3 Examples of Strategic Planning and a Current State Analysis Template

Here are some examples of strategic planning and a current state analysis template. Use them to chart a clear path toward business goals.

A strategic plan sets out a clear path for success. It also serves as a reference point for everyone involved. Vision, objectives, action plan, risks, and opportunities — they’re all laid out in your strategic roadmap. The better your startup gets at the strategic planning process , the easier it will be to execute goals. Use these examples of strategic planning and the current state analysis template to get started.

Key Takeaways:

  • Without strategic planning, startups risk wasting resources on initiatives that aren't impactful.
  • The more details in your strategy, the easier it will be to achieve goals.
  • Start with a current state analysis to identify the steps involved in transitioning from your business's current state to your desired future state.

What Is a Strategic Plan?

A good strategy looks at all the moving parts of your business:

  • Current challenges
  • Opportunities
  • Stakeholders

Then, it details which actions stakeholders will take to achieve strategic initiatives and end goals. It can include tactical and process-driven activities, a timeline, role delegation, a method for assessing and reevaluating the plan, and a current state analysis.

Who Should Be Involved?

Strategic planning is a collaborative process. Startups that have already established departments should involve stakeholders from sales, marketing, and product development in the discussion. Choose stakeholders who can contribute to the process and bring value to your organization.

People from different functional areas will be able to identify unique risks and opportunities. Use these insights to prioritize strategic actions and effectively organize resources.

Even if you’re operating as a one or two-person team, gather data to build a stronger strategic plan. The following information channels will provide helpful insights:

  • Feedback from customers
  • Discussions with partners
  • Consultations with professionals

4 Steps to Creating an Effective Strategic Plan, Plus Examples

Here’s a basic framework for startups:

Identify the goal

Your strategic plan will focus on one goal. The goal should be SMART :

  • Specific — What do you want to achieve?
  • Measurable — Which metrics will you use to gauge progress?
  • Attainable — Can you realistically achieve the goal?
  • Relevant — How does this goal help your business get closer to your long-term vision?
  • Time-bound — What’s your deadline for achieving the goal?

Starting with an end goal will point the rest of your strategic planning in the right direction. It also creates the business case for your plan’s budget.

Goal examples:

  • A startup wants to increase awareness about its new event promotions platform. The goal: Boost brand recognition to 75 percent of the target market by the end of the year.
  • A company has launched a new ordering app for food trucks and small restaurants, and it has tested the app with early adopters. The goal: Increase gross revenue by 35 percent every quarter for the next two years.
  • A marketing team for a SaaS company that designs industry-specific budgeting apps for small businesses wants to enhance customer experience to create a competitive advantage. The goal: achieve an average four out of five-star rating on the five most popular B2B software review sites.

Develop an action plan

Which processes, methods, and programs will you use to reach your goal? You may have more than one strategy that you’ll use.

Action plan examples:

  • The startup with the event promotions platform will use social media campaigns and influencers to build awareness.
  • The ordering app company plans to expand its sales efforts while also launching a content marketing campaign to drive more qualified leads to sales.
  • To improve customer experience, the SaaS startup that makes budgeting apps will enhance quality control procedures and expand its customer service team.

Detail actions for execution

List the activities that will fulfill your action plan. These can include both one-time tasks and ongoing processes.

Execution examples:

  • The events promotion startup will connect with three Instagram influencers and post consistently on the brand’s social media networks.
  • The ordering app company will post weekly blog posts that its market would find useful to generate leads, and sales will send regular emails to drive conversions.
  • The budgeting app company will hire an account management specialist and work on improving features to make the app easier to use.

Determine resource usage

Which people and tools do you need to execute the actions that will deliver on each strategy? This is where you’ll decide which skills and experience to add to your team, technologies to acquire, and other capital resources to invest in.

Why Startups Should Have a Current State Analysis for Strategic Planning

A key step in this process is clarifying where your business is right now with a current state analysis . This will serve as a foundational document for the strategic planning process. It will help establish which actions to take to move your business from Point A to Point B.

A current state analysis includes:

  • Current information about the business and your business plan, including customer segmentation, value propositions, finances, and sales projections.
  • Information on the ecosystem your business exists within. This is where you can draw upon insights from competitor analyses; market trends; and political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) trends. Which specific risks and opportunities does your business face in the current environment?
  • Long-term vision: What’s the core of your mission and company values? Is that coming across in your branding? Being clear on vision will help your business connect with the right people.
  • Strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT). Documenting these will make it easier to spot trends and prioritize goals within your strategic plan.

You’ll find a free gap analysis and SWOT analysis templates here .

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What is strategic planning? A 5-step guide

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Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders map out their vision for their organization’s growth and how they’re going to get there. In this article, we'll guide you through the strategic planning process, including why it's important, the benefits and best practices, and five steps to get you from beginning to end.

Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders map out their vision for their organization’s growth and how they’re going to get there. The strategic planning process informs your organization’s decisions, growth, and goals.

Strategic planning helps you clearly define your company’s long-term objectives—and maps how your short-term goals and work will help you achieve them. This, in turn, gives you a clear sense of where your organization is going and allows you to ensure your teams are working on projects that make the most impact. Think of it this way—if your goals and objectives are your destination on a map, your strategic plan is your navigation system.

In this article, we walk you through the 5-step strategic planning process and show you how to get started developing your own strategic plan.

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What is strategic planning?

Strategic planning is a business process that helps you define and share the direction your company will take in the next three to five years. During the strategic planning process, stakeholders review and define the organization’s mission and goals, conduct competitive assessments, and identify company goals and objectives. The product of the planning cycle is a strategic plan, which is shared throughout the company.

What is a strategic plan?

[inline illustration] Strategic plan elements (infographic)

A strategic plan is the end result of the strategic planning process. At its most basic, it’s a tool used to define your organization’s goals and what actions you’ll take to achieve them.

Typically, your strategic plan should include: 

Your company’s mission statement

Your organizational goals, including your long-term goals and short-term, yearly objectives

Any plan of action, tactics, or approaches you plan to take to meet those goals

What are the benefits of strategic planning?

Strategic planning can help with goal setting and decision-making by allowing you to map out how your company will move toward your organization’s vision and mission statements in the next three to five years. Let’s circle back to our map metaphor. If you think of your company trajectory as a line on a map, a strategic plan can help you better quantify how you’ll get from point A (where you are now) to point B (where you want to be in a few years).

When you create and share a clear strategic plan with your team, you can:

Build a strong organizational culture by clearly defining and aligning on your organization’s mission, vision, and goals.

Align everyone around a shared purpose and ensure all departments and teams are working toward a common objective.

Proactively set objectives to help you get where you want to go and achieve desired outcomes.

Promote a long-term vision for your company rather than focusing primarily on short-term gains.

Ensure resources are allocated around the most high-impact priorities.

Define long-term goals and set shorter-term goals to support them.

Assess your current situation and identify any opportunities—or threats—allowing your organization to mitigate potential risks.

Create a proactive business culture that enables your organization to respond more swiftly to emerging market changes and opportunities.

What are the 5 steps in strategic planning?

The strategic planning process involves a structured methodology that guides the organization from vision to implementation. The strategic planning process starts with assembling a small, dedicated team of key strategic planners—typically five to 10 members—who will form the strategic planning, or management, committee. This team is responsible for gathering crucial information, guiding the development of the plan, and overseeing strategy execution.

