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What is a Business Venture? With Examples + How to Start

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Are you looking to become a business owner ? Have you wondered what a business venture is and how to create one? Do you have a small amount of money and don’t know how to start?

Starting a business may seem intimidating , but it can be incredibly rewarding with the right knowledge and strategy. With a successful business venture , the sky is truly the limit with regard to earning potential.

Motivations for starting a business

If you’re ready to begin your entrepreneurial journey and start a business, I’m here to provide you with the necessary information and inspiration needed for success .

This blog post will define a business venture and examine some successful examples of what you can sell and how to grow fast. I’ll also provide some advice about how to find a profitable business venture. So read on for all the information you need!

What is a Business Venture?

A business venture is a project or undertaking where entrepreneurs create, organize, and manage their companies. Usually, this involves seeking an opportunity to develop and market a product or service in exchange for money. It can include opening a restaurant or launching a clothing line.

Most business ventures are frequently referred to as small businesses since they usually start with an idea and quite limited finances. They are typically supported by one or more angel investors who have faith in this business concept.

Amount of Capital needed to start a business

Any new business venture often starts from an existing gap in the market . It could be a demand for a product that consumers require or simply because of the lack of services available to them. No matter what business you are launching, you must have an idea to provide customers with a specific value.

How to Find a Profitable Business Venture

When looking for a business venture, it is important to look for an opportunity you can capitalize on . Your venture should have the potential to create a profit within a reasonable amount of time to stay in business.

Survival rates for small Businesses

There are many different business ideas to make money ! However, to make a better choice, answer the following three questions:

Question 1: Can I craft a convincing offer that people happily pay money for?

The first question to ask yourself when considering creating a successful small business venture is whether you can craft an offer that people will be willing to pay for . You need to provide something of value, a good business idea that customers feel they need, want, and are happy to pay for.

Think about what kind of product or service your potential customers would benefit from. The key is to make sure the offer solves a problem or fills people’s needs and provides them with something they would be willing to pay for.

So, priority number one is straightforward – identify what your potential customers desire and provide them with exactly that. Additionally, make sure you’re appropriately targeting the right individuals at a time when they will be most inclined to purchase.

Question 2: Can I systematically attract leads at low costs?

Once you’ve identified a great product or service, the next step is to focus on attracting potential customers . When it comes to marketing, it’s quite important to focus your efforts on tactics that will cost you as little money as possible.

It could mean taking advantage of organic social media posts, creating content (such as blog posts or videos) that can be shared and liked, or setting up partnerships with influencers who already have a significant and loyal following.

Traffic Sources

One of the most cost-effective strategies for attracting leads is email marketing . Email newsletters are an excellent way to reach out to potential customers and ensure that your offer is always in front of them.

You can also create targeted ads on different social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn to reach out to people likely interested in your services or products. Ad campaigns like this can be especially useful if you want to sell products and services quicker and without much hassle.

It’s also worth considering offering a discount or giveaway to customers to entice them to make a purchase.

Question 3: Can I convert those leads into customers with relatively low CAC relative to CLV?

It’s not enough to attract leads – the key is to convert them into customers. It means that your offer must be compelling and attractive enough for potential customers to actually purchase it.

To ensure you’re getting a good return on investment, focus on calculating your customer acquisition cost (CAC) relative to your customer lifetime value (CLV) . The CAC is how much you spend to acquire a customer, while the CLV considers all revenue generated from that customer over time.

Customer acquisition cost

To discover your CAC , divide your marketing costs by the number of customers acquired in a given period.

Custome Lifetime Value

The CLV is calculated by taking the average purchase value multiplied by the number of purchases made over a given time frame.

All businesses should strive for a CLV to CAC ratio of 3:1 for each marketing segment. If you spend too generously (for example, 1:1), it can be unprofitable as customers won't cover the cost of acquisition. On the other hand, if you under-invest in customer acquisition and set your bid cap low, then it could mean missing out on profitable customers who have an above-average cost per acquisition.

By taking the time to answer these three key questions, you will be able to determine whether your venture has the potential to create a profitable and sustainable business. The key is to make sure that you are providing something of value that customers feel they need, want, and are happy to pay for!

23 Profitable Business Venture Examples to Inspire You

If you’re looking for some inspiration and ideas, here are 23 profitable business ventures you can consider:

  • Bird Tricks – Bird Tricks is an online business that specializes in providing online pet bird training classes. They use various marketing channels, such as YouTube and Instagram, to attract customers.
  • Learning Herbs – Learning Herbs is an online herbalism education business. They earn financial gain via classes, webinars, and digital products to help people learn about herbs and their uses.
  • Management Consulted – A great enterprise that provides management consulting to organizations, as well as individual and group training sessions. They attract customers using webinars, blog posts, and social media campaigns.
  • Bonsai Empire – A community-based business that specializes in bonsai trees and care for them. They achieve profits through digital products, such as e-books, videos, and tutorials.
  • The Online Dog Trainer – This business venture is based on providing online dog training services. They use YouTube advertising and targeted marketing campaigns to attract customers.
  • Make a Living Writing – A practical venture that focuses on helping you become a successful freelance writer. They generate profits through digital products such as e-books and online courses.
  • Goins, Writer – Need some inspiration? Goins, Writer, is a great business venture that focuses on helping people become successful writers. They use social media and blogging to reach out to the audience and profit from selling e-books, workshops, and courses.
  • How to Program with Java – A highly successful business enterprise that specializes in teaching Java programming. They attract potential customers with YouTube video tutorials and online courses.
  • Donald Robertson – Want to learn how to apply ancient philosophy to everyday life? This business venture is perfect for you. It provides online courses and sells books on Philosophy.
  • Study Hacks – This start-up enterprise helps students become more productive and efficient in their studies. They use blogging and Youtube to reach out to the audience while generating profits through digital products such as e-books and courses.
  • TaskRabbit – A great business venture that connects customers with skilled taskers who can take care of any task. They promote via Google Ads and generate profits through commission on each job completed via the website or app.
  • Wealthy Affiliate – Ready to create a flourishing digital business centered around your passions and hobbies? Look no further than this all-inclusive platform, designed to help you reach success with ease! They generate profits through subscriptions and membership.
  • AuditionHacker – A business venture designed to help aspiring musicians. They offer online courses and one-on-one coaching, helping musicians improve their performing skills.
  • GooseChase – Looking to add something unique to your business? GooseChase is a perfect choice! This venture provides customers with mobile-based scavenger hunts that can be used for different events and settings. They generate profits through commission fees.
  • Edx – A great business venture that specializes in online education. They provide online classes and certifications and generate profits through enrollments and subscriptions.
  • Skillshare – Another great business venture that specializes in online learning. They use targeted ads and offer an annual subscription to generate profits.
  • The Salon Business – This business venture focuses on helping salon owners manage their businesses. They use various marketing tactics, such as webinars and social media campaigns, to attract customers.
  • La Vie En Code – Need to learn a programming language? This business venture offers online coding courses, and they generate profits through enrollments.
  • Make Fabulous Cakes – Want to make a name in the cake decoration industry? This business venture provides support in online tutorials on cake decoration. They attract their customers through YouTube videos and generate profits through e-books, online courses, and digital products.
  • WODprep – A great network that focuses on helping CrossFit athletes become more efficient and effective. Through subscription fees, online courses, and digital products, they are able to generate substantial profits.
  • WoodSkills – Want to learn woodworking? This business venture offers online tutorials and e-books on the subject. They generate profits through their online courses and subscriptions.
  • The Ultimate Disneyworld Savings Guide – A business venture geared towards helping customers save money when visiting Disneyworld. They use targeted ads and e-books to reach their audience and increase profits.
  • Hardcore Music Studio – Looking to learn how to create a professional music studio? This business venture specializes in teaching aspiring producers and musicians the fundamentals of music production. They generate profits through online courses and digital products.

Here are just some of the many profitable business ventures out there. With the right strategy, any venture can become successful! The key is to identify your target audience, understand their needs, and develop a product or service that meets those needs!

Business Venture vs Startup

Stratup Company

Small businesses and startups have a lot of commonalities , but there are also some key differences between them. Small business ventures typically involve one or two people taking risks to generate income from an idea or product. This type of venture usually requires less capital investment , and the goal is often to create a steady stream of revenue that can sustain the business.

On the other hand, startups are typically larger undertakings involving a team of people and more substantial capital investment . The goal of a startup is to create something new or disruptive that will quickly scale up to generate large profits. Startups tend to focus on growth rather than stability and often exploit technology to reach their goals.

Another key difference between small business ventures and startups is the level of risk involved. Small businesses tend to involve less risk , as there is typically less capital investment and a steady revenue stream.

Startups , however, involve much more risk due to their focus on rapid growth and disruptive technology. As a result, the potential rewards from successful startups can be much higher than those of small business ventures. Still, the risk of failure is also greater.

Finally, small businesses and startups take different marketing approaches. Small business owners typically focus on established tactics such as direct mail, print advertising, and word-of-mouth referrals .

Startups often rely more heavily on digital marketing methods such as search engine optimization, social media marketing, and content marketing.

Overall, small business ventures and startups have different goals and approaches regarding risk, capital investment, and marketing. While both types of businesses can be successful, understanding their differences is key to setting realistic expectations for success.

Bottom Line

A business venture is a great way to start and grow a successful business. However, creating a new company requires writing a careful business plan , understanding the target audience , and developing services or products that meet their particular purpose.

Having an idea of which type of venture is right for you, be it a business venture or a startup, can help you make the proper decision and maximize your chances of success.

Consider the amount of risk you’re willing to take on and how quickly you want to make money. With the right strategy, any venture can be successful! Good luck!

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Anastasia belyh.

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Anastasia has been a professional blogger and researcher since 2014. She loves to perform in-depth software reviews to help software buyers make informed decisions when choosing project management software, CRM tools, website builders, and everything around growing a startup business.

Anastasia worked in management consulting and tech startups, so she has lots of experience in helping professionals choosing the right business software.

description of venture in business plan example

The 7 Best Business Plan Examples (2024)

So you want to start a business . Kudos! You’re doing big things.

One of the first steps to building a strong foundation for your new venture is to write a rock-solid business plan . When done right, your business plan can pave your path to success, all while helping you to smoothly cruise through any obstacles that may come up.

Plus, a good business plan can help you secure critical partnerships and funding that you might need in your early stages.

If you’re unsure how to write one, a great place to start is to learn from the pros. In this article, we’ll look at companies that built incredible business plans.

Take notes on the structure, format, and details. Hopefully you’ll leave with plenty of inspiration to write your own.

description of venture in business plan example

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description of venture in business plan example

7-part template for business plan examples

We’ll look at a business plan that is structured using a seven-part template. Here’s a quick review of those parts:

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

7 business plan examples (section by section)

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

  • Executive summary

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

In ThoughtCo’s sample business plan for a fictional company called Acme Management Technology, the executive summary is three paragraphs and occupies nearly half the page:

business plan executive summary

  • Company description

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

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

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

company description business plan

  • Market analysis

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

marketing swot example

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

  • Products and services

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

description of venture in business plan example

  • Marketing plan

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

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

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

marketing section template for business plan

Logistics and operations

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

Financial plan

The financial plan (a.k.a. financial statement) offers a breakdown of your sales, revenue, expenses, profit, and other financial metrics. You’ll want to include all the numbers and concrete data to project your current and projected financial state. For example, the financial statement for ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy includes forecasted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

financial plan example

It then goes deeper into the financials, citing:

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

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

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

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

  • Logistics and operations plan
  • Financials 

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

  • Market research: in depth
  • Financials: in depth

Internal 

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

  • Market research

Feasibility 

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

Mix and match to make a killer business plan

The good news is: there’s no single right way to write a business plan. If you’re feeling unsure about how to craft yours, pull bits and pieces that you like from other examples, and leave out the parts that don’t apply or make sense for you.

The important thing is to clearly communicate your reason for starting the company, what’s needed to operate it, and how you plan to make it work in the long run.

When you can convince others that you have a killer game plan, you’ve nailed it.

Want to learn more?

