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The 7 Best Business Plan Examples (2024)

As an aspiring entrepreneur gearing up to start your own business , you likely know the importance of drafting a business plan. However, you might not be entirely sure where to begin or what specific details to include. That’s where examining business plan examples can be beneficial. Sample business plans serve as real-world templates to help you craft your own plan with confidence. They also provide insight into the key sections that make up a business plan, as well as demonstrate how to structure and present your ideas effectively.

Example business plan

To understand how to write a business plan, let’s study an example structured using a seven-part template. Here’s a quick overview of those parts:

Executive summary: A quick overview of your business and the contents of your business plan.
Company description: More info about your company, its goals and mission, and why you started it in the first place.
Market analysis: Research about the market and industry your business will operate in, including a competitive analysis about the companies you’ll be up against.
Products and services: A detailed description of what you’ll be selling to your customers.
Marketing plan: A strategic outline of how you plan to market and promote your business before, during, and after your company launches into the market.
Logistics and operations plan: An explanation of the systems, processes, and tools that are needed to run your business in the background.
Financial plan: A map of your short-term (and even long-term) financial goals and the costs to run the business. If you’re looking for funding, this is the place to discuss your request and needs.

7 business plan examples (section by section)

In this section, you’ll find hypothetical and real-world examples of each aspect of a business plan to show you how the whole thing comes together.

Executive summary

Your executive summary offers a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. You’ll want to include a brief description of your company, market research, competitor analysis, and financial information.

In this free business plan template, the executive summary is three paragraphs and occupies nearly half the page:

Company description

You might go more in-depth with your company description and include the following sections:

Nature of the business. Mention the general category of business you fall under. Are you a manufacturer, wholesaler, or retailer of your products?
Background information. Talk about your past experiences and skills, and how you’ve combined them to fill in the market.
Business structure. This section outlines how you registered your company —as a corporation, sole proprietorship, LLC, or other business type.
Industry. Which business sector do you operate in? The answer might be technology, merchandising, or another industry.
Team. Whether you’re the sole full-time employee of your business or you have contractors to support your daily workflow, this is your chance to put them under the spotlight.

You can also repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your About page, Instagram page, or other properties that ask for a boilerplate description of your business. Hair extensions brand Luxy Hair has a blurb on it’s About page that could easily be repurposed as a company description for its business plan.

Market analysis

Market analysis comprises research on product supply and demand, your target market, the competitive landscape, and industry trends. You might do a SWOT analysis to learn where you stand and identify market gaps that you could exploit to establish your footing. Here’s an example of a SWOT analysis for a hypothetical ecommerce business:

You’ll also want to run a competitive analysis as part of the market analysis component of your business plan. This will show you who you’re up against and give you ideas on how to gain an edge over the competition.

Products and services

This part of your business plan describes your product or service, how it will be priced, and the ways it will compete against similar offerings in the market. Don’t go into too much detail here—a few lines are enough to introduce your item to the reader.

Marketing plan

Potential investors will want to know how you’ll get the word out about your business. So it’s essential to build a marketing plan that highlights the promotion and customer acquisition strategies you’re planning to adopt.

Most marketing plans focus on the four Ps: product, price, place, and promotion. However, it’s easier when you break it down by the different marketing channels . Mention how you intend to promote your business using blogs, email, social media, and word-of-mouth marketing.

Here’s an example of a hypothetical marketing plan for a real estate website:

marketing section template for business plan

Logistics and operations

This section of your business plan provides information about your production, facilities, equipment, shipping and fulfillment, and inventory.

Financial plan

The financial plan (a.k.a. financial statement) offers a breakdown of your sales, revenue, expenses, profit, and other financial metrics. You’ll want to include all the numbers and concrete data to project your current and projected financial state.

In this business plan example, the financial statement for ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy includes forecasted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

It then goes deeper into the financials, citing:

Funding needs
Project cash-flow statement
Project profit-and-loss statement
Projected balance sheet

You can use Shopify’s financial plan template to create your own income statement, cash-flow statement, and balance sheet.

Types of business plans (and what to write for each)

A one-page business plan is a pared down version of a standard business plan that’s easy for potential investors and partners to understand. You’ll want to include all of these sections, but make sure they’re abbreviated and summarized:

Logistics and operations plan
Financials

A startup business plan is meant to secure outside funding for a new business. Typically, there’s a big focus on the financials, as well as other sections that help determine the viability of your business idea—market analysis, for example. Shopify has a great business plan template for startups that include all the below points:

Market research: in depth
Financials: in depth

Your internal business plan acts as the enforcer of your company’s vision. It reminds your team of the long-term objective and keeps them strategically aligned toward the same goal. Be sure to include:

Market research

Feasibility

A feasibility business plan is essentially a feasibility study that helps you evaluate whether your product or idea is worthy of a full business plan. Include the following sections:

A strategic (or growth) business plan lays out your long-term vision and goals. This means your predictions stretch further into the future, and you aim for greater growth and revenue. While crafting this document, you use all the parts of a usual business plan but add more to each one:

Products and services: for launch and expansion
Market analysis: detailed analysis
Marketing plan: detailed strategy
Logistics and operations plan: detailed plan
Financials: detailed projections

Free business plan templates

Now that you’re familiar with what’s included and how to format a business plan, let’s go over a few templates you can fill out or draw inspiration from.

Bplans’ free business plan template

Bplans’ free business plan template focuses a lot on the financial side of running a business. It has many pages just for your financial plan and statements. Once you fill it out, you’ll see exactly where your business stands financially and what you need to do to keep it on track or make it better.

