Create a business plan
You've been dreaming of starting your own business. You've started with some concrete steps, and you're ready to put your proposal together. But how do you start, and how do you know when you have the right information?
How to get it done
Create a business plan with templates in Word:
Start with a template
Download these templates from the Office Templates site to create your plan:
Fill in your Business plan .
Analyze your market with the Business market analysis template .
Detail your financials in a Financial plan .
Divide up the work and track deliverables with this Business plan checklist .
Wrap up with this Business startup checklist .
Need a little help?
Learn how to:
Start a document from a template .
Apply themes to change your plan's look.
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Must follow steps for starting a successful business
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Free Small Business Plan Templates and Examples
By Kate Eby | April 27, 2022
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We’ve compiled the most useful collection of free small business plan templates for entrepreneurs, project managers, development teams, investors, and other stakeholders, as well as a list of useful tips for filling out a small business template.
Included on this page, you’ll find a simple small business template and a one-page small business plan template . You can also download a fill-in-the-blank small business plan template , and a sample small business plan template to get started.
Small Business Plan Template
Download Small Business Plan Template Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs
Use this small business plan template to identify trends and demographics in the company overview. Highlight how your product or service uniquely benefits consumers in the offerings section, and note your proposed timeline, milestones, and the key performance metrics (KPIs) you will use to measure your success. This template has all the components of a standard business plan, from the executive summary through financing details.
Small Business Plan Sample Template
Download Small Business Plan Sample Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs
Use this small business plan sample template to draft the subsections and headings of the contents of your plan. This template provides editable sample text that shows you how to organize and create a ready-to-be-implemented business plan. This sample template helps remove the guesswork of what to include in a small business plan.
Simple Small Business Plan Template
Download Simple Small Business Plan Template Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF
Use this streamlined, customizable, simple small business plan template to chart revenue, expenses, and net profit or loss forecasts with sample graphics. Order your small business plan with numbered subsections and list them in a table of contents. Supplement the plan with additional information in the appendix for a complete business plan that you can present to investors.
Small Business Plan Chart Template
Download Small Business Plan Chart Template Microsoft PowerPoint | Google Slides
Use this small business plan chart template to plan and track month-by-month and annual business planning. The flexible color-coded bar chart simplifies tracking and allows you to customize the plan to meet your needs. Add tasks, track owner status, and adjust the timeline to chart your progress with this dynamic, visually rich small business planning tool.
Small Business Plan Outline Template
Download Small Business Plan Outline Template Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs
Use this small business plan outline template to jumpstart a plan for your small business. This template includes the nine essential elements of a traditional business plan, plus a title page, a table of contents, and an appendix to ensure that your document is complete, comprehensive, and in order. Easily simplify or expand the outline to meet your company’s needs.
Printable Small Business Plan Template
Download Printable Small Business Plan Template Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs
This print-friendly small business plan template is ideal for presentations to investors and stakeholders. The customizable template includes all the standard, critical business plan elements, and serves as a guide for writing a complete and comprehensive plan. Easily edit and add content to this printable template, so you can focus on executing the small business plan.
Small Business Startup Plan Template
Download Small Business Startup Plan Template Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF | Google Docs
Use this small business startup plan template to draft your mission statement and list your keys to business success, in order to persuade investors and inform stakeholders. Customize your startup plan with fillable tables for sales revenue, gross profit margin, and cost of sales projections to secure your business's pricing structure.
Fill-in-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template
Download Fill-in-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF
This small business plan template simplifies the process to help you create a comprehensive, organized business plan. Simply enter original content for the executive summary, company overview, and other sections to customize the plan. This fill-in-the-blank small business plan template helps you to maintain organization and removes the guesswork in order to ensure success.
One Page Small Business Plan Template
Download One Page Small Business Plan Template Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF
This one page small business plan template is ideal for quick, simple presentations. Use this template to summarize your business overview, market analysis, marketing, and sales plan, key objectives and success metrics, and milestones timeline. Complete the fillable sections to educate investors and inform stakeholders.
One Page Small Business Plan Example
Download One Page Business Plan Example Microsoft Excel | Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF
This one page small business plan example prompts you to list your vision, mission, product or service, team member names, roles, and relevant experience to promote your small business. Use the market analysis, marketing, sales plan sections to detail how you aim to sell your product or service. This small business plan features fillable tables for key objectives and success metrics. Plus, you’ll find space for your financial cost structure and revenue sources to show how your business will remain profitable.
What Is a Small Business Plan Template?
