each section of the business plan, there are some key concepts that you must keep in mind and rules that you should follow during the entire business planning process .

Key things to remember while creating business plan

1. Keep it short

Don’t you want your business plan to be read by your investors? Remember, many investors do not like to read a long business plan.

In this competitive time, no one has time to go through a 100-page long document. A typical 20-25 pages should be fine for any standard business plan. A well-written business plan ensures to communicate your message to your potential investors effectively.

However, if your business idea is a completely new kind of business or even a new industry, it may need quite a bit of writing to get the message across.

Your business plan writing purpose will decide how long your business plan should be . If you are writing your business plan to seek millions of funding, then you might need a lengthy and detailed business plan. A short business plan would work if you are looking to expand your business.

2. Be realistic and creative

Do not consider your business idea as your baby. Be realistic and honest with yourself while writing your business plan, and always try to add facts and realistic details of your business idea.

Also, your business plan should grab your reader’s attention quickly. Be creative while designing your business plan cover page and writing any important details in your business plan.

When it comes to the formatting of the business plan, make sure to use bullet points, images, and charts. Also, highlight the key points or metrics that you want readers to focus on. It helps bring your idea to life. Plus, it will keep your readers focused on reading.

3. You should be able to change it as the business grows

Most businesses start with a business plan, and once written, it’s never revisited. Never make that mistake. Your business plan should be treated as a working document that should be developed as your business grows.

For example, you might want to update your business plan as per the changing trends for a new round of funding or you might want to update it to counter unexpected problems like the COVID crisis. In a nutshell, keep your plan alive!

Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

Some entrepreneurs have achieved tremendous success without writing a business plan with their past experiences, less competition, or maybe by luck.

But the fact is, that many entrepreneurs have failed as well. It is just that we learn more about success stories only.

So, does writing a business plan guarantee success? Of course Not.

But, the business plan is your companion on your entrepreneurship journey. It will help you and your team understand the problems and the competition you will encounter in your journey. It will keep you and your entire team in sync and on the right path to achieving your business goals and success.

Click here to download how to write a business plan pdf

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About the Author

write a comprehensive business plan

Paresh Balar is the co-founder of Upmetrics, the #1 business planning software. His ultimate goal with Upmetrics is to revolutionize how entrepreneurs create, manage, and execute their business plans. He loves sharing his thoughts on business and financial planning and its challenges through his blog posts. Read more

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Blog Business

How to Write a Business Plan Outline [Examples + Templates] 

By Letícia Fonseca , Aug 11, 2023

business plan outline

When venturing into crafting a business plan, the initial hurdle often lies in taking that first step.

So, how can you evade those prolonged hours of staring at a blank page? Initiate your journey with the aid of a business plan outline.

As with any endeavor, an outline serves as the beacon of clarity, illuminating the path to confront even the most formidable tasks. This holds particularly true when composing pivotal documents vital to your triumph, much like a business plan.

Nonetheless, I understand the enormity of a business plan’s scope, which might make the task of outlining it seem daunting. This is precisely why I’ve compiled all the requisite information to facilitate the creation of a business plan outline. No need to break a sweat!

And if you’re seeking further assistance, a business plan maker and readily available business plan templates can offer valuable support in shaping your comprehensive plan.

Read on for answers to all your business plan outline questions or jump ahead for some handy templates. 

Click to jump ahead:

What is a business plan outline (and why do you need one), what format should you choose for your business plan outline, what are the key components of a business plan outline.

  • Business plan template examples
  • Writing tips to ace your outline 

A business plan outline is the backbone of your business plan. It contains all the most important information you’ll want to expand on in your full-length plan. 

Think of it this way: your outline is a frame for your plan. It provides a high-level idea of what the final plan should look like, what it will include and how all the information will be organized. 

Why would you do this extra step? Beyond saving you from blank page syndrome, an outline ensures you don’t leave any essential information out of your plan — you can see all the most important points at a glance and quickly identify any content gaps. 

It also serves as a writing guide. Once you know all the sections you want in your plan, you just need to expand on them. Suddenly, you’re “filling in the blanks” as opposed to writing a plan from scratch!

Incidentally, using a business plan template like this one gives you a running head start, too: 

business plan outline

Perhaps most importantly, a business plan outline keeps you focused on the essential parts of your document. (Not to mention what matters most to stakeholders and investors.)  With an outline, you’ll spend less time worrying about structure or organization and more time perfecting the actual content of your document. 

If you’re looking for more general advice, you can read about  how to create a business plan here . But if you’re working on outlining your plan, stick with me.

Return to Table of Contents

Most business plans fit into one of two formats. 

The format you choose largely depends on three factors: (1) the stage of your business, (2) if you’re presenting the plan to investors and (3) what you want to achieve with your business plan. 

Let’s have a closer look at these two formats and why you might choose one over the other.

Traditional format

Traditional business plans  are typically long, detailed documents. In many cases, they take up to 50-60 pages, but it’s not uncommon to see plans spanning 100+ pages. 

Traditional plans are long because they cover  every aspect  of your business. They leave nothing out. You’ll find a traditional business plan template with sections like executive summary, company description, target market, market analysis, marketing plan, financial plan, and more. Basically: the more information the merrier.

This business plan template isn’t of a traditional format, but you could expand it into one by duplicating pages:

business plan outline

Due to their high level of detail, traditional formats are the best way to sell your business. They show you’re reliable and have a clear vision for your business’s future. 

If you’re planning on presenting your plan to investors and stakeholders, you’ll want to go with a traditional plan format. The more information you include, the fewer doubts and questions you’ll get when you present your plan, so don’t hold back. 

Traditional business plans require more detailed outlines before drafting since there’s a lot of information to cover. You’ll want to list all the sections and include bullet points describing what each section should cover. 

It’s also a good idea to include all external resources and visuals in your outline, so you don’t have to gather them later. 