PandaDoc’s free business plan template

PandaDoc’s free business plan template is detailed and guides you through every section, so you don’t have to figure everything out on your own. Filling it out, you’ll grasp the ins and outs of your business and how each part fits together. It’s also handy because it connects to PandaDoc’s e-signature for easy signing, ideal for businesses with partners or a board.

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template

Miro’s Business Model Canvas Template helps you map out the essentials of your business, like partnerships, core activities, and what makes you different. It’s a collaborative tool for you and your team to learn how everything in your business is linked.

Better business planning equals better business outcomes

Building a business plan is key to establishing a clear direction and strategy for your venture. With a solid plan in hand, you’ll know what steps to take for achieving each of your business goals. Kickstart your business planning and set yourself up for success with a defined roadmap—utilizing the sample business plans above to inform your approach.

Business plan FAQ

What are the 3 main points of a business plan.

Concept. Explain what your business does and the main idea behind it. This is where you tell people what you plan to achieve with your business.
Contents. Explain what you’re selling or offering. Point out who you’re selling to and who else is selling something similar. This part concerns your products or services, who will buy them, and who you’re up against.
Cash flow. Explain how money will move in and out of your business. Discuss the money you need to start and keep the business going, the costs of running your business, and how much money you expect to make.

How do I write a simple business plan?

To create a simple business plan, start with an executive summary that details your business vision and objectives. Follow this with a concise description of your company’s structure, your market analysis, and information about your products or services. Conclude your plan with financial projections that outline your expected revenue, expenses, and profitability.

What is the best format to write a business plan?

The optimal format for a business plan arranges your plan in a clear and structured way, helping potential investors get a quick grasp of what your business is about and what you aim to achieve. Always start with a summary of your plan and finish with the financial details or any extra information at the end.

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13 Best Companies That Offer Business Plan Writing Services

Do you want to hire a business plan writer? If YES, here are 50 best companies that offer professional business plan writing services at an affordable rate.

A business plan writing service is a team of business experts that take the ideas of an entrepreneur, combine it with their own properly conducted research and deductions, and come out with a professional, well-formatted business plan. Entrepreneurs that want the best chances at getting funding usually turn to business plan writing companies to help them craft a winning business plan.

Despite the fact that business plan writing services generally cost higher than business plan creation software or phone apps, but that does not prevent them from getting the number of clients they need because entrepreneurs are aware of the importance of the services they render.

Whether you’re building a startup from the ground up and seeking your first investment round, or you have a mature company and need a plan in place to garner new insights, having a professional to help conduct research and outline the model is imperative.

While you may have settled with your mind to hire the services of a business plan writer, but you must know that not all business plan services can offer you a professionally written work that can give you the best chances towards getting that funding. This is the reason why we have decided to bring you some of the popular and best business plan writing companies in the united states and the cost their services go for.

13 Best Companies That Offer Professional Business Plan Writing Services and How Much They Charge Clients

Wise Business Plans
Cost – $1,650

Wise Business Plans is a business plan writing service that is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company writes business plans for businesses seeking venture capital and angel investors as well as businesses interested in applying for SBA loans , E2 visas and L1 visas.

Wise Business Plans are in the business of producing high quality business plans, and their plans contain market and industry research that are drawn from a wide range of sources. Its turnaround times have been known to be above average. Wise Business Plans works with many Fortune 500 companies as well as UPS. It has also partnered with the popular business plan software LivePlan to provide a business writing service to its customers.

When working with Wise Business Plans, you can expect to find a thorough analysis of your business’s industry, including growth trends. The business plan will also look at your business’s market, which includes demographic data about current and potential customers as well as macro and microsegmentation, giving potential investors a complete idea of your business’s potential.

Cost estimates of their business plans are based on estimates for a brick-and-mortar business’s plan. At $1,650, the cost is only slightly higher than the average of $1,500. Again, the cost can vary depending on how complex the plan is. A business plan for a startup looking for venture capital can be more expensive than a plan for a business looking for an SBA loan.

Go Business Plans
Cost – $2,000 to $10,000

Based in Los Angeles, California, Go Business Plans writes business plans that serve a variety of business’s needs, ranging from SBA loans and visa applications to plans seeking venture capital funding. Go Business Plans rated well in terms of the quality of its business plans and its comprehensive feature set.

Go Business Plans are reputed to contain a thorough market and industry analysis, a complete set of financial forecasts, marketing plans as well as a competitive analysis. The company also prides itself on the quality of it plans. The writing service does not offer a separate service to review existing business plans, instead reserving that for clients that already use or have agreed to use its other services.

This means that while you can’t have Go Business Plans review your current plan without signing up for another service, if you take advantage of any other offering available from this company, you can have your business plan reviewed for an extra cost.

Depending on your business plan, this can cost between $150 and $300. Go Business Plans cost varies based on the kind of business plan you need. But generally their business plan writing service costs between $2,000 to $10,000.

The Plan Writers
Cost – $1,200 to $5,000

The Plan Writers is a Beverly Hills, California-based business plan service that offers a variety of consulting services in addition to business plan writing. Their business plans are available for businesses and entrepreneurs interested in applying for visas or SBA loans, or those looking for venture capital or angel investor financing. The Plan Writers is also experienced with helping companies go public as well as creating feasibility plans.

When you engage the services of The Plan Writers, you’ll begin the process with a free 30-minute consultation. During this consultation, you’ll discuss your business and industry with the sales rep. If you want to speak longer, you’ll need to pay $200 for another hour. This fee is added to the final cost of your business plan.

Once you’ve commissioned The Plan Writers to create a business plan for you, it usually takes between nine to 10 days to receive the first draft. After you receive your plan, you have two weeks to submit any revisions. This is shorter than other services, but The Plan Writers gets revisions done quick, usually in about one to two days.