A small business plan template is a roadmap for defining your business objectives and detailing the operational, financial, and marketing resources required for success. Use a small business plan template to strategize growth, forecast financial needs, and promote investment.
A small business plan template organizes and outlines the content needed to achieve goals for growth and profit, including marketing and sales tactics. As opposed to starting from scratch, using a template makes it easy to organize the information and customize the plan to meet your needs.
A small business plan template includes standard business plan sections, as well as the following sections:
- Executive Summary: Summarize the key points in your small business plan in two pages or less to hold your reader's attention and promote buy-in. Write this section last to capitalize on your understanding of the small business plan.
- Company Overview: Describe the nature of your small business, the industry landscape and trends, demographics, and economic and governmental influences. List your location, product or service, and goals to show what makes your small business unique.
- Problem and Solution: Identify and explain the problem your product or service will solve and its costs. Propose and describe your solution and its benefits. Conclude this section with a summary of the problem and solution.
- Target Market: Identify your small business's target market by researching your product and service to determine the most likely demographic. Explain your target market's motivations for buying your product or service.
- Competition: Note the other competitor product or service offerings, pricing, and company revenues to understand how to outperform your competitors. Detail your small business's competitive advantages, based on research.
- Product or Service Offerings: Describe your product or service, how it benefits your target market, and what makes it unique. Highlight how your product or service will outsell competitors.
- Marketing: Detail your marketing plan with objectives and strategy, including goals, costs, and an action plan. A successful marketing plan reduces costs and boosts your product or service sales.
- Timeline and Metrics: Break down your small business plan into smaller activities. Describe these activities (and the performance metrics you intend to use to track them) and list a completion date for each.
- Financial Forecasts: Explain how your organization uses past performance and market research to inform your business's economic forecasts. Estimate growth and profits based on your informed assumptions.
- Financing: List your funding sources and how you intend to use the funds to keep your company on track as it grows. Smart financing at the planning stage prepares your organization for unexpected challenges and helps to mitigate risk.
A small business plan template enables you to complete your business plan quickly and comprehensively, so you can achieve your goals and turn your product or service idea into a profitable reality.
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Simple Business Plan Template for Word, PDF
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Template Highlights
- Ten sections: Company description, Opportunity, Industry Analysis, Target Market, Management Team, Marketing Strategy, Timeline, Financial Plan, Conclusion. Bonus Appendices section, if you want to get fancy
- Detailed instructions for each section
- Add new sections or delete unnecessary ones -- the template is your oyster
- Make it yours with your logo and branding
- Download it as a PDF or Word file
- Print it, email it, send it by carrier pigeon if that's your jam
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Simple business plan template.
Business Plan Template
Executive Summary
Begin with a brief description of your company to give background and context. Tell the reader why you have embarked on this new venture.
Then, move into a description of the opportunity. Explain your project from the broadest to most narrow context. Tell readers what product or service you plan to offer, how it fits into the industry you’ll operate within, who your target customers are, and what you expect from the market in the future. Explain your value proposition, and give an overview of the market.
Briefly describe your management team to help potential investors understand the skills and experience your company brings to the table. Next, move into a description of how your business will operate on a day-to-day basis.
Then, describe how you will promote your new product/service. You don’t need to go into detail here, but you should provide enough information to illustrate the marketing methods you will use and how you will attract new customers.
Describe the cost structure and financial aspects of the business. You’ll need to explain the kind and amount of investment that you need, what you will use the money for, and how you envision your business becoming profitable.
Next, you should move into a description of how you will implement your business plan. How will you roll out your new business? What is the expected timeline?
Finally, close this section with a clear, pithy explanation of your project, why it is needed, and how it will benefit future customers and investors.
HubSpot Tip: Write this section last, after you have written all of the other sections. It should summarize your entire business plan in a page or two (at most).
Company Description
Provide a description of your organization. Include the company’s name, what type of entity it is, who owns it, and note any significant assets.
This is a good place to talk about why you do what you do. What is your company’s mission statement? What are your goals and objectives?
What product or service do you provide? Who are your customers? Do you have a geographic focus? If so, where?
Briefly describe the industry, the opportunities it offers, and the growth it is experiencing.
Note some of your company’s main strengths and briefly explain where you fit into the industry. You will delve more deeply into this later.
HubSpot Tip: Keep this section brief. You will have plenty of time to talk about the details of your company and the business opportunity later in the document.
The Opportunity
Describe the need in the market that your business idea will fill. How did this need arise and why has it not been filled yet?
