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Write a business plan

Download free business plan templates and find help and advice on how to write your business plan.

Business plan templates

Download a free business plan template on The Prince’s Trust website.

You can also download a free cash flow forecast template or a business plan template on the Start Up Loans website to help you manage your finances.

Business plan examples

Read example business plans on the Bplans website.

How to write a business plan

Get detailed information about how to write a business plan on the Start Up Donut website.

Why you need a business plan

A business plan is a written document that describes your business. It covers objectives, strategies, sales, marketing and financial forecasts.

A business plan helps you to:

• clarify your business idea
• spot potential problems
• set out your goals
• measure your progress

You’ll need a business plan if you want to secure investment or a loan from a bank. Read about the finance options available for businesses on the Business Finance Guide website.

It can also help to convince customers, suppliers and potential employees to support you.

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What is a business plan template?

Home / / what is a business plan template, know you need a business plan - but not sure where to start.

If you're overwhelmed at the thought of writing your first business plan, you’re not alone! Lots of people find the idea intimidating.

But a well-structured business plan is a game-changer. It acts as a roadmap for your journey into self-employment, giving you a clear idea of your destination, direction of travel and what landmarks to look out for on the way.

Start planning your business journey

Here at Transmit Startups, we’re dedicated to simplifying and demystifying business, to help people follow their dreams of self-employment.

We think this template from the British Business Bank is a great starting point.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document which sets out in detail exactly how you’ll run your business.

It considers:

what your products and services are

how you’ll promote and sell them

how you’ll fund your business

who your customers and competitors are

Your final business plan will also include details of your financial forecasts, explaining how much money you think you will make and how.

Business plan templates ask for market research , looking at how big your market is and who your customers are. You can segment your markets too.

Many business plans include a section explaining how many employees you will need, how and when you'll recruit them and how many you will recruit.

Why do you need a business plan?

A good business plan will guide you through each stage of starting your business. Think of it like preparing for a long road trip. Once you've planned the route you can start making sure you have enough petrol, and decide who’s going to do the driving. Imagine how lost you could get without that prior preparation…

1. Setting the destination

Just as you would input your destination into a GPS, your business plan outlines your ultimate objectives and goals. It gives you a clear vision of where you want to take your business.

And it helps you make sure your idea is feasible . You’ll have to think through details like how much money it could make vs how much money you’ll have to invest.  

2. Mapping the route

Your business plan gives you a place to list specific goals and objectives for your business. And you can use it to identify the different routes and strategies to reach your goals in the most efficient and effective way.

You’ll have to think about how you’ll meet these goals and what the timescale is. By making financial forecasts (like a cashflow forecast ), you can work out how much your business needs to make in order to support your lifestyle. How long do you want to work in order to make the money you aspire to?

3. Identifying resources

Business planning helps you understand the financial reality of your business idea. Do you have the resources you need to get started - whether that's stock, premises, funding or staff?

Not everyone starting a business needs to access business finance. There are plenty of businesses you can start with no money . However, some do need startup funding. If you do plan to apply for a loan, a business plan is essential. It shows lenders that you’ve thought things through and will be able to afford repayments.

What does it mean to "pivot"?

In the startup world, pivoting means shifting to a new strategy. But it doesn’t necessarily mean a drastic change to your whole business plan.

If you’ve identified one important problem or one incredible opportunity, you may only need to change one area of your strategy.

4. Avoiding traffic and obstacles

If you accidentally take a wrong turn, your GPS will recalculate the route. Your business plan needs to be adaptable, too. Take some time to think about what challenges you could face and who your competitors are.

You’ll also need to really think about your customers, what they want and how you’ll sell to them . Being prepared for obstacles and opportunities means you can shift to a new strategy if you need to pivot your business... And avoid getting stuck in a traffic jam.

5. Staying safe and compliant

Having a plan will stop you wandering down unsafe paths. Just as you need to know the traffic rules and regulations of the area you're driving through, a business plan will help you ensure that you're legally compliant, for example by identifying any licenses you need for your business .

And what about financial paperwork? Do you need to complete a self-assessment tax return ? What steps do you need to take to register your business in the UK ? Getting everything in place before you begin trading will make sure you're operating legally - and avoid any risky turns!

6. Real-time adjustments

Just like a GPS will update and adapt your route if needed, so your business plan will change and grow with you.

Once you've been in business for a while, you will have actual data about sales and cashflow to compare with your planned financial forecasts. This will help you tweak your strategies and plans, and update the ETA based on whether you're on-track to meet your goals.

How do you write a simple business plan?

Business plans don't HAVE to be complicated. If you're thinking of starting a business, you only need to write a simple business plan at first, to help you think through your business and get into the planning mindset.

If you’re struggling to know what to write, just jot down some notes and come back to it later.

What’s in a business plan template?

Business plan templates commonly include the following sections:

1. Your information

The first section is just basic details about you and your business – the who, what and when questions.

2. Your business idea

Next you describe your business or business idea. Write about the main activities of the business and what products or services you offer. There are questions about any premises or licenses you might need, and who else is involved in the business. Don’t worry if these don’t apply to you, just skip forward.

3. Your market

Tell us about your customers and how you’ll reach them. Think about your competitors and how they do things. Then complete a SWOT analysis. This isn’t as hard as it sounds and our SWOT blog post can help.

4. Pricing and selling

Pricing is really important to get right. This section will help you think about pricing as part of your overall business strategy. You’ll also think about suppliers and sellers for your product or service.

5. Loan amount

If you'll be using a loan to fund your business initially, you should include in your plan how much you need to borrow and what you’ll use it for. Think about other sources of income and what expenses you might incur. Consider how much it costs to start a business .

Want a step-by-step guide to writing a business plan?

If you'd prefer not to use a pre-existing template, you can start from scratch by following our guide on how to write a business plan .

Writing a business plan requires research, realistic projections and some careful thought. But it doesn't need to be difficult.

How else can a business plan help?

If you’re a sole trader or microbusiness, your business plan might be for your eyes only. But as you grow and develop, your business plan can help your business bloom.

1. Securing investment or borrowing

A well-written business plan containing relevant figures will help you convince investors your business is a reliable proposition.

2. Satisfying suppliers and distributors

Any distributors you need will want to see your assessment of the risks and threats facing your business, and how you’re managing your supply chain. Suppliers who may need to offer you credit will want to see how well you’ve planned for the future.

3. Motivating and managing staff

Any other people involved with your business should share the same goals as you do. A strong business plan can help guide your workplans and make sure you’re all pulling the same way.

Where can I download a free business plan template?

Right here . The British Business Bank have produced a template, designed to be used to support a Start Up Loan application .

Even if you're at the earliest stages of an idea, you can download it for free and use it to help develop your plans. We'd recommend it to anyone who wants to think about starting a business.

Your business plan is a vital tool for securing loans, and a foundation for making informed decisions. So it's definitely worth doing.

Completed your business plan template and ready to get going?

If you've got an idea for a business and want to talk to someone about funding your idea, you can  explore a low-interest Start Up Loan .

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How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)

Every successful business has one thing in common, a good and well-executed business plan. A business plan is more than a document, it is a complete guide that outlines the goals your business wants to achieve, including its financial goals . It helps you analyze results, make strategic decisions, show your business operations and growth.

If you want to start a business or already have one and need to pitch it to investors for funding, writing a good business plan improves your chances of attracting financiers. As a startup, if you want to secure loans from financial institutions, part of the requirements involve submitting your business plan.

Writing a business plan does not have to be a complicated or time-consuming process. In this article, you will learn the step-by-step process for writing a successful business plan.

You will also learn what you need a business plan for, tips and strategies for writing a convincing business plan, business plan examples and templates that will save you tons of time, and the alternatives to the traditional business plan.

Let’s get started.

What Do You Need A Business Plan For?

Businesses create business plans for different purposes such as to secure funds, monitor business growth, measure your marketing strategies, and measure your business success.

1. Secure Funds

One of the primary reasons for writing a business plan is to secure funds, either from financial institutions/agencies or investors.

For you to effectively acquire funds, your business plan must contain the key elements of your business plan . For example, your business plan should include your growth plans, goals you want to achieve, and milestones you have recorded.

A business plan can also attract new business partners that are willing to contribute financially and intellectually. If you are writing a business plan to a bank, your project must show your traction , that is, the proof that you can pay back any loan borrowed.

Also, if you are writing to an investor, your plan must contain evidence that you can effectively utilize the funds you want them to invest in your business. Here, you are using your business plan to persuade a group or an individual that your business is a source of a good investment.

2. Monitor Business Growth

A business plan can help you track cash flows in your business. It steers your business to greater heights. A business plan capable of tracking business growth should contain:

• The business goals
• Methods to achieve the goals
• Time-frame for attaining those goals

A good business plan should guide you through every step in achieving your goals. It can also track the allocation of assets to every aspect of the business. You can tell when you are spending more than you should on a project.

You can compare a business plan to a written GPS. It helps you manage your business and hints at the right time to expand your business.

3. Measure Business Success

A business plan can help you measure your business success rate. Some small-scale businesses are thriving better than more prominent companies because of their track record of success.

Right from the onset of your business operation, set goals and work towards them. Write a plan to guide you through your procedures. Use your plan to measure how much you have achieved and how much is left to attain.

You can also weigh your success by monitoring the position of your brand relative to competitors. On the other hand, a business plan can also show you why you have not achieved a goal. It can tell if you have elapsed the time frame you set to attain a goal.

4. Document Your Marketing Strategies

You can use a business plan to document your marketing plans. Every business should have an effective marketing plan.

Competition mandates every business owner to go the extraordinary mile to remain relevant in the market. Your business plan should contain your marketing strategies that work. You can measure the success rate of your marketing plans.

In your business plan, your marketing strategy must answer the questions:

• How do you want to reach your target audience?
• How do you plan to retain your customers?
• What is/are your pricing plans?
• What is your budget for marketing?

How to Write a Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. create your executive summary.

The executive summary is a snapshot of your business or a high-level overview of your business purposes and plans . Although the executive summary is the first section in your business plan, most people write it last. The length of the executive summary is not more than two pages.

Generally, there are nine sections in a business plan, the executive summary should condense essential ideas from the other eight sections.

A good executive summary should do the following:

• A Snapshot of Growth Potential. Briefly inform the reader about your company and why it will be successful)
• Contain your Mission Statement which explains what the main objective or focus of your business is.
• Product Description and Differentiation. Brief description of your products or services and why it is different from other solutions in the market.
• The Team. Basic information about your company’s leadership team and employees
• Business Concept. A solid description of what your business does.
• Target Market. The customers you plan to sell to.
• Marketing Strategy. Your plans on reaching and selling to your customers
• Current Financial State. Brief information about what revenue your business currently generates.
• Projected Financial State. Brief information about what you foresee your business revenue to be in the future.

The executive summary is the make-or-break section of your business plan. If your summary cannot in less than two pages cannot clearly describe how your business will solve a particular problem of your target audience and make a profit, your business plan is set on a faulty foundation.

Avoid using the executive summary to hype your business, instead, focus on helping the reader understand the what and how of your plan.

View the executive summary as an opportunity to introduce your vision for your company. You know your executive summary is powerful when it can answer these key questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What sector or industry are you in?
• What are your products and services?
• What is the future of your industry?
• Is your company scaleable?
• Who are the owners and leaders of your company? What are their backgrounds and experience levels?
• What is the motivation for starting your company?
• What are the next steps?

Writing the executive summary last although it is the most important section of your business plan is an excellent idea. The reason why is because it is a high-level overview of your business plan. It is the section that determines whether potential investors and lenders will read further or not.

The executive summary can be a stand-alone document that covers everything in your business plan. It is not uncommon for investors to request only the executive summary when evaluating your business. If the information in the executive summary impresses them, they will ask for the complete business plan.

If you are writing your business plan for your planning purposes, you do not need to write the executive summary.

2. Add Your Company Overview

The company overview or description is the next section in your business plan after the executive summary. It describes what your business does.

Adding your company overview can be tricky especially when your business is still in the planning stages. Existing businesses can easily summarize their current operations but may encounter difficulties trying to explain what they plan to become.

Your company overview should contain the following:

• What products and services you will provide
• Geographical markets and locations your company have a presence
• What you need to run your business
• Who your target audience or customers are
• Who will service your customers
• Your company’s purpose, mission, and vision
• Information about your company’s founders
• Who the founders are
• Notable achievements of your company so far

When creating a company overview, you have to focus on three basics: identifying your industry, identifying your customer, and explaining the problem you solve.

If you are stuck when creating your company overview, try to answer some of these questions that pertain to you.

• Who are you targeting? (The answer is not everyone)
• What pain point does your product or service solve for your customers that they will be willing to spend money on resolving?
• How does your product or service overcome that pain point?
• Where is the location of your business?
• What products, equipment, and services do you need to run your business?
• How is your company’s product or service different from your competition in the eyes of your customers?
• How many employees do you need and what skills do you require them to have?

After answering some or all of these questions, you will get more than enough information you need to write your company overview or description section. When writing this section, describe what your company does for your customers.

The company description or overview section contains three elements: mission statement, history, and objectives.

• Mission Statement

The mission statement refers to the reason why your business or company is existing. It goes beyond what you do or sell, it is about the ‘why’. A good mission statement should be emotional and inspirational.

Your mission statement should follow the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid). For example, Shopify’s mission statement is “Make commerce better for everyone.”

When describing your company’s history, make it simple and avoid the temptation of tying it to a defensive narrative. Write it in the manner you would a profile. Your company’s history should include the following information:

• Founding Date
• Major Milestones
• Location(s)
• Flagship Products or Services
• Number of Employees
• Executive Leadership Roles

When you fill in this information, you use it to write one or two paragraphs about your company’s history.

Business Objectives

Your business objective must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.) Failure to clearly identify your business objectives does not inspire confidence and makes it hard for your team members to work towards a common purpose.

