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Writing the Organization and Management Section of Your Business Plan

What is the organization and management section in a business plan.

• What to Put in the Organization and Management Section

Organization

The management team, helpful tips to write this section, frequently asked questions (faqs).

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Every business plan needs an organization and management section. This document will help you convey your vision for how your business will be structured. Here's how to write a good one.

Key Takeaways

• This section of your business plan details your corporate structure.
• It should explain the hierarchy of management, including details about the owners, the board of directors, and any professional partners.
• The point of this section is to clarify who will be in charge of each aspect of your business, as well as how those individuals will help the business succeed.

The organization and management section of your business plan should summarize information about your business structure and team. It usually comes after the market analysis section in a business plan . It's especially important to include this section if you have a partnership or a multi-member limited liability company (LLC). However, if you're starting a home business or are  writing  a business plan for one that's already operating, and you're the only person involved, then you don't need to include this section.

What To Put in the Organization and Management Section

You can separate the two terms to better understand how to write this section of the business plan.

The "organization" in this section refers to how your business is structured and the people involved. "Management" refers to the responsibilities different managers have and what those individuals bring to the company.

In the opening of the section, you want to give a summary of your management team, including size, composition, and a bit about each member's experience.

For example, you might write something like "Our management team of five has more than 20 years of experience in the industry."

The organization section sets up the hierarchy of the people involved in your business. It's often set up in a chart form. If you have a partnership or multi-member LLC, this is where you indicate who is president or CEO, the CFO, director of marketing, and any other roles you have in your business. If you're a single-person home business, this becomes easy as you're the only one on the chart.

Technically, this part of the plan is about owner members, but if you plan to outsource work or hire a virtual assistant, you can include them here, as well. For example, you might have a freelance webmaster, marketing assistant, and copywriter. You might even have a virtual assistant whose job it is to work with your other freelancers. These people aren't owners but have significant duties in your business.

Some common types of business structures include sole proprietorships, partnerships, LLCs, and corporations.

Sole Proprietorship

This type of business isn't a separate entity. Instead, business assets and liabilities are entwined with your personal finances. You're the sole person in charge, and you won't be allowed to sell stock or bring in new owners. If you don't register as any other kind of business, you'll automatically be considered a sole proprietorship.

Partnership

Partnerships can be either limited (LP) or limited liability (LLP). LPs have one general partner who takes on the bulk of the liability for the company, while all other partner owners have limited liability (and limited control over the business). LLPs are like an LP without a general partner; all partners have limited liability from debts as well as the actions of other partners.

Limited Liability Company

A limited liability company (LLC) combines elements of partnership and corporate structures. Your personal liability is limited, and profits are passed through to your personal returns.

Corporation

There are many variations of corporate structure that an organization might choose. These include C corps, which allow companies to issue stock shares, pay corporate taxes (rather than passing profits through to personal returns), and offer the highest level of personal protection from business activities. There are also nonprofit corporations, which are similar to C corps, but they don't seek profits and don't pay state or federal income taxes.

This section highlights what you and the others involved in the running of your business bring to the table. This not only includes owners and managers but also your board of directors (if you have one) and support professionals. Start by indicating your business structure, and then list the team members.

Owner/Manager/Members

Provide the following information on each owner/manager/member:

• Percentage of ownership (LLC, corporation, etc.)
• Extent of involvement (active or silent partner)
• Type of ownership (stock options, general partner, etc.)
• Position in the business (CEO, CFO, etc.)
• Duties and responsibilities
• Educational background
• Experience or skills that are relevant to the business and the duties
• Past employment
• Skills will benefit the business
• Awards and recognition
• Compensation (how paid)
• How each person's skills and experience will complement you and each other

Board of Directors

A board of directors is another part of your management team. If you don't have a board of directors, you don't need this information. This section provides much of the same information as in the ownership and management team sub-section. 

• Position (if there are positions)
• Involvement with the company

Even a one-person business could benefit from a small group of other business owners providing feedback, support, and accountability as an advisory board. 

Support Professionals

Especially if you're seeking funding, let potential investors know you're on the ball with a lawyer, accountant, and other professionals that are involved in your business. This is the place to list any freelancers or contractors you're using. Like the other sections, you'll want to include:

• Background information such as education or certificates
• Services provided to your business
• Relationship information (retainer, as-needed, regular, etc.)
• Skills and experience making them ideal for the work you need
• Anything else that makes them stand out as quality professionals (awards, etc.)

Writing a business plan seems like an overwhelming activity, especially if you're starting a small, one-person business. But writing a business plan can be fairly simple.

Like other parts of the business plan, this is a section you'll want to update if you have team member changes, or if you and your team members receive any additional training, awards, or other resume changes that benefit the business.

Because it highlights the skills and experience you and your team offer, it can be a great resource to refer to when seeking publicity and marketing opportunities. You can refer to it when creating your media kit or pitching for publicity.

Why are organization and management important to a business plan?

The point of this section is to clarify who's in charge of what. This document can clarify these roles for yourself, as well as investors and employees.

What should you cover in the organization and management section of a business plan?

The organization and management section should explain the chain of command , roles, and responsibilities. It should also explain a bit about what makes each person particularly well-suited to take charge of their area of the business.

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Create an organization plan: types, steps, and examples

If you want to start or grow your business – or make it more profitable – you need an organization plan. It’s no secret that the most successful companies have the best organizational goals and the right strategies for attracting top talent to achieve their objectives.

Planning plays a vital role in any business organization. As such, the right organizational plan will help make your business a titan in its industry, whereas a poor one will allow your competitors to pull ahead of your company.

Read on to discover creative ways an organizational plan will bring value to your business and can improve your revenue.

Table of contents

What is an organizational plan, why is an organizational plan important , what are the 4 types of organizational planning, what are some examples of organizational planning, 5 steps to develop an effective organizational plan, strengthen your recruitment process with testgorilla.

An organizational plan is how businesses prepare their affairs to achieve success in their industry. It may include daily business operations, organizational goals, and potential expenses. 

An organizational plan usually begins with big, long-term objectives but is then broken down into smaller, attainable goals. This makes it easier for your organization to define success, plan ahead, and achieve its goals.

Organizational plans are crucial for businesses because they enable you to create an effective, realizable method to achieve your business goals. 

A solid organizational plan will therefore improve your company’s performance. Research shows that businesses with good plans are 16% more likely to succeed .

Organizational plans may also clarify the roles, expectations, and responsibilities of employees in your organization. And they are a great way to highlight the areas in which your business has shortcomings or issues.

Effective planning relies on a firm understanding of the four types of organizational planning. Knowing which organizational plan to apply to your business is crucial to steer your company toward a profitable and prosperous future. 

1. Strategic planning

A strategic plan involves the creation of broad, long-term goals for your company. Senior management will usually oversee these kinds of plans; however, smaller companies tend to involve other employees.

Typically, strategic planning considers controllable and non-controllable variables and how to adjust them. The objectives must align with your company’s general mission, vision, and values.

2. Tactical planning

These shorter-term goals show how your company plans to achieve its longer-term strategic plan. Tactical plans typically take a year to complete, with middle managers establishing these goals and overseeing the actions.

3. Operational planning

Operational plans include department-specific objectives and targets and are focused on executing the tactical plan. Thus, for example, your company should have a working plan for the finance, marketing, and IT departments.  

4. Contingency planning

Usually, contingency planning is associated with risk management, because a good contingency plan will address both known and unknown risks. Such planning enables your company to prepare for unforeseen circumstances that could harm your business.

Below are examples of organizational planning to help you understand the various forms a plan can take. With this knowledge, you can decide which kind of organizational plan suits your company.

1. Workforce development planning

Industry-leading companies do not become successful by chance. Instead, they earn their success through years of practical workforce training. Workforce development planning entails training your employees to increase their productivity and output.

By investing in your employees, you’ll create a loyal, diverse, and satisfied workforce focused on achieving your business’s ambitious goals.

2. Product and services planning

Product and service planning aims to make your organization’s products or services more appealing to its target market. This involves strategically creating schemes that set your business apart from competitors.

Being in a highly competitive industry can be difficult. That’s why the operations, finance, and marketing departments are tasked with developing innovative ways to keep your business ahead in its industry.

3. Expansion plans

A good business is always focused on growth. Hence, expansion plans identify growth opportunities and roadblocks your organization might face in its industry, helping you develop strategies to take advantage of those opportunities and overcome the obstacles.

4. Financial planning

Making plans to manage debt and utilize profits is one of the best ways to ensure your business is sustainable. Financial analysts are in charge of this, so they will analyze financial performance and give recommendations to help your business make better decisions.

Financial planning ensures you optimize every fund flow in and out of your business. You’ll also require employees with the right budget-management skills to draft the perfect plan. 

1. Come up with a strategic plan 

Identifying your company’s objectives will help you create more concrete strategic plans. But to identify these goals, you’ll need adequate data about your company.

Good data will guide you in making strategic decisions based on previous performance and other indicators, ensuring you can pave a clear path toward your goals.  

2. Transform the strategic plan into practical steps

Establishing practical steps for achieving your strategic goals is the focus at this stage. A good example is requesting quarterly reports to ensure that the IT department is hitting its quota.

It also involves implementing every action that contributes to hitting your targets, from sourcing raw materials to manufacturing the final product. 

3. Plan day-to-day operations

This stage focuses on individual employee performance. Managers set goals and targets to ensure employees convert their work hours into profit for your business and more effective functioning of your teams. HR, for example, can be tasked with ensuring that unconscious bias does not exist in the workplace.

Similarly, the quality assurance team can create schedules to inspect raw materials before manufacturing begins. 

4. Execute daily operations

At this stage, you should execute the theoretical strategies you set for daily operations. This requires applying all the planning from the previous steps to enable your organization to reach its strategic goals.

You can check these daily targets on your vision board as you progress, gradually allowing your longer-term objectives to materialize.

5. Monitor results and adjust plans

A plan is more likely to fail if you don’t monitor any progressive performance. To verify that your plan is complete, you should make provisions for adjusting and monitoring results to ensure they align with the goals you set.

Doing this will help your organization identify areas where your company didn’t meet its goals and inform you of any necessary changes. By extension, you should have the information required for performance management . 

Although organizational planning might be a long and complex process, it is vital for your company’s success. Why? The right strategy will ensure your employees are clear on your organization’s vision and the actions required to achieve these goals. 

A well-defined organizational plan will positively impact your workforce, since all employees will understand their day-to-day tasks and why they are needed. They’ll have explicit objectives to ensure they remain productive and focused.

TestGorilla facilitates your recruitment of skilled professionals who can help you develop a stellar organizational plan. Moreover, it helps you minimize any chance of unconscious bias creeping into your recruitment, helping you employ the best.

Create a free account with TestGorilla today to begin hiring.

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Six Steps to Creating a “Must-Have” Organizational Plan

Do you have an organizational plan? Everything starts with planning. Whether you want to start a business, grow the business, or simply perform the necessary tasks to keep the business profitable. Without proper planning, all you have is an unfruitful idea.

All business plans require Organizational Planning. It is an integral part of defining your business module and your objectives. For business owners It is extremely important to have an organizational plan in place in order to navigate the daily progress efficiently. It should delineate not only your organizational structure of departments, managers, and staff but also the functions, tasks, and processes they regularly execute.

Your organizational plan should flow from your strategic plan. The strategic plan defines your long-term goals for the business, which can only be accomplished by achieving your organizational plan’s benchmarks.

These concepts may seem highly cumbersome, but let’s take a look at why you need Organizational Planning and how best to manipulate it for your business’s success.

What Is Organizational Planning?

Organizational planning is a process of defining goals for an organization, developing strategies for achieving those goals, and identifying the resources needed to carry out those strategies. It allows organizations to have direction in pursuing their mission and vision. It also assists in identifying risks, setting priorities, and using available resources effectively.

At the same time, organizational planning is an important part of the strategic management process. In this way, it helps organizations make decisions and allocate resources to ensure that they meet their goals. The organizational plan typically includes goals, objectives, strategies, action plans, budgets, and performance measures. It should also include a timeline for completing tasks and a system for monitoring and evaluating progress.

How Effective Organizational Planning?

Organizational planning can become more effective when it is done collaboratively with stakeholders from all levels of the organization. Ensuring that everyone understands the organization’s goals and strategies is important for achieving success. Additionally, different perspectives and insights can be shared to promote a productive dialogue about how everyone can contribute to achieving the desired results.

When done effectively, organizational planning can help organizations become more efficient and effective in achieving their goals. It is a necessary tool for any organization seeking to thrive and grow in the long term.

Types Of Organizational Plans

Organizational plans come in a variety of forms. The most common types are as follows:

•   Strategic Plan: A strategic plan is an overall long-term plan for the organization, usually covering multiple years. It sets forth the organization’s mission, goals, and objectives and outlines how those goals will be achieved. It is typically developed at the top level of management, with input from all departments.
•   Operational Plan: An operational plan focuses on day-to-day operations and activities necessary to achieve the strategic goals of the organization. It provides details about how resources will be allocated to support specific tasks and initiatives, as well as timelines for completion and performance metrics to measure progress.
•   Tactical Plan: A tactical plan is a highly specific and short-term guide to activities that need to be completed to reach an organization’s goals. Usually, department or team leaders create it and lay out how their resources will support the more general strategy.
•   Budget Plan: A budget plan is a financial document that details how the money will be spent in order to achieve the goals of the organization. It includes both short-term (e.g., monthly or quarterly) and long-term expectations, such as capital investments.

Organizational plans can also include plans for marketing, human resources, risk management, and other areas. An organization’s success depends on its ability to create and adhere to a regularly updated plan. This helps the company stay on track while also being able to anticipate and overcome any issues.

