product business plan

Business Plan Template for Product

• Great for beginners
• Ready-to-use, fully customizable Subcategory
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Starting a new product-based business can be both thrilling and overwhelming. As an entrepreneur or business owner, you need a solid roadmap to guide you through the entire process, from conceptualization to execution. Look no further than ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Product!

This comprehensive template empowers you to:

• Define your product's unique value proposition and competitive advantage
• Identify and analyze your target market to ensure you're reaching the right customers
• Develop effective marketing strategies to maximize product exposure and drive sales
• Create accurate financial projections to secure funding and monitor business growth
• Craft a robust business strategy that sets you up for long-term success

With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Product, you'll have everything you need to launch and manage your product-based business with confidence. Get started today and turn your vision into a thriving reality!

Business Plan Template for Product Benefits

A business plan template for a product can provide numerous benefits to entrepreneurs or business owners, including:

• Streamlining the process of creating a comprehensive business plan
• Ensuring a clear and concise articulation of the product's value proposition
• Guiding the identification and understanding of the target market
• Helping to develop effective marketing strategies to reach and engage customers
• Facilitating the creation of realistic and accurate financial projections
• Assisting in the development of a solid business strategy for successful product launch and management
• Providing a framework for evaluating and adjusting business goals and objectives as needed

Main Elements of Product Business Plan Template

ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Product is the ultimate tool for entrepreneurs and business owners to effectively plan and manage their product-based business. Here are the main elements of this template:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of each section of your business plan with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Utilize the Reference, Approved, and Section custom fields to provide additional context to your business plan and easily categorize and filter information.
• Custom Views: Access different views such as Topics, Status, Timeline, Business Plan, and Getting Started Guide to visualize and organize your business plan in a way that suits your needs.
• Collaboration and Organization: Collaborate with your team in real-time, set due dates, assign tasks, and attach files to each section of your business plan.
• Document Creation: Use ClickUp's powerful Docs feature to write and format your business plan directly within the template, ensuring everything is in one place for easy access and editing.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Product

Are you ready to launch your new product and need a solid business plan to guide you through the process? Look no further than ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Product. Follow these five steps to create a comprehensive business plan that sets you up for success.

1. Define your product and target market

The first step in creating your business plan is to clearly define your product and identify your target market. What problem does your product solve? Who are your ideal customers? Conduct market research to gather insights and create buyer personas to guide your marketing efforts.

Use the Docs feature in ClickUp to outline your product's unique features and benefits, and create a section dedicated to your target market.

2. Analyze the competition

To stand out in the market, you need to understand your competition. Research similar products and identify their strengths and weaknesses. This analysis will help you position your product effectively and identify opportunities for differentiation.

Use the Table view in ClickUp to create a competitive analysis, listing key competitors, their products, and their unique selling propositions.

3. Develop a marketing strategy

Now that you have a clear understanding of your product and competition, it's time to develop a marketing strategy. Determine the channels and tactics you will use to reach your target market. Will you focus on digital marketing, social media, or traditional advertising? Outline your pricing strategy, distribution channels, and promotional activities.

Utilize the Calendar view in ClickUp to create a marketing timeline and schedule key milestones and campaigns.

4. Outline your financial projections

A solid business plan includes financial projections that demonstrate the viability of your product. Estimate your revenue streams, costs, and expenses. Consider factors such as production costs, marketing expenses, and pricing strategy. Create a sales forecast based on market research and industry trends.

Use custom fields in ClickUp to track and calculate financial projections, such as revenue, costs, and profit margins.

5. Set goals and milestones

To keep your business plan on track, set clear goals and milestones. Define specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) objectives. Break down your goals into smaller milestones to track progress and ensure accountability.

Use Goals in ClickUp to set and track your business plan objectives and align them with your team's tasks and projects.

By following these five steps and using ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Product, you'll have a comprehensive and actionable business plan that will guide you towards success. Start planning today and watch your product thrive in the market.

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Product

Entrepreneurs and business owners can use the ClickUp Business Plan Template for Product to effectively plan and manage their product-based business.

First, hit "Add Template" to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you'd like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive business plan for your product:

• Use the Topics View to outline and organize different sections of your business plan, such as value proposition, target market, marketing strategies, and financial projections.
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section of your business plan, with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Utilize the Timeline View to set deadlines and milestones for completing different sections of your business plan.
• The Business Plan View provides a holistic overview of your entire business plan, allowing you to easily navigate and review all sections.
• Use the Getting Started Guide View to provide step-by-step instructions and guidance for implementing your business plan.

To further customize your business plan template, you can utilize the following custom fields:

• Reference: Add references or links to external resources that support your business plan.
• Approved: Indicate whether each section of your business plan has been approved or not.
• Section: Categorize each section of your business plan based on its topic or theme.

By following these steps and utilizing the different views and custom fields, you can create a comprehensive and well-structured business plan for your product-based business.

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How to Write the Business Plan Products and Services Section

Get tips on writing the products and services part of your business plan

• The Products and Services Section
• What to Include
• Tips on Writing the Section

The products and services section of your business plan is more than just a list of what your business is going to provide. This section of your business plan should include details about how you'll price products and services, how you'll fulfill orders, and other details that investors need to hear before you can get funding . Learn more below.

Key Takeaways

• Business plans include details about products and services you'll offer, including exactly how you plan to market, sell, and deliver on customer orders.
• The best business plans are clear and concise.
• The products and services section of your plan should show off why your product or service is needed.
• The products and services section should also convey the expertise and experience you have to succeed.

Why You Need a Products and Services Section in a Business Plan

The business plan products and services section is the centerpiece of your plan. While other sections of your business plan are important, the products and services section is the essence of your business and the point around which every other part of the business plan is built .

What to Include in a Products and Services Section

The products and services section of your business plan outlines your product or service, why it's needed by your market, and how it will compete with other businesses selling the same or similar products and services.

Your products and services section should include a description of the products or services you are offering or plan to offer (including future products or services). You should explain how your products and services will be priced and a comparison of the products or services your competitors offer in relation to yours.

You should also include the sales literature you plan to use. Detail your marketing materials, and clarify the role your website will play in your sales efforts.

The products and services section will include a paragraph or so on how orders from your customers will be processed or fulfilled, as well as any needs you have to create or deliver your products, such as up-to-date computer equipment. If your process depends on intellectual property or legal issues, such as trademarks , then those need to be addressed.

Tips on Writing the Products and Services Section

This section of your business plan should excite those you're hoping will fund your business or work with you. To that end, here are a few tips to create a products and services section that appeals to the reader.

Indicate Why Your Product or Service Is Needed

Especially if you're venturing into a new concept or invention, or a place where there is no current market, you need to explain the need for your product or service.

Highlight the Features of Your Product or Service

A crucial part of business success is the ability to set yourself apart from other businesses that sell the same or similar products and services. What features, such as price point or level of service, do you offer that are unique to you?

Focus on Benefits

Unique features are important, but even more vital is how those features provide value to consumers. Translate your features (i.e., faster or cheaper) into benefits (i.e., get it now or save money). The goal is to highlight how your product or service will fix a problem or improve a client or customer's life.

Be Clear and Concise

Don't let your business plan get bogged down in too much description and information. Use bullets or numbered lists to quickly and easily highlight important information.

Show Off Expertise, Experience, and Accolades

You not only want to describe your products and services but also share why you're the best person to provide them. Include anything in your education or experience that makes you an expert in this business. If you have testimonials, awards, or endorsements, share those. Finally, if you've applied for a patent, copyright, or trademark, include that as well.

Be the Expert, But Use Layman's Terms

You should know your product, service, and industry well, but don't expect your potential funders and partners to have the same level of knowledge. Assume the reader doesn't know as much as you when you explain what you're offering.

Avoid acronyms and jargon when outlining your products and services.

Indicate What's Special About Your Products or Services

Will you be offering a special guarantee or refund policy? Do you have a quicker or more unique way of delivering your product or service? 

Speak to Your Customer

While you don't want to write an advertorial, you do want to be customer-oriented when you write your products and services section.

Examples of a Products and Services Section

The Small Business Administration offers business plan examples that you can draw from to help guide your writing. Here's an example of a products section for someone creating "Wooden Grain Toys."

Wooden Grain Toys will sell wooden toys made from solid hardwoods (maple, beech, birch, cherry, and oak) and steel rivets. The toys are handcrafted and designed for small children to easily use. Our line currently includes the following nine models:

• All-Purpose Pick-Up Truck w/movable doors and tailgate
• Dump Truck w/functioning dumping mechanism and box
• Biplane (two-seater) w/movable propeller
• Steam engine with coal tender - additional cars available separately: caboose, flat car w/logs, box car, tank car, coal car
• Flat-Bed Truck w/logs

Wooden Grain Toys will offer its products for the following prices:

• All-Purpose Pick-Up Truck w/movable doors and tailgate - $25
• Dump Truck w/functioning dumping mechanism and box - $30
• Biplane (two-seater) w/movable propeller - $20
• Additional train cars (single car) - $5
• Additional train cars (three cars) - $12
• City Bus - $12
• Tow Truck - $18
• Flat-Bed Truck w/logs - $35
• Sports Car - $20
• Sedan - $20

What Is Product and Service in a Business Plan?

A products and services section of a business plan clarifies exactly what your business will produce , how much it'll sell for, and other details along those lines.

What Are Examples of Products and Services?

A product or service can be anything a business creates to turn a profit. Some businesses have both products and services. For example, a restaurant's services include cooking for and serving customers. The restaurant's products are the dishes and drinks it creates.

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• Solve User-Reported Issues
• Find Issues Faster
• Optimize Conversion and Adoption

What is a product plan and how to create one in 6 steps

Whenever I read about the next hot, new start-up with unicorn potential, I can’t help but think of Pinky and the Brain .

Both titular characters in the mid-90s animated TV series are genetically modified laboratory mice. Brain is hyper-intelligent; Pinky, not so much.

Brain’s primary objective? World domination:

Pinky : Gee, Brain. What are we going to do tonight? Brain : The same thing we do every night, Pinky. Try to take over the world.

In each episode, Brain devises a diabolical yet half-baked plan — for example, manipulating the world’s biggest magnet to form discarded satellites to spell “Brain is your ruler” — that invariably ends up foiled.

What does this have to do with product management?

Devise a product plan to take over the world

If you want to make an impact with your product and solve all your customers’ problems, don’t be like Brain; take the time to devise a product plan before you make your first move on your quest for market domination.

Creating roadmaps and backlogs is a great start, but product planning covers a much wider scope.

In this guide, we’ll define what product planning means, why it’s important, and the components and steps involved in creating a product plan.

What is a product plan?

Product planning covers all the steps, activities, and decisions a company must perform and make to develop a successful product.

A product can be defined as an input-outcome device. The input is the customer value proposition and the outcome is the company’s profit. Product planning includes everything you need to do internally to get from input to outcome.

It starts with a recognized customer need — after all, customers don’t just buy a product, they buy what the product will do for them to solve a problem they are having. It ends when the product has reached the end of its usefulness from a business perspective.

What is the purpose of product planning?

Product planning encompasses the actions and components that contribute to achieving a specific outcome. Product management is all about realizing outcomes.

Before jumping into the how and what, let’s first understand why product planning is important by outlining its six objectives:

• Company survival
• Meet customer needs
• Increase sales
• Understand and manage strengths and weaknesses
• Better manage capacity
• Plan effectively

1. Company survival

The eye of the tiger, survival of the fittest — or as P. Diddy said, it’s all about the Benjamins .

Product planning allows you to focus, remain viable, and understand your ability to innovate. It also helps you clarify how to introduce, grow, and sunset products in highly competitive markets.

2. Meet customer needs

The customer is at the heart of any product. Thorough product planning will set you up to understand and meet your customers’ needs. This, in turn, helps you quickly move customers from evaluators to champions through the product-led growth flywheel .

3. Increase sales

Your product can be lightyears ahead with brilliant solutions to customer problems, yet if they are not interested in the solution and don’t buy the product, your product fails.

For example, virtual reality seems to have finally found product-market fit . VR technology though, is not new.

In the 90s, VR was on the rise and forecasted sales potential was off the charts. Unfortunately, VR systems such as the Virtual Boy failed to deliver; its poor ergonomics and underwhelming stereoscopic effect gave users terrible headaches.

