a perfect business plan

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

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated April 17, 2024

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

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

• The basics of business planning

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

You understand that planning helps you: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

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

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

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

Your executive summary should include:

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

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

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

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

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

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

Market analysis

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

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

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

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

Related: Target market examples

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

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

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

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

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

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

Marketing and sales plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business operations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Key milestones and metrics

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

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

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

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

Possible milestones might be:

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

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

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

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

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

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

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

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

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

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

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

Financial plan

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

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

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

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

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

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

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

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

Your cover page should be simple and include:

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

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

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

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

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

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

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

Determine why you are writing a business plan

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

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

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

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

Keep things concise

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

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

Have someone review your business plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

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

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

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Use your business plan to manage your business

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

Free business plan templates and examples

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

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

What are the benefits of a business plan?

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

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

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

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

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

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

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

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

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

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

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

How long should a business plan be?

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

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

What are the different types of business plans?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Table of Contents

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

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

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

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

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

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

Let’s get started.

What Do You Need A Business Plan For?

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

1. Secure Funds

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

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

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

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

2. Monitor Business Growth

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

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

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

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

3. Measure Business Success

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

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

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

4. Document Your Marketing Strategies

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

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

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. create your executive summary.

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

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

A good executive summary should do the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Add Your Company Overview

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

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

Your company overview should contain the following:

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

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

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

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

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

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

• Mission Statement

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

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

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

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

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

Business Objectives

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Market Analysis

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

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

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

• Market Research

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

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

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

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

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

How to Quantify Your Target Market

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

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

What Does a Good Market Analysis Entail?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Competitive Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Direct vs Indirect Competition

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

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

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

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

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

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

Factors that Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

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

1. Cost Leadership

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

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

2. Product Differentiation

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

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

3. Market Segmentation

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

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

4. Define Your Business and Management Structure

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

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

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

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

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

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

Management Team

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

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

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

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

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

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

Key Questions to Answer When Structuring Your Management Team

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

Additional Tips for Writing the Management Structure Section

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

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

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

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

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

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

Organizational Chart

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

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

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

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

5. Describe Your Product and Service Offering

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Avoid Technical Descriptions and Industry Buzzwords

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

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

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

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

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

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

3. Long or Short Products or Services Section

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

4. Describe Your Relationships with Vendors or Suppliers

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

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

5. Your Primary Goal Is to Convince Your Readers

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

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

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

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

Key Questions to Answer When Writing your Products and Services Section

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

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

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

6. Show and Explain Your Marketing and Sales Plan

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

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

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

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

Outline Your Business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

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

Target Market and Target Audience

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

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

Creating a Smart Marketing and Sales Plan

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

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

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

Your Positioning Statement

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Basic Rules to Follow When Pricing Your Offering

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

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

Pricing Strategy

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

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

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

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

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

Advertising

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

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

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

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

Public Relations

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

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

Content Marketing

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Social Media

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

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

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

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

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

Strategic Alliances

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

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

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

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

Steps Involved in Creating a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Focus on Your Target Market

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

2. Evaluate Your Competition

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

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

These questions can help you know your competition.

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

3. Consider Your Brand

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

4. Focus on Benefits

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

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

5. Focus on Differentiation

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

Key Questions to Answer When Writing Your Marketing and Sales Plan

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

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

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

7. Clearly Show Your Funding Request

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

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

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

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

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

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

Funding Request: Debt or Equity?

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

Case for Equity

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

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

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

Case for Debt

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Detail Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projections

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Use Graphs and Charts

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

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

Address the Risk Factors and Show Realistic Financial Projections

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. Sales Forecast

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

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

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

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

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

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

2. Personnel Plan

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

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

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

3. Income Statement

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

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

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

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

4. Cash Flow Statement

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

5. Balance Sheet

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

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

6. Exit Strategy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. Add an Appendix to Your Business Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Tips and Strategies for Writing a Convincing Business Plan

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

1. Know Your Audience

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

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

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

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

2. Get Inspiration from People

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

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

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

3. Avoid Being Over Optimistic

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

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

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

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

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

4. Keep it Simple and Short

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

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

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

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

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

5. Make an Outline and Follow Through

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

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

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

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

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

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

6. Ask a Professional to Proofread

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

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

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

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

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

1. hubspot's one-page business plan.

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

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

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

2. Bplan’s Free Business Plan Template

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

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

3. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

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

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

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

4. Business Plan by My Own Business Institute

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

The comprehensive template consists of a whopping 15 sections.

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

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

5. Score's Business Plan Template for Startups

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

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

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

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

6. Minimalist Architecture Business Plan Template by Venngage

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

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

7. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

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

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

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

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

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

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

9. PandaDoc’s Free Business Plan Template

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Alternatives to the Traditional Business Plan

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

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

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

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

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

Segments of the Business Model Canvas

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

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

Lean Canvas

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

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

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

Startup Pitch Deck

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business Plan FAQ

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

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

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

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

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

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

Exlore Further

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

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Martin luenendonk.

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

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

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How to Write a Business Plan, Step by Step

Many or all of the products featured here are from our partners who compensate us. This influences which products we write about and where and how the product appears on a page. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money .

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.

On a similar note...

Find small-business financing

Compare multiple lenders that fit your business

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How to Write a Perfect Business Plan: Step-By-Step Guide

Whether you’re just starting out or have been running your business for years, a business plan is one of the best ways to clarify the long-term goals you have for your business. By developing a plan for a business, you can put all of your business goals, objectives, structures, and marketing ideas in one central place.

Not every plan looks the same, but there are vital things to consider when making yours. These will help you and your business in the long run. 

Use this step-by-step guide to write a good business plan for your business.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a strategy map. It shows where you and your business are, including your resources, skills, and goals. It also shows where you will be in the future and how you will get there. It’s just a plan for how your business will work and how you will make it succeed.

It is a written description or blueprint of your business’s future. All you need is a document that says what you want to do and how you want to do it.

LEARN ABOUT: Service Blueprint

Entrepreneurs who want to get money from investors use the business plan to explain their vision to potential investors. Second, they can be used by companies that want to attract key employees, look for new business, deal with suppliers, or figure out how to run their companies better.

A step-by-step guide

Start creating an executive summary.

The first step in making a good business plan is writing an executive summary. Think of an executive summary as your company’s elevator pitch in writing. You’ll want to keep it short but still get across the important parts of your business. 

It should have your mission statement, a short description of your business’s products or services, a breakdown of who owns the business, and an overall business plan summary.

Create a company description

You also need to write a description of your business, which is just what it sounds like. This document will have important information about your business, such as its name, physical address(es), key employees, and important facts about its history.

In the company description, you can talk more about your business, its goals, its ideal customers, the problems it solves, and what makes it different from its competitors.

Conduct a market analysis

Market analysis is one of the most important parts of a business plan. With a market analysis, it will be easier to understand your industry, your target market, and how to stand out from your competition.

Start by doing comprehensive research on the market your business is entering. No matter how big or small your business is, if you know the trends and opportunities in your market, you can make a better marketing plan to grow your business. 

Market research looks at everything from demographics to how people act as customers. When you do a market analysis, you can also learn about your competitors and determine their strengths and weaknesses. This analysis might also help you find potential customers or new products you could sell. 

For a competitive information analysis, look at how they are growing, what changes they are making, and where they are having trouble in the market that you can take advantage of. You can conduct your market analysis with QuestionPro survey software.

Define your business structure

Your business structure needs to be mapped out in your business plan. Making an organizational chart allows you to see how your business is set up. Write down the roles and responsibilities of your company’s leaders and other key employees. Remember to include the company’s structure in your organizational chart.

Describe your products and services

This step gives you more information about the products and services you offer. When you list your products and services, include details about how they are made, what materials are needed, how you pay for them, how much they cost, and any other relevant information.

Write a plan for marketing and selling

It’s not enough to sell products or provide services. Your marketing and sales plan can be a partially-fledged marketing strategy, but it should clarify who you’re targeting and how. Include which platforms or marketing methods you will use to reach your target audience. Also, mention your marketing budget.

You should also include a high-level summary of your company’s sales strategy. A sales plan should include details about your sales process, your sales goals, and the steps you’ll take to reach those goals.

Think about what marketing and selling success looks like for your business. Include details about how you plan to succeed with your marketing and sales efforts.

Get your business’s financials together

Your business plan should also include information about how your company makes money. The following details should be included in this section:

• Statements of cash flow
• Statements of profits and losses
• Balance sheets
• Business expenses
• Income statements

Most of these documents can be made with spreadsheets, although accounting software can also help organize financial data. Your small business checking account should be able to work with the accounting software you use.

Describe your financial projections

The financials section of your business plan reflects previous and present company performance. It is especially important if you want investors to give you money. You can also include a roadmap that goes into detail about your business’s financial plans.

Include charts and other visuals in your financial projections to show how your company wants to grow. Try to see at least five years into the future to get a clear picture of where your business is going. Also, be realistic about what you think will happen. Give your financial plan some background and materials to back it up.

Write out your funding request

If you want to get funds for your business, you should include a list of any requests and requirements. Explain why you want to fund it and what it will be used for. Clearly state the terms and conditions of the funding and the type of funding that is needed.

Make an appendix

The last step of your business plan is the appendix. The appendix has documents that back up your business plans and extra information that isn’t found anywhere else in your plan. You can add the following documents to your appendix:

• Bank statements
• History of a business’s credit
• Legal document
• Reference letters

Consider adding a table of contents to help keep the appendix organized.

Whether you write the plan yourself or hire someone else to do it, it is well worth your time to take the time to write a strong and detailed business plan that can guide your business and convince outside team members to join.

Business plans are key to connecting with investors, lenders, partners, and vendors. They can help you explain why your business will be successful and why it’s a great investment for everyone involved. They’re also helpful in guiding your internal staff during the early years of managing the business.

Market research is essential for developing a business plan. To create a business plan, you need to know the current and past market details, audience, and customer’s point of view. QuestionPro will assist you in analyzing your market and audience to provide insight into your business.

QuestionPro is a survey software that lets you create and design a survey to meet your goals and analyze the data for your business. QuestionPro can help you with your business plans by analyzing your customers’ experiences. Contact us for further details.

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How to create the perfect business plan in 10 steps

Every business needs a plan. But how do you write one? Here are 10 steps to help you get it right.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is the roadmap for a business and shows the overall strategy, goals and vision for success. It shows how a business operates and how it will make money.

It’s different from a business proposal which is a pitch to sell a product or service to a prospective customer.

Why do you need a business plan?

You may be wondering why you need a plan in the first place. After all, you have a clear idea in your mind about what you want to achieve. You know the market, you have the necessary skills. So why do you need a plan?

There are many good reasons. Here are just a few of them:

• To clarify your ideas: Writing something down gives it structure and substance. Your ideas will be clearer on paper than in your head.
• To discover and solve problems: The business idea you have in mind may have some holes – you might not have covered everything. This will become much more apparent when your words are on the page.
• To get feedback from others: A properly written business plan can be shared with trusted people to get their advice.
• As a formal document: Banks, investors, accountants and lawyers will want proof that you’re serious about your business. A written plan will provide that proof.
• To guide you as your business grows: A good business plan will keep you on track and focused, even as day-to-day work becomes a distraction.

If you’ve never written a business plan before, it can be a daunting prospect. But these 10 steps will help you create the perfect business plan.

1. The executive summary

This is where you describe your company and the product or service that it will sell. This must be brief, to catch and hold people’s attention.

