how to write a business plan sba

Financing | Templates

How To Write an SBA Business Plan [+Free Template]

Published June 13, 2023

Published Jun 13, 2023

REVIEWED BY: Tricia Jones

WRITTEN BY: Andrew Wan

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

1. Write the Company Description
2. Identify Organization & Management
3. Specify the Market Analysis
4. Write Descriptions of the Products or Services
5. Indicate the Marketing & Sales Strategy
6. List Financial Data & Projections
7. Write the Financing Request
8. Fill In the Appendix & Supplemental Information
9. Complete the Executive Summary
Additional Resources

Bottom Line

If you’re applying for a loan from the Small Business Administration (SBA), there’s a good chance that you’ll need a business plan to get approved. An SBA business plan provides a summary of the various aspects of your business, and we will guide you through the process of creating it, from writing your company description and marketing and sales strategies to completing financial data and projections and your executive summary.

Although there is no standard format, and to help you ensure nothing is overlooked, you can use our SBA business plan template to ensure you cover the most important areas of your company. A well-prepared business plan can improve your chances of getting an SBA loan.

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Step 1: write the company description.

This section should contain information about the purpose of your business. It should include a description of the problem or challenge your product or service aims to solve and what types of individuals or organizations will benefit.

A strong company description should also address the following questions:

Why does your company exist?
What problems does your business aim to address?
What prompted you to start your business?
What organizations or individuals will benefit from your company’s product or service?
What makes your company different from others?
What competitive advantages does your business offer?
What would a successful product launch look like?
Does your company have strategic partnerships with other vendors?

Step 2: Identify Organization & Management

Details about the legal and tax structure of your business should be included in this section. It can also be helpful to include an organizational chart of your company. You can include information about each team member’s background and experience and how it is relevant to your company:

Highlight what business structure you have selected and why. Examples commonly include a sole proprietorship, limited liability company (LLC), partnership, S corporation (S-corp), and C corporation (C-corp)
Include an organizational chart showing which team members are responsible for the various aspects of your company
You can include resumes for members of your leadership team highlighting their experience and background

Step 3: Specify the Market Analysis

The market analysis section of your SBA business plan should look at who your competitors will be. Look at what they are doing well, what their weaknesses are, and how your company compares.

The SBA’s market analysis page contains information on how you can approach this. Questions you should also consider addressing should include:

Who are the major competitors in the market?
What are competitors doing well and are there areas for improvement?
How does your company compare to the top competitors?
How has the product or service evolved over time?
Are there any trends for supply and demand throughout the year?
What can your company do to stand apart from the top competitors?

Step 4: Write Descriptions of the Products or Services

In this section, you should detail the product or service offered by your business. You should explain what it does, how it helps your customers, and its expected lifecycle. You can also include things like any expected research and development costs, intellectual property concerns such as patents, what the lifecycle of your product looks like, and what is needed to manufacture or assemble it.

Here are some things to consider as you are working on this section:

Description of what your product or service does
How your product or service works
How your customers will benefit from your product or service
Illustration of the typical lifecycle
Any patents or intellectual property you or your competitors have
Pricing structure
Plans for research and development
Discuss plans for handling intellectual property, copyright, and patent filings

Step 5: Indicate the Marketing & Sales Strategy

Details of your marketing and sales strategy will be highly dependent on your business. It’s also something that may evolve and change over time in response to things like the overall economic environment, release of competitor’s products or services, and changes in pricing.

With that being said, here is a list of some items that should be addressed:

Who is your target audience?
How will you attract customers?
How and where will sales be made?
If applicable, what will the sales process look like?
Where will you market and advertise your product or service?
How does your marketing strategy compare to other companies in the industry?
How much should you spend on marketing?
What is the expected return on investment for marketing?
Do you have any data showing the effect of marketing?

Step 6: List Financial Data & Projections

If your business has been running, you should include information about its finances. This should include all streams of revenue and expenses. Data for financial projections should also be included, along with a description of the methodology you used to reach those conclusions.

If available, you should be prepared to provide the following financial documents for at least the last three years to five years:

Personal and business tax returns
Balance sheets
Profit and loss (P&L) statements
Cash flow statements
Hard and soft collateral owned by your business
Business bank statements for the last six to 12 months

Financial projections should include enough data to offer some confidence that your business is viable and will succeed. It’s recommended that you provide monthly projections looking forward at least three years, with annual projections for years four and five.

Projections for revenue and methodology used in arriving at these figures
Expected shifts in revenue or expenses as a result of seasonality or other factors affecting supply and demand
Expected expenses from loan payments, rent, lease payments, marketing and advertising fees, employee salaries, benefits, legal fees, warranty expenses, and more

You can use our SBA loan calculator to help you estimate monthly payments for the funding you’re currently looking for and projections for any additional loans you may need. Monthly payments can fluctuate depending on the terms of your loan. If you’re looking for accurate estimates, you can read our article on SBA loan rates .

Step 7: Write the Financing Request

This section is where you should specify how much funding you need, why you need it, what you’ll use it for, and the impact you expect it will have on your business. It’s also a good idea to indicate when you expect to use the funds over the course of the next three to five years.

Here is a checklist of some important items you should cover:

How much funding you need and why
When you will use the funds over the next three to five years
What you will use the funds for
The expected impact this will have on your business and how it will help reach your business goals
The anticipation of any recurring needs for additional funding
Your strategy for how you expect to pay off the loan
Any future financial plans for your business

Step 8: Fill In the Appendix & Supplemental Information

This last section of your SBA business plan should include any additional information that may be helpful for lenders. This can include more detailed explanations or clarifications of data from other sections of your business plan.

Here are some examples of documents you can include:

Business licenses
Certifications or permits
Letters of reference
Photos of products
Resumes of business owners
Contractual agreements and other legal documents

Step 9: Complete the Executive Summary

The executive summary, which is the first section in a business plan, should be no more than one to two pages and provide a high-level overview of the items listed below. Since each section above is already detailed, a brief description of those sections will be sufficient:

Your company’s mission statement
The background and experience of your leadership team
The product or service and what purpose it serves
Your target market for the product or service
Competitive analysis of other products and services
Your competitive advantage or why your company will succeed
Marketing and sales strategy
Financial projections and funding needs

Depending on the type of SBA loan you’re applying for, certain areas of your business plan may be weighed more heavily than others. You can learn about the SBA loan options you can choose from in our guide on the different types of SBA loans .

Additional Resources for Writing an SBA Business Plan

If you’re looking for additional resources to help you write a business plan, you can consider the options below. Since a business plan is just one of many documents you’ll need, you can also read our guide on how to get an SBA loan if you need help with other areas of the loan process:

SBA: SBA’s business guide contains information on how you can start a small business. It includes steps on creating a business plan, funding your company, and launching a business.
SCORE: Through SCORE, you can request to be paired with a mentor and get business-related education. Educational courses come in several formats, including webinars, live events, and online courses.
Small Business Development Center (SBDC): SBDCs provide training and counseling to small business owners. This can help with various aspects of your company such as getting access to working capital, business planning, financial management, and more. You can use the SBA’s tool to find your closest SBDC .

Having a strong SBA business plan can improve your chances of getting approved for an SBA loan. If you’re unsure where to start, you can use our guide and template to cover the most important aspects of your business. You can also see our tips on how to get a small business loan . To get even more ideas on creating a strong business plan, you can also utilize resources through organizations such as SCORE and the SBA itself.

About the Author

Find Andrew On LinkedIn

Andrew Wan is a staff writer at Fit Small Business, specializing in Small Business Finance. He has over a decade of experience in mortgage lending, having held roles as a loan officer, processor, and underwriter. He is experienced with various types of mortgage loans, including Federal Housing Administration government mortgages as a Direct Endorsement (DE) underwriter. Andrew received an M.B.A. from the University of California at Irvine, a Master of Studies in Law from the University of Southern California, and holds a California real estate broker license.