Once you’ve established your management committee, you can get to work on the planning process. 

Step 1: Assess your current business strategy and business environment

Before you can define where you’re going, you first need to define where you are. Understanding the external environment, including market trends and competitive landscape, is crucial in the initial assessment phase of strategic planning.

To do this, your management committee should collect a variety of information from additional stakeholders, like employees and customers. In particular, plan to gather:

Relevant industry and market data to inform any market opportunities, as well as any potential upcoming threats in the near future.

Customer insights to understand what your customers want from your company—like product improvements or additional services.

Employee feedback that needs to be addressed—whether about the product, business practices, or the day-to-day company culture.

Consider different types of strategic planning tools and analytical techniques to gather this information, such as:

A balanced scorecard to help you evaluate four major elements of a business: learning and growth, business processes, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.

A SWOT analysis to help you assess both current and future potential for the business (you’ll return to this analysis periodically during the strategic planning process). 

To fill out each letter in the SWOT acronym, your management committee will answer a series of questions:

What does your organization currently do well?

What separates you from your competitors?

What are your most valuable internal resources?

What tangible assets do you have?

What is your biggest strength? 

Weaknesses:

What does your organization do poorly?

What do you currently lack (whether that’s a product, resource, or process)?

What do your competitors do better than you?

What, if any, limitations are holding your organization back?

What processes or products need improvement? 

Opportunities:

What opportunities does your organization have?

How can you leverage your unique company strengths?

Are there any trends that you can take advantage of?

How can you capitalize on marketing or press opportunities?

Is there an emerging need for your product or service? 

What emerging competitors should you keep an eye on?

Are there any weaknesses that expose your organization to risk?

Have you or could you experience negative press that could reduce market share?

Is there a chance of changing customer attitudes towards your company? 

Step 2: Identify your company’s goals and objectives

To begin strategy development, take into account your current position, which is where you are now. Then, draw inspiration from your vision, mission, and current position to identify and define your goals—these are your final destination. 

To develop your strategy, you’re essentially pulling out your compass and asking, “Where are we going next?” “What’s the ideal future state of this company?” This can help you figure out which path you need to take to get there.

During this phase of the planning process, take inspiration from important company documents, such as:

Your mission statement, to understand how you can continue moving towards your organization’s core purpose.

Your vision statement, to clarify how your strategic plan fits into your long-term vision.

Your company values, to guide you towards what matters most towards your company.

Your competitive advantages, to understand what unique benefit you offer to the market.

Your long-term goals, to track where you want to be in five or 10 years.

Your financial forecast and projection, to understand where you expect your financials to be in the next three years, what your expected cash flow is, and what new opportunities you will likely be able to invest in.

Step 3: Develop your strategic plan and determine performance metrics

Now that you understand where you are and where you want to go, it’s time to put pen to paper. Take your current business position and strategy into account, as well as your organization’s goals and objectives, and build out a strategic plan for the next three to five years. Keep in mind that even though you’re creating a long-term plan, parts of your plan should be created or revisited as the quarters and years go on.

As you build your strategic plan, you should define:

Company priorities for the next three to five years, based on your SWOT analysis and strategy.

Yearly objectives for the first year. You don’t need to define your objectives for every year of the strategic plan. As the years go on, create new yearly objectives that connect back to your overall strategic goals . 

Related key results and KPIs. Some of these should be set by the management committee, and some should be set by specific teams that are closer to the work. Make sure your key results and KPIs are measurable and actionable. These KPIs will help you track progress and ensure you’re moving in the right direction.

Budget for the next year or few years. This should be based on your financial forecast as well as your direction. Do you need to spend aggressively to develop your product? Build your team? Make a dent with marketing? Clarify your most important initiatives and how you’ll budget for those.

A high-level project roadmap . A project roadmap is a tool in project management that helps you visualize the timeline of a complex initiative, but you can also create a very high-level project roadmap for your strategic plan. Outline what you expect to be working on in certain quarters or years to make the plan more actionable and understandable.

Step 4: Implement and share your plan

Now it’s time to put your plan into action. Strategy implementation involves clear communication across your entire organization to make sure everyone knows their responsibilities and how to measure the plan’s success. 

Make sure your team (especially senior leadership) has access to the strategic plan, so they can understand how their work contributes to company priorities and the overall strategy map. We recommend sharing your plan in the same tool you use to manage and track work, so you can more easily connect high-level objectives to daily work. If you don’t already, consider using a work management platform .  

A few tips to make sure your plan will be executed without a hitch: 

Communicate clearly to your entire organization throughout the implementation process, to ensure all team members understand the strategic plan and how to implement it effectively. 

Define what “success” looks like by mapping your strategic plan to key performance indicators.

Ensure that the actions outlined in the strategic plan are integrated into the daily operations of the organization, so that every team member's daily activities are aligned with the broader strategic objectives.

Utilize tools and software—like a work management platform—that can aid in implementing and tracking the progress of your plan.

Regularly monitor and share the progress of the strategic plan with the entire organization, to keep everyone informed and reinforce the importance of the plan.

Establish regular check-ins to monitor the progress of your strategic plan and make adjustments as needed. 

Step 5: Revise and restructure as needed

Once you’ve created and implemented your new strategic framework, the final step of the planning process is to monitor and manage your plan.

Remember, your strategic plan isn’t set in stone. You’ll need to revisit and update the plan if your company changes directions or makes new investments. As new market opportunities and threats come up, you’ll likely want to tweak your strategic plan. Make sure to review your plan regularly—meaning quarterly and annually—to ensure it’s still aligned with your organization’s vision and goals.

Keep in mind that your plan won’t last forever, even if you do update it frequently. A successful strategic plan evolves with your company’s long-term goals. When you’ve achieved most of your strategic goals, or if your strategy has evolved significantly since you first made your plan, it might be time to create a new one.

Build a smarter strategic plan with a work management platform

To turn your company strategy into a plan—and ultimately, impact—make sure you’re proactively connecting company objectives to daily work. When you can clarify this connection, you’re giving your team members the context they need to get their best work done. 

A work management platform plays a pivotal role in this process. It acts as a central hub for your strategic plan, ensuring that every task and project is directly tied to your broader company goals. This alignment is crucial for visibility and coordination, allowing team members to see how their individual efforts contribute to the company’s success. 

By leveraging such a platform, you not only streamline workflow and enhance team productivity but also align every action with your strategic objectives—allowing teams to drive greater impact and helping your company move toward goals more effectively. 

Strategic planning FAQs

Still have questions about strategic planning? We have answers.

Why do I need a strategic plan?

A strategic plan is one of many tools you can use to plan and hit your goals. It helps map out strategic objectives and growth metrics that will help your company be successful.

When should I create a strategic plan?

You should aim to create a strategic plan every three to five years, depending on your organization’s growth speed.

Since the point of a strategic plan is to map out your long-term goals and how you’ll get there, you should create a strategic plan when you’ve met most or all of them. You should also create a strategic plan any time you’re going to make a large pivot in your organization’s mission or enter new markets. 

What is a strategic planning template?

