business plan internet meaning

How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated March 18, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

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• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information you need to cover in a business plan sometimes isn’t quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

If you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template to get you started, download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

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

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

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The Ultimate Digital Business Plan Template & Tips

Article Snapshot

Traditional business plans are long, comprehensive and difficult, and they take a long time to prepare. It is a task that will require the development of assumptions and projections based on vision, objectives, market conditions, and competitive analysis.

This article aims to outline how you can modernise your business plan in order to create a digital business plan for the contemporary age. Before you get started, it may help to briefly recall the purposes that a traditional business plan serves. It is, in essence, a strategic document, and needs to:

• Set out clear business objectives based on information and analytical data.
• Present the viability of a business venture.
• Detail the assumptions on which a business prospect relies.
• Outline cash flow projections based on assumed sales, expenses, market data, and competitive analysis.
• Include resumes which outline the strength and relevant background and experience of the most important staff members including the business owner.
• Outline business and market strategies in case of setbacks and adverse conditions.

The traditional business plan is a selling tool used in negotiations with lenders, banks, and investors. You can also use the business plan to solicit feedback and advice from your lawyer, bank, business mentor, trusted business friends, potential customers, and small business organisations. Finally, the business plan is a tool for measuring income, expenses and profitability against projections made in the plan.

The Digital Business Plan

Market conditions are changing rapidly in response to technological advancements. For this reason, a business plan has a progressively shorter life-span and needs to be revised and updated more frequently.

Both assumptions and market data needs to be reviewed and updated at least annually and quite possibly quarterly. Two separate market conditions have changed expectations about strategies that must now be incorporated into a digital business plan.

• Business organisations must now embrace technology to remain relevant and competitive.
• Organisations must develop a digital strategy with particular emphasis on mobile technology and mobile applications.

These conditions have given rise to what is now called the Modern Digital Business Plan, and this type of digital business plan is dramatically reduced in size. Entrepreneurs may wish to use an application called StratPad to guide them through the process of writing a shorter plan.

What is a Digital Business Plan?

A digital business plan is an extension of your regular business plan that details how digital initiatives can contribute to the success of the vision, the goals, and opportunities contained in the business plan.

For example, consumers today expect to communicate with a company using a website, app or phone, and the strategies outlined in the business plan should facilitate such communication.

What Needs to be Included in a Digital Business Plan?

There are some aspects of a business plan that will be applicable to both a traditional business plan as well as a digital business plan, and these include:.

Vision - A business vision statement will outline that you wish your business to focus on, and should communicate your long-term view for your organisation. It should include your mission statement, your goals, and your company’s values to your staff, your financial backers, and your customers.

Mission - Your mission statement is the core of your business objectives, and the principles underlying them. It should reflect every facet of your business, as this will help to clarify what you want to achieve.

Goals - By sitting down and taking the time to choose goals that are tailored to your company, you will be on the right track to achieving those goals. They shouldn’t be generic, but rather be specific targets that you can work towards.

For example, instead of setting a goal of ‘I will turn a profit in six months’, you should set a goal of ‘I will sell 200 units of Apple headphones in six months in order to turn a profit on this product’. By being specific you keep yourself and your staff on the right track of what needs to be done to achieve that goal.

Values - Your business values should be made up of three things: The principles you personally stand for; the attitudes and beliefs that everyone in the business has in common, and the standards of behaviour that your organisation subscribes to.

There are also aspects of every business that will have an impact on the actions you need to take, and these include:

• ‍ Finance - How will you generate revenue? What are your costs likely to be? What are your profit projections? ‍
• Staff - What positions in the business are there to be filled? What policies do you need to have in place? ‍
• Marketing - How do you plan to market your new venture? Include the four P’s of marketing: Price, Product, Promotion and Place. ‍
• Operations - What systems will your business use? What will your overhead be? How will you improve efficiency? ‍
• Customers - Who are your target customers? How will they find you? How will they purchase/hire your goods/services?

Cloud based accounting practices

How do you backup your financial data? Cloud computing offers a convenient and reliable method for backing up accounting data, and the primary advantage is that the data can be retrieved using a desktop or mobile device from any location.

However, before choosing a cloud provider it is essential to make sure that it offers more than incremental backups, as historical financial reports must be retrievable ongoing.

Online ordering and payment system

How flexible is your online ordering and payment system? Many programs and mobile applications are now available to allow customers to place orders and pay online, but some are still user-unfriendly. Ensure that the ordering and payment system you choose is suited to your products/services.

BYOD policy

Do your employees prefer to use their personal mobile device to perform work-related tasks? It can provide a significant cost saving for an organisation to implement a BYOD policy, as it reduces the amount of hardware that needs to be purchased upfront by the business. If you decide to allow your employees to BYOD, does your BYOD policy ensure that company data is not mishandled? And does the policy set out what to do if a mobile device is lost or stolen?

Regulated use of mobile devices

If your employees are allowed to use either their own or company mobile devices, do you have a system in place to regulate their personal vs professional use and their device’s security? It’s important that everyone is on the same page, particularly regarding what your staff’s responsibilities are regarding software and security updates, bills and liability.

Use of cloud-based applications and tools for projects

Have you thought of using cloud-based tools for project management and project collaboration? Cloud providers supply a range of tools on a subscription basis and can be an economic choice for startups and large enterprises alike.

