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Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Simple Business Plan

By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021

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A business plan is the cornerstone of any successful company, regardless of size or industry. This step-by-step guide provides information on writing a business plan for organizations at any stage, complete with free templates and expert advice. 

Included on this page, you’ll find a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan and a chart to identify which type of business plan you should write . Plus, find information on how a business plan can help grow a business and expert tips on writing one .

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that communicates a company’s goals and ambitions, along with the timeline, finances, and methods needed to achieve them. Additionally, it may include a mission statement and details about the specific products or services offered.

A business plan can highlight varying time periods, depending on the stage of your company and its goals. That said, a typical business plan will include the following benchmarks:

• Product goals and deadlines for each month
• Monthly financials for the first two years
• Profit and loss statements for the first three to five years
• Balance sheet projections for the first three to five years

Startups, entrepreneurs, and small businesses all create business plans to use as a guide as their new company progresses. Larger organizations may also create (and update) a business plan to keep high-level goals, financials, and timelines in check.

While you certainly need to have a formalized outline of your business’s goals and finances, creating a business plan can also help you determine a company’s viability, its profitability (including when it will first turn a profit), and how much money you will need from investors. In turn, a business plan has functional value as well: Not only does outlining goals help keep you accountable on a timeline, it can also attract investors in and of itself and, therefore, act as an effective strategy for growth.

For more information, visit our comprehensive guide to writing a strategic plan or download free strategic plan templates . This page focuses on for-profit business plans, but you can read our article with nonprofit business plan templates .

Business Plan Steps

The specific information in your business plan will vary, depending on the needs and goals of your venture, but a typical plan includes the following ordered elements:

• Executive summary
• Description of business
• Market analysis
• Competitive analysis
• Description of organizational management
• Description of product or services
• Marketing plan
• Sales strategy
• Funding details (or request for funding)
• Financial projections

If your plan is particularly long or complicated, consider adding a table of contents or an appendix for reference. For an in-depth description of each step listed above, read “ How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step ” below.

Broadly speaking, your audience includes anyone with a vested interest in your organization. They can include potential and existing investors, as well as customers, internal team members, suppliers, and vendors.

Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?

Your business’s stage and intended audience dictates the level of detail your plan needs. Corporations require a thorough business plan — up to 100 pages. Small businesses or startups should have a concise plan focusing on financials and strategy.

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business

In order to identify which type of business plan you need to create, ask: “What do we want the plan to do?” Identify function first, and form will follow.

Use the chart below as a guide for what type of business plan to create:

Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?

There is no set order for a business plan, with the exception of the executive summary, which should always come first. Beyond that, simply ensure that you organize the plan in a way that makes sense and flows naturally.

The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans

A traditional business plan follows the standard structure — because these plans encourage detail, they tend to require more work upfront and can run dozens of pages. A Lean business plan is less common and focuses on summarizing critical points for each section. These plans take much less work and typically run one page in length.

In general, you should use a traditional model for a legacy company, a large company, or any business that does not adhere to Lean (or another Agile method ). Use Lean if you expect the company to pivot quickly or if you already employ a Lean strategy with other business operations. Additionally, a Lean business plan can suffice if the document is for internal use only. Stick to a traditional version for investors, as they may be more sensitive to sudden changes or a high degree of built-in flexibility in the plan.

How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step

Writing a strong business plan requires research and attention to detail for each section. Below, you’ll find a 10-step guide to researching and defining each element in the plan.

Step 1: Executive Summary

The executive summary will always be the first section of your business plan. The goal is to answer the following questions:

• What is the vision and mission of the company?
• What are the company’s short- and long-term goals?

See our  roundup of executive summary examples and templates for samples. Read our executive summary guide to learn more about writing one.

Step 2: Description of Business

The goal of this section is to define the realm, scope, and intent of your venture. To do so, answer the following questions as clearly and concisely as possible:

• What business are we in?
• What does our business do?

Step 3: Market Analysis

In this section, provide evidence that you have surveyed and understand the current marketplace, and that your product or service satisfies a niche in the market. To do so, answer these questions:

• Who is our customer? 
• What does that customer value?

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

In many cases, a business plan proposes not a brand-new (or even market-disrupting) venture, but a more competitive version — whether via features, pricing, integrations, etc. — than what is currently available. In this section, answer the following questions to show that your product or service stands to outpace competitors:

• Who is the competition? 
• What do they do best? 
• What is our unique value proposition?

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

In this section, write an overview of the team members and other key personnel who are integral to success. List roles and responsibilities, and if possible, note the hierarchy or team structure.

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

In this section, clearly define your product or service, as well as all the effort and resources that go into producing it. The strength of your product largely defines the success of your business, so it’s imperative that you take time to test and refine the product before launching into marketing, sales, or funding details.

Questions to answer in this section are as follows:

• What is the product or service?
• How do we produce it, and what resources are necessary for production?

Step 7: Marketing Plan

In this section, define the marketing strategy for your product or service. This doesn’t need to be as fleshed out as a full marketing plan , but it should answer basic questions, such as the following:

• Who is the target market (if different from existing customer base)?
• What channels will you use to reach your target market?
• What resources does your marketing strategy require, and do you have access to them?
• If possible, do you have a rough estimate of timeline and budget?
• How will you measure success?

Step 8: Sales Plan

Write an overview of the sales strategy, including the priorities of each cycle, steps to achieve these goals, and metrics for success. For the purposes of a business plan, this section does not need to be a comprehensive, in-depth sales plan , but can simply outline the high-level objectives and strategies of your sales efforts. 

Start by answering the following questions:

• What is the sales strategy?
• What are the tools and tactics you will use to achieve your goals?
• What are the potential obstacles, and how will you overcome them?
• What is the timeline for sales and turning a profit?
• What are the metrics of success?

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

This section is one of the most critical parts of your business plan, particularly if you are sharing it with investors. You do not need to provide a full financial plan, but you should be able to answer the following questions:

• How much capital do you currently have? How much capital do you need?
• How will you grow the team (onboarding, team structure, training and development)?
• What are your physical needs and constraints (space, equipment, etc.)?

Step 10: Financial Projections

Apart from the fundraising analysis, investors like to see thought-out financial projections for the future. As discussed earlier, depending on the scope and stage of your business, this could be anywhere from one to five years. 

While these projections won’t be exact — and will need to be somewhat flexible — you should be able to gauge the following:

• How and when will the company first generate a profit?
• How will the company maintain profit thereafter?

Business Plan Template

Download Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

This basic business plan template has space for all the traditional elements: an executive summary, product or service details, target audience, marketing and sales strategies, etc. In the finances sections, input your baseline numbers, and the template will automatically calculate projections for sales forecasting, financial statements, and more.

For templates tailored to more specific needs, visit this business plan template roundup or download a fill-in-the-blank business plan template to make things easy. 

If you are looking for a particular template by file type, visit our pages dedicated exclusively to Microsoft Excel , Microsoft Word , and Adobe PDF business plan templates.

How to Write a Simple Business Plan

A simple business plan is a streamlined, lightweight version of the large, traditional model. As opposed to a one-page business plan , which communicates high-level information for quick overviews (such as a stakeholder presentation), a simple business plan can exceed one page.

Below are the steps for creating a generic simple business plan, which are reflected in the template below .

• Write the Executive Summary This section is the same as in the traditional business plan — simply offer an overview of what’s in the business plan, the prospect or core offering, and the short- and long-term goals of the company. 
• Add a Company Overview Document the larger company mission and vision. 
• Provide the Problem and Solution In straightforward terms, define the problem you are attempting to solve with your product or service and how your company will attempt to do it. Think of this section as the gap in the market you are attempting to close.
• Identify the Target Market Who is your company (and its products or services) attempting to reach? If possible, briefly define your buyer personas .
• Write About the Competition In this section, demonstrate your knowledge of the market by listing the current competitors and outlining your competitive advantage.
• Describe Your Product or Service Offerings Get down to brass tacks and define your product or service. What exactly are you selling?
• Outline Your Marketing Tactics Without getting into too much detail, describe your planned marketing initiatives.
• Add a Timeline and the Metrics You Will Use to Measure Success Offer a rough timeline, including milestones and key performance indicators (KPIs) that you will use to measure your progress.
• Include Your Financial Forecasts Write an overview of your financial plan that demonstrates you have done your research and adequate modeling. You can also list key assumptions that go into this forecasting. 
• Identify Your Financing Needs This section is where you will make your funding request. Based on everything in the business plan, list your proposed sources of funding, as well as how you will use it.

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel |  Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF  | Smartsheet

Use this simple business plan template to outline each aspect of your organization, including information about financing and opportunities to seek out further funding. This template is completely customizable to fit the needs of any business, whether it’s a startup or large company.

Read our article offering free simple business plan templates or free 30-60-90-day business plan templates to find more tailored options. You can also explore our collection of one page business templates . 

How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup

A Lean startup business plan is a more Agile approach to a traditional version. The plan focuses more on activities, processes, and relationships (and maintains flexibility in all aspects), rather than on concrete deliverables and timelines.