Importance of an Organizational Plan

A comprehensive organizational plan is crucial for the success of any small business . This plan lists all duties, functions, and objectives for a department or area and assigns a responsible person to each task. Additionally, formalizing power structures with designated supervisors creates accountability and clarifies relationships between employees.

Besides, a well-crafted plan is the best way to clearly and concisely communicate what needs to be done by each individual and how it will benefit the company.

Here Are A Few Things You Can Accomplish With A Well-Defined Organizational Plan  

Clarifies the role and function of each staff member.

A clear Organizational Plan helps ensure that every team member understands their precise roles and responsibilities. Having crystal clear roles ensures clarity and understanding about specific tasks. This helps you work more efficiently to finish projects or achieve goals sooner and more effectively.

Shows How The Staff Is Contributing To The Goals Of Your Business

By tracking your employees’ progress, you can better understand how they fit into and contribute to your organization as a whole. This is especially helpful during annual performance reviews or if you ever need to let someone go.

Displays Managerial And Team Relationships

An organizational plan is beneficial for figuring out the relationship between management and teams. Each manager can see how every team member contributes to the business, which then helps with knowing who needs more training or support. Additionally, this method is good for revealing employees that can take on a bigger workload.

Can Reveal Gaps, Issues, And Liabilities

The incredible opportunity to track the progress of each task, team, project, and target actually provides insight into any shortcomings as well. Organizational planning helps identify any inadequacies or limitations that may be hindering the growth of your business.

Clarifies The When’s, How’s, And Who’s In Your Processes.

Each member of your business has a strength, unlike others, and can handle specific types of tasks. With proper organizational planning, you can delegate the appropriate tasks at the right time to the most efficient member of the team for elevated output.

It Makes It Quick Work To Know Whom To Turn To When There Is A Problem.

Organizational planning invariably provides a detailed account of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, when you are faced with a difficult situation, you know exactly which member of your team can effectively solve the problem.

Everyone working with you needs to be aware of this information. Define the roles and expectations of your employees, whether entry-level or in management, by posting these responsibilities in a place where everyone will see them, like a bulletin board or internal website. Each team member will be on the same page with the company vision.

Six Steps to Create Your Organizational Plan

If you already have an organizational plan, then it is good to verify and update all the necessary information. However, if you don’t already have an organizational strategy, it is not too late to start one now.

Following are the steps for creating your own organizational plan .

• Pick Your Team – Choose an efficient team based on their skills, strengths, and determination for success.
• Draw a Chart Showing Your Organizational Structure – Share your company’s progress and the targets you have set for short-term and long-term goals.
• Drive Out Goals & Objectives – Define the company’s goals and objectives in detail to help them understand the vitality of their roles.
• List All Tasks and Functions – Predefine team member roles and focus on their tasks and functions so they know what is expected of them.
• Review Current Business Processes – Go over the business’s current situation so everyone is aware of the current state and how they can contribute to the company’s growth.
• Compile Findings into Organizational Plan – Invite their input and design an effective organizational plan.

Let us take a detailed look at these steps to create an Organizational Plan.

#1: Drive Out Goals & Objectives

All organizational plans need to include what the business wants to accomplish and how to get there. Clearly, state what you want your business to become – which drives out your goal/destination and the objectives/measurements for reaching it.

Common goals include:

• internal stability > reducing staff turnover, promoting consistency
• creativity > inspiring innovation, ingenuity, and improvements
• uniformity > consistent delivery of goods and services; branding
• security > protecting data of customers, vendors, and the business
• quality control > focusing on excellence
• accountability > identifying who’s responsible
• integrity > transparency, honesty, fairness
• rapid delivery of goods > improving turnaround
• excellent customer service > exceeding expectations
• efficiency > refinements that lead to optimum operations

#2: Pick Your Team

While you may prefer to do everything yourself, it is imperative to engage with others when creating a plan for their knowledge, ideas, and perspectives. Every member of your team has strengths, unlike others. Some may be talented with development, while others have an innate sense of design.

You must ensure that each member has a vision for the company and their personal progress that aligns with your drive.

Look at your team and select your key players – that is, those staff members:

• who understand the current systems, processes, values, and goals
• who can offer worthwhile suggestions for improvements
• who can visualize and evaluate the effects that changes may have within the business (as changes typically occur during this process)

This team can lend a helping hand in the future as you work to implement plans for business growth and development.

Note that while most small business owners develop the organizational plan on their own, there may be time, staffing, or deadline constraints that make hiring an outside consultant a better choice.

#3: Review Current Business Processes

Write out each of your processes in detail. Look at what it does and how it does it . Then, list all the functions and tasks it performs as well as who does what.

An often surprising result of this step is you will most likely realize there are differences in how the processes actually work versus how you thought they worked.

This step can be extremely time-consuming and, therefore, is why many small businesses hire a business consultant or business coach . It helps them realize a clear vision of what to expect instead of nurturing a delusion.

Thus a business consultant can actually help you formulate a more substantial and realistic organizational plan and make the necessary changes to accomplish your targets.

#4: List Tasks and Functions

Capture all the tasks and functions that your business is and should be performing. Include those things in your vision that you want the organization to do.

This process should drive out the gaps. You’ll see what is missing: perhaps where your company is lacking key pieces such as documentation, training, or analysis. It can also reveal issues and vulnerabilities (ex. insufficient safety practices or improper workarounds).

Once you have identified the factors hindering the company’s growth, you can look for viable solutions to address them. You can discuss these problems with your team and get their input.

#5: Draw Out Your Organizational Structure

Now would be a good time to draft an organizational structure chart. Map the current progress, your vision, the targets, all the shortcomings, and the viable solutions. Visual aids can help you, and your team determines exactly what needs to be done.

Include all the departments, roles, staff, and reporting structure. Define each section with clarity so each team, and the members consisting of them, are well aware of their responsibilities and their roles.

Simplicity and precision are the keys to defining an effective organizational plan. So you must pay attention to the details without complicating the plan.

#6: Compile Findings into Organizational Plan

The last step is to gather the collected information into one document. To do this, you create designated folders of the collected documents or use some best free personal document organizer .

Everything you have discussed and planned with your selective team should be compiled for posterity. This helps you track the progress of your organizational plan and make necessary updates or changes along the way.

Remember that your organizational plan is a part of your strategic plan for the company. It will be affected by external factors and subjected to change as per current business standards. Therefore you must prepare for such contingencies and leave room for errors or fallbacks.

Share the organizational plan with your entire staff. This might be an excellent opportunity to call a “town hall” or all-staff meeting.

Organizational Planning Examples

Organizational planning is a process in which organizations set out the goals, objectives and strategies that they need to achieve their business objectives. This includes identifying key operational areas, setting performance metrics and developing plans to ensure success.

Some Common Examples Of Organizational Planning Include:

•   Setting financial targets: Organizations will identify what their revenue and expenses should be and set a budget to stay on track.
•   Developing workforce plans: Organizations need to identify the roles they require in order to meet their objectives and then develop training programs or recruitment strategies to fill those roles.
•   Establishing operational procedures: Companies need to establish processes for how tasks will get done so that it will ensure that performance remains consistent and efficient.
•   Establishing organizational structures : Similarly, organizations need to determine the structure of their teams and divisions, including who is responsible for each area.
•  Crafting marketing strategies: Companies need to create a plan for how they will reach customers and promote their products or services.
•   Planning for growth and expansion: Lastly, Organizations need to have an idea of where they would like to be in the future, and develop plans for reaching those goals.

Once the organizational plan is in place, it’s important to review it periodically to ensure that strategies are updated as necessary. Companies need to assess progress against goals, identify areas of improvement and adjust plans accordingly.

The grave importance of an effective organizational plan cannot and should not be ignored.

If you are a new business owner, you can consult professional business consultants to devise a beneficial operational plan for your company. Even if you are a freelancer or a small business owner, an organizational plan goes a long way to help you establish your trade as a force to be reckoned with.

If you have an established business, but you know that there is room to grow and expand, you can start making an organizational plan now. You can use the steps that we have defined and seek professional help from business consultants to expand your company and increase your profits in multifold.

It is never too late to make an efficient and effective organizational plan to elevate and expand your business for betterment.

We hope you find this blog helpful in designing an organizational plan for your business.

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How to Write a Business Plan: Organization Structure

How to write a business plan: organizational structure, what is the organizational structure for a business plan.

The organization structure section should discuss whether your business will be a sole proprietor, limited liability corporation, or corporation, who will run your business, each person’s responsibility, and how your business will expand if needed.  There are numerous benefits to a detailed assessment of the company’s structure.  First, examining the structure of the business will help for tax purposes.  For example, limited liability and corporations are considered excellent for protecting shareholders concerning liabilities.  However, tax-wise, these firms often are double taxed.  The second benefit of a detailed assessment of a company’s structure is to understand how each owner will contribute to the company.  In other words, if there is more than one owner, what are their responsibilities, and how are these responsibilities to be carried out.

Why is the Organizational Structure important? 

There are numerous reasons why the organizational structure is essential for a business plan. In this section, the business owner will lay out how the company will be structured.  For example, this section will include job titles and responsibilities, resumes from owners and management, showing expertise in the industry, and supporting accolades for expertise.  Through discussing job responsibilities and experiences for management, readers will better understand why this type of business structure, and this management team, will be successful in the proposed business.

A second important reason for the organizational structure is that the section introduces business owners.  The owners and management team should not only be introduced in this section, but their experiences in the industry need to be highlighted and thoroughly explained.  In doing this, a sound foundation for management competence will be established.

A final reason for its importance is the job responsibility segment.  Ownership and management need to have a written document showing specific duties for each owner, if applicable, and specific job responsibilities for each position within the company.  By having this document, readers will see how the business will function and better understand the breakup of management responsibilities.

When to write the Organizational Structure?

The organizational structure should be written after the company description.   In the company description, readers will be introduced to the problem that the company is going to solve and how they propose to solve this problem.  This is usually the product or service offered.  The logical next step is to show a business structure that will allow the company to supply that product or service effectively and efficiently.  Thus the need for the organizational section follows immediately behind the company description.

How to write the Organizational Structure?

When I write my organizational structure for a business plan, for the most part, I start the first paragraph by reminding the readers of the company name.  From this, I then introduce how the company will be held in ownership.  For example, will the company be a limited liability corporation?  Sole proprietorship?  Next, I briefly introduce the management team and owners.  Further, I also briefly introduce their experience in the industry.

By following this structure, the first paragraph is an excellent summation of the section. This allows the reader to understand the breadth of the ownership structure without gaining significant details.

Organizational Structure:  Ownership

In the ownership section, I usually start writing the section by introducing the CEO/founder/majority owner.  In this portion, I usually write the segment, almost like a brief biography.  I will discuss the CEO's history in the industry and the reason why they feel that they are best suited to start and run the operation.

Once this is complete, I then follow the same structure with the other management team members and minority stakeholders.  When this is done, the reader should walk away with an excellent understanding of the qualifications of the ownership team and how their skills will complement each other.

Need Help Writing an Organizational Structure for a Business Plan?

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Organizational Structure:  Responsibilities

In the job responsibility section, I usually structure this portion as a bullet-pointed list.  At the top, I put the title such as CEO, project manager, or job title.  Following this, I list the responsibilities and expectations for each position.  Not only does this help show structure and foresight for the company.  But also, this will help management divvy up duties for the business.

Organizational Structure: Resume

The resume section is for senior managers and owners.  By including resumes, supporting documentation is available for claims made related to experience.  For example, if the CEO claims to have 20 years of experience in the industry, then the resume will show where this experience came from.  This adds credibility to previous claims made.

Organizational Structure: Compensation

Compensation is sometimes necessary to include in the organizational structure component.  Investors expect management to be compensated and employees as well.  However, excessive compensation is often an issue with startups and established businesses.  By showing reasonable compensation for each position, not only will a solid understanding of the pay for each position be shown, but restraint for compensation by the management team and ownership may be highlighted as well.

Organizational Structure: Achievements

This final section is almost like a cherry on top of the cake.  By this point, the reader should be well-versed in the experience and expertise of ownership and the management team.  Adding achievements highlights their expertise in their chosen industry.

Organizational Structure Example

Organizational structure.

Legal Structure

ABC Restaurant will be a limited liability corporation.

Management Summary

John Smith, Sr., MBA., is the founder and CEO of ABC Restaurant.  He has started and managed numerous successful small restaurants over the last ten years.  Restaurants started, and managed, including a breakfast cafe, food truck, and 24-hour diner.  For each business, he was responsible for all aspects of the organization, from marketing to strategic planning.

Job Responsibilities

• Create and execute marketing strategies for business growth.
• Align business strategies with the vision statement.
• Negotiating contracts with vendors.
• Ensure legal compliance for the business.
• Continually examine the firm’s external environment for new market opportunities.

General Manager:

• Control inventory to ensure optimal levels are attained.
• Manage day-to-day operations of the restaurant.
• Servers and cooks during high volume times.
• Interview and hire new employees.
• Assist in the onboarding process for new employees.
• Set up all workstations in the kitchen
• Prepare ingredients to use in cooked and non-cooked foods.
• Check food while cooking for appropriate temperatures.
• Ensure great presentation by dressing dishes as trained.
• Keep a sanitized and clean environment in the kitchen area.
• Stock dining area tables with needed items.
• Greet customers when they enter.
• Present dinner menus and help customers with food/beverages selections.
• Take and serve orders quickly and accurately.

Author: Paul Borosky, MBA., Doctoral Candidate, Published Author

Updated: 3/4/2022

How to make a business plan

Table of Contents

How to make a good business plan: step-by-step guide.

A business plan is a strategic roadmap used to navigate the challenging journey of entrepreneurship. It's the foundation upon which you build a successful business.