A strategic planning template is a tool organizations can use to map out their strategic plan and track progress. Typically, a strategic planning template houses all the components needed to build out a strategic plan, including your company’s vision and mission statements, information from any competitive analyses or SWOT assessments, and relevant KPIs.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. business plan?

A business plan can help you document your strategy as you’re getting started so every team member is on the same page about your core business priorities and goals. This tool can help you document and share your strategy with key investors or stakeholders as you get your business up and running.

You should create a business plan when you’re: 

Just starting your business

Significantly restructuring your business

If your business is already established, you should create a strategic plan instead of a business plan. Even if you’re working at a relatively young company, your strategic plan can build on your business plan to help you move in the right direction. During the strategic planning process, you’ll draw from a lot of the fundamental business elements you built early on to establish your strategy for the next three to five years.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. mission and vision statements?

Your strategic plan, mission statement, and vision statements are all closely connected. In fact, during the strategic planning process, you will take inspiration from your mission and vision statements in order to build out your strategic plan.

Simply put: 

A mission statement summarizes your company’s purpose.

A vision statement broadly explains how you’ll reach your company’s purpose.

A strategic plan pulls in inspiration from your mission and vision statements and outlines what actions you’re going to take to move in the right direction. 

For example, if your company produces pet safety equipment, here’s how your mission statement, vision statement, and strategic plan might shake out:

Mission statement: “To ensure the safety of the world’s animals.” 

Vision statement: “To create pet safety and tracking products that are effortless to use.” 

Your strategic plan would outline the steps you’re going to take in the next few years to bring your company closer to your mission and vision. For example, you develop a new pet tracking smart collar or improve the microchipping experience for pet owners. 

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. company objectives?

Company objectives are broad goals. You should set these on a yearly or quarterly basis (if your organization moves quickly). These objectives give your team a clear sense of what you intend to accomplish for a set period of time. 

Your strategic plan is more forward-thinking than your company goals, and it should cover more than one year of work. Think of it this way: your company objectives will move the needle towards your overall strategy—but your strategic plan should be bigger than company objectives because it spans multiple years.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. a business case?

A business case is a document to help you pitch a significant investment or initiative for your company. When you create a business case, you’re outlining why this investment is a good idea, and how this large-scale project will positively impact the business. 

You might end up building business cases for things on your strategic plan’s roadmap—but your strategic plan should be bigger than that. This tool should encompass multiple years of your roadmap, across your entire company—not just one initiative.

What’s the difference between a strategic plan vs. a project plan?

A strategic plan is a company-wide, multi-year plan of what you want to accomplish in the next three to five years and how you plan to accomplish that. A project plan, on the other hand, outlines how you’re going to accomplish a specific project. This project could be one of many initiatives that contribute to a specific company objective which, in turn, is one of many objectives that contribute to your strategic plan. 

What’s the difference between strategic management vs. strategic planning?

A strategic plan is a tool to define where your organization wants to go and what actions you need to take to achieve those goals. Strategic planning is the process of creating a plan in order to hit your strategic objectives.

Strategic management includes the strategic planning process, but also goes beyond it. In addition to planning how you will achieve your big-picture goals, strategic management also helps you organize your resources and figure out the best action plans for success. 

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Writing a business plan: Your step-by-step guide

current status business plan

Learn how to write a sound business plan to help set up your business for success.

Learning how to write a sound business plan is an essential first step toward creating a successful business. Simply put, a business plan outlines your business’s overall goals, strategies, and operations, providing a long-term vision and plan for your entire business. It’s not to be confused with a business proposal, which is a sales document that pitches a specific business idea or product to a potential client or investor. A business plan can help you clarify what you want to achieve and lay out exactly how to reach those goals. This, in turn, can help you motivate your team, promote your business, and make key decisions.

A strong business plan serves as an important communication tool to potential investors and lenders. It will allow you to articulate your current financial status, sources of revenue, and how you plan to meet revenue projections. Although a business plan isn’t always required when applying for all types of credit, it often plays a significant role in SBA loan applications . While no two business plans are alike, every plan should cover the following elements.

Executive summary: Define your business

Your plan’s executive summary is your chance to introduce the business — so it needs to be concise and compelling. The summary should give a brief recap of the history and background of your business in a manner that will make the reader want to learn more about your plan. Sometimes it’s helpful to write this last — after you’ve spent some time contemplating and articulating all the details of your business.

Company summary: Delve into the details

Your business plan should explain what your product or service is and why people and businesses will want to purchase it. Be sure to highlight areas where your product or service has a clear advantage over the competition. Also, include details about pending or established copyrights or trademarks, and present or future plans for research and development (R&D).

Market analysis: Outline your strategy

A market analysis centers on the marketability of your business, who your competitors are and how you fit into the competitive landscape. In the analysis, give detailed information about your business’s industry, including the size of the market, your target market, the market need, and barriers to entry such as supply issues and regulation. Also, include information on any market tests you have conducted and identify your direct and indirect competition.

Marketing plan: Identify your niche

Here, you’ll highlight how you plan to promote your business and generate revenue. Describe in detail what your product or service does and how it will help consumers. Explain how your product is unique from others on the market, and how you will promote your business and generate revenue. Also, provide details about the product life cycle and any intellectual property issues. (Note: Some of this may reiterate or expand upon information elsewhere in your business plan.) You can protect your intellectual property , which can include names, designs and automated process, through trademarks, copyrights, non-disclosure agreements and more.

Management overview: Introduce your leaders

To highlight your human capital, describe how your business will be organized in terms of structure and leadership. Let your reader know who does what and what qualifications they have. Summarize this in your writeup, but consider providing relevant resumes, too.

Financial summary: Develop your financial plan

The financial summary, which includes details about your company’s funding sources, existing debt, any grants , as well as financial analysis, are crucial areas to lay out in detail. Explain the amount of funding your business needs and provide supporting financial data as well as financial projections . Include documents that communicate your business’s current financial status, such as income statements, balance sheets , and cash flow statements. List your expectations for revenues as well as the cost of your goods, rent, fuel, utilities, salaries, and other expenses.

The final step: Organize it logically

There are many ways you can organize the information mentioned above so you can share it with potential investors and lenders, current and prospective team members and managers, and anyone else who needs to understand your vision.

Do your research and find a business plan format that works for your business. There can be different types of plans for different types of readers, i.e. investors vs. employees, so you can modify your plan depending on your audience.

A few things to keep in mind:

  • Make it easy to find key info . Create a cover page and table of contents, so information is easy to find. Also consider using dividers with tabs if you’re printing it out and putting it in a binder.
  • Add more details as they emerge . Depending on what you do or sell, you may also want to add a section on Action Plans, which includes information on regulations, legal and compliance issues, safety processes, operational and management plans, an employee handbook, delineations of job descriptions of your staff, and anything else you’ve put on paper (or into a digital document).
  • Consider using an Appendix . This is where you can store any supporting documents, including financial and market analyses, logo and branding examples, team resumes, and so on.

Your business plan should reflect changes in your business, the industry or the market. Make changes as necessary to incorporate the changing needs of customers or changing economic conditions in order to keep your plan current. Treating your business plan as a living document — and revising it regularly — can help you stay ahead of the competition and exceed your dreams.