As with all business plan services, the costs vary depending on the complexity of your plan. Those plans usually cost around $1,200 to $1,500. Plans for startups or companies seeking larger amounts of capital can cost upwards of $5,000.

Capital West Advisors
Cost – $100 to $120 per hour

Capital West Advisors is business advisor company that also provides business plan writing services. They are headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, and their mission is to provide high quality business plan writing and capital introduction services at the most competitive prices in the industry.

Capital West Advisors was launched in 2006 and since then they have been providing business planning and capital introduction services to several hundred clients across the U.S. and around the world in a wide array of industries. CWA prices its business plans based on a rate of $100 to $120 per hour at a highly efficient rate. Most firms charge $125-$200 per hour at a less efficient rate.

Cost – Not disclosed

OGScapital is a team of experienced experts that help entrepreneurs produces a well written business plan as well as provide other services. The company was founded by a team of 8 senior business experts in 2006. From the start, their main goal as professional business plan writers has been to support startups and medium-sized enterprises as they move to the next level, helping them achieve their objectives and become market leaders.

Their expert business plan writers have helped business owners raise debt and equity financing critical to operational startup and growth. The OGScapital team of Online business plan writers does not stop working until the client is 100% satisfied.

The company produce business plans in fields such as accounting, marketing, legal, IT, design and other business services. As of now, their team includes 60 highly experienced consultants. With their business model and offices in the US, Canada, Australia, and the uk, OGScapital is able to help entrepreneurs worldwide.

Once you contact them, you will receive your business plan with within 10-15 days. OGScapital did not disclose their charges, but they disclosed that the client would pay a 50% prepayment before the job commences, with the remaining balance paid upon completion (only when you are 100% satisfied).

Deutsch & Thomas
Cost: $425 USD

Deutsch & Thomas, Inc. is a business plan writing service that offer professional business plan preparation for startups and small businesses. Registered as Deutsch and Thomas, Inc., their experience building business plans will help you when approaching investors, bankers, and potential clients.

The company has the ability to create financial projections, management and mission statements, and expenditure estimates. Their service also includes electronic presentation preparation. All their business plans are completed within 5 to 6 business days of contact.

Deutsch & Thomas was founded in 2005 by Matthew Deutsch. The business has been in operation for over fourteen years, and was run as a partnership prior to its incorporation. Since its inception, the company has helped small and medium sized businesses raise more than $585,000,000 through plans developed by their team.

Pro Business Plans

Pro Business Plans is a leading group of individuals offering business plan consulting and writing services to organizations and individuals. The team is driven by passion, quality and expertise, and they aim to create an accurate road map on various topics to help customers attain achievable targets in minimal time.

Founded in 1999, Pro Business Plans works with international companies from Startups to Fortune 500 across a diverse range of industries to prepare stunning business plans, pitch decks, and investment materials. Pro Business Plans delivers investment banking quality with the attention and care of an in-house consultant.

Its business plan samples reflect its meticulous attention to detail and reflect the of their clients’ company. The financials are accurate and based on the most widely respected market research groups on the United States.

The company has assisted startups, early stage ventures, nonprofits, and existing companies to launch and expand their operation. The company did not disclose its costs.

Optimal Thinking
Cost – $5,000

Optimal thinking is a marketing and writing service that began in 1985. The company has writing specialists that consult with their clients to help them achieve the objectives of their business. With 27 years of experience, the company serves as organizations’ trusted writing and editorial department.

The optimal thinking professional business plan writers have more than 250 years of combined experience writing successful business plans. They can help you provide a professionally optimized operational plan, feasibility plan, expansion plan, annual plan, internal plan or a new product plan. But their charges can be quite hefty as it can get up to $5,000.

Optimal thinking works with companies from start-ups, small businesses and large organizations including Warner Bros., Johnson & Johnson, U.S. Treasury, National Australia Bank, Air New Zealand, Young Presidents’ Organization and Red Bull.

Bargain business plans
Cost – $1399 to $2499

Bargain Business Plan is a business plan writing service that has served over 10,000 entrepreneurs and small business owners since 2008. The company has garnered experience in nearly every industry and market available.

Bargain Business Plan writers take the time to get to know their clients, so that they can effectively develop a custom business plan which will meet their needs. Whether you’re in the conception stage of your business or expanding your brand to a new market, their team of business plan writers and consultants will work to ensure you’re in position to succeed.

This is the reason why they are always mentioned when it comes to leading business plan writing companies in the United States.

Their team of dedicated business plan writers, consultants, and financial analysts all work together to ensure that their business plans are always up to standard. Their the cost of writing business plans in the company can range anywhere from $1399 to $2499.

Cayenne Consulting

Cayenne has been around for a long time and is another good provider of business plan writing and consulting service in the United States. They have a good senior management team that has a lot of case experience which can be helpful to startup and growth stage companies of all kinds. They also can prepare additional investment related materials such as private placements and more.

Founder of the Cayenne Consulting, Akira Hirai, started the business in March 2001, because venture capitalists kept telling him that the business plans and financial forecasts he had prepared for his own companies were among the best they had seen.

In addition to business plan writing, the company also conducts strategy development, market research and analysis, competitor research and analysis, business plan preparation, financial analysis and forecasting, presentation materials, and developing a capital formation strategy.

This frees you up to focus on building something that investors might actually be interested in: a company in a large market with a compelling value proposition, strong competitive advantages, excellent growth potential, and a team that can make it happen.

Their team is located across the nation and have industry expertise in many high-growth markets, including green technologies, life science, software, Internet, telecommunications, and financial services. Their services can range from a few thousand dollars to several tens of thousands of dollars.