Lean format

Lean business plan formats are high level and quick to write. They’re often only one or two pages. Similar to a  business plan infographic , they’re scannable and quick to digest, like this template: 

business plan outline

This format is often referred to as a “startup” format due to (you guessed it!) many startups using it. 

Lean business plans require less detailed outlines. You can include high-level sections and a few lines in each section covering the basics. Since the final plan will only be a page or two, you don’t need to over prepare. Nor will you need a ton of external resources. 

Lean plans don’t answer all the questions investors and stakeholders may ask, so if you go this route, make sure it’s the right choice for your business . Companies not yet ready to present to investors will typically use a lean/startup business plan format to get their rough plan on paper and share it internally with their management team. 

Here’s another example of a lean business plan format in the form of a financial plan: 

business plan outline

Your business plan outline should include all the following sections. The level of detail you choose to go into will depend on your intentions for your plan (sharing with stakeholders vs. internal use), but you’ll want every section to be clear and to the point. 

1. Executive summary

The executive summary gives a high-level description of your company, product or service. This section should include a mission statement, your company description, your business’s primary goal, and the problem it aims to solve. You’ll want to state how your business can solve the problem and briefly explain what makes you stand out (your competitive advantage).

Having an executive summary is essential to selling your business to stakeholders , so it should be as clear and concise as possible. Summarize your business in a few sentences in a way that will hook the reader (or audience) and get them invested in what you have to say next. In other words, this is your elevator pitch.

business plan outline

2. Product and services description

This is where you should go into more detail about your product or service. Your product is the heart of your business, so it’s essential this section is easy to grasp. After all, if people don’t know what you’re selling, you’ll have a hard time keeping them engaged!

Expand on your description in the executive summary, going into detail about the problem your customers face and how your product/service will solve it. If you have various products or services, go through all of them in equal detail. 

business plan outline

3. Target market and/or Market analysis

A market analysis is crucial for placing your business in a larger context and showing investors you know your industry. This section should include market research on your prospective customer demographic including location, age range, goals and motivations. 

You can even  include detailed customer personas  as a visual aid — these are especially useful if you have several target demographics. You want to showcase your knowledge of your customer, who exactly you’re selling to and how you can fulfill their needs.

Be sure to include information on the overall target market for your product, including direct and indirect competitors and how your industry is performing. If your competitors have strengths you want to mimic or weaknesses you want to exploit, this is the place to record that information. 

business plan outline

4. Organization and management

You can think of this as a “meet the team” section — this is where you should go into depth on your business’s structure from management to legal and HR. If there are people bringing unique skills or experience to the table (I’m sure there are!), you should highlight them in this section. 

The goal here is to showcase why your team is the best to run your business. Investors want to know you’re unified, organized and reliable. This is also a potential opportunity to bring more humanity to your business plan and showcase the faces behind the ideas and product. 

business plan outline

5. Marketing and sales

Now that you’ve introduced your product and team, you need to explain how you’re going to sell it. Give a detailed explanation of your sales and marketing strategy, including pricing, timelines for launching your product and advertising.

This is a major section of your plan and can even live as a separate document for your marketing and sales teams. Here are some  marketing plan templates to help you get started .

Make sure you have research or analysis to back up your decisions — if you want to do paid ads on LinkedIn to advertise your product, include a brief explanation as to why that is the best channel for your business. 

business plan outline

6. Financial projections and funding request

The end of your plan is where you’ll look to the future and how you think your business will perform financially. Your financial plan should include results from your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow projections. 

State your funding requirements and what you need to realize the business. Be extremely clear about how you plan to use the funding and when you expect investors will see returns.

If you aren’t presenting to potential investors, you can skip this part, but it’s something to keep in mind should you seek funding in the future. Covering financial projections and the previous five components is essential at the stage of business formation to ensure everything goes smoothly moving forward.

business plan outline

7. Appendix

Any extra visual aids, receipts, paperwork or charts will live here. Anything that may be relevant to your plan should be included as reference e.g. your cash flow statement (or other financial statements). You can format your appendix in whatever way you think is best — as long as it’s easy for readers to find what they’re looking for, you’ve done your job!

Typically, the best way to start your outline is to list all these high-level sections. Then, you can add bullet points outlining what will go in each section and the resources you’ll need to write them. This should give you a solid starting point for your full-length plan.

Business plan outline templates

Looking for a shortcut? Our  business plan templates  are basically outlines in a box! 

While your outline likely won’t go into as much detail, these templates are great examples of how to organize your sections.

Traditional format templates

A strong template can turn your long, dense business plan into an engaging, easy-to-read document. There are lots to choose from, but here are just a few ideas to inspire you… 

You can duplicate pages and use these styles for a traditional outline, or start with a lean outline as you build your business plan out over time:

business plan outline

Lean format templates

For lean format outlines, a simpler ‘ mind map ’ style is a good bet. With this style, you can get ideas down fast and quickly turn them into one or two-page plans. Plus, because they’re shorter, they’re easy to share with your team.

business plan outline

Writing tips to ace your business plan outline

Business plans are complex documents, so if you’re still not sure how to write your outline, don’t worry! Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when drafting your business plan outline:

  • Ask yourself why you’re writing an outline. Having a clear goal for your outline can help keep you on track as you write. Everything you include in your plan should contribute to your goal. If it doesn’t, it probably doesn’t need to be in there.
  • Keep it clear and concise. Whether you’re writing a traditional or lean format business plan, your outline should be easy to understand. Choose your words wisely and avoid unnecessary preambles or padding language. The faster you get to the point, the easier your plan will be to read.
  • Add visual aids. No one likes reading huge walls of text! Make room in your outline for visuals, data and charts. This keeps your audience engaged and helps those who are more visual learners. Psst,  infographics  are great for this.
  • Make it collaborative. Have someone (or several someones) look it over before finalizing your outline. If you have an established marketing / sales / finance team, have them look it over too. Getting feedback at the outline stage can help you avoid rewrites and wasted time down the line.