While there is some overlap between a traditional and a Lean business plan, you can write a Lean plan by following the steps below:

• Add Your Value Proposition Take a streamlined approach to describing your product or service. What is the unique value your startup aims to deliver to customers? Make sure the team is aligned on the core offering and that you can state it in clear, simple language.
• List Your Key Partners List any other businesses you will work with to realize your vision, including external vendors, suppliers, and partners. This section demonstrates that you have thoughtfully considered the resources you can provide internally, identified areas for external assistance, and conducted research to find alternatives.
• Note the Key Activities Describe the key activities of your business, including sourcing, production, marketing, distribution channels, and customer relationships.
• Include Your Key Resources List the critical resources — including personnel, equipment, space, and intellectual property — that will enable you to deliver your unique value.
• Identify Your Customer Relationships and Channels In this section, document how you will reach and build relationships with customers. Provide a high-level map of the customer experience from start to finish, including the spaces in which you will interact with the customer (online, retail, etc.). 
• Detail Your Marketing Channels Describe the marketing methods and communication platforms you will use to identify and nurture your relationships with customers. These could be email, advertising, social media, etc.
• Explain the Cost Structure This section is especially necessary in the early stages of a business. Will you prioritize maximizing value or keeping costs low? List the foundational startup costs and how you will move toward profit over time.
• Share Your Revenue Streams Over time, how will the company make money? Include both the direct product or service purchase, as well as secondary sources of revenue, such as subscriptions, selling advertising space, fundraising, etc.

Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

Startup leaders can use this Lean business plan template to relay the most critical information from a traditional plan. You’ll find all the sections listed above, including spaces for industry and product overviews, cost structure and sources of revenue, and key metrics, and a timeline. The template is completely customizable, so you can edit it to suit the objectives of your Lean startups.

See our wide variety of  startup business plan templates for more options.

How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan

A business plan for a loan, often called a loan proposal , includes many of the same aspects of a traditional business plan, as well as additional financial documents, such as a credit history, a loan request, and a loan repayment plan.

In addition, you may be asked to include personal and business financial statements, a form of collateral, and equity investment information.

Download free financial templates to support your business plan.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

Outside of including all the key details in your business plan, you have several options to elevate the document for the highest chance of winning funding and other resources. Follow these tips from experts:.

• Keep It Simple: Avner Brodsky , the Co-Founder and CEO of Lezgo Limited, an online marketing company, uses the acronym KISS (keep it short and simple) as a variation on this idea. “The business plan is not a college thesis,” he says. “Just focus on providing the essential information.”
• Do Adequate Research: Michael Dean, the Co-Founder of Pool Research , encourages business leaders to “invest time in research, both internal and external (market, finance, legal etc.). Avoid being overly ambitious or presumptive. Instead, keep everything objective, balanced, and accurate.” Your plan needs to stand on its own, and you must have the data to back up any claims or forecasting you make. As Brodsky explains, “Your business needs to be grounded on the realities of the market in your chosen location. Get the most recent data from authoritative sources so that the figures are vetted by experts and are reliable.”
• Set Clear Goals: Make sure your plan includes clear, time-based goals. “Short-term goals are key to momentum growth and are especially important to identify for new businesses,” advises Dean.
• Know (and Address) Your Weaknesses: “This awareness sets you up to overcome your weak points much quicker than waiting for them to arise,” shares Dean. Brodsky recommends performing a full SWOT analysis to identify your weaknesses, too. “Your business will fare better with self-knowledge, which will help you better define the mission of your business, as well as the strategies you will choose to achieve your objectives,” he adds.
• Seek Peer or Mentor Review: “Ask for feedback on your drafts and for areas to improve,” advises Brodsky. “When your mind is filled with dreams for your business, sometimes it is an outsider who can tell you what you’re missing and will save your business from being a product of whimsy.”

Outside of these more practical tips, the language you use is also important and may make or break your business plan.

Shaun Heng, VP of Operations at Coin Market Cap , gives the following advice on the writing, “Your business plan is your sales pitch to an investor. And as with any sales pitch, you need to strike the right tone and hit a few emotional chords. This is a little tricky in a business plan, because you also need to be formal and matter-of-fact. But you can still impress by weaving in descriptive language and saying things in a more elegant way.

“A great way to do this is by expanding your vocabulary, avoiding word repetition, and using business language. Instead of saying that something ‘will bring in as many customers as possible,’ try saying ‘will garner the largest possible market segment.’ Elevate your writing with precise descriptive words and you'll impress even the busiest investor.”

Additionally, Dean recommends that you “stay consistent and concise by keeping your tone and style steady throughout, and your language clear and precise. Include only what is 100 percent necessary.”

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

While a template provides a great outline of what to include in a business plan, a live document or more robust program can provide additional functionality, visibility, and real-time updates. The U.S. Small Business Association also curates resources for writing a business plan.

Additionally, you can use business plan software to house data, attach documentation, and share information with stakeholders. Popular options include LivePlan, Enloop, BizPlanner, PlanGuru, and iPlanner.

How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business

A business plan — both the exercise of creating one and the document — can grow your business by helping you to refine your product, target audience, sales plan, identify opportunities, secure funding, and build new partnerships. 

Outside of these immediate returns, writing a business plan is a useful exercise in that it forces you to research the market, which prompts you to forge your unique value proposition and identify ways to beat the competition. Doing so will also help you build (and keep you accountable to) attainable financial and product milestones. And down the line, it will serve as a welcome guide as hurdles inevitably arise.

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What is a business plan?

1. write an executive summary, 2. describe your company, 3. state your business goals, 4. describe your products and services, 5. do your market research, 6. outline your marketing and sales plan, 7. perform a business financial analysis, 8. make financial projections, 9. summarize how your company operates, 10. add any additional information to an appendix, business plan tips and resources.

A business plan outlines your business’s financial goals and explains how you’ll achieve them over the next three to five years. Here’s a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan that will offer a strong, detailed road map for your business.

ZenBusiness

A business plan is a document that explains what your business does, how it makes money and who its customers are. Internally, writing a business plan should help you clarify your vision and organize your operations. Externally, you can share it with potential lenders and investors to show them you’re on the right track.

Business plans are living documents; it’s OK for them to change over time. Startups may update their business plans often as they figure out who their customers are and what products and services fit them best. Mature companies might only revisit their business plan every few years. Regardless of your business’s age, brush up this document before you apply for a business loan .

» Need help writing? Learn about the best business plan software .

This is your elevator pitch. It should include a mission statement, a brief description of the products or services your business offers and a broad summary of your financial growth plans.

Though the executive summary is the first thing your investors will read, it can be easier to write it last. That way, you can highlight information you’ve identified while writing other sections that go into more detail.

» MORE: How to write an executive summary in 6 steps

Next up is your company description. This should contain basic information like:

Your business’s registered name.

Address of your business location .

Names of key people in the business. Make sure to highlight unique skills or technical expertise among members of your team.

Your company description should also define your business structure — such as a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation — and include the percent ownership that each owner has and the extent of each owner’s involvement in the company.

Lastly, write a little about the history of your company and the nature of your business now. This prepares the reader to learn about your goals in the next section.

» MORE: How to write a company overview for a business plan

The third part of a business plan is an objective statement. This section spells out what you’d like to accomplish, both in the near term and over the coming years.

If you’re looking for a business loan or outside investment, you can use this section to explain how the financing will help your business grow and how you plan to achieve those growth targets. The key is to provide a clear explanation of the opportunity your business presents to the lender.

For example, if your business is launching a second product line, you might explain how the loan will help your company launch that new product and how much you think sales will increase over the next three years as a result.

» MORE: How to write a successful business plan for a loan

In this section, go into detail about the products or services you offer or plan to offer.

You should include the following:

An explanation of how your product or service works.

The pricing model for your product or service.

The typical customers you serve.

Your supply chain and order fulfillment strategy.

You can also discuss current or pending trademarks and patents associated with your product or service.

Lenders and investors will want to know what sets your product apart from your competition. In your market analysis section , explain who your competitors are. Discuss what they do well, and point out what you can do better. If you’re serving a different or underserved market, explain that.

Here, you can address how you plan to persuade customers to buy your products or services, or how you will develop customer loyalty that will lead to repeat business.

Include details about your sales and distribution strategies, including the costs involved in selling each product .

» MORE: R e a d our complete guide to small business marketing

If you’re a startup, you may not have much information on your business financials yet. However, if you’re an existing business, you’ll want to include income or profit-and-loss statements, a balance sheet that lists your assets and debts, and a cash flow statement that shows how cash comes into and goes out of the company.

Accounting software may be able to generate these reports for you. It may also help you calculate metrics such as:

Net profit margin: the percentage of revenue you keep as net income.

Current ratio: the measurement of your liquidity and ability to repay debts.

Accounts receivable turnover ratio: a measurement of how frequently you collect on receivables per year.

This is a great place to include charts and graphs that make it easy for those reading your plan to understand the financial health of your business.

This is a critical part of your business plan if you’re seeking financing or investors. It outlines how your business will generate enough profit to repay the loan or how you will earn a decent return for investors.

Here, you’ll provide your business’s monthly or quarterly sales, expenses and profit estimates over at least a three-year period — with the future numbers assuming you’ve obtained a new loan.

Accuracy is key, so carefully analyze your past financial statements before giving projections. Your goals may be aggressive, but they should also be realistic.

NerdWallet’s picks for setting up your business finances:

The best business checking accounts .

The best business credit cards .

The best accounting software .

Before the end of your business plan, summarize how your business is structured and outline each team’s responsibilities. This will help your readers understand who performs each of the functions you’ve described above — making and selling your products or services — and how much each of those functions cost.

If any of your employees have exceptional skills, you may want to include their resumes to help explain the competitive advantage they give you.

Finally, attach any supporting information or additional materials that you couldn’t fit in elsewhere. That might include:

Licenses and permits.

Equipment leases.

Bank statements.

Details of your personal and business credit history, if you’re seeking financing.