Explain how you identified the need and how your product/service will meet it.
Describe your products/services here. You can include diagrams or pictures to help illustrate your offering.
You should also include a description of the features and benefits of your product/service to your customer. Consider capturing this in a simple table like the one below.
Product/Service Feature
Benefit to the Customer
HubSpot Tip: Be sure to include your value proposition in this section – describe how your service/product is attractive to customers.
Industry Analysis
In this section, you’ll want to talk about the key environmental trends in your industry. What are the barriers to entry (e.g., high production or marketing costs, tariff barriers, regulatory challenges, extensive training)? How is the industry progressing? What is changing?
Then think about your business’ competitive advantage. Are there other companies providing the same good/service that you will be offering? If so, are customers likely to switch to your product/service? How do you compare with your competitors?
HubSpot Tip: Note the key factors for success in this industry, and show that your company has them.
Target Market Research and Definition
Based on the market research that you previously conducted, provide an explanation of the market in which your business will reside. How big is the market? How fast is it growing? Will your product/service be a major factor in the market?
Define your target customers. Who do you expect to buy your product/service?
You should identify and describe your major competitors in this section, as well.
Identify what defines your product/service in the marketplace. What distinctive competencies or offerings do you offer that other companies do not?
HubSpot Tip: Though you want to mention some competitors, make sure the focus is on your business and how it will serve your target customers.
Management Team & Organization
Your readers will want to know that your team has the skills and qualifications to implement what you have outlined in the business plan. Include brief biographical sketches of your leadership, including the board of directors (if you have one) and any high-level external advisors that your company uses.
Include their educational credentials and a description of the relevant work they have done and accomplishments they have achieved. You can also personalize this section with headshots of your staff to help put faces to the names.
If you have a complicated management structure, consider including an organizational chart like the one shown below. Tailor it to include the names and roles of your leadership team.
HubSpot Tip: You don’t need to include descriptions of every position in the company, just high-level management.
Operations Plan
In this section, describe how you will manage your business and what daily operations will look like. You should cover at least the following topics, and any other relevant information that might be unique to your industry:
• Staffing – How many employees will you have? Where will they be located? What kinds of skills and certifications do they need?
• Infrastructure – What kind of physical space will your company occupy? Describe your business locations. What kinds of technologies will you require?
• Legal Structure – Legal issues are important in every industry. Describe the unique aspects of yours and how you will address them.
• Regulatory – Regulations also play a key role in most businesses. Include a discussion of the regulatory issues faced in your industry and how you will handle them.
• Certifications or Accreditations - Does your company require any special documentation to do business? If so, describe how you’ll attain the required certification or accreditation.
• Product/Service Delivery Process – Describe your business processes. These might include inventory, supply chain, and accounts payable and receivable.
HubSpot Tip: This list is not exhaustive, so be sure to include enough information to help potential investors understand how your business will operate.
Marketing Strategy
Marketing is a crucial to the success of any business. Building on what you described in the Target Market Research and Definition section, define the components of your strategy to market your product/service.
Describe any challenges, including barriers to entering the market. What potential problems do you foresee? How will you address them?
Explain why you have chosen to operate your business in the selected location. Are there cost savings involved in choosing this location? Does it bring you closer to your customer base?
What is your pricing strategy? Explain and provide clear evidence for why the pricing structure you selected will lead customers to buy your products/services and will, at the same time, result in a profit for your business and investors.
Describe your plan for promoting your new business, product, or service. Will you use print, radio, television, or social media? Will you hire a marketing manager?
Be sure to indicate the budget for your marketing strategy and where you will obtain the funding for this important aspect of your business. You may need to employ consultants or an advertising agency – be sure to include these costs.
HubSpot Tip: Consider including a few mockups of your logos, packaging, and even advertisements to give potential investors a preview of your company’s marketing materials.
Implementation Plan And Timeline
Describe the phases in which your business will be rolled out. Indicate which phase you are in currently, and how long it will take to bring your product/service to market.
Consider including a timeline like the one below to illustrate the steps in the process. Customize it with your dates and the specific steps for your business.
HubSpot Tip: While aiming to please potential investors, be sure to set reasonable deadlines that you are able to meet.
Financial Plan
Tell your potential investors the amount of funds you have received thus far and who provided them. How much more funding do you require?
Describe how you will use each part of the funding you are requesting. Investors often feel more comfortable if they know exactly how their money will be used.
Give readers a peek into your company’s projected financial future. Include the following as appendices, but describe them in this section:
• Cash flow projection – An estimate of how much money you expect to flow in and out of your business.