Learn more:

For additional support, make an appointment with a Wells Fargo banker who can help you develop your business plan. There are also several resources available to get you started with your business and business plan. Here are a few:

  • U.S. Small Business Administration
  • America’s Small Business Development Centers Network
  • SCORE Association

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How to Write a Company Overview for a Business Plan

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When you start a company, you ideally want it to grow. If you’re seeking business funding to scale your business or an initial investment to get your business off the ground, you’re going to need a business plan . Putting together a business plan can be an intimidating process that involves a lot of steps and writing — but breaking it down piece by piece can help you accomplish this seemingly insurmountable task.

One small piece of your business plan is the company overview, so let’s take a look at what that is, exactly, check out some company overview examples and go over how to make a company overview of your very own.

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What is a company overview?

A company overview provides the reader of your business plan with basic background information about your company so they have an understanding of what you do, who the management team is and what customers your business serves.

The company description is the second piece of a business plan, falling right after the executive summary. Similar to the executive summary, your company overview will be short and succinct. Your reader needs to have a grasp on what your business does and who your customers are, even if they have limited time.

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Why do I need a company overview?

The company overview is the part of your business plan that gives the basics and background of your business. It’s the foundation on which you will build the rest of your business plan.

If you’re looking to appeal to investors or potential clients, you need a reader to make an informed decision about your company. Before they can do that, they must know what your company does and who your customer is. Lenders in particular need a reason to keep reading, since they see tons of business plans regularly. The company overview provides those answers, and it will help you get a better sense of your business so you can firm up things like your marketing plan.

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

What should I include in a company overview?

The exact elements that you need in your company overview will depend upon what details of your business are important, but there are some foundational elements that will be included in every company overview.

Once you’ve covered the basics, you can include any other minor details that will benefit a reader who will need to make an informed decision about your business.

Basic company information

Consider the company overview like an introduction for your business. In the opening paragraph of your company overview, you’ll want to include basic company information. That includes:

Your company name: This should be the official name of your business, exactly as it is written when you registered your business with the state.

Business structure: Your reader will want to know what business entity your company comes in: sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership or corporation.

Location(s): Share where your business is headquartered and other locations the business owns.

Ownership and management team

Break down who owns your business and how each owner is involved with the business. What shares of the company belong to whom? If you have a highly involved management team, share their names and key roles with the company as well.

Company history

Part of what makes your company unique is its history. And, even startups have some history. Don’t put too much focus on this section, but do add some personality and interesting details if possible, especially if they relate to your company culture.

Mission statement

Your company’s mission statement should be included in the company overview. If you don’t yet have a company mission statement, that’s okay. Think of a mission statement as the purpose of your company.

If you don’t have one, you can create one with your team. Or you can simply replace the mission statement with a problem statement. Your business idea should exist to solve a problem or pain point faced by your customers. Share what that problem is and what your business does to solve it. That’s essentially your mission statement.

Product/service and customer

This section of the company overview is where you can share the nitty-gritty details of your business. Talk about what product or service you provide and to whom you provide it. You can share some numbers here, but in general, save the numbers for later in your business plan.

The company overview should give the reader a general understanding of your business, your product or service, and your customer. If they’re interested to know more, they’ll reach out to you for a meeting or take the time to read the rest of your business plan. Keep it simple and straightforward here.

Future goals

While concrete details and facts about your business are important to whoever is reading your company overview, it’s also important to share your dreams and your vision. If you’re writing a business plan for a business that’s already in place, it’s very likely you’re looking for business financing to scale or solve a business problem. If you’re just starting out, though, then it’s likely you’re hoping to find startup funding.

The section on your future business goals should include a brief description of your growth goals for your business. Where you are now tells the reader a lot, but they also want to know where you plan to go.

A company overview is comprised of many small parts. Each part shares just a little bit more about your company with your reader.

Tips for writing a company overview

While a company overview is simply the details of your company written out, it might not be easy to write. Break it down into small steps and use these tips to make putting together your company overview just a little bit easier.

Start with the elevator pitch

If your business is already in operation, then you likely have an elevator pitch. Your company overview can start off with your elevator pitch.

The first paragraph of your company overview should include just a few sentences that explain your business and what you do. The shorter and clearer this is, the more likely your reader will understand and keep reading.

Stick to the basics

It’s tempting to pile on all the details when you’re writing a company overview. Remember, many of the details of your company, including the numbers, will be included in later sections of your business plan.

Your company overview should include only the most basic details about your company that the reader needs to know.

Be passionate

When you share the history, mission statement, and vision for the future of your company, it’s okay to show your passion. You wouldn’t be in business if you didn’t love what you do.

Your excitement for your business could spark interest for the reader and keep them engaged with your company overview and business plan.

Keep it succinct

When you’re passionate about something, it’s easy to get carried away. Remember that you’ve got plenty of space for details in your business plan. The company overview should be just the most basic information someone needs to understand your business.

It’s OK if your first draft of your company overview is long. Simply go through and edit it to be shorter, removing unnecessary details and words each time you read through it. Clear, concise descriptions are more likely to be read and to keep the reader reading to other sections of your business plan.

Have structure

Your company overview is just one piece of a multi-tiered business plan. Creating a clear structure for your business plan makes it easier to read. The same is true for your company overview.

Your business plan should have chapters, one of which is the company overview. Then, you can further break down the content for easy skimming and reading by adding sub-chapters. You can denote these breaks in content with bold headers.

While you can break down each section of the company overview with bold headers based on the above suggestions, you can also interweave some information together, such as the company structure and leadership structure. Each section should be only a few sentences long.

Write it later

If you’re struggling to write your company overview, come back to it. Write the rest of your business plan first and then write your company overview.

While this might seem like the opposite way of doing things, knowing what will be contained in the rest of your business plan can help you to focus in on the very most essential details in the company overview and to leave everything else out.

Get a test reader

If you’re struggling to edit down your company overview, get a test reader. Ideally, you’ll want to ask someone who doesn’t know a lot about your business. They’ll help you understand whether or not you’ve clearly communicated your message.

Proofreading is the final step in editing something you’ve written. This type of editing looks for typos, misspellings and grammatical errors that have been missed. Many of these small errors can be difficult to spot in our own writing, so be sure to ask someone who hasn’t seen multiple drafts of your company overview.

Start Your Dream Business

Company overview examples

If you don’t want to shell out for business planning software, but would still like some company overview examples to get you started, there are many places online you can look to for help getting started, like the Small Business Administration and SCORE.

Many successful companies also have some version of their company overview made public as their company profile page online. There are some variations from the company overview steps we’ve listed above, of course, but you can use the language and style of these company overview examples for inspiration:

Starbucks company profile .

Puma company page .

TaskRabbit About page .

Peloton company page .

Nestlé About page .

If you’re still feeling stuck, or want more company overview examples, try searching the websites of your favorite companies for more information. You might be surprised what you find — the Nestlé page, for example, has more information about their strategy and business principles.

On a similar note...

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How To Write the Company Summary in a Business Plan

Company Overviews Show How the Pieces of a Business Work

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What To Include in Your Company Summary

Getting started on your company summary, examples of a company summary, tips for writing a company summary, frequently asked questions (faqs).

Image by Theresa Chiechi © The Balance 2019

The company summary in a business plan —also known as the company description or overview—is a high-level look at what you are as a company and how all the elements of the business fit together.