If this is your first time writing a business plan outline, don’t be too hard on yourself. You might not get it 100% right on the first try, but with these tips and the key components listed above, you’ll have a strong foundation. Remember, done is better than perfect. 

Create a winning business plan by starting with a detailed, actionable outline

The best way to learn is by doing. So go ahead, get started on your business plan outline. As you develop your plan, you’ll no doubt learn more about your business and what’s important for success along the way. 

A clean, compelling template is a great way to get a head start on your outline. After all, the sections are already separated and defined for you! 

Explore Venngage’s business plan templates  for one that suits your needs. Many are free to use and there are premium templates available for a small monthly fee. Happy outlining!

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write a comprehensive business plan

How to write a business plan? A comprehensive guide

write a comprehensive business plan

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Launching a new business in the dynamic business ecosystem of Asia requires more than just a great idea - a business plan is in order.

So you’ve decided to start a new business. This is a time of great excitement — and you really need to get your ducks in a row in order to have the best chance for success. Enter your startup business plan, but where to begin if you’re writing a business plan for the first time? Many new business owners feel trepidation when even thinking about writing a business plan, probably because many have never written one.

Having a business plan will keep you accountable, focused and growth-oriented.

Your plan doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out document filled with statistics and profit expectations. And your business plan will evolve when you start to gravitate toward or prioritize certain goals over others.

A comprehensive business plan is fundamental to charting a clear path to success. This blueprint serves as a roadmap, guiding entrepreneurs, and small business owners in establishing their startups, securing funding, and achieving their business goals.

In this article:

What is a business plan?

Why do you need a business plan, your 5-step business plan checklist.

  • Create an executive summary
  • Describe your company
  • Introduce team members
  • State your company goals
  • Detail values and a mission statement
  • List products or services
  • Do market research
  • Create a marketing and sales plan
  • Create a financial projection
  • Add an appendix
  • The 5  "Ws" of writing your first business plan
  • Business plan format

Tips for writing a small business plan

  • Business plan FAQ

A business plan is a document that you use to strategize for your business’ future. The business plan includes an overview of your business, its goals and your marketing strategy. The document will also include financial forecasting.

Need help deciding on a business to start? Check out this list of small business ideas that are easy to launch  on a low budget. You might also consider other online business ideas that require minimal upfront investments.

A business plan serves multiple purposes. You need a business plan to outline your business idea and goals, define your value proposition and the strategy to achieve them. Your business plan is also your first opportunity to create something tangible from your ideas, providing a detailed plan for your company's future. It gives a clear picture of your business model, financial projections, and market analysis. By putting ideas on paper, you’re giving yourself the opportunity to properly think through your plan and vet its likely effectiveness for business success.

In face, studies have shown that a business plan creates a 30% greater chance of growth .

Outside of your personal reasons for writing a business plan, you will need this document if you need to convince funders or investors that your business is legitimate and likely to return a profit. You would be expected to provide investors with a well-thought-out business plan demonstrating market awareness and financial planning. Moreover, it allows you to document your marketing strategy, competitive analysis, and sales strategies.

1. Validate your idea

For startups, this is important! Your idea must first be checked, tested, and backed with data that proves your service or product is something that people will pay for.

Whiteboard validation brainstorm

As a quick and easy checklist, ask yourself these questions:

  • Does my service or product solve a problem?
  • Have people already tried my product or service?
  • Do they like it?
  • Are they willing to pay for it? How much?
  • Have I collected a list of potential customers who signed up for the product or service?

Answering yes to these questions may at least instil some confidence that your company or business will succeed. For more ideas and information, check out this step-by-step post on how to validate a business idea .

2. Estimate your monthly expenses

Part of planning your business is to determine your monthly cost of running it. For example:

  • How much will it cost to pay for licenses?
  • How much have you or will you invest into the business assets?
  • Will you need to hire workers or suppliers? If so, what are these costs likely to be?

Pen on data sheet

It pays to keep tabs on these things, especially if you’re going on your own as a business owner(s). Knowing how much it will cost to operate your business monthly will allow you to find out:

  • How long can your business survive without any revenue?
  • How much you’ll have to earn to sustain your business from then on?

The projected cost to operate your business with your current funds is typically called a  burn rate . This should give you a target to focus on in your early months, preparing you for the worst (in case it does happen).

Editor’s note:  Get annual cost estimates for a business website, domain and email from a GoDaddy Guide  on Facebook Messenger  now.

3. Write a simple operation plan

Hand holding pencil and notebook

Now that you’ve validated your start-up idea and have an idea how much your business will cost, the next step in our business plan checklist is to ask yourself what your day-to-day activities will be like.

An  operations plan  is where you codify the daily activities that will focus, accelerate, and maintain your business.

A business operations plan stems from your start-up idea.

For example, let’s say you are in a web hosting business. Then your “strategy” can look like this:

  • Set up new servers
  • Gain paying customers
  • Support those customers
  • Acquire new servers as needed
  • Maintain servers and optimize performance

Your day-to-day activities should be in support of the strategy:

  • Purchase and co-locate physical servers
  • Purchase / subscribe cloud services
  • Build a main web portal
  • Build and maintain a customer web portal
  • Maintain customer support teams
  • Put up new advertisements
  • Have sales teams process inbound and outbound calls

These items will make up your business’ daily operations and will also help determine what kind of roles you need to hire for.

This may affect your burn rate mentioned in #2. Go back there, adjust, and balance both your burn rate and your operations plan. This should at least keep your business steady in times of rough weather.

4. Figure out how you will get paid

Woman holding creditcard

Figuring out how will you get paid sounds like a no-brainer in starting a business. However, many business owners tend to leave this as an afterthought, with the mentality of “if I build it, they will come”.

But that’s not how it works. Once you have your product or service, figuring out how to enable and receive payments from your happy customers is paramount.