Newton Group Marketing
Cost: $1,900 – 3,900

Newton Group Marketing specializes in writing powerful and compelling proposals and business plans to obtain needed financing from major banks and investment firms.

The company collaborates with highly specialized and reputable individuals to help create exceptional quality websites, proposals and other marketing pieces. Collectively, the Newton Group Marketing team brings decades of experience and specialized expertise in their respective fields, to bring remarkable quality and bottom-line results to clients.

Although originally based in Vancouver, BC, the company teamed up with professional business plan writers in Toronto and throughout Canada, and offers marketing services sessions to multiple locations in the world. They work with most clients freelance through software such as Skype, email and phone consultation to maximize both time and efficiency for customers.

Their clients can choose from 3 different business plan packages to best meet their funding needs. All plans include Executive Summary, Complete Market Analysis, Competitive Analysis, Financials (Income Statement, Cash Flow Statements, Balance Sheet), and they are usually between 15-35 pages in length depending on plan type.

Cost – not disclosed

Growthink is one of the world’s leading business plan development firm. Founded in 1999, the company has helped more than 1,600 clients – including entrepreneurs, small businesses, middle-market companies, Fortune 500 corporations and non-profit organizations – develop world-class business plans. As evidence of the quality of their work, Growthink clients have raised more than $1 billion in growth capital.

Growthink does not have pre-set pricing tiers for their consulting work. Each and every Growthink business plan is 100% customized based on the client’s specific needs and objectives. As a result of their in-depth consultative business planning process, Growthink consultants typically invest 4 to 6 weeks to fully develop and finalize a business plan.

In 1999, Growthink co-founders and Dave Lavinsky and Jay Turo graduated with their MBAs from UCLA’s Anderson School of Management. They conceived Growthink from their deep and abiding passion and curiosity for business. Growthink has worked with many companies and assist in not only business plans, but also business consulting in many aspects.

They also provide many other services such as business analytics, banking, products, and other services geared towards helping business owners.

Master Plans
Cost – $1,900 to $7,500

Masterplans, based in Portland, Oregon, writes business plans for SBA loans, visa applications as well as for businesses seeking venture capital or angel investors. In addition to business plan writing, Masterplans can also review your existing business plan and give you feedback and suggestions for improvement. The plans offered by this service are high quality, and rate well in terms of cost and turnaround times.

Masterplans assigns a team of experts to help with your business plan, and a manager works to organize and update you on the project as it progresses. Each expert works individually on the market analysis, financial forecasts and business narrative. By dividing the plan up, Masterplans can complete your plan faster.

It usually takes between seven to 10 days before you receive the first draft of your business plan. If you need your plan quickly, you can get a rush job for an additional fee. Business plans through Masterplans range from $1,900 to $7,500, depending on the type of plan you need.

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

Published: July 01, 2024

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

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

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

Table of Contents

Business Plan Types

Business plan format, sample business plan: section by section, sample business plan templates, top business plan examples.

Ultimately, the format of your business plan will vary based on your goals for that plan. I’ve added this quick review of different business plan types that achieve differing goals.

For a more detailed exploration of business plan types, you can check out this post .

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1. Startups

Startup business plans are for proposing new business ideas. If you’re planning to start a small business, preparing a business plan is crucial. The plan should include all the major factors of your business.

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

2. Feasibility Studies

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

3. Internal Use

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

4. Strategic Initiatives

A strategic business plan is another business plan that's often shared internally. This plan covers long-term business objectives that might not have been included in the startup business plan.

5. Business Acquisition or Repositioning

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

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

I’m going to focus on a startup business plan that needs to be detailed and research-backed as well as compelling enough to convince investors to offer funding. In my experience, the most comprehensive and convincing business plans contain the following sections.

Executive Summary

This all-important introduction to your business plan sets the tone and includes the company description as well as what you will be exchanging for money — whether that’s product lines, services, or product-service hybrids.

Market Opportunity

Information about gaps in your industry’s market and how you plan to fill them, focused on demand and potential for growth.

Competitive Landscape Analysis

An overview of your competitors that includes consideration of their strengths and how you’ll manage them, their weaknesses and how you’ll capitalize on them, and how you can differentiate your offerings in the industry.

Target Audience

Descriptions of your ideal customers, their various problems that you can solve, and your customer acquisition strategy.

Marketing Strategy

This section details how you will market your brand to achieve specific goals, the channels and tactics you’ll utilize to reach those goals, and the metrics you’ll be using to measure your progress.

Key Features and Benefits

This is where you’ll use plain language to emphasize the value of your product/service, how it solves the problems of your target audiences, and how you’ll scale up over time.

Pricing and Revenue

This section describes your pricing strategy and plans for building revenue streams that fit your audiences while achieving your business goals.

This is the final section, communicating with investors that your business idea is worth investing in via profit/loss statements, cash flow statements, and balance sheets to prove viability.

Okay, so now that we have a format established, I’ll give you more specific details about each section along with examples. Truthfully, I wish I’d had this resource to help me flesh out those first business plans long ago.

1. Executive Summary

I’d say the executive summary is the most important section of the entire business plan. It is essentially an overview of and introduction to your entire project.

Write this in such a way that it grabs your readers' attention and guides them through the rest of the business plan. This is important because a business plan can be dozens or hundreds of pages long.

There are two main elements I’d recommend including in your executive summary: your company description and your products and services.

Company Description

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

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

Need some extra help firming up your business goals? I’d recommend HubSpot Academy’s free course to help you set meaningful goals that matter most for your business.

Products and Services

Here, you will incorporate an overview of your offerings. This doesn’t have to be extensive, as it is just a chance to introduce your industry and overall purpose as a business. I recommend including snippets of information about your financial projections and competitive advantage here as well.