With better product planning, Nintendo might’ve been able to craft a more sophisticated product that satisfied customer expectations and, as a result, increased sales.

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4. Understand and manage strengths and weaknesses

Product planning allows you to look introspectively and analyze your strengths and weaknesses in light of market requirements. What does your product do really well? What qualities distinguish it from competitors? What does your product lack and what do competitors do better?

By asking and answering questions like these, you’ll gain a better understanding of what you can take advantage of and what you need to improve in your product.

5. Better manage capacity

What’s one thing every company has in common? Limited resources in terms of capital, material, and human resources. Product planning enables you to plan these optimally and get the most out of them.

6. Plan effectively

When you’re building products, you have many competing priorities . Will you invest in new features, enhance and improve existing ones, reduce technical debt , or spend more time on improving discovery and delivery processes ? Product planning allows you to meet your long-term strategic plans.

6 considerations for product planning

Now that we understand why product planning is essential, how do you go about doing it?

Creating a successful product plan involves the following considerations:

• Research before development
• Choose a delivery method
• Coordinate activities
• Set a price
• Commercialize the product
• Abandon unprofitable products

1. Research before development

Energy to get going: Check. Confidence it will work out: Check.

Validation that the idea will deliver what customers need? [Buzzer sounds].

Before jumping into the deep end of product development, start with extendive market and user research. The insights gathered therein will help you establish what characteristics and requirements your product must fulfil to meet customers’ needs.

2. Choose a delivery method

All roads lead to Rome. The question is, which is the most efficient?

This is even more applicable when it comes to product delivery. Which delivery method will enable you to develop your product or feature exact how the customer needs it to be?

3. Coordinate activities

Product planning aims to coordinate all the initiatives and activities around the product and its investments. Doing so allows you to improve your competitive position and strive for market leadership. It also helps you quickly respond to changing market conditions.

4. Set a price

Product planning helps you determine the ideal price point for your product.

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The insights gathered during product planning can help you determine the best pricing strategy. For example, is your product most suitable for value-based, competitive, price skimming, cust-plus, penetration, economy, or dynamic pricing?

5. Commercialize the product

Product planning helps you uncover and validate the viability, feasibility, and desirability of your product.

Desirability speaks to satisfaction of customer needs and the commercialization of the product. This measure helps you ensure viability and, hopefully, rake in profits.

Product planning also considers how to best introduce the product to the market and continuously measure success post-launch .

6. Abandon unprofitable products

All good things eventually come to an end. Every decision in a product is a business decision, and there will come a time that further investment in a product or product feature becomes unprofitable.

At that point, a decision has to be made whether or not to sunset the product or feature.

Good product planning throughout the product lifecycle helps you recognize when it is time to abandon the product and sunset it in a structured way with minimal impact on customers.

How to create a product plan in 6 steps

OK, enough small talk. It’s time to deep-dive into the product planning process.

Product planning involves six steps:

• Market and user research
• Concept ideation
• Screening and testing
• Introduction and launch
• Product lifecycle

1. Market and user research

Before you start to build, it’s crucial to understand the problem you’re trying to solve, the market drivers, competitors, and customer needs. You can generate insights on all of the above through market research.

Competitive analysis , a subset of market research, is a structured approach to identifying and analyzing competitors.

Both are conducted to identify markets, investigate market positioning , and analyze the business’s success.

Through customer segmentation research, which is especially important to new businesses, larger customer groups are divided into different groups with personas.

The personas form the basis of user research, which is aimed at understanding potential customers’ problems, habits, interests, motivations, and more.

2. Concept ideation

A great product starts with a great concept and initial validation of that concept. This step is arguably the most fun and creative step.

During the concept development stage, you define what you are trying to build by figuring out how well it solves the identified problem, how easy it is to use, what it will cost the customer, the look and feel of the application, and so on.

A key step in this process step is product discovery and a continuation of user research, which enables you to uncover the problems the persona faces and the solution to aim for.

Concept ideation sources can be both external and internal. Externally, market and user research influence concept ideation. Internally, concept ideas originate from sales, customer support, marketing, engineering, designers, user research, executives, and investors.

3. Screening and testing

During screening and testing, the ideas generated during the concept ideation phase are critically evaluated.

The goal is to groom out ideas that are either inconsistent with the product vision , undesirable, and/or impractical.

After evaluation, the next step is to rigorously prioritize ideas . As the Highlander said, “ There can only be one .” This is not to say you should only test one idea; it just means you should pursue the most promising tests first.

There are plenty of prioritization frameworks to choose from with some of the most commonly used include:

• Value vs. effort
• MoSCoW method
• Opportunity scoring

Once you have a prioritized list, you should devise a hypothesis and experiment to verify or disprove it.

In product testing, customers are given an opportunity to try a prototype. This helps you understand whether customers understand the product idea, what they like or dislike about it, and whether they would ultimately buy and use it.

The concept ideation, screening, and testing as a whole are often covered in the Double Diamond approach, which is a design process to help you discover, define, develop and deliver solutions.

4. Introduction and launch

After a few iterations of screening and testing, the new features and usability improvements deemed ready to pursue and develop trickle through and are ready for development and launch.

In this step, the idea is converted into a product. It’s the PM’s job to schedule activities to ensure a successful product launch with a high adoption rate .

When ready, the product is launched and commercialized. If your product planning is sound, it should be poised to compete with existing products and maximize market share and profits.

5. Product lifecycle

After the product is launched, the real fun begins. Now it’s time to measure and analyze usage to gather new insights about whether or not your product launch was successful.

Using these insights, you can modify and enhance the product, introduce new features, improve usability, and help the product move from introduction to growth.

At a certain point, you’ll reach product maturity. The number of customers and sales will stabilize. Eventually, new investments in the product will have a harder time generating additional revenue. It will become increasingly challenging to compete.

Eventually, the product will decline, and the number of customers and sales along with it. This might be due to existing competition or the introduction of new products that are more advanced and better serve the customer’s needs.

Think about how the Walkman was surpassed by the Discman, which was overtaken by the mp3 player, and, eventually, an app on your phone.

6. Sunsetting

When a product is in decline, it’s time to sunset it. Sunsetting is also known as the end of life and usually involves deprecating the product.

Though it might feel difficult to say goodbye to a product that you birthed, nurtured, and watched grow, sunsetting a product is a perfectly natural part of the product lifecycle.

During the sunsetting phase, it is important to be diligent. You should devise a playbook or checklist to ensure all activities, such as communication, code clean-ups, and so on are covered during the end-of-life period.

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How to Write a Business Plan (Plus Examples & Templates)

• 3 years ago

Have you ever wondered how to write a business plan step by step? Mike Andes, told us: 

This guide will help you write a business plan to impress investors.

Throughout this process, we’ll get information from Mike Andes, who started Augusta Lawn Care Services when he was 12 and turned it into a franchise with over 90 locations. He has gone on to help others learn how to write business plans and start businesses.  He knows a thing or two about writing  business plans!

We’ll start by discussing the definition of a business plan. Then we’ll discuss how to come up with the idea, how to do the market research, and then the important elements in the business plan format. Keep reading to start your journey!

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is simply a road map of what you are trying to achieve with your business and how you will go about achieving it. It should cover all elements of your business including: 

• Finding customers
• Plans for developing a team
•  Competition
• Legal structures
• Key milestones you are pursuing

If you aren’t quite ready to create a business plan, consider starting by reading our business startup guide .

Get a Business Idea

Before you can write a business plan, you have to have a business idea. You may see a problem that needs to be solved and have an idea how to solve it, or you might start by evaluating your interests and skills. 

Mike told us, “The three things I suggest asking yourself when thinking about starting a business are:

• What am I good at?
• What would I enjoy doing?
• What can I get paid for?”

If all three of these questions don’t lead to at least one common answer, it will probably be a much harder road to success. Either there is not much market for it, you won’t be good at it, or you won’t enjoy doing it. 

As Mike told us, “There’s enough stress starting and running a business that if you don’t like it or aren’t good at it, it’s hard to succeed.”

If you’d like to hear more about Mike’s approach to starting a business, check out our YouTube video

Conduct Market Analysis

Market analysis is focused on establishing if there is a target market for your products and services, how large the target market is, and identifying the demographics of people or businesses that would be interested in the product or service. The goal here is to establish how much money your business concept can make.

Product and Service Demand

A search engine is your best friend when trying to figure out if there is demand for your products and services. Personally, I love using presearch.org because it lets you directly search on a ton of different platforms including Google, Youtube, Twitter, and more. Check out the screenshot for the full list of search options.

With quick web searches, you can find out how many competitors you have, look through their reviews, and see if there are common complaints about the competitors. Bad reviews are a great place to find opportunities to offer better products or services. 

If there are no similar products or services, you may have stumbled upon something new, or there may just be no demand for it. To find out, go talk to your most honest friend about the idea and see what they think. If they tell you it’s dumb or stare at you vacantly, there’s probably no market for it.

You can also conduct a survey through social media to get public opinion on your idea. Using Facebook Business Manager , you could get a feel for who would be interested in your product or service.

 I ran a quick test of how many people between 18-65  you could reach in the U.S. during a week. It returned an estimated 700-2,000 for the total number of leads, which is enough to do a fairly accurate statistical analysis.

Identify Demographics of Target Market

Depending on what type of business you want to run, your target market will be different. The narrower the demographic, the fewer potential customers you’ll have. If you did a survey, you’ll be able to use that data to help define your target audience. Some considerations you’ll want to consider are:

• Other Interests
• Marital Status
• Do they have kids?

Once you have this information, it can help you narrow down your options for location and help define your marketing further. One resource that Mike recommended using is the Census Bureau’s Quick Facts Map . He told us,  

“It helps you quickly evaluate what the best areas are for your business to be located.”

How to Write a Business Plan

Now that you’ve developed your idea a little and established there is a market for it, you can begin writing a business plan. Getting started is easier with the business plan template we created for you to download. I strongly recommend using it as it is updated to make it easier to create an action plan. 

Each of the following should be a section of your business plan:

• Business Plan Cover Page
• Table of Contents
• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Description of Products and Services

SWOT Analysis

• Competitor Data
• Competitive Analysis
• Marketing Expenses Strategy 

Pricing Strategy

• Distribution Channel Assessment
• Operational Plan
• Management and Organizational Strategy
• Financial Statements and/or Financial Projections

We’ll look into each of these. Don’t forget to download our free business plan template (mentioned just above) so you can follow along as we go. 

How to Write a Business Plan Step 1. Create a Cover Page

The first thing investors will see is the cover page for your business plan. Make sure it looks professional. A great cover page shows that you think about first impressions.

A good business plan should have the following elements on a cover page:

• Professionally designed logo
• Company name
• Mission or Vision Statement
• Contact Info

Basically, think of a cover page for your business plan like a giant business card. It is meant to capture people’s attention but be quickly processed.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 2. Create a Table of Contents

Most people are busy enough that they don’t have a lot of time. Providing a table of contents makes it easy for them to find the pages of your plan that are meaningful to them.

A table of contents will be immediately after the cover page, but you can include it after the executive summary. Including the table of contents immediately after the executive summary will help investors know what section of your business plan they want to review more thoroughly.

Check out Canva’s article about creating a  table of contents . It has a ton of great information about creating easy access to each section of your business plan. Just remember that you’ll want to use different strategies for digital and hard copy business plans.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 3. Write an Executive Summary

An executive summary is where your business plan should catch the readers interest.  It doesn’t need to be long, but should be quick and easy to read.

Mike told us,

How long should an executive summary bein an informal business plan?

For casual use, an executive summary should be similar to an elevator pitch, no more than 150-160 words, just enough to get them interested and wanting more. Indeed has a great article on elevator pitches .  This can also be used for the content of emails to get readers’ attention.

It consists of three basic parts:

• An introduction to you and your business.
• What your business is about.
• A call to action

Example of an informal executive summary 

One of the best elevator pitches I’ve used is:

So far that pitch has achieved a 100% success rate in getting partnerships for the business.

What should I include in an executive summary for investors?