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How to Write an SBA Business Plan

If you’re thinking about starting a small business, or if you’ve been a business owner for a while but have never applied for capital, you may be wondering where and how to go about it. The good news is that documenting a business plan for SBA loans doesn’t have to be a difficult task. In fact, it can be fun!

A good business plan walks you through each stage of establishing and managing your small business. You’ll use your SBA business plan as a guide to organize, run, and grow your new company. It’s a way to structure through the key elements of your company.

SBA business plans help you get the required capital or acquire new clients or business partners. Investors want to feel convinced and optimistic they’ll see a return on their investment. Your SBA business plan is the weapon you’ll use to persuade people that working alongside your business or investing in your business is a smart choice. That being said, here’s everything you need to know about SBA loans and business plans and how you can increase your chances for success.

What is an SBA Loan?

If you’re a small business owner, you’re in luck. As the name implies, SBA loans are loan programs issued by banks and credit unions backed by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) or a member of its network of supported participating lenders. This means that if you cannot pay back your loan, the government helps repay the traditional lender (bank) that provided the loan.

The SBA requires guarantees from your business partners who own at least 20% of the business, implying if you get an SBA loan, you are putting your assets at stake in case you’re unable to repay the loan. Additionally, companies that have at least 2 years of strong business and financials are mostly eligible for SBA loans. However, if your small business is struggling to make ends meet, an SBA loan may not be the right fit for you.

Irrespective of the personal guarantee requirement, SBA loans are one of the most popular ways to get capital to grow and manage your small business. Not only can you leverage their flexible repayment terms, but you can also take advantage of their low-interest rates to grow your small business. If you want to learn more about it, here’s our guide on SBA business loans .

But before we move any further, let’s take a look at what the SBA is.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) is a government agency in the U.S. that offers help and counseling to small businesses and startups by providing tools such as business planners, small business loans, and other training programs.

It also offers professional business documentation to guide small companies and startups through the procedures for applying for a small business loan. To do so, you must have a strong sense of what your business goals are and what your company does, along with a solid plan.

If your business plan isn’t convincing and effective, you might have difficulty getting an SBA business loan. This is why it is important to have a clear vision of the business goal you want to achieve while working on the documentation.

In this article, we’ll take a look at what an SBA business plan includes.

Why You Need a Business Plan for SBA Business Loans

SBA business loans require a significant amount of documentation highlighting your business goals and your personal finances. You’ll need to mention your previous tax returns, bank statements, and different application forms based on the type of SBA business loan you require.

Alongside your past financial statements, the traditional lender issuing the SBA business loan would want to know about the future of your business. They’ll ask you about your plan on how you’d utilize the loan on your business and that your future cash flow estimates indicate that your company can afford loan repayments.

This is where SBA business plans come into the picture. Besides providing other documentation required for the loan, you’ll need to draft a business plan to go with the rest of the loan application. Not only will your SBA business plan describe your business to your lender, but it will also have financial statements that the bank will require to help identify if you qualify for a loan.

Now, let’s take a look at what the SBA business plan template includes.

Writing an SBA Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

Learning how to write a brilliant SBA business plan is a crucial step toward creating a fruitful business. Put simply, a business plan explains exactly what your product or service is and why consumers would want to purchase it, alongside how you will handle any market challenges and environmental risks. It can help you determine what you want to achieve and how you plan to achieve your business goals. This, in turn, can help you to market your business, motivate your teams, and thereby make well-informed decisions.

A strong SBA business plan can also serve as a communication tool for future investors and potential loan providers. It will help you portray your present financial status, active revenue sources, and how you plan to meet revenue estimates. Even though a business plan isn’t relevant for all types of credit, it plays a crucial role in SBA business loans. While no two business plans are similar, every plan should have the following elements:

1. Executive Summary

Your business plan’s executive summary is your only opportunity to introduce your business to potential investors and lenders, which is why it needs to be concise and powerful. This summary should provide a brief gist of the history and background of your business that should be engaging enough for your readers. Oftentimes, it is helpful to write this part at the end – after you’ve spent considerable time examining and articulating all the details of your business.

2. Company Summary

Explain what your product or service does and why consumers or businesses will want to purchase it. Make sure to highlight all the areas where your product or service has leverage over the competition.

On the other hand, add the pending or established copyrights or trademarks, as well as the present or future plans for further research and development (R&D).

3. Market Analysis

Mentioning the strategy would highlight the marketability of your business, your competition, and your position into the competitive landscape.

In the marketing analysis, provide all the information about your target industry, including the market size, target market, the market requirements, and hurdles to entry, like legal conditions and supply issues. Additionally, any information on the market tests you have undertaken should be included in your business plan. You must also include your direct and indirect competition in the market analysis section.

4. Marketing Plan

In your marketing plan, consider highlighting how to promote your business and generate leads for revenue. Describe the functionalities or characteristics of your product or service and how it helps consumers.

Mention how your product or service differs from your competitors in the market and how you will grow your business and generate revenue. Additionally, provide details about your product’s life cycle and intellectual property issues.

5. Management Team

To highlight your human capital, describe your business in terms of structure and leadership. Let your readers know the roles of your employees and their qualifications. Elaborate on this in your documentation, and try providing their resumes as well.

6. Financial Summary

Funding and financial analysis are two of the most crucial areas in your business. Highlight the funding your small business would require and provide supporting financial data on your previous and future financial activity.

Add necessary documents that portray your company’s present financial status, including cash flow statements, income statements, revenue sheets, and balance sheets. Mention your expectations for revenues along with the expense of your products, rent, fuel, electricity, utilities, salaries, and other aspects.

7. Appendix

There are different ways you can organize and present the information given above so you can share it with potential lenders and investors, current and future team members, management teams, and anyone who needs to go through the vision of your company.

Conduct your research and find a business plan format that suits your business goals. There are multiple SBA business plan types for different readers, including investors and employees, so you can change your plan based on your target audience.

Here are a few things you must keep in your mind:

Create a business plan in a way such that it’s easier to find key information. Create a cover page and table of contents (ToC) that makes basic information easier to find. Moreover, it’s recommended to use dividers with tabs if you’re making hard copies of the documentation and putting them in a binder.
Make it as detailed as possible. Based on your product or service, you may also want to add a section on Action Plans, which includes data on compliance and safety processes, legal landscapes, regulations, operational & management plans, an employee manual, job descriptions of your staff, and everything you’d want to put on the hard copies (or in the digital document).
Use an Appendix for highlighting additional information. The Appendix is where you attach supporting documents, including financial and market analyses, staff resumes, logo & branding examples, and so on.

Why more businesses are working with BSBCON

Nowadays, more and more business owners and entrepreneurs are trying their luck in the ever-competitive market.

Business is a vast landscape. There are a number of ways you can leverage to build and promote a marketing idea. However, the first thing you need to promote a product or service is a solid plan, and to propose this plan, your company needs business plan writers.

Think of BSBCON as a crucial and cost-effective extension of your own business. BSBCON is a leading company that offers SMB consulting solutions, including providing thorough business plans, pitch decks, strategic planning, and more, that save you both time and resources.

If you want to increase your chances of securing capital, grants, or investors, partner with BSBCON and get a solid business blueprint with a professional business plan.

BSBCON’s SBA business plan writers offer all such insights, including marketing plans & strategies, pitch decks & storyboards, market research & in-depth analysis, business planning, bookkeeping & accounting, financial modeling – and the list goes on! Get in touch with BSBCON’s SMB consultants today to see how they can help you. With BSBCON, you get guidance to build a strategically designed, SBA-approved business plan that offers everything potential investors need to evaluate your business and business goals.

