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Business Plans

2,431 business plans projects available.

An investor/bank ready Business Plan including Financial Projections An investor/bank ready Business Plan including Financial Projections

Investor/bank Ready Business Plan writing including Financial Projections Investor/bank Ready Business Plan writing including Financial Projections

Investor-Ready/ SBA Loan/ Immigration Business Plan with 5 years Financials Investor-Ready/ SBA Loan/ Immigration Business Plan with 5 years Financials

A winning Business Plan | Investor/Bank-Ready Business Plan | Business Plan A winning Business Plan | Investor/Bank-Ready Business Plan | Business Plan

An SBA loan business plan An SBA loan business plan

An investor/bank ready, SBA Loan business plan, Grant proposal, Pitch deck An investor/bank ready, SBA Loan business plan, Grant proposal, Pitch deck

Complete Business Plan Writing Service from Best Financial Writer Complete Business Plan Writing Service from Best Financial Writer

A business plan based on the detailed analysis. A business plan based on the detailed analysis.

Comprehensive Startup Business Plan Comprehensive Startup Business Plan

Business Plan including Financial Projections Business Plan including Financial Projections

A compelling and convincing business plan of any kind A compelling and convincing business plan of any kind

An investor/bank-ready business plan, pitch deck, or business plan writing. An investor/bank-ready business plan, pitch deck, or business plan writing.

Excellent Financial Modelling with Complete Analysis and Forecasting Excellent Financial Modelling with Complete Analysis and Forecasting

A well-researched investor/Bank ready Business Plan + Financial Projections A well-researched investor/Bank ready Business Plan + Financial Projections

An Investor-Ready Business Plan with Financial Projections An Investor-Ready Business Plan with Financial Projections

A fantastic investor ready business plan to get your next level of funding A fantastic investor ready business plan to get your next level of funding

A Project Proposal design for funding A Project Proposal design for funding

A professional detailed business plan and financial plan A professional detailed business plan and financial plan

Investor Ready Financial Projections Investor Ready Financial Projections

Startup / Investors Ready Business Plan with Financial Projections Startup / Investors Ready Business Plan with Financial Projections

A beautiful and professional business proposal A beautiful and professional business proposal

A complete business plan based on detailed analysis A complete business plan based on detailed analysis

A detailed business plan, pitch deck, business proposal for startups A detailed business plan, pitch deck, business proposal for startups

A Wall Street-grade Business Plan that will help you raise funds A Wall Street-grade Business Plan that will help you raise funds

Business Plans FAQs

What is a business plan, why is a business plan important, what are the key elements needed in a business plan.

• Executive summary. The executive summary provides a comprehensive description of the business, why it’s being created, the market need for its products or services, and how management will deliver success.
• Business description. The business description is an overview, in some detail, explaining how the business will operate and the key elements that set it apart from competitors or alternatives.
• Market analysis. The market analysis component of the business plan includes market research and analysis of the existing market opportunity. Often this phase of the business plan explains the underserved area of the market and how the company will go about successfully addressing it.
• Management overview. Information regarding who will run the company is included in the management overview section. This usually includes the CEO and/or president, key executives and at times, an advisory board.
• Financial plan. The financial plan is perhaps the most important component of a business plan, as it details financial projections and how the company intends to generate revenue and cover expenses in order to generate a profit. A CPA or a financial advisor is often called upon to review and sign this section of the business plan, as it conveys to investors and lending institutions how management will generate enough revenue to provide an ROI for investors or to pay back the loan.
• Marketing plan. The marketing plan component of a business plan highlights the strategies the company will use to promote and grow the business.

How do I write a business plan?

Browse popular searches, browse related business plans services, browse business plans skills, browse related business plans agencies, similar business plans jobs, resources to move your business forward.

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Business Plan Writing Service

Maximize your chances of getting funded

Our business plan writers develop plans that can help you win funding.

What you can expect working with our Team:

Business planning pros

You’ll work with a professional plan writer who will build a custom business plan for your unique industry

The #1 planning tool

Get free access to LivePlan software, which makes it easier to share and update your plan

A winning format

Our unique business plan format has helped over 1 million businesses

Expert business plan writers for any type of business

Business plans for startups

• Establish milestones to achieve success.
• Outline accurate startup costs.
• Fully establish the vision for your business.

Pitching to investors

• Plans are formatted to meet lenders' expectations.
• Ensures your projected financials are realistic.
• Be prepared with a strong plan to back up your pitch.

Retail, eCommerce, restaurants and other popular industries

• Plan writers with experience and expertise in your industry.
• Insights into what details are vital to succeed in your industry.
• Develop a strong value proposition to stand out from the competition.

What makes our business plan writing services different?

Our business plan format has helped companies raise millions.

Our writers use a business plan structure that has been tested and refined over the past 20 years. So when you hire a LivePlan business plan writer, you'll be maximizing your chances of securing a loan or investment.

Business plan writers trusted by top business schools across the U.S.

Since 1988, Palo Alto Software—the creator of LivePlan—has helped over a million entrepreneurs achieve success. Our business plan structure is even taught at top universities, such as Princeton and Rice.

Get matched with a business plan writer who knows your industry

Our business plan writers are experienced professionals who have written hundreds of business plans. That means there will most likely be someone on our team who has experience in your specific industry.

The best decision I could have made to launch my business in the right direction. I definitely recommend these services to entrepreneurs and future small business owners.

Melinda Holden

Elite Liason Consulting

Maximize your chances of securing funding

Hire a LivePlan business plan writer today

How the process works:

Research and discovery

We first gain an in-depth understanding of your business. Then, we begin market research and examine your growth drivers.

Plan Writing

Once our research is complete, we'll write the body of your business plan and provide you with a draft to review.

Financial modeling

We'll turn your financial assumptions into forecasts that include everything lenders and investors need to see.

Design and review

You'll get a polished business plan with a design that matches your brand from our business plan writers. You can then print the plan or share it online with a unique and private link.

Ready to get started?

Fill out the form below to connect with Stormy, our Plan Writing Lead

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A LivePlan business plan writing expert will email your quote shortly.

Get a head start today:

Due to high demand, our availability for phone appointments is limited. We offer a text alert option to provide quicker service. Opt-in now for fast responses and priority scheduling. Simply text START to 541-215-4907

My plan writer was responsive, and understood my vision from our first communication. I now have a living document that I can use and manipulate as needed going forward.

Marcus Flowers

TimeOut Sports Bar & Grill

Frequently Asked Questions

Business plan writing services and consulting for hire, will you review my plan and make changes.

Our review-only service just includes feedback, but if you decide you'd like to engage in our full professional business plan writing services after participating in a review, we'll give you a discount.

What if I already started writing my plan?

If you have a partially completed plan, we can work with that. In fact, it helps the plan writing process go faster because we'll have to ask fewer questions, but you'll want to choose the full business plan writing service.

Do you do market research? What does that include?

Yes, we do market research. We have access to industry reports for most industries and our business plan writers will use them to lend more credibility to your plan and validate the assumptions we are making in your financials.

What is included with the full business plan writing service?

When it's all said and done, you'll have a full, lender or investor ready business plan, a one page pitch, and a free year of LivePlan so you can make changes to your plan as well as use our cash flow and business management tools to stay on track.

Can you guarantee that my business will get funded?

There are a lot of factors that go into the decision making process for lending that are beyond our control, like your personal credit. What we can say is that it is very difficult to get funding without a solid business plan and we make solid plans with our professional business plan writing services.

Will you share my information?

We take your privacy very seriously and will not share your information.

How long will it take to finish my plan? / Do you offer an expedited service?

The average business plan completes in 3-6 weeks, depending on your responsiveness to your writer and our work load. We offer expedited business plan writing services if you are in a rush.

Yes, we can deliver an expedited plan in as little as two weeks for an additional $1,000.

Does my business plan include financials?

What formats do you deliver in.

We deliver in PDF format, Word and we also give you access to edit your plan in a free LivePlan account.

How many pages is the average business plan?

We subscribe to the lean business planning method so we try to keep your plan short and to the point. Depending on the complexity of your business, your finished plan can end up being anywhere from 25-50 pages.

Pricing and Options

How much does this business plan writing service cost.

The cost of our full professional business plan writing services can vary depending on your needs. Book a call with us to request a quote. We also offer a lower cost business plan review service and a forecasting service.

Do you offer a la carte services?

We offer a review service (feedback only, no edits), forecast only service or full business plan writing service. If you have a partially completed plan, we can work with that, but you'll want to choose the full professional business plan writing service.

Do you offer a review service?

Yes. One of our business planning experts can review your plan and financials line by line and give you critical and constructive feedback to help improve your plan and increase your confidence when it comes time to deliver.

Do you offer an expedited business plan writing service?

What if i don't like my plan.

You'll have the opportunity to review and leave feedback after each draft. We recommend taking the time to be thorough and thoughtful in your feedback as that is your chance to help mold your plan into something that really resonates with you.

Expert Business Plan Writers and Consultants

Who writes my business plan.

You will be paired with one dedicated individual from our small team of highly trained and experienced business planning professionals. Each one is a uniquely qualified business planning expert who can translate your ideas into a business plan that will appeal to your audience.

Is my business plan writer an expert in my industry?

Our business plan writers are experts specifically in business plan writing. We've worked with every industry imaginable so the likelihood that they have some familiarity with your industry is high, but if you are looking for a business consultant this may not be a good fit.

What kind of background will my business plan writer have? Are they outsourced from other countries? Have they been writing business plans for very long?

We are a small team of well educated business planning experts. Each writer's background varies but they all have financial or business education as well as years, small business management or consulting and business plan writing experience. They are all well vetted and really good at what they do, which is write plans that help you get funded.

Small Business Definitions

What is a business plan.

In its simplest form, a business plan is a guide —a roadmap for your business that outlines goals and details how you plan to achieve those goals. At its heart, a business plan is just a plan for how your business is going to work, and how you're going to make it succeed.

What is in a business plan?

To write a detailed business plan you need to include the following sections:

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. Most people write it last, though.

The opportunity section answers these questions: What are you actually selling and how are you solving a problem (or "need") for your market? Who is your target market and competition?

In the execution chapter of your business plan, you'll answer the question: how are you going to take your opportunity and turn it into a business? This section will cover your marketing and sales plan, operations, and your milestones and metrics for success.

Investors look for great teams in addition to great ideas. Use the company and management chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire. You will also provide a quick overview of your legal structure, location, and history if you're already up and running.

Your business plan isn't complete without a financial forecast . We'll tell you what to include in your financial plan, but you'll definitely want to start with a sales forecast, cash flow statement, income statement (also called profit and loss), and your balance sheet.

If you need more space for product images or additional information, use the appendix for those details.

Why is a business plan important?

There are many reasons why it is important to have a business plan . A business plan is essential if you're seeking a loan or investment, can help you make big spending decisions with confidence and is a solid foundation for ongoing strategic planning and prioritization.

What is a business plan writer/consultant?

A business plan writer/consultant is a business and financial expert who can help guide you through the process of creating a business plan and do much of the labor involved in creating it. They will work with you to understand your business model, do market research, create financial projections and offer guidance as all of those pieces are brought together in a full business plan document.

How to pick a business plan writer/consultant?

Picking a business plan writer or business plan consultant is an important decision — you'll want to find someone dedicated to your success, with experience in your industry or field and that is in it for the long haul.

Why should you pay someone to write your business plan?

You don't have time. Starting a business is time consuming. Oftentimes people have to juggle a regular 9-5 job while working on starting their business. That doesn't leave a lot of time for a big writing project. Hiring a professional business plan writer can help you give you time to focus on the tasks that are critical to getting your business off the ground.

You want to make sure it is done right, the first time. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Hiring a professional to write your business plan for you can give you the peace of mind that your plan is the best it can be when you present it to potential lenders or investors.

How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 11:59am

Table of Contents

Brainstorm an executive summary, create a company description, brainstorm your business goals, describe your services or products, conduct market research, create financial plans, bottom line, frequently asked questions.

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and long-term goals, budget and whatever else you might need to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a business plan that you can stick to and help guide your operations as you get started.

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Drafting the Summary

An executive summary is an extremely important first step in your business. You have to be able to put the basic facts of your business in an elevator pitch-style sentence to grab investors’ attention and keep their interest. This should communicate your business’s name, what the products or services you’re selling are and what marketplace you’re entering.

Ask for Help

When drafting the executive summary, you should have a few different options. Enlist a few thought partners to review your executive summary possibilities to determine which one is best.

After you have the executive summary in place, you can work on the company description, which contains more specific information. In the description, you’ll need to include your business’s registered name , your business address and any key employees involved in the business. 

The business description should also include the structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship , limited liability company (LLC) , partnership or corporation. This is the time to specify how much of an ownership stake everyone has in the company. Finally, include a section that outlines the history of the company and how it has evolved over time.

Wherever you are on the business journey, you return to your goals and assess where you are in meeting your in-progress targets and setting new goals to work toward.

Numbers-based Goals

Goals can cover a variety of sections of your business. Financial and profit goals are a given for when you’re establishing your business, but there are other goals to take into account as well with regard to brand awareness and growth. For example, you might want to hit a certain number of followers across social channels or raise your engagement rates.

Another goal could be to attract new investors or find grants if you’re a nonprofit business. If you’re looking to grow, you’ll want to set revenue targets to make that happen as well.

Intangible Goals

Goals unrelated to traceable numbers are important as well. These can include seeing your business’s advertisement reach the general public or receiving a terrific client review. These goals are important for the direction you take your business and the direction you want it to go in the future.

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 in the current market or are providing something necessary or entirely new. If you have any patents or trademarks, this is where you can include those too.

If you have any visual aids, they should be included here as well. This would also be a good place to include pricing strategy and explain your materials.

This is the part of the business plan where you can explain your expertise and different approach in greater depth. Show how what you’re offering is vital to the market and fills an important gap.

You can also situate your business in your industry and compare it to other ones and how you have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Other than financial goals, you want to have a budget and set your planned weekly, monthly and annual spending. There are several different costs to consider, such as operational costs.

Business Operations Costs

Rent for your business is the first big cost to factor into your budget. If your business is remote, the cost that replaces rent will be the software that maintains your virtual operations.

Marketing and sales costs should be next on your list. Devoting money to making sure people know about your business is as important as making sure it functions.

Other Costs

Although you can’t anticipate disasters, there are likely to be unanticipated costs that come up at some point in your business’s existence. It’s important to factor these possible costs into your financial plans so you’re not caught totally unaware.

Business plans are important for businesses of all sizes so that you can define where your business is and where you want it to go. Growing your business requires a vision, and giving yourself a roadmap in the form of a business plan will set you up for success.

How do I write a simple business plan?

When you’re working on a business plan, make sure you have as much information as possible so that you can simplify it to the most relevant information. A simple business plan still needs all of the parts included in this article, but you can be very clear and direct.

What are some common mistakes in a business plan?

The most common mistakes in a business plan are common writing issues like grammar errors or misspellings. It’s important to be clear in your sentence structure and proofread your business plan before sending it to any investors or partners.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry.

Starting a Business | Buyer's Guide

6 Best Business Plan Writing Services

Published October 21, 2020

Published Oct 21, 2020

WRITTEN BY: Blake Stockton

This article is part of a larger series on Starting a Business .

A well-written, well-researched business plan is vital to the success of a new business or venture. It can attract investors and help you get a bank loan. Not every businessperson has the time or expertise to craft a winning business plan. Fortunately, there are companies with decades of experience that will assist. We evaluated several and found the six below to be the best business plan writing services available.

Top 6 Business Plan Writing Services

How We Evaluated Business Plan Writing Services

All the business plan writing services we evaluated had MBA writers and years of experience in many industries. To distinguish the best, we examined the following:

• Price: Most do not list prices, although customer quotes put many of them in the $3,000 range.
• Expertise: We considered years in service, qualifications of the writing and management teams, and industries served.
• Types of Business Plans: Some companies focus only on plans for funding or strategic planning. Others offered more specific plans like visa business plans. Still, others narrowed their focus more tightly. Some also offer pitch decks and presentation-ready formats.
• Turnaround Time: The average business plan turnaround time was two weeks, with additional time for revisions. Always ask about how much time you get for revisions and if there are additional costs involved.
• Additional Services: Several of these companies offer additional services to help you succeed. If you are considering mentorship or know you’ll need some assessment, having one of these companies build your plan could give you a head start in building a relationship.

Bargain Business Plan: Best Overall Business Plan Writing Service

Bargain Business Plan is one of the least expensive business plan services we reviewed. Still, it offers experienced writers and a wide range of plans that includes immigration and visa plans. Overall, it has excellent reviews from customers. You can view samples of their well-designed plans. It’s the only service that provides flat-rate pricing as well.

Visit Bargain Business Plan

Bargain Business Plan Pricing

• Bargain: $1,599. For startup businesses with simple business models looking to apply for small business loans or seeking a blueprint for development
• Economical: $1,999. For startup and existing businesses with a more complex operation, such as restaurants and child care centers
• Optimum: $2,799. For businesses seeking government grants, investments from venture capitalists, and funding through the SBA’s CDC/504 Loan Program
• L-1 Visa: $1,999
• E-2 Visa: $2,199
• EB-5 Visa: $3,499
• Consultations: Free

Bargain Business Plan Services

• Detailed Business Plans: All plans include custom written business plans with market analysis, financial projections, and marketing plans. Higher-level plans offer more details, and each plan is designed for its specific purpose. For example, SBA loan versus visa.
• Quick Turnaround: Drafts are done in seven to 10 days, with 14 days of unlimited revisions.
• Experience: Bargain Business Plan has served 900 industries over the past 12 years and has worked with 500 partners and 10,000 customers. For immigration business plans, they work with immigration experts across the country. User reviews praise their expertise and attention to detail as well as share successes.

Why We Like Bargain Business Plan

Startups don’t always have a big budget for business plans, but it can be a key document for achieving success. Bargain Business Plan offers custom, well-researched, and beautifully designed business plans at excellent prices. The willingness to revise is a big plus as well.

Optimal Thinking: Best Plan Writing Service for Startup and Growing Companies

Optimal Thinking says it best works on business plans for “early stage and existing businesses expanding organically or via acquisition.” It claims a 92% success rate with its business proposals. In addition, it offers other programs to help businesses succeed.

Visit Optimal Thinking

Optimal Thinking Pricing

Varies anywhere from $5,000 to $30,000, depending on plan and scope. Call for a quote.

Optimal Thinking Services

• Expertise: Optimal Thinking has team members who are senior business executives, MBA writers, and industry experts in financing, operating, and marketing companies of all sizes. It  also has 27 years’ experience in writing business plans.
• Plans address potential roadblocks: Optimal Thinking helps ensure success by anticipating potential business challenges, such as restrictive government regulations, economic issues, or market industry changes. Then, it includes ways to work around or through these issues.
• Additional Programs: The company offers mentorship, employee motivation programs, and business assessments of communications, resources, opportunities, and more.

Why We Like Optimal Thinking

Optimal Thinking works with large companies such as Red Bull and Warner Brothers. Its writers have extensive experience in financials and business. Applying that knowledge to a business plan, even for a startup, means you will get not only a well-written and well-researched plan but also one that is informed by their years of expertise. This is also a company you can build a relationship with—get coaching and assistance in other areas of your business.

Wise Business Plans: Best Business Plan Writing Service for Specialized Plans

Wise Business Plans has one of the widest varieties of plans of the providers we reviewed. Its business plans are well-researched and thought out, as well as beautifully designed. It works to make sure your ideas and the plan are sound and offer additional services to help you with execution, including funding referrals.

Visit Wise Business Plans

Wise Business Plans Pricing

Pricing varies, though users have quoted prices around $3,000. To get a specific quote, call for a consultation. After the first revision, Wise Business Plans charges $199 per revision.

Wise Business Plans Services

• Investor Business Plan
• Bank Business Plan
• Strategic Business Plan
• Nonprofit Business Plan
• Franchise Business Plan
• L-1 Business Plan
• E-2 Business Plan
• EB-5 Business Plan
• EB-5 Regional Centers
• Merger And Acquisition Business Plan (M&A)
• Private Placement Memorandums (PPM)

It also offers professional feasibility studies, PowerPoint presentations, pitch decks, and straight market research.

• Bookkeeping Services
• Graphic Design Services
• Logo Design
• Flyer and Brochure Design Services
• Business Printing Services
• Concierge Services
• Business Consulting Services for Startup Company
• Website Design
• Business E-books Resources
• Small Business Marketing Services
• Experience: Wise Business Plans hires MBA writers, financial and market analysts, and graphics designers. The company has done thousands of business plans in over 400 industries.

Why We Like Wise Business Plans

Wise Business Plans has a reputation for doing more than creating a plan for you. It challenges you to make sure your assumptions and ideas are the best they can be. Reviewers on its Facebook page praise the quality of the final product, noting especially the graphics.