Investors are going to need a more detailed executive summary if you want to secure financing or sell equity. The executive summary should be a brief overview of your entire business plan and include:

• Introduction of yourself and company.
• An origin story (Recognition of a problem and how you came to solution)
• An introduction to your products or services.
• Your unique value proposition. Make sure to include intellectual property.
• Where you are in the business life cycle
• Request and why you need it.

Successful business plan examples

The owner of Urbanity told us he spent 2 months writing a 75-page business plan and received a $250,000 loan from the bank when he was 23. Make your business plan as detailed as possible when looking for financing. We’ve provided a template to help you prepare the portions of a business plan that banks expect.

Here’s the interview with the owner of Urbanity:

When to write an executive summary?

Even though the summary is near the beginning of a business plan, you should write it after you complete the rest of a business plan. You can’t talk about revenue, profits, and expected expenditures if you haven’t done the market research and created a financial plan.

What mistakes do people make when writing an executive summary?

Business owners commonly go into too much detail about the following items in an executive summary:

• Marketing and sales processes
• Financial statements
• Organizational structure
• Market analysis

These are things that people will want to know later, but they don’t hook the reader. They won’t spark interest in your small business, but they’ll close the deal.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 4. Company Description

Every business plan should include a company description. A great business plan will include the following elements while describing the company:

• Mission statement
• Philosophy and vision
• Company goals

Target market

• Legal structure

Let’s take a look at what each section includes in a good business plan.

Mission Statement

A mission statement is a brief explanation of why you started the company and what the company’s main focus is. It should be no more than one or two sentences. Check out HubSpot’s article 27 Inspiring Mission Statement for a great read on informative and inspiring mission and vision statements. 

Company Philosophy and Vision

The company philosophy is what drives your company. You’ll normally hear them called core values.  These are the building blocks that make your company different. You want to communicate your values to customers, business owners, and investors as often as possible to build a company culture, but make sure to back them up.

What makes your company different?

Each company is different. Your new business should rise above the standard company lines of honesty, integrity, fun, innovation, and community when communicating your business values. The standard answers are corporate jargon and lack authenticity. 

Examples of core values

One of my clients decided to add a core values page to their website. As a tech company they emphasized the values:

•  Prioritize communication.
•  Never stop learning.
•  Be transparent.
•  Start small and grow incrementally.

These values communicate how the owner and the rest of the company operate. They also show a value proposition and competitive advantage because they specifically focus on delivering business value from the start. These values also genuinely show what the company is about and customers recognize the sincerity. Indeed has a great blog about how to identify your core values .

What is a vision statement?

A vision statement communicate the long lasting change a business pursues. The vision helps investors and customers understand what your company is trying to accomplish. The vision statement goes beyond a mission statement to provide something meaningful to the community, customer’s lives, or even the world.

Example vision statements

The Alzheimer’s Association is a great example of a vision statement:

A world without Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia.

It clearly tells how they want to change the world. A world without Alzheimers might be unachievable, but that means they always have room for improvement.

Business Goals

You have to measure success against goals for a business plan to be meaningful. A business plan helps guide a company similar to how your GPS provides a road map to your favorite travel destination. A goal to make as much money as possible is not inspirational and sounds greedy.

Sure, business owners want to increase their profits and improve customer service, but they need to present an overview of what they consider success. The goals should help everyone prioritize their work.

How far in advance should a business plan?

Business planning should be done at least one year in advance, but many banks and investors prefer three to five year business plans. Longer plans show investors that the management team  understands the market and knows the business is operating in a constantly shifting market. In addition, a plan helps businesses to adjust to changes because they have already considered how to handle them.

Example of great business goals

My all time-favorite long-term company goals are included in Tesla’s Master Plan, Part Deux . These goals were written in 2016 and drive the company’s decisions through 2026. They are the reason that investors are so forgiving when Elon Musk continually fails to meet his quarterly and annual goals.

If the progress aligns with the business plan investors are likely to continue to believe in the company. Just make sure the goals are reasonable or you’ll be discredited (unless you’re Elon Musk).

You did target market research before creating a business plan. Now it’s time to add it to the plan so others understand what your ideal customer looks like. As a new business owner, you may not be considered an expert in your field yet, so document everything. Make sure the references you use are from respectable sources. 

Use information from the specific lender when you are applying for lending. Most lenders provide industry research reports and using their data can strengthen the position of your business plan.

A small business plan should include a section on the external environment. Understanding the industry is crucial because we don’t plan a business in a vacuum. Make sure to research the industry trends, competitors, and forecasts. I personally prefer IBIS World for my business research. Make sure to answer questions like:

• What is the industry outlook long-term and short-term?
• How will your business take advantage of projected industry changes and trends?
• What might happen to your competitors and how will your business successfully compete?

Industry resources

Some helpful resources to help you establish more about your industry are:

• Trade Associations
• Federal Reserve
• Bureau of Labor Statistics

Legal Structure

There are five basic types of legal structures that most people will utilize:

• Sole proprietorships
• Limited Liability Companies (LLC)

Partnerships

Corporations.

• Franchises.

Each business structure has their pros and cons. An LLC is the most common legal structure due to its protection of personal assets and ease of setting up. Make sure to specify how ownership is divided and what roles each owner plays when you have more than one business owner.

You’ll have to decide which structure is best for you, but we’ve gathered information on each to make it easier.

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship is the easiest legal structure to set up but doesn’t protect the owner’s personal assets from legal issues. That means if something goes wrong, you could lose both your company and your home.

To start a sole proprietorship, fill out a special tax form called a  Schedule C . Sole proprietors can also join the American Independent Business Alliance .

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

An LLC is the most common business structure used in the United States because an LLC protects the owner’s personal assets. It’s similar to partnerships and corporations, but can be a single-member LLC in most states. An LLC requires a document called an operating agreement.

Each state has different requirements. Here’s a link to find your state’s requirements . Delaware and Nevada are common states to file an LLC because they are really business-friendly. Here’s a blog on the top 10 states to get an LLC.

Partnerships are typically for legal firms. If you choose to use a partnership choose a Limited Liability Partnership. Alternatively, you can just use an LLC.

Corporations are typically for massive organizations. Corporations have taxes on both corporate and income tax so unless you plan on selling stock, you are better off considering an LLC with S-Corp status . Investopedia has good information corporations here .

There are several opportunities to purchase successful franchises. TopFranchise.com has a list of companies in a variety of industries that offer franchise opportunities. This makes it where an entrepreneur can benefit from the reputation of an established business that has already worked out many of the kinks of starting from scratch.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 5. Products and Services

This section of the business plan should focus on what you sell, how you source it, and how you sell it. You should include:

• Unique features that differentiate your business products from competitors
• Intellectual property
• Your supply chain
• Cost and pricing structure 

Questions to answer about your products and services

Mike gave us a list  of the most important questions to answer about your product and services:

• How will you be selling the product? (in person, ecommerce, wholesale, direct to consumer)?
• How do you let them know they need a product?
• How do you communicate the message?
• How will you do transactions?
• How much will you be selling it for?
• How many do you think you’ll sell and why?

Make sure to use the worksheet on our business plan template .

How to Write a Business Plan Step 6. Sales and Marketing Plan

The marketing and sales plan is focused on the strategy to bring awareness to your company and guides how you will get the product to the consumer.  It should contain the following sections:

SWOT Analysis stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Not only do you want to identify them, but you also want to document how the business plans to deal with them.

Business owners need to do a thorough job documenting how their service or product stacks up against the competition.

If proper research isn’t done, investors will be able to tell that the owner hasn’t researched the competition and is less likely to believe that the team can protect its service from threats by the more well-established competition. This is one of the most common parts of a presentation that trips up business owners presenting on Shark Tank .

SWOT Examples

Examples of strengths and weaknesses could be things like the lack of cash flow, intellectual property ownership, high costs of suppliers, and customers’ expectations on shipping times.

Opportunities could be ways to capitalize on your strengths or improve your weaknesses, but may also be gaps in the industry. This includes:

• Adding offerings that fit with your current small business
• Increase sales to current customers
• Reducing costs through bulk ordering
• Finding ways to reduce inventory
•  And other areas you can improve

Threats will normally come from outside of the company but could also be things like losing a key member of the team. Threats normally come from competition, regulations, taxes, and unforeseen events.

The management team should use the SWOT analysis to guide other areas of business planning, but it absolutely has to be done before a business owner starts marketing. 

Include Competitor Data in Your Business Plan

When you plan a business, taking into consideration the strengths and weaknesses of the competition is key to navigating the field. Providing an overview of your competition and where they are headed shows that you are invested in understanding the industry.

For smaller businesses, you’ll want to search both the company and the owners names to see what they are working on. For publicly held corporations, you can find their quarterly and annual reports on the SEC website .

What another business plans to do can impact your business. Make sure to include things that might make it attractive for bigger companies to outsource to a small business.

Marketing Strategy

The marketing and sales part of business plans should be focused on how you are going to make potential customers aware of your business and then sell to them.

If you haven’t already included it, Mike recommends:

“They’ll want to know about Demographics, ages, and wealth of your target market.”

Make sure to include the Total addressable market .  The term refers to the value if you captured 100% of the market.

Advertising Strategy

You’ll explain what formats of advertising you’ll be using. Some possibilities are:

• Online: Facebook and Google are the big names to work with here.
• Print : Print can be used to reach broad groups or targeted markets. Check out this for tips .
• Radio : iHeartMedia is one of the best ways to advertise on the radio
• Cable television : High priced, hard to measure ROI, but here’s an explanation of the process
• Billboards: Attracting customers with billboards can be beneficial in high traffic areas.

You’ll want to define how you’ll be using each including frequency, duration, and cost. If you have the materials already created, including pictures or links to the marketing to show creative assets.

Mike told us “Most businesses are marketing digitally now due to Covid, but that’s not always the right answer.”

Make sure the marketing strategy will help team members or external marketing agencies stay within the brand guidelines .

This section of a business plan should be focused on pricing. There are a ton of pricing strategies that may work for different business plans. Which one will work for you depends on what kind of a business you run.

Some common pricing strategies are:

• Value-based pricing – Commonly used with home buying and selling or other products that are status symbols.
• Skimming pricing – Commonly seen in video game consoles, price starts off high to recoup expenses quickly, then reduces over time.
• Competition-based pricing – Pricing based on competitors’ pricing is commonly seen at gas stations.
• Freemium services –  Commonly used for software, where there is a free plan, then purchase options for more functionality.

HubSpot has a great calculator and blog on pricing strategies.

Beyond explaining what strategy your business plans to use, you should include references for how you came to this pricing strategy and how it will impact your cash flow.

Distribution Plan

This part of a business plan is focused on how the product or service is going to go through the supply chain. These may include multiple divisions or multiple companies. Make sure to include any parts of the workflow that are automated so investors can see where cost savings are expected and when.

Supply Chain Examples

For instance, lawn care companies  would need to cover aspects such as:

• Suppliers for lawn care equipment and tools
• Any chemicals or treatments needed
• Repair parts for sprinkler systems
• Vehicles to transport equipment and employees
• Insurance to protect the company vehicles and people.

Examples of Supply Chains

These are fairly flat supply chains compared to something like a clothing designer where the clothes would go through multiple vendors. A clothing company might have the following supply chain:

• Raw materials
• Shipping of raw materials
• Converting of raw materials to thread
• Shipping thread to produce garments
• Garment producer
• Shipping to company
• Company storage
• Shipping to retail stores

There have been advances such as print on demand that eliminate many of these steps. If you are designing completely custom clothing, all of this would need to be planned to keep from having business disruptions.

The main thing to include in the business plan is the list of suppliers, the path the supply chain follows, the time from order to the customer’s home, and the costs associated with each step of the process.

According to BizPlanReview , a business plan without this information is likely to get rejected because they have failed to research the key elements necessary to make sales to the customer.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 7. Company Organization and Operational Plan

This part of the business plan is focused on how the business model will function while serving customers.  The business plan should provide an overview of  how the team will manage the following aspects:

Quality Control

• Legal environment

Let’s look at each for some insight.

Production has already been discussed in previous sections so I won’t go into it much. When writing a business plan for investors, try to avoid repetition as it creates a more simple business plan.

If the organizational plan will be used by the team as an overview of how to perform the best services for the customer, then redundancy makes more sense as it communicates what is important to the business.

Quality control policies help to keep the team focused on how to verify that the company adheres to the business plan and meets or exceeds customer expectations.