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How to Write a Business Plan, Step by Step

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What is a business plan?

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

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

ZenBusiness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your business’s registered name.

Address of your business location .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You should include the following:

An explanation of how your product or service works.

The pricing model for your product or service.

The typical customers you serve.

Your supply chain and order fulfillment strategy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NerdWallet’s picks for setting up your business finances:

The best business checking accounts .

The best business credit cards .

The best accounting software .

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

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

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

Licenses and permits.

Equipment leases.

Bank statements.

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

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

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021

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

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

What Is a Business Plan?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business Plan Steps

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

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

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

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

Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?

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

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business

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

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

Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?

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

The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step

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

Step 1: Executive Summary

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

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

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

Step 2: Description of Business

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

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

Step 3: Market Analysis

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

Who is our customer?
What does that customer value?

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

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

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

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

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

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

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

Questions to answer in this section are as follows:

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

Step 7: Marketing Plan

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

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

Step 8: Sales Plan

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

Start by answering the following questions:

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

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

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

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

Step 10: Financial Projections

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

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

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

Business Plan Template

Download Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

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

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

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

How to Write a Simple Business Plan

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

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

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

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Smartsheet

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup

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

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

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

Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Lean Business Plan Templates for Startups

Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan

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

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

Download free financial templates to support your business plan.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

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

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

How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business

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

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

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Home > Business > Business Startup

How To Write a Business Plan

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Starting a business is a wild ride, and a solid business plan can be the key to keeping you on track. A business plan is essentially a roadmap for your business — outlining your goals, strategies, market analysis and financial projections. Not only will it guide your decision-making, a business plan can help you secure funding with a loan or from investors .

Writing a business plan can seem like a huge task, but taking it one step at a time can break the plan down into manageable milestones. Here is our step-by-step guide on how to write a business plan.

Write your executive summary
Do your market research homework
Set your business goals and objectives
Plan your business strategy
Describe your product or service
Crunch the numbers
Finalize your business plan

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Step 1: Write your executive summary

Though this will be the first page of your business plan , we recommend you actually write the executive summary last. That’s because an executive summary highlights what’s to come in the business plan but in a more condensed fashion.

An executive summary gives stakeholders who are reading your business plan the key points quickly without having to comb through pages and pages. Be sure to cover each successive point in a concise manner, and include as much data as necessary to support your claims.

You’ll cover other things too, but answer these basic questions in your executive summary:

Idea: What’s your business concept? What problem does your business solve? What are your business goals?
Product: What’s your product/service and how is it different?
Market: Who’s your audience? How will you reach customers?
Finance: How much will your idea cost? And if you’re seeking funding, how much money do you need? How much do you expect to earn? If you’ve already started, where is your revenue at now?

Step 2: Do your market research homework

The next step in writing a business plan is to conduct market research . This involves gathering information about your target market (or customer persona), your competition, and the industry as a whole. You can use a variety of research methods such as surveys, focus groups, and online research to gather this information. Your method may be formal or more casual, just make sure that you’re getting good data back.

This research will help you to understand the needs of your target market and the potential demand for your product or service—essential aspects of starting and growing a successful business.

Step 3: Set your business goals and objectives

Once you’ve completed your market research, you can begin to define your business goals and objectives. What is the problem you want to solve? What’s your vision for the future? Where do you want to be in a year from now?

Use this step to decide what you want to achieve with your business, both in the short and long term. Try to set SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound benchmarks—that will help you to stay focused and motivated as you build your business.

Step 4: Plan your business strategy

Your business strategy is how you plan to reach your goals and objectives. This includes details on positioning your product or service, marketing and sales strategies, operational plans, and the organizational structure of your small business.

Make sure to include key roles and responsibilities for each team member if you’re in a business entity with multiple people.

Step 5: Describe your product or service

In this section, get into the nitty-gritty of your product or service. Go into depth regarding the features, benefits, target market, and any patents or proprietary tech you have. Make sure to paint a clear picture of what sets your product apart from the competition—and don’t forget to highlight any customer benefits.

Step 6: Crunch the numbers

Financial analysis is an essential part of your business plan. If you’re already in business that includes your profit and loss statement , cash flow statement and balance sheet .

These financial projections will give investors and lenders an understanding of the financial health of your business and the potential return on investment.

You may want to work with a financial professional to ensure your financial projections are realistic and accurate.

Step 7: Finalize your business plan

Once you’ve completed everything, it's time to finalize your business plan. This involves reviewing and editing your plan to ensure that it is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

You should also have someone else review your plan to get a fresh perspective and identify any areas that may need improvement. You could even work with a free SCORE mentor on your business plan or use a SCORE business plan template for more detailed guidance.

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The takeaway

Writing a business plan is an essential process for any forward-thinking entrepreneur or business owner. A business plan requires a lot of up-front research, planning, and attention to detail, but it’s worthwhile. Creating a comprehensive business plan can help you achieve your business goals and secure the funding you need.

How To Write SBA Business Plan With Free Template

A business plan is a vital document for any entrepreneur who wants to start or grow a small business. It outlines your vision, goals, strategies, market analysis, financial projections, and more. It helps you to organize your thoughts, identify potential challenges and opportunities, and communicate your vision to others. A well-written business plan can also help you secure funding from the Small Business Administration (SBA), which offers loans and grants to eligible small businesses. The SBA has specific requirements and standards for business plans, and you need to follow them carefully if you want to increase your chances of getting approved.

In this blog post, we will guide you through the steps of writing a SBA business plan with an example. We will cover the following topics:

SBA – what is it? & What is the purpose of the SBA business plan?

What are the main components of a SBA business plan?

How to write each section of a sba business plan with an example.

How to format and present your SBA business plan?

SBA Business Plan Template

Creating a business plan that meets the standards of the Small Business Administration (SBA) can be challenging, but not with our SBA Business Plan Template. This template is based on the best practices and guidelines of the SBA, and it will walk you through the key sections of a business plan, such as the executive summary, market analysis, competitive advantage, financial projections, and more. You can easily adapt the template to your specific industry, niche, and goals, and save yourself time and hassle in the process. Our SBA Business Plan Template is not just a document – it’s a tool that will help you secure funding, attract customers, and grow your business successfully. We have years of experience in helping small businesses achieve their dreams, and we are confident that our template will help you too.

SBA - what is it? and what is the purpose of the SBA business plan?

What is sba.

SBA stands for Small Business Administration . It is an independent agency of the United States government that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The SBA is a valuable resource for small businesses. If you are starting or running a small business, the SBA can help you get the financing, counseling, and training you need to succeed.

The SBA offers a variety of programs and services, including:

Loans: The SBA guarantees loans made by banks and other lenders to small businesses. This can help small businesses get the financing they need to start or grow their business. Surety Bonds: The SBA provides surety bonds to small businesses that need them to bid on government contracts. This can help small businesses compete for government contracts that they might not otherwise be able to get. Consulting: The SBA offers counseling and training to small businesses on a variety of topics, such as business planning , marketing, and financial management. Government Contracting: The SBA helps small businesses get government contracts. The SBA has a set-aside program that reserves a certain percentage of government contracts for small businesses. Advocacy: The SBA advocates on behalf of small businesses in Washington, D.C. The SBA works to ensure that small businesses have a voice in the federal government.

Here are some of the benefits of SBA loans:

Low interest rates: SBA loans typically have lower interest rates than conventional loans. This can save you money on your monthly payments. Longer repayment terms: SBA loans typically have longer repayment terms than conventional loans. This can give you more time to pay back your loan. Guarantee: The SBA guarantees 75% of SBA loans. This means that the lender is only at risk for 25% of the loan amount. This makes it easier for small businesses to get approved for loans.