An effective company summary should give readers, such as potential investors, a quick and easy way to understand your business, its products and services, its mission and goals, how it meets the needs of its target market, and how it stands out from competitors.

Before you begin writing your company summary, remember to stick to the big picture. Other sections of your business plan will provide the specific details of your business. The summary synthesizes all of that information into one page.

Key Takeaways

  • The company summary in a business plan provides an overview containing a description of your company at a high level.
  • A company summary might include your mission statement, goals, target market, products, and services, as well as how it stands out from competitors.
  • The company summary can also be customized for a specific objective or audience, such as to secure financing from investors or banks.

The company summary section of a business plan should include:

  • Business name
  • Legal structure (i.e., sole proprietorship ,  LLC ,  S Corporation , or  partnership )
  • Management team
  • Mission statement
  • Company history (when it started and important milestones)
  • Description of products and services and how they meet the needs of the marketplace
  • Target market (who will buy your product or services)
  • Competitive advantage (what sets you apart in the marketplace to allow you to succeed)
  • Objectives and goals (plans for growth)

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) website has a lot of information available if you've never written a business plan before. The SBA provides examples of business plans for different types of companies.

Before you begin, you should decide whether you want to go with a traditional business plan format or a lean startup format. The traditional format is appropriate if you want to have a comprehensive, detail-oriented plan or if you are requesting financing. The lean startup format is best for those who have a relatively simple business and want to start it quickly or as a starting point for those who plan to refine and change the plan regularly.

No matter which type of business plan you choose, you'll need to include a company summary.

Although there are many blueprints for writing a company summary, below are a couple of examples to get you started.

Consulting Firm

You can opt for a concise opening paragraph such as this one:

XYZ Consulting is a new company that provides expertise in search marketing solutions for businesses worldwide, including website promotion, online advertising, and search engine optimization techniques to improve its clients' positioning in search engines. We cater to the higher education market, including colleges, universities, and professional educational institutions.

Several elements of the company summary are covered here, including the name (XYZ Consulting), history (new company), description of services (web promotion, SEO, advertising) and why it's needed (improve positioning in search engines), and the target market (higher education).

Starbucks Coffee Company Overview

Starbucks breaks down the company overview on their website into the following sections:

"Our Heritage"

Here the company describes how long the company has been in business, citing its roots, the founder, Howard Schultz, and how he was inspired to open the first Starbucks in Seattle after visiting Italy. It briefly mentions the growth of millions of customers and how the company's heritage remains important to its long-term success.

"Coffee & Craft"

The overview describes the high-quality products and services being offered and why they stand out from the competition by describing the detailed process of choosing and growing coffee beans. You'll notice they don't suggest their product is a low-cost product but instead provide a high level of "experiences to savor."

"Our Partners"

Starbucks describes its employees as partners that work together in an inclusive manner to achieve success. It highlights how they are at the center of the experience.

"Pursuit of Doing Good"

The company describes its values and how it gives back to the community.

Tesla Inc. Business Overview

Below are excerpts of the business overview pages from the annual 10-K filing on Dec. 31, 2021, for Tesla Inc.

"We design, develop, manufacture, sell and lease high-performance fully electric vehicles and energy generation and storage systems, and offer services related to our products. We generally sell our products directly to customers, including through our website and retail locations.
We also continue to grow our customer-facing infrastructure through a global network of vehicle service centers, mobile service technicians, body shops, supercharger stations and destination chargers to accelerate the widespread adoption of our products.
We emphasize performance, attractive styling and the safety of our users and workforce in the design and manufacture of our products and are continuing to develop full self-driving technology for improved safety.
Our mission to accelerate the world’s transition to sustainable energy, engineering expertise, vertically integrated business model and focus on user experience differentiate us from other companies."

Competition

Tesla highlights the competitive automotive market and how the company differentiates itself from the larger, more established competitors.

"The worldwide automotive market is highly competitive and we expect it will become even more competitive in the future as we introduce additional vehicles in a broader cross-section of the passenger and commercial vehicle market and expand our vehicles’ capabilities. We believe that our vehicles compete in the market both based on their traditional segment classification as well as based on their propulsion technology.
Competing products typically include internal combustion vehicles from more established automobile manufacturers; however, many established and new automobile manufacturers have entered or have announced plans to enter the market for electric and other alternative fuel vehicles."

Intellectual Property

The company highlights its intellectual property, including trademarks and patents.

"We place a strong emphasis on our innovative approach and proprietary designs which bring intrinsic value and uniqueness to our product portfolio. As part of our business, we seek to protect the underlying intellectual property rights of these innovations and designs such as with respect to patents, trademarks, copyrights, trade secrets and other measures, including through employee and third-party nondisclosure agreements and other contractual arrangements."

Mission Statement

The company highlights its mission statement and its sustainability goals using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) and human capital resources.

"The very purpose of Tesla's existence is to accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. We believe the world cannot reduce carbon emissions without addressing both energy generation and consumption, and we are designing and manufacturing a complete energy and transportation ecosystem to achieve this goal. As we expand, we are building each new factory to be more efficient and sustainably designed than the previous one, including with respect to waste reduction and water usage, and we are focused on reducing the carbon footprint of our supply chain."

There are other items you can include in your company summary to expand on the areas that you'd like people to focus on, depending on your objective.

You might provide more information about the company's location, legal structure, and management team. You can also include more information about the:

  • Company's history, such as a family business that's been in operation for multiple generations
  • Business objectives, including short-term and long-term goals
  • Business strengths, highlighting anything that might give your company a competitive advantage in the field

You can also customize the summary if you have a specific objective or a targeted audience. For example, if the goal of your business plan is to secure funding, you might focus on areas that appeal to investors and lending institutions, including:

  • Why you're the best person to manage the business
  • Your experience in your field, as well as the total years of experience of your management team
  • Expertise or special talents of your team, including training, licenses, certifications
  • How you plan to make the business a success
  • Financial information, such as a high-level discussion of your track record of revenue growth and the financial opportunities that can be realized as a result of securing financing

You may also want to address any areas of perceived weakness by explaining how you'll overcome them or compensate.

How do you write a company overview?

You might provide a description of the company, its location, legal structure, and management team. You can also highlight the company's business objectives, goals, and strengths. You can also customize the summary to a specific audience, such as a bank or lender, focusing on your competitive advantages and highlights of recent financial success.

What should an organizational overview include?

Some of the discussion points to include in a company overview might be:

  • Company name and location
  • Legal structure such as a sole proprietorship, LLC, or partnership
  • Mission statement and management team
  • Description of your products and services and how they are needed
  • Target market or who are your customers
  • Competitive advantage or what makes your company different

The Clute Institute. " Using Business Plans for Teaching Entrepreneurship ," Page 734.

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

Starbucks Coffee Company. " Our Company ."

United States Securities and Exchange Commission. " Form 10-K, Annual Report Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(D) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 for the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2021, Tesla, Inc., " Pages 3-12.

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  • Measurements & Reporting

Measure and Analyze Your Current Status

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It’s time to take stock. At the beginning of our 10 Steps to Grow Your Business , we start by walking you through a reality check. We’ll help you measure and analyze an accurate and complete understanding of your business’ current status. So armed with these tools to build your business, you can then formulate strategies to realize your vision of success.