Quality control can be anything from a standard that says “all labels on shirts can be no more than 1/16″ off center” to a defined checklist of steps that should be performed and filled out for every customer.

There are a variety of organizations that help define quality control including:

• International Organization for Standardization – Quality standards for energy, technology, food, production environments, and cybersecurity
• AICPA – Standard defined for accounting.
• The Joint Commission – Healthcare
• ASHRAE – HVAC best practices

You can find lists of the organizations that contribute most to the government regulation of industries on Open Secrets . Research what the leaders in your field are doing. Follow their example and implement it in your quality control plan.

For location, you should use information from the market research to establish where the location will be. Make sure to include the following in the location documentation.

• The size of your location
• The type of building (retail, industrial, commercial, etc.)
• Zoning restrictions – Urban Wire has a good map on how zoning works in each state
• Accessibility – Does it meet ADA requirements?
• Costs including rent, maintenance, utilities, insurance and any buildout or remodeling costs
• Utilities – b.e.f. has a good energy calculator .

Legal Environment

The legal requirement section is focused on defining how to meet the legal requirements for your industry. A good business plan should include all of the following:

• Any licenses and/or permits that are needed and whether you’ve obtained them
• Any trademarks, copyrights, or patents that you have or are in the process of applying for
• The insurance coverage your business requires and how much it costs
• Any environmental, health, or workplace regulations affecting your business
• Any special regulations affecting your industry
• Bonding requirements, if applicable

Your local SBA office can help you establish requirements in your area. I strongly recommend using them. They are a great resource.

Your business plan should include a plan for company organization and hiring. While you may be the only person with the company right now, down the road you’ll need more people. Make sure to consider and document the answers to the following questions:

• What is the current leadership structure and what will it look like in the future?
• What types of employees will you have? Are there any licensing or educational requirements?
• How many employees will you need?
• Will you ever hire freelancers or independent contractors?
• What is each position’s job description?
• What is the pay structure (hourly, salaried, base plus commission, etc.)?
• How do you plan to find qualified employees and contractors?

One of the most crucial parts of a business plan is the organizational chart. This simply shows the positions the company will need, who is in charge of them and the relationship of each of them. It will look similar to this:

Our small business plan template has a much more in-depth organizational chart you can edit to include when you include the organizational chart in your business plan.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 8. Financial Statements 

No business plan is complete without financial statements or financial projections. The business plan format will be different based on whether you are writing a business plan to expand a business or a startup business plan. Let’s dig deeper into each.

Provide All Financial Income from an Existing Business

An existing business should use their past financial documents including the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement to find trends to estimate the next 3-5 years.

You can create easy trendlines in excel to predict future revenue, profit and loss, cash flow, and other changes in year-over-year performance. This will show your expected performance assuming business continues as normal.

If you are seeking an investment, then the business is probably not going to continue as normal. Depending on the financial plan and the purpose of getting financing, adjustments may be needed to the following:

• Higher Revenue if expanding business
• Lower Cost of Goods Sold if purchasing inventory with bulk discounts
• Adding interest if utilizing financing (not equity deal)
• Changes in expenses
• Addition of financing information to the cash flow statement
• Changes in Earnings per Share on the balance sheet

Financial modeling is a challenging subject, but there are plenty of low-cost courses on the subject. If you need help planning your business financial documentation take some time to watch some of them.

Make it a point to document how you calculated all the changes to the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement in your business plan so that key team members or investors can verify your research.

Financial Projections For A Startup Business Plan

Unlike an existing business, a startup doesn’t have previous success to model its future performance. In this scenario, you need to focus on how to make a business plan realistic through the use of industry research and averages.

Mike gave the following advice in his interview:

Financial Forecasting Mistakes

One of the things a lot of inexperienced people use is the argument, “If I get one percent of the market, it is worth $100 million.” If you use this, investors are likely to file the document under bad business plan examples.

Let’s use custom t-shirts as an example.

Credence Research estimated in 2018 there were 11,334,800,000 custom t-shirts sold for a total of $206.12 Billion, with a 6% compound annual growth rate.

With that data,  you can calculate that the industry will grow to $270 Billion in 2023 and that the average shirt sold creates $18.18 in revenue.

Combine that with an IBIS World estimate of 11,094 custom screen printers and that means even if you become an average seller, you’ll get .009% of the market.

Here’s a table for easier viewing of that information.

The point here is to make sure your business proposal examples make sense.

You’ll need to know industry averages such as cost of customer acquisition, revenue per customer, the average cost of goods sold, and admin costs to be able to create accurate estimates.

Our simple business plan templates walk you through most of these processes. If you follow them you’ll have a good idea of how to write a business proposal.

How to Write a Business Plan Step 9. Business Plan Example of Funding Requests

What is a business plan without a plan on how to obtain funding?

The Small Business Administration has an example for a pizza restaurant that theoretically needed nearly $20k to make it through their first month.

In our video, How to Start a $500K/Year T-Shirt Business (Pt. 1 ), Sanford Booth told us he needed about $200,000 to start his franchise and broke even after 4 months.

Freshbooks estimates it takes on average 2-3 years for a business to be profitable, which means the fictitious pizza company from the SBA could need up to $330k to make it through that time and still pay their bills for their home and pizza shop.

Not every business needs that much to start, but realistically it’s a good idea to assume that you need a fairly large cushion.

Ways to get funding for a small business

There are a variety of ways to cover this. the most common are:

• Bootstrapping – Using your savings without external funding.
• Taking out debt – loans, credit cards
• Equity, Seed Funding – Ownership of a percentage of the company in exchange for current funds
• Crowdsourcing – Promising a good for funding to create the product

Keep reading for more tips on how to write a business plan.

How funding will be used

When asking for business financing make sure to include:

• How much to get started?
• What is the minimum viable product and how soon can you make money?
• How will the money be spent?

Mike emphasized two aspects that should be included in every plan, 

How to Write a Business Plan Resources

Here are some links to a business plan sample and business plan outline. 

• Sample plan

It’s also helpful to follow some of the leading influencers in the business plan writing community. Here’s a list:

• Wise Plans –  Shares a lot of information on starting businesses and is a business plan writing company.
• Optimus Business Plans –  Another business plan writing company.
• Venture Capital – A venture capital thread that can help give you ideas.

How to Write a Business Plan: What’s Next?

We hope this guide about how to write a simple business plan step by step has been helpful. We’ve covered:

• The definition of a business plan
• Coming up with a business idea
• Performing market research
• The critical components of a business plan
• An example business plan

In addition, we provided you with a simple business plan template to assist you in the process of writing your startup business plan. The startup business plan template also includes a business model template that will be the key to your success.

Don’t forget to check out the rest of our business hub .

Have you written a business plan before? How did it impact your ability to achieve your goals?

Brandon Boushy

Brandon Boushy lives to improve people’s lives by helping them become successful entrepreneurs. His journey started nearly 30 years ago. He consistently excelled at everything he did, but preferred to make the rules rather than follow him. His exploration of self and knowledge has helped him to get an engineering degree, MBA, and countless certifications. When freelancing and rideshare came onto the scene, he recognized the opportunity to play by his own rules. Since 2017, he has helped businesses across all industries achieve more with his research, writing, and marketing strategies. Since 2021, he has been the Lead Writer for UpFlip where he has published over 170 articles on small business success.

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• August 3, 2022

Free Business Plan Template (With Examples)

• May 3, 2022

How to Get a Business License (In 3 Steps)

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How to describe your product and service in a business plan like a pro

It’s deceiving.

You’d think that this part of a business plan does exactly what it says on the tin–describe your product & service offering– right ?

And yes, you are partially right. 

But there’s a very specific way in which this description should be written to make sure that your business has the best chance of succeeding – in real life and under the eagle eye of a potential backer (if you’re preparing a business plan for external financing purposes).

Keep reading to find out the secret sauce to writing a winning product and service description:

WHAT is the Product and Service Description in a Business Plan?

This business plan section is also known as:

• Product and/or Service Overview

HOW Do You Write a Product and Service Description in a Business Plan?

So, what should a good product/service overview contain?

Here are some items to consider including into this section:

1.     Portfolio:

The range of products and/or services that a business offers to potential and current customers.

2.     Features and benefits (value proposition):

Explain what the product/service does and how it works.

3.     Problem and solution (value proposition cont.):

The problem(s) the product or service solves. Every business needs to solve a problem that its customers face. Explain what the problem is and how the product or service solves it.

4.     Innovation:

If the company is doing something new and different, explain why the world needs the innovation.

5.     Proprietary advantages:

Any proprietary features that contribute to a competitive advantage. This could include: intellectual property (e.g., copyright, trademark, patent filings, trade secret), exclusive agreements with suppliers or vendors, exclusive licenses (e.g., for a product, service or technology), company’s own research and development activities.

6.     Development stage:

Current stage of development of the product / service (e.g., idea, development, testing, prototype, already on the market).

7.     Product life-cycle:

Estimate the life span of the product or service.

Specify whether the product or service under consideration is a short-lived fad or has a long-term potential.

8.     Future:

Mention plans for changes and new additions to the current portfolio of products / services.

Describe any plans to move into new markets in the future (e.g., serving different types or sizes of customers, industries, geographic areas).

Make your best guess at when the business will be ready to address these markets and what it needs to do first to be ready.

9.     Limitations:

If applicable, explain any risks or limitations associated with the product (e.g., liability issues like guarantees or returns), along with any legal advice received regarding these issues.

10.  Visual aids:

Use photos, images, diagrams and other graphics to help the reader visualize and learn about the products / services.

If the business is tackling several distinct problems through different products / services, describe the solutions individually .

However, for a large line of products / services, there is no need to list each one, just identifying the general categories will suffice.

How LONG Is the Product and Service Chapter of a Business Plan?

This part of a business plan can be very short, just a couple of paragraphs, or it can spread over multiple pages, depending on how many products/services you offer and how much explanation they require.

If your products or services are particularly complex , technical , innovative , or proprietary , you will want to provide more information and spend considerable time describing them.

This is especially true if you are seeking funding for a new product or service, particularly one that is not immediately understandable to the business plan readers, and if potential funders are likely to be motivated by the specifics.

In any case, when describing a product or service, provide just enough information to paint a clear picture of what it is and does . A brief explanation of what you will be making, selling or doing is appropriate here.

Excessive detail makes this section cumbersome for a reader to wade through. Reserve detailed descriptions (e.g., production processes) for the Appendix.

In any case, it is a good idea to first summarize the value proposition of each product or service into a one short sentence, and only then continue with a more detailed description of the product or service.

If any images or graphics are available that would contribute to the understanding of the product or service, the writers of a business plan should use them.

Otherwise, include any product or service details , such as technical specifications, drawings, photos, patent documents and other support information, in the Appendix section of the business plan document.

TOP 4 TIPS for Writing a Product and Service Overview

Tip #1: features v. benefits.

Don’t just list the features of the product / service.

Instead, describe the specific benefits it will offer to customers – from their perspective.

Make it clear what your customers will gain through buying your product or service. Include information about the specific benefits of your product or service – from your customers’ perspective.

Features are not the same thing as benefits. And you need to understand both.

Confused? Let’s clarify:

What Is the Difference Between Features and Benefits?

Tip #2: problem v. solution.

If at all possible, present the information in the Problem >> Solution format.

Start by describing the key problem that your customers have, immediately followed by the solution with which you will address this need for your target market.

Tip #3: Competitive Advantage

You should also comment on your ability to meet consumers’ key problems or unmet needs in a way that brings your product or service advantages over the competition.

For example:

• If you have a common business, such as a restaurant:

Explain why your customers need your particular restaurant. Do you offer lower prices? More convenient hours? A better location? A different concept, such as a vegan ice-cream pop up store? A specialty that is not otherwise available in your area, such as a Peruvian ceviche or Hungarian goulash?

• If your company is doing something new and innovative :

What is it about the existing solutions that is subpar? Maybe you are improving on a mediocre product category, such as creating better medical uniforms for healthcare workers (e.g., more flattering cut, trendy designs, sustainable materials). Or perhaps your new blockchain solution has the potential to entirely eliminate the middle-men in an entire industry.

