Business Plan Template

Opening Thoughts

The following pages are the basics of what your business plan should look like. Write on a separate piece of paper or start a new text file and customize each section to reflect your own information and plans for your business.

Next, go back and revise what you have written, making it read well. It's the story of your business, a story you want to tell the world.

Finally, if something you have written sounds too confusing and numbers are involved, see if a chart or a graph will help make your point easier to understand. For extra visual appeal, insert photos of your facility, your product, or even yourself where appropriate.

You have to do a lot of predicting the future here, though. Research everything, write it all down, and see if you can really make it work!

The Business Plan: 

<My Business Name>, Business Plan
Date Prepared

On this page, use whatever formatting you prefer. This is just one suggestion.

Coordinate the document with your logo or other marketing materials if you have any.

<insert subtitle, graphic, or other cover page element(s) for visual interest>

Contact Person

Company Address

City, ST ZipCode

Phone

Fax

E-mail

Website Address

 Executive Summary

(Don’t forget that this is the final step of writing your business plan! You can’t summarize what you haven’t written yet. Make it interesting, make it unique, but make it brief - this section shouldn’t be more than two pages long. Imagine what you would say if you only had five minutes to tell someone about your business and your goals for it. Many times this will be the only section read by many.)

Summarize who you and your business are.

(State if this is a startup, an expansion, or a new division of your business. If you are just starting, summarize your vision and unique selling proposition. If you have an existing business, summarize its history.)

Summarize your management plan.

(If you have employees or others helping you run the operation, briefly explain the nature of their involvement and their expertise.)

Summarize what you are selling and how.

(If you have a product, briefly describe it. If you provide a service, write about your areas of expertise. Always describe your unique selling proposition here. If you have a website, summarize its purpose. If you have a physical workplace, briefly describe it.)

Summarize your financial goals.

(Clarify your sales and profitability goals and how you will meet them. Chart or describe your anticipated growth rate, your progressive financial ratios, and/or your cash flow projections.)

Summarize what your financial needs are and how the funds will be used, and why.

(This is optional for an executive summary. If you are writing a proposal to seek funding, however, this will be necessary later.)

Summarize your exit strategy.

(Do you expect to operate on a long-term basis, go public, or sell this company at some point in the future? Summarize your ultimate plans for personal involvement.)

Summarize your vision.

(Think this is my idea, this is why I think my idea is great, and this is why other people should get interested in this idea.)

Background 

(Step one is to give your readers some background information about you or your company. This section should also be brief, since you and your investors should be more concerned about the future than the past. Consider this the introduction to the story.)

Summarize how you got started.

(If you are a sole proprietor with a start up, summarize any relevant facts about your personal background - experience, skills, and strengths. If you are starting a company, also summarize any previous experience you have in running a company. If you are expanding an existing business, state when that business began and what type of business entity it was (sole proprietorship, C-corp, S-corp, LLC, etc.)).

Summarize what you have done since then.

(If you are starting a company, describe what steps you have already taken to make that possible. If you are expanding a company, find a way to illustrate the company’s growth since it began. Who helped you run the company? What major events have defined the company? How did the company grow and over what period of time?)

Summarize what worked and what didn’t.

(For each significant event or change, explain how and why business conditions improved or suffered. Show your investors that you understood what happened and why.)

Describe how you got the idea for the new company, product or service.

(Bring your summary up to present day. If your existing company has a mission statement, include this and describe how your new idea will complement it.)

Goals & Objectives

(Begin planning to write this section by listing all the things you want to accomplish in year one, two, and three. What you want to do, how you want to be perceived, or where you want to be.)

(Those are your goals. Then make a list of how you will be able to tell when you reach each goal.)

Those are your objectives. Aim for a balance between too modest and too ambitious. When you have your lists, then write this section of your business plan.)

Why you want to move forward with this?

(What is really important to you about starting a new venture or building on your existing one? What is it about your idea that really excites you? What is your motivation to succeed?)

Where do you want this company to be in a year?

(Describe the most important goal, and follow it up with a description of how you plan on doing it and why you chose that path. Include where you physically need to operate and any elements of timing that should be considered. Next, state the objectives that must be met to reach that goal. Finally, describe why you believe this goal is possible. Repeat for each goal on your list.)

What else will you be doing?

(If you have more than one active business going, describe your plans for handling your other business activities while you are trying to make this one work. Explain how you will keep your other businesses from interfering with your plans.)

Where do you want to be in two years?

(How will you or your company be doing at the end of the second year? Compare your first-year goals to your second-year goals. How much do you see things changing?)

Where do you want to be in three years?

(Ask yourself the same questions as you did for your second-year goals.)

Describe why you think this type of growth is possible.