A well-crafted business plan can help you define your vision, clarify your goals, and identify potential problems before they arise.

But where do you start? How do you create a business plan that sets you up for success?

This article will explore the step-by-step process of creating a comprehensive business plan.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a formal document that outlines a business's objectives, strategies, and operational procedures. It typically includes the following information about a company:

Products or services

Target market

Competitors

Marketing and sales strategies

Financial plan

Management team

A business plan serves as a roadmap for a company's success and provides a blueprint for its growth and development. It helps entrepreneurs and business owners organize their ideas, evaluate the feasibility, and identify potential challenges and opportunities.

As well as serving as a guide for business owners, a business plan can attract investors and secure funding. It demonstrates the company's understanding of the market, its ability to generate revenue and profits, and its strategy for managing risks and achieving success.

Business plan vs. business model canvas

A business plan may seem similar to a business model canvas, but each document serves a different purpose.

A business model canvas is a high-level overview that helps entrepreneurs and business owners quickly test and iterate their ideas. It is often a one-page document that briefly outlines the following:

Key partnerships

Key activities

Key propositions

Customer relationships

Customer segments

Key resources

Cost structure

Revenue streams

On the other hand, a Business Plan Template provides a more in-depth analysis of a company's strategy and operations. It is typically a lengthy document and requires significant time and effort to develop.

A business model shouldn’t replace a business plan, and vice versa. Business owners should lay the foundations and visually capture the most important information with a Business Model Canvas Template . Because this is a fast and efficient way to communicate a business idea, a business model canvas is a good starting point before developing a more comprehensive business plan.

A business plan can aim to secure funding from investors or lenders, while a business model canvas communicates a business idea to potential customers or partners.

Why is a business plan important?

A business plan is crucial for any entrepreneur or business owner wanting to increase their chances of success.

Here are some of the many benefits of having a thorough business plan.

Helps to define the business goals and objectives

A business plan encourages you to think critically about your goals and objectives. Doing so lets you clearly understand what you want to achieve and how you plan to get there.

A well-defined set of goals, objectives, and key results also provides a sense of direction and purpose, which helps keep business owners focused and motivated.

Guides decision-making

A business plan requires you to consider different scenarios and potential problems that may arise in your business. This awareness allows you to devise strategies to deal with these issues and avoid pitfalls.

With a clear plan, entrepreneurs can make informed decisions aligning with their overall business goals and objectives. This helps reduce the risk of making costly mistakes and ensures they make decisions with long-term success in mind.

Attracts investors and secures funding

Investors and lenders often require a business plan before considering investing in your business. A document that outlines the company's goals, objectives, and financial forecasts can help instill confidence in potential investors and lenders.

A well-written business plan demonstrates that you have thoroughly thought through your business idea and have a solid plan for success.

Identifies potential challenges and risks

A business plan requires entrepreneurs to consider potential challenges and risks that could impact their business. For example:

Is there enough demand for my product or service?

Will I have enough capital to start my business?

Is the market oversaturated with too many competitors?

What will happen if my marketing strategy is ineffective?

By identifying these potential challenges, entrepreneurs can develop strategies to mitigate risks and overcome challenges. This can reduce the likelihood of costly mistakes and ensure the business is well-positioned to take on any challenges.

Provides a basis for measuring success

A business plan serves as a framework for measuring success by providing clear goals and financial projections . Entrepreneurs can regularly refer to the original business plan as a benchmark to measure progress. By comparing the current business position to initial forecasts, business owners can answer questions such as:

Are we where we want to be at this point?

Did we achieve our goals?

If not, why not, and what do we need to do?

After assessing whether the business is meeting its objectives or falling short, business owners can adjust their strategies as needed.

How to make a business plan step by step

The steps below will guide you through the process of creating a business plan and what key components you need to include.

1. Create an executive summary

Start with a brief overview of your entire plan. The executive summary should cover your business plan's main points and key takeaways.

Keep your executive summary concise and clear with the Executive Summary Template . The simple design helps readers understand the crux of your business plan without reading the entire document.

2. Write your company description

Provide a detailed explanation of your company. Include information on what your company does, the mission statement, and your vision for the future.

Provide additional background information on the history of your company, the founders, and any notable achievements or milestones.

3. Conduct a market analysis

Conduct an in-depth analysis of your industry, competitors, and target market. This is best done with a SWOT analysis to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Next, identify your target market's needs, demographics, and behaviors.

Use the Competitive Analysis Template to brainstorm answers to simple questions like:

What does the current market look like?

Who are your competitors?

What are they offering?

What will give you a competitive advantage?

Who is your target market?

What are they looking for and why?

How will your product or service satisfy a need?

These questions should give you valuable insights into the current market and where your business stands.

4. Describe your products and services

Provide detailed information about your products and services. This includes pricing information, product features, and any unique selling points.

Use the Product/Market Fit Template to explain how your products meet the needs of your target market. Describe what sets them apart from the competition.

5. Design a marketing and sales strategy

Outline how you plan to promote and sell your products. Your marketing strategy and sales strategy should include information about your:

Pricing strategy

Advertising and promotional tactics

Sales channels

The Go to Market Strategy Template is a great way to visually map how you plan to launch your product or service in a new or existing market.

6. Determine budget and financial projections

Document detailed information on your business’ finances. Describe the current financial position of the company and how you expect the finances to play out.

Some details to include in this section are:

Startup costs

Revenue projections

Profit and loss statement

Funding you have received or plan to receive

Strategy for raising funds

7. Set the organization and management structure

Define how your company is structured and who will be responsible for each aspect of the business. Use the Business Organizational Chart Template to visually map the company’s teams, roles, and hierarchy.

As well as the organization and management structure, discuss the legal structure of your business. Clarify whether your business is a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or LLC.

8. Make an action plan

At this point in your business plan, you’ve described what you’re aiming for. But how are you going to get there? The Action Plan Template describes the following steps to move your business plan forward. Outline the next steps you plan to take to bring your business plan to fruition.

Types of business plans

Several types of business plans cater to different purposes and stages of a company's lifecycle. Here are some of the most common types of business plans.

Startup business plan

A startup business plan is typically an entrepreneur's first business plan. This document helps entrepreneurs articulate their business idea when starting a new business.

Not sure how to make a business plan for a startup? It’s pretty similar to a regular business plan, except the primary purpose of a startup business plan is to convince investors to provide funding for the business. A startup business plan also outlines the potential target market, product/service offering, marketing plan, and financial projections.

Strategic business plan

A strategic business plan is a long-term plan that outlines a company's overall strategy, objectives, and tactics. This type of strategic plan focuses on the big picture and helps business owners set goals and priorities and measure progress.

The primary purpose of a strategic business plan is to provide direction and guidance to the company's management team and stakeholders. The plan typically covers a period of three to five years.

Operational business plan

An operational business plan is a detailed document that outlines the day-to-day operations of a business. It focuses on the specific activities and processes required to run the business, such as:

Organizational structure

Staffing plan

Production plan

Quality control

Inventory management

Supply chain

The primary purpose of an operational business plan is to ensure that the business runs efficiently and effectively. It helps business owners manage their resources, track their performance, and identify areas for improvement.

Growth-business plan

A growth-business plan is a strategic plan that outlines how a company plans to expand its business. It helps business owners identify new market opportunities and increase revenue and profitability. The primary purpose of a growth-business plan is to provide a roadmap for the company's expansion and growth.

The 3 Horizons of Growth Template is a great tool to identify new areas of growth. This framework categorizes growth opportunities into three categories: Horizon 1 (core business), Horizon 2 (emerging business), and Horizon 3 (potential business).

One-page business plan

A one-page business plan is a condensed version of a full business plan that focuses on the most critical aspects of a business. It’s a great tool for entrepreneurs who want to quickly communicate their business idea to potential investors, partners, or employees.

A one-page business plan typically includes sections such as business concept, value proposition, revenue streams, and cost structure.

Best practices for how to make a good business plan

Here are some additional tips for creating a business plan:

Use a template

A template can help you organize your thoughts and effectively communicate your business ideas and strategies. Starting with a template can also save you time and effort when formatting your plan.

Miro’s extensive library of customizable templates includes all the necessary sections for a comprehensive business plan. With our templates, you can confidently present your business plans to stakeholders and investors.

Be practical

Avoid overestimating revenue projections or underestimating expenses. Your business plan should be grounded in practical realities like your budget, resources, and capabilities.

Be specific

Provide as much detail as possible in your business plan. A specific plan is easier to execute because it provides clear guidance on what needs to be done and how. Without specific details, your plan may be too broad or vague, making it difficult to know where to start or how to measure success.

Be thorough with your research

Conduct thorough research to fully understand the market, your competitors, and your target audience . By conducting thorough research, you can identify potential risks and challenges your business may face and develop strategies to mitigate them.

Get input from others

It can be easy to become overly focused on your vision and ideas, leading to tunnel vision and a lack of objectivity. By seeking input from others, you can identify potential opportunities you may have overlooked.

Review and revise regularly

A business plan is a living document. You should update it regularly to reflect market, industry, and business changes. Set aside time for regular reviews and revisions to ensure your plan remains relevant and effective.

Create a winning business plan to chart your path to success

Starting or growing a business can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting, a well-written business plan can make or break your business’ success.

The purpose of a business plan is more than just to secure funding and attract investors. It also serves as a roadmap for achieving your business goals and realizing your vision. With the right mindset, tools, and strategies, you can develop a visually appealing, persuasive business plan.

Ready to make an effective business plan that works for you? Check out our library of ready-made strategy and planning templates and chart your path to success.

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Organizational Planning: Incorporating Planning Strategies for Business Growth

Staying organized is crucial for success in today’s fast-paced and ever-evolving business world.  It not only promotes efficiency but also results in better judgment, increased output, and greater profitability. But creating a successful organizational plan can frequently seem like a challenging endeavor, leaving many unclear about where to begin. To expand the business, a corporation might define and accomplish significant goals with the help of an organizational strategy. 

Organizational plans contain several steps and might include goals for expansion, workforce development, financial planning, and planning for products and services. Through an organizational strategy, a company can address most aspects of its operations and discover ways to expand in a specific direction. In this article, we define organizational plans, discuss several sorts of planning goals, and explain how to develop an organizational plan.

• What is an Organizational Plan?

Organizational planning is identifying a company’s purpose, formulating objectives to realize the maximum potential, and developing progressively specialized duties to achieve those objectives. A strategy for the organization’s structure prepares the path for the company to flourish and turn a profit. An organizational plan can enhance employee’s assets, or goods in addition to helping it expand as a whole.

Five steps are often included in an organizational plan, including strategic planning, operational planning, reviewing, and updating as needed. Every step builds on the one before it, ensuring that the organization can accomplish the bigger objectives. A typical organizational plan looks at the overall organization and more ambitious, longer-term goals before breaking them down into more manageable, shorter-term ones.

• Types Of Organizational Planning

1. Strategic Planning:

This is a high-level, long-term planning process that entails establishing the organization’s overarching goals and selecting the most effective strategies for achieving them. Strategic planning often spans a period of three to five years and handles big-picture issues like the direction of the company, the distribution of key resources, and commercial growth.

Strategic planning typically takes into account both controllable and uncontrollable elements as well as how to modify them. The goals must be consistent with the overall mission, vision, and values of your organization.

2. Tactical Planning:

Once the strategic plans have been created, it is time to determine how to put them into action. Planning a tactical strategy can help with it. Accomplishing the strategic goals entails creating comprehensive strategies and actions. Tactical plans primarily involve middle management and are short-term in nature, lasting one to three years on average. These immediate goals demonstrate how your business intends to carry out its longer-term strategic plan.

3. Operational Planning:

This sort of planning is focused on the quick implementation of the tactical plan’s recommended strategies. Operational plans, which address how the business’s daily operations are carried out, are often annual. They involve employees and lower-level managers.

Operational plans could include task assignments that are relevant to the objectives of the tactical strategy, such as a process for recording and handling work absences, as well as work schedules, policies, rules, or regulations that establish standards for employees.

4. Contingency Planning:

Contingency planning, also referred to as “Plan B,” is imagining potential future scenarios, particularly bad ones, and developing plans to deal with and get over them. This kind of preparation is essential for risk management. Companies may create backup plans for situations like how to react to a natural disaster, broken software, or the abrupt retirement of a C-level executive.

5. Financial Planning:

Planning for the organization’s financial requirements and objectives is necessary. Budgeting, predicting income and expenses, managing cash flow, and planning investments are all included. Financial planning is essential to ensuring that the company has the resources it needs to run and expand. The majority of businesses want to expand their businesses while maintaining and improving their financial health. This may make up a sizable portion of that. Financial planning is crucial to ensure the business has the necessary funds to operate and grow.

• How To Create An Effective Organizational Plan?

An effective organizational plan is created through several phases. Each of these processes is essential for ensuring that the plan is comprehensive, realistic, and aligned with the organization’s overall goals and objectives. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you create an effective organizational plan:

Set a Strategic Plan:

Establishing the goals of your organization is the first stage. These goals ought to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART). Clear objectives give your planning direction and a standard by which you may gauge your success.

These objectives need to be crucial to the company’s performance and have to be consistent with the organization’s mission and values. The strategic plan goals are typically broken down into smaller, more manageable goals at later stages of the organizational planning process because of their size.

There are several ways to create a strategic plan:

• Collecting business data, such as performance indicators.
• Examine the values and mission of the company.
• The SWOT analysis process.
• Establishing objectives based on the data above.

Transform The Strategic Plan Into Tactical Plan:

In the tactical plan stage of organizational planning, the strategic plan is transformed into more attainable and quantifiable goals. Tactical planning will engage other managers in addition to the high-level managers who participated in strategic planning. A tactical plan needs to include methods for tracking the development of these objectives. Over the next five years, the strategic strategy can call for diversifying the company’s workforce.

