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How to Write a Business Plan, Step by Step

Rosalie Murphy

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

What is a business plan?

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

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

Bizee

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

write a business plan gov

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

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

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

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

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

You should include the following:

An explanation of how your product or service works.

The pricing model for your product or service.

The typical customers you serve.

Your supply chain and order fulfillment strategy.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NerdWallet’s picks for setting up your business finances:

The best business checking accounts .

The best business credit cards .

The best accounting software .

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

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

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

Licenses and permits.

Equipment leases.

Bank statements.

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

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

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

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

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

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

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

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

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

On a similar note...

Find small-business financing

Compare multiple lenders that fit your business

One blue credit card on a flat surface with coins on both sides.

write a business plan gov

Create a Business Plan

Create your personalized business guide, starting a business get a free, personalized, step-by-step guide.

Learn what forms and licenses you need to start your business and avoid fines. We’ll ask you a few onboarding questions; be prepared to tell us your legal structure, industry, and location.

You should consider writing a business plan before registering your business or seeking financing. Many business owners think it’s better to get started as fast as possible, but businesses with plans grow faster and are more successful.

A business plan precisely defines the business, identifies goals, and serves as the firm’s resume. It is also:

  • The management and financial “blueprint” for a business start-up and profitable operation.
  • The explanation of how the business will function and depicts its operational characteristics.
  • A detailed view of how the business will be capitalized and managed.

write a business plan gov

Recent Regulations and Resources

Writing a business plan.

Writing a business plan is an important first step to getting your business up and running. An effective business plan will serve as a roadmap for your business and the decisions you make along the way, and help you to obtain financing, build relationships, attract good employees, and boost your confidence as a business owner.  As a living document, your business plan may require revisions as your business changes and grows.

The structure of a business plan may vary depending on your business and needs, but it often incorporates the sections below.

  • ‍ Executive Summary ‍ The executive summary is the first (and sometimes only) part of your business plan people will read. The executive summary should provide information about your business and incorporate the highlights of the below sections. Ultimately, you want to leave the readers with a strong understanding of what your business is and why it will be successful. ‍
  • Introduction ‍ Provide a high-level overview of your business, how it will be structured, and what your goals are for your business. ‍
  • Business Description ‍ Describe your business, the specific product or service you will offer, and the features that make it special or different from your competitors. This section should describe each product or service including any brand names and unique features. Analyze the competitive advantages and disadvantages of each. Make sure to include a description of product lines, any patents, copyrights, legal and technical considerations,  opportunities, or plans for expanding, or redesigning product or service lines. Explain if the company’s customers may be the final users or may resell to someone else. In the latter case, the business owner should know both, the identity of the ultimate consumer as well as immediate customers. ‍
  • Marketing ‍ Demonstrate why your business model is relevant and timely. This section should ideally include information about industry trends, your target customers and their demographics, and your competitors in the region. The market analysis should highlight the opportunities for the company to achieve its goals by asking: To whom are you trying to sell? What are the trends in your target market? Who are your customers and what are their product/service preferences and reasons for purchasing? This information will not only be essential to help you think about how to differentiate your product, but also where and who to market to, and different locations where your business might be most successful. ‍
  • Sales Define your overall marketing strategy, pricing policy, sales terms, and method of selling or distributing products and services. To generate sales, consider what product or service attributes the company will emphasize, and how the company will advertise and otherwise promote its products or services. Provide a plan of action to market and sell your product or service to the target customers you identified in the Market Analysis. Identify the different strategies you can use to build and grow your business over time. In this section, consider the risks the business faces, problems that may hinder marketing execution, and potential backup strategies. ‍
  • Operational Requirements ‍ Focus on the ownership, business structure, and human resources side of your business. Use this area to introduce your team and the skills and expertise they bring to the table. Consider listing the Board of Directors (with their affiliations and experience), sharing an organization chart, and identifying key staff roles, responsibilities, and resumes of key personnel. Consider your staffing plan, number of employees, any facilities needed, or capital improvements. If your business requires manufacturing, explain the materials, sources of supply, and production method. ‍
  • Financial Management Show your financial history from the last five years (if applicable). Include your projections for the next five years. This first year should show projects on a quarterly basis and the remaining four years on an annual basis. Include balance sheets, a cash flow statement, and capital expenditure estimates. In simple terms: how much do you need to earn each month to cover wages, rent, loans, equipment, and other expenses? It's important to consider assumptions in the projection, assumptions may be the cost of a material or the demand for a product. If you have investors, this section should include an explanation of the use and effects of the investors' funds, and the potential return to investors compared to competitors and the industry in general. Financial statements and projections must be consistent with descriptions elsewhere in the business plan, your marketing assumptions, and your strategy.
  • Appendix or Supporting Documents Include additional documents that support your plan.

