business plan business location example

How to Present Your Business’ Location & Facility

• March 21, 2024
• Business Plan , How to Write

When drafting a business plan, detailing your business’s location and facility is not merely about stating an address or describing a building. Instead it’s about showcasing how your choice of location and the specifics of your facility are important to your business’s success.

This section of your business plan goes beyond mere logistics. Indeed it communicates to potential investors, partners, and lenders the thought process behind selecting a location that enhances market visibility, customer access, and operations efficiency.

In this guide, we’ll guide you through the importance of these elements and how to incorporate them in your business plan. Let’s dive in!

Why Do We Include it in a Business Plan?

In a business plan, the section on a business’s location and facility is crucial for providing readers with essential context about where and how the company operates.

This information typically resides in the business overview section. It should includes details on location and facilities helps stakeholders understand the strategic choices behind site selection. Especially it should be clear as how these decisions support the business’s operations, market presence (visibility), and growth potential.

It conveys to investors, lenders, and partners the thoughtfulness behind location selection (highlighting access to markets, resources, and talent – see more on that below) while the description of the facility underscores the business’s capacity for production, service delivery, and scalability.

Why Location is Important

The choice of location and facility is more than just a logistical decision; it is a strategic one that can significantly influence the overall success and growth trajectory of a business.

Indeed, a prime location enhances visibility, ensuring your business is easily accessible and noticeable to your target market . This visibility is crucial for attracting foot traffic in retail, but it’s equally important for businesses in the service sector to be within reach of their client base.

Furthermore, being situated in a vibrant, thriving area can boost brand recognition and help in crafting a strong, positive public perception.

Simplify operations

Operational efficiency is yet another factor directly impacted by the choice of location. The right location minimizes logistical hurdles and can significantly reduce costs and time associated with transportation and distribution.

For businesses that rely heavily on shipping or receiving goods, being near major highways, ports, or logistics hubs can streamline operations and improve supply chain efficiency.

Access to talent

Access to talent is another critical consideration that depends heavily on location. Operating in or near urban centers or regions known for specific industries can make it easier to attract and retain skilled employees.

For example, proximity to universities, technical schools, and other educational institutions can also be beneficial, providing a steady pipeline of qualified graduates eager to join the workforce. This access to a diverse talent pool can drive innovation, enhance service delivery, and ultimately contribute to the competitive edge of a business.

Why Facility is Important

It’s very important to give details on the business’ facility especially if it is a customer-facing or a manufacturing / supply-side operations business.

For customer-facing businesses (clinics, hotels, restaurants gyms, retail stores, real estate agencies, etc.), the facility’s design, ambiance, and accessibility play a significant role in attracting and retaining customers.

For manufacturing or supply-side operations (brewery, equipment rental, courier, storage, etc.), a facility with the right technical specifications and equipment ensures quality and efficiency in production and supply chain.

Important factors to include here:

• Size and Scalability: Guide readers on choosing a facility size that not only meets current needs but also allows for future growth.
• Layout Efficiency: Discuss how the layout affects operational efficiency, employee productivity, and customer satisfaction.
• Technology and Infrastructure: Highlight the necessity of technological infrastructure and other facilities for business operations.
• Safety and Compliance: Remind readers of the importance of safety standards and compliance with regulations in facility selection.

How to Present Location and Facility in Your Business Plan

Here are 5 simple steps to present location and facility in your business plan:

• Describe the Location: Provide detailed information about the business location, including the address, the geographical area, and why this location is strategic.
• Outline the Facilities: Describe the physical premises of the business. Include details about the size, layout, capacity, and any unique features of the facility.
• Justify the Choices: Explain why the chosen location and facility are optimal for the business objectives. Include data or research that supports these choices.
• Visual Elements: Encourage the use of photographs, maps, and floor plans to give readers a visual understanding of the location and facility.
• Future Plans: Discuss any future plans for expansion or relocation, if applicable, and how this fits into the business’s growth strategy.

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Business Location Analysis Example – Site Selection in Business Plan

Proper site selection for your business influences whether you succeed or fail in making money. Your business location analysis should take into account demographics, psychographics, census and other data. Whether you’re trying to decide where to open a new store or where to locate a second office, follow this business plan location analysis example to maximize your chances of success in site selection.

Table of Contents

Location Analysis Definition

Location analysis definition : using data to figure out where to locate your business.

Determining where to put your store, office or even online presence requires careful thought. If you get this wrong, you could be trapped with a commercial lease that costs you a lot of money but doesn’t result in getting new customers.

Business Plan Location Analysis

There is a saying that the three most important considerations in business are location, location, location. If you’re starting a new business that operates primarily offline, location is critical. You want to be near your customers.

But is it critical for online businesses, too? Yes, in a different way. Online location is akin to having the right domain name, online advertising, and search engine optimization so that prospects can find your business.

In two slightly different ways, location is still an important part of doing business. A business plan has two purposes and will serve one or both: 1) raise additional capital and 2) outline in detail how you can succeed in your business (like a user’s manual).

Essentially, you want to answer two questions:

• How can I succeed here?

You will need to answer both of these questions for your site selection analysis.

Site Selection

Answering “why here,” for a brick and mortar location, will address the physical address (or addresses) where your business will take place.

For an online business, “why here” will address your website’s domain, web hosting service, and presence in search results.

Some of this material may overlap with your marketing plan (download a free sample marketing plan ).

Provide data for each of these elements in your business location analysis:

• The elements that attracted you to this location.
• The process you went through to identify this location as the location of choice; in other words, how you narrowed it down from the entire city to the specific location, or from the vast range of URLs to the specific URL you will use.
• Demographic analysis of the people in the area. Be sure to focus in on the make-up of your target market. If you market to women ages 18- 35, talk about what the overall demographic makeup is in your area and (in greater detail) the demographics of the areas women ages 18 – 35.
• Traffic patterns (for example: Time of day – are there rush hours when you’ll be busier?)
• Refer to your marketing plan section where you might talk about how your signage will receive greater exposure at certain times or how your advertising appropriately targets your market.
• Access to future employees: are there enough people qualified to work for your business in the area?
• Competition in the area.

Location Analysis Example

Food chain Whole Foods , now owned by Amazon, picks their locations based on many factors, not just population density in a neighborhood. They found that one of the key drivers that determines whether patrons will shop at their grocery stores is their level of education. As a result, their site selection process looks at locations with a higher per capita level of college degrees.

Costco takes into account population trends to ensure that the neighborhoods in which they locate their stores can sustain sales of their bulk-packaged products.

Walmart uses advertisements to see how far people will go to buy products at their stores. They track usage of mobile advertisements and create a geofence boundary to identify who goes where to buy what. This analysis helps them with their site selection for new stores.

Business Location Analysis

Next, analyze the data you gathered above. This is an important step because it shows the considerations and thought process you put into your business location analysis. Many location analysis examples overlook this part.

Including only the data reduces your chances of success. Add these elements to put perspective on your reasoning:

• Challenges you will overcome. For example, is it difficult to make a left turn across traffic to get to your store? Do people have to “feed the meter”? Those could substantially reduce your target market.
• What your competitors are doing and what you will do differently. You probably already did quite a bit of this in the marketing plan section of your business plan, but this has a slightly different focus and you may want to reference some of those ideas.
• Outline best case scenario and contingency plans, referencing your marketing plan against your demographics.
• Highlight the strategies you can use to access the area’s workforce as your business grows. A good indicator is the presence of companies like yours, which provides an opportunity for you to recruit qualified employees.
• Find competitors in the same area, or in an area of similar demographics, and identify what they’re doing to be successful.

Avoid picking a new location just because it has cheap rent. Signing such a business lease could spell disaster for your business because you may not have access to the clientele and workforce you need to succeed. Paying a little more for for the right address can boost your profits in a big way.

Do the research and think through the implications of your data to dramatically improve your chances of success at your new location.

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Business Location Analysis: The Key to Strategic Decision Making

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Table Of Content

Location, location, location! It's a mantra we've all heard before, but how many of us truly understand its significance in the business world? This isn't just about picking any spot on the map. It's about making strategic choices that propel your business towards remarkable growth and success. Let's delve into the crucial factors to consider during business location analysis.

What is business location analysis?

Business location analysis is the process of studying and evaluating potential physical locations for business operations. It's the cornerstone of strategic planning, with a powerful influence on a company's performance, profitability, and overall success. The significance of choosing the right location cannot be overstated—it provides easy access to customers, employees, and suppliers, and can greatly enhance your brand's visibility.

Choosing the right business location is a crucial step in your company's journey. It's more than just a place—it's the setting for your story and the stage for your success.

Why do businesses use location analysis?

Location analysis pops up as a champion in the realm of business operations, offering a strategic edge to businesses across the globe. It's more than just pinning a spot on the map – it's about designing a roadmap to successful business outcomes. It's the silent hero behind boosting your business' competitive edge, accessibility, and brand visibility.

1. Competitive Edge: Become the Market Leader

Location analysis aids in identifying the best locales to set foot in, where competition is minimal and opportunities are abundant. This is where the magic of strategic positioning comes into play.

By understanding the competition landscape, businesses can strategically place themselves in a position that sets them apart, helping them get ahead in the race.

2. Customer Accessibility: Be Where Your Customers Are

Location analysis also plays a vital role in making businesses more accessible to customers. It’s not about being in the most popular spot, but being in the right spot where customers can easily find and reach you.

• Convenience: A location that's easy for customers to reach can significantly boost your business.
• Visibility: Being in a spot where you’re easily seen can naturally attract more customers.

3. Brand Visibility: Shine Above the Rest

Brand visibility is about more than just being seen – it’s about being remembered. Location analysis helps position your business in an area that not only garners high foot traffic, but also aligns with your brand identity.

Whether it's a bustling city center or a serene suburb, the right location can amplify your brand’s presence, ensuring you're not just seen, but also remembered.

4. Optimizing Operational Efficiency

Location analysis optimizes business efficiency. A strategic location enhances logistics, influencing factors such as supply chain efficiency , distribution convenience, delivery speed, and employee commute. The right location streamlines operations, saving time and resources.

Beyond operations, an ideal location grants access to crucial business services like banking, legal, and marketing consultancy. It facilitates not just survival, but also growth.

Because when we think location, we think efficiency. And in business, efficiency isn't just a buzzword - it's a lifeline. So, are you ready to optimize?

Components of Effective Business Location Analysis:

Data Collection:

Any savvy entrepreneur knows that location is key. But how do you determine the right location for your business? It starts with data collection. You'll need to gather and analyze a variety of data types to make an informed decision. Let's break it down:

• Demographic Data: This is the first type of information you need. Who are your customers? What are their ages, income levels, and occupations? You'll want a location surrounded by your target demographic.
• Traffic Data: How many people walk or drive by the potential location each day? More foot traffic could lead to more customers. But remember, that traffic needs to align with your target demographic.
• Competition Data: What other businesses are in the area? Other businesses could be complementary, boosting your sales. Or they could be competitors, potentially taking away customers.

Remember, data should guide your decision, but it shouldn't make it. Use the data to inform your choices and align them with your business goals.

It's a tricky balance, but armed with the right data, you can make a choice that sets your business up for success.

2. Spatial Analysis & Visualization:

Gas Station Density in Saudi Arabia's Key Regions

When it comes to running a successful business, location is key. That's where Spatial Analysis and Visualization come into play, taking us on a deep dive into the world of Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

GIS serves as a powerful tool in the analysis and interpretation of geographic relationships, patterns, and trends. It integrates hardware, software, and data to capture, store, analyze, and interpret all forms of geographically referenced information. Essentially, it allows us to view and understand data in ways that reveal relationships, patterns, and trends in the form of maps, globes, reports, and charts.

"A Geographic Information System (GIS) helps businesses to visualize, question, analyze, and interpret data to understand relationships, patterns, and trends."

• Mapping: GIS converts complex data into a visual format, simplifying the process of decision making. It can display demographic data, consumer behavior, and competitor locations in an easy-to-understand map.
• Analysis: GIS analyzes the data to identify patterns and trends. It provides insights into the best locations for business expansion or the areas that are most profitable.

Incorporating GIS into your business location analysis allows you to make informed decisions based on concrete data. It's like turning on a light in a dark room, illuminating opportunities and potential challenges that were previously hidden.

Benefits of Using GISExamplesEnhanced Decision MakingChoosing the best location for a new store or officeImproved CommunicationVisualizing potential business growth areas for stakeholdersIncreased EfficiencyRouting deliveries to reduce fuel consumption and save time

As we dive deeper into the realm of location analysis, it's crucial to recognize the role of Geographic Information System (GIS). In today's tech-savvy world, GIS tools are transforming the way businesses analyze their location choices. These powerful tools offer a range of benefits, all contributing to a more informed and smart decision making.

3. Predictive Analytics:

Imagine having a crystal ball that foretells how your business would fare in different locations before you even set foot there. That's precisely what predictive analytics offers! This remarkable blend of technology and statistical methods can help you anticipate potential performance in various locations based on historical data, customer behavior, market trends, and more.

How does it work?

• Predictive models gather data: First, these tools collect a wealth of valuable data from various sources, such as customer databases, demographic information, and market research.
• They analyze the data: Next, they use advanced algorithms to analyze this data, identifying patterns and trends that could impact business performance.
• They forecast future outcomes: Based on these patterns, the models can then make predictions about how a business might perform in different locations.

Businesses can use these forecasts to guide their location-based decisions, helping them choose spots with the highest potential for success. But remember, while predictive analytics can be an incredibly valuable tool, it's not infallible. It's always important to consider other factors, such as your business goals, target audience , and competition, to make the most informed decision possible.

Ultimately, predictive analytics is like a compass guiding your business through the complex landscape of location-based decision-making. It helps you avoid the pitfalls of choosing a location based on gut feelings alone and increases your chances of setting up shop in the most favorable locations.

Real-world Applications and Success Stories:

Let's look at some real-world applications and success stories that exemplify the power of strategic business location analysis.

Case Study 1: Starbucks

Starbucks, a global coffee juggernaut, is renowned for its strategic location choices. The company uses a sophisticated location analysis system, incorporating data like traffic flow, area demographics, and nearby businesses. This strategy has been key in their worldwide growth and success. source

Case Study 2: Walmart

Walmart, a multinational retail corporation, stands as a testament to the effectiveness of location analysis. The company focuses on establishing its stores in small towns, where competition is minimal. This strategy, combined with its vast product range and competitive pricing, has led to Walmart's dominance in the retail market. source

Case Study 3: McDonald's

McDonald's, a global fast-food chain, attributes much of its success to location analysis. The company strategically places its restaurants near highway exits, busy city centers, and suburbs. This approach, paired with their quick service and popular menu, has solidified McDonald's status as a fast-food leader. source

In conclusion, these case studies highlight the immense power of location analysis in business strategy. It demonstrates how, with careful consideration and smart decision-making, businesses can leverage location to maximize brand visibility, profitability, and growth.

Challenges in Business Location Analysis:

Choosing a business location is akin to playing a high-stakes game of chess. One wrong move can spell disaster for your venture. Yet, while choosing the right location can be daunting, understanding common pitfalls can ease the process.

• Common Pitfalls and Misconceptions: Many entrepreneurs fall prey to the misconception that a cheap location means higher profits. It's crucial to understand that a location's value is not solely determined by its cost, but also by its accessibility, demographic alignment, and potential for growth. Weigh these factors before making a decision.
• Overcoming Data Inaccuracies: Quality data is the bedrock of informed decision-making. Ensure the data you base your choice on is accurate, up-to-date, and relevant. Misinterpreted or outdated data can lead to costly mistakes.
• The Evolving Nature of Neighborhoods and Local Markets: Neighborhoods and markets are fluid, continually changing and evolving. A location that seems perfect today might not be the same in a few years. Always consider long-term projections and future growth trends in your analysis.

Remember: You're not just choosing a location, you're choosing a future. Make sure it's one where your business can thrive.

How xMap Can Empower Your Location Analysis?

Unlock the potential of your business with xMap , a cutting-edge platform that transforms location analysis. With a plethora of features at your disposal, xMap empowers you to make strategic, data-backed decisions about your business location. Here's how:

• Data Visualization:

xMap's intuitive interface presents data in a visually appealing and easy-to-understand format. This enables businesses to analyze complex data sets effectively and make informed location decisions.

• Comprehensive Database:

database of all the restaurants in dubai with their key information

With xMap, gain access to a vast database of demographic, geographic, and economic data that can be crucial in selecting the perfect location for your business.

• Advanced Analytics:

Use the power of xMap's advanced analytics to uncover hidden patterns, trends, and insights that can significantly impact your location strategy.

With xMap, the power to choose the right location for your business is literally at your fingertips. The platform's unique combination of data richness and user-friendly design makes it an invaluable tool for businesses of all sizes.

Now, let's talk benefits. The advantages of incorporating xMap into your business strategy are manifold:

• Increased Profitability: By providing you with actionable insights based on data, xMap aids in selecting locations that promise maximum profitability.
• Improved Decision Making: xMap's data visualization and advanced analytics facilitate better, quicker decision-making, saving valuable time and resources.
• Competitive Edge: With access to comprehensive data and analytics, you can stay ahead of the competition and identify untapped market opportunities.

Ready to take your business to new heights? Don't wait any longer to harness the power of location analytics with xMap. Whether you're a small startup or a well-established corporation, xMap has got you covered. Explore xMap today or get in touch for a personalized demo.

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"We focus on delivering quality data tailored to businesses needs in the middle east. Whether you are a restaurant, a hotel, or even a gym, you can empower your operations' decisions with geo-data.”

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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.

How to Write a Business Plan (Plus Examples & Templates)

Have you ever wondered how to write a business plan step by step? Mike Andes, told us: 

This guide will help you write a business plan to impress investors.

Throughout this process, we’ll get information from Mike Andes, who started Augusta Lawn Care Services when he was 12 and turned it into a franchise with over 90 locations. He has gone on to help others learn how to write business plans and start businesses.  He knows a thing or two about writing  business plans!

We’ll start by discussing the definition of a business plan. Then we’ll discuss how to come up with the idea, how to do the market research, and then the important elements in the business plan format. Keep reading to start your journey!

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is simply a road map of what you are trying to achieve with your business and how you will go about achieving it. It should cover all elements of your business including: 

• Finding customers
• Plans for developing a team
•  Competition
• Legal structures
• Key milestones you are pursuing

If you aren’t quite ready to create a business plan, consider starting by reading our business startup guide .

Get a Business Idea

Before you can write a business plan, you have to have a business idea. You may see a problem that needs to be solved and have an idea how to solve it, or you might start by evaluating your interests and skills. 

Mike told us, “The three things I suggest asking yourself when thinking about starting a business are:

• What am I good at?
• What would I enjoy doing?
• What can I get paid for?”

If all three of these questions don’t lead to at least one common answer, it will probably be a much harder road to success. Either there is not much market for it, you won’t be good at it, or you won’t enjoy doing it. 

As Mike told us, “There’s enough stress starting and running a business that if you don’t like it or aren’t good at it, it’s hard to succeed.”

If you’d like to hear more about Mike’s approach to starting a business, check out our YouTube video

Conduct Market Analysis

Market analysis is focused on establishing if there is a target market for your products and services, how large the target market is, and identifying the demographics of people or businesses that would be interested in the product or service. The goal here is to establish how much money your business concept can make.

Product and Service Demand

A search engine is your best friend when trying to figure out if there is demand for your products and services. Personally, I love using presearch.org because it lets you directly search on a ton of different platforms including Google, Youtube, Twitter, and more. Check out the screenshot for the full list of search options.

With quick web searches, you can find out how many competitors you have, look through their reviews, and see if there are common complaints about the competitors. Bad reviews are a great place to find opportunities to offer better products or services. 

If there are no similar products or services, you may have stumbled upon something new, or there may just be no demand for it. To find out, go talk to your most honest friend about the idea and see what they think. If they tell you it’s dumb or stare at you vacantly, there’s probably no market for it.

You can also conduct a survey through social media to get public opinion on your idea. Using Facebook Business Manager , you could get a feel for who would be interested in your product or service.

 I ran a quick test of how many people between 18-65  you could reach in the U.S. during a week. It returned an estimated 700-2,000 for the total number of leads, which is enough to do a fairly accurate statistical analysis.

Identify Demographics of Target Market

Depending on what type of business you want to run, your target market will be different. The narrower the demographic, the fewer potential customers you’ll have. If you did a survey, you’ll be able to use that data to help define your target audience. Some considerations you’ll want to consider are:

• Other Interests
• Marital Status
• Do they have kids?

Once you have this information, it can help you narrow down your options for location and help define your marketing further. One resource that Mike recommended using is the Census Bureau’s Quick Facts Map . He told us,  

“It helps you quickly evaluate what the best areas are for your business to be located.”

How to Write a Business Plan

Now that you’ve developed your idea a little and established there is a market for it, you can begin writing a business plan. Getting started is easier with the business plan template we created for you to download. I strongly recommend using it as it is updated to make it easier to create an action plan. 

Each of the following should be a section of your business plan:

• Business Plan Cover Page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Description of Products and Services

SWOT Analysis

• Competitor Data
• Competitive Analysis
• Marketing Expenses Strategy 

Pricing Strategy

• Distribution Channel Assessment
• Operational Plan
• Management and Organizational Strategy
• Financial Statements and/or Financial Projections

We’ll look into each of these. Don’t forget to download our free business plan template (mentioned just above) so you can follow along as we go. 

How to Write a Business Plan Step 1. Create a Cover Page

The first thing investors will see is the cover page for your business plan. Make sure it looks professional. A great cover page shows that you think about first impressions.

A good business plan should have the following elements on a cover page:

• Professionally designed logo
• Company name
• Mission or Vision Statement
• Contact Info

Basically, think of a cover page for your business plan like a giant business card. It is meant to capture people’s attention but be quickly processed.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 2. Create a Table of Contents

Most people are busy enough that they don’t have a lot of time. Providing a table of contents makes it easy for them to find the pages of your plan that are meaningful to them.

A table of contents will be immediately after the cover page, but you can include it after the executive summary. Including the table of contents immediately after the executive summary will help investors know what section of your business plan they want to review more thoroughly.

Check out Canva’s article about creating a  table of contents . It has a ton of great information about creating easy access to each section of your business plan. Just remember that you’ll want to use different strategies for digital and hard copy business plans.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 3. Write an Executive Summary

An executive summary is where your business plan should catch the readers interest.  It doesn’t need to be long, but should be quick and easy to read.

Mike told us,

How long should an executive summary bein an informal business plan?

For casual use, an executive summary should be similar to an elevator pitch, no more than 150-160 words, just enough to get them interested and wanting more. Indeed has a great article on elevator pitches .  This can also be used for the content of emails to get readers’ attention.

It consists of three basic parts:

• An introduction to you and your business.
• What your business is about.
• A call to action

Example of an informal executive summary 

One of the best elevator pitches I’ve used is:

So far that pitch has achieved a 100% success rate in getting partnerships for the business.

What should I include in an executive summary for investors?

Investors are going to need a more detailed executive summary if you want to secure financing or sell equity. The executive summary should be a brief overview of your entire business plan and include:

• Introduction of yourself and company.
• An origin story (Recognition of a problem and how you came to solution)
• An introduction to your products or services.
• Your unique value proposition. Make sure to include intellectual property.
• Where you are in the business life cycle
• Request and why you need it.

Successful business plan examples

The owner of Urbanity told us he spent 2 months writing a 75-page business plan and received a $250,000 loan from the bank when he was 23. Make your business plan as detailed as possible when looking for financing. We’ve provided a template to help you prepare the portions of a business plan that banks expect.

Here’s the interview with the owner of Urbanity:

When to write an executive summary?

Even though the summary is near the beginning of a business plan, you should write it after you complete the rest of a business plan. You can’t talk about revenue, profits, and expected expenditures if you haven’t done the market research and created a financial plan.

What mistakes do people make when writing an executive summary?

Business owners commonly go into too much detail about the following items in an executive summary:

• Marketing and sales processes
• Financial statements
• Organizational structure
• Market analysis

These are things that people will want to know later, but they don’t hook the reader. They won’t spark interest in your small business, but they’ll close the deal.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 4. Company Description

Every business plan should include a company description. A great business plan will include the following elements while describing the company:

• Mission statement
• Philosophy and vision
• Company goals

Target market

• Legal structure

Let’s take a look at what each section includes in a good business plan.

Mission Statement

A mission statement is a brief explanation of why you started the company and what the company’s main focus is. It should be no more than one or two sentences. Check out HubSpot’s article 27 Inspiring Mission Statement for a great read on informative and inspiring mission and vision statements. 

Company Philosophy and Vision

The company philosophy is what drives your company. You’ll normally hear them called core values.  These are the building blocks that make your company different. You want to communicate your values to customers, business owners, and investors as often as possible to build a company culture, but make sure to back them up.

What makes your company different?

Each company is different. Your new business should rise above the standard company lines of honesty, integrity, fun, innovation, and community when communicating your business values. The standard answers are corporate jargon and lack authenticity. 

Examples of core values

One of my clients decided to add a core values page to their website. As a tech company they emphasized the values:

•  Prioritize communication.
•  Never stop learning.
•  Be transparent.
•  Start small and grow incrementally.