Keep in mind that you'll cover many of these topics in more detail later on in the business plan. The executive summary should be clear and brief, only including the most important takeaways.

Executive Summary Business Plan Examples

This example was created with HubSpot’s business plan template . What makes this executive summary good is that it tells potential investors a short story while still covering all of the most important details.

Our Mission

Maria’s Gluten Free Bagels offers gluten-free bagels, along with various toppings, other gluten-free breakfast sandwich items, and coffee. The facility is entirely gluten free. Our team expects to catch the interest of gluten-free, celiac, or health-conscious community members who are seeking an enjoyable cafe to socialize. Due to a lack of gluten-free bagel products in the food industry currently, we expect mild competition and are confident we will be able to build a strong market position.

The Company and Management

Maria’s Gluten Free Bagels was founded in 2010 by Maria Jones, who first began selling her gluten-free bagels online from her home, using social media to spread the word. In 2012 she bought a retail location in Hamilton, MA, which now employs four full-time employees and six part-time employees. Prior to her bagel shop, Maria was a chef in New York and has extensive experience in the food industry.

Along with Maria Jones, Gluten Free Bagel Shop has a board of advisors. The advisors are:

Jeni King, partner at Winding Communications, Ltd.
Henry Wilson, president of Blue Robin, LLP.

Our Product

We offer gluten-free products ranging from bagels and cream cheese to blueberry muffins, coffee, and pastries. Our customers are health-conscious, community-oriented people who enjoy gluten-free products. We will create a welcoming, warm environment with opportunities for open mic nights, poetry readings, and other community functions. We will focus on creating an environment in which someone feels comfortable meeting a friend for lunch, or working remotely.

Our Competitive Advantages

While there are other coffee shops and cafes in the North Shore region, there are none that offer purely gluten-free options. This restricts those suffering from gluten-free illnesses or simply those with a gluten-free preference. This will be our primary selling point. Additionally, our market research [see Section 3] has shown a demand for a community-oriented coffee and bagel shop in the town of Hamilton, MA.

Financial Considerations

Our sales projections for the first year are $400,000. We project a 15% growth rate over the next two years. By year three, we project 61% gross margins.

We will have four full-time employees. The salary for each employee will be $50,000.

Start-up Financing Requirements

We are seeking to raise $125,000 in startup to finance year one. The owner has invested $50,000 to meet working capital requirements, and will use a loan of $100,000 to supplement the rest.

Example 2 :

Marianne and Keith Bean have been involved with the food industry for several years. They opened their first restaurant in Antlers, Oklahoma in 1981, and their second in Hugo in 1988. Although praised for the quality of many of the items on their menu, they have attained a special notoriety for their desserts. After years of requests for their flavored whipped cream toppings, they have decided to pursue marketing these products separately from the restaurants.

Marianne and Keith Bean have developed several recipes for flavored whipped cream topping. They include chocolate, raspberry, cinnamon almond, and strawberry. These flavored dessert toppings have been used in the setting of their two restaurants over the past 18 years, and have been produced in large quantities. The estimated shelf life of the product is 21 days at refrigeration temperatures and up to six months when frozen. The Beans intend to market this product in its frozen state in 8 and 12-ounce plastic tubs. They also intend to have the products available in six ounce pressurized cans. Special attention has been given to developing an attractive label that will stress the gourmet/specialty nature of the products.

Distribution of Fancy's Foods Whipped Dream product will begin in the local southeastern Oklahoma area. The Beans have an established name and reputation in this area, and product introduction should encounter little resistance.

Financial analyses show that the company will have both a positive cash flow and profit in the first year. The expected return on equity in the first year is 10.88%

Tips for Writing Your Executive Summary

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

For more guidance, check out our tips for writing an effective executive summary .

2. Market Opportunity

This is where you'll detail the opportunity in the market. Ask and answer: Where is the gap in the current industry, and how will my product fill that gap?

To get a thorough understanding of the market opportunity, you'll want to conduct a TAM, SAM, SOM analysis , a SWOT analysis , and perform market research on your industry to get some insights for this section. More specifically, here’s what I’d include.

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

Market Opportunity Business Plan Example

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

Example: The market for Doggie Pause is all of the dog owners in the metropolitan area and surrounding areas of the city. We believe that this is going to be 2/3 of the population, and we have a goal of gaining a 50% market share. We have a target of a 20% yearly profit increase as the business continues.

Tips for Writing Your Market Opportunity Section

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

3. Competitive Landscape Analysis

Since we’re already speaking of market share, you‘ll also need to create a section that shares details on who the top competitors are. After all, your customers likely have more than one brand to choose from, and you’ll want to understand exactly why they might choose one over another.

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

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

Competitive Landscape Business Plan Example

I like how the competitive landscape section of this business plan shows a clear outline of who the top competitors are. It also highlights specific industry knowledge and the importance of location. This demonstrates useful experience in the industry, helping to build trust in your ability to execute your business plan.

Competitive Environment

Currently, there are four primary competitors in the Greater Omaha Area: Pinot’s Palette Lakeside (franchise partner), Village Canvas and Cabernet, The Corky Canvas, and Twisted Vine Collective. The first three competitors are in Omaha and the fourth is located in Papillion.

Despite the competition, all locations have both public and private events. Each location has a few sold-out painting events each month. The Omaha locations are in new, popular retail locations, while the existing Papillion location is in a downtown business district.

There is an opportunity to take advantage of the environment and open a studio in a well-traveled or growing area. Pinot’s Palette La Vista will differentiate itself from its competitors by offering a premium experience in a high-growth, influential location.