• Establish quarterly targets for each department that complement the strategic plan, such as creating a quota for the sales staff to help the business reach its strategic revenue goal.
• Create processes for evaluating goal achievement to ensure that strategic and tactical objectives are being accomplished, such as running a CRM report every quarter and presenting it to the Chief Revenue Officer to verify that the testing department is meeting its quota.
• Make backup plans for things like what to do if the testing team’s CRM breaks or there is a data breach.

Drafting Operational Strategies:

The objectives from the strategic and tactical plans are implemented into daily operations by the operational plans. Operational plans describe the regular work you conduct to accomplish the objectives of the strategic and tactical plans. The processes that regulate how particular employees spend their days are known as operational plans, and they are mostly the responsibility of middle managers and the staff that they supervise.

One needs to develop new corporate policies, modify workflows, or collaborate with experts to reach the objectives. Involving employees at all levels in organizational planning is possible. Operational plans for achieving these objectives may include strategies for minimizing unconscious prejudice in the workplace, new directions for human resources staff, and methods for recruiting diverse new applicants for interviews.

Implementing The Plans:

A key phase in the organizational planning process is the implementation of the plans, as this is when organizations put all of the planning from the other processes to use in their everyday operations. As each new process and procedure is formed as an operational plan and used to carry out the plan, it should accomplish the tactical and strategic planning objectives. This is how an organization can fulfill the goals that have been set.

Therefore, if the company has developed operational plans on how to hire diverse applicants, train staff to reduce unconscious bias, and boost training for human resources workers in particular, all of those plans should be implemented at the plan execution stage.

Monitor and Revise the Plans:

To make sure the organization is meeting its objectives, it is crucial to regularly monitor the performance of the plan and make revisions wherever applicable. Depending on the organization’s aims, the period for monitoring and revision will change, but this should be anticipated from the start of the organizational planning process. While management assesses overall performance and any pertinent data from across the entire organization, individual departments and teams may evaluate their performance and offer data to management.

Monitoring and revising can enable an organization to see how to adjust plans to fulfill those goals if goals and metrics are not being met and it appears that the strategic plan goals are not being achieved by the previous phases. An organization and any employee who is committed to work will be in a position to adjust plans swiftly to accomplish goals in this manner rather than waiting to see if things turn out as planned.

• Examples Of Organizational Planning:

To better assist you to comprehend the different shapes a plan might take, examples of organizational planning are provided below. With this information, you may choose the organizational structure that is best for your business.

Workforce Development Planning

The goal of workforce development is to build a diverse, high-performing workforce composed of devoted and contented workers. High-performance organizations do not emerge by accident; rather, years of good planning and plan execution produce a competitive workforce.

Planning for workforce development could include setting objectives to achieve or beyond the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s (EEOC) goals for equal employment opportunities. Another example is developing sophisticated training programs to produce managers that are knowledgeable and experienced.

Product and Services Planning

Developing a product and service combination that is more enticing than your competitors’ is the aim of product planning. Operations, Finance, and Marketing are responsible for product planning. The marketing division is in charge of figuring out what the target audience wants and needs. The accounting department offers suggestions on how to control costs and determine the optimum rates, while the operations department is in charge of offering input on how to design and manufacture goods or develop services.

One method of product planning is the product pyramid profit model. According to the product pyramid model, businesses offer a variety of products in the same category, each with a distinct price point and level of quality. Serving all types of customers in the market segment can help the company increase market share for its high-profit premium products or services, even though it may make little to no money on low-end products. 

Expansion Plans

Planning for the next phases of growth in their businesses should be a constant goal for good business owners and managers. Growth strategies outline ways to overcome obstacles and seize opportunities to overtake rivals in the market. They also identify opportunities and potential barriers to success.

Small businesses have a variety of choices at their disposal to keep their businesses expanding. For instance, marketing can be a key growth engine for startups without a track record. Another illustration is the speedy national or international distribution of a small company’s products through well-established distribution channels thanks to licensing.

Financial Planning

Financial planning is a practice that both businesses and consumers engage in. Businesses create plans to control their debt and make the most of their profits. Innovative organizations never leave cash lying around; instead, they always use it to generate a profit or make investments in the future of the business. To increase the value of their financial holdings, business owners can either create their financial plans or hire qualified experts.

• Boost Your Hiring Process with Skillrobo

The success of your business depends on organizational planning, despite the fact that it can be a lengthy and challenging process. Why? The correct plan will ensure that everyone on your team understands the goals of your company and the steps necessary to reach them. 

Your workforce will benefit from a well-defined organizational strategy because everyone will be aware of their daily responsibilities and the reasons for their necessity. They will have clear goals to keep them motivated and productive.

Using Skillrobo , an innovative online talent evaluation platform, as part of your organizational planning can significantly enhance your recruitment approach. Skillrobo can help you define the specific skill sets required for each role, ensuring clarity before the hiring process begins. 

With its comprehensive suite of customizable assessments in various fields, it effectively gauges candidate aptitude, technical know-how, and specific skill proficiencies. Its robust analytics provide data-driven insights, simplifying decision-making and aiding in efficient team-building. By identifying and recruiting the most skilled candidates, Skillrobo aids in fostering a competent workforce, crucial for the successful execution of your organizational plan.

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• Business strategy |
• What is strategic planning? A 5-step gu ...

What is strategic planning? A 5-step guide

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.

How to build an organizational strategy

Get our free ebook and learn how to bridge the gap between mission, strategic goals, and work at your organization.

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?

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. 

Related resources

How Asana uses work management to optimize resource planning

How Asana uses work management for organizational planning

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Organizational plans: a quick primer (with examples)

Jake Ballinger is an experienced SEO and content manager with deep expertise in FP&A and finance topics. He speaks 9 languages and lives in NYC.

Every finance team needs a strong plan.

But organizational plans cover some broad territory. 

Strategic? Tactical? Contingency?

We're going to clear all that up (or give you a refresher) in this blog post.

But for now:

An organizational plan is where financial forecasts and budgets meet project management and goal-setting.

Let's get into the specifics. 

Jake Ballinger

FP&A Writer, Cube Software

What are organizational plans?

What are the benefits of organizational planning, types of organizational planning.

A 5-step organizational planning process

Conclusion: your strategic plan and organizational plans

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Organizational planning is strategizing and preparing for a business's future successes.

One of the big organizational planning goals is to create strategic and tactical plans to guide the entire organization forward.

The plan can cover an organization's operations, marketing, financials, staffing, etc. Its purpose is to ensure departments collaborate to reach company goals.

Organizational planning allows businesses to anticipate market fluctuations and weather economic change without suffering losses.

A clear roadmap of where the company wants to go better helps to focus its efforts on reaching desired outcomes.

If your company wants to grow, you need a game plan. This is the essence of an organizational plan.

Establishing and supporting organizational planning has many benefits beyond simply delivering on your company’s ambitions.

These are some of the ways the organizational planning process creates benefits for forward-thinking companies: 

Clear goals for the organization

Organizational planning helps define and set achievable targets for the organization and its teams.

It articulates the company's overall vision , provides a roadmap for how to get there, and creates measurable goals with time frames for achieving them. This built-in clarity gives teams clear and reasonable steps to align their efforts with the organization's larger objectives. 

Organizational planning also creates feedback loops to ensure that teams are making progress toward achieving their targets on schedule. This makes it easier to identify areas needing improvement or resources.

Organizations can ensure they are efficiently working towards their desired outcomes by setting clear goals.

Visibility into gaps or opportunities

Organizational planning breaks down data siloes and creates action plans, allowing the organization to identify areas of improvement or potential growth.

With this visibility, organizations can create better strategies and more clarity into the actions that lead to success.

Better employee morale and productivity

Well-informed and properly motivated employees have higher satisfaction and better retention rates than those without a clear roadmap to success.

Organizational planning allows every team member to see their role in the successful execution of plans and helps them stay engaged in the organization’s mission.

More resilience and agility

Organizational planning helps companies make quick decisions knowing that their goals will remain achievable through challenges.

Different types of organizational planning, such as financial planning, strategy implementation, and risk management, guide teams facing uncertainty or disruption. 

• Financial planning enables organizations to adjust their budgets according to changes in the market.
• Strategic implementation provides a practical roadmap for success.
• Risk management allows businesses to anticipate and mitigate risks before they become major problems. 

By using these different types of organizational planning, companies can adapt quickly to changing conditions and be better prepared for any eventuality.

Better cost savings and optimization

When you know what to do, you’re less likely to spend time and money trying things that may not work.

An organizational plan gives your teams a roadmap for conducting business, resulting in less waste and better outcomes.

This also translates to better profit margins due to the increased spending efficiency of a well-crafted budget and plans. 

Organizational planning covers several different approaches aimed at different facets of the business.

Some organizational planning examples include strategic planning, driver-based planning, and tactical planning.

Each of the below types of planning plays a different role in helping the company, and its team members do what they set out to accomplish.

Strategic planning

Strategic planning is a type of organizational planning focused on setting goals, developing strategies and tactics, and providing resources to get the job done.

It involves analyzing the organization's current situation or creating a vision for the future while considering factors such as external conditions, competitive landscape, customer needs and expectations, resource availability, and other internal considerations. 

Strategic plans are usually communicated in an organizational strategy document that outlines the key objectives and initiatives required to realize these objectives.

They create the larger framework and metrics for success. Teams then execute tactical plans to fulfill the requirements of the broader strategic approach.

Driver-based planning

Driver-based planning is a process of connecting financial plans to strategic and operational activities. It helps organizations to identify, prioritize and track the most critical actions to drive success. 

Driver-based planning incorporates financial goals and operational performance into the plan, allowing for comparing financial data with projected performance. It uses business drivers—core activities that produce results for the business—to build financial models and connect them to operational activities.

Using driver-based planning, organizations remain agile, adapt their plans based on changing conditions, and stay focused on results.

Tactical planning

If strategic planning provides the broad strokes of achieving your organization’s objectives, tactical add minor details.

Tactical planning involves identifying specific tasks and activities that must be done within a given timeframe to ensure overall strategic success. 

A tactical plan is created using information gathered during the strategic planning process and feedback from stakeholders , staff, and external advisors.

These plans are typically drawn up quarterly or yearly, including everything from budgeting to marketing strategies.

Operational planning

Operational plans are like user manuals for every area of your organization, from HR and hiring to financial planning and risk management. They help govern the day-to-day activities of your different business units.

Operational planning defines your organization’s goals and objectives and outlines the steps and procedures for achieving them.

It involves identifying specific tasks to be performed by each area of your business and setting out roles, responsibilities, timelines, and budgets. It's essential for successful organizational performance as it ensures that all processes are cohesive. 

Operational plans provide the framework for managing day-to-day operations while positioning your organization to meet longer-term goals.

A well-crafted operational plan will help keep your team focused and on track to achieve success. 

Contingency Planning

Life happens when you’re making other plans, which is also true of business life. Contingency planning aims to handle precisely those moments in your company’s journey. 

Contingency planning is a type of organizational planning used to prepare organizations for uncertain and unpredictable events.

It’s an important part of any organization's success, as it provides the flexibility and resilience needed to withstand and recover in an ever-changing business environment. 

Contingency planning focuses on preparing for potential risks and responding quickly when they occur, allowing the organization to make decisions confidently in the face of unexpected market changes.

The goal is to reduce disruption, mitigate losses, and ensure the continuity of operations.

Contingency plans typically include strategies for risk management, business continuity, disaster recovery, and crisis management.

Capacity Planning

Planning for future projects requires a keen view of the resources, people, and tools needed to achieve your goals. This is the goal of capacity planning .

It involves understanding the organization's current and future resources regarding personnel, infrastructure, technology, and other capabilities. 

Capacity planning also considers a range of potential scenarios to determine the optimal resource levels needed to handle them. This helps the organization proactively manage resources and avoid potential risks or disruptions.

By increasing its capacity ahead of time, the organization is better prepared to respond quickly and effectively when faced with unexpected events.

Workforce planning

Workforce development is a part of capacity planning, focusing on personnel and organizational structure.

It involves carefully monitoring and analyzing the organization's current and future employment requirements and skill sets. This helps identify talent, skills, or experience gaps that could be addressed through strategic recruitment or training initiatives.

Workforce planning also allows organizations to anticipate potential labor shortages or surpluses and adjust hiring plans to ensure optimal workforce utilization. 

A 5-steps organizational planning process

Every organizational plan addresses different needs but follows a repeatable pattern for success. Plan your next organizational strategy using the following steps:

1. Define your goals

Outlining your goals is essential to ensure you understand the challenge and have the resources and capabilities to solve it.

Allocate time for your team to discuss the most critical objectives and prioritize them accordingly.

Once your organization's main objectives are determined, you can start breaking down the tasks needed to achieve them into smaller, more manageable steps. 

2. Analyze your current process

Understanding your current organizational practices helps you decide on actions for future improvement.

Depending on the size of your organization and the complexity of its processes, conducting a thorough examination may require additional research and data analysis.

3. Seek stakeholder input

Soliciting input creates different perspectives on your processes and plan.

Through stakeholder contributions, you include valuable perspectives and identify resources.

It also better prepares teams to support the organization and its goals.

4. Develop a plan

Decide the specific, measurable actions departments will take to reach established goals. This includes: 

• Establishing deadlines
• Determining roles for key personnel
• Assigning tasks and activities 
• Setting project management milestones 
• Selecting and tracking key performance indicators (KPIs)

5. Measure results

Measuring and tracking KPIs lets you assess your progress and course correct where needed. KPIs provide a means of gauging the success or failure of specific actions. They can be used to inform and direct future strategies.