These values communicate how the owner and the rest of the company operate. They also show a value proposition and competitive advantage because they specifically focus on delivering business value from the start. These values also genuinely show what the company is about and customers recognize the sincerity. Indeed has a great blog about how to identify your core values .

What is a vision statement?

A vision statement communicate the long lasting change a business pursues. The vision helps investors and customers understand what your company is trying to accomplish. The vision statement goes beyond a mission statement to provide something meaningful to the community, customer’s lives, or even the world.

Example vision statements

The Alzheimer’s Association is a great example of a vision statement:

A world without Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia.

It clearly tells how they want to change the world. A world without Alzheimers might be unachievable, but that means they always have room for improvement.

Business Goals

You have to measure success against goals for a business plan to be meaningful. A business plan helps guide a company similar to how your GPS provides a road map to your favorite travel destination. A goal to make as much money as possible is not inspirational and sounds greedy.

Sure, business owners want to increase their profits and improve customer service, but they need to present an overview of what they consider success. The goals should help everyone prioritize their work.

How far in advance should a business plan?

Business planning should be done at least one year in advance, but many banks and investors prefer three to five year business plans. Longer plans show investors that the management team  understands the market and knows the business is operating in a constantly shifting market. In addition, a plan helps businesses to adjust to changes because they have already considered how to handle them.

Example of great business goals

My all time-favorite long-term company goals are included in Tesla’s Master Plan, Part Deux . These goals were written in 2016 and drive the company’s decisions through 2026. They are the reason that investors are so forgiving when Elon Musk continually fails to meet his quarterly and annual goals.

If the progress aligns with the business plan investors are likely to continue to believe in the company. Just make sure the goals are reasonable or you’ll be discredited (unless you’re Elon Musk).

You did target market research before creating a business plan. Now it’s time to add it to the plan so others understand what your ideal customer looks like. As a new business owner, you may not be considered an expert in your field yet, so document everything. Make sure the references you use are from respectable sources. 

Use information from the specific lender when you are applying for lending. Most lenders provide industry research reports and using their data can strengthen the position of your business plan.

A small business plan should include a section on the external environment. Understanding the industry is crucial because we don’t plan a business in a vacuum. Make sure to research the industry trends, competitors, and forecasts. I personally prefer IBIS World for my business research. Make sure to answer questions like:

• What is the industry outlook long-term and short-term?
• How will your business take advantage of projected industry changes and trends?
• What might happen to your competitors and how will your business successfully compete?

Industry resources

Some helpful resources to help you establish more about your industry are:

• Trade Associations
• Federal Reserve
• Bureau of Labor Statistics

Legal Structure

There are five basic types of legal structures that most people will utilize:

• Sole proprietorships
• Limited Liability Companies (LLC)

Partnerships

Corporations.

• Franchises.

Each business structure has their pros and cons. An LLC is the most common legal structure due to its protection of personal assets and ease of setting up. Make sure to specify how ownership is divided and what roles each owner plays when you have more than one business owner.

You’ll have to decide which structure is best for you, but we’ve gathered information on each to make it easier.

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is the easiest legal structure to set up but doesn’t protect the owner’s personal assets from legal issues. That means if something goes wrong, you could lose both your company and your home.

To start a sole proprietorship, fill out a special tax form called a  Schedule C . Sole proprietors can also join the American Independent Business Alliance .

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

An LLC is the most common business structure used in the United States because an LLC protects the owner’s personal assets. It’s similar to partnerships and corporations, but can be a single-member LLC in most states. An LLC requires a document called an operating agreement.

Each state has different requirements. Here’s a link to find your state’s requirements . Delaware and Nevada are common states to file an LLC because they are really business-friendly. Here’s a blog on the top 10 states to get an LLC.

Partnerships are typically for legal firms. If you choose to use a partnership choose a Limited Liability Partnership. Alternatively, you can just use an LLC.

Corporations are typically for massive organizations. Corporations have taxes on both corporate and income tax so unless you plan on selling stock, you are better off considering an LLC with S-Corp status . Investopedia has good information corporations here .

There are several opportunities to purchase successful franchises. TopFranchise.com has a list of companies in a variety of industries that offer franchise opportunities. This makes it where an entrepreneur can benefit from the reputation of an established business that has already worked out many of the kinks of starting from scratch.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 5. Products and Services

This section of the business plan should focus on what you sell, how you source it, and how you sell it. You should include:

• Unique features that differentiate your business products from competitors
• Intellectual property
• Your supply chain
• Cost and pricing structure 

Questions to answer about your products and services

Mike gave us a list  of the most important questions to answer about your product and services:

• How will you be selling the product? (in person, ecommerce, wholesale, direct to consumer)?
• How do you let them know they need a product?
• How do you communicate the message?
• How will you do transactions?
• How much will you be selling it for?
• How many do you think you’ll sell and why?

Make sure to use the worksheet on our business plan template .

How to Write a Business Plan Step 6. Sales and Marketing Plan

The marketing and sales plan is focused on the strategy to bring awareness to your company and guides how you will get the product to the consumer.  It should contain the following sections:

SWOT Analysis stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Not only do you want to identify them, but you also want to document how the business plans to deal with them.

Business owners need to do a thorough job documenting how their service or product stacks up against the competition.

If proper research isn’t done, investors will be able to tell that the owner hasn’t researched the competition and is less likely to believe that the team can protect its service from threats by the more well-established competition. This is one of the most common parts of a presentation that trips up business owners presenting on Shark Tank .

SWOT Examples

Examples of strengths and weaknesses could be things like the lack of cash flow, intellectual property ownership, high costs of suppliers, and customers’ expectations on shipping times.

Opportunities could be ways to capitalize on your strengths or improve your weaknesses, but may also be gaps in the industry. This includes:

• Adding offerings that fit with your current small business
• Increase sales to current customers
• Reducing costs through bulk ordering
• Finding ways to reduce inventory
•  And other areas you can improve

Threats will normally come from outside of the company but could also be things like losing a key member of the team. Threats normally come from competition, regulations, taxes, and unforeseen events.

The management team should use the SWOT analysis to guide other areas of business planning, but it absolutely has to be done before a business owner starts marketing. 

Include Competitor Data in Your Business Plan

When you plan a business, taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the competition is key to navigating the field. Providing an overview of your competition and where they are headed shows that you are invested in understanding the industry.

For smaller businesses, you’ll want to search both the company and the owners names to see what they are working on. For publicly held corporations, you can find their quarterly and annual reports on the SEC website .

What another business plans to do can impact your business. Make sure to include things that might make it attractive for bigger companies to outsource to a small business.

Marketing Strategy

The marketing and sales part of business plans should be focused on how you are going to make potential customers aware of your business and then sell to them.

If you haven’t already included it, Mike recommends:

“They’ll want to know about Demographics, ages, and wealth of your target market.”

Make sure to include the Total addressable market .  The term refers to the value if you captured 100% of the market.

Advertising Strategy

You’ll explain what formats of advertising you’ll be using. Some possibilities are:

• Online: Facebook and Google are the big names to work with here.
• Print : Print can be used to reach broad groups or targeted markets. Check out this for tips .
• Radio : iHeartMedia is one of the best ways to advertise on the radio
• Cable television : High priced, hard to measure ROI, but here’s an explanation of the process
• Billboards: Attracting customers with billboards can be beneficial in high traffic areas.

You’ll want to define how you’ll be using each including frequency, duration, and cost. If you have the materials already created, including pictures or links to the marketing to show creative assets.

Mike told us “Most businesses are marketing digitally now due to Covid, but that’s not always the right answer.”

Make sure the marketing strategy will help team members or external marketing agencies stay within the brand guidelines .

This section of a business plan should be focused on pricing. There are a ton of pricing strategies that may work for different business plans. Which one will work for you depends on what kind of a business you run.

Some common pricing strategies are:

• Value-based pricing – Commonly used with home buying and selling or other products that are status symbols.
• Skimming pricing – Commonly seen in video game consoles, price starts off high to recoup expenses quickly, then reduces over time.
• Competition-based pricing – Pricing based on competitors’ pricing is commonly seen at gas stations.
• Freemium services –  Commonly used for software, where there is a free plan, then purchase options for more functionality.

HubSpot has a great calculator and blog on pricing strategies.

Beyond explaining what strategy your business plans to use, you should include references for how you came to this pricing strategy and how it will impact your cash flow.

Distribution Plan

This part of a business plan is focused on how the product or service is going to go through the supply chain. These may include multiple divisions or multiple companies. Make sure to include any parts of the workflow that are automated so investors can see where cost savings are expected and when.

Supply Chain Examples

For instance, lawn care companies  would need to cover aspects such as:

• Suppliers for lawn care equipment and tools
• Any chemicals or treatments needed
• Repair parts for sprinkler systems
• Vehicles to transport equipment and employees
• Insurance to protect the company vehicles and people.

Examples of Supply Chains

These are fairly flat supply chains compared to something like a clothing designer where the clothes would go through multiple vendors. A clothing company might have the following supply chain:

• Raw materials
• Shipping of raw materials
• Converting of raw materials to thread
• Shipping thread to produce garments
• Garment producer
• Shipping to company
• Company storage
• Shipping to retail stores

There have been advances such as print on demand that eliminate many of these steps. If you are designing completely custom clothing, all of this would need to be planned to keep from having business disruptions.

The main thing to include in the business plan is the list of suppliers, the path the supply chain follows, the time from order to the customer’s home, and the costs associated with each step of the process.

According to BizPlanReview , a business plan without this information is likely to get rejected because they have failed to research the key elements necessary to make sales to the customer.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 7. Company Organization and Operational Plan

This part of the business plan is focused on how the business model will function while serving customers.  The business plan should provide an overview of  how the team will manage the following aspects:

Quality Control

• Legal environment

Let’s look at each for some insight.

Production has already been discussed in previous sections so I won’t go into it much. When writing a business plan for investors, try to avoid repetition as it creates a more simple business plan.

If the organizational plan will be used by the team as an overview of how to perform the best services for the customer, then redundancy makes more sense as it communicates what is important to the business.

Quality control policies help to keep the team focused on how to verify that the company adheres to the business plan and meets or exceeds customer expectations.

Quality control can be anything from a standard that says “all labels on shirts can be no more than 1/16″ off center” to a defined checklist of steps that should be performed and filled out for every customer.

There are a variety of organizations that help define quality control including:

• International Organization for Standardization – Quality standards for energy, technology, food, production environments, and cybersecurity
• AICPA – Standard defined for accounting.
• The Joint Commission – Healthcare
• ASHRAE – HVAC best practices

You can find lists of the organizations that contribute most to the government regulation of industries on Open Secrets . Research what the leaders in your field are doing. Follow their example and implement it in your quality control plan.

For location, you should use information from the market research to establish where the location will be. Make sure to include the following in the location documentation.

• The size of your location
• The type of building (retail, industrial, commercial, etc.)
• Zoning restrictions – Urban Wire has a good map on how zoning works in each state
• Accessibility – Does it meet ADA requirements?
• Costs including rent, maintenance, utilities, insurance and any buildout or remodeling costs
• Utilities – b.e.f. has a good energy calculator .

Legal Environment

The legal requirement section is focused on defining how to meet the legal requirements for your industry. A good business plan should include all of the following:

• Any licenses and/or permits that are needed and whether you’ve obtained them
• Any trademarks, copyrights, or patents that you have or are in the process of applying for
• The insurance coverage your business requires and how much it costs
• Any environmental, health, or workplace regulations affecting your business
• Any special regulations affecting your industry
• Bonding requirements, if applicable

Your local SBA office can help you establish requirements in your area. I strongly recommend using them. They are a great resource.

Your business plan should include a plan for company organization and hiring. While you may be the only person with the company right now, down the road you’ll need more people. Make sure to consider and document the answers to the following questions:

• What is the current leadership structure and what will it look like in the future?
• What types of employees will you have? Are there any licensing or educational requirements?
• How many employees will you need?
• Will you ever hire freelancers or independent contractors?
• What is each position’s job description?
• What is the pay structure (hourly, salaried, base plus commission, etc.)?
• How do you plan to find qualified employees and contractors?

One of the most crucial parts of a business plan is the organizational chart. This simply shows the positions the company will need, who is in charge of them and the relationship of each of them. It will look similar to this:

Our small business plan template has a much more in-depth organizational chart you can edit to include when you include the organizational chart in your business plan.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 8. Financial Statements 

No business plan is complete without financial statements or financial projections. The business plan format will be different based on whether you are writing a business plan to expand a business or a startup business plan. Let’s dig deeper into each.

Provide All Financial Income from an Existing Business

An existing business should use their past financial documents including the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement to find trends to estimate the next 3-5 years.

You can create easy trendlines in excel to predict future revenue, profit and loss, cash flow, and other changes in year-over-year performance. This will show your expected performance assuming business continues as normal.

If you are seeking an investment, then the business is probably not going to continue as normal. Depending on the financial plan and the purpose of getting financing, adjustments may be needed to the following:

• Higher Revenue if expanding business
• Lower Cost of Goods Sold if purchasing inventory with bulk discounts
• Adding interest if utilizing financing (not equity deal)
• Changes in expenses
• Addition of financing information to the cash flow statement
• Changes in Earnings per Share on the balance sheet

Financial modeling is a challenging subject, but there are plenty of low-cost courses on the subject. If you need help planning your business financial documentation take some time to watch some of them.

Make it a point to document how you calculated all the changes to the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement in your business plan so that key team members or investors can verify your research.

Financial Projections For A Startup Business Plan

Unlike an existing business, a startup doesn’t have previous success to model its future performance. In this scenario, you need to focus on how to make a business plan realistic through the use of industry research and averages.

Mike gave the following advice in his interview:

Financial Forecasting Mistakes

One of the things a lot of inexperienced people use is the argument, “If I get one percent of the market, it is worth $100 million.” If you use this, investors are likely to file the document under bad business plan examples.

Let’s use custom t-shirts as an example.

Credence Research estimated in 2018 there were 11,334,800,000 custom t-shirts sold for a total of $206.12 Billion, with a 6% compound annual growth rate.

With that data,  you can calculate that the industry will grow to $270 Billion in 2023 and that the average shirt sold creates $18.18 in revenue.

Combine that with an IBIS World estimate of 11,094 custom screen printers and that means even if you become an average seller, you’ll get .009% of the market.

Here’s a table for easier viewing of that information.

The point here is to make sure your business proposal examples make sense.

You’ll need to know industry averages such as cost of customer acquisition, revenue per customer, the average cost of goods sold, and admin costs to be able to create accurate estimates.

Our simple business plan templates walk you through most of these processes. If you follow them you’ll have a good idea of how to write a business proposal.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 9. Business Plan Example of Funding Requests

What is a business plan without a plan on how to obtain funding?

The Small Business Administration has an example for a pizza restaurant that theoretically needed nearly $20k to make it through their first month.

In our video, How to Start a $500K/Year T-Shirt Business (Pt. 1 ), Sanford Booth told us he needed about $200,000 to start his franchise and broke even after 4 months.

Freshbooks estimates it takes on average 2-3 years for a business to be profitable, which means the fictitious pizza company from the SBA could need up to $330k to make it through that time and still pay their bills for their home and pizza shop.

Not every business needs that much to start, but realistically it’s a good idea to assume that you need a fairly large cushion.

Ways to get funding for a small business

There are a variety of ways to cover this. the most common are:

• Bootstrapping – Using your savings without external funding.
• Taking out debt – loans, credit cards
• Equity, Seed Funding – Ownership of a percentage of the company in exchange for current funds
• Crowdsourcing – Promising a good for funding to create the product

Keep reading for more tips on how to write a business plan.

How funding will be used

When asking for business financing make sure to include:

• How much to get started?
• What is the minimum viable product and how soon can you make money?
• How will the money be spent?

Mike emphasized two aspects that should be included in every plan, 

How to Write a Business Plan Resources

Here are some links to a business plan sample and business plan outline. 

• Sample plan

It’s also helpful to follow some of the leading influencers in the business plan writing community. Here’s a list:

• Wise Plans –  Shares a lot of information on starting businesses and is a business plan writing company.
• Optimus Business Plans –  Another business plan writing company.
• Venture Capital – A venture capital thread that can help give you ideas.

How to Write a Business Plan: What’s Next?

We hope this guide about how to write a simple business plan step by step has been helpful. We’ve covered:

• The definition of a business plan
• Coming up with a business idea
• Performing market research
• The critical components of a business plan
• An example business plan

In addition, we provided you with a simple business plan template to assist you in the process of writing your startup business plan. The startup business plan template also includes a business model template that will be the key to your success.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our business hub .

Have you written a business plan before? How did it impact your ability to achieve your goals?

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Related articles

How to Open a Coffee Shop and Grow It to 19 Locations (2024)

Whether you personally love coffee or are curious about capitalizing on the booming coffee and specialty drink market, you’re not wrong for thinking starting a coffee business could be the answer to all life’s problems.

Before opening super-successful Woods Coffee , Wes Herman was traveling all over the U.S. for work, not seeing his family as much as he'd like, and wanting to empower his kids to live better. You'll never believe how he did it.

[su_quote]We started the company as a homeschool project to teach our four kids how to start a business. We hoped they would love it so much that we could work together for a long time as we grew this new brand.[/su_quote]

The family started serving coffee in 2002 when their homeschool project got a $23,000 loan. Since then, Woods Coffee has steadily grown to 19 shops over the Northwest.

Here, Wes shares coffee business secrets like avoiding tying your funds up in real estate and buying used whenever possible. By the end of this article, you’ll know how to start the coffee shop of your dreams with any budget.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"]

We’ll cover the following (click any link to jump to the part that interests you most):

• What is a coffee shop ?

Step 1. Research the coffee shop industry

Step 2. create a coffee shop business plan, step 3. create a business structure, step 4. get your business license, step 5. fund your coffee shop startup costs, step 6. choose the right coffee supplier, step 7. plan the coffee shop layout and decor, step 8. buy coffee equipment and furnishings, step 9. hire employees, step 10. create a menu, step 11. start coffee shop marketing, step 12. comply with all regulations, step 13. soft launch your coffee shop, step 14. host a grand opening, step 15. manage your coffee shop business, step 16. provide excellent customer service, step 17. grow your coffee shop business, what is donut shop coffee, what is a coffee shop bar, what is a café.

• Go start a successful coffee shop [/su_note]

If you want to know how to start a coffee shop, keep reading to find out how Wes started his multi-million-dollar coffee empire without spending his own money.

What is a coffee shop?

A coffee shop is a small restaurant, cart, kiosk, or drive-thru that primarily sells coffee, tea, and other refreshments.

Popular styles of coffee include:

A coffee shop might also carry small snacks like cookie cakes. A coffee shop owner might also consider opening a café, which tends to have more tables and a full menu of food in addition to coffee.

Keep reading to learn about the coffee industry.

How to open a coffee shop business

Opening a coffee shop can be an exciting and rewarding venture, but it also requires careful planning and execution. You’ll need to perform the following steps to start a coffee shop:

• Research the coffee shop industry
• Create a coffee shop business plan
• Create a business structure
• Get your business licenses
• Fund your coffee shop startup costs
• Choose the right coffee supplier
• Plan the coffee shop layout and decor
• Buy coffee equipment and furnishings
• Hire employees
• Create a menu
• Start coffee shop marketing
• Comply with all regulations
• Soft launch your coffee shop
• Host a grand opening
• Manage your coffee shop business
• Provide excellent customer service
• Improve your coffee shop performance

Get ready to learn how to open a coffee shop.

The first step to starting a coffee shop brand is to research coffee businesses to understand how to place yourself within the industry. You’ll have two considerations during the market research phase:

• You’ll want to understand coffee industry earning potential and trends on both a national and local level.
• Choose a strategic location with high foot traffic, accessibility, visibility, and proximity to other businesses.

Identify how to make your new coffee shop unique

Opening a coffee shop can be a lucrative business, but a new coffee shop needs to understand the startup costs, earning potential, fixed and variable costs, and marketing strategies of a successful business.

Companies like Starbucks, Dunkin, and Tim Hortons make hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars each year.

That’s awesome for them, but an independent coffee shop will take years to reach that point. Here, we help you explore your business opportunities for becoming a successful coffee shop starting from scratch.

Cautionary tale about coffee shops

We use IBIS World for all of our industry reports. They provide multiple reports about coffee shops, and there is some contradictory information.

We used the following coffee shop reports in the Industry Section:

• INDUSTRY REPORT OD6 098 : This report covers the retail market for coffee in the U.S. It was last updated in April 2021.
• (NAICS) REPORT 7222 1B : This report covers coffee and snack shops in the U.S. It was last updated in January 2023.
• INDUSTRY REPORT OD5 552 : This report covers coffee store franchises in the U.S. It was updated in January 2023.

We combined data from multiple reports because Starbucks gets nearly 40% of U.S. coffee and snack shop revenue. In addition, the NAICS report indicated that the industry operates at a loss when you exclude Starbucks.

The chart below is the coffee shop data from OD6098 and NAICS Code 72221B. This gives you a more adequate view of coffee shops by the numbers than including just one report's information.

How much does a coffee shop make?

The average coffee shop location makes between $150K and $600K per year with 4-10 people working at the shop, but the exact amount will depend on the coffee shop concept, foot traffic, and number of employees.

If you’re opening a coffee shop or coffee cart as a solo entrepreneur, know that you might make as little as $24K a year, though.

Pro Tip: Plan ahead from the start. Scaling and acquiring an existing coffee shop is how most of the industry improves revenues and profit margins.

How much does a coffee shop make a month?

Depending on the coffee shop location and other factors, you can expect to make somewhere between $40K and $50K per month, but the average Starbucks location approaches $100K monthly.

These numbers will fluctuate seasonally and based on the number of days in each month.

Independent coffee shops will obviously make less in monthly sales than a Starbucks until they develop a reputation and get repeat customers.

How much does an average coffee shop make a day?

An average coffee shop makes between $410 and $1,650 per day, while the average Starbucks makes nearly $3,200 per day.

Coffee shops tend to have the most business when people go to work, during lunch breaks, and after work. Of course, a great coffee business in a place like an airport or casino might have different high-traffic times.

Get ready to find out if a coffee shop is profitable.

How profitable is a coffee shop?

It’s getting harder to measure profits because business owners have established that the ideal profit amount is zero to minimize their tax consequences. That said, a coffee shop can make up to 50% gross profit and 17% net profit.

Wes shared the following about the profit potential of a coffee shop:

[su_quote]You can operate a small business very efficiently in coffee, and if you get a lot of customers, then you can make some serious dough.[/su_quote]

In Wes's case, that's definitely true considering he owns a multi-million-dollar coffee shop empire!

How much do coffee shop owners make?

Estimating how much coffee shop owners make requires analyzing various financial reports since a business owner may make money in the following ways:

• Salary: $59,440 as General Manager or Comparable Position • Tips: 8-20% of revenue • Dividends: Up to $21,142 paid out above salary • Benefits: $17,565 • Total: $59,440 to $120,000

You might make much more if you open a coffee shop like Woods Coffee. They have 19 stores and make millions per year. In that scenario, your salary would be comparable to a CEO or Operations Manager, tips would be removed, and dividends would be much higher. Check out our interview with Wes below to learn more:

Find a great location with reasonable rent

Just because a spot is centrally located doesn't mean it’s the right coffee shop location.

High-traffic locations usually have sky-high rents and cutthroat competition. Meanwhile, a coffee shop starting as a coffee kiosk in a mall will have much lower costs and cover its operating costs quicker.

Pro Tip: Try to see potential in a location that nobody else appreciates. Wes has this to say about his Boulevard Park location, the crown jewel in his entire chain:

[su_quote]As an entrepreneur, you must trust what you see. It will always be different than what others see. There were quite a few businesses that passed on Blvd. Park because they couldn't see it working. We saw it from day one, never wavered, and built one of the finest coffee shops in the world.[/su_quote]

When you do your location analysis, consider the following factors:

• Demographics
• Regulations and zoning
• How close you are to your target market
• How far away suppliers are
• Competition
• Crime rates

Pro Tip: Learn more about picking locations .

Virtually every entrepreneur will tell you to write a business plan when opening a coffee shop.

Wes is no different. However, his coffee shop business plan was only one page long:

[su_quote]I always like to think that a business plan can be put on one sheet of paper. It's the difference between just driving aimlessly without a map versus having a map and understanding where you're going. You'll get there faster, you'll get there more directly, and you won't be distracted trying to figure out where you're supposed to be going.[/su_quote]

The beauty of the one-page coffee shop business plan is that it pares down your idea to its barest essentials. This helps you to focus on your vision with laser-sharp intensity. It makes opening a coffee shop so much easier.

You’ll want to include the following:

• Your Elevator Pitch: Why you are opening a coffee shop and why investors should care
• SWOT Analysis: An analysis of your coffee shop’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats
• Business Model: How your coffee shop will make money while increasing revenue and profit—the more disruptive to the industry, the higher the likelihood that your coffee shop succeeds
• Unique Value Proposition: What makes you different from other coffee shops?
• Target Demographic: Proof that you’ve performed market research
• Budget: Financial analysis to help you manage coffee shop startup costs and ongoing expenses
• Pricing Strategy: How will you approach pricing your coffee shop menu?
• Marketing: A list of strategies you’ll use to market and become a successful coffee shop
• Funding Plans: Statement of how much funding you’ll need, how you’ll get it, and how you’ll use it

Pro Tip: You can create supplemental materials such as income and cash flow statements for potential investors but save them separately.