Integration of digital technology and apps

Can your staff members communicate and collaborate regardless of location? Can they accept orders, process payments, and enter project time and expenses using a mobile device? There is a large range of business applications available on mobile stores like the Apple store and Google Play designed to provide mobility for staff, as it enables them to access project data from any location. For example, Google recently introduced a work-related mobile for Android devices called Android for Work .

Online Chat

How do your staff members communicate between themselves and with customers? Online chat can be implemented with a service provider like Skype, which provides voice, video, and conference call facilities.

Online presence

Does your website attract a sufficient number of visitors? Search engine optimisation (SEO) ensures the visibility of a website in Search Engine Result Pages (SERP). The purpose of SEO is to make a website appear in search listings in response to a person’s search intent. The major factor is the selection of a major and some secondary keywords (search phrases), but SEO is a complex process that involves more than 50 ranking factors.

Pay-per-click (PPC) is the use of paid advertisements ( Google Adwords ) to increase visibility and bring in sales/leads from the search engine Google. PPC is an essential part of any lead generation campaign for a business, and so should be implemented by the marketing department of a company.

Do you have a presence on social media channels? Social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest facilitate engagement with potential or existing clients. Like website content creation, social media activities should be based on a content marketing strategy that defines what type of content to post, the frequency of posting, and analytics to measure what type of content produces the best engagement with clients. Facebook ads can also be a valuable lead generation resource for business, depending on your industry and target audience.

Google for Business

Can new clients easily find the location of your business? The Google for Business program suite is particularly important for promoting a business in a local area, as people will be able to look at Google Maps to find the business location. Once entered, the business will also appear in search and on Google+. You can begin the process of adding your business to Google here .

Email marketing

Having an email marketing system in place is a great way to take advantage of any contact information you may have in your database. This is effectively free advertising and can be a good way to encourage consumer engagement. There are a number of email marketing solutions available where a company will take care of your email campaigns, such as Direct Mail and Marketing , or there are DIY solutions available such as Hilltop Mail and MailChimp .

Responsive website design/Mobile site

Is your website optimised for mobile devices? This implies what is called responsive design. Wordpress sites use a responsive theme, while HTML/CSS sites can use different techniques to make the design responsive. A responsive design means that the site displays correctly on the narrow screen of a mobile phone, as well as on the size of a PC screen. All websites today should have a responsive website design or a mobile-friendly site, as Google is now prioritising those sites with mobile-responsive features over sites that are desktop-capable only. You can find out more about this here , and you can find out if your website is mobile-friendly by Google’s standards here .

Implementation of a content strategy

Do you have a website content strategy? It should set out the planning, development, and management of your website content, as Google and other search engines now emphasise website content as a critical factor for site ranking. Articles or posts should be longer and more comprehensive than regular page content, and in addition to main keywords the content must contain theme-related words and phrases, also called semantically related terms . Such terms ensure that the content is relevant to your target audience. An example template of a business’ content strategy can be found here .

Customer Relationship Management (CRM)

Do you have an integrated customer management system? A Customer Relations system is a prime software tool for managing a company’s interactions with customers. It can automate, organise, and synchronise sales, marketing, customer service, and customer support activities. There is a range of different CRM programs available, such as Microsoft Dynamics , Salesforce , and Infusionsoft .

Cloud-based file management

Have you considered the pros and cons of cloud-based file storage? Files stored on a cloud server can be retrieved from any location using a mobile device. It provides flexibility as project staff working in different locations can collaborate, share files, and assign project tasks easily.

Online security

How secure is your computer and communications network? Security systems must be implemented that prevent the intrusion of computer viruses, malware, malicious hackers, and spam mail.

Reliable backup process

How safe is your data? A reliable backup process is an essential requirement for any business. Apart from data loss caused by equipment failure or malicious hacking, the process should also provide off-site data storage as protection from theft, fire, or natural disasters.

SSL security

A Secure Socket Layer (SSL) certificate increases website security and provides encryption of data, and is recommended for all businesses with an online presence.

Cloud computing

What hardware and software could you potentially hire from a cloud service provider? Cloud service providers supply hardware and software on a subscription basis.

Source nationally and globally

Do you operate on a worldwide basis? Digital facilities enable companies to source products or services on a worldwide basis.

Customise software

Are your software systems optimised for the tasks they perform? Strategic reviews may reveal areas where existing systems can be customised to provide improved productivity.

Digitise processes

What manual processes can potentially be automated? Manual processes should be reviewed and analysed with the intention of integrating them with online computer systems.

Automatic inventory control

Is your inventory management a manual process? Computer systems are available that can re-order products on the basis of sales volume and inventory holdings.

Online purchasing

Review and implement systems that improve online purchasing as a service for customers, and as an internal process for inventory management. A variety of mobile applications are available.

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS)

Save capital costs by paying a subscription service to software programs.

Online purchasing capability

An increasing number of Australian people now prefer to shop and pay for products and services online. As outlined in the operational section, potential systems include payment gateways and mobile applications.

Channel development

What channels can customers use to order and pay for your services? These can include the Internet, mobile applications, Facebook or online ordering applications.

Create FAQs

How do your customers find common information and problem solutions? Publish an FAQ on your website. It can save your staff a lot of time by not having to answer the same questions repeatedly.