Tips for Writing Your Competitive Landscape

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

4. Target Audience

Use this section to describe who your customer segments are in detail. What is the demographic and psychographic information of your audience? I’d recommend building a buyer persona to get in the mindset of your ideal customers and be clear about why you're targeting them. Here are some questions I’d ask myself:

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

Target Audience Business Plan Example

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

The Audience

Recognize that audiences are often already aware of important issues. Outreach materials should:

Emphasize a pollution-prevention practice
Tell audience a little about how to prevent pollution
Tell audience where they can obtain information about prevention.

Message Content

Focus the content for outreach materials on cost savings, such as when and where pollution prevention is as cheap as or cheaper than traditional techniques. Include facts and figures.
Emphasize how easy it is to do the right thing and the impacts of not engaging in pollution prevention.
Stress benefits such as efficiency or better relations with government, for businesses not primarily concerned with public image.

Tips for Writing Your Target Audience Section

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

5. Marketing Strategy

Here, you‘ll discuss how you’ll acquire new customers with your marketing strategy. I think it’s helpful to have a marketing plan built out in advance to make this part of your business plan easier. I’d suggest including these details:

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

Marketing Strategy Business Plan Example

This business plan example includes the marketing strategy for the town of Gawler. In my opinion, it works because it offers a comprehensive picture of how they plan to use digital marketing to promote the community.

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

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

7. HubSpot’s Complete Guide to Starting a Business

Screenshot of business startup kit download page from hubspot

The Best AI Tools for Ecommerce & How They'll Boost Your Business

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

23 of My Favorite Free Marketing Newsletters

The 8 Best Free Flowchart Templates [+ Examples]

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7 Gantt Chart Examples You'll Want to Copy [+ 5 Steps to Make One]

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Top Business Plan Writing Services

421 Companies

15 Leaders 15 Contenders

List of the Top Business Plan Content Writers

Clutch leaders matrix.

Rollover to see company insights or click a company below for more details.

2 Reilly Connect
4 SOCIALFUEL
6 Upword Media Services
7 Khepri Digital
8 Legacy Business Plans LLC
9 Seal Media
10 Lincoln Writes
11 VDVOKH Digital Agency
12 TeeCube Solutions LTD
13 Mammar Content Creation
14 Full Stop Edit
15 Bread and Circuses Inc.

How the Leaders Matrix Works

A Clutch Leaders Matrix provides a broad view of the top-performing companies in a particular service or location. Each company featured in a Leaders Matrix is evaluated based on Focus and Ability to Deliver. The size of each circle indicates that company’s size. Learn More

Focus (x-axis)

Focus accounts for a company’s specialization within a certain service.

Ability to Deliver (y-axis)

Ability to Deliver considers three criteria:

Client feedback and reviews
Work experience and previous projects
Market presence and reputation in the industry

List of the Top 15 Business Plan Content Writers

Min. project size " > $5,000+
Avg. hourly rate " > $100 - $149 / hr
Employees " > 50 - 249
Location " > Nashville, TN

Ability to deliver considers client feedback and reviews, work experience and previous projects, and market presence and reputation in the industry. Learn more " > Ability to deliver

10 Clients & Experience
8.6 Market Presence

Allocation of expertise by % " > Service focus

31% Business Plan Writing

Reilly Connect

Min. project size " > $25,000+
Avg. hourly rate " > $200 - $300 / hr
Employees " > 2 - 9
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9.8 Clients & Experience
6.8 Market Presence
50% Business Plan Writing
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17.2 Reviews
5.3 Market Presence
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16.4 Reviews
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Avg. hourly rate " > Undisclosed
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Upword Media Services

Avg. hourly rate " > $25 - $49 / hr
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16.6 Reviews
3 Clients & Experience
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100% Business Plan Writing

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2.3 Clients & Experience
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Legacy Business Plans LLC

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16.2 Reviews
4.3 Clients & Experience
4 Market Presence
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Lincoln Writes

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Location " > Kyiv, Ukraine
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7 Clients & Experience
4.6 Market Presence
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TeeCube Solutions LTD

Location " >
8 Clients & Experience
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Mammar Content Creation

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4.9 Market Presence
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Full Stop Edit

Min. project size " > Undisclosed
Location " > Oklahoma City, OK
1.6 Clients & Experience
4.4 Market Presence

Bread and Circuses Inc.

17.6 Reviews
0 Clients & Experience

Contenders Breakdown

Link publishers.

Location " > Fremont, CA
15.6 Reviews
2.7 Clients & Experience
14% Business Plan Writing

Re:word Content Co.

Location " > Toronto, Canada
3.6 Clients & Experience
19% Business Plan Writing

Urbanacle Digital Marketers

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Content Flip

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15.4 Reviews
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Lincoln Creative Writers

Employees " > 250 - 999
0.6 Clients & Experience
5.8 Market Presence

INSCAPERS Pvt Ltd

Location " > London, England
17.4 Reviews
35% Business Plan Writing

Contaid Soft Solutions

Location " > Chandigarh, India
3.5 Clients & Experience

AMZ Publishers Pro

5.6 Market Presence

New Era Business Innovation and Management Consulting

0.7 Clients & Experience
43% Business Plan Writing

Meredith Corning PR

Min. project size " > $10,000+
Location " > Eureka Springs, AR

Kyyte Pte. Ltd.