A business structure is just how your business is treated from a legal standpoint. It can be considered a separate entity, like a limited liability company (LLC) or corporation. Alternatively, sole proprietors and partners' personal and business interests remain legally connected.

Most business owners opt for an LLC through their Secretary of State website because it’s less costly than a corporation and limits their losses to the startup costs should the business fail. Your coffee business will also need an employee identification number ( EIN ) to file taxes.

Pro Tip: Learn more about the different types of businesses .

Complete all necessary paperwork to register your business with the appropriate local and state authorities. This will normally include:

• A tax permit
• Local business license
• Fire inspection
• Health inspection
• Food serving license
• Liquor or beer license (if you plan to serve alcohol)

Check with your city and state to establish exactly what you need.

How to start a coffee shop with no money

Wes started Woods Coffee using none of his own money. Here's how he made it happen:

[su_quote]In those early days…we were on a very, very, tight budget. We didn't have the money, and so we needed to find the money, and we needed to be creative on how we launched the first store. So, the initial budget was $23,000—that's what we needed to pull this business off. We didn't have the dough, so we went out and asked someone to partner with us that had the money. They weren't coffee drinkers, but they decided that this would be a good investment, and it was.[/su_quote]

That's an excellent way to start a coffee shop with no money down! Of course, if you have savings or other sources of funding to work with, even better.

Cost of opening a coffee shop

Wes thinks it would cost $500,000 to start a coffee shop today.

In our interview with Joe's Fine Coffee, Joe mentions that he was able to start his coffee shop for just $100,000. You can find that interview here:

Our research shows that it costs about $275,000 to open a coffee shop. However, this will vary based on your location, business needs, and several other factors.

To determine your budget, you need to figure out what it'll cost to get your venture off the ground and calculate your ongoing costs. This will consist of the following three types of expenses:

Capital costs are things you only buy once (unless there is something from your equipment list that breaks down). These are things like:

• Espresso machines
• Cash registers
• Building (if you buy instead of rent)

Fixed costs are expenditures that stay the same from month to month. An example of this is rent.

Variable costs are expenses that fluctuate depending on how much business you do. These are things like labor costs because the more customers you have, the more employees you'll need to hire.

Don’t forget ongoing costs

High startup costs mean that you're going to need plenty of startup capital to get your business off the ground. Here's what Wes has to say about that:

[su_quote]Most entrepreneurs forget about working capital and the need for a reserve to get you through the beginning stages of when you start your business… In most people's cases, they have to reserve enough money to get them through the first year to pay themselves.[/su_quote]

Set aside enough money to cover your expenses for six months (if not longer). An excellent strategy to minimize how much money you'll need is only securing enough cash to take you to the next stage of your business.

This is known as “ the lean startup ” and will dramatically increase your chances of success.

Run your coffee shop as a side hustle

You can save money by holding down another job so you don't have to siphon funds from your fledgling business (that's what Wes did):

[su_quote]I worked for a good five years in another job so I wasn't a drag on the company and I was able to keep the money flowing into the company and able to make the company successful before I started drawing salary. So, we actually got to store number six before I ever started earning money out of the company. And I worked another job during the day, and then at night I'd make all the deals, and put these things together, and before you know it, we have six stores.[/su_quote]

How are you going to fund your venture?

With all this in mind, consider how you’ll fund your coffee shop. Your plan can include personal savings, loans, investors, or a combination of these.

Are you going to take a crack at crowdfunding or find a friend willing to invest in your idea like Wes did? Or, perhaps you have relatives who can loan you some startup dough?

You can always seek out venture capital or try to get a bank loan . Whatever funding source you turn to, you're going to need enough moolah to get through the inevitable lean times.

Pro Tip: If you think you need loans or investors, check out our blog on how to get a business loan .

Serving up a superior coffee experience is undoubtedly the most crucial aspect of your business. That's why you'll need to find an excellent source for your coffee beans, milk, syrups, equipment, and other necessary supplies .

In the beginning, it's probably best that you outsource the roasting of your beans.

When trying to find a supplier, look for:

• Superior product
• Price point that'll allow you to maximize your profits
• Exceptional assortment

Here's what Wes advises:

[su_quote]You certainly can hire somebody to roast your coffee for you. In our case, we wanted ultimate control over the process, the quality, and the consistency. And we can do that with our own coffee beans coming from specific countries.

How we control the roasting process is really important because we want to know that the process is done correctly, that it's fresh, and that it's done in the way we want it to be done.

So that's why we roast our own coffee. We didn't originally—that was a process that we had outsourced in the beginning years—but eventually, we were able to bring it in house and roast all of our own coffee, and that's been a huge advantage for us.[/su_quote]

As your profits grow, you might want to start thinking about roasting in your shop so that you have a unique product to offer your clientele.

Plan the layout of your coffee shop for both functionality and aesthetics. Consider factors like seating arrangements, counter space, and decoration. Check out some of these designs for inspiration .

Pro Tip: Want to get started with a coffee truc k or cart? Get all the info you need from our Food Truck Ultimate Buying Guide .

Purchase essential coffee shop equipment like an espresso machine, grinders, brewing equipment, refrigerators, and furniture. Make sure they meet industry standards and regulations.

[su_quote]It's really critical to have the right machines. [/su_quote]

Check out part one of our interview with Wes below.

Try to get high-quality equipment, even if it's not new. If you get the cheap stuff, you'll only end up regretting it later on.

Here's the list of equipment you'll need to make your small coffee shop a resounding success:

• Espresso machine
• Coffee grinders
• Drip coffee machine
• Coffee brewers
• Hot water dispenser
• Reach-in refrigerator
• Ice machine
• Bakery display case
• Three-compartment sink
• Frothing pitchers
• Frothing thermometers
• Tea and coffee mugs
• Espresso cups
• Cup, lid, and straw organizers
• Microwaves or ovens (if serving hot food)
• Point of sale (POS) system

As your business grows and your services expand, you might need other coffee shop equipment like coffee roasters.

One of the biggest lures of a gourmet coffee shop is the atmosphere. Create a relaxing physical space with the right décor, and make sure your café has lots of comfy seating, too.

Hire baristas, kitchen staff, and any other necessary employees. Ensure they are trained in coffee preparation, customer service, and health and safety protocols.

Stellar customer service is crucial when you own a coffee shop, so be selective when hiring new staff.

Although your baristas must know how to make beverages correctly, they should also know a little about the coffee itself. These are things like the flavor profiles of each specialty coffee and where the beans come from.

During training, you might want to teach employees about latte art, quality beans, and how to encourage customers to keep coming back.

This is need-to-know information for coffee connoisseurs, so your baristas must be armed with this knowledge.

Pro Tip: Learn more about hiring before you open your own café or coffee shop.

Create a menu that includes a variety of coffee beverages, tea options, snacks, and possibly light meals. Consider catering to different dietary preferences and restrictions.

When you open your coffee shop, you need to consistently serve the best coffee and snacks. If you succeed in doing this, you'll have customers flocking to you.

When it comes to creating your menu, keep in mind that you're not reinventing the wheel—you're taking the best food and drinks offered by the top coffee shops and finding ways to make them better.

There's no way a coffee shop can remain economically viable on coffee sales alone. That's why you need to offer bakery items. Having a delicious assortment of quality baked goods near the cash register will tempt the customer to buy.

Try to come up with at least a few menu items that'll dazzle customers with their originality.

Here's what Wes has to say on this subject:

[su_quote]It's how you can make something creatively different in this space that attracts people and maybe attracts a different market segment than you're normally pulling.[/su_quote]

Check out part two of our interview with Wes below.

Create a strong brand identity, including a memorable logo and a cohesive visual theme.

Develop a marketing plan that includes an online presence (website, social media), promotions, and possibly partnerships with local businesses.

You want to whip customers into a buying frenzy even before you open your doors.

One way to do that is a direct mail or email campaign sending out coupons for free coffee. Do a little research to find out what sort of marketing would be best for your coffee shop.

Here's what Wes has to say about that:

[su_quote]We actually don't spend a lot of money [on] marketing. It's changed over time. So when we first started, we were looking at what are other people doing, how are they marketing themselves, and we realized we didn't need to do a lot of marketing, we didn't need to put advertisements in newspaper(s), that was a thing, back 18 years ago… there was no Facebook, there was no website you could put up, and people would understand what you're doing. So, we actually realized that the best form of advertising for us was putting multiple locations within a certain geographic territory.[/su_quote]

When he first started out almost 20 years ago, his only marketing was opening up new coffee shops! Which, of course, is an atypical way to market yourself. Today, with the advent of social media, Woods Coffee has changed its marketing tactics:

[su_quote][Now], social media is big for us. We're pretty dominant in our space in this area on social media, and that's been a lot of fun. It's a great vehicle for us to show some of our creativity and how people understand who we are and what we offer.[/su_quote]

Obtain all necessary permits and licenses to operate a food and beverage business in your area. This may include health department permits, business licenses, and signage permits.

There are permits and licenses you're going to need before you can start serving customers. This is a long and drawn-out process, so make sure you start early.

Here's what you might need:

• Business and liability insurance
• Food and drink handler certificate
• Health inspection certificate
• Fire certificate
• Kitchen insurance
• Certificate of incorporation
• Business license
• Employment agreement
• Building permit

Conduct a soft opening to test your operations, gather feedback, and make any necessary adjustments before the official opening. These are normally days when family and friends are invited to try the menu.

This will give your coffee business a chance to work with the POS system and inventory management system.

Plan a grand opening event to generate excitement and attract customers to your coffee shop. Contact the local news or a PR firm to help you get the news out. Run paid ads with a promo.

Pro Tip: At the grand opening, encourage reviews by using a QR code to send customers directly to your shop's review page.

You’ll need to establish efficient operating procedures for ordering supplies, scheduling employees, managing inventory, handling finances, and maintaining equipment.

There are restaurant management systems that combine many of these into one system, or you can choose systems that work best for each process.

Pro Tip: Learn more about restaurant management systems .

Focus on providing excellent customer service, quality products, and a comfortable atmosphere to encourage repeat business and positive word-of-mouth.

Your customer service at a coffee shop is heavily impacted by a few things, including:

• Speed of service: Make sure to have enough staff to get people their coffee in a timely manner . To give you an idea, Dunkin serves customers in less than three minutes, while Starbucks takes about four minutes and 30 seconds.
• Correctness of order: A study by Restaurant Business Online found that over 25% of orders have issues and 42.3% of errors were because restaurants messed up. The rest were due to delivery issues. Make sure to get it right.
• Friendliness of staff: A polite, attentive staff goes a long way. One of the things many restaurants do that should be avoided is trying to dominate the order process. Let your customers order unless they communicate they need help.
• Consistency of drinks: Make it easy for your staff to make the drinks the same every time. Provide recipes and utensils that show how much of each product to use.
• Mobile ordering: Let people order online to save time.
• Delivery apps: Find ways to make sure your cold drinks are cold and hot drinks are hot when they are delivered to a customer. You can’t count on the delivery driver to get that right.

Although opening multiple stores was always a part of the Woods Coffee business plan, it happened much sooner than Wes thought it would.

That's because the opportunity to open a second coffee shop fell into their laps in the form of a perfect location they couldn't let pass by.

They seized this opportunity and opened their second store. It was also a way to show the world they were aggressive, growing, and owned their market.

Put a second store in a 6,000-resident town, and you’re going to get a lot of attention. The bold move drove sales in both stores, and they both grew dramatically!

You can do the same thing—just make sure you open your second spot in a carefully planned way. Wes told us having multiple business locations isn’t always the best approach:

[su_quote]It has to be part of your business plan. If you follow your business plan and have it laid out exactly what you wanna do, then follow it. You can't just change midstream. Some businesses are much more successful with just one location. In our case, it just happens to be part of our growth plan and part of our experience that we have multiple locations, and it was part of that original plan that we're executing today. But the idea of ‘How do you scale? How do you grow?’—it's really important. We don't put a lot of money into real estate and buying things. We'd really like to keep our capital fluid and moving. And if we can open more stores, we feel that's better for us.[/su_quote]

Opening a coffee shop FAQ

Donut shop coffee is typically an Arabica bean that pairs well with donuts. These can be anywhere from a light to dark roast, but they will normally be slightly sweeter than other coffee and work well with cream or milk.

A coffee shop bar is a section in a coffee shop where customers can order and enjoy alcoholic beverages in addition to coffee and other non-alcoholic drinks.

A café is similar to a coffee shop but will normally serve slightly more elaborate food than a coffee shop (without having either the size or the selections of a full restaurant).

Go start a successful coffee shop

If you do the proper market research, write and follow a solid business plan, and focus on continuous improvement, you should find success when you open a coffee shop.

Wes was able to open a coffee shop and grow it to 19 locations. That means you can, too!

What’s the signature drink you’ll use to build your multi-million-dollar coffee empire?

Naughty or Nice? Christmas Bonus Statistics Everyone Needs to Know (2023)

It’s the season of giving, and all the Yuletide joy got us thinking about the ultimate stocking stuffer in the business world: the Christmas bonus.

Veteran and rookie business owners alike might be wondering if they should cap the year off with a bonus, and employees certainly want to know if they’ll be on the receiving end. So we spent the month of November conducting original surveys about expectations and intentions for year-end bonuses.

[su_note note_color="#dbeafc"] How giving are employers during the Christmas season, and what can employees expect to receive? Read our findings from start to finish, or click any link below to jump to the specific topic that interests you most:

Key findings

Christmas bonuses bring tidings of comfort and joy, come december, cash is king, how much do businesses give, christmas bonuses last season, why some companies skip christmas bonuses, christmas bonuses in 2023.

• Conclusion [/su_note]
• Over 80% of respondents say year-end bonuses improve employee morale .
• The majority of respondents think a Christmas bonus equal to a week’s pay is adequate.
• 71% of Christmas bonuses come in the form of cash or one-time paycheck bumps .
• Over one-fifth of companies give bonuses of more than $1,000.
• 42% of companies give less than $100 in Christmas bonuses per employee.
• Insufficient revenue is the main driver for not providing Christmas bonuses.
• 51% of companies plan to give a Christmas bonus in 2023 .

The Christmas season is unmistakably commercial—and the strong link between commerce and the holiday can turn even the jolliest among us into Grinches.

Case in point: Two-thirds of survey respondents think businesses value the holiday season more than kids do . Christmas magic has entrepreneurially minded people under no illusions.

But does that disenchantment mean holidays in the workplace bring no joy? It doesn’t seem so. A healthy 84% of survey participants say employee morale increases after receiving a year-end bonus .

Expectations when it comes to those bonuses vary. According to our survey:

• 50% of people consider a week’s pay a good bonus.
• 21% are okay with a day’s pay or less.
• 29% consider a month’s pay or more to be adequate.

Our takeaway? Giving a bonus of some amount at Christmastime is a no-brainer. Happy employees perform better, and a bonus is a great way to juice morale—and performance—as you head into the new year.

UpFlip pays out Christmas bonuses, so we asked our CEO, Sergei Belous, for his take. He said:

[su_quote]Employees are the cornerstone of the success of any organization, and the least we can do for them is give Christmas bonuses as a token of our appreciation.[/su_quote]

Businesses that give Christmas bonuses like to keep it simple.

Just over 71% of survey respondents who provided year-end bonuses in 2022 gave their employees cash or added money to their paychecks .

Another 21% opted to give gift cards or days off , and one respondent’s company gave money, gift cards, and days off. That’s a Christmas miracle!

The remaining 8% gave something else . If you received something other than money, gift cards, or days off, we’d love to hear from you in the comments.

When it comes to dollar amounts, companies’ year-end bonuses vary widely: 42% give each employee less than $100 while 22% give more than $1,000 .

The remaining 36% fall somewhere in the middle, with 19% giving between $251 and $1,000 and 17% giving between $100 and $250 .

46% of surveyed business owners gave Christmas bonuses in 2022, but about one-fifth of them don’t plan to give them again in 2023 .

On the other hand, 53% of businesses didn’t give year-end bonuses in 2022, but one-fifth of them plan to change course by providing them in 2023 .

On the employee side of things, 24% of those surveyed reported receiving Christmas bonuses in 2022, but almost one-fifth of them don’t expect to see one again this year .

76% of respondents didn’t get a Christmas bonus last year . On the bright side, just over one-tenth of them expect that to change this year .

According to our survey, 48% percent of companies don’t generally give Christmas bonuses .

Companies that don’t give during the holidays aren’t necessarily Scrooges, though. Of those that don’t give Christmas bonuses, 62% percent say they simply don’t make enough money .

11% cite poor employee performance for not giving year-end bonuses , and another 11% say they don’t know what to give .

The remaining 15% cited other reasons for not giving , including not celebrating the holiday or living somewhere that already mandates the equivalent of a holiday bonus.

There are a couple of reasons to be jolly this year!

More than half of responding businesses— 51% , to be exact— plan to give their employees Christmas bonuses in 2023 . That includes 89% that plan to offer them for at least the second year in a row .

Unfortunately, 81% of the responding business owners who didn’t give a Christmas bonus last year won’t give one this year, either .

Our surveys show that more companies intend to give Christmas bonuses in 2023 than did in 2022. Unsurprisingly, the holiday bonuses they give are perceived to improve morale.

Thankfully, companies that don’t plan to give Christmas bonuses are actually in the minority.

There’s also agreement on what makes a good Christmas bonus: at least a week’s pay. That should help guide the 11% of business owners who are lost on what to give as a year-end gift.

And since the majority of employers base their holiday bonuses (if they provide them) on the year’s earnings, they should focus on growing their business .

Do you expect to give or receive a Christmas bonus? Let us know in the comments.

How to Start a $24K/Month Laundromat Business (2024)

Did you know the average laundromat makes over $238K, and up to half of that can go to the laundromat owners?

The laundromat industry in the U.S. is worth $5BN, with over 21,000 businesses in operation that employ over 50,000 people.

Do I have your attention? If I do, get ready to learn how to start a laundromat!

We have interviewed the owners of four different laundromat businesses, including Dave Menz, the CEO of Queen City Laundry, who owns four laundromats and makes over $1.8 million annually.

Dave will share his wisdom on finding a laundromat, getting financing, how to value the business, and how to negotiate a deal. We pull in insights from other successful laundromat owners, too. Get ready to learn how to start a laundromat.

Case Study: Queen City Laundry

Learn about the laundry industry, step 1: choose a business model, step 2: write a business plan, step 3: build relationships with distributors, step 4: get financing, step 5: find a location, step 6: get permits and insurance, step 7: set up your business, step 8: develop a marketing strategy.

• Final Remarks About Laundromat Businesses [/su_note]

Dave Menz got into the laundry business in 2010. He told us:

[su_quote] I grew up in poverty and people looking down at me. I fought out of poverty to middle class and then financial independence. I could do nothing if I wanted to, but I prefer to teach people to reach that same level. [/su_quote]

He bought his first laundromat and worked at it on nights and weekends. He bought two more before he made enough that he could quit his job and still live a comparable life. Dave told us:

[su_quote] I don’t love doing laundry, but I love the industry. I love the people, the impact on my community, and the opportunities it provides.

The laundromat industry is not for everyone, but for many it can be a phenomenal business. I see the antiquated nature of the industry as a positive because it makes it easy for you to stand out compared to a coin laundry business. [/su_quote]

His primary services are:

• Self-serve laundry
• Drop-off wash and fold
• Dry cleaning
• Pickup and delivery laundry
• Commercial laundry services

Since starting, Dave has bought four more laundromats. When he buys laundromats, he looks for locations he can fix up that offer services he can improve on to make them more appealing to local clients.

Dave maintains one company that owns the land his laundromats are on. This separate company rents the land to his laundromats, effectively making him his own landlord. This unique strategy has built him a $3.8 million net worth and makes him over $1.8 million in revenue per year. Find out how below:

He’s currently working on upgrading from coin machines to accepting cards and PhonePay in addition to the other services he offers.

Have you ever found yourself wondering how much money a laundromat makes? Or Is the average laundromat cost something I can afford?

Dave told us:

[su_quote] Laundromats are a vital community resource. That’s really why I fell in love with the business. [/su_quote]

Established organizations provide the information you need. Keep reading to find places that conduct market research and provide market analysis.

Check out the free industry overview by the Coin Laundry Association (CLA) . Also, download their most recent Laundry Industry Survey and Laundry Customer Profile, which presents the results of over 400 customer surveys.

For commercial laundry, the Textile Rental Services Association (TRSA) offers benchmarking reports . Don’t overlook the National Apartment Association (NAA), which provides insight into the industry’s multi-housing segment.

How much do laundromats make?

When you open a laundromat, you should assume that it will make around $300K in revenue annually. You can add additional sources of revenue by adding vending machines , laundry delivery, and other services.

[su_quote] Almost everything is paid upfront before services are provided. This makes running the business easier because you don’t have to chase customers for payment.

Businesses focus on [repairs] and collecting the money from a coin laundry machine. You can reimagine this to save you time, money, and help your customers better.

The laundromat business is not passive income, but semi-passive or flexible. [/su_quote]

Of course, emergencies are bound to occur if all you do is fix things when they’re broken. Take proactive steps to keep your laundromat running smoothly, and you’ll find yourself on the road to laundromat success.

One of Dave’s recommendations: Add an annual sewage drain flush to your maintenance routine to reduce breakdowns.

He does that for all his laundromats, and listen to what happened:

[su_quote] We were looking for a consolidation loan and were putting all the financials together, and I realized I am a millionaire. [/su_quote]

Inspired? Get ready to learn about laundromat profitability.

Are laundromats profitable?

According to Cents , the average U.S. laundromat profitability is 20 to 30% on approximately $300K in revenue assuming they are not using leverage. According to Dave, top-performing laundromats can operate with 50% margins or higher. That's two to eight times higher than the average real estate investment, which is 7 to 10%.

A laundromat's ROI changes depending on:

• Age of Machines: As washers and dryers age, maintenance costs increase.
• Business Expenses: Rent, water, gas, electric, and inventory can easily add up to $10K per month.
• Competition: The less competition you have, the more your new laundromat can charge. Adding full-service makes it so you can charge more.
• Location: Like home mortgages, a new laundromat will cost more to operate in places with higher property values.
• Pricing: While a coin laundromat might charge between $1.50 and $4 a wash, you can charge by the pound when people pay for full-service washing and drying.
• Services Offered: Providing services like full-service washing, drying, and delivery can increase revenue and reduce the employee costs as a percentage.
• Employees’ Pay: Even at minimum wage, payroll is the largest expense for most laundromat owners.
• Local Taxes: Local and state sales taxes can be up to 13% .

Ancillary services like dry cleaning, pickup and delivery, sneaker cleaning, wash and fold, and other luxury services can increase your profitability .

Rosie Wash Express Laundry achieves impressive 36% margins by offering additional services and a rewards program. Want to learn more? Check out our interview with the existing laundry business owner.

How much does a laundromat cost?

Entrepreneurs normally spend between $100,000 and $1,000,000 to start a new laundromat or buy a laundry business for sale.

Dave suggests that you should normally spend between two and five times revenue, but that you should base your business valuation on what it’s worth to you.

The startup costs to open a laundromat depend on:

• Size: Small laundromats will normally cost less than $300K, while larger laundry facilities will cost $500K or more.
• Equipment: The number of machines, capacity, and age will impact the price of a laundromat.
• Services: The startup costs will vary depending on whether you offer other services. An old store with no customers is worth less than one with a great customer base.
• Location: Every city has different property costs.
• Buy vs. Build: Buying an existing laundromat will normally have less startup costs than building a new laundry business. You’ll also earn revenue faster, which should reduce the overall startup costs.
• Future Operational Costs: You should include a budget of approximately $15K monthly for future operating expenses, loan payments, rent, and maintenance.

Where is the best place to put a laundry business?

The best location for a laundry business will have the following characteristics:

• Population Density: Laundromats do best in areas where there are at least 20K to 35K people in a one-mile radius.
• Low-Income Neighborhoods: Locations near apartments, colleges, low-income housing, and trailer parks tend to do better because low-income families often need to use a coin-operated business.
• Accessibility: You’ll want a location that is easily accessible by car, bus, or foot. Signage should be easily viewable and parking abundant.
• Low Competition: Lots of competition means lower profit margins and potential price wars.
• Good Neighbors: Businesses like auto part stores, cash checking, convenience stores, and grocery stores are good neighbors for laundromats because they provide lots of traffic that might need your services.

Get ready to learn step by step how to start a laundry business.

How to Start a Laundromat

Starting a laundromat means you’ll need to

• Choose a business model.
• Write a business plan.
• Build relationships with distributors.
• Get financing.
• Find a location.
• Get permits and insurance.
• Set up your business.
• Develop a marketing strategy.

First, you’ll need to pick a laundry business type, which means selecting your services, business structure, and business model.

Consider the different kinds of laundromat businesses:

• Coin laundry
• Private laundromat equipment for multi-tenant buildings
• Wash-and-fold service
• Commercial laundry for uniforms, linens, and facilities
• Pickup and delivery

Learn about each type of laundry service below.

Self-service coin laundry business

When you want to start a laundry business, you’ll find most business entities offer coin-operated machines that people operate themselves. A business venture that focuses on this strategy is normally going to have the lowest profit margin of companies that clean clothes.