Learn how to write a business plan for loan in just 7 simple steps

Purpose of sba business plan.

The purpose of an SBA business plan is to provide a roadmap for your business. It should outline your goals, strategies, and financial projections. The SBA business plan is a requirement for many SBA loans, but it can also be a valuable tool for any small business owner. If you are thinking about starting or running a small business, an SBA business plan is a valuable tool. It can help you to secure funding, guide your business, attract investors, improve your management skills, and track your progress.

Here are some of the specific purposes of an SBA business plan:

To secure funding: The SBA business plan is a key document that lenders will review when considering your loan application. It will help them to understand your business and its potential for success.
To guide your business: The SBA business plan can help you to stay focused on your goals and make informed decisions about your business. It can also help you to identify potential problems and develop solutions.
To attract investors: If you are looking to attract investors, an SBA business plan can be a valuable tool. It will help you to communicate your vision for your business and convince investors that your business is a good investment.
To improve your management skills: The process of writing an SBA business plan can help you to improve your management skills. It will force you to think critically about your business and develop a plan for its success.
To track your progress: The SBA business plan can be used to track your progress and make adjustments as needed. It can also help you to identify areas where your business is doing well and areas where it needs improvement.

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The main components of an SBA business plan are:

Executive summary: This is a brief overview of your business, including its products or services, target market, and competitive advantages.
Company description: This section provides more detailed information about your business, such as its history, legal structure, and management team.
Products and services: This section describes the products or services that your business offers.
Market analysis: This section analyzes your target market, including its size, growth potential, and competitive landscape.
Marketing plan: This section outlines your strategies for reaching and acquiring customers.
Operations plan: This section describes how your business will be run on a day-to-day basis.
Management team: This section introduces your management team and their qualifications.
Financial projections: This section provides estimates of your business’s revenue, expenses, and cash flow.
Appendix: This section includes supporting documents, such as financial statements, marketing materials, and product samples.

The SBA does not have a set format for business plans, so you can tailor your plan to the specific requirements of the lender you are applying to. However, the SBA does recommend that all business plans include the following elements:

A clear and concise overview of your business
A realistic assessment of your market and competition
A well-defined marketing plan
A sound financial plan
A strong management team

If you are applying for an SBA loan , it is important to carefully prepare your business plan. The SBA will review your plan carefully to assess the viability of your business and your chances of success.

Here are some additional tips for writing an SBA business plan:

Be clear and concise. The SBA reviewers are busy people, so they don’t have time to read through long, rambling business plans.
Be realistic. Don’t make unrealistic projections about your revenue or growth.
Be specific. Don’t just say that you’re going to “market your product.” Explain exactly how you’re going to do it.
Be persuasive. The goal of your business plan is to convince the SBA to lend you money. So make sure your plan is well-written and persuasive.

Access our 14 free sample business plans now!

A business plan is a document that describes your business idea, goals, strategies, and operations. It helps you communicate your vision to potential investors, lenders, partners, and customers. It also helps you plan and manage your business effectively.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) provides a standard business plan template that you can use to write your own plan. The template consists of eight major sections that cover the essential aspects of your business. Here is a brief overview of each section and an example of how to write it.

Exective Summary
Company Description
Market Analysis
Organization and Management
Product or Service Description
Marketing and Sales
Funding Request
Financial Projections

1. Exective Summary

This section summarizes the main points of your business plan in one or two pages. It should capture the reader’s attention and interest, and highlight your unique value proposition, target market, competitive advantage, financial projections, and funding needs. You should write this section last, after completing the rest of your plan.

XYZ Inc. is a software company that develops and sells cloud-based solutions for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Our products help SMBs manage their accounting, invoicing, payroll, inventory, and customer relationship management (CRM) processes more efficiently and securely.

We have a proven track record of delivering high-quality software solutions to over 1,000 customers across various industries. We have a strong team of experienced developers, marketers, and customer support specialists who are passionate about solving our customers’ problems and providing them with exceptional service.

We are seeking $500,000 in debt financing from the SBA to expand our product portfolio, increase our marketing efforts, and hire more staff. We expect to generate $2 million in revenue and $500,000 in net income in the first year of operation, and grow at an annual rate of 25% for the next five years.

2. Company Description

This section provides detailed information about your company’s history, mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, legal structure, ownership, location, and facilities. It should also describe the problems your business solves, the customers you serve, and the competitive advantages that make your business stand out.

XYZ Inc. was founded in 2019 by John Smith and Jane Doe, two software engineers who saw a gap in the market for affordable and easy-to-use cloud-based solutions for SMBs. They started developing their first product, XYZ Accounting, in their garage, and launched it in 2020 after securing their first customer.

Our mission is to empower SMBs with innovative and reliable software solutions that help them streamline their business processes and grow their revenue. Our vision is to become the leading provider of cloud-based solutions for SMBs in the U.S. and beyond. Our values are excellence, innovation, customer satisfaction, integrity, and teamwork.

We are a Delaware corporation with 10% ownership by John Smith, 10% ownership by Jane Doe, and 80% ownership by XYZ Holdings LLC, a holding company owned by John Smith and Jane Doe. We operate from our headquarters in San Francisco, California, where we have a 5,000 square foot office space that accommodates our development, marketing, and customer support teams. How to write each section of a SBA business plan with an example?

3. Market Analysis

This section analyzes the industry, market, and competition for your business. It should provide data and evidence to support your market opportunity, customer needs, demand, trends, growth potential, and competitive landscape. It should also explain how you plan to enter, position, and differentiate your business in the market.

The cloud-based software market for SMBs is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15% from 2020 to 2025, reaching $50 billion in revenue by 2025, according to a report by Market Research Inc. The main drivers of this growth are the increasing adoption of cloud computing, the need for cost-effective and scalable solutions, and the demand for remote work and collaboration tools.

Our target market is SMBs in the U.S. that have between 10 and 500 employees and operate in various industries such as retail, manufacturing, healthcare, education, and professional services. We estimate that there are over 5 million SMBs in the U.S. that fit this criteria, and that they spend an average of $10,000 per year on software solutions.

Our main competitors are ABC Inc., DEF Inc., and GHI Inc., which offer similar cloud-based solutions for SMBs. However, we have several competitive advantages that set us apart from them:

– We offer a more comprehensive and integrated suite of products that cover all the essential business functions of SMBs. – We offer a more affordable and flexible pricing model that allows SMBs to pay only for what they use and scale up or down as needed. – We offer a more user-friendly and intuitive interface that makes our products easy to learn and use. – We offer a more personalized and responsive customer service that provides 24/7 support and training.

We plan to enter the market by leveraging our existing customer base, referrals, testimonials, and online reviews. We also plan to position our business as a one-stop shop for SMBs that need cloud-based solutions to run their businesses efficiently and securely. We also plan to differentiate our business by offering superior quality, value, innovation, and customer satisfaction.

4. Organization and Management

This section describes the organizational structure, management team, roles and responsibilities, qualifications, and compensation of your business. It should also include any advisors, consultants, board members, or key employees that are involved in your business. It should demonstrate how your team has the skills, experience, and expertise to execute your business plan successfully.

XYZ Inc. has a simple and flat organizational structure that consists of three main departments: development, marketing, and customer support. Each department is led by a manager who reports directly to the CEO. The CEO is also the co-founder and majority owner of the business.

Our management team consists of:

– John Smith: CEO and co-founder. John has over 10 years of experience in software development and management. He is responsible for overseeing the overall strategy, vision, and direction of the business.

– Jane Doe: CTO and co-founder. Jane has over 10 years of experience in software engineering and design. She is responsible for leading the development team and ensuring the quality and functionality of our products.