Pro Business Plans: Best Business Plan Writing Service for Startups & Canadian Visas

Pro Business Plans gets props for the focus of its plans. While all the services we reviewed will build custom business plans, Pro Business Plans is one of the few that has plans that specifically focus on specific issues. It also has industry experts in finance/accounting and immigration.

Visit Pro Business Plans

Pro Business Plans Pricing

Pricing varies—call for a consultation.

Pro Business Plans Services

• Focus: Pro Business Plans offers the usual range of business plans: SBA/bank, investment, L-1, E-2, EB-5. However, it also has plans specifically for nonprofits, startups, and the Canadian visa (PNP) program. It also has a pure market analysis product if your goal is to understand your industry before launching your business or expanding into a new area.
• Experience: Many Pro Business Plans team members come from major accounting firms or have extensive experience working in venture investment capital. The company has served over 900 industries and has over 500 partners, including contacts in the visa application process.
• Fast Turnaround: You can get your business plan drafted in four to seven calendar days, with seven days of close collaboration to get all the details polished.

Why We Like Pro Business Plans

In addition to the variety of plans and experience of the writers, what impressed us about Pro Business Plans was that users said they often went beyond simply writing the plan, providing advice and coaching during the process. Other reviews praised its market and financial research.

Go Business Plans: Best Business Plan Writing Service for Visa Business Plans

While Go Business Plans can work with any industry, its business consultants have had notable success with E-2, EB-5, and L-1 visa business plans. It can create business plans for investors, Small Business Administration (SBA) loans, and strategic and internal planning.

Visit Go Business Plans

Go Business Plans Pricing

Go Business Plans does custom pricing within the range of $2,000 to $10,000.

Go Business Plans Services

• Customized templates: The writers create custom plans. First, they schedule a one-hour interview with you for the basics, then conduct market research, financial analysis, and company and industry analysis, and compare you to the competition. They work with you to ensure it meets your expectations as well as SBA standards.
• Advice and Assistance: Go Business Plans brainstorms and researches business strategies to advise you and can help with creating a website, generating leads, implementing marketing, and other services.
• Immigration/Visa Business Plans: Go Business Plans has helped entrepreneurs from over 100 countries get their visas. It has drafted plans for 300 lawyers and over 1200 applicants. It works directly with your lawyer to make sure the plan and the legal applications are consistent as well.
• Extensive market research: The business consultants have access to over 15 market research databases, including some of the top-tier ones like IBISWorld, Euromonitor, Hoovers, Mintel, Statista, Freedonia, Frost & Sullivan, Forrester, and First Research.

Why We Like Go Business Plans

This business plan writing service offers expertise at competitive prices, and according to past customers, is willing to go the extra mile to help ensure success. Many customers of its business plans went on to use its other services such as website development.

LivePlan: Best Business Plan Writing Software for DIY

Rather than a consulting service that writes the plans for you, LivePlan is a software that helps you build a business plan. Plans start at $20 per month, and prices decrease if you purchase a six-month or annual plan. It offers additional tools to monitor your company’s progress, as well. This is the right choice for the entrepreneur on a budget or one who has done the research and needs a software to help them put it into an attractive format for presentation.

Visit LivePlan

LivePlan Pricing

LivePlan has a pay-as-you-go system but discounts for multiple months. Your first month is only $10, and it offers a 60-day money-back guarantee.

• $20 per month, for monthly plans (First month $10)
• $18 per month for six months
• $15 per month for 12 months

LivePlan Features

• Ease of use: Start by filling out the questionnaire and follow the instructions to create a basic plan. The software creates the financial tables, charts, and reports. Choose from 10 themes to create a professional-looking report that is SBA-approved.
• Integrations: Sync to your QuickBooks or Xero to create reports or update sections. Export plans to Word or PDF, or put it in PowerPoint to make a slideshow presentation.
• Tools that go beyond the business plan: LivePlan offers real-time performance dashboards to track budgets and goals. Benchmark data shows you how you are faring compared to others in your industry or location. Create and track milestones for measuring your progress as you grow.
• Help features and examples: If you are blocked or unsure how to create a part of your plan, you can access over 500 examples in all types of industries and watch expert tutorials. Have a problem with the software? Reach support by phone, email, or chat.

Why We Like LivePlan

LivePlan offers an economical way for businesses that are comfortable with their data to create professional business plans for investors or banks. Additionally, it lets you create as many as you wish, so you can customize your plans for your audience or need or update them as your company grows. With budgeting and forecasting tools, it also helps you execute your business plan so your company can succeed.

Other Business Plan Writing Services Worth Considering:

• Cayenne Consulting: Cayenne provides a highly qualified team of writers and has experience not only in business plan writing but also in other investment materials and private placements. It’s a good service for those looking for funding.
• Growthink: This company has highly qualified and educated writers with extensive international experience. It is good for international businesses and business plans for strategic planning and mergers or acquisitions.
• Masterplans: This company is more expensive than most on our list (prices ranging from $10,000 to $49,999) but is a highly reputable company that has created over 18,000 business plans for SMBs to multimillion-dollar investment projects.
• Way2markit: This company provides business plans for investing, franchises, nonprofits, banks/SBA loans, and more. It also provides other business services from idea development to website design.
• Freelance: You can find qualified business plan writers on freelance sites like Upwork. They may be less expensive. Before hiring anyone, be sure to check their qualifications and portfolio.

Bottom Line

Business plans are not cheap to create, but they can pay off by getting additional investment, secured loans, visas, or a clear direction for your company’s growth. For research purposes, be sure to know which type of business plan is right for your company. Each of the six business plan writing services reviewed offers decades of experience, high-quality reports, and reasonable prices.

Learn more about How to Start a Business in our complete guide.

About the Author

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Blake Stockton

Blake Stockton is a staff writer at Fit Small Business focusing on how to start brick-and-mortar and online businesses. He is a frequent guest lecturer at several undergraduate business and MBA classes at University of North Florida . Prior to joining Fit Small Business, Blake consulted with over 700 small biz owners and assisted with starting and growing their businesses.

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How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)

Every successful business has one thing in common, a good and well-executed business plan. A business plan is more than a document, it is a complete guide that outlines the goals your business wants to achieve, including its financial goals . It helps you analyze results, make strategic decisions, show your business operations and growth.

If you want to start a business or already have one and need to pitch it to investors for funding, writing a good business plan improves your chances of attracting financiers. As a startup, if you want to secure loans from financial institutions, part of the requirements involve submitting your business plan.

Writing a business plan does not have to be a complicated or time-consuming process. In this article, you will learn the step-by-step process for writing a successful business plan.

You will also learn what you need a business plan for, tips and strategies for writing a convincing business plan, business plan examples and templates that will save you tons of time, and the alternatives to the traditional business plan.

Let’s get started.

What Do You Need A Business Plan For?

Businesses create business plans for different purposes such as to secure funds, monitor business growth, measure your marketing strategies, and measure your business success.

1. Secure Funds

One of the primary reasons for writing a business plan is to secure funds, either from financial institutions/agencies or investors.

For you to effectively acquire funds, your business plan must contain the key elements of your business plan . For example, your business plan should include your growth plans, goals you want to achieve, and milestones you have recorded.

A business plan can also attract new business partners that are willing to contribute financially and intellectually. If you are writing a business plan to a bank, your project must show your traction , that is, the proof that you can pay back any loan borrowed.

Also, if you are writing to an investor, your plan must contain evidence that you can effectively utilize the funds you want them to invest in your business. Here, you are using your business plan to persuade a group or an individual that your business is a source of a good investment.

2. Monitor Business Growth

A business plan can help you track cash flows in your business. It steers your business to greater heights. A business plan capable of tracking business growth should contain:

• The business goals
• Methods to achieve the goals
• Time-frame for attaining those goals

A good business plan should guide you through every step in achieving your goals. It can also track the allocation of assets to every aspect of the business. You can tell when you are spending more than you should on a project.

You can compare a business plan to a written GPS. It helps you manage your business and hints at the right time to expand your business.

3. Measure Business Success

A business plan can help you measure your business success rate. Some small-scale businesses are thriving better than more prominent companies because of their track record of success.

Right from the onset of your business operation, set goals and work towards them. Write a plan to guide you through your procedures. Use your plan to measure how much you have achieved and how much is left to attain.

You can also weigh your success by monitoring the position of your brand relative to competitors. On the other hand, a business plan can also show you why you have not achieved a goal. It can tell if you have elapsed the time frame you set to attain a goal.

4. Document Your Marketing Strategies

You can use a business plan to document your marketing plans. Every business should have an effective marketing plan.

Competition mandates every business owner to go the extraordinary mile to remain relevant in the market. Your business plan should contain your marketing strategies that work. You can measure the success rate of your marketing plans.

In your business plan, your marketing strategy must answer the questions:

• How do you want to reach your target audience?
• How do you plan to retain your customers?
• What is/are your pricing plans?
• What is your budget for marketing?

How to Write a Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. create your executive summary.

The executive summary is a snapshot of your business or a high-level overview of your business purposes and plans . Although the executive summary is the first section in your business plan, most people write it last. The length of the executive summary is not more than two pages.

Generally, there are nine sections in a business plan, the executive summary should condense essential ideas from the other eight sections.

A good executive summary should do the following:

• A Snapshot of Growth Potential. Briefly inform the reader about your company and why it will be successful)
• Contain your Mission Statement which explains what the main objective or focus of your business is.
• Product Description and Differentiation. Brief description of your products or services and why it is different from other solutions in the market.
• The Team. Basic information about your company’s leadership team and employees
• Business Concept. A solid description of what your business does.
• Target Market. The customers you plan to sell to.
• Marketing Strategy. Your plans on reaching and selling to your customers
• Current Financial State. Brief information about what revenue your business currently generates.
• Projected Financial State. Brief information about what you foresee your business revenue to be in the future.

The executive summary is the make-or-break section of your business plan. If your summary cannot in less than two pages cannot clearly describe how your business will solve a particular problem of your target audience and make a profit, your business plan is set on a faulty foundation.

Avoid using the executive summary to hype your business, instead, focus on helping the reader understand the what and how of your plan.

View the executive summary as an opportunity to introduce your vision for your company. You know your executive summary is powerful when it can answer these key questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What sector or industry are you in?
• What are your products and services?
• What is the future of your industry?
• Is your company scaleable?
• Who are the owners and leaders of your company? What are their backgrounds and experience levels?
• What is the motivation for starting your company?
• What are the next steps?

Writing the executive summary last although it is the most important section of your business plan is an excellent idea. The reason why is because it is a high-level overview of your business plan. It is the section that determines whether potential investors and lenders will read further or not.

The executive summary can be a stand-alone document that covers everything in your business plan. It is not uncommon for investors to request only the executive summary when evaluating your business. If the information in the executive summary impresses them, they will ask for the complete business plan.

If you are writing your business plan for your planning purposes, you do not need to write the executive summary.

2. Add Your Company Overview

The company overview or description is the next section in your business plan after the executive summary. It describes what your business does.

Adding your company overview can be tricky especially when your business is still in the planning stages. Existing businesses can easily summarize their current operations but may encounter difficulties trying to explain what they plan to become.

Your company overview should contain the following:

• What products and services you will provide
• Geographical markets and locations your company have a presence
• What you need to run your business
• Who your target audience or customers are
• Who will service your customers
• Your company’s purpose, mission, and vision
• Information about your company’s founders
• Who the founders are
• Notable achievements of your company so far

When creating a company overview, you have to focus on three basics: identifying your industry, identifying your customer, and explaining the problem you solve.

If you are stuck when creating your company overview, try to answer some of these questions that pertain to you.

• Who are you targeting? (The answer is not everyone)
• What pain point does your product or service solve for your customers that they will be willing to spend money on resolving?
• How does your product or service overcome that pain point?
• Where is the location of your business?
• What products, equipment, and services do you need to run your business?
• How is your company’s product or service different from your competition in the eyes of your customers?
• How many employees do you need and what skills do you require them to have?

After answering some or all of these questions, you will get more than enough information you need to write your company overview or description section. When writing this section, describe what your company does for your customers.

The company description or overview section contains three elements: mission statement, history, and objectives.

• Mission Statement

The mission statement refers to the reason why your business or company is existing. It goes beyond what you do or sell, it is about the ‘why’. A good mission statement should be emotional and inspirational.

Your mission statement should follow the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid). For example, Shopify’s mission statement is “Make commerce better for everyone.”

When describing your company’s history, make it simple and avoid the temptation of tying it to a defensive narrative. Write it in the manner you would a profile. Your company’s history should include the following information:

• Founding Date
• Major Milestones
• Location(s)
• Flagship Products or Services
• Number of Employees
• Executive Leadership Roles

When you fill in this information, you use it to write one or two paragraphs about your company’s history.

Business Objectives

Your business objective must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.) Failure to clearly identify your business objectives does not inspire confidence and makes it hard for your team members to work towards a common purpose.

3. Perform Market and Competitive Analyses to Proof a Big Enough Business Opportunity

The third step in writing a business plan is the market and competitive analysis section. Every business, no matter the size, needs to perform comprehensive market and competitive analyses before it enters into a market.

Performing market and competitive analyses are critical for the success of your business. It helps you avoid entering the right market with the wrong product, or vice versa. Anyone reading your business plans, especially financiers and financial institutions will want to see proof that there is a big enough business opportunity you are targeting.

This section is where you describe the market and industry you want to operate in and show the big opportunities in the market that your business can leverage to make a profit. If you noticed any unique trends when doing your research, show them in this section.

Market analysis alone is not enough, you have to add competitive analysis to strengthen this section. There are already businesses in the industry or market, how do you plan to take a share of the market from them?

You have to clearly illustrate the competitive landscape in your business plan. Are there areas your competitors are doing well? Are there areas where they are not doing so well? Show it.

Make it clear in this section why you are moving into the industry and what weaknesses are present there that you plan to explain. How are your competitors going to react to your market entry? How do you plan to get customers? Do you plan on taking your competitors' competitors, tap into other sources for customers, or both?

Illustrate the competitive landscape as well. What are your competitors doing well and not so well?

Answering these questions and thoughts will aid your market and competitive analysis of the opportunities in your space. Depending on how sophisticated your industry is, or the expectations of your financiers, you may need to carry out a more comprehensive market and competitive analysis to prove that big business opportunity.

Instead of looking at the market and competitive analyses as one entity, separating them will make the research even more comprehensive.

Market Analysis

Market analysis, boarding speaking, refers to research a business carried out on its industry, market, and competitors. It helps businesses gain a good understanding of their target market and the outlook of their industry. Before starting a company, it is vital to carry out market research to find out if the market is viable.

The market analysis section is a key part of the business plan. It is the section where you identify who your best clients or customers are. You cannot omit this section, without it your business plan is incomplete.

A good market analysis will tell your readers how you fit into the existing market and what makes you stand out. This section requires in-depth research, it will probably be the most time-consuming part of the business plan to write.

• Market Research

To create a compelling market analysis that will win over investors and financial institutions, you have to carry out thorough market research . Your market research should be targeted at your primary target market for your products or services. Here is what you want to find out about your target market.

• Your target market’s needs or pain points
• The existing solutions for their pain points
• Geographic Location
• Demographics

The purpose of carrying out a marketing analysis is to get all the information you need to show that you have a solid and thorough understanding of your target audience.

Only after you have fully understood the people you plan to sell your products or services to, can you evaluate correctly if your target market will be interested in your products or services.

You can easily convince interested parties to invest in your business if you can show them you thoroughly understand the market and show them that there is a market for your products or services.

How to Quantify Your Target Market

One of the goals of your marketing research is to understand who your ideal customers are and their purchasing power. To quantify your target market, you have to determine the following:

• Your Potential Customers: They are the people you plan to target. For example, if you sell accounting software for small businesses , then anyone who runs an enterprise or large business is unlikely to be your customers. Also, individuals who do not have a business will most likely not be interested in your product.
• Total Households: If you are selling household products such as heating and air conditioning systems, determining the number of total households is more important than finding out the total population in the area you want to sell to. The logic is simple, people buy the product but it is the household that uses it.
• Median Income: You need to know the median income of your target market. If you target a market that cannot afford to buy your products and services, your business will not last long.
• Income by Demographics: If your potential customers belong to a certain age group or gender, determining income levels by demographics is necessary. For example, if you sell men's clothes, your target audience is men.

What Does a Good Market Analysis Entail?

Your business does not exist on its own, it can only flourish within an industry and alongside competitors. Market analysis takes into consideration your industry, target market, and competitors. Understanding these three entities will drastically improve your company’s chances of success.

You can view your market analysis as an examination of the market you want to break into and an education on the emerging trends and themes in that market. Good market analyses include the following:

• Industry Description. You find out about the history of your industry, the current and future market size, and who the largest players/companies are in your industry.
• Overview of Target Market. You research your target market and its characteristics. Who are you targeting? Note, it cannot be everyone, it has to be a specific group. You also have to find out all information possible about your customers that can help you understand how and why they make buying decisions.
• Size of Target Market: You need to know the size of your target market, how frequently they buy, and the expected quantity they buy so you do not risk overproducing and having lots of bad inventory. Researching the size of your target market will help you determine if it is big enough for sustained business or not.
• Growth Potential: Before picking a target market, you want to be sure there are lots of potential for future growth. You want to avoid going for an industry that is declining slowly or rapidly with almost zero growth potential.
• Market Share Potential: Does your business stand a good chance of taking a good share of the market?
• Market Pricing and Promotional Strategies: Your market analysis should give you an idea of the price point you can expect to charge for your products and services. Researching your target market will also give you ideas of pricing strategies you can implement to break into the market or to enjoy maximum profits.
• Potential Barriers to Entry: One of the biggest benefits of conducting market analysis is that it shows you every potential barrier to entry your business will likely encounter. It is a good idea to discuss potential barriers to entry such as changing technology. It informs readers of your business plan that you understand the market.
• Research on Competitors: You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you can exploit them for the benefit of your business. Find patterns and trends among your competitors that make them successful, discover what works and what doesn’t, and see what you can do better.

The market analysis section is not just for talking about your target market, industry, and competitors. You also have to explain how your company can fill the hole you have identified in the market.

Here are some questions you can answer that can help you position your product or service in a positive light to your readers.

• Is your product or service of superior quality?
• What additional features do you offer that your competitors do not offer?
• Are you targeting a ‘new’ market?

Basically, your market analysis should include an analysis of what already exists in the market and an explanation of how your company fits into the market.

Competitive Analysis

In the competitive analysis section, y ou have to understand who your direct and indirect competitions are, and how successful they are in the marketplace. It is the section where you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, the advantage(s) they possess in the market and show the unique features or qualities that make you different from your competitors.

Many businesses do market analysis and competitive analysis together. However, to fully understand what the competitive analysis entails, it is essential to separate it from the market analysis.

Competitive analysis for your business can also include analysis on how to overcome barriers to entry in your target market.

The primary goal of conducting a competitive analysis is to distinguish your business from your competitors. A strong competitive analysis is essential if you want to convince potential funding sources to invest in your business. You have to show potential investors and lenders that your business has what it takes to compete in the marketplace successfully.

Competitive analysis will s how you what the strengths of your competition are and what they are doing to maintain that advantage.

When doing your competitive research, you first have to identify your competitor and then get all the information you can about them. The idea of spending time to identify your competitor and learn everything about them may seem daunting but it is well worth it.

Find answers to the following questions after you have identified who your competitors are.

• What are your successful competitors doing?
• Why is what they are doing working?
• Can your business do it better?
• What are the weaknesses of your successful competitors?
• What are they not doing well?
• Can your business turn its weaknesses into strengths?
• How good is your competitors’ customer service?
• Where do your competitors invest in advertising?
• What sales and pricing strategies are they using?
• What marketing strategies are they using?
• What kind of press coverage do they get?
• What are their customers saying about your competitors (both the positive and negative)?

If your competitors have a website, it is a good idea to visit their websites for more competitors’ research. Check their “About Us” page for more information.

If you are presenting your business plan to investors, you need to clearly distinguish yourself from your competitors. Investors can easily tell when you have not properly researched your competitors.

Take time to think about what unique qualities or features set you apart from your competitors. If you do not have any direct competition offering your product to the market, it does not mean you leave out the competitor analysis section blank. Instead research on other companies that are providing a similar product, or whose product is solving the problem your product solves.

The next step is to create a table listing the top competitors you want to include in your business plan. Ensure you list your business as the last and on the right. What you just created is known as the competitor analysis table.

Direct vs Indirect Competition

You cannot know if your product or service will be a fit for your target market if you have not understood your business and the competitive landscape.

There is no market you want to target where you will not encounter competition, even if your product is innovative. Including competitive analysis in your business plan is essential.

If you are entering an established market, you need to explain how you plan to differentiate your products from the available options in the market. Also, include a list of few companies that you view as your direct competitors The competition you face in an established market is your direct competition.

In situations where you are entering a market with no direct competition, it does not mean there is no competition there. Consider your indirect competition that offers substitutes for the products or services you offer.