3. Perform Market and Competitive Analyses to Proof a Big Enough Business Opportunity

The third step in writing a business plan is the market and competitive analysis section. Every business, no matter the size, needs to perform comprehensive market and competitive analyses before it enters into a market.

Performing market and competitive analyses are critical for the success of your business. It helps you avoid entering the right market with the wrong product, or vice versa. Anyone reading your business plans, especially financiers and financial institutions will want to see proof that there is a big enough business opportunity you are targeting.

This section is where you describe the market and industry you want to operate in and show the big opportunities in the market that your business can leverage to make a profit. If you noticed any unique trends when doing your research, show them in this section.

Market analysis alone is not enough, you have to add competitive analysis to strengthen this section. There are already businesses in the industry or market, how do you plan to take a share of the market from them?

You have to clearly illustrate the competitive landscape in your business plan. Are there areas your competitors are doing well? Are there areas where they are not doing so well? Show it.

Make it clear in this section why you are moving into the industry and what weaknesses are present there that you plan to explain. How are your competitors going to react to your market entry? How do you plan to get customers? Do you plan on taking your competitors' competitors, tap into other sources for customers, or both?

Illustrate the competitive landscape as well. What are your competitors doing well and not so well?

Answering these questions and thoughts will aid your market and competitive analysis of the opportunities in your space. Depending on how sophisticated your industry is, or the expectations of your financiers, you may need to carry out a more comprehensive market and competitive analysis to prove that big business opportunity.

Instead of looking at the market and competitive analyses as one entity, separating them will make the research even more comprehensive.

Market Analysis

Market analysis, boarding speaking, refers to research a business carried out on its industry, market, and competitors. It helps businesses gain a good understanding of their target market and the outlook of their industry. Before starting a company, it is vital to carry out market research to find out if the market is viable.

The market analysis section is a key part of the business plan. It is the section where you identify who your best clients or customers are. You cannot omit this section, without it your business plan is incomplete.

A good market analysis will tell your readers how you fit into the existing market and what makes you stand out. This section requires in-depth research, it will probably be the most time-consuming part of the business plan to write.

• Market Research

To create a compelling market analysis that will win over investors and financial institutions, you have to carry out thorough market research . Your market research should be targeted at your primary target market for your products or services. Here is what you want to find out about your target market.

• Your target market’s needs or pain points
• The existing solutions for their pain points
• Geographic Location
• Demographics

The purpose of carrying out a marketing analysis is to get all the information you need to show that you have a solid and thorough understanding of your target audience.

Only after you have fully understood the people you plan to sell your products or services to, can you evaluate correctly if your target market will be interested in your products or services.

You can easily convince interested parties to invest in your business if you can show them you thoroughly understand the market and show them that there is a market for your products or services.

How to Quantify Your Target Market

One of the goals of your marketing research is to understand who your ideal customers are and their purchasing power. To quantify your target market, you have to determine the following:

• Your Potential Customers: They are the people you plan to target. For example, if you sell accounting software for small businesses , then anyone who runs an enterprise or large business is unlikely to be your customers. Also, individuals who do not have a business will most likely not be interested in your product.
• Total Households: If you are selling household products such as heating and air conditioning systems, determining the number of total households is more important than finding out the total population in the area you want to sell to. The logic is simple, people buy the product but it is the household that uses it.
• Median Income: You need to know the median income of your target market. If you target a market that cannot afford to buy your products and services, your business will not last long.
• Income by Demographics: If your potential customers belong to a certain age group or gender, determining income levels by demographics is necessary. For example, if you sell men's clothes, your target audience is men.

What Does a Good Market Analysis Entail?

Your business does not exist on its own, it can only flourish within an industry and alongside competitors. Market analysis takes into consideration your industry, target market, and competitors. Understanding these three entities will drastically improve your company’s chances of success.

You can view your market analysis as an examination of the market you want to break into and an education on the emerging trends and themes in that market. Good market analyses include the following:

• Industry Description. You find out about the history of your industry, the current and future market size, and who the largest players/companies are in your industry.
• Overview of Target Market. You research your target market and its characteristics. Who are you targeting? Note, it cannot be everyone, it has to be a specific group. You also have to find out all information possible about your customers that can help you understand how and why they make buying decisions.
• Size of Target Market: You need to know the size of your target market, how frequently they buy, and the expected quantity they buy so you do not risk overproducing and having lots of bad inventory. Researching the size of your target market will help you determine if it is big enough for sustained business or not.
• Growth Potential: Before picking a target market, you want to be sure there are lots of potential for future growth. You want to avoid going for an industry that is declining slowly or rapidly with almost zero growth potential.
• Market Share Potential: Does your business stand a good chance of taking a good share of the market?
• Market Pricing and Promotional Strategies: Your market analysis should give you an idea of the price point you can expect to charge for your products and services. Researching your target market will also give you ideas of pricing strategies you can implement to break into the market or to enjoy maximum profits.
• Potential Barriers to Entry: One of the biggest benefits of conducting market analysis is that it shows you every potential barrier to entry your business will likely encounter. It is a good idea to discuss potential barriers to entry such as changing technology. It informs readers of your business plan that you understand the market.
• Research on Competitors: You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you can exploit them for the benefit of your business. Find patterns and trends among your competitors that make them successful, discover what works and what doesn’t, and see what you can do better.

The market analysis section is not just for talking about your target market, industry, and competitors. You also have to explain how your company can fill the hole you have identified in the market.

Here are some questions you can answer that can help you position your product or service in a positive light to your readers.

• Is your product or service of superior quality?
• What additional features do you offer that your competitors do not offer?
• Are you targeting a ‘new’ market?

Basically, your market analysis should include an analysis of what already exists in the market and an explanation of how your company fits into the market.

Competitive Analysis

In the competitive analysis section, y ou have to understand who your direct and indirect competitions are, and how successful they are in the marketplace. It is the section where you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, the advantage(s) they possess in the market and show the unique features or qualities that make you different from your competitors.

Many businesses do market analysis and competitive analysis together. However, to fully understand what the competitive analysis entails, it is essential to separate it from the market analysis.

Competitive analysis for your business can also include analysis on how to overcome barriers to entry in your target market.

The primary goal of conducting a competitive analysis is to distinguish your business from your competitors. A strong competitive analysis is essential if you want to convince potential funding sources to invest in your business. You have to show potential investors and lenders that your business has what it takes to compete in the marketplace successfully.

Competitive analysis will s how you what the strengths of your competition are and what they are doing to maintain that advantage.

When doing your competitive research, you first have to identify your competitor and then get all the information you can about them. The idea of spending time to identify your competitor and learn everything about them may seem daunting but it is well worth it.

Find answers to the following questions after you have identified who your competitors are.

• What are your successful competitors doing?
• Why is what they are doing working?
• Can your business do it better?
• What are the weaknesses of your successful competitors?
• What are they not doing well?
• Can your business turn its weaknesses into strengths?
• How good is your competitors’ customer service?
• Where do your competitors invest in advertising?
• What sales and pricing strategies are they using?
• What marketing strategies are they using?
• What kind of press coverage do they get?
• What are their customers saying about your competitors (both the positive and negative)?

If your competitors have a website, it is a good idea to visit their websites for more competitors’ research. Check their “About Us” page for more information.

If you are presenting your business plan to investors, you need to clearly distinguish yourself from your competitors. Investors can easily tell when you have not properly researched your competitors.

Take time to think about what unique qualities or features set you apart from your competitors. If you do not have any direct competition offering your product to the market, it does not mean you leave out the competitor analysis section blank. Instead research on other companies that are providing a similar product, or whose product is solving the problem your product solves.

The next step is to create a table listing the top competitors you want to include in your business plan. Ensure you list your business as the last and on the right. What you just created is known as the competitor analysis table.

Direct vs Indirect Competition

You cannot know if your product or service will be a fit for your target market if you have not understood your business and the competitive landscape.

There is no market you want to target where you will not encounter competition, even if your product is innovative. Including competitive analysis in your business plan is essential.

If you are entering an established market, you need to explain how you plan to differentiate your products from the available options in the market. Also, include a list of few companies that you view as your direct competitors The competition you face in an established market is your direct competition.

In situations where you are entering a market with no direct competition, it does not mean there is no competition there. Consider your indirect competition that offers substitutes for the products or services you offer.

For example, if you sell an innovative SaaS product, let us say a project management software , a company offering time management software is your indirect competition.

There is an easy way to find out who your indirect competitors are in the absence of no direct competitors. You simply have to research how your potential customers are solving the problems that your product or service seeks to solve. That is your direct competition.

Factors that Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

There are three main factors that any business can use to differentiate itself from its competition. They are cost leadership, product differentiation, and market segmentation.

1. Cost Leadership

A strategy you can impose to maximize your profits and gain an edge over your competitors. It involves offering lower prices than what the majority of your competitors are offering.

A common practice among businesses looking to enter into a market where there are dominant players is to use free trials or pricing to attract as many customers as possible to their offer.

2. Product Differentiation

Your product or service should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that your competitors do not have or do not stress in their marketing.

Part of the marketing strategy should involve making your products unique and different from your competitors. It does not have to be different from your competitors, it can be the addition to a feature or benefit that your competitors do not currently have.

3. Market Segmentation

As a new business seeking to break into an industry, you will gain more success from focusing on a specific niche or target market, and not the whole industry.

If your competitors are focused on a general need or target market, you can differentiate yourself from them by having a small and hyper-targeted audience. For example, if your competitors are selling men’s clothes in their online stores , you can sell hoodies for men.

4. Define Your Business and Management Structure

The next step in your business plan is your business and management structure. It is the section where you describe the legal structure of your business and the team running it.

Your business is only as good as the management team that runs it, while the management team can only strive when there is a proper business and management structure in place.

If your company is a sole proprietor or a limited liability company (LLC), a general or limited partnership, or a C or an S corporation, state it clearly in this section.

Use an organizational chart to show the management structure in your business. Clearly show who is in charge of what area in your company. It is where you show how each key manager or team leader’s unique experience can contribute immensely to the success of your company. You can also opt to add the resumes and CVs of the key players in your company.

The business and management structure section should show who the owner is, and other owners of the businesses (if the business has other owners). For businesses or companies with multiple owners, include the percent ownership of the various owners and clearly show the extent of each others’ involvement in the company.

Investors want to know who is behind the company and the team running it to determine if it has the right management to achieve its set goals.

Management Team

The management team section is where you show that you have the right team in place to successfully execute the business operations and ideas. Take time to create the management structure for your business. Think about all the important roles and responsibilities that you need managers for to grow your business.

Include brief bios of each key team member and ensure you highlight only the relevant information that is needed. If your team members have background industry experience or have held top positions for other companies and achieved success while filling that role, highlight it in this section.

A common mistake that many startups make is assigning C-level titles such as (CMO and CEO) to everyone on their team. It is unrealistic for a small business to have those titles. While it may look good on paper for the ego of your team members, it can prevent investors from investing in your business.

Instead of building an unrealistic management structure that does not fit your business reality, it is best to allow business titles to grow as the business grows. Starting everyone at the top leaves no room for future change or growth, which is bad for productivity.

Your management team does not have to be complete before you start writing your business plan. You can have a complete business plan even when there are managerial positions that are empty and need filling.

If you have management gaps in your team, simply show the gaps and indicate you are searching for the right candidates for the role(s). Investors do not expect you to have a full management team when you are just starting your business.

Key Questions to Answer When Structuring Your Management Team

• Who are the key leaders?
• What experiences, skills, and educational backgrounds do you expect your key leaders to have?
• Do your key leaders have industry experience?
• What positions will they fill and what duties will they perform in those positions?
• What level of authority do the key leaders have and what are their responsibilities?
• What is the salary for the various management positions that will attract the ideal candidates?

Additional Tips for Writing the Management Structure Section

1. Avoid Adding ‘Ghost’ Names to Your Management Team

There is always that temptation to include a ‘ghost’ name to your management team to attract and influence investors to invest in your business. Although the presence of these celebrity management team members may attract the attention of investors, it can cause your business to lose any credibility if you get found out.

Seasoned investors will investigate further the members of your management team before committing fully to your business If they find out that the celebrity name used does not play any actual role in your business, they will not invest and may write you off as dishonest.

2. Focus on Credentials But Pay Extra Attention to the Roles

Investors want to know the experience that your key team members have to determine if they can successfully reach the company’s growth and financial goals.

While it is an excellent boost for your key management team to have the right credentials, you also want to pay extra attention to the roles they will play in your company.

Organizational Chart

Adding an organizational chart in this section of your business plan is not necessary, you can do it in your business plan’s appendix.

If you are exploring funding options, it is not uncommon to get asked for your organizational chart. The function of an organizational chart goes beyond raising money, you can also use it as a useful planning tool for your business.

An organizational chart can help you identify how best to structure your management team for maximum productivity and point you towards key roles you need to fill in the future.

You can use the organizational chart to show your company’s internal management structure such as the roles and responsibilities of your management team, and relationships that exist between them.

5. Describe Your Product and Service Offering

In your business plan, you have to describe what you sell or the service you plan to offer. It is the next step after defining your business and management structure. The products and services section is where you sell the benefits of your business.

Here you have to explain how your product or service will benefit your customers and describe your product lifecycle. It is also the section where you write down your plans for intellectual property like patent filings and copyrighting.

The research and development that you are undertaking for your product or service need to be explained in detail in this section. However, do not get too technical, sell the general idea and its benefits.

If you have any diagrams or intricate designs of your product or service, do not include them in the products and services section. Instead, leave them for the addendum page. Also, if you are leaving out diagrams or designs for the addendum, ensure you add this phrase “For more detail, visit the addendum Page #.”