– Mark Lee: Marketing manager. Mark has over 5 years of experience in digital marketing and sales. He is responsible for leading the marketing team and executing the marketing strategy and campaigns.

– Lisa Kim: Customer support manager. Lisa has over 5 years of experience in customer service and training. She is responsible for leading the customer support team and providing excellent service and support to our customers.

We also have a board of advisors that consists of:

– Bob Jones: A seasoned entrepreneur and investor who has founded and sold several successful software companies.

– Mary Smith: A former SBA loan officer who has extensive knowledge and experience in financing small businesses.

– Tom Lee: A professor of computer science at Stanford University who is an expert in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Our key employees consist of:

– 10 software developers who are skilled in various programming languages, frameworks, and tools.

– 5 marketing specialists who are proficient in various digital marketing channels, techniques, and platforms.

– 5 customer support representatives who are trained in various software products, features, and issues. We compensate our employees with competitive salaries, bonuses, stock options, and benefits such as health insurance, retirement plans, and paid leave.

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5. product or services description.

This section describes the products or services that your business offers, and how they benefit your customers. It should also explain the features, functions, quality, design, development, production, delivery, installation, maintenance, and support of your products or services. It should also address any intellectual property rights, patents, trademarks, or licenses that your business owns or needs.

XYZ Inc. offers a suite of cloud-based software solutions for SMBs that help them manage their accounting, invoicing, payroll, inventory, and CRM processes more efficiently and securely. Our products are:

– XYZ Accounting: A software solution that helps SMBs track their income and expenses, create and send invoices, manage their taxes, and generate financial reports. – XYZ Payroll: A software solution that helps SMBs calculate and pay their employees’ salaries, wages, taxes, and benefits. – XYZ Inventory: A software solution that helps SMBs monitor and control their inventory levels, costs, and movements. – XYZ CRM: A software solution that helps SMBs manage their customer relationships, interactions, sales pipeline, and loyalty programs.

Our products have the following benefits for our customers:

– They save time and money by automating and streamlining their business processes. – They improve accuracy and compliance by reducing errors and risks. – They enhance security and reliability by protecting their data and ensuring their availability. – They increase productivity and profitability by optimizing their performance and growth.

Our products have the following features and functions:

– They are cloud-based, which means they can be accessed from any device, anywhere, and anytime. – They are integrated, which means they can share data and communicate with each other seamlessly. – They are customizable, which means they can be tailored to fit the specific needs and preferences of each customer. – They are scalable, which means they can handle any volume of transactions and users without compromising speed or quality.

Our products have the following quality standards:

– They are developed using the latest technologies and best practices in software engineering and design. – They are tested rigorously and regularly to ensure their functionality and compatibility. – They are updated frequently to incorporate new features and improvements.

Our products have the following development, production, delivery, Installation, maintenance, and support processes:

– We use an agile methodology to develop our products in short iterations based on customer feedback and market research. – We use a cloud service provider to host our products on secure servers that have high availability and performance. – We use a subscription-based model to deliver our products to our customers via the internet. – We provide online tutorials and manuals to help our customers install and use our products easily. – We provide 24/7 technical support via phone, email, chat, and social media to help our customers resolve any issues or questions they may have.

We own the intellectual property rights to our products, including the source code, design, logo, name, and domain. We have registered our trademark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and obtained a patent for our unique algorithm that powers our products. We also have licenses from various third-party providers that we use to enhance our products’ functionality and security.

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6. marketing and sales.

This section outlines the marketing strategy and sales plan for your business. It should describe how you plan to reach, attract, and retain your target customers, and how you plan to promote, price, distribute, and sell your products or services. It should also include your sales forecasts, goals, and metrics.

Our marketing strategy is based on four main elements: segmentation, targeting, positioning, and differentiation. We segment our market based on the size, industry, location, and needs of our potential customers. We target SMBs in the U.S. that have between 10 and 500 employees and operate in various industries such as retail, manufacturing, healthcare, education, and professional services.

We position our business as a one-stop shop for SMBs that need cloud-based solutions to run their businesses efficiently and securely. We differentiate our business by offering superior quality, value, innovation, and customer satisfaction. Our marketing mix consists of four main components: product, price, place, and promotion.

Our product is a suite of cloud-based software solutions for SMBs that help them manage their accounting, invoicing, payroll, inventory, and CRM processes more efficiently and securely. Our price is based on a subscription-based model that allows SMBs to pay only for what they use and scale up or down as needed. Our place is online via our website where we showcase our products features, benefits, testimonials, and reviews.

Our promotion consists of various digital marketing channels such as email marketing social media marketing search engine optimization (SEO) search engine marketing (SEM) content marketing influencer marketing referral marketing

Our sales plan consists of three main stages: lead generation lead conversion customer retention We generate leads by using various online platforms such as Google Ads Facebook Ads LinkedIn.

7. Funding Request

This section should describe how much funding you need and how you plan to use it. It should also include information about your current financial situation, such as your cash flow and balance sheet. You should also explain why you need the funding and how it will help your business grow. For example, if you’re looking to expand your product line or hire more staff, you might need additional funding to cover those costs.

We are seeking $500,000 in debt financing from the SBA to expand our product portfolio, increase our marketing efforts, and hire more staff.

8. Financial Projections

This section should include financial statements such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. It should also include a break-even analysis and a description of how you plan to finance your business. You should provide detailed projections for the next three to five years, including revenue, expenses, and profits. For example, if you’re seeking funding from investors or lenders, they will want to see your financial projections to determine the potential return on investment.

We expect to generate $2 million in revenue and $500,000 in net income in the first year of operation, and grow at an annual rate of 25% for the next five years. We will finance our business through a combination of debt financing and equity financing from investors.

How To Format And Present Your SBA Business Plan?

If you are planning to apply for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan, you will need to prepare a business plan that meets the SBA’s requirements. A business plan is a document that describes your business’s goals, strategies, market, financial projections, and management team. It also shows how you will use the loan funds and how you will repay them.

A well-written business plan can help you convince lenders and investors that your business is viable and worth supporting. However, writing a business plan can be challenging, especially if you are not familiar with the format and content that the SBA expects. Here are some tips on how to format and present your SBA business plan:

– Follow the SBA’s recommended outline. The SBA provides a detailed outline of the sections and sub-sections that your business plan should include. You can find the outline on the SBA website or download a template from various online sources. The outline covers the following topics: executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, service or product line, marketing and sales, funding request, financial projections, and appendix. – Use clear and concise language. Your business plan should be easy to read and understand by anyone who reviews it. Avoid using jargon, technical terms, or acronyms that may confuse your readers. Use simple sentences and paragraphs, and use bullet points, tables, charts, and graphs to illustrate your points. Use headings and sub-headings to organize your information and make it easy to scan. – Provide evidence and support for your claims. Your business plan should not be based on assumptions or guesses. You should provide factual data and analysis to back up your statements about your market, competitors, customers, industry trends, financial projections, and so on. You can use primary sources (such as surveys, interviews, or testimonials) or secondary sources (such as reports, articles, or statistics) to support your claims. Make sure to cite your sources properly and include them in the appendix. – Be realistic and honest. Your business plan should reflect the true state of your business and its potential. Do not exaggerate or overestimate your strengths, opportunities, or prospects. Do not underestimate or ignore your weaknesses, threats, or risks. Be honest about the challenges you face and how you plan to overcome them. Be realistic about the amount of money you need and how you will use it. Do not make promises or guarantees that you cannot keep. – Proofread and edit your business plan. Before you submit your business plan to the SBA or any other lender or investor, make sure to check it for errors and inconsistencies. Use a spell-checker and a grammar-checker tool to catch any typos or mistakes. Ask someone else to read your business plan and give you feedback. Make sure your business plan is complete, accurate, coherent, and professional.