Online support

Who and how do your customers contact your business for support? Customers today expect fast turnaround and good customer support service. Implement a live chat system or a ticket system, or alternatively, have a dedicated email for contact.

Call to Action apparent throughout the website (CTA)

There is a saying that people browsing a website will only take action if told to do so. Be clear what action you want people to take, and spell it out on every page.

Use of social media for engagement

Implement a social media strategy, and establish a presence on social media channels like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest. This will increase the engagement with your customers and potential customers have with your brand.

**This article is limited to the incorporation of a digital strategy in the appropriate segments of the business plan

If you’d like more detailed instructions on how your digital business plan needs to be filled out, this YouTube video from the Queensland Government could be of use. Based on a recording made from a June 2013 webinar, this clip is an introduction to digital strategy for small businesses, but can also be applied to larger enterprises that are moving online.

Remember, the right talent is critical to success. At Expert360 we connect the best talent with the right project.

Digital Business Plan Template

If you’d like to use our outline to create your own digital business plan template, download the PDF here.

• http://www.digitalbusiness.gov.au/getting-online/planning-your-online-activities/online-business-plan-template/
• http://www.myownbusiness.org/s2/
• http://www.entrepreneur.com/businessplan/index.html
• http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2010/05/the-modern-business-plan.html
• http://www.businessplanarchive.org/
• http://www.discoverbusiness.us/business-plans/
• https://www.business.qld.gov.au/business/running/technology-for-business/digital-strategy/creating
• http://websprint.me/blog/business-planning/digital-agency-business-plan-template-target-market/
• http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224460
• http://www.plan2profit.ca/modern-business-plan/

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Gabe is part of the content marketing team at Expert360. He is a classically trained journalist, with strong interests in the future of work, the consulting industry, startups and technology.

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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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Home > Business > Business Startup

The Complete Guide To Starting An Online Business

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Starting a business is sometimes scary and almost always challenging. It might seem overwhelming at first, but that is completely normal. And we owe you a massive congratulations. You have an idea good enough to share with the world, and that’s a big deal! You’ve officially gone further than most hopeful entrepreneurs. You’ve made the decision to get online and figure out how to turn this idea into a money-making business. So, let’s talk logistics. 

When I first started my own business, I panicked over taxes, finances, and marketing. I felt so behind that first year because I didn’t have anything figured out before launching my site. Then, when I did launch, I had to check all these boxes while I was knee-deep in the stress of maintaining my business. I had no idea which holes I hadn’t filled until they imploded and quadrupled my stress, since I had to put out fires that were completely preventable. 

To help you avoid the same mistakes I did when I launched my business, we've put together this guide to starting your small business online. Read through our eleven steps below to officially start your business off on the right track.

How to Launch a Small Online Business

• Vet your idea
• Identify your audience
• Choose your business name
• Write your business plan
• Sort out your branding
• Build your website prototype
• Test and validate your product
• Nail down your processes for delivering your product
• Make it legal
• Deal with your finances
• Launch your business

1. Vet your idea

First things first: you gotta vet your idea. 

Before jumping in head first, you need to be 100% confident (or at least 90%) confident that your idea is worth it—worth the time, sacrifice, stress, anxiety, frustration, and ego hits. 

It’s worth remembering that no matter what type of business you own (or how good your idea is), you’ll definitely experience ups and downs within the first 10 years. Some of these ups will be sky-high, and some of these downs will be depressingly low. 

But if you believe in your idea enough, you will persevere—you can absolutely come out the other side with an awesome business, which is an amazing way to spend your time and earn a living. On the other hand, if you’re shaky about your plans, this will be a tricky first decade for you. To make sure you’re on the right track, let’s talk about how to vet an idea:

While vetting your business idea, ask yourself these five questions: 

• How big is your potential audience? Are enough people interested in this type of product or service that you have a stable audience for sales? 
• Is your product or service something customers buy once and move on? Or is there a chance for building a repeat customer base? 
• Is your business idea going to be a passing trend like low-rise jeans, or does it have a long-term possibility like pencils? 
• What is your competition? For instance, if you are setting up a fry bread cafe, are there other fry bread cafes in the area? If there are, what unique element will set your business apart from the competition? 
• Will your business have any legal issues or limitations? For instance, are you creating something with strict regulations that make it trickier to market? Are you passionate enough about your idea that you’re willing to deal with the ups and downs and chaos of starting a business?

Once you’ve vetted your idea by asking yourself the questions above, getting advice from people you trust, and even speaking with an accountant or business banker about your business’s viability, it’s time to move on to the fun stuff—like choosing a name for your budding business.

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2. Identify your audience (or your target market)

Arguably, the most ignored aspect of building a business is identifying a specific audience. A lot of fresh entrepreneurs hesitate to hone in on one demographic because they believe their product or service can and should help everyone. Depending on the product, that might be true—but it still creates a watered-down, generic brand that doesn’t catch anyone’s attention of anyone. 

Our advice? Don’t fall for the trap of thinking everyone is your audience. There’s no way you can market to everyone and still have a unique brand. 

In contrast, if you are clear on who you are selling to, then you will attract people who actually want your product—which means your business is likelier to last. 