If the appendix is long, you may want to consider adding a table of contents at the beginning of this section.

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We’ll start with a brief questionnaire to better understand the unique needs of your business.

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

Here are some tips to write a detailed, convincing business plan:

Avoid over-optimism: If you’re applying for a business bank loan or professional investment, someone will be reading your business plan closely. Providing unreasonable sales estimates can hurt your chances of approval.

Proofread: Spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors can jump off the page and turn off lenders and prospective investors. If writing and editing aren't your strong suit, you may want to hire a professional business plan writer, copy editor or proofreader.

Use free resources: SCORE is a nonprofit association that offers a large network of volunteer business mentors and experts who can help you write or edit your business plan. The U.S. Small Business Administration’s Small Business Development Centers , which provide free business consulting and help with business plan development, can also be a resource.

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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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What Is a Business Plan?

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

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

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

Key Takeaways

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

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2 Types of Business Plans

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

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

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

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

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

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

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

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

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

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

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

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ZenBusinessPlans

How to Write a Business Plan

As lockdown measures across the world are being lifted and the economy begins to bounce back, we are seeing unprecedented opportunities arising for new businesses. Governments across the world are increasing small businesses loans, commercial and retail space is cheaper than it has ever been, and customers are beginning to spend again.

There has never been a better time to launch a company. If you are looking to start your own business then you will need a polished business plan ready to go, long before you launch.

Sample Business Plans Based On Industry

1. Aviation | 2. Agriculture | Arts & Crafts

4. Automotive | 5. B2B | 6. B2C | 7. Beauty

8. Chemical | 9. Construction | 10. Education

11. Entertainment | 12. Fashion | 13. Finance

14. Fitness | 15. Food | 16. Green

17. Healthcare | 18. Hospitality

19. Import Export | 20. Manufacturing

21. Internet Based

22. Marketing & Advertising | 23. Media

24. Mining | 25. Non Profit | 26. Oil & Gas

27. Pet | 28. Real Estate | 29. Retail

30. Security | 31. Sports | 32. Technology

33. Transportation | 34. Travel

Why Write a Business Plan?

A business plan is a necessity for any modern business. Whether you are going to be applying for a loan, seeking investors, or even if you are self-funding.  Putting together your business plan will help you to get a complete picture of what your business will look like, what it needs to run, and any complications you could face during launch.

If you are serious about attracting investors or getting a business loan, then you need a plan. Whoever said you don’t need a formal business plan to start or expand your business was certainly not addressing those who need funds from creditors and investors. That is why i wrote this guide for three set of individuals:

• Entrepreneurs who are just starting out in business and want to write their own business plan
• Established business owners who want to expand their businesses and need a business plan
• Those seeking funds ( grants, loans or equity ) to finance their business project

You don’t just write a business plan anyhow, there are laid down steps to follow so that your business plan will have a professional look and flow. This article will teach how to structure your business plan.

The Complete Guide to Writing a Business Plan

1. cover letter.

The cover letter serves the same purpose as it does when you submit one along with a resume as a job candidate; it introduces your business plan to the reader.

Because your goal is to market your idea to prospective investors, creditors, partners, employees, and other stakeholders, all the parts of your plan must appeal to the reader. Here are the elements that you need to include in the cover letter:

• Address of recipient
• Your address
• Salutation ( you must include a specific name as in, “Dear Mr James.” )
• Body ( state clearly that you are submitting a business plan for your business, which you can describe in one sentence; state clearly that you are seeking financial support for your business idea. Tell the reader what to expect in the following pages, and express your eagerness to hear back from them. Don’t forget to add your contact details )
• Appreciation

2. Title Page

Remember, you will never get a second chance to make a first impression. So, you certainly don’t want to overdo this aspect. Since nobody will blame you for simplicity, stick with that option; which means you should avoid bright or contrasting colors and unnecessary fancy borders. The following are what to include on your title page:

• Your business logo ( if you have one )
• The name of your business
• Founder’s name
• The words “Business Plan”

3. Executive Summary

Your executive summary should be the opening page of your business plan. It is essential and shouldn’t be missed – any serious investor won’t read a business plan without an executive summary.  You should see an executive summary as the elevator pitch for your business plan. You need to grab the attention of your investors, summarize your business, and show that your plan is viable. 

You will want to sell your investors on your story and show that your business has the voice, the products, and the audience to back it up.  You will want to use short sentences throughout your executive summary, and use bullet points where possible. You will have a lot of information to cover and you don’t want to lose your investors’ attention. 

Each section in your executive summary will act as a sample for the later chapters of your business report. You will want to capture all the important information without getting too bogged down in the details.  Most investors don’t read the rest of the business plan if they aren’t grabbed by the executive summary. 

a. Components of a Business Plan Executive Summary

• Business concept (what you do or what you intend to do)
• Business goals and vision (what you want to achieve)
• Product/service description and differentiation (what you offer and what makes it different)
• Target market (who you want to sell to)
• Marketing plan (how you plan to reach your customers)
• Current financial state (what you currently make in revenue—for existing business looking at expansion, or how much you already have on ground—for startups)
• Projected financial state (what you foresee making in revenue)
• The request (how much funds you are asking for)
• The team (who runs your business)

b. A description of products/services

You will want to begin by talking about what your business does. You may want to use the P.A.S introduction system – you present the problem , aggravate it, and then provide the solution to it. The solution being your product or service. 

c. Summary of your objectives

Use bullet points for this section. Summarize your business’ main objectives. You can talk about the number of potential sales you are aiming for, market positioning, and your other intentions. Most importantly, make sure the rest of your plan shows that you can achieve these goals with ease. 

d. Strong understanding of your market

This section should act as a taster menu for your market research and marketing plan. You need to show that you understand the market you want to move into, as well as past and current trends.  Briefly cover your advertising and social media plans.

You may also want to give an idea of how you want your brand to look online. As well as, detailing some buzzwords you want to associate with your business. 

e. Potential for growth/ funding overview

In this section, you should lay out the amount of funding you are looking for (if you need funding), how you plan to spend it, and what kind of profits you are looking to make. You should look at including 1 year, 3 year, 5 year, and 10 year profit predictions. You should also keep these figures realistic and make sure that they are backed up throughout the rest of the document. 

f. Your competitive advantage

In this section, you should explain how you are able to offer something your competitors can’t and how you are planning to eat into their market share. 

g. Company Description

You will want to use this section to introduce your company to the people reading your business plan. By the time they finish reading this section they should understand your company’s mission statement , its structure, what it plans to do, and how it plans to do it. 

This section will be more detailed than your executive summary, and it will cover all the essential information about the day-to-day running of your company. 

h. Details about your company e.g. location 

Start this section by talking about where the company is going to be based. This will be very important for investors (and you), as it will affect what kind of tax will be paid on profits.  Then you should talk about whether your business will have a physical location, or whether it will function in another way. 

Talk about the different types of locations your business will need to function – i.e. a physical store, a warehouse, a server farm, etc. 

i. How large the company is 

In this section, you will want to talk about two things- what your company is worth and how many people you will need to employ (or already employ) to keep it running.  These two topics go hand in hand, as you will have to prove that your business will be able to make enough money to support its payroll.  You do not need to cover the management structure of your business here. 

j. What your business actually does

In this section, you will want to present your mission statement for your company. This should include why your company exists, what its role is (are you a B2B or a B2C business), and what its overall goal is.  You should share your process in detail here.

For example, if you are planning to sell hats, you should briefly talk about the process of getting the materials, making the hats, and how you plan to sell them at a profit. 

k. What you hope to accomplish

Here you should expand on your company’s overall goal. Include any smaller goals, you have as a company – for example if you plan to have stores in multiple cities within 3 years. 

In this section, you don’t have to show how you plan to make your dreams possible. But you should make sure that you do cover that in the rest of your business plan – investors will look for these answers and won’t be happy if they’re not there. 

4. Your Company’s Profile

A company profile is a formal introduction of your business. It usually contains all you would want potential clients, investors, and the general public to know about your business. It is used as a marketing tool and it is your company’s unique selling point.

A complete company profile is expected to contain the vision, mission, and goals of the company, a detailed description of the product and service offering of the company, the profile of the founding members of the company, a brief story of how the company got started and what they intend to achieve.

So also, information like company name, address, phone number, website and email et al must be part of your company profile.

a. Components of your Company’s Profile

• Structure of your business (sole proprietorship, general partnership, limited partnership, or an incorporated company)
• The date your business was established ( for existing businesses )
• The nature of your business ( what are you selling, or what are you planning to sell ?)
• The industry you are in
• Business vision, mission, and values
• Background information on your business or its history
• Business Objectives ( short and long-term )
• The Business team

5. Products and Services

In this section, you will want to outline the products and services you are planning to provide when you launch. As well as any products or services you plan to launch in the future. You should present your ideas about prices and profits in this section too. 

a. A description 

This section should include a description of the products or services you are offering or plan to offer when your company launches. By this point you should have made it clear why these products are necessary, so you will not need to waste space by explaining how they solve the problem you presented in your mission statement. 

b. How the products and services will be priced?

This is one of the most important parts of this section. Here you will show how your business plans to make money. If this section doesn’t sell your business to investors, nothing else will.  You should cover the price of your product, as well as breaking down the costs and profits of each item or service. Your expenses and markups should be clear to anyone, even if they are just skimming through the document. 

c. A comparison of the products or services your competitors offer in relation to yours

In this section, you will need to explain what makes your business and your products different from your competitors. You should talk about what new things you bring to the market. And how you plan to improve on your competitors’ business plans. 