That said, at Ferndale Laundry, the most revenue comes from self-serve machines. Owner Justin says:

[su_quote] There’s little to no maintenance or cost to me because they’re doing all the work. [/su_quote]

Check out our interview with Justin below.

You might also check out this video about a day in the life of a laundromat business owner.

Dry cleaning business

A dry cleaning business uses completely different laundry machines than standard washers and dryers. Dry cleaners normally charge by the garment. Common dry cleaning prices range from:

• Shirts : $2.99 to $8 • Pants: $6 to $11.99 • Sweaters: $7.50 to $12.99 • Dresses : $13.25 to $19.99 • Suits: $14.99 to $25.95 • Coats: $15 to $25.99 • Comforters : $18.99 to $42.99

Wash and fold service

Owning a laundromat that offers wash and fold services can be highly beneficial. It improves your customer experience because they can drop off their clothes on the way to work and pick them up on the way home.

Laundromat prices will normally be based on the pound. That means you make more money per wash and protect your machines by not overloading them, which saves your business entity from increased maintenance costs.

Commercial laundry facility

A commercial laundry facility provides uniforms and other items to service companies and hotels, picks up dirty uniforms and sheets, and washes them. This is highly profitable because you make money from both the rental of clothing and the cleaning.

Check out Cintas’s website for an example of commercial laundry and uniform company offerings.

Laundromat service for apartment complexes

Whether you choose to operate a coin laundry business or laundromat equipment rental business, you can make money by supplying quality equipment to apartment complexes. Check out information about multi-unit housing on NAA’s website.

Delivery service

Rosie Wash Express Laundry uses an app to manage its home delivery business, allowing customers to enter details and pay online. Delivery drivers receive GPS information to complete their routes.

Pro Tip: Get more information about owning a pickup-and-delivery business here .

Choose a business structure

In addition to deciding what kind of laundry services you’ll offer, you need to create a business entity for your laundromat. This requires selecting a business name that is available as a website domain, trademark, and social media handle.

The two most common ways to create a business entity are a limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation. There are other types of business entities you might want to consider, but most involve potential liability you don’t want to assume.

Both LLCs and corporations limit your potential losses to the initial investment as long as you don’t sign anything guaranteeing personal liability. You can also run both on your own or with business partners.

Dave uses numerous business structures to manage his business, including LLCs and land-rent agreements between his company that owns the land and his companies that own the laundromat.

Pro Tip : Learn how to register your business and how to get an employer identification number (EIN) from the IRS .

This plan should outline your strengths, competitors, goals, and workflow. A good plan can help you attract investors or earn grants.

Iron out your vision, objectives, and strategy into a laundromat business plan that will help you accomplish essentials like securing financing or partnering with other businesses. It’s totally worth your time.

Pro Tip: If you want some extra guidance on how to write a business plan that will appeal to investors, consider working with a company like Wise Business Plans , whose team of MBA-trained writers have experience writing business plans that successfully secure funding from banks and other lenders.

Dave told us that relationships with his distributors contribute to nearly 50% of his success. Some of the most common types of distributors are:

• Fly-by-Night Distributors: Laundromat owners who are doing it because their own distributor was bad. They may work from home and play middleman. They only work with small groups of manufacturers and normally deal with bad customers.
• Plain Janes: They are more established but they just do the bare minimum. They are typically very nice but don’t add much value to the industry.
• Rock Star Distributors: These professionals get you access to an extensive infrastructure and are well-established with a major building and service department. They normally have company vehicles that are branded and fully stocked. You’ll also have access to a full parts department with technicians who can predict problems based on your description of the issue you’re facing. They will train you as a laundry business owner and work with manufacturer reps. Plus, they’ll have a professional installation department.

But how do you find the best distributors? Do a Google search, contact manufacturers, or network with people . After you’ve found a prospective distributor, you’ll want to talk to them on the phone then visit their location.

You'll need money to cover leasing or buying a space, hiring employees, and buying equipment. Getting into the laundromat business isn’t cheap. You’ll want to estimate how much you need to start and operate the business, which you can learn how to do through Udemy .

Once you’ve established how much money you’ll need, you have to find a way to get the money. Some common funding options include:

• Self Financing: If you have a cool $1M lying around, you can open a laundrymat with your own money. Most people don’t have that much, though.
• Equipment Loan: You can secure an equipment loan with the equipment when you start or buy a laundromat. Learn more in our blog about business loans .
• Rollover Business Startup: Create a corporation and a 401K, then sell your shares of the corporation to your 401K. Use the proceeds for buying a laundromat or starting a laundromat business.

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers free courses on financing options and funding programs . Consider alternative sources of funding, like crowdfunding or even a home equity loan.

Many small business owners finance their investment at least partially through a business loan. You can inquire about financing options with your business banker, or compare options from multiple lenders on National Business Capital .

You can find a range of financing options on their site, including term loans with flexible financing and business lines of credit. Many of these have no credit score requirement, either, so you can access funds for your business regardless of your personal financial situation.

Pro Tip: Want to know how to open a laundromat with no money? Check out our blog about seller financing to find out how.

Fact: 87% of laundromat customers live within one mile of their preferred location.

Taking the time to find an ideal location is the best investment of your time as a future laundromat owner.

Consider a location near any of the following:

• Apartment buildings
• College students
• Tourist areas
• Hotels and motels
• Large family housing developments

Dave offers some suggestions on how to find a business location in your local market, including:

• Check business listings.
• Network, talk to distributors, and use business brokers.
• Compile a list of attractive locations.
• Visit the locations.
• Value the business.

Self-serve laundromats are normally in small towns or outskirts of suburban areas, under 5,000 square feet, and unmanned. Large laundromats are typically over 5,000 square feet and in busy areas.

High-volume laundromats with lots of ancillary laundry locations are the biggest and largest laundry businesses and normally have four or five streams of revenue that diversify their income.

The CLA offers more information about site selection for a laundromat business.

Once you have found a strategic location, there are things to do before you open to customers. You’ll need to get business licenses, a state tax ID or sales tax permit, and relevant insurance. Some common types of insurance include general liability, commercial property, workers compensation, and crime insurance.

Licenses, permits, and tax forms

Regardless of the legal structure you choose, determine if your business may require any licenses, permits, or tax forms to operate legally. Use the SBA’s tool . Also, you might be required to collect sales tax. Now go out and do it!

Business insurance

During his first week of operations, Jeff, the owner of Rosie Wash Express Laundry, witnessed a customer fall down, crack his head on the floor, and start bleeding. Hopefully, that shows why every laundromat owner needs commercial property insurance and liability insurance.

Both will typically be included in small business general liability insurance that you can get from trusted providers like Simply Business . Even if you have an insurance provider you trust for your personal property, it’s a smart move to work with a company that specializes in small businesses for your laundromat.

Furthermore, if you plan to hire employees, you will need workers compensation insurance and unemployment insurance. Gain general knowledge about insurance for a small business here .

You can also check out CLA’s listing of insurance products that meet the specific needs of a coin-operated laundry business .

Get a business bank account and credit card, and purchase equipment. You'll also need to set up software and prepare marketing materials.

Get a business bank account

Whether you start a new laundromat or buy an existing laundromat, you’ll need a business bank account. You can get a business bank account from major banks, regional banks, or online banks.

Regional banks tend to provide better business loans, but online banks offer better interest rates on cash in your bank account. Learn more about business bank accounts .

Get a business credit card

A business credit card can help fund your laundromat startup cost. You may have to get a secured one at first.

Purchase equipment

You’ll need washers, dryers, and other equipment for your laundromat. This equipment is a major part of the cost to open a laundromat.

Expect to spend between $1K and $5K each for a commercial washer or dryer. Meanwhile, industrial washers and dryers can cost between $10K and $50K depending on the load size and power.

The machines’ capacity can range from 30 to 80 pounds. To learn more, check out this handy formula for calculating the capacity of a machine .

Dave explains that you want to find properties with value-add opportunities. Look at the space usage, the amenities you can add, the services you can add, and how the property can be upgraded to provide a different or better experience. He told us:

[su_quote] We turned a $500-per-week property into a $7,000-per-week business by making changes. [/su_quote]

As you’re shopping and pricing, consider that new equipment comes with a warranty. Read a white paper about replacing laundry equipment . Buy the right laundry equipment for your store by referring to the laundry equipment and services directories .

You might also want to include vending machines or a small convenience store in your laundromat to supplement income.

Technological innovations are fueling a revival of the laundry industry. Laundry apps are becoming increasingly popular, but what’s the bottom line?

• Dexter Pay: According to its website, Dexter Pay is an app “that allows laundry customers to pay for their laundry and track cycle progress via their smartphone or mobile device.”
• Speed Queen Value Center: Speed Queen is a popular laundromat equipment manufacturer that offers an app for cash users. Customers add physical cash to the value center machine, which uploads it to their payment app.
• Accounting Software: Keep track of income and expenses and run regular reports to understand how your laundromat business performs. Try accounting software such as Xero or QuickBooks .

You can attract customers with a good location, but you can optimize that even further with marketing such as a website, social media, and advertisements.

Dave explains that you’ll want to invest in

[su_quote] A market differentiator that makes your laundry business stand out against [its] competitors. [/su_quote]

He says some of the things that make a difference include:

• Clean bathrooms
• Air conditioning
• Payment systems
• Other services

You can use all of these to market your business and stand out in the laundromat industry. Provide a value proposition, charge more, and market the differences without putting your competitors down.

Digital marketing

Digital marketing includes email newsletters, social media, and search engine optimization (SEO).

Google My Business helps you:

• Track the number of visitors and impressions.
• Determine where visitors see an advertisement based on a code.
• Know if a new customer is the result of a conversion from your marketing campaign.

Facebook is another great site for marketing your business.

Another pro tip is to invest in an all-in-one marketing software like Semrush . The Site Audit tool demystifies search engine optimization for new business owners, while their Keyword Magic tool can save you tons of time on keyword research. Using this type of program also makes it much easier to track marketing campaigns across multiple platforms to ensure you’re getting the full value from the time and money you spend.

Printed materials

Print marketing includes business cards, flyers, brochures, t-shirts, and even uniforms! Try designing yours in Canva .

You might also run advertisements in local newspapers, or ValPack mailers, which reach 10K residents for $300 a month on a five-month subscription.

Attracting customers

Consider offering extra amenities, such as Wi-Fi. CLA published a guide to help laundry owners through the basics of setting up a secure network .

Other ways to create a welcoming atmosphere include cleanliness, professionalism, a children’s area, and televisions.

Final Remarks About Laundromat Businesses

We’ve discussed the coin laundry industry, startup and monthly cost to run a laundromat, and how to start a laundromat business. Along the way, we provided information on how to craft a great laundromat business plan, getting a business license, financing, choosing locations, and marketing your laundromat.

It’s up to you to decide whether you want to start a new laundromat or buy a laundromat for sale. What strategies will you use to take your laundromat business idea to the next level?

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My Name is PRETTY NGOMANE. A south African female. Aspiring to do farming. And finding a home away from home for the differently abled persons in their daily needs.

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How to Write a Business Plan, Step by Step

Rosalie Murphy is a small-business writer at NerdWallet. Since 2021, she has covered business insurance, banking, credit cards and e-commerce software, and her reporting has been featured by The Associated Press, MarketWatch, Entrepreneur and many other publications. Rosalie holds a graduate certificate in Quantitative Business Management from Kent State University and is now pursuing an MBA. She is based in Chicago.

Ryan Lane is an editor on NerdWallet’s small-business team. He joined NerdWallet in 2019 as a student loans writer, serving as an authority on that topic after spending more than a decade at student loan guarantor American Student Assistance. In that role, Ryan co-authored the Student Loan Ranger blog in partnership with U.S. News & World Report, as well as wrote and edited content about education financing and financial literacy for multiple online properties, e-courses and more. Ryan also previously oversaw the production of life science journals as a managing editor for publisher Cell Press. Ryan is located in Rochester, New York.

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What is a business plan?

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

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

ZenBusiness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Your business’s registered name.

Address of your business location .

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

You should include the following:

An explanation of how your product or service works.

The pricing model for your product or service.

The typical customers you serve.

Your supply chain and order fulfillment strategy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NerdWallet’s picks for setting up your business finances:

The best business checking accounts .

The best business credit cards .

The best accounting software .

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

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

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

Licenses and permits.

Equipment leases.

Bank statements.

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

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

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business Plan Example and Template

Learn how to create a business plan

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that contains the operational and financial plan of a business, and details how its objectives will be achieved. It serves as a road map for the business and can be used when pitching investors or financial institutions for debt or equity financing .

A business plan should follow a standard format and contain all the important business plan elements. Typically, it should present whatever information an investor or financial institution expects to see before providing financing to a business.

Contents of a Business Plan

A business plan should be structured in a way that it contains all the important information that investors are looking for. Here are the main sections of a business plan:

1. Title Page

The title page captures the legal information of the business, which includes the registered business name, physical address, phone number, email address, date, and the company logo.

2. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the most important section because it is the first section that investors and bankers see when they open the business plan. It provides a summary of the entire business plan. It should be written last to ensure that you don’t leave any details out. It must be short and to the point, and it should capture the reader’s attention. The executive summary should not exceed two pages.

3. Industry Overview

The industry overview section provides information about the specific industry that the business operates in. Some of the information provided in this section includes major competitors, industry trends, and estimated revenues. It also shows the company’s position in the industry and how it will compete in the market against other major players.

4. Market Analysis and Competition

The market analysis section details the target market for the company’s product offerings. This section confirms that the company understands the market and that it has already analyzed the existing market to determine that there is adequate demand to support its proposed business model.

Market analysis includes information about the target market’s demographics , geographical location, consumer behavior, and market needs. The company can present numbers and sources to give an overview of the target market size.

A business can choose to consolidate the market analysis and competition analysis into one section or present them as two separate sections.

5. Sales and Marketing Plan

The sales and marketing plan details how the company plans to sell its products to the target market. It attempts to present the business’s unique selling proposition and the channels it will use to sell its goods and services. It details the company’s advertising and promotion activities, pricing strategy, sales and distribution methods, and after-sales support.

6. Management Plan

The management plan provides an outline of the company’s legal structure, its management team, and internal and external human resource requirements. It should list the number of employees that will be needed and the remuneration to be paid to each of the employees.

Any external professionals, such as lawyers, valuers, architects, and consultants, that the company will need should also be included. If the company intends to use the business plan to source funding from investors, it should list the members of the executive team, as well as the members of the advisory board.

7. Operating Plan

The operating plan provides an overview of the company’s physical requirements, such as office space, machinery, labor, supplies, and inventory . For a business that requires custom warehouses and specialized equipment, the operating plan will be more detailed, as compared to, say, a home-based consulting business. If the business plan is for a manufacturing company, it will include information on raw material requirements and the supply chain.

8. Financial Plan

The financial plan is an important section that will often determine whether the business will obtain required financing from financial institutions, investors, or venture capitalists. It should demonstrate that the proposed business is viable and will return enough revenues to be able to meet its financial obligations. Some of the information contained in the financial plan includes a projected income statement , balance sheet, and cash flow.

9. Appendices and Exhibits

The appendices and exhibits part is the last section of a business plan. It includes any additional information that banks and investors may be interested in or that adds credibility to the business. Some of the information that may be included in the appendices section includes office/building plans, detailed market research , products/services offering information, marketing brochures, and credit histories of the promoters.

Business Plan Template

Here is a basic template that any business can use when developing its business plan:

Section 1: Executive Summary

• Present the company’s mission.
• Describe the company’s product and/or service offerings.
• Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
• Summarize the industry competition and how the company will capture a share of the available market.
• Give a summary of the operational plan, such as inventory, office and labor, and equipment requirements.

Section 2: Industry Overview

• Describe the company’s position in the industry.
• Describe the existing competition and the major players in the industry.
• Provide information about the industry that the business will operate in, estimated revenues, industry trends, government influences, as well as the demographics of the target market.

Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition

• Define your target market, their needs, and their geographical location.
• Describe the size of the market, the units of the company’s products that potential customers may buy, and the market changes that may occur due to overall economic changes.
• Give an overview of the estimated sales volume vis-à-vis what competitors sell.
• Give a plan on how the company plans to combat the existing competition to gain and retain market share.

Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan

• Describe the products that the company will offer for sale and its unique selling proposition.
• List the different advertising platforms that the business will use to get its message to customers.
• Describe how the business plans to price its products in a way that allows it to make a profit.
• Give details on how the company’s products will be distributed to the target market and the shipping method.

Section 5: Management Plan

• Describe the organizational structure of the company.
• List the owners of the company and their ownership percentages.
• List the key executives, their roles, and remuneration.
• List any internal and external professionals that the company plans to hire, and how they will be compensated.
• Include a list of the members of the advisory board, if available.

Section 6: Operating Plan

• Describe the location of the business, including office and warehouse requirements.
• Describe the labor requirement of the company. Outline the number of staff that the company needs, their roles, skills training needed, and employee tenures (full-time or part-time).
• Describe the manufacturing process, and the time it will take to produce one unit of a product.
• Describe the equipment and machinery requirements, and if the company will lease or purchase equipment and machinery, and the related costs that the company estimates it will incur.
• Provide a list of raw material requirements, how they will be sourced, and the main suppliers that will supply the required inputs.

Section 7: Financial Plan

• Describe the financial projections of the company, by including the projected income statement, projected cash flow statement, and the balance sheet projection.

Section 8: Appendices and Exhibits

• Quotes of building and machinery leases
• Proposed office and warehouse plan
• Market research and a summary of the target market
• Credit information of the owners
• List of product and/or services

Related Readings

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to Business Plans. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following CFI resources will be helpful:

• Corporate Structure
• Three Financial Statements
• Business Model Canvas Examples
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Tips on Choosing the Right Location for Your Business

Make this crucial decision with thought, care and research.

Table of Contents

Choosing a location is one of the most important aspects of starting a brick-and-mortar business and ensuring its long-term success. Location is particularly crucial for retail stores and restaurants that rely on foot traffic, accessibility, atmosphere and the right clientele. 

We’ll share how to analyze your requirements and options to choose a space where your employees, customers and business will thrive.

How to choose the right business location

When you’re starting a business , selecting the right location can be the difference between success and disappointment. If you’ve already completed your business plan and chosen an awesome business name , take the following steps before signing a commercial lease or buying commercial real estate : 

• Set a budget for your business location: Pinpoint how much of your business budget you can spend on a commercial lease or building purchase. You don’t want to fall in love with a location you can’t afford.
• Outline your business’s specific needs: Your business type and industry will inform your location’s specific needs. For example, if you’re starting a restaurant , your needs will be very different from a sales office that requires an office layout with ample conference room space and private offices. Will your parking area need to accommodate many employees and customers? List your requirements to avoid wasting time evaluating properties that won’t fit the bill.
• Determine crucial tax implications: Consider any prospective area’s state and local tax implications. Depending on your industry, it may be wise to seek a location inside or outside a specific zone or municipality to enjoy tax benefits.
• Research government incentives: Federal and state incentives for small businesses exist in some industries. Choosing a specific location may qualify you for certain incentives. If so, it behooves you to focus your location search on a specific area or business-friendly state . 
• Research your target audience: Where do your customers live and work? It’s crucial to choose a location your target market can easily access or frequently visit. Understanding your customer base will inform your location decision. If you’re partial to a specific area but aren’t sure if it’s a match for your target audience, thoroughly research the area’s demographics to gain a clear picture of product or service demand and disposable income levels. 
• Research an area’s specifics: If you’ve found an area in your budget that’s amenable to your target audience, dig deeper. For example, understanding the area’s zoning laws is crucial. Look at zoning maps so you understand what business activities are allowed. If you’re a retail store or restaurant, considering commercial zoning proximity to residential areas can be essential to ensure direct access to foot traffic. Make it your business to know an area inside and out.
• Plot competitors’ locations: If you want to move forward in a specific area, perform a competitive analysis to assess the competition’s presence and gauge demand for your offerings. You don’t want to move in next door or across the street from a fierce business rival. However, you may not be able to avoid the competition entirely. Understanding your situation is key. 
• Analyze individual properties: Once you’ve settled on an ideal area and found individual properties to consider, start comparing their pros and cons. Vet specific properties’ qualities, including office or building size, furniture, parking lot size, amenities, lease terms and more. Is the actual building or space somewhere your team and customers will enjoy spending time?

Factors to consider when selecting a business location

Before signing on the dotted line, numerous additional factors will influence your business location decision. Some may not apply to your specific industry, while some will be crucial determinants.

Consider the following factors before making your business location decision.

What other businesses are nearby?

Beyond understanding where your competitors are, it’s crucial to consider other nearby businesses. Specific business types may complement your offerings, especially if you’re a retail location or restaurant. You may share customers with similar demographics or your neighbors may be excellent allies. 

For example, choosing an office location near a deli and a dry cleaner can provide conveniences for your employees. If you’re a florist, nearby proximity to a baker may lead to customer overlap. Collaborating with other businesses in your location is a bonus that can help create a prosperous economic environment for all.

Does the location provide good foot traffic? 

Excellent foot traffic can be the crown jewel for specific small businesses, including retailers and restaurants. Foot traffic can boost the success of your local marketing strategies and help your business grow. Assess your chosen location’s foot traffic by visiting the area at various times to see how the crowds ebb and flow. Will your business benefit from the foot traffic level? If you’re weighing several great business locations, foot traffic may become a deciding factor. 

Is the location convenient for vendors and suppliers? 

If your business relies on frequent inventory infusions, proximity to your vendors and suppliers can be critical. An inconvenient location may lead to frequent delays and unhappy customers who can’t get the items they want. 

Is your location accessible to employees and customers?

Customers and employees must be able to access your location ― particularly if you’re operating a retail brick-and-mortar store. Evaluate any potential location’s on-site parking and accessibility to highways and major roads. 

How crucial is your business location?

This may seem like an obvious question but consider how the location will impact your business. A retail store’s location may be much more critical than a company’s office headquarters. Consider your customers and employees and how the business’s location will impact them. If the specific location doesn’t matter as much, you can place more importance on things like building amenities and affordability. 

Will your business receive ongoing shipments of goods?

If you’re working in the industrial sector or running a business that receives large supplies of goods, it’s best to choose a location with warehouse storage space and easy delivery options for clients and customers. A business that specializes in shipping and holding goods needs specific structural amenities, such as loading docks.

Will you conduct meetings at your business site?

Consider how your clients will utilize your location. If you meet with customers regularly, you need an accessible location with reception areas, waiting rooms and conference rooms. If no clients ever visit, you may instead prioritize things like a robust business phone system and technical infrastructure. 

Will your customers and employees need dedicated parking?

Consider your company’s size when choosing a business location. Your employees will likely have to drive to your location. If that’s the case, is parking available? Similarly, if you’re meeting regularly with clients and customers, you need convenient parking options for them. Sometimes, the most important aspect of a business location is its free, convenient and accessible parking options.

Why your business’s location is important

Your location is critical to your business’s success for many reasons: 

• Visibility: Depending on your chosen location, you might make your company more (or less) visible to its target demographic, directly impacting your revenue. 
• Customer connections: Additionally, operating a business in a convenient location can help you connect with more customers and develop lasting relationships with them.
• Employee satisfaction: Despite the rise of remote work, many businesses have in-office employees who must spend a great deal of time at the office. A convenient site with an excellent atmosphere and location can help keep employees happy. 
• Professionalism: Your business location will speak to clients. A professional, attractive location can improve your reputation and how customers see you. However, a shoddier office in an inconvenient location won’t do you any favors. 

According to Statista , in-store and brick-and-mortar retail accounts for 85 percent of total retail sales, demonstrating the importance of foot traffic. If your retail store is in an inconvenient or inaccessible location, you could be missing out on a huge chunk of potential sales.

Getting the most out of your business location

Whether your business deals with customers or is more of an employee-centric office environment, your business location matters. It’s crucial to thoroughly assess how location impacts your operations and choose somewhere that meets your specific business needs. 

Depending on your business type, your location should be inviting and professional, creating a positive association for customers and employees alike.

Matt D’Angelo contributed to this article.

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24 of My Favorite Sample Business Plans & Examples For Your Inspiration

Published: February 06, 2024

I believe that reading sample business plans is essential when writing your own.

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As you explore business plan examples from real companies and brands, it’s easier for you to learn how to write a good one.

But what does a good business plan look like? And how do you write one that’s both viable and convincing. I’ll walk you through the ideal business plan format along with some examples to help you get started.

Table of Contents

Business Plan Format

Business plan types, sample business plan templates, top business plan examples.

Ask any successful sports coach how they win so many games, and they’ll tell you they have a unique plan for every single game. To me, the same logic applies to business.

If you want to build a thriving company that can pull ahead of the competition, you need to prepare for battle before breaking into a market.

Business plans guide you along the rocky journey of growing a company. And if your business plan is compelling enough, it can also convince investors to give you funding.

With so much at stake, I’m sure you’re wondering where to begin.

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First, you’ll want to nail down your formatting. Most business plans include the following sections.

1. Executive Summary

I’d say the executive summary is the most important section of the entire business plan. 

Why? Essentially, it's the overview or introduction, written in a way to grab readers' attention and guide them through the rest of the business plan. This is important, because a business plan can be dozens or hundreds of pages long.

There are two main elements I’d recommend including in your executive summary:

Company Description

This is the perfect space to highlight your company’s mission statement and goals, a brief overview of your history and leadership, and your top accomplishments as a business.