Organizations can make more informed decisions and stay ahead of challenges by establishing measurable goals and monitoring performance. Conclusion

Now you know all about organizational plans.

How to make them, how they're categorized, and why you should have them.

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Business Plan Section 3: Organization and Management

This section explains how your business runs and who’s on your team. Learn how to present the information in this section of your business plan.

This section of your business plan, Organization and Management, is where you’ll explain exactly how you’re set up to make your ideas happen, plus you’ll introduce the players on your team.

As always, remember your audience. If this is a plan for your internal use, you can be a little more general than if you’ll be presenting it to a potential lender or investor. No matter what its purpose, you’ll want to break the organization and management section into two segments: one describing the way you’ve set up the company to run (its organizational structure), and the other introducing the people involved (its management).

Business Organization

Having a solid plan for how your business will run is a key component of its smooth and successful operation. Of course, you need to surround yourself with good people, but you have to set things up to enable them to work well with each other and on their own.

It’s important to define the positions in the company, which job is responsible for what, and to whom everyone will report. Over time, the structure may grow and change and you can certainly keep tweaking it as you go along, but you need to have an initial plan.

If you’re applying for funding to start a business or expand one, you may not even have employees to fit all the roles in the organization. However, you can still list them in your plan for how the company will ideally operate once you have the ability to do so.

Obviously, for small businesses, the organization will be far more streamlined and less complicated than it is for larger ones, but your business plan still needs to demonstrate an understanding of how you’ll handle the workflow. At the very least, you’ll need to touch on sales and marketing, administration, and the production and distribution of your product or the execution of your service.

For larger companies, an organizational plan with well-thought-out procedures is even more important. This is the best way to make sure you’re not wasting time duplicating efforts or dealing with internal confusion about responsibilities. A smooth-running operation runs far more efficiently and cost-effectively than one flying by the seat of its pants, and this section of your business plan will be another indication that you know what you’re doing. A large company is also likely to need additional operational categories such as human resources and possibly research and development.

One way to explain your organizational structure in the business plan is graphically. A simple diagram or flowchart can easily demonstrate levels of management and the positions within them, clearly illustrating who reports to whom, and how different divisions of the company (such as sales and marketing) relate to each other.

Here is where you can also talk about the other levels of employees in your company. Your lower-level staff will carry out the day-to-day work, so it’s important to recognize the types of people you’ll need, how many, what their qualifications should be, where you’ll find them, and what they’ll cost.

If the business will use outside consultants, freelancers, or independent contractors, mention it here as well. And talk about positions you’d want to add in the future if you’re successful enough to expand.

Business Management

Now that we understand the structure of your business, we need to meet the people who’ll be running it. Who does what, and why are they onboard? This section is important even for a single practitioner or sole proprietorship, as it will introduce you and your qualifications to the readers of your plan.

Start at the top with the legal structure and ownership of the business. If you are incorporated, say so, and detail whether you are a C or S corporation. If you haven’t yet incorporated, make sure to discuss this with your attorney and tax advisor to figure out which way to go. Whether you’re in a partnership or are a sole owner, this is where to mention it.

List the names of the owners of the business, what percent of the company each of them owns, the form of ownership (common or preferred stock, general or limited partner), and what kind of involvement they’ll have with day-to-day operations; for example, if they’re an active or silent partner.

Here’s where you’ll list the names and profiles of your management team, along with what their responsibilities are. Especially if you’re looking for funding, make sure to highlight the proven track record of these key employees. Lenders and investors will be keenly interested in their previous successes, particularly in how they relate to this current venture.

Include each person’s name and position, along with a short description of what the individual’s main duties will be. Detail his or her education, and any unique skills or experience, especially if they’re relevant to the job at hand. Mention previous employment and any industry awards or recognition related to it, along with involvement with charities or other non-profit organizations.

Think of this section as a resume-in-a-nutshell, recapping the highlights and achievements of the people you’ve chosen to surround yourself with. Actual detailed resumes for you and your management team should go in the plan’s appendix, and you can cross-reference them here. You want your readers to feel like your top staff complements you and supplements your own particular skill set. You also want readers to understand why these people are so qualified to help make your business a success.

This section will spell out the compensation for management team members, such as salary, benefits, and any profit-sharing you might be offering. If any of the team will be under contract or bound by non-compete agreements, you would mention that here, as well.

If your company will have a Board of Directors, its members also need to be listed in the business plan. Introduce each person by name and the position they’ll hold on the board. Talk about how each might be involved with the business (in addition to board meetings.

Similar to what you did for your management team, give each member’s background information, including education, experience, special skills, etc., along with any contributions they may already have had to the success of the business. Include the full resumes for your board members in the appendix.

Alternately, if you don’t have a Board of Directors, include information about an Advisory Board you’ve put together, or a panel of experts you’ve convened to help you along the way. Having either of these, by the way, is something your company might want to consider whether or not you’re putting together the organization and management section or your business plan.

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Business Plan - Management and Organization

Management and Organization Section of a Business Plan

Written by Jason Gordon

Updated at April 21st, 2024

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What is the Management and Organization Section of the Business Plan?

Outline your organizational structure and then tell about your primaries. How your business will be managed and who will be involved is an important consideration in your choice of business entity. For example, in a partnership, it is assumed that partners have equal control in managing the business. In an LLC you make the choice of whether it will be managed by members of the LLC or by hired managers. 

In a corporation, the owners/shareholders may or may not be a part of the management team. In any of the above situations, you will want to develop a plan for the roles of individual members. While individual member roles and responsibilities often change rapidly, you want to have a formalized chain of authority within the business. Remember, too many decision-makers and no single person with authority can be a major challenge to the success of a business.

Business Management

This section should include the names, positions, and general biography of the key business personnel. This section will be incredibly important to outsider investors (angels or venture capitalists) who are assessing your business. Within the Business Management section you should include answers to the following questions:

• Name : Who are the key individuals involved in the management of your business?
• Title : What will be that person's title?
• Responsibilities : What primary responsibilities does that position entail?
• Qualifications : What is their background and qualifications for carrying out their intended responsibilities? (This will include work experience, educational degrees, and prior experience in startup ventures.)

Organizational Chart

I recommend that you create a formalized flow-chart demonstrating the hierarchy of authority within the business. This organizational chart should be cross-laid with the key core operational responsibilities of the business. For example, you may split the business responsibilities into: Operations, Sales & Marketing, and Administration & Governance. Outlining the business in this fashion will give individuals a clear sense of their responsibilities. Further, it will establish formal chains of authority that will become increasingly important as the business grows. As you add new employees you will want to integrate them within the organizational chart.Make clear the chain of authority and reporting. Outline both the responsibilities of each individual and their authority to represent the interests of the business. As the business grows you will gradually become more and more specific about the roles and responsibilities of individual members.You may also consider developing a plan for cross-training individuals for specific tasks? You don't want your business to hinge or become dependent solely on the presence of a single individual. This chart will also serve as credentials for business when approaching outside investors. These investors will want to see that the business is stable and that there is ample talent to perform all of the functions necessary to carry out the business's functions and grow goals.  

Professional and Advisory Support

When forming your business you will begin to forge relationships with outside parties who can provide advice and services to your business. Depending on your business organization, you may have professional advisors, such as a board of directors or you may have a less formal advisory board. Below are a list and explanation of some of the more common professional and advisory support for a startup business.

• Accountant - An accountant can be extremely valuable in 3 areas: Entity formation, business compliance, and tax strategy. An accountant will be able to help you understand the tax considerations that go into choosing an entity type. They can also help you understand the rules for business compliance state and federal income tax, tax deductions, tax credits, sales & use, transfer, deductions, capital gain loss, employee withholding, estimated tax payments, financial statements, auditing, etc.
• Small Business Attorney - A small business attorney is useful in a number of important areas. Entity selection and formation, contracts, intellectual property, employment law, securities regulation, business compliance & governance, collection efforts, etc.
• Insurance Agent - Depending on the nature of the business, you may require various types of insurance coverage. Common types of insurance includes casualty & damage on property, personal injury protection, professional liability, life insurance, health insurance in employee benefit plans, etc.
• Banker - I cannot express the importance of having a relationship with your bank representative. Many small businesses make the mistake of banking with large financial institutions, rather than choosing smaller, more intimate, local banks. When you are seeking loans to operate your business you will have a much easier time working with a banker who knows you personally and understands your business.
• Mentors - Find someone who you know and respect to serve as your mentor. Preferably, this is someone who has experience with startup ventures. Starting a venture can be nerve-racking. It helps to have someone close who has gone through this process before. This person will provide moral support more than expertise in a particular industry.
• Board of Advisors - A board of advisors is like a semi-formal group of mentors. Rather than providing moral support, these individuals help to guide you through the process of starting, managing and growing your business. You should try to assemble a diverse group with a variety of professional experiences. Preferably, these individuals will be a mix of knowledgeable entrepreneurs and industry experts.
• Board of Directors - If you choose the corporate form to do business, you will have a board of directors. Many closely held corporations don't have outside members on the board of directors; rather, the board consists of the owners and key members. As the business begins to grow, you may have directors who are either equity investors or experts who you compensate with equity ownership. In either case, you should seek investors and experts who can provide the greatest degree of guidance and support to your business.

You will want to detail the names, experience, and qualifications of these individuals within the business plan. The primary purpose is to demonstrate to outside investors that you have adequate support to handle your operations and intended growth path.

Related Topics

• Business Plan, Part 1 (Outline Overview)
• Business Plan, Part 2 (The Executive Summary)
• What is a Mission Statement?
• What is a Values Statement?
• Setting Company Goals
• Business Plan, Part 4 (Market Analysis)
• Business Plan, Part 5 (Competitive Analysis)
• Business Plan, Part 6 (Marketing Plan)
• Business Plan, Part 7 (Operations)
• Business Plan, Part 8  (Management and Organization)
• Business Plan, Part 9 (Financial Projections)
• Business Plan, Part 10 (Appendices)
• Business Plan , (Final Modifications)

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

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

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What Is Organizational Planning in Project Management?

If you’re looking to start or grow a business (or just keep a business profitable), you need a business plan. But not all plans are the same. If you need to define your business and its objectives, you need to use organizational planning.

That planning provides a clear path forward. When you organize the various departments of your business, everyone knows what their function is—and the tasks and processes necessary to achieve your business goals.

What Is Organizational Planning?

Organizational planning is how business owners organize the day-to-day operations of a business. This can range from simple things, like the companies’ reason for existence, to more complex considerations, like setting goals to realize a specific objective. You use the organizational plan as a framework for creating tasks that, when executed, will allow the company to achieve its goal.

Organizational planning is often used to improve a company’s overall business, but a company can direct it towards its workforce, finances or products. There are, therefore, various types of organizational planning goals; from workforce development and financial planning to products, services and expansion planning.

That’s a lot of data to organize. ProjectManager has interactive Gantt charts that help you organize all that information, create a functional plan and manage it successfully. Try ProjectManager today for free!

Why Organizational Planning Is Important

It goes without saying that the better you organize your company, the better your company performs. Organizational planning is important because it lets companies develop effective planning and achieve their stated goals.

Having an organizational plan is also helpful because a prepared company responds better to changes in the workplace. Furthermore, organization planning clarifies the roles, responsibilities and expectations of everyone in the company. This helps management make sure they’re meeting the determined benchmarks.

Because organizational planning creates a structure where relationships between teams and managers are clearly defined, it can also reveal where there are any shortcomings, issues or liabilities. The company can then resolve these hamstringing limitations.

Typical Organizational Planning Processes

These phases of organizational planning are defined in these four processes:

• Strategic Planning: This is the big picture view for the company. Here, you define the company goals. The goals must align with the overall mission, vision and values of the company. This process involves upper management, though you can bring employees into the discussion.
• Tactical Planning: Next, the discussion moves toward how to implement the developed plan. These are more short-term goals, usually no more than a year in duration. This is where middle management takes the ball, in terms of creating plans and marketing campaigns.
• Operational Planning: Now we’ve come to the day-to-day operations necessary to execute the tactical plan. This is where you set up work schedules, policies, rules and regulations for employees. You also assign specific tasks and create a protocol for tracking work.
• Contingency Planning: It’s important to have a backup plan or two in case of unforeseen events or issues that make the original plan impossible. Spend time thinking of possible risks and responses. Events include natural disasters, software malfunctions or the departure of a C-level executive from the company.

How to Make an Organizational Plan

The four phases of the organizational planning process create a framework, but there are different steps when making an organizational plan:

• Start with the goals and objectives of the company: Where do you want to be in the short- and long-term? Then, assemble a team to lead the execution, tracking and progress of the plan.
• Create a chart that illustrates the organizational structure of the plan: Share it with the whole company and keep them updated on progress as you hit milestones set for the long- and short-term.
• Define the company goals and objectives: Make this a detailed list to help everyone understand the goals and objectives, as well as their part in realizing them.
• Create a task list with roles for everyone on your team: Assign them tasks and make sure the team understands what is expected of them.
• Review where the company is currently: What processes are in place at this moment? Reviewing this allows the team to see what they need to do to reach the company growth targets.
• Take what you’ve collected and put it in a document: Use this to track progress when you execute the organizational plan.

How to Communicate Your Organizational Plan to the Team

Once you’ve created an organizational plan, you need to communicate it to the team. This is a crucial step. If you implement a plan without having everyone understand it, you may have problems that might derail the whole plan.

One way to get everyone on the same page is to call a company-wide meeting. Have a tight agenda that details the organizational plan, and get feedback from those in attendance. You can also create a one-sheet, and distribute it prior to or during the meeting.