To take this a little further, remember that the best brands are aspirational. In other words, while you should start with the people who want your product, you should eventually expand into finding people who want to want your product. This means you will inherently cast a wider net than just your target market—but you will not catch much of anyone without a target market. Start there.

If you can really hone in on exactly who your dream customer is, you then know how to market your product to them. A good exercise to do here is to write your dream customer’s profile or buyer persona: 

• What is your ideal customer’s name? Age? Occupation? Hobbies? 
• What food do they like? What food do they dislike? 
• Do they have a family? 
• How much money do they make, and how much disposable income do they have? What are their hopes and goals? 

Now, ask yourself: Does a person like this actually exist? If so, now you know which social media platforms to target, where to buy ad space, and what tone your advertising should take. 

Having a hard time answering the questions above? Start by identifying who is not your audience. List the qualities of the person who is not your target audience, and narrow things down from there.

Again, you can have more than one target audience, but you should try to be as specific as possible for each one.

3. Choose your business name

Choosing a business name is where the fun starts. For one thing, your business’s name is the first point of contact between your business and your consumers. It also gives customers the first glimmer of your personality and is the place where your branding will shine. 

Remember, your name is also how the legal world will note your business. It also helps Google determine how to position your website when someone searches for your product or similar product on the internet. If your name is confusing, long or even too similar to other business names, you might be positioned at the bottom of the search results page. 

In other words, your business’s name is important. 

When it comes to business names, entrepreneurs tend to overthink, overthink, and, overthink some more. Sometimes, it feels like the trickiest part of starting a business, so here are some tips for figuring out the perfect name.

Keep it simple and short

Shoot for one to two words. You don’t want the name to be a chore for your customers to remember. Make it as easy as possible for your customers to think only of your service or product when they hear your name. You also want the name to fit neatly on a price tag or as a hashtag (always keep that social media marketing in mind)

For a good example of a short, simple brand name, consider Macintosh computers and Apple products. When someone says the word “apple,” most people now think of the computers before they think of the fruit. It’s a simple name, but with excellent marketing, the company completely co-opted the fruit.

Dare to get personal

Don’t be afraid to think of something quirky, weird, and maybe even a little kooky. For instance, many small online clothing businesses include the name of the owner’s grandmother in the title, or maybe of the owner’s children who inspired the clothing. 

Or if something from your hometown (or even a particular food) means something to you, consider including that as part of the name. This type of personality flair makes marketing the founder’s story even clearer (read: makes you more marketable). It’ll also provide an easy framework for storytelling within your marketing plans. 

These personal details will also help customers feel a sentimental connection to the brand. Sentimentality is an effective tool for building loyalty.

Be original

Make sure there are not other companies filed under the same name or an adjacent name.  You don’t want to confuse your potential customers or investors, and you also don’t want to confuse Google, which might pull up your company’s name and location while filling in product information from a completely unrelated company that happens to share your business’s name.

Search domain names, URLs, and social media handles for your would-be business name. Don’t forget to simply Google the name either. If you are dead set on your chosen name, consider tweaking it a little just to set it apart.

4. Write your business plan

Your business plan is a structured document that gets all your brilliant ideas down on paper. You’ll show it to investors (like angel investors or traditional lenders like banks) to demonstrate that your ideas are worth investing in. While you can modify your business plan from year to year, try to think about it as your business’s foundational document—this is how you design the path to making your dream work. 

You can create your business plan as early or late as you want before launching your business, but I highly recommend doing this early because it will reveal any flaws in your idea. The plan itself might feel redundant, but don’t speed through this. Consider it a proposition for the world to take your idea seriously.  

Executive Summary

This is your elevator pitch. Simply sum up what your business is, how it will function, and what success you anticipate. It should be brief and to the point. 

Company Description

This section should be a detailed description of what problems your company solves. It should also focus on who your company is serving and how you are serving that population.

Market Analysis

Who is your competition? Your investors will want to know you’ve done the research to find out that yours is a good idea, or that there is even a demand for this service or product. Along with showing that there is competition, this section of your business plan should point out what the competitors are doing better than you—and what you plan to do better than your competition.

Management and Organization

What kind of business is this? Is it an LLC, INC or DBA? How big is your business, and what is its structure? Most any business structure is fine—but remember: remember...stay away from pyramid schemes. (We say this mostly because they’re pretty similar to illegal pyramid schemes, but also because they can take advantage of women and marginalized populations.)

Products and Services

What exactly are you selling? List out each product, including each variation of your main product or service, as well as your pricing. Keep this portion of your business plan as clean and organized as possible (a spreadsheet will likely be a useful tool here). You will probably add to this list as you launch your business and continue to grow.

Marketing & Sales

How do you plan to let people know what you are selling? Many business owners use social media, local newspapers, radio ads, billboards, or even a combination of everything. The point is that you need to have a plan. 

Another angle to consider is what medium your audience primarily uses. For instance, if you’re focusing on a product that primarily serves older communities, you’ll want to focus on Facebook advertisements. If you’re focused on a younger population, TikTok ads will probably serve you better. Consider how you can use your audience’s preferred same media to get your message across. And what sort of posts or commercials will you create that both fit your brand and speak to your dream consumer? 

Funding Requests

Outline your funding requirements. This is where you get specific on how much you need and how each dollar will be spent. It’s also where you explain the lending and investment terms you would like and whether you are looking for debt or equity. The more specific you are, the better. Answer basic questions like how long you’ll need funding and how exactly you’ll use it. Most importantly, be overly detailed and incredibly tedious with this information—investors prefer more information when making a decision about whether or not your business is worth their time and money.