Your product and service section in your business plan should include the following:

• A detailed explanation that clearly shows how your product or service works.
• The pricing model for your product or service.
• Your business’ sales and distribution strategy.
• The ideal customers that want your product or service.
• The benefits of your products and services.
• Reason(s) why your product or service is a better alternative to what your competitors are currently offering in the market.
• Plans for filling the orders you receive
• If you have current or pending patents, copyrights, and trademarks for your product or service, you can also discuss them in this section.

What to Focus On When Describing the Benefits, Lifecycle, and Production Process of Your Products or Services

In the products and services section, you have to distill the benefits, lifecycle, and production process of your products and services.

When describing the benefits of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Unique features
• Translating the unique features into benefits
• The emotional, psychological, and practical payoffs to attract customers
• Intellectual property rights or any patents

When describing the product life cycle of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Upsells, cross-sells, and down-sells
• Time between purchases
• Plans for research and development.

When describing the production process for your products or services, you need to think about the following:

• The creation of new or existing products and services.
• The sources for the raw materials or components you need for production.
• Assembling the products
• Maintaining quality control
• Supply-chain logistics (receiving the raw materials and delivering the finished products)
• The day-to-day management of the production processes, bookkeeping, and inventory.

Tips for Writing the Products or Services Section of Your Business Plan

1. Avoid Technical Descriptions and Industry Buzzwords

The products and services section of your business plan should clearly describe the products and services that your company provides. However, it is not a section to include technical jargons that anyone outside your industry will not understand.

A good practice is to remove highly detailed or technical descriptions in favor of simple terms. Industry buzzwords are not necessary, if there are simpler terms you can use, then use them. If you plan to use your business plan to source funds, making the product or service section so technical will do you no favors.

2. Describe How Your Products or Services Differ from Your Competitors

When potential investors look at your business plan, they want to know how the products and services you are offering differ from that of your competition. Differentiating your products or services from your competition in a way that makes your solution more attractive is critical.

If you are going the innovative path and there is no market currently for your product or service, you need to describe in this section why the market needs your product or service.

For example, overnight delivery was a niche business that only a few companies were participating in. Federal Express (FedEx) had to show in its business plan that there was a large opportunity for that service and they justified why the market needed that service.

3. Long or Short Products or Services Section

Should your products or services section be short? Does the long products or services section attract more investors?

There are no straightforward answers to these questions. Whether your products or services section should be long or relatively short depends on the nature of your business.

If your business is product-focused, then automatically you need to use more space to describe the details of your products. However, if the product your business sells is a commodity item that relies on competitive pricing or other pricing strategies, you do not have to use up so much space to provide significant details about the product.

Likewise, if you are selling a commodity that is available in numerous outlets, then you do not have to spend time on writing a long products or services section.

The key to the success of your business is most likely the effectiveness of your marketing strategies compared to your competitors. Use more space to address that section.

If you are creating a new product or service that the market does not know about, your products or services section can be lengthy. The reason why is because you need to explain everything about the product or service such as the nature of the product, its use case, and values.

A short products or services section for an innovative product or service will not give the readers enough information to properly evaluate your business.

4. Describe Your Relationships with Vendors or Suppliers

Your business will rely on vendors or suppliers to supply raw materials or the components needed to make your products. In your products and services section, describe your relationships with your vendors and suppliers fully.

Avoid the mistake of relying on only one supplier or vendor. If that supplier or vendor fails to supply or goes out of business, you can easily face supply problems and struggle to meet your demands. Plan to set up multiple vendor or supplier relationships for better business stability.

5. Your Primary Goal Is to Convince Your Readers

The primary goal of your business plan is to convince your readers that your business is viable and to create a guide for your business to follow. It applies to the products and services section.

When drafting this section, think like the reader. See your reader as someone who has no idea about your products and services. You are using the products and services section to provide the needed information to help your reader understand your products and services. As a result, you have to be clear and to the point.

While you want to educate your readers about your products or services, you also do not want to bore them with lots of technical details. Show your products and services and not your fancy choice of words.

Your products and services section should provide the answer to the “what” question for your business. You and your management team may run the business, but it is your products and services that are the lifeblood of the business.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing your Products and Services Section

Answering these questions can help you write your products and services section quickly and in a way that will appeal to your readers.

• Are your products existing on the market or are they still in the development stage?
• What is your timeline for adding new products and services to the market?
• What are the positives that make your products and services different from your competitors?
• Do your products and services have any competitive advantage that your competitors’ products and services do not currently have?
• Do your products or services have any competitive disadvantages that you need to overcome to compete with your competitors? If your answer is yes, state how you plan to overcome them,
• How much does it cost to produce your products or services? How much do you plan to sell it for?
• What is the price for your products and services compared to your competitors? Is pricing an issue?
• What are your operating costs and will it be low enough for you to compete with your competitors and still take home a reasonable profit margin?
• What is your plan for acquiring your products? Are you involved in the production of your products or services?
• Are you the manufacturer and produce all the components you need to create your products? Do you assemble your products by using components supplied by other manufacturers? Do you purchase your products directly from suppliers or wholesalers?
• Do you have a steady supply of products that you need to start your business? (If your business is yet to kick-off)
• How do you plan to distribute your products or services to the market?

You can also hint at the marketing or promotion plans you have for your products or services such as how you plan to build awareness or retain customers. The next section is where you can go fully into details about your business’s marketing and sales plan.

6. Show and Explain Your Marketing and Sales Plan

Providing great products and services is wonderful, but it means nothing if you do not have a marketing and sales plan to inform your customers about them. Your marketing and sales plan is critical to the success of your business.

The sales and marketing section is where you show and offer a detailed explanation of your marketing and sales plan and how you plan to execute it. It covers your pricing plan, proposed advertising and promotion activities, activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success, and the benefits of your products and services.

There are several ways you can approach your marketing and sales strategy. Ideally, your marketing and sales strategy has to fit the unique needs of your business.

In this section, you describe how the plans your business has for attracting and retaining customers, and the exact process for making a sale happen. It is essential to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales plans because you are still going to reference this section when you are making financial projections for your business.

Outline Your Business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The sales and marketing section is where you outline your business’s unique selling proposition (USP). When you are developing your unique selling proposition, think about the strongest reasons why people should buy from you over your competition. That reason(s) is most likely a good fit to serve as your unique selling proposition (USP).

Target Market and Target Audience

Plans on how to get your products or services to your target market and how to get your target audience to buy them go into this section. You also highlight the strengths of your business here, particularly what sets them apart from your competition.

Before you start writing your marketing and sales plan, you need to have properly defined your target audience and fleshed out your buyer persona. If you do not first understand the individual you are marketing to, your marketing and sales plan will lack any substance and easily fall.

Creating a Smart Marketing and Sales Plan

Marketing your products and services is an investment that requires you to spend money. Like any other investment, you have to generate a good return on investment (ROI) to justify using that marketing and sales plan. Good marketing and sales plans bring in high sales and profits to your company.

Avoid spending money on unproductive marketing channels. Do your research and find out the best marketing and sales plan that works best for your company.

Your marketing and sales plan can be broken into different parts: your positioning statement, pricing, promotion, packaging, advertising, public relations, content marketing, social media, and strategic alliances.

Your Positioning Statement

Your positioning statement is the first part of your marketing and sales plan. It refers to the way you present your company to your customers.

Are you the premium solution, the low-price solution, or are you the intermediary between the two extremes in the market? What do you offer that your competitors do not that can give you leverage in the market?

Before you start writing your positioning statement, you need to spend some time evaluating the current market conditions. Here are some questions that can help you to evaluate the market

• What are the unique features or benefits that you offer that your competitors lack?
• What are your customers’ primary needs and wants?
• Why should a customer choose you over your competition? How do you plan to differentiate yourself from the competition?
• How does your company’s solution compare with other solutions in the market?

After answering these questions, then you can start writing your positioning statement. Your positioning statement does not have to be in-depth or too long.

All you need to explain with your positioning statement are two focus areas. The first is the position of your company within the competitive landscape. The other focus area is the core value proposition that sets your company apart from other alternatives that your ideal customer might consider.

Here is a simple template you can use to develop a positioning statement.

For [description of target market] who [need of target market], [product or service] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [top competition], it [most essential distinguishing feature].

For example, let’s create the positioning statement for fictional accounting software and QuickBooks alternative , TBooks.

“For small business owners who need accounting services, TBooks is an accounting software that helps small businesses handle their small business bookkeeping basics quickly and easily. Unlike Wave, TBooks gives small businesses access to live sessions with top accountants.”

You can edit this positioning statement sample and fill it with your business details.

After writing your positioning statement, the next step is the pricing of your offerings. The overall positioning strategy you set in your positioning statement will often determine how you price your products or services.

Pricing is a powerful tool that sends a strong message to your customers. Failure to get your pricing strategy right can make or mar your business. If you are targeting a low-income audience, setting a premium price can result in low sales.

You can use pricing to communicate your positioning to your customers. For example, if you are offering a product at a premium price, you are sending a message to your customers that the product belongs to the premium category.

Basic Rules to Follow When Pricing Your Offering

Setting a price for your offering involves more than just putting a price tag on it. Deciding on the right pricing for your offering requires following some basic rules. They include covering your costs, primary and secondary profit center pricing, and matching the market rate.

• Covering Your Costs: The price you set for your products or service should be more than it costs you to produce and deliver them. Every business has the same goal, to make a profit. Depending on the strategy you want to use, there are exceptions to this rule. However, the vast majority of businesses follow this rule.
• Primary and Secondary Profit Center Pricing: When a company sets its price above the cost of production, it is making that product its primary profit center. A company can also decide not to make its initial price its primary profit center by selling below or at even with its production cost. It rather depends on the support product or even maintenance that is associated with the initial purchase to make its profit. The initial price thus became its secondary profit center.
• Matching the Market Rate: A good rule to follow when pricing your products or services is to match your pricing with consumer demand and expectations. If you price your products or services beyond the price your customer perceives as the ideal price range, you may end up with no customers. Pricing your products too low below what your customer perceives as the ideal price range may lead to them undervaluing your offering.

Pricing Strategy

Your pricing strategy influences the price of your offering. There are several pricing strategies available for you to choose from when examining the right pricing strategy for your business. They include cost-plus pricing, market-based pricing, value pricing, and more.

• Cost-plus Pricing: This strategy is one of the simplest and oldest pricing strategies. Here you consider the cost of producing a unit of your product and then add a profit to it to arrive at your market price. It is an effective pricing strategy for manufacturers because it helps them cover their initial costs. Another name for the cost-plus pricing strategy is the markup pricing strategy.
• Market-based Pricing: This pricing strategy analyses the market including competitors’ pricing and then sets a price based on what the market is expecting. With this pricing strategy, you can either set your price at the low-end or high-end of the market.
• Value Pricing: This pricing strategy involves setting a price based on the value you are providing to your customer. When adopting a value-based pricing strategy, you have to set a price that your customers are willing to pay. Service-based businesses such as small business insurance providers , luxury goods sellers, and the fashion industry use this pricing strategy.

After carefully sorting out your positioning statement and pricing, the next item to look at is your promotional strategy. Your promotional strategy explains how you plan on communicating with your customers and prospects.

As a business, you must measure all your costs, including the cost of your promotions. You also want to measure how much sales your promotions bring for your business to determine its usefulness. Promotional strategies or programs that do not lead to profit need to be removed.

There are different types of promotional strategies you can adopt for your business, they include advertising, public relations, and content marketing.

Advertising

Your business plan should include your advertising plan which can be found in the marketing and sales plan section. You need to include an overview of your advertising plans such as the areas you plan to spend money on to advertise your business and offers.

Ensure that you make it clear in this section if your business will be advertising online or using the more traditional offline media, or the combination of both online and offline media. You can also include the advertising medium you want to use to raise awareness about your business and offers.

Some common online advertising mediums you can use include social media ads, landing pages, sales pages, SEO, Pay-Per-Click, emails, Google Ads, and others. Some common traditional and offline advertising mediums include word of mouth, radios, direct mail, televisions, flyers, billboards, posters, and others.

A key component of your advertising strategy is how you plan to measure the effectiveness and success of your advertising campaign. There is no point in sticking with an advertising plan or medium that does not produce results for your business in the long run.

Public Relations

A great way to reach your customers is to get the media to cover your business or product. Publicity, especially good ones, should be a part of your marketing and sales plan. In this section, show your plans for getting prominent reviews of your product from reputable publications and sources.

Your business needs that exposure to grow. If public relations is a crucial part of your promotional strategy, provide details about your public relations plan here.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a popular promotional strategy used by businesses to inform and attract their customers. It is about teaching and educating your prospects on various topics of interest in your niche, it does not just involve informing them about the benefits and features of the products and services you have,

Businesses publish content usually for free where they provide useful information, tips, and advice so that their target market can be made aware of the importance of their products and services. Content marketing strategies seek to nurture prospects into buyers over time by simply providing value.

Your company can create a blog where it will be publishing content for its target market. You will need to use the best website builder such as Wix and Squarespace and the best web hosting services such as Bluehost, Hostinger, and other Bluehost alternatives to create a functional blog or website.

If content marketing is a crucial part of your promotional strategy (as it should be), detail your plans under promotions.

Including high-quality images of the packaging of your product in your business plan is a lovely idea. You can add the images of the packaging of that product in the marketing and sales plan section. If you are not selling a product, then you do not need to include any worry about the physical packaging of your product.

When organizing the packaging section of your business plan, you can answer the following questions to make maximum use of this section.

• Is your choice of packaging consistent with your positioning strategy?
• What key value proposition does your packaging communicate? (It should reflect the key value proposition of your business)
• How does your packaging compare to that of your competitors?

Social Media

Your 21st-century business needs to have a good social media presence. Not having one is leaving out opportunities for growth and reaching out to your prospect.

You do not have to join the thousands of social media platforms out there. What you need to do is join the ones that your customers are active on and be active there.

Businesses use social media to provide information about their products such as promotions, discounts, the benefits of their products, and content on their blogs.