Try to describe the goal and mission of your business in just a couple of sentences. Work hard at this and try to make it memorable.

Treat this section as an elevator pitch document – it should be succinct and easy to remember.

You can read more about how to create the executive summary in our guide What is an Executive Summary in a Business Plan?

2. Who are your customers?

Do you have a clear idea of the type of people (or businesses) who will buy your product or service? If not, think carefully until you do.

This is one of the first questions any investor will ask you about your business plan. Have your answers ready.

• Know whether your customers will be consumers or businesses. If they are businesses, who will you target within those companies? Maybe it’s the salesperson, or perhaps it’s the CEO?
• Determine whether you'll have regular clients or one-off buyers.
• Make sure you’ve actually spoken to some of your potential customers.

3. Evaluate the target audience

There’s no room for guessing here. You need to identify the people or businesses who will buy from you. Think about the following:

• Demographics – such as age, gender and social status
• Firmographics – includes size of the company, revenue of the company and services or products of the company
• Location – perhaps a specific area, town, or even country
• Profession – maybe you’re targeting accountants, police or lawyers, for example
• Groups – such as people with shared interests or habits

The better you evaluate your target audience, the more comprehensive your business plan will be.

4. What are your opportunities?

Successful businesses think big. You might be starting small, but you don’t have to stay that way. So write down the possible opportunities for your business as it grows.

For example, perhaps you’re planning to start by selling over the internet. That’s great, but how will you get traffic to your site? How will people find you online? Will you need salespeople? If not, how will you convince people to buy from you?

As the business grows, is there scope for a bricks-and-mortar retail outlet? What other opportunities will you have if your business grows as planned?

5. Understand the competition

Every business has competition. If you don’t mention yours, investors will think you’re unprofessional – or just plain naive. Be thorough, and list all your existing and potential competitors:

• Who are your direct competitors – those selling the same products as you?
• Who are your indirect competitors – those whose market overlaps yours?
• What will prevent other companies competing with you – what are the barriers to entry?
• What is your USP (unique selling proposition)? In other words, what’s your point of difference that makes you different from your competitors?

That last point is important. You need to explain how your business will differentiate itself from all the others. That might be based on price, service, quality, range or value. Make sure you spell it out.

6. Build a simple financial plan

All business plans should contain some financial information. This should include the overall costs of setting up your business. For example:

• Cost to make or buy products
• Costs for labor and manufacture, including raw materials
• Employee costs, especially for service businesses
• Distribution and marketing costs
• Fixed and variable overheads

Good accounting software will help you create a draft financial model. We’ll look into this in more detail in a future guide. For now, talk to your accountant or bookkeeper for help and advice.

7. Include an outline marketing plan

For this section of your business plan, you need to think about the five ‘Ps’:

• Pricing – how will you price the end product?
• Positioning – how does your product or service fit into the market?
• Promotion – what channels will you use to attract and communicate with customers?
• Profit – how much do you expect to make per item sold?
• Place – what are your sales outlets?

8. Plan your operations

Put your vision to one side for a moment. What are the daily tasks that need to be done when running the business? Include all business processes such as manufacturing and packaging. Try to cover all departments too, including sales and customer service.

9. Get the right people

This is one of the most important factors. Think about who you want to hire . How will you find people whose skills complement yours? And how will you convince them to work for you?

Also think about who you want as your business advisors. You'll need people you can trust, to guide and mentor you at times when you need it.

10. Simplicity is the key

Keep it simple. Complex and long documents won’t be read – either by you or by potential investors. A business plan should be brief, relevant and focused (you can use our free business plan template ).

If you find yourself getting carried away while writing, stop and take a break. Then go back and edit what you’ve written. Shorter is better. The core of a good business plan should be just a few pages long.

Plan your business around your strengths

As you write your business plan , keep in mind your strengths – and also any areas for improvement. This will help you construct a plan that makes the most of your abilities, while still being realistic. That's more likely to convince investors that you're serious.

Your business plan is a roadmap for your business – but it's not set in stone. Review it at least once a year and make changes if necessary.

Above all, keep getting feedback from your advisors – official and unofficial ones. With their help, you'll create the perfect business plan that takes you where you want to go.

Xero does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This guide has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult your own professional advisors for advice directly relating to your business or before taking action in relation to any of the content provided.

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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

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.

Streamline Your Business Planning Activities with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet

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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

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

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Business Intelligence

How to Write the Perfect Business Plan in 5 Steps

A solid business plan is the backbone of any successful firm. Yet coming up with a perfect business plan is hard, at least half as hard as a diamond covered in ice!  A successful brand is a promise of stellar service as much as of something ethereal — a sensation, an experience, a value. Your business plan should stem from a thorough analysis of your brand ethos, as well as a seamless interaction between design and strategy.

But how do you ensure nothing is falling through the cracks and your business plan is as foolproof as possible? We round up expert advice to help you identify the most vital features to focus on when crafting a top-notch business plan for the ultimate success of your firm. Let’s dive right in!

1.  Identify Your Core Mission

Today’s leading CEOs envisage that in the next ten years, over 40% of their company value will come from adopting new business models. Successful entrepreneurs understand that the key to success in our always-on, ever-changing world is always staying agile in the face of altering trends and endless opportunities. While the benefits afforded by the age of the World Wide Web are ridiculously rampant, it’s hard to devise a solid brand mission that will shine above the competition and never lose eminence.

The foremost step for writing the perfect business plan is to ponder an overarching mission for your brand. What are your primary motives, goals, and vision? What distinguishes your brand from a flood of similar service providers? What does your firm do differently to grant the clients an ethereal experience or product? These are the questions you should carefully consider to define a single strategic direction to guide your writing.

2.  Conduct SWOT Analysis

The power of SWOT analysis for long-term business success cannot be overstated. It’s a widely cherished technique that lets you evaluate your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and risks. The more meticulous your SWOT analysis and thorough your understanding of your current standing, the better your chances for coming up with a perfect business plan.

SWOT analysis is a crucial second step in developing a solid strategic outlook on what your company should prioritize at any given time. It helps you allocate resources wisely and prioritize tasks. Keep in mind, though, that focusing on internal processes only is a sure way to fail — you should also take into account the complex social, economic, political, and psychological factors that affect the business ecosystem on a daily basis.

3.  Come Up With an Executive Summary

Once you’ve gathered your thoughts together, it’s time to come up with an executive summary stating your overall mission. A perfect summary should seamlessly integrate diverse main points into a neat, comprehensible outline that perfectly captures the essence of your strategy. This shall serve as the unifying force that all your employees easily understand and ardently follow.

For any well-established company, the executive summary also serves as a perfect pitch for potential investors. This is why it’s important to ensure your wording is impeccable. If you’re short of one-of-a-kind writers, consult Topessaywriting professional writing assistants who can help you develop polished, professional content that can impress even the meanest investor. Words have a magic power, so be sure to only work with expert copywriters when crafting your perfect business plan!

4.  Know Your Customer

It’s hard enough to crunch the numbers and data to inform your strategy, and it’s harder still to delve deep into customer psychology to address the most pronounced pain points. Customer satisfaction is the primary building block of your success, so you should make sure your writing stems from a thorough understanding of the passions, fears, and hopes of your ideal buyer persona. You should weigh everything from tone of voice, psychological know-how, business goals, and even artistic potency to build a distinctive business plan that guarantees success in a world replete with voices and icons.

Long gone are the days of top-down interaction with customers; today, people demand exceptional quality, transparent business operations, and genuine interactions with brands. In 2023, a single negative comment can go viral in a matter of minutes and harm your brand image. That said, building brand loyalty should be your primary consideration when crafting a business strategy. What better way to ensure this than by getting to the bottom of customer psychology in the modern world?

5.  Leave Room for Change

Nothing beats adaptability for stellar success in today’s chaotic business environment. The most successful entrepreneurs know how to tread the fine line between building a solid brand voice and always leaving room for rapid modifications in case the environment dictates. Never consider your business plan a fixed mantra that should guide your company culture for decades to come. It’s always best to adopt regular brainstorming sessions to identify changing trends and adapt your strategy accordingly.

For this purpose, you’ll need to hire a diverse pool of professionals who will work in tandem to ensure your company stays on top of its game. Make sure to come up with a meticulous job description to attract the best talent out there. If you need help with your writing, be sure to consult this contact form to partner with exceptional professionals skilled at crafting error-free, academic content that is as informative as it’s inspiring.

The Way Forward

A one-of-a-kind business plan is an indispensable tool to help your firm get off the ground and seamlessly navigate its way amid relentless competition. Yet devising a business plan in 2023 is not a one-time task. Successful businesses are akin to living, breathing organisms that always adapt to ever-changing market trends, business needs, and customer pain points.

That said, your business plan should be revisited and enhanced on a regular basis. Be sure to keep our suggestions in mind at all times to come up with a solid written representation of your brand ethos and business goals. Best of luck!

Andrew Mazur is a business advisor and blogger. Andrew has helped hundreds of successful entrepreneurs develop stellar business plans to ensure long-term financial success. In his free time, Andrew writes instructional blog posts on issues as varied as technology, business, education, and more.

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How To Create The Perfect Business Plan In 12 Steps

A business plan is a step-by-step guide that helps a business owner outline an idea and how to take it from concept to reality. It also includes financial projections, which help business owners plan for the future.

To create the perfect business plan template, you must first understand what components are essential to a successful business. Next, you must map how your company will function in the next five years and its financial goal. 

The next step is to take all of this information and present it in a clear, concise  timeline template  that can be used as a guide for your business. So, let's get started! Here are 12 steps on how to create the perfect business plan.

Table of Contents

What Is A Business Plan?

The traditional business plan is a written document that outlines an organisation's strategy and goals. It is a plan the company presents to investors and potential stakeholders who want to join them in the business venture. It provides a roadmap for how the organisation intends to achieve those goals and serves as the company's foundation.

A well-crafted business plan encompasses an executive summary, product or service overview, market analysis, competitive analysis, and financial projections. To ensure success, businesses create objectives around key performance indicators that are measurable, actionable, and aligned with the company's core values. 

Additionally, developing and adhering to concise action plans for meeting milestones can help companies keep on track from the project discovery phase  to reach their objectives promptly. In short, the purpose of a traditional business plan is to lay the foundation for the creation of any business enterprise.

Primary Purposes Of A Business Plan

A business plan helps keep businesses on track toward achieving their strategic goals in an agile manner while aligning them with changing customer preferences and emerging technologies. The primary purposes of business planning are:

• First and foremost, it is a tool for decision-making for potential investors, lenders, and stakeholders. Essentially, the plan acts as a set of guidelines that provide insight into the key elements that define a newly established or existing business, such as policies, staffing needs, marketing efforts, objectives, financial allocations, etc.
• It analyses entrepreneurs' overly optimistic assumptions regarding long-term strategies and future economic scenarios.
• The plan is an incentive to constantly review these decisions and ensure they are up-to-date with current market trends .

12 Steps To Create The Perfect Business Plan

Every great business starts with a well-crafted plan. But what goes into a good business idea? Here are some key components:

1 – Chose A Business Plan Format 

Before creating a traditional business plan template, it's essential to consider the format most beneficial. There are two commonly used approaches: the simple business plan, aka lean startup business plan and the traditional one.

The lean startup business plan may be suitable for those businesses that need to make decisions quickly and take action without needing in-depth detail. On the other hand, traditional plans contain more comprehensive information on every aspect of your business, such as a specific description of products or services offered and detailed financial statements, which makes them ideal for presenting to potential investors. 