Tell potential investors who you are and why what you do matters. Naturally, they’re going to want to know who they’re getting into business with up front, and this is a great opportunity to showcase your impact.

Need some extra help firming up those business goals? Check out HubSpot Academy’s free course to help you set goals that matter — I’d highly recommend it

Products and Services

To piggyback off of the company description, be sure to incorporate an overview of your offerings. This doesn’t have to be extensive — just another chance to introduce your industry and overall purpose as a business.

In addition to the items above, I recommend including some information about your financial projections and competitive advantage here too.:

Keep in mind you'll cover many of these topics in more detail later on in the business plan. So, keep the executive summary clear and brief, and only include the most important takeaways.

Executive Summary Business Plan Examples

This example was created with HubSpot’s business plan template:

This executive summary is so good to me because it tells potential investors a short story while still covering all of the most important details.

Image Source

Tips for Writing Your Executive Summary

• Start with a strong introduction of your company, showcase your mission and impact, and outline the products and services you provide.
• Clearly define a problem, and explain how your product solves that problem, and show why the market needs your business.
• Be sure to highlight your value proposition, market opportunity, and growth potential.
• Keep it concise and support ideas with data.
• Customize your summary to your audience. For example, emphasize finances and return on investment for venture capitalists.

Check out our tips for writing an effective executive summary for more guidance.

2. Market Opportunity

This is where you'll detail the opportunity in the market.

The main question I’d ask myself here is this: Where is the gap in the current industry, and how will my product fill that gap?

More specifically, here’s what I’d include in this section:

• The size of the market
• Current or potential market share
• Trends in the industry and consumer behavior
• Where the gap is
• What caused the gap
• How you intend to fill it

To get a thorough understanding of the market opportunity, you'll want to conduct a TAM, SAM, and SOM analysis and perform market research on your industry.

You may also benefit from creating a SWOT analysis to get some of the insights for this section.

Market Opportunity Business Plan Example

I like this example because it uses critical data to underline the size of the potential market and what part of that market this service hopes to capture.

Tips for Writing Your Market Opportunity Section

• Focus on demand and potential for growth.
• Use market research, surveys, and industry trend data to support your market forecast and projections.
• Add a review of regulation shifts, tech advances, and consumer behavior changes.
• Refer to reliable sources.
• Showcase how your business can make the most of this opportunity.

3. Competitive Landscape

Since we’re already speaking of market share, you'll also need to create a section that shares details on who the top competitors are.

After all, your customers likely have more than one brand to choose from, and you'll want to understand exactly why they might choose one over another.

My favorite part of performing a competitive analysis is that it can help you uncover:

• Industry trends that other brands may not be utilizing
• Strengths in your competition that may be obstacles to handle
• Weaknesses in your competition that may help you develop selling points
• The unique proposition you bring to the market that may resonate with customers

Competitive Landscape Business Plan Example

I like how the competitive landscape section of this business plan below shows a clear outline of who the top competitors are.

It also highlights specific industry knowledge and the importance of location, which shows useful experience in this specific industry. 

This can help build trust in your ability to execute your business plan.

Tips for Writing Your Competitive Landscape

• Complete in-depth research, then emphasize your most important findings.
• Compare your unique selling proposition (USP) to your direct and indirect competitors.
• Show a clear and realistic plan for product and brand differentiation.
• Look for specific advantages and barriers in the competitive landscape. Then, highlight how that information could impact your business.
• Outline growth opportunities from a competitive perspective.
• Add customer feedback and insights to support your competitive analysis.

4. Target Audience

Use this section to describe who your customer segments are in detail. What is the demographic and psychographic information of your audience?

If your immediate answer is "everyone," you'll need to dig deeper. Here are some questions I’d ask myself here:

• What demographics will most likely need/buy your product or service?
• What are the psychographics of this audience? (Desires, triggering events, etc.)
• Why are your offerings valuable to them?

I’d also recommend building a buyer persona to get in the mindset of your ideal customers and be clear on why you're targeting them.

Target Audience Business Plan Example

I like the example below because it uses in-depth research to draw conclusions about audience priorities. It also analyzes how to create the right content for this audience.

Tips for Writing Your Target Audience Section

• Include details on the size and growth potential of your target audience.
• Figure out and refine the pain points for your target audience , then show why your product is a useful solution.
• Describe your targeted customer acquisition strategy in detail.
• Share anticipated challenges your business may face in acquiring customers and how you plan to address them.
• Add case studies, testimonials, and other data to support your target audience ideas.
• Remember to consider niche audiences and segments of your target audience in your business plan.

5. Marketing Strategy

Here, you'll discuss how you'll acquire new customers with your marketing strategy. I’d suggest including information:

• Your brand positioning vision and how you'll cultivate it
• The goal targets you aim to achieve
• The metrics you'll use to measure success
• The channels and distribution tactics you'll use

I think it’s helpful to have a marketing plan built out in advance to make this part of your business plan easier.

Marketing Strategy Business Plan Example

This business plan example includes the marketing strategy for the town of Gawler.

In my opinion, it really works because it offers a comprehensive picture of how they plan to use digital marketing to promote the community.

Tips for Writing Your Marketing Strategy

• Include a section about how you believe your brand vision will appeal to customers.
• Add the budget and resources you'll need to put your plan in place.
• Outline strategies for specific marketing segments.
• Connect strategies to earlier sections like target audience and competitive analysis.
• Review how your marketing strategy will scale with the growth of your business.
• Cover a range of channels and tactics to highlight your ability to adapt your plan in the face of change.

6. Key Features and Benefits

At some point in your business plan, you'll need to review the key features and benefits of your products and/or services.

Laying these out can give readers an idea of how you're positioning yourself in the market and the messaging you're likely to use. It can even help them gain better insight into your business model.

Key Features and Benefits Business Plan Example

In my opinion, the example below does a great job outlining products and services for this business, along with why these qualities will attract the audience.

Tips for Writing Your Key Features and Benefits

• Emphasize why and how your product or service offers value to customers.
• Use metrics and testimonials to support the ideas in this section.
• Talk about how your products and services have the potential to scale.
• Think about including a product roadmap.
• Focus on customer needs, and how the features and benefits you are sharing meet those needs.
• Offer proof of concept for your ideas, like case studies or pilot program feedback.
• Proofread this section carefully, and remove any jargon or complex language.

7. Pricing and Revenue

This is where you'll discuss your cost structure and various revenue streams. Your pricing strategy must be solid enough to turn a profit while staying competitive in the industry. 

For this reason, here’s what I’d might outline in this section:

• The specific pricing breakdowns per product or service
• Why your pricing is higher or lower than your competition's
• (If higher) Why customers would be willing to pay more
• (If lower) How you're able to offer your products or services at a lower cost
• When you expect to break even, what margins do you expect, etc?

Pricing and Revenue Business Plan Example

I like how this business plan example begins with an overview of the business revenue model, then shows proposed pricing for key products.

Tips for Writing Your Pricing and Revenue Section

• Get specific about your pricing strategy. Specifically, how you connect that strategy to customer needs and product value.
• If you are asking a premium price, share unique features or innovations that justify that price point.
• Show how you plan to communicate pricing to customers.
• Create an overview of every revenue stream for your business and how each stream adds to your business model as a whole.
• Share plans to develop new revenue streams in the future.
• Show how and whether pricing will vary by customer segment and how pricing aligns with marketing strategies.
• Restate your value proposition and explain how it aligns with your revenue model.

8. Financials

To me, this section is particularly informative for investors and leadership teams to figure out funding strategies, investment opportunities, and more.

 According to Forbes , you'll want to include three main things:

• Profit/Loss Statement - This answers the question of whether your business is currently profitable.
• Cash Flow Statement - This details exactly how much cash is incoming and outgoing to give insight into how much cash a business has on hand.
• Balance Sheet - This outlines assets, liabilities, and equity, which gives insight into how much a business is worth.

While some business plans might include more or less information, these are the key details I’d include in this section.

Financials Business Plan Example

This balance sheet is a great example of level of detail you’ll need to include in the financials section of your business plan.

Tips for Writing Your Financials Section

• Growth potential is important in this section too. Using your data, create a forecast of financial performance in the next three to five years.
• Include any data that supports your projections to assure investors of the credibility of your proposal.
• Add a break-even analysis to show that your business plan is financially practical. This information can also help you pivot quickly as your business grows.
• Consider adding a section that reviews potential risks and how sensitive your plan is to changes in the market.
• Triple-check all financial information in your plan for accuracy.
• Show how any proposed funding needs align with your plans for growth.

As you create your business plan, keep in mind that each of these sections will be formatted differently. Some may be in paragraph format, while others could be charts or graphs.

The formats above apply to most types of business plans. That said, the format and structure of your plan will vary by your goals for that plan. 

So, I’ve added a quick review of different business plan types. For a more detailed overview, check out this post .

1. Startups

Startup business plans are for proposing new business ideas.

If you’re planning to start a small business, preparing a business plan is crucial. The plan should include all the major factors of your business.

You can check out this guide for more detailed business plan inspiration .

2. Feasibility Studies

Feasibility business plans focus on that business's product or service. Feasibility plans are sometimes added to startup business plans. They can also be a new business plan for an already thriving organization.

3. Internal Use

You can use internal business plans to share goals, strategies, or performance updates with stakeholders. In my opinion, internal business plans are useful for alignment and building support for ambitious goals.

4. Strategic Initiatives

Another business plan that's often for sharing internally is a strategic business plan. This plan covers long-term business objectives that might not have been included in the startup business plan.

5. Business Acquisition or Repositioning

When a business is moving forward with an acquisition or repositioning, it may need extra structure and support. These types of business plans expand on a company's acquisition or repositioning strategy.

Growth sometimes just happens as a business continues operations. But more often, a business needs to create a structure with specific targets to meet set goals for expansion. This business plan type can help a business focus on short-term growth goals and align resources with those goals.

Now that you know what's included and how to format a business plan, let's review some of my favorite templates.

1. HubSpot's One-Page Business Plan

Download a free, editable one-page business plan template..

The business plan linked above was created here at HubSpot and is perfect for businesses of any size — no matter how many strategies we still have to develop.

Fields such as Company Description, Required Funding, and Implementation Timeline give this one-page business plan a framework for how to build your brand and what tasks to keep track of as you grow.

Then, as the business matures, you can expand on your original business plan with a new iteration of the above document.

Why I Like It

This one-page business plan is a fantastic choice for the new business owner who doesn’t have the time or resources to draft a full-blown business plan. It includes all the essential sections in an accessible, bullet-point-friendly format. That way, you can get the broad strokes down before honing in on the details.

2. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

We also created a business plan template for entrepreneurs.

The template is designed as a guide and checklist for starting your own business. You’ll learn what to include in each section of your business plan and how to do it.

There’s also a list for you to check off when you finish each section of your business plan.

Strong game plans help coaches win games and help businesses rocket to the top of their industries. So if you dedicate the time and effort required to write a workable and convincing business plan, you’ll boost your chances of success and even dominance in your market.

This business plan kit is essential for the budding entrepreneur who needs a more extensive document to share with investors and other stakeholders.

It not only includes sections for your executive summary, product line, market analysis, marketing plan, and sales plan, but it also offers hands-on guidance for filling out those sections.

3. LiveFlow’s Financial Planning Template with built-in automation

This free template from LiveFlow aims to make it easy for businesses to create a financial plan and track their progress on a monthly basis.

The P&L Budget versus Actual format allows users to track their revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, operating profit margin, net profit, and more.

The summary dashboard aggregates all of the data put into the financial plan sheet and will automatically update when changes are made.

Instead of wasting hours manually importing your data to your spreadsheet, LiveFlow can also help you to automatically connect your accounting and banking data directly to your spreadsheet, so your numbers are always up-to-date.

With the dashboard, you can view your runway, cash balance, burn rate, gross margins, and other metrics. Having a simple way to track everything in one place will make it easier to complete the financials section of your business plan.

This is a fantastic template to track performance and alignment internally and to create a dependable process for documenting financial information across the business. It’s highly versatile and beginner-friendly.

It’s especially useful if you don’t have an accountant on the team. (I always recommend you do, but for new businesses, having one might not be possible.)

4. ThoughtCo’s Sample Business Plan

One of the more financially oriented sample business plans in this list, BPlan’s free business plan template dedicates many of its pages to your business’s financial plan and financial statements.

After filling this business plan out, your company will truly understand its financial health and the steps you need to take to maintain or improve it.

I absolutely love this business plan template because of its ease-of-use and hands-on instructions (in addition to its finance-centric components). If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of writing an entire business plan, consider using this template to help you with the process.

6. Harvard Business Review’s "How to Write a Winning Business Plan"

Most sample business plans teach you what to include in your business plan, but this Harvard Business Review article will take your business plan to the next level — it teaches you the why and how behind writing a business plan.

With the guidance of Stanley Rich and Richard Gumpert, co-authors of " Business Plans That Win: Lessons From the MIT Enterprise Forum ", you'll learn how to write a convincing business plan that emphasizes the market demand for your product or service.

You’ll also learn the financial benefits investors can reap from putting money into your venture rather than trying to sell them on how great your product or service is.

This business plan guide focuses less on the individual parts of a business plan, and more on the overarching goal of writing one. For that reason, it’s one of my favorites to supplement any template you choose to use. Harvard Business Review’s guide is instrumental for both new and seasoned business owners.

7. HubSpot’s Complete Guide to Starting a Business

If you’re an entrepreneur, you know writing a business plan is one of the most challenging first steps to starting a business.

Fortunately, with HubSpot's comprehensive guide to starting a business, you'll learn how to map out all the details by understanding what to include in your business plan and why it’s important to include them. The guide also fleshes out an entire sample business plan for you.

If you need further guidance on starting a business, HubSpot's guide can teach you how to make your business legal, choose and register your business name, and fund your business. It will also give small business tax information and includes marketing, sales, and service tips.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of starting a business, in addition to writing your business plan, with a high level of exactitude and detail. So if you’re in the midst of starting your business, this is an excellent guide for you.

It also offers other resources you might need, such as market analysis templates.

8. Panda Doc’s Free Business Plan Template

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is one of the more detailed and fleshed-out sample business plans on this list. It describes what you should include in each section, so you don't have to come up with everything from scratch.

Once you fill it out, you’ll fully understand your business’ nitty-gritty details and how all of its moving parts should work together to contribute to its success.

This template has two things I love: comprehensiveness and in-depth instructions. Plus, it’s synced with PandaDoc’s e-signature software so that you and other stakeholders can sign it with ease. For that reason, I especially love it for those starting a business with a partner or with a board of directors.

9. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several free business plan templates that can be used to inspire your own plan.

Before you get started, you can decide what type of business plan you need — a traditional or lean start-up plan.

Then, you can review the format for both of those plans and view examples of what they might look like.

We love both of the SBA’s templates because of their versatility. You can choose between two options and use the existing content in the templates to flesh out your own plan. Plus, if needed, you can get a free business counselor to help you along the way.

I’ve compiled some completed business plan samples to help you get an idea of how to customize a plan for your business.

I chose different types of business plan ideas to expand your imagination. Some are extensive, while others are fairly simple.

Let’s take a look.

1. LiveFlow

One of the major business expenses is marketing. How you handle your marketing reflects your company’s revenue.

I included this business plan to show you how you can ensure your marketing team is aligned with your overall business plan to get results. The plan also shows you how to track even the smallest metrics of your campaigns, like ROI and payback periods instead of just focusing on big metrics like gross and revenue.

Fintech startup, LiveFlow, allows users to sync real-time data from its accounting services, payment platforms, and banks into custom reports. This eliminates the task of pulling reports together manually, saving teams time and helping automate workflows.

"Using this framework over a traditional marketing plan will help you set a profitable marketing strategy taking things like CAC, LTV, Payback period, and P&L into consideration," explains LiveFlow co-founder, Lasse Kalkar .

When it came to including marketing strategy in its business plan, LiveFlow created a separate marketing profit and loss statement (P&L) to track how well the company was doing with its marketing initiatives.

This is a great approach, allowing businesses to focus on where their marketing dollars are making the most impact. Having this information handy will enable you to build out your business plan’s marketing section with confidence. LiveFlow has shared the template here . You can test it for yourself.

2. Lula Body

Sometimes all you need is a solid mission statement and core values to guide you on how to go about everything. You do this by creating a business plan revolving around how to fulfill your statement best.

For example, Patagonia is an eco-friendly company, so their plan discusses how to make the best environmentally friendly products without causing harm.

A good mission statement  should not only resonate with consumers but should also serve as a core value compass for employees as well.

Patagonia has one of the most compelling mission statements I’ve seen:

"Together, let’s prioritise purpose over profit and protect this wondrous planet, our only home."

It reels you in from the start, and the environmentally friendly theme continues throughout the rest of the statement.

This mission goes on to explain that they are out to "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to protect nature."

Their mission statement is compelling and detailed, with each section outlining how they will accomplish their goal.

4. Vesta Home Automation

This executive summary for a smart home device startup is part of a business plan created by students at Mount Royal University .

While it lacks some of the sleek visuals of the templates above, its executive summary does a great job of demonstrating how invested they are in the business.

Right away, they mention they’ve invested $200,000 into the company already, which shows investors they have skin in the game and aren’t just looking for someone else to foot the bill.

This is the kind of business plan you need when applying for business funds. It clearly illustrates the expected future of the company and how the business has been coming along over the years.

5. NALB Creative Center

This fictional business plan for an art supply store includes everything one might need in a business plan: an executive summary, a company summary, a list of services, a market analysis summary, and more.

One of its most notable sections is its market analysis summary, which includes an overview of the population growth in the business’ target geographical area, as well as a breakdown of the types of potential customers they expect to welcome at the store. 

This sort of granular insight is essential for understanding and communicating your business’s growth potential. Plus, it lays a strong foundation for creating relevant and useful buyer personas .

It’s essential to keep this information up-to-date as your market and target buyer changes. For that reason, you should carry out market research as often as possible to ensure that you’re targeting the correct audience and sharing accurate information with your investors.

Due to its comprehensiveness, it’s an excellent example to follow if you’re opening a brick-and-mortar store and need to get external funding to start your business .

6. Curriculum Companion Suites (CSS)

If you’re looking for a SaaS business plan example, look no further than this business plan for a fictional educational software company called Curriculum Companion Suites. 

Like the business plan for the NALB Creative Center, it includes plenty of information for prospective investors and other key stakeholders in the business.

One of the most notable features of this business plan is the executive summary, which includes an overview of the product, market, and mission.

The first two are essential for software companies because the product offering is so often at the forefront of the company’s strategy. Without that information being immediately available to investors and executives, then you risk writing an unfocused business plan.

It’s essential to front-load your company’s mission if it explains your "Why?" and this example does just that. In other words, why do you do what you do, and why should stakeholders care? This is an important section to include if you feel that your mission will drive interest in the business and its offerings.

7. Culina Sample Business Plan

Culina's sample business plan is an excellent example of how to lay out your business plan so that it flows naturally, engages readers, and provides the critical information investors and stakeholders need. 

You can use this template as a guide while you're gathering important information for your own business plan. You'll have a better understanding of the data and research you need to do since Culina’s plan outlines these details so flawlessly for inspiration.

8. Plum Sample Business Plan

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For businesses, whether big or small, location is crucially important. Business location not only affects a company's costs and revenue as well as its ability to serve the customer. Getting the wrong location can have serious consequences for the business. In this article, you will learn what makes a good business location and how to set up a location strategy to ensure success.

Definition of business location

First, let's find out what a business location is and why it is important for a business.

Business location is defined as a place or structure occupied by a firm to run its operations. This includes any structure or establishment used in conducting a business.

Starbucks places its coffee houses in high-street, high-visibility locations in various settings, including downtown and suburban areas. You can also find Starbucks in office buildings, university campuses, and off-street highway locations. 1

A good business location aims to provide an advantage to your business by creating a balance among:

Operational costs (the daily costs incurred to run your business),

Potential revenue

Target customers.

Some examples of good business locations include the M4 corridor for tech companies, tourist attractions for hotel businesses, and the city centre for coffee shops.

Business location factors

Factors influencing the choice of a business location can be split into:

Supply factors

Demand factors

1. Supply factors

Supply factors examine the cost of running your business operations in a location. Some of these supply factors include:

Labour - The cost of employing labour to carry out the same task differs according to location. An excessive presence of labour in a particular location can increase the cost of employment, as opposed to a location with little available labour.

Land c ost - Due to rentals or outright purchases, land cost varies among different locations. The facilities provided after rentals/purchase or development can also affect land costs.

Non-financial factors - Non-financial factors like political stability, language, social amenities, and governmental support can influence the choice and cost of hiring a business location.

Energy c ost - The cost of energy varies among countries, types of business production and the number of employees hired. For example, the energy costs in the UK are different from those in Germany.

Transportation c ost - This includes the cost of transporting raw materials, stocks, finished products, and other necessary business input from/to a business location. It is necessary that a business location be close to its raw materials or services supply to reduce transportation costs. An example of this is the food processing industry, where business locations are usually close to the farm.

2. Demand factors

Demand factors affect services provided to your customers and your business revenue. These include:

Skilled labour - Businesses prefer locations where the right expertise can be found. An example is an M4 corridor in the UK which houses the majority of the UK technology sector.

Location suitability - Some businesses perform better in a certain environment. For example, in the hospitality sector, hotels are usually found in popular tourist attractions.

Customer ease - A business has to be located where its customers will have ease of access to its products or services. For example, a coffee shop creates ease through its location in the city centre.

Future expansion - A location that doesn’t provide the flexibility for future expansion might not provide a good business location. An example is a manufacturing business that has a lot of potential for growth and expansion. Choosing a larger venue in the beginning will give the business more flexibility to expand its facility later.

Importance of business location

Choosing the right business location is vital to business operations and success. Here are some key benefits of a good business location:

Attract and retain workers with the required skills and talent.

Provide a balance between business costs and business revenues.

Offer the necessary infrastructure for your business growth . These infrastructures include a good transport system, gas pipes, and road networks.

Position your business to fully benefit from government policies, grants, or loans.

Ensure the smooth running of your business operations.

Provide an ideal location to get enough traffic for your business or to keep your business confidential.

Business location strategy

A business location strategy is a plan used to find the best location for your business to reach its goals and objectives. A good business location strategy usually involves location analysis.

Business location analysis is a process wherein a business compares different locations' characteristics in order to select the most suitable location. Here is what is included in such an analysis:

1. Demographic analysis

This considers the population of a location. It takes into account the population's average age, age composition, income, skill level, education level, and occupation, as well as regional governance.

2. Location area analysis

This type of analysis considers the potential areas that will provide the most customers to your business. It also analyses the ease with which these customers can reach your business location.

3. Competition analysis

This examines the presence of competitors in the chosen business locations, especially in terms of strengths and weaknesses.

4. Traffic analysis

This analysis compares the number of people passing your different business locations during working hours. These include both automobile and foot traffic. The goal is to find a location that will provide your business with the greatest exposure.

5. Economics of location analysis

The analysis aims to reduce the cost of operations and investment for your business. Operational costs are those involved in the daily running of your business.

In conclusion, a good location is essential for the growth and success of your business. The ideal business location should provide the least risk, low operational costs, a big market presence, and less competition. It should also provide your business with advantages to help achieve your business goals.

Business location - Key takeaways

• A business location is defined as a place or structure occupied by a firm to run its operations. This includes any structure or establishment used in conducting a business.
• Business operational cost - the daily costs incurred to run your business

Target customers

Business location factors that influence the choice of a business location can be broadly grouped into:

A business location strategy is a plan used to find the best location for your business to reach its goals and objectives.

Business location analysis is a process wherein businesses compare different location characteristics in order to select the location best suited to your business.

1. Nithin Geereddy, Strategic Analysis Of Starbucks Corporation, Scholar Harvard Education, 2013.

2. Staff, 10 Reasons Why Location is Important in Business, rovva.com , 2022.

3. Staff, Factors to Consider When Choosing a Business Location , businesstown.com , 2022.

4. Matt D'Angelo, Tips on Choosing The Right Location for Your Business, businessnewsdaily.com , 2021.

5. Alex Saez, The Key Features of an E-Business, smallbusiness.chron.com , 2022.

Flashcards in Business Location 22

Define business location

Business location is defined as a place or structure occupied by a firm to run its operations. This includes any structure or establishment used in conducting a business. 

Market advantage provided by a good business location to businesses includes

Market advantages provided by good business location good business locations include - 

Reducing a business operational cost 

Boosting potential revenue that can be generated,

Bringing customers the business operations are targeting. 

Give three examples of good business locations 

Examples of good business locations include the M4 corridor for Technology business, a tourist attracting location for hospitality business, and a city centre for a coffee shop. 

What are the factors that influence choice of business location?

The factors include labour, future expansion, location sustainability, transportation cost, land cost, customer ease and energy cost. 

What do the demand factors examine?

Demand factors examine factors that affect services provided to your customers, and your business revenues.

Factors examined by the supply factor are?

Labour cost, energy cost, land cost, transportation cost, non-financial factors 

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Frequently Asked Questions about Business Location

What is a business location?

A business location is defined as a place or structure occupied by a firm to run its operations. This includes any structure or establishment used in conducting a business.  

Why is location important for a business?