Social media is also a platform for engaging with your customers and getting feedback about your products or services. Make no mistake, more and more of your prospects are using social media channels to find more information about companies.

You need to consider the social media channels you want to prioritize your business (prioritize the ones your customers are active in) and your branding plans in this section.

Strategic Alliances

If your company plans to work closely with other companies as part of your sales and marketing plan, include it in this section. Prove details about those partnerships in your business plan if you have already established them.

Strategic alliances can be beneficial for all parties involved including your company. Working closely with another company in the form of a partnership can provide access to a different target market segment for your company.

The company you are partnering with may also gain access to your target market or simply offer a new product or service (that of your company) to its customers.

Mutually beneficial partnerships can cover the weaknesses of one company with the strength of another. You should consider strategic alliances with companies that sell complimentary products to yours. For example, if you provide printers, you can partner with a company that produces ink since the customers that buy printers from you will also need inks for printing.

Steps Involved in Creating a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Focus on Your Target Market

Identify who your customers are, the market you want to target. Then determine the best ways to get your products or services to your potential customers.

2. Evaluate Your Competition

One of the goals of having a marketing plan is to distinguish yourself from your competition. You cannot stand out from them without first knowing them in and out.

You can know your competitors by gathering information about their products, pricing, service, and advertising campaigns.

These questions can help you know your competition.

• What makes your competition successful?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What are customers saying about your competition?

3. Consider Your Brand

Customers' perception of your brand has a strong impact on your sales. Your marketing and sales plan should seek to bolster the image of your brand. Before you start marketing your business, think about the message you want to pass across about your business and your products and services.

4. Focus on Benefits

The majority of your customers do not view your product in terms of features, what they want to know is the benefits and solutions your product offers. Think about the problems your product solves and the benefits it delivers, and use it to create the right sales and marketing message.

Your marketing plan should focus on what you want your customer to get instead of what you provide. Identify those benefits in your marketing and sales plan.

5. Focus on Differentiation

Your marketing and sales plan should look for a unique angle they can take that differentiates your business from the competition, even if the products offered are similar. Some good areas of differentiation you can use are your benefits, pricing, and features.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing Your Marketing and Sales Plan

• What is your company’s budget for sales and marketing campaigns?
• What key metrics will you use to determine if your marketing plans are successful?
• What are your alternatives if your initial marketing efforts do not succeed?
• Who are the sales representatives you need to promote your products or services?
• What are the marketing and sales channels you plan to use? How do you plan to get your products in front of your ideal customers?
• Where will you sell your products?

You may want to include samples of marketing materials you plan to use such as print ads, website descriptions, and social media ads. While it is not compulsory to include these samples, it can help you better communicate your marketing and sales plan and objectives.

The purpose of the marketing and sales section is to answer this question “How will you reach your customers?” If you cannot convincingly provide an answer to this question, you need to rework your marketing and sales section.

7. Clearly Show Your Funding Request

If you are writing your business plan to ask for funding from investors or financial institutions, the funding request section is where you will outline your funding requirements. The funding request section should answer the question ‘How much money will your business need in the near future (3 to 5 years)?’

A good funding request section will clearly outline and explain the amount of funding your business needs over the next five years. You need to know the amount of money your business needs to make an accurate funding request.

Also, when writing your funding request, provide details of how the funds will be used over the period. Specify if you want to use the funds to buy raw materials or machinery, pay salaries, pay for advertisements, and cover specific bills such as rent and electricity.

In addition to explaining what you want to use the funds requested for, you need to clearly state the projected return on investment (ROI) . Investors and creditors want to know if your business can generate profit for them if they put funds into it.

Ensure you do not inflate the figures and stay as realistic as possible. Investors and financial institutions you are seeking funds from will do their research before investing money in your business.

If you are not sure of an exact number to request from, you can use some range of numbers as rough estimates. Add a best-case scenario and a work-case scenario to your funding request. Also, include a description of your strategic future financial plans such as selling your business or paying off debts.

Funding Request: Debt or Equity?

When making your funding request, specify the type of funding you want. Do you want debt or equity? Draw out the terms that will be applicable for the funding, and the length of time the funding request will cover.

Case for Equity

If your new business has not yet started generating profits, you are most likely preparing to sell equity in your business to raise capital at the early stage. Equity here refers to ownership. In this case, you are selling a portion of your company to raise capital.

Although this method of raising capital for your business does not put your business in debt, keep in mind that an equity owner may expect to play a key role in company decisions even if he does not hold a major stake in the company.

Most equity sales for startups are usually private transactions . If you are making a funding request by offering equity in exchange for funding, let the investor know that they will be paid a dividend (a share of the company’s profit). Also, let the investor know the process for selling their equity in your business.

Case for Debt

You may decide not to offer equity in exchange for funds, instead, you make a funding request with the promise to pay back the money borrowed at the agreed time frame.

When making a funding request with an agreement to pay back, note that you will have to repay your creditors both the principal amount borrowed and the interest on it. Financial institutions offer this type of funding for businesses.

Large companies combine both equity and debt in their capital structure. When drafting your business plan, decide if you want to offer both or one over the other.

Before you sell equity in exchange for funding in your business, consider if you are willing to accept not being in total control of your business. Also, before you seek loans in your funding request section, ensure that the terms of repayment are favorable.

You should set a clear timeline in your funding request so that potential investors and creditors can know what you are expecting. Some investors and creditors may agree to your funding request and then delay payment for longer than 30 days, meanwhile, your business needs an immediate cash injection to operate efficiently.

Additional Tips for Writing the Funding Request Section of your Business Plan

The funding request section is not necessary for every business, it is only needed by businesses who plan to use their business plan to secure funding.

If you are adding the funding request section to your business plan, provide an itemized summary of how you plan to use the funds requested. Hiring a lawyer, accountant, or other professionals may be necessary for the proper development of this section.

You should also gather and use financial statements that add credibility and support to your funding requests. Ensure that the financial statements you use should include your projected financial data such as projected cash flows, forecast statements, and expenditure budgets.

If you are an existing business, include all historical financial statements such as cash flow statements, balance sheets and income statements .

Provide monthly and quarterly financial statements for a year. If your business has records that date back beyond the one-year mark, add the yearly statements of those years. These documents are for the appendix section of your business plan.

8. Detail Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projections

If you used the funding request section in your business plan, supplement it with a financial plan, metrics, and projections. This section paints a picture of the past performance of your business and then goes ahead to make an informed projection about its future.

The goal of this section is to convince readers that your business is going to be a financial success. It outlines your business plan to generate enough profit to repay the loan (with interest if applicable) and to generate a decent return on investment for investors.

If you have an existing business already in operation, use this section to demonstrate stability through finance. This section should include your cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements covering the last three to five years. If your business has some acceptable collateral that you can use to acquire loans, list it in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

Apart from current financial statements, this section should also contain a prospective financial outlook that spans the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and capital expenditure budget.

If your business is new and is not yet generating profit, use clear and realistic projections to show the potentials of your business.

When drafting this section, research industry norms and the performance of comparable businesses. Your financial projections should cover at least five years. State the logic behind your financial projections. Remember you can always make adjustments to this section as the variables change.

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section create a baseline which your business can either exceed or fail to reach. If your business fails to reach your projections in this section, you need to understand why it failed.

Investors and loan managers spend a lot of time going through the financial plan, metrics, and projection section compared to other parts of the business plan. Ensure you spend time creating credible financial analyses for your business in this section.

Many entrepreneurs find this section daunting to write. You do not need a business degree to create a solid financial forecast for your business. Business finances, especially for startups, are not as complicated as they seem. There are several online tools and templates that make writing this section so much easier.

Use Graphs and Charts

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business. Charts and images make it easier to communicate your finances.

Accuracy in this section is key, ensure you carefully analyze your past financial statements properly before making financial projects.

Address the Risk Factors and Show Realistic Financial Projections

Keep your financial plan, metrics, and projection realistic. It is okay to be optimistic in your financial projection, however, you have to justify it.

You should also address the various risk factors associated with your business in this section. Investors want to know the potential risks involved, show them. You should also show your plans for mitigating those risks.

What You Should In The Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection Section of Your Business Plan

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section of your business plan should have monthly sales and revenue forecasts for the first year. It should also include annual projections that cover 3 to 5 years.

A three-year projection is a basic requirement to have in your business plan. However, some investors may request a five-year forecast.

Your business plan should include the following financial statements: sales forecast, personnel plan, income statement, income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and an exit strategy.

1. Sales Forecast

Sales forecast refers to your projections about the number of sales your business is going to record over the next few years. It is typically broken into several rows, with each row assigned to a core product or service that your business is offering.

One common mistake people make in their business plan is to break down the sales forecast section into long details. A sales forecast should forecast the high-level details.

For example, if you are forecasting sales for a payroll software provider, you could break down your forecast into target market segments or subscription categories.

Your sales forecast section should also have a corresponding row for each sales row to cover the direct cost or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The objective of these rows is to show the expenses that your business incurs in making and delivering your product or service.

Note that your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) should only cover those direct costs incurred when making your products. Other indirect expenses such as insurance, salaries, payroll tax, and rent should not be included.

For example, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a restaurant is the cost of ingredients while for a consulting company it will be the cost of paper and other presentation materials.

2. Personnel Plan

The personnel plan section is where you provide details about the payment plan for your employees. For a small business, you can easily list every position in your company and how much you plan to pay in the personnel plan.

However, for larger businesses, you have to break the personnel plan into functional groups such as sales and marketing.

The personnel plan will also include the cost of an employee beyond salary, commonly referred to as the employee burden. These costs include insurance, payroll taxes , and other essential costs incurred monthly as a result of having employees on your payroll.

3. Income Statement

The income statement section shows if your business is making a profit or taking a loss. Another name for the income statement is the profit and loss (P&L). It takes data from your sales forecast and personnel plan and adds other ongoing expenses you incur while running your business.

Every business plan should have an income statement. It subtracts your business expenses from its earnings to show if your business is generating profit or incurring losses.

The income statement has the following items: sales, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), gross margin, operating expenses, total operating expenses, operating income , total expenses, and net profit.

• Sales refer to the revenue your business generates from selling its products or services. Other names for sales are income or revenue.
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) refers to the total cost of selling your products. Other names for COGS are direct costs or cost of sales. Manufacturing businesses use the Costs of Goods Manufactured (COGM) .
• Gross Margin is the figure you get when you subtract your COGS from your sales. In your income statement, you can express it as a percentage of total sales (Gross margin / Sales = Gross Margin Percent).
• Operating Expenses refer to all the expenses you incur from running your business. It exempts the COGS because it stands alone as a core part of your income statement. You also have to exclude taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Your operating expenses include salaries, marketing expenses, research and development (R&D) expenses, and other expenses.
• Total Operating Expenses refers to the sum of all your operating expenses including those exemptions named above under operating expenses.
• Operating Income refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is simply known as the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Calculating your operating income is simple, all you need to do is to subtract your COGS and total operating expenses from your sales.
• Total Expenses refer to the sum of your operating expenses and your business’ interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
• Net profit shows whether your business has made a profit or taken a loss during a given timeframe.

4. Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement tracks the money you have in the bank at any given point. It is often confused with the income statement or the profit and loss statement. They are both different types of financial statements. The income statement calculates your profits and losses while the cash flow statement shows you how much you have in the bank.

5. Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a financial statement that provides an overview of the financial health of your business. It contains information about the assets and liabilities of your company, and owner’s or shareholders’ equity.

You can get the net worth of your company by subtracting your company’s liabilities from its assets.

6. Exit Strategy

The exit strategy refers to a probable plan for selling your business either to the public in an IPO or to another company. It is the last thing you include in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

You can choose to omit the exit strategy from your business plan if you plan to maintain full ownership of your business and do not plan on seeking angel investment or virtual capitalist (VC) funding.

Investors may want to know what your exit plan is. They invest in your business to get a good return on investment.

Your exit strategy does not have to include long and boring details. Ensure you identify some interested parties who may be interested in buying the company if it becomes a success.

Key Questions to Answer with Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection

Your financial plan, metrics, and projection section helps investors, creditors, or your internal managers to understand what your expenses are, the amount of cash you need, and what it takes to make your company profitable. It also shows what you will be doing with any funding.

You do not need to show actual financial data if you do not have one. Adding forecasts and projections to your financial statements is added proof that your strategy is feasible and shows investors you have planned properly.

Here are some key questions to answer to help you develop this section.

• What is your sales forecast for the next year?
• When will your company achieve a positive cash flow?
• What are the core expenses you need to operate?
• How much money do you need upfront to operate or grow your company?
• How will you use the loans or investments?

9. Add an Appendix to Your Business Plan

Adding an appendix to your business plan is optional. It is a useful place to put any charts, tables, legal notes, definitions, permits, résumés, and other critical information that do not fit into other sections of your business plan.

The appendix section is where you would want to include details of a patent or patent-pending if you have one. You can always add illustrations or images of your products here. It is the last section of your business plan.

When writing your business plan, there are details you cut short or remove to prevent the entire section from becoming too lengthy. There are also details you want to include in the business plan but are not a good fit for any of the previous sections. You can add that additional information to the appendix section.

Businesses also use the appendix section to include supporting documents or other materials specially requested by investors or lenders.

You can include just about any information that supports the assumptions and statements you made in the business plan under the appendix. It is the one place in the business plan where unrelated data and information can coexist amicably.

If your appendix section is lengthy, try organizing it by adding a table of contents at the beginning of the appendix section. It is also advisable to group similar information to make it easier for the reader to access them.

A well-organized appendix section makes it easier to share your information clearly and concisely. Add footnotes throughout the rest of the business plan or make references in the plan to the documents in the appendix.

The appendix section is usually only necessary if you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, or hoping to attract partners.