For example, if you sell an innovative SaaS product, let us say a project management software , a company offering time management software is your indirect competition.

There is an easy way to find out who your indirect competitors are in the absence of no direct competitors. You simply have to research how your potential customers are solving the problems that your product or service seeks to solve. That is your direct competition.

Factors that Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

There are three main factors that any business can use to differentiate itself from its competition. They are cost leadership, product differentiation, and market segmentation.

1. Cost Leadership

A strategy you can impose to maximize your profits and gain an edge over your competitors. It involves offering lower prices than what the majority of your competitors are offering.

A common practice among businesses looking to enter into a market where there are dominant players is to use free trials or pricing to attract as many customers as possible to their offer.

2. Product Differentiation

Your product or service should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that your competitors do not have or do not stress in their marketing.

Part of the marketing strategy should involve making your products unique and different from your competitors. It does not have to be different from your competitors, it can be the addition to a feature or benefit that your competitors do not currently have.

3. Market Segmentation

As a new business seeking to break into an industry, you will gain more success from focusing on a specific niche or target market, and not the whole industry.

If your competitors are focused on a general need or target market, you can differentiate yourself from them by having a small and hyper-targeted audience. For example, if your competitors are selling men’s clothes in their online stores , you can sell hoodies for men.

4. Define Your Business and Management Structure

The next step in your business plan is your business and management structure. It is the section where you describe the legal structure of your business and the team running it.

Your business is only as good as the management team that runs it, while the management team can only strive when there is a proper business and management structure in place.

If your company is a sole proprietor or a limited liability company (LLC), a general or limited partnership, or a C or an S corporation, state it clearly in this section.

Use an organizational chart to show the management structure in your business. Clearly show who is in charge of what area in your company. It is where you show how each key manager or team leader’s unique experience can contribute immensely to the success of your company. You can also opt to add the resumes and CVs of the key players in your company.

The business and management structure section should show who the owner is, and other owners of the businesses (if the business has other owners). For businesses or companies with multiple owners, include the percent ownership of the various owners and clearly show the extent of each others’ involvement in the company.

Investors want to know who is behind the company and the team running it to determine if it has the right management to achieve its set goals.

Management Team

The management team section is where you show that you have the right team in place to successfully execute the business operations and ideas. Take time to create the management structure for your business. Think about all the important roles and responsibilities that you need managers for to grow your business.

Include brief bios of each key team member and ensure you highlight only the relevant information that is needed. If your team members have background industry experience or have held top positions for other companies and achieved success while filling that role, highlight it in this section.

A common mistake that many startups make is assigning C-level titles such as (CMO and CEO) to everyone on their team. It is unrealistic for a small business to have those titles. While it may look good on paper for the ego of your team members, it can prevent investors from investing in your business.

Instead of building an unrealistic management structure that does not fit your business reality, it is best to allow business titles to grow as the business grows. Starting everyone at the top leaves no room for future change or growth, which is bad for productivity.

Your management team does not have to be complete before you start writing your business plan. You can have a complete business plan even when there are managerial positions that are empty and need filling.

If you have management gaps in your team, simply show the gaps and indicate you are searching for the right candidates for the role(s). Investors do not expect you to have a full management team when you are just starting your business.

Key Questions to Answer When Structuring Your Management Team

• Who are the key leaders?
• What experiences, skills, and educational backgrounds do you expect your key leaders to have?
• Do your key leaders have industry experience?
• What positions will they fill and what duties will they perform in those positions?
• What level of authority do the key leaders have and what are their responsibilities?
• What is the salary for the various management positions that will attract the ideal candidates?

Additional Tips for Writing the Management Structure Section

1. Avoid Adding ‘Ghost’ Names to Your Management Team

There is always that temptation to include a ‘ghost’ name to your management team to attract and influence investors to invest in your business. Although the presence of these celebrity management team members may attract the attention of investors, it can cause your business to lose any credibility if you get found out.

Seasoned investors will investigate further the members of your management team before committing fully to your business If they find out that the celebrity name used does not play any actual role in your business, they will not invest and may write you off as dishonest.

2. Focus on Credentials But Pay Extra Attention to the Roles

Investors want to know the experience that your key team members have to determine if they can successfully reach the company’s growth and financial goals.

While it is an excellent boost for your key management team to have the right credentials, you also want to pay extra attention to the roles they will play in your company.

Organizational Chart

Adding an organizational chart in this section of your business plan is not necessary, you can do it in your business plan’s appendix.

If you are exploring funding options, it is not uncommon to get asked for your organizational chart. The function of an organizational chart goes beyond raising money, you can also use it as a useful planning tool for your business.

An organizational chart can help you identify how best to structure your management team for maximum productivity and point you towards key roles you need to fill in the future.

You can use the organizational chart to show your company’s internal management structure such as the roles and responsibilities of your management team, and relationships that exist between them.

5. Describe Your Product and Service Offering

In your business plan, you have to describe what you sell or the service you plan to offer. It is the next step after defining your business and management structure. The products and services section is where you sell the benefits of your business.

Here you have to explain how your product or service will benefit your customers and describe your product lifecycle. It is also the section where you write down your plans for intellectual property like patent filings and copyrighting.

The research and development that you are undertaking for your product or service need to be explained in detail in this section. However, do not get too technical, sell the general idea and its benefits.

If you have any diagrams or intricate designs of your product or service, do not include them in the products and services section. Instead, leave them for the addendum page. Also, if you are leaving out diagrams or designs for the addendum, ensure you add this phrase “For more detail, visit the addendum Page #.”

Your product and service section in your business plan should include the following:

• A detailed explanation that clearly shows how your product or service works.
• The pricing model for your product or service.
• Your business’ sales and distribution strategy.
• The ideal customers that want your product or service.
• The benefits of your products and services.
• Reason(s) why your product or service is a better alternative to what your competitors are currently offering in the market.
• Plans for filling the orders you receive
• If you have current or pending patents, copyrights, and trademarks for your product or service, you can also discuss them in this section.

What to Focus On When Describing the Benefits, Lifecycle, and Production Process of Your Products or Services

In the products and services section, you have to distill the benefits, lifecycle, and production process of your products and services.

When describing the benefits of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Unique features
• Translating the unique features into benefits
• The emotional, psychological, and practical payoffs to attract customers
• Intellectual property rights or any patents

When describing the product life cycle of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Upsells, cross-sells, and down-sells
• Time between purchases
• Plans for research and development.

When describing the production process for your products or services, you need to think about the following:

• The creation of new or existing products and services.
• The sources for the raw materials or components you need for production.
• Assembling the products
• Maintaining quality control
• Supply-chain logistics (receiving the raw materials and delivering the finished products)
• The day-to-day management of the production processes, bookkeeping, and inventory.

Tips for Writing the Products or Services Section of Your Business Plan

1. Avoid Technical Descriptions and Industry Buzzwords

The products and services section of your business plan should clearly describe the products and services that your company provides. However, it is not a section to include technical jargons that anyone outside your industry will not understand.

A good practice is to remove highly detailed or technical descriptions in favor of simple terms. Industry buzzwords are not necessary, if there are simpler terms you can use, then use them. If you plan to use your business plan to source funds, making the product or service section so technical will do you no favors.

2. Describe How Your Products or Services Differ from Your Competitors

When potential investors look at your business plan, they want to know how the products and services you are offering differ from that of your competition. Differentiating your products or services from your competition in a way that makes your solution more attractive is critical.

If you are going the innovative path and there is no market currently for your product or service, you need to describe in this section why the market needs your product or service.

For example, overnight delivery was a niche business that only a few companies were participating in. Federal Express (FedEx) had to show in its business plan that there was a large opportunity for that service and they justified why the market needed that service.

3. Long or Short Products or Services Section

Should your products or services section be short? Does the long products or services section attract more investors?

There are no straightforward answers to these questions. Whether your products or services section should be long or relatively short depends on the nature of your business.

If your business is product-focused, then automatically you need to use more space to describe the details of your products. However, if the product your business sells is a commodity item that relies on competitive pricing or other pricing strategies, you do not have to use up so much space to provide significant details about the product.

Likewise, if you are selling a commodity that is available in numerous outlets, then you do not have to spend time on writing a long products or services section.

The key to the success of your business is most likely the effectiveness of your marketing strategies compared to your competitors. Use more space to address that section.

If you are creating a new product or service that the market does not know about, your products or services section can be lengthy. The reason why is because you need to explain everything about the product or service such as the nature of the product, its use case, and values.

A short products or services section for an innovative product or service will not give the readers enough information to properly evaluate your business.

4. Describe Your Relationships with Vendors or Suppliers

Your business will rely on vendors or suppliers to supply raw materials or the components needed to make your products. In your products and services section, describe your relationships with your vendors and suppliers fully.

Avoid the mistake of relying on only one supplier or vendor. If that supplier or vendor fails to supply or goes out of business, you can easily face supply problems and struggle to meet your demands. Plan to set up multiple vendor or supplier relationships for better business stability.

5. Your Primary Goal Is to Convince Your Readers

The primary goal of your business plan is to convince your readers that your business is viable and to create a guide for your business to follow. It applies to the products and services section.

When drafting this section, think like the reader. See your reader as someone who has no idea about your products and services. You are using the products and services section to provide the needed information to help your reader understand your products and services. As a result, you have to be clear and to the point.

While you want to educate your readers about your products or services, you also do not want to bore them with lots of technical details. Show your products and services and not your fancy choice of words.

Your products and services section should provide the answer to the “what” question for your business. You and your management team may run the business, but it is your products and services that are the lifeblood of the business.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing your Products and Services Section

Answering these questions can help you write your products and services section quickly and in a way that will appeal to your readers.

• Are your products existing on the market or are they still in the development stage?
• What is your timeline for adding new products and services to the market?
• What are the positives that make your products and services different from your competitors?
• Do your products and services have any competitive advantage that your competitors’ products and services do not currently have?
• Do your products or services have any competitive disadvantages that you need to overcome to compete with your competitors? If your answer is yes, state how you plan to overcome them,
• How much does it cost to produce your products or services? How much do you plan to sell it for?
• What is the price for your products and services compared to your competitors? Is pricing an issue?
• What are your operating costs and will it be low enough for you to compete with your competitors and still take home a reasonable profit margin?
• What is your plan for acquiring your products? Are you involved in the production of your products or services?
• Are you the manufacturer and produce all the components you need to create your products? Do you assemble your products by using components supplied by other manufacturers? Do you purchase your products directly from suppliers or wholesalers?
• Do you have a steady supply of products that you need to start your business? (If your business is yet to kick-off)
• How do you plan to distribute your products or services to the market?

You can also hint at the marketing or promotion plans you have for your products or services such as how you plan to build awareness or retain customers. The next section is where you can go fully into details about your business’s marketing and sales plan.

6. Show and Explain Your Marketing and Sales Plan

Providing great products and services is wonderful, but it means nothing if you do not have a marketing and sales plan to inform your customers about them. Your marketing and sales plan is critical to the success of your business.

The sales and marketing section is where you show and offer a detailed explanation of your marketing and sales plan and how you plan to execute it. It covers your pricing plan, proposed advertising and promotion activities, activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success, and the benefits of your products and services.

There are several ways you can approach your marketing and sales strategy. Ideally, your marketing and sales strategy has to fit the unique needs of your business.

In this section, you describe how the plans your business has for attracting and retaining customers, and the exact process for making a sale happen. It is essential to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales plans because you are still going to reference this section when you are making financial projections for your business.

Outline Your Business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The sales and marketing section is where you outline your business’s unique selling proposition (USP). When you are developing your unique selling proposition, think about the strongest reasons why people should buy from you over your competition. That reason(s) is most likely a good fit to serve as your unique selling proposition (USP).

Target Market and Target Audience

Plans on how to get your products or services to your target market and how to get your target audience to buy them go into this section. You also highlight the strengths of your business here, particularly what sets them apart from your competition.

Before you start writing your marketing and sales plan, you need to have properly defined your target audience and fleshed out your buyer persona. If you do not first understand the individual you are marketing to, your marketing and sales plan will lack any substance and easily fall.

Creating a Smart Marketing and Sales Plan

Marketing your products and services is an investment that requires you to spend money. Like any other investment, you have to generate a good return on investment (ROI) to justify using that marketing and sales plan. Good marketing and sales plans bring in high sales and profits to your company.

Avoid spending money on unproductive marketing channels. Do your research and find out the best marketing and sales plan that works best for your company.

Your marketing and sales plan can be broken into different parts: your positioning statement, pricing, promotion, packaging, advertising, public relations, content marketing, social media, and strategic alliances.

Your Positioning Statement

Your positioning statement is the first part of your marketing and sales plan. It refers to the way you present your company to your customers.

Are you the premium solution, the low-price solution, or are you the intermediary between the two extremes in the market? What do you offer that your competitors do not that can give you leverage in the market?

Before you start writing your positioning statement, you need to spend some time evaluating the current market conditions. Here are some questions that can help you to evaluate the market

• What are the unique features or benefits that you offer that your competitors lack?
• What are your customers’ primary needs and wants?
• Why should a customer choose you over your competition? How do you plan to differentiate yourself from the competition?
• How does your company’s solution compare with other solutions in the market?

After answering these questions, then you can start writing your positioning statement. Your positioning statement does not have to be in-depth or too long.

All you need to explain with your positioning statement are two focus areas. The first is the position of your company within the competitive landscape. The other focus area is the core value proposition that sets your company apart from other alternatives that your ideal customer might consider.

Here is a simple template you can use to develop a positioning statement.

For [description of target market] who [need of target market], [product or service] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [top competition], it [most essential distinguishing feature].

For example, let’s create the positioning statement for fictional accounting software and QuickBooks alternative , TBooks.

“For small business owners who need accounting services, TBooks is an accounting software that helps small businesses handle their small business bookkeeping basics quickly and easily. Unlike Wave, TBooks gives small businesses access to live sessions with top accountants.”

You can edit this positioning statement sample and fill it with your business details.

After writing your positioning statement, the next step is the pricing of your offerings. The overall positioning strategy you set in your positioning statement will often determine how you price your products or services.

Pricing is a powerful tool that sends a strong message to your customers. Failure to get your pricing strategy right can make or mar your business. If you are targeting a low-income audience, setting a premium price can result in low sales.

You can use pricing to communicate your positioning to your customers. For example, if you are offering a product at a premium price, you are sending a message to your customers that the product belongs to the premium category.

Basic Rules to Follow When Pricing Your Offering

Setting a price for your offering involves more than just putting a price tag on it. Deciding on the right pricing for your offering requires following some basic rules. They include covering your costs, primary and secondary profit center pricing, and matching the market rate.

• Covering Your Costs: The price you set for your products or service should be more than it costs you to produce and deliver them. Every business has the same goal, to make a profit. Depending on the strategy you want to use, there are exceptions to this rule. However, the vast majority of businesses follow this rule.
• Primary and Secondary Profit Center Pricing: When a company sets its price above the cost of production, it is making that product its primary profit center. A company can also decide not to make its initial price its primary profit center by selling below or at even with its production cost. It rather depends on the support product or even maintenance that is associated with the initial purchase to make its profit. The initial price thus became its secondary profit center.
• Matching the Market Rate: A good rule to follow when pricing your products or services is to match your pricing with consumer demand and expectations. If you price your products or services beyond the price your customer perceives as the ideal price range, you may end up with no customers. Pricing your products too low below what your customer perceives as the ideal price range may lead to them undervaluing your offering.

Pricing Strategy

Your pricing strategy influences the price of your offering. There are several pricing strategies available for you to choose from when examining the right pricing strategy for your business. They include cost-plus pricing, market-based pricing, value pricing, and more.

• Cost-plus Pricing: This strategy is one of the simplest and oldest pricing strategies. Here you consider the cost of producing a unit of your product and then add a profit to it to arrive at your market price. It is an effective pricing strategy for manufacturers because it helps them cover their initial costs. Another name for the cost-plus pricing strategy is the markup pricing strategy.
• Market-based Pricing: This pricing strategy analyses the market including competitors’ pricing and then sets a price based on what the market is expecting. With this pricing strategy, you can either set your price at the low-end or high-end of the market.
• Value Pricing: This pricing strategy involves setting a price based on the value you are providing to your customer. When adopting a value-based pricing strategy, you have to set a price that your customers are willing to pay. Service-based businesses such as small business insurance providers , luxury goods sellers, and the fashion industry use this pricing strategy.

After carefully sorting out your positioning statement and pricing, the next item to look at is your promotional strategy. Your promotional strategy explains how you plan on communicating with your customers and prospects.

As a business, you must measure all your costs, including the cost of your promotions. You also want to measure how much sales your promotions bring for your business to determine its usefulness. Promotional strategies or programs that do not lead to profit need to be removed.

There are different types of promotional strategies you can adopt for your business, they include advertising, public relations, and content marketing.

Advertising

Your business plan should include your advertising plan which can be found in the marketing and sales plan section. You need to include an overview of your advertising plans such as the areas you plan to spend money on to advertise your business and offers.

Ensure that you make it clear in this section if your business will be advertising online or using the more traditional offline media, or the combination of both online and offline media. You can also include the advertising medium you want to use to raise awareness about your business and offers.

Some common online advertising mediums you can use include social media ads, landing pages, sales pages, SEO, Pay-Per-Click, emails, Google Ads, and others. Some common traditional and offline advertising mediums include word of mouth, radios, direct mail, televisions, flyers, billboards, posters, and others.

A key component of your advertising strategy is how you plan to measure the effectiveness and success of your advertising campaign. There is no point in sticking with an advertising plan or medium that does not produce results for your business in the long run.

Public Relations

A great way to reach your customers is to get the media to cover your business or product. Publicity, especially good ones, should be a part of your marketing and sales plan. In this section, show your plans for getting prominent reviews of your product from reputable publications and sources.

Your business needs that exposure to grow. If public relations is a crucial part of your promotional strategy, provide details about your public relations plan here.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a popular promotional strategy used by businesses to inform and attract their customers. It is about teaching and educating your prospects on various topics of interest in your niche, it does not just involve informing them about the benefits and features of the products and services you have,

Businesses publish content usually for free where they provide useful information, tips, and advice so that their target market can be made aware of the importance of their products and services. Content marketing strategies seek to nurture prospects into buyers over time by simply providing value.

Your company can create a blog where it will be publishing content for its target market. You will need to use the best website builder such as Wix and Squarespace and the best web hosting services such as Bluehost, Hostinger, and other Bluehost alternatives to create a functional blog or website.

If content marketing is a crucial part of your promotional strategy (as it should be), detail your plans under promotions.

Including high-quality images of the packaging of your product in your business plan is a lovely idea. You can add the images of the packaging of that product in the marketing and sales plan section. If you are not selling a product, then you do not need to include any worry about the physical packaging of your product.

When organizing the packaging section of your business plan, you can answer the following questions to make maximum use of this section.

• Is your choice of packaging consistent with your positioning strategy?
• What key value proposition does your packaging communicate? (It should reflect the key value proposition of your business)
• How does your packaging compare to that of your competitors?

Social Media

Your 21st-century business needs to have a good social media presence. Not having one is leaving out opportunities for growth and reaching out to your prospect.

You do not have to join the thousands of social media platforms out there. What you need to do is join the ones that your customers are active on and be active there.

Businesses use social media to provide information about their products such as promotions, discounts, the benefits of their products, and content on their blogs.

Social media is also a platform for engaging with your customers and getting feedback about your products or services. Make no mistake, more and more of your prospects are using social media channels to find more information about companies.

You need to consider the social media channels you want to prioritize your business (prioritize the ones your customers are active in) and your branding plans in this section.

Strategic Alliances

If your company plans to work closely with other companies as part of your sales and marketing plan, include it in this section. Prove details about those partnerships in your business plan if you have already established them.

Strategic alliances can be beneficial for all parties involved including your company. Working closely with another company in the form of a partnership can provide access to a different target market segment for your company.

The company you are partnering with may also gain access to your target market or simply offer a new product or service (that of your company) to its customers.

Mutually beneficial partnerships can cover the weaknesses of one company with the strength of another. You should consider strategic alliances with companies that sell complimentary products to yours. For example, if you provide printers, you can partner with a company that produces ink since the customers that buy printers from you will also need inks for printing.

Steps Involved in Creating a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Focus on Your Target Market

Identify who your customers are, the market you want to target. Then determine the best ways to get your products or services to your potential customers.

2. Evaluate Your Competition

One of the goals of having a marketing plan is to distinguish yourself from your competition. You cannot stand out from them without first knowing them in and out.

You can know your competitors by gathering information about their products, pricing, service, and advertising campaigns.

These questions can help you know your competition.

• What makes your competition successful?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What are customers saying about your competition?

3. Consider Your Brand

Customers' perception of your brand has a strong impact on your sales. Your marketing and sales plan should seek to bolster the image of your brand. Before you start marketing your business, think about the message you want to pass across about your business and your products and services.