Location " > Singapore, Singapore
1.4 Clients & Experience
5 Market Presence
Location " > Indore, India
2.1 Clients & Experience
15% Business Plan Writing

Adroit Solutions

2.2 Clients & Experience

Digital Red Tech

Allocation of expertise by % " > Services provided

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Allocation of expertise by % " > Focus Areas

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Reviews mention "flexible"
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20% Content Writing Services
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30% Content Writing Services
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Reilly Connect is an award-winning 100 percent women-owned integrated communications agency with deep roots in public relations. We've been a different kind of agency since opening our doors. We... Read more

Reviews mention "great project management"
Reviewed 1 time in the past 6 months
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Reviews mention "exceeds expectations"
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1 review mentions Content Writing Services
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30% Video Production
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30% Content Marketing
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10% Video Marketing
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5% Web Design
30% Product Description Writing
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Mammar Content Creation is a dynamic creative Content Creation agency based in Warsaw, Poland, dedicated to elevating your brand's digital presence. Our services encompass a diverse range of... Read more

10% Content Marketing
10% Search Engine Optimization Advertising Direct Marketing Email Marketing Mobile & App Marketing Public Relations Social Media Marketing " > +6
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34% Editing and Proofreading Services

From websites to emails, newsletters to social media, content is how you communicate directly with your customers. Whether it's B2C or B2B, your messaging needs to be clear and compelling. The... Read more

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We believe that every company is a media company. Bread and Circuses is a content strategy and production studio that leverages decades of experience in digital media to create content... Read more

Reviews mention "reasonable pricing"
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Link Publishers is the fastest growing Guest Post Marketplace which helps to build high-quality backlinks. Guest posting is the most challenging and result-driven off-page activity in SEO. What... Read more

Completed projects in 2 countries
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10% Translation
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6% Product Description Writing
6% Speech writing

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6 fixed price packages
Reviews mention "collaborative"
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15% Search Engine Optimization Content Marketing Graphic Design Social Media Marketing Business Consulting Logo Pay Per Click Print Design Web Design " > +8
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44% Product Description Writing
30% Editing and Proofreading Services Case Study Writing " > +1

Urbanacle Digital Marketing company is a Kenyan agency that offers website content development, Search Engine Optimization, Social Media Management, Branding and Web development services to SMEs... Read more

3.5 out of 5.0 rating for cost
Reviews mention "detail-oriented"
75% Content Writing Services
5% Content Marketing
25% Editing and Proofreading Services

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Completed projects in 7 cities
Reviews mention "straightforward pricing"
10% Affiliate Marketing
10% E-Commerce Development Email Marketing Logo Pay Per Click Search Engine Optimization Social Media Marketing Web Design Web Development " > +7
33% Editing and Proofreading Services Product Description Writing " > +1

Redefining Creative Content Writing We, as a professional content writing company, believe in developing and delivering content that catches the eyes of your clients. The imaginative brilliance of... Read more

20% Web Development
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30% Email Marketing
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50% Print Design
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15% Content Writing Services
25% Graphic Design
10% Branding Business Consulting Corporate Training & Coaching Event Marketing Advertising Funding & Investment Print Design Video Production " > +7
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3 reviews mention Content Writing Services
40% Content Marketing
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Kyyte is a copywriting and content marketing agency in Singapore, and our words have no borders. We have already proved ourselves by working with clients across the world in different... Read more

Reviews mention "meets deadlines"
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10% AR/VR Development
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7% Resume Writing
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10% Application Management & Support
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Reviews mention "passionate about their work"

Propelr Agency

Employees " > Freelancer
15% Digital Strategy
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Founded on the principals of relationships, responsiveness and results we launched in 2023, Propelr Agency is a premier full-service digital marketing agency based in the UK. The Propelr mission is... Read more

Reviews mention "patient"

Prooffice Assist

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Reviews mention "great team"
Location " > Savannah, GA
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Reviews mention "results-oriented"

Wiki Proficiency

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0.5 out of 5.0 rating for cost

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46% Editing and Proofreading Services

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Storytailors

Not yet reviewed

Location " > Noida, India
30% Translation
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40% Case Study Writing
20% Editing and Proofreading Services Product Description Writing " > +1

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Authors Breeze

17% Resume Writing Case Study Writing Editing and Proofreading Services Product Description Writing " > +3

Welcome to Authors Breeze, where we help turn your literary aspirations into a reality. We offer a wide range of services, including ghostwriting, proofreading, e-book writing, editing, and... Read more

Geeks Ghostwriting

10% Graphic Design Search Engine Optimization Social Media Marketing Video Production " > +3
27% Business Plan Writing
36% Editing and Proofreading Services
28% Resume Writing Speech writing " > +1
9% Speech writing

Step into the realm of Geeks Ghostwriting, where the ordinary transforms into extraordinary! Our team of eccentric word sorcerers thrives on the unusual, the futuristic, and the imaginative. From... Read more

Edot Digital

Location " > Sandton, South Africa
15% E-Commerce Development
15% Search Engine Optimization Web Design Web Development CRM Consulting and SI Email Marketing Pay Per Click " > +5
15% Web Design
15% Web Development
10% CRM Consulting and SI

Established in 1999, edot Digital assists companies that want to upscale their business or eCommerce website and marketing strategy to achieve growth.We are an owner-managed Digital Marketing Agency... Read more

American Ghost Book Writing

60% Content Writing Services
29% Case Study Writing
29% Editing and Proofreading Services Product Description Writing Speech writing " > +2

As a renowned ghostwriting services provider, we believe in delivering clients the optimal outcome. Our professional and world-class ghostwriters aim to create a difference in the world of writing... Read more

10% Branding Content Marketing Product Marketing " > +2
10% Product Marketing
25% Product Description Writing

Artiboost is a leading content creation firm that excels in producing SEO-optimized articles to enhance your online visibility and drive traffic to your website. Our services include:- SEO... Read more

Harvard Ghostwriting

Location " > Jersey City, NJ

Our ghost book writers are known to give words to your ideas. We offer a broad range of book writing and marketing services that will help you reach success in days. Harvard Ghost Writing... Read more

Deft Writers

31% Speech writing
22% Product Description Writing Editing and Proofreading Services Resume Writing " > +2

Deft Writers is a leading creative content writing agency that is committed to delivering high-quality content writing services to clients worldwide. With an experienced team of skilled writers,... Read more

Ghost Writing Partner

33% Speech writing

We are committed to assisting individuals, authors, professionals, and businesses in bringing their ideas to life by using a staff of highly competent and experienced ghostwriters. Our only goal is... Read more

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Comparing Business Plan Writing Experts on Clutch

Looking for a Content Writing Services provider who specializes in Business Plan Writing?