Financial Projections

Because you haven’t launched your business yet, this is where you will keep track of your monthly and/or quarterly projections. Throw in graphs, charts, and anything else that will tell your financial story as easily and quickly as possible. This section can be updated and added upon after you launch, but you should definitely keep track of your financial projects throughout the life of your business. Set routine goals to keep yourself motivated and on track.

Keep your business plan close by and allow it to remain a living document as you grow and learn new things. Even if you never end up presenting it to anyone, it will keep you focused and aware of when things are not lining up for you.

5. Define your brand identity

Last year, I taught a business class to high schoolers., These were Gen Z brilliant students who knew the internet forward and backward. They used the word “branding” casually, but they didn’t quite understand the ins and outs of branding a company. So we did what I like to call “the Starbucks exercise.”

I asked them to get out a piece of paper and write their answers to my questions: If Starbucks were a person, what gender are they? Do they smoke? What age are they? Do they have a family? A partner? Kids? A dog or a cat? What kind of outfit is Starbucks wearing? 

The majority of students had the same answers. To them, Starbucks was a white middle class lady who used to smoke cigarettes. She is a straight cis female with a couple of kids and a cat. She is stressed and she wears yoga pants a lot. 

These students were all from different homes and all had different relationships with the coffee brand— but they all had the same general understanding of what this brand was. And that’s the power of strong, consistent branding. 

If you can create a set understanding of what your company is if it were a person, you are golden. Creating a brand like this means you know exactly who you are marketing to. And having such a specific focus also means that you can attract the right customers. You will know which aspects of your company to negotiate in order to attract your target audience and expand from there.

What gender are they? Do they smoke? What age are they? Do they have a family? A partner? Kids? A dog or a cat? What kind of clothes do they wear? What is their income bracket? What type of music do they listen to?

Another helpful exercise is to try to describe your company with one word. Examples include: sleek, economical, efficient, retro, conscious, powerful, and rejuvenating. Practice this with your own business, and then make branding decisions based on that word. 

Now that you have an understanding of what your brand is, consider your unique selling point, words, colors, and logo.

Figure out your unique selling point

What makes your brand different from other brands? Why should people choose your service or product over others? Is there an emotional reason (for instance, you’re a local, naturally sourced brand), a practical reason (maybe you’re more affordable or offer higher quality products), or a combination of both?  Frankly, if there is an emotional pull, run with that—people love an emotional connection to the product they’re buying.

To put it simply, think about your origin story and what YOU bring to the table. Then go from there.

Colors are important! They should work together to make a good story. They should not be in a contest with each other. If you look at your branding and feel confused or disturbed, it means that the colors are not doing you favors. 

Not sure what we mean by that? Well, there is an area of study called color psychology. This is how our brain responds to certain colors. 

For example, yellow is a trigger for discomfort and red is a trigger for hunger, which is why most fast food places use red and yellow in their branding. These colors are intended to inspire patrons to come and eat a lot (red) and then leave quickly because the yellow is so glaring. Blue is calming which is why most therapy offices paint their walls blue. 

Consider what emotions you want your clients to feel and Google which colors best make that happen.

Red - enhances human metabolism, increases respiration rate and raises blood pressure; associated with energy, strength, danger, war, determination, passion, desire, and love -- it attracts more attention than any other color

Green - slows human metabolism and has a calming effect, associated with tranquility and calmness, symbolizes growth, freshness, rebirth, fertility and is associated with nature (all things organic). 

Blue - Peaceful, honest, compassionate, authentic and sympathetic 

Brown - reserved, dependable and resilient 

Yellow - joyful, happy, intellectual, a lot of energy, stimulates mental activity and muscle energy, can bring feelings of anxiousness when overused, and is definitely an attention grabber. Commonly used to mean loyalty and in other settings cowardice. 

Pink - calming and vulnerable. Signifies gentleness and youthful innocence, very sweet and tender feelings

Purple - power, nobility, luxury and ambition, wealth and extravagance. Reminds mystery, creativity, independence and magic 

White - signifies safety and cleanliness. Reminds of purity, light, faith, innocence and goodness

Black - power, death, formality, fear of the unknown, often feels negative and reminds of grief

Color theory also tells you which color combinations are most pleasing to our eyes. A fun resource is the Adobe color wheel . This site allows you to jump in and look at different combinations of colors that work within these theories of which colors are most compatible.

This is where you get to tell your story. Use words that fit the tones of the colors you choose (or vice versa). Words like sleek, organic, fresh, and honest all feel good with greens, light pinks, and whites. Words like powerful, strong, and forthright match the tones of reds and blacks. Consider which words best describe the mood you are trying to convey.

Unless you have a design background and are good with graphic design, consider hiring someone else to design your logo. Before hiring someone, your job is simply to figure out a basic idea of what you want. This will require you to look at different branding, websites, and fonts to think about what really resonates with you. 

When I was trying to sort out my own branding, I came across an Instagram profile that posted old Russian products with pre-1990 branding. My family comes from Eastern Europe and many of my family members speak Slavic languages, so seeing these unique logos and fonts felt familiar to me. I decided to hire a designer who created a font that could have come straight from old cheese cans from Moscow 1955, something with a Slavic touch and retro vibe. You never know where you will find inspiration.