If your company has project management software, you can bring the whole company in on the organizational plan, assign tasks and communicate through the tool if they have any questions. Then, when you implement the organizational plan, you can track progress and ensure everyone stays in communication.

How ProjectManager Helps with Organizational Planning

ProjectManager is a cloud-based tool with multiple project views that allow managers and their teams to choose the tool that they want to work with. No matter which they use, data is shared across the platform so everyone is working from the most current data.

Lay Out Entire Plans on Gantt Charts

Begin planning by organizing tasks and adding deadlines. Gantt charts are the traditional tool to get all your work on a timeline, but not all Gantt charts are the same. ProjectManager’s Gantt chart project view lets you to filter for the critical path without any complicated calculations. You see what is essential, and what you can skip, if time and money become an issue.

Set Baselines to Track Progress

Once the schedule is completed, you can set a baseline. This captures your planned effort around tasks, resources cost and more. That means, once you start to execute your plan, you can compare the actual effort to your planned effort to make sure you’re keeping on track.

Get Real-Time Data from Dashboards and Reports

To keep an eye on progress and performance, use ProjectManager’s live dashboard. It collects data, automatically calculates it and displays it in easy-to-read graphs and charts. Unlike other software, you don’t need to configure the dashboard; it’s up and running from the start.

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ProjectManager is award-winning software that has everything you need to plan, execute and track your organizational plan. With timesheets, automated notifications and kanban boards, managers get transparency and teams have the autonomy to manage their tasks. See how ProjectManager can help you with organizational planning and take a free trial today.

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550+ Business Plan Examples to Launch Your Business

Need help writing your business plan? Explore over 550 industry-specific business plan examples for inspiration.

Find your business plan example

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Business plan template: There's an easier way to get your business plan done.

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Finish your plan faster with step-by-step guidance, financial wizards, and a proven format.

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View all sample business plans

Example business plan format

Before you start exploring our library of business plan examples, it's worth taking the time to understand the traditional business plan format . You'll find that the plans in this library and most investor-approved business plans will include the following sections:

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. You should also plan to write this section last after you've written your full business plan.

Your executive summary should include a summary of the problem you are solving, a description of your product or service, an overview of your target market, a brief description of your team, a summary of your financials, and your funding requirements (if you are raising money).

Products & services

The products & services chapter of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives. It includes information about the problem that you're solving, your solution, and any traction that proves that it truly meets the need you identified.

This is your chance to explain why you're in business and that people care about what you offer. It needs to go beyond a simple product or service description and get to the heart of why your business works and benefits your customers.

Market analysis

Conducting a market analysis ensures that you fully understand the market that you're entering and who you'll be selling to. This section is where you will showcase all of the information about your potential customers. You'll cover your target market as well as information about the growth of your market and your industry. Focus on outlining why the market you're entering is viable and creating a realistic persona for your ideal customer base.

Competition

Part of defining your opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage may be. To do this effectively you need to get to know your competitors just as well as your target customers. Every business will have competition, if you don't then you're either in a very young industry or there's a good reason no one is pursuing this specific venture.

To succeed, you want to be sure you know who your competitors are, how they operate, necessary financial benchmarks, and how you're business will be positioned. Start by identifying who your competitors are or will be during your market research. Then leverage competitive analysis tools like the competitive matrix and positioning map to solidify where your business stands in relation to the competition.

Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments. You'll address how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success.

The operations section covers the day-to-day workflows for your business to deliver your product or service. What's included here fully depends on the type of business. Typically you can expect to add details on your business location, sourcing and fulfillment, use of technology, and any partnerships or agreements that are in place.

Milestones & metrics

The milestones section is where you lay out strategic milestones to reach your business goals.

A good milestone clearly lays out the parameters of the task at hand and sets expectations for its execution. You'll want to include a description of the task, a proposed due date, who is responsible, and eventually a budget that's attached. You don't need extensive project planning in this section, just key milestones that you want to hit and when you plan to hit them.

You should also discuss key metrics, which are the numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common data points worth tracking include conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, profit, etc.

Company & team

Use this section to describe your current team and who you need to hire. If you intend to pursue funding, you'll need to highlight the relevant experience of your team members. Basically, this is where you prove that this is the right team to successfully start and grow the business. You will also need to provide a quick overview of your legal structure and history if you're already up and running.

Financial projections

Your financial plan should include a sales and revenue forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and a balance sheet. You may not have established financials of any kind at this stage. Not to worry, rather than getting all of the details ironed out, focus on making projections and strategic forecasts for your business. You can always update your financial statements as you begin operations and start bringing in actual accounting data.

Now, if you intend to pitch to investors or submit a loan application, you'll also need a "use of funds" report in this section. This outlines how you intend to leverage any funding for your business and how much you're looking to acquire. Like the rest of your financials, this can always be updated later on.

The appendix isn't a required element of your business plan. However, it is a useful place to add any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that supports your plan. These are often lengthier or out-of-place information that simply didn't work naturally into the structure of your plan. You'll notice that in these business plan examples, the appendix mainly includes extended financial statements.

Types of business plans explained

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. To get the most out of your plan, it's best to find a format that suits your needs. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan

The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used for external purposes. Typically this is the type of plan you'll need when applying for funding or pitching to investors. It can also be used when training or hiring employees, working with vendors, or in any other situation where the full details of your business must be understood by another individual.

Business model canvas

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

The structure ditches a linear format in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It's faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan . This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business.

By starting with a one-page plan , you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You'll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan.

Growth planning

Growth planning is more than a specific type of business plan. It's a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, forecast, review, and refine based on your performance.

It holds all of the benefits of the single-page plan, including the potential to complete it in as little as 27 minutes . However, it's even easier to convert into a more detailed plan thanks to how heavily it's tied to your financials. The overall goal of growth planning isn't to just produce documents that you use once and shelve. Instead, the growth planning process helps you build a healthier company that thrives in times of growth and remain stable through times of crisis.

It's faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

Download a free sample business plan template

Ready to start writing your own plan but aren't sure where to start? Download our free business plan template that's been updated for 2024.

This simple, modern, investor-approved business plan template is designed to make planning easy. It's a proven format that has helped over 1 million businesses write business plans for bank loans, funding pitches, business expansion, and even business sales. It includes additional instructions for how to write each section and is formatted to be SBA-lender approved. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

How to use an example business plan to help you write your own

How do you know what elements need to be included in your business plan, especially if you've never written one before? Looking at examples can help you visualize what a full, traditional plan looks like, so you know what you're aiming for before you get started. Here's how to get the most out of a sample business plan.

Choose a business plan example from a similar type of company

You don't need to find an example business plan that's an exact fit for your business. Your business location, target market, and even your particular product or service may not match up exactly with the plans in our gallery. But, you don't need an exact match for it to be helpful. Instead, look for a plan that's related to the type of business you're starting.

For example, if you want to start a vegetarian restaurant, a plan for a steakhouse can be a great match. While the specifics of your actual startup will differ, the elements you'd want to include in your restaurant's business plan are likely to be very similar.

Use a business plan example as a guide

Every startup and small business is unique, so you'll want to avoid copying an example business plan word for word. It just won't be as helpful, since each business is unique. You want your plan to be a useful tool for starting a business —and getting funding if you need it.

One of the key benefits of writing a business plan is simply going through the process. When you sit down to write, you'll naturally think through important pieces, like your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you'll need to do to be successful.

You'll also look at where you stand among your competition (and everyone has competition), and lay out your goals and the milestones you'll need to meet. Looking at an example business plan's financials section can be helpful because you can see what should be included, but take them with a grain of salt. Don't assume that financial projections for a sample company will fit your own small business.

If you're looking for more resources to help you get started, our business planning guide is a good place to start. You can also download our free business plan template .

Think of business planning as a process, instead of a document

Think about business planning as something you do often , rather than a document you create once and never look at again. If you take the time to write a plan that really fits your own company, it will be a better, more useful tool to grow your business. It should also make it easier to share your vision and strategy so everyone on your team is on the same page.

Adjust your plan regularly to use it as a business management tool

Keep in mind that businesses that use their plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30 percent faster than those businesses that don't. For that to be true for your company, you'll think of a part of your business planning process as tracking your actual results against your financial forecast on a regular basis.

If things are going well, your plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. If you find that you're not meeting goals, you might need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan can help you adjust quickly when you identify challenges and opportunities—it's one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

Prepare to pitch your business

If you're planning to pitch your business to investors or seek out any funding, you'll need a pitch deck to accompany your business plan. A pitch deck is designed to inform people about your business. You want your pitch deck to be short and easy to follow, so it's best to keep your presentation under 20 slides.

Your pitch deck and pitch presentation are likely some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. So, you need to be informative and pique their interest. Luckily, just like you can leverage an example business plan template to write your plan, we also have a gallery of over 50 pitch decks for you to reference.

With this gallery, you have the option to view specific industry pitches or get inspired by real-world pitch deck examples.

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Change is inevitable in an organization; especially in the age of digital transformation and emerging technologies, businesses and employees need to adapt. Change management (CM) is a methodology that ensures both leaders and employees are equipped and supported when implementing changes to an organization.

The goal of a change management plan, or more accurately an organizational change plan, is to embed processes that have stakeholder buy-in and support the success of both the business and the people involved. In practice, the most important aspect of organizational change is stakeholder alignment. This blog outlines five steps to support the seamless integration of organizational change management.

Steps to support organizational change management

1.      determine your audience.

Who is impacted by the proposed change? It is crucial to determine the audience for your change management process.

Start by identifying key leaders­ and determine both their influence and involvement in the history of organizational change. Your key leaders can provide helpful context and influence employee buy-in. You want to interview leaders to better understand ‘why’ the change is being implemented in the first place. Ask questions such as:

• What are the benefits of this change?
• What are the reasons for this change?
• What does the history of change in the organization look like?

Next, identify the other groups impacted by change, otherwise known as the personas. Personas are the drivers of successful implementation of a change management strategy. It is important to understand what the current day-to-day looks like for the persona, and then what tomorrow will look like once change is implemented.

A good example of change that an organization might implement is a new technology, like generative AI (Gen AI) . Businesses are implementing this technology to augment work and make their processes more efficient. Throughout this blog, we use this example to better explain each step of implementing change management.

Who is impacted by the implementation of gen AI? The key leaders might be the vice president of the department that is adding the technology, along with a Chief Technical Officer, and team managers. The personas are those whose work is being augmented by the technology.

2.      Align the key stakeholders

What are the messages that we will deliver to the personas? When key leaders come together to determine champion roles and behaviors for instituting change, it is important to remember that everyone will have a different perspective.

To best align leadership, take an iterative approach. Through a stakeholder alignment session, teams can co-create with key leaders, change management professionals, and personas to best determine a change management strategy that will support the business and employees.

Think back to the example of gen AI as the change implemented in the organization. Proper alignment of stakeholders would be bringing together the executives deciding to implement the technology, the technical experts on gen AI, the team managers implementing gen AI into their workflows, and even trusted personas—the personas might have experienced past changes in the organization.

3.      Define the initiatives and scope

Why are you implementing the change? What are the main drivers of change? How large is the change to the current structure of the organization? Without a clear vision for change initiatives, there will be even more confusion from stakeholders. The scope of change should be easily communicated; it needs to make sense to your personas to earn their buy-in.

Generative AI augments workflows, making businesses more efficient. However, one obstacle of this technology is the psychological aspect that it takes power away from individuals who are running the administrative tasks. Clearly defining the benefits of gen AI and the goals of implementing the technology can help employees better understand the need.

Along with clear initiatives and communication, including a plan to skill employees to understand and use the technology as part of their scope also helps promote buy-in. Drive home the point that the change team members, through the stakeholders, become evangelists pioneering a new way of working. Show your personas how to prompt the tool, apply the technology, and other use cases to grow their excitement and support of the change.

4.      Implement the change management plan

After much preparation on understanding the personas, aligning the stakeholders and defining the scope, it is time to run. ‘Go live’ with the change management plan and remember to be patient with employees and have clear communication. How are employees handling the process? Are there more resources needed? This is the part where you highly consider the feedback that is given and assess if it helps achieve the shared goals of the organization.

Implementing any new technology invites the potential for bugs, lags or errors in usage. For our example with gen AI, a good implementation practice might be piloting the technology with a small team of expert users, who underwent training on the tool. After collecting feedback from their ‘go live’ date, the change management team can continue to phase the technology implementation across the organization. Remember to be mindful of employee feedback and keep an open line of communication.

5.      Adapt to improve

Adapting the process is something that can be done throughout any stage of implementation but allocating time to analyze the Return on Investment (ROI) should be done at the ‘go live’ date of change. Reviewing can be run via the “sense and respond” approach.

Sense how the personas are reacting to said change. This can be done via sentiment analysis, surveys and information sessions. Then, analyze the data. Finally, based on the analysis, appropriately respond to the persona’s reaction.

Depending on how the business and personas are responding to change, determine whether the outlined vision and benefits of the change are being achieved. If not, identify the gaps and troubleshoot how to better support where you might be missing the mark. It is important to both communicate with the stakeholders and listen to the feedback from the personas.

To close out our example, gen AI is a tool that thrives on continuous usage and practices like fine-tuning . The organization can both measure the growth and success of the technology implemented, as well as the efficiency of the personas that have adapted the tool into their workflows. Leaders can share out surveys to pressure test how the change is resonating. Any roadblocks, pain points or concerns should be responded to directly by the change management team, to continue to ensure a smooth implementation of gen AI.

How to ensure success when implementing organizational change                          

The success formula to implementing organizational change management includes the next generation of leadership, an accelerator culture that is adaptive to change, and a workforce that is both inspired and engaged.