Although the subject of competitive advantage regarding the business as a whole will be fully explored in the Market and Competitor Analysis part of a business plan, it is advisable to touch on it here also – in the context of the company’s products and service.

Tip #4: Validating the Problem and Solution

Speaking of which, when you are doing market research and analysis for your business plan, remember to validate the problem and solution your product or service is addressing.

There is a plethora of minor issues out there that people are perfectly fine with just tolerating. To build a solid business, though, you need a problem that a sufficient number of people are motivated to solve. That is, that they recognize it as a problem that’s worth paying you to solve. Even if they didn’t realize it was solvable until they were presented with your solution.

So, how do you get evidence that prospects are willing to pay for your solution?

Validation of Problem

Describe what you’ve done so far to confirm that the problem you are focused on is a real problem for your customers.

• Existing Business:

For an established business, this is probably just a matter of recapping your success in the marketplace. Your customers have already voted with their wallets.

• New Business:

For a startup, it is important to survey and have conversations with as many potential customers as possible about where they are having problems, how they solve them today, and validate that they are interested enough in addressing those problems to pay for a good solution.

Validation of Solution

Describe how you have tested your ideas with existing or potential customers to confirm that there is a good market for the products or services you plan to offer. Summarize the positive customer feedback or market traction that you have achieved with your solution so far.

For an established business, the answers probably lie in your paying customer base – their existence itself, combined with their repeat business, word-of-mouth referrals, follow-up customer surveys, and other indicators of customer satisfaction.

For a new business, you can start validating your solution immediately by trying it out with potential customers, even informally or at no charge, to get their opinion. If your product or service does not exist yet, talk to prospects about what you plan to offer and measure their feedback.

In summary, this section should answer the million dollar question:

What makes you think that people will buy, be satisfied with, and recommend your products or services?

Related Questions

What are products and services.

Products and services are items that businesses offer for sale to a market. While services are intangible, meaning that they do not exist in a physical form, products are of tangible nature, in other words – you can touch them.

What is a Product Line?

Product line is a group of related products that are all produced or sold by one entity and typically marketed under one brand name.

What is a Service Line?

Service line is a group of related services that are all produced or sold by one entity and typically marketed under one brand name.

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A Comprehensive Product Business Plan Template for Success

In today's competitive business landscape, having a well-thought-out product business plan is crucial for success. A product business plan serves as a roadmap that outlines your goals, strategies, and financial projections, ensuring that you stay focused and on track towards achieving your objectives. In this article, we will delve into the importance of a product business plan and explore the key components necessary for crafting an effective plan. We will also provide valuable tips for implementing and monitoring your plan to maximize its effectiveness.

Understanding the Importance of a Product Business Plan

Before we dive into the intricacies of crafting a product business plan, let's first understand why it is so important. A product business plan serves as a blueprint for success, providing a clear and concise overview of your business and its objectives. It acts as a guide to not only attract potential investors but also to align your team's efforts towards a common goal. Additionally, a well-defined plan helps mitigate risks and makes it easier to measure progress and make necessary adjustments along the way.

When it comes to starting a new business or launching a new product, having a solid plan in place is crucial. A product business plan serves as a roadmap, outlining the steps you need to take to achieve your goals. It helps you stay focused and organized, ensuring that you don't lose sight of your vision amidst the chaos of running a business.

Defining a Product Business Plan

So, what exactly is a product business plan? Essentially, it is a document that outlines your product, target market, business strategy, financial projections, and the steps you will take to achieve your goals. It encompasses various elements that work together to give your business direction and purpose. With a clear plan in place, you increase your chances of success by having a roadmap to follow throughout your journey.

When crafting a product business plan, it's important to consider all aspects of your product and its market. Start by defining your product and its unique selling proposition. What problem does it solve? How is it different from existing solutions? By clearly identifying what sets your product apart from the competition, you can effectively position yourself in the market and attract customers.

Another crucial component of a product business plan is conducting thorough market research and analysis. This involves understanding your target market, identifying customer needs and preferences, and evaluating the competitive landscape. By gaining insights into your target market, you can tailor your product and marketing strategies accordingly, increasing your chances of success.

Why a Product Business Plan is Crucial for Success

There are several reasons why having a product business plan is crucial for success. Firstly, it helps you define your product and its value proposition. By clearly identifying what sets your product apart from the competition, you can effectively position yourself in the market and attract customers. A well-defined value proposition helps create a strong brand identity and builds trust with your target audience.

Secondly, a product business plan provides valuable insights into your target market through extensive market analysis. This allows you to understand customer needs and preferences, enabling you to tailor your product and marketing strategies accordingly. By aligning your offerings with customer demands, you increase the likelihood of attracting and retaining customers.

Furthermore, a well-crafted product business plan outlines your operations and management plan, helping you streamline your processes and ensure efficient execution. It provides a clear overview of your organizational structure, roles and responsibilities, and key operational processes. This helps you identify areas for improvement and optimize your operations for maximum efficiency.

In addition to operations, a product business plan also includes financial projections and funding requirements. This gives investors a comprehensive understanding of your business's financial viability and growth potential. By showcasing your financial projections, you demonstrate that you have carefully considered the financial aspects of your business and have a plan in place to achieve profitability.

In conclusion, a product business plan is a crucial tool for success. It provides a roadmap for your business, helps you define your product and target market, and ensures efficient execution through streamlined operations and financial projections. By investing time and effort into crafting a well-defined plan, you increase your chances of achieving your business goals and attracting investors.

Key Components of a Product Business Plan

A successful product business plan comprises several key components that work together to form a cohesive and comprehensive document. Let's explore these components in more detail.

Product Description and Value Proposition

The first component of a product business plan is a clear and detailed description of your product or service. This includes its features, benefits, and how it solves customer pain points. Additionally, you need to define your unique value proposition - the compelling reason why customers should choose your product over competitors.

For example, if you are developing a new smartphone, your product description would include details about its design, specifications, and user interface. You would highlight how your smartphone offers innovative features, such as a longer battery life or a more intuitive user experience, that set it apart from other smartphones in the market. This value proposition would appeal to customers who are looking for a high-quality, user-friendly device that enhances their daily lives.

Market Analysis and Strategy

Next, conduct a thorough market analysis to gain a deep understanding of your target market, industry trends, and competitive landscape. This will help you identify market gaps and opportunities, allowing you to develop a winning marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy should outline how you will reach your target audience, the channels you will utilize, and the tactics you will employ to increase brand awareness and drive sales.

Continuing with the smartphone example, your market analysis would involve researching the current smartphone market, including the size of the market, key players, and consumer preferences. By analyzing this data, you can identify potential niches or untapped segments that your product can target. Your marketing strategy would then outline how you plan to position your smartphone as the go-to choice for tech-savvy individuals who value cutting-edge technology and sleek design.

Operations and Management Plan

The operations and management plan details how your business will run on a day-to-day basis. It covers areas such as production processes, supply chain management, inventory management, and quality control. Additionally, it outlines the organizational structure of your company, including key roles and responsibilities.

In the case of a smartphone business, your operations and management plan would include information on the manufacturing process, from sourcing components to assembling the final product. It would also outline your supply chain management strategy, ensuring a smooth flow of materials and timely delivery to meet customer demand. Furthermore, you would detail your quality control measures to ensure that every smartphone meets the highest standards of performance and reliability.

Financial Projections and Funding

A crucial aspect of any product business plan is the financial projections and funding requirements. This section should provide a clear overview of your expected revenue and expenses, allowing you to assess the financial feasibility of your business. Furthermore, it should outline your funding requirements, including how much money you need to start or scale your business and how you plan to secure it.

For the smartphone business, your financial projections would include estimated sales volumes, pricing, and production costs. This would give you an understanding of your potential revenue and profitability. Additionally, you would outline your funding requirements, such as the amount needed to set up manufacturing facilities and marketing campaigns. You might explore options like seeking investment from venture capitalists or securing a business loan from a financial institution.

By including these key components in your product business plan, you can create a comprehensive and compelling document that showcases the potential of your product and sets a clear roadmap for success.

Crafting an Effective Product Business Plan

Now that we understand the importance of a product business plan and its key components, let's discuss how to craft an effective plan that sets you up for success.

Setting Clear Objectives

The first step in creating an effective product business plan is setting clear and measurable objectives. Clearly define your short-term and long-term goals, ensuring they are specific, realistic, and aligned with your overall business vision.

Conducting Thorough Market Research

A comprehensive market research is vital to understand customer needs, market trends, and the competitive landscape. Gather relevant data, analyze it, and use the insights to inform your product development, marketing strategy, and pricing decisions.

Developing a Strong Marketing Strategy

Your marketing strategy should outline how you will position your product in the market, target your ideal customers, and communicate your value proposition effectively. Utilize various marketing channels such as social media, content marketing, and search engine optimization to maximize your reach and impact.

Preparing Realistic Financial Forecasts

Accurate financial forecasts play a crucial role in determining the financial viability of your business. Consider factors such as production costs, pricing, sales projections, and operating expenses to create realistic financial forecasts. Regularly review and update these forecasts to ensure they remain aligned with your actual financial performance.

Tips for Implementing Your Product Business Plan

To maximize the effectiveness of your product business plan, follow these tips for successful implementation.

Regularly Review and Update Your Plan

A product business plan is not a static document. It should evolve and adapt as your business grows and market conditions change. Regularly review and update your plan to ensure it remains relevant and aligned with your business objectives.

Communicate Your Plan to Your Team

Your entire team should be aware of the product business plan and understand their role in its execution. Regularly communicate the plan and its updates to ensure everyone is on the same page and working towards the same goals.

Monitor Your Progress and Adjust as Necessary

Continuously monitor your progress against the objectives and milestones set in your plan. Identify areas of improvement and make necessary adjustments to keep your business on track and ensure long-term success.

By following these guidelines and creating a comprehensive product business plan, you will set yourself up for success in the competitive business landscape. Remember, a well-crafted plan acts as a roadmap, guiding your business towards its goals and helping you adapt and thrive in an ever-changing market.

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6 Free Business Plan Templates for Product Managers

Editor's note: Guided templates are now available in all Aha! Notebooks plans. (Templates are also available in Aha! Roadmaps , Aha! Ideas , and Aha! Develop .) Each template was created by product development experts, is fully customizable, and ready to use right now.

Lightweight business plans are not just for startups. These tools can be just as valuable for product managers at big companies with established products. Because even if you are not capturing plans to develop and build your company’s first offering, you still need to make a business case for the opportunity you are pursuing.

Rather than build out a business plan from scratch — start with a template that will help you quickly communicate what is most important.

A business plan can serve many purposes depending on your goals. You can use it to define the key elements of a new product you are developing. Or if you are at a mature company, it can be used to summarize your strategy for a new market opportunity.

Our team at Aha! knows how important it is to choose the right plan that serves your goals. That is why we include so many different types of business planning tools in our product roadmapping software — including a comprehensive business model builder based on our 20+ years of experience building breakthrough products and software companies.

But what if your company is not yet ready to sign up for Aha! or does not have access to these kinds of tools? You still need to organize your thinking, define your assumptions, and share your plans. So we created six business plan templates for you to download at no cost .

Along with SWOT templates and roadmap templates , these latest templates are designed to be quick and easy to use to help you with your strategic planning. The templates are fully customizable so you can adapt them to your unique situation and download in both spreadsheet and presentation file format.

Think about your most pressing need and who you will be sharing this information with. Because whether you are using a purpose-built tool or a static template for your planning, you want to choose the view that will work best for your audience.

Here are six scenarios where a business plan template can help:

Lay the foundation

Define the problem, understand the customer, survey the market, analyze the product, plan your marketing.

Often the most useful thing for a broad audience is to represent the foundational elements of your plan in a simple layout. In those cases, you want to present the fundamentals like key messaging, customer pain points, and future opportunities in a single view. This makes it easy for stakeholders from all across the company to understand the business model and provide their input.

Sometimes you want that single view, but you also want to center the conversation around the main problems the customer is trying to solve. The ideal template will direct your audience’s attention to the top customer challenges and succinctly capture how your product addresses each one.

Generally, you will not target your product at a single customer segment but several. Building a profile and business plan for each one is a lot easier when you start with a good template — one that lets you define both the set of customers and your approach to serving them. You can then compare and contrast the plans for each segment and decide which customers you are best positioned to deliver a superior product experience to.