Organizations that Can Help with Your Business Plan

The Federal government and the State of New Jersey offer additional services that can help you write a business plan. These include:

  • The U.S. Small Business Administration provides a Business Plan Tool , which provides a step-by-step process to update the status of your business plan.
  • New Jersey Small Business Development Centers : NJSBDC has regional offices covering every county in New Jersey. They provide free (taxpayer-supported) assistance to entrepreneurs and can help you write a business plan.
  • SCORE : Score also offers assistance to NJ entrepreneurs. SCORE is staffed by volunteers, and each chapter has a less formalized process than NJSBDC.
  • Women’s Center for Entrepreneurship (Northern New Jersey): The WCE services northern New Jersey and can help you write a business plan. The WCE's services are not strictly for women entrepreneurs.
  • Latin American Economic Development Association (Southern New Jersey): LAEDA services southern New Jersey and can help you write a business plan. LAEDA's services are not strictly for Latin American entrepreneurs.
  • Union County Economic Development Corporation : The UCEDC provides free classes and paid business mentoring services and can help you create a business plan.

Benefits of a business plan

Your business plan outlines:

  • your vision for the business
  • the actions that will help you achieve it

When you are starting out, your business plan can help you to secure financing and investment. But your business plan does more than tell others what your plans are. A good business plan can help you test the feasibility of your new business idea, set operational and financial objectives, and make sure your business is manageable and effective.

You will need to revisit your business plan regularly as your business evolves and the business environment changes. These changes could include increased competition, advances in technology or the expectations of your customers.

What to include in your business plan

A clearly written business plan should include:

  • the vision and direction of your business – where are you now and where do you want to be?
  • a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis – a good business plan won't only identify ways to make your business idea work, it can also help you identify reasons why your idea might not work so you can address them before you invest time and money
  • a force field analysis – for each issue identified in your SWOT analysis, identify the positives and negatives of each issue and the actions you will take to address the issue

Write your business plan

Whether your business is just starting out, you're looking to sustain or you're looking to grow, our guide to writing a business plan can help you clarify your goals, figure out your barriers and come up with a plan of action.

Video: How to write a business plan in 8 steps

View transcript.

Whether you're planning to start a business or have been running it for years, business planning is the key to your success. A business plan helps you get finance, gives you control and direction and helps you set priorities.

Step 1: Define your vision

When you start a business, you have a clear goal to achieve this vision. After some time, the clarity of your vision may become blurry. Writing down your vision will help you define it for your staff to identify with your mission. Where are you now? Where do you want your business to be in the future?

Step 2: Set your goals

Make your goals and objectives realistic. Plan your short-term, mid-term, and long-term goals, including choosing your location; the number of customers you plan to reach and your customer demographics; your sales targets - revenue and profit margins; what you will outsource; your required staff numbers; and your growth strategy. Planning this strategy will help realise your dream and make your business thrive.

Step 3: Define your unique selling proposition

What makes you different from your competitors? Highlight the characteristics that make your business stand out from your competitors. Is there demand for your range of products or services? What can your business offer to increase demand?

Step 4: Research your market

Who are your competitors? What product range or services do they offer? Where are the gaps? Where is demand greater than supply and for which products or services? What are the current and future industry trends? How do you leverage these opportunities?

Conduct a SWOT analysis to explore the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats faced by your business; Think of all possible scenarios. List the issues and conduct a Force Field Analysis for each. This will help you determine clear actions to implement in order to address them.

Step 5: Know your customer

Do your research and define your target audience. Customers are spoilt by choice, so find out their buying habits. What does your ideal customer want? Get their feedback. Who are you targeting by age, gender, behavioural patterns or location? Find your niche.

Step 6: Set your marketing goals

Consider the product range and stock quantities to output or warehouse. Create a product development strategy. What is the price you should set to achieve your desired revenue? How will you handle distribution and delivery? What tools will you use for promotion?

Step 7: Define your marketing strategy

Include your chosen social media channels and engagement. How and where will you advertise - search engine marketing, print, radio or other media? Will you attend industry, trade or networking events?

Step 8: Talk to your accountant

Do your sums - are your financial goals and propositions realistic? How can you improve cash flow? How can you achieve your goals? Good business planning is a three-stage process:

  • You PLAN for the future.
  • You TRACK your progress.
  • And you LEARN from your experience.

One of the most important things to remember is that a business plan is a living document. Just as your business evolves over time, so too should your plans. Set reminders in your calendar to revisit your plan every 3, 6 or 12 months. It's important to revise your goals according to your current status as changes occur over time. Make planning part of your business. It doesn't have to be onerous and it doesn't have to be done in solitude. Make it fun, get creative, and include others in your process.

For more information on business planning, visit business.vic.gov.au where you can access tools, workshops and resources to help you plan for your success.