Recommended: How To Write A Business Plan In Just 7 Simple Steps

Other SBA Business Plan Templates That Can Help You Prove a Loan With Your SBA Business Plan

Coffee Shop Business Plan Template
Snack Bar Business Plan Template
Food Hall Business Plan Template
Printing Shop Business Plan Template

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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.

Four Steps to Create a Competitive Marketing Analysis

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.

Create Management Team For Business Plan

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.

Choosing the right social media platform

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.

Exit Strategy Section of Business Plan Infographic

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 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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2024 Basic Business Plan Template for Small Business Owners

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Simple and Basic Business Plan Template for Small Businesses

Antonio Del Cueto, CPA

April 5, 2024

Did you know that 42% of small businesses fail within the first four years ? The dream of starting your own venture can quickly turn sour without a roadmap for success. That's where a business plan comes in. This article introduces a comprehensive business plan template designed to dramatically increase your odds of becoming a thriving statistic .

Studies show that businesses with a well-defined plan are twice as likely to survive beyond the five-year mark . This template will guide you through crafting a document that outlines your goals, target market, financial projections, and competitive edge. By dedicating time to planning, you'll gain a clearer understanding of your business concept, identify potential roadblocks , and attract investors who believe in your vision. So, ditch the guesswork and unlock the power of planning.

Are you in the process of starting your own business? Download FREE our business plan template here.

What is a Basic Business Plan Template and Why Do You Need One?

A business plan template is a step-by-step guide that helps you create a plan for your business. It's like a map for your 2024 startup journey. This template shows you what to do first, next, and last. You need one because it helps you think about all the important parts of your business upfront.

Importance of Having a Business Plan Template

A business plan template is crucial. It helps you outline your value proposition, which is what makes your business special. It also makes sure you think about your potential investors. They want to see a clear plan before they give you money. Plus, a template helps you organize your thoughts and ideas in one place.

Key Sections of a Simple Business Plan Template

In a basic template , there are some key elements you can't skip. These include a company description that tells people what you do. You also need a marketing strategy to explain how you'll find customers. Don't forget about competitive analysis, which shows how you stack up against others. Finally, financial forecasts predict your money flow, and supporting documents back up everything you say.

How to Tailor a Business Plan Template for Your 2024 Startup

To customize a business plan for your startup, start with the high-level stuff. Add your unique company description and value proposition. Show how you're different to get a competitive advantage. Update the marketing strategy to fit today's world. Make sure your financial forecasts are fresh and include all costs and expected income. Add any new documents that support your plan.

Remember, a good business plan template guides you but doesn't limit you. Always include what makes your business shine and use the template to help you organize your great ideas.

Essential Components of a Startup Business Plan

Starting a new business? You’ll need a plan that shows what your business is about and how you plan to make it successful. Let's look at what makes up a good business plan.

Writing an Effective Executive Summary

The executive summary is like a quick snapshot of your business plan. It shows the big ideas of your plan in a short way. Even though it's the first thing in your plan, you might write it last. It should say what your business does, what you want to achieve, and why it's going to work. This part is super important because it’s what people read first to get an idea about your business.

Developing a Comprehensive Marketing Plan

Your marketing plan is all about how you’re going to tell people about your business and what you sell. It should talk about who might want to buy your stuff and how you plan to reach them. This part includes your plan of action for getting customers to notice you, like using social media or putting ads online. Knowing your customers and how to reach them helps your business grow.

Creating a Financial Projection for Your Small Business

This section is about the money. It guesses how much money you’ll make and spend. Financial projections help you see if your business can earn more money than it spends. It includes how much money you need upfront to start and keep running your business. This helps you and business partners see how your business might do in the future.

For anyone thinking about starting a business, these parts of a business plan are key. They help you write a business plan quickly and efficiently. With a good plan, you can support your business, get help from others, and have a clear roadmap to run your business.

Benefits of Using a Lean Business Model

A lean business model is all about making things simple and focusing on what works. It helps you use resources wisely. Free templates for lean business plans help you organize your ideas without wasting time. It’s essential to be clear and straight to the point, so you don’t get lost in details.

Identifying Your Target Market in a One-Page Business Plan

Knowing who you’re selling to is key. Your one-page plan should clearly say who your customers are. You’ll need to research and use that info to make your marketing and sales work better. This part of your plan makes sure your business talks to the right people.

Streamlining Revenue Streams in a Lean Business Plan

A lean plan means having a clear idea of how you’ll make money. This part of the plan looks at different ways to bring in cash, from selling products to offering services. It’s about picking the best ways that fit your business and focusing on them for the next three to five years. Using a standard template, like one from Microsoft Word or free templates available online, can help you get this part right.

Utilizing Free Business Plan Templates: Pros and Cons

Using a free business plan template is like finding a treasure map that guides you to your business goals. Let’s see how these templates can be both helpful and challenging.

How a Free Business Plan Template Can Help Small Business Owners

A free simple business plan or a one-page business plan template can be a huge help. It gives you a clear outline of what to include, like your business needs, marketing and sales strategies, and financial data. Templates from sources like the Small Business Administration (SBA) or Shopify come with sections already set up for you. This makes it easier to organize your ideas and present them clearly. It’s essential for owners of specific businesses to have a roadmap. This way, you can build your business plan quickly and efficiently, focusing on elements of your plan that support your financial success. Free templates help you get started with little effort and no cost.

Exploring Sample Business Plans to Guide Your Business Planning Efforts

Looking at sample business plans can provide valuable insights. These examples show you different ways to format and write your plan. They cover various industries, giving you a peek at successful strategies and outcomes. By exploring these samples, you can learn tips for creating important sections like income statements , cash on hand, and even plans for intellectual property like patent filings. Whether you use a standard template from Microsoft Word or detailed guides for specific types of businesses, such as a limited liability company, these samples can inspire and guide you. They offer a comprehensive view of what a successful plan includes, from the table of contents to the final financial statements, helping you envision the path for your own business over three to five years.

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How to Write an Assisted Living Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

Elon Glucklich

7 min. read

Updated April 3, 2024

Free Download: Sample Nursing Home Business Plan Template

With the U.S. senior population expected to reach 80 million by 2040 , the demand for assisted living services is skyrocketing.

Seniors are living longer, and many are looking for amenities like health care, fitness, and recreation services as they age. This surge in demand, plus consistently high occupancy rates in well-run facilities, means starting an assisted living facility or improving your existing facility can be an incredibly lucrative business venture.

However, achieving success requires more than just filling rooms. From ensuring the health and wellbeing of your residents, to navigating license and permitting requirements, to understanding your market to securing funding for your facility, you’ll need to think strategically to ensure your care facility reaches its full financial potential.

A business plan organizes your market, customer, and competitive research, so you can prioritize the most profitable services and develop marketing strategies to attract the right residents. Think of it as your roadmap for defining a successful business model. It’s the type of proof of concept that lenders or investors will need to see before they’ll feel comfortable funding your venture .

What should you include in an assisted living business plan?

Here are a few sections we recommend including in an assisted living facility business plan:

Executive summary

Market analysis, competitive analysis, marketing plan, financial plan.

No two assisted living business plans will be exactly alike. A residential assisted living business owner’s market research and growth strategy will vary depending on the market or markets they’re operating in. And while some assisted living developers own large portfolios of facilities in multiple locations, others may be focused on a single location.

If you’re starting a new assisted living business, it’s likely that you’re seeking a bank loan or outside investment. Business plans written for funding typically follow a detailed and proven structure to impress lenders and potential investors.

Below we’ll highlight some of the most important business plan sections for an assisted living business.

Your executive summary is your facility’s elevator pitch.

It’s the first, and sometimes only, section of your business plan that a lender or investor will read. So your executive summary needs to be engaging.