This is particularly important if you are planning to charge more than your competitors. You will need to convince your investors that customers will want to choose your more expensive option. 

d. Sales literature 

Here you should include copies of any sales literature you plan to use. If you don’t have any yet then you should include some mockups of the final literature. This is not to be confused with the advertising you are planning to use. 

e. Any intellectual property, such as trademarks, or legal issues you need to address

In this section, you will want to detail any trademarks that you have made in the name of your company as well as any other intellectual property you have a claim to or are planning to trademark.  You should be honest in this section, if you have any legal issues you need to address as a company. It is better for your investors to find out about these things beforehand. 

f. Future products or services you plan to offer

This is the section where you can prove to your investors that you are not just a one-hit-wonder and that you have the knowledge to evolve and keep your company making money even after the market changes.  Here you should display any other products you plan to offer in the future. 

6. Your Industry Analysis

In this section of your business plan, you will demonstrate that the industry’s market size is worth going after, who your main competitors will be if you decide to take a plunge, and how you will be able to carve out a niche for yourself and give your competitors a run for their money.

Planning a business goes beyond analyzing the potential of your offer. You must analyze the following three factors as well:

• The strengths and weaknesses of your business
• The competition
• Who your customers are, what they want, and how they want it

These are the major components of a business plan’s market or industrial analysis and it is also known as a SWOT (Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis. This section of your business plan reveals the chances of your business to achieve success with its offers.

And that’s why the industry analysis is a very important section of your business plan, which must be carefully conducted and documented. This chapter covers everything you need to know about competition analysis, market size and target audience, market forces and trends, environment analysis and risk assessment.

7. Marketing Plan

We find that many entrepreneurs find this section the hardest to put together. If you feel like you are struggling, we recommend hiring a marketing expert to help you put together a marketing plan – as this will be a section investors pay a lot of attention to.  It also answers your most important marketing questions about your customers/clients which include:

• Where do they live?
• What’s their age range?
• What’s their level of education?
• How many of them are there?
• What are some common behavior patterns?
• What do they spend their free time on?
• Where do they work?
• What technology do they use?
• What ethnicity are they?
• How much do they earn?
• Where are they commonly employed?
• What are their values, beliefs, or opinions?

a. Products and services and your unique selling proposition (USP)

What makes your product unique ? Why should your customers spend their hard earned money on your product? What will keep them coming back for more?

What makes your product better than your competition’s’ products?  These are the questions that you will need to answer in this section. This should be a customer-focused section that really shows how your customer will benefit from your product and interacting with your business. 

b. Pricing strategy

Here, you will want to go back over your price point, your costs, profits, margins, and markups.  However, in this section, you will want to compare these figures to your competitors and their products. If you are spending more on materials you will need to justify it – i.e recycled plastic is more expensive with fits in with your mission statement to be environmentally friendly. 

If you can include exact details about your suppliers, then do. 

c. Sales and distribution plan

In this section, you will cover how your product (or service) is going to get from the factory and into the customer’s hands. 

• Will you sell your products online? In your own stores?
• Will you have it stocked in larger stores? If so, how will you pick out stores that align with your brand values? 
• What channels will you use to get your product out there? Will you sell via your website, a retailer, wholesaler, or a totally different channel?
•  How will customers pay for your product?
• What will your return policy look like? Will you offer any guarantees? If so, what will they look like?
• What happens after a customer makes a purchase? What type of customer support will you provide?

You will need to talk about batch numbers and how much that will cost upfront.  

d. Advertising and promotions plan

This should be the longest section in your marketing plan.  Here you will cover how you will build buzz before the launch of your first product. Then how you will keep the excitement and sales going.  You should discuss how other companies have done this and show that you know the best way to advertise your target audience. 

You should talk about promotions, what response you expect to see from them, and how you will make up any money lost. 

• Will you have a dedicated presence across many of the popular online channels (such as website, social media, relevant marketplace, etc) used today to gain brand awareness?
• Will your marketing plan be primarily inbound focused (such as SEO, social media, blogging, etc), outbound focused (such as PPC, affiliate marketing, sales teams, etc), traditional focused (such as direct mail, brochures, and print advertising), or a mix of all three?
• What are other low-cost yet effective marketing mediums that you will leverage to get attention?
• What is your PR strategy? Why would the press be interested in your story?

e. Social media 

Long gone are the days when a company can get away with pitching without a social media plan.  The power of social media is strong right now, that with the right selection of pictures on Instagram companies can gain thousands of followers before anyone knows that they are selling. 

While poor social media presence won’t destroy a business. A good social media presence can make one a success.  When putting this plan together, you will want to make sure you show that you understand how your target audience uses social media, what social media they use, and when they use it.

For example, if you are planning to offer a B2B (business to business) service, then you should be present, posting, and advertising on Linkedin. If your social media plan focused on Instagram, your investors might be concerned that you hadn’t really researched your market. 

However, if you were looking at selling products to moms with teenagers – then Facebook would be the right place for you. Its average user is a female between 35-45.   If you do not feel like you understand the field of social media well enough then you may want to hire someone to help you put this plan together and implement it. 

8. Operational Plan

This will be the least glamorous section of your business plan (and probably the most boring section to write). But that doesn’t make it any less important.  In this section, you will show your investors that you understand how your business will run on a day-to-day basis and that you are prepared for that. Here you will show your strategy and implementation plans. 

a. Objectives

This is the place to discuss the fundamental goals of your business.  For example, you want to be turning a profit after 6 months. You want to have 100 employees by the end of the first year. You would like to open a second store before the business turns 5. 

Here, you should step out these goals with a point-by-point plan underneath them. Depending on the type of goal you might want to put a timeframe on the goals or use some other tangible measure of success.  These goals should be related to keeping the business profitable – for example, talking about social media based goals in this section is irrelevant. 

b. Timeline

There are two different types of timelines you need to consider in this section.  Firstly, you should be looking at production timelines. These should include the timeline that covers you putting in an order for your product to the time when it arrives on the shelf.

This will give you an idea of how far in advance you will have to plan launches and how long restocking products might take. Secondly, if you are planning to expand or have set yourself tangible goals – you should have a timeline for achieving these goals set out. 

c. Procedures

In this section, you will want to break down the day-to-day operations of your business. Talk about opening hours, holidays, seasonal variables. Cover any of the assets that the business has or will acquire. Cover the equipment the business will be using. 

You will want to talk about your plans for product testing, for acquiring materials, and for meeting health and safety standards.  You will need to outline how any physical premises will be run. Talk about whether they will need power, water, drainage, etc. You should provide a detailed cost analysis of everything that you have covered in this section.  

d. The Production Process

• You will also need to give details of your entire production process, and that means answering the following questions:
• How long it will take you to produce a single unit or a predefined number of units?
• What measures have been put in place to integrate customer feedback into your product or service? As in, have you allotted time to create and test prototypes, pricing, or delivery mechanisms?
• How will you deal with major influxes in demand? That is, what procedures or steps will you have in place when you offer a sale and orders come flying in?

e. The Supply Chain

Let’s start with the workflow that you will have to deal with to make your ideas a reality. Some of the things you will want to touch on are as follows:

• Suppliers : Who will be providing you with all the materials that you won’t be manufacturing yourself?
• Facilities : Where will you house your inventory (if any), or which office will you use for your operations?
• Personnel : How many staff will you require for your daily operations? What will their duties look like?
• Equipment : What tools and technology do you require to be up and running or to take your company to the next level? ( This could include everything from computers to office desks and everything in between ).
• Shipping and fulfillment : Here you will have to outline whether you will be handling all the deliveries on your orders or if you will be using a third-party fulfillment partner.
• Inventory : Here you will highlight how much you will keep on hand, where it will be stored, and how you will have it shipped to third-partners if applicable. Also, an important detail to note is how you will keep track of everything going in and out.
• Customer support : How will support requests, refunds, and customer complaints be considered and integrated in your business workflow?

In essence, this section should signal to the reader that you have a good handle of running your business. It also passes the message that you have a contingency plan in place to account for uncertainty in the marketplace. By taking this advice into account you will create a more convincing operational plan.

9. Management Plan

This is the area of your business plan that you will have to update most frequently, particularly at the beginning of your journey when you are seeking funding.  When you first write this business plan, this section may be a proposal to possible lenders. With you offering them stakes in your company, rather than sharing concrete facts about who owns what. 

As you are gathering investors, you should make sure to update your management plan between meetings. You don’t want to bring people into a team with accidental false promises or with an incorrect idea about their position in the company.  

a. Ownership 

This is the section where you will outline who owns what parts of your business.  If the company is very new then it may just be owned by you and your fellow founders. If you have put money into the business then you may want to list yourself as a stakeholder. 

How you list yourself will affect the tax you pay on the company’s profits. If you are looking to draw investors into your business then you can use this section to show what percentage of the business is up for sale and the predicted profits for the future owner. 

b. Management

In this section, you will be detailing the experience and the roles of the management team you have in place to run the business.  The idea behind this section is that you want to reassure possible investors that the business is being run by experts in the field who know what they are doing. 

An experienced management team is less of a risk for your investors.  If you don’t have a team put together yet then you can just discuss the structure of the team you hope to build. Your investors may want to have a say in who you hire or how the team is structured. 

If that is something you are open to, you can mention that in this section. 

The final part of your management plan should be about the board of directors at your company.  Company’s that are in the early stages of fundraising will not have a board in place. This is nothing to worry about. Take a similar approach with this section to your ownership section. 