Create your one-page action plan

A one-page action plan is an overview of the current situation, where you want to be and what you need to do to get there. It's also a practical way to record the outcomes of the planning process.

A one-page action plan has the following elements:

  • 'Now' analysis – Summarise your current situation and issues in 4 or 5 points.
  • 'Where' analysis – What is your vision? What is your competitive advantage? What are your key objectives?
  • Strategies – What are the 3 or 4 key strategies you need to work on over the next 12 months? You can draw these from the SWOT analysis in your business plan.
  • Action plans – List about 3 or 4 of the most important actions to complete to help achieve your strategies. You can draw these from the analysis of your key issues and strategies in your business plan.
  • Timing – State when you aim to achieve the result and who is responsible for each task. These should be in priority order and are critical for accountability.

Get help in person

If you’re a first time business owner then you might need help working out how to action some of the steps you want to take. This might mean talking to an accountant, other business owners, a mentor, business coach or joining an industry group or your local chamber of commerce.

There's plenty of support available in Victoria to help you upskill and put you on the right track:

  • Try one of our mentoring services or workshops .
  • Get free advice and speak to subject matter experts with the Small Business Bus .

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write a business plan gov

  • Society and culture
  • Community and society
  • Libraries: alternative delivery models toolkit
  • Department for Culture, Media & Sport
  • Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport

Stage 7: business plan

Published 28 March 2017

write a business plan gov

© Crown copyright 2017

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence, visit nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3 or write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: [email protected] .

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/libraries-alternative-delivery-models-toolkit/stage-7-business-plan

1. Overview

This section sets out the process and areas to consider when developing a business plan. Producing a business plan provides an opportunity to plan, in detail, the way in which the alternative delivery model (ADM) will operate and will be a guiding document for the new delivery model in its first few years of development.

A business plan is typically needed when the identified preferred option requires a change in delivery model to be led by the in-house team. This could be a Local Authority Trading Company (LATC), Public Service Mutual (PSM), joint venture or in-house with re-engineering.

If the preferred option is to outsource the service, the next step will not be to produce a business plan. Instead you will need to develop a service specification along with documents to support the relevant procurement process (such as a Pre-Qualification Questionnaire and an Invitation to Tender).

The importance of engaging stakeholders in developing the business plan should not be underestimated. While this may take more time, it will create broader buy-in to a shared vision and smooth the journey of transition in the months to come.

2. Why develop a business plan?

The business plan is a useful document that allows stakeholders to understand what the new delivery model will do and how it will operate. The document will also serve as a future reference for the library service’s management team, enabling them to test the service’s development against the original vision. It is good practice for organisations to repeat the business planning process every 3 to 5 years. It may be helpful to link the period of your initial business plan to that of the initial contract (for example 3 or 5 years).

The process of developing a business plan is relatively fluid. Although it is a written document, the content for each section should be thought through before being documented. It can be helpful to use workshop sessions for this process, which also allow for stakeholder input. In addition to workshops, a certain level of research and desk-work is required to complete elements such as the market analysis and the financial model.

We have a 5 year business plan and annually produce a service plan for the year ahead which is shared with and approved by the council. Plans for the future include:

  • expanding and developing new and attractive services for current and new users of our existing provision in Devon and potentially expanding our reach geographically by bidding to run other library services
  • growing our technology services through expansion of our Fab Lab model into other libraries and environments, including local schools
  • expanding our local, national and international partnerships with a wide range of complementary organisations to innovate and enhance our service offer
  • increasing our reach and impact by developing libraries as spaces for high quality arts and culture
  • developing new models through research into the social value of libraries and our wide range of services
  • developing our own infrastructure as an independent organisation, we already have our own financial system and, over the medium term, will have our own payroll and HR systems and an independent IT infrastructure

Libraries Unlimited

3. business plan structure.

Typical areas covered in a business plan are outlined below. We have developed a (downloadable) business plan template (including guidance notes) that can help you to develop your business plan.

Vision and purpose

This section describes what the new delivery model wants to achieve, and how it will do this. It also helps to define the identity of the new organisation for both staff and customers.

Our business plan has also always been informed by our own ambitions and the way we align resources to deliver these. This is bigger than a business plan for divestment, and wider than the council’s vision, which was by necessity informed by its statutory duties.

It also confirmed the need for expert commissioning - a strong client for the council when agreeing the transition, and commissioning when the service is being provided independently. Suffolk Libraries IPS

This section describes the external market in which the delivery model will operate. This should be considered at a number of levels (locally, regionally and nationally) and will include aspects which you will have started to already develop during the case for change and case for externalisation. These are:

  • likely demand for the service
  • analysis of typical customers
  • competitor analysis
  • PESTLE analysis - looking at external factors that may influence the market
  • SWOT analysis - strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats

A clear and concise description of the services that will be intended to be delivered by the new delivery model. This may include both the initial services (delivered at the point of go-live) alongside future services to be developed. It may be helpful to describe services in terms of the way they will be experienced by different stakeholders, including library users, Friends Groups, the council and the local community.