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

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How to write a business description that makes your business plan shine

How to write a business description: Man in apron working at laptop

Key takeaways

  • A business description is a high-level overview of your company that you include in your business plan
  • Your business description should entice readers—like lenders and investors—to look through the rest of your business plan to learn more about your company
  • Business descriptions should be concise, error-free, and include only pertinent information about your company

Most successful businesses have one thing in common—they all have a buttoned-up business plan . It lays out the goals of the company, how a company will reach those goals, and when these goals will be realized. And while there are many sections of a business plan, a well-written business description is one of the most important parts.

However, some small business owners may not know how to write an effective business description . Luckily, there’s an easy formula to follow along with a few tips for writing an impactful business description .

What is a business description ?

Also called a company description , your business description summarizes what your company does, its purpose, and what makes it unique. It’s a critical component of your business plan and immediately follows your executive summary . Since it’s one of the first pieces of information a reader will see, it must make a great first impression.

The goal of your business description is to inform readers—like lenders , investors, potential partners, and even employees—how your business benefits consumers and what place your business has in the market. Your business description should give readers a clear understanding of your business and its functions.

Why is a business description important?

A business description is important because it gives readers a single place to learn the details about your company. A well-crafted business description can intrigue readers and encourage them to read the rest of your business plan .

Investors or lenders will have one major thing on their minds—return on investment. They want to know if your business has the potential to be successful and whether it’s worthy of their investment dollars.

Your business description is your first opportunity to wow these investors or lenders and show them why your business will be profitable. It can pique their interest and push them to dig into the rest of your business plan .

What to include in a business description

Shopkeeper at retail counter with laptop

An effective business description should include information that tells readers exactly what your company does, who is in charge of operations, and what will make your company successful. It should also tell readers what makes you different from competitors and why customers will come knocking at your door with their business.

Below, we’ve outlined every piece of information you should include in your business description . We’ve also created a hypothetical scenario for a hamburger restaurant and added a business description example for each step .

Business name

List the official name of your business as it’s registered with your state. Also include the names of the owner(s) and other key members of your management team .

Example: Jay’s Organic Burger Joint, owned and operated by Jacob Doe

Business goals

Detail the purpose of your business and what you’re aiming to achieve with your venture. These should be realistic short- and long-term goals.

Example: Jay’s aims to grow local brand awareness by 20% and forge partnerships with four additional local suppliers in the next year. The company also intends to expand operations to an additional location in the Chicago area and is seeking an investment of $200,000 in exchange for equity in the company.

Target customers

Have a thorough understanding of who your target market is. Explain who you’re selling to and why they will buy your product or service. Dig deeper into their needs and motivations so you can predict their purchase behaviors. Identifying the demographics of your target market, such as age group, income, and interests, can give you a competitive edge and attract loyal customers.

Example: Jay’s understands that its customers are health-conscious but have busy lives with little time for preparing healthy meals.

Competitive advantages

Describe what makes your business unique from your competitors. Readers should understand why your company will succeed and make you a front-runner in the market.

Example: Unlike its competitors, the restaurant alleviates the target audience’ s pain points by providing quick and easy meals that are also healthy for the entire family.

Business location and opening date

Include where your company is headquartered and where you will be conducting business. Also, share when you opened your business or when you plan on opening if you haven’t already.

Example: Jay’s Organic Burger Joint is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois and opened operations in April 2019.

Mission statement

Your mission statement tells readers why your business exists. It should highlight the motivations for starting your business and summarize your product or service, target consumers, and why you’re unique.

Example: Jay’s Organic Burger Joint is a fast-casual restaurant that serves the highest quality hamburgers to hungry and health-conscious customers in Chicago, Illinois.

Products or services

Highlight what products or services you’re offering customers. Also, discuss the benefits your products or services provide and what makes them different from competitors.

Example: The menu focuses on healthy meals using only organic ingredients and grass-fed beef.

Business structure

List what type of business you’re operating. For example, this could be a sole proprietorship , partnership, limited liability company (LLC), or another type of corporation.

Example: The business is a limited liability company owned by Jacob Doe.

Once you’ve included all of these details in your business description , it should look something like this:

Jay’s Organic Burger Joint is a fast-casual restaurant that serves the highest quality hamburgers to hungry and health-conscious customers in Chicago, Illinois. Jay’s understands that its customers are health-conscious but have busy lives with little time for preparing healthy meals.

Unlike its competitors, the restaurant alleviates target customers’ pain points by providing quick and easy meals that are also healthy for the entire family. Jay’s uses local ingredients sourced from farmers in the greater Chicago area. The menu focuses on healthy meals using only organic ingredients and grass-fed beef.

The business is a limited liability company owned by Jacob Doe. Jay’s Organic Burger Joint is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, and opened operations in April of 2019.

Jay’s aims to grow local brand awareness by 20% and forge partnerships with four additional local suppliers in the next year. The company also intends to expand operations to an additional location in the Chicago area and is seeking an investment of $200,000 in exchange for equity in the company.

How to write a business description

Not all business descriptions are made the same. There are a few tips to consider if you want your business description to stand out and wow your readers.

Have an elevator pitch

Your business description should kick off with an elevator pitch . An elevator pitch is typically spoken, but it helps to quickly summarize your company at the start of your business description. This pitch quickly covers the key aspects of your business and should be brief and persuasive. You should get straight to the point and immediately give readers your value proposition.

For example, Jay’s Organic Burger Joint could write something like “We serve the highest quality hamburgers and provide a convenient alternative for health-conscious customers who are always on the go.”

Keep it high level

Although you want your business description to be informative, you want to limit the amount of information you include in this section of your business plan. Keep it high-level and avoid going into too much detail. The subsequent sections of your business plan will cover the finer details. Remember, the goal is to give just enough information to entice readers to go through the rest of your business plan .

Show your excitement

This is your opportunity to show your excitement and give your business plan a human touch. Your business plan isn’t only selling your product or service to investors—it’s also selling you. Let your passion shine through as you explain why you started the company and what you aim to achieve.

Keep it short and concise

It can be easy to get carried away and make your business description too long. Avoid being too wordy, which can overwhelm the reader.

Business descriptions should only be a few paragraphs long for most types of companies. Remember, you’re trying to intrigue the reader and encourage them to read the rest of your business plan . If it’s too long, you’ll lose the reader’s attention.

Proofread for errors

Grammatical errors and misspellings can tarnish your company description . Even if you include all the right information, you won’t impress readers if it’s riddled with errors.

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Engage readers with your business description

A fine-tuned business description will kick off your business plan on a high note. Whether you’re launching a startup or already have your business up and running, knowing how to write a business description will provide a high-level overview of your company and can help you secure investment dollars from potential investors or lenders .

The information above is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be a substitute for professional advice and may not be suitable for your circumstances. Unless stated otherwise, references to third-party links, services, or products do not constitute endorsement by Yelp.

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

Determined female African-American entrepreneur scaling a mountain while wearing a large backpack. Represents the journey to starting and growing a business and needing to write a business plan to get there.

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated February 2, 2024

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

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

  • The basics of business planning

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

You understand that planning helps you: 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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  • What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

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

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

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

Your executive summary should include:

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

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

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

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

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

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

Market analysis

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

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

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

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

Related: Target market examples

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

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

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

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

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

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

Marketing and sales plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business operations

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Key milestones and metrics

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

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

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

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

Possible milestones might be:

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

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

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

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

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

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

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

  • Sole proprietor
  • Partnership

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

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

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

Financial plan

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

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

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

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

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

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

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

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

Your cover page should be simple and include:

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

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

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

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

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

Learn more: How to collaborate with AI on your business plan

  • Writing tips and strategies

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

Determine why you are writing a business plan

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

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

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

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

Keep things concise

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

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

Have someone review your business plan

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

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

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

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

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

If you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template to get you started, download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

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

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

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Use your business plan to manage your business

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

Free business plan templates and examples

Kickstart your business plan writing with one of our free business plan templates or recommended tools.

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

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

What are the benefits of a business plan?

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

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

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

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

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

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

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

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

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

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

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

How long should a business plan be?

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

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

What are the different types of business plans?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Content Author: Noah Parsons

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

Check out LivePlan

Table of Contents

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

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  • 11.4 The Business Plan
  • Introduction
  • 1.1 Entrepreneurship Today
  • 1.2 Entrepreneurial Vision and Goals
  • 1.3 The Entrepreneurial Mindset
  • Review Questions
  • Discussion Questions
  • Case Questions
  • Suggested Resources
  • 2.1 Overview of the Entrepreneurial Journey
  • 2.2 The Process of Becoming an Entrepreneur
  • 2.3 Entrepreneurial Pathways
  • 2.4 Frameworks to Inform Your Entrepreneurial Path
  • 3.1 Ethical and Legal Issues in Entrepreneurship
  • 3.2 Corporate Social Responsibility and Social Entrepreneurship
  • 3.3 Developing a Workplace Culture of Ethical Excellence and Accountability
  • 4.1 Tools for Creativity and Innovation
  • 4.2 Creativity, Innovation, and Invention: How They Differ
  • 4.3 Developing Ideas, Innovations, and Inventions
  • 5.1 Entrepreneurial Opportunity
  • 5.2 Researching Potential Business Opportunities
  • 5.3 Competitive Analysis
  • 6.1 Problem Solving to Find Entrepreneurial Solutions
  • 6.2 Creative Problem-Solving Process
  • 6.3 Design Thinking
  • 6.4 Lean Processes
  • 7.1 Clarifying Your Vision, Mission, and Goals
  • 7.2 Sharing Your Entrepreneurial Story
  • 7.3 Developing Pitches for Various Audiences and Goals
  • 7.4 Protecting Your Idea and Polishing the Pitch through Feedback
  • 7.5 Reality Check: Contests and Competitions
  • 8.1 Entrepreneurial Marketing and the Marketing Mix
  • 8.2 Market Research, Market Opportunity Recognition, and Target Market
  • 8.3 Marketing Techniques and Tools for Entrepreneurs
  • 8.4 Entrepreneurial Branding
  • 8.5 Marketing Strategy and the Marketing Plan
  • 8.6 Sales and Customer Service
  • 9.1 Overview of Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting Strategies
  • 9.2 Special Funding Strategies
  • 9.3 Accounting Basics for Entrepreneurs
  • 9.4 Developing Startup Financial Statements and Projections
  • 10.1 Launching the Imperfect Business: Lean Startup
  • 10.2 Why Early Failure Can Lead to Success Later
  • 10.3 The Challenging Truth about Business Ownership
  • 10.4 Managing, Following, and Adjusting the Initial Plan
  • 10.5 Growth: Signs, Pains, and Cautions
  • 11.1 Avoiding the “Field of Dreams” Approach
  • 11.2 Designing the Business Model
  • 11.3 Conducting a Feasibility Analysis
  • 12.1 Building and Connecting to Networks
  • 12.2 Building the Entrepreneurial Dream Team
  • 12.3 Designing a Startup Operational Plan
  • 13.1 Business Structures: Overview of Legal and Tax Considerations
  • 13.2 Corporations
  • 13.3 Partnerships and Joint Ventures
  • 13.4 Limited Liability Companies
  • 13.5 Sole Proprietorships
  • 13.6 Additional Considerations: Capital Acquisition, Business Domicile, and Technology
  • 13.7 Mitigating and Managing Risks
  • 14.1 Types of Resources
  • 14.2 Using the PEST Framework to Assess Resource Needs
  • 14.3 Managing Resources over the Venture Life Cycle
  • 15.1 Launching Your Venture
  • 15.2 Making Difficult Business Decisions in Response to Challenges
  • 15.3 Seeking Help or Support
  • 15.4 Now What? Serving as a Mentor, Consultant, or Champion
  • 15.5 Reflections: Documenting the Journey
  • A | Suggested Resources

Learning Objectives

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Describe the different purposes of a business plan
  • Describe and develop the components of a brief business plan
  • Describe and develop the components of a full business plan

Unlike the brief or lean formats introduced so far, the business plan is a formal document used for the long-range planning of a company’s operation. It typically includes background information, financial information, and a summary of the business. Investors nearly always request a formal business plan because it is an integral part of their evaluation of whether to invest in a company. Although nothing in business is permanent, a business plan typically has components that are more “set in stone” than a business model canvas , which is more commonly used as a first step in the planning process and throughout the early stages of a nascent business. A business plan is likely to describe the business and industry, market strategies, sales potential, and competitive analysis, as well as the company’s long-term goals and objectives. An in-depth formal business plan would follow at later stages after various iterations to business model canvases. The business plan usually projects financial data over a three-year period and is typically required by banks or other investors to secure funding. The business plan is a roadmap for the company to follow over multiple years.