4. Focus on Benefits

The majority of your customers do not view your product in terms of features, what they want to know is the benefits and solutions your product offers. Think about the problems your product solves and the benefits it delivers, and use it to create the right sales and marketing message.

Your marketing plan should focus on what you want your customer to get instead of what you provide. Identify those benefits in your marketing and sales plan.

5. Focus on Differentiation

Your marketing and sales plan should look for a unique angle they can take that differentiates your business from the competition, even if the products offered are similar. Some good areas of differentiation you can use are your benefits, pricing, and features.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing Your Marketing and Sales Plan

• What is your company’s budget for sales and marketing campaigns?
• What key metrics will you use to determine if your marketing plans are successful?
• What are your alternatives if your initial marketing efforts do not succeed?
• Who are the sales representatives you need to promote your products or services?
• What are the marketing and sales channels you plan to use? How do you plan to get your products in front of your ideal customers?
• Where will you sell your products?

You may want to include samples of marketing materials you plan to use such as print ads, website descriptions, and social media ads. While it is not compulsory to include these samples, it can help you better communicate your marketing and sales plan and objectives.

The purpose of the marketing and sales section is to answer this question “How will you reach your customers?” If you cannot convincingly provide an answer to this question, you need to rework your marketing and sales section.

7. Clearly Show Your Funding Request

If you are writing your business plan to ask for funding from investors or financial institutions, the funding request section is where you will outline your funding requirements. The funding request section should answer the question ‘How much money will your business need in the near future (3 to 5 years)?’

A good funding request section will clearly outline and explain the amount of funding your business needs over the next five years. You need to know the amount of money your business needs to make an accurate funding request.

Also, when writing your funding request, provide details of how the funds will be used over the period. Specify if you want to use the funds to buy raw materials or machinery, pay salaries, pay for advertisements, and cover specific bills such as rent and electricity.

In addition to explaining what you want to use the funds requested for, you need to clearly state the projected return on investment (ROI) . Investors and creditors want to know if your business can generate profit for them if they put funds into it.

Ensure you do not inflate the figures and stay as realistic as possible. Investors and financial institutions you are seeking funds from will do their research before investing money in your business.

If you are not sure of an exact number to request from, you can use some range of numbers as rough estimates. Add a best-case scenario and a work-case scenario to your funding request. Also, include a description of your strategic future financial plans such as selling your business or paying off debts.

Funding Request: Debt or Equity?

When making your funding request, specify the type of funding you want. Do you want debt or equity? Draw out the terms that will be applicable for the funding, and the length of time the funding request will cover.

Case for Equity

If your new business has not yet started generating profits, you are most likely preparing to sell equity in your business to raise capital at the early stage. Equity here refers to ownership. In this case, you are selling a portion of your company to raise capital.

Although this method of raising capital for your business does not put your business in debt, keep in mind that an equity owner may expect to play a key role in company decisions even if he does not hold a major stake in the company.

Most equity sales for startups are usually private transactions . If you are making a funding request by offering equity in exchange for funding, let the investor know that they will be paid a dividend (a share of the company’s profit). Also, let the investor know the process for selling their equity in your business.

Case for Debt

You may decide not to offer equity in exchange for funds, instead, you make a funding request with the promise to pay back the money borrowed at the agreed time frame.

When making a funding request with an agreement to pay back, note that you will have to repay your creditors both the principal amount borrowed and the interest on it. Financial institutions offer this type of funding for businesses.

Large companies combine both equity and debt in their capital structure. When drafting your business plan, decide if you want to offer both or one over the other.

Before you sell equity in exchange for funding in your business, consider if you are willing to accept not being in total control of your business. Also, before you seek loans in your funding request section, ensure that the terms of repayment are favorable.

You should set a clear timeline in your funding request so that potential investors and creditors can know what you are expecting. Some investors and creditors may agree to your funding request and then delay payment for longer than 30 days, meanwhile, your business needs an immediate cash injection to operate efficiently.

Additional Tips for Writing the Funding Request Section of your Business Plan

The funding request section is not necessary for every business, it is only needed by businesses who plan to use their business plan to secure funding.

If you are adding the funding request section to your business plan, provide an itemized summary of how you plan to use the funds requested. Hiring a lawyer, accountant, or other professionals may be necessary for the proper development of this section.

You should also gather and use financial statements that add credibility and support to your funding requests. Ensure that the financial statements you use should include your projected financial data such as projected cash flows, forecast statements, and expenditure budgets.

If you are an existing business, include all historical financial statements such as cash flow statements, balance sheets and income statements .

Provide monthly and quarterly financial statements for a year. If your business has records that date back beyond the one-year mark, add the yearly statements of those years. These documents are for the appendix section of your business plan.

8. Detail Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projections

If you used the funding request section in your business plan, supplement it with a financial plan, metrics, and projections. This section paints a picture of the past performance of your business and then goes ahead to make an informed projection about its future.

The goal of this section is to convince readers that your business is going to be a financial success. It outlines your business plan to generate enough profit to repay the loan (with interest if applicable) and to generate a decent return on investment for investors.

If you have an existing business already in operation, use this section to demonstrate stability through finance. This section should include your cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements covering the last three to five years. If your business has some acceptable collateral that you can use to acquire loans, list it in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

Apart from current financial statements, this section should also contain a prospective financial outlook that spans the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and capital expenditure budget.

If your business is new and is not yet generating profit, use clear and realistic projections to show the potentials of your business.

When drafting this section, research industry norms and the performance of comparable businesses. Your financial projections should cover at least five years. State the logic behind your financial projections. Remember you can always make adjustments to this section as the variables change.

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section create a baseline which your business can either exceed or fail to reach. If your business fails to reach your projections in this section, you need to understand why it failed.

Investors and loan managers spend a lot of time going through the financial plan, metrics, and projection section compared to other parts of the business plan. Ensure you spend time creating credible financial analyses for your business in this section.

Many entrepreneurs find this section daunting to write. You do not need a business degree to create a solid financial forecast for your business. Business finances, especially for startups, are not as complicated as they seem. There are several online tools and templates that make writing this section so much easier.

Use Graphs and Charts

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business. Charts and images make it easier to communicate your finances.

Accuracy in this section is key, ensure you carefully analyze your past financial statements properly before making financial projects.

Address the Risk Factors and Show Realistic Financial Projections

Keep your financial plan, metrics, and projection realistic. It is okay to be optimistic in your financial projection, however, you have to justify it.

You should also address the various risk factors associated with your business in this section. Investors want to know the potential risks involved, show them. You should also show your plans for mitigating those risks.

What You Should In The Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection Section of Your Business Plan

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section of your business plan should have monthly sales and revenue forecasts for the first year. It should also include annual projections that cover 3 to 5 years.

A three-year projection is a basic requirement to have in your business plan. However, some investors may request a five-year forecast.

Your business plan should include the following financial statements: sales forecast, personnel plan, income statement, income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and an exit strategy.

1. Sales Forecast

Sales forecast refers to your projections about the number of sales your business is going to record over the next few years. It is typically broken into several rows, with each row assigned to a core product or service that your business is offering.

One common mistake people make in their business plan is to break down the sales forecast section into long details. A sales forecast should forecast the high-level details.

For example, if you are forecasting sales for a payroll software provider, you could break down your forecast into target market segments or subscription categories.

Your sales forecast section should also have a corresponding row for each sales row to cover the direct cost or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The objective of these rows is to show the expenses that your business incurs in making and delivering your product or service.

Note that your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) should only cover those direct costs incurred when making your products. Other indirect expenses such as insurance, salaries, payroll tax, and rent should not be included.

For example, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a restaurant is the cost of ingredients while for a consulting company it will be the cost of paper and other presentation materials.

2. Personnel Plan

The personnel plan section is where you provide details about the payment plan for your employees. For a small business, you can easily list every position in your company and how much you plan to pay in the personnel plan.

However, for larger businesses, you have to break the personnel plan into functional groups such as sales and marketing.

The personnel plan will also include the cost of an employee beyond salary, commonly referred to as the employee burden. These costs include insurance, payroll taxes , and other essential costs incurred monthly as a result of having employees on your payroll.

3. Income Statement

The income statement section shows if your business is making a profit or taking a loss. Another name for the income statement is the profit and loss (P&L). It takes data from your sales forecast and personnel plan and adds other ongoing expenses you incur while running your business.

Every business plan should have an income statement. It subtracts your business expenses from its earnings to show if your business is generating profit or incurring losses.

The income statement has the following items: sales, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), gross margin, operating expenses, total operating expenses, operating income , total expenses, and net profit.

• Sales refer to the revenue your business generates from selling its products or services. Other names for sales are income or revenue.
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) refers to the total cost of selling your products. Other names for COGS are direct costs or cost of sales. Manufacturing businesses use the Costs of Goods Manufactured (COGM) .
• Gross Margin is the figure you get when you subtract your COGS from your sales. In your income statement, you can express it as a percentage of total sales (Gross margin / Sales = Gross Margin Percent).
• Operating Expenses refer to all the expenses you incur from running your business. It exempts the COGS because it stands alone as a core part of your income statement. You also have to exclude taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Your operating expenses include salaries, marketing expenses, research and development (R&D) expenses, and other expenses.
• Total Operating Expenses refers to the sum of all your operating expenses including those exemptions named above under operating expenses.
• Operating Income refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is simply known as the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Calculating your operating income is simple, all you need to do is to subtract your COGS and total operating expenses from your sales.
• Total Expenses refer to the sum of your operating expenses and your business’ interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
• Net profit shows whether your business has made a profit or taken a loss during a given timeframe.

4. Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement tracks the money you have in the bank at any given point. It is often confused with the income statement or the profit and loss statement. They are both different types of financial statements. The income statement calculates your profits and losses while the cash flow statement shows you how much you have in the bank.

5. Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a financial statement that provides an overview of the financial health of your business. It contains information about the assets and liabilities of your company, and owner’s or shareholders’ equity.

You can get the net worth of your company by subtracting your company’s liabilities from its assets.

6. Exit Strategy

The exit strategy refers to a probable plan for selling your business either to the public in an IPO or to another company. It is the last thing you include in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

You can choose to omit the exit strategy from your business plan if you plan to maintain full ownership of your business and do not plan on seeking angel investment or virtual capitalist (VC) funding.

Investors may want to know what your exit plan is. They invest in your business to get a good return on investment.

Your exit strategy does not have to include long and boring details. Ensure you identify some interested parties who may be interested in buying the company if it becomes a success.

Key Questions to Answer with Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection

Your financial plan, metrics, and projection section helps investors, creditors, or your internal managers to understand what your expenses are, the amount of cash you need, and what it takes to make your company profitable. It also shows what you will be doing with any funding.

You do not need to show actual financial data if you do not have one. Adding forecasts and projections to your financial statements is added proof that your strategy is feasible and shows investors you have planned properly.

Here are some key questions to answer to help you develop this section.

• What is your sales forecast for the next year?
• When will your company achieve a positive cash flow?
• What are the core expenses you need to operate?
• How much money do you need upfront to operate or grow your company?
• How will you use the loans or investments?

9. Add an Appendix to Your Business Plan

Adding an appendix to your business plan is optional. It is a useful place to put any charts, tables, legal notes, definitions, permits, résumés, and other critical information that do not fit into other sections of your business plan.

The appendix section is where you would want to include details of a patent or patent-pending if you have one. You can always add illustrations or images of your products here. It is the last section of your business plan.

When writing your business plan, there are details you cut short or remove to prevent the entire section from becoming too lengthy. There are also details you want to include in the business plan but are not a good fit for any of the previous sections. You can add that additional information to the appendix section.

Businesses also use the appendix section to include supporting documents or other materials specially requested by investors or lenders.

You can include just about any information that supports the assumptions and statements you made in the business plan under the appendix. It is the one place in the business plan where unrelated data and information can coexist amicably.

If your appendix section is lengthy, try organizing it by adding a table of contents at the beginning of the appendix section. It is also advisable to group similar information to make it easier for the reader to access them.

A well-organized appendix section makes it easier to share your information clearly and concisely. Add footnotes throughout the rest of the business plan or make references in the plan to the documents in the appendix.

The appendix section is usually only necessary if you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, or hoping to attract partners.

People reading business plans do not want to spend time going through a heap of backup information, numbers, and charts. Keep these documents or information in the Appendix section in case the reader wants to dig deeper.

Common Items to Include in the Appendix Section of Your Business Plan

The appendix section includes documents that supplement or support the information or claims given in other sections of the business plans. Common items you can include in the appendix section include:

• Additional data about the process of manufacturing or creation
• Additional description of products or services such as product schematics
• Additional financial documents or projections
• Articles of incorporation and status
• Backup for market research or competitive analysis
• Bank statements
• Business registries
• Client testimonials (if your business is already running)
• Copies of insurances
• Credit histories (personal or/and business)
• Deeds and permits
• Equipment leases
• Examples of marketing and advertising collateral
• Industry associations and memberships
• Images of product
• Intellectual property
• Key customer contracts
• Legal documents and other contracts
• Letters of reference
• Links to references
• Market research data
• Organizational charts
• Photographs of potential facilities
• Professional licenses pertaining to your legal structure or type of business
• Purchase orders
• Resumes of the founder(s) and key managers
• State and federal identification numbers or codes
• Trademarks or patents’ registrations

Avoid using the appendix section as a place to dump any document or information you feel like adding. Only add documents or information that you support or increase the credibility of your business plan.

Tips and Strategies for Writing a Convincing Business Plan

To achieve a perfect business plan, you need to consider some key tips and strategies. These tips will raise the efficiency of your business plan above average.

1. Know Your Audience

When writing a business plan, you need to know your audience . Business owners write business plans for different reasons. Your business plan has to be specific. For example, you can write business plans to potential investors, banks, and even fellow board members of the company.

The audience you are writing to determines the structure of the business plan. As a business owner, you have to know your audience. Not everyone will be your audience. Knowing your audience will help you to narrow the scope of your business plan.

Consider what your audience wants to see in your projects, the likely questions they might ask, and what interests them.

• A business plan used to address a company's board members will center on its employment schemes, internal affairs, projects, stakeholders, etc.
• A business plan for financial institutions will talk about the size of your market and the chances for you to pay back any loans you demand.
• A business plan for investors will show proof that you can return the investment capital within a specific time. In addition, it discusses your financial projections, tractions, and market size.

2. Get Inspiration from People

Writing a business plan from scratch as an entrepreneur can be daunting. That is why you need the right inspiration to push you to write one. You can gain inspiration from the successful business plans of other businesses. Look at their business plans, the style they use, the structure of the project, etc.

To make your business plan easier to create, search companies related to your business to get an exact copy of what you need to create an effective business plan. You can also make references while citing examples in your business plans.

When drafting your business plan, get as much help from others as you possibly can. By getting inspiration from people, you can create something better than what they have.

3. Avoid Being Over Optimistic

Many business owners make use of strong adjectives to qualify their content. One of the big mistakes entrepreneurs make when preparing a business plan is promising too much.

The use of superlatives and over-optimistic claims can prepare the audience for more than you can offer. In the end, you disappoint the confidence they have in you.

In most cases, the best option is to be realistic with your claims and statistics. Most of the investors can sense a bit of incompetency from the overuse of superlatives. As a new entrepreneur, do not be tempted to over-promise to get the interests of investors.

The concept of entrepreneurship centers on risks, nothing is certain when you make future analyses. What separates the best is the ability to do careful research and work towards achieving that, not promising more than you can achieve.

To make an excellent first impression as an entrepreneur, replace superlatives with compelling data-driven content. In this way, you are more specific than someone promising a huge ROI from an investment.

4. Keep it Simple and Short

When writing business plans, ensure you keep them simple throughout. Irrespective of the purpose of the business plan, your goal is to convince the audience.

One way to achieve this goal is to make them understand your proposal. Therefore, it would be best if you avoid the use of complex grammar to express yourself. It would be a huge turn-off if the people you want to convince are not familiar with your use of words.

Another thing to note is the length of your business plan. It would be best if you made it as brief as possible.

You hardly see investors or agencies that read through an extremely long document. In that case, if your first few pages can’t convince them, then you have lost it. The more pages you write, the higher the chances of you derailing from the essential contents.

To ensure your business plan has a high conversion rate, you need to dispose of every unnecessary information. For example, if you have a strategy that you are not sure of, it would be best to leave it out of the plan.

5. Make an Outline and Follow Through

A perfect business plan must have touched every part needed to convince the audience. Business owners get easily tempted to concentrate more on their products than on other sections. Doing this can be detrimental to the efficiency of the business plan.

For example, imagine you talking about a product but omitting or providing very little information about the target audience. You will leave your clients confused.

To ensure that your business plan communicates your full business model to readers, you have to input all the necessary information in it. One of the best ways to achieve this is to design a structure and stick to it.

This structure is what guides you throughout the writing. To make your work easier, you can assign an estimated word count or page limit to every section to avoid making it too bulky for easy reading. As a guide, the necessary things your business plan must contain are:

• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Product or service description
• Target audience
• Market size
• Competition analysis
• Financial projections

Some specific businesses can include some other essential sections, but these are the key sections that must be in every business plan.

6. Ask a Professional to Proofread

When writing a business plan, you must tie all loose ends to get a perfect result. When you are done with writing, call a professional to go through the document for you. You are bound to make mistakes, and the way to correct them is to get external help.

You should get a professional in your field who can relate to every section of your business plan. It would be easier for the professional to notice the inner flaws in the document than an editor with no knowledge of your business.

In addition to getting a professional to proofread, get an editor to proofread and edit your document. The editor will help you identify grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inappropriate writing styles.

Writing a business plan can be daunting, but you can surmount that obstacle and get the best out of it with these tips.

Business Plan Examples and Templates That’ll Save You Tons of Time

1. hubspot's one-page business plan.

The one-page business plan template by HubSpot is the perfect guide for businesses of any size, irrespective of their business strategy. Although the template is condensed into a page, your final business plan should not be a page long! The template is designed to ask helpful questions that can help you develop your business plan.

Hubspot’s one-page business plan template is divided into nine fields:

• Business opportunity
• Company description
• Industry analysis
• Target market
• Implementation timeline
• Marketing plan
• Financial summary
• Funding required

2. Bplan’s Free Business Plan Template

Bplans' free business plan template is investor-approved. It is a rich template used by prestigious educational institutions such as Babson College and Princeton University to teach entrepreneurs how to create a business plan.

The template has six sections: the executive summary, opportunity, execution, company, financial plan, and appendix. There is a step-by-step guide for writing every little detail in the business plan. Follow the instructions each step of the way and you will create a business plan that impresses investors or lenders easily.

3. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

HubSpot’s downloadable business plan template is a more comprehensive option compared to the one-page business template by HubSpot. This free and downloadable business plan template is designed for entrepreneurs.

The template is a comprehensive guide and checklist for business owners just starting their businesses. It tells you everything you need to fill in each section of the business plan and how to do it.

There are nine sections in this business plan template: an executive summary, company and business description, product and services line, market analysis, marketing plan, sales plan, legal notes, financial considerations, and appendix.

4. Business Plan by My Own Business Institute

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) which is a part of Santa Clara University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers a free business plan template. You can either copy the free business template from the link provided above or download it as a Word document.

The comprehensive template consists of a whopping 15 sections.

• The Business Profile
• The Vision and the People
• Home-Based Business and Freelance Business Opportunities
• Organization
• Licenses and Permits
• Business Insurance
• Communication Tools
• Acquisitions
• Location and Leasing
• Accounting and Cash Flow
• Opening and Marketing
• Managing Employees
• Expanding and Handling Problems

There are lots of helpful tips on how to fill each section in the free business plan template by MOBI.

5. Score's Business Plan Template for Startups

Score is an American nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs build successful companies. This business plan template for startups by Score is available for free download. The business plan template asks a whooping 150 generic questions that help entrepreneurs from different fields to set up the perfect business plan.

The business plan template for startups contains clear instructions and worksheets, all you have to do is answer the questions and fill the worksheets.

There are nine sections in the business plan template: executive summary, company description, products and services, marketing plan, operational plan, management and organization, startup expenses and capitalization, financial plan, and appendices.

The ‘refining the plan’ resource contains instructions that help you modify your business plan to suit your specific needs, industry, and target audience. After you have completed Score’s business plan template, you can work with a SCORE mentor for expert advice in business planning.

6. Minimalist Architecture Business Plan Template by Venngage

The minimalist architecture business plan template is a simple template by Venngage that you can customize to suit your business needs .

There are five sections in the template: an executive summary, statement of problem, approach and methodology, qualifications, and schedule and benchmark. The business plan template has instructions that guide users on what to fill in each section.

7. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers two free business plan templates, filled with practical real-life examples that you can model to create your business plan. Both free business plan templates are written by fictional business owners: Rebecca who owns a consulting firm, and Andrew who owns a toy company.

There are five sections in the two SBA’s free business plan templates.