HERE ARE THE FIRST STEPS TO TAKE:

Establish key metrics.

  • Understand Your Financials – Review Margins, Cash Flow

Review the Competitive Landscape

Consider customer surveys, use online analytics, revisit assumptions from your business plan.

The very first thing to do before plotting a course for growth is to set up the key metrics of your business. “Metrics” are basically crucial statistics by which you can measure how well your business is performing.

Among the key metrics to consider are money-related metrics, customer-related metrics, product development-related metrics and team- and operations-related metrics.

For example, a customer-related metric might be, “Conversion rate of Web site visitors to purchasers.” Is 5 percent satisfactory or do you need a higher number like 15 percent to generate the revenue you’re seeking? Knowing this metric may enable you to make adjustments to your online strategy that could be very powerful to your business.

A financial metric might be something like, “Monthly cash flow.” You may need to achieve and maintain monthly profitability by end of Q2, for example, and if you don’t, you may have to reduce your spending until the situation is rectified.

Or how about an operational metric, focusing on inventory turns? This is all about how quickly you move product out the door. Knowing this will help you understand how long you can expect your money to be sunk in merchandise instead of being available for other business activities, like meeting payroll.

Critical aspects of creating key metrics include:

  • Choosing those things that have a significant ripple effect on the performance of your business.
  • Ensuring that the metrics are measured over time.
  • Having quantifiable measurability so you can be sure you understand whether or not you’re performing.

Understand Your Financials

We used to view our financials as one of the most dreaded aspects of our business. But that all changed as we realized that there was not only sanity, but opportunity waiting to be uncovered inside those financials.

The sanity comes from being so in tune with your business that virtually nothing takes you by surprise. You’re always able to see where you’ve been, where you are and where you expect to go according to cold, hard data.

The opportunity comes from knowing when and where it’s possible for you to spend more to make more, or to spend differently to make more, or maybe even to spend less to make more.

A great way to measure financials is to always compare your actual performance during any given month to your projected performance. Having those two numbers side by side is always a sobering experience.

Additionally, here are some key things to know (and be sure you establish) in your financials:

  • Your highest margin activities.
  • Your primary triggers for cash flow problems.
  • A deliberate classification of variable vs. fixed expenses.
  • Any cyclicality in your business.
  • Any major expenditures you see on the horizon.

After this analysis, if you hear yourself saying, “Uh-oh, I’m going to need to find some money,” visit Step 7, where raising money is covered in more detail.

You have to determine what the competition is doing and how the market landscape might be changing. Knowing this shifts power into your hands.

As you gather this information, look for those businesses you believe are the smartest players in your space. Figure out what makes them outstanding. Then compare them to you – how do you measure up? Also assess what’s weak about the competition. What opportunities are they clearly leaving on the table for you to scoop up? Next, create a list of things that have to be transformed in your business in order for you to grow.

And beyond individual competition, what about the market in general? We’re always trying to stay abreast of overarching market trends. Change can be a great thing for you, but only if you know it’s coming. Be sure your business and what you offer are positioned in the path of where the whole market is moving.

To become more attuned to what your customers are thinking, feeling and wanting, don’t hesitate to ask them to fill out a survey.

Surveys collect information – whether online, or in the form of a questionnaire handed or mailed out to customers. They’re always voluntary, though some survey techniques yield better results than others.

A great way to get more people to participate is to provide them an incentive. Try to provide a “value exchange,” where you provide a valuable incentive that’s proportionate to the value you get from the survey. We once gave free copies of Microsoft Office software to online survey respondents, and the effort was not only a success, but a quick one. In just one weekend, we collected all the data we were seeking.

The information collected in surveys can be used in many ways but, first and foremost, to gain insight about your customers and measure how you might be able to serve them better.

One not-so-obvious benefit of surveying customers is that just by asking them questions, you’re showing your customers that you care what they think. That can have positive ramifications as they make future purchasing decisions.

As for providers of online surveys, consider using Survey Monkey or the “Create a Poll” function in our Community Forum.

One short but important note – tell the people you’re surveying exactly how you intend to use the information and what your privacy policy is. This may help increase levels of participation as people understand your motives more clearly, and it could shield you from unnecessary legal exposure.

Part of the beauty — and breakthrough — of using the Web for your business is that it enables you to know with unprecedented precision exactly what’s going on with your customers. Online analytics software allows you to measure activity and develop reports about customer behavior on your Web site with incredible detail.

Using this information, you can then draw all sorts of important conclusions. For example, you can measure which sites people are coming from to visit your site (and maybe advertise there to drive even more traffic). Or you can learn which pages people visit most on your site (and make more pages like those). If you’re wondering how to increase the conversion rate of shoppers to purchasers, you can find out exactly where you’re losing people in their shopping process and cook up ways to sweeten the incentive for people to follow through and make a purchase.

Using online analytics, you’ll be able to finesse the products you carry, how you present them, and the offers you make. Basically, armed with this tool, you are in the know and much better positioned to grow.

To make the most of your online analytics, you can create what we refer to as “a dashboard” – a summary report of the information you’ve customized the software to gather.

Some analytics products are pricey and complex; some are free and simple. Typically, their capability and quality are directly proportional to their cost.

Remember that business plan you created to launch your business (you did create a business plan, didn’t you?!). Well, it’s time to get it back out and pore over the key assumptions that drove many of the financial and strategic initiatives included in it.

To make the assumptions as reality-based and productive as possible, use all the info you’ve gathered from the action items provided previously in this step.

Going forward, revisit these assumptions quarterly. If you notice that the assumptions are out-of-date or simply off base, update them and measure what ripple effect that has on your financial picture. And how does that affect the core marketing, product or operational strategies of your business?

Take a break, get refreshed

When you market yourself at every opportunity, burnout can happen fast, especially if you aren’t seeing the results you had in mind.  Instead of working even harder, my advice is to “come up for air!”

What?  Stop promoting my business, you say?  I’m an entrepreneur!  Isn’t that what I’m supposed to do?  Well, yes…but take it from an impatient overachiever: you need a break!

I don’t know if it’s your state of mind, the law of attraction, or some other inexplicable phenomenon, but great stuff happens when you let go.  The best illustration is the following true story:

A fellow life coach decided to take a break from constantly trying to market herself at every opportunity (many coaches, including myself, are guilty of this). One night, she went to a restaurant to celebrate a friend’s new baby. She ended up sitting next to an executive of a recruiting agency, and the two started talking about what they do. To make a long story short, this executive hooked her up with the HR director at his company, and now they’re in the process of working out some kind of business partnership.

I used to think that, no matter what, business partnerships take lots of hard work.  Well…this example indicates otherwise.  Best of luck to you, and enjoy your break!

– Tip submitted by JobYouDeserve

StartupNation’s View: Cool epiphany, JobYouDeserve. Seems as though some of the biggest breaks happen while taking a break. We agree that you can only “push” so much. At some point, things have to happen naturally. Another takeaway from your story about your lucky friend has to do with networking. You might get a kick out of our Cheese Disk Philosophy, which encourages people to be wide open to possibilities, get out of the office, and meet up with new people.