• Old branding. Look at old magazines or old boxes and just study those fonts and how the logos were made.
• Notice t-shirts. 
• Whenever you find yourself in a waiting room or watching tv, jump on Pinterest and create different boards of ideas or tones.
• Start following different designers on social media. A popular one is Aaron Draplin, and from him you should be able to find an entire community that posts different design and logo ideas. This should inspire you as you figure out what you want. 
• Album covers. Go to a record store and sort through different old school album covers. You will see some of the best branding there has ever been. 
• Instagram, Instagram, Instagram. We love to hate it, but if you tap into the design community, you will be blown away by the options. 
• The grocery store. Andy Warhol found art in advertising and sold his Campbell’s Tomato Soup renderings for millions of dollars. He described the soup can as brilliant art and branding. Go to the grocery store, pretend to be Andy Warhol, and look for art in the mundane.

6. Build your website

Whether you’re offering a newsletter or a physical product, you need to start creating a site so you can fund your business and find customers. 

To start creating your ideal website, start by asking a few key questions. What is the purpose of your site? Are you selling or just giving information? Does your site include a call to action like signing up for a newsletter or service? Or do you need an e-commerce site to collect credit card information and shipping? 

A ton of different website building platforms are built for small online business owners like you. With services like Wix , Squarespace , and Weebly , you can create a site and keep it dormant before launching for testing. 

Not sure how to build a website from the ground up? Find other websites that are doing similar things to you and follow their lead. It is okay to gain inspiration from multiple sources. (Just don’t copy and paste an entire site. Plagiarism will not go well for you.) 

Start simple. You don’t have to have a perfect product right away. Create a basic website, then have a friend go through it and tell you what they would love to see or use. 

As you start creating your site, Just make sure you have these basics: 

• A site map 
• High-quality images 
• A call to action on each page (“sign up for our email,” “click to purchase,” etc.)
• A contact page

You’ll also want to use proper SEO ( search engine optimization ) for any blogs and sites you create. If you’re not sure what that means, no worries—most website builders include some sort of SEO recommendations that will help optimize your content. 

SEO is an acronym for “search engine optimization.” It is the method in attracting a higher quality and quantity of traffic to a site. 

The goal of SEO is to make it easier for Google to recognize what your site pages are about and then help users find the best solutions to their needs.

• Figure out where your site stands in terms of Google rankings. Use the Google toolbar or other monitoring tools (there are a lot). 
• Use keywords or phrases organically throughout your pages. Use keywords that people might be including in their searches. Feel free to Google your topic and see what other people are posting or searching. 
• Include these search terms in your URLs. 
• Attach descriptors to your images. 
• Use internal links to guide users to another page on your site. 
• Link to other sites or the site you are sourcing information from. 
• Make sure that your website is updated regularly and actually has high-quality information.

7. Test and validate your product

Test your product.

Before launching and advertising, you must test your product and see if it is actually meeting the needs it is setting out to meet. You can do this in the form of focus groups, which means sending the product to a few choice people who you know will be honest about their impressions. Then you can start sending and giving to others. Find a bigger audience by inviting people from your focus group to pass your product along to their friends and ask for their feedback as well.

Validate your product

Before really going crazy with scaling and production, you must validate the product . This means setting up pre-orders and selling in person (read: starting off small before you buy 6.000 scrunchy leopard print bracelets that will just sit in your garage). Produce a few items and try to sell them. If you can’t move those few, there is no way you will move 6,000. 

Validating your product tests whether your idea actually does have legs and whether you are the right person to move it forward. This can also be done by setting up pre-orders, launching a crowdfunding campaign, or selling person to person. Each of these tactics can act as a thermostat of where you are in meeting a need or want of your dream customer. 

If your product is not a tangible thing and is content– or service-based, start promoting it through advertising. Consider offering a free service to get feedback before you start to sell. See what happens. Once again, if no one bites, it’s time to find another idea for your small business.

8. Nail down your processes for delivering your product

By now, you should have a good sense of your business’s organization, branding, and purpose. Now, it’s time to dig deeper into the nitty gritty part of building a company. 

Let’s start by asking a few questions. 

If you are using an online store to sell a product, ask yourself:

• Where are you going to store your inventory? 
• Would you rather mail each product yourself, or should you outsource via dropshipping ? 
• Who is making your product? 
• Are ethics and sustainability a part of your brand?  
• Do you need design help and how long term do you need the help to be? 

If you are selling a service, ask yourself: 

• Exactly what service are you offering? 
• What are your price points? 
• What size of jobs are you accepting? 
• What are you willing to negotiate with clients? 

Whether you’re selling a product or service, we recommend getting support that can help you save time and money as you hammer out the logistics of running your business. Here are some of the most crucial tools to consider:  

• Accounting software. We live in a wonderful time when there are trillions of options for different accounting apps. Different programs are tailored to different needs and include different price points as you grow. Check out our  list of the best accounting software for small businesses . 
• Email marketing. Email marketing benefits your SEO and builds trust with your customers—potential, past, and current. This is the one chance you have to speak directly with the people you are hoping to impact with your service. This is where you can ask them questions and remind them that you exist.
• Project management. If you are anything like me, you tend to procrastinate and get frazzled when things get off track. Just like accounting apps and software, finding the right project management tool can make a huge difference. We all work differently, so find the tool that makes the most sense for your brain and also your company’s needs.