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Service Line
• Marketing and Sales

8. The $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan

The one-page business plan by the $100 startup is a simple business plan template for entrepreneurs who do not want to create a long and complicated plan . You can include more details in the appendices for funders who want more information beyond what you can put in the one-page business plan.

There are five sections in the one-page business plan such as overview, ka-ching, hustling, success, and obstacles or challenges or open questions. You can answer all the questions using one or two sentences.

9. PandaDoc’s Free Business Plan Template

The free business plan template by PandaDoc is a comprehensive 15-page document that describes the information you should include in every section.

There are 11 sections in PandaDoc’s free business plan template.

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Products and services
• Operations plan
• Management organization
• Financial plan
• Conclusion / Call to action
• Confidentiality statement

You have to sign up for its 14-day free trial to access the template. You will find different business plan templates on PandaDoc once you sign up (including templates for general businesses and specific businesses such as bakeries, startups, restaurants, salons, hotels, and coffee shops)

PandaDoc allows you to customize its business plan templates to fit the needs of your business. After editing the template, you can send it to interested parties and track opens and views through PandaDoc.

10. Invoiceberry Templates for Word, Open Office, Excel, or PPT

InvoiceBerry is a U.K based online invoicing and tracking platform that offers free business plan templates in .docx, .odt, .xlsx, and .pptx formats for freelancers and small businesses.

Before you can download the free business plan template, it will ask you to give it your email address. After you complete the little task, it will send the download link to your inbox for you to download. It also provides a business plan checklist in .xlsx file format that ensures you add the right information to the business plan.

Alternatives to the Traditional Business Plan

A business plan is very important in mapping out how one expects their business to grow over a set number of years, particularly when they need external investment in their business. However, many investors do not have the time to watch you present your business plan. It is a long and boring read.

Luckily, there are three alternatives to the traditional business plan (the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck). These alternatives are less laborious and easier and quicker to present to investors.

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

The business model canvas is a business tool used to present all the important components of setting up a business, such as customers, route to market, value proposition, and finance in a single sheet. It provides a very focused blueprint that defines your business initially which you can later expand on if needed.

The sheet is divided mainly into company, industry, and consumer models that are interconnected in how they find problems and proffer solutions.

Segments of the Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas was developed by founder Alexander Osterwalder to answer important business questions. It contains nine segments.

• Key Partners: Who will be occupying important executive positions in your business? What do they bring to the table? Will there be a third party involved with the company?
• Key Activities: What important activities will production entail? What activities will be carried out to ensure the smooth running of the company?
• The Product’s Value Propositions: What does your product do? How will it be different from other products?
• Customer Segments: What demography of consumers are you targeting? What are the habits of these consumers? Who are the MVPs of your target consumers?
• Customer Relationships: How will the team support and work with its customer base? How do you intend to build and maintain trust with the customer?
• Key Resources: What type of personnel and tools will be needed? What size of the budget will they need access to?
• Channels: How do you plan to create awareness of your products? How do you intend to transport your product to the customer?
• Cost Structure: What is the estimated cost of production? How much will distribution cost?
• Revenue Streams: For what value are customers willing to pay? How do they prefer to pay for the product? Are there any external revenues attached apart from the main source? How do the revenue streams contribute to the overall revenue?

Lean Canvas

The lean canvas is a problem-oriented alternative to the standard business model canvas. It was proposed by Ash Maurya, creator of Lean Stack as a development of the business model generation. It uses a more problem-focused approach and it majorly targets entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Lean Canvas uses the same 9 blocks concept as the business model canvas, however, they have been modified slightly to suit the needs and purpose of a small startup. The key partners, key activities, customer relationships, and key resources are replaced by new segments which are:

• Problem: Simple and straightforward number of problems you have identified, ideally three.
• Solution: The solutions to each problem.
• Unfair Advantage: Something you possess that can't be easily bought or replicated.
• Key Metrics: Important numbers that will tell how your business is doing.

Startup Pitch Deck

While the business model canvas compresses into a factual sheet, startup pitch decks expand flamboyantly.

Pitch decks, through slides, convey your business plan, often through graphs and images used to emphasize estimations and observations in your presentation. Entrepreneurs often use pitch decks to fully convince their target audience of their plans before discussing funding arrangements.

Considering the likelihood of it being used in a small time frame, a good startup pitch deck should ideally contain 20 slides or less to have enough time to answer questions from the audience.

Unlike the standard and lean business model canvases, a pitch deck doesn't have a set template on how to present your business plan but there are still important components to it. These components often mirror those of the business model canvas except that they are in slide form and contain more details.

Using Airbnb (one of the most successful start-ups in recent history) for reference, the important components of a good slide are listed below.

• Cover/Introduction Slide: Here, you should include your company's name and mission statement. Your mission statement should be a very catchy tagline. Also, include personal information and contact details to provide an easy link for potential investors.
• Problem Slide: This slide requires you to create a connection with the audience or the investor that you are pitching. For example in their pitch, Airbnb summarized the most important problems it would solve in three brief points – pricing of hotels, disconnection from city culture, and connection problems for local bookings.
• Solution Slide: This slide includes your core value proposition. List simple and direct solutions to the problems you have mentioned
• Customer Analysis: Here you will provide information on the customers you will be offering your service to. The identity of your customers plays an important part in fundraising as well as the long-run viability of the business.
• Market Validation: Use competitive analysis to show numbers that prove the presence of a market for your product, industry behavior in the present and the long run, as well as the percentage of the market you aim to attract. It shows that you understand your competitors and customers and convinces investors of the opportunities presented in the market.
• Business Model: Your business model is the hook of your presentation. It may vary in complexity but it should generally include a pricing system informed by your market analysis. The goal of the slide is to confirm your business model is easy to implement.
• Marketing Strategy: This slide should summarize a few customer acquisition methods that you plan to use to grow the business.
• Competitive Advantage: What this slide will do is provide information on what will set you apart and make you a more attractive option to customers. It could be the possession of technology that is not widely known in the market.
• Team Slide: Here you will give a brief description of your team. Include your key management personnel here and their specific roles in the company. Include their educational background, job history, and skillsets. Also, talk about their accomplishments in their careers so far to build investors' confidence in members of your team.
• Traction Slide: This validates the company’s business model by showing growth through early sales and support. The slide aims to reduce any lingering fears in potential investors by showing realistic periodic milestones and profit margins. It can include current sales, growth, valuable customers, pre-orders, or data from surveys outlining current consumer interest.
• Funding Slide: This slide is popularly referred to as ‘the ask'. Here you will include important details like how much is needed to get your business off the ground and how the funding will be spent to help the company reach its goals.
• Appendix Slides: Your pitch deck appendix should always be included alongside a standard pitch presentation. It consists of additional slides you could not show in the pitch deck but you need to complement your presentation.

It is important to support your calculations with pictorial renditions. Infographics, such as pie charts or bar graphs, will be more effective in presenting the information than just listing numbers. For example, a six-month graph that shows rising profit margins will easily look more impressive than merely writing it.

Lastly, since a pitch deck is primarily used to secure meetings and you may be sharing your pitch with several investors, it is advisable to keep a separate public version that doesn't include financials. Only disclose the one with projections once you have secured a link with an investor.

Advantages of the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck over the Traditional Business Plan

• Time-Saving: Writing a detailed traditional business plan could take weeks or months. On the other hand, all three alternatives can be done in a few days or even one night of brainstorming if you have a comprehensive understanding of your business.
• Easier to Understand: Since the information presented is almost entirely factual, it puts focus on what is most important in running the business. They cut away the excess pages of fillers in a traditional business plan and allow investors to see what is driving the business and what is getting in the way.
• Easy to Update: Businesses typically present their business plans to many potential investors before they secure funding. What this means is that you may regularly have to amend your presentation to update statistics or adjust to audience-specific needs. For a traditional business plan, this could mean rewriting a whole section of your plan. For the three alternatives, updating is much easier because they are not voluminous.
• Guide for a More In-depth Business Plan: All three alternatives have the added benefit of being able to double as a sketch of your business plan if the need to create one arises in the future.

Business Plan FAQ

Business plans are important for any entrepreneur who is looking for a framework to run their company over some time or seeking external support. Although they are essential for new businesses, every company should ideally have a business plan to track their growth from time to time.  They can be used by startups seeking investments or loans to convey their business ideas or an employee to convince his boss of the feasibility of starting a new project. They can also be used by companies seeking to recruit high-profile employee targets into key positions or trying to secure partnerships with other firms.

Business plans often vary depending on your target audience, the scope, and the goals for the plan. Startup plans are the most common among the different types of business plans.  A start-up plan is used by a new business to present all the necessary information to help get the business up and running. They are usually used by entrepreneurs who are seeking funding from investors or bank loans. The established company alternative to a start-up plan is a feasibility plan. A feasibility plan is often used by an established company looking for new business opportunities. They are used to show the upsides of creating a new product for a consumer base. Because the audience is usually company people, it requires less company analysis. The third type of business plan is the lean business plan. A lean business plan is a brief, straight-to-the-point breakdown of your ideas and analysis for your business. It does not contain details of your proposal and can be written on one page. Finally, you have the what-if plan. As it implies, a what-if plan is a preparation for the worst-case scenario. You must always be prepared for the possibility of your original plan being rejected. A good what-if plan will serve as a good plan B to the original.

A good business plan has 10 key components. They include an executive plan, product analysis, desired customer base, company analysis, industry analysis, marketing strategy, sales strategy, financial projection, funding, and appendix. Executive Plan Your business should begin with your executive plan. An executive plan will provide early insight into what you are planning to achieve with your business. It should include your mission statement and highlight some of the important points which you will explain later. Product Analysis The next component of your business plan is your product analysis. A key part of this section is explaining the type of item or service you are going to offer as well as the market problems your product will solve. Desired Consumer Base Your product analysis should be supplemented with a detailed breakdown of your desired consumer base. Investors are always interested in knowing the economic power of your market as well as potential MVP customers. Company Analysis The next component of your business plan is your company analysis. Here, you explain how you want to run your business. It will include your operational strategy, an insight into the workforce needed to keep the company running, and important executive positions. It will also provide a calculation of expected operational costs.  Industry Analysis A good business plan should also contain well laid out industry analysis. It is important to convince potential investors you know the companies you will be competing with, as well as your plans to gain an edge on the competition. Marketing Strategy Your business plan should also include your marketing strategy. This is how you intend to spread awareness of your product. It should include a detailed explanation of the company brand as well as your advertising methods. Sales Strategy Your sales strategy comes after the market strategy. Here you give an overview of your company's pricing strategy and how you aim to maximize profits. You can also explain how your prices will adapt to market behaviors. Financial Projection The financial projection is the next component of your business plan. It explains your company's expected running cost and revenue earned during the tenure of the business plan. Financial projection gives a clear idea of how your company will develop in the future. Funding The next component of your business plan is funding. You have to detail how much external investment you need to get your business idea off the ground here. Appendix The last component of your plan is the appendix. This is where you put licenses, graphs, or key information that does not fit in any of the other components.

The business model canvas is a business management tool used to quickly define your business idea and model. It is often used when investors need you to pitch your business idea during a brief window.

A pitch deck is similar to a business model canvas except that it makes use of slides in its presentation. A pitch is not primarily used to secure funding, rather its main purpose is to entice potential investors by selling a very optimistic outlook on the business.

Business plan competitions help you evaluate the strength of your business plan. By participating in business plan competitions, you are improving your experience. The experience provides you with a degree of validation while practicing important skills. The main motivation for entering into the competitions is often to secure funding by finishing in podium positions. There is also the chance that you may catch the eye of a casual observer outside of the competition. These competitions also provide good networking opportunities. You could meet mentors who will take a keen interest in guiding you in your business journey. You also have the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs whose ideas can complement yours.

Exlore Further

• 12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)
• 13 Sources of Business Finance For Companies & Sole Traders
• 5 Common Types of Business Structures (+ Pros & Cons)
• How to Buy a Business in 8 Steps (+ Due Diligence Checklist)

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Martin luenendonk.

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.

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13 Best Companies That Offer Business Plan Writing Services

Do you want to hire a business plan writer? If YES, here are 50 best companies that offer professional business plan writing services at an affordable rate.

A business plan writing service is a team of business experts that take the ideas of an entrepreneur, combine it with their own properly conducted research and deductions, and come out with a professional, well-formatted business plan. Entrepreneurs that want the best chances at getting funding usually turn to business plan writing companies to help them craft a winning business plan.

Despite the fact that business plan writing services generally cost higher than business plan creation software or phone apps, but that does not prevent them from getting the number of clients they need because entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of the services they render.

Whether you’re building a startup from the ground up and seeking your first investment round, or you have a mature company and need a plan in place to garner new insights, having a professional to help conduct research and outline the model is imperative.

While you may have settled with your mind to hire the services of a business plan writer, but you must know that not all business plan services can offer you a professionally written work that can give you the best chances towards getting that funding. This is the reason why we have decided to bring you some of the popular and best business plan writing companies in the united states and the cost their services go for.

13 Best Companies That Offer Professional Business Plan Writing Services and How Much They Charge Clients

• Wise Business Plans
• Cost – $1,650

Wise Business Plans is a business plan writing service that is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company writes business plans for businesses seeking venture capital and angel investors as well as businesses interested in applying for SBA loans , E2 visas and L1 visas.

Wise Business Plans are in the business of producing high quality business plans, and their plans contain market and industry research that are drawn from a wide range of sources. Its turnaround times have been known to be above average. Wise Business Plans works with many Fortune 500 companies as well as UPS. It has also partnered with the popular business plan software LivePlan to provide a business writing service to its customers.

When working with Wise Business Plans, you can expect to find a thorough analysis of your business’s industry, including growth trends. The business plan will also look at your business’s market, which includes demographic data about current and potential customers as well as macro and microsegmentation, giving potential investors a complete idea of your business’s potential.

Cost estimates of their business plans are based on estimates for a brick-and-mortar business’s plan. At $1,650, the cost is only slightly higher than the average of $1,500. Again, the cost can vary depending on how complex the plan is. A business plan for a startup looking for venture capital can be more expensive than a plan for a business looking for an SBA loan.

• Go Business Plans
• Cost – $2,000 to $10,000

Based in Los Angeles, California, Go Business Plans writes business plans that serve a variety of business’s needs, ranging from SBA loans and visa applications to plans seeking venture capital funding. Go Business Plans rated well in terms of the quality of its business plans and its comprehensive feature set.

Go Business Plans are reputed to contain a thorough market and industry analysis, a complete set of financial forecasts, marketing plans as well as a competitive analysis. The company also prides itself on the quality of it plans. The writing service does not offer a separate service to review existing business plans, instead reserving that for clients that already use or have agreed to use its other services.

This means that while you can’t have Go Business Plans review your current plan without signing up for another service, if you take advantage of any other offering available from this company, you can have your business plan reviewed for an extra cost.

Depending on your business plan, this can cost between $150 and $300. Go Business Plans cost varies based on the kind of business plan you need. But generally their business plan writing service costs between $2,000 to $10,000.

• The Plan Writers
• Cost – $1,200 to $5,000

The Plan Writers is a Beverly Hills, California-based business plan service that offers a variety of consulting services in addition to business plan writing. Their business plans are available for businesses and entrepreneurs interested in applying for visas or SBA loans, or those looking for venture capital or angel investor financing. The Plan Writers is also experienced with helping companies go public as well as creating feasibility plans.

When you engage the services of The Plan Writers, you’ll begin the process with a free 30-minute consultation. During this consultation, you’ll discuss your business and industry with the sales rep. If you want to speak longer, you’ll need to pay $200 for another hour. This fee is added to the final cost of your business plan.

Once you’ve commissioned The Plan Writers to create a business plan for you, it usually takes between nine to 10 days to receive the first draft. After you receive your plan, you have two weeks to submit any revisions. This is shorter than other services, but The Plan Writers gets revisions done quick, usually in about one to two days.

As with all business plan services, the costs vary depending on the complexity of your plan. Those plans usually cost around $1,200 to $1,500. Plans for startups or companies seeking larger amounts of capital can cost upwards of $5,000.

• Capital West Advisors
• Cost – $100 to $120 per hour

Capital West Advisors is business advisor company that also provides business plan writing services. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, and their mission is to provide high quality business plan writing and capital introduction services at the most competitive prices in the industry.

Capital West Advisors was launched in 2006 and since then they have been providing business planning and capital introduction services to several hundred clients across the U.S. and around the world in a wide array of industries. CWA prices its business plans based on a rate of $100 to $120 per hour at a highly efficient rate. Most firms charge $125-$200 per hour at a less efficient rate.

• Cost – Not disclosed

OGScapital is a team of experienced experts that help entrepreneurs produces a well written business plan as well as provide other services. The company was founded by a team of 8 senior business experts in 2006. From the start, their main goal as professional business plan writers has been to support startups and medium-sized enterprises as they move to the next level, helping them achieve their objectives and become market leaders.

Their expert business plan writers have helped business owners raise debt and equity financing critical to operational startup and growth. The OGScapital team of Online business plan writers does not stop working until the client is 100% satisfied.

The company produce business plans in fields such as accounting, marketing, legal, IT, design and other business services. As of now, their team includes 60 highly experienced consultants. With their business model and offices in the US, Canada, Australia, and the uk, OGScapital is able to help entrepreneurs worldwide.

Once you contact them, you will receive your business plan with within 10-15 days. OGScapital did not disclose their charges, but they disclosed that the client would pay a 50% prepayment before the job commences, with the remaining balance paid upon completion (only when you are 100% satisfied).

• Deutsch & Thomas
• Cost: $425 USD

Deutsch & Thomas, Inc. is a business plan writing service that offer professional business plan preparation for startups and small businesses. Registered as Deutsch and Thomas, Inc., their experience building business plans will help you when approaching investors, bankers, and potential clients.

The company has the ability to create financial projections, management and mission statements, and expenditure estimates. Their service also includes electronic presentation preparation. All their business plans are completed within 5 to 6 business days of contact.

Deutsch & Thomas was founded in 2005 by Matthew Deutsch. The business has been in operation for over fourteen years, and was run as a partnership prior to its incorporation. Since its inception, the company has helped small and medium sized businesses raise more than $585,000,000 through plans developed by their team.

• Pro Business Plans

Pro Business Plans is a leading group of individuals offering business plan consulting and writing services to organizations and individuals. The team is driven by passion, quality and expertise, and they aim to create an accurate road map on various topics to help customers attain achievable targets in minimal time.

Founded in 1999, Pro Business Plans works with international companies from Startups to Fortune 500 across a diverse range of industries to prepare stunning business plans, pitch decks, and investment materials. Pro Business Plans delivers investment banking quality with the attention and care of an in-house consultant.

Its business plan samples reflect its meticulous attention to detail and reflect the of their clients’ company. The financials are accurate and based on the most widely respected market research groups on the United States.

The company has assisted startups, early stage ventures, nonprofits, and existing companies to launch and expand their operation. The company did not disclose its costs.

• Optimal Thinking
• Cost – $5,000

Optimal thinking is a marketing and writing service that began in 1985. The company has writing specialists that consult with their clients to help them achieve the objectives of their business. With 27 years of experience, the company serves as organizations’ trusted writing and editorial department.

The optimal thinking professional business plan writers have more than 250 years of combined experience writing successful business plans. They can help you provide a professionally optimized operational plan, feasibility plan, expansion plan, annual plan, internal plan or a new product plan. But their charges can be quite hefty as it can get up to $5,000.

Optimal thinking works with companies from start-ups, small businesses and large organizations including Warner Bros., Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Treasury, National Australia Bank, Air New Zealand, Young Presidents’ Organization and Red Bull.

• Bargain business plans
• Cost – $1399 to $2499

Bargain Business Plan is a business plan writing service that has served over 10,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners since 2008. The company has garnered experience in nearly every industry and market available.

Bargain Business Plan writers take the time to get to know their clients, so that they can effectively develop a custom business plan which will meet their needs. Whether you’re in the conception stage of your business or expanding your brand to a new market, their team of business plan writers and consultants will work to ensure you’re in position to succeed.

This is the reason why they are always mentioned when it comes to leading business plan writing companies in the United States.

Their team of dedicated business plan writers, consultants, and financial analysts all work together to ensure that their business plans are always up to standard. Their the cost of writing business plans in the company can range anywhere from $1399 to $2499.

• Cayenne Consulting

Cayenne has been around for a long time and is another good provider of business plan writing and consulting service in the United States. They have a good senior management team that has a lot of case experience which can be helpful to startup and growth stage companies of all kinds. They also can prepare additional investment related materials such as private placements and more.

Founder of the Cayenne Consulting, Akira Hirai, started the business in March 2001, because venture capitalists kept telling him that the business plans and financial forecasts he had prepared for his own companies were among the best they had seen.

In addition to business plan writing, the company also conducts strategy development, market research and analysis, competitor research and analysis, business plan preparation, financial analysis and forecasting, presentation materials, and developing a capital formation strategy.