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Phase I: Define the Current State and Business-as-Usual Outcomes

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New to this blog?  Get an overview here .

Understand the Current Business State and Causes of Business Disruption

Assessing the Current State entails an examination of the market , customer , and internal factors contributing to changes in the business, and an analysis of the true root causes of the business disruption.  Did the market or customer buying patterns change?  Did the company not anticipate customer needs or maintain sufficiently high customer satisfaction?  Did an innovative and faster-moving competitor insert itself into the customer base?

Understand the Results of Inaction

The Business-as-Usual Outcome is 1) a high-level analysis of the likely impact of these market and customer trends on future business, 2) the likely impact to the business if no changes to the company’s internal operations are made, and most importantly, 3) the timing of when those factors will manifest in the business.

Understand How Quickly Change Must Happen

The rapidity with which the Current State will transform into the Business-as-Usual Outcome will help set framing parameters for the speed and extent of the immediate-term actions outlined below.  For example, a company in which a “cash cow” business is slowly declining, but with clear visibility through long-term contracts to a modest rate of future revenue declines over a multi-year period, requires very different actions than a company that is low in cash, in a loss situation, with rapid declines in its core business coupled with an acquisition in which the acquired company’s revenue declined catastrophically post-closing – i.e. both significant revenue declines coupled with significant increase in the expense basis coupled with minimal cash reserves.   The former company must transform itself, but likely has a year or two to achieve significant changes; the latter must take immediate action that is likely to involve significant restructuring and workforce adjustments in a timeframe of two months or less. The actions taken must be bold to avoid a significant loss of shareholder value.

Understand the Extent of the Change that Must Happen

Even in situations which are relatively well-understood, it is still important to quantify the potential results of inaction in order to determine the urgency for transformation.  In particular, if the need for transformation has been precipitated by a crisis such as an unanticipated and rapid decline in revenue, it may be easy to dismiss the situation as a one-time event rather than a warning sign of a more systemic problem.   Especially if the company has been historically over-optimistic and focused on potential positive outcomes without adequately understanding the potential downside risks, it is very likely that no one fully understands the extent of the risk to the business. It’s highly likely the company is in denial about the potential extent of business degradation and likely outcomes if no actions are taken.

These downside risks must be discussed and understood because no leader operates in a vacuum.  Transformations are extremely difficult undertakings and require focus, commitment and dedication.  A leader who hasn’t built support for the end state within their management team or board will not succeed.

Current Business State Template

The Business-as-Usual Outcomes provides a qualitative and quantitative analysis of the result of inaction for four key metrics:  Market & Competitive, Operating Results, Products & Services, and Customers.   The analysis should include downside models of varying degrees of revenue and margin degradation, which will serve as the basis for determining the necessary changes in the next two steps.

Shown below is the executive summary template for the Business-as-Usual analysis:

current business state

Current Business State Example

The following example shows a filled out template, including C urrent Business State and Aspirational Business State , and changes needed for four key metrics:  Market & Competitive, Operating Results, Products & Services, and Customers:

current business state

In summary, understanding the extent of the consequences of a Business-as-Usual strategy helps management and the company’s board realize the context for change and, determines the urgency with which action must be taken as well as the extent of the changes needed.

Once the context of the urgency (timeframe) and extent (degree of change) mandated by the Business-as-Usual Outcomes analysis is understood, the proper transformation process can begin.

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11.4 The Business Plan

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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Business status update template

By steven bao, r&d program manager @ atlassian.

Share performance results and customer insights with stakeholders

Business status update template

Your immediate team stays pretty well-informed about your overall performance, but what about everybody else? Does leadership or the cross-functional teams you work with have an easy way to get the lowdown on everything you’ve been up to? If not, this business status update template can help. Use it to share your progress against your OKRs, highlight recent wins and misses, and note important customer insights. You’ll capture a snapshot of your team, product, or business in a way that can be easily shared with everybody.

How to use the business status update template

Step 1. summarize your top takeaways.

The first section of the template is called Headlines for a reason. It’s where you’ll quickly share the most important information you want readers to grasp. This can include milestones that you achieved, misses or blockers to progress, any major risks, and other updates such as team changes. This is your way to get the highlights right in front of people – just in case they don’t read the rest of the update.

Step 2. Report on your core business metrics

With that high-level overview done, it’s time to sink your teeth into some numbers. Use the Business review section to give an update on how you’re progressing with your top three or four business metrics. Note any changes in those metrics from the previous update to show whether you’re moving in the right direction. Keep in mind that it’s totally natural for metrics to fluctuate a little bit. However, you can use the status column to flag if everything is progressing as you expected or if something is really off track.

Step 3. Do a deeper dive into your top OKRs

Objectives and key results (OKRs) are a great way to keep your team aligned on measurable goals. But they’re most helpful when you keep regular tabs on how they’re stacking up. In the OKRs and supporting initiatives section of the template, provide updates on how you’re performing on your top two to three OKRs. List the objective and a brief description and then break down your results and any notable updates related to them. Don’t feel the need to cover every single detail right here – you can use the expanded sections to link to OKR Jira tickets for people who want more information.

Step 4. Provide an update on health metrics and other insights

There are some metrics that your OKRs just don’t capture, but they’re still critical to the health of the business. Use the final Engineering/operational health , Customer/competitor insights , and Marketing highlights sections at the bottom of the template to provide a brief bulleted overview of this additional information. You’ll cover all of your bases and ensure that stakeholders have a well-rounded view of your progress and performance. 

R&D Program Manager @ Atlassian

Steven Bao is an R&D Program Manager at Atlassian, passionate about growing and unleashing the potential of our Atlassian TEAM.

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What is the current state of your business?

current status business plan

Do you understand what state your business is in over a range of critical areas? 

Financially, operationally and strategically?  Is it indeed a money making enterprise or a job?  What are the prospects for growth? 

Can it remain competitive and what is the competitive environment telling you about your business?  What are the assets of your business, and is there any goodwill?

Understanding where your business is financially, at all times, is a fundamental element of good management practice. Do you have cash in your business’s working account, or do you run on overdraft?  How much cash do you have in reserve at the end of end month after you have paid your bills and yourself a fair wage or drawing?  What forward orders does your business have? if any?  How much do clients owe you for work that you have done i.e. from products or services supplied, at the end of each month, and how long do they take to pay you?  And on the other hand, how much do you owe your suppliers every month, and what are your credit terms?  All the above helps this determine the amount of working capital a buyer will need to consider when buying your business, so it’s a good idea to get a handle on it.

Is the business operationally appealing, and is it structured with easy to follow procedures in place?  What are the critical points in the business’s workflow in product or service production delivery where profits are made or lost? What can be done to improve profits and minimize the risks of losses at these critical points?

From a strategic stand point, what are the plans in place or current resources deployed to help continue operating the business for the years to follow?  What do we do well that makes money for the business?  What are the objectives of the business?  What are the goals set for each financial year to achieve the overriding objective of operating profitably and making money?