Talk about the kind of board you would like to set up and how someone would earn their place on this board. Talk about the kind of people you want talking up those spots -you can talk about both experience and attitude.  If you do have a board then you want to talk about their roles and experience in this section. Show possible investors that your board members will look after their money.  

10. Business Growth Strategy

In this chapter, you will learn how to devise your short and long term business growth strategy. This is important because investors want to know your long term expansion plans and where your company will be in the next five to ten years.

How to Present your Business Growth Strategy

• Explain the development options and opportunities in detail.
• Review and document the financial requirements for each option.
• Document the marketing strategies you will need to accomplish and nurture your chosen growth option.
• Review the financial breakdown of internal or external capital and how the capital will be made available throughout the growth process.
• Document a breakdown of other things that will be needed, expanded, or ditched.
• Print your growth plan and review it regularly until you are ready to implement it.

11. Financial Plan

This is another section that many entrepreneurs struggle with.  It is very important to get the numbers in this section right, as you do not want your investors to think that you are trying to mislead them. If you don’t feel like you can put together a financial plan on your own you should hire someone to help you do it. 

In this section, you are going to cover all the financial elements of your business. Including what kind of investment you are looking for, how much the day-to-day running of the business costs, and any new investment you think you will need over the next 5 years. 

a. The amount of money to set up  or maintain the business

This section will be different for every business, but you should have a clear figure at the top of the page that shows how much it will cost you to set up your business (or to maintain it in its current state). 

Underneath that, you should have a breakdown of all the different costs that make up that final number. Try to keep this section to a page. If needed you can put more detailed notes in an appendix and refer the reader to that page for more complicated sums.  You want to keep this section as clear as possible.  

b. The amount needed for the next few years

Next, you will want to take a deep dive into how you think the day-to-day running costs of the business will change over the next few years.  You should also discuss any big expense that you can foresee. For example, if your bakery business picks up, you might need to buy a second over to meet demand and hire an extra baker. 

You may want to do a couple of sets of calculations showing how different rates of growth would affect the costs of running your business. For example, slower than expected growth, expected rate of growth, 5% faster growth. 

c. How do you plan to spend funds?

This section is about mapping out what you will do with the money you are requesting and any money you make as a business. This will include loans, investments, grants, sales, and profits.  You should talk about how you will be spending your money and how it will benefit the company or why it is essential you spend the money in that way. 

For example, you may want to invest in electric vehicles for the company’s fleet. While the initial outgoings will be higher than buying petrol cars, the fuel costs will quickly make up for this. 

d. Ongoing business expenses e.g. salaries

Finally, you are going to want to break down the ongoing costs of running your business.  These are costs that are unavoidable and shouldn’t be ignored when you are working out how much it costs to run your business.  Three key examples of ongoing costs are salaries (the wages you pay your employees), taxes (the money you pay to the government), and rent on your buildings. 

You should explain what the tax rules are in your state in this part of the document, as business taxes vary wildly across the country. This will be especially important for any international investors. 

12. Projections

The role of your projections section is to convince the people reading your business plan that your business is built to make money. You want to show possible investors that your company and ideas aren’t a risky investment. Instead, they are a great opportunity. 

In this section, you will want to be optimistic but not unrealistic. Again, you do not want to bring investors in with false promises, as this could get you in legal trouble in the future. 

Components of a Business Plan Financial Statement

Income statement.

This beautiful composition of numbers tells the reader what exactly your sources of revenue are and which expenses you spent your money on to arrive at the bottom line. Essentially, for a given time period, the income statement states the profit or loss ( revenue-expenses ) that you made.

Balance sheet & Cash flow statement 

This section is only for businesses that are already established and are looking for further investments.  In this section, you will want to include as much financial information about your company as possible. This is in order to give investors the opportunity to see that your business is already making money and is not a sinkhole for cash. 

You should include these documents for the last 5 years or however long your business has been open if less than that: 

• A complete set of balance sheets 
• All your cash flow statements 
• List of company expenses 
• Income statements 
• Payroll details 

Financial Outlook 

In your financial outlook, you want to paint a similar picture of success. You want to use this section to show how your investor’s money could be put to work and make them even more money in return.  You should prepare your predictions for the next 5 years.

You should devote more space to the first year, covering it with quarterly reports, rather than annual ones. We would also recommend that you put two 6 month reports in for the 2nd year.  You should include the following information in your financial outlook. 

• Capital expenditure budgets

13. Business Exit Strategy

You are not going to die with your business; neither are your investors. This is why you need to prepare an exit plan not just for yourself but also for your investors.

An exit strategy is a method by which entrepreneurs and investors, especially those that have invested large sums of money in startup companies, transfer ownership of their business to a third party, or by which they recoup money invested in the business.

Some forms of exit strategies include, being acquired by another company, the sale of equity, a management-employee buyout, et al

Types of Exit Strategy

• Initial public offering ( IPO )
• Selling your business
• Acquisitions and mergers
• Liquidation of assets
• Management buyout
• Family succession

11. Present your Business Plan with PowerPoint

Raising capital is one of the toughest challenges entrepreneurs face in business. Writing a business plan is one thing, doing a business plan presentation to investors is another thing and walking away with the needed capital is the ultimate achievement.

PowerPoint is an efficient way to present anything including a business plan. In the game of business presentations, one key fact that the audience look out for is the simplicity of the information shared. If you are dealing with investors, they would want to see the workability of the business idea and every other details of the project.

List of Equipment for a Business Plan Presentation

• Lecture stick
• Laptop or desktop computer or tablet PC
• Microsoft PowerPoint software

Appendices – Prototypes, Statements, Contracts, Legal Documents, etc

In this final section, you should include anything that is relevant to your business proposal as well as anything you refer to throughout the document.  You should not expect your investors to go online and find an article for themselves, instead include it in your appendix. 

To make your appendix easier to follow, we would include a contents page and clearly label and the appendices. You could even use a color-coding system – i.e. all the appendices related to your financial plan have a green bar across the top of the page. 

Chapter A : Understanding the Difference Between Feasibility Study Report and Business Plan

Most people intertwine a business plan with a feasibility study report, but they are definitely not the same.  A feasibility study is carried out with the aim of finding out the workability and profitability of a business venture. Before anything is invested in a new business venture, a feasibility study is carried out to know if the business venture is worth the time, effort and resources.

On the other hand, a business plan is developed only after it has been established that a business opportunity exist and the venture is about to commence. This simply means that a business plan is prepared after a feasibility study has been conducted.

This chapter will help you understand the difference between the two and their specific role in the business planning process.

Chapter B : Understanding the Difference Between a Business Plan and a Strategic Plan

• Is a strategic plan the same with a business plan ? The answer is YES and NO; depending on the perspective you are looking at it. This chapter will highlight the differences.

Chapter C : The Basic Components of a Business Plan

• In this chapter, you will learn the fundamental factors that make up a business plan. Without these factors, your business plan will not achieve its purpose.

Chapter D: Preparing Yourself for the Business Planning Process

• This chapter teaches you in detail how to get in the right mindset, prepare your business plan cover letter, write your title page and table of content. You will also learn about the various tools you need to write faster and accurately.

Your business plan will help you to gain investors for your business, help you win grants, and get a loan from the bank. However, they don’t stop being useful after you have got the money. Your business plan will continue to be a document you refer to as your company grows. 

When you are pitching your business to investors you need to be prepared for anything they could ask. If you put in the time now and follow the guide above, you will be prepared.  Spending time on it now will pay off exponentially in the future.

7 Success Keys to Planning a Business That Wins

Many people only dream of building a business empire; others dare the consequences and take the leap into the business world.

Statistics reveals that 90% of all businesses started fail in their first five years. Of these failed businesses, 80% were failures right from day one. They fail even before launching because the business was poorly planned. This reminds me of a quote from my mentor:

“ A successful business is created before there is a business. ” – Rich Dad

For your business to be successful, it has to be strategically planned correctly from the very scratch. It’s just like building a house; you must first plan the structural design before ever embarking on laying the foundation. The same is applicable to starting a business. Below are seven steps to planning a business that wins:

I. Plan a business that can grow with or without you

The first step to planning a business that wins is to make sure the business is modeled to grow with or without you. This is actually where most new entrepreneurs miss it; they build a business around themselves. They start a business to run it themselves; they cherish the idea of being your own boss and doing things their own way.

But building a business with you as the sole proprietor is a poorly planned business and it will not stand the test of time. The point i am trying to emphasize is this; you must design a business that will not lean solely on your shoulders.

II. Create a business that will be driven by your vision

The next step is to plan a business that will be driven by your visions and aspirations. Today, i see businesses without future plans and visions. In the process of designing your business, you must set target milestones to achieve. You must set five year and ten year goals for your business.

But formulating a vision for your business is not as important as making sure that this business of yours is driven by the vision. Your employees, team and the entire system of your business must share in the pursuit of your visions.

III. Create a business that will be bounded by your core values

The third step is to design a business that will be bounded by your core values. Your core belief and values must be instilled on your business. I will drive home my point with the following examples; Sam Walton believed in taking care of his employees and he made it his company’s core value. That’s why Wal-Mart implements a profit sharing plan with its employees.

Debbi Fields, during her early start up years was reputed to dispose over $500 worth of cookies because of its poor quality. Debbi has a reputation for insistence on quality even if it means a reduction in profit margin. Quality was her core value and that’s why her company’s motto goes: “ Good enough never is. ”

Now that’s for Debbi Fields and Sam Walton, what about you? Is your company bounded by your core belief and values ? If yes, then make sure it is included in your business plan.