You want to make strategic decisions. For that, you need to see the competitive landscape . You do not want to react to every competitor move, but you do need to know what alternatives customers have to your product. Start with a template that summarizes the market and outside threats — both existing and potential.

Just as you need to understand the market, you also have to be realistic about your product’s place in it. A business plan that conducts a strategic analysis of your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats can illuminate what your product is doing well and where it can do better.

In order to successfully market a product, many teams focus on the 10Ps: product, price, people, process, promotion, programs, place, physical environment, partners, and positioning. The right template allows you to answer the key questions about each of these elements. Then, together, the team can develop and execute a winning go-to-market strategy.

The right template can help you make your product plans easily understandable for your key stakeholders.

It helps you zero in on what is most relevant and present it in a visually accessible and logical layout. When others can grasp the information and provide their insights, it makes your plan that much stronger.

Build product like you always wanted. See for yourself — start a free 30-day trial.

Additional resources

Business plan templates

How to build a business model

What is a business roadmap?

Ron builds lovable products. He was the vice president of product management and UX at Aha! — the world’s #1 product development software . Ron has more than 15 years of experience in entrepreneurship and leading product teams. Previously, Ron founded and sold his own company and has been on the founding team of multiple venture-backed companies.

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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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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.

Ready to get started?

Now that you know how to use an example business plan to help you write a plan for your business, it's time to find the right one.

Use the search bar below to get started and find the right match for your business idea.

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

Published: February 06, 2024

I believe that reading sample business plans is essential when writing your own.

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As you explore business plan examples from real companies and brands, it’s easier for you to learn how to write a good one.

But what does a good business plan look like? And how do you write one that’s both viable and convincing. I’ll walk you through the ideal business plan format along with some examples to help you get started.

Table of Contents

Business Plan Format

Business plan types, sample business plan templates, top business plan examples.

Ask any successful sports coach how they win so many games, and they’ll tell you they have a unique plan for every single game. To me, the same logic applies to business.

If you want to build a thriving company that can pull ahead of the competition, you need to prepare for battle before breaking into a market.

Business plans guide you along the rocky journey of growing a company. And if your business plan is compelling enough, it can also convince investors to give you funding.

With so much at stake, I’m sure you’re wondering where to begin.

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First, you’ll want to nail down your formatting. Most business plans include the following sections.

1. Executive Summary

I’d say the executive summary is the most important section of the entire business plan. 

Why? Essentially, it's the overview or introduction, written in a way to grab readers' attention and guide them through the rest of the business plan. This is important, because a business plan can be dozens or hundreds of pages long.

There are two main elements I’d recommend including in your executive summary:

Company Description

This is the perfect space to highlight your company’s mission statement and goals, a brief overview of your history and leadership, and your top accomplishments as a business.

Tell potential investors who you are and why what you do matters. Naturally, they’re going to want to know who they’re getting into business with up front, and this is a great opportunity to showcase your impact.

Need some extra help firming up those business goals? Check out HubSpot Academy’s free course to help you set goals that matter — I’d highly recommend it

Products and Services

To piggyback off of the company description, be sure to incorporate an overview of your offerings. This doesn’t have to be extensive — just another chance to introduce your industry and overall purpose as a business.

In addition to the items above, I recommend including some information about your financial projections and competitive advantage here too.:

Keep in mind you'll cover many of these topics in more detail later on in the business plan. So, keep the executive summary clear and brief, and only include the most important takeaways.

Executive Summary Business Plan Examples

This example was created with HubSpot’s business plan template:

This executive summary is so good to me because it tells potential investors a short story while still covering all of the most important details.

Image Source

Tips for Writing Your Executive Summary

• Start with a strong introduction of your company, showcase your mission and impact, and outline the products and services you provide.
• Clearly define a problem, and explain how your product solves that problem, and show why the market needs your business.
• Be sure to highlight your value proposition, market opportunity, and growth potential.
• Keep it concise and support ideas with data.
• Customize your summary to your audience. For example, emphasize finances and return on investment for venture capitalists.

Check out our tips for writing an effective executive summary for more guidance.

2. Market Opportunity

This is where you'll detail the opportunity in the market.

The main question I’d ask myself here is this: Where is the gap in the current industry, and how will my product fill that gap?

More specifically, here’s what I’d include in this section:

• The size of the market
• Current or potential market share
• Trends in the industry and consumer behavior
• Where the gap is
• What caused the gap
• How you intend to fill it

To get a thorough understanding of the market opportunity, you'll want to conduct a TAM, SAM, and SOM analysis and perform market research on your industry.

You may also benefit from creating a SWOT analysis to get some of the insights for this section.

Market Opportunity Business Plan Example

I like this example because it uses critical data to underline the size of the potential market and what part of that market this service hopes to capture.

Tips for Writing Your Market Opportunity Section

• Focus on demand and potential for growth.
• Use market research, surveys, and industry trend data to support your market forecast and projections.
• Add a review of regulation shifts, tech advances, and consumer behavior changes.
• Refer to reliable sources.
• Showcase how your business can make the most of this opportunity.

3. Competitive Landscape

Since we’re already speaking of market share, you'll also need to create a section that shares details on who the top competitors are.

After all, your customers likely have more than one brand to choose from, and you'll want to understand exactly why they might choose one over another.

My favorite part of performing a competitive analysis is that it can help you uncover:

• Industry trends that other brands may not be utilizing
• Strengths in your competition that may be obstacles to handle
• Weaknesses in your competition that may help you develop selling points
• The unique proposition you bring to the market that may resonate with customers

Competitive Landscape Business Plan Example

I like how the competitive landscape section of this business plan below shows a clear outline of who the top competitors are.

It also highlights specific industry knowledge and the importance of location, which shows useful experience in this specific industry. 

This can help build trust in your ability to execute your business plan.

Tips for Writing Your Competitive Landscape

• Complete in-depth research, then emphasize your most important findings.
• Compare your unique selling proposition (USP) to your direct and indirect competitors.
• Show a clear and realistic plan for product and brand differentiation.
• Look for specific advantages and barriers in the competitive landscape. Then, highlight how that information could impact your business.
• Outline growth opportunities from a competitive perspective.
• Add customer feedback and insights to support your competitive analysis.

4. Target Audience

Use this section to describe who your customer segments are in detail. What is the demographic and psychographic information of your audience?

If your immediate answer is "everyone," you'll need to dig deeper. Here are some questions I’d ask myself here:

• What demographics will most likely need/buy your product or service?
• What are the psychographics of this audience? (Desires, triggering events, etc.)
• Why are your offerings valuable to them?

I’d also recommend building a buyer persona to get in the mindset of your ideal customers and be clear on why you're targeting them.

Target Audience Business Plan Example

I like the example below because it uses in-depth research to draw conclusions about audience priorities. It also analyzes how to create the right content for this audience.

Tips for Writing Your Target Audience Section

• Include details on the size and growth potential of your target audience.
• Figure out and refine the pain points for your target audience , then show why your product is a useful solution.
• Describe your targeted customer acquisition strategy in detail.
• Share anticipated challenges your business may face in acquiring customers and how you plan to address them.
• Add case studies, testimonials, and other data to support your target audience ideas.
• Remember to consider niche audiences and segments of your target audience in your business plan.

5. Marketing Strategy

Here, you'll discuss how you'll acquire new customers with your marketing strategy. I’d suggest including information:

• Your brand positioning vision and how you'll cultivate it
• The goal targets you aim to achieve
• The metrics you'll use to measure success
• The channels and distribution tactics you'll use

I think it’s helpful to have a marketing plan built out in advance to make this part of your business plan easier.

Marketing Strategy Business Plan Example

This business plan example includes the marketing strategy for the town of Gawler.

In my opinion, it really works because it offers a comprehensive picture of how they plan to use digital marketing to promote the community.

Tips for Writing Your Marketing Strategy

• Include a section about how you believe your brand vision will appeal to customers.
• Add the budget and resources you'll need to put your plan in place.
• Outline strategies for specific marketing segments.
• Connect strategies to earlier sections like target audience and competitive analysis.
• Review how your marketing strategy will scale with the growth of your business.
• Cover a range of channels and tactics to highlight your ability to adapt your plan in the face of change.

6. Key Features and Benefits

At some point in your business plan, you'll need to review the key features and benefits of your products and/or services.

Laying these out can give readers an idea of how you're positioning yourself in the market and the messaging you're likely to use. It can even help them gain better insight into your business model.

Key Features and Benefits Business Plan Example

In my opinion, the example below does a great job outlining products and services for this business, along with why these qualities will attract the audience.

Tips for Writing Your Key Features and Benefits

• Emphasize why and how your product or service offers value to customers.
• Use metrics and testimonials to support the ideas in this section.
• Talk about how your products and services have the potential to scale.
• Think about including a product roadmap.
• Focus on customer needs, and how the features and benefits you are sharing meet those needs.
• Offer proof of concept for your ideas, like case studies or pilot program feedback.
• Proofread this section carefully, and remove any jargon or complex language.

7. Pricing and Revenue

This is where you'll discuss your cost structure and various revenue streams. Your pricing strategy must be solid enough to turn a profit while staying competitive in the industry. 

For this reason, here’s what I’d might outline in this section:

• The specific pricing breakdowns per product or service
• Why your pricing is higher or lower than your competition's
• (If higher) Why customers would be willing to pay more
• (If lower) How you're able to offer your products or services at a lower cost
• When you expect to break even, what margins do you expect, etc?

Pricing and Revenue Business Plan Example

I like how this business plan example begins with an overview of the business revenue model, then shows proposed pricing for key products.

Tips for Writing Your Pricing and Revenue Section

• Get specific about your pricing strategy. Specifically, how you connect that strategy to customer needs and product value.
• If you are asking a premium price, share unique features or innovations that justify that price point.
• Show how you plan to communicate pricing to customers.
• Create an overview of every revenue stream for your business and how each stream adds to your business model as a whole.
• Share plans to develop new revenue streams in the future.
• Show how and whether pricing will vary by customer segment and how pricing aligns with marketing strategies.
• Restate your value proposition and explain how it aligns with your revenue model.

8. Financials

To me, this section is particularly informative for investors and leadership teams to figure out funding strategies, investment opportunities, and more.

 According to Forbes , you'll want to include three main things:

• Profit/Loss Statement - This answers the question of whether your business is currently profitable.
• Cash Flow Statement - This details exactly how much cash is incoming and outgoing to give insight into how much cash a business has on hand.
• Balance Sheet - This outlines assets, liabilities, and equity, which gives insight into how much a business is worth.

While some business plans might include more or less information, these are the key details I’d include in this section.

Financials Business Plan Example

This balance sheet is a great example of level of detail you’ll need to include in the financials section of your business plan.

Tips for Writing Your Financials Section

• Growth potential is important in this section too. Using your data, create a forecast of financial performance in the next three to five years.
• Include any data that supports your projections to assure investors of the credibility of your proposal.
• Add a break-even analysis to show that your business plan is financially practical. This information can also help you pivot quickly as your business grows.
• Consider adding a section that reviews potential risks and how sensitive your plan is to changes in the market.
• Triple-check all financial information in your plan for accuracy.
• Show how any proposed funding needs align with your plans for growth.

As you create your business plan, keep in mind that each of these sections will be formatted differently. Some may be in paragraph format, while others could be charts or graphs.

The formats above apply to most types of business plans. That said, the format and structure of your plan will vary by your goals for that plan. 

So, I’ve added a quick review of different business plan types. For a more detailed overview, check out this post .

1. Startups

Startup business plans are for proposing new business ideas.

If you’re planning to start a small business, preparing a business plan is crucial. The plan should include all the major factors of your business.

You can check out this guide for more detailed business plan inspiration .

2. Feasibility Studies

Feasibility business plans focus on that business's product or service. Feasibility plans are sometimes added to startup business plans. They can also be a new business plan for an already thriving organization.

3. Internal Use

You can use internal business plans to share goals, strategies, or performance updates with stakeholders. In my opinion, internal business plans are useful for alignment and building support for ambitious goals.

4. Strategic Initiatives

Another business plan that's often for sharing internally is a strategic business plan. This plan covers long-term business objectives that might not have been included in the startup business plan.