Some entrepreneurs prefer to use the canvas process instead of the business plan, whereas others use a shorter version of the business plan, submitting it to investors after several iterations. There are also entrepreneurs who use the business plan earlier in the entrepreneurial process, either preceding or concurrently with a canvas. For instance, Chris Guillebeau has a one-page business plan template in his book The $100 Startup . 48 His version is basically an extension of a napkin sketch without the detail of a full business plan. As you progress, you can also consider a brief business plan (about two pages)—if you want to support a rapid business launch—and/or a standard business plan.

As with many aspects of entrepreneurship, there are no clear hard and fast rules to achieving entrepreneurial success. You may encounter different people who want different things (canvas, summary, full business plan), and you also have flexibility in following whatever tool works best for you. Like the canvas, the various versions of the business plan are tools that will aid you in your entrepreneurial endeavor.

Business Plan Overview

Most business plans have several distinct sections ( Figure 11.16 ). The business plan can range from a few pages to twenty-five pages or more, depending on the purpose and the intended audience. For our discussion, we’ll describe a brief business plan and a standard business plan. If you are able to successfully design a business model canvas, then you will have the structure for developing a clear business plan that you can submit for financial consideration.

Both types of business plans aim at providing a picture and roadmap to follow from conception to creation. If you opt for the brief business plan, you will focus primarily on articulating a big-picture overview of your business concept.

The full business plan is aimed at executing the vision concept, dealing with the proverbial devil in the details. Developing a full business plan will assist those of you who need a more detailed and structured roadmap, or those of you with little to no background in business. The business planning process includes the business model, a feasibility analysis, and a full business plan, which we will discuss later in this section. Next, we explore how a business plan can meet several different needs.

Purposes of a Business Plan

A business plan can serve many different purposes—some internal, others external. As we discussed previously, you can use a business plan as an internal early planning device, an extension of a napkin sketch, and as a follow-up to one of the canvas tools. A business plan can be an organizational roadmap , that is, an internal planning tool and working plan that you can apply to your business in order to reach your desired goals over the course of several years. The business plan should be written by the owners of the venture, since it forces a firsthand examination of the business operations and allows them to focus on areas that need improvement.

Refer to the business venture throughout the document. Generally speaking, a business plan should not be written in the first person.

A major external purpose for the business plan is as an investment tool that outlines financial projections, becoming a document designed to attract investors. In many instances, a business plan can complement a formal investor’s pitch. In this context, the business plan is a presentation plan, intended for an outside audience that may or may not be familiar with your industry, your business, and your competitors.

You can also use your business plan as a contingency plan by outlining some “what-if” scenarios and exploring how you might respond if these scenarios unfold. Pretty Young Professional launched in November 2010 as an online resource to guide an emerging generation of female leaders. The site focused on recent female college graduates and current students searching for professional roles and those in their first professional roles. It was founded by four friends who were coworkers at the global consultancy firm McKinsey. But after positions and equity were decided among them, fundamental differences of opinion about the direction of the business emerged between two factions, according to the cofounder and former CEO Kathryn Minshew . “I think, naively, we assumed that if we kicked the can down the road on some of those things, we’d be able to sort them out,” Minshew said. Minshew went on to found a different professional site, The Muse , and took much of the editorial team of Pretty Young Professional with her. 49 Whereas greater planning potentially could have prevented the early demise of Pretty Young Professional, a change in planning led to overnight success for Joshua Esnard and The Cut Buddy team. Esnard invented and patented the plastic hair template that he was selling online out of his Fort Lauderdale garage while working a full-time job at Broward College and running a side business. Esnard had hundreds of boxes of Cut Buddies sitting in his home when he changed his marketing plan to enlist companies specializing in making videos go viral. It worked so well that a promotional video for the product garnered 8 million views in hours. The Cut Buddy sold over 4,000 products in a few hours when Esnard only had hundreds remaining. Demand greatly exceeded his supply, so Esnard had to scramble to increase manufacturing and offered customers two-for-one deals to make up for delays. This led to selling 55,000 units, generating $700,000 in sales in 2017. 50 After appearing on Shark Tank and landing a deal with Daymond John that gave the “shark” a 20-percent equity stake in return for $300,000, The Cut Buddy has added new distribution channels to include retail sales along with online commerce. Changing one aspect of a business plan—the marketing plan—yielded success for The Cut Buddy.

Link to Learning

Watch this video of Cut Buddy’s founder, Joshua Esnard, telling his company’s story to learn more.

If you opt for the brief business plan, you will focus primarily on articulating a big-picture overview of your business concept. This version is used to interest potential investors, employees, and other stakeholders, and will include a financial summary “box,” but it must have a disclaimer, and the founder/entrepreneur may need to have the people who receive it sign a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) . The full business plan is aimed at executing the vision concept, providing supporting details, and would be required by financial institutions and others as they formally become stakeholders in the venture. Both are aimed at providing a picture and roadmap to go from conception to creation.

Types of Business Plans

The brief business plan is similar to an extended executive summary from the full business plan. This concise document provides a broad overview of your entrepreneurial concept, your team members, how and why you will execute on your plans, and why you are the ones to do so. You can think of a brief business plan as a scene setter or—since we began this chapter with a film reference—as a trailer to the full movie. The brief business plan is the commercial equivalent to a trailer for Field of Dreams , whereas the full plan is the full-length movie equivalent.

Brief Business Plan or Executive Summary

As the name implies, the brief business plan or executive summary summarizes key elements of the entire business plan, such as the business concept, financial features, and current business position. The executive summary version of the business plan is your opportunity to broadly articulate the overall concept and vision of the company for yourself, for prospective investors, and for current and future employees.

A typical executive summary is generally no longer than a page, but because the brief business plan is essentially an extended executive summary, the executive summary section is vital. This is the “ask” to an investor. You should begin by clearly stating what you are asking for in the summary.

In the business concept phase, you’ll describe the business, its product, and its markets. Describe the customer segment it serves and why your company will hold a competitive advantage. This section may align roughly with the customer segments and value-proposition segments of a canvas.

Next, highlight the important financial features, including sales, profits, cash flows, and return on investment. Like the financial portion of a feasibility analysis, the financial analysis component of a business plan may typically include items like a twelve-month profit and loss projection, a three- or four-year profit and loss projection, a cash-flow projection, a projected balance sheet, and a breakeven calculation. You can explore a feasibility study and financial projections in more depth in the formal business plan. Here, you want to focus on the big picture of your numbers and what they mean.

The current business position section can furnish relevant information about you and your team members and the company at large. This is your opportunity to tell the story of how you formed the company, to describe its legal status (form of operation), and to list the principal players. In one part of the extended executive summary, you can cover your reasons for starting the business: Here is an opportunity to clearly define the needs you think you can meet and perhaps get into the pains and gains of customers. You also can provide a summary of the overall strategic direction in which you intend to take the company. Describe the company’s mission, vision, goals and objectives, overall business model, and value proposition.

Rice University’s Student Business Plan Competition, one of the largest and overall best-regarded graduate school business-plan competitions (see Telling Your Entrepreneurial Story and Pitching the Idea ), requires an executive summary of up to five pages to apply. 51 , 52 Its suggested sections are shown in Table 11.2 .

Are You Ready?

Create a brief business plan.

Fill out a canvas of your choosing for a well-known startup: Uber, Netflix, Dropbox, Etsy, Airbnb, Bird/Lime, Warby Parker, or any of the companies featured throughout this chapter or one of your choice. Then create a brief business plan for that business. See if you can find a version of the company’s actual executive summary, business plan, or canvas. Compare and contrast your vision with what the company has articulated.

  • These companies are well established but is there a component of what you charted that you would advise the company to change to ensure future viability?
  • Map out a contingency plan for a “what-if” scenario if one key aspect of the company or the environment it operates in were drastically is altered?

Full Business Plan

Even full business plans can vary in length, scale, and scope. Rice University sets a ten-page cap on business plans submitted for the full competition. The IndUS Entrepreneurs , one of the largest global networks of entrepreneurs, also holds business plan competitions for students through its Tie Young Entrepreneurs program. In contrast, business plans submitted for that competition can usually be up to twenty-five pages. These are just two examples. Some components may differ slightly; common elements are typically found in a formal business plan outline. The next section will provide sample components of a full business plan for a fictional business.

Executive Summary

The executive summary should provide an overview of your business with key points and issues. Because the summary is intended to summarize the entire document, it is most helpful to write this section last, even though it comes first in sequence. The writing in this section should be especially concise. Readers should be able to understand your needs and capabilities at first glance. The section should tell the reader what you want and your “ask” should be explicitly stated in the summary.

Describe your business, its product or service, and the intended customers. Explain what will be sold, who it will be sold to, and what competitive advantages the business has. Table 11.3 shows a sample executive summary for the fictional company La Vida Lola.

Business Description

This section describes the industry, your product, and the business and success factors. It should provide a current outlook as well as future trends and developments. You also should address your company’s mission, vision, goals, and objectives. Summarize your overall strategic direction, your reasons for starting the business, a description of your products and services, your business model, and your company’s value proposition. Consider including the Standard Industrial Classification/North American Industry Classification System (SIC/NAICS) code to specify the industry and insure correct identification. The industry extends beyond where the business is located and operates, and should include national and global dynamics. Table 11.4 shows a sample business description for La Vida Lola.

Industry Analysis and Market Strategies

Here you should define your market in terms of size, structure, growth prospects, trends, and sales potential. You’ll want to include your TAM and forecast the SAM . (Both these terms are discussed in Conducting a Feasibility Analysis .) This is a place to address market segmentation strategies by geography, customer attributes, or product orientation. Describe your positioning relative to your competitors’ in terms of pricing, distribution, promotion plan, and sales potential. Table 11.5 shows an example industry analysis and market strategy for La Vida Lola.

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis is a statement of the business strategy as it relates to the competition. You want to be able to identify who are your major competitors and assess what are their market shares, markets served, strategies employed, and expected response to entry? You likely want to conduct a classic SWOT analysis (Strengths Weaknesses Opportunities Threats) and complete a competitive-strength grid or competitive matrix. Outline your company’s competitive strengths relative to those of the competition in regard to product, distribution, pricing, promotion, and advertising. What are your company’s competitive advantages and their likely impacts on its success? The key is to construct it properly for the relevant features/benefits (by weight, according to customers) and how the startup compares to incumbents. The competitive matrix should show clearly how and why the startup has a clear (if not currently measurable) competitive advantage. Some common features in the example include price, benefits, quality, type of features, locations, and distribution/sales. Sample templates are shown in Figure 11.17 and Figure 11.18 . A competitive analysis helps you create a marketing strategy that will identify assets or skills that your competitors are lacking so you can plan to fill those gaps, giving you a distinct competitive advantage. When creating a competitor analysis, it is important to focus on the key features and elements that matter to customers, rather than focusing too heavily on the entrepreneur’s idea and desires.

Operations and Management Plan

In this section, outline how you will manage your company. Describe its organizational structure. Here you can address the form of ownership and, if warranted, include an organizational chart/structure. Highlight the backgrounds, experiences, qualifications, areas of expertise, and roles of members of the management team. This is also the place to mention any other stakeholders, such as a board of directors or advisory board(s), and their relevant relationship to the founder, experience and value to help make the venture successful, and professional service firms providing management support, such as accounting services and legal counsel.

Table 11.6 shows a sample operations and management plan for La Vida Lola.

Marketing Plan

Here you should outline and describe an effective overall marketing strategy for your venture, providing details regarding pricing, promotion, advertising, distribution, media usage, public relations, and a digital presence. Fully describe your sales management plan and the composition of your sales force, along with a comprehensive and detailed budget for the marketing plan. Table 11.7 shows a sample marketing plan for La Vida Lola.

Financial Plan

A financial plan seeks to forecast revenue and expenses; project a financial narrative; and estimate project costs, valuations, and cash flow projections. This section should present an accurate, realistic, and achievable financial plan for your venture (see Entrepreneurial Finance and Accounting for detailed discussions about conducting these projections). Include sales forecasts and income projections, pro forma financial statements ( Building the Entrepreneurial Dream Team , a breakeven analysis, and a capital budget. Identify your possible sources of financing (discussed in Conducting a Feasibility Analysis ). Figure 11.19 shows a template of cash-flow needs for La Vida Lola.