In no more than two pages, draw the reader in with an overview of your business opportunity and mission. Why are you passionate about serving seniors? What problems are you solving for residents and their families?

Describe what sets you apart. Maybe you’re opening a new facility in a location with pristine views and landscaping. Or maybe you’re offering innovative care programs.

Briefly mention your team’s qualifications and commitment to resident care. Touch on the factors that will be key to your success, such as hiring highly trained staff or introducing programs tailored to residents’ needs.

With significant startup costs to run an assisted living facility, it’s crucial that you understand both the broader senior living industry and the dynamics in your market. The market analysis section is where you show potential funders of your project that you’ve done your research.

Get to know your potential residents. Start by analyzing the size and projected growth of the senior population in your area. The U.S. Census Bureau is an excellent source of demographic information, and should include the age breakdown of your community.

It’s also important to determine the characteristics of your potential residents. Are you targeting:

Active seniors seeking independent living with some support
Seniors dealing with, or recovering from, surgeries or other medical issues
Seniors with memory care and other intensive needs

You may be targeting a combination of these services in your assisted living project. But no matter who your ideal customers are, you need to demonstrate through your study of industry and demographics trends that there is a demand for the services you’re offering.

Identifying your competition is crucial if you’re planning an assisted living facility. A lender or investor will expect your business plan to analyze your facility’s competitors, and demonstrate that there’s room in the market for a new entrant.

Start by researching and listing your competitors. These could be:

Other licensed assisted living facilities
Independent living communities
Adult foster homes
In-home caregiving services

Note their size, services offered, and any specializations they offer. What are their strengths and weaknesses? Are they large chains or smaller, family-owned facilities?

Consider factors like:

Level of care

Be honest about your facility’s strengths and weaknesses compared to the competition. Do you offer a unique activity program? Are your rooms more spacious? Focus on what sets you apart.

Answering these questions will help you determine how to stand out and win over potential residents and their families.

Remember: Solid research is key. Back up your assumptions about your target market and competition with data and analysis. This shows potential investors and partners that you have a strong grasp of the assisted living landscape.

By the end of your competitive analysis, you should be able to state why a family would choose you over your competitors.

This is where you turn your market and competitive research into an actionable plan to attract residents to your facility.

By now, you should have plenty of information about the senior living market in your area. Now it’s time to document how you’ll reach families seeking senior care services for their loved ones.

Start by thinking broadly about tactics to reach your target customers:

Networking with healthcare providers and elder care professionals to spread awareness of your facility
Advertising online, through television commercials, in printed publications and on social media
Appearing at community events

Each of these strategies accomplish the goal of boosting your visibility. Make sure your messaging through these marketing channels emphasizes the factors that set your business apart from competitors. They might include:

A focus on personalized care
Top-of-the-line amenities
A vibrant social calendar

Additionally, spend some time in your marketing plan to discuss your pricing and sales process. Document your pricing and how it compares to your competition. And detail how you will turn prospects into residents. Will families tour in-person? Can they schedule virtual consultations? The plan should detail the entire journey prospects will experience, from initial awareness of your facility to moving in.

Finally, remember to track the results of your marketing efforts. This helps you refine your strategy and get the most out of your marketing budget.

This section is where your careful planning turns into actual numbers . While it might seem intimidating, don’t worry – you don’t need a finance degree to get this right. Here’s what a typical assisted living financial plan includes:

Sales forecast : Project occupancy rates and income from resident services. Be realistic, especially in the first year, and consider different pricing tiers if applicable.

Expense budget : List all planned spending, including:

Staffing (one of your largest costs)
Food, maintenance, and supplies
Insurance, marketing, and licensing fees
Legal and professional services

Profit & Loss (P&L) : This combines income and expenses to show if you’re profitable.

Cash flow statement : Crucial for managing bills. Shows when money comes in and out, so you avoid cash shortages.

Balance sheet : This snapshots your facility’s financial health, listing assets (like your building), liabilities (like loans), and overall equity.

Important notes

Startup costs : If seeking funding, detail costs like renovations, equipment, and initial staffing.

Assumptions: Be transparent about any predictions you’re making (occupancy rates, growth, etc.). This adds credibility.

Use of funds: Explain to potential investors exactly how their money will fuel your success.

Industry-specific costs: Research sample financials for assisted living facilities to ensure you cover all your bases.

Remember, your financial plan is a living document. Revisit it regularly to track your progress and adjust your strategy as needed.

Download your free assisted living one page sample business plan

Download our assisted living sample business plan right now for free. You can download other medical and health business plans , or check out Bplans’ collection of over 550 free sample business plans to find more inspiration. If you’re considering other types of senior care businesses, read our article on how to write a home health care business plan .

With tons of opportunity, but significant upfront costs, it’s crucial to do your homework before investing funds in your assisted living plan. Writing a business plan is one of the best ways to put yourself on a path to a financially viable business.

And the business plan is an absolute must if you’re looking for outside funding to help you turn your dream into a reality.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

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Tax changes small business owners should be aware of as the tax deadline looms

FILE - A cash register is seen on the front counter at the Alpha Shoe Repair Corp., Feb. 3, 2023, in New York. As Tax Day, April 15, approaches, there are plenty of things small business owners should keep in mind when filing taxes this year. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

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As Tax Day approaches, there are plenty of things small business owners should keep in mind when filing taxes this year.

April 15 is still the annual tax deadline for many small businesses although, unlike individuals, small businesses can have varying deadlines depending on the type of company, the state the taxes are filed in, and other factors. Quarterly estimated tax payments are generally required throughout the year. And certain types of small businesses had to file by March 15.

Since business tax filing is complex, most experts recommend small business owners work with a professional tax adviser rather than trying to file on their own or even with tax-filing software.

“Taxes should not be scary, especially when you have a certified tax professional or someone who is your trusted adviser,” said Amber Kellogg, vice president of affiliate origination and management at business consultancy Occams Advisory. “I always say you don’t go to the dentist to get your oil changed, and you certainly shouldn’t do (taxes) yourself unless you’re an expert.”

But even if small business owners aren’t filing taxes themselves, it’s still important to stay informed about any tax changes during the year. Here are things small business owners should consider as the April 15 deadline looms.

FILE - This April 22, 2005, file photo, shows logos for MasterCard and Visa credit cards at the entrance of a New York coffee shop. Visa and MasterCard announced, Tuesday, March 26, 2024, a settlement with U.S. merchants related to swipe fees, a development that could potentially save consumers tens of billions of dollars. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan, File)

Consider an extension

Because of some pending tax legislation in Congress this year, Mitch Gerstein, senior tax adviser at accounting firm Isdaner & Co., said it might be a good idea to file for an extension. When you file an extension you still pay estimated taxes, but final paperwork isn’t due until September.

This gives your tax provider adequate time to file a return. And it’s cheaper to file an extension than an amended return, which costs more in administrative fees.

One reason Gerstein recommends an extension this year: a bonus depreciation write-off used by many small businesses is set to decrease for 2023. The bonus depreciation allowance was designed to spur capital purchases and it let businesses write off 100% of certain new and used assets in 2022. But beginning in 2023, that will decrease to 80% for used assets, dropping another 20% each year thereafter. However, a tax bill pending in Congress could restore the write-off to 100%. It’s rare that there is such a significant tax bill pending in Congress when taxes are due, Gerstein said.

Optimize your retirement plan

The Secure Act 2.0 passed by Congress in late 2022 gives small businesses some tax advantages if they offer a retirement plan. There’s a tax credit for small businesses starting new employee plans. The credit is up to 100% of the startup costs for adopting and maintaining a new 401(k) plan, capped at $5,000. There’s also a tax credit based on employer contribution, up to $1,000 annually per employee, over the plan’s first five years.