People reading business plans do not want to spend time going through a heap of backup information, numbers, and charts. Keep these documents or information in the Appendix section in case the reader wants to dig deeper.

Common Items to Include in the Appendix Section of Your Business Plan

The appendix section includes documents that supplement or support the information or claims given in other sections of the business plans. Common items you can include in the appendix section include:

• Additional data about the process of manufacturing or creation
• Additional description of products or services such as product schematics
• Additional financial documents or projections
• Articles of incorporation and status
• Backup for market research or competitive analysis
• Bank statements
• Business registries
• Client testimonials (if your business is already running)
• Copies of insurances
• Credit histories (personal or/and business)
• Deeds and permits
• Equipment leases
• Examples of marketing and advertising collateral
• Industry associations and memberships
• Images of product
• Intellectual property
• Key customer contracts
• Legal documents and other contracts
• Letters of reference
• Links to references
• Market research data
• Organizational charts
• Photographs of potential facilities
• Professional licenses pertaining to your legal structure or type of business
• Purchase orders
• Resumes of the founder(s) and key managers
• State and federal identification numbers or codes
• Trademarks or patents’ registrations

Avoid using the appendix section as a place to dump any document or information you feel like adding. Only add documents or information that you support or increase the credibility of your business plan.

Tips and Strategies for Writing a Convincing Business Plan

To achieve a perfect business plan, you need to consider some key tips and strategies. These tips will raise the efficiency of your business plan above average.

1. Know Your Audience

When writing a business plan, you need to know your audience . Business owners write business plans for different reasons. Your business plan has to be specific. For example, you can write business plans to potential investors, banks, and even fellow board members of the company.

The audience you are writing to determines the structure of the business plan. As a business owner, you have to know your audience. Not everyone will be your audience. Knowing your audience will help you to narrow the scope of your business plan.

Consider what your audience wants to see in your projects, the likely questions they might ask, and what interests them.

• A business plan used to address a company's board members will center on its employment schemes, internal affairs, projects, stakeholders, etc.
• A business plan for financial institutions will talk about the size of your market and the chances for you to pay back any loans you demand.
• A business plan for investors will show proof that you can return the investment capital within a specific time. In addition, it discusses your financial projections, tractions, and market size.

2. Get Inspiration from People

Writing a business plan from scratch as an entrepreneur can be daunting. That is why you need the right inspiration to push you to write one. You can gain inspiration from the successful business plans of other businesses. Look at their business plans, the style they use, the structure of the project, etc.

To make your business plan easier to create, search companies related to your business to get an exact copy of what you need to create an effective business plan. You can also make references while citing examples in your business plans.

When drafting your business plan, get as much help from others as you possibly can. By getting inspiration from people, you can create something better than what they have.

3. Avoid Being Over Optimistic

Many business owners make use of strong adjectives to qualify their content. One of the big mistakes entrepreneurs make when preparing a business plan is promising too much.

The use of superlatives and over-optimistic claims can prepare the audience for more than you can offer. In the end, you disappoint the confidence they have in you.

In most cases, the best option is to be realistic with your claims and statistics. Most of the investors can sense a bit of incompetency from the overuse of superlatives. As a new entrepreneur, do not be tempted to over-promise to get the interests of investors.

The concept of entrepreneurship centers on risks, nothing is certain when you make future analyses. What separates the best is the ability to do careful research and work towards achieving that, not promising more than you can achieve.

To make an excellent first impression as an entrepreneur, replace superlatives with compelling data-driven content. In this way, you are more specific than someone promising a huge ROI from an investment.

4. Keep it Simple and Short

When writing business plans, ensure you keep them simple throughout. Irrespective of the purpose of the business plan, your goal is to convince the audience.

One way to achieve this goal is to make them understand your proposal. Therefore, it would be best if you avoid the use of complex grammar to express yourself. It would be a huge turn-off if the people you want to convince are not familiar with your use of words.

Another thing to note is the length of your business plan. It would be best if you made it as brief as possible.

You hardly see investors or agencies that read through an extremely long document. In that case, if your first few pages can’t convince them, then you have lost it. The more pages you write, the higher the chances of you derailing from the essential contents.

To ensure your business plan has a high conversion rate, you need to dispose of every unnecessary information. For example, if you have a strategy that you are not sure of, it would be best to leave it out of the plan.

5. Make an Outline and Follow Through

A perfect business plan must have touched every part needed to convince the audience. Business owners get easily tempted to concentrate more on their products than on other sections. Doing this can be detrimental to the efficiency of the business plan.

For example, imagine you talking about a product but omitting or providing very little information about the target audience. You will leave your clients confused.

To ensure that your business plan communicates your full business model to readers, you have to input all the necessary information in it. One of the best ways to achieve this is to design a structure and stick to it.

This structure is what guides you throughout the writing. To make your work easier, you can assign an estimated word count or page limit to every section to avoid making it too bulky for easy reading. As a guide, the necessary things your business plan must contain are:

• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Product or service description
• Target audience
• Market size
• Competition analysis
• Financial projections

Some specific businesses can include some other essential sections, but these are the key sections that must be in every business plan.

6. Ask a Professional to Proofread

When writing a business plan, you must tie all loose ends to get a perfect result. When you are done with writing, call a professional to go through the document for you. You are bound to make mistakes, and the way to correct them is to get external help.

You should get a professional in your field who can relate to every section of your business plan. It would be easier for the professional to notice the inner flaws in the document than an editor with no knowledge of your business.

In addition to getting a professional to proofread, get an editor to proofread and edit your document. The editor will help you identify grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inappropriate writing styles.

Writing a business plan can be daunting, but you can surmount that obstacle and get the best out of it with these tips.

Business Plan Examples and Templates That’ll Save You Tons of Time

1. hubspot's one-page business plan.

The one-page business plan template by HubSpot is the perfect guide for businesses of any size, irrespective of their business strategy. Although the template is condensed into a page, your final business plan should not be a page long! The template is designed to ask helpful questions that can help you develop your business plan.

Hubspot’s one-page business plan template is divided into nine fields:

• Business opportunity
• Company description
• Industry analysis
• Target market
• Implementation timeline
• Marketing plan
• Financial summary
• Funding required

2. Bplan’s Free Business Plan Template

Bplans' free business plan template is investor-approved. It is a rich template used by prestigious educational institutions such as Babson College and Princeton University to teach entrepreneurs how to create a business plan.

The template has six sections: the executive summary, opportunity, execution, company, financial plan, and appendix. There is a step-by-step guide for writing every little detail in the business plan. Follow the instructions each step of the way and you will create a business plan that impresses investors or lenders easily.

3. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

HubSpot’s downloadable business plan template is a more comprehensive option compared to the one-page business template by HubSpot. This free and downloadable business plan template is designed for entrepreneurs.

The template is a comprehensive guide and checklist for business owners just starting their businesses. It tells you everything you need to fill in each section of the business plan and how to do it.

There are nine sections in this business plan template: an executive summary, company and business description, product and services line, market analysis, marketing plan, sales plan, legal notes, financial considerations, and appendix.

4. Business Plan by My Own Business Institute

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) which is a part of Santa Clara University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers a free business plan template. You can either copy the free business template from the link provided above or download it as a Word document.

The comprehensive template consists of a whopping 15 sections.

• The Business Profile
• The Vision and the People
• Home-Based Business and Freelance Business Opportunities
• Organization
• Licenses and Permits
• Business Insurance
• Communication Tools
• Acquisitions
• Location and Leasing
• Accounting and Cash Flow
• Opening and Marketing
• Managing Employees
• Expanding and Handling Problems

There are lots of helpful tips on how to fill each section in the free business plan template by MOBI.

5. Score's Business Plan Template for Startups

Score is an American nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs build successful companies. This business plan template for startups by Score is available for free download. The business plan template asks a whooping 150 generic questions that help entrepreneurs from different fields to set up the perfect business plan.

The business plan template for startups contains clear instructions and worksheets, all you have to do is answer the questions and fill the worksheets.

There are nine sections in the business plan template: executive summary, company description, products and services, marketing plan, operational plan, management and organization, startup expenses and capitalization, financial plan, and appendices.

The ‘refining the plan’ resource contains instructions that help you modify your business plan to suit your specific needs, industry, and target audience. After you have completed Score’s business plan template, you can work with a SCORE mentor for expert advice in business planning.

6. Minimalist Architecture Business Plan Template by Venngage

The minimalist architecture business plan template is a simple template by Venngage that you can customize to suit your business needs .

There are five sections in the template: an executive summary, statement of problem, approach and methodology, qualifications, and schedule and benchmark. The business plan template has instructions that guide users on what to fill in each section.

7. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers two free business plan templates, filled with practical real-life examples that you can model to create your business plan. Both free business plan templates are written by fictional business owners: Rebecca who owns a consulting firm, and Andrew who owns a toy company.

There are five sections in the two SBA’s free business plan templates.

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Service Line
• Marketing and Sales

8. The $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan

The one-page business plan by the $100 startup is a simple business plan template for entrepreneurs who do not want to create a long and complicated plan . You can include more details in the appendices for funders who want more information beyond what you can put in the one-page business plan.

There are five sections in the one-page business plan such as overview, ka-ching, hustling, success, and obstacles or challenges or open questions. You can answer all the questions using one or two sentences.

9. PandaDoc’s Free Business Plan Template

The free business plan template by PandaDoc is a comprehensive 15-page document that describes the information you should include in every section.

There are 11 sections in PandaDoc’s free business plan template.

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Products and services
• Operations plan
• Management organization
• Financial plan
• Conclusion / Call to action
• Confidentiality statement

You have to sign up for its 14-day free trial to access the template. You will find different business plan templates on PandaDoc once you sign up (including templates for general businesses and specific businesses such as bakeries, startups, restaurants, salons, hotels, and coffee shops)

PandaDoc allows you to customize its business plan templates to fit the needs of your business. After editing the template, you can send it to interested parties and track opens and views through PandaDoc.

10. Invoiceberry Templates for Word, Open Office, Excel, or PPT

InvoiceBerry is a U.K based online invoicing and tracking platform that offers free business plan templates in .docx, .odt, .xlsx, and .pptx formats for freelancers and small businesses.

Before you can download the free business plan template, it will ask you to give it your email address. After you complete the little task, it will send the download link to your inbox for you to download. It also provides a business plan checklist in .xlsx file format that ensures you add the right information to the business plan.

Alternatives to the Traditional Business Plan

A business plan is very important in mapping out how one expects their business to grow over a set number of years, particularly when they need external investment in their business. However, many investors do not have the time to watch you present your business plan. It is a long and boring read.

Luckily, there are three alternatives to the traditional business plan (the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck). These alternatives are less laborious and easier and quicker to present to investors.

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

The business model canvas is a business tool used to present all the important components of setting up a business, such as customers, route to market, value proposition, and finance in a single sheet. It provides a very focused blueprint that defines your business initially which you can later expand on if needed.

The sheet is divided mainly into company, industry, and consumer models that are interconnected in how they find problems and proffer solutions.

Segments of the Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas was developed by founder Alexander Osterwalder to answer important business questions. It contains nine segments.

• Key Partners: Who will be occupying important executive positions in your business? What do they bring to the table? Will there be a third party involved with the company?
• Key Activities: What important activities will production entail? What activities will be carried out to ensure the smooth running of the company?
• The Product’s Value Propositions: What does your product do? How will it be different from other products?
• Customer Segments: What demography of consumers are you targeting? What are the habits of these consumers? Who are the MVPs of your target consumers?
• Customer Relationships: How will the team support and work with its customer base? How do you intend to build and maintain trust with the customer?
• Key Resources: What type of personnel and tools will be needed? What size of the budget will they need access to?
• Channels: How do you plan to create awareness of your products? How do you intend to transport your product to the customer?
• Cost Structure: What is the estimated cost of production? How much will distribution cost?
• Revenue Streams: For what value are customers willing to pay? How do they prefer to pay for the product? Are there any external revenues attached apart from the main source? How do the revenue streams contribute to the overall revenue?

Lean Canvas

The lean canvas is a problem-oriented alternative to the standard business model canvas. It was proposed by Ash Maurya, creator of Lean Stack as a development of the business model generation. It uses a more problem-focused approach and it majorly targets entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Lean Canvas uses the same 9 blocks concept as the business model canvas, however, they have been modified slightly to suit the needs and purpose of a small startup. The key partners, key activities, customer relationships, and key resources are replaced by new segments which are:

• Problem: Simple and straightforward number of problems you have identified, ideally three.
• Solution: The solutions to each problem.
• Unfair Advantage: Something you possess that can't be easily bought or replicated.
• Key Metrics: Important numbers that will tell how your business is doing.

Startup Pitch Deck

While the business model canvas compresses into a factual sheet, startup pitch decks expand flamboyantly.

Pitch decks, through slides, convey your business plan, often through graphs and images used to emphasize estimations and observations in your presentation. Entrepreneurs often use pitch decks to fully convince their target audience of their plans before discussing funding arrangements.

Considering the likelihood of it being used in a small time frame, a good startup pitch deck should ideally contain 20 slides or less to have enough time to answer questions from the audience.

Unlike the standard and lean business model canvases, a pitch deck doesn't have a set template on how to present your business plan but there are still important components to it. These components often mirror those of the business model canvas except that they are in slide form and contain more details.

Using Airbnb (one of the most successful start-ups in recent history) for reference, the important components of a good slide are listed below.