This frees you up to focus on building something that investors might actually be interested in: a company in a large market with a compelling value proposition, strong competitive advantages, excellent growth potential, and a team that can make it happen.

Their team is located across the nation and have industry expertise in many high-growth markets, including green technologies, life science, software, Internet, telecommunications, and financial services. Their services can range from a few thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars.

• Newton Group Marketing
• Cost: $1,900 – 3,900

Newton Group Marketing specializes in writing powerful and compelling proposals and business plans to obtain needed financing from major banks and investment firms.

The company collaborates with highly specialized and reputable individuals to help create exceptional quality websites, proposals and other marketing pieces. Collectively, the Newton Group Marketing team brings decades of experience and specialized expertise in their respective fields, to bring remarkable quality and bottom-line results to clients.

Although originally based in Vancouver, BC, the company teamed up with professional business plan writers in Toronto and throughout Canada, and offers marketing services sessions to multiple locations in the world. They work with most clients freelance through software such as Skype, email and phone consultation to maximize both time and efficiency for customers.

Their clients can choose from 3 different business plan packages to best meet their funding needs. All plans include Executive Summary, Complete Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Financials (Income Statement, Cash Flow Statements, Balance Sheet), and they are usually between 15-35 pages in length depending on plan type.

• Cost – not disclosed

Growthink is one of the world’s leading business plan development firm. Founded in 1999, the company has helped more than 1,600 clients – including entrepreneurs, small businesses, middle-market companies, Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations – develop world-class business plans. As evidence of the quality of their work, Growthink clients have raised more than $1 billion in growth capital.

Growthink does not have pre-set pricing tiers for their consulting work. Each and every Growthink business plan is 100% customized based on the client’s specific needs and objectives. As a result of their in-depth consultative business planning process, Growthink consultants typically invest 4 to 6 weeks to fully develop and finalize a business plan.

In 1999, Growthink co-founders and Dave Lavinsky and Jay Turo graduated with their MBAs from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. They conceived Growthink from their deep and abiding passion and curiosity for business. Growthink has worked with many companies and assist in not only business plans, but also business consulting in many aspects.

They also provide many other services such as business analytics, banking, products, and other services geared towards helping business owners.

• Master Plans
• Cost – $1,900 to $7,500

Masterplans, based in Portland, Oregon, writes business plans for SBA loans, visa applications as well as for businesses seeking venture capital or angel investors. In addition to business plan writing, Masterplans can also review your existing business plan and give you feedback and suggestions for improvement. The plans offered by this service are high quality, and rate well in terms of cost and turnaround times.

Masterplans assigns a team of experts to help with your business plan, and a manager works to organize and update you on the project as it progresses. Each expert works individually on the market analysis, financial forecasts and business narrative. By dividing the plan up, Masterplans can complete your plan faster.

It usually takes between seven to 10 days before you receive the first draft of your business plan. If you need your plan quickly, you can get a rush job for an additional fee. Business plans through Masterplans range from $1,900 to $7,500, depending on the type of plan you need.

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How to Write a Business Plan for a Small Business

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated September 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 writing a business plan

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

You understand that writing a business plan helps you: 

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

As you start to write your business 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 writing your business 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

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• 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

When writing a business plan, the produces and services section 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

When writing a business plan, 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

The last section of your business plan is your financial plan and forecasts. 

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 to write a 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: 10 AI prompts you need to write a 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 to include in a business plan is sometimes not quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; 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

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 writing 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.

Writing 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 writing 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.

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.

Table of Contents

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• Manage with your business plan

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With 20 years of experience working with family offices, institutional and entrepreneurial private equity funds, and consulting Big Four accounting firms, Stephen brings unique insights into the variety of investor mindsets. He freelances to help startups and established investors determine ideal investment, asset management, and fundraising strategies. As a senior executive, he has advised on multi-billion mergers, equity raises exceeding $2 billion, and transactions totaling over $5 billion.

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Tanya is a finance expert serving investors and entrepreneurs in M&A, fundraising, buy and build, growth strategies, creating financial transparency, and defining business optimization potentials. She's executed €50 million in debt, equity, and M&A transactions in PE/VC and headed finance at a shared mobility startup, preparing the company for the financing round. Tanya enjoys freelancing due to the opportunities to create value and get to know exciting people and businesses.

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Nick is a CFA with a 28-year track record spanning 40+ countries in M&A, finance, strategy, and policy. He's supported executive decisions in 60 high-stake projects, including M&A transactions ($46 billion), radio-spectrum auctions and trades ($3.5 billion), public policy advocacy, government contract bids (worth $1 billion), go-to-market strategies, and raises for small caps and tech startups. Independent since 2001, Nick has enjoyed working in diverse markets, sectors, and cultures.

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Dhruv has worked on successful finance and consulting projects worth over $1 billion, focusing on tech, energy, and life science companies across the US, Asia, and Africa. He currently serves as a fractional CFO for multiple startups, is a partner at AND Business Consulting, and has more than 15 years of experience in FP&A, fundraising, startup consulting, M&A, and project finance. With an MBA in finance, Dhruv enjoys the exposure and sheer variety of assignments that come with freelancing.

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David is an M&A expert who has worked with the owners of 100+ businesses to raise capital, exit their investments at premium valuations, or execute successful acquisitions and IPOs. With 15+ years of experience, including six years at PwC, he has worked in many industries and extensively in the TMT and renewable energy sectors. David joined Toptal to advise clients on complex M&A and capital-raising transactions across the world.

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Sandeep has analyzed 1,000+ corporates and closed debt, equity, and M&A transactions of over $15 billion as a finance professional. After working for 20+ years in top-tier banks like Barclays, HSBC, and Standard Chartered, he now advises growth companies, leveraging his expertise in modeling, fundamental analysis valuation, and fundraising. As a seasoned problem solver, Sandeep has worked as a fractional CFO for startups, advised on early-stage funding rounds, and designed pricing models.

Julio C. Ortiz

Julio has diversified experience as a finance VP for multinationals based in the US and Latin America in the financing, pharmaceutical, luxury goods, and personal care sectors and distribution channels, such as retail, wholesale, and travel retail. Julio's expertise includes financial planning and modeling, investment banking, commercial real estate, fundraising, business plan development, logistics, company valuation, and strategic and visionary leadership based on innovation and creativity.

Carlo Palmieri

A Wharton MBA graduate, Carlo has led transactions on $10 billion worth of LBO and growth capital deals. He's worked in investment banking, M&A (Deutsche Bank), management consulting (Bain & Company, Oliver Wyman), and corporate development (Lehman Brothers). Carlo leverages his skills in corporate finance, business strategy, and international business development to help companies scale and deliver value for their investors.

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Bertrand is a 25-year finance veteran with a true 360 experience, honed as an investment banker, venture advisor, project developer, CFO, and expert witness consultant in international arbitrations. He has advised and partnered on over 100 transactions and investment initiatives totaling over $16 billion. Bertrand is a seasoned problem solver and decision-maker with expert facilitation skills. Bertrand advises on M&A, corporate development, venture growth, project development, and financing.

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To hire the right Business Plan Writer, it’s important to evaluate a candidate’s experience, technical skills, and communication skills. You’ll also want to consider the fit with your particular industry, company, and project. Toptal’s rigorous screening process ensures that every member of our network has excellent experience and skills, and our team will match you with the perfect Business Plan Writers for your project.

How are Toptal Business Plan Writers different?

At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our Business Plan Writers to ensure we only match you with the highest caliber of talent. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut.

In addition to screening for industry-leading expertise, we also assess candidates’ language and interpersonal skills to ensure that you have a smooth working relationship.

When you hire with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched Business Plan Writers ready to help you achieve your goals.

Can you hire Business Plan Writers on an hourly basis or for project-based tasks?

You can hire Business Plan Writers on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the entire project from end-to-end with our Managed Delivery offering. Whether you hire an expert for a full- or part-time position, you’ll have the control and flexibility to scale your team up or down as your needs evolve. Our Business Plan Writers can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.

What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal Business Plan Writers?

We make sure that each engagement between you and your Business Plan Writer begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.

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United States Leading Business Plan Service

Read the reviews

As one of the leading business plan services in the United States, our team of professional business plan writers and consultants are dedicated to creating handcrafted, strategically focused plans for entrepreneurs and companies across diverse sectors.

Featured in The Times, our exceptional skills in document preparation, consultation, and writing have established us as the premier choice for those seeking a top-tier business plan writer.

We are committed to elevating your business, ensuring it captures the attention it deserves.

By choosing Oxbridge Content, you are selecting a business plan writing service known for its expertise in and aesthetic excellence.

Our professional writers are adept at navigating the complexities of business plan preparation, turning your vision into a compelling reality.

Why choose Oxbridge Contents Business Plan writers?

Our experienced writers and industry professionals offer custom business plan writing services tailored specifically to each client. We remove the stress and help you launch your business idea quickly. We have local offices near you in the US, UK and Canada.

WE OFFER BUSINESS PLAN WRITING HELP FOR:

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We are the leading business plan service in the USA

As a leader in the industry, our professional writers specialize in elevating businesses to new heights.

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We’ve worked with over 1000 businesses!

See some examples

Take a look at some of our case studies and book a call if you’d like a similar proposal for your business.

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Thanks to decades of business experience, the professional team at Oxbridge Content recognizes that the business plan is the deal breaker.

It is absolutely key to present a watertight business plan that stands up to the scrutiny of investors. Oxbridge Content ensures this is delivered to the highest standard.

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Our expert business plan writers are backed by experienced business professionals with knowledge of multiple sectors.

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As a pharmacy, we want to offer our services to those in New York, and so, we were seeking a robust business plan to approach our bank for a much-needed loan. Oxbridge Content had the solution! Their expertise didn't just craft plans because they created something spectacular. What truly resonated was their knack for financial precision and understanding our industry’s nuances. The impact was instant. Thanks to their guidance, we were able to secure the funds and begin offering our services.

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Best Business Plan Writing Services

At Oxbridge Content, our expert writing services ensure that every document is written with the utmost commitment to securing success for your business. Our consultants specialize in precise business plans, handcrafted to highlight all of the unique selling points of your venture. Our team have experience in business plan writing across all states in America.

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“At Oxbridge Content, our business plans are the bridge between ambition and achievement. With offices in the US, UK, and Canada and a clientele spanning the globe, we're uniquely positioned to bring global perspectives to every vision. Contact us today to discuss your business plan needs.”

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Frequently Asked Business Plan Questions

If you’re still unsure of any aspect of our services, please get in touch and our agents would be happy to answer any query you may have.

Why hire a professional business plan writer?

Hiring a professional business plan writer from Oxbridge Content maximizes your chance of success. Our expert team produce beautifully written business plans that are uniquely crafted for your business. Every business plan written by us is compliant with stringent visa requirements thanks to our writers’ industry experience and specialism. Additionally, hiring a professional business plan writer really takes the stress out of your application process, leaving you with more time to grow your business.

Why should I choose Oxbridge Content?

Oxbridge Content has three global offices located in US, UK and Canada. Our international and multilingual team hires Oxbridge and Ivy League-educated writers to ensure our service is second to none. Our team consists of highly trained professionals who understand the intricacies of business plan writing. They all possess exceptional knowledge of the industry and specialize in writing compliant business plans for Business Visa applications in the UK, US and Canada.

English isn’t my first language- is that a problem?

At Oxbridge Content, we place you at the center of our work. Therefore, if English isn’t your first language, it really is no problem. Our team is multilingual and diverse, and we approach every client with cultural sensitivity.

How quickly can you deliver my business plan?

We offer a standard delivery time of 5-7 working days. There are also options to upgrade delivery time to 3-5 working days. We are always keen to offer a bespoke service which fits the need of our client, so please do get in touch with any individual queries.

Can I make changes to my plan once it’s written?

Of course! All our services include unlimited revisions as standard.

I already have a business plan. Can I still use Oxbridge Content’s services?

We are always happy to receive pre-written business plans for review. We would encourage you to use our Business Plan Review Service, or speak to a member of our team today to choose the best service for you and your business.

Oxbridge Content offers a wealth of benefits

Oxbridge Content boasts an impressive suite of benefits and business plan writing help for its elite client base.

We host experienced and professional business plan consultants

Oxbridge Content ensures that every business plan exceeds expectations. With years of business experience, and an impressive reputation for crafting bespoke products, our writing team will work to transform your vision into a persuasive and powerful document that captivates potential investors and stakeholders.

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Our business plans are just as memorable as your venture.

Every single product we provide is fully customized to our clients. We use industry-specific knowledge and terminology to prove the credibility of your venture. Oxbridge Content guarantees that your business plan will stand head and shoulders above the rest.

We offer a wealth of industry expertise

Our expert team offers a wealth of experience spanning diverse industries and specialisations. As a result, Oxbridge Content is well-equipped to serve businesses of all types. Get in touch with a member of our team today to enquire about your specific industry needs. We can guarantee that we will match your requirements.

Our reach is global

Thanks to our diverse team and global outreach, Oxbridge Content understands the importance of cultural sensitivity. Regardless of your location, industry or cultural background, Oxbridge Content will tailor the service to you. Our offerings transcend time zones, borders, and language barriers.

Schedule a consultation with our expert business plan writers and consultants for hire In the USA

With a simple click of a button, you can be on your way to business prosperity! Our expert team are just moments away from helping you embark on your journey of success. Do not hesitate to book a consultation today through our convenient Calendly Calendar. Our team is eager to meet you!

Business Plan Services Across the United States

At Oxbridge Content, we provide expert business plan services with a team of experienced business plan writers serving businesses across all U.S. states. Whether you’re launching a startup, expanding your company, or seeking investment, we offer customized business plans tailored to your specific needs.

Our business plan writers are ready to assist you no matter where your business is located, covering every major city and region in the U.S.:

• Los Angeles
• Philadelphia
• San Antonio
• Jacksonville
• San Francisco
• Indianapolis
• Washington, D.C.
• Oklahoma City

Wherever you are in the United States, our business plan services are available to help you develop a custom plan that meets your needs. Our business plan writers offer nationwide coverage, ensuring your business has the strategic support it needs, no matter your location.

Connect with us

Our US team are easily contactable through the message box below. We are happy to answer any queries you may have, and we pledge to respond as soon as possible.

US: +1 786 539 5848 Canada: +1 289 408 9569 UK: 01865 952 248

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Investors need more than just a brilliant idea written on tissue paper to inject money into a business or buy a product. They look at the idea's potential, finances, market positioning, and more. Through our pitch deck writing services, we will create a powerful startup pitch that focuses on what matters to maximize your chances of getting customers or funding.

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How Does It Work?

Request our business plan writing services.

Connect with us by filling in our contact form and telling us the business plan services you need in as much detail as possible. One of our team members will get back to you in the shortest possible time with a quote. Once you make a payment, we will schedule a consultation at a convenient time.

Share Your Vision With Us

We will send you a non-disclosure agreement signed by us to guarantee the confidentiality of your project. Once signed, we virtually meet with you to discuss your business plan service requirements and gather all the necessary information to bring it together.

We Do The Research

Our business plan writers start conducting the research required to bring your business plan to life based on your requirements. We gather information from multiple trusted sources, analyse it and write the insights we gathered in a way that is easy to understand.

We Create Your Business Plan

We start writing your business plan using all the data we have gathered and the information you made available to us. We will also incorporate design elements that align with your brand identity to your business plan to make it look more visually appealing at your request.

Your Project Is Delivered

We will send you the first draft of your business plan for review. Then, if you require some changes to align your business plan with your vision, we will take care of them and send the final version to you. Now, you will be ready to impress investors.

Business Plan Agency

Why Choose Us?

Experienced Writers

We have experienced business plan writers with a knack for research, a talent for playing with words, and strong business acumen in-house. As a result, we ensure that your business plan content is impactful, relevant, and plagiarism-free.

Competitive Rates

At Spectup, we understand that a lot of money goes into starting your business. That is why we provide our business plan writing services at rates other business plan consultants cannot beat and tailor them to your budget.

Your Satisfaction, Guaranteed

We prioritize delivering phenomenal client experiences with our business plan writing services. From protecting your ideas through our non-disclosure agreements to ensuring your work aligns with your vision, we do it all.

Your Venture, Our Insight: Building A Winning Business Plan

Business plan consultant.

Our service efficiently develops a comprehensive business plan, combining expert analysis with strategic insights and tailored solutions.

Dedicated Business Plan Consultant

20-25 Professionally Designed Slides

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Business Plan + Financial Modeling

This package encompasses your startup's essentials and complex financials, designed to provide stakeholders with a complete picture.

Everything from Business Plan Consultant

Startup Valuation

Forecasting and Projections

Interactive Dashboards

Custom Excel Financial Model

Dedicated Consultant & Calls

Monthly Investor Outreach Service

This package offering research assistance and connections with pertinent investors to streamline your outreach efforts.

Investor Analysis

Contact Collection

Customized Outreach

Document Organization

Ongoing Fundraising Consultation

Industries We Serve, But Not Only

From the bustling word of Sustainability to the innovative tech industry, our business plan consultant service has a proven track record of helping clients succeed in a wide range of industries.                      

Biotechnology

Advancing biotech ideas with expert business strategy development.

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Shaping AI ventures through bespoke startup roadmaps.

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Enhancing Sustainable progress via specialized business blueprint consulting.

Blockchain, NFTs & DLT

Navigating blockchain disruption with tailored growth plans.

Financial Technology

FinTech-focused strategic plans for a competitive advantage.

Education Startups

Empowering education ventures with custom action plan design.

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Bolstering cybersecurity startups with skilled strategy formulation.

Retail & E-Commerce

Retail expansion through unique business model consultant insights.

On Demand Services

On-demand service triumph via comprehensive startup frameworks.

Got Questions? Get Quick Help At A Glance

What information do you need, and do you require extra effort from my end, do you also offer business plan design services, will you keep my startup business plan private, how long will it take for my business plan to be delivered, what if i do not like the business plan you sent to me, can i make changes to my business plan on my own, ready to take your business idea to the next level .

Our business plan writing experts are ready to create a solid business plan that will make investors share your vision and inject capital into your startup. Let's get started.

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How to Start a Business Plan Writing Service

Businesses looking for money need to present their research-based strategies to investors and lenders in clear and concise writing. Such information is detailed in business plans, which business owners can write themselves or have written by specialists. Business plan writing businesses specialize in this particular type of writing.

Writers who can compose effective business plans will always be in high demand. A business’ chances of successfully growing or securing funding almost double if there’s a business plan drawn up as opposed to when there is no plan in writing.

Ready to turn your business idea into a reality? We recommend forming an LLC as it is the most affordable way to protect your personal assets. You can do this yourself or with our trusted partner for a small fee. Northwest ($29 + State Fees) DIY: How to Start an LLC

Start a business plan writing service by following these 10 steps:

• Plan your Business Plan Writing Service
• Form your Business Plan Writing Service into a Legal Entity
• Register your Business Plan Writing Service for Taxes
• Open a Business Bank Account & Credit Card
• Set up Accounting for your Business Plan Writing Service
• Get the Necessary Permits & Licenses for your Business Plan Writing Service
• Get Business Plan Writing Service Insurance
• Define your Business Plan Writing Service Brand
• Create your Business Plan Writing Service Website
• Set up your Business Phone System

We have put together this simple guide to starting your business plan writing service. These steps will ensure that your new business is well planned out, registered properly and legally compliant.

Exploring your options? Check out other small business ideas .

STEP 1: Plan your business

A clear plan is essential for success as an entrepreneur. It will help you map out the specifics of your business and discover some unknowns. A few important topics to consider are:

What will you name your business?

• What are the startup and ongoing costs?
• Who is your target market?

How much can you charge customers?

Luckily we have done a lot of this research for you.

Choosing the right name is important and challenging. If you don’t already have a name in mind, visit our How to Name a Business guide or get help brainstorming a name with our Business Plan Writing Service Name Generator

If you operate a sole proprietorship , you might want to operate under a business name other than your own name. Visit our DBA guide to learn more.

When registering a business name , we recommend researching your business name by checking:

• Your state's business records
• Federal and state trademark records
• Social media platforms
• Web domain availability .

It's very important to secure your domain name before someone else does.

Find a Domain Now

Powered by godaddy.com, what are the costs involved in opening a business plan writing service.

The expenses associated with starting a business plan writing business are minimal. Writers need a computer, internet access, website and place to meet clients. An office can serve as a meeting place, but shared coworking spaces and coffee shops also work and are more affordable.

Completed business plans have to be printed, and but this can be done at professional printing shops if the cost of a printer is too expensive. (Business plans should be printed in color and on high-quality paper for maximum visual appeal.)

What are the ongoing expenses for a business plan writing service?

The ongoing expenses for a business plan writing business are minimal. They include the cost of equipment depreciation, internet access and printing, as well as whatever expenses are associated with an office or meeting space.

Who is the target market?