(Use reasonable means to justify your ability to attain those goals and meet those objectives. Be positive, but ground your answers in reality.)

Key Personnel

(Investors know that the right people can make the business work, while the wrong people can bring the business down. In this section, describe your strengths and weaknesses as a manager. Then assure your investors that you intend to compensate for your weaknesses by hiring people who are strong in those areas.)

Introduce yourself.

(This is where you insert the same information you would put in a resume. Emphasize work experience, education, accomplishments, and skills. Be honest about your skills. Even if you are the most well-rounded person in the world, you still have one weakness: you can’t do everything yourself.)

Introduce your management team.

(For each person key to your business success, insert the same information from their resumes. Emphasize which area of expertise they will bring to your new business venture.)

Describe support areas that will need to be covered.

(If you need support staff, explain your plans for hiring them. Include which positions you need to be filled, how soon you will need to hire each one, and how you plan on hiring them.)

Insert an organizational chart.

(Your final step in this section is to describe how all of your people will interact with each other, including job titles, responsibilities and management structure. An organizational chart is the easiest and most professional way to illustrate those relationships.)

Product or Service

(This is where you get to go into detail about your great new idea. Whether you sell a product or provide a service, this section should sell your confidence in it to your investors and discuss your unique selling proposition.)

Describe your product or service.

(If you will be selling a product, describe each product individually and explain why it is either unique or at least able to compete with existing similar products in your line of business. If you will be providing a service, explain what you will be doing for people and how you intend to differentiate yourself from your competitors.)

Describe why this product or service is in demand.

(Let your investors know that you are familiar with what people have done before in this area and why each one succeeded or failed. Explain why you think your product or service has what it takes to survive the competition. Describe any aspects of your product or service that may not compete well, and explain how you plan to compensate for them.)

Disclose your pricing structure, including fees and extra charges.

(Part of your business model will include the cost and selling price of each product or service. If you will be selling a product, explain your per-unit cost and how you came up with that number. Include any service fees (shipping, extended warranty, etc.) that will be charged separately. If you will be providing a service, describe how you will price each service (per hour, per project, etc.) and any other fees (retainers, reimbursements, etc.) that you believe will be necessary.)

Marketing Plan

(This is where you expand on why you can be successful with this product or service. Research everything about your specific product or service, especially the details of how well it does in which markets. Your business depends on how well you sell it, and there are enough external factors in the global marketplace to complicate even the best of intentions if they go unnoticed. Your job is to stay aware of who else is trying to do what you are doing, and then do it better than they do - and make sure the rest of the world sees it that way, too.)

Describe your market niche.

(What is your line of work (your market), and what specialty do you have in that field (your niche)? Consider who your customers are, and narrow down the exact type of product or service you provide.)

Describe your competition.

(Who else is selling your product to your customers? Who else is providing the same service in your area? What choices do your customers have to make when they need what you have? If you weren’t in business, who would they go to for help with their needs?)

Explain how your product or service is different than that of your competition.

(If your business is different, tell your investors why it is different and from whom. If your business is comparable to the competition, explain how you will make it different to your potential customers. What is your Unique Selling Proposition?)

Anticipate the challenges you will face, and explain how you will succeed in difficult market conditions.

(It is hard to predict the future, unless you know as much as possible about the past. Find out what others have done in similar conditions. How long did they stay in business? Why did they succeed or fail? Do you understand historical data on supply and demand for your product or service? If you can find those answers, you can avoid certain amounts of trouble.)

Where do you see your product or service going in the future?

(Again, look at the past. If you are selling a product, what new developments have been made since the first one was made? What new technologies are being developed or implemented somewhere else? Can you answer those questions for similar products as well? If you are providing a service, learn the history of similar service providers. What new technologies did they pick up over the years that made them more efficient or more effective? What new trends are developing in your market niche? Innovation is the key to survival.)

Describe your plan for a website.

(A website is one of the best modern marketing tools available. Research the websites of your competition, and "borrow" the ideas that you think will work best for you. If you already have a website, explain what its purpose is and why each element is important. Describe your plans for improving your website and adjusting for future needs. If you will not be making plans for an online presence, explain your decision.)

What is your anticipated share of your market niche?

(Market share is what percentage of all available customers use your product or service. Again, research is the key to answering that question.)

What will be your share of the market after you meet your goals?

(Assuming your business will increase over time, explain how your growth will affect your market share, and why you believe that will happen.)

Explain where you got your market research.

(Don’t just pull numbers out of thin air. Lenders and investors look at business plans all the time, and they can tell when something doesn’t make sense. Cite your sources.)

Provide a graphical summary of your market research.

(Charts and graphs can illustrate current market share in your niche, various statistics about your competition, and how your customer base will grow over time.)