Although most small businesses are presented as a PEBITDA, or in other words, what the earnings are for one working owner including PAYG wages paid to them, a business really needs to be a money-making enterprise and earning an owner more than he/she would working in someone else’s business for it to be readily saleable, or why would someone want to buy it?  Therefore, a PEBITDA over say 100k p.a. is much more desirable than a business that is showing a 60k for instance.  This is not to say businesses at the lower levels are not saleable, because some buyers may want an improver type business, but it does make selling a little more difficult, as it reduces the size of the buyer pool to ‘cash buyers only’ and increases the focus on the tangible asset values, rather than earnings or goodwill.  Afterall Goodwill is what a business sells for over and above the value of the assets.

What are the prospects for growth in your business that can be passed onto the next owner?  Understanding what could be done with the business by a new owner is important; it is a question that is often asked.  Think about putting together a wish list of things you would change that would grow the business if you had more time or capital can help with this.

Can your business remain competitive in the coming years?  Will there be technical advances or disruptive technologies that may come into play, that will affect the business?  What is the competitive environment telling you about your business?  Do you often compete on price rather than quality or service?  Is it easy for new entries to come into the market?  Do you have some competitive advantage that you can leverage?

For more details on the above, and an action plan for selling your business, call me or one of my team for a business assessment today.  

Written by: Craig Campbell

  • Read more about Craig Campbell

current status business plan

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current status business plan

IMAGES

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  4. Current vs Future State Template

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  5. Current Status Of Company In Market

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  6. How To Use Project Status Updates (Explained with Example) (2022)

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VIDEO

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Write a Current Business Situation

    A current business situation, or marketing situation, is a section included in a marketing plan. A marketing plan covers at least one year of company information and may take months to write. It describes a description of the company, the marketing plans in place and goals for the future. It also states the company's mission statement.

  2. 3 Examples of Strategic Planning and a Current State ...

    It will help establish which actions to take to move your business from Point A to Point B. A current state analysis includes: Current information about the business and your business plan, including customer segmentation, value propositions, finances, and sales projections. Information on the ecosystem your business exists within.

  3. Write your business plan

    Common items to include are credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, patents, legal documents, and other contracts. Example traditional business plans. Before you write your business plan, read the following example business plans written by fictional business owners.

  4. How to Write a Business Plan in 2023 [Examples Included]

    Each section should be around 1-2 sentences long. The things you should include in a one-pager business plan are: The problem - Describe a certain problem your customers have and support the claim with relevant data. The solution - How your products/services can solve the issue.

  5. Seven Sections Your Business Plan Should Have

    Pro Tip: In the opening statement, explain the business in one or two sentences. Once you have completed your business plan, write the Executive Summary last. 2. Company Overview. List the goods ...

  6. Strategic Planning: 5 Planning Steps, Process Guide [2024] • Asana

    Step 1: Assess your current business strategy and business environment. Before you can define where you're going, you first need to define where you are. Understanding the external environment, including market trends and competitive landscape, is crucial in the initial assessment phase of strategic planning.

  7. Writing a Small Business Plan in 7 Steps

    Explain the amount of funding your business needs and provide supporting financial data as well as financial projections. Include documents that communicate your business's current financial status, such as income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. List your expectations for revenues as well as the cost of your goods, rent ...

  8. The Elements of a Well-Written Business Plan

    The business entity. The business entity portion of the plan provides information that is specific to your business. This document sets forth the current status of operations, the management structure and organization, and identifies key personnel. If the plan is being created for an existing business, historical information should also be ...

  9. How To Write A Business Plan: A Comprehensive Guide

    1. Investors Are Short On Time. If your chief goal is using your business plan to secure funding, then it means you intend on getting it in front of an investor. And if there's one thing investors are, it's busy. So keep this in mind throughout writing a business plan.

  10. How to Write a Company Overview for a Business Plan

    That includes: Your company name: This should be the official name of your business, exactly as it is written when you registered your business with the state. Business structure: Your reader will ...

  11. Creating a Marketing Plan: Market Situation Analysis

    The Market Situation section of your plan includes research and analysis of your target market, competitors, business challenges, and your company's competitive differentiators. It should contain your best and most clear description of the current state of the marketplace. This section should describe your company's strengths and weaknesses ...

  12. Free Strategic Plan Template and Best Practices

    This strategic business plan template spans 7 pages to get you set up with a solid foundation for your business's strategic plan. ... Gap planning is a strategic approach that helps you bridge the gap between your business's current and desired future states. It involves identifying the gaps or discrepancies between where your company ...

  13. 7 Business Plan Examples to Inspire Your Own (2024)

    7 business plan examples: section by section. The business plan examples in this article follow this example template: Executive summary. An introductory overview of your business. Company description. A more in-depth and detailed description of your business and why it exists. Market analysis.

  14. Examples of Company Overviews in a Business Plan

    Some of the discussion points to include in a company overview might be: Company name and location. Legal structure such as a sole proprietorship, LLC, or partnership. Mission statement and management team. Description of your products and services and how they are needed. Target market or who are your customers.

  15. Marketing Plan Current Situation Section

    In the Current Situation section of your marketing plan, you'll provide information about your location, target market and competitive environment. You should also briefly describe the key issues your company faces. A good marketing plan should include a description of the company's Current Situation. The Current Situation outlines some key ...

  16. How to Write the Financial Section of a Business Plan

    Use the numbers that you put in your sales forecast, expense projections, and cash flow statement. "Sales, lest cost of sales, is gross margin," Berry says. "Gross margin, less expenses, interest ...

  17. Measure and Analyze Your Current Status

    The very first thing to do before plotting a course for growth is to set up the key metrics of your business. "Metrics" are basically crucial statistics by which you can measure how well your business is performing. Among the key metrics to consider are money-related metrics, customer-related metrics, product development-related metrics and ...

  18. Phase I: Define the Current State and Business-as-Usual Outcomes

    Understand the Results of Inaction. The Business-as-Usual Outcome is 1) a high-level analysis of the likely impact of these market and customer trends on future business, 2) the likely impact to the business if no changes to the company's internal operations are made, and most importantly, 3) the timing of when those factors will manifest in ...

  19. 11.4 The Business Plan

    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.

  20. Business Planning Process: 12 Topics To Include in One

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  21. The Current State Of Business Today

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  22. Business Status Update Template

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  23. 10 Best Business Plan Software and Tools for 2024

    Pricing: Seed Plan at $8/year (1 startup, 1 user), Grow Plan at $16/year (1 startup, unlimited users), and Series Plan at $48/year (unlimited startups and users). 9. MAUS Master Plan Lean. MAUS Master Plan Lean is an Australian-based business plan creation software designed for strategic planning.

  24. What is the current state of your business?

    Understanding what could be done with the business by a new owner is important; it is a question that is often asked. Think about putting together a wish list of things you would change that would grow the business if you had more time or capital can help with this. Can your business remain competitive in the coming years?

  25. 10 great small-business ideas for 2024

    Learn from the best: Finding mentors is invaluable for gaining insights based on their experience. 8. Selling art online. Starting a small business to sell your art online offers the unique ...

  26. Our Best Unlimited Data Cell Phone Plans: Compare Go5G Plan Deals

    Over $270 worth of benefits—every month. With Go5G Next and Go5G Plus family plans, you'll get amazing benefits like Netflix ON US, voice and data in Canada and Mexico. Plus, coverage in 215+ countries and destinations, inflight Wi-Fi, and more. Discover benefits. Based on the retail value of monthly benefits available with Go5G Next and ...