5. Business Acquisition or Repositioning

When a business is moving forward with an acquisition or repositioning, it may need extra structure and support. These types of business plans expand on a company's acquisition or repositioning strategy.

Growth sometimes just happens as a business continues operations. But more often, a business needs to create a structure with specific targets to meet set goals for expansion. This business plan type can help a business focus on short-term growth goals and align resources with those goals.

Now that you know what's included and how to format a business plan, let's review some of my favorite templates.

1. HubSpot's One-Page Business Plan

Download a free, editable one-page business plan template..

The business plan linked above was created here at HubSpot and is perfect for businesses of any size — no matter how many strategies we still have to develop.

Fields such as Company Description, Required Funding, and Implementation Timeline give this one-page business plan a framework for how to build your brand and what tasks to keep track of as you grow.

Then, as the business matures, you can expand on your original business plan with a new iteration of the above document.

Why I Like It

This one-page business plan is a fantastic choice for the new business owner who doesn’t have the time or resources to draft a full-blown business plan. It includes all the essential sections in an accessible, bullet-point-friendly format. That way, you can get the broad strokes down before honing in on the details.

2. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

We also created a business plan template for entrepreneurs.

The template is designed as a guide and checklist for starting your own business. You’ll learn what to include in each section of your business plan and how to do it.

There’s also a list for you to check off when you finish each section of your business plan.

Strong game plans help coaches win games and help businesses rocket to the top of their industries. So if you dedicate the time and effort required to write a workable and convincing business plan, you’ll boost your chances of success and even dominance in your market.

This business plan kit is essential for the budding entrepreneur who needs a more extensive document to share with investors and other stakeholders.

It not only includes sections for your executive summary, product line, market analysis, marketing plan, and sales plan, but it also offers hands-on guidance for filling out those sections.

3. LiveFlow’s Financial Planning Template with built-in automation

This free template from LiveFlow aims to make it easy for businesses to create a financial plan and track their progress on a monthly basis.

The P&L Budget versus Actual format allows users to track their revenue, cost of sales, operating expenses, operating profit margin, net profit, and more.

The summary dashboard aggregates all of the data put into the financial plan sheet and will automatically update when changes are made.

Instead of wasting hours manually importing your data to your spreadsheet, LiveFlow can also help you to automatically connect your accounting and banking data directly to your spreadsheet, so your numbers are always up-to-date.

With the dashboard, you can view your runway, cash balance, burn rate, gross margins, and other metrics. Having a simple way to track everything in one place will make it easier to complete the financials section of your business plan.

This is a fantastic template to track performance and alignment internally and to create a dependable process for documenting financial information across the business. It’s highly versatile and beginner-friendly.

It’s especially useful if you don’t have an accountant on the team. (I always recommend you do, but for new businesses, having one might not be possible.)

4. ThoughtCo’s Sample Business Plan

One of the more financially oriented sample business plans in this list, BPlan’s free business plan template dedicates many of its pages to your business’s financial plan and financial statements.

After filling this business plan out, your company will truly understand its financial health and the steps you need to take to maintain or improve it.

I absolutely love this business plan template because of its ease-of-use and hands-on instructions (in addition to its finance-centric components). If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of writing an entire business plan, consider using this template to help you with the process.

6. Harvard Business Review’s "How to Write a Winning Business Plan"

Most sample business plans teach you what to include in your business plan, but this Harvard Business Review article will take your business plan to the next level — it teaches you the why and how behind writing a business plan.

With the guidance of Stanley Rich and Richard Gumpert, co-authors of " Business Plans That Win: Lessons From the MIT Enterprise Forum ", you'll learn how to write a convincing business plan that emphasizes the market demand for your product or service.

You’ll also learn the financial benefits investors can reap from putting money into your venture rather than trying to sell them on how great your product or service is.

This business plan guide focuses less on the individual parts of a business plan, and more on the overarching goal of writing one. For that reason, it’s one of my favorites to supplement any template you choose to use. Harvard Business Review’s guide is instrumental for both new and seasoned business owners.

7. HubSpot’s Complete Guide to Starting a Business

If you’re an entrepreneur, you know writing a business plan is one of the most challenging first steps to starting a business.

Fortunately, with HubSpot's comprehensive guide to starting a business, you'll learn how to map out all the details by understanding what to include in your business plan and why it’s important to include them. The guide also fleshes out an entire sample business plan for you.

If you need further guidance on starting a business, HubSpot's guide can teach you how to make your business legal, choose and register your business name, and fund your business. It will also give small business tax information and includes marketing, sales, and service tips.

This comprehensive guide will walk you through the process of starting a business, in addition to writing your business plan, with a high level of exactitude and detail. So if you’re in the midst of starting your business, this is an excellent guide for you.

It also offers other resources you might need, such as market analysis templates.

8. Panda Doc’s Free Business Plan Template

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is one of the more detailed and fleshed-out sample business plans on this list. It describes what you should include in each section, so you don't have to come up with everything from scratch.

Once you fill it out, you’ll fully understand your business’ nitty-gritty details and how all of its moving parts should work together to contribute to its success.

This template has two things I love: comprehensiveness and in-depth instructions. Plus, it’s synced with PandaDoc’s e-signature software so that you and other stakeholders can sign it with ease. For that reason, I especially love it for those starting a business with a partner or with a board of directors.

9. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers several free business plan templates that can be used to inspire your own plan.

Before you get started, you can decide what type of business plan you need — a traditional or lean start-up plan.

Then, you can review the format for both of those plans and view examples of what they might look like.

We love both of the SBA’s templates because of their versatility. You can choose between two options and use the existing content in the templates to flesh out your own plan. Plus, if needed, you can get a free business counselor to help you along the way.

I’ve compiled some completed business plan samples to help you get an idea of how to customize a plan for your business.

I chose different types of business plan ideas to expand your imagination. Some are extensive, while others are fairly simple.

Let’s take a look.

1. LiveFlow

One of the major business expenses is marketing. How you handle your marketing reflects your company’s revenue.

I included this business plan to show you how you can ensure your marketing team is aligned with your overall business plan to get results. The plan also shows you how to track even the smallest metrics of your campaigns, like ROI and payback periods instead of just focusing on big metrics like gross and revenue.

Fintech startup, LiveFlow, allows users to sync real-time data from its accounting services, payment platforms, and banks into custom reports. This eliminates the task of pulling reports together manually, saving teams time and helping automate workflows.

"Using this framework over a traditional marketing plan will help you set a profitable marketing strategy taking things like CAC, LTV, Payback period, and P&L into consideration," explains LiveFlow co-founder, Lasse Kalkar .

When it came to including marketing strategy in its business plan, LiveFlow created a separate marketing profit and loss statement (P&L) to track how well the company was doing with its marketing initiatives.

This is a great approach, allowing businesses to focus on where their marketing dollars are making the most impact. Having this information handy will enable you to build out your business plan’s marketing section with confidence. LiveFlow has shared the template here . You can test it for yourself.

2. Lula Body

Sometimes all you need is a solid mission statement and core values to guide you on how to go about everything. You do this by creating a business plan revolving around how to fulfill your statement best.

For example, Patagonia is an eco-friendly company, so their plan discusses how to make the best environmentally friendly products without causing harm.

A good mission statement  should not only resonate with consumers but should also serve as a core value compass for employees as well.

Patagonia has one of the most compelling mission statements I’ve seen:

"Together, let’s prioritise purpose over profit and protect this wondrous planet, our only home."

It reels you in from the start, and the environmentally friendly theme continues throughout the rest of the statement.

This mission goes on to explain that they are out to "Build the best product, cause no unnecessary harm, and use business to protect nature."

Their mission statement is compelling and detailed, with each section outlining how they will accomplish their goal.

4. Vesta Home Automation

This executive summary for a smart home device startup is part of a business plan created by students at Mount Royal University .

While it lacks some of the sleek visuals of the templates above, its executive summary does a great job of demonstrating how invested they are in the business.

Right away, they mention they’ve invested $200,000 into the company already, which shows investors they have skin in the game and aren’t just looking for someone else to foot the bill.

This is the kind of business plan you need when applying for business funds. It clearly illustrates the expected future of the company and how the business has been coming along over the years.

5. NALB Creative Center

This fictional business plan for an art supply store includes everything one might need in a business plan: an executive summary, a company summary, a list of services, a market analysis summary, and more.

One of its most notable sections is its market analysis summary, which includes an overview of the population growth in the business’ target geographical area, as well as a breakdown of the types of potential customers they expect to welcome at the store. 

This sort of granular insight is essential for understanding and communicating your business’s growth potential. Plus, it lays a strong foundation for creating relevant and useful buyer personas .

It’s essential to keep this information up-to-date as your market and target buyer changes. For that reason, you should carry out market research as often as possible to ensure that you’re targeting the correct audience and sharing accurate information with your investors.

Due to its comprehensiveness, it’s an excellent example to follow if you’re opening a brick-and-mortar store and need to get external funding to start your business .

6. Curriculum Companion Suites (CSS)

If you’re looking for a SaaS business plan example, look no further than this business plan for a fictional educational software company called Curriculum Companion Suites. 

Like the business plan for the NALB Creative Center, it includes plenty of information for prospective investors and other key stakeholders in the business.

One of the most notable features of this business plan is the executive summary, which includes an overview of the product, market, and mission.

The first two are essential for software companies because the product offering is so often at the forefront of the company’s strategy. Without that information being immediately available to investors and executives, then you risk writing an unfocused business plan.

It’s essential to front-load your company’s mission if it explains your "Why?" and this example does just that. In other words, why do you do what you do, and why should stakeholders care? This is an important section to include if you feel that your mission will drive interest in the business and its offerings.

7. Culina Sample Business Plan

Culina's sample business plan is an excellent example of how to lay out your business plan so that it flows naturally, engages readers, and provides the critical information investors and stakeholders need. 

You can use this template as a guide while you're gathering important information for your own business plan. You'll have a better understanding of the data and research you need to do since Culina’s plan outlines these details so flawlessly for inspiration.

8. Plum Sample Business Plan

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Executive summary.

• What have you been doing in your business?
• What do you want to do in the future?
• What are you selling and what makes it unique?
• Who are the people that you will be selling to?
• How can you attract your customers?
• How much is your current revenue?
• What are your plans for your sales forecast?
• How much profit do you want?
• Who is your team?

Business Description

• The type of business, whether you are incorporation, sole proprietorship, or partnership
• The business model that you are using
• The industry where your business belongs
• The mission statement and vision statement of your company and your core values
• Background data of your company and your company’s history
• Long-term objectives and short-term objectives
• The management, including all staff members, together with their salaries

Market Analysis

• Know every customer profile and its demographics. If you are targeting specific consumers, look for their government information. Look at the range of changes that can happen in the following years.
• Research market trends. Find information on how consumption will change in particular groups. Look at the common trends on your products. Know how the industry is going.
• Give right guesses. Make valid points that can set your products to the right market.

Competitive Analysis

• You must have leadership by maximizing your profits. You can do this by giving lower prices on products compared to your competitors.
• You should offer a distinct product that stands out in the industry. This can differentiate you from your competitors.
• Focus on a particular niche so you can have a target market. Build a small audience before going into a wider market.

Organizational Chart

Product description, consumer segmentation.

• The place where the customer lives
• The range of age
• The educational attainment
• The usual behavior observation
• The way the customers spend their free time
• The place where the customers work
• The technology that the customers use
• The salary of customers
• The place where the consumers work
• The beliefs and opinions of consumers

Marketing Plan

• How much is the price of your product? Why have you chosen that price?
• What are your products? What sets your products apart from other products?
• How can you make your products to be bought by consumers?
• Where are you going to sell all your products?

Operational Plan

• Where do your materials come from? Where are you going to produce your products?
• Will you manufacture your products? How long will the product take to be made? What is the best season to make your products?
• Where will your team be going to work? What kind of space do you have?
• What technology do you use?
• How will you handle shipping?
• Where will you store your products?

Financial Plan

Step 1: good product description, step 2: consider competition, step 3: consider future products, share this post on your network, file formats, word templates, google docs templates, excel templates, powerpoint templates, google sheets templates, google slides templates, pdf templates, publisher templates, psd templates, indesign templates, illustrator templates, pages templates, keynote templates, numbers templates, outlook templates, you may also like these articles, 5+ sample investment company business plan in pdf.