Developing your future service profile is an important part of the business planning process. As libraries provide a wide range of service, it’s not easy to look at each service from a commercial perspective. It’s often difficult to accurately map demand for services and understand the true cost base and benefits realised by each service. This is ongoing for us as part of our overall development of the organisation.

We worked hard during set-up to determine a clear vision and purposes for our organisation and in our first year, we have become much more aware of the true costs of the different services we provide. Both these activities are helping us to make decisions about which services we should invest or disinvest in. However, we also weigh up the social value of our services when taking decisions so that we don’t inadvertently cause a negative impact on the difference our libraries make to individuals and local communities.

Organisational form

This section will consider key questions including the legal form of the new organisation, its governance and management, and how any surpluses will be used. We strongly recommend that you access expert legal advice when considering your legal form.

Consider the intended membership of your board of directors, the intended role of each director, and who from your senior management team should have a position on the board by right of their position within the delivery model (for example the ex-officio director).

We opted for a conventional legal form, a company limited by guarantee and registered charity. This allows us to have staff and community members as members, be governed by a board of trustees, and ensure 100% of any surplus generated is reinvested into library services. This form facilitates a more entrepreneurial, commercial approach but within clearly defined parameters of public benefit.

If offers transparency as a tried and tested model, well recognised by funders and partners and gives us flexibility in how we operate. It allowed us to apply for registered charity status which in turn ensures the organisation qualifies for business rates relief; and means we can access funding we may not otherwise be able to.

This section will introduce the proposed leadership team for the delivery model, and consider the staffing structure. You should also consider training needs of both the leadership team and the future workforce.

Bring in some independent commercial experience and get good HR and employment advice on all the processes your undertake. Think about:

  • which terms and conditions you might want to change - do you want to keep public sector terms on sickness and any enhanced payments?
  • whether you want to stay with the national employer negotiations, if not you can create your own with your own methods of awards and recognition

Suffolk Libraries IPS

Stakeholders.

This section will identify and prioritise a range of stakeholders that are important to the new delivery model. This could vary from council commissioners to library users. A clear engagement strategy for influencing these stakeholders should be outlined. A (downloadable) stakeholder mapping and communication planning template has been provided to support you during this process.

Quality assurance and monitoring

This section should outline the delivery model’s approach to assuring high-quality services to its customers, considering aspects such as risk management and performance management of contracts held by the delivery model.

This section should set out the practical resources that will be needed to deliver services. This section should include enabler and infrastructure elements, including:

  • premises and office space
  • equipment and resources
  • legal requirements and quality standards
  • partnerships with other agencies and/or suppliers
  • external advisors
  • supporting functions (such as IT, HR and payroll)

It should also include consideration of assets and staff.

This is a crucial section of the business plan which will come under close scrutiny if you decide to seek external or grant funding. It will need to demonstrate that you have considered how the financial management of the delivery model will work, and show that the organisation is forecasted to be financially sustainable over the medium term. The content of this section will include summary financial projections, based on your 5 year financial model.

There is a contradiction between the need for a strong financially robust business plan that convinces the council that there are both short and long term savings, whilst trying to reassure staff in relation to terms and conditions and not gambling on a windfall of external grants, donations and income generation. Our approach was to be realistic in the hard savings.

Inspire Culture, Learning and Libraries

We recommend that you access specialist VAT advice to consider any VAT implications for your new delivery model.

Understand how your services’ finances will be different from being in the council. Work with external accountants as soon as possible. Be clear about where you will generate income from and be realistic about the possibilities.

York Explore

This section outlines a plan showing activities required from the sign-off of the business plan to the go-live date for the new organisation. Special consideration should be given to timescales and dependencies relating to technical aspects of the process, including the consultation process, setting up a pension scheme, transferring assets, establishing the company as a legal entity, and setting up support systems (such as IT, HR and payroll). For further information please refer to Stage 8 - Transition .

This final section should capture risks, their anticipated impact, and the actions that have been identified to mitigate and manage them.

4. Intended outcomes/outputs

Once you have developed the full business plan for the new delivery model, it should be formally signed off by the council. This ensures that key stakeholders are appropriately sighted on the vision for the new organisation and understand how it intends to operate.

5. Lessons learnt and critical success factors

The CEO’s of the current library service delivery models have identified the following learning points in relation to the business planning process:

Independent advice from a business consultancy was incredibly valuable because it was the robustness of the business plan that enabled us to give confidence to internal council decision-makers, particularly those in finance and legal departments. We learnt a whole raft of new skills that we hadn’t needed before because the wider council took care of it for us. More than anything the process showed us how important it would be to bring new skills into the organisation once it was established.

