Lastly, if there are any major competitive products or services already in the market, it may be valuable to mention them here. You’ll need to describe the problem that you solve for your customers and the solution that you are selling. This is really the opportunity section of your business plan, with the products and services being how you plan to take advantage of the opportunity. So make sure you spend the time to get it just right. After looking over your executive summary, your target reader is either going to throw your business plan away or keep reading. Keep in mind, this is the first impression your plan and business will make. Keep things as brief as possible and entice your audience to learn more about your company. Summarize the problem you are solving for customers, your solution, the target market, the founding team, and financial forecast highlights. It’s a brief section that highlights the high-level points you’ve made elsewhere in your business plan. While it may appear first, it’s best to write your executive summary last.
Be sure to download your free business plan template so that you can start drafting your own plan as you work through this outline. No matter the type of business plan you create, these are the seven basic sections you should include. What are the 7 essential parts of a business plan? If you’re unsure of which plan is right for you, check out our guide explaining the differences and use cases for each. This is a simpler and faster method that is designed to be updated and used day-to-day. But, if you’re using your plan to test an idea or help you run your business, you may want to opt for a lean plan. If you’re going to speak with investors or pursue funding, then yes, you’ll need to include everything from this outline. A traditional business plan typically includes-an executive summary, an overview of your products and services, thorough market and industry research, a marketing and sales strategy, operational details, financial projections, and an appendix.ĭepending on what you intend to do with your plan, you may not need all of this information right away. Starting with a business plan outline helps ensure that you’re covering all of the necessary information to complete your plan. What information do you need? How in-depth should each section be? How should the plan be structured?Īll good questions that you can answer by following this business plan outline. However, like everything in business, starting is often the hardest part. In short, a business plan makes you more like to succeed. It serves as the foundation of your business, helps guide your strategy, and prepares you to overcome the obstacles and risks associated with entrepreneurship. It’s how you perform versus your plan, not versus last year.When starting a business, having a well-thought-out business plan prepared is necessary for success. Take the lessons you learned last year and apply them to the next. If issues begin to rise, you can react much faster by knowing exactly what’s happening and which department it’s affecting.Īs you’re developing this plan, just remember to follow and live by the KISS principle. Break your plan down into goals and milestones to determine where you should be annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily, and segment that by each department. Keeping track of your progress throughout the year is a strategy often overlooked by business owners.
Ensure you have the capital to move forward as well as a strategy that will hit the ground running on the first of January. Resources and StrategyĪfter you compile a list of what you want to accomplish, look at developing a plan of action to make it work to turn it into a reality. That time you spend browsing Facebook can wait. Don’t have time? Invest one hour of your day and explore the possibilities. Take some time in planning for all possibilities.
Are you looking to expand in the locations you service, or are you looking to increase your market share in your area? What about expanding on the services you provide? Perhaps you want to manufacture new products?ĭetermine how you might be affected by tariffs, fuel increases, potential wage increases, interest rate hikes, union issues, and more, and create a flexible plan to account for these changes. “What are you looking to accomplish in the coming 12 to 15 months,” is a question that’s easier asked than answered.