So, deciding which format is best for you can guide each step of your overall approach toward constructing an effective business plan template .

2 – Create An Executive Summary

Once you've researched and discovered vital components to creating a successful business plan, it is essential to summarise these elements to present an executive summary. This section provides an overview of your entire business plan and should include your company's mission statement, vision, values, goals, and objectives. It should also provide an overview of your team, products or services, target market, competitive landscape, and growth strategy.

Moreover, an executive summary highlights your business's specific goals and objectives and what will be necessary for their realisation. In addition, this short section is designed to emphasise any innovative approaches or solutions that make your plan stand out from the competition.

Furthermore, the executive summary should also include a brief overview of your financial projections. This allows potential investors or stakeholders to understand the benefits of supporting your venture. Once this part of your business plan template is complete, you can move on to other steps necessary for launching a successful enterprise.

3 – Include the Company Description

Creating a comprehensive business description is the third step to crafting the perfect business plan. This section should include key details about the company and what it does, such as:

• Organisational structure
• The legal form of ownership
• Information about founders and key figures
• Information about the founders
• Mission and vision statement
• Current status of your company in terms of revenues and employees
• Financial investments that have been made to date
• Listing of corporate goals and objectives
• How your products or services differ from other businesses in its industry while also expressing what sets your product or service apart from competitors

Moreover, As staffing needs inevitably change over time, providing a headcount overview in the company description is an effective way of recording critical information for future business growth . Once you have included all relevant data in your company description, potential investors can make well-informed decisions based on their understanding of your business operations.

4 – Conduct A Market Analysis

The next step in creating the perfect business plan template is to conduct a market analysis. This requires thoroughly examining the external factors that influence and shape a company. Such factors include the industry environment, competitors, customer preferences, and demographic and economic trends.

A target market analysis helps to determine a company's competitive edge to craft strategies that will allow it to stay ahead of its competitors. In addition, this step enables businesses to identify potential buyers whom they can target more effectively through their marketing campaigns . 

Ultimately, conducting an in-depth target market analysis ensures that companies can make well-informed decisions regarding developing their products and services.

5 – Evaluate Your Competition

In this critical section, you must evaluate your competition with B2B data lists and supporting research. And describe who your main competitors are in the space. This includes researching the direct and indirect competitors in the industry, assessing their strengths and weaknesses, and analysing how they are positioned against each other.

This allows you to strategically differentiate your product or service from competitors to create an attractive value proposition for customers. Furthermore, by conducting competitor analysis regularly, businesses can stay informed of any changes in the marketplace and adjust their strategies accordingly. 

This will result in more innovative ways of positioning oneself competitively to attract potential customers and gain a competitive edge over rivals.

6 – Explain Your Service Or Product Line

This step is critical when preparing a plan as it gives potential investors, lenders, and customers all the necessary information about your company's offerings. In this section, you will describe your products or services, including features, benefits, value, and proposition. 

It should also include pricing information, if applicable. Clearly outline the product's features, pricing, relevant details, and any advantages your services offer over the competition.

A thorough explanation of each product line should also include all the necessary specifications, such as material costs, production methods, and expected timeline for completion. Furthermore, be sure to explain how each offering fits into the overall mission of your business, as well as why it will be beneficial in helping you achieve success.

7 – Describe Marketing And Sales Strategies

The next step in writing a business plan is thoroughly describing your product or service's marketing and sales strategies. You must explain who the target market is, what messages have been created for them, and how they will be delivered. 

Additionally, you need to show how sales will be managed, including forecasting sales, pricing strategies, and how you will service customers. Investing the time in detailing your marketing and sales strategies can make a huge difference in whether or not your business proposal receives the funding it needs. 

You must provide the following:

• Thorough research.
• Refined messaging and thoughtful price structures.
• Plans for delivering exceptional customer service.

8 – Outline Funding Requirements

Constructing a perfect plan involves outlining the necessary funding requirements. Understanding the total amount of capital needed and the sources it could come from is vital. 

These may include investments from owners, directors, shareholders, and lenders, government-funded grants, or other forms of financial assistance. Knowing exactly which types of capital you need and where it should come from will make all the difference in evaluating your business plan's success. 

With detailed funding information specified in advance, you can be sure your perfect plan has considered every aspect of capital needs for the future.

9 – Create Financial Projections

Creating financial projections is easily the most challenging when you write a business plan. This step touches on a few different areas, including a balance sheet, profit and loss statement, and cash flow statement. 

Each of these can be daunting to compile, but measuring a business's success over time is imperative. To complete this step accurately, you must evaluate your organisation's current position financially and understand all potential future costs of goods sold and the variance between anticipated expenditures and actual expenses. 

Completing this step properly can give any plan holder excellent insight into how well your business operates throughout its lifespan.

10 – List Customer Segments

Identifying customer segments is an essential step in writing a perfect business plan. Differentiating customers into various segments allows for more focused and targeted marketing for each specific group. Additionally, it helps outline a product pricing structure that considers the different needs of each segment.

When segregating customer segments to create tailored solutions, it is also essential to consider geographic differentiation, distribution channels, and age demographics. All these efforts will prove vital for developing a successful business plan.

11 – Detail Operation Strategies

Creating detailed operation strategies before beginning is essential to ensure all components are complete. This step allows for identifying any possible discrepancies in the plan's layout. Additionally, this section includes delving into all financial aspects and knowing how the actions of specific departments impact others.

Companies should also remember that running a successful business relies on devising practical performance standards, procedures, and processes. To compile a comprehensive plan, you must closely examine all areas of your company's operations while creating an organised yet insightful structure. 

Proving all relevant data collected can support the outlined goals. Crafting these strategies carefully will achieve unparalleled success in various business endeavours or projects.

12 – Create An Appendix

Constructing an appendix for a business plan is a great way to supplement the data in the plan's body. In essence, an appendix serves as a helpful reference tool that will provide additional information that can be beneficial to understanding the complete picture. 

It's also essential for clarifying and corroborating any insights turned up throughout the research stages of developing a business plan. Commonly filed items in the appendix include organisational charts, licenses, resumes and biographies for crucial personnel, supporting documents such as letters of intent or reference, patents, and product specifications. 

Allowing more room for comprehensive study, including an appendix when writing a business plan, will make it stand out from competitors and potentially increase investors' interest level.

Avoid These Common Mistakes When Writing A Business Plan 

Writing a business plan is no small task. It requires time, research, and strategic planning to cover all the bases necessary for success. It would help if you got it right the first time with so much on the line.

To help you with writing, we've compiled a list of five common mistakes you should avoid when writing your business plan. 

Beware Of Boring Business Ideas

One of the most important aspects of any business plan is its concept. If your business idea is innovative and marketable, it will survive today's competitive landscape. 

Before investing too much time and energy into writing a plan, ensure your concept is unique and feasible and has the potential for long-term success. 

No Exit Strategy

You should include a well-thought-out exit strategy in every business plan. An exit strategy outlines how and when you intend to leave your business if things don't work out as planned. 

This could involve selling to another entrepreneur, liquidating your assets, and closing the shop. Whatever the case, having an exit strategy will save you from costly mistakes.

Inaccurate Financial Projections

Financial projections are a significant component of any successful business plan and must be taken seriously. If not done correctly, inaccurate financial projections can lead to unforeseen problems. 

Such as insufficient capitalisation or cash flow issues that could kill your project before it gets off the ground. To ensure accuracy in your projections, it's essential to consult with experienced professionals who specialise in this area before finalising anything in your plan.

Spelling And Grammar Errors

No matter how great an idea may be or how soundly constructed its financials are, spelling and grammar errors can immediately destroy its credibility. 

To avoid this pitfall, ensure all sections are thoroughly edited by yourself or an experienced editor before submitting them to potential investors or lenders.

Unbalanced Teams

The team behind any successful business is just as important as the idea itself. When forming your team to write a business plan, ensure everyone involved has skills and experience related to the project. 

This means filling roles such as marketing expert, financial analyst, operations manager, etc., depending on what kind of company you're starting up and its needs. 

Tips To Make A Standout Business Plan 

As we know, a business plan is essential for any entrepreneur who wants to be successful in their venture. It outlines your goals, strategies, and resources to help you reach them.

The goal of a business plan should be to get potential investors interested in your project on board. And provide them with all the necessary information to make an informed decision. 

Writing a good business plan can be daunting, but it doesn't have to be. Here are practical tips to help you create a business plan that stands out from the rest: 

Know Your Audience

Before you start writing your business plan, you must understand your audience and what they expect from your business. 

Knowing this will help you tailor the content according to your plan so that it's geared toward the people reading it, making it more appealing and convincing.  

Have A Clear Goal

Having a clear goal will give your business plan a candid structure and ensure all aspects are focused on achieving that goal. 

It should clearly define what success looks like for you, whether it's getting funding or launching a new product line.

Invest Time In Research

Researching the industry, market trends, competitors, and potential partners is essential in creating an effective business plan. 

This research will help you make informed decisions and strategies throughout the process and ensure your plans are realistic and achievable based on current market conditions. 

Keep It Short & To The Point

Investors don't have time to read lengthy documents; they want concise information about why they should invest in your project quickly and easily. 

Keep things brief but still provide enough details for them to understand what makes your project unique and profitable. Make sure they remember you when considering potential investments.

Make It Easy To Read

Your business plan should be easily read with clear headings, section titles, and bulleted lists. 

It will ensure that they can quickly scan the document without reading through paragraphs of text, which can become tedious.

Keep Tone & Style Consistent

Consistency across both tone and style will help to keep them engaged. You don't want to confuse investors with conflicting styles throughout sections or pages.

So, use a consistent style and keep the tone formal. It will provide you with all the information they need quickly and effectively without getting distracted from critical points when reading your planning proposal.

Invest In Quality Design & Printing

A well-designed document with quality printing reflects professionalism, which can help build trust with investors. It will give the investors confidence that their money will be put to good use if they invest in projects like yours.

Use A Business Plan Software

Many software programs available online provide templates for creating professional-looking documents. As well as guidance on writing each section and including relevant financial information. They make it easier and faster than starting from scratch when creating an effective business plan. 

These programs also allow you access to editing capabilities at any point throughout the creation process, thus giving complete control over the final output before presenting the finished product. Venngage is wildly popular for providing useful templates to create your business plans with easy-to-use editors in no time. 

An effective business plan takes time, effort, research, planning, and design skills . Your business plan is a document that should grow and change as your business grows and changes. The most important parts of your business plan are your business goals and objectives. These are the foundation upon which you will build your research, company structure, marketing, and sales strategies. Keep these items in your mind as you develop your business plan.

Business Plans FAQs

What's the most important thing to consider when creating a business plan.

It would help if you always started with your purpose. You must figure out your purpose and why you are creating your business. Your business plan should answer these questions.

How do I write a business plan?

The first step to writing a business plan is to write down your purpose and goals. It would help if you decided who will be involved in your business and how you will operate.

How do I make sure my business plan is perfect?

You will want to write your business plan in the third person so it has a different voice than you. You also want to ensure that your business plan is easy to read.

What is the difference between a business plan and a mission statement?

A business plan is a document that describes your company, while a mission statement is a summary of what you stand for.

What should I include in my business plan?

You should include all of the information you have about your business. You should also include information about your company's history, employees, competitors, and plans.

What is the best way to get feedback on my business plan?

Getting feedback on your business plan from your lawyer, accountant, and other advisers would be best.

Is it possible to have too many goals in a business plan?

You may have too many goals, depending on how you plan to achieve them.

What should I consider when making decisions about a new business?