Making the payments experience as easy as possible improves the customer experience, making it more likely you’ll get referrals.  Customer word-of-mouth  is a powerful way to increase your sales.

Editor’s note:  Do-it-yourself tools like  GoDaddy’s Online Store  take care of this part for you. Get paid online for products, services or even collect donations on your website via Square, Stripe or PayPal.

5. Do you know your customer?

Markets on paper drawing of light bulb

The final step in our business plan checklist is to identify your likely customer through research. Knowing who your target market is, or your  buyer persona , will help you anticipate their wants and needs, thereby focusing your marketing and support efforts.

While you should be able to pinpoint who is likely to buy the product or service you are validating, remember your customers can evolve over time, as does your product.

Constantly monitoring your customers will help you keep your edge on the market. If your product or service is like everything else on the market, what differentiates you? This will be your “X” factor and will set your business apart in the sea of similar products and services.

A good example to think about is “Why do people prefer Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf (CBTL) products instead of Starbucks, where they are the same coffee and coffee shop?” A good hint is that: CBTL knows who their customers are, and they are able to cater their business service, products, design, and experience to that specific customer.

6. Have a disaster recovery plan

Notebook and glasses on table

Making a plan for what to do if disaster strikes is called a Disaster Recovery plan. These plans can guide you, your management, and your staff in times of duress.

At times of stress and failure, we all tend to freeze up. Having a written playbook helps in these situations. Examples of DR events include:

  • Fires (especially if the business is making firecrackers)
  • A security, data, or server failure (for businesses in the Information Technology industry)
  • Negative news coverage that affects sales
  • An accident that incapacitates top-level management (for most companies)

A prime example is that companies do not allow its C-level employees (such as the CEO, COO, and CTO) on the same flight, as the succession plan for replacing any one of those are their fellow C-level managers. This is part of Disaster Recovery, though a more proactive rather than a reactive approach.

Having a plan to recover your business is essential for you to survive. Making it and attaching it to your business plan is essential and should give you and your senior management peace of mind.

How to write a business plan?

If you’re ready to get stuck in and write your business plan, the next steps will greatly help. You want to be thorough at every step, especially if you’re sharing the plan with potential stakeholders. But remember, this is your business; your plan will be unique to you. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to write each section of your business plan:

1. Create an executive summary

Your executive summary is essentially your first impression to investors. This is a brief snapshot of your business plan.

In a few sentences, it needs to grab attention and explain what you/your business does. It wants to grab the reader's attention, so they’re compelled to read on. Your executive summary should include your mission statement, a summary of your product or service, company description, and basic information about your company's leadership team, employees, location, and legal structure, such as whether it's a sole proprietorship or a nonprofit.

2. Company description: Describe your company

Your business plan will include a description of your company and provide more details about your business. Think about your elevator pitch and write your company description into your plan. Be very clear here, think about what you do, who you do it for (target audience, customer segments), and exactly what problem you are solving.

You’re likely not the first person to create a company solving a particular problem for your audience, so try and detail what it is that makes your company stand out (competitive advantage).

3. Organization and management: introduce team members

Here, you'll detail your business's organizational structure. Include resumes of key team members and stakeholders, and clarify the ownership structure. If you have any particularly credible or expert team members, be sure to introduce them within your business plan. Write a short bio with key credentials and how they contribute to your new business.

4. State your company goals

Every business needs goals, and deciding exactly what yours are might not be so obvious. Yes, your company needs to make a profit, but the goals need to be broken down into more measurable and actionable steps.

Start with desired business goals. Then decide what you need to achieve to make each goal a success. For example, for your company to meet your projected revenue goal, then what do you need to achieve? What marketing goals does the business need to meet to satisfy business goals?

5. Detail values and a mission statement

Of course, your business is here to make money and provide the lifestyle that you want. When writing a business plan, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the data and the money, but your why is the lifeblood of your business.

Take some time to create a page that digs into the meaningful element of your business. What larger problem are you trying to solve? What values will you hold the business to? How will you create a truly meaningful layer within your business?

This section should be very useful for you as a business owner since this is what will keep you going. But, it can also be used to help onboard a team later and better understand your connection with your audience.

6. List products or services

When you write your business plan, you must include your products or services. Detail your products or services, the benefits they provide, and any intellectual property associated with them.

Within this section, write:

  • What the product or service is
  • How it helps your audience
  • How it stands out in the marketplace

For product-based businesses, include:

  • A brief introduction to costs (you’ll expand on this later)
  • Where products are sourced
  • Quantity of products owned

7. Do market research and analysis

Every business must conduct market research to identify your target market. You need to think about the local market and if you’re starting an online business, you must consider the digital market. You may have different competitors in each marketplace.

It’s crucial that you can develop comprehensive market research that shows a deep understanding of competitors and your place amongst them.

Your market research will help you determine if your business venture is justified and also act as support to your proposition which is especially useful when pitching to investors.

The market research section will help you see where the gaps are between your business and competitors, and it will form the beginning of your sales and marketing plan as you strategize to close the gap on leading competitors. This section should include a competitive analysis, showing how your business stands out from competitors, and an overview of your industry's outlook.

8. Create a marketing and sales plan

Explain your marketing plan, sales plan, and how you'll attract and retain customers. Your marketing and sales plan will generally be built from your competitor research. You can use competitive data to get a feel for what’s working. However, it’s important to remember that your brand and its audience are unique.

Also, when it comes to marketing, you are better off doing less better than trying to do more poorly, so you must factor in your budgets.

Your marketing plan should be in support of the business goals outlined previously, and have a clear goal and strategy to help achieve it. As a business owner, you are not necessarily expected to know the ins and outs of marketing, so if you need support here, you can get it. You may need to reach out to your marketing team or other professionals who can help you decipher what the business needs to succeed.

9. Create a financial projection and indicate your funding request:

When it comes down to it, finances determine a successful business from an unsuccessful one. If you're seeking funds, outline your current funding requirements, future funding needs over the next five years, how the funds will be used, and the type of funding you're seeking (debt or equity).