• Cover/Introduction Slide: Here, you should include your company's name and mission statement. Your mission statement should be a very catchy tagline. Also, include personal information and contact details to provide an easy link for potential investors.
• Problem Slide: This slide requires you to create a connection with the audience or the investor that you are pitching. For example in their pitch, Airbnb summarized the most important problems it would solve in three brief points – pricing of hotels, disconnection from city culture, and connection problems for local bookings.
• Solution Slide: This slide includes your core value proposition. List simple and direct solutions to the problems you have mentioned
• Customer Analysis: Here you will provide information on the customers you will be offering your service to. The identity of your customers plays an important part in fundraising as well as the long-run viability of the business.
• Market Validation: Use competitive analysis to show numbers that prove the presence of a market for your product, industry behavior in the present and the long run, as well as the percentage of the market you aim to attract. It shows that you understand your competitors and customers and convinces investors of the opportunities presented in the market.
• Business Model: Your business model is the hook of your presentation. It may vary in complexity but it should generally include a pricing system informed by your market analysis. The goal of the slide is to confirm your business model is easy to implement.
• Marketing Strategy: This slide should summarize a few customer acquisition methods that you plan to use to grow the business.
• Competitive Advantage: What this slide will do is provide information on what will set you apart and make you a more attractive option to customers. It could be the possession of technology that is not widely known in the market.
• Team Slide: Here you will give a brief description of your team. Include your key management personnel here and their specific roles in the company. Include their educational background, job history, and skillsets. Also, talk about their accomplishments in their careers so far to build investors' confidence in members of your team.
• Traction Slide: This validates the company’s business model by showing growth through early sales and support. The slide aims to reduce any lingering fears in potential investors by showing realistic periodic milestones and profit margins. It can include current sales, growth, valuable customers, pre-orders, or data from surveys outlining current consumer interest.
• Funding Slide: This slide is popularly referred to as ‘the ask'. Here you will include important details like how much is needed to get your business off the ground and how the funding will be spent to help the company reach its goals.
• Appendix Slides: Your pitch deck appendix should always be included alongside a standard pitch presentation. It consists of additional slides you could not show in the pitch deck but you need to complement your presentation.

It is important to support your calculations with pictorial renditions. Infographics, such as pie charts or bar graphs, will be more effective in presenting the information than just listing numbers. For example, a six-month graph that shows rising profit margins will easily look more impressive than merely writing it.

Lastly, since a pitch deck is primarily used to secure meetings and you may be sharing your pitch with several investors, it is advisable to keep a separate public version that doesn't include financials. Only disclose the one with projections once you have secured a link with an investor.

Advantages of the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck over the Traditional Business Plan

• Time-Saving: Writing a detailed traditional business plan could take weeks or months. On the other hand, all three alternatives can be done in a few days or even one night of brainstorming if you have a comprehensive understanding of your business.
• Easier to Understand: Since the information presented is almost entirely factual, it puts focus on what is most important in running the business. They cut away the excess pages of fillers in a traditional business plan and allow investors to see what is driving the business and what is getting in the way.
• Easy to Update: Businesses typically present their business plans to many potential investors before they secure funding. What this means is that you may regularly have to amend your presentation to update statistics or adjust to audience-specific needs. For a traditional business plan, this could mean rewriting a whole section of your plan. For the three alternatives, updating is much easier because they are not voluminous.
• Guide for a More In-depth Business Plan: All three alternatives have the added benefit of being able to double as a sketch of your business plan if the need to create one arises in the future.

Business Plan FAQ

Business plans are important for any entrepreneur who is looking for a framework to run their company over some time or seeking external support. Although they are essential for new businesses, every company should ideally have a business plan to track their growth from time to time.  They can be used by startups seeking investments or loans to convey their business ideas or an employee to convince his boss of the feasibility of starting a new project. They can also be used by companies seeking to recruit high-profile employee targets into key positions or trying to secure partnerships with other firms.

Business plans often vary depending on your target audience, the scope, and the goals for the plan. Startup plans are the most common among the different types of business plans.  A start-up plan is used by a new business to present all the necessary information to help get the business up and running. They are usually used by entrepreneurs who are seeking funding from investors or bank loans. The established company alternative to a start-up plan is a feasibility plan. A feasibility plan is often used by an established company looking for new business opportunities. They are used to show the upsides of creating a new product for a consumer base. Because the audience is usually company people, it requires less company analysis. The third type of business plan is the lean business plan. A lean business plan is a brief, straight-to-the-point breakdown of your ideas and analysis for your business. It does not contain details of your proposal and can be written on one page. Finally, you have the what-if plan. As it implies, a what-if plan is a preparation for the worst-case scenario. You must always be prepared for the possibility of your original plan being rejected. A good what-if plan will serve as a good plan B to the original.

A good business plan has 10 key components. They include an executive plan, product analysis, desired customer base, company analysis, industry analysis, marketing strategy, sales strategy, financial projection, funding, and appendix. Executive Plan Your business should begin with your executive plan. An executive plan will provide early insight into what you are planning to achieve with your business. It should include your mission statement and highlight some of the important points which you will explain later. Product Analysis The next component of your business plan is your product analysis. A key part of this section is explaining the type of item or service you are going to offer as well as the market problems your product will solve. Desired Consumer Base Your product analysis should be supplemented with a detailed breakdown of your desired consumer base. Investors are always interested in knowing the economic power of your market as well as potential MVP customers. Company Analysis The next component of your business plan is your company analysis. Here, you explain how you want to run your business. It will include your operational strategy, an insight into the workforce needed to keep the company running, and important executive positions. It will also provide a calculation of expected operational costs.  Industry Analysis A good business plan should also contain well laid out industry analysis. It is important to convince potential investors you know the companies you will be competing with, as well as your plans to gain an edge on the competition. Marketing Strategy Your business plan should also include your marketing strategy. This is how you intend to spread awareness of your product. It should include a detailed explanation of the company brand as well as your advertising methods. Sales Strategy Your sales strategy comes after the market strategy. Here you give an overview of your company's pricing strategy and how you aim to maximize profits. You can also explain how your prices will adapt to market behaviors. Financial Projection The financial projection is the next component of your business plan. It explains your company's expected running cost and revenue earned during the tenure of the business plan. Financial projection gives a clear idea of how your company will develop in the future. Funding The next component of your business plan is funding. You have to detail how much external investment you need to get your business idea off the ground here. Appendix The last component of your plan is the appendix. This is where you put licenses, graphs, or key information that does not fit in any of the other components.

The business model canvas is a business management tool used to quickly define your business idea and model. It is often used when investors need you to pitch your business idea during a brief window.

A pitch deck is similar to a business model canvas except that it makes use of slides in its presentation. A pitch is not primarily used to secure funding, rather its main purpose is to entice potential investors by selling a very optimistic outlook on the business.

Business plan competitions help you evaluate the strength of your business plan. By participating in business plan competitions, you are improving your experience. The experience provides you with a degree of validation while practicing important skills. The main motivation for entering into the competitions is often to secure funding by finishing in podium positions. There is also the chance that you may catch the eye of a casual observer outside of the competition. These competitions also provide good networking opportunities. You could meet mentors who will take a keen interest in guiding you in your business journey. You also have the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs whose ideas can complement yours.

Exlore Further

• 12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)
• 13 Sources of Business Finance For Companies & Sole Traders
• 5 Common Types of Business Structures (+ Pros & Cons)
• How to Buy a Business in 8 Steps (+ Due Diligence Checklist)

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Martin luenendonk.

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.

Email : [email protected]

Tel / WhatsApp : (+44) 7942 582736

Start-up Business Plan

Fill in the details below and we will send you an business plan example, plus details on how to get your plan started. the process involves a simple business plan template, then we write a comprehensive professional plan / pitch deck. if you have already started looking at the british  business bank startup loans but are finding the forms complicated, then we can help by linking our plans to the british  business bank forms and assisting  you with the application process. all the calculations  are handled by us - you only provide basic details of your products and processes and we then model these to provide robust financial forecasts and projections, all produced by a qualified  accountant - this service is unique amongst business plan writers an upfront payment begins the process with any changes free thereafter thereby ensuring the plan fits your exact requirements - proving our commitment  to work with you every step of the way., startup business plan example.

Client branding and colour scheme

Owner Profile

SWOT Analysis

Market Analysis

Competitors

Sales Analysis

Profit & Loss

Cost Analysis

Detailed Financials

The startup plan also includes full month by month accounts showing five years at forecasted plus higher and lower sales levels.

British Business Bank Template

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How to write a winning business plan

Business plans are a great way to set out your business goals and how you’re going to reach them. Writing a business plan helps you consider what you do, the market opportunity, the risks and your strategy to succeed.

What is a business plan and why is it important?

A business plan is important so that you know where your business is going and how it’s going to get there. You may need a business plan to inspire confidence from investors, or show lenders that your business has potential. It can also help everyone on your team stay on the same page.

A business plan is always important, and even more so if you’re just starting out . It sets out the destination and the route plan of your business. You could say it’s a bit like a satnav - it helps you know which road to take at a junction.

Your business plan helps you play to win

People think of a business plan as a set of numbers but take it from me, an accountant , that this is probably the least important part of the plan. The numbers are like the scorecard and your business is the game. Your business plan is your strategy for how you’d like to play the game - and win!

What to consider for your business plan

Decide what outcome you want. You probably want to win this game but by how much? Or you may have just been promoted to this league and you need time to build some solid foundations. 2-1 win or £100,000 profit?

Look at your opposition, sometimes called a competitor analysis, to see what they are doing well and where they are leaving gaps. Are there areas of the market that are underserved or that could be better served by you than your competitors?

Team tactics. Can you see where you will sell £500,000 (or how you will score those two goals)? A few big customers or lots of smaller ones? This is the sales plan.

Look at your own team, as well as player wages do you need to recruit or train to get the best out of them? This will have costs that need to be included in the plan.

What other costs do you have? How much will the pitch, court or premises cost you and will you need to invest in any technology to help you win - such as a new scoreboard? Think about what kind of benefits you need to achieve (revenue gains or reduced costs to make the investment worthwhile).

Is this likely to give you the outcome you wanted? Or do you need to review all this again?

Do you have enough cash to pay for everything along the way or do you need to borrow?

How to structure a business plan

Once you have been through this thought process you can start to put your plans into a more formal structure. If you’re applying for loans or other finance it’s important to use the right terminology but, if the plan is only for internal use then it should be presented in a way that you and your team can understand. These are some common sections in business plans.

The overall goal

It’s tempting to start your business plan by explaining how amazing or radical your innovation or business idea is (there’s time for that later). It may be more useful to set the scene for the goal by explaining what real-world needs or problems you’re aiming to solve.

Your overall goal should be tied in to your personal goals. It’s no good building a million pound business that requires you to work 80 hours a week if what you really want is more time with your kids now.

Market analysis

Do some research to find out how much demand there is for your brilliant idea. Talk to your existing and prospective customers and ask questions. How many potential customers are out there? You could use a market research company, but you should still conduct your own research.

If you can use real or verifiable values, so much the better - vague terms like ‘the potential market is huge’ may not be enough to impress potential funders. Look at things like the current size of the market, its dynamics, if it’s growing or changing.

SWOT analysis

Determining the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your business is a useful way to view the things you do well and those that you need to improve. Identifying threats early allows you to put things in place to minimise or even negate them. Spend a few minutes searching and you’ll find many free examples of SWOT templates.

How much are you going to sell and to whom? It’s normal to spread this over 12 months. Will you sell to other businesses or to individuals? Decide whether you will sell to a few, bigger customers or several, smaller ones. Your approach will depend on your product and the market and will drive a lot of decisions from marketing strategy to recruitment. You’ll find a few sites out there offering free sales plan templates.

Marketing plan

How will you price your product and what promotion do you need to help achieve those sales? How will you attract new customers and how will you keep the ones you have? Who is your ideal customer and how will you reach them? Where do they spend time, is it on Instagram or travel websites?

Staffing plan

What skills do you need to achieve your plan? What will the organisation chart look like? Do you need to recruit or buy in expertise? Remember that flexible working means that you don’t need to recruit full time people if you only need the expertise half the time. Do you need to recruit straight away or part way through the year?

Capital investment

Are there any large costs coming up as you invest in equipment, technology or a new website? How are you expecting to finance them and what benefit do you expect them to deliver?

The numbers

This is what people think of when they think of a business plan but it is the last part of the game plan. Don’t forget to look at profit and loss. Draw up a profit and loss account to reflect all the numbers. If you’re also looking to raise finance with the plan - can you quantify your return on investment? It’s important to focus on your revenue model and if it’s viable in the short, medium and long term. Look at growth forecasts.

Look at the timing of money coming in and out. When will your customers pay for your sales and when will you have to pay your bills? How much money will be tied up in stock? Will you receive VAT from your customers before you have to pay it to HMRC? Are there any big costs that will need to be paid out? When are loan repayments due? Have you got enough cash set aside to pay your tax at the year end?

How long should the business plan be?

One common question is how long does the plan need to be? Three pages, a 100, something else?

The answer partly depends on if the plan’s for internal or external use. Internally, the plan can be as long as makes sense for its purpose, which could be to inform employees or keep founders on track.

If it’s external, perhaps to help raise funding, you do need enough detail to cover every section and make a compelling argument, but avoid a thick document which may lose your audience’s attention. Try to convey the key takeaways in a clear and simple way - sometimes more information isn’t better.

Don’t forget to write an executive summary to front up your plan. It should be simple, clear and specific. It needs to give a quick sense of what you do - but also why it’s valuable.

How many months or years do you need to plan for?

Business plans are usually completely in detail and fixed for 12 months and then a broader outline for three to five years. If you’re applying for finance then your plan should cover the whole period until the loan is repaid. There is no reason that you can’t update your forecasts as you progress through the year.

As you go through the year, more information will come to light so you will probably reforecast and your actions will evolve. This is the same way that your satnav changes route when you meet traffic or diversions. Both your satnav and your business rely on accurate information.

At the end of the original plan period you can compare what you actually achieved, against your targets. See where you did better and if there are any areas to learn from. Hindsight is a wonderful thing, so use it to plan an even better business in the future.

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Start Up Loan

How much can i borrow.