When starting a new business, you must consider your risk tolerance. It would be best to consider how much capital you have available.

How can I make my business plan more concise?

When writing your business plan, you can make it more concise by eliminating unnecessary information. You also can make your business plan more concise by using bullet points to summarise your information.

Author Bio:  Muhammad Aqeel is an experienced professional specialising in content creation. He has been working with Venngage Infographics, a leading graphic design platform. He is an expert in producing creative and engaging content on online tools and software.

Stuart Crawford

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The 7 Best Business Plan Examples (2024)

As an aspiring entrepreneur gearing up to start your own business , you likely know the importance of drafting a business plan. However, you might not be entirely sure where to begin or what specific details to include. That’s where examining business plan examples can be beneficial. Sample business plans serve as real-world templates to help you craft your own plan with confidence. They also provide insight into the key sections that make up a business plan, as well as demonstrate how to structure and present your ideas effectively.

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Example business plan

To understand how to write a business plan, let’s study an example structured using a seven-part template. Here’s a quick overview of those parts:

• Executive summary: A quick overview of your business and the contents of your business plan.
• Company description: More info about your company, its goals and mission, and why you started it in the first place.
• Market analysis: Research about the market and industry your business will operate in, including a competitive analysis about the companies you’ll be up against.
• Products and services: A detailed description of what you’ll be selling to your customers.
• Marketing plan: A strategic outline of how you plan to market and promote your business before, during, and after your company launches into the market.
• Logistics and operations plan: An explanation of the systems, processes, and tools that are needed to run your business in the background.
• Financial plan: A map of your short-term (and even long-term) financial goals and the costs to run the business. If you’re looking for funding, this is the place to discuss your request and needs.

7 business plan examples (section by section)

In this section, you’ll find hypothetical and real-world examples of each aspect of a business plan to show you how the whole thing comes together. 

• Executive summary

Your executive summary offers a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. You’ll want to include a brief description of your company, market research, competitor analysis, and financial information. 

In this free business plan template, the executive summary is three paragraphs and occupies nearly half the page:

• Company description

You might go more in-depth with your company description and include the following sections:

• Nature of the business. Mention the general category of business you fall under. Are you a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of your products?
• Background information. Talk about your past experiences and skills, and how you’ve combined them to fill in the market. 
• Business structure. This section outlines how you registered your company —as a corporation, sole proprietorship, LLC, or other business type.
• Industry. Which business sector do you operate in? The answer might be technology, merchandising, or another industry.
• Team. Whether you’re the sole full-time employee of your business or you have contractors to support your daily workflow, this is your chance to put them under the spotlight.

You can also repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your About page, Instagram page, or other properties that ask for a boilerplate description of your business. Hair extensions brand Luxy Hair has a blurb on it’s About page that could easily be repurposed as a company description for its business plan. 

• Market analysis

Market analysis comprises research on product supply and demand, your target market, the competitive landscape, and industry trends. You might do a SWOT analysis to learn where you stand and identify market gaps that you could exploit to establish your footing. Here’s an example of a SWOT analysis for a hypothetical ecommerce business: 

You’ll also want to run a competitive analysis as part of the market analysis component of your business plan. This will show you who you’re up against and give you ideas on how to gain an edge over the competition. 

• Products and services

This part of your business plan describes your product or service, how it will be priced, and the ways it will compete against similar offerings in the market. Don’t go into too much detail here—a few lines are enough to introduce your item to the reader.

• Marketing plan

Potential investors will want to know how you’ll get the word out about your business. So it’s essential to build a marketing plan that highlights the promotion and customer acquisition strategies you’re planning to adopt. 

Most marketing plans focus on the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. However, it’s easier when you break it down by the different marketing channels . Mention how you intend to promote your business using blogs, email, social media, and word-of-mouth marketing. 

Here’s an example of a hypothetical marketing plan for a real estate website:

Logistics and operations

This section of your business plan provides information about your production, facilities, equipment, shipping and fulfillment, and inventory.

Financial plan

The financial plan (a.k.a. financial statement) offers a breakdown of your sales, revenue, expenses, profit, and other financial metrics. You’ll want to include all the numbers and concrete data to project your current and projected financial state.

In this business plan example, the financial statement for ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy includes forecasted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

It then goes deeper into the financials, citing:

• Funding needs
• Project cash-flow statement
• Project profit-and-loss statement
• Projected balance sheet

You can use Shopify’s financial plan template to create your own income statement, cash-flow statement, and balance sheet. 

Types of business plans (and what to write for each)

A one-page business plan is a pared down version of a standard business plan that’s easy for potential investors and partners to understand. You’ll want to include all of these sections, but make sure they’re abbreviated and summarized:

• Logistics and operations plan
• Financials 

A startup business plan is meant to secure outside funding for a new business. Typically, there’s a big focus on the financials, as well as other sections that help determine the viability of your business idea—market analysis, for example. Shopify has a great business plan template for startups that include all the below points:

• Market research: in depth
• Financials: in depth

Internal 

Your internal business plan acts as the enforcer of your company’s vision. It reminds your team of the long-term objective and keeps them strategically aligned toward the same goal. Be sure to include:

• Market research

Feasibility 

A feasibility business plan is essentially a feasibility study that helps you evaluate whether your product or idea is worthy of a full business plan. Include the following sections:

A strategic (or growth) business plan lays out your long-term vision and goals. This means your predictions stretch further into the future, and you aim for greater growth and revenue. While crafting this document, you use all the parts of a usual business plan but add more to each one:

• Products and services: for launch and expansion
• Market analysis: detailed analysis
• Marketing plan: detailed strategy
• Logistics and operations plan: detailed plan
• Financials: detailed projections

Free business plan templates

Now that you’re familiar with what’s included and how to format a business plan, let’s go over a few templates you can fill out or draw inspiration from.

Bplans’ free business plan template

Bplans’ free business plan template focuses a lot on the financial side of running a business. It has many pages just for your financial plan and statements. Once you fill it out, you’ll see exactly where your business stands financially and what you need to do to keep it on track or make it better.

PandaDoc’s free business plan template

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is detailed and guides you through every section, so you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. Filling it out, you’ll grasp the ins and outs of your business and how each part fits together. It’s also handy because it connects to PandaDoc’s e-signature for easy signing, ideal for businesses with partners or a board.

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template helps you map out the essentials of your business, like partnerships, core activities, and what makes you different. It’s a collaborative tool for you and your team to learn how everything in your business is linked.

Better business planning equals better business outcomes

Building a business plan is key to establishing a clear direction and strategy for your venture. With a solid plan in hand, you’ll know what steps to take for achieving each of your business goals. Kickstart your business planning and set yourself up for success with a defined roadmap—utilizing the sample business plans above to inform your approach.

Business plan FAQ

What are the 3 main points of a business plan.

• Concept. Explain what your business does and the main idea behind it. This is where you tell people what you plan to achieve with your business.
• Contents. Explain what you’re selling or offering. Point out who you’re selling to and who else is selling something similar. This part concerns your products or services, who will buy them, and who you’re up against.
• Cash flow. Explain how money will move in and out of your business. Discuss the money you need to start and keep the business going, the costs of running your business, and how much money you expect to make.

How do I write a simple business plan?

To create a simple business plan, start with an executive summary that details your business vision and objectives. Follow this with a concise description of your company’s structure, your market analysis, and information about your products or services. Conclude your plan with financial projections that outline your expected revenue, expenses, and profitability.

What is the best format to write a business plan?

The optimal format for a business plan arranges your plan in a clear and structured way, helping potential investors get a quick grasp of what your business is about and what you aim to achieve. Always start with a summary of your plan and finish with the financial details or any extra information at the end.

Want to learn more?

• Question: Are You a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur?
• Bootstrapping a Business: 10 Tips to Help You Succeed
• Entrepreneurial Mindset: 20 Ways to Think Like an Entrepreneur
• 101+ Best Small Business Software Programs 

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10 steps to the perfect business plan for your creative venture

The perfect business plan is your first step to success in the creative sector.

Writing the perfect business plan is one of the most important first steps to launch your own creative venture, but it can also be one of the most daunting. It's the first real stage in properly planning your venture, which can help make your dream design business feel a lot more real, but it can also be hard to know where to start. You might even be tempted to skip this step altogether, but would be a mistake.

The perfect business plan provides clarity and direction for your whole enterprise. It can help you raise cash from banks and or other investors, but even if you're not looking for that, it can help you home in on a gap in the market and work out how your design business will fill it (and turn a profit in the process).

So before you start looking at website wireframes, choosing a logo or shopping around for studio space, it's time to put pen to paper. Your plan should be focused, readable, and most importantly explain why your business will be a success. In the guide below, we'll look at the 10 traditional ingredients that any business plan should cover, with pointers on what to include in each. For more tips on setting up your creative venture, see our guide to how to start a design business and how to improve your graphic design skills .

The perfect business plan: what should it include?

There's no one layout or formula for the perfect business plan, but there are general conventions on what a business plan should include. Exactly how you write it will depend a little on who you're writing for – for example, if you aim to present it to a bank or other potential investors or just to serve as a guide for yourself and colleagues. 

The best business plans are usually fairly brief and keep things simple. They succinctly explain what you want to do, how you will get there and what you need to do to reach that goal. While there are no set rules, we'll look at the more traditional elements to include in your business plan below.

01. Write an executive summary

An executive summary essentially summarises your design business in a quick, succinct pitch. This is the part that investors or banks will read first so it needs to be concise and to the point; certainly no more than a couple of pages. Above all it needs to explain your business idea. 

The executive summary should include your company name and the reason you chose it, your mission statement, details of your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, and location. You should also make sure you cover what makes your creative business different, who will you sell your services to and a list of short- and long-term goals. For example, where exactly do you see your business in five or so years?

You'll also want to include details on financial goals and growth plans, especially if you plan to seek investors. Set out the turnover you expect to make and the cash you think you'll have at the end of the first year; plus where you'll get money from (grants etc); and how much money you plan to invest yourself.

02. Compose an elevator pitch

An 'elevator pitch' is a much briefer summary of your business that serves to sell it to potential investors, or to clients, in few words. It should be possible to read an elevator pitch in under two minutes. The idea is that you could deliver it to any potential investor you might happen to cross in an elevator, but don't worry if that kind of meeting doesn't tend to happen to you; the pitch will still prove useful for understanding the real selling point of your future business. 

Your elevator pitch should include the name of your business, your mission, what your design business will do, who it will do that for and what makes it different. It should be direct, to the point and free from any kind of jargon or waffle.

03. Describe yourself (and any partners)

The next section in the perfect business plan should describe the people behind the business – that means you (and your partners if you have any). You should outline your experience and training, why you want to start your creative business and why you will make it a success. 

Do the same for every partner in the business and attach well-crafted résumés (see our guide to the perfect résumé for creatives ). The aim of this section is to show investors why you have the know-how to make your business successful, and also to allow you and your partners to take stock of your strengths and how you plan to use them.

04. Define your design business's offering

The next thing to include in the business plan for your design venture is to define the service that you're going to deliver. This should be more specific than you might first think because unless you're planning to launch a fully fledged agency, you're probably not going to be able to cover everything. Are you going to offer graphic design, motion design, web design, mobile, 3D? Are you going to cater to anyone and everyone or will you aim to serve a specific industry or niche?

Remember that any bank or other potential investor will probably know very little about the subject area, so try to describe exactly what the services will entail and what your business's output will be. Don't worry if it sounds patronising or overly simplified. You may know what motion graphics means, but will your bank manager? You should also mention here whether you plan to expand into other services in the future. So if you're starting in graphic design, are you planning to expand to offer full branding services?