Entrepreneur In Action

Laughing man coffee.

Hugh Jackman ( Figure 11.20 ) may best be known for portraying a comic-book superhero who used his mutant abilities to protect the world from villains. But the Wolverine actor is also working to make the planet a better place for real, not through adamantium claws but through social entrepreneurship.

A love of java jolted Jackman into action in 2009, when he traveled to Ethiopia with a Christian humanitarian group to shoot a documentary about the impact of fair-trade certification on coffee growers there. He decided to launch a business and follow in the footsteps of the late Paul Newman, another famous actor turned philanthropist via food ventures.

Jackman launched Laughing Man Coffee two years later; he sold the line to Keurig in 2015. One Laughing Man Coffee café in New York continues to operate independently, investing its proceeds into charitable programs that support better housing, health, and educational initiatives within fair-trade farming communities. 55 Although the New York location is the only café, the coffee brand is still distributed, with Keurig donating an undisclosed portion of Laughing Man proceeds to those causes (whereas Jackman donates all his profits). The company initially donated its profits to World Vision, the Christian humanitarian group Jackman accompanied in 2009. In 2017, it created the Laughing Man Foundation to be more active with its money management and distribution.

  • You be the entrepreneur. If you were Jackman, would you have sold the company to Keurig? Why or why not?
  • Would you have started the Laughing Man Foundation?
  • What else can Jackman do to aid fair-trade practices for coffee growers?

What Can You Do?

Textbooks for change.

Founded in 2014, Textbooks for Change uses a cross-compensation model, in which one customer segment pays for a product or service, and the profit from that revenue is used to provide the same product or service to another, underserved segment. Textbooks for Change partners with student organizations to collect used college textbooks, some of which are re-sold while others are donated to students in need at underserved universities across the globe. The organization has reused or recycled 250,000 textbooks, providing 220,000 students with access through seven campus partners in East Africa. This B-corp social enterprise tackles a problem and offers a solution that is directly relevant to college students like yourself. Have you observed a problem on your college campus or other campuses that is not being served properly? Could it result in a social enterprise?

Work It Out

Franchisee set out.

A franchisee of East Coast Wings, a chain with dozens of restaurants in the United States, has decided to part ways with the chain. The new store will feature the same basic sports-bar-and-restaurant concept and serve the same basic foods: chicken wings, burgers, sandwiches, and the like. The new restaurant can’t rely on the same distributors and suppliers. A new business plan is needed.

  • What steps should the new restaurant take to create a new business plan?
  • Should it attempt to serve the same customers? Why or why not?

This New York Times video, “An Unlikely Business Plan,” describes entrepreneurial resurgence in Detroit, Michigan.

  • 48 Chris Guillebeau. The $100 Startup: Reinvent the Way You Make a Living, Do What You Love, and Create a New Future . New York: Crown Business/Random House, 2012.
  • 49 Jonathan Chan. “What These 4 Startup Case Studies Can Teach You about Failure.” Foundr.com . July 12, 2015. https://foundr.com/4-startup-case-studies-failure/
  • 50 Amy Feldman. “Inventor of the Cut Buddy Paid YouTubers to Spark Sales. He Wasn’t Ready for a Video to Go Viral.” Forbes. February 15, 2017. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestreptalks/2017/02/15/inventor-of-the-cut-buddy-paid-youtubers-to-spark-sales-he-wasnt-ready-for-a-video-to-go-viral/#3eb540ce798a
  • 51 Jennifer Post. “National Business Plan Competitions for Entrepreneurs.” Business News Daily . August 30, 2018. https://www.businessnewsdaily.com/6902-business-plan-competitions-entrepreneurs.html
  • 52 “Rice Business Plan Competition, Eligibility Criteria and How to Apply.” Rice Business Plan Competition . March 2020. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2020%20RBPC%20Eligibility%20Criteria%20and%20How%20to%20Apply_23Oct19.pdf
  • 53 “Rice Business Plan Competition, Eligibility Criteria and How to Apply.” Rice Business Plan Competition. March 2020. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2020%20RBPC%20Eligibility%20Criteria%20and%20How%20to%20Apply_23Oct19.pdf; Based on 2019 RBPC Competition Rules and Format April 4–6, 2019. https://rbpc.rice.edu/sites/g/files/bxs806/f/2019-RBPC-Competition-Rules%20-Format.pdf
  • 54 Foodstart. http://foodstart.com
  • 55 “Hugh Jackman Journey to Starting a Social Enterprise Coffee Company.” Giving Compass. April 8, 2018. https://givingcompass.org/article/hugh-jackman-journey-to-starting-a-social-enterprise-coffee-company/

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How to Write a Business Plan, Step by Step

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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. add additional information to an appendix, business plan tips and resources.

A business plan is a document that outlines your business’s financial goals and explains how you’ll achieve them. A strong, detailed plan will provide a road map for the business’s next three to five years, and you can share it with potential investors, lenders or other important partners.

Bizee

Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing your business plan.

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

This is the first page of your business plan. Think of it as your elevator pitch. It should include a mission statement, a brief description of the products or services offered, 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, which should contain 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, it should cover 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

description of venture in business plan example

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

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

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

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.

Your sales strategy.

Your distribution 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.

» 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.

You may also include 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.

» NerdWallet’s picks for setting up your business finances:

The best business checking accounts .

The best business credit cards .

The best accounting software .

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.

List any supporting information or additional materials that you couldn’t fit in elsewhere, such as resumes of key employees, licenses, equipment leases, permits, patents, receipts, bank statements, contracts and personal and business credit history. 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 help your business plan stand out:

Avoid over-optimism: If you’re applying for a business loan at a local bank, the loan officer likely knows your market pretty well. Providing unreasonable sales estimates can hurt your chances of loan approval.

Proofread: Spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors can jump off the page and turn off lenders and prospective investors, taking their mind off your business and putting it on the mistakes you made. 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. You can search for a mentor or find a local SCORE chapter for more guidance.

The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers , which provide free business consulting and help with business plan development, can also be a resource.

On a similar note...

Find small-business financing

Compare multiple lenders that fit your business

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

By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021

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

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

What Is a Business Plan?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business Plan Steps

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

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

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

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

Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?

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

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business

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

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

Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?

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

The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step

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

Step 1: Executive Summary

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

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

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

Step 2: Description of Business

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

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

Step 3: Market Analysis

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

  • Who is our customer? 
  • What does that customer value?

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

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

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

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

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

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

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

Questions to answer in this section are as follows:

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

Step 7: Marketing Plan

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

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

Step 8: Sales Plan

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

Start by answering the following questions:

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

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

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

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

Step 10: Financial Projections

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

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

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

Business Plan Template

Business Plan Template

Download Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

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

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

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

How to Write a Simple Business Plan

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

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

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

Simple Business Plan Template

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel |  Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF  | Smartsheet

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup

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

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

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

Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Lean Business Plan Templates for Startups

Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan

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

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

Download free financial templates to support your business plan.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

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

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

How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business

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

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

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

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

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

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Venture Capital Business Plan: A Guide for Entrepreneurs

AUG.01, 2023

Venture Capital Business Plan

Are you looking for VC funding or funding from other potential investors? You need a good business idea – and an excellent business plan. Business planning and raising capital go hand-in-hand. An investor business plan is required to attract a venture capital firm. And the desire to raise capital (whether from an individual “angel” investor or a venture capitalist) is often the key motivator in business planning.

What is a venture capitalist?

A venture capitalist, often referred to as a VC, strategically allocates financial capital to early-stage, high-potential startup companies to foster exponential growth and catalyze groundbreaking innovation. By leveraging their investments, venture capitalists secure partial ownership and wield a profound influence over critical strategic decisions and operational facets. Furthermore, they impart invaluable guidance and mentorship and harness their extensive network of influential contacts and abundant resources.

Venture capitalists aim to attain considerable returns on their investments through the strategic divestment of their ownership stake in the company at a subsequent stage, commonly facilitated through an IPO or a trade sale, encompassing mergers or acquisitions. Given the inherent risks associated with their investment endeavors, venture capitalists adopt an exceptionally discerning approach, meticulously selecting a mere fraction of the myriad companies that seek their sought-after financial backing.

Their active pursuit centers around identifying enterprises that epitomize disruptive technologies or trailblazing business models, thrive within expansive and rapidly evolving markets, exhibit a significant competitive edge, and are steered by an adept and fervent management team. These are the essential elements of a compelling Business Plan for Investors that can attract the attention and support of venture capitalists.

What is a Venture Capital Firm?

Venture capital firms (VCs) are money companies that put money in and help new and scalable startups. VCs get funds from different investors and then give them to startups they think can change or make new markets. VCs use a team of experts who check the chance of new companies. These experts have different backgrounds and skills in different businesses, and they use their ideas to help VCs pick companies that are likely to do well.

Besides giving money, VCs also give their companies other benefits, such as advice and access to their network of people, which can be very important to early-stage companies.

Types of Venture Capital Investments

Venture capital investments can be classified into different types based on the company’s development stage. The main types are:

1. Seed Capital

Seed capital is the earliest funding given to an innovator or group with a vision for a novel product or service but has yet to transform it into a feasible business. Seed capital is typically used for market exploration, product creation, prototype evaluation, customer verification, etc. Seed capital is very precarious because there is no assurance that the vision will work or that there will be a market appetite for it. However, seed capital can also generate very high rewards if the vision becomes successful and attracts more funding.

description of venture in business plan example

2. Startup Capital

Startup capital is the funding given to a company that has created its product or service and has introduced it in the market but has yet to generate substantial revenue or profit. Startup capital is typically used for promotion, sales, distribution, customer acquisition, etc. Startup capital is less precarious than seed capital because there is some indication of product-market fit and traction. However, startup capital can also be challenging to obtain because there is still uncertainty about the scalability and sustainability of the business model.

3. Early Stage Capital

Early-stage capital is the funding granted to a company that has validated its product or service in the market and has begun generating revenue and profit but has yet to attain its full potential. Early-stage capital is typically used to diversify the product or service portfolio, penetrate new segments, recruit more talent, optimize operations, etc. Early-stage capital is less precarious than startup capital because there is more evidence and traction of the business. However, early-stage capital can also be challenging and demanding because there are more expectations and pressure from the investors.

4. Expansion Capital

Expansion capital is the funding given to a company that has attained a significant market presence, revenue, and profit growth and is ready to scale up its business to the next level. Expansion capital is usually used to acquire other entities, develop new products or services, open new outlets, increase production capability, etc. Expansion capital is less perilous than early-stage capital because the business has more stability and predictability. However, expansion capital can also be costly and dilutive because more investors are engaged, and more equity is surrendered.

5. Late Stage Capital

Late-stage capital is the funding bestowed to a company that has reached a mature stage of development and growth and is preparing for an exit event such as an IPO or a trade sale. Late-stage capital is usually used to enhance the company’s valuation, reputation, and visibility, improve financial performance, strengthen governance, etc. Late-stage capital is less perilous than expansion capital because there is more certainty and credibility in the business. However, late-stage capital can also be complex and restrictive because more regulations and obligations are involved. However, a SBA Business Plan can help late-stage companies comply with the requirements and expectations of investors.

6. Bridge Financing

Bridge financing is the interim funding granted to a company that requires short-term capital to fill an urgent need or gap until it obtains a lasting or stable source of financing. Bridge financing is typically utilized for satisfying payroll, settling bills, accomplishing a project, etc. Bridge financing is perilous because there is no assurance that the firm can secure lasting or stable financing. However, bridge financing can also be beneficial and adaptable because it can offer swift and effortless access to cash.

The following table compares the different types of venture capital investments based on their stage, amount, risk, return, and purpose:

Venture Capital and VC Funding Methods

Venture capital is a source of funding for entrepreneurs who need money to grow their businesses. VC funding methods are the terms and conditions venture capitalists agree on when investing in the companies they support. Different methods of making a venture capital deal exist based on the people involved, worth, chance, and choices. The main methods are:

1. Common stock

This is the most straightforward form of VC funding method. It involves issuing shares of common stock to investors in exchange for capital. A common stock gives the investors voting rights and dividends (if any) in proportion to their ownership stake. Common stock is usually preferred by early-stage companies with low valuation and high risk.