Choosing the right business location is vital to business operations and success.  A good location helps to :

Attract and retain workers with the required skills and talent. 

Provide a balance between business costs and business revenues. 

Offer the necessary infrastructure for your business growth. These infrastructures include a good transport system, gas pipes, and road networks.  

Position your business to fully benefit from government policies, grants, or loans. 

Ensure the smooth running of your business operations. 

Provide an ideal location to get enough traffic for your business or to keep your business confidential. 

What is a good location for a business? 

A good business location aims to provide an advantage to your business by creating a balance of the following: 

What are factors to consider when locating a business? 

Business location factors that influence the choice of a business location can be broadly grouped into: 

Supply factors 

Demand factors 

The supply factors include labour, land cost, non-financial factors, energy cost, and transportation cost.

The demand factors include skilled labour, location sustainability, customer ease, and future expansion.

What are examples of good business location?

Starbucks places its coffee houses in high-street, high-visibility locations in various settings, including downtown and suburban areas. You can also find Starbucks in office buildings, university campuses, and off-street highway locations. 

Test your knowledge with multiple choice flashcards

Which of these is/are correct 

Skilled labour, _______, customer ease, and future expansion are examples of demand factors influencing business location choices. 

In the hospitality sector, hotels are usually found in popular tourist attractions. This is an example of which factor influences business location choices?

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How to Choose the Right Business Location 10 Factors You Should Know

Free Business Startup Checklist

Ayush Jalan

• December 12, 2023

Choosing a business location is one of the key decisions you’ll have to make as an entrepreneur. Doing so shouldn’t be based on a personal whim, but rather on a detailed understanding of your needs and limits. To do this, you need to understand how you can choose the right location.

In this article, we’ll see how to pick the right location for your business, and the factors that influence your decision.

Why is it important to choose the right business location?

You’ll need to make a strategic decision regarding the state, city, and neighborhood where your business will be located in order to select the right taxes, zoning laws, and regulations. It also affects the factors that influence your operations, profitability, scalability, expenses, etc.

A well-planned location can help you increase your market share , reduce labor and raw material costs, minimize risk, and take advantage of local laws and policies.

“The precept that location is key to the success of a business applies to art, and even to life itself: we thrive or wither depending on how nourishing our environment is.” – Yann Martel

How to pick the right location for your business

Picking the right business location depends greatly on what you want that location to do for you.

Asking the following question can be a great start to conducting your location analysis:

• What is the size of your future shop or office?
• What are your infrastructure requirements? Are you looking for a place to set up shop or to build your own office?
• What’s your budget to set up the new location?
• Do you need to be closer to a particular supplier for raw materials?

Depending on your business, your requirements will vary. Once you’ve identified your company needs, look at the factors that affect your business location to get a better idea of your options.

Factors influencing business location

Several factors determine how your business functions and sustains itself. These are some of them you should consider before picking your business location:

1. Proximity to target customers

In most cases, it pays to be in a location where there’s a high demand for your product. However, depending on your business type, you can decide whether you need to be near your target customers.

For instance, if you’re planning to start a restaurant , it might be more profitable to be in an urban locality where people eat out frequently. Conversely, if you plan on starting a manufacturing business , being close to your target customers might not be a priority.

Regardless of your business type, your proximity to your customers becomes more significant if:

• Your product life cycle is short
• Your transportation cost is high
• Your products are fragile
• Your products require after-sales services

2. Competitors’ location

Picking a location closer to a competitor can impact your business in many ways. Done wisely, it can even turn out to be a good strategy.

If your products have a competitive advantage , setting up a shop near your competitors can work in your favor. Not only can you capture their market share, but also provide your customers with a sense of choice.

Here are the benefits of setting up your business near a competitor:

• Healthy competition will fuel innovation.
• You can leverage your competitors’ marketing strategies for your benefit. Since they have already pulled in customers to the area, you don’t have to spend a lot on advertising yourself.
• Being close to your competitors allows you to strategize better and understand what works and what doesn’t in the market.
• If you happen to build a good relationship with your competitor, you can even collaborate with them.

If you’re afraid that your competitors’ offerings may outperform yours, you may choose other locations that will place you in the center of the market.

3. Talent acquisition

It’s not just customers and suppliers you need to worry about when picking a location; you also need to consider your recruitment needs.

If you plan to build a team, you need to check the following:

• Are there enough talented workers in the area you can hire?
• Does the location have good transportation and other facilities?
• Will the location help boost your staff’s productivity?
• How far is the location from the nearest residential area?
• Will you be reimbursing your staff’s travel expenses?

4. Operating and other costs

The location of your business will greatly influence the expenses you will have to incur.

Some of those expenses to look out for are:

• Transportation of raw materials
• Product delivery
• Inventory costs
• Parking fees
• Labor costs
• Electricity costs
• Water costs

There are a variety of taxes you would have to pay once you’ve set up your business. These vary depending on state and location. Moreover, some areas favor particular industries, creating favorable tax conditions. So, it’s essential to consider the same before deciding on the location of your business.

A few of the commonly levied taxes on businesses are:

• Property tax
• Corporate tax

6. Government incentives

Most young entrepreneurs are constantly on the lookout for funding and support. The good news is that some local and state governments do offer help. This can be in the form of financial incentives, business grants , low-interest loans, tax relaxations, and other benefits.

Make sure to research these before you lock your decision.

Some websites where you can find relevant info are:

• U.S. Chamber of Commerce
• U.S. Small Business Administration
• USA Government

7. Government laws and policies

Converse to the last point, there could be several government laws and policies that may restrict or negatively impact your business activities. Make sure to consider these before finalizing your business location.

Some of the aspects you should look into are:

• Licenses and permits
• Labor and employment laws
• Trade barriers
• Building codes
• Environmental regulations
• Advertising regulations

8. Local zoning ordinances

Local authorities have fixed rules and regulations regarding land usage—these laws are called zoning ordinances. Check if your plans of using and modifying the property comply with local laws to avoid running into problems later down the line.

Some locations have laws that deny permits for specific industries or restrict certain business activities. So, verify with the local municipal corporations or similar authorities to ensure you’re allowed to do business in that location.

9. Local community

While opening your business, it’s crucial to consider the impact of the local community on your business.

Asking the below questions might help you to choose the right business location:

• Is the community welcoming of small businesses?
• Does your business benefit the community in any way?
• Are the local values compatible with your company’s values?
• Will you be able to foster long-term relationships with the community ?

10. Safety and security

Feeling safe and conducting your business without any disturbances is critical.

Inquire about the following while looking for a location:

• Is the crime rate in the area high?
• How well is the policing system enforced?
• Is there a danger of theft or burglary? Will your inventory be secure?
• Is it a safe place for you and your employees?
• Will you need to upgrade the property to safeguard your business?

Choose the right location for your business

Going through a myriad of business location ideas can often cause decision fatigue due to the irreversibility of the action. However, you can increase your chances of success by evaluating your options via extensive research.

Examine the above factors to analyze your compatibility with your desired location and identify potential fits to check if it’s viable. Make sure to take your time to avoid making the wrong investment. You can even consider hiring an advisor to choose the right business location.

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About the Author

Ayush is a writer with an academic background in business and marketing. Being a tech-enthusiast, he likes to keep a sharp eye on the latest tech gadgets and innovations. When he's not working, you can find him writing poetry, gaming, playing the ukulele, catching up with friends, and indulging in creative philosophies.

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

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A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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How To Write the Operations Plan Section of the Business Plan

Susan Ward wrote about small businesses for The Balance for 18 years. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

Stage of Development Section

Production process section, the bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).

The operations plan is the section of your business plan that gives an overview of your workflow, supply chains, and similar aspects of your business. Any key details of how your business physically produces goods or services will be included in this section.

You need an operations plan to help others understand how you'll deliver on your promise to turn a profit. Keep reading to learn what to include in your operations plan.

Key Takeaways

• The operations plan section should include general operational details that help investors understand the physical details of your vision.
• Details in the operations plan include information about any physical plants, equipment, assets, and more.
• The operations plan can also serve as a checklist for startups; it includes a list of everything that must be done to start turning a profit.

In your business plan , the operations plan section describes the physical necessities of your business's operation, such as your physical location, facilities, and equipment. Depending on what kind of business you'll be operating, it may also include information about inventory requirements, suppliers, and a description of the manufacturing process.

Keeping focused on the bottom line will help you organize this part of the business plan.

Think of the operating plan as an outline of the capital and expense requirements your business will need to operate from day to day.

You need to do two things for the reader of your business plan in the operations section: show what you've done so far to get your business off the ground and demonstrate that you understand the manufacturing or delivery process of producing your product or service.

When you're writing this section of the operations plan, start by explaining what you've done to date to get the business operational, then follow up with an explanation of what still needs to be done. The following should be included:

Production Workflow

A high-level, step-by-step description of how your product or service will be made, identifying the problems that may occur in the production process. Follow this with a subsection titled "Risks," which outlines the potential problems that may interfere with the production process and what you're going to do to negate these risks. If any part of the production process can expose employees to hazards, describe how employees will be trained in dealing with safety issues. If hazardous materials will be used, describe how these will be safely stored, handled, and disposed.

Industry Association Memberships

Show your awareness of your industry's local, regional, or national standards and regulations by telling which industry organizations you are already a member of and which ones you plan to join. This is also an opportunity to outline what steps you've taken to comply with the laws and regulations that apply to your industry. 

Supply Chains

An explanation of who your suppliers are and their prices, terms, and conditions. Describe what alternative arrangements you have made or will make if these suppliers let you down.

Quality Control

An explanation of the quality control measures that you've set up or are going to establish. For example, if you intend to pursue some form of quality control certification such as ISO 9000, describe how you will accomplish this.

While you can think of the stage of the development part of the operations plan as an overview, the production process section lays out the details of your business's day-to-day operations. Remember, your goal for writing this business plan section is to demonstrate your understanding of your product or service's manufacturing or delivery process.

When writing this section, you can use the headings below as subheadings and then provide the details in paragraph format. Leave out any topic that does not apply to your particular business.

Do an outline of your business's day-to-day operations, including your hours of operation and the days the business will be open. If the business is seasonal, be sure to say so.

The Physical Plant

Describe the type, site, and location of premises for your business. If applicable, include drawings of the building, copies of lease agreements, and recent real estate appraisals. You need to show how much the land or buildings required for your business operations are worth and tell why they're important to your proposed business.

The same goes for equipment. Besides describing the equipment necessary and how much of it you need, you also need to include its worth and cost and explain any financing arrangements.

Make a list of your assets , such as land, buildings, inventory, furniture, equipment, and vehicles. Include legal descriptions and the worth of each asset.

Special Requirements

If your business has any special requirements, such as water or power needs, ventilation, drainage, etc., provide the details in your operating plan, as well as what you've done to secure the necessary permissions.

State where you're going to get the materials you need to produce your product or service and explain what terms you've negotiated with suppliers.

Explain how long it takes to produce a unit and when you'll be able to start producing your product or service. Include factors that may affect the time frame of production and describe how you'll deal with potential challenges such as rush orders.

Explain how you'll keep  track of inventory .

Feasibility

Describe any product testing, price testing, or prototype testing that you've done on your product or service.

Give details of product cost estimates.

Once you've worked through this business plan section, you'll not only have a detailed operations plan to show your readers, but you'll also have a convenient list of what needs to be done next to make your business a reality. Writing this document gives you a chance to crystalize your business ideas into a clear checklist that you can reference. As you check items off the list, use it to explain your vision to investors, partners, and others within your organization.

What is an operations plan?

An operations plan is one section of a company's business plan. This section conveys the physical requirements for your business's operations, including supply chains, workflow , and quality control processes.

What is the main difference between the operations plan and the financial plan?

The operations plan and financial plan tackle similar issues, in that they seek to explain how the business will turn a profit. The operations plan approaches this issue from a physical perspective, such as property, routes, and locations. The financial plan explains how revenue and expenses will ultimately lead to the business's success.

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Free Business Plan Template for Small Businesses (2024)

Use this free business plan template to write your business plan quickly and efficiently.

A good business plan is essential to successfully starting your business —  and the easiest way to simplify the work of writing a business plan is to start with a business plan template.

You’re already investing time and energy in refining your business model and planning your launch—there’s no need to reinvent the wheel when it comes to writing a business plan. Instead, to help build a complete and effective plan, lean on time-tested structures created by other  entrepreneurs and startups. 

Ahead, learn what it takes to create a solid business plan and download Shopify's free business plan template to get started on your dream today. 

What this free business plan template includes

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Products or services offered
• Market analysis
• Marketing plan
• Logistics and operations plan
• Financial plan

This business plan outline is designed to ensure you’re thinking through all of the important facets of starting a new business. It’s intended to help new business owners and entrepreneurs consider the full scope of running a business and identify functional areas they may not have considered or where they may need to level up their skills as they grow.

That said, it may not include the specific details or structure preferred by a potential investor or lender. If your goal with a business plan is to secure funding , check with your target organizations—typically banks or investors—to see if they have business plan templates you can follow to maximize your chances of success.

Our free business plan template includes seven key elements typically found in the traditional business plan format:

1. Executive summary

This is a one-page summary of your whole plan, typically written after the rest of the plan is completed. The description section of your executive summary will also cover your management team, business objectives and strategy, and other background information about the brand. 

2. Company overview

This section of your business plan will answer two fundamental questions: “Who are you?” and “What do you plan to do?” Answering these questions clarifies why your company exists, what sets it apart from others, and why it’s a good investment opportunity. This section will detail the reasons for your business’s existence, its goals, and its guiding principles.

3. Products or services offered

What you sell and the most important features of your products or services. It also includes any plans for intellectual property, like patent filings or copyright. If you do market research for new product lines, it will show up in this section of your business plan.

4. Market analysis

This section includes everything from estimated market size to your target markets and competitive advantage. It’ll include a competitive analysis of your industry to address competitors’ strengths and weaknesses. Market research is an important part of ensuring you have a viable idea.

5. Marketing plan

How you intend to get the word out about your business, and what strategic decisions you’ve made about things like your pricing strategy. It also covers potential customers’ demographics, your sales plan, and your metrics and milestones for success.

6. Logistics and operations plan

Everything that needs to happen to turn your raw materials into products and get them into the hands of your customers.

7. Financial plan

It’s important to include a look at your financial projections, including both revenue and expense projections. This section includes templates for three key financial statements: an income statement, a balance sheet, and a cash-flow statement . You can also include whether or not you need a business loan and how much you’ll need.

Business plan examples

What do financial projections look like on paper? How do you write an executive summary? What should your company description include?  Business plan examples  can help answer some of these questions and transform your business idea into an actionable plan.

Professional business plan example

Inside our template, we’ve filled out a sample business plan featuring a fictional ecommerce business . 

The sample is set up to help you get a sense of each section and understand how they apply to the planning and evaluation stages of a business plan. If you’re looking for funding, this example won’t be a complete or formal look at business plans, but it will give you a great place to start and notes about where to expand.

Lean business plan example

A lean business plan format is a shortened version of your more detailed business plan. It’s helpful when modifying your plan for a specific audience, like investors or new hires. 

Also known as a one-page business plan, it includes only the most important, need-to-know information, such as:

• Company description
• Key members of your team
• Customer segments

💡 Tip: For a step-by-step guide to creating a lean business plan (including a sample business plan), read our guide on how to create a lean business plan .

Benefits of writing a solid business plan

It’s tempting to dive right into execution when you’re excited about a new business or side project, but taking the time to write a thorough business plan and get your thoughts on paper allows you to do a number of beneficial things:

• Test the viability of your business idea. Whether you’ve got one business idea or many, business plans can make an idea more tangible, helping you see if it’s truly viable and ensure you’ve found a target market. 
• Plan for your next phase. Whether your goal is to start a new business or scale an existing business to the next level, a business plan can help you understand what needs to happen and identify gaps to address.
• Clarify marketing strategy, goals, and tactics. Writing a business plan can show you the actionable next steps to take on a big, abstract idea. It can also help you narrow your strategy and identify clear-cut tactics that will support it.
• Scope the necessary work. Without a concrete plan, cost overruns and delays are all but certain. A business plan can help you see the full scope of work to be done and adjust your investment of time and money accordingly.
• Hire and build partnerships. When you need buy-in from potential employees and business partners, especially in the early stages of your business, a clearly written business plan is one of the best tools at your disposal. A business plan provides a refined look at your goals for the business, letting partners judge for themselves whether or not they agree with your vision.
• Secure funds. Seeking financing for your business—whether from venture capital, financial institutions, or Shopify Capital —is one of the most common reasons to create a business plan.

Why you should you use a template for a business plan

A business plan can be as informal or formal as your situation calls for, but even if you’re a fan of the back-of-the-napkin approach to planning, there are some key benefits to starting your plan from an existing outline or simple business plan template.

No blank-page paralysis

A blank page can be intimidating to even the most seasoned writers. Using an established business planning process and template can help you get past the inertia of starting your business plan, and it allows you to skip the work of building an outline from scratch. You can always adjust a template to suit your needs.

Guidance on what to include in each section

If you’ve never sat through a business class, you might never have created a SWOT analysis or financial projections. Templates that offer guidance—in plain language—about how to fill in each section can help you navigate sometimes-daunting business jargon and create a complete and effective plan.

Knowing you’ve considered every section

In some cases, you may not need to complete every section of a startup business plan template, but its initial structure shows you you’re choosing to omit a section as opposed to forgetting to include it in the first place.

Tips for creating a successful business plan

There are some high-level strategic guidelines beyond the advice included in this free business plan template that can help you write an effective, complete plan while minimizing busywork.

Understand the audience for your plan

If you’re writing a business plan for yourself in order to get clarity on your ideas and your industry as a whole, you may not need to include the same level of detail or polish you would with a business plan you want to send to potential investors. Knowing who will read your plan will help you decide how much time to spend on it.

Know your goals

Understanding the goals of your plan can help you set the right scope. If your goal is to use the plan as a roadmap for growth, you may invest more time in it than if your goal is to understand the competitive landscape of a new industry.

Take it step by step

Writing a 10- to 15-page document can feel daunting, so try to tackle one section at a time. Select a couple of sections you feel most confident writing and start there—you can start on the next few sections once those are complete. Jot down bullet-point notes in each section before you start writing to organize your thoughts and streamline the writing process.

Maximize your business planning efforts

Planning is key to the financial success of any type of business , whether you’re a startup, non-profit, or corporation.

To make sure your efforts are focused on the highest-value parts of your own business planning, like clarifying your goals, setting a strategy, and understanding the target market and competitive landscape, lean on a business plan outline to handle the structure and format for you. Even if you eventually omit sections, you’ll save yourself time and energy by starting with a framework already in place.

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Business plan template FAQ

What is the purpose of a business plan.

The purpose of your business plan is to describe a new business opportunity or an existing one. It clarifies the business strategy, marketing plan, financial forecasts, potential providers, and more information about the company.

How do I write a simple business plan?

• Choose a business plan format, such as a traditional or a one-page business plan. 
• Find a business plan template.
• Read through a business plan sample.
• Fill in the sections of your business plan.

What is the best business plan template?

If you need help writing a business plan, Shopify’s template is one of the most beginner-friendly options you’ll find. It’s comprehensive, well-written, and helps you fill out every section.

What are the 5 essential parts of a business plan?

The five essential parts of a traditional business plan include:

• Executive summary: This is a brief overview of the business plan, summarizing the key points and highlighting the main points of the plan.
• Business description: This section outlines the business concept and how it will be executed.
• Market analysis: This section provides an in-depth look at the target market and how the business will compete in the marketplace.
• Financial plan: This section details the financial projections for the business, including sales forecasts, capital requirements, and a break-even analysis.
• Management and organization: This section describes the management team and the organizational structure of the business.

Are there any free business plan templates?

There are several free templates for business plans for small business owners available online, including Shopify’s own version. Download a copy for your business.

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Business Location Example in a Business Plan

Sample Business Plan Template; Business Plan Location Sample

by Meir Liraz

Here is an abbreviated example of a serious sample business plan examples templateproposal.

It is provided to give you a feeling for the style of writing that is used in a business plan, and is not intended to be a comprehensive guide of what should be covered in a good plan.

The humorous content of this business plan example is supplied only for the readers interest. For optimum effectiveness, care should be taken to minimize the humorous content in an actual proposal.

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Free Sample Business Plan Examples Table Of Contents

• Statement of Funding Proceeds
• Executive Summary
• Description Of The Business

Marketing Strategy

• Business Location

Licenses/Permits/Registrations

• Insurance/Bonding/Employee Benefits

Financial Data

Statement Of Funding Proceeds

Children's World has developed a line of toys that are superior to all other products that exist on the market today. In order to service our identified target markets with these superior toys, significant capital infusion is required.

Specifically, the required $15,000,000 will be allocated appropriately to:

Marketing and Advertising $ 1,500,000

Salaries -0-

Facilities 50,000

Capital Equipment 450,000

Research and Development 1,000,000

Operational Expenses 2,000,000

Inventory 10,000,000

Total $15,000,000

Children's World is the major player in the global gift giving industry. Originally founded as a sole proprietorship in 1930, the marketing tactics employed by Children's World had grown to the level of being a family legend by 1940. Annual toy production of Children's World exceeded 86,000,000 units at this time, and major expansion plans were developed. However, due to a slight downturn in the global economy, these plans have been shelved as projected profit levels have fallen to a near break even point in 1993.

To revitalize the company, a rigorous program of research and development was undertaken in the early 1950's. The first major breakthrough of which is ready for production. To be able to make maximum use of our proprietary breakthrough technology, Children's World needs to upgrade its existing facilities, as well as reevaluate the company's sleigh delivery system It is anticipated that a late model Cessna Citation could be modified to meet the operating requirements of Children's World. In addition, several used cargo planes will need to be acquired to facilitate the development of large stockpiles of toys at strategic global locations. A central hub system is being considered.

Additional manufacturing upgrades are planned to facilitate the projected increases in manufacturing output. Some of the upgrades include the replacement of manual lathes with automated CNC machines, the installation of spray booths using the latest in electrostatic technology, computerized conveyor and sorting systems, and an upgrade in the Statistical Process Control (SPC) area of the Quality Assurance Department.

As can be seen, Children's World is now at a point where they need to seek outside funding to refurbish/renovate their production facilities, upgrade their global navigational equipment, establish a more visible image, and to establish an extensive line of credit to cover seasonal inventory expenses.

This loan will be backed by the full assets and inventory of the Children's World company. As the attached Balance Sheet indicates, these assets have a current valuation of $5,000,000. In addition, of the $15,000,000 requested, $10,450,000 will be spent on inventory and capital equipment which will also be used as collateral for the note. As the attached cash flows indicate, Children's World should be able to service the debt incurred by this loan application. It is anticipated that the Return On Investment (ROI) thrown off from this loan will be 200% adjusted on a yearly basis. Timing of the loan and the market entry of the product will be critical, however, with the maximum value occurring from a November entry. Business location example in a business plan

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Description Of The business

Our Mission at Children's World is: "To provide toys and games of exceptional quality, in a timely manner, priced at or below our competition, to enhance the profits of our company."

Children's World is a sole proprietorship that was founded in 1930. It is wholly owned by Mr. and Mrs. Sanford Theodore Clause. For the past 50 years, Children's World has experienced an increase in the public awareness of our year end close-out (where we give away surplus inventory). Because of this practice, the public has begun to think of us on a seasonal basis as a philanthropic organization.

To alleviate this problem, we have just completed the development phase of a novel and proprietary product line that will once again place Children's World in the minds of the public on a daily basis. By 1940, our operation had produced 86,000,000 toys, and has operated profitably ever since. However, revenue projections for fiscal year xxxx, without external funding for the introduction of this new product line, is expected to be down to a break even level ($1,100). With the funding for the renovations, advertising, and new product line our profits are expected to reach $30,000,000. Annual growth is projected to be 21% per year through the year 2100.

The "state of the art" of the industry today dictates that toys are produced without ever being touched by human hands. Our new revolutionary product line capitalizes on the fact that our toys have traditionally been hand built by our local elf community. Although our production methods are slow in comparison to other manufacturers, our quality levels are high while our costs are kept very modest.

This new product line incorporates a rare, refined essence (known only to our advanced Research And Development Dept.) that causes a strong attraction to be formed between the toy and the customer who first sees the toy. This essence is well known in the animal community. For instance, it is the reason why ducklings bond to the first animal they see after emerging from their shell (commonly called "imprinting"). These ducklings will not physically allow themselves to be separated, to any significant distance, from the "parent" animal for approximately six months.

After lengthy collaboration with the local duck community, and extensive field testing (test population will not be disclosed), our top notch R&D staff has been able to identify and synthesize the essence and increase its strength. When incorporated into our line of toys, this essence will create a bond between the recipient and the toy that will last for one full year! During this time, like the ducklings, the recipient who first sees the toy will not want to be separated from the toy to any significant distance (typically less than fifteen feet).

This instant "imprinting" at the time of viewing the toy had initially placed our R&D staff in a considerable quandary. To be effective and "imprint" on only the intended recipient, the entire channel of distribution must not be able to see the product. This enigma was eventually resolved by the decision to place the product in an opaque wrapper, bag, etc. that could be given to the intended recipient to be "opened". To prevent the early opening of the wrapper/bag, we have developed several colorful prints that can be placed on the opaque wrapper thereby lending it an attractive external appearance.