IV. Plan a business that will constantly increase its customer’s value

Customers are insatiable and their wants are endless. So it’s up to you to design your business in such a way that it will always on increase its customer’s value. Your business must continuously strive to give the customers the best of service.

Take a look at Apple Computers; they have grown an army of loyal customers because of their ability to satisfy their customers by constantly offering them technological innovation.

V. Create a business that will be led by a strong team

Another important key to business success is to plan your business to be powered by a strong team. One entrepreneurial rule of thumb is this; you must hire people smarter than you. If you are the smartest on your team, your business is doomed.

Just take a look at how Microsoft Corporation has been driven forward by their management and team of computer wizards. If you take the pain to build a formidable business team, then your business will undergo positive leaps.

VI. Plan a business that will be a good corporate citizen

Most entrepreneurs don’t put into consideration their corporate social responsibility when designing their business. But every good and successful entrepreneur put into consideration his society when designing his or her business. As an entrepreneur, you must factor in your community in your business plan and also figure out how your business will positively impact on the surrounding environment.

For instance; if you intend starting a mining business or any business that occasionally results to environmental degradation, then you must plan that business to also give back to the environment as a mark of being a good corporate citizen.

VII. Create a business that will help you achieve your primary aim

Be you an employee, entrepreneur, student or unemployed; we all have personal aspirations and goals. Just as our goals are different; so also are our paths to achieving them different. As an entrepreneur, you have to design your business to fall in line with your primary aim.

You must factor in a way to use your business as a leverage to achieve some or all of your primary aim. No matter what your primary aim is; you must find a way to leverage your business in pursuing that aim of yours. So when designing a business, make sure your personal aims and objectives are also considered.

In conclusion, i believe i have been able to pass an entrepreneurial lesson across. Always bear in mind that properly designing a business before starting it will reduce the likelihood of failure. As a final note, i leave you with this quote:

“ A successful business is created before there is a business. “ – Rich Dad

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the format of a business plan.

In terms of writing a business plan format, there are ten basic elements you are expected to cover. The standard contents or format of a business plan includes:

• An overview
• Executive summary
• General company description
• The opportunity
• Industry and market
• Your strategy
• A marketing plan
• Operational plan
• Financial plan
• An appendix.

Can You Pay Someone To Write Your Business Plan?

Yes, you can pay someone to write your business plan, but it is always advisable you write your business plan yourself. If you are a good writer, you can simply hire a consultant to guide and advise you, but still do most of the writing yourself.

When Should I Write A Business Plan, Before Or After Starting The Business?

Before starting a business is the best time to write a business plan. Even if you don’t finish it right away, the process itself will help you get organized.

What Are The Basic Steps To Create A Business Plan?

When writing a business plan, it is advisable you follow whatever example a bank or loan agency gives you down to the letter. However, for a regular plan, as long as you address all the key points, there can be room for some creativity. Nonetheless, the basic steps to create a business plan include;

• Create your executive summary.
• Add your company overview.
• Perform your market analysis.
• Define your business’s organization.
• Describe your products and services.
• Explain your marketing and sales plan.
• Detail your financial plan and projections.
• Add an appendix.

How Do You Write A Small Business Plan?

When writing a small business plan, you don’t have to stick to any exact business plan outline. Instead, use the sections that make the most sense for your business and your needs. However, according to the US Small Business Administration, small business plans use some combination of these nine sections;

• Company description
• Market analysis
• Organization and management
• Service or product line
• Marketing and sales
• Funding request
• Financial projections

How Do You Write A Business Plan For A Start-up?

If you have an idea for a start-up company but not sure how to get started with a business plan, here’s what you need to know to get started.

• Make sure your company has a clear objective.
• Identify your target market.
• Analyze your competition.
• Budget accordingly.
• Identify your goals and financial projections.
• Clearly define the power structure.
• Discuss your marketing plan.
• Keep it short and professional.

How Long Should A Business Plan Take To Write?

It depends on how quickly you can answer the most pressing questions, and access some data to back up your assumptions. After that, it is all about making the various sections of the plan mutually consistent, and coherent, depending on the intended audience. If you have the required data, then it is possible to complete within 4 to 5 hours, otherwise it certainly takes time to ideate and research.

Is Writing A Business Plan Hard?

Yes, writing a business plan is difficult, but it is necessary.

What Is Another Name For Business Plan?

• Strategic plan
• Internal plan
• Lean Plan and many others.

How Do You Create A Plan?

Creating a powerful action plan always starts with having a clear purpose, vision or goal in mind. Note that with a detailed plan, you can achieve virtually any goal you set out to accomplish. Here are steps you can take to create your own plan of action.

• Make Sure Your Goals Are SMART.
• Work Backwards to Set Milestones.
• Determine What Needs to Happen to Reach Your Goals.
• Decide What Actions Are Required to Reach Your Goals.
• Put Your Actions Into a Schedule.
• Follow Through.

What Is A Business Model Example?

At its core, your business model is a description of how your business makes money. It is an explanation of how you deliver value to your customers at an appropriate cost. However, examples of business model include;

• Direct sales
• Franchising
• Advertising-based
• Brick-and-mortar
• Subscription

What Does The Management Team Section Look Like?

The management team section of your business plan should include an organizational chart of your small business, including departments, department managers and employees. Biographical information about you, the owner, and any other owners! Specify your ownership percentage and exactly what your day-to-day responsibilities will be.

What Are The Two Main Reasons For Writing A Business Plan?

• To Test the Feasibility of Your Business Idea
• To Give Your New Business the Best Chance of Success

How Do You Write The Perfect Business Plan?

Even experts who create business plans on a regular basis have difficulty defining the perfect finished product. However, certain components are expected to appear in successful business plans. However, to put together a perfect business plan, consider the following.

• Research and analyze your product, your market and your objective expertise. Consider spending twice as much time researching, evaluating and thinking as you spend actually writing the business plan.
• Write every section as clearly and concisely as possible. Avoid subjective or unverifiable information, however compelling it may appear.
• Create a focused and thorough executive summary. Include your business goals and objectives, achievement of which is supported by stating your strategies, vision, mission and expertise to create the finished product the remainder of the plan describes.
• Outline your management team strengths and experience. If you’re a one-person management team, clearly define your expertise and the way you plan to outsource other important components, like accounting, marketing, production, legal, and/or sales.
• Develop a strong market analysis, including information on the competitive challenges you face.
• Design and predict your financial results for the coming five years. Include income and cash flow statements month-by-month for the first two years. For years three through five, predict these results on a quarterly and annual basis.

What Ranks High In Terms Of Importance In A Business Plan?

The executive summary is ranked as the most important part of a business plan, and it is perhaps the only section that will be read so it is advisable you make it perfect! The executive summary has only one objective: get the reader to read the rest of your business plan.

What Is A Good Business Plan?

Qualities of a good business plan, in order of importance, include;

• It fits the business need
• It is realistic and can be implemented
• It is specific and you can track results against plan.
• It clearly defines responsibilities for implementation
• It clearly identifies assumptions
• It is communicated to the people who have to run it
• It gets people committed
• It is kept alive by follow up and planning process

How Do You Create A Start-up?

Unlike regular businesses and ventures, start-ups have the uniqueness of growing at an exponential rate over a short period of time. Here are steps to create a start-up;

• Ideation and Solution/Validation.
• Find your Dream Team.
• Customer Persona & Customer Validation.
• Prototype & Validation.
• Marketing Plan & Building a Landing Page.
• Business and Revenue Model.

How Can You Set Up Public Relations Activities To Help Market Your Business?

Public relations more or less mean connecting a brand or company to the public, and more specifically, its own target audience. A public relations function can help marketing to refine the messages and pick which ones that can be developed into storylines that appeal to the media and its target audience. Steps to set up public relation activities to help market your business include;

• Define and write down your objectives.
• Establish Clear Goals
• Identify Your Target Market
• Research Opportunities
• Create a Schedule
• Measure Your Progress

What Are The 3 Main Purposes Of A Business Plan?

• Establish a business focus
• Secure funding
• Attract executives

What Are The 4 Types Of Business Plans ?

• One-page Business Plan
• Traditional Business Plan
• Business Model Canvas
• Business Pitch

Given What You Know About Existing Business Conditions, How Will You Market Your Product Or Company?

Coming up with a new product or company is indeed a daunting task, which unfortunately does not stop once it is ready—launching and promoting it is the other half of the equation. You could be offering the best new product or service around, but if you don’t promote it properly, you’re likely to miss out on opportunities or even end up losing money down the line. Ways to market an existing product or company include;

• Get organized
• Get a website
• Leverage social media
• Set up and claim your business online
• Use Google AdWords
• Create local awareness and establish a network
• Offer coupons or free products/services

What Is A Simple Business Plan?

A simple business plan consists of a single document divided into several sections including a description of the organization, the market research, competitive analysis, sales strategies, capital and labour requirements, and financial data.

What Are The 12 Components Of A Business Plan?

Note that not every business plan needs to be extensive. The important thing is that the reader understands what the venture is about. A business plan has fixed components. The 12 main components shall be introduced in the following passages.

• Executive Summary
• Founder (team) and business leadership
• Product or Service
• Market and sector
• Distribution and marketing
• Co-workers and business coordination
• Chances and risks
• Capital requirement
• Finance plan
• Further documents
• The right measure

How Will You Determine If Your Initial Marketing Efforts Are Successful?