2. Preferred stock

This is a more complex and sophisticated form of VC funding method. It involves issuing shares of preferred stock to investors in exchange for capital. Preferred stock gives the investors preference over common stockholders regarding dividends, liquidation, and conversion rights. Preferred stock is usually preferred by later-stage companies that have higher valuations and lower risk.

3. Convertible debt

This is a mixed form of VC funding method. It means giving the investors a debt instrument that can be converted into shares later or when some conditions are satisfied. Convertible debt pays the investors interest and money back until it gets converted. Early companies with unclear worth and a high chance of failure often choose convertible debt.

4. SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)

This is a newer and simpler form of VC funding method. It means making a deal with the investors that lets them get shares in the future at a fixed worth or lower price. SAFE only involves issuing shares or debt instruments to the investors once a future financing event occurs. SAFE is usually preferred by seed-stage companies that have uncertain valuations and high risk.

Main Sections of a Venture Capital Business Plan

A venture business plan is a document describing your business idea, market opportunity, competitive advantage, financial projections, and funding needs. It is a tool that helps you communicate your vision and strategy to potential investors and partners. A venture business plan sample should include the following sections:

1. Executive Summary

The executive summary is pivotal in your venture business plan, serving as the primary section that demands attention. It aims to present a concise yet comprehensive overview of your business idea, target market, unique value proposition, traction and milestones, financial summary, and funding request. It is vital to draft the executive summary clearly and compellingly that captivates readers and incites their curiosity to explore your venture further.

2. Company Analysis

The company analysis section delves deeper into your company’s narrative, providing a detailed account of its history, mission, vision, values, goals, objectives, team, culture, and legal structure. This section highlights your company’s noteworthy achievements and inherent strengths while addressing the potential challenges and risks it faces. Moreover, it presents a compelling case for the qualifications and capabilities of your team, demonstrating their aptitude in executing the business plan.

3. Industry Analysis

The industry analysis section demonstrates your understanding of the market you operate in or plan to enter. It should provide relevant information about your industry’s size, growth, trends, drivers, challenges, opportunities, and outlook. It should also identify and analyze your industry’s key segments and sub-segments.

4. Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section is important as it outlines and describes your target market and various customer segments. It should encompass a detailed profile of your ideal customers, covering their demographics, psychographics, behaviors, needs, pains, desires, preferences, and purchasing patterns. Furthermore, this section should include an estimation of your product or service’s total addressable market (TAM), serviceable available market (SAM), and serviceable obtainable market (SOM).

5. Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis section is crucial in identifying and evaluating direct and indirect competitors. It thoroughly assesses their strengths, weaknesses, strategies, products, services, prices, features, benefits, market share, customer satisfaction, and distinctive factors. Additionally, this section explains your market positioning strategy, emphasizing your competitive advantages and unique selling points.

6. Marketing Plan

The marketing plan section outlines your marketing strategy and tactics for reaching and attracting your target customers and generating sales and revenue. It should cover the following elements:

  • Product and service
  • Distribution
  • Marketing process
  • Marketing Physical Evidence

7. Operations Plan

The operations plan section describes how you will run and manage your business daily. It should cover the following aspects:

  • Human Resources
  • Legal issues and requirements

8. Financial Plan

The financial plan section provides a detailed projection of your financial performance and position for three to five years. It should include the following components:

  • Income Statement
  • Cash Flow Statement
  • Balance Sheet
  • Break-Even Analysis
  • Funding Request
  • Funding Sources
  • Exit Strategy

OGSCapital for Your Venture Capital Business Plan

Are you looking for an answer to: How to write a venture capital business plan? Our business plan experts at OGSCapital can help. We have a team of professional business plan writers with over 15 years of experience offering business plan writing services. We have helped over 5,000 clients attract more than $2.7 billion in financing. Here are some of the reasons why you should choose OGSCapital for your venture capital business plan:

OGSCapital can provide you with the following benefits:

  • A customized and high-quality business plan
  • Comprehensive and in-depth market research and analysis
  • A realistic and accurate financial model and projections
  • A persuasive and compelling executive summary
  • A professional and attractive design and layout of your business plan
  • Fast and reliable delivery within 10 to 15 days
  • A revision after receiving the first draft of your business plan

If you’re also confused about how to write a business plan for venture capital that stands out from the crowd and increases your chances of getting funded, contact our experts at OGSCapital today.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What do venture capitalists look for in a business plan?

A business plan to raise venture capital should demonstrate a great business idea, a talented and experienced team, a unique and valuable product or service, a market validation, a huge and expanding market, and a good deal and exit strategy. Plus, it should be clear, concise, well-researched and realistic.

2. What is the golden rule for venture capitalists?

For venture capitalists, people matter more than ideas. They look for entrepreneurs and managers with passion, dedication, flexibility, and willingness to learn from feedback. Venture capitalists believe these are the essential qualities that make or break a venture.

Download Venture Capital Business Plan Sample in PDF

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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How to Write a Company Description for a Business Plan

Nobody does what you do better than you, but … what is it that you do again? You might have trouble describing your business in one sentence or find yourself at a loss for words when writing a company description. Knowing how to write a company description for a business plan helps you communicate with lenders, investors, employees, and potential customers.

How to write a company description for a business plan

You put a lot of thought into your original business concept. Now you need to know how to succinctly describe your business.

Where better to describe your business than in the company description business plan?

What is a business plan?

A company description is just one part of your small business plan . The business plan outlines your goals and how to achieve them.

According to the Small Business Administration , a successful business plan should include the following:

  • Executive summary
  • Company description (Bingo)
  • Small business market analysis
  • Organization and management details
  • Service or product information
  • Marketing and sales overview
  • Funding request
  • Financial projections

Another thing to note about business plans is that you can’t write one and be done. Your business is always changing. And that means your business plan is always changing, too. Be sure to update it regularly.

What is a business description?

A company description provides an overview of key aspects of your business, like what you do and what makes your business unique. Anyone reading your business description should have no problem understanding the scope of your business.

Lenders and investors should see how your business has a place in the market, as well as its benefits to future customers.

Your business’s mission statement is the part of your company description that you want the public to see. And, you should include your vision statement, too.

Regularly update your company description as your business expands or changes.

Writing your company description

You need to know how to pitch to investors and lenders to captivate their interest. Your description should answer who, what, where, when, why, and how right off the bat.

So, do you know how to write a business description? We’ll walk you through the 5 W’s (and 1 H) to consider when drafting your first copy.

image listing everything to include in a company description: business name, target customers, products or services, business goals, business location, opening date, competitive advantages, mission statement, and structure

Who are you? Who is your business? Verify that the name of your business is clear in the business description section of your business plan. And, include your name (and the names of any other owners) because lenders and investors want to know the entrepreneur behind the business.

Who is your target customer? Who are you selling to? When describing your business, make sure you know who you appeal to. If you don’t know your target customer, there’s a chance that nobody will be interested in your business.

What is your product or service? If lenders and investors can’t understand what you’re selling or how it’s significant, they may pass on your concept. Be clear, narrow, and focused when telling lenders and investors about your business.

What are your goals for your business? Set realistic short-term and long-term goals. For example, if you plan on selling $20,000 worth of products by the end of the second month, include the goal in your description.

Where is your business located? If you are currently operating your business, list the address. Likewise, make sure you state where you want your business to be if you are still looking for office space.

When will you implement your business plan and see results? Include when you want to open your business (or when you opened it).

When do you plan on achieving your goals? Also, talk about the timeline for your main goals (both short-term and long-term).

When do you think you’ll leave your business? Don’t forget to discuss your exit strategy . Whether you plan on retiring in 20 years, selling your company in 15 years, or closing it down in 10 years, be clear about when you plan on parting ways.

Why would potential customers want to buy from you? Explain why you are different from the competition. This is where you can describe your business’s originality. Lenders and investors want to know why consumers would want to make a purchase at your small business instead of a competitor’s.

Why are you in business? Also make sure you include your business’s mission statement . A mission statement defines why you’re in business and what your goals are.

How are you going to structure your business? Which business structure will you form: sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, or corporation? Explain your structure decision, too. Mention any small business advisor (e.g., business attorney) you work with to help with registration requirements, regulations, and liabilities.

How are you going to achieve the goals you set for your business? Are you going to hire employees to help you, or will you handle all responsibilities on your own? Talk about what steps you’ll take to reach the goals you outline.

How do you picture your company in the future? Include your business’s vision statement in your company description. A vision statement is an internal description that states what you want your business to look like in the future.

Business description example

Still unsure? Take a look at this business description example for more information:

Ann’s Office Hut delivers office supplies to small businesses in Boston, Massachusetts. The business is structured as a sole proprietorship, operating under entrepreneur Ann Smith. Ann’s Office Hut is located in Boston, Massachusetts and will begin operations in February. Ann’s Office Hut recognizes the busy lives of small business owners and wants to bring essential items like printers, cash registers, paper, ink, and envelopes to their doorsteps. Ann’s Office Hut will conveniently provide office supplies to small business owners who are short on time. Other office supply stores cannot match the convenience Ann’s Office Hut will give.

The business hopes to have gross sales of $30,000 by the end of one year and $95,000 by the end of five years. To achieve this goal, Ann’s Office Hut plans on offering referral credit.

Company description business plan: Final tips

Writing the business description portion of your business plan should be fun … even though it may feel more like a chore. But, this is your opportunity to talk about your business idea and get other people (i.e., lenders and investors) on board.

Here are a few final tips to keep in mind when learning how to write a company description:

  • Answer the 5 W’s and 1 H
  • Keep it short, simple, and easy to read
  • Proofread, proofread, proofread
  • Determine whether it’s interesting

This article has been updated from its original publication date of December 9, 2016. 

This is not intended as legal advice; for more information, please click here.

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

Clifford Chi

Published: February 06, 2024

Free Business Plan Template

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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.

description of venture in business plan example

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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:

business plan sample: Executive Summary Example

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.

Business plans examples: Executive Summary

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.

Business plans examples: Market Opportunity

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.

Business plans examples: Competitive Landscape

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.

Business plans examples: Target 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.

Business plans examples: Marketing Strategy

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.

Business plans examples: Key Features and Benefits

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.

Business plans examples: Pricing and Revenue

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.

Business plans examples: Financials

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

Sample business plan: hubspot free editable pdf

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

Sample Business Plan: LiveFLow

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

sample business plan: ThoughtCo.

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

sample business plan: Panda Doc

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

sample business plan: Small Business Administration

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

business plan example: 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

Business plan example: 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

business plan example: Vesta executive summary

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

business plan examples: 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)

business plan examples: curriculum companion suites

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

sample business plan: Culina

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

Sample business plan: Plum

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ProfitableVenture

Venture Capital Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business Plans » Financial Services

Are you about starting a venture capital firm ? If YES, here’s a complete sample venture capital business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE to raise money .

If you are interested in the capital market and you have some form of financial expertise and certifications, one of the businesses that you can conveniently start is a venture capital firm. As a venture capital firm, your responsibility is to pool capital from investors and then invest it in startups businesses.

Aside from the money invested, venture capitalists also ensure that they provide the capacity and support which startups companies need to grow and become profitable. The first step you need to take if you want to start your own venture capital firm is to conduct an extensive research on venture capital firm.

A Sample Venture Capital Firm Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry is an industry that comprises of firms and investment consultants basically acting as principals in the buying or selling of financial contracts. Essentially, principals in this context are investors who trade (buy or sell) for their own account, rather than on behalf of their clients.

This industry consist of venture capital firms, investment clubs and venture  settlement companies and does not include investment bankers, securities dealers and commodity contracts dealers trading as principals.

It is a fact that, the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry is growing faster than most industries in the financial services sector not only in the united states but across the global market. Industry value added (IVA), a measure of the industry’s contribution to the overall economy, is projected to increase at a 6.9 percent annualized rate over the next 10 years.

Indeed, the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry is a very large and thriving industry not only in the developed nations, but also in developing and under developing countries of the world. Statistics has it that the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry in the United States of America, is worth $106 billion, with an estimated growth rate of 4.2 percent.

There are about 29,069 registered and licensed venture capital firms in the United States and they are responsible for employing about 74,814 people. It is important to state that there is no company with a dominant market share in this industry; the industry is open for fair competitions for the available market.

Over and above, the main reasons for starting a venture capital firm is obviously to provide funding for startup companies with great potential of making profits and growing big in the future.