The most challenging aspect was quickly obtaining the information that we needed in order to plan effectively. You need to pull together up-to-date information from across different council departments and often this was information that hadn’t been needed before.

There was dedicated council support for us initially, but it soon became clear we needed our own and it had to be independent. Paying for it has to be part of the transition and set up process. It’s important to get independent contractual, HR and employment advice from organisations which have a strong background in charitable, public contracts or commercial ventures. Conflicts of interest will arise during your discussions with the council, so accessing independent support is crucial.

The next section covers the eighth stage of the process - planning and undertaken transition to a new model

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How to Write a Business Plan

Last Updated: October 30, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Keila Hill-Trawick, CPA . Keila Hill-Trawick is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and owner at Little Fish Accounting, a CPA firm for small businesses in Washington, District of Columbia. With over 15 years of experience in accounting, Keila specializes in advising freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses in reaching their financial goals through tax preparation, financial accounting, bookkeeping, small business tax, financial advisory, and personal tax planning services. Keila spent over a decade in the government and private sector before founding Little Fish Accounting. She holds a BS in Accounting from Georgia State University - J. Mack Robinson College of Business and an MBA from Mercer University - Stetson School of Business and Economics. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 2,307,416 times.

If you’re interested in starting your own business, by now you probably know that writing a business plan is one of the first steps. But what should a business plan include? How detailed should it be? Do you need to do research first? Don’t worry—below we’ll answer all of your questions and walk you through putting together your first business plan from start to finish!

Doing Your Homework

Step 1 Analyze the potential markets for your business.

  • Is there a viable market for the product or service you want to sell?
  • How old are your potential customers?
  • What do they do for a living?
  • Is your product or service attractive to a particular ethnic or economic population?
  • Will only wealthy people be able to afford it?
  • Does your ideal customer live in a certain type of neighborhood or area?

Step 2 Establish the size of your potential market.

  • How many car mechanics are in need of soap in any given community?
  • How many children in the United States are currently under the age of eight?
  • How much soap will they use in a month or a year?
  • How many other soap manufacturers already have a share of the market?
  • How big are your potential competitors?

Step 3 Identify your company’s initial needs.

  • Don't aim for the best of everything at the beginning. You can forgo the expensive trimmings of an office of a more well-established company and stick to the basics at the beginning. Get what is affordable, works and is actually needed and don't buy frills.

Step 7 Put yourself in the shoes of potential investors.

  • Don't lose heart if you discover some, or even all, of your ideas have been adequately covered by the market. Don't ignore this reality; instead, work with it. Can you still do a better job or provide a better widget than your competitors? In many cases, it's likely that you can provided you know the market well and how to add value in ways your competitors are not doing. In other cases, it may be a case of focusing more narrowly or more broadly than your competitors are doing.

Step 8 Identify potential investors.

Structuring Your Business

Step 1 Define your company.

  • What will your product or service enable people to do better, more cheaply, more safely, or more efficiently? Will your restaurant make people’s palates delirious with new taste sensations? Will your new mousetrap help people capture mice without feeling sick to their stomachs? Will your new bubblegum scented bubble bath revolutionize the way children agree to take nightly baths?

Step 2 Choose a winning strategy.

  • Your competitive advantage may include designing special features not found in rival products. It may entail superior service characteristics such as speedier delivery, a lower price, or more attentive sales people––these are never to be sniffed at as possible winning ways, as many companies grow complacent and can be overtaken by giving customers experiences that are better than the average expectations. Even where your product or service is already well established, perhaps you’re establishing an image or brand of exceptional quality or reputation.

Step 3 Design your company.

  • Keep in mind that your initial plans will undoubtedly change as your business grows. You may need to hire more managers to supervise your expanding staff or to set up new departments to meet new customer demands. Projected growth and expansion for your company should be mentioned in your business plan, but it’s not the primary focus. For now, you want to secure help in getting started and convince your funding sources that you will become profitable.

Step 4 Consider the practical issues of running a business.

  • Investors will want to know if you’re capable of running the business. Do you need to bring in experienced managers right away? Will you keep some of the existing employees or hire all new people? And where do you find these potential employees?
  • Funding sources will also want to know if any of your partners expect to work alongside you or if their obligations are only financial. Your plan will need to specify the key management jobs and roles. Positions such as president, vice presidents, chief financial officer, and managers of departments will need to be defined along with stating who reports to whom.

Step 5 Decide on a marketing plan.

  • Consider how will you reach your customers. [14] X Research source What will you say to persuade and convince customers that your product or service is better value, more timely, more useful, etc. to the consumer than the rival product or service? If it currently has no rival, how will you properly explain the purpose of and the consumer's need for the product?
  • What advertising and promotional efforts will you employ? For example, two for the price of one specials or free coupons inside those same kid-oriented cereal boxes? Where can you locate lists of the greatest concentrations of children under the age of eight or whatever group constitutes your market?