Compared to competitors products, the use of the "essence" will dramatically increase the recipients enjoyment of, and involvement with, our product line. Other significant refinements that our R&D staff has been able to develop are:

1. Gender Specific Essences. Using this innovation, a toy incorporating a female gender essence will bond most strongly with female recipients, and vice versa. This will help reduce the demand for pink and lavender trucks, baseball mitts, etc., and will dramatically reduce our internal manufacturing problems and inventory requirements.

2. Variable Time Factor Essences. This innovation will allow us to produce toys that have a "short" imprint time (30 - 90 days) for use when we need to spur sales, or a longer imprint time (up to 365 days) for a moderated sales level. We have found through extensive research that 330 days is optimal in that it allows for approximately one month of "de-imprinting" and subsequent anticipation build up among the recipients. Naturally, this will cause some friction among the family sub-units, but that can not be avoided if we are to develop a maximum market penetration.

Business plan example - The Market

The Children's World target market includes the pre-adolescent to young adult groups on a global scale. Using data supplied by the Bureau of the Census the total population of the world is estimated at 5,700,000,000. Of this basis group, we have conservatively placed our estimate of our total target market at slightly over 300 million customers. At the present time our sales are hovering at the 250,000,000 unit mark (up from 86,000,000 in 1940) giving us an 83.3% market share. We believe that the requested funding will allow us to increase this market share to roughly 95% over the next two years. This would increase our sales by an additional 35,000,000 units per year (see Appendix A for source information and calculations).

Our primary focus (and most of our extensive field testing) is on the 1-5 year old individual. Our products are gender specific, with male vs. female sales forecasts mirroring the population demographics. As our products gain acceptance within this market, we will move to expand into the teenage markets as this time frame is known for its friction between family sub-units. This will mask the effects of the "de-imprinting" irritations, and will aid us in minimizing any public disclosure (and competitor espionage) during the early phase of our market introduction.

All Children's World products are protected by the trademark and copyright laws, however we will not seek patent protection for the "essence" lines. Instead, we will keep these lines as a trade secret, thus preventing public disclosure and the subsequent possibility of legal entanglements from disgruntled parents, consumer activists, etc.

Initial responses from our market test customers indicate that our new lines are enjoying an excellent reaction. Inquiries from prospective customers suggest that there is considerable demand for these toys. Relationships with leading retailers, major accounts, and distributors substantiate the fitness of Children's World for considerable growth and accomplishment.

Competition

Although Children's World is a broad based manufacturing and transportation company, competitive threats today come primarily from other toy manufacturers. However, with 83.3% of the overall market, the competition does not play a significant role on company pricing/credit policies.

The major competitors that are facing Children's World are as follows:

Mattel, Inc. (Hawthorne, CA) Primarily a game manufacturer/marketer with sales of over $50,000,000/year.

Roadmaster Corp. (Olney, IL) Manufacturer of juvenile riding toys with sales of over $100,000,000/year.

Parker Brothers (Beverly, MA) Primarily a game manufacturer/marketer with sales of over $250,000,000/year.

Flexible Flyer Co. (West Point, MS) Manufacturer of juvenile riding toys with sales of over $50,000,000/year.

Tyco Toys, Inc. (Mount Laurel, NJ) Manufacturer of trucks/cars with sales of over $100,000,000/year.

Hasbro, Inc. (Pawtucket, RI) Primarily a game manufacturer/marketer with sales of over $50,000,000/year.

In spite of the competition in the toy industry, Children's World has continued to deliver a high quality, low cost product that is unique to this industry. In addition, our research indicates that our performance is superior to any other company on the market today.

The gift market is heavily seasonal, with the preponderance of sales coming late in the year. As stated in the "Background" section of the Business Description above, Children's World has experienced an increase in the public awareness of our year end close-out (where we give away surplus inventory). Because of this practice, the public has begun to think of us on a seasonal basis as a philanthropic organization.

It is our belief that we will be able to turn this mistaken perception around with the funds that we are seeking via this proposal. After all, in all comparisons Children's World's products provide more features and have superior performance than competitive products. In most cases, the difference in the number of features is substantial. A complete technical comparison is available upon request.

The "state of the art" of the industry today dictates that toys are produced without ever being touched by human hands. Our new revolutionary product line capitalizes on the fact that our toys have traditionally been hand built by our local elf community. Although our production methods are slow in comparison to other manufacturers, our quality levels are high while our costs are kept very modest. In addition, the exciting new breakthroughs that we have achieved in our R&D department (see the Description of the Business section above) will further increase the sales and usage of our products.

To get the most out of our marketing dollars, we have developed the following strategy for promoting our products:

Pricing and Profitability. Our pricing is tied to our philosophy of operating at a break even basis. However, because of both the past losses incurred in the toy giveaways, and to pay for the capital improvements outlined in this plan, we will increase our pricing in order to retire the newly incurred debt. We are projecting a first year net profit of $30,000,000 as the result of this project.

Selling Tactics. Consistent with previous years, preseason publicity outlining new merchandising concepts is utilized extensively to generate paid advertising participation from retailers and shopping centers world wide. This has worked well, and we have no plans to alter this strategy.

Distribution. Central pre-distribution hubs have now been established in each country. This concept permits faster delivery, without the need to return to the North Pole each time the sleigh needs restocking. This is the most cost effective procedure implemented by Children's World in the last 50 years.

Advertising and Promotion. Cooperative advertising funds are available to all participating retailers which leverages our national advertising exposure 400%. Proof of advertising activity from the participating merchant in the form of a paid invoice from the merchant and a tear sheet from the print media is required for final payment.

Public Relations . This activity has outgrown our in-house capabilities. Therefore, we have retained the services of an international public relations firm, Good, Better and Best, Inc., to coordinate those activities. The firm provides us their services at cost, as they benefit measurably through their visibility and association with Children's World .

Business Relationships. Children's World participates heavily in trade shows during the Summer months. This activity permits us to maximize our efforts and focus on the major retailers and buyers. Promotional activity by retailers may need to be reviewed in the near future, as seasonal promotion once targeted exclusively for December, has been pushed backward to Thanksgiving, and on occasion is now occurring as early as Halloween. This is a concern we are reviewing with our public relations firm.

Credit Terms. Standard credit terms will be offered to wholesalers/retailers (2% 10 net 30), while cash and checks will be accepted on the retail level.

Business Plan Examples - Business Location

The Children's World production facilities wholly owned and are located at 101 North Pole Lane, Arctic Circle, Earth. Due to the nature of the toy industry, and its propensity for industrial espionage, Children's World decided at an early stage that steps must be taken to isolate and camouflage their facilities. To date, their efforts have been largely successful, although a few close calls have been noted.

The facilities are debt free and are kept in good repair by the local elf community. To accommodate the planned product line expansion, only minor renovations (approximately $50,000) will be necessary as stated in the "Statement of Funding Proceeds" section above.

To safeguard both their new and existing product lines, Children's World respectfully declines to provide detailed information on this subject heading.

All licenses, and permits required for the continued operation of the company have been either secured, or renewed. Due to our location, our company is not affected by zoning regulations.

All Children's World products are already protected by the appropriate trademark and copyright filings. Children's World will not seek patent protection for the "essence" lines, however. Instead, we will keep these lines as a trade secret, thus preventing public disclosure and the subsequent possibility of legal entanglements from disgruntled parents, consumer activists, etc.

FAA certification and flight tests of all pilots and craft are both current and comprehensive, and are on file with the proper authorities.

Insurance/Employee Benefits

Due to the unique nature of their work force and the isolation of the environment, Children's World does not have to provide insurance for their employees. However, Children's World does have full property insurance as well as a general liability insurance policy for $1,000,000 per the requirements of most retailers.

Employee benefits include unlimited supplies of aspirin, nasal decongestants, as well as other cold related medicines. Regarding vacation leave, Children's World provides two weeks of paid vacation each year. The company also their employees with equipment, lift passes, etc. free of charge for skiing, snowmobiling, snowshoeing, etc. However, no vacations are permitted during the months of October through December due to production demands.

How we started

Children's World was founded in 1930 by Sanford Theodore Clause who recognized the entrepreneurial opportunities presented by the establishment of a charitable society. Through his efforts gift giving became more fashionable, particularly around the time of the Christian celebration of Christmas.

Management team

Our key management team consists of Mr. and Mrs. Clause whose backgrounds consist of almost 60 years of manufacturing and marketing experience. Our manufacturing team consists of over 300 well trained elf volunteers, each with at least 200 years of manufacturing, engineering and design experience.

A listing of our corporate organization is as follows:

Sanford T. Clause, President

Elizabeth M. Clause, Vice President, Henry J. Ticklebone, Director of Finance, Abagail B. Greenleaf, Director of Marketing Princely J. Rockafellow, Director of Sales, James A. Bronson, Director of Engineering, Jillaney P. Quackenmeyer, Director Research & Development' Jeremy C. McDougal, Director of Operations, Thistle P. Stickler, Corporate Attorney.

As stated above, the strength of Children's World management team stems from the combined expertise in both management and technical areas. This has produced outstanding results over the past 60 years.

The time honored leadership characteristics of Children's World's management team have resulted in broad and flexible goal setting -to meet the ever changing demands of the quickly moving marketplace requiring our products. This is evident when the team responds to situations requiring new and innovative capabilities.

The following are the summary job descriptions for the key officers of the Children's World organization:

Abagail B. Greenleaf, Director of Marketing ($100,000/year salary) Manage market planning, advertising, public relations, sales promotion, merchandising and facilitate staff services. Identifying new markets and corporate scope and market research. Identify foreign markets.

Princely J. Rockafellow, Director of Sales ($100,000/year salary) Manage field sales organization, territories and quotas. Manage sales office activities including customer/product support/service.

Henry J. Ticklebone, Director of Finance ($150,000/year salary) Management of working capital including receivables, inventory cash and marketable securities. Financial forecasting, including capital budget, cash budget, proforma financial statements, external financing requirements, financial condition requirements.

James A. Bronson, Director of Engineering ($85,000/year salary) Oversees product development including quality control, physical distribution, product and packaging design, new product development improvement, and improvements on existing products. Research and development.

Jeremy C. McDougal, Director of Operations ($175,000/year salary) Service, manufacturing, raw materials management and allocation.

Outside support

An outside Board of Advisors, including highly qualified business and industry professionals/experts from the elfin community, will assist our management team to make appropriate decisions and take the most effective action; however, they will not be responsible for management decisions.

At this time we do not forecast any need for extensive restructuring, and/or large scale hiring campaigns. Our expansion campaign will be able to be handled by our current staff of highly skilled employees.

Please see the attached financial projections including five years of historical financials, as well as a three year cash flow and income statement projection.

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• Making the Decision
• Business Plan
• Developing a Business Plan
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How To Start A Business In 11 Steps (2024 Guide)

Updated: Apr 7, 2024, 1:44pm

Table of Contents

Before you begin: get in the right mindset, 1. determine your business concept, 2. research your competitors and market, 3. create your business plan, 4. choose your business structure, 5. register your business and get licenses, 6. get your finances in order, 7. fund your business, 8. apply for business insurance, 9. get the right business tools, 10. market your business, 11. scale your business, what are the best states to start a business, bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Starting a business is one of the most exciting and rewarding experiences you can have. But where do you begin? There are several ways to approach creating a business, along with many important considerations. To help take the guesswork out of the process and improve your chances of success, follow our comprehensive guide on how to start a business. We’ll walk you through each step of the process, from defining your business idea to registering, launching and growing your business .

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The public often hears about overnight successes because they make for a great headline. However, it’s rarely that simple—they don’t see the years of dreaming, building and positioning before a big public launch. For this reason, remember to focus on your business journey and don’t measure your success against someone else’s.

Consistency Is Key

New business owners tend to feed off their motivation initially but get frustrated when that motivation wanes. This is why it’s essential to create habits and follow routines that power you through when motivation goes away.

Take the Next Step

Some business owners dive in headfirst without looking and make things up as they go along. Then, there are business owners who stay stuck in analysis paralysis and never start. Perhaps you’re a mixture of the two—and that’s right where you need to be. The best way to accomplish any business or personal goal is to write out every possible step it takes to achieve the goal. Then, order those steps by what needs to happen first. Some steps may take minutes while others take a long time. The point is to always take the next step.

Most business advice tells you to monetize what you love, but it misses two other very important elements: it needs to be profitable and something you’re good at. For example, you may love music, but how viable is your business idea if you’re not a great singer or songwriter? Maybe you love making soap and want to open a soap shop in your small town that already has three close by—it won’t be easy to corner the market when you’re creating the same product as other nearby stores.

If you don’t have a firm idea of what your business will entail, ask yourself the following questions:

• What do you love to do?
• What do you hate to do?
• Can you think of something that would make those things easier?
• What are you good at?
• What do others come to you for advice about?
• If you were given ten minutes to give a five-minute speech on any topic, what would it be?
• What’s something you’ve always wanted to do, but lacked resources for?

These questions can lead you to an idea for your business. If you already have an idea, they might help you expand it. Once you have your idea, measure it against whether you’re good at it and if it’s profitable.

Your business idea also doesn’t have to be the next Scrub Daddy or Squatty Potty. Instead, you can take an existing product and improve upon it. You can also sell a digital product so there’s little overhead.

What Kind of Business Should You Start?

Before you choose the type of business to start, there are some key things to consider:

• What type of funding do you have?
• How much time do you have to invest in your business?
• Do you prefer to work from home or at an office or workshop?
• What interests and passions do you have?
• Can you sell information (such as a course), rather than a product?
• What skills or expertise do you have?
• How fast do you need to scale your business?
• What kind of support do you have to start your business?
• Are you partnering with someone else?
• Does the franchise model make more sense to you?

Consider Popular Business Ideas

Not sure what business to start? Consider one of these popular business ideas:

• Start a Franchise
• Start a Blog
• Start an Online Store
• Start a Dropshipping Business
• Start a Cleaning Business
• Start a Bookkeeping Business
• Start a Clothing Business
• Start a Landscaping Business
• Start a Consulting Business
• Start a Photography Business
• Start a Vending Machine Business

Most entrepreneurs spend more time on their products than they do getting to know the competition. If you ever apply for outside funding, the potential lender or partner wants to know: what sets you (or your business idea) apart? If market analysis indicates your product or service is saturated in your area, see if you can think of a different approach. Take housekeeping, for example—rather than general cleaning services, you might specialize in homes with pets or focus on garage cleanups.

Primary Research

The first stage of any competition study is primary research, which entails obtaining data directly from potential customers rather than basing your conclusions on past data. You can use questionnaires, surveys and interviews to learn what consumers want. Surveying friends and family isn’t recommended unless they’re your target market. People who say they’d buy something and people who do are very different. The last thing you want is to take so much stock in what they say, create the product and flop when you try to sell it because all of the people who said they’d buy it don’t because the product isn’t something they’d buy.

Secondary Research

Utilize existing sources of information, such as census data, to gather information when you do secondary research. The current data may be studied, compiled and analyzed in various ways that are appropriate for your needs but it may not be as detailed as primary research.

Conduct a SWOT Analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis allows you to look at the facts about how your product or idea might perform if taken to market, and it can also help you make decisions about the direction of your idea. Your business idea might have some weaknesses that you hadn’t considered or there may be some opportunities to improve on a competitor’s product.

Asking pertinent questions during a SWOT analysis can help you identify and address weaknesses before they tank your new business.

A business plan is a dynamic document that serves as a roadmap for establishing a new business. This document makes it simple for potential investors, financial institutions and company management to understand and absorb. Even if you intend to self-finance, a business plan can help you flesh out your idea and spot potential problems. When writing a well-rounded business plan, include the following sections:

• Executive summary: The executive summary should be the first item in the business plan, but it should be written last. It describes the proposed new business and highlights the goals of the company and the methods to achieve them.
• Company description: The company description covers what problems your product or service solves and why your business or idea is best. For example, maybe your background is in molecular engineering, and you’ve used that background to create a new type of athletic wear—you have the proper credentials to make the best material.
• Market analysis: This section of the business plan analyzes how well a company is positioned against its competitors. The market analysis should include target market, segmentation analysis, market size, growth rate, trends and a competitive environment assessment.
• Organization and structure: Write about the type of business organization you expect, what risk management strategies you propose and who will staff the management team. What are their qualifications? Will your business be a single-member limited liability company (LLC) or a corporation ?
• Mission and goals: This section should contain a brief mission statement and detail what the business wishes to accomplish and the steps to get there. These goals should be SMART (specific, measurable, action-orientated, realistic and time-bound).
• Products or services: This section describes how your business will operate. It includes what products you’ll offer to consumers at the beginning of the business, how they compare to existing competitors, how much your products cost, who will be responsible for creating the products, how you’ll source materials and how much they cost to make.
• Background summary: This portion of the business plan is the most time-consuming to write. Compile and summarize any data, articles and research studies on trends that could positively and negatively affect your business or industry.
• Marketing plan: The marketing plan identifies the characteristics of your product or service, summarizes the SWOT analysis and analyzes competitors. It also discusses how you’ll promote your business, how much money will be spent on marketing and how long the campaign is expected to last.
• Financial plan: The financial plan is perhaps the core of the business plan because, without money, the business will not move forward. Include a proposed budget in your financial plan along with projected financial statements, such as an income statement, a balance sheet and a statement of cash flows. Usually, five years of projected financial statements are acceptable. This section is also where you should include your funding request if you’re looking for outside funding.

Learn more: Download our free simple business plan template .

Come Up With an Exit Strategy

An exit strategy is important for any business that is seeking funding because it outlines how you’ll sell the company or transfer ownership if you decide to retire or move on to other projects. An exit strategy also allows you to get the most value out of your business when it’s time to sell. There are a few different options for exiting a business, and the best option for you depends on your goals and circumstances.

The most common exit strategies are:

• Selling the business to another party
• Passing the business down to family members
• Liquidating the business assets
• Closing the doors and walking away

Develop a Scalable Business Model

As your small business grows, it’s important to have a scalable business model so that you can accommodate additional customers without incurring additional costs. A scalable business model is one that can be replicated easily to serve more customers without a significant increase in expenses.

Some common scalable business models are:

• Subscription-based businesses
• Businesses that sell digital products
• Franchise businesses
• Network marketing businesses

Start Planning for Taxes

One of the most important things to do when starting a small business is to start planning for taxes. Taxes can be complex, and there are several different types of taxes you may be liable for, including income tax, self-employment tax, sales tax and property tax. Depending on the type of business you’re operating, you may also be required to pay other taxes, such as payroll tax or unemployment tax.

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When structuring your business, it’s essential to consider how each structure impacts the amount of taxes you owe, daily operations and whether your personal assets are at risk.

An LLC limits your personal liability for business debts. LLCs can be owned by one or more people or companies and must include a registered agent . These owners are referred to as members.

• LLCs offer liability protection for the owners
• They’re one of the easiest business entities to set up
• You can have a single-member LLC
• You may be required to file additional paperwork with your state on a regular basis
• LLCs can’t issue stock
• You’ll need to pay annual filing fees to your state

Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)

An LLP is similar to an LLC but is typically used for licensed business professionals such as an attorney or accountant. These arrangements require a partnership agreement.

• Partners have limited liability for the debts and actions of the LLP
• LLPs are easy to form and don’t require much paperwork
• There’s no limit to the number of partners in an LLP
• Partners are required to actively take part in the business
• LLPs can’t issue stock
• All partners are personally liable for any malpractice claims against the business

Sole Proprietorship

If you start a solo business, you might consider a sole proprietorship . The company and the owner, for legal and tax purposes, are considered the same. The business owner assumes liability for the business. So, if the business fails, the owner is personally and financially responsible for all business debts.

• Sole proprietorships are easy to form
• There’s no need to file additional paperwork with your state
• You’re in complete control of the business
• You’re personally liable for all business debts
• It can be difficult to raise money for a sole proprietorship
• The business may have a limited lifespan

Corporation

A corporation limits your personal liability for business debts just as an LLC does. A corporation can be taxed as a C corporation (C-corp) or an S corporation (S-corp). S-corp status offers pass-through taxation to small corporations that meet certain IRS requirements. Larger companies and startups hoping to attract venture capital are usually taxed as C-corps.

• Corporations offer liability protection for the owners
• The life span of a corporation is not limited
• A corporation can have an unlimited number of shareholders
• Corporations are subject to double taxation
• They’re more expensive and complicated to set up than other business structures
• The shareholders may have limited liability

Before you decide on a business structure, discuss your situation with a small business accountant and possibly an attorney, as each business type has different tax treatments that could affect your bottom line.

Helpful Resources

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There are several legal issues to address when starting a business after choosing the business structure. The following is a good checklist of items to consider when establishing your business:

Choose Your Business Name

Make it memorable but not too difficult. Choose the same domain name, if available, to establish your internet presence. A business name cannot be the same as another registered company in your state, nor can it infringe on another trademark or service mark that is already registered with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

Business Name vs. DBA

There are business names, and then there are fictitious business names known as “Doing Business As” or DBA. You may need to file a DBA if you’re operating under a name that’s different from the legal name of your business. For example, “Mike’s Bike Shop” is doing business as “Mike’s Bikes.” The legal name of the business is “Mike’s Bike Shop,” and “Mike’s Bikes” is the DBA.

You may need to file a DBA with your state, county or city government offices. The benefits of a DBA include:

• It can help you open a business bank account under your business name
• A DBA can be used as a “trade name” to brand your products or services
• A DBA can be used to get a business license

Register Your Business and Obtain an EIN

You’ll officially create a corporation, LLC or other business entity by filing forms with your state’s business agency―usually the Secretary of State. As part of this process, you’ll need to choose a registered agent to accept legal documents on behalf of your business. You’ll also pay a filing fee. The state will send you a certificate that you can use to apply for licenses, a tax identification number (TIN) and business bank accounts.

Next, apply for an employer identification number (EIN) . All businesses, other than sole proprietorships with no employees, must have a federal employer identification number. Submit your application to the IRS and you’ll typically receive your number in minutes.

Get Appropriate Licenses and Permits

Legal requirements are determined by your industry and jurisdiction. Most businesses need a mixture of local, state and federal licenses to operate. Check with your local government office (and even an attorney) for licensing information tailored to your area.

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Open a Business Bank Account

Keep your business and personal finances separate. Here’s how to choose a business checking account —and why separate business accounts are essential. When you open a business bank account, you’ll need to provide your business name and your business tax identification number (EIN). This business bank account can be used for your business transactions, such as paying suppliers or invoicing customers. Most times, a bank will require a separate business bank account to issue a business loan or line of credit.

Hire a Bookkeeper or Get Accounting Software

If you sell a product, you need an inventory function in your accounting software to manage and track inventory. The software should have ledger and journal entries and the ability to generate financial statements.

Some software programs double as bookkeeping tools. These often include features such as check writing and managing receivables and payables. You can also use this software to track your income and expenses, generate invoices, run reports and calculate taxes.

There are many bookkeeping services available that can do all of this for you, and more. These services can be accessed online from any computer or mobile device and often include features such as bank reconciliation and invoicing. Check out the best accounting software for small business, or see if you want to handle the bookkeeping yourself.

Determine Your Break-Even Point

Before you fund your business, you must get an idea of your startup costs. To determine these, make a list of all the physical supplies you need, estimate the cost of any professional services you will require, determine the price of any licenses or permits required to operate and calculate the cost of office space or other real estate. Add in the costs of payroll and benefits, if applicable.

Businesses can take years to turn a profit, so it’s better to overestimate the startup costs and have too much money than too little. Many experts recommend having enough cash on hand to cover six months of operating expenses.

When you know how much you need to get started with your business, you need to know the point at which your business makes money. This figure is your break-even point.

In contrast, the contribution margin = total sales revenue – cost to make product

For example, let’s say you’re starting a small business that sells miniature birdhouses for fairy gardens. You have determined that it will cost you $500 in startup costs. Your variable costs are $0.40 per birdhouse produced, and you sell them for $1.50 each.

Let’s write these out so it’s easy to follow:

This means that you need to sell at least 456 units just to cover your costs. If you can sell more than 456 units in your first month, you will make a profit.

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There are many different ways to fund your business—some require considerable effort, while others are easier to obtain. Two categories of funding exist: internal and external.

Internal funding includes:

• Personal savings
• Credit cards
• Funds from friends and family

If you finance the business with your own funds or with credit cards, you have to pay the debt on the credit cards and you’ve lost a chunk of your wealth if the business fails. By allowing your family members or friends to invest in your business, you are risking hard feelings and strained relationships if the company goes under. Business owners who want to minimize these risks may consider external funding.

External funding includes:

• Small business loans
• Small business grants
• Angel investors
• Venture capital
• Crowdfunding

Small businesses may have to use a combination of several sources of capital. Consider how much money is needed, how long it will take before the company can repay it and how risk-tolerant you are. No matter which source you use, plan for profit. It’s far better to take home six figures than make seven figures and only keep $80,000 of it.