9. Make it legal

Research licensing and government regulations.

Different states have different laws on what’s legal to sell, where, and how. These regulations can be quite complex, and there may be legal problems if you make a wrong move. 

Go ahead and Google your state laws. If you find any regulations that might affect your business,  definitely reach out to your county officials and they can guide you. If you feel like your business is in a gray area, consider investing in a lawyer as you set up your business.

Pick a business structure

A business structure is integral both for filing your taxes and your own liability.

10. Get your finances in order

Dealing with finances is usually where first-time entrepreneurs start panicking. They have an awesome idea, but they didn’t major in accounting and have no idea what to do about money . 

The first move is to figure out what accounting software you want to use(hopefully you figured that out in step seven). 

Next, we need to draw the line between your personal self and your business self. Your business profile needs to stay distinct from your personal finances.  

How do you separate the two? Just like how you have a social security number, your business needs its own identification number (this is called an employer identification number , or EIN) and bank account. Not only does this make sure you are not going to get into a jam with the IRS, but setting up a business EIN and bank account helps prove that your business is, well, yours. You will get your business identification number when you register your business with your state. 

Next, you need to get a business bank account and credit card . Open an account that will work best for you, whether that is through using a high yield savings account or an account with limited fees. Make sure that you are checking your credit card statement and your bank account weekly so you can stay on top of cash flow. 

Go to your bank and speak with someone about opening the right account for your needs. Your business banker will be your best friend—they can offer much better advice on different accounts and their benefits than anyone else. 

Be mindful that most of your money will go quickly in the beginning. You will be spending it on building your inventory and trial and error with marketing. If those startup costs are too big for your pocketbook, consider finding angel investors or crowdfunding . 

Starting at $0/month, Lili offers a checking account with time-saving tax optimization and accounting features specifically built for entrepreneurs.

11. Launch your business

You’ve done it! You’ve gone through all the major steps to get your business off the ground, and now you’re ready to launch. Publish your website and start getting the word out by leaning into social media and other advertising methods-. Using your brand identity and chosen colors and logo, be liberal in sharing your new project with the world to find customers. 

Most importantly, be confident . There will undoubtedly be ups and downs, but remember—you are providing something that people want. You’ve been through vetting and product testing and you know yours is a good idea. Hold onto that while you are weathering these early storms because yes, the initial phases are hard, but you’ve got this! 

Phew, you made it to the end—nicely done! Thanks for sticking with us, and best of luck to you with your small business. We know you're going to do great.

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How to Write a Business Plan, Step by Step

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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.

How much do you need?

with Fundera by NerdWallet

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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What Is a Business Plan? Definition and Planning Essentials Explained

Posted february 21, 2022 by kody wirth.

What is a business plan? It’s the roadmap for your business. The outline of your goals, objectives, and the steps you’ll take to get there. It describes the structure of your organization, how it operates, as well as the financial expectations and actual performance. 

A business plan can help you explore ideas, successfully start a business, manage operations, and pursue growth. In short, a business plan is a lot of different things. It’s more than just a stack of paper and can be one of your most effective tools as a business owner. 

Let’s explore the basics of business planning, the structure of a traditional plan, your planning options, and how you can use your plan to succeed. 

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document that explains how your business operates. It summarizes your business structure, objectives, milestones, and financial performance. Again, it’s a guide that helps you, and anyone else, better understand how your business will succeed.  

Why do you need a business plan?

The primary purpose of a business plan is to help you understand the direction of your business and the steps it will take to get there. Having a solid business plan can help you grow up to 30% faster and according to our own 2021 Small Business research working on a business plan increases confidence regarding business health—even in the midst of a crisis. 

These benefits are directly connected to how writing a business plan makes you more informed and better prepares you for entrepreneurship. It helps you reduce risk and avoid pursuing potentially poor ideas. You’ll also be able to more easily uncover your business’s potential. By regularly returning to your plan you can understand what parts of your strategy are working and those that are not.

That just scratches the surface for why having a plan is valuable. Check out our full write-up for fifteen more reasons why you need a business plan .  

What can you do with your plan?

So what can you do with a business plan once you’ve created it? It can be all too easy to write a plan and just let it be. Here are just a few ways you can leverage your plan to benefit your business.

Test an idea

Writing a plan isn’t just for those that are ready to start a business. It’s just as valuable for those that have an idea and want to determine if it’s actually possible or not. By writing a plan to explore the validity of an idea, you are working through the process of understanding what it would take to be successful. 

The market and competitive research alone can tell you a lot about your idea. Is the marketplace too crowded? Is the solution you have in mind not really needed? Add in the exploration of milestones, potential expenses, and the sales needed to attain profitability and you can paint a pretty clear picture of the potential of your business.

Document your strategy and goals

For those starting or managing a business understanding where you’re going and how you’re going to get there are vital. Writing your plan helps you do that. It ensures that you are considering all aspects of your business, know what milestones you need to hit, and can effectively make adjustments if that doesn’t happen. 

With a plan in place, you’ll have an idea of where you want your business to go as well as how you’ve performed in the past. This alone better prepares you to take on challenges, review what you’ve done before, and make the right adjustments.