Business plan writing businesses serve business leaders. Most often these are entrepreneurs seeking investments or loans, but they also can be investors who need visas to get into the U.S. Some writers also compose plans for non-profit organizations.

Importantly, the target market is not limited to new businesses only. Established businesses also need investments and loans to take advantage of new opportunities or shifts in the market.

How does a business plan writing service make money?

A business plan writing business makes money by selling completed business plans. Because writing plans is a lot of work, most writers require a deposit up front and the remaining balance due upon completion.

A business plan may cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to tens of thousands of dollars. On the low end of the range, BusinessPlans.com offers plans for $495. In contrast, Ground Floor Partners charges anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000 or more. Bargain Business Plan is in between, with options ranging from $899 to $2,799.

How much profit can a business plan writing service make?

A successful business plan writing business can bring in a six-figure revenue annually. For example, Joorney Business Plans has completed an average of 250 business plans each year. If each plan costs just $1,000 (and they likely cost much more), the company has earned a minimum of $250,000 annually.

Moreover, most of this is profit because the ongoing expenses for this type of business are low.

How can you make your business more profitable?

Many writers who open business plan writing businesses eventually get into consulting. As writers learn about a particular business, this is a natural service to offer the client.

Alternatively, some writers offer PowerPoint presentations that business owners can use for live presentations. Creating a presentation is easy after writing a business plan, and presentations complement plans nicely.

Want a more guided approach? Access TRUiC's free Small Business Startup Guide - a step-by-step course for turning your business idea into reality. Get started today!

STEP 2: Form a legal entity

One crucial aspect that cannot be overlooked when starting your business plan writing service is the importance of establishing a solid business foundation. While sole proprietorships and partnerships are the most common entity types for small businesses, they're a far less stable and advantageous option than LLCs.

This is because unincorporated business structures (i.e., sole proprietorships and partnerships) expose you as an owner to personal liability for your business's debts and legal actions, while LLCs protect you by keeping your personal assets separate from your business's liabilities.

In practice, this means that if your business plan writing service were to face a lawsuit or incur any debts, your savings, home, and other personal assets could not be used to cover these costs. On top of this, forming your business as an LLC also helps it to appear more legitimate and trustworthy.

More than 84% of our readers opt to collaborate with a professional LLC formation service to kickstart their venture. We've negotiated a tailored discount for our readers, bringing the total down to just $29.

Form Your LLC Now

Note: If you're interested in more information before getting started, we recommend having a look at our state-specific How to Start an LLC guide (DIY) or our in-depth Best LLC Services review (for those opting for a professional service).

STEP 3: Register for taxes

You will need to register for a variety of state and federal taxes before you can open for business.

In order to register for taxes you will need to apply for an EIN. It's really easy and free!

You can acquire your EIN through the IRS website . If you would like to learn more about EINs, read our article, What is an EIN?

There are specific state taxes that might apply to your business. Learn more about state sales tax and franchise taxes in our state sales tax guides.

STEP 4: Open a business bank account & credit card

Using dedicated business banking and credit accounts is essential for personal asset protection.

When your personal and business accounts are mixed, your personal assets (your home, car, and other valuables) are at risk in the event your business is sued. In business law, this is referred to as piercing your corporate veil .

Open a business bank account

Besides being a requirement when applying for business loans, opening a business bank account:

• Separates your personal assets from your company's assets, which is necessary for personal asset protection.
• Makes accounting and tax filing easier.

Recommended: Read our Best Banks for Small Business review to find the best national bank or credit union.

Get a business credit card

Getting a business credit card helps you:

• Separate personal and business expenses by putting your business' expenses all in one place.
• Build your company's credit history , which can be useful to raise money later on.

Recommended: Apply for an easy approval business credit card from BILL and build your business credit quickly.

STEP 5: Set up business accounting

Recording your various expenses and sources of income is critical to understanding the financial performance of your business. Keeping accurate and detailed accounts also greatly simplifies your annual tax filing.

Make LLC accounting easy with our LLC Expenses Cheat Sheet.

STEP 6: Obtain necessary permits and licenses

Failure to acquire necessary permits and licenses can result in hefty fines, or even cause your business to be shut down.

State & Local Business Licensing Requirements

Certain state permits and licenses may be needed to operate a business plan writing business. Learn more about licensing requirements in your state by visiting SBA’s reference to state licenses and permits .

Most businesses are required to collect sales tax on the goods or services they provide. To learn more about how sales tax will affect your business, read our article, Sales Tax for Small Businesses .

Certificate of Occupancy

A business plan writing business is generally run out of an office space. Businesses operating out of a physical location typically require a Certificate of Occupancy (CO).  A CO confirms that all building codes, zoning laws and government regulations have been met.

• If you plan to lease a location :
• It is generally the landlord’s responsibility to obtain a CO.
• Before leasing, confirm that your landlord has or can obtain a valid CO that is applicable to a business plan writing business.
• After a major renovation, a new CO often needs to be issued. If your place of business will be renovated before opening, it is recommended to include language in your lease agreement stating that lease payments will not commence until a valid CO is issued.
• If you plan to purchase or build a location :
• You will be responsible for obtaining a valid CO from a local government authority.
• Review all building codes and zoning requirements for your business’ location to ensure your business plan writing business will be in compliance and able to obtain a CO.

Service Contracts

Business plan writing businesses should consider requiring clients to sign a services agreement before starting a new project. This agreement should clarify client expectations and minimize risk of legal disputes by setting out payment terms and conditions, service level expectations, and so on.

STEP 7: Get business insurance

Just as with licenses and permits, your business needs insurance in order to operate safely and lawfully. Business Insurance protects your company’s financial wellbeing in the event of a covered loss.

There are several types of insurance policies created for different types of businesses with different risks. If you’re unsure of the types of risks that your business may face, begin with General Liability Insurance . This is the most common coverage that small businesses need, so it’s a great place to start for your business.

Another notable insurance policy that many businesses need is Workers’ Compensation Insurance . If your business will have employees, it’s a good chance that your state will require you to carry Workers' Compensation Coverage.

FInd out what types of insurance your Business Plan Writing Service needs and how much it will cost you by reading our guide Business Insurance for Business Plan Writing Service.

STEP 8: Define your brand

Your brand is what your company stands for, as well as how your business is perceived by the public. A strong brand will help your business stand out from competitors.

If you aren't feeling confident about designing your small business logo, then check out our Design Guides for Beginners , we'll give you helpful tips and advice for creating the best unique logo for your business.

Recommended : Get a logo using Truic's free logo Generator no email or sign up required, or use a Premium Logo Maker .

If you already have a logo, you can also add it to a QR code with our Free QR Code Generator . Choose from 13 QR code types to create a code for your business cards and publications, or to help spread awareness for your new website.

How to promote & market a business plan writing service

Business owners ultimately hire business plan writers for their expertise and skills, and the best way to show these attributes is by meeting business owners in person. Writers can promote their services through local small business organizations, entrepreneurship conferences and networking events. Even cold-calling in person can be effective. Once one business owner is secured as a client, their referral will frequently lead to additional work.

How to keep customers coming back

Writers can set their business plan writing business apart from others in the industry by specializing in a certain niche. They may offer a specific type of business plan (e.g. traditional plans, E-2 visa plans or franchise plans), focus on a particular industry (e.g. manufacturing or food service), or serve customers in a specific area (e.g. city or county).

STEP 9: Create your business website

After defining your brand and creating your logo the next step is to create a website for your business .

While creating a website is an essential step, some may fear that it’s out of their reach because they don’t have any website-building experience. While this may have been a reasonable fear back in 2015, web technology has seen huge advancements in the past few years that makes the lives of small business owners much simpler.

Here are the main reasons why you shouldn’t delay building your website:

• All legitimate businesses have websites - full stop. The size or industry of your business does not matter when it comes to getting your business online.
• Social media accounts like Facebook pages or LinkedIn business profiles are not a replacement for a business website that you own.
• Website builder tools like the GoDaddy Website Builder have made creating a basic website extremely simple. You don’t need to hire a web developer or designer to create a website that you can be proud of.

Recommended : Get started today using our recommended website builder or check out our review of the Best Website Builders .

Other popular website builders are: WordPress , WIX , Weebly , Squarespace , and Shopify .

STEP 10: Set up your business phone system

Getting a phone set up for your business is one of the best ways to help keep your personal life and business life separate and private. That’s not the only benefit; it also helps you make your business more automated, gives your business legitimacy, and makes it easier for potential customers to find and contact you.

There are many services available to entrepreneurs who want to set up a business phone system. We’ve reviewed the top companies and rated them based on price, features, and ease of use. Check out our review of the Best Business Phone Systems 2023 to find the best phone service for your small business.

Recommended Business Phone Service: Phone.com

Phone.com is our top choice for small business phone numbers because of all the features it offers for small businesses and it's fair pricing.

Is this Business Right For You?

Anyone who enjoys writing and is an entrepreneur at heart may enjoy running a business plan writing business. Much of the work involves writing, and having a love for business will help writers stay motivated while working on plans. Writers should also be detail oriented, as much of the writing process includes in-depth research.

Want to know if you are cut out to be an entrepreneur?

Take our Entrepreneurship Quiz to find out!

Entrepreneurship Quiz

What happens during a typical day at a business plan writing service?

A typical day at a business plan writing business may involve:

• Meeting with business owners to learn more about their businesses
• Conducting research for writing business plans
• Writing business plans
• Delivering completed business plans to business owners

What are some skills and experiences that will help you build a successful business plan writing service?

Writers who start a business plan writing business must know how to write business plans, of which there are a few different types. The Balance has guides on writing simple business plans and traditional business plans , as do many other sites. For writers who would like more formal training, The Small Business Administration , Stanford and Entrepreneur are a few of the organizations offering online courses that detail the process.

While not necessary, writers who have a master’s of business administration (MBA) can distinguish themselves from most other writers in this field. Earning an MBA requires much more time and money than going through a class on writing plans, but the investment may pay off over the course of a writer’s career.

Alternatively, people who already have MBAs and are gainfully employed may opt to start writing business plans as part-time gigs. This is one way to earn significant supplemental income without leaving a day job.

What is the growth potential for a business plan writing service?

Many writers keep their business plan writing businesses small, serving only the number of clients they can personally help. A number or writers even do this work part-time when they can.

There are several larger companies in the industry, however. Some of the more established businesses in the industry are Ground Floor Partners , Bargain Business Plan and Joorney Business Plans . Journey Business Plans has written at least 2,500 business plans since opening in 2008.

TRUiC's YouTube Channel

For fun informative videos about starting a business visit the TRUiC YouTube Channel or subscribe to view later.

Take the Next Step

Find a business mentor.

One of the greatest resources an entrepreneur can have is quality mentorship. As you start planning your business, connect with a free business resource near you to get the help you need.

Having a support network in place to turn to during tough times is a major factor of success for new business owners.

Learn from other business owners

Want to learn more about starting a business from entrepreneurs themselves? Visit Startup Savant’s startup founder series to gain entrepreneurial insights, lessons, and advice from founders themselves.

Resources to Help Women in Business

There are many resources out there specifically for women entrepreneurs. We’ve gathered necessary and useful information to help you succeed both professionally and personally:

If you’re a woman looking for some guidance in entrepreneurship, check out this great new series Women in Business created by the women of our partner Startup Savant.

What are some insider tips for jump starting a business plan writing service?

Many business owners will want to see a writer’s work before hiring them to write a business plan. Thus, writers need a portfolio of plans they’ve drawn up. To develop a portfolio, writers may want to offer family members and friends who own businesses free business plans. Having just two or three completed will help writers showcase their work.

How and when to build a team

Many writers in this line of work never hire employees, doing all the work themselves. Those that do bring on employees typically hire administrative assistance and/or writers, adding to the staff as workload requires and revenue allows. Writers are typically paid as independent contractors.

Have a Question? Leave a Comment!

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When is the Best Time to Write a Business Plan?

Business Plan Template

• Vinay Kevadia
• September 16, 2024
• 11 Min Read

While most entrepreneurs recognize the importance of having a business plan and are willing to invest their time in writing one, they struggle with one common question: When is the best time to write a business plan?

Is it before a launch or after a launch? Is it while they chase the investors or when the business starts facing challenges?

Well, this blog post has all the answers for you. Here we’ll help you figure out the right time to write a business plan so that you always have it handy when needed.

Let’s get started.

When is the best time to write a business plan?

A business can benefit from a business plan in all its phases—launch, growth, or exit. Having a well-crafted plan helps you make more thorough and informed decisions about your business.

Realistically, there’s no right or ideal time to write a business plan. Any time when your business can benefit from direction and focus is a good time to get started.

However, each stage of your business demands a different approach to planning. Understanding and altering your plan accordingly can help you reap the most benefits.

Well, we have created this list of different business phases where you must write a business plan:

1. The ideation phase

The journey between a business idea and turning it into a successful business is a long one. Validating your idea can be the first step on this long journey.

A business plan at this stage helps organize your jumbled thoughts and distill clarity about important business aspects. It helps identify the gaps in your business idea and compels you to address the major issues before investing time or money into your idea.

A quick one-page business plan distilling clarity about your goals, target market, competitors, revenue streams, and finances is enough for the ideation phase.

It will help you find answers to important questions such as:

• Can this business idea turn profitable?
• Is there a market for what you want to sell?
• How much money will you need to launch this business?

Now, don’t spend longer than necessary perfecting your business plan at this stage. Nitpicking every detail just yet would delay your entry into the market space, and that’s quite unnecessary.

This tweet by Feras Khouri , the co-founder, and CEO of the 8-figure brand Manssion encapsulates our idea perfectly.

When to start writing: Immediately after you come up with your business idea.

2. The launch phase

Once you have a viable business idea that can turn into a profitable business venture, you take the obvious step of launching your business.

At this stage, you need a detailed plan outlining your business model, its strategy, and financials with utmost clarity.

Now, this plan will serve as a strategic roadmap for your business. So invest a good amount of time detailing every aspect of your business model.

Writing a business plan at this stage will help you:

• Enhance your market adaptiveness
• Understand your target audience and their needs
• Develop a better product-market fit
• Create your unique competitive edge
• Streamline your business operations
• Maintain an optimum cash flow
• Align your team with the business vision

Besides, a business plan will help ensure that your business activities align with the achievement of your ultimate goal.

A business plan isn’t supposed to be your holy grail. But referring to it will definitely assist you in making a successful launch.

When to start writing: 3-6 months before launch.

3. The growth phase

A business plan is a crucial document that will support you while growing your business.

Whether you’re venturing into a new market, growing your team, or increasing your production—a business plan will help you grow strategically without exhausting your cash reserves.

Business planning during the growth stage aligns your strategies with the growth objectives. It ensures that you have everything you need to grow your business.

A well-crafted growth plan with detailed financials gives you enough perspective on a particular growth initiative. It demonstrates the impact of each decision, helping you make informed decisions.

Additionally, a business plan serves as an excellent communication tool, aligning your team to the ultimate business vision.

When to start writing: 1-2 months before initiating growth efforts.

4. The funding phase

A business plan is non-negotiable when you’re planning to secure funds for your business .

Be it investors, banks, or even grants—most financial institutions would demand a well-detailed business plan before choosing to fund your business.

That’s because a business plan demonstrates that you have undertaken essential research to present a viable funding demand and have a thorough funding plan to utilize those funds judiciously.

Additionally, a business plan at this stage will help you find answers to important questions related to the market and financials. Questions you wouldn’t be able to answer if you haven’t written a business plan.

Some of these questions include:

• What will be the return on investment (ROI) in your business?
• When will the business turn profitable?
• What is the Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC) of your business?
• What is the size of your current market?
• What is your competitive advantage?
• How scalable is your business model?
• What are the key metrics for your business?

A business plan will not only help you answer these questions; it will show the investors that you have undertaken essential planning to turn your business successful.

When to start writing: 1-2 months before seeking funding.

5. The contingency phase

Businesses should have a contingency plan in action for different scenarios. For instance, supply chain disruptions, vendor disagreement, environmental or regulatory changes, and changes in consumer preferences.

A contingency plan demonstrates how your market and finances would change under different scenarios. It helps evaluate the impact and prepare for the losses by creating different strategic directions that your business may take.

When you have such a plan handy, you can make swift changes to your approach and redirect your financial resources optimally.

Let’s understand this with a fictional example:

FreshBloom Organics is an organic skincare brand that sources lavender from local farmers to produce its bestselling lavender body butter. Let’s say that due to severe weather conditions, their local lavender supplier faces crop failure.

Thankfully, FreshBloom has a contingency plan that can help it navigate this situation without causing significant business losses.

• Alternative Suppliers: FreshBloom pre-negotiated with two backup suppliers who can deliver lavender within a week.
• Product Substitution : They launch a seasonal chamomile body butter as a temporary alternative.
• Communication: They notify customers about the delay and offer pre-orders for lavender products when they become available.

A contingency plan doesn’t have to be detailed. Just a simple list of strategic changes will help you make quick changes when an actual emergency arises.

When to start writing: As soon as the business starts operating.

6. The exit phase

A business plan demonstrates the financial and operational efficiency of a business, essential when you’re planning to get acquired or maybe even launch an initial public offering (IPO).

Writing a business plan at this stage gives you a proper overview of your assets, debts, capital efficiency, and business performance. This will guide you to make a calculated assessment of your valuation and help you realize its full value.

Additionally, an exit plan can be a valuable tool in impressing the acquiring firm. A well-detailed, comprehensive plan offers them enough insight into how the business operates, helping them make an informed choice.

When to start writing: 2-4 months before exiting.

That said, these were different scenarios or business phases when you would require a business plan. But this brings us to the question: Do you always need to write a detailed business plan?

Let’s find out.

Situations where you might not need a formal business plan

Now, most entrepreneurs push back the process of writing a business plan because they consider it to be time-consuming and taxing. Well, unless you’re writing a formal business plan, this isn’t quite true.

In most business phases and scenarios, you wouldn’t need a detailed formal plan. Just a simple one-page plan that clearly distills your ideas and strategies is enough.

Some of these situations include:

• When you want to validate a business idea , a quick one-page plan or a business model canvas is enough.
• A simple list-down approach works better for communicating business objectives internally.
• Seasonal and temporary businesses like pop-up shops need a lean planning approach as opposed to long-term strategic planning.
• Businesses in rapidly changing industries benefit from agile planning that enables them to test, learn, and pivot without committing to long-term, rigid strategies.
• Established ongoing businesses benefit from short plans to evaluate a new strategy or change in operations.

Unless you’re required to submit your business plans to external parties like stakeholders and investors, a formal plan isn’t quite necessary.

Instead of procrastinating, adopt a planning approach that suits your business and write a suitable plan.

How long should you spend writing a business plan

The short answer—anywhere from a day to a few months.

The long answer? It depends on the stage of your business and the type of plan you’re writing.

Let’s simplify it further.

Depending on the type of plan

Formal business plans that detail every aspect of your business in great depth take a long time to prepare. Typically, 2-6 months for complex business models. However, AI and business planning tools can help you get a first draft of your business plan in less than a week.

Lean plans, on the other hand, can be crafted in a couple of hours or a few days at most. These plans document the key aspects of your business without diving into unnecessary details.

Depending on the business stage

Ideally, you shouldn’t be spending more than 1-2 days on a business plan that’s supposed to help with idea validation.

However, once you have a validated idea, spend a couple of weeks understanding the target market, competition, and your finances. A thorough business plan at this stage will help you establish the foundation.

Writing a business plan for the launch phase shouldn’t take longer than 1-4 weeks.

Business plans, at the later stages, focus more on operational and financial growth. These are informal documents that won’t take long to write. However, depending on the type of strategic change a business is trying to implement, planning can take a couple of weeks.

Summarizing, don’t spend longer than a month or two writing your business plan.

In this rapidly changing business dynamic, the plan will probably change before the ink is dry. If you spend too much time delving into details, the strategies will turn irrelevant by the time you take action.

Why the best time to write a business plan is now

Not tomorrow, not a week from now, not a month later—the best time to write a business plan is today.

It doesn’t matter what stage of business you’re at. Writing a business plan is a valuable process that will force you to organize your thoughts, strategies, and finances for your business.

The more you delay the process, the more your business risks losing focus and missing key opportunities. With a business plan, you get direction, a roadmap, and clarity to operate your business successfully.

Now, there’s no need to spend 6 months crafting a business plan with extensive forecasts and strategies when you haven’t even started.

The idea is to start with a one-page plan and then build it into a concrete plan as the business starts taking shape.

With the Upmetrics business planning software , you can build a business plan in no time. Its guided approach, extensive library of business plan samples, AI functionalities, and financial forecasting assistance simplify business planning to the core.

Build your Business Plan Faster

with step-by-step Guidance & AI Assistance.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best time to start writing a business plan.

The best time to write a business plan is as soon as you have an actionable business idea. However, the business plan you prepare at this stage will change through the different stages of your business. That said, any time that your business can benefit from direction and focus is a good time to start a business plan.

When should entrepreneurs write their business plans?

