Mary was the 2009 U.S. Mountain Biking National Champion. She worked in product development for High Tec frames, creating custom frames and frame modifications for professional cyclists. She also has extensive customer service and sales experience, having worked for four years as the online manager of Pro Parts Unlimited, an online retailer of high-end cycling equipment and accessories.
Keep in mind competitive analysis does more than help you understand your competition. Competitive analysis can also help you identify changes you should make to your business strategies. Learn from competitor strengths, take advantage of competitor's weaknesses, and apply the same analysis to your own business plan.
2. Potential partners and investors. Where friends and family are concerned, sharing your business plan may not be necessary (although it certainly could help).
Then work to accomplish your secondary objective by focusing on your readers. Even though you may be creating a business plan solely for your own purposes, at some point you may decide to seek financing or to bring on other investors, so make sure your Summary meets their needs as well. Work hard to set the stage for the rest of the plan. Let your excitement for your idea and your business shine through.
Operations
Remember, the primary goal of your business plan is to convince you that the business is viable--and to create a road map for you to follow.
But most important, financial projections tell you whether your business has a chance of being viable--and if not let you know you have more work to do.
You could certainly include more detail in each section
Keep in mind creating an Appendix is usually only necessary if you're seeking financing or hoping to bring in partners or investors. Initially the people reading your business plan don't wish to plow through reams and reams of charts, numbers, and backup information. If one does want to dig deeper, fine--he or she can check out the documents in the Appendix.
Some will get you started, some serve as examples, some are pushes and aids that will help you proceed with confidence.
We have over 500 free sample business plans here on Bplans for you to view and download if you like. This article on how to get the most out of your sample business plan is worth a read.
A business plan might seem like a daunting task—and why not have an expert business plan writer do it for you, especially if you can afford it.
For a listing of incubators, accelerators, and entrepreneurship centers, go here. Or check with your local chamber of commerce, business school, or local Small Business Development Center (SBDC).
First, get clear on what you want to accomplish
A business plan writing service isn’t necessary for everyone, but for some, it might make sense. In the same way that you shouldn’t copy and paste a sample business plan, keep in mind that even if you’re not going to do the writing yourself, you’re still the person who knows your business best, so you’ll need to contribute a lot of information to the project.
The U.S. ecosystem of startups and small business includes many accelerators and incubators. Some of them are nonprofits sponsored by local governments and/or educational institutions, and some are for-profits.
This site started in 1995 and has been growing ever since, with a lot of pruning and paring to keep it fresh and relevant. Bplans is free and easy to use. It’s a great resource for doing it yourself.
The level of detail required in your financial plan will depend on your audience and goals, but typically you’ll want to include three major views of your financials: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash-flow statement. It also may be appropriate to include financial projections.
An executive summary shouldn’t exceed one page. Admittedly, that space constraint can make squeezing in all of the salient information a bit stressful—but it’s not impossible. Here’s what your business plan’s executive summary should include:
It can be especially helpful to forecast your cash-flow statement to identify gaps or negative cash flow and adjust operations as required. Here’s a full guide to working through cash-flow projections for your business.
No matter what type of business you start, it’s no exaggeration to say your market can make or break it. Choose the right market for your products—one with plenty of customers who understand and need your product—and you’ll have a head start on success. If you choose the wrong market, or the right market at the wrong time, you may find yourself struggling for each sale.
Income statement
Excited about starting a business, but not sure where to start? This free, comprehensive guide will teach you how to find great, newly trending products with high sales potential.
For example, a college student has different interests, shopping habits, and pricing sensitivity than a 50-year old executive at a Fortune 500 company. Your business plan and decisions would look very different based on which one was your ideal customer.
Your marketing efforts are directly informed by your ideal customer. Your plan should outline your current decisions and your future strategy, with a focus on how your ideas are a fit for that ideal customer.
Your cash flow statement is similar to your income statement, with one important difference: it takes into account when revenues are collected and when expenses are paid.
- The Small Business Administration's business-plan template: You can download and fill in this 33-page PDF template to create a comprehensive business plan that will provide a roadmap for your company's success.
- The Department of Veterans Affairs' guide to writing a business plan: This basic PDF guide details why you want to write a business plan, gives guidelines for the plan, and discusses common mistakes. It also walks you through what each page of your business plan should contain.
- The Maine Small Business Development Centers' sample business plan: This PDF explains each of the sections of a small-business plan and provides a sample to inspire you.
If you're thinking of starting a company, or if you have a start-up but no business plan in place, these three categories of resources can provide you with invaluable help.
Creating a business plan may seem daunting. But don't let your fear or reluctance to create a plan stop you from moving forward.
- SCORE: Formerly the Service Corps of Retired Executives, SCORE is a nonprofit network of more than 10,000 volunteers willing to serve as expert business mentors. You can get paired with a professional in your area willing to offer advice on business planning, take interactive online training courses on developing a business plan, or attend a live webinar.
- Small Business Development Centers: SBDCs exist in every state, and are staffed by advisors with expertise in business plan development and other key issues affecting entrepreneurs. Universities and state economic development agencies host these centers
3. Business plan templates and guides
These suggested tools are free or very-low-cost. There are also apps and programs that cost hundreds of dollars. Compare features and reviews before deciding which app or tool is right for you.
Thanks to the Internet, there's an endless array of resources available to those who want to write a business plan -- including comprehensive templates and guides.
- The Small Business Administration's tool to build a business plan: This will guide you step-by-step through the process of creating a plan to cover three to five years of business operations. You can save your plan online and update it at any time.
- Kentucky's Business Plan Wizard: Made available through the state's One Stop Business Portal, the Wizard walks you through every step of the process of creating a completed business plan.
- Enloop: You can create a simple business plan for free, or upgrade to create multiple plans or plans containing images. This tool makes planning easy: Simply add your business information and it will generate financial forecasts and business-plan text for you.
- Business Plan Premier: This $9.99 iOS app was touted by Entrepreneur as a full-featured app that writes a detailed business plan. Creating your plan is easy, as the app leads you through the process. Plus, you can download the finished document as a Word doc.
Looking at these resources can help you understand not only what sections should be in your business plan and what information to include, but also the types of language used in these professional documents.
Data effective 01/04/21. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.
Several of our previous favorite planning software, including BusinessPlanPro and StratPad, seem to have gone out of business.
It all adds up to a business plan software that works great for internal planning.
Want to get way more than just business planning software? Then you probably want GoSmallBiz.
LivePlan: Best overall business plan software
But the best part? You get all that (and more) at a very competitive price. (You can choose from annual, six-month, or monthly billing.) While LivePlan isn’t quite the cheapest business plan builder out there, it’s not too far off either. And if comes with a 60-day money back guarantee. So there’s no risk in trying LivePlan out for yourself.
As an added bonus, BizPlan is one of the few planning tools that offers a lifetime access option (rather than monthly or yearly subscriptions). That makes it a fairly affordable option for businesses that intend to regularly update their plans.
Data effective 1/4/21. At publishing time, amounts, rates, and requirements are current but are subject to change. Offers may not be available in all areas.