Advertising Plan

(How do you plan on reaching your customers and what will you say to them once you have their attention? Plan ahead for advertising and publicity.)

Who already uses your product or service, and how do you attract them?

(Describe the obvious choices for your advertising targets. Be very detailed in describing the demographics. Then describe the methods and media you will use to encourage them to spend money with you.)

Who doesn’t use your product or service, but should?

(Never limit your ideas of who your customers could be. Think of ways to expand your customer base, and the media you will use to attract their attention and change their mind about buying your product or using your service.)

What is your timeline for getting the word out?

(Publicity is often best planned in stages. Research the best way to put the above plans into action, make a timeline for your particular situation, and explain why you chose those methods.)

What will be needed to sustain that level of publicity?

(Your advertising needs may change over time. Your research should give you ideas about what changes may be needed down the road.)

(Your overall business strategy is important to your investors. This strategy dictates why you do what you do. Your short-term strategy is achieving your objectives. Your long-term strategy is meeting your goals.)

What do you need to concentrate on to achieve your objectives?

(Explain how and why you will allocate resources. Describe any policies or procedures that will need to be implemented.)

Once you get customers, how do you plan to keep them?

(This is a good place to outline the details of any customer service guarantees or product warranties.)

How could changes in technology, government regulations, or the economy affect my plans?

(Contingency plans are necessary when you run any kind of business. Explain how you would deal with unforeseen events in your niche.)

What is your strategy for your long-term goals?

(This will vary depending on what your goals are. Explain how and why you can stay on track.)

Financial Plan

(This is the core of your proposal if you are writing a business plan to secure funding for growth. This is also where it may get a little complicated. If this isn’t your area of expertise, consider asking a CPA for help with accurate financial projections. Again, investors look at these documents all the time, so if you pull any of these numbers out of thin air, it will hurt more than it helps. Be prepared to submit personal financial statements for yourself and your management team if asked.)

What are your financial objectives?

(Describe your sales and profitability objectives and explain how you plan to achieve them and by when. Explain how you got those numbers and why you set the bar as high as you did.)

What will your start up costs be?

(Make a list of everything you will need during the first year and what it will cost. Research these estimates as thoroughly as possible, and explain how you arrived at the estimates for your plan.)

Summarize your anticipated growth.

(Projected financial statements are critical here. Once you compile those estimates, illustrate your financial progress over time through charts and/or graphs. Graphical depictions of financial matters are much easier to read than a bunch of numbers, and investors love financial details that are easier to read.)

Financial statements and projections should include:

• a break-even analysis
• monthly cash flow projections for the first year
• analysis of working capital needs
• monthly summary profit and loss statement for the first year
• monthly detailed profit and loss statement for the first year
• balance sheet as of opening day
• balance sheet as of the end of first year
• financial ratio analysis based on the first year projection
• end-of year financial statements for years two and three

Summarize how and why those projected numbers will change.

(Provide an analysis of your estimates and explain why you made certain financial assumptions. Also, explain your contingency plan for unforeseen shortfalls, windfalls, or changes in market conditions.)

Debt/Equity Plan

(If you will be financing any part of your business - especially if you will be seeking financing based on this business plan - you should explain your strategy for managing debt and equity. Different investors prefer different types of investments, so the difference between debt and equity is important.)

Break down your total cash requirements from your projections into the sources that it will come from.

(How much money will you need, and why? How much capital can you contribute? How much capital can you raise from private investors? How much capital is needed from other sources?)

Do you want a loan or a line of credit? Would you rather sell a percentage of your company?

(Think about the implications of debt versus equity. Remember, debt is never a good idea. If you are discussing a loan with a lender, be prepared to discuss collateral. If you want an investor, be prepared to discuss the terms of part-ownership.)

What is your proposed schedule for repaying any private investors?

(Will you eventually be buying back that part-ownership? By when do you intend to do that? Why do you think it will take that long?)

What is your proposed schedule for repaying your bank?

(Prepare a sample amortization schedule with a specific interest rate, payment amount, and loan term.)

Wrapping It All Up

Once you have completed your business plan and reviewed it, try to have two other people familiar with business plans review it too. You need someone who hasn't been involved in the preparation of the plan to critique it for you. You want it right and you want any issues brought to your attention.

Before you start business or approach lenders and investors, you must know that you have done your best. Take the time to do it right.

Finally, when you package the document, make it look well done and very business like. If you need to help to do this, seek it out. Why spend all that time and effort to create an excellent plan and that package it poorly?

It seems like a big project, and it is, but it's well worth it. It will help you save time and dollars from starting a poorly planned business. Now, get going, your new business and all those customers are waiting for you!