If you’re seeking investment, your financial forecast is everything. The one thing that investors need to know very clearly is the financial estimations and performance of your business over time. This section should convince investors that your business is stable and will be profitable. Include income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and financial statements. If you're a startup, provide a sales forecast and loss statements.

In your projection, plan for:

  • Expenses including wages
  • Pricing of products and/or services
  • Contingency for unexpected finances

Related: Check out our detailed guides and discover what is the average cost to start a business . and how you can prepare financial projection for your business plan . 

10. Add an appendix

It’s not enough to simply write a business plan; every claim you make needs to be well-documented and supported. So, include an appendix.

This section is optional and used for any additional information, like product pictures, marketing materials, or more detailed studies. Your appendix is a compilation of supporting documentation and/or evidence. Items that might be included in the appendix include:

  • Resumes of key team members
  • Documentation supporting your market research and analysis. If your plan summarizes findings, include the marketing research and data here.
  • Legal documents, such as incorporation papers, patents, or trademarks
  • Marketing materials, such as brochures or flyers
  • Customer testimonials or case studies. New businesses might not have this, but if you have conducted research or focus groups, you can include findings here.
  • Product prototypes or lab tests if you have them
  • Any other relevant supporting documentation that was referenced in the main body of the plan.

Types of business plan format

There are three types of business plans, traditional, lean, and nonprofit. Whilst this article focuses primarily on the most common business plan format, the traditional plan, it helps to know what might be involved in other formats.

Traditional

The traditional format provides a detailed business overview and is useful for presenting to investors or lenders. In a traditional plan, you will likely write more than you would in a lean plan. Some businesses might opt for a traditional plan and then create a lean version for specific functions.

The lean business plan format is, as you would expect, a leaner (simplified) version of a traditional business plan. The lean business plan format includes the most critical aspects of the business. If you’re writing a lean business plan and you want to pitch to investors, then you must include key sections like market analysis, revenue forecasts, etc.

The nonprofit business plan is similar to the traditional business plan, but naturally, it differs as it includes items that are required to run a nonprofit organization. For example, if you were writing a nonprofit business plan, you would likely include all elements of the traditional plan, plus fundraising and development, governance, and financials.

You may also have research from the local area you’re serving to help with that market analysis section. Your aim will be to prove that there’s a public need for your nonprofit.

There are also business plan templates  for you to use.

Now, let’s talk about how you can determine the basic questions your plan should answer so you can put pen to paper.

The 5 W’s for writing your first business plan

As you write your first business plan, here is a set of questions designed to help you think through the basics of your business.

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Photo: Hanson Lu on Unsplash

We can assume that one of your primary business goals is to get people to buy what you’re selling.

Whether you’re selling a product or a service, on the other side of that transaction is a person who is going to hand you money.

But who is that person? Have you identified your ideal client or target market? Think about who your target customers are. Jot down some notes with all the information you have that can help identify who they are. Gender, income, location, habits — you get the idea.

If you don’t know what types of customers you want, you’ll have a hard time finding them.

Whether your goal is acquiring more clients and creating a team of employees under you, or working freelance until you save enough money to start developing courses, put it on paper.

Track your business activities and fees as your customer base grows

Now add a timeline to keep yourself on track. As you gain new clients, keep this timeline in mind and see if any distractions are preventing you from reaching your goals. Then use that new information to update your business plan.

Maybe you want to work with small startups who need your advice. If you work fast, you might prefer operating on a project rate instead of an hourly rate.

Define what a perfect client means to you and keep this in mind when you’re developing your income stream for your plan.

You might also want to write down ideas for how you’ll attract these clients (other than your website). Will you go out and hit the pavement? Or will you use social networking sites to find new customers? How about advertising, and where?

Then, add these details to the section that outlines the marketing agenda you will use to attract new business.

Going through this process when developing your business plan will also help when you’re looking for clients.

Here is where you determine specifically what it is you are offering the market.

You want to be able to state in a clear and compelling way why your product or service is the solution the market needs and the benefits your product will provide.

Imagine you are at a party and you’re introduced to someone new. After exchanging names, you’ll likely be asked, “What do you do?” Do you have a good answer? That’s known as your elevator pitch — short, sweet and concise, so that anyone can understand.

If I were to tell people that I work with PHP, JavaScript and servers their eyes start to glaze over and they’d probably be sorry they asked. What if instead I answered, “I help small brick-and-mortar retailers establish themselves online by creating websites and training people how to use them.”

That’s a much better answer, don’t you agree? I’ve stated exactly who it is I serve, what service I offer, and how I go about it.

Determining income after the “what”

Once you determine your “what,” you’ll need to know how much money you can make.

Most of us would love to earn an unlimited amount of money, however, for our business plan we need to nail down some financial projections. The general rule of thumb is, if you want to earn just as much as you did before starting your own business, take your previous salary and add 25 percent to it to create what is called an “accrual goal.”

This buffer takes unexpected cyclical downturns into account so you’re not left scrounging for money when, for example, a big customer suddenly goes elsewhere. So, let’s say you made $40,000 a year. That’s your salary goal. Adding 25 percent to that would make a total of $50,000 a year, which is your accrual goal.

Now if you break that goal down into manageable targets, you need to earn $12,500 every quarter, or about $4,200 every month to meet that accrual goal.

If you’re just working to put food on the table every week, you might be surprised by how far your actual revenue is from your accrual salary.

Don’t let this just be a pipe dream — make it happen by adding realistic income projections to your business plan.

I know from experience that the “fun” part of starting a business is the creative process of refining your idea and day-dreaming about the possibilities.

The hard part is when you have to work through the drudgery of filling out paperwork, researching vendors and doing those hundreds of little tasks you don’t want to do but need to do to get your business idea out of your head and into reality. Your business plan, for example.

That stuff can take the wind out of your sails and bring you to a dead halt.