So your responsibility is not just to raise capital but also to look for startup companies where the capital can be invested and it will generate good returns for over a period of time. The truth is that it takes a core professional to be able to identify a startup company that has the potential to grow and become profitable if funds and pumped into it.

2. Executive Summary

St. Martins& Associates, LLP is a registered, licensed and accredited venture capitalist firm that will be based in New York City – New York.

The company will handle all aspect of venture capitalists services such as investing in financial contracts on own account, participating in investment clubs (group of people who pool their money to make investments), mineral royalties or leases dealing (as principal in dealing to investors), oil royalty dealing (as principal in dealing to investors), vertical settlement (purchasing life insurance policy at a discount to later collect the death benefit), venture capital (investing in startups and small businesses with long-term growth potential), trade in financial products and other relevant investment advisory and consulting services.

We are aware that to run a standard venture capital firm can be demanding which is why we are well trained, certified and equipped to perform excellently well. St. Martins & Associates, LLP is a client – focused and result driven venture capitalist firm that provides broad- based services.

We will offer trusted and profitable venture capitalists services to all our individual clients, and corporate clients at local, state, national, and international level. We will ensure that we work hard to meet and surpass our clients’ expectations whenever they invest their funds with us.

At St. Martins & Associates, LLP, our client’s best interest would always come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire professionals who are well experienced in venture capitalist line of business and other investment portfolios with good track record of return on investments.

St. Martins & Associates, LLP will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients.

Our plan is to position the business to become one of the leading brands in the venture capitalists line of business in the whole of New York City, and also to be amongst the top 20 venture capitalists firms in the United States of America within the first 10 years of operations.

This might look too tall a dream but we are optimistic that this will surely be realized because we have done our research and feasibility studies and we are enthusiastic and confident that New York is the right place to launch our venture capitalists business before expanding our investment portfolio sourcing for start – ups from other cities in The United States of America.

St. Martins & Associates, LLP is founded by Martin Yorkshire and his business partners for many years Carlos Dominguez. The organization will be managed by both of them since they have adequate working experience to manage such business.

Martin Yorkshire has well over 15 years of experience working at various capacity as a venture capitalist for leading investment banks and related firms in the United States of America. Martin Yorkshire graduated from both University of California – Berkley with a Degree in Accounting, and University of Harvard (MSc.) and he is an accredited and certified venture capitalist.

3. Our Products and Services

St. Martins & Associates, LLP is going to offer varieties of services within the scope of the financial investment services industry in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our St. Martins & Associates, LLP firm is to work with promising start – ups and other business ventures.

We are well prepared to make profits from the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the United States to achieve our business goals, aim and ambition. Our business offering are listed below;

  • Investing in financial contracts on own account
  • Participating in investment clubs (group of people who pool their money to make investments)
  • Mineral royalties or leases dealing (as principal in dealing to investors)
  • Oil royalty dealing (as principal in dealing to investors)
  • Vertical settlement (purchasing life insurance policy at a discount to later collect the death benefit)
  • Venture capital (investing in startups and small businesses with long-term growth potential)
  • Trade in financial products
  • Related investment consulting and advisory services

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

  • Our vision is to build a venture capitalists brand that will become one of the top choices for investors in the whole of New York City – New York.
  • Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
  • Our mission is to position the business to become one of the leading brands in the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry in the whole of New York City, and also to be amongst the top 20 venture capitalist firms in the United States of America within the first 10 years of operations.

Our Business Structure

Ordinarily we would have settled for two or three staff members, but as part of our plan to build a standard venture capitalist firm in New York City – New York, we have perfected plans to get it right from the beginning which is why we are going the extra mile to ensure that we have qualified, competent, honest and hardworking employees to occupy all the available positions in our firm.

The picture of the kind of the venture capitalist firm we intend building and the business goals we want to achieve is what informed the amount we are ready to pay for the best hands available in and around New York and environs as long as they are willing and ready to work with us to achieve our business goals and objectives. Below is the business structure that we will build St. Martins & Associates, LLP;

  • Chief Executive Officer
  • Venture Capitalists Consultants

Admin and HR Manager

Risk Manager

  • Marketing and Sales Executive

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) / Chief Accounting Officer (CAO).

  • Customer Care Executive / Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Office:

  • Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
  • Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
  • Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
  • Responsible for providing direction for the business
  • Creates, communicates, and implements the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
  • Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
  • Evaluates the success of the organization

Venture Capitalist Consultants

  • Provides market research and implementing new investment product and strategies
  • Creates research and review platforms for new, existing and potential investment products
  • Exceeds client expectations with returns on investments
  • Works closely with analysts and traders to ensure trading strategy is carried out correctly
  • Construct and review performance reports to show to investors
  • Works directly with marketer to relay investment strategy and risk measures for website and other forms of marketing for your hedge fund
  • Performs due diligence visits and assessing investment management firms and quantitatively analyzing investment pools
  • Has extensive knowledge of industry policies and regulations set in place by the SEC
  • Focuses on capital introductions and networking to sign up new investors to your fund
  • Plans, designs and implements an overall risk management process for the organization;
  • Risk assessment, which involves analyzing risks as well as identifying, describing and estimating the risks affecting the business;
  • Risk evaluation, which involves comparing estimated risks with criteria established by the organization such as costs, legal requirements and environmental factors, and evaluating the organization’s previous handling of risks;
  • Establishes and quantifies the organization’s ‘risk appetite’, i.e. the level of risk they are prepared to accept;
  • Risk reporting in an appropriate way for different audiences, for example, to the board of directors so they understand the most significant risks, to business heads to ensure they are aware of risks relevant to their parts of the business and to individuals to understand their accountability for individual risks;
  • Corporate governance involving external risk reporting to stakeholders;
  • Carries out processes such as purchasing insurance, implementing health and safety measures and making business continuity plans to limit risks and prepare for if things go wrong;
  • Conducts audits of policy and compliance to standards, including liaison with internal and external auditors;
  • Provides support, education and training to staff to build risk awareness within the organization.
  • Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
  • Design job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
  • Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
  • Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
  • Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
  • Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
  • Carries out staff induction for new team members
  • Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
  • Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
  • Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
  • Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.

Marketing / Investor Relations Officer

  • Identifies, prioritizes, and reach out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
  • Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of relevant projects.
  • Writes winning proposal documents, negotiate fees and rates in line with company policy
  • Responsible for handling business research, marker surveys and feasibility studies for clients
  • Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
  • Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
  • Documents all customer contact and information
  • Represents the company in strategic meetings
  • Helps increase sales and growth for the company
  • Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
  • create reports from the information concerning the financial transactions recorded by the bookkeeper
  • Prepares the income statement and balance sheet using the trial balance and ledgers prepared by the bookkeeper.
  • Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
  • Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
  • Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
  • Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
  • Responsible for administering payrolls
  • Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
  • Handles all financial transactions for the company
  • Serves as internal auditor for the company

Client Service Executive / Front Desk Officer

  • Welcomes guests and clients by greeting them in person or on the telephone; answering or directing inquiries.
  • Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
  • Through interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
  • Manages administrative duties assigned by the manager in an effective and timely manner
  • Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the company’s products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients
  • Receives parcels / documents for the company
  • Distributes mails in the organization
  • Handles any other duties as assigned my the line manager

6. SWOT Analysis

St. Martins & Associates, LLP engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business structuring to assist our organization in building a well – structured venture capitalist firm that can favorably compete in the highly competitive Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our organization in conducting a SWOT analysis for St. Martins & Associates, LLP. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of St. Martins & Associates, LLP;

Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that can go all the way to give our clients value for their money ( good returns on their investment ) and also to increase our annual returns; a team that are trained and equipped to pay attention to details and to deliver excellent jobs. We are well positioned and we know we will attract loads of clients from the first day we open our doors for business.

As a new venture capitalist firm, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market and gain acceptance especially from corporate clients in the already saturated Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry that is perhaps our major weakness. So also we may not have the required cash to give our business the kind of publicity we would have loved to.

  • Opportunities:

The opportunities in the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry is massive considering the number of small businesses who would need financial supports and strategies from venture capitalists to grow their business and increase their profits.

As a standard and accredited venture capitalist firm, we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way.

Venture capitalist firms services involves large amount of cash and it is known to be a very high risk venture,      Hence, whoever chooses to manage it must not just have solid investment background, but must also know how to handle risks and discover potential thriving businesses and opportunities.

The truth is that if you are not grounded in risks management as a venture capitalist, you may likely throw away peoples’ monies and investment. Just as in any other business and investment vehicles, economic downturn, unstable financial market and unfavorable government economic policies can hamper the growth and profitability of venture capitalist firms.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

  • Market Trends

A close watch on the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry shows that in the dawn of recessionary declines, the industry is expected to continue on a path to growth, but not without a few more ups and downs. This group of firms and individuals has benefited from rising security prices and increasing merger and acquisition activity over the last five years.

As a result of this trend, Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry revenue is expected to grow over the five-year period at an annualized rate of 9.1 percent to $42.9 billion in 2016.

The revenue growth for the industry was restrained in the early part of the period as the industry was reluctant to bounce back from the financial crisis and subsequent recession of the prior period that caused stock markets and business activity to dramatically contract in the United States and of course in the global market.

On the average, it is trendy to find venture capital firms employ strategies that can help them reduce market risk specifically by shorting equities or through the use of derivatives.

8. Our Target Market

The main reasons for starting a venture capital firm is obviously to provide funding for startup companies with great potential of making profits and growing big in the future. So your responsibility is not just to raise capital but also to look for startup companies where the capital can be invested and it will generate good returns for over a period of time.

The truth is that it takes a core professional to be able to identify a startup company that has the potential to grow and become profitable if funds and pumped into it.

As a standard, accredited and licensed venture capitalist firm, St. Martins & Associates, LLP offers a wide range of investment portfolio management services hence we are well trained and equipped to services a wide range of clientele base and start – ups.

Our target market cuts across businesses and investors that have the required capital to invest in start – ups and other investment portfolios. We are coming into the industry with a business concept and investment strategies that will enable us produce good returns on investment for ourselves and our clients.

Below is a list of the individual and organizations that we have specifically design our products and services for;

  • Small and medium scales businesses
  • Accredited Investors
  • Start – ups
  • Investment Clubs
  • Top corporate executives
  • Corporate Organizations / Blue Chip Companies

Our Competitive Advantage

Despite the fact that venture capitalist investment strategies give huge returns on investment, it is indeed risky venture. If you drive through the street of New York City, you will come across several venture capitalists firms and related business ventures; that goes to show you that there is competition in the industry.

For you to survive as a venture capitalist firm, you should be able to come up with workable investment strategies; strategies that will help you attract the required cash / capital and above all you should be a good risks manager and one that can spot a potential thriving business from afar.

We are quite aware that to be highly competitive in the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry means that we should be able to give good returns on investments to our clients, turn around the fortune of a dying company for good , spot potential successful business ideas and invest in them, deliver consistent quality service, our clients should be satisfied with our investment strategies and we should be able to meet the expectations of clients.

St. Martins& Associates, LLP might be a new entrant into the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry in the United States of America, but the management staffs and owners of the business are considered gurus. They are people who are core professionals and licensed and highly qualified portfolio management experts in the United States. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (start – ups venture capitalist businesses) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

  • Sources of Income

St. Martins& Associates, LLP is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis. St. Martins& Associates, LLP will generate income by offering the following investment related services;

10. Sales Forecast

One thing is certain, there would always be accredited investors, small scale and medium scale businesses and wealthy individuals who would need the services of tested and trusted venture capitalist firms.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in New York City and other key cities in the United States of America and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the business and our clientele base beyond New York City to other cities in the United States of America.

We have been able to critically examine the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projection is based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to similar startups in New York City.

Below is the sales projection for St. Martins& Associates, LLP, it is based on the location of our business and the wide range of investment management services that we will be offering;

  • First Fiscal Year-: $750,000
  • Second Year-: $1.5 Million
  • Third Year-: $3 Million

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

  • Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are stiffer competition amongst venture capitalists firms and other related financial investment cum consulting service providers in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best business developer to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited based on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis, so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the organization.

We will also ensure that our return on investment and excellent job deliveries speaks for us in the market place; we want to build a standard venture capitalist business that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients (both individuals and corporate organizations).

Our goal is to grow our venture capitalists firm to become one of the top 20 venture capitalist firms in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the New York City but also in other cities in the United States of America.