05. Describe your clients

The perfect business plan doesn't only describe who you are and what your business will offer; it also offers a very clear description of your target customer. Where are they based? What needs do they have and how will you fulfil them? Asking these questions can be a good test of just how well you understand the client you're aiming at and may reveal a need to do more research. Be sure you really understand your target customer and there's more chance an investor will understand.

You need to describe your typical client and what makes them buy design services, whether you have worked with them before and whether you have any future jobs lined up already. Try to be as detailed as possible. If you've already worked for a specific client in some capacity (maybe in a freelance job) explain this here too since this demonstrates an ability to generate business.

06. Do a SWOT analysis

Remember that your customers aren't the only influence on your business. There are also competitors and the state of the economy as a whole. How big is the market you'll serve? How much is the market expected to grow in the future? Who will be your main competitors now and can you expect more competition in the future? These are some of the questions you'll need to answer in your market analysis. 

You should make a simple SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) to define the opportunities and threats in your market and compare them to your business’s strengths and weaknesses. Draw up a list of competing businesses, both big and small. Analyses what they do well and what they do badly, and consider what will make your offering different. Opportunities are external factors that could make your business thrive (is the market changing? are clients demanding a certain kind of work that you do well?). Threats are the same but opposite (if you're an illustration studio and budgets dry up, what will you do?).

This research will help to define where there are gaps and where you need to focus (once you've done this, go back through your sections and make sure your business still seems relevant. Any market research you can do in the field (perhaps talking to past clients and getting their take on the market) can be included here as well).

07. Outline your marketing strategy

How are you going to reach potential customers? Word of mouth? Advertising? Promotional material? Social media? Your own website? This is a question that should ideally be answered after carrying out market research to find out how potential clients find and contract the services you'll be providing. 

Make sure the marketing strategy you define in your business plan outlines the expected costs for all of these things because, with the possible exception of word of mouth, they're far from free (see finance below).

08. Define your USP

Once you've carried out a SWOT analysis, including analysis of your competitors, you're ready to define your USP, or unique selling point. This is incredibly important to include this in your business plan. It sums up in a nutshell why a client choose your business over another creative business? So what will you do better? 

A USP is usually summed up in a single sentence; two at the most. This can be a challenge but the shorter the better since that will make it easier to focus on delivering it. 

09. Forecast your budgets

Now it's time to explain how you'll actually make money. Consider details such as how long you spend on projects and how you'll charge for this. If you'll have an hourly rate that state what that will be. You also need to say how you'll get paid (almost certainly on invoice).

You'll also need to define your costs here. This will be of great interest to any potential investors, so pay great attention to it. You'll need to outline both one-off costs such as the equipment you'll need to set up to regular outgoings such as staff, rent (explain where you'll be working from), software subscriptions, bills and insurance.

Calculate your total costs per month and other costs of running the business and define How much income you will need each month to realistically survive as a business, and how much you aim to make. A cash-flow forecast shows how much money will enter and leave your design business and will help identify whether you're going to be able to make things work financially. This can be a sobering moment. 

Be pessimistic and realistic. Don't assume you will be working flat out at your maximum rate from the start because it's unlikely that you'll achieve that. It’s better to underestimate how you'll perform and overachieve than the other way around. In this section, you also need to outline any financial needs you have for potential investors. In this case, outline the length of time your request will cover and give a detailed description of how you'll use the funds.

10. Make a backup plan

Finally, what if things don't work out. We've stressed the importance of taking the time to make the perfect business plan, but a plan is a plan and something things turn out differently. This is why it's important that you also have a back-up plan.

If things aren't working out, what will you change in the short or long term in order to turn things around. If you aren't making money, do you plans ready for what you could do to make the business more profitable? Could you sacrifice international clients/pitches for local ones? Could you employ freelancers as and when they are needed instead of hiring a junior designer full-time? Could you downsize your planned studio space or switch to a coworking space (See our guide to the world's coolest coworking spaces for inspiration).

There's a lot to think about when writing a business plan for a creative business, but with careful consideration, it can help you prepare for the undertaking ahead and keep you focused no matter what challenges you face. If you're passionate about making your business a success, writing your plan will be the first step on that path.

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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.

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Home / Creating the Perfect Marketing Plan

Creating the Perfect Marketing Plan: Strategies, Templates, and In-Depth Guide

Learn how to create the perfect marketing plan with our guide packed with easy-to-follow templates and real-world examples.

Creating a marketing plan can be a baffling, confusing, and downright terrifying affair.

There you are, staring at a blank document or spreadsheet, wondering where to even begin.

That’s where marketing templates come in handy: they disperse the mist, help you organize your thoughts and goals, and give you a set of instructions to follow along the way.

In this article, we’re looking at how, more exactly, you can use marketing plan templates to build a solid strategy that’s

• Suitable for your business,
• Fully customized for your market, needs, and audience, and
• And carefully calculated to match your goals.

Keep reading to find out more!

What’s on this page

The importance of a marketing plan

• How to create a marketing plan tutorial

General marketing plan

Social media marketing plan.

• Content marketing plan template
• Competitor analysis template
• How to use templates for digital marketing

Innovative marketing plan ideas

Executing and monitoring your marketing plan.

• Maintain brand consistency
• Final words

Short answer

What is a marketing plan?

A marketing plan is a comprehensive document that details a company’s marketing strategy. It outlines the steps necessary to achieve specific business objectives, including targeting the right audience, choosing effective marketing channels, and allocating resources efficiently. This plan serves as a roadmap for implementing marketing activities that align with the company’s broader goals.

Doing marketing without a marketing plan is like walking blindly, on the edge of a cliff. Having a marketing plan, on the other hand, provides you a roadmap for your business reach and growth. It outlines your goals, target audience, and the strategies you will use to reach them.

Having a well-developed marketing plan is essential for any business, big or small. It not only helps you stay organized and on track with your marketing efforts but also allows you to measure your success and make adjustments as needed.

A properly made marketing plan will help you connect the dots between various marketing channels, ensuring your overall marketing strategy is cohesive, consistent, and effective. It also helps you allocate resources appropriately, making the most out of your budget and efforts.

Goal setting and strategic direction in marketing

Setting clear goals is foundational to any marketing plan, providing clear direction for your marketing efforts and benchmarks for success. A marketing plan defines these goals in the context of your business’s overall objectives, ensuring that each marketing activity is aligned with where you want your business to go.

Your marketing plan outline also guides you in selecting the right strategies and tactics, ensuring that your marketing efforts drive toward your business goals efficiently. This strategic alignment is crucial for maximizing return on investment and achieving sustainable growth.

Budgeting and resource allocation

A comprehensive marketing plan plays a pivotal role in budgeting and resource allocation by providing a structured overview of all planned marketing activities and their corresponding costs.

By clearly outlining expected expenses to goals, businesses can prioritize spending, allocate resources more efficiently, and avoid overspending. This strategic approach helps you make sure every dollar spent contributes directly to achieving targeted outcomes, enhancing overall financial management and marketing effectiveness.

Marketing plan structure: Key components and steps to building one

There are as many variations of a marketing strategy template as businesses out there. However, most of them have common key components that make up a complete marketing plan:

1. Business summary and executive summary

The business summary section of a marketing plan provides a brief overview of the business, including its mission statement, core values, and overarching goals. Meanwhile, the Executive Summary offers a concise summary of the entire marketing plan, highlighting its main points and overall strategy.

2. Market research

Market research in a marketing plan underpins strategic decision-making by offering critical insights into industry trends, target audience behaviors, and competitive landscapes. It provides businesses with the data they need to tailor their marketing strategies effectively, ensuring they resonate with the intended audience and stand out in the market.

3. Competitive research

Competitive research involves analyzing and understanding your competitors’ strategies, strengths, and weaknesses. It enables a business to identify market gaps and opportunities for differentiation, ensuring a competitive edge in its marketing efforts.

4. Target audience and buyer personas

Identifying and understanding your target audience is essential for crafting effective marketing strategies. It involves analyzing demographics, interests, and behaviors to create tailored messages that resonate deeply with potential customers.

On the other hand, buyer personas are a powerful tool for understanding your target audience and guiding your marketing efforts in the right direction. They represent a semi-fictional representation of your ideal customer, incorporating real data and market research to create a detailed profile. This exercise helps you better understand their needs, motivations, and pain points, providing crucial insights for crafting relevant marketing messages.

You can collect all the information for your target audience documentation from various sources, like:

Google Analytics

Google Analytics provides invaluable insights into user behavior, including visitor demographics, how users find and interact with your site, and which content keeps them engaged.

Social media analytics

Social media analytics offer detailed data on audience engagement, preferences, and demographics, helping you understand who interacts with your brand and how they do so.

Customer feedback and surveys

Customer feedback and surveys are direct sources of insights into what your target audience thinks and feels about your brand, providing key data on customer satisfaction, preferences, and areas for improvement.

CRM and sales data

CRM (Customer Relationship Management) and sales data provide extensive information on customer interactions, purchase history, and support queries, allowing for a detailed analysis of customer behavior and preferences.

5. Industry reports and market analyses

Industry reports and market analyses provide comprehensive insights into market trends, consumer preferences, and emerging opportunities, enabling businesses to strategically position their offerings to meet the demands of their target audience.

6. Competitor customer reviews and feedback forums

Competitor customer reviews sites and feedback forums offer critical insights into what consumers appreciate or dislike about rival offerings, guiding businesses to fine-tune their strategies for competitive advantage.

5. Unique selling proposition

Your unique selling proposition (USP) distills what makes your business stand out from competitors into a clear, compelling message. It’s the core of your brand identity, emphasizing the specific benefits your products or services offer to your target audience.

When writing your unique selling proposition, remember to:

• Highlight what makes you different from competitors
• Focus on the benefits your product or service provides to customers
• Be concise and memorable

6 . Business goals and market analysis

The business goals section lays out specific objectives the company aims to achieve through its marketing efforts, aligning with the company’s broader strategic goals. The market analysis, on the other hand, decomposes the industry landscape, identifying target markets and analyzing competitors to inform strategic direction.

To make sure your business goals and market analysis are correctly set, consider the following as well:

Conducting a SWOT analysis

Conducting a SWOT analysis helps businesses identify their Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, providing crucial insights for defining precise business goals and thorough market analysis.

Competitive and target market analysis

Assessing your competitive landscape and understanding your target market allows you to better understand your business’ context, accurately define your business goals, and tailor your market analysis for strategic advantage.

7. Marketing initiatives

At this stage, you should decide on the specific marketing initiatives and activities you want to rely on. If your budget and manpower allow for it, you can focus on multiple main areas. Alternatively, you can focus on a single marketing tactic that aligns with your overall goals and budget.

Here are some examples of marketing initiatives you might want to concentrate on:

Promotions are targeted strategies designed to boost customer engagement, drive sales, and increase brand awareness through special offers, discounts, and events.

Partnerships and joint ventures

Forming strategic partnerships and engaging in joint ventures can significantly amplify a business’s market reach and resource base. These collaborations enable businesses to leverage complementary strengths, share risks, and capitalize on shared opportunities for growth and innovation.

Referral strategy

A referral strategy is designed to incentivize existing customers to recommend your products or services to new potential customers, effectively leveraging word-of-mouth. This approach not only expands your customer base, but also strengthens trust and loyalty among existing clients by rewarding them for their referrals.