How do you get past it? By setting realistic target and launch dates.

After launching, you can continue to refine and look to the next target date.

Put follow-up dates on your calendar to review how things are going and make any necessary adjustments.

Deciding where you’ll sell your products or services is pretty easy. There are two places you can sell: online and offline.

For both of those places, you have the additional options of selling: on your own property or someone else’s.

For example, you could sell from your own website (online, on your property) or you could sell on Etsy (online, on someone else’s property). Or you might sell from both.

The “where” is extremely important to think through for your expense calculations.

How and where you will offer your products or services will trigger a whole series of new decisions.

You’ll want to compare monthly fees, determine whether you need a credit card processor, estimate costs for your own website, and figure out who you need to talk to about business permits.

Owning and operating a business takes serious commitment.

There will be days you’re exhausted, days you’re frustrated, and days you’re stressed to the max. What makes you want to get out of bed on those mornings and go to work? That’s your “why.”

For example, are you running your freelance business like a serious business, or more like work you’re just doing for extra cash on the side?

There is nothing wrong with the latter, but that’s the mark of a hobbyist, not a business owner.

Successful businesses start out with a business plan.

Whether you’re a freelance developer, copywriter or just selling widgets, you know how to create a product that clients are willing to pay for. But that doesn’t guarantee that your business will be profitable.

Setting your vision with your “why”

Your why is that overarching factor that drives what you do.

It might be directly related to your products or services. Or maybe your products and services are just the means to an end.

“There are only two ways to influence human behavior: you can manipulate it or you can inspire it.” ~Simon Sinek

That quote is from Simon Sinek’s book “Start With Why”  and the premise is that customers are attracted to WHY we do what we do, not WHAT we do.

TOMS shoes is a perfect example of this. Their “what” is selling shoes. Their “why” is to improve lives by helping people in need . That’s compelling and attractive.

Customers give them business because they believe in what they’re doing. When you know your why, you can attract customers that understand and believe in your why, too. If you’re using your website to pitch your product, you should already have an “about” page to describe your business to your potential customers.

Essentially, this is the vision you want customers to have of your products, services and skills. This is your why.

You need to answer some questions about your business and your “why” in order to set your vision. For example:

  • Do you want to keep a few clients and have free time to develop online courses?
  • Do you want to work nights and home-school your kids?
  • How long before you expand your offerings? Is there an end goal?

The answers to these types of questions will guide you in creating your first business plan.

Before you start writing your small business plan, read through these tips that might not be so obvious.

Use a business plan template.

Business plans are not new, so why not start with a tried and tested template? There’s plenty of space to turn the template into something unique that feels like yours. Using a template avoids overwhelm and provides structure. Check out this free business plan template you can download and customize in a cinch. A free business plan template can help to ensure you include all necessary information and maintain a professional structure.

Write for yourself, not just investors.

Your business plan is yours . Writing your business plan is your chance to organize your thoughts and get your ideas on paper. Upon completion, you should feel satisfied with your robust roadmap to success. Of course, consider your audience and investors and give them everything they need, but don’t forget to satisfy your own intent. Remember the business plan formats; you can always start with a traditional plan for you, then provide the investors with the lean version.

Demonstrate what makes you unique.

You’re likely joining a busy marketplace, and you want to go in ready to disrupt and stand out. Clearly articulate what sets your business apart from the competition, and explain why customers should choose your products or services.

Use concrete data and examples.

Your business plan is no longer your place to dream. Writing your plan takes dreams and helps you turn them into something tangible and achievable. Within the business plan, you should be able to support your ideas with concrete data and real-world examples. You need to prove to yourself - and investors - that this business is viable.

Be realistic in your projections.

As above, writing your business plan is about creating something achievable, You must be realistic with your projections. Whilst being optimistic is exciting — and you can still be optimistic — you must be realistic in your plan. Your financial information, market analysis, and sales forecast should be realistic. Unrealistic projections can lead to disappointment and mistrust from stakeholders.

Realistic projects are better for you mentally, too. If you’re more likely to achieve your goals, you’re less likely to get overwhelmed. Plus, goals that are not realistic will heap pressure on you and your team, and that’s the last thing a new business needs.

Keep it concise & use understandable language.

Your business plan should be clear and concise. Overly long or complicated plans can deter potential investors. Avoid jargon and use plain, understandable language to explain your business idea and plans.

Review and revise.

Regularly review and update your business plan to reflect your business's current situation and future goals.

Editor's Note: A business plan is just one part of the journey of starting a new business, for the entire step by step process check out our guide on how to start an online business .

Writing a business plan FAQ

Here are your most asked questions, answered.

How do I write a simple business plan?

You will write a simple business plan if you keep focused and aim to be thorough but concise. Aim to cover all important aspects and don’t over-plan. Focus on shorter time frames and be realistic about what can be done. Rely on research and data to help shape the plan.

Can I write a business plan myself?

Yes, you can write a business plan yourself. Business owners often write their business plans. That said, if your plan covers areas of business where you’re not so strong, you might need support. For example, you may seek professional help for certain sections, like the financial projections.

How long should a business plan be?

Your business plan will be as long as it needs to be, but the aim here is to create something thorough but concise. As a guide, aim for around 15 to 20 pages. However, the length can vary depending on the complexity of the business and the purpose of the plan.

How long should it take to write a business plan?

Writing your business plan will probably take a few days, but you’ll need to do a lot of research behind the scenes. You also need to step away from the plan, return and edit it to ensure it is accurate and void of errors. A business plan should take three months from beginning to end.

What if my business doesn't go according to the plan?

It's normal for businesses to deviate from their initial plans. Regularly review and adjust your business plan as necessary.

How often should I update my business plan?

It's a good practice to update your business plan annually or whenever significant changes occur in your business or the market.

Writing a business plan is an essential step for any entrepreneur or small business owner. It not only helps you validate your business idea but also allows you to identify potential challenges and opportunities. Remember, a well-crafted business plan serves as a roadmap, guiding your business towards its goals and milestones. Happy planning!