Pursue funding

Even if you do not intend to pursue funding right away, having a business plan will prepare you for it. It will ensure that you have all of the information necessary to submit a loan application and pitch to investors. So, rather than scrambling to gather documentation and write a cohesive plan once it’s relevant, you can instead keep your plan up-to-date and attempt to attain funding. Just add a use of funds report to your financial plan and you’ll be ready to go.

The benefits of having a plan don’t stop there. You can then use your business plan to help you manage the funding you receive. You’ll not only be able to easily track and forecast how you’ll use your funds but easily report on how it’s been used. 

Better manage your business

A solid business plan isn’t meant to be something you do once and forget about. Instead, it should be a useful tool that you can regularly use to analyze performance, make strategic decisions, and anticipate future scenarios. It’s a document that you should regularly update and adjust as you go to better fit the actual state of your business.

Doing so makes it easier to understand what’s working and what’s not. It helps you understand if you’re truly reaching your goals or if you need to make further adjustments. Having your plan in place makes that process quicker, more informative, and leaves you with far more time to actually spend running your business.

What should your business plan include?

The content and structure of your business plan should include anything that will help you use it effectively. That being said, there are some key elements that you should cover and that investors will expect to see. 

Executive summary

The executive summary is a simple overview of your business and your overall plan. It should serve as a standalone document that provides enough detail for anyone—including yourself, team members, or investors—to fully understand your business strategy. Make sure to cover the problem you’re solving, a description of your product or service, your target market, organizational structure, a financial summary, and any necessary funding requirements.

This will be the first part of your plan but it’s easiest to write it after you’ve created your full plan.

Products & Services

When describing your products or services, you need to start by outlining the problem you’re solving and why what you offer is valuable. This is where you’ll also address current competition in the market and any competitive advantages your products or services bring to the table. Lastly, be sure to outline the steps or milestones that you’ll need to hit to successfully launch your business. If you’ve already hit some initial milestones, like taking pre-orders or early funding, be sure to include it here to further prove the validity of your business. 

Market analysis

A market analysis is a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the current market you’re entering or competing in. It helps you understand the overall state and potential of the industry, who your ideal customers are, the positioning of your competition, and how you intend to position your own business. This helps you better explore the long-term trends of the market, what challenges to expect, and how you will need to initially introduce and even price your products or services.

Check out our full guide for how to conduct a market analysis in just four easy steps .  

Marketing & sales

Here you detail how you intend to reach your target market. This includes your sales activities, general pricing plan, and the beginnings of your marketing strategy. If you have any branding elements, sample marketing campaigns, or messaging available—this is the place to add it. 

Additionally, it may be wise to include a SWOT analysis that demonstrates your business or specific product/service position. This will showcase how you intend to leverage sales and marketing channels to deal with competitive threats and take advantage of any opportunities.

Check out our full write-up to learn how to create a cohesive marketing strategy for your business. 

Organization & management

This section addresses the legal structure of your business, your current team, and any gaps that need to be filled. Depending on your business type and longevity, you’ll also need to include your location, ownership information, and business history. Basically, add any information that helps explain your organizational structure and how you operate. This section is particularly important for pitching to investors but should be included even if attempted funding is not in your immediate future.

Financial projections

Possibly the most important piece of your plan, your financials section is vital for showcasing the viability of your business. It also helps you establish a baseline to measure against and makes it easier to make ongoing strategic decisions as your business grows. This may seem complex on the surface, but it can be far easier than you think. 

Focus on building solid forecasts, keep your categories simple, and lean on assumptions. You can always return to this section to add more details and refine your financial statements as you operate. 

Here are the statements you should include in your financial plan:

• Sales and revenue projections
• Profit and loss statement
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet

The appendix is where you add additional detail, documentation, or extended notes that support the other sections of your plan. Don’t worry about adding this section at first and only add documentation that you think will be beneficial for anyone reading your plan.

Types of business plans explained

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

Traditional business plan

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

This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix. We recommend only starting with this business plan format if you plan to immediately pursue funding and already have a solid handle on your business information. 

Business model canvas

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

The structure ditches a linear structure in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It’s faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations. This is really best for those exploring their business idea for the first time, but keep in mind that it can be difficult to actually validate your idea this way as well as adapt it into a full plan.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan. This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. It basically serves as a beefed-up pitch document and can be finished as quickly as the business model canvas.

By starting with a one-page plan, you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan. This plan type is useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Now, the option that we here at LivePlan recommend is the Lean Plan . This is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance.

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

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

Try the LivePlan Method for Lean Business Planning

Now that you know the basics of business planning, it’s time to get started. Again we recommend leveraging a Lean Plan for a faster, easier, and far more useful planning process. 

To get familiar with the Lean Plan format, you can download our free Lean Plan template . However, if you want to elevate your ability to create and use your lean plan even further, you may want to explore LivePlan. 

It features step-by-step guidance that ensures you cover everything necessary while reducing the time spent on formatting and presenting. You’ll also gain access to financial forecasting tools that propel you through the process. Finally, it will transform your plan into a management tool that will help you easily compare your forecasts to your actual results. 

Check out how LivePlan streamlines Lean Planning by downloading our Kickstart Your Business ebook .

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