8. Marketing plan channels

Choosing the right marketing channels is crucial for delivering your message to your target audience in the most effective way. These channels, whether digital (like social media, email, and search engines) or traditional (such as television, print ads, and direct mail), should align with where your audience spends their time and consumes information.

To make sure you choose the right channels for your business, we recommend that you:

• Analyze your target audience’s preferred communication methods.
• Understand which platforms and channels your competitors are utilizing.
• Determine the most cost-effective channels for reaching your target audience.
• Consider the effectiveness and reach of each channel in relation to your business goals.
• Evaluate the scalability of selected channels to grow with your business over time.
• Test and measure the performance of each channel to refine your marketing mix.
• Look into emerging channels and technologies to stay ahead of the curve.
• Ensure alignment between channel selection and your overall brand messaging for consistency.

9. Measurement and KPIs to intreduce in your marketing plan

Setting clear measurement practices and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) is fundamental to tracking the effectiveness of your marketing strategies. These metrics enable businesses to quantify their success, adjust strategies as needed, and ensure alignment with overarching business goals.

Here are essential tips to keep in mind when setting your marketing metrics:

• Focus on measurable outcomes, such as conversions, leads, and revenue.
• Align your KPIs with your specific business goals.
• Choose a mix of leading (predictive) and lagging (historical) indicators for a comprehensive view of performance.
• Regularly review and adjust your metrics to reflect changes in the market or business environment.

10. Retention strategy

Including a retention (or repeat customer) strategy in your marketing plan is important for two main reasons. First of all, there’s only so many “new customers” you can acquire (so if your entire business strategy is based on acquisition and zero retention, you will grind your business to a halt, eventually).

Secondly, repeat customers tend to spend more than new ones, making them a valuable source of revenue for sustainable growth. They also tend to be more likely to recommend you to their peers. A retention strategy includes tactics for keeping existing customers engaged and loyal, such as loyalty programs or personalized communication.

11. Budget & expected ROI

The budget section outlines the financial resources allocated to implement the marketing plan, ensuring that all strategies and actions align with fiscal constraints. It is paired with an expected ROI (Return on Investment) analysis, which projects the financial benefits of the marketing activities in relation to their costs, guiding decision-makers in optimizing marketing investments for maximum profitability.

How to Create a Marketing Plan | Step-by-Step Guide

If you’re looking to ramp up your brand’s marketing strategy and start reaching a wider audience, you need to know how to create a marketing plan. visme.com made it easy for you with this step-by-step guide.

Marketing plan templates and examples

As a general rule, you want to build and/or adapt your marketing plan to your own business. However, if you are looking for some of the best marketing strategy templates to get inspired from, the following are more than worth your time:

This template provides a structured approach to crafting a comprehensive marketing plan, incorporating the key components as outlined in the article. Each section is designed to guide you through defining, planning, executing, and measuring the effectiveness of your marketing efforts.

Executive summary

• Brief overview of the marketing plan objectives and strategies.

Business overview

• Description of the business, including mission statement and core values.

Situational analysis

• SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats).
• Competitive and target market analysis.

Marketing goals and objectives

• Specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound (SMART) goals.
• Objectives aligned with business strategy and market opportunities.

Target audience

• Detailed profile of the target market segments.
• Insights into their behaviors, preferences, and needs.

Marketing strategies

• Overview of the chosen marketing initiatives (promotions, partnerships, referral strategy).
• Justification for strategy selection based on Situation Analysis.

Marketing channels

• Identification of primary marketing channels (digital and traditional).
• Rationale for channel selection tailored to target audience and marketing strategies.

Action plan

• Detailed plan for executing marketing initiatives, including timelines and responsible parties.
• Breakdown of activities by marketing channel.

Budget and expected ROI

• Comprehensive budget detailing costs associated with each marketing activity.
• Expected Return on Investment for each initiative and overall marketing plan.

Measurement and KPIs

• Key Performance Indicators for monitoring performance.
• Plan for regular review and adjustment based on KPI results.

Retention strategy

• Tactics for maintaining customer engagement and loyalty (e.g., loyalty points, email newsletter, exclusive offers, etc.)
• Plan for personalized communication and loyalty programs.
• Any additional information, such as market research data, historical performance metrics, etc.

Revision history

• Record of updates and changes made to the marketing plan.

This social media marketing plan is designed to outline your social media marketing goals , the tactics you will use to achieve them, and the metrics you will track to gauge your progress. It acts as a detailed roadmap for managing and optimizing your social media strategy to connect with your audience and enhance your brand’s online presence.

• Brief introduction to the social media marketing plan goals and expected outcomes.
• Clear, measurable objectives for what the social media efforts aim to achieve (e.g., increase brand awareness, improve engagement, drive website traffic).
• Detailed analysis of the target audience specific to social media platforms, including demographics, interests, and online behavior.

Competitive analysis

• Overview of competitors’ presence and performance on social media, identifying gaps and opportunities.

Channel strategy

• Selection of social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn) based on the target audience and content strategy.
• Rationale for each platform chosen.

Content strategy

• Outline of the types of content to be shared (e.g., blog posts, videos, infographics), reflecting brand identity and audience interests.
• Content calendar with publishing schedule.

Engagement strategy

• Plan for active engagement with the community, including response to comments, messages, and user-generated content.

Influencer collaboration

• Strategy for partnering with influencers to expand reach and credibility.

Paid promotion

• Approach for utilizing paid social media advertising and sponsored content, including budget and targeting criteria.
• Key Performance Indicators to track the success of social media efforts (e.g., engagement rate, follower growth, website traffic from social media).

Tools and resources

• List of tools for scheduling posts, analytics, graphic design, and community management.

Risk management

• Plan to address potential challenges and reputation management on social media.
• Detailed budget allocation for each platform, including content creation, paid promotions, and influencer collaborations.
• Record of updates and changes made to the social media marketing plan.

Content marketing plan

This content marketing plan will strategically outline the creation, publication, and distribution of content to target audiences, aiming to attract, engage, and retain customers.

• Overview of goals and strategies for the content marketing efforts, emphasizing the plan’s alignment with overall marketing and business objectives.
• Define clear, measurable goals for the content marketing strategy, such as increasing organic traffic, enhancing brand awareness, and generating leads.
• In-depth analysis of the ideal customer profiles, including demographic information, interests, and pain points, to inform content creation.

Audit and analysis

• Assessment of current content assets and performance to identify strengths, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.

Content pillars and themes

• Establishment of core content pillars that reflect the brand’s authority within its industry, around which a variety of themes and topics will be developed.

Content formats

• Enumeration of content formats to be used, including blog posts, videos, infographics, e-books, and whitepapers, tailored to audience preferences and stages of the buyer’s journey.

Editorial calendar

• A detailed publishing schedule that outlines what content will be produced, when it will be published, and where it will be distributed.

Content creation process

• Description of the workflow for content production, from idea generation and research to writing, editing, and approval.

Distribution channels

• Strategically selected channels for content promotion, such as the company’s website, social media platforms, email newsletters, and third-party publications.

SEO strategy

• Integration of keyword research and SEO best practices into content creation to improve search engine rankings and visibility.
• Key performance indicators for evaluating the success of content marketing efforts, including traffic metrics, engagement rates, lead generation, and conversion rates.
• A comprehensive breakdown of the budget allocated for content creation, distribution, and promotion activities.
• Identification of potential risks and challenges in content marketing, with preemptive strategies for mitigation.
• Listing of tools and software that will support the content marketing strategy, from content management systems to analytics and SEO tools.
• Record updates and changes made to the content marketing plan, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptation to market changes.

Competitor analysis marketing plan template

This competitor analysis template will enable a systematic evaluation of your competitors’ strategies, strengths, weaknesses, and market positioning to identify opportunities for differentiation and growth.

• Brief overview of the competitive landscape and the purpose of the analysis.

Identifying competitors

• List of primary and secondary competitors in the market.
• Criteria for selection of these competitors (market share, product offerings, geographic presence).

Competitor company overview

• Basic information about each competitor (company size, location, history).
• Summary of the competitor’s mission, values, and market positioning.

Product/service analysis

• Detailed comparison of products/services offered by the company and its competitors.
• Analysis of features, quality, pricing, and warranties/guarantees.

Market share and growth

• Overview of each competitor’s market share and historical growth.
• Analysis of market trends and how competitors are positioned to take advantage of these trends.
• Evaluation of competitors’ marketing strategies, including online presence, advertising campaigns, social media strategy, and public relations efforts.
• SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) analysis for each major competitor.

Customer analysis

• Overview of competitors’ target customer segments and customer service strategies.
• Analysis of customer reviews and feedback for insights into strengths and weaknesses.

Sales channels and distribution

• Description of competitors’ distribution channels and sales strategies.
• Comparison with the company’s channels and potential areas for improvement or differentiation.

Financial overview

• Overview of competitors’ financial health, if available (revenue trends, profitability, investment in R&D).

Strategic moves

• Examination of recent strategic moves by competitors (partnerships, acquisitions, product launches).

Summary and recommendations

• Summary of key findings from the competitor analysis.
• Recommended strategies for competitive differentiation and opportunities for growth.
• Record of updates and changes made to the competitor analysis template.

How to use marketing plan templates for digital marketing

Creating a marketing plan is about a lot more than just filling out empty cells in a document. Here are some guidelines that will help you make the most of any marketing template:

• Start by personalizing the template to fit your specific business needs and goals.
• Clearly define your target audience before selecting strategies and channels included in the template (see our section about this, above).
• Regularly update and adjust your plan based on market changes, new initiatives, or unexpected results.
• Use the template as a guide, but don’t be afraid to think outside the box and add your own unique strategies and ideas.
• Continuously track and measure performance against KPIs set in the template, adjusting tactics as needed for optimal results.

You are free to go as in-depth as you want with your marketing plan. However, there are a couple of “golden rules” that will help you stay on top of everything (and communicate your plan with clarity):

• Maintain simplicity in your messaging and design to ensure ease of understanding for your target audience.
• Ensure brand consistency across all marketing channels to reinforce brand recognition and loyalty.
• Implement quality control measures for all marketing materials and content to maintain high standards.
• Integrate data across platforms for a unified view of customer interactions and marketing effectiveness.

Leveraging data in marketing strategy

Your marketing strategy should be data-driven and incorporate the use of analytics tools to track and measure success. These insights allow for ongoing optimization and informed decision-making in real time. Some of the key data points to track include:

Website traffic and conversion rates

Understanding your website’s traffic patterns and conversion rates is crucial for evaluating the effectiveness of your online presence and marketing efforts.

Social media engagement and reach

Analyzing social media engagement and reach is essential for assessing how well your content resonates with your audience and spreads across platforms.

Email open and click-through rates

Monitoring email open and click-through rates are critical for determining the impact and effectiveness of your email marketing campaigns.

Advertising campaign performance

Evaluating the performance of advertising campaigns is key to understanding the return on investment and the overall success of the marketing strategies implemented.

Customer retention metrics

Tracking customer retention metrics, such as churn rate and customer lifetime value (CLV), is vital for assessing how effectively your business maintains customer relationships and maximizes revenue from existing clients.

Creating a marketing plan is one thing.

Presenting it to a board or investor is another.

When you build a marketing plan, you want to focus on getting things correctly: your data, your vision, the information you base your assumptions on, and so on. In short, you’re focusing on the “meat,” the core of your marketing strategy.

When you have to present your strategy, however, it all comes down to:

• Making sure everything is crystal clear, and
• Ensuring your message delivery is flawless from every perspective (including the aesthetic one).