Step 6 Build a dynamic sales effort.

  • What will your basic sales philosophy be? Building long-term relationships with a few major clients or developing a clientele of many short-term customers?

Writing the Business Plan

Step 1 Organize all the relevant information about your business.

  • Title Page and Table of Contents
  • Executive Summary , in which you summarize your vision for the company
  • General Company Description , in which you provide an overview of your company and the service it provides to its market
  • Products and Services , in which you describe, in detail, your unique product or service
  • Marketing Plan , in which you describe how you'll bring your product to its consumers
  • Operational Plan , in which you describe how the business will be operated on a day-to-day basis
  • Management and Organization , in which you describe the structure of your organization and the philosophy that governs it
  • Financial Plan , in which you illustrate your working model for finances and your need from investors
  • Sustainability Plan , in which you consider how your business's operations in the ecological, social, and economic context will create long-term value for society. [16] X Research source

Step 2 Write the executive summary last.

  • At first, do not worry about capitalization, punctuation, and grammar. All you need to worry about is putting your ideas down on paper. Once you have a general form, you can spend time proofreading your plan and correcting mistakes. Have someone else read over it for you and take heed of their comments.

Step 4 Sell yourself and your business.

  • The accuracy of your financial figures and projections is absolutely critical in convincing investors, loan sources, and partners that your business concept is worthy of support. The data must also be scrupulously honest and extremely clear.
  • Since banks and many other funding sources will compare your projections to industry averages in the R.M.A data, in the United States you can use the R.M.A figures to test your projections before the bank does.

Sample Business Plans

write a business plan gov

Expert Q&A

  • Many sources exist for finding information for your business plan. Your local library and the internet are always helpful sources. If you live near a university, you may be able to schedule an appointment with one of the college's professors. The professor may be able to give helpful insight. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0
  • There are a few valuable online archives of business plans that feature companies which have successfully penetrated the market based on a well defined and executed business (and marketing) plan. Take the time to study the market through a successful company's eyes and consider what your company will offer that distinguishes your product or service from the rest. Be certain about what gives your business the competitive edge. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0
  • Make sure you cite your information. This way you will have support for any statistics you put into your business plan. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0

write a business plan gov

  • Do not submit your draft business plan to potential investors! However, it is advisable to give the executive summary instead of the whole plan after it is completed. Sometimes, busy investors may not have the time to look at an entire plan, which can sometimes be up to 50 pages. Thanks Helpful 66 Not Helpful 13

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Write a Business Plan for a Small Business

  • ↑ https://extension.psu.edu/developing-a-business-plan
  • ↑ https://www.extension.purdue.edu/extmedia/ec/ec-735.pdf
  • ↑ https://sbdc.siu.edu/resources/writing-a-business-plan.php
  • ↑ https://www.sba.gov/business-guide/plan-your-business/write-your-business-plan
  • ↑ Keila Hill-Trawick, CPA. Certified Public Accountant. Expert Interview. 30 July 2020.
  • ↑ https://www.rmahq.org/who-we-are/
  • ↑ https://www.scu.edu/mobi/business-plans/
  • ↑ https://www.ofm.wa.gov/state-human-resources/workforce-data-planning/workforce-planning/introduction-workforce-planning
  • ↑ https://www.ictsd.org/how-should-sustainability-be-considered-in-a-business-plan/
  • ↑ https://www.investopedia.com/university/business-plan/business-plan7.asp

About This Article

Keila Hill-Trawick, CPA

To write a business plan, start with an executive summary that lays out your grand vision for your business. Follow that with a section that describes what products and services your company will offer. Then, write a marketing section where you detail how you're going to inform people about your business. You'll also want to include a section on your business model and how it will operate. Finally, conclude your business plan by letting investors know what you need from them. For help with doing research for your business plan, read the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW Washington, DC 20500

Readout of White   House Convening to Announce New Small Businesses Investment   Funds

New milestones announced represent the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to expanding SBIC program investments to high tech small start-ups and advanced manufacturing small businesses

Yesterday, the White House National Economic Council (NEC) and the Small Business Administration (SBA) hosted a convening with business leaders from around the country to celebrate recent Biden-Harris Administration reforms to the Small Business Investment Company (SBIC) program that expand the spectrum and diversity of private sector capital supporting small businesses and innovative startups. As a part of the President’s Bidenomics agenda to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, SBA announced the first SBIC licensee under the new reforms, and the first applicant to be greenlit to raise private capital under a new SBA-Department of Defense partnership focused on investing in small businesses supporting critical technology and manufacturing priorities vital to U.S. national security.