Funding ideas include:

• Invoice factoring: With invoice factoring , you can sell your unpaid invoices to a third party at a discount.
• Business lines of credit: Apply for a business line of credit , which is similar to a personal line of credit. The credit limit and interest rate will be based on your business’s revenue, credit score and financial history.
• Equipment financing: If you need to purchase expensive equipment for your business, you can finance it with a loan or lease.
• Small Business Administration (SBA) microloans: Microloans are up to $50,000 loans that can be used for working capital, inventory or supplies and machinery or equipment.
• Grants: The federal government offers grants for businesses that promote innovation, export growth or are located in historically disadvantaged areas. You can also find grants through local and regional organizations.
• Crowdfunding: With crowdfunding , you can raise money from a large group of people by soliciting donations or selling equity in your company.

Choose the right funding source for your business by considering the amount of money you need, the time frame for repayment and your tolerance for risk.

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You need to have insurance for your business , even if it’s a home-based business or you don’t have any employees. The type of insurance you need depends on your business model and what risks you face. You might need more than one type of policy, and you might need additional coverage as your business grows. In most states, workers’ compensation insurance is required by law if you have employees.

Work With an Agent To Get Insured

An insurance agent can help determine what coverages are appropriate for your business and find policies from insurers that offer the best rates. An independent insurance agent represents several different insurers, so they can shop around for the best rates and coverage options.

Basic Types of Business Insurance Coverage

• Liability insurance protects your business against third-party claims of bodily injury, property damage and personal injury such as defamation or false advertising.
• Property insurance covers the physical assets of your business, including your office space, equipment and inventory.
• Business interruption insurance pays for the loss of income if your business is forced to close temporarily due to a covered event such as a natural disaster.
• Product liability insurance protects against claims that your products caused bodily injury or property damage.
• Employee practices liability insurance covers claims from employees alleging discrimination, sexual harassment or other wrongful termination.
• Workers’ compensation insurance covers medical expenses and income replacement for employees who are injured on the job.
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Business tools can help make your life easier and make your business run more smoothly. The right tools can help you save time, automate tasks and make better decisions.

Consider the following tools in your arsenal:

• Accounting software : Track your business income and expenses, prepare financial statements and file taxes. Examples include QuickBooks and FreshBooks.
• Customer relationship management (CRM) software : This will help you manage your customer relationships, track sales and marketing data and automate tasks like customer service and follow-ups. Examples include Zoho CRM and monday.com.
• Project management software : Plan, execute and track projects. It can also be used to manage employee tasks and allocate resources. Examples include Airtable and ClickUp.
• Credit card processor : This will allow you to accept credit card payments from customers. Examples include Stripe and PayPal.
• Point of sale (POS) : A system that allows you to process customer payments. Some accounting software and CRM software have POS features built-in. Examples include Clover and Lightspeed.
• Virtual private network (VPN) : Provides a secure, private connection between your computer and the internet. This is important for businesses that handle sensitive data. Examples include NordVPN and ExpressVPN.
• Merchant services : When customers make a purchase, the money is deposited into your business account. You can also use merchant services to set up recurring billing or subscription payments. Examples include Square and Stripe.
• Email hosting : This allows you to create a professional email address with your own domain name. Examples include G Suite and Microsoft Office 365.

Many business owners spend so much money creating their products that there isn’t a marketing budget by the time they’ve launched. Alternatively, they’ve spent so much time developing the product that marketing is an afterthought.

Create a Website

Even if you’re a brick-and-mortar business, a web presence is essential. Creating a website doesn’t take long, either—you can have one done in as little as a weekend. You can make a standard informational website or an e-commerce site where you sell products online. If you sell products or services offline, include a page on your site where customers can find your locations and hours. Other pages to add include an “About Us” page, product or service pages, frequently asked questions (FAQs), a blog and contact information.

Optimize Your Site for SEO

After getting a website or e-commerce store, focus on optimizing it for search engines (SEO). This way, when a potential customer searches for specific keywords for your products, the search engine can point them to your site. SEO is a long-term strategy, so don’t expect a ton of traffic from search engines initially—even if you’re using all the right keywords.

Create Relevant Content

Provide quality digital content on your site that makes it easy for customers to find the correct answers to their questions. Content marketing ideas include videos, customer testimonials, blog posts and demos. Consider content marketing one of the most critical tasks on your daily to-do list. This is used in conjunction with posting on social media.

Get Listed in Online Directories

Customers use online directories like Yelp, Google My Business and Facebook to find local businesses. Some city halls and chambers of commerce have business directories too. Include your business in as many relevant directories as possible. You can also create listings for your business on specific directories that focus on your industry.

Develop a Social Media Strategy

Your potential customers are using social media every day—you need to be there too. Post content that’s interesting and relevant to your audience. Use social media to drive traffic back to your website where customers can learn more about what you do and buy your products or services.

You don’t necessarily need to be on every social media platform available. However, you should have a presence on Facebook and Instagram because they offer e-commerce features that allow you to sell directly from your social media accounts. Both of these platforms have free ad training to help you market your business.

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To scale your business, you need to grow your customer base and revenue. This can be done by expanding your marketing efforts, improving your product or service, collaborating with other creators or adding new products or services that complement what you already offer.

Think about ways you can automate or outsource certain tasks so you can focus on scaling the business. For example, if social media marketing is taking up too much of your time, consider using a platform such as Hootsuite to help you manage your accounts more efficiently. You can also consider outsourcing the time-consumer completely.

You can also use technology to automate certain business processes, including accounting, email marketing and lead generation. Doing this will give you more time to focus on other aspects of your business.

When scaling your business, it’s important to keep an eye on your finances and make sure you’re still profitable. If you’re not making enough money to cover your costs, you need to either reduce your expenses or find ways to increase your revenue.

Build a Team

As your business grows, you’ll need to delegate tasks and put together a team of people who can help you run the day-to-day operations. This might include hiring additional staff, contractors or freelancers.

Resources for building a team include:

• Hiring platforms: To find the right candidates, hiring platforms, such as Indeed and Glassdoor, can help you post job descriptions, screen résumés and conduct video interviews.
• Job boards: Job boards such as Craigslist and Indeed allow you to post open positions for free.
• Social media: You can also use social media platforms such as LinkedIn and Facebook to find potential employees.
• Freelance platforms: Using Upwork, Freelancer and Fiverr can help you find talented freelancers for one-time or short-term projects. You can also outsource certain tasks, such as customer service, social media marketing or bookkeeping.

You might also consider partnering with other businesses in your industry. For example, if you’re a wedding planner, you could partner with a florist, photographer, catering company or venue. This way, you can offer your customers a one-stop shop for all their wedding needs. Another example is an e-commerce store that partners with a fulfillment center. This type of partnership can help you save money on shipping and storage costs, and it can also help you get your products to your customers faster.

To find potential partnerships, search for businesses in your industry that complement what you do. For example, if you’re a web designer, you could partner with a digital marketing agency.

You can also search for businesses that serve the same target market as you but offer different products or services. For example, if you sell women’s clothing, you could partner with a jewelry store or a hair salon.

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To rank the best states to start a business in 2024, Forbes Advisor analyzed 18 key metrics across five categories to determine which states are the best and worst to start a business in. Our ranking takes into consideration factors that impact businesses and their ability to succeed, such as business costs, business climate, economy, workforce and financial accessibility in each state. Check out the full report .

Starting a small business takes time, effort and perseverance. But if you’re willing to put in the work, it can be a great way to achieve your dreams and goals. Be sure to do your research, create a solid business plan and pivot along the way. Once you’re operational, don’t forget to stay focused and organized so you can continue to grow your business.

How do I start a small business with no money?

There are several funding sources for brand-new businesses and most require a business plan to secure it. These include the SBA , private grants, angel investors, crowdfunding and venture capital.

What is the best business structure?

The best business structure for your business will depend entirely on what kind of company you form, your industry and what you want to accomplish. But any successful business structure will be one that will help your company set realistic goals and follow through on set tasks.

Do I need a business credit card?

You don’t need one, but a business credit card can be helpful for new small businesses. It allows you to start building business credit, which can help you down the road when you need to take out a loan or line of credit. Additionally, business credit cards often come with rewards and perks that can save you money on business expenses.

Do I need a special license or permit to start a small business?

The answer to this question will depend on the type of business you want to start and where you’re located. Some businesses, such as restaurants, will require a special permit or license to operate. Others, such as home daycare providers, may need to register with the state.

How much does it cost to create a business?

The cost of starting a business will vary depending on the size and type of company you want to create. For example, a home-based business will be less expensive to start than a brick-and-mortar store. Additionally, the cost of starting a business will increase if you need to rent or buy commercial space, hire employees or purchase inventory. You could potentially get started for free by dropshipping or selling digital goods.

How do I get a loan for a new business?

The best way to get a loan for a new business is to approach banks or other financial institutions and provide them with a business plan and your financial history. You can also look into government-backed loans, such as those offered by the SBA. Startups may also be able to get loans from alternative lenders, including online platforms such as Kiva.

Do I need a business degree to start a business?

No, you don’t need a business degree to start a business. However, acquiring a degree in business or a related field can provide you with the understanding and ability to run an effective company. Additionally, you may want to consider taking some business courses if you don’t have a degree to learn more about starting and running a business. You can find these online and at your local Small Business Administration office.

What are some easy businesses to start?

One of the easiest businesses to start also has the lowest overhead: selling digital goods. This can include items such as e-books, online courses, audio files or software. If you have expertise in a particular area or niche, this is a great option for you. Dropshipping is also a great option because you don’t have to keep inventory. You could also buy wholesale products or create your own. Once you create your product, you can sell it through your own website or third-party platforms such as Amazon or Etsy.

What is the most profitable type of business?

There is no one answer to this question because the most profitable type of business will vary depending on a number of factors, such as your industry, location, target market and business model. However, some businesses tend to be more profitable than others, such as luxury goods, high-end services, business-to-business companies and subscription-based businesses. If you’re not sure what type of business to start, consider your strengths and interests, as well as the needs of your target market, to help you choose a profitable business idea.

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Katherine Haan is a small business owner with nearly two decades of experience helping other business owners increase their incomes.

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• Business plans

Develop your business plan

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Why you need a business plan

Use our business plan tool, download a detailed business plan template, tips to help you write your business plan.

Whether you've just started out or have been running your business for years, business planning can be the key to your success. Having a business plan:

• helps you to prioritise – it gives your business direction, defines your objectives, maps out how you'll achieve your goals and helps you to manage possible bumps in the road
• gives you control over your business – the planning process helps you learn about the different things that could affect your success. If you're already in business, it helps you to step back and look at what's working and what you can improve on
• helps you seek finance – if you're seeking finance for your business, you'll need to show banks and investors why they should invest in your business.

It will help you to develop a shorter business plan to:

• evaluate a new business idea
• set some goals for the year ahead
• keep your business on track.

Use this template if you are seeking finance for your business or want to include more detail in your business plan.

Business plan template

1. Determine what your plan is for

Does your business plan have more than one purpose? Will you use it internally, or will you share it externally, for example with potential investors or banks?

Deciding what the purpose is, can help you develop your plan for the right audience. If the plan has been developed for third parties, you will need to determine what they’ll be most interested in.

2. Prepare your finances

Use our detailed business plan template if you are seeking finance.

Lenders and investors will want to know if your finances are in order and your business is in a strong financial position. They'll want to know how much money you currently have, how much money you need and how much you expect to make in the near future. While a bit of extra funding will help you ensure you’re covered for unexpected costs, be realistic and avoid asking for more than you need.

If you're starting out and don't have financial information yet, our template provides resources to help you get your finances ready.

3. Write your summary last

Summarise the main points of your business plan using as few words as possible. You want to get to the point but not overlook important facts. This is your opportunity to sell yourself, but don't overdo it. The summary should include details about your business, market, goals and what makes you different from other businesses.

4. Get help

Don't leave your business plan to the last minute. It takes time, research and careful preparation to develop an effective business plan.

If you aren't confident in completing the plan yourself, consider getting a professional to look over it and provide advice.

There are a number of government services available to help you plan, start or grow your business. These services can provide general advice, workshops, seminars and networking events, and can even match you with a mentor or business coach.

Get expert help from a business adviser in your area .

5. Review your plan regularly

As your business changes, your plan will need to change to ensure your business is still heading in the right direction. Having your plan up-to-date can keep you focused on where you are heading.

It's a good idea to keep a record of each version of your business plan.

6. Protect your plan

Having an understanding with third parties when distributing a plan could be enough protection for some businesses. But if you have innovative business practices, products or services, you may want people to sign a confidentiality agreement to protect your innovations.

It may also be a good idea to include some words in your plan asking the reader not to disclose the details of your plan.

Start writing and developing your marketing strategy.

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Coaching Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Coaching Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their coaching companies. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a coaching business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Coaching Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your coaching business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Coaching Business

If you’re looking to start a coaching business or grow your existing coaching company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your coaching business to improve your chances of success. Your coaching business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Coaching Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a coaching business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for coaching companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a coaching business.

If you want to start a coaching business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your coaching business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of coaching business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a coaching business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a multiple coaching businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the coaching industry.
• Discuss the type of coaching business you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of coaching business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of coaching businesses:

• Business coaching: A business coach specializes in helping business owners clarify their business’s vision and goals.
• Career coaching: A career coach specializes in helping individuals reach their professional goals.
• Life coaching: A life coach specializes in helping people make positive progress in their daily lives, relationships, and careers.
• Performance coaching: A performance coach specializes in helping individuals improve their performance abilities using techniques similar to a sports coach.
• Wellness coaching: A wellness coach specializes in helping individuals develop and maintain healthy habits.

In addition to explaining the type of coaching business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of cases with positive outcomes, reaching $X amount in revenue, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the coaching industry. While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the coaching industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your coaching business plan:

• How big is the coaching industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your coaching business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your coaching business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: individuals, schools, families, and corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of coaching business you operate. Clearly, individuals would respond to different marketing promotions than corporations, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other coaching businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes other types of self-development services, therapists, counselors, and online support groups. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of clients do they serve?
• What type of coaching business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you make it easier for clients to acquire your services?
• Will you offer services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a coaching business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of coaching company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide performance coaching, executive coaching, health and wellness coaching, or career coaching services?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your coaching company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your coaching business located in a busy retail district, a business district, a standalone office, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your coaching marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your coaching business, including answering calls, planning and providing coaching sessions, billing clients and collecting payments, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth session, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your coaching business to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your coaching business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing coaching businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in coaching or running a small business.  

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you see 5 clients per day, and/or offer group coaching sessions? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your coaching business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a coaching business:

• Cost of utilities, internet service, and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and office furniture

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of payment forms you accept.  

Writing a business plan for your coaching business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the coaching industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful coaching business.

Coaching Business Plan Template FAQs

What is the easiest way to complete my coaching business plan.

Growthink's Ultimate Business Plan Template allows you to quickly and easily write your coaching business plan.

Where Can I Download a Sample Life Coach Business Plan PDF?

You can download our sample life coach business plan pdf here.

How Do You Start a Coaching Business?

Starting a coaching business is easy with these 14 steps:

• Choose the Name for Your Coaching Business
• Create Your Coaching Business Plan
• Choose the Legal Structure for Your Coaching Business
• Secure Startup Funding for Your Coaching Business (If Needed)
• Secure a Location for Your Business
• Register Your Coaching Business with the IRS
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Get the Required Business Licenses and Permits
• Get Business Insurance for Your Coaching Business
• Buy or Lease the Right Coaching Business Equipment
• Develop Your Coaching Business Marketing Materials
• Purchase and Setup the Software Needed to Run Your Coaching Business
• Open for Business

Learn more about how to start your own coaching business .

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Other Helpful Business Plan Articles & Templates

Use This Simple Business Plan Outline to Organize Your Plan

12 min. read

Updated April 10, 2024

When starting a business, having a well-thought-out business plan prepared is necessary for success . It helps guide your strategy and prepares you to overcome the obstacles and risks associated with entrepreneurship. In short, a business plan makes you more likely to succeed.

However, like everything in business, starting is often the hardest part. What information do you need? How in-depth should each section be? How should the plan be structured?

All good questions that you can answer by following this business plan outline. 

• What is a business plan outline?

A business plan outline is similar to most business plan templates . It lists the common sections that all business plans should include.

A traditional business plan typically includes an executive summary, an overview of your products and services, thorough market research, a competitive analysis, a marketing and sales strategy, operational and company details, financial projections, and an appendix. 

• Why is a business plan outline important?

Starting with a business plan outline helps ensure that you’re including all of the necessary information for a complete business plan. 

But, depending on what you intend to do with your plan, you may not need all of this information right away. If you’re going to speak with investors or pursue funding, then yes, you’ll need to include everything from this outline.

But, if you’re using your plan to test an idea or help run your business, you may want to opt for a one-page plan . This is a simpler and faster method that is designed to be updated and used day-to-day. 

If you’re unsure of which plan is right for you, check out our guide explaining the differences and use cases for each plan type . 

• 10 key sections in a standard business plan outline

No matter the type of business plan you create, these are the ten basic sections you should include. Be sure to download your free business plan template to start drafting your own plan as you work through this outline.

1. Executive summary

While it may appear first, it’s best to write your executive summary last. It’s a brief section that highlights the high-level points you’ve made elsewhere in your business plan.

Summarize the problem you are solving for customers, your solution, the target market, your team that’s building the business, and financial forecast highlights. Keep things as brief as possible and entice your audience to learn more about your company. 

Keep in mind, this is the first impression your plan and business will make. After looking over your executive summary, your reader is either going to throw your business plan away or keep reading. So make sure you spend the time to get it just right.

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2. Products and services

Start the products and services section of your business plan by describing the problem you are solving for your customer. Next, describe how you solve that problem with your product or service. 

If you’ve already made some headway selling your solution, detail that progress here—this is called “traction”. You can also describe any intellectual property or patents that you have if that’s an important part of your business.

3. Market analysis 

You need to know your target market —the types of customers you are looking for—and how it’s changing.

Use the market analysis section of your business plan to discuss the size of your market—how many potential customers exist for your business—and if your potential customers can be segmented into different groups, such as age groups or some other demographic.

4. Competition

Describe your competition in this section. If you don’t have any direct competitors, describe what your customers currently do to solve the problem that your product fixes. 

If you have direct competition, detail what your strengths and weaknesses are in comparison, and how you’ll differentiate from what is already available. 

5. Marketing and sales

Use this business plan section to outline your marketing and sales plan —how you’ll reach your target customers and what the process will be for selling to them.

You’ll want to cover your market position, marketing activities, sales channels, and your pricing strategy. This will likely evolve over time, but it’s best to include anything that clearly details how you will sell and promote your products and services. 

6. Operations

What’s included in the operations section really depends on the type of business you are planning for. If your business has a physical location or other facilities, you’ll want to describe them here. If your business relies heavily on technology or specific equipment or tools, you should describe that technology or equipment here.

You can also use this section to describe your supply chain if that’s an important aspect of your business. 

7. Milestones and metrics

In a business, milestones are important goals that you are setting for your business. They may be important launch dates, or a timeline of when you’ll get regulatory approval—if that’s something you need for your business. Use this section of your plan to describe those milestones and the roadmap you are planning to follow.

You can also describe important metrics for your business, such as the number of sales leads you expect to get each month or the percentage of leads that will become customers.

8. Company overview and team

The company and team section of your plan is an overview of who you are.

It should describe the organization of your business, and the key members of the management team. It should also provide any historical background about your business. For example, you’ll describe when your company was founded, who the owners are, what state your company is registered in and where you do business, and when/if your company was incorporated.

Be sure to include summaries of your key team members’ backgrounds and experience—these should act like brief resumes—and describe their functions with the company. You should also include any professional gaps you intend to fill with new employees.

9. Financial plan and forecasts

Your financial plan should include a sales forecast, profit and loss, cash flow projections, and balance sheet, along with a brief description of the assumptions you’re making with your projections.

If you are raising money or taking out loans, you should highlight the money you need to launch the business. This part should also include a use of funds report—basically an overview of how the funding will be used in business operations. 

And while it’s not required, it may be wise to briefly mention your exit strategy . This doesn’t need to be overly detailed, just a general idea of how you may eventually want to exit your business. 

10. Appendix

The end of your business plan should include any additional information to back up specific elements of your plan. More detailed financial statements, resumes for your management team, patent documentation, credit histories, marketing examples, etc. 

• Detailed business plan outline

If you’re looking for greater insight into what goes into specific planning sections, check out the following outline for a business plan. It can help you develop a detailed business plan or provide guidance as to what may be missing from your current plan. 

Keep in mind that every business plan will look a bit different because every business is unique. After all, business planning is to help you be more successful, so focus on the sections that are most beneficial to your business and skip the sections that aren’t useful or don’t apply. 

To help, we’ve marked sections that are truly optional with an *.

Executive summary

Company purpose / mission statement.

A very brief description of what your business does and/or what its mission is.

Problem We Solve

A summary of the problem you are solving and an identifiable need in the market you are filling.

Our Solution

A description of the product or service you will provide to solve the problem.

Target Market

A defined customer base who will most likely purchase the product or service.

Briefly describe who is behind the business.

Financial Summary

A short overview of revenue goals and profitability timeline.

If you’ve already started selling your product or service, highlight important initial details here.

Funding Needed*

If you are raising money for your business, describe how much capital you need.

Products & Services

Problem worth solving.

A thorough description of the problem or pain points you intend to solve for your customer base. 

A thorough description of your proposed product or service that alleviates the problem for your customer base.

Describe any initial evidence that your customers are excited to spend money on your solution. Initial sales or signed contracts are good signs.

Intellectual Property/Patents*

If this is important for your business, outline it here.

Regulatory Requirements*

If government approval is required for your business, explain the details and timeline.

Future Products and Services*

What products and services might you offer in the future once your initial products and services are successful?

Market Size & Segments

How many potential customers do you have and what potential groups of customers are separated by specific characteristics?

Market Trends*

How consumers in your target market tend to act including purchasing habits, financial trends, and any other relevant factors.

Market Growth*

The perceived potential increase or decrease in the size of your target market.

Industry Analysis*

If your industry is changing or adjusting over time, describe those changes.

Key Customers*

If your business relies on certain important customers, describe who they are here.

Future Markets*

A snapshot of the potential market based on the last few sections and how your business strategy works within it.

Competition 

Current alternatives.

A list of potential competitors. Identifying the competition isn’t always obvious and it may take some digging on your part.

Our Advantages

The strategic advantage(s) that makes your target market more likely to choose you over the competition. 

Barriers to Entry*

If there’s anything that makes it more difficult for other people to start competing with you, describe those barriers.

Marketing & Sales

Market positioning.

Where do your products or services fit into the market? Are you the low-price leader or the premium option?

Unique value proposition*

What’s special about your offering that makes your customers want to choose it over the competition.

Marketing Plan

An outline of your marketing and advertising strategy including costs, advertising channels, and goals.

How do you sell your product or service? Self-serve or with a team of sales representatives?

Pricing Strategy*

Describe your pricing and how it compares to alternatives in the market.

Distribution*

Describe how your product gets in front of customers. Are you selling in stores and online? Which retailers?

SWOT Analysis*

Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Location & Facilities

If you have a physical presence, describe where and what it is.

What technology is crucial for your business success?

Equipment & Tools

If special equipment or tools are needed for your business, describe them here.

Sourcing and fulfillment*

If you purchase your products or parts for your products from somewhere else, describe that sourcing and supply chain.

Partners and Resources*

If you have key partners that you work with to make your business a success, describe who they are and what services or products they provide.

Milestones and metrics

A detailed roadmap of specific goals and objectives you plan to achieve will help you manage and steer your business.

Key metrics

Performance measurements that help you gauge the overall performance and health of your business.

Company overview and team

Organizational structure.

An overview of the legal structure of your business. 

Company history and ownership

A summary of your company’s history and how it relates to planning your business.

Management team

The team that is starting or running your business and why they are uniquely qualified to make the business a success.

Management team gaps

Key positions that your business will need to fill to make it successful.

Financial plan and forecast

Projected profit and loss.

How much money you will bring in by selling products and/or services and how much profit you will make or lose after accounting for costs and expenses.

Projected cash flow

How and when cash moves in and out of your business. This also includes your overall cash position.

Projected balance sheet

Expected balances for business assets, liabilities, and equity.

Use of funds

If you are raising money either through loans or investment, explain how funds will be used. This is typically meant to be shared with investors or lenders.

Exit strategy

A brief explanation of how you intend to eventually exit from your business. This could include selling the business, going public, transitioning the business to a family member/employee, etc.

A repository for any additional information, including charts and graphs, to support your business plan.

Business plan outline FAQ

How do you organize your business plan?

There’s no real established order to business plans, aside from keeping the Executive Summary at the top. As long as you have all of the main business plan components, then the order should reflect your goals. 

If this is meant solely for your personal use, lay it out as a roadmap with similar sections grouped together for easy reference. If you’re pitching this to potential investors, lead with the stronger sections to emphasize the pitch. Then if you’re unsure of what order makes sense, then just stick to the outline in this article.

Should you include tables and charts in your business plan?

Every business plan should include bar charts and pie charts to illustrate the numbers. It’s a simple way for you, your team, and investors to visualize and digest complex financial information.

Cash flow is the single most important numerical analysis in a business plan, and a standard cash flow statement or table should never be missing. Most standard business plans also include a sales forecast and income statement (also called profit and loss), and a balance sheet.

How long should your business plan be?

There’s no perfect length for a business plan. A traditional business plan can be anywhere from 10 to 50 pages long depending on how much detail you include in each section. However, as we said before unless you intend to pursue funding, you likely don’t need a lengthy business plan at first.

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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