To get there, you might want to consider creative ways of making your marketing plan stand out. For instance, here are some of the more innovative methods of presenting a marketing plan:

Tailor it to your audience

It’s one thing to present your marketing plan to your team and it’s an entirely different thing to present it to a board of investors or at a trade event. Each of these situations requires a different approach. Personalizing your marketing plan to fit the audience can help capture their attention and make the information more relevant and memorable for them.

Use multimedia

You shouldn’t be afraid to use multimedia elements in your marketing plan presentation to make it more engaging and memorable. This could include videos, animations, infographics, and interactive elements.

Create an interactive presentation

Creating an interactive presentation involves integrating elements that allow the audience to engage directly with the content, making the marketing plan more dynamic and engaging. Here are some examples if interactive bits you could include in your marketing plan:

• Quizzes or polls that allow the audience to provide feedback and gauge their own understanding of the material
• Interactive charts and graphs that can be manipulated in real-time
• Virtual reality experiences to showcase products or services in a unique way.

Incorporate storytelling

Storytelling is a powerful tool that can help engage audiences and make your marketing plan more memorable. Consider incorporating storytelling elements such as customer success stories, brand origin, or employee anecdotes to add a personal touch and emotional connection to your plan.

The possibilities are endless when it comes to making your marketing plan presentation creative and engaging. Just remember to:

• Stay clear (never sacrifice clear for clever)
• Keep it relevant to your audience
• Use high-quality visuals and multimedia elements
• Rely on solid, healthy data and assumptions
• Incorporate interactive experiences

Building a marketing plan is a more or less temporary task that takes weeks or months to complete. Executing a marketing plan, however, is an ongoing process of implementing and adjusting tactics to achieve desired results.

Here are some key steps for executing and monitoring your marketing plan:

Implement with precision

Once you have finalized your marketing plan, it’s time to put it into action. Make sure to adhere to the timelines and budgets outlined in your plan, and communicate any changes or delays with your team.

Monitor ongoing performance

Monitoring your marketing performance is crucial for understanding the effectiveness of your tactics and making informed decisions for future campaigns. Use the data points mentioned earlier to track progress and adjust strategies as needed.

Regularly reassess and update

A successful marketing plan is not set in stone. As your business and the market evolves, it’s important to regularly reassess and update your plan to stay relevant and competitive. Continuously monitor industry trends, customer feedback, and competitor strategies to inform updates to your marketing plan.

Make use of technology and automation

In today’s digital age, there are numerous tools and technologies available to help streamline and automate various aspects of your marketing efforts. Utilize these resources to save time and effectively track and analyze data for more informed decision-making.

Stay data driven

The reason data driven marketing is so popular is because you need at least some sort of goalpost, or north star metric, to follow. Stay informed by continuously collecting and analyzing data relevant to your marketing strategies, and use this information to make informed decisions for ongoing optimization and success.

Seek feedback and adapt

It’s important to regularly seek feedback from customers, team members, and stakeholders to understand how your marketing efforts are being received and if any adjustments need to be made. Adaptability is key in executing a successful marketing plan.

It is important to remember no one will ever build a flawless marketing plan from the get go. Even if they do, it won’t be perfect for long. Sooner or later, fine-tuning must be made. 

Whether it’s business strategy changes, market changes, or inefficiencies you’ve spotted along the way, revisiting and adjusting your marketing plan is essential for long-term success. Keep an open mind, embrace change, and utilize the above strategies to continuously improve and execute a successful marketing plan.

Maintain brand consistency when creating a marketing plan

One element that frequently tends to slip away in marketing plan implementations is brand consistency . It’s easy to see why it happens: when your marketing plan is thick and demanding, and your team is lean and busy, some elements may be overlooked or unintentionally altered. Yet, maintaining brand consistency is crucial in maintaining a strong and recognizable brand identity that resonates with customers.

Thankfully, there are small things you can do to make things easier (for yourself and for the rest of the organization.) For instance, implementing a WiseStamp email signature can help ensure that all team members have a consistent, professional email signature that includes your company’s branding and messaging.

Marketing plans, no easy way

Many will promise marketing miracles encapsulated in a template. But few will actually tell you the truth that marketing plans are hard work – from collecting data, building a plan based on that data, refining your plan, and executing on that plan.

It’s also essential work. And brilliant work. And incredibly rewarding work. Which is why it’s vital for the success of your marketing efforts, combined.

Marketing plan templates can help you find your focus in what might seem like an ocean of questions, doubts, and potentialities. They won’t fix your marketing efforts, but they will help you get organized and stay on track.

By following the steps described in this article (and the tips we’ve sprinkled along the way), you’ll be able to define your marketing objectives, identify and understand your target audience, conduct thorough market research, outline your tactics and strategies, and execute and monitor your plan for ongoing success.

Remember to continuously adapt, seek feedback, and maintain brand consistency to stay ahead of the competition. With a well-crafted marketing plan in hand, you’re on your way to achieving your business

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Macron puts trade and ukraine as top priorities as china's xi opens european visit in france.

Sylvie Corbet

Associated Press

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks to China's President Xi Jinping during a meeting with delegates at the Elysee Palace, Monday, May 6, 2024 in Paris. China's President Xi Jinping is in France for a two-day state visit that is expected to focus both on trade disputes and diplomatic efforts to convince Beijing to use its influence to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine. (AP Photo/Thibault Camus, Pool)

PARIS – French President Emmanuel Macron held talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Monday that focused on trade disputes — including lifting immediate tariff threats on Cognac exports — and Ukraine-related diplomatic efforts.

Xi was in France for a two-day state visit to open his European tour.

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Speaking alongside Xi after their meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, Macron said that France hopes China's influence on Moscow would help to move Russia toward ending the war in Ukraine .

“We welcome the Chinese authorities’ commitments to refrain from selling any weapons or aid" and to “strictly control” sales of products and technologies that can be used for both civilian and military purposes, Macron said.

China claims neutrality in the war.

“History has repeatedly proven that any conflict can ultimately be resolved only through negotiation,” Xi said. “We call on all parties to restart contact and dialogue.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin recently announced plans to visit China this month .

Last year, Macron appealed to Xi to “bring Russia to its senses,” but the call wasn't followed by any apparent action by Beijing.

Both leaders also expressed their concerns regarding the situation in the Middle East, where Macron said France and China share the “same goals," that is “to achieve an immediate cease-fire to release hostages, protect the populations, facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, encourage a regional deescalation and reopen a political perspective.”

Xi called the Israel-Hamas war a “tragedy” that is “a test of human conscience.”

"The international community must do something. We call for an immediate, comprehensive and sustainable cease-fire in Gaza," he said.

In addition, Xi expressed China's willingness to work with France "to take the Paris Olympics as an opportunity to advocate a global cease-fire and cessation of war during the Games.”

Macron advocates for making the Paris Games “a diplomatic moment of peace” and respect the Olympic Truce.

Trade issues also were at the top of the agenda as Macron denounced the trade practices of China as shoring up protections and subsidies.

Macron thanked Xi for his “openness about the provisional measures toward French Cognac." The remark came after China opened an anti-dumping investigation into Cognac and other European brandy earlier this year.

A French top diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive talks, said that Xi agreed not to apply tariffs in the short-term pending further investigation.

French gifts to the Chinese president on Monday included luxury bottles of Cognac.

France hopes to be able to continue to export its products, including brandy and cosmetics, on the Chinese market.

Earlier, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen joined both leaders for a meeting meant to address broader European Union concerns.

The EU launched an investigation last year into Chinese subsidies and could impose tariffs on electric vehicles exported from China. The 27-member bloc last month opened another inquiry into Chinese wind turbine makers.

“For trade to be fair, access to both markets needs to be reciprocal,” von der Leyen said after the meeting. “Our market is and remains open to fair competition and to investments, but it is not good for Europe if it harms our security and makes us vulnerable.”

She said that Europe “will not waver from making tough decisions needed to protect its economy and its security.”

The discussions were expected to be closely watched from Washington, a month before U.S. President Joe Biden is expected to pay his own state visit to France.

Xi’s European trip, the first in five years, seeks to rebuild relations at a time of global tensions. After France, he will head to Serbia and Hungary .

Xi's visit marks the 60th anniversary of France-China diplomatic relations, and follows Macron’s trip to China in April 2023 . Macron prompted controversy on that trip when he said that France wouldn’t blindly follow the U.S. in getting involved in crises that aren't its concern, apparently referring to China’s demands for unification with Taiwan .

Several groups — including International Campaign for Tibet and France’s Human Rights League — urged Macron to put human rights issues at the heart of his talks with Xi. Protesters demonstrated in Paris as Xi arrived on Sunday, calling for a free Tibet .

Amnesty International called on Macron to demand the release of Uyghur economics professor Ilham Tohti , who was jailed in China for life in 2014 on charges of promoting separatism, and other imprisoned activists.

On Monday, media watchdog Reporters Without Borders staged a protest in front of the Arc de Triomphe monument to denounce Xi's visit, calling the Chinese president “one of the greatest predators of press freedom.” The group says 119 journalists are imprisoned in the country.

Macron said in an interview published Sunday that he would raise human rights concerns. He didn't mention the issue in his public comments Monday.

The second day of the visit is meant to be more personal. Macron has invited Xi to visit the Tourmalet Pass in the Pyrenees mountains, where the French leader spent time as a child to see his grandmother. The trip is meant to be a reciprocal gesture after Xi took Macron last year to the residence of the governor of Guangdong province, where his father once lived.

Barbara Surk in Nice, Angela Charlton in Paris and Ting Fu in Washington, contributed to this story.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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KSAT now broadcasting NEXTGEN TV signal. Antenna users must rescan.

Trump media fires auditing firm that us regulators have charged with 'massive fraud'.

Associated Press

NEW YORK – Trump Media and Technology Group, the owner of social networking site Truth Social, has fired an auditor that federal regulators recently charged with “massive fraud.”

The former president's media company dismissed BF Borgers as its independent public accounting firm on Friday, according to a securities filing — which also notes that Trump Media engaged with Arizona-based accountant Semple, Marchal & Cooper as BF Borgers’ replacement over the weekend.

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BF Borgers' dismissal arrived on the same day that the Securities and Exchange Commission charged the firm and its owner Benjamin F. Borgers with “deliberate and systematic failures” in more than 1,500 audits.

The charges, which include failing to abide by accounting rules and fabricating documentation to cover up its shortcomings, do not involve any work that BF Borgers performed for Trump Media. To settle the charges, BF Borgers and Borgers agreed to pay a combined $14 million in civil penalties as well as permanent suspensions effective immediately, set to prevent them from handling SEC-related matters as accountants.

BF Borgers' time with Trump Media was brief. It named the Colorado firm as its auditor on March 28, according to a recent annual report filing. At the time, Trump Media disclosed that BF Borgers had also handled its audits before it went public by merging with shell company Digital World Acquisition Corp.

Trump Media had previously cycled through at least two other auditors — one that resigned in July 2023, and another that was terminated its the board in March, just as it was re-hiring BF Borgers.

In its regulatory filing, Trump Media said that “the decision to change independent registered public accounting firms was made with the recommendation and approval of the Audit Committee of the Company.” The Associated Press' reached out to the company for further comment Monday, including on whether Semple, Marchal & Cooper would review BF Borgers' previous work for Trump Media.