Entrepreneurs should have a relevant business plan during all the stages of their business. However, if we were to pick instances, here are a few in which they should write a business plan:

• Before launching a business
• At the time of making a strategic decision
• At the time of requesting investment
• At the time of contingencies

When not to write a business plan?

While a business plan is a useful document to gain direction and clarify your vision, it’s not necessary for micro-businesses or small seasonal businesses. Such businesses can benefit through the business model canvas alone instead of diving into detailed planning.

What is the time frame for a business plan?

A comprehensive plan usually covers a period of 3 to 5 years. This time frame allows you to align your business goals with long-term strategies and develop a clear roadmap for growth.

Can I write a business plan if I'm running a small business?

Yes, even small businesses can benefit from writing a business plan. It helps clarify your target market, business strategies, marketing plan, business operations, and finances. Even if you don’t intend to write a detailed plan, you must have a lean plan documenting the business basics.

Can I skip writing a business plan if I'm an experienced entrepreneur?

Even experienced entrepreneurs should consider writing a business plan, especially when starting a new venture or seeking funding. A plan instills focus and clarity, helping you navigate the challenges and opportunities arising in your business.

About the Author

Vinay Kevadiya

Vinay Kevadiya is the founder and CEO 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 enjoys sharing his insights on business planning and other relevant topics through his articles and blog posts. Read more

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Intel stock pops on plan for its foundry business to make custom chip for Amazon

In this article:.

(Reuters) - Intel's ( INTC ) foundry, or contract manufacturing business, has signed up Amazon's ( AMZN ) cloud services unit as a customer for making custom artificial intelligence chips, the companies said on Monday, a deal that gives the chip maker a vote of confidence.

Intel's shares were up roughly 7% in extended trading on Tuesday after CEO Pat Gelsinger released a memo to employees announcing Intel had secured the Amazon unit as be a multibillion-dollar customer, paying Santa Clara, California-based Intel for design services and manufacturing. The memo also outlined Intel's planned cost cuts.

Amazon's AWS cloud computing division already designs several chips for use in its data centers and has hired Intel to package at least one version. Intel will produce an "artificial intelligence fabric chip" for AWS and use the chip maker's 18A process, the most advanced version available for outside customers, the companies said.

Intel said it expects to make additional designs from Amazon on the company's forthcoming 18AP and 14A manufacturing processes.

The memo also outlined a number of steps Intel would take to revive itself. Last month, it reported disastrous second quarter earnings.

"The board and I agreed that we have a lot of work ahead to drive greater efficiency, improve our profitability and enhance our market competitiveness," Gelsinger wrote in the memo.

Among steps the board has decided to take, Intel is selling a stake in its programmable chip business Altera. It also said it would pause construction at its chip factory project in Germany for two years, a move Reuters had previously reported. The company plans to pause its project in Poland as well.

Intel said there are no changes to its plans to expand manufacturing in the U.S.

Intel plans to keep its manufacturing business, or foundry, inside the company, confirming earlier Reuters reporting. The foundry business is crucial to Gelsinger's turnaround plan for the company, which he outlined in 2021. Until Amazon, Intel has struggled to find marquee customers that it could discuss publicly.

But in the memo, Gelsinger said the foundry business would have greater independence, for instance being able to take outside capital. Intel plans to establish it as an independent subsidiary, with an operating board that will oversee the foundry operation. The foundry unit separated its financial performance from the design business earlier this year.

The company is also taking several steps to prioritize the core technology behind its central processing units (CPUs), and is reorganizing several divisions, including its automotive and "edge" businesses.

On Monday Intel also said it was awarded up to $3 billion in direct funding from the U.S. CHIPS and Science Act, as part of the Secure Enclave program.

The company said it plans to send notices in the middle of October to the roughly 15,000 employees it said in August it would lay off.

(Reporting by Max A. Cherney in San Francisco and Juby Babu in Mexico City; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and David Gregorio)

Recommended Stories

• How To Write A Business Plan
• Free Online Education to Start Your Own Business
• Our Courses
• Starting a Business

The business plan is the blueprint for your business, the who, what, where, when, how, and why. It provides a single place to keep all your ideas, the roadmap that will help you pursue these ideas, and the overview so that you can share your vision with others. In this session, you learn about business plans, including the key elements of a business plan, ways you can use your business plan, and best practices to write your business plan.

• What is a Business Plan?
• Why Write a Business Plan?
• Uses for a Business Plan
• Business Plan Formats
• What to Include in Your Business Plan
• Best Practices
• MOBI's Free Business Plan Template
• Top 10 Do's and Don'ts
• Business Resources

Watch this session in video format (25:18)

The primary value of your business plan is to create a written resource that evaluates all aspects of your new business including a description and analysis of your business’s prospects, its economic viability, and more. The very process of writing your business plan helps you put your ideas on paper, so you can see what you have and what you need.

Your business plan is your blueprint for starting your business, your script to tell the story of your business to others, and your comprehensive analysis of the opportunity for your business. Business plans motivate you to state your goals, analyze your strategy, implement your strategy, and share your vision. Business plans are valuable for new as well as existing businesses.

Because industry and economic trends are always changing, it’s important to re-examine your business plan on a regular basis. Revisiting your business plan will motivate you to update your assumptions, projections, and analysis based on evolving industry factors, economic factors, or actual operating experiences that you might not fully understand until you have started your business. If you correctly assess the changing economics of your business, your plan will provide a useful roadmap and a financing tool.

MOBI’s Starting a Business course includes the key topics that are typically included in a business plan. As you go through this course you can consider the topics as they relate to your business. You can then add this information to the free MOBI Business Plan Template either as you go or when you finish the course to create your own business plan. You will also be able to find a variety of business plan templates either online or through other resources such as your local library, civic center, or economic development office.

Could you start a business without writing a business plan? Yes. Is it recommended? No. The process of writing a business plan will force you to think carefully about your ideas and plans and will help you evaluate whether it makes financial and practical sense.

For example, you might think you can earn a profit with your product, but when you examine all the parts in your business plan, you may realize that the packaging and marketing you plan to do for your product cost more than the selling price, when you include all your business costs as well. This may help you decide to wait on your marketing plans until you have more sales, or perhaps investigate less expensive packaging options.

Writing a business plan allows you to combine all the aspects of your business in one place so you can evaluate the pros and cons together, as well as calculating whether a profit is actually possible given the plans you have in mind.

There are many uses for your business plan, and the format you choose to create may depend upon how you plan to use it. Here are some typical uses for business plans:

As part of an academic program : You may be taking this MOBI course as part of an educational program or entrepreneurship training, in which you are creating a fictitious business. As part of this program, you may be required to prepare a business plan for this fictitious business in order to learn about and analyze each aspect of starting a business. In this case, your business plan is an academic exercise to improve your entrepreneurship skills, and it is largely for your own personal use, or perhaps that of your teacher or course moderator as well.

To apply for financing : In this scenario, you are creating your business plan to share with a financial lender in order to apply for or request funding for your business. In this case you are preparing a business plan for external audiences (the lender), and the financial assumptions, projections, and analysis are going to be most important.

To record your business ideas : If you have a business idea that you are thinking of pursuing, creating a complete business plan for your idea is an excellent planning tool. It gives you one place to put all your ideas and to examine all the different information needed to move forward. You may or may not choose to share your business plan with others, at least initially, but it is your roadmap that you update as you learn more about your intended business and the market. As you continue on your entrepreneurial journey, you may decide to share your business plan with others, including potential partners, customers, employees, or investors. Keeping your business plan up to date will ensure you are ready in the event you have an opportunity to share your idea.

To launch your new business : Since your business plan is your roadmap, it can be used to execute on your business idea to start your business. In this scenario, you might want to include a greater amount of detail for every aspect of starting your business and update more frequently as you go. For example, include addendums for marketing plans and calendars, sales activities, supplier contracts, financial statements, and more.

To establish a freelance or independent business : In between Personal Use and Starting a Business might fall Independent Contractor, Home-Based or Freelance Business uses of a business plan. Sometimes aspiring entrepreneurs pursue a business idea on the side. These types of businesses allow a person to start small and grow, maybe beginning with just one client. The gradual start of this type of business may not require all aspects of business analysis and planning required by other businesses. At the same time, it is important to learn what is required to operate an independent contractor, home-based, or freelance business, so these minimum requirements would be the most immediate focus of the business plan for this use.

To acquire an existing business or franchise : Business plans can be used to evaluate existing businesses to get a sense for the health of the business and areas that are doing well or need attention. This can be important whether you are taking over a family business (family succession) or buying a business or franchise. There may be different considerations when creating a business plan for an existing business, but it is equally important to gather the facts and details yourself to do an accurate analysis.

Just as there are many different uses for business plans, there are also different formats. The format you choose may depend on the intended purpose for your business plan. MOBI provides a free MOBI Business Plan Template to help you create a comprehensive written outline for every aspect of your business, and this could be useful for any of the uses above.

Additional formats include shorter, one-page forms, most commonly based on  The Business Model Canvas  (wikipedia), invented by Alex Osterwalder, a Swiss business theorist and entrepreneur. Some providers offer a “Lean Canvas” template, created by Ash Maurya, an entrepreneur and author of Running Lean, is a popular variation of The Business Model Canvas.

Another popular format is the presentation format or “slide deck” which can be created with Google Slides, Microsoft PowerPoint, Canva, or other software tools. This format is often used when presenting your business idea to others in a meeting. The presentation format is created as a visually compelling summary of your business plan. Typically a conversation accompanies your presentation so that you can describe and explain the information summarized in the slides.

If you decide that a one-page format or presentation is right for your business plan’s purpose, it is our recommendation that you also create a full business plan to ensure you are prepared with all of the information you need and can respond to any questions about your business from your audiences.

Regardless of the format you use, there are a few fundamental parts of a business plan. These fundamental parts are shown below. Of course, these sections are included in the free MOBI Business Plan Template :

Executive Summary

Financing and Financial Projections

Business Organization

Business Location

Marketing, Ecommerce, and Sales

• Addendums: Licenses and Permits (and others)

The Executive Summary is just that, the overall  summary  of your business idea. Here you include the fundamentals about your business including a paragraph about each of the key topics below:

Name and Description of Business : Provide the name and a brief description of your business. The description should be brief, and concise. Imagine you bump into a potential investor or customer in an elevator and you have 30 seconds before the next floor to describe your business, what would you say to include the most important and impactful points?

Target Customer and Market : Describe your ideal customer and your target market. What is the problem you are solving or the need your product or service is solving for this audience?

Industry and Economic Trends : Describe the current industry and economic conditions that are making this the right time for your product or service and that are providing a potential for sustainability and future growth.

Value Proposition : Describe the value you are bringing to your customer through your product or service. What are the unique benefits, qualities, and/or circumstances that allow you to create value for your customers?

Vision : Describe the vision of your business and why you are committed to making this vision successful. Explain your plans for growth and what you can realistically achieve in a defined time frame.

Founder(s) and the Team : Provide a background of your life and work experiences that are related to this business, list your credentials (including the MOBI Starting a Business Certificate of Completion you can earn through this course!). Share your inspiration for this business. If you plan to hire employees, consultants, or service providers like lawyers, accountants, bookkeepers, etc. describe your plan for engaging with these other members of your team. Describe management roles and structure and provide background information for any executives who will share leadership roles alongside you. Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses and those of your team. Don’t be afraid to identify key positions or expertise you are actively looking to fill.

Goals : Outline your key goals for your business. These can be both short-term and long-term goals.

The  Choosing the Right Business  and  Marketing  sessions of the Starting a Business course will be helpful in populating a lot of this information .

Financial Exhibits : Provide a chart or spreadsheet showing all of the sources of your start-up capital (money) including what you or other investors will contribute and what you intend to borrow. Be sure to include a detailed list of categories showing what the money will be used for and how much will be left over for working capital (“working capital” is money that you can access and use to run your business once it is started).

Accounting : In a separate exhibit, provide your Balance Sheet, and projected Profit and Loss Statements (Income Statements) for the first three years (by month for the first year, then by year for the second and third year).

Analysis and Costs : List and explain all the key costs, categorized by fixed costs (things that don’t change, like rent), variable costs (costs that change, like the cost of materials and supplies), product, delivery, etc., and profit margins that are important for your business. As part of this exhibit be sure to include a one-year Cash Flow forecast including all estimated sales, all costs, and capital investments that will be required during this time.

Internal Controls : Describe the internal controls (processes and policies you establish) you intend to have in place. For example, what is your check signing policy? What are your strategies for controlling shrinkage and preventing shoplifting? How will you monitor deliveries and inventory?

Break-Even Analysis : Use your financial analysis to calculate your break-even point. The break-even point is the sales level at which the total revenue of your business is equal to the total cost of running your business.

The  Financing the Business  and  Accounting and Cash Flow  sessions of the Starting a Business course will teach you about the financial statements mentioned in this section, and help you learn how to gather and report financial projections for your business to populate this part of your business plan.

Business Organization : What type of business organization have you chosen for your business (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company, nonprofit, etc.). Describe why it is the best fit. Provide information about any of the steps you will need to take to establish your business with this organization structure.

Professional Consultants : If you will be working with any consultants and have not already listed them, or would like to provide greater detail, you can include it here.

The  Business Organization  session of the Starting a Business course provides great detail about the types of business organizations as well as related liability and tax issues you should consider when deciding on your business organization.

Describe where you will operate your business. If you are opening a store or restaurant, it may be easy to identify the kind of space you need, whereas if you are starting a business as an independent contractor teaching music lessons or doing graphic design projects, you may decide to work out of your home, join a co-working space, or rent an office. Likewise, if you provide services like landscaping or house cleaning, you may not need a space at all.

Provide details about the space you intend to pursue, what amenities do you need, what features will be important? If you plan to rent, lease, or buy space, include any financial information including all costs, and any credits you may be eligible to receive, for example incentives for minority-, women-, or veteran-owned businesses, or credits, rebates, or discounts through other governmental economic development programs.

If you already have a space, include the address and description of the property.

The  Choosing a Business Location  and  Freelance, Independent, and Home-Based Businesses  sessions will teach you about how to select your business location, and what you should consider .

Market Research : In greater detail than provided in your Executive Summary, describe the market research you conducted to identify and understand your target market and customers. Include sources of information. Describe your position within the target market.

Marketing Strategy and Tools : Explain the traditional and online marketing strategies and tools you will use to find, engage, and build your target market as well as how you will close sales and foster customer relationships and loyalty.

Ecommerce : If you plan to sell your product or service online, describe your ecommerce strategy. What channels will you use, how will you take and fulfill orders, how will you build awareness and drive traffic to your online store?

Cost : Provide a detailed description of all costs for each marketing activity. How will you evaluate your marketing efforts for effectiveness?

Sales : Describe your sales process, activities you will conduct, obstacles you expect, how you will overcome them, and any customer service strategies you will use to retain and expand your customer base.

The  Communication Tools ,  Marketing , and  Ecommerce  sessions will provide the information and guidance to help you populate this part of your business plan, and the Selling and Controlling Costs sessions provide information about the sales process and business costs .

Workflow : Outline the workflow of your business and the processes and procedures you will put into place if not already mentioned above.

Supplies/Inventory/Production : Provide details about how you will acquire supplies, manufacture your product or service, and deliver your product or service to customers. Include any equipment or facilities needs.

Measurement and Assessment : Describe how you will measure the success of your operations for efficiency, cost control, quality, and any other parameters.

Crisis and Contingency Plan : Include your damage control plan. What will you do in the event of a natural disaster, economic downturn, product obsolescence (your product is no longer needed by the market), cybersecurity breach, or other catastrophic event. Include any business insurance you have purchased or intent to purchase.

If not mentioned elsewhere, describe your plans for order fulfillment, supply chain (where you will get supplies for your product or service), and hiring and managing employees.

Addendums, items not required but helpful to include

Licenses and permits required for your business. The Licenses and Permits session will help you learn what you might need.

International and national intellectual property protection through trademarks, copyrights, and/or patents.

Marketing collateral you may be creating and/or examples.

Resumes of founders and key team members.

Other pertinent information.

There are a few best practices to keep in mind when you are creating your business plan.

Do your best . You may not have all the answers your first time through your business plan, and that’s ok. Just do your best and include the information you have. The activity of writing your business plan will help you identify where the holes are. As you pursue your business, you will gain more knowledge, information, and insight that you can continue to add to your business plan over time and fill in the holes.

Use a template . You don’t have to reinvent the wheel when writing your business plan. Choose an easy-to-follow, standard business plan template, such as the MOBI Free Business Plan Template provided in this course and on our website. Using a template can help ensure that you include all the important topics. A template will also keep you organized as you research and document information about your business. Using a template can help you see what information you have and what information you need.

Tell a story . Even though your business plan will describe very different aspects of your business, all of the information you include should be cohesive and tie together. Think of your business plan as the story of your business. This story should be present in every aspect of your business plan, and it should be clear to your audience how each part fits into the whole to create and support the story.

Be thorough, detailed, and specific . Be as detailed, specific, thorough, and accurate as possible. Use clear, concise language and be realistic in the information you provide. Allow yourself plenty of time, and dedicate yourself to producing your best effort. When conducting research, try to look at several different sources of information. When studying your industry, look at more than one business. Be realistic about your financial situation and the needs of your business, as well as the opportunities.

Make it visually appealing . If you are sharing your business plan with others, be mindful of the presentation. While the information included in your business plan is most important, if the presentation is messy or filled with errors your audience may not read it. Does your business plan look nice? Is it organized? Is there a title page, table of contents, or section headlines, and page numbers? In case you leave it behind with someone to review, does it have your name and contact information? Have you proofread to make sure there are no errors, typos, or messy formatting mistakes? Have you included graphic elements like your logo, graphs, perhaps photos or drawings, things that provide interest and well as information. Your business plan can be a valuable selling tool, so be sure it’s visually appealing.

Keep it current . As mentioned earlier, industry and economic trends change all the time and can impact your business and business plan. Take your business plan out once a month, or in a frequency that works for you, and read it. If anything has changed, update it. This way you can be sure you are ready when an opportunity arises, for example to talk with a potential investor, customer, partner, or employee.

Set realistic goals . It would be nearly impossible to sit down and write your business plan in one afternoon or one day. Set a realistic goal for yourself to complete different parts as it works for your schedule. Perhaps you break it down by week or month? For example, next month you could devote to researching all the financial information required for your business, and then you write that part of your business plan. Then perhaps you focus on marketing after that. It’s also helpful to just get your ideas on paper. You’ve got to start somewhere, and it’s often easier to start with words already on a page than with a blank page.

Get feedback . Share your business plan draft with trusted advisors or experts in your intended industry to get their advice and use their input to revise and improve your plan.

Start at the beginning, again . Once you have completed your first draft of your business plan, go back and reread your Executive Summary. After having done all the research and deep thinking to populate all of the other sections, did you learn anything new that changes your overall summary? If so, make those changes while the ideas are fresh in your mind.

We have provided the free MOBI Business Plan Template for you to use in planning your business. As you go through this course, you will learn about the topics that are included in the template. You can add information to your business plan template as you go, or you can begin working on it after you have completed the full course.

THE TOP 10 DO'S

• Prepare a complete business plan for any business you are considering.
• Tell the story of your business, and make sure this story is present throughout your business plan.
• Use your business plan as your own planning tool and a place where you can record all your ideas about your business.
• Make your business plan visually appealing, it can be a powerful selling tool.
• Submit your business plan to experts in your intended business for their advice.
• Spell out your strategies on how you intend to handle obstacles in your sales process.
• Be honest about your strengths and weaknesses and those of your team.
• Include a monthly one-year projected Profit and Loss Statement, and yearly projections for years two and three.
• Identify your unique value proposition in your Executive Summary.
• Demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of your intended industry by including your market research information.

THE TOP 10 DON'TS

• Start a business without developing a business plan first.
• Forget to include your own life experiences, business history, and educational achievements which have led you to this business.
• Exclude the financial statements and projections, especially when using your business plan to seek funding.
• Leave out challenges or weaknesses, instead identify anticipated problems and how you will overcome them.
• Rely on a one-page business plan for all your information and needs, be sure to create a full business plan as well.
• Overlook including a damage control plan in your Operations section.
• Use overly complex language that will confuse your audiences.
• Skip sections because you aren’t sure what to include, instead continue your research and find the answers.
• Ignore economic or industry trends that may impact your business, regularly update your business plan.
• Include general information without the details or proof to support your claims.

If you are writing your business plan while reviewing this material, take a moment now to include any information about your business related to this session. MOBI’s free Business Plan Template and other worksheets, checklists, and templates are available for you to download. Just visit the list of MOBI Resource Documents on the Resources & Tools page of our website.

Here are some key terms and definitions used in this session or related to this session:

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Featured Video: The Importance of Market Research 

Featured Video:   Key Components of a Good Business Plan  originally appeared on  BusinessTown

Featured Video: Business Plan: What are the key components?

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