Federal officials, small business owners, investment professionals, and industry association leaders participated in a roundtable discussion about how the reforms will help amplify private sector investment in capital constrained and underserved markets. Under President Biden’s small business boom, Americans have filed a record 16 million new business applications, a sign of the hope and confidence in the economy from entrepreneurs and small business owners.

SBIC funds across the country manage over $42 billion in SBA-backed and private capital , providing equity investment and long-term loans to small businesses in a wide range of industries. In just the last year alone, SBICs have created or sustained more than 130,000 jobs, building on major investments the Biden-Harris Administration has made to support small businesses, spur record job growth and create high quality jobs in critical industries of the future. Financing to women-owned, minority-owned, and veteran-owned small businesses from the SBIC program totaled nearly $670 million, over a 25% increase from the year prior. SBA’s SBIC Diversification and Growth reforms that went into effect last August improve the ability for SBIC funds to bridge key funding gaps and provide patient capital to historically underserved small businesses.

At the convening, SBA made two landmark announcements about licensing milestones made possible through these reforms. First, SBA announced that a fund managed by Pelion Ventures was the first fund licensed as an Accrual SBIC under SBA’s new SBIC Diversification and Growth rule. SBA will commit up to $125 million to the Accrual SBIC fund as a match to private limited partner capital raised by this Salt Lake City based early-stage technology venture capital firm to support early-stage companies in industries such as software infrastructure, information services, developer tools, consumer technology, and e-commerce. Second, SBA announced Stifel North Atlantic received the first approval to raise private capital for the Additive Manufacturing (AM Forward) fund, as a part of the SBA-DOD SBIC Critical Technologies (SBICCT) initiative, a new partnership between SBA and DOD that will invest in manufacturing and service businesses that support the supply chains of leading defense, aerospace, and energy manufacturers. In seeking an SBIC license for this fund, Stifel North Atlantic aims to promote the advancement of numerous additive manufacturing production capabilities including workforce training, part design, machining and inspection, and part qualification, with the objective of increasing advanced manufacturing capabilities in the domestic supply chain. These milestones represent a spectrum of investment strategies, stages, industries, and geographic focus and reflect the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to serving all small businesses.

During the discussion, small business owners reflected on how critical SBIC funds have been to their ability to scale up and grow, including one small business owner who credited SBIC support with helping increase revenue ten-fold. Fund managers discussed how these reforms to the SBIC program address persistent gaps in capital-intensive and frontier technologies, as well as how the recent reforms provide new tools that improve their ability to invest in a more diverse ecosystem. Other business leaders stressed the importance of public-private partnerships in catalyzing small business development, especially in regions that have historically lacked access to private capital.

Participants included:

  • Isabel Guzman, SBA Administrator
  • Lael Brainard, National Economic Advisor
  • Damien Dwin, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Lafayette Square
  • Laurie Giandomenico, Senior Vice President of MITRE Engenuity
  • Steve Glover, Chief Financial Officer of Pelion Venture Partners
  • Eric Hare, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Global K9 Companies
  • Carmen Ortiz-McGhee, Chief Operating Officer of National Association of Investment Companies
  • Brett Palmer, President of Small Business Investor Alliance
  • Ryan Porter, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of LiveView Technologies
  • Frank St. John, Chief Operating Officer of Lockheed Martin

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IMAGES

  1. How to Write a Business Plan

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COMMENTS

  1. Write your business plan

    Executive summary Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful. Include your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company's leadership team, employees, and location. You should also include financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing.

  2. Write a business plan

    measure your progress You'll need a business plan if you want to secure investment or a loan from a bank. Read about the finance options available for businesses on the Business Finance Guide...

  3. Write a Business Plan

    Write a Business Plan Create a document that details your business operations, which can be used to attract potential investors, business partners and clients.

  4. learn.sba.gov

    learn.sba.gov

  5. Small Business Administration

    Inspector General Advocacy Hearings and Appeals Ombudsman WhiteHouse.gov USA.gov Regulations.gov Tools and Features Online Training Create a Business Plan Find Events Qualify for Government Contracts SBA Videos

  6. Business Plan: What it Is, How to Write One

    Steps 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...

  7. Develop your business plan

    Planning Guide to starting a business New businesses Are you ready to start a business? Prepare yourself for business Calculate the start-up costs of your business Difference between a business and a hobby Choose a business name Business names, trading names and legal names Choose your business location Buy an existing business

  8. Business.NJ.gov

    Writing a business plan is the first step to take as a prospective business owner that allows you to craft your game plan, hone your product, understand your customer base, and guide your decision-making. Plan and Start Your Business Home / Plan / Create a Business Plan Contents

  9. Plan your business

    Calculate your startup costs How much money will it take to start your small business? Calculate the startup costs for your small business so you can request funding, attract investors, and estimate when you'll turn a profit. Identify your startup costs Establish business credit

  10. How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

    Bottom Line Frequently Asked Questions Show more Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and...