Measurement is the key to optimizing any process, and marketing campaigns are no exception. When you create and measure key performance indicators (KPIs) for your marketing campaigns, you can extensively see what works and what doesn’t. You can then channel your marketing funds toward the most effective campaigns to achieve marketing success.

Here are some of the common KPIs you should measure for each of your efforts, regardless of the type, channel or medium:

• Return on Investment (ROI)
• Cost per Win (Sale)
• Cost per Lead
• Conversion Rate (or Goal Completion Rate)
• Incremental Sales
• Purchase Funnel
• Customer Lifetime Value
• Multi-Channel Funnels and Attribution

How Can You Make Your Product Or Service Fit Into The Market?

It is tough to distinguish a good idea from a great idea that will sell, especially before actually launching your product. But there are some things you can do in your earliest stages of product development to make sure your great idea also has great market fit.

• Get the right feedback from the right customers
• Make sure customers will buy in—literally
• Focus on fit, not reach
• Revisit market needs often

What Should Not Be Included In A Business Plan?

When assembled properly, a business plan can be a very impressive manuscript that will attract quality investors and employees. Conversely, it can also be the downfall of an otherwise perfect pitch. Here are few critical things not to include in your business plan.

• Unedited Work
• Too Little or Too Much Detail
• Unrealistic Financial Projections

What Are The Do’s And Don’ts Of Starting A Business?

Many different issues must be considered when starting a small business. It is important to plan properly and avoid common pitfalls. When starting your business, here are some practical dos and don’ts to get you on track.

• Ask for outside advice
• Have a solid plan and measure your progress
• Hire the best and keep them engaged
• Build strong relationships with your key suppliers
• Don’t leave contingency planning until it is too late
• Don’t underestimate the importance of effective financial management
• Don’t ignore what’s happening in your market
• Don’t rely on too few customers
• Don’t wait too long to get help

What Is The Most Important Part Of A Business Plan?

The most important part of the plan is the executive summary that says specifically what is going to happen. The core of a business plan is the collection of detailed dates, deadlines, responsibilities, and commitments, and the executive summary is expected to cover all these.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

For some people, it is simply a matter of not investing enough time and effort into creating it. However, there are some common problems that can prevent a business plan from becoming successful. They include;

• Unachievable Goals and Aspirations
• Lack of Market Research
• Productivity and Motivation Issues
• Improper Budgeting
• Pursuing a Bad Idea
• Neglecting the Finances

What Is The Timeline For Bringing New Products And Services To Market?

Companies rise or fall on the success or failure of a new product launch. As the marketing leader, you play a pivotal role in bringing the new offering to market. Here are four steps to ensure you get it right:

• Finalize strategy
• Product management
• Launch readiness
• Launch, measure & iterate

How Will You Acquire Customers Based On The Market Research Of Your Target Audience And Competitive Analysis?

Here are simple strategies to acquire customers based on the market research of your target audience and competitive analysis.

• Create an ideal customer profile
• Conduct market research
• Reassess your offerings
• Research your competitors
• Leverage existing customer data

What Marketing And Operational Channels Are The Best For Businesses?

These best marketing and operational channels for businesses include;

• Word of Mouth Marketing
• Content Marketing and SEO
• Your Website
• Email Marketing
• Social Media
• Pay-Per-Click Marketing

What Is The Hardest Part Of A Business Plan?

The hardest part of a business plan is the financial section. It is difficult to project figures on a brand-new business with, possibly, a brand-new concept. There is no roadmap, no one to follow. The best you can do is find a similar company and try to gauge what they are making.

How Do You Differentiate In The Market When Marketing Your Products?

To differentiate your product, first think about who wants to buy your product, why they want it, how they want it to look, where they want to purchase it, and how much they will pay for it. If you’re not sure about any of those considerations, conducting marketing research is a great way to find answers. However, here are few ways to differentiate your product in the market when marketing;

• Have unbeatable customer service
• Add a personal touch
• Use price as a distinguishing factor
• Give your customers options to customize your products
• Be socially responsible
• Use speed to your advantage.

But How Can You Reach Prospects Who Might Benefit From Your Product Or Service?

Prospecting is one of the key stages of the sales process. And, yet, it is also one of the more difficult ones. Here are few ways to reach prospects that might benefit from your product or service:

• Create an ideal prospect profile
• Identify ways to meet your ideal prospects
• Actively work on your call lists
• Send personalized emails
• Ask for referrals
• Become a know-it-all
• Build your social media presence
• Send relevant content to prospects
• Demonstrate your sales skills in video format
• Follow up, follow up, follow up

How Will You Compete In Terms Of Price, Product, Or Service?

To become a successful business, you need to find ways to stay a step ahead of your competition. Doing so is often easier said than done, and there’s no simple answer to how to beat your competition.

• Compete in Terms of Price : One of the easiest ways to beat your competition is to offer more affordable pricing. To determine the ideal price point, you need a clear picture of what your competition’s goods or services are priced at. Research which competitors offer the best value. Then you need to determine if what you are offering brings more value to the table and thus should be priced higher.
• Compete in Terms of Product : Product differentiation is a marketing strategy established to distinguish a company’s products or services from the competition. Successful product differentiation includes identifying and communicating the unique qualities of a product or company while highlighting the distinct differences between that product or company and its competitors.
• Compete in Terms of Service : Providing great, and memorable, customer service is a great way to build loyalty among your customers and differentiate yourself from the competition. Put a priority on hiring employees who have a full understanding of not just your products and services, but your brand as a whole.

What Marketing Strategy Will Bring You The Best Return On Investment?

Thanks to its multifaceted range of effects, permanent value, and potential for compounding returns, Content marketing and SEO is the best way to spend your marketing budget.

How Is Your Value Proposition Going To Be Communicated To Your Customers?

A value proposition states the value you’ll deliver for your customers and gives the main reasons a prospect should choose to buy from you. It more or less states how your product and service relieves their pain points by offering specific benefits, and how this is different from your competition. The best value propositions have the following characteristics in common. T

• Differentiated

How Will You Approach Angel Investors or Venture Capitalists?

• Approach them in your niche
• Show them how successful your past business ventures were
• You’ve got to know the numbers involved
• Make it a priority to do proper research
• Stay confident

What Channels Will You Use To Attract And Communicate With Customers?

It is imperative to offer your customers as many contact channels as possible to ensure they’re able to contact you in the most convenient way for them. To help you decide which contact channels you should consider for your business, here is a list of the most prominent customer contact channels:

• Live web chat
• Messenger Apps
• Social media
• Traditional Phone Calls
• Web calling
• In-store appointments

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Express files for bankruptcy, plans to close nearly 100 stores as investor group looks to save the brand

Longtime mall retailer  Express  filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, but a group of investors led by brand management firm WHP Global is looking to save the company by acquiring it. 

Express, whose portfolio includes its namesake banner, Bonobos and UpWest, said it will close 95 of its eponymous shops and all of its UpWest doors. Closing sales are expected to begin Tuesday. The company said hours for remaining stores won’t change and it will continue to accept orders and returns as usual.

In a news release, Express said it filed for bankruptcy to “facilitate” a sale process of most of its retail stores and operations to the investor group, which includes WHP,  Simon Property Group  and Brookfield Properties. It received a nonbinding letter of intent from the investors to buy the assets, and has also secured $35 million in new financing from some of its existing lenders, subject to court approval. 

“The proposed transaction will provide Express with additional financial resources, better position the business for profitable growth and maximize value for the Company’s stakeholders,” Express said. 

Express also secured $49 million in cash from the IRS related to the CARES Act — a critical influx of liquidity that the company had been waiting on to shore up its balance sheet. 

“We continue to make meaningful progress refining our product assortments, driving demand, connecting with customers and strengthening our operations,” CEO Stewart Glendinning said in a statement. 

“We are taking an important step that will strengthen our financial position and enable Express to continue advancing our business initiatives,” he added.

The business casual apparel brand, founded in 1980 by Les Wexner’s Limited Brands, has seen sales plummet over the last few years as debt and costly mall leases dragged down its business. 

Earlier this month, CNBC reported that Express was  struggling to pay its vendors  on time, indicating it was in financial distress and struggling to manage cash flows. When retailers can’t pay their vendors, suppliers sometimes tighten payment terms or refuse to fulfill orders, which can further pressure a company’s liquidity.

Last spring, Express  acquired Bonobos’  operating assets and related liabilities for $25 million from  Walmart  in a joint deal with WHP. The deal came as Express’ “core business was weak, and cash was tight,” GlobalData managing director Neil Saunders said in a Monday note.

Still, its biggest problem was declining revenue, which has fallen by about 10% since 2019, Saunders said. 

“This stands in marked contrast to an apparel sector that has grown strongly over the same period. This has put the company under a lot of financial strain and has resulted in some significant losses. None of this is sustainable which is one of the reasons for bankruptcy,” said Saunders.  

“The woes at Express are not all of its own making,” he said. “The formal and smart casual market for both men and women has softened over recent years because of a rise from working from home and the casualization of fashion. This puts Express firmly on the wrong side of trends and, in our view, the chain made too little effort to adapt.”

Bankruptcy will provide some key relief to Express and help it get back on stronger footing as it works to implement its turnaround strategy. It’ll allow the retailer to get out of costly and burdensome leases, many of which are in struggling malls, and has made the company more attractive to buyers. 