Editor's Note: This article includes content originally published on the GoDaddy blog by Carrie Dils, Judith Kallos and Alex Neri .

How to Write a Comprehensive Business Plan?

AUG.05, 2013

Comprehensive Business Plan

What is a comprehensive business plan?

A comprehensive business plan is a document that thoroughly details the startup, managerial, technical, and financial aspects of a business. It enables the business owner to lead his business thoughtfully and successfully. In some cases, a comprehensive business plan also contains a growth plan or a summarized strategy to extend the business services.

A comprehensible business plan can be immensely helpful when the entrepreneur is faced with perplexing situations. As your business progresses, you need to make momentous decisions on a daily basis. Without having a comprehensive business plan outline, it is unlikely to gauge the different factors that are important to be considered all the time.

What should a comprehensive business plan include?

In the light of the comprehensive business plan definition, a comprehensive business plan will include the following components:

Company Overview

The company overview in a comprehensive business plan template sheds light on the company owner’s profile, their motive behind starting the business, and the process they will employ to begin the launch.

Executive Summary

This is the most crucial part of all comprehensive business plans. It entails the main idea and service of the business, potential customer groups, and business targets.

Products/ Services List

This part lists what value you are adding to people’s lives and how you intend to facilitate them. A comprehensive business plan that includes specific services is preferable as it allows you to narrow down your focus.

Market Analytics

This segment investigates the market demand for your services and the market segments that you will be interacting with. It also studies the number of businesses in your vicinity, their market shares, and revenues earned.

Sales Strategy

This part explains how you will reach out to potential customers, what is your biggest selling point, and how you can gain more clients than your competitors.

Financial Plan

This section outlines money inflows and outflows over 3 to 5 years. It also entails graphical demonstrations to enable decision-making in financial matters.

Growth Plan

This part explains the timeline and milestones to achieve before you expand the business services.

Retirement Plan

A comprehensive small business subcontracting plan also explains the strategy to earn income after retirement from your business.

The comprehensive business plan should be the result of exhaustive market research and administration knowledge. If you want to read about these components in detail, you may visit comprehensive business plan examples at our site. You can also request a specific comprehensive business plan example as per your startup.

Steps to creating a comprehensive business plan

We are providing a simple stepwise procedure for anyone who wants to create a business plan from scratch.

Step-1: Get a Know-How of the Business World

Even when you are hiring a professional for making sample comprehensive business plan, it is still important to have basic knowledge about business terms, transaction patterns, and important stats. The first step is, therefore, gaining knowledge by reading many an example of a comprehensive business plan.

Step-2: Have a Pointed Focus

Before developing a comprehensive business plan sample, you must choose what specific services you will provide. This will enable you to focus all your resources in the right direction.

Step-3: Don’t Underestimate or Over-evaluate

The next step is to accurately gauge the monetary and physical resources at hand to make correct decisions.

Step-4: Decide on Priorities

Make a financial plan to decide how much investment should go in which stream.

Step-5: Get in Your Customers’ Shoes

Do a market analysis, divide the entire population into distinct groups of customer segments, and understand the purchasing power of each group. This will help you formulate a sales strategy that can influence each segment.

Step-6: Plan for Growth

It is important to plan for your company’s growth or extension of the product line while making a business plan. This will allow you to timely grab the relevant opportunities.

How to Write a Comprehensive Business Plan

Who should I include in my business plan?

A business cannot be run solo even when you are starting on a very small scale. You need to include a detailed list of employees along with the qualifications required of them in your comprehensive business plan pdf. It would be beneficial to separately insert the hierarchy of management structure as well because managers would be the people you will be interacting with the most.

Oft-times, you need to also integrate legal advisors and tax consultants in your plan. Though they are not permanent employees, you will be interacting with them off and on.

You may take a comprehensive business plan quizlet to understand if you are capable to make an accurate business plan. If you don’t know how to write a comprehensive business plan you must hire a business consulting firm to undertake the task for you.

How can I get a comprehensive business plan template?

There are multiple ways to get a template to write a comprehensive business plan for your startup:

  • You can get a free comprehensive business plan template available on the web.
  • You can buy a customizable comprehensive business plan template pdf from online business consultancy firms.
  • You can hire a professional for creating a comprehensive business plan template for your business.

The best option among these is to seek the services of a professional business plan analyst. It is because they would have experience in examining business statistics for providing the most efficient and targeted strategy.

Perfect Business Plan Does Exist! Contact OGS Today!

Working with OGS, more than 5 thousand clients from around the world were able to amass $2.7 billion in funding. This success pertains to the accurate business projections drawn out by OGS experts.

At OGS, our customers will have:

  • High-quality market analysis as per their location, startup, and target audience
  • Selling stories and strategies that yield desirable results
  • Strategic advice from MBA laureates with more than 15 years of experience
  • Multiple revision and customization offers
  • Impeccable customer-centric policies
  • Guidance from a team of 60 people with expertise working in 42 different industries

Before you hire our services, you can request a free sample of a comprehensive business plan to gauge our walk and talk!

  • How detailed should my comprehensive business plan be?

It should be detailed enough to cover all the aspects we have mentioned above. For reference, you can see many a comprehensive business plan sample pdf on our website.

  • How do I make a comprehensive plan for a startup business?

For writing a comprehensive business plan, you need to follow a stepwise approach: know your resources, find what you can serve, explore who can be your audience, decide how to reach out to the masses, examine the competition, and document your findings. For further detail on each step, you may refer to the blog given above.

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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write a comprehensive business plan

  • Business and self-employed
  • Business finance and support

Write a business plan

Download free business plan templates and find help and advice on how to write your business plan.

Business plan templates

Download a free business plan template on The Prince’s Trust website.

You can also download a free cash flow forecast template or a business plan template on the Start Up Loans website to help you manage your finances.