St. Martins& Associates, LLP is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

  • Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to corporate organizations, start – ups, accredited investors, entrepreneurs and key stake holders in New York City and other cities in The United States
  • Advertise our business in relevant financial and business related magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
  • List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
  • Attend relevant international and local finance and business expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
  • Create different packages for different category of clients (start – ups and established corporate organizations) in order to work with their budgets and still deliver good returns on investment
  • Leverage on the internet to promote our business
  • Engage direct marketing approach
  • Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

The uniqueness of the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry is such that it is the result they produce that helps boost their brand awareness.

Venture capitalists firms do not go out there to source any businesses or investors that they can come across but they are strategic when it comes to inviting investors to invest in a project or when it comes to acquiring a struggling company.

It will be out of place to boost your venture capitalist firm brand if you have not proven your worth in the industry. If you have successfully proven that you have what it takes to operate a successful venture capitalist firm, then you next port of call is to strategically engage the media to help you promote your brand and also to create a positive corporate identity.

We have been able to work with our brand and publicity consultants to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market.

We are set to take the Venture Capital and Principal Trading industry by storm which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our venture capitalist firm. Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise St. Martins & Associates, LLP;

  • Place adverts on both print ( community based newspapers and magazines ) and electronic media platforms
  • Sponsor relevant community based events / programs
  • Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, YouTube, Google + et al to promote our brand
  • Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around New York City.
  • Engage in road show from time to time
  • Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
  • Ensure that all our workers wear our branded shirts and all our vehicles are well branded with our company’s logo et al.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Venture capitalists are known to generate income from various investment portfolios hence there are no pricing models for this type of business.

But on the other hand, they tend to negotiate with their financial partners on percentage whenever they invest their hard earned money in an investment vehicle handled by a venture capitalist firm. At St. Martins& Associates, LLP we will ensure that we give good returns on investment (ROI) and always maximize profits.

  • Payment Options

At St. Martins & Associates, LLP our payment policy will be all inclusive because we are quite aware that different people prefer different payment options as it suits them. Here are the payment options that we will make available to our clients;

  • Payment by via bank transfer
  • Payment via online bank transfer
  • Payment via check
  • Payment via bank draft
  • Payment with cash

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will help us achieve our plans with little or no itches.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

The cost of starting a venture capitalists firm is in the two fold; the cost of setting up the office structure and of course the capital meant for investment. The amount required to invest in this line of business could range from 1 Million US Dollars to even multiple Millions of Dollars. So you must employ aggressive strategies to pool such cash together.

As regard the cost of setting up the office structure, your concern should be to secure a good office facility in a busy business district; it can be expensive though, but that is one of the factors that will help you position your hedge fund firm to attract the kind of investors you would need. This is the financial projection and costing for starting St. Martins & Associates, LLP;

  • The Total Fee for incorporating the Business – $750.
  • The budget for basic insurance policy covers, permits and business license – $2,500
  • The Amount needed to acquire a suitable Office facility in a business district 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) – $40,000.
  • The Cost for equipping the office (computers, software applications, printers, fax machines, furniture, telephones, filing cabins, safety gadgets and electronics et al) – $5,000
  • The cost for purchase of the required software applications (CRM software, Accounting and Bookkeeping software and Payroll software et al) – $10,500
  • The Cost of Launching your official Website – $600
  • Budget for paying  at least three employees for 3 months plus utility bills – $10,000
  • Additional Expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al) – $2,500
  • Investment fund – 1 Million Dollars
  • Miscellaneous: $1,000

Going by the report from the market research and feasibility studies conducted, we will need $150,000 excluding $1M investment capital to successfully set – up a medium scale but standard venture capitalist firm in the United States of America.

Generating Funding / Startup Capital for St. Martins & Associates, LLP

St. Martins & Associates, LLP is a business that will be owned and managed by Martin Yorkshire and his business partners for many years Carlos Dominguez. They are the sole financial of the firm, but may likely welcome other partners later which is why they decided to restrict the sourcing of the start – up capital for the business to just three major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

  • Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
  • Source for soft loans from family members and friends
  • Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $50,000 ( Personal savings $40,000 and soft loan from family members $10,000 ) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $100,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting St. Martins & Associates, LLP is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to give investors good returns on their investment.

We will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare is well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner of our business strategy.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of three years or more as determined by the board of the organization. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List / Milestone

  • Business Name Availability Check:>Completed
  • Business Incorporation: Completed
  • Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
  • Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
  • Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
  • Application for business license and permit: Completed
  • Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
  • Securing a standard office facility in New York City: Completed
  • Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
  • Generating part of the start – up capital from the founder: Completed
  • Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
  • Writing of Business Plan: Completed
  • Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
  • Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
  • Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
  • Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
  • Recruitment of employees: In Progress
  • Purchase of the Needed software applications, furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
  • Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
  • Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
  • Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
  • Establishing business relationship with vendors and key players in the industry: In Progress

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description of venture in business plan example

Create a form in Word that users can complete or print

In Word, you can create a form that others can fill out and save or print.  To do this, you will start with baseline content in a document, potentially via a form template.  Then you can add content controls for elements such as check boxes, text boxes, date pickers, and drop-down lists. Optionally, these content controls can be linked to database information.  Following are the recommended action steps in sequence.  

Show the Developer tab

In Word, be sure you have the Developer tab displayed in the ribbon.  (See how here:  Show the developer tab .)

Open a template or a blank document on which to base the form

You can start with a template or just start from scratch with a blank document.

Start with a form template

Go to File > New .

In the  Search for online templates  field, type  Forms or the kind of form you want. Then press Enter .

In the displayed results, right-click any item, then select  Create. 

Start with a blank document 

Select Blank document .

Add content to the form

Go to the  Developer  tab Controls section where you can choose controls to add to your document or form. Hover over any icon therein to see what control type it represents. The various control types are described below. You can set properties on a control once it has been inserted.

To delete a content control, right-click it, then select Remove content control  in the pop-up menu. 

Note:  You can print a form that was created via content controls. However, the boxes around the content controls will not print.

Insert a text control

The rich text content control enables users to format text (e.g., bold, italic) and type multiple paragraphs. To limit these capabilities, use the plain text content control . 

Click or tap where you want to insert the control.

Rich text control button

To learn about setting specific properties on these controls, see Set or change properties for content controls .

Insert a picture control

A picture control is most often used for templates, but you can also add a picture control to a form.

Picture control button

Insert a building block control

Use a building block control  when you want users to choose a specific block of text. These are helpful when you need to add different boilerplate text depending on the document's specific purpose. You can create rich text content controls for each version of the boilerplate text, and then use a building block control as the container for the rich text content controls.

building block gallery control

Select Developer and content controls for the building block.

Developer tab showing content controls

Insert a combo box or a drop-down list

In a combo box, users can select from a list of choices that you provide or they can type in their own information. In a drop-down list, users can only select from the list of choices.

combo box button

Select the content control, and then select Properties .

To create a list of choices, select Add under Drop-Down List Properties .

Type a choice in Display Name , such as Yes , No , or Maybe .

Repeat this step until all of the choices are in the drop-down list.

Fill in any other properties that you want.

Note:  If you select the Contents cannot be edited check box, users won’t be able to click a choice.

Insert a date picker

Click or tap where you want to insert the date picker control.

Date picker button

Insert a check box

Click or tap where you want to insert the check box control.

Check box button

Use the legacy form controls

Legacy form controls are for compatibility with older versions of Word and consist of legacy form and Active X controls.

Click or tap where you want to insert a legacy control.

Legacy control button

Select the Legacy Form control or Active X Control that you want to include.

Set or change properties for content controls

Each content control has properties that you can set or change. For example, the Date Picker control offers options for the format you want to use to display the date.

Select the content control that you want to change.

Go to Developer > Properties .

Controls Properties  button

Change the properties that you want.

Add protection to a form

If you want to limit how much others can edit or format a form, use the Restrict Editing command:

Open the form that you want to lock or protect.

Select Developer > Restrict Editing .

Restrict editing button

After selecting restrictions, select Yes, Start Enforcing Protection .

Restrict editing panel

Advanced Tip:

If you want to protect only parts of the document, separate the document into sections and only protect the sections you want.

To do this, choose Select Sections in the Restrict Editing panel. For more info on sections, see Insert a section break .

Sections selector on Resrict sections panel

If the developer tab isn't displayed in the ribbon, see Show the Developer tab .

Open a template or use a blank document

To create a form in Word that others can fill out, start with a template or document and add content controls. Content controls include things like check boxes, text boxes, and drop-down lists. If you’re familiar with databases, these content controls can even be linked to data.

Go to File > New from Template .

New from template option

In Search, type form .

Double-click the template you want to use.

Select File > Save As , and pick a location to save the form.

In Save As , type a file name and then select Save .

Start with a blank document

Go to File > New Document .

New document option

Go to File > Save As .

Go to Developer , and then choose the controls that you want to add to the document or form. To remove a content control, select the control and press Delete. You can set Options on controls once inserted. From Options, you can add entry and exit macros to run when users interact with the controls, as well as list items for combo boxes, .

Adding content controls to your form

In the document, click or tap where you want to add a content control.

On Developer , select Text Box , Check Box , or Combo Box .

Developer tab with content controls

To set specific properties for the control, select Options , and set .

Repeat steps 1 through 3 for each control that you want to add.

Set options

Options let you set common settings, as well as control specific settings. Select a control and then select Options to set up or make changes.

Set common properties.

Select Macro to Run on lets you choose a recorded or custom macro to run on Entry or Exit from the field.

Bookmark Set a unique name or bookmark for each control.

Calculate on exit This forces Word to run or refresh any calculations, such as total price when the user exits the field.

Add Help Text Give hints or instructions for each field.

OK Saves settings and exits the panel.

Cancel Forgets changes and exits the panel.

Set specific properties for a Text box

Type Select form Regular text, Number, Date, Current Date, Current Time, or Calculation.

Default text sets optional instructional text that's displayed in the text box before the user types in the field. Set Text box enabled to allow the user to enter text into the field.

Maximum length sets the length of text that a user can enter. The default is Unlimited .

Text format can set whether text automatically formats to Uppercase , Lowercase , First capital, or Title case .

Text box enabled Lets the user enter text into a field. If there is default text, user text replaces it.

Set specific properties for a Check box .

Default Value Choose between Not checked or checked as default.

Checkbox size Set a size Exactly or Auto to change size as needed.

Check box enabled Lets the user check or clear the text box.

Set specific properties for a Combo box

Drop-down item Type in strings for the list box items. Press + or Enter to add an item to the list.

Items in drop-down list Shows your current list. Select an item and use the up or down arrows to change the order, Press - to remove a selected item.

Drop-down enabled Lets the user open the combo box and make selections.

Protect the form

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How enterprises are using open source LLMs: 16 examples

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VentureBeat and other experts have argued that open-source large language models (LLMs) may have a more powerful impact on generative AI in the enterprise .

More powerful, that is, than closed models, like the ones behind OpenAI’s popular ChatGPT, or competitor Anthropic.

But that’s been hard to prove when you consider examples of actual deployments. While there’s a ton of experimentation, or proofs of concept, going on with open-source models, relatively few established companies have announced publicly that they have deployed open-source models in real business applications. 

So we decided to contact the major open source LLM providers, to find examples of actual deployments by enterprise companies. We reached out to Meta and Mistral AI, two of the major providers of open-source providers, and to IBM, Hugging Face, Dell, Databricks, AWS and Microsoft, all of which have agreements to distribute open-source models. 

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From interviews with these companies, it turns out that several initial public examples exist (we found 16 namable cases, see list below), but it’s still very early. Industry observers say the number of cases will pick up strongly later this year.

Delays to the open-source LLM feedback loop 

One reason is that open source was slow off the starting block. Meta released the first major open-source model, Llama, in Feb 2023, three months after OpenAI released its ChatGPT model publicly in November 2022. Mistral AI released Mixtral, the top performing open source LLM according to many benchmarks , in December 2023, so just one month ago.

So it follows that examples of deployment are only now emerging. Open-source advocates agree there are many more examples of closed-model deployments, but it’s only a matter of time before open-source catches up with the closed-source models. 

There are some limitations to the open-source models in circulation today. Amjad Masad, CEO of a software tool startup Replit, kicked off a popular Twitter thread about how the feedback loop isn’t working properly because you can’t contribute easily to model development. 