Powerhouse law firm Kirkland & Ellis, which led Bed Bath & Beyond and many other failed retailers through their bankruptcies, is serving as Express’ legal counsel. Moelis & Co. has been tapped as its investment banker and M3 Partners has signed on as its financial advisor.

More from CNBC:

• VW workers in Tennessee vote to join UAW in historic win for Detroit union
• Most weight loss drug patients are spending less on restaurants, takeout: survey
• FAA will require more rest for air traffic controllers amid fatigue concerns

Victorian government scraps plans for a second supervised injecting room in Melbourne

Premier Jacinta Allan has dumped government plans for a supervised injecting room, despite expert advice recommending a "discreet" service be set up in Melbourne's CBD.

Instead, the Allan government will set up a new $36.4 million community health service in Flinders Street including a trial of hydromorphone — a powerful drug used to wean people off heroin — for up to 60 people.

Pharmacotherapy, which involves specialist drugs like methadone and counselling, will also be expanded at 30 locations across the state.

Naloxone, a powerful overdose-reversal drug , will also be trialled at 20 vending machines alongside needle exchange programs.

The government will also appoint a chief addiction adviser within the state's health system.

Report recommending second supervised injecting room released

The government has also released the closely guarded report from former police chief commissioner Ken Lay, which was handed to the government in May last year.

It recommends a small supervised injecting room with space for four to six people be set up in an area of high use in the city.

"There is strong evidence from the North Richmond MSIR trial and other similar trials around the world that injecting services save lives and assist in putting people who inject drugs on a pathway to better health and social outcomes,'' Mr Lay wrote.

But the Allan government has not accepted that recommendation.

Premier Jacinta Allan said the government could not find a suitable site for the second supervised injecting room.

"This issue of the location has been a key sticking point. We have been unable to find a location that strikes that balance between supporting people who use drugs with the needs of the broader community," she said.

"We could continue for years ahead to search for a location but we've chosen to take action now, putting in place a statewide action plan that will save lives."

Opposition leader John Pesutto slammed today's announcement, calling it a "half-baked" health strategy that had wasted time.

"Today’s backflip has seen four lost years. Since July 2020, we’ve (had) a 40 per cent increase in the wait list for drug and alcohol services," Mr Pesutto said.

"It ought to give Victorians no confidence that the Allan Labor government has any idea how to address rising drug and alcohol use in our state."

Former premier Daniel Andrews had also committed his government to a CBD centre In 2020, following the success of the North Richmond safe injecting room.

In 2021, the government purchased the former Yooralla building at 244 Flinders Street as the preferred site for a centre, but in 2023 Mr Andrews switched preference to the Salvation Army on Bourke Street, just 200 metres from state parliament.

Mr Pesutto also criticised the $40m purchase of the Yooralla building, calling it a sign of "policy on the run".

"It's clear that it bought this building, not having a plan in place," he said.

The site at 244 Flinders Street will now be the base for the multi-million dollar community health service, while the Salvation Army headquarters in Bourke Street will house a new "wraparound" health service.

One health sector source said the government were "cowards" for not setting up the centre, while others said they were disappointed with the decision.

Melbourne's CBD the deadliest council area for drug deaths

Mr Lay's report found the City of Melbourne was the deadliest council area for drug deaths, with 54 fatalities in 2020 and 2021.

His number one recommendation was for the government to trial a CBD supervised injecting room.

"The community understands that there is a problem with injecting drug use in the city and wants more support to mitigate these harms. However, there are concerns that an injecting service would negatively impact the broader city community," the report said.

The report found heroin deaths in the CBD had increased since the pandemic. There were 12 deaths in the first six months of 2022, compared to 10 deaths in 2019.

More recent data from the Coroners Court of Victoria analysed by the ABC has shown the trend identified in Mr Lay's report has continued.

Another 12 people died in the City of Melbourne in the second half of 2022 , resulting in a rate of two deaths per month — the highest since 2013.

Under Mr Lay's recommendations, special committees would be set up to coordinate responses to drug harm in the city, as well as a committee to coordinate with the community, before a trial is held.

Among the other recommendations is that the state consider expanding the use of pharmacotherapy in the CBD.

Mr Lay's review included a state-run public survey which found 52 per cent of respondents did not think there was a need for safe injecting room while 40 per cent said yes.

Drug policy expert says 'lives will be lost' due to government decision

Deputy director of the Addiction Research Centre at Monash University, Suzanne Nielsen, said it was a disappointing outcome.

"We know now that the number of deaths in Melbourne is far higher than it was when the original report was written and that need is even greater for a second supervised injecting room," Professor Nielsen told ABC Radio Melbourne.

"Lives will be lost and we know that more people now are using drugs unsafely in public spaces. It's not a win for local traders or the community either."

Professor Nielsen welcomed the expansion of pharmacotherapy, but said such programs should exist alongside safe injecting rooms.

"I 100 per cent advocate that we need more pharmacotherapy, but this is absolutely not a choice. We're not choosing between treatment and supervised injecting rooms," she said.

CEO of addiction and mental health service, First Step, Patrick Lawrence, said it was a missed opportunity to improve health outcomes for drug users.

"We've got thousands of injecting rooms in Melbourne. Injecting laneways, injecting streets, and injecting parks," he said.

"All we are asking for — I don't know maybe it's too late, it's terribly sad — is one with four walls, and a roof, and doctors and nurses."

Hospitality business says no CBD injecting room 'a bit of a win'

However, Mike Patrick, who runs Fancy Hank's restaurant in Bourke Street, welcomed the decision not to set up an injecting room next to his business.

"What was being suggested was not going to work at all in my opinion," he told ABC Radio Melbourne.

"I think that there's no good spot to put something like this really and I think this is a bit of a win for the other side of the population who like to come out and spend money in our city.

"The stuff that has been put forward can help across the whole community not just in one small area but attracting everyone there."

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• State and Territory Government

Kroger backtracks: It now plans to sell most Albertsons stores in Arizona in $25B merger

Kroger Co., which operates Fry's Food Stores in Arizona, said it now intends to unload most Albertsons and Safeway stores in the state if it receives regulatory approval to proceed with its proposed $24.6 billion merger with parent Albertsons Cos.

Kroger earlier said it intended to sell 24 Albertsons or Safeway stores in Arizona, fewer than one-fifth of the roughly 130 locations here that Albertsons Cos. owns and operates. But under a new announcement on April 22, a total of 101 Albertsons and Safeway stores in Arizona would be sold to C&S Wholesale Grocers.

The new proposed changes would affect Arizona more than any other state, with an additional 77 Albertsons and Safeway stores now going to C&S, under the tentative agreement.

All told, including divested supermarket stores announced previously, Washington state would have the most Albertsons and Kroger stores, 124, going to C&S, with Arizona next at 101, followed by Colorado at 91, California at 63 and Oregon at 62. The attorney generals of all five of those states oppose the merger.

Would the package strengthen or weaken C&S?

The change responds to concerns raised by federal and state antitrust regulators regarding the original agreement. The new package includes more stores to be transferred in Arizona and other states to enable C&S to compete more effectively following the merger.

“We have reached an agreement with C&S for an updated divestiture package that maintains Kroger’s commitments to customers, associates and communities, addresses concerns raised by regulators, and will further ensure that C&S can successfully operate the divested stores as they are operated today,” said Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO, in a statement.

“The updated divestiture plan continues to ensure no stores will close as a result of the merger and that all frontline associates will remain employed, all existing collective-bargaining agreements will continue, and associates will continue to receive industry-leading health care and pension benefits alongside bargained-for wages."

McMullen also vowed the merger will result in lower prices and more choices for supermarket customers and secure the long-term future of unionized grocery jobs.

All told, Kroger would sell an additional 166 stores nationally to C&S, including the 77 in Arizona, and receive $2.9 billion in cash. All told, C&S now would take 579 stores nationally, up from 413 announced previously.

But the FTC contends that C&S, with just 23 supermarkets and one pharmacy currently, could be overwhelmed by adding so many more stores to its lineup. In February, the agency said the proposal at that time would amount to a "hodgepodge of unconnected stores, banners, brands and other assets."

Kroger and Albertsons say the merger is needed to help them compete with large, nonunion grocery rivals including Walmart, Amazon, Costco and Target.

Many details still not resolved

Kroger didn't respond to a question seeking additional information, and the office of Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, who opposes the merger, also didn't comment on the latest proposal.

Kroger hasn't identified which Albertsons or Safeway supermarkets in Arizona could be sold to C&S, and details on rewards programs and many other issues haven't been announced.

Both Kroger and Albertsons/Safeway currently are among Arizona's 10 largest nongovernmental employers, with staff counts of 20,200 and 14,500, according to last year's Republic 100 special employment report .

The amended divestiture package also would expand the corporate and office infrastructure provided to C&S, given the increased number of stores, to ensure that C&S can continue to operate them competitively, while ensuring that no stores will close as a result of the merger.

Kroger and Albertsons Cos. also reiterated that they remain committed to defending the merger in court.

Reach the writer at [email protected].

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The European Parliament approved rules on Tuesday to give consumers the right to have worn-out products like washing machines and smartphones repaired by producers, to cut waste and make goods last longer.

Chinese mining giant Zijin Mining said on Tuesday it would cooperate with authorities in Democratic Republic of Congo after radiation was detected in a shipment of cobalt from its mine in the country, and had recalled it.

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Canadian competition bureau has major concerns about proposed Bunge-Viterra merger

Canada's Competition Bureau on Tuesday said it had identified major competition concerns around the proposed merger between U.S. grains merchant Bunge and Glencore-backed Viterra.

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