Understanding the people involved in the process is important to prepare for a successful approach to change management. Everyone comes to the table with their own view of how to implement change. It is important to remain aligned on why the change is happening. The people are the drivers of change. Keep clear, open and consistent communication with your stakeholders and empathize with your personas to ensure that the change will resonate with their needs.

As you craft your change management plan, remember that change does not stop at the implementation date of the plan. It is crucial to continue to sense and respond .

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How to Write an Online Business Plan in 2024

Written by Vanessa Petersen on July 26, 2023 Blog , Sell Online .

You’ve committed to turning your ecommerce or online business idea into something real. You want your small business to produce revenue and change the course of your life, but what’s your first step in realizing your dream? Developing a plan. If you’re not sure about how to write an online business plan, you’ve come to the right place.

One of the most essential tasks involved in starting any kind of business is to write a business plan. An online business plan won’t look that different from a traditional business plan and will include many of the same elements.

In this post, we’ll show you how to write an online business plan, including all the components and sections. We’ll also walk through how WooCommerce can help you put your plan to action and achieve your business goals.

Why write a business plan? 

Starting your own business is a great experience and something that will shape your life, fill you with self-confidence and independence, and inspire other people around you. A new business is also a serious endeavor that will take time, money, sweat, lots of decisions, and a degree of risk.

A traditional business plan template helps you document and keep track of your business goals, challenges, opportunities, and all the steps and processes involved with making your idea work. It will help you conduct thorough market research and set you up for success.

When you write a business plan, it can confirm that you’ve found the best online business to start , or provide clarity about the need to pivot.

It details all the things you will need to do in order to successfully launch and grow your business, and may include revenue projections, timelines for specific goals, concept art for products, and architectural drawings for any brick and mortar aspects of your business. 

Business plans help create a structure for your company’s development and keep you grounded in reality, focused, and not distracted by less important matters. 

If you have more than one person helping run the business, the business plan also keeps everyone unified around the same set of goals and objectives. 

Another reason to write a business plan is for situations where you are presenting your idea to someone else and asking them to invest. In that scenario, your business plan is also a sort of sales document. It makes the argument for why your business idea is so good and well-considered that an investor should want to be a part of it. 

But even if you’re self-funding your entire business — which is more common with online businesses — you still want to write the plan for the reasons given earlier.

The benefits of running an online business

Starting an online business or ecommerce store offers many of the same great benefits as any other business, but without as much risk. If you’re thinking of starting a business, here’s why an online one is a great option:

It has low startup costs

Without a storefront, you eliminate so many costs of running a business. With all the bills that come with having property — like rent, parking, furnishings and decor, etc. — there’s a much higher investment required to start a brick-and-mortar-based business. Online businesses still have startup costs, but they are much lower. 

It gives you freedom over your schedule

With an online business, you have more freedom to set your own hours, because you don’t always have to be open during the usual times. You can build your business to suit the lifestyle you want. Rearrange your time to get things done in the fastest possible way and take time off when you need it. 

You can start small

Once you have a location, it’s yours, and you have to make it work. With an online business, you can start very small, offering just a few products or even just a single service. You can more easily test the waters without making huge commitments with inventory, and other physical investments.

You can more easily pivot

If your online or ecommerce business doesn’t do as well as you expected, it’s easier to pivot and adapt to something new because you haven’t committed so much to making your original idea work. There are many business success stories where the business owner adjusted their idea after gaining some experience, and then it took off. It’s a lot easier to do that when you aren’t tied to a physical location.

But, there’s one thing online businesses have in common with every other type of business: You need a robust business plan to help guide your idea from concept to a successful reality that makes money and fulfills your dreams and goals. 

So, let’s get into business planning. 

How do I write my own online business plan?

Most formal business plans and business plan templates include seven sections, plus an executive summary. You’ll need to keep in mind who you’re writing your business plan for. If you are taking this to potential investors or will be seeking a business loan, your business plan needs to sell the idea of your business as a great investment opportunity and communicate the skills, expertise, and commitment you personally bring to the table. 

Here are the key sections of a traditional business plan format:

• Executive summary
• Company description
• Market analysis
• Organization and management
• Service and product line
• Sales and marketing plans
• Financial projections
• Funding request (if working with investors or partners)

Here’s a brief look at each step of creating an online business plan:

Draft an executive summary

In the executive summary, the first section of almost every business plan template, you’ll present your vision and focus on building excitement. If the business plan is a sales document, the executive summary is the lead. It gets the reader engaged and excited to hear more. 

Your executive summary should achieve two goals:

• Deliver the basic facts about your business
• Motivate the reader to keep going and get them excited about your idea

What facts should you include? Whatever helps the reader understand your business idea. Describe the industry and niche. Mention the target market. Briefly state the needs or problems your products and services will be solving. Touch on the potential for growth in terms of revenue and customers. 

For motivation, describe your mission statement and company values. What will set you apart from the competition? What is your value proposition as a business owner? What makes you different? Again — keep this brief. You’ll elaborate later. 

It might be a good move to write all the other sections first, then finish with the executive summary so it will be the most concise and best version of how you describe your business.

Write a company description

Here, you’ll give a brief overview of your company. What are your strengths, skills, and areas of expertise as a business owner that will position you for success? If you have a compelling story behind why you’re starting your business, you can include that too.

Conduct a SWOT analysis 

If you’re not sure where to start, consider doing a SWOT analysis , which is a diagram outlining your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

It’s a common part of many business plans and will help paint a realistic picture of what your business can achieve, and what stands in the way. You won’t include all of this in the company description, but your strengths and opportunities may fit here. 

Create a mission and vision statement

The company description is also the place to create a mission statement and a vision statement. What’s the difference between these? 

The vision is where you’re going, the mission is how you’ll get there. A vision statement paints a picture of a future reality for your customers and perhaps the world at large, as a result of your company’s influence. A mission statement expresses how you will achieve that.

The company description can elaborate on your vision and mission beyond just a single sentence, and later you can fine-tune what you write into a succinct pair of statements. Feeling some writer’s block? See company description templates by industry for some inspiration.

Include any unique attributes

If your company will involve particular attributes such as manufacturing, supply chains, dropshipping, affiliates, coaching or advising, online courses, or other relevant particulars, include that in your company description, too. 

State your business location, industry, niche, and other details

Also, state the location of your business, even though it’s online. Name your industry and niche target market again, and describe the nature of your company. For example, is it an ecommerce business, a consulting firm, delivery service, wholesale, or ad-based website? These are just some of many types of online business structures. 

You may also want to include whether your business is in any special class of business that might position it for special loan or grant opportunities like women-owned businesses or veteran-owned businesses.

After reading your description, readers should have a good understanding of what your business is about, why it exists, and how it works. Here’s a detailed look at company descriptions , with an example.

Perform a market analysis

A market analysis uses industry research to assess the scope of your business’s target market and describe the current competition in your industry. It can help you estimate the potential for success and prepare for the challenges you may face when you launch your online business or ecommerce shop.

Doing this research, and including it your business plan, can also help you:

• Identify industry trends
• Pinpoint opportunities 
• Diminish risks and reduce costs
• Generate new ideas for products and services
• Learn from the failures and shortcomings of your competitors
• Find ways to stand out from your competitors
• Discover new markets
• Refine your marketing plans

Now let’s dig into the elements involved in a thorough market analysis.

Understand your audience

Here, you will explain in detail who your target customers are and why they want or need what you’ll be selling. What problems or needs does your product solve? What will motivate people to buy from you? And why can’t they get it somewhere else just as easily? An ecommerce business competes against other ecommerce businesses as well as brick-and-mortar stores and shopping malls. Stores with omnichannel strategies compete with both. Why would someone choose you?

Share your key customer demographics, psychographics, and interests. Who will you be serving? What drives them? 

What are their values? If your product, service, or personal brand will appeal to a customer segment that also shares particular values, that’s a strength, not a weakness, and you can use that to win them over. 

Perform customer segmentation

Break down different categories of target customers your business plans to serve. One category could be age. Another might be life situations such as retirees, parents, divorcees, or living with older relatives. You could create a segment of people with particular health conditions, or who live certain lifestyles. 

But you can also get way more specific than that. Runners are different from hikers, who are different from bikers, yoga enthusiasts, and gym enthusiasts. Different supplements, philosophies about food, motivations for eating various foods — all of these present near endless possibilities for more narrowly defining your customer segments, all under the broad category of ‘health.’ And you might serve multiple segments. 

The more customer segments you know, the more effectively you can market to them. In an online store, good product descriptions call out the various customer segments that product is designed for.

Also, give a sense of the potential size of your target market. How many people need what you’re selling? Show how this market is large enough to justify your business and drive revenue. You might do this by studying revenue reports from other companies in your industry. Or look at specific products related to yours and research their sales and revenue performance. 

You may also perform a survey of some kind, or an online quiz, and use that to express the needs your potential customers have that aren’t currently being met.

Perform a competitive analysis

Study your competition. What are they doing well? What areas are they underserving? Where are they underperforming? Make note of what other companies in your industry are struggling with or failing at so that you can deliver something more valuable and gain a competitive advantage.

It could be product quality, customer service, or selection. Maybe their ecommerce store is badly designed and hard to use. Perhaps there’s a huge industry serving the masses, but customers who have more particular tastes or needs aren’t being well-served by the big companies. Those customers might spend more on something that delivers what they really want. 

Maybe your key competition has been rocked by scandal. Maybe a company went out of business, was sold, or closed down due to retirement and there’s an opening in the market you want to leverage. 

The main point of the competitive analysis is to persuade investors that there’s an underserved market that your business plans to cater to. You must be able to promise something that no one else is currently delivering. Otherwise, why should your business exist? Put them at ease by demonstrating proper market research.

Refer to your SWOT analysis and present any potential threats from the competition here, too.

Outline management and organizational structure

Next, present your management and legal structure. Is your company an LLC, sole proprietorship, S corporation, partnership, or some other arrangement? Who’s in charge of what? If you have different departments, list out the leadership for each one. If relevant, you might even include some information about the expertise of your leaders concerning the areas under their charge and the tasks they’ll be performing.

Remember — if your business plan will be used to persuade investors to help fund your business idea, this sort of information will reassure them that your company has strong and competent leadership. 

If there’s a chain of command, use a diagram or other method for laying out who reports to whom. 

List your products and services

What are you selling? You’ll touch on this briefly in the earlier sections, but here is where you’ll expand on the details. If you have an array of similar products, such as food flavors or clothing variations, list as many as seem relevant. But focus on the spirit of the business plan — you’re simply communicating what your business is about, not listing every SKU in your projected inventory. 

Also, include information about your products such as quality, durability, expirations, patents, and whatever else will give a clear picture of what you’re selling.

For service businesses and memberships that may include multiple packages, bundles, or tiers, describe each of these so your readers get a sense of how you’ll appeal to different types of customers and price points. 

Develop a sales and marketing strategy

Having products is great, but how do you intend to sell them? How will people find your business? How will anyone know you exist? And once they know, what will motivate them to buy from you and not from your competition? What is your unique value proposition — the thing that sets you apart from your direct competitors?

You’ll need to develop an initial marketing plan to help promote your business, products, and services to your target customers.

And remember, competition isn’t limited just to other businesses. Sometimes, competition is against the customer’s time, or their budget, or mere indifference — the conflict between doing something and doing nothing. Your SWOT analysis should touch on several of these potential barriers to the success of your online business.

Your marketing plan will obviously change over time, but give your readers and potential investors a sense of how you plan to launch and grow your business. 

Discuss media channels you plan to use, such as pay-per-click (PPC) ads , social media , email marketing , affiliate marketing , direct mail, referrals, joint ventures, search engine optimization (SEO), webinars, influencer marketing , and live events. Describe the ones you actually plan to use, and explain the core strategy you’ll begin with and how you will measure success. 

Also, include a sense of your marketing budget. If you will have a dedicated marketing team, or actual sales professionals using a particular process or sales script, discuss that as well. 

For ecommerce businesses, include a discussion of how you plan to leverage platforms like WooCommerce, which features a host of extensions that can help manage your business , engage customers, save money, and promote growth .

Make financial projections

You’ve made a lot of claims in your business plan, but how will your investors be convinced of your future success? At some point, you have to show them the money. 

If this is a brand new business with no income, where will your finances come from for the first year? Give realistic financial projections for anticipated profits and losses, as well as growth expectations for the first five years. Include financial documents if you have them, including profit and loss statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements. Include costs of employment, manufacturing, and other investments both one-time and ongoing.

Your financial projections should reference your:

• market analysis 
• anticipated sales volume 

Investors will feel more confident when they can see your business plan does not rely entirely on just one or two ‘wins.’ For example, if your entire plan hinges on selling on eBay or Amazon , what happens if Amazon suspends your store, changes the terms, or you struggle to get noticed there? 

If your plan depends on winning over a few Instagram influencers, what if they don’t come through? It’s really easy to say what you hope will happen. But actually making it happen is another thing. Business success happens more easily when you apply a multi-channel marketing and sales approach. 

Your financial projections will feel based in reality, when you can demonstrate some prior successes, either in other businesses you’ve already launched, test audiences, local sales you made, prior experience, or data from other businesses. 

Explain your funding request — if applicable

If you intend to ask investors to help fund your business idea, present your request in the final main section of your business plan. If you’ve already secured funding from other sources, include that here as well. An investor will feel better knowing they are not the only one who believes in the potential of your business. 

Will your funding request be for a one-time payment, monthly, annually, or at some other interval? How do you plan to repay their investment? Will you allow them to charge interest? How much ROI can you promise them? 

How WooCommerce can help

WooCommerce can help you build a scalable online business that supports your business plan. No matter what you’re selling, WooCommerce offers a suite of flexible tools that allows you to customize your store to meet your needs and goals. 