• Capitalization plan – Lists the sources and uses of capital that your business plans to amass.
• Break-even analysis – A determination of what you need to sell in order to cover the costs of doing business.
In addition to the above, you’ll need to include an income statement and balance sheet. Since these could be long and were likely developed in Excel or an accounting software, you should reference them here and include them in an appendix.
You will also want to explain any assumptions that you have made that affect your financial information. Later you will be able to point to these to explain why something may have turned out differently than expected.
HubSpot Tip: This is one of the most important sections of your business proposal. If you are not an expert in finance, be sure to seek assistance from someone who is.
In a few sentences, summarize the main point that you would like the reader to understand about your business. Aim to convince them that they should invest!
Describe the next steps, and give detailed contact information so that they can get in touch with you easily.
HubSpot Tip: This section should incite the reader to act. Make it easy for your potential investors by including in this section all of the information they need to move forward.
Include any supporting documents for the previous sections here. You can reference them in the text and use them to provide additional detail without breaking up the flow of your business plan text.
HubSpot Tip: Some items you could include are: marketing materials, maps of the business location, background research, articles that have been written about the company, and financial documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do i write a simple business plan, is this template free, can i edit this template, related tags:.
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Free Business Plan Template
One of the reasons that so many small businesses fail is that they don't do the necessary up front work to create an accurate and realistic business plan. Creating a business plan doesn't guarantee success, but the process of writing a plan is critical for any successful new business. It isn't our goal to try to tell you everything you need to know about creating a business plan. Instead, our goal is to make the process easier by providing a professionally designed business plan template that you can edit easily using Word and Excel .
Business Plan Template
License : Private Use (not for distribution or resale)
Authors : Jon Wittwer and Jim Wittwer
Update (7/22/2016) : We've added a basic break-even analysis worksheet to the companion Excel workbook.
Description
This template provides a business plan outline with sample questions, tables, and a working table of contents. It was created for newer versions of Word and Excel (Office 2007 or later) so that you can easily change the fonts and color scheme and the file will be compatible with the mobile and web-based Word & Excel apps.
It is best to use Excel for financial statements, data tables and charts. So, we have provided a companion Excel workbook with these sample financial statements and other tables and graphs that you can copy and paste into your Word document.
The companion workbook combines many of the different spreadsheets you can find on Vertex42.com, but customized specifically for inclusion in a business plan.
Using the Business Plan Template
Editing headings and table of contents.
Word allows you to assign format Styles to text and paragraphs, and we've designed the template to use these Styles for defining headings, sub-headings, and figure captions.
If you want to add a new section so that the Table of Contents updates correctly, just add a new heading in the body of the document and assign it the Heading 1 or Heading 2 style.
To update the Table of Contents, go to the References tab and within the Table of Contents group of buttons, click on Update Table and then "Update entire table."
Copy/Paste From Excel to Word
For simple tables, you can use Copy/Paste (Ctrl+c / Ctrl+v) to copy a table from Excel to Word. This will typically paste the data as a formatted and editable table in Word, though none of the formulas will be functional within Word (and the table will not be linked to Excel). If you don't want the table to be editable in Word, you can "Paste as a Picture" using Paste Special or by choosing the "Picture" option when you right-click in Word to paste the table.
Important : When you paste a chart object into your business plan, make sure to "Paste as a Picture" because pasting the chart as an embedded object means that the entire spreadsheet becomes embedded in your Word document (even though what you see is only the chart).
If you want to insert a table into Word as a "Linked Object" so that when you edit Excel, the table in Word will update automatically, you may have a more difficult time preserving the formatting of the original. However, at the least the entire spreadsheet won't be embedded within your business plan Word document.
More Related Templates
Resources for Writing a Business Plan
- Write Your Business Plan at SBA.gov - Anybody starting a business should become familiar with the SBA (small business association). SBA.gov also has an online tool for creating a business plan .
- YouTube: How to Write a Business Plan - Business Wales (3 minutes) - This video offers a quick overview and tips for the essential parts of a business plan.
- YouTube: How to Write a Business Plan - Berkeley-Haas (71 minutes) - This presentation offers both the venture capitalist and entrepreneur perspective on how to write a business plan that can successfully attract funding.
- Write Your Business Plan at Entrepreneur.com - A book written by the staff of a company that should know what they are talking about.