Business plan examples

Read example business plans on the Bplans website.

How to write a business plan

Get detailed information about how to write a business plan on the Start Up Donut website.

Why you need a business plan

A business plan is a written document that describes your business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts.

A business plan helps you to:

  • clarify your business idea
  • spot potential problems
  • set out your goals
  • measure your progress

You’ll need a business plan if you want to secure investment or a loan from a bank. Read about the finance options available for businesses on the Business Finance Guide website.

It can also help to convince customers, suppliers and potential employees to support you.

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COMMENTS

  1. Write your business plan

    You might prefer a traditional business plan format if you're very detail-oriented, want a comprehensive plan, or plan to request financing from traditional sources. When you write your business plan, you don't have to stick to the exact business plan outline. Instead, use the sections that make the most sense for your business and your needs.

  2. How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

    Describe Your Services or Products. The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you're offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit ...

  3. How to Write a Business Plan: Guide + Examples

    Download a free one-page plan template to write a useful business plan in as little as 30-minutes. Explore over 500 real-world business plan examples from a wide variety of industries. Try the business planning and growth tool trusted by over 1-million business owners.

  4. How to Write a Simple Business Plan

    Write the Executive Summary. This section is the same as in the traditional business plan — simply offer an overview of what's in the business plan, the prospect or core offering, and the short- and long-term goals of the company. Add a Company Overview. Document the larger company mission and vision.

  5. Business Plan: What it Is, How to Write One

    Learn about the best business plan software. 1. Write an executive summary. This is your elevator pitch. It should include a mission statement, a brief description of the products or services your ...

  6. Business Plan: What It Is, What's Included, and How to Write One

    Business Plan: A business plan is a written document that describes in detail how a business, usually a new one, is going to achieve its goals. A business plan lays out a written plan from a ...

  7. How to Write the Perfect Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

    Determine how you can best reach potential customers. Evaluate your competition. Your marketing plan must set you apart from your competition, and you can't stand out unless you know your ...

  8. How To Write A Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

    1. Investors Are Short On Time. If your chief goal is using your business plan to secure funding, then it means you intend on getting it in front of an investor. And if there's one thing investors are, it's busy. So keep this in mind throughout writing a business plan.

  9. How to Write a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide

    Step 7: Financial Analysis and Projections. It doesn't matter if you include a request for funding in your plan, you will want to include a financial analysis here. You'll want to do two things here: Paint a picture of your business's performance in the past and show it will grow in the future.

  10. How To Write an Effective and Comprehensive Business Plan

    How to write an effective business plan. When writing your business plan, follow these steps to ensure you create a comprehensive document: 1. Write a thorough executive summary. The first aspect of your business plan is the executive summary, also known as a company description.

  11. A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Business Plan in 2024

    9 Steps to Writing a Comprehensive Business Plan. To outline your business' goals and approach holistically, here is our step-by-step guide on writing a compelling business plan. 1. Executive summary. An executive summary is the first page of a business plan, offering a trailer for more to come. Thus, it needs to be well-written and captivating.

  12. How to Write a Great Business Plan: Key Concepts

    Lending naturally involves risk, and a great business plan can help lenders understand and quantity that risk, increasing your chances for approval. 2. Potential partners and investors. Where ...

  13. Comprehensive Business Plan Outline for Small Business

    A Comprehensive Business Plan Template for Small Business. Business plans are a challenging startup step for many small business owners who are pitching their business ideas to investors or credit institutions for funding. Because of the vastness of information, business plans can be one of the most overwhelming parts of starting a business.

  14. 24 of My Favorite Sample Business Plans & Examples For Your Inspiration

    8. Panda Doc's Free Business Plan Template. PandaDoc's free business plan template is one of the more detailed and fleshed-out sample business plans on this list. It describes what you should include in each section, so you don't have to come up with everything from scratch.

  15. How to Write a Comprehensive Business Plan

    Write about your funding needs including start-up and operational over the next five years. Write about what you plan to spend the money on, indicating if it is on capital expenditures or working ...

  16. How to Write a Business Plan Complete Guide

    A short business plan would work if you are looking to expand your business. 2. Be realistic and creative. Do not consider your business idea as your baby. Be realistic and honest with yourself while writing your business plan, and always try to add facts and realistic details of your business idea.

  17. How to Write a Business Plan Outline [Examples + Templates]

    The goal here is to showcase why your team is the best to run your business. Investors want to know you're unified, organized and reliable. This is also a potential opportunity to bring more humanity to your business plan and showcase the faces behind the ideas and product. 5. Marketing and sales.

  18. A Beginner's Guide to Writing a Business Plan

    A Comprehensive Guide to Writing a Business Plan. Whether you're starting a new business venture or looking to grow your existing business, writing a business plan can be intimidating. But, don't let that put you off - it's an important step in setting up a successful business and one that should not be overlooked!

  19. How to write a business plan (with steps and example)

    How to write a business plan. If you want to learn how to write a business plan, consider the following steps: 1. Write a comprehensive executive summary. Also known as a company description, the executive summary explains the business and its goals to partners, investors and lenders.

  20. How to write a business plan? A comprehensive guide

    But remember, this is your business; your plan will be unique to you. Here's a step-by-step guide on how to write each section of your business plan: 1. Create an executive summary. Your executive summary is essentially your first impression to investors. This is a brief snapshot of your business plan.

  21. How to Write a Comprehensive business plan

    Step-1: Get a Know-How of the Business World. Even when you are hiring a professional for making sample comprehensive business plan, it is still important to have basic knowledge about business terms, transaction patterns, and important stats. The first step is, therefore, gaining knowledge by reading many an example of a comprehensive business ...

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    Step-by-step guide on writing a lean business plan with templates Step 3. Set your rates and service packages. Following the actual industry norms to appoint your consulting fees. ... With a comprehensive business plan in place, you can anticipate and prepare for potential challenges, turning risks into opportunities.

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