Here are just some of the benefits your business will enjoy when you choose to build your store with WooCommerce:

• Sell absolutely anything you can imagine . From physical items and digital downloads to subscriptions, memberships, bookings, courses, and affiliate products, WooCommerce provides everything you need. Want to run a wholesale store? You can do that, too!
• Harness the power of WordPress . Since WooCommerce is a plugin specifically for WordPress, you can take advantage of powerful features like the block editor and blogging capabilities. 
• Capture payments securely. Choose from a large number of payment gateways, from popular options like PayPal and Stripe, to more niche processors for specific locations and types of regulated products. And with tools like WooPayments , you can keep customers on-site, capture a variety of currencies, and even accept digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay.
• Customize your shipping options. Offer free shipping, charge based on weight, set fixed prices, or calculate shipping costs based on real-time carrier rates. You can even use extensions like Table Rate Shipping to create complicated shipping rules based on conditions that you set. And with WooCommerce Shipping , you benefit from discounted shipping labels and the ability to print right from your dashboard. 
• Connect to your social media channels. Use extensions to sync your store with social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest. You can even sell on those platforms alongside your store without having to update inventory and information manually.
• Integrate with marketing tools. Quickly connect your store to any number of marketing tools, from email platforms like MailPoet to CRMs like Jetpack CRM . You can also implement a number of marketing strategies, from abandoned cart emails to loyalty programs.
• Keep track of your numbers. Ecommerce accounting is a big part of running an online business. While you can easily view data in your dashboard, you can also sync with tools like QuickBooks to make your accountant’s life a little bit easier.
• Manage inventory. Update your inventory levels manually or connect to tools like Scanventory to sync with your warehouse. Running low or out of stock? Add a wishlist option so customers get an alert as soon as it’s available.

As you can see, WooCommerce is well-equipped to handle any type of online store and support you as you grow. Here are a few more reasons that WooCommerce should be your go-to choice for implementing the ecommerce side of your online business plan:

WooCommerce itself is free! Many extensions for WooCommerce can also be found for free in the WordPress.org plugins library or on the Woo Marketplace . If you need to start your website with a limited budget, but want to build on a platform that can grow to support a thriving, high-traffic store, WooCommerce is an excellent option.

You have full control over your store

Unlike other ecommerce solutions that are tied to the platform’s own web hosting, WooCommerce is designed to be used with WordPress along with any hosting provider of your choice. You are also free to use whatever payment processor you want without any additional fees from WooCommerce. You can also customize your site’s appearance and functionality more extensively than you can with other ecommerce platforms and with less (or no) coding knowledge.

Thousands of free and premium extensions

There are over 800 free and premium extensions for WooCommerce on WooCommerce.com alone and over 1,000 in the WordPress.org plugins library . There are also hundreds of independent developers and agencies that offer premium and custom extensions for WooCommerce so that you can customize your store with the exact features you need. 

Excellent support and large community of users

WooCommerce is used by over 3.9 million stores — 23% of all online stores worldwide . The support team is available to answer questions and the documentation library is extensive and thorough. There are also plenty of independent resources for learning how to use WordPress and WooCommerce.

Dedicate time and resources to put your online business plan in action

A successful business plan is one that empowers and guides the business owner to launch their online or ecommerce business, and possibly secure funding. But it only works if you use it.

One advantage of starting an ecommerce store or online business is that you aren’t as locked down by deadlines. With a physical location, once you start paying the rent, you better have your business plan ready to put into action. 

But the beauty of being online is that you have more flexibility on the front end. Despite having more wiggle room with your timelines, you still need to keep your momentum going forward. Staying on track with your business projects and goals is one of the keys to reaching profitability sooner and turning your business plan into reality. A few quick tips:

• Schedule your time. Block out hours and specific days to work on your business.
• Treat it like a job, not a hobby. Build on your momentum week after week.
• Always keep learning. Research your industry, competition, target audience, and potential customers. Learn marketing — you can never know too much.
• Try stuff! Take risks, make calls, create campaigns, write content.

Your business plan template should give you a concrete list of tasks and business objectives. Once you write a business plan, then you can implement it.

Frequently asked questions about writing an online business plan

What are the seven steps of a business plan.

The seven key elements of a business plan are the executive summary, company description, market analysis, organization and management, services and products, marketing plan, and financial projections. If you’re making a funding request, that would be an eighth section.

Where can I find business plan templates?

You can find a free business plan template online, for general business plans as well as for specific industries. However, since each business is different and your plan must be authentic and specific to your company — a business plan template can only get you so far. 

If you need design inspiration for your own custom business plan template or want to start with a pre-designed template that you can customize, you can purchase one for a relatively low cost through a stock resources site like Envato Market or Creative Market .

Do I need a business plan if I am already running an online business or ecommerce shop?

Business plans aren’t only for people who are launching new businesses. You can create a business plan at any time to help you maintain or change the direction of your store or just to get a better picture of the health of your business. Below are a few different types of business plans that you might want to consider for your established online business:

• Operational business plan. Outlines the structure of your business operations, staffing, and logistics.
• Feasibility plan. Feasibility plans are like mini business plans that cover new business ideas and outline steps for implementation.
• Growth business plan. This plan is for businesses that want to demonstrate opportunities and plans for growth to attract investors.
• Maturing business plan. This plan is for businesses looking to merge with or acquire other companies, significantly expand, or go public.
• Strategic business plan. Any time your business wants to shift strategies regarding products or marketing or any other major changes to your previous business plan, you’ll want to create a new strategic business plan to address your new goals and the steps involved in achieving them.

What software should I use for my online business plan?

Your business plan should include some images, graphs, and graphic elements in the layout, so you’ll want to at least use word processing software to put your business plan together. If you have access to Google Workspace, Microsoft 365, Canva, or Adobe Creative Cloud, you’ll have some other options that might lead to a more professional layout.

Here’s a list of free and paid software that can help you put together your online business plan outline:

What do investors want to see in a business plan?

The most important piece of information to show investors in your business plan is potential for profitability. Investors don’t want to throw money at a sinking ship, no matter how cool and exciting the business sounds. 

Most investors also want to make sure that they’ll see a decent return on their investment in a relatively short time period — probably around 5-7 years. How much of a return they’ll expect will depend on your industry and what kind of investor they are. 

Investors will also want to see that you clearly understand your business, your industry, and that you have concrete, actionable steps for achieving, maintaining, and growing profitability. They’ll want to make sure that the key people on your team also understand your business and the roles they play and they’ll want to see that each person has a good amount of experience in their field and the required skill sets to fulfill their job duties, if not go above and beyond. 

Any details you can include that highlight unique aspects of your business will also be important. Any area where you have a competitive edge, are offering a unique or proprietary solution, have established any celebrity endorsements, have the backing of other investors, or have secured special grants will be of special interest to investors.

Create your plan for success

Now that you understand what goes into creating a formal business plan, it’s time to write one! Take the time to think through and consider each aspect of the list included in this article, and you’ll be well on your way to finding success.

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7 Steps to Form an LLC

1. check what requirements your state has, 2. name your business, 3. pick a registered agent, 4. file your articles of organization, 5. create an operating agreement, 6. plan for the future, 7. consider using a professional, 7 steps to start an llc for your small business.

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• The exact steps for forming an LLC vary by state, but it's a similar process in most states.
• You'll need a business name, a registered agent, articles of organization, and an operating agreement in certain states.
• Save $25 when using Block Advisors to form your LLC today. Discount applied in cart.

If you're working on setting up your own business, there's a good chance you're looking to open a limited liability company, or LLC. This business structure gives you limited liability protection similar to a corporation, plus the flexibility of a sole proprietorship or partnership, making it a popular choice for small business owners.

The main perk of an LLC is that it generally can protect your personal assets (like the money you're saving up to buy a home or retire) from certain liabilities or debt that come with owning your business. In other words, in many cases, a creditor you owe money to through your business usually won't be able to come for the money in your personal accounts. Having an LLC can also legitimize your business, which may be a benefit to many small business owners.

If that sounds good, follow these steps to open your LLC.

• Check what requirements your state has
• Name your business
• Pick a registered agent
• File your articles of organization
• Create an operating agreement
• Plan for the future
• Consider a professional service 

LLCs are regulated by states, which means that you'll have to meet the specific requirements outlined by the state where you're registering the LLC. You'll find this information easily on your Secretary of State's website.

While most steps necessary to establish an LLC will need to be done no matter which state you live in, the specific guidance for how to do each step — like naming your business and picking a registered agent — can vary.

Now that you have a business, it's time to choose a name for it. While you'll want something catchy and easy to market, it's also important to make sure that the name you choose meets your specific state's requirements.

First, you'll need to ensure that the name you choose isn't being used by another LLC in your state. You can typically do a name search on the Secretary of State's website ( here's Illinois' search tool , for example).

In general, you'll need to have certain words in the name that make it clear your business is an LLC, such as "Limited Liability Company," "LLC," or "L.L.C." Many states will also prohibit you from including certain words in the name. In New York, for instance, you can't include the words "academy," "bank," "finance," "union" and many more .

Every LLC has to have a registered agent who acts as the point person for any legal matters that may come up and for the Secretary of State to send any official paperwork to. Generally, that person (or business) must have a physical address in the state where your LLC is registered and be available to receive mail there during working hours. They also have to be at least 18 years old.

You can name yourself as the registered agent, but it may not be the best idea. If you're worried you might not be available to serve as the point person or might not be able to keep up with important mail, it might be best to outsource this role. There are registered agent services you can use, though they'll come at a cost.

Next, head back to the Secretary of State's website to find the articles of organization that you'll need to file. You can also meet with someone in the department in person or by phone if you prefer.

The exact information you'll have to fill out for the articles of organization will vary by state. Still, you can expect to be asked for basic information like your LLC's name, address, services, and how you expect it to be managed. You'll also need to pay a filing fee.

Keep in mind that the articles of an organization may be called something different, depending on the state. Alabama and Texas, for example, call it a "certificate of formation." Some states also have publication requirements, which means you need to publish an announcement of your new business in a newspaper.

While you'll likely divvy up responsibilities for anyone in your business on your own, you may also be required to do so via an operating agreement. These agreements outline how your business will be run and delegate roles and power to different members. That may include voting procedures, rules around daily operations, and ownership rights within the company.

Only some states require you to create this type of agreement, but it is a good idea to do so even if you don't technically have to.

Opening an LLC may be your first priority, but there are other tasks to take care of during the process, like getting your employer identification number (EIN). An EIN is an identifying number that the IRS will use for tax reasons, but it's not always required for opening an LLC.

You may also want to open a business bank account to ensure you keep your personal and business assets separate for bookkeeping and tax purposes. Plus, look into what exactly you need to keep your LLC active in your state, which may include filing an annual report.

A lot goes into opening and operating your own business, but you don't have to take care of everything on your own. Block Advisors , part of H&R Block, can help you decide which type of business structure is best for you, such as an LLC, and help you open that business. Using an online service to incorporate your business will help ensure that you submit all of the necessary paperwork required in your state of incorporation. This could save you time now and headaches later.

With Block Advisors, you're not on your own once your business is up and running. The service provides tax help, including filing your taxes with a professional or on your own with help from a live expert. You can also opt for one of its bookkeeping services , which range from a step-by-step guide to doing your own bookkeeping to working with your own dedicated accountant.

If you're looking to scale, Block Advisors also offers payroll services, which help you pay your employees each pay cycle and can make sure you stay compliant. There are three tiers to choose from — the basic service comes with a dedicated accountant, up to the premium service, which includes timekeeping, human resources assistance, and more.

*This article is for informational purposes only and should not be construed as legal advice. You may want to seek the advice of an attorney to evaluate all relevant considerations in forming a business entity. 

**Block Advisors discount may not be combined with any other offer or promotion. Void if transferred and where prohibited. Discount will appear in your cart automatically when you use the link. No cash value. Expires June 30, 2024.

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Biden administration delays plan to ban menthol cigarettes

Menthols account for one-third of the cigarettes smoked in the us.

Flavored e-cigarettes are officially banned

Flavored vaping ban

The Biden administration delayed a plan in the works since 2021 to ban menthol cigarettes, the White House confirmed on Friday. 

"This rule has garnered historic attention and the public comment period has yielded an immense amount of feedback, including from various elements of the civil rights and criminal justice movement," HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement shared with FOX Business. "It’s clear that there are still more conversations to have, and that will take significantly more time."

Menthol cigarettes are popular among Black and Hispanic smokers, and in whose communities the minty smokes are heavily marketed, according to the Wall Street Journal , citing data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health.

CIGARETTE SALES INCREASE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS  

Menthol cigarettes have been heavily marketed to Black and Hispanic voters.  (Joe Raedle/Getty Images / Getty Images)

Menthols account for one-third of the cigarettes smoked in the United States. 

FDA ORDERS MENTHOL VUSE VAPE PRODUCTS OFF THE MARKET

A ban could also benefit the illegal market for cigarettes and lead to racial profiling, some Black leaders worried, including the American Civil Liberties Union Black Caucus members, the newspaper reported. 

The administration, as part of Biden’s Cancer Moonshot initiative in 2021, proposed banning the cigarettes as an effort to address racial smoking rate disparities and to discourage children and teens from the mint-flavored products.

The Biden administration proposed banning menthol cigarettes as part of the Cancer Moonshot initiative.  (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

And as the presidential election draws closer, the administration has weighed the health benefits of the ban with a potential backlash from Black voters, the Journal reported. 

"I am deeply disappointed that the FDA has chosen to abandon its established plan to ban menthol cigarettes," Rep. Robin Kelly, D-Ill., who is the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Health Braintrust, said. "This is a commonsense plan which could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives."

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At the state level, California and Massachusetts have already banned menthol cigarette sales.

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