BF Borgers and Semple, Marchal & Cooper did not immediately respond to requests' for statement.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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The UK government acted unlawfully in approving a climate plan, a High Court judge has ruled

Associated Press

LONDON – A High Court judge ruled Friday that the U.K. government acted unlawfully when it approved a plan to meet climate targets without evidence that it could be delivered.

It was the second time in two years that the government's main climate action plan was found to be unlawful and insufficient in meeting legally-binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

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Justice Clive Sheldon sided Friday with three environmental groups that brought the case, ruling that the government's decision to approve its Carbon Budget Delivery Plan last year was “simply not justified by the evidence.”

The plan outlined how the U.K. aims to achieve its climate targets, including pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about two-thirds of 1990 levels by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2050.

The judge said the details in the draft plan were “vague and unquantified,” and didn't provide officials with enough information on whether the plan should be approved.

Lawyers acting for the environmental organizations told the court that the government failed to share “risk tables,” or information about whether its policies could be implemented, with Parliament and others, meaning the plan couldn't be properly scrutinized.

“The courts have now told the U.K. government not once, but twice, that its climate strategy is not fit for purpose,” said Sam Hunter Jones, a lawyer for the group ClientEarth. “This judgment means the government must now take credible action to address the climate crisis with a plan that can actually be trusted to deliver and with numbers that can be relied on."

The government defended its record on climate change, saying it has set out “more detail than any other G20 country on how we will reach our ambitious carbon budgets,” referring to the Group of 20 leading rich and developing nations.

“The claims in this case were largely about process and the judgment contains no criticism of the detailed plans we have in place. We do not believe a court case about process represents the best way of driving progress towards our shared goal of reaching net zero," it said in a statement.

Officials said they would publish a new report within 12 months following the judge's ruling.

Last year, the U.K. government's own climate advisers, which tracks the country's decarbonization efforts, said that it was losing confidence in the government's ability to meet its emission targets, and slammed officials for backtracking on fossil fuel commitments.

Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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Best Multi-Gig Internet Plans of 2024

Do you have a need for speed? Check out these top broadband providers and their multi-gigabit plans if you're looking for fast connectivity at home.

Article updated on April 28, 2024 at 5:00 AM PDT

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Our expert staff selects the products we cover and rigorously researches and evaluates our top picks. The order in which our top picks are presented may be impacted by partnerships, and we may get a commission if you buy through our links.

• Prices: $20 - $900 per month
• Speeds: 100 - 50,000Mbps
• Key Info: Unlimited data, no contracts, fast rural internet connection

• Price: $150 per month
• Speed: 2,000Mbps
• Key Info: Unlimited data, no contract, no equipment fees

• Price: $100 per month

Internet speeds have gotten considerably faster in recent years, and customers are clearly interested in the new high-speed tiers. According to OpenVault's most recent report on US broadband usage , taken at the end of 2023, gigabit internet adoption is up to 32%, which makes it the second most popular internet tier.

Our craving for high-speed internet will only increase: The Fiber Broadband Association believes that by the end of this decade, a four-person household will require over 2,100 megabits per second (or just over 2 gigabits) in download speed. 

You may be thinking, "It's not 2030 yet!" True, making that big of an upgrade is probably overkill for many. But internet service providers aren't waiting to offer multi-gigabit packages to their customers. Within the last two years, we were introduced to new multi-gig internet plans from AT&T, Frontier, Optimum, Verizon and Ziply Fiber, to name a few. Other ISPs, including Comcast Xfinity and Google Fiber, already had multi-gig offerings of their own too.

This list will focus on the best multi-gig internet offerings from major ISPs. However, I want to note that smaller regional providers also have competitive plans. For instance,  Midco  offers 2Gbps and 5Gbps plans to its customers in South Dakota. Minnesota's USI boasts a 10-gig fiber plan. The citizens of Chattanooga, Tennessee, have access to one of the country's fastest residential plans, a 25Gbps tier from the city-owned fiber broadband of EPB . With that in mind, let's look at some of the best 2-gigabit and multi-gig internet plans available from national providers.

Ziply Fiber: 50 Gig

Fastest multi-gigabit internet plan.

Our take - Plans with max speeds of 2, 5 or even 10Gbps are becoming more common. But 50Gbps? That's unheard of, at least until Ziply Fiber launched said speeds across its entire fiber footprint.

• Straightforward, competitive pricing
• No data caps, contracts or credit checks
• Dedication to fiber expansion, even in rural areas
• Lots of room to grow fiber service

That's way more speed than the average household would ever need, and at $900 per month, the plan probably costs more than most folks would want to pay. Fortunately, Ziply Fiber offers a variety of budget-friendly, high-speed plans ranging from 100Mbps to 10Gbps. All plans are contract-free and include unlimited data at no extra cost.

• Unlimited data
• no contracts
• fast rural internet connection

AT&T Fiber: 2 Gig

Best multi-gig internet plan for perks.

Our take - While the prize for the fastest AT&T plan goes to AT&T's 5-gig tier for $225 per month, you can get all the same perks for $100 less monthly with the provider's 2Gbps option. Specifically, you get AT&T ActiveArmor (free internet security), a $150 gift card and access to AT&T hotspots nationwide. While your cost per Mbps may not be as low as AT&T Internet 5000, it still carries a significant value for a lower monthly charge.

• No contracts required to receive the lowest available price
• No data caps for any fiber plans
• Valuable perks and promotional offers
• Much slower DSL plans are more prevalent than fiber options
• Data caps enforced on all non-fiber plans
• no contract
• no equipment fees

Google Fiber: 2 Gig

Best 2-gigabit internet plan.

Our take - This is your best, most affordable option to enter the multi-gig-verse. Google Fiber's 2 Gig plan features a 2Gbps download and 1Gbps upload speed for $100 monthly. That works out to just 5 cents per Mbps and is cheaper than any other provider's 2Gbps offering. (Note: Ziply Fiber's 2-gig plan starts cheaper, at $80 per month, but jumps to $120 monthly after the first year.)

• Speeds start at 1Gbps
• No equipment fees, data caps or contracts
• Continuing fiber expansion
• No cheap plan options Fiber network still has room to grow

There's no additional cost for the provided Wi-Fi 6 equipment, and you get unlimited data with no contracts required. 

The only downside is that Google Fiber is still only available in approximately 24 markets nationwide. The company aims to continue expansion in 2024, but that's of little consequence to those outside its serviceability windows in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Washington.

Other 2-gigabit internet and multi-gig plans to consider

While the three options we listed above rose to the top of our list, they aren't available in all markets. Additional speedy plans, offered by other ISPs, might get your attention, but they have one or two caveats that kept them from our winner's circle.

• AT&T Fiber 5 Gig : AT&T once had the top spot in this list with its top-tier fiber internet offering. It was introduced at $180 a month for symmetrical 5Gbps speeds. Now, it lists for $225 monthly. That's still a staggeringly low cost of 5 cents per Mbps. But currently, that can be beaten by Frontier Fiber and Ziply Fiber. 
• Frontier Fiber 2 Gig and 5 Gig : Impressively, Frontier has rolled these plans out to all fiber households within its footprint, which means 4 million customers across 15 states. While AT&T's multi-gigabit plans are available to more people (5 million), it's not yet available in all AT&T markets. Frontier's offerings also feature free Wi-Fi 6E equipment rental, unlimited data, no contracts, no activation fee and free multi-device security. Even better? Frontier recently lowered the introductory rates to $100 monthly for 2 Gig and $155 monthly for the 5 Gig plan.
• Optimum 2 Gig Fiber and 5 Gig Fiber : Optimum , whose footprint includes both cable and fiber connections, has been working to vastly expand its fiber offerings. In select fiber markets, two multi-gig internet plans are available in Connecticut, Long Island, New Jersey and New York. The 2Gbps plan is $120 monthly, and the 5Gbps tier is $180 monthly. New customers for either multi-gigabit plan get free installation and all equipment included. New 2 Gig customers also receive a $500 Visa gift card.
• Verizon Fios 2 Gig : Verizon Fios is often near the top regarding customer satisfaction numbers . Its 2Gbps tier is competitively priced at $120 per month and includes a Whole-Home Wi-Fi system for free, a four-year price guarantee, a season subscription to NFL Sunday Ticket and six months of Disney Plus  for free. However, it didn't make the top of our list for the best multi-gig internet because it's currently only available in New York City and surrounding areas.
• Xfinity Gigabit Pro : To its credit, Xfinity has been offering its multi-gigabit tier longer than other national providers. At $300 a month, it's also the most expensive. While the 10Gbps plan is technically available in all cities within Xfinity's footprint, a site survey must first confirm availability for your address. Once you add the two-year contract requirement (with early termination fees looming if you bail early), $25-a-month equipment rental charge and stiff activation and installation fees (potentially totaling $1,000), those top speeds are very cost-prohibitive.
• Ziply Fiber 2 Gig, 5 Gig and 10 Gig :  Ziply Fiber caught our attention with its 50Gbps plan but boasts several multi-gig internet plans. The 2Gbps plan has an excellent promo rate of $80 a month, as does the 5Gbps plan, which is $120 per month. The 10Gbps plan is a pricey $300 per month, but that's a notable value of 3 cents per Mbps. All Ziply Fiber plans include unlimited data and require no contracts.

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Multi-gig internet plans FAQ

How can I get multi-gig internet?

In most cases, especially if you already have fiber internet service, you won't have to do anything beyond contacting your provider to upgrade to a multi-gig internet plan. There may be an installation fee (often waived if you order online), but usually, any additional equipment you need (a modem/router capable of multi-gig speeds) will be included.

However, to take advantage of Xfinity's Gigabit Pro plan, you'll need to reach out to Xfinity and schedule a site survey. Even if you're a current Xfinity customer or know you're in an Xfinity-serviceable area, Comcast will still need to inspect to see if your home is within the minimum distance from a fiber node. If everything checks out, it may take several weeks before your household can get Gigabit Pro fully installed.

What does multi-gigabit internet cost?

Generally speaking, the best multi-gig internet plans are relatively affordable if you have a fiber internet connection. Not only does fiber typically provide the best performance, featuring symmetrical or near-equal download and upload speeds, but it also presents the cheapest options. For example, Google Fiber's 2Gbps plan, which includes all equipment costs and fees in its monthly rate, checks in at 5 cents per Mbps and AT&T's 5Gbps tier rings in at 4 cents per Mbps. Ziply Fiber's 10Gbps plan, which rings in at $300 per month, is 3 cents per Mbps, and its 5Gbps tier is just over 2 cents per Mbps, the highest value we've seen. None of those requires a contract.

Conversely, Xfinity's Gigabit Pro is one of the priciest broadband packages. It costs $300 per month, and you can get it only if you sign up for a two-year contract. The cost per Mbps, at 5 cents, is good, but  there's a $25-a-month rental charge for equipment. There's also a pretty hefty additional expenditure right out of the gate: Households face an activation fee of up to $500 and an additional installation fee of another $500. That's $1,000 before you even get to the regular monthly charges.

Is it worth getting a multi-gig internet plan?

Perhaps. Even if you go with the most expensive plan out there, the monthly cost per Mbps of multi-gigabit internet is quite competitive. Plus, these plans' near-symmetrical upload and download speeds certainly set up your household with plenty of opportunities to utilize many connected devices, now and in the future.

However, most households right now don't need all that speed. If you go one step down and opt for a provider's gigabit plan, for example, you can get plenty of speed for anywhere between 5-10 cents per Mbps and often, your modem/router equipment fee is included too. It may not be as flashy as having the best multi-gig internet and the fastest residential plan currently available, but it'll get you some splashy speeds at a more affordable price. 

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