Start or grow your own business with a government-backed Start Up Loan delivered by BEF. Borrow up to £25,000 at a fixed rate of 6% per annum. Repay over 1 to 5 years with no penalty for early repayment.

What is a Start Up Loan?

Starting a business can be an exhilarating yet daunting journey. A crucial part of this journey is securing the necessary funding to bring your business idea to life. Start Up Loans offer a unique opportunity for aspiring entrepreneurs to turn their dreams into reality.

A Start Up Loan is a personal loan for business purposes for a term of 1 to 5 years at a fixed rate of 6% per annum. Applications must be aged 18 or over at the time of the application. A credit check will be completed.

As a Business Support Partner for the Start Up Loans scheme, Business Enterprise Fund (BEF) support individuals based in Yorkshire and the Humber, and the North East.

Key loan features

• Loan amount : Borrow up to £25,000 (BEF average loan size = £11,500).
• Interest rate : 6% fixed. Take advantage of a low interest rate to help start or grow your business.
• Repayment terms : Enjoy flexible repayment options spanning 1 to 5 years.
• One business, four loans : Up to four partners or directors can each apply for a Start Up Loan for the same business.
• Additional benefits : Take advantage of no arrangement fees, no early repayment fees, and up to 12 months of complimentary post-loan mentoring

Representative example

For a Start Up Loan of £11,000 loan repayable over 5 years. 60 monthly payments of £212.66. Rate of interest 6% per annum fixed. Total amount of credit is £11,000. Total interest payable £1,759.60. Total cost of credit £1,759.60. Total amount payable is £12,759.60

Loans of up to £25,000 are available from the Start Up Loans Company. Rates and terms will vary for other loan products from BEF should you not be eligible for the loan. Further information, and terms and conditions are available on request.

Why should I consider a Start Up Loan?

Start Up Loans are not just about financial assistance; they're a stepping stone to success. They come with numerous benefits, including:

• Access to capital to start or grow your business without giving up equity.
• Mentorship and support from experienced business advisors.
• Resources and tools to help you plan, start, and manage your business effectively.

A Start Up Loans success story

A Leeds-based chiropractic clinic received £40,000 in Start Up Loans to set up a standalone premises and buy equipment to offer patients a range of wellbeing services.

“ We spoke to Start Up West Yorkshire and were recommended the Business Enterprise Fund who have been fantastic. They clearly understood our vision and the entire process was straightforward, taking the stress out of launching a brand new business.”

- Jeff Ben Mayor , director, The Spine Guy

Am I eligible for a Start Up Loan?

To qualify for a Start Up Loan you need to:

• Be 18 years old or above
• Live in the UK
• Start a new business or have been running one for up to 36 months
• Not be able to access money from somewhere else. A self-declaration is all we need to understand your situation.
• Own a UK-based business
• Have the right to work in the UK
• Meet the scheme's rules for your business and what you need the loan for
• Pass credit checks and show that you can pay back the loan

Meeting these criteria means you’re on the path to unlocking your business's potential with a Start-Up Loan. Ready to start? Apply for a Start Up Loan today >

Ready to take the first step towards your business dream?

The process starts with a simple online application .

Why choose BEF?

We've provided Start Up Loans since the programme began in 2012. In the last year, we delivered 826 Start Up Loans totalling £9.5m. This investment helped create 661 jobs and safeguard 602 jobs.

Our client-first approach means:

• We recognise that you and your business are unique, and treat you accordingly
• You will receive support from a dedicated Investment Manager who's there just for you
• Our lending decisions made by real people, not computers

Apply for a Start Up Loan today >

Frequently asked questions

Have questions? We have answers. If you don't see your question here then reach out to us via our contact page.

What can I use my Start Up Loan for?

You can use your loan for lots of different things that will help your business, like buying equipment, getting stock, renting a place, or promoting your business.

But remember, you need to explain in your business plan and cash flow forecast how you'll use the loan to make your business better. You should describe what you'll do with the money and how it will help you start or grow your business.

You can't use the loan to pay off debts, cover training or education costs, or invest in opportunities that aren't part of building a lasting business.

Do I need to provide security?

No, you don't put up any assets or personal guarantee as security. What's more, you don't have to pay any fees for the application or early repayment of your loan.

How long does it take to receive a loan?

Usually, it takes about six weeks to get everything sorted, but it can be different for everyone. Once you send in your application, one of our Investment Managers will help you move things along.

We've noticed that the more you stay in touch and work with your advisor, the faster you'll get your loan.

Can I buy a franchise with a Start Up Loan?

Yes, you use a Start Up Loan to purchase a franchise.

Can I use a Start Up Loan to purchase a business?

Yes, you use a Start Up Loan to purchase a an existing business.

Can I still apply for a Start Up Loan if I have a poor credit history or credit impairments?

Don't worry if your personal credit history isn't great – it won't automatically stop you from getting a Start Up Loan. But we do take it into account when we're looking at your application. We want to make sure we're lending responsibly, so we'll check how you've managed money before and if you can handle paying back the loan now.

Because of this, we can't lend money to people with some credit issues. These can include things like:

• You are filing for or currently bankrupt or on a Debt Relief Order (DRO)
• You have an outstanding Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) or Trust Deed

Just to let you know, each application is looked at on its own, and sometimes we might say no for other reasons related to credit. This is especially true if giving a loan might make it hard for someone to handle their money.

Do BEF support businesses led by women?

Yes, we do.

Last year we delivered 826 Start Up Loans. 41% of these loans supported businesses led by women. We are ready to support you too.

Do BEF support businesses led by ethnic minorities?

Last year we delivered 826 Start Up Loans. 34% of these loans supported businesses led by ethnic minority founders. We are ready to support you too.

Where can I learn more about running a start-up business?

The Open University provides a selection of free courses perfect for individuals starting their own business for the first time.

The courses provide rich information covering subjects such as:

• Entrepreneurship
• Career and Leadership
• Finance and Accounting
• Sustainability
• Project Management

Explore the courses .

Important Legal Information

The Start Up Loans Company is a wholly owned subsidiary of British Business Bank plc. It is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, registration number 08117656, registered office at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, England, WC2H 9JQ.

British Business Bank plc is a development bank wholly owned by HM Government. British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. They are not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

A complete legal structure chart for the group can be found at www.british-business-bank.co.uk .

Flexible finance delivered responsibly and fairly

A personal approach to business

We don't do impersonal letters or automated phone services - every client gets connected with a real member of our team.

Personalised service tailored to you

Our loans are open to all sectors and are crafted to meet your specific needs.

We don't rely on algorithms

We see each client as a unique individual, and we evaluate their business in the same personalised manner.

The application process

Please complete your application on the Start Up Loans website

Following a quick eligibility check, you will be asked to register your personal details, complete a credit check, and submit your business information and supporting documents. Once completed, one of our Investment Managers will review your application.

Need help with your application? Contact our Investment Management team

What our clients say

Our clients tell the story best, see how Start Up Loans helped them.

“We were put in touch with Julie from BEF. She was absolutely brilliant and gave us all the help and advice we needed”

“The shop needed a lot of work to complete it so I used my own savings to get it just right. I then used BEF’s funding to help fill it with stock.”

“We'd like to say a huge thank you for all the support we've received from everyone involved in maketing Spark:York happen.”

HOW TO WRITE A BANK BUSINESS PLAN: Simple Steps & All You Need (+ Template)

• by Kenechukwu Muoghalu
• August 13, 2023

Table of Contents Hide

What is a bank business plan, why do i need a bank business plan, #1. executive summary, #2. company overview, #3. customer analysis, #4. competitive analysis, #5. marketing plan, #6. operations plan, #7. management team, #8. financial plan, #9. appendix, bank business plan template, would you want to finish your bank’s business plan as quickly as possible, what is the easiest way to complete my bank business plan, how do banks make money, can an individual own a bank.

Opening a new bank is a cool investment that requires a stipulated level of attention and responsibilities for growth to take place. However, how can you start up a financial facility without a business plan? How do you intend to nurture the goals and growth of your bank business? Every investment needs a business plan and that is why this article has every little detail on what you need to know about this plan. You will also have access to a free template checklist and basic steps on how to write a bank business plan.

We also have a ready-made bank business plan for your comfort, just in case you wish to skip all procedures and get hold of your plan today. 

A bank business plan is a document that provides a snapshot of your bank and lays out its future growth plan. Not just that, it also explains your business goals and gives strategies that can help you attain them. It is more like a road map for success, and without the road map, you cannot get to your desired destination. 

It is also important to note that only a well-detailed and articulated bank business plan can achieve its potential purposes. Your bank’s business plan should also be updated annually to accommodate new changes in your business. 

The essence of a bank business plan can vary from one business owner to another. One can start up a business plan to attract investors or lenders to aid them in raising funds because, like other businesses, the banking industry also requires capital investment on a large scale to start its operations. 

Most of the time, you will need a bank business plan to map out the goals and growth of your bank and excessively improve your chances of success. You can also need a bank business plan for a combination of both reasons. A banking industry business plan plays an important role in the initiation and expansion of banks. Moreover, a business plan for banks is also required by the financial institutions. 

To write a winning bank business plan, you need to understand some basic steps on how to construct a comprehensive and well-detailed plan. Writing a plan comes with some procedures, and you can only yield results in your company when these procedures are followed. Let’s analyze what these procedures entail. 

Simple Steps on How to Write a Bank Business Plan

The executive summary of your bank’s business plan should be an introduction to your business. It is usually the first to appear on the plan but the last to write. This is because you will need some information from other sections. This section should be interesting to your readers. Don’t fail to explain the kind of bank you run, which can be either a startup or a chain of banks. 

Also one of the steps in how to write this section of your bank business plan is to include an overview of your competitors and your financial plan. 

There are different types of banks that one can invest in, and in your company overview, you will need to detail the type of bank you are operating. 

• Commercial Bank

A commercial bank is built to support both large corporations and small businesses. They can open a savings account, and lend money or trust funds to companies in foreign markets. 

• Retail Bank

Retail banks are normally traditional banks that customers can access online or in person. They also offer loans and insurance. 

• Investment Bank

This bank normally trades in stocks that are mostly between companies and investors. They can offer advice to individuals and corporations who need financial guidance. 

• Credit Union

Credit unions are basically like traditional banks, but they are different because they’re not profit-oriented. Regardless, they perform basic operations like loans and providing savings accounts. 

When you indicate the type of bank that suits you, then you will proceed to give a brief introduction of your company. Tell your readers why you started this business and the things you have achieved. 

This is where you include the details of the customers you will be offering your services to. Your customers might be individuals, small businesses, families, or big corporations. It is important to note that each customer will be following the type of bank you run. You will also need to research your customers and try to meet your target audience. 

This is where you need to mention your competitors which can be either direct or indirect. Direct competitors are other banks, and indirect competitors are other options that your potential customers can purchase from. It can be trust accounts, investment companies, or even the stock market. They are not directly competing with your products. 

You will need to list those competitors and give a brief description of their weaknesses and strengths. Then at the end of this section, you can provide how the services you offer are unique from your competitors.

As a financial facility, your marketing strategy should include your products, price, place, and promotions. In the product section, just talk about the type of bank you run, and state the prices of the products you offer as well. The place should be the location of your bank and how that site will impact your success. The promotion is meant to explain how you will attract potential customers to your company, which can be either an advertisement, websites, flyers, or social media platforms. 

The operation plan should explain how you intend to meet the goals of your business. It should cover both the short-term and long-term processes. You should include how you intend to reshape your company within that time frame. 

Just like the name implies, this section should be all about your strong management team. Highlight your key players by including their backgrounds, skills, and experiences that prove that they are capable enough to grow a company. It is a bonus if your management team has had direct experience in managing banks. If your team is lacking, you can consider assembling an advisory board. 

A financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement. It should also cover your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements. An income statement should contain your profit and loss statement. A balance sheet will cover your assets and liabilities, while a cash flow statement will determine how much money you need to start and grow your business to avoid going bankrupt. 

In the appendix section, you can include any information that can make your bank business plan more compelling. You can attach your financial projections to a list of loans you plan to give. 

Having learned how to effectively write a bank business plan, you will also need to practice the use of a template. A bank business plan template is essential when starting a bank business. It is with this template checklist that you will understand the full processes that are involved with starting a bank business. So, before you proceed with your investment, you need to keep these steps in check.

• Know the business 
• Write a business plan
• Raise Capital
• Choose a business name
• Get a license 
• Attract customers 

Don’t you wish there was an easier way to finish your bank’s business plan? Understandably, creating a business plan can be overwhelming, but there is a way around it. At BusinessYield Consult, we specialize in creating business plans for entrepreneurs like you. 

That is why we have composed a unique, ready-made bank business plan for your comfort. Now you won’t have to spend hours trying to get over a section of your business plan. 

All you need to do is to grab a copy of your bank business plan now! 

A business plan is essential in every company, whether a big or small business. It tends to bring some changes into every business and also helps you manage that business effectively. Although sometimes creating one for yourself might be a bit daunting, when you follow the steps above, you can come up with a successful bank business plan that will boost the growth of your company.

If you need an easier way to complete your business plan without having to go through the long process of writing one yourself, then you can try our ready-made bank business plan . 

Banks mainly make money by borrowing money from depositors and then compensating them with an interest rate. Then that same bank will lend the money to borrowers and charge them a high-interest rate. It is from that profit that their profit comes.

Yes. There is a possibility of individual ownership but most times individuals commonly buy shares of bank stock which can be directly from the bank or fund managers. 

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Kenechukwu Muoghalu

Kenny, an accomplished business writer with a decade of experience, excels in translating intricate industry insights into engaging articles. Her passion revolves around distilling the latest trends, offering actionable advice, and nurturing a comprehensive understanding of the business landscape. With a proven track record of delivering insightful content, Kenny is dedicated to empowering her readers with the knowledge needed to thrive in the dynamic and ever-evolving world of business.