  11. PDF Writing a Business Plan

    web: www.gsu.edu/sbdc Why Write a Business Plan? A Business Plan helps you evaluate the feasibility of a new business idea in an objective, critical, and unemotional way. • Marketing - Is there a market? How much can you sell? • Management - Does the management team have the skill? • Financial - Can the business make a profit?

  12. PDF 2023 SBA Small Business National Resource Guide

    10 Steps to Start Your Business 19 Write Your Business Plan 22 Choose Your Business Structure 23 How the SBA Supports Undeserved Small Business Communities 25 Opportunities for Veterans 27 Federal and State ID Numbers Funding Programs 28 Success Story: Rachel Kalenberg, co-founder, Pizza Carrello 32 Need Financing?

  13. Write a Business Plan

    The Governor's Small Business Handbook offers a helpful guide and topics to consider when writing a business plan (starting on page 6). The U.S. Small Business Administration offers online templates for creating a business plan and guidance on selecting a plan format. SCORE offers a step-by-step business plan template and one-on-one assistance ...

  14. How to write a business plan

    Use this free template to help you write a great plan for launching your new business. A business plan helps you set goals for your business, and plan how you're going to reach them. When you're starting out it's a good idea to do a full and thorough business plan. Quick-focus planning to make sure you work on the right things for your ...

  15. Write a business plan

    View transcript Whether you're planning to start a business or have been running it for years, business planning is the key to your success. A business plan helps you get finance, gives you control and direction and helps you set priorities. Step 1: Define your vision When you start a business, you have a clear goal to achieve this vision.

  16. Sample business plans

    Sample business plans Traditional and Lean business plan templates for new small business owners. Translations Plan de negocio tradicional -Rebeca Plan de negocio tradicional -Andrew Plan de negocio ágil -Andrew Variations of this document Version Rebecca's Plan-Traditional | File size: 245KB | Download .doc

  17. Your Roadmap to Success: Write a Business Plan in December

    The Business Section maintains a guide, Small Business Hub: A Research Guide for Entrepreneurs to serve as a virtual space where you can learn about the steps for starting and growing a small business. Included in this guide is a section, "Plan Your Business" which highlights how you might go about writing a business plan.

  18. Write a Business Plan

    Introduction Welcome to the Business Plan Wizard which will walk you step-by-step through the process of creating your business plan. A plan helps you find hidden business flaws and makes you think carefully about each phase of your business.

  19. Stage 7: business plan

    4. Intended outcomes/outputs. Once you have developed the full business plan for the new delivery model, it should be formally signed off by the council. This ensures that key stakeholders are ...

  20. 4 Ways to Write a Business Plan

    Make a chart of the most expensive and least expensive sites by location and square footage. Then estimate how much space you require and how much money you'll need to allow for rent. 6. Determine your start-up cost. [5] Make a list of all the tangible and intangible resources you need to get your business going.

  21. Readout of White House Convening to Announce New Small Businesses

    Under President Biden's small business boom, Americans have filed a record 16 million new business applications, a sign of the hope and confidence in the economy from entrepreneurs and small ...

  22. An Effective Business Plan Can Plot the Course for Small Business

    Published on November 30, 2023 December is National Write a Business Plan Month. The SBA encourages you to mark the occasion by learning how to put together an efficient, high-quality plan that will increase your chances of small business success in the year ahead. You wouldn't try to find a new destination without mapping the route first.

  23. Korea slashes subsidy for Tesla Model Y by two-thirds

    The subsidy for Tesla Model Y in Korea fell by two-thirds as the government's new EV credit plan snubs cars with cheaper Chinese batteries. The government set its subsidy for the Tesla Model Y at 1.95 million won ($1,460) this year, down 62 percent from last year's 5.14 million won, according to the Environment Ministry on Tuesday.

  24. Rebecca's Business Plan Template

    Traditional business plan example for We Can Do It Consulting. This example business plan is provided by the Small Business Administration. Download .doc. File size: 245KB. Effective : December 29, 2016.

  25. How to Write Your Business Plan, 2019 Style

    SBA blog How to Write Your Business Plan, 2019 Style How to Write Your Business Plan, 2019 Style By Tim Berry Published on December 20, 2018 Are you thinking about starting a business in 2019? This is a good time to go over the essentials of how to write, review, and manage your business plan.

  26. White House and SBA Announce Landmark Investments in Vital Small

    Write your business plan; Calculate your startup costs; Establish business credit; Fund your business; Buy an existing business or franchise; Launch your business. ... Instead, SBA provides government-guaranteed loans to private investment funds who then in turn invest in a broad and diversified 'basket' of small businesses and startups ...