Changes in research and development write-offs

Scott Orn, chief operating officer of Kruze Consulting, works with startups backed by venture capital. Orn said the number one concern his clients are calling about is “Section 174,” a part of the tax code that involves writing off research and development costs.

In the past, companies were able to deduct 100% of research and development expenses from their taxable income. That was helpful because often that deduction meant the company was operating at a loss and wouldn’t have to pay taxes.

But starting in 2022 due to new legislation, companies have had to “capitalize” the expense – or spread it out over several years. That means they must now write off the expenses over five years for U.S.-based R&D, or 15 years for foreign R&D expenses.

Large and small companies alike are affected by the change, but small businesses are hurt the most, Orn said.

“(Small businesses) are the ones who are swinging into profit where they thought they were like safely losing money and not ever going to pay taxes for a while,” Orn said. “And that’s why it’s such a big surprise for them. It’s hurting people, it’s like it’s a lot of money these companies don’t have.”

Avoid underpayment penalties

Yet another reason for small business owners to use a tax professional is the fact that underpaying will cost more this year. In the past, underpayment penalties hovered at around 3%, but this year they’re more than double at 8% . That’s because the penalties are based on the federal short term interest rate plus three points, said Danny Castro, Florida Market Tax Leader at BDO USA, part of BDO Global, a global accounting network.

“The cost of underpayment is as high as it’s been in a long time,” he said.

One credit to skip: the ERC

At one time, the pandemic-era Employee Retention Credit seemed like a boon for small businesses. Designed to help small businesses keep employees during pandemic-era shutdowns, the generous credit let businesses file amended tax returns to claim the credit.

But that led to a cottage industry of scammers trying to entice small businesses to help them file for the credit – for a fee – even if they didn’t qualify. The IRS has launched several initiatives to claw back some money improperly given to businesses. To date, the IRS said 500 taxpayers have given back $225 million via a voluntary disclosure program, which ended on March 22, that let small businesses who thought they received the credit in error give back the money and keep 20%. And 1,800 businesses have withdrawn unprocessed claims totaling $251 million.

Get organized, stay organized

The best thing small businesses can do to help their tax advisers file their taxes is stay organized. A shoe box full of receipts isn’t helpful when trying to file timely taxes. Owners should log receipts in an orderly database they can turn over to their adviser. And stay on top of quarterly estimated payments.

“(Small business owners) need to be able to keep accurate records throughout the year and not have to go back in April and go, gosh, what what was this receipt for,” said Occams Advisory’s Amber Kellogg, “Keeping those, accurate records is very, very important.”

This story has been corrected to show that BDO USA is part of BDO Global, not BBO Global.

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How To Write an SBA Business Plan [+Free Template]
Step 7: Write the Financing Request. This section is where you should specify how much funding you need, why you need it, what you'll use it for, and the impact you expect it will have on your business. It's also a good idea to indicate when you expect to use the funds over the course of the next three to five years.
How to Write an SBA Business Plan + Template
4. Organization and management. Also known as your company overview, this section is where you describe your legal structure, history, and team. For your SBA loan application, you should focus on describing who is managing the business as clearly as possible. You may want to include an organizational chart.
How to Write a SBA Loan Business Plan
A business plan is a crucial piece of any SBA loan application. It's what lenders will look at most closely when approving a loan, so it should be organized, well planned and persuasive. Set yourself up for success by learning how business plans impact loan approval and which critical elements to include.
PDF How to Write a Business Plan Checklist
have a cover page. have a table of contents. have a large, 3-ring binder with tabbed dividers - one for each of the business plan sections. have formatted the sections using the best practices outlined in the course. have asked two people to review my business plan. have assembled my business plan in the correct order.
How to Write an SBA Business Plan
This summary should provide a brief gist of the history and background of your business that should be engaging enough for your readers. Oftentimes, it is helpful to write this part at the end - after you've spent considerable time examining and articulating all the details of your business. 2. Company Summary.
How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)
Describe Your Services or Products. The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you're offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit ...
Business Plan: What it Is, How to Write One
Learn about the best business plan software. 1. Write an executive summary. This is your elevator pitch. It should include a mission statement, a brief description of the products or services your ...
How to Write a Simple Business Plan
Write the Executive Summary. This section is the same as in the traditional business plan — simply offer an overview of what's in the business plan, the prospect or core offering, and the short- and long-term goals of the company. Add a Company Overview. Document the larger company mission and vision.
How to Write a Business Plan: Guide + Examples
Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It's also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. After completing your plan, you can ...
learn.sba.gov
learn.sba.gov
How to Write a Business Plan: A Step-by-Step Guide
Step 7: Financial Analysis and Projections. It doesn't matter if you include a request for funding in your plan, you will want to include a financial analysis here. You'll want to do two things here: Paint a picture of your business's performance in the past and show it will grow in the future.
How To Start Writing A Business Plan That Works
1. Regular reviews and updates. Markets shift, consumer behavior changes, and your business will grow. Your plan must evolve with these factors, which makes regular reviews and updates a must-do ...
How To Write a Business Plan
Step 2: Do your market research homework. The next step in writing a business plan is to conduct market research. This involves gathering information about your target market (or customer persona), your competition, and the industry as a whole. You can use a variety of research methods such as surveys, focus groups, and online research to ...
How To Write SBA Business Plan With Free Template
The SBA will review your plan carefully to assess the viability of your business and your chances of success. Here are some additional tips for writing an SBA business plan: Be clear and concise. The SBA reviewers are busy people, so they don't have time to read through long, rambling business plans. Be realistic.
How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)
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.
Simple Business Plan Template (2024)
The main difference in starting a small business versus an investor-funded business is the market research and operational and financial details needed to support the concept. 1. Your Mission or ...
2024 Basic Business Plan Template for Small Business Owners
A business plan template is crucial. It helps you outline your value proposition, which is what makes your business special. It also makes sure you think about your potential investors. They want to see a clear plan before they give you money. Plus, a template helps you organize your thoughts and ideas in one place.
How to Write an Assisted Living Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF
Free Download: Sample Nursing Home Business Plan Template. With the U.S. senior population expected to reach 80 million by 2040, the demand for assisted living services is skyrocketing. Seniors are living longer, and many are looking for amenities like health care, fitness, and recreation services as they age.
Tax changes small business owners should be aware of as the tax
The Secure Act 2.0 passed by Congress in late 2022 gives small businesses some tax advantages if they offer a retirement plan. There's a tax credit for small businesses starting new employee plans. The credit is up to 100% of the startup costs for adopting and maintaining a new 401 (k) plan, capped at $5,000. There's also a tax credit based ...

How To Write an SBA Business Plan [+Free Template]

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Step 2: Identify Organization & Management

Step 3: Specify the Market Analysis

Step 4: Write Descriptions of the Products or Services

Step 5: Indicate the Marketing & Sales Strategy

Step 6: List Financial Data & Projections

Step 7: Write the Financing Request

Step 8: Fill In the Appendix & Supplemental Information

Step 9: Complete the Executive Summary

Additional Resources for Writing an SBA Business Plan

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Why You Need a Business Plan for SBA Business Loans

Writing an SBA Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

1. Executive Summary

2. Company Summary

3. Market Analysis

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5. Management Team

6. Financial Summary

7. Appendix

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Step 1: Executive Summary

Step 2: Description of Business

Step 3: Market Analysis

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

Step 7: Marketing Plan

Step 8: Sales Plan

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

Step 10: Financial Projections

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Table of contents

Step 1: Write your executive summary

Step 2: Do your market research homework

Step 3: Set your business goals and objectives

Step 4: Plan your business strategy

Step 5: Describe your product or service

Step 6: Crunch the numbers

Step 7: Finalize your business plan

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