But it’s also true that people may have underestimated how much experimentation would happen with open-source models. Open-source developers have created thousands of derivatives of models like Llama, including increasingly, mixing models – and they are steadily achieving parity with, or even superiority over closed models on certain metrics (see examples like FinGPT , BioBert , Defog SQLCoder , and Phind ).

Large public models by themselves have “little to no value” for enterprise

Matt Baker, SVP of AI Strategy at Dell, which has partnered with Meta to help bring Llama 2 open-source AI to enterprise users , is blunt about the close-model limitations: “Large public models on their own have little to no value to offer private companies,” Baker said. He said they’ve become bloated by trying to offer a very generally competent model, but they don’t allow enterprise users to access their own data easily. About 95 percent of the AI work performed by organizations, Baker estimates, is on the workflow needed to infuse the models with that data through techniques like retrieval augmented generation (RAG). And even then, RAG isn’t always reliable. “A lot of customer are asking themselves: Wait a second, why am I paying for super large model that knows very little about my business? Couldn’t I just use one of these open-source models, and by the way, maybe use a much smaller, open-source model for that (information retrieval) workflow?”

Many enterprise companies are building, and experimenting with, open source-based customer support and code generation applications to interact with their own custom code, which sometimes is not understandable to the general closed-model LLMs built by OpenAI or Anthropic, Baker said. Those companies have prioritized Python and other popular cloud languages at the expense of supporting legacy enterprise code.

Other reasons why open-source LLMs deployments are slow off the start line

Hugging Face is arguably the biggest provider of open-source LLM infrastructure, and hundreds of thousands of developers have been downloading LLMs and other open-source tools, including libraries and frameworks like LangChain and LlamaIndex, to cook up their own applications. Andrew Jardine, an exec at Hugging Face responsible for advising companies looking to use open-source LLMs, said that enterprise companies take a while to move forward with LLM applications because they know they first need to consider implications for data privacy, customer experience, and ethics. Companies typically start with use cases they can use internally with their own employees, and deploy those only after doing a proof-of-concept. And only then do most companies start looking at external use cases, where again they go through a proof-of-concept stage. Only at the end of 2023, he says, were OpenAI’s closed-model deployments emerging in bigger numbers, and so he expects open-source deployments to emerge this year.

Still, others say that enterprise companies should stay away from open source because it can be too much work. Calling an API from OpenAI, which also provides on-demand cloud services and indemnification, is so much easier than having to work the headache of support licensing and other governance challenges of using open source, they say. Also, GPT models do reasonably well across languages, while open-source LLMs are hit-and-miss.

The dichotomy between open versus closed models is increasingly a false one, Hugging Face’s Jardine said: “The reality is, most people are going to be using both open and closed.” He mentioned a big pharma company he talked with recently that was using a closed LLM for its internal chatbot, but using Llama for the same use case but do things like flagging messages that had personally identifiable information. It did this because open source gave the company more control over the data. The company was concerned that if closed-model LLMs interacted with sensitive data, that data could be sent back to the closed-model provider, Jardine said. 

Reasons open source will catch up

Other model changes, including around cost, and specialization, are happening so quickly that most companies will want to be able to switch between different open and closed models as they see fit, and realize that relying on only one model leaves them open to risk. For example, a company’s customers could be impacted negatively, Jardine said, if a model provider suddenly updated a model unexpectedly, or worse, failed to update a model to stay up with the times. Companies often choose the open source route, he said, when they’re concerned about controlling access to their data, but also when they want more control over the fine-tuning of a model for specialized purposes. “You can do fine-tuning of the model using your own data to make it a better fit for you,” Jardine said.

We found several companies, like Intuit and Perplexity, which like the pharma company mentioned above, want to use multiple models in a single application so that they can pick and choose LLMs that are advantageous for specific sub-tasks. These companies have built generative AI “orchestration layers” to do this autonomously, by calling the best model for the task that is being accomplished , be it open or closed.

Also, while it can be more cumbersome initially to deploy an open-source model if you are running a model at scale, you can save money with open-source models, especially if you have access to your own infrastructure. “In the long term, I think it’s likely that open source will be more cost-effective, simply because you’re not paying for this additional cost of IP and development,” Jardine said.

He said he’s aware of several global pharma and other tech companies deploying open-source models in applications, but they are doing so quietly. Closed-model companies Anthropic and OpenAI have marketing teams that write up and publicly trumpet case studies, whereas open source has no one vendor tracking deployments like that.

We learned of several enterprise companies experimenting extensively with open-source LLMs, and it’s only a matter of time before they have deployed LLMs. For example, the automotive company Edmunds and European airline EasyJet are leveraging Databricks’ lakehouse platform (which now includes Dolly, a way to support of open-source LLMs ), to experiment and build open-source LLM-driven applications (see here and here ).

Other challenges with defining open-source deployment examples

Even defining bonafide enterprise source examples here is tricky. An explosion of developers and start-ups are building any number of applications based on open-source LLMs, but we wanted to find examples of established companies using them for clearly useful projects. For our purposes, we defined an enterprise company as having at least 100 employees.

Also, the examples we looked for are enterprise companies that are primarily “end users” of the LLM technology, not suppliers of it. Even this can get murky. Another challenge is how to define open source. Meta’s Llama, one of the more popular open-source LLMs, had a restricted open-source license: Only its model weights were leaked online, for example. It did not release other aspects, such as data sources, training code, or fine-tuning methods. Purists argue that for this and other reasons, Llama should not be considered proper open source. (Meta released Llama 2 in July, which opened it up for commercial license, instead of just research, but it still has some restrictions ).

And then there are examples like Writer, which has developed its own family of LLMs, called Palmyra, to power an application that people to generate content quickly and creatively. It has enterprise customers like Accenture, Vanguard, Hubspot and Pinterest. While Writer has open-sourced two of those models, its main Large Palmyra model remains closed and is the default used by those enterprise customers — so these aren’t examples of open-source usage.

With all those caveats, below we provide the list of examples we were able to find through our reporting. We’re certain there’s more out there. Many companies just don’t want to talk publicly about what they’re doing with open-source LLMs or otherwise. An explosion of new open-source LLMs geared for the enterprise has emerged from startups in recent months, including those from Deci and Together’s Redpajama. Even Microsoft, Amazon’s AWS, and Google have gotten into the supply game (see here , here , and here ), and consultants like McKinsey (see here ) leverage open LLMs in part to build apps for customers — so it’s nearly impossible to track the universe of enterprise usage. Many enterprises force providers to sign non-disclosure agreements. That said, we’ll add to this list if we hear of more as a result of this story.

VMWare deployed the HuggingFace StarCoder model, which helps make developers more efficient by helping them generate code. VMWare wanted to self-host the model, instead of use an external system like Microsoft-owned Github’s Copilot, likely because VMWare was sensitive about its code base and didn’t want to provide Microsoft access to it.

The security-focused web browser startup seeks to differentiate itself around privacy and has deployed a conversational assistant called Leo . Leo previously leveraged Llama 2, but yesterday Brave announced Leo now defaults to the open-source model Mixtral 8x7B from Mistral AI. (Again, we’re including this as a bonafide example because Brave has more than 100 employees.)

3. Gab Wireless

The children-friendly mobile phone company, which emphasizes safety and security, uses a suite of open-source models from Hugging Face to add a security layer to screen messages that children send and receive. This ensures no inappropriate content is being used in interactions with people they don’t know. 

4. Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo has deployed open-source LLM-driven, including Meta’s Llama 2 model, for some internal uses, Wells Fargo CIO Chintan Mehta mentioned in an interview with me at VentureBeat’s AI Impact Tour event in SF , where we focus examples of generative AI being put to at work. 

IBM is a provider of generative AI applications that use its own LLMs named Granite, but which also leverage open-source LLMs from Hugging Face and Meta. However, it wouldn’t be fair to exclude IBM from this list of bonafide users that have deployed applications. Its 285,000 employees rely on the company’s AskHR app, which answers questions employees have on all sorts of HR matters, and is built on IBM’s Watson Orchestration application, which leverages open-source LLMs. 

And just last week, IBM announced its new internal consulting product, Consulting Advantage, which leverages open-source LLMs driven by Llama 2. This includes “ Library of Assistants,” powered by IBM’s wasonx platform , and assists IBM’s 160,000 consultants in designing complex services for clients.

Finally, IBM’s thousands of marketing employees also use IBM’s open-source LLM-driven marketing application to generate content, Matt Candy, IBM Consulting’s global managing partner for generative AI, said in an interview with VentureBeat. While the application was in proof-of-concept last year, it has been rolling into deployment for specific units across marketing, he said. The application uses Adobe Firefly for image generation but augments that “with LLMs that we are training and tuning to become a brand brain,” Candy said. The app understands IBM’s persona guidelines, the brand’s tone of voice and campaign guidelines, and then creates derivatives of the content for sub-brands and the different countries IBM operates in, he said.

6. The Grammy Awards

IBM also yesterday announced a deal to provide the Recording Academy, owner of the Grammy Awards, with a service called AI stories, which leverages Llama 2 running on IBM’s Wastonx.ai studio, to help the organization generate custom AI-generated insights and content. The service has vectorized data from relevant datasets around artists and their work so that the LLM can retrieve it through a RAG database. Fans will then be able to interact with the content.

7-9 Masters Tournament , Wimbledon , and US Open :

IBM helps all of these organizations generate spoken voic e commentary, as well as find video highlights, of relevant sports events using open-source LLMs, IBM’s Candy said. The IBM technology helps these sports event companies call out key things like plate facial gestures, and crowd noise to create an excitement index throughout a competition. 

10. Perplexity

This hot startup, which is taking on Google search by using LLMs to reinvent the search experience , has only 50 employees but just raised $74 million and feels almost inevitably on its way to getting to 100. While it does not meet our definition of enterprise, it’s interesting enough to merit a mention. When a user poses a question to Perplexity, its engine uses about six steps to formulate a response, and multiple LLMs models are used in the process. Perplexity uses its own custom-built open-source LLMs as a default for the second-to-last step, said employee Dmitry Shevelenko. That step is the one that summarizes the material of the article or source that Perplexity has found as responsive to the user’s question. Perplexity built its models on top of Mistral and Llama models , and used AWS Bedrock for fine-tuning.

Using Llama was critical, Shevelenko said, because it helps Perplexity own its own destiny. Investing in fine-tuning models on OpenAI models isn’t worth it because you don’t own the result, he said. Notably, Perplexity has also agreed to power Rabbit’s new pocket-sized AI gadget R1, and so Rabbit will also be effectively using open-source LLMs via Perplexity’s API.

11. CyberAgent

This Japanese digital advertising company uses open-source LLMs provided by Dell software, to power OpenCALM (Open CyberAgent Language Models), a general-purpose Japanese language model that can be fine-tuned to suit users’ needs.

Intuit, provider of software like TurboTax, Quickbooks, and Mailchimp, was early to build its own LLMs models, and leverages open-source models in the mix of LLMs driving its Intuit Assist feature , which helps users with things like customer support, analysis and task completion jobs. In interviews with VB about the company’s GenOS platform , Intuit exec Ashok Srivastava said its internal LLMs were built on open source and trained on Intuit’s own data.

13. Walmart

The retail giant has built dozens of conversational AI applications, including a chatbot that a million Walmart associates interact with for customer care. Desirée Gosby, vice president of emerging technology at Walmart Global Tech, told VentureBeat the company uses GPT-4 and other LLMs, so as to “not unnecessarily lock ourselves in.” Walmart’s efforts began, Gosby said, by using Google’s BERT open-source models, which were released in 2018.

14. Shopify

Shopify Sidekick is an AI-powered tool that utilizes Llama 2 to help small business owners automate various tasks for managing their commerce sites, such as generating product descriptions, responding to customer inquiries, and creating marketing content.

This U.S.-based talent-matching start-up uses a chatbot built on Llama that interacts like a human recruiter, helping businesses find and hire top AI and data talent from a pool of high-quality profiles in Africa across various industries.

16. Niantic

The creator of Pokemon Go launched a new feature called Peridot which uses Llama 2 to generate environment-specific reactions and animations for the pet characters in the game.

[ Update: 12:04pm 1/29/24. Clarified that IBM Granite LLMs are not open source ]

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