- Sample Business Plans at bplans.com - Finding a business plan for similar businesses in your industry is a great way to get ideas for what to include in your plan. This site is a great resource for not only finding sample plans, but also for creating a business plan online using their step-by-step approach.
Other Free Business Plan Templates
- Business Planning Template Gallery at SCORE.org - This nonprofit organization (supported by the SBA) has provided expertise and free mentorship for millions of small business owners. They also have a useful collection of templates.
- Develop Your Business Plan at business.gov.au - This Australian Government site provides a really good business plan template for Word, including a detailed guide, questions to answer, and sample financial statements.
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Free Business Plan Template
Download a free business plan template for Word. Includes frequently asked questions about business plans.
Updated on September 17th, 2023
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A business plan template is a pre-formatted business plan that contains an outline for a synopsis of your business details, goals, and measurable steps you are planning to take to achieve these. A business plan is vital to obtain financing for your business and should be the foundation of your pitch deck.
Below is our free downloadable business plan template. This plan can be tailored to your specific business and the stage it is in, as well as for the intended audience.
Business Plan Template - Free Download
Download this blank business plan template in Word format and create your own business plan.
Benefits of Using a Business Plan Template:
- Ensure that your plan is presented in a standard format.
- Uncover the right information before your business is launched.
- Create a professional document without outsourcing.
See our template .
Why You Should Use a Business Plan Template:
Business plan templates allow entrepreneurs and small business owners to save time by working off of a pre-formatted document. With a professional template, you can add specific information about your business without having to start from scratch.
Writing a business plan is a time-consuming process, even if you use a template. However, using a template ensures that you add all of the content that you need before you make your business pitch. Working through a template one section at a time can help you to gather all of the information that you need.
Generally, it's a good idea to write your Executive Summary last. This way, you will have a much better idea of how to summarize and describe your business.
Download our template to get started.
Business to Business
Discover more about Business to Business (B2B) - what it means and how it affects your business. Includes an overview and frequently asked questions.
Jan 11, 2022
How do you write a business plan?
You can use a template , or start from scratch. Either way, your business plan should include a summary of your business, financial projections, details about marketing, a description of your products/services, and a SWOT analysis.
What is a business plan template?
A business plan template is a pre-formatted document that already contains an outline and basic details. You can customize a template to create a business plan for your own business.
How do I write a business plan for a startup?
Planning for a startup is the same as planning for any new business venture. You need a detailed business plan that is focused primarily on the financial needs of your new business. This will help to attract investors and give you a realistic picture of how much capital you need to succeed.
How do I write a 5-year business plan?
A 5-year business plan is typically written the same way as a normal business plan, except the financial projections from one year to the next may go into more detail. The plan may also include special projects/developments that you want to invest in during the first five years of operation.
What are the three main purposes of a business plan?
- Create a roadmap for the growth of your business.
- Demonstrate to lenders and investors that you have a path to success.
- Gather and evaluate all of the information needed to make decisions.
What should a business plan include?
- Executive Summary.
- Business Overview.
- Operations.
- Market Analysis.
- Products and Services.
- Competition.
- Management.
- Financial Plan.
- Projected Revenue.
- Appendices.
How do you write a successful business plan?
Successful business plans are well researched, including supporting documentation (financial statements, graphs, etc), demonstrate a keen understanding of the target market, and have a multi-faceted marketing strategy.
What do you title a business plan?
Business plans usually have a cover page with a prominent title that includes the company name and the words "Business Plan" either above or below the name. The cover page may also include contact information or a business address.
What are the types of business plans?
- Startup business plan.
- Growth business plan.
- Strategic business plan.
- Feasibility business plan.
- Internal business plan.
- Operations business plan.
How long is a business plan?
The length of your business plan is less important than the quality of the content that is contained within it. However, business plans generally vary in length from 20 to 50 pages depending on the spacing, size of the font, visual elements, and detail of each section.
How much does it cost to get a business plan written?
On the low end, freelancers may charge several hundred dollars to write a business plan, while professionals and consultants may charge several thousand. If you are going to outsource the creation of your business plan, make sure you hire someone who has lots of experience.
How do you write an executive summary for a business plan?
An executive summary should contain the following:
- Introduction.
- Company strengths.
- Explanation of product/service and how it meets a need or solves a problem.
- Conclusion emphasizing the importance/value of the business.
You should try to be concise when you're writing your executive summary since the rest of your business plan will provide more explanation for readers. The point is to draw people in and give them a 1000-foot view of what you are doing. It is generally agreed that the executive summary should make up no more than 5 - 10% of your entire business plan.
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