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SUPPORTED LIVING BUSINESS PLAN: Template And How to Write One

Inheriting a house from your parents uk: steps to take after inheriting a house.

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Our Pick Of The Best Start-Up Business Loans

Updated: Sep 2, 2024, 5:02pm

Important Disclosure: The content provided does not consider your particular circumstances and does not constitute personal advice. Some of the products promoted are from our affiliate partners from whom we receive compensation. Read More

If you require any personal advice, please seek such advice from an independently qualified financial advisor. While we aim to feature some of the best products available, this does not include all available products from across the market. Although the information provided is believed to be accurate at the date of publication, you should always check with the product provider to ensure that information provided is the most up to date. Read Less

With little or no trading history, accessing finance can be a challenge for fledgling businesses. But start-up business loans, which are tailored to businesses that have just begun trading, or have been trading less than three years, can offer a lifeline.

• Featured Partner

Our top business loans for start-ups

• British Business Bank &
• Funding Circle: Small Business Loan
• *Nationwide Finance: Start-Up Loan
• NatWest: Small Business Loan

What’s our methodology?

What is a start-up business loan, where can i get a business start-up loan, what government loans are available, how much can you borrow, how long can you borrow the money for, what security is required, what interest rates are charged on start-up loans, what fees should you watch out for, what information do you need to provide, what can you use the funds for, what are some of the pros and cons of start-up loans, what are the alternatives to a start-up loan, frequently asked questions.

• Best Small Business Loans
• Best Long-Term Business Loans
• Self-Employed Loans For Small Business
• Best Unsecured Business Loans
• How To Get A Business Loan

Funding Options

Match with 120+ Lenders

Loans from £1000 to £20M

Free to apply and it doesn’t affect your credit score

On Funding Options’ Website

Why you can trust Forbes Advisor’s ratings

Our editors are committed to bringing you unbiased ratings and information. Our editorial content is not influenced by advertisers. We use data-driven methodologies to evaluate product providers, so all companies and products are measured equally. You can read more about our  editorial guidelines  and the  methodology  for the ratings below.

• Market-wide survey of leading small business loan providers
• Rigorous assessment of small business loan features and costs
• Thorough analysis of pros and cons

We carried out some research ( September 2024 ) to uncover our pick of the best loans for business start-ups. Bear in mind that interest rates are representative which means you may be offered higher, depending on your circumstances, while some start-up businesses may not be eligible.

British Business Bank Start Up Loan

Minimum annual turnover

£500-£25,000

Repayment term

Representative example.

You could borrow £10,000 over 12 months with monthly repayments of £860. Total amount repayable will be £10,319. Representative APR is 6.0%, annual interest rate (fixed) p.a. Credit available subject to status.

British Business Bank offers government-backed loans to start-up or grow a businesses. It offers one of the most competitive annual interest rates we found at 6% (fixed).

Start-up businesses can borrow between £500 and £25,000, with repayment terms of up to five years. What’s more, each successful applicant will receive free mentoring for 12 months. The average loan taken is £7,200.

There is no fee for arranging the loan or paying it back early and there is no minimum turnover requirement on the business or personal guarantee required.

• Fixed interest rate of 6% per annum
• No personal guarantee required
• No application fees
• No early repayment fees
• Access to business mentoring and support
• Only available to businesses trading for less than 36 months
• Loan amount limited to £25,000

Funding Circle Small Business Loan

£10,000-£500,000

6 months to 6 years

You could borrow £10,000 over 12 months, plus £500 loan fee, with monthly repayments of £924. Total amount repayable will be £11,083. Representative 11.6% APR, annual interest rate (fixed) 11.6% p.a. Credit available subject to status.

Lending platform, Funding Circle offers loans to start-up businesses with annual interest rates starting as low as 6.9% (fixed) for some applicants, according to its website.

You can borrow from £10,000 up to a potential £500,000 depending on your business and circumstances. Loans can be taken over a term of six months up to seven years.

However, Funding Circle charges a loan completion fee which, the cost of which varies according to size of the loan (typically £500 on a £10,000 loan). The fee will be spread across the borrowing term.

Start-up loans are typically limited to businesses with at least one years’ trading history and a minimum annual turnover of £40,000. Loans also require a personal guarantee.

You can repay the loan in full early with no penalties.

• Rates from 6.9% (fixed)
• High maximum loan amount
• Personal guarantee required
• No overpayments permitted (loan must be repaid in full)
• Completion fee payable

*Nationwide Finance Start-Up Loan

£6,000-£10 million

You could borrow £10,000 over 12 months with monthly repayments of £877. Total amount repayable will be £10,526. Representative 10% AER, annual interest rate (fixed) 10% p.a. Credit available subject to status.

The Start-Up loan from Nationwide Finance offers a potentially attractive all-round package for start-up businesses lacking in any trading history.

Loans are available from £6,000 and Nationwide Finance can potentially offer large loans, depending on the financial status of your start up. Loan rates vary between 10% and 45% (AER).

However, applicants must provide a residential or business property as security*. Although there are no early repayment fees, if you want to repay in full you’ll be charged some of the interest that would have been due.

* Your home is at risk if you do not keep up repayments on a loan secured against it

• No trading history required
• Interest rates start from 10% (AER)
• Your property is at risk if you do not make repayments on your loan
• Only available in England and Wales
• Set-up fees apply

NatWest Small Business Loan

£1,000-£50,000

You could borrow £10,000 over 12 months with monthly repayments of £887.09. Total amount repayable will be £10,645.02. Representative 12.35% APR, annual interest rate (fixed) 12.35% p.a. Credit available subject to status.

The NatWest/RBS/Ulster Bank Small Business Loan is a solid all-rounder in the small business loan arena, offering a relatively competitive representative APR of 12.35% with a larger maximum loan amount than the British Business Bank at £50,000 for eligible applicants.

The Small Business Loan provides good flexibility with borrowing terms of up to 7 years. You can also overpay on the loan without penalty and there are no early repayment fees.

However, the loan requires a personal guarantee. You will need a business current account to qualify but it doesn’t have to be with NatWest.

• No minimum turnover or trading history requirements
• Competitive representative APR of 12.35%
• Loan terms up to 10 years
• No arrangement fee
• No early repayment fee

For ambitious fast-growing companies, having reliable access to capital is nothing short of critical. That’s why it’s important to first understand what financial products are available, and then whether they could be right for your business.

Greg Karpovsky, Founder and chief executive officer of Stenn

To arrive at our Forbes Advisor star ratings, we considered the following criteria for each business loan provider, which was overlaid with editorial judgement:

• minimum turnover : the minimum turnover, or sales, required to apply for the loan
• size of loan available : the minimum to maximum amount that could be borrowed
• length of loan : the length of repayment periods available
• other factors : we also considered other differentiating factors such interest rates, fees, early repayment charges, security required and length of trading history needed

A start-up loan is a cash loan to help fund either a new business, or one that’s only been trading for a relatively short time (two to three years). It presents a way for a start-up business to access finance, which can otherwise be difficult due to a lack of trading history.

Start-up loans for businesses are available from mainstream lenders, such as banks and building societies. But many require two or more years’ trading history before they will lend.

However, alternative online lenders, specialist brokers, or a Government scheme can be more flexible – which we explain in more detail below.

The government introduced the Start Up Loan scheme back in 2012 to provide a source of funding for start-up businesses that might otherwise be unable to access finance. Since then, according to the government’s own figures, the Start Up Loans scheme has provided over 100,000 business loans, exceeding £941 million in value.

Loans under the scheme are available to businesses that have traded for less than three years, and come with a fixed interest rate of 6% per annum against terms of between one and five years. Loans are unsecured, which means a personal guarantee is not required.

Start Up Loans are personal, rather than business, loans. Each individual can apply for a loan of up to £25,000, subject to an overall limit of £100,000 per business. However, the average loan amount taken by small businesses is £7,200, according to government figures.

Business mentoring is provided for the first year, together with support for writing a business plan and cash flow forecast.

Lenders offer business start-up loans from a minimum of £500 and some extend to as much as £500,000. However, loans at the top end of this range are likely to require a minimum level of turnover, along with a greater level of security.

On the whole, start-up loans come with repayment periods of between one and five years. That said, some loans allow short-term funding of three to 12 months, while on the other end of the spectrum, loans of up to 10 years may be available.

Once your start-up business has been trading for 12 months, you may want to look at refinancing with the same, or a different lender, as you could qualify for cheaper rates.

Start-up loans can be secured (against an asset such as a house), or unsecured where no asset backing is required.

Most of the lenders in our pick of the best business loans for start-ups require a personal guarantee. This means that, if your business is unable to repay the debt, you will assume personal responsibility for the balance.

If you are looking for a larger sum and/or lower interest rate, the lender may look for a higher level of guarantee, such as a charge over your home. However, be extremely cautious about signing up to any borrowing that puts your home at risk.

Start-up business loans can also be secured against other high-value assets, such as commercial property, equipment or cars.

Due to the higher risk profile of start-up businesses, start-up loans tend to come with higher interest rates than conventional business loans.

The interest rate you are offered will depend on factors such as the company’s trading history and cash flow forecasts, the credit history of the individuals, the level of security required and the amount and borrowing term of the loan.

According to the latest data from the Bank of England, the average interest rate charged by UK banks for small and medium business loans was 8%.

With rates well into double-digits for start-up business loans, it’s worth regularly reviewing if and when your business might be eligible for a conventional business loan.

There are two main types of fee charged for taking out a start-up loan:

• initial fee : this may be called an application or arrangement fee, documentation fee and/or a ‘draw-down’ fee. It can be as much as 5% of the loan amount, although this is typically spread over the term of the loan and added to the monthly payments. Not all lenders charge this fee, however.
• early redemption fee : if you want to repay the loan before the agreed term, you may be charged an early redemption fee. Some lenders do not charge early redemption fees, but instead charge interest that would have been payable had the loan not been redeemed early. Always check the terms and conditions of any loan agreement thoroughly.

Lenders will typically ask for a business plan and cash flow forecast, as well as running a personal credit check.

The British Business Bank has produced a detailed guide to writing a business plan . But, as a summary, it should cover the following areas:

• your company’s objectives and how you plan to achieve them
• an analysis of your customers and market, together with any market research you’ve carried out
• your sales and marketing plan
• potential issues and plans to resolve these, including any funding shortfall
• other information including information about the individuals working in the business

You will also need to provide a cash flow forecast for at least the next 12 months. Again, the British Business Bank has a cash flow template to help with this.

The cash flow forecast should cover the following items:

• income : revenue (sales to customers), any personal investments and business loans
• expenses : wages, rent, council tax, supplier costs, sales and marketing costs, VAT and tax, as well as any loan repayments
• net cash flow : the difference between income and expenses, which may be positive or negative

You will also be asked to provide the personal details of all the individuals applying for funding, including address history, details of existing loans and bank statements. It is not usually necessary to hold a business current account with the lender.

Each lender will have slightly different rules on what you can do with the funds – but expenditure, such as purchasing stock, hiring new staff, moving into premises, marketing costs and buying new equipment, is generally permitted.

Funds cannot usually be spent on debt repayment, training and educational opportunities or investment opportunities that are not required for the ongoing business.

You will be required to describe your intentions for your loan at the outset, to show that the loan will help you expand your business, and the lender is likely to undertake periodic monitoring of your cash flow position to identify any possible barriers to repaying your debt.

• the ability to borrow large sums of money which can be used to finance expansion
• funds could be at lower interest rates than other forms of borrowing, such as business credit cards, with the option of fixed or variable interest rates
• clear interest and capital repayments for fixed rate loans
• the option of long-term borrowing, with terms of up to 25 years
• avoids the need to dilute owners’ shareholdings by bringing in new investors.
• may ask for personal guarantees or security over personal assets such as property
• not as flexible as some forms of borrowing as the amount is set at the beginning of the loan, with better options for financing temporary cashflow issues
• minimum loan amount may be higher than needed
• interest rates can rise for variable rate loans
• eligibility requirements can be hard to achieve and higher interest rates may be charged for businesses with poorer credit rating
• possible early repayment penalties.
• crowdfunding: businesses pitch their ideas to a ‘crowd’ of small investors who become shareholders in the business. Crowdfunding has become very popular in the UK, with notable successes including Scottish brewer BrewDog and challenger bank Monzo
• business credit cards: these can be a quick way of accessing smaller sums of money. However, they typically charge a high interest rate if the balance isn’t repaid in full at the end of the month. We’ve also produced a guide to our pick of the best business credit cards
• overdrafts: some business current accounts have interest-free or low-interest overdrafts which can be useful for businesses wanting to borrow small amounts of money for a short period
• invoice finance: this is a loan against money owed by customers, for example, when invoices are waiting to be paid. Once the invoice has been paid, the cash is used to repay the finance
• government grants: these may be offered to businesses in certain sectors or regions and don’t need to be repaid.

How does business loan provider define a start-up?

The criteria varies, but typically start-ups will have traded for no more than three years. Some types of businesses may be excluded, such as property investment, banking and money transfer and gambling companies.

Other criteria are likely to include the business being based in the UK and applicants have to be at least 18 and living in the UK.

What's the difference between a start-up and standard business loan?

Start-up loans can be tailored to companies with a shorter track record than standard business loans.

And as start-up loans are generally higher risk for the lender, the interest rate may be higher and a smaller loan amount may be offered.

A personal guarantee may also be required and there may also be more scrutiny of your personal credit history.

Is a business account required for a start-up loan?

It varies by provider. Some may require you to open a business account in order to hold a start-up loan but, if this is the case, it should be specified at the start of the application process.

Can I get a startup business loan for a home business?

In short, yes. However, as with other types of start-up businesses, you will have to meet the eligibility criteria.

Having worked in investment banking for over 20 years, I have turned my skills and experience to writing about all areas of personal finance. My aim is to help people develop the confidence and knowledge to take control of their own finances.