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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 ."

• How to Start a Business: A Comprehensive Guide and Essential Steps 1 of 25
• How to Do Market Research, Types, and Example 2 of 25
• Marketing Strategy: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Create One 3 of 25
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• What Is a Marketing Plan? Types and How to Write One 5 of 25
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Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable passes a Joint Action Plan to manage and protect water resources in Chile’s Salar de Atacama Basin

• For the first time in the Salar de Atacama, around 20 stakeholders from indigenous communities, mining, tourism, agriculture, and authorities, are working on joint solutions to water challenges
• The stakeholders have joined a Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable (Mesa Multiactor) and agreed on a Joint Action Plan
• 14 measures are currently being implemented by the Mesa Multiactor, for the purpose of managing and protecting water resources in the Salar de Atacama basin
• The stakeholders are aiming to institutionalize the Mesa Multiactor to ensure their work continues

With this Joint Action Plan, participants of a Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable (Mesa Multiactor) have agreed on a framework for natural resource management in the Salar de Atacama basin in Chile. The Action Plan was one of the crucial goals of the project funded by the Responsible Lithium Partnership of BASF, BMW Group, the former Daimler AG (now Daimler Truck AG and Mercedes-Benz Group AG), Fairphone, and Volkswagen Group.

For the first time in the Salar de Atacama, around 20 organizations (among them representatives of indigenous communities, civil society, academia and the public and private sectors) are collaborating.

The ecosystem of Salar de Atacama is fragile and there is lack of scientific knowledge on the impacts of lithium mining and other economic activities. Potential risks derived from water and brine table shifts could affect ecosystems and local livelihoods. Water availability emerged as the dominant topic in the Mesa Multiactor, thus taking a central role in the project. The protection of valuable habitat and the Salar’s unique biodiversity are further key concerns.

The local participants have agreed on 30 measures in the Action Plan, including the creation of a cadastre of water rights holders on the river basin, geological and hydrological mapping, campaigns on the challenges of water scarcity, provision of drinking water to local communities, and recycling of grey water. Several of the actions are already completed, others are underway or prioritized for the future.

Furthermore, the Mesa Multiactor has addressed scientific uncertainties surrounding water in the Salar by screening and making available more than 300 studies and reports through a public and accessible library.

The participants have extended the project until February 2025, at the same time aiming to institutionalize the roundtable to ensure their work continues beyond that time.

For more information on the Mesa Multiactor and its initiatives, visit www.mesamultiactor.cl/ .

About Responsible Lithium Partnership

Responsible Lithium Partnership (April 2021-February 2025) is a project in the Salar de Atacama (Chile) commissioned by BASF, BMW Group, Daimler Truck, Fairphone, Mercedes-Benz Group and Volkswagen Group. Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is the implementing partner in Chile.

At BASF, we create chemistry for a sustainable future. We combine economic success with environmental protection and social responsibility. Around 112,000 employees in the BASF Group contribute to the success of our customers in nearly all sectors and almost every country in the world. Our portfolio comprises six segments: Chemicals, Materials, Industrial Solutions, Surface Technologies, Nutrition & Care and Agricultural Solutions. BASF generated sales of €68.9 billion in 2023. BASF shares are traded on the stock exchange in Frankfurt (BAS) and as American Depositary Receipts (BASFY) in the United States. Further information at www.basf.com .

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The rise and fall of Allbirds: The sneaker company whose stock went from IPO darling to trading below $1

• Allbirds was founded in 2015 and soared to prominence with its iconic wool sneaker.
• The company went public in November 2021. Shares rose 90% on the opening day of trading.
• Sales have since slowed significantly. The company reported a 14.7% decline in revenue for 2023.

Allbirds' struggles continue to mount.

The shoemaker reported another quarter of disappointing earnings in March, wrapping up a dismal fiscal year that saw a net loss of $152.5 million.

Then, in April, the company received notice that its stock is at risk of delisting from the Nasdaq exchange for trading below $1 for 30 consecutive days.

Here's a history of Allbirds and how it went from a buzzy sustainable footwear brand worn by tech bros and VCs to a company on the brink.

Tim Brown and Joey Zwillinger cofounded Allbirds in 2015 as a sustainable-footwear company

According to its initial filing with the SEC , Allbirds' mission was to "make better things in a better way, through nature." 

Zwillinger previously worked as a vice president of industrial products at a biotechnology company

Brown's background included serving as the vice-captain of New Zealand's soccer team.

Allbirds roared to life in 2016 with a Kickstarter campaign that hit its $30,000 goal in five days.

The company ended up raising nearly $120,000 to make a wool running shoe designed to make a lighter environmental impact than traditional athletic shoes.

In 2016, Allbirds received B Corp certification, a designation given to companies that work to advance environmental and social causes, and shareholder concerns.

For Allbirds, the designation codified, "how we take into account the impact our actions have on all of our stakeholders, including the environment, our flock of employees, communities, consumers, and investors."

In only its second year in business, Allbirds gained the title of world's most comfortable shoe.

Time magazine said Allbirds' hero product, the Wool Runner, was the "World's Most Comfortable Shoes."

By 2017, Allbirds, Warby Parker, and Casper were considered among the "DTC pioneers" shaking up their respective industries — sneakers, eyeglasses, and mattresses.

By 2018, direct-to-consumer business plans proliferated. In 2018, Inc. reported that more than 400 startups were trying to "become the next Warby Parker."

Allbirds sneakers became synonymous with Silicon Valley dressing

In August 2017, Allbirds got another shot of national publicity when The New York Times described Wool Runners as part of the Silicon Valley uniform.

A month later, Allbirds opened its first store,

The 1,450-square-foot store is located in New York City's Soho neighborhood. In 2022, the company operated 58 stores.

By 2020, Allbirds' popularity had spread well beyond Silicon Valley. President Barack Obama was spotted wearing Wool Runners repeatedly.

But the shoe started to fall out of favor with the trendsetters and the press, with GQ even lamenting the sight of Obama wearing them . "Can't someone send him a pair of Jordans?" the magazine wrote.

Allbirds launched the Dasher in 2020.

With the success of Wool Runners waning, Allbirds launched its first performance-running shoe, called the Dasher, in May 2020. Gear Patrol called it "shockingly good."

Also in 2020, Allbirds partnered with Adidas to make a low-carbon shoe, another sign of the company's willingness to disrupt industry norms.

Large footwear brands are typically reluctant to partner with one another. The shoe, called the Adizero x Allbirds 2.94 kg CO2e, had the lowest carbon footprint of any Adidas or Allbirds sneaker.

In August 2021, ahead of a public offering, Allbirds disclosed growing annual sales, but also mounting losses.

Sales increased from $193.7 million in 2019 to $219.3 million in 2020, but losses also increased , growing from $14.5 million in 2019 to $25.9 million in 2020. 

Allbirds went public in 2021.

A little more than 2,100 days after it launched its Kickstarter campaign, Allbirds went public on November 3, 2021. Shares soared 90% on the opening day of trading, CNBC reported, a sign of Wall Street's bullish outlook for the company.

Allbirds dropped claims about being the first "sustainable" IPO.

After the Securities and Exchange Commission objected, Allbirds dropped claims about being the first "sustainable" IPO, the Financia l Times reported in November 2021.

Allbirds launched wholesale in 2022.

Although it was launched as a direct-to-consumer company, in May 2022, Allbirds announced its first wholesale partners , Zalando and Public Lands, then Nordstrom — a signal that DTC sales would not be enough to get the company to profitability.

As Allbirds started to add wholesale partners, the backlash started to build against DTC companies.

"It's the de-DTC era," said Simeon Siegel, the managing director for equity research at BMO Capital Markets. Analysts, such as Siegel, said the benefits of direct sales were often overstated.

As DTC companies started to fall out of favor, and investors started to pay more attention to profitability, Allbirds stock started to drop.

Allbirds shares, which hit $28.64 on the company's first day of trading, had fallen to under $5 fewer than eight months later . Stock pickers said the company needed to expand beyond Wool Runners.

In 2022, Allbirds officially lost its novelty in Silicon Valley wardrobes.

Roughly five years after The New York Times christened Wool Runners part of the Silicon Valley uniform, The Wall Street Journal in December 2022 said that "tech bros" had moved on.

In March 2023, Allbirds shares plummeted 47% after a disastrous earnings report that included a $101 million annual loss.

On a call with stock analysts, executives announced a sweeping four-part reorganization , including slowing the pace of store openings, adding more wholesale partners , and working to "reignite product and brand." Co-CEO Joey Zwillinger also said some of the company's marketing veered too far away from what Allbirds consumers want, including marketing for the Tree Flyers, above, which focused on its technical-performance attributes.

Allbirds began to rethink its big bet on DTC.

As part of the reorganization plan, Zwillinger said the company was considering adding more wholesale partners . By then, the company's wholesale partners included Nordstrom, REI, Scheels, and Dick's.

In 2022, while still based in San Francisco, Allbirds quietly opened an office in Portland, Oregon, to take advantage of the city's talented-footwear workforce. Nike is based in a Portland suburb, and Adidas has its North American headquarters in the city.

Allbirds hired several Nike and Adidas veterans to run the office, including Ashley Comeaux, who spent more than 10 years at Nike before becoming Allbirds' vice president of product design.

In early 2023, Allbirds released a string of products designed and developed by Comeaux and her team, including Risers, Pacers, and SuperLights, which lack a Strobel board, a manufacturing innovation designed to reduce carbon emissions and improve comfort.

Risers and Pacers have already gotten strong reviews from Insider.  Although the new products have been well-received, shares of the company remain well below the $15 IPO price, trading for $1.23.

In March, Allbirds announced disappointing earnings and Zwillinger told analysts that the company had lost focus on its core.

Since then, the company has focused on its best-sellers, the Wool Runner and Tree Dasher, while it discontinued underperforming products like much of its apparel, the Wall Street Journal reported. 

In June, the company released what it said was the world's first carbon-negative shoe , which it calls the M0.0NSHOT.

In May, Allbirds announced a leadership shakeup, as co-founder Tim Brown said in an analyst call he would no longer be co-CEO of the company.

Brown said he would be stepping into the role of chief innovation officer of the company, leaving fellow co-founder Joey Zwillinger as the sole CEO of the company.

The company also laid off 21 employees globally in May, it said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The shoe company generally had a disappointing start to 2023. The company reported a 13% decline in year-over-year revenue in the first quarter.

'As we've tried to expand and grow the brand, we created products that haven't quite met the mark,' Brown told The Wall Street Journal.

In a July article, Brown and Zwillinger told the Wall Street Journal that their attempts to appeal to customers younger than its 30- to 40-year-old base didn't go over well. The Tree Flyer was one of those attempts that missed the mark. 

The company reported second-quarter earnings were above expectations. Sales fell 10% compared to a projected 18%.  

"We laid out a road map for our strategic transformation back in March, and now two quarters into our work, we have gained traction and are solidly on track to drive toward profitability expectations," Zwillinger said in an August earnings call. 

In November, Allbirds released an updated version of its first Wool Runner.

The Wool Runner 2 has been updated with a new version of its SweetFoam midsole and improved durability, Retail Dive reported. 

Full-year earnings for 2023 were dismal indeed, with sales down 14.7% and a net loss of $152.5 million for the year.

The company also promoted COO Joe Vernachio to CEO, with Zwillinger stepping down to serve as a special advisor and remaining on the board of directors.

In April 2024, the company received notice that its stock faces possible delisting on the Nasdaq exchange. It has 180 days to improve the share price.

In a statement , Allbirds said its stock must trade above $1 for at least 10 consecutive days in the next six months in order to stay in Nasdaq's good graces.

Matthew Kish, Ben Tobin, and Jennifer Ortakales-Dawkins contributed to earlier versions of this article.

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Lewis writes about companies, politics and energy as part of the Breaking News Team in Sydney. He covered months of strikes at some of Australia’s largest gas export facilities and the breakup of financial services firm PwC. Before Reuters he wrote about stocks at Morningstar.

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Ping An Trust delays repayment, citing China property market woes

A subsidiary of China's Ping An Insurance failed to repay a roughly $107 million trust product on time, citing the property market crisis and adding that it is suing developer Zhenro Properties with which it invested the sum.