Clutch features a diverse selection of 404 companies that specialize in Business Plan Writing work within the Content Writing Services space. These companies have successfully served multiple clients, including industry giants like Nasa, Maa Ranjanadevi, Labellissimo and many more. They cater to Enterprise companies (7), Midmarket (32), and Small Businesses (118) across various industries, such as Business Services, Other Industries, and Advertising & Marketing. With over 150 reviews available for Business Plan Writing service providers, you can rest assured that you'll find the information you need to choose the right partner.

Check the drop downs below for summaries of:

Most Popular
Lowest Rated
Not Yet Rated
Industries Served
Other Areas of Expertise
Services Provided
Budget Requirements
Most Affordable Companies
Company Locations
Market Segments

Most Popular Content Writing Services Companies with Business Plan Writing Expertise



(56) (7) (0) (0) (0)	50 - 249	4.9	4.9	4.9	$5,000	$100 - $149	United States

Best Rated Business Plan Writing Experts



(8) (0) (0) (0) (0)	10 - 49	5	5	5	$1,000	$150 - $199	United States


(6) (0) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	4.9	4.8	4.6	$5,000	$100 - $149	United States


(5) (0) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	5	5	5	$10,000	$200 - $300	United States


(4) (0) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	5	5	5	$5,000	N/A	United States


(4) (0) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	5	5	5	$25,000	$200 - $300	United States

Lowest Rated Business Plan Writing Companies



(0) (0) (0) (0) (1)	50 - 249	1	1	0.5	N/A	N/A	United States


(5) (2) (0) (0) (0)	10 - 49	4.4	4.7	4.9	N/A	< $25	United States


(1) (1) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	4.8	5	4.8	$1,000	$50 - $99	Canada

Not Yet Rated Business Plan Writing Companies

	Employees	Budget	Hourly	Location
eBook Ghostwriting Services	10 - 49	$1,000	< $25 / hr	United States
Harper Ghostwriters	50 - 249	$1,000	< $25 / hr	United States
Creative ALÓ Media LLC	10 - 49	$5,000	$100 - $149 / hr	United Arab Emirates
USA Writings	2 - 9	N/A	N/A
Creative Connect	2 - 9	N/A	N/A	Bangladesh

Industries Served by Business Plan Writing Experts

Industry	# of Companies	Sample of Providers
Business services	107	, , , , and more
Other industries	106	, , , , and more
Advertising & marketing	76	, , , , and more
Consumer products & services	57	, , , , and more
eCommerce	56	, , , , and more
Information technology	50	, , , , and more
Medical	50	, , , , and more
Financial services	49	, , , , and more
Education	48	, , , , and more
Manufacturing	35	, , , , and more

Common Business Plan Writing Services Available

Services	# of Companies	Sample of Providers
	237	(5 stars, 8 reviews), (5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 4 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews) and more
	157	(5 stars, 8 reviews), (5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 4 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews) and more
	146	(5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 5 reviews), (5 stars, 4 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews) and more
	108	(5 stars, 4 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews) and more
	92	(5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews) and more

Other Specialties Offered by Business Plan Writing Experts

Specialty	# of Companies	Top Providers
	269	(5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 5 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews)
	231	(5 stars, 8 reviews), (5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 5 reviews), (5 stars, 4 reviews), (5 stars, 4 reviews)
	206	(5 stars, 8 reviews), (5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 5 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews)
	159	(5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 5 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews)
	126	(5 stars, 8 reviews), (5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 5 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews)
	99	(5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews)
	69	(5 stars, 6 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews)

Business Plan Writing Service Providers By Budget Level



10 - 49	N/A	N/A	N/A	$100,000	$100 - $149	United Kingdom


	50 - 249	N/A	N/A	N/A	$250,000	$25 - $49	Nigeria



(4) (0) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	5	5	5	$25,000	$200 - $300	United States


	Freelancer	N/A	N/A	N/A	$25,000	< $25	Bangladesh


	10 - 49	N/A	N/A	N/A	$100,000	$100 - $149	United Kingdom

Most Affordable Business Plan Writing Providers



2 - 9	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1,000	$25 - $49	Qatar


	10 - 49	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1,000	$25 - $49	United States


(1) (0) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	5	5	5	N/A	$25 - $49	United States



(1) (1) (0) (0) (0)	50 - 249	5	4.5	4.5	$1,000	$25 - $49	United States


	Freelancer	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$25 - $49	Ukraine


	10 - 49	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	$25 - $49	India



(1) (1) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	4.8	5	4.8	$1,000	$50 - $99	Canada


(1) (0) (0) (0) (0)	2 - 9	5	5	3.5	$1,000	$50 - $99	Kenya


	2 - 9	N/A	N/A	N/A	$1,000	$50 - $99	United States

Want to Find Business Plan Writing Companies by Location?

Country	Cities with Most Providers	Sample of Providers
United States	New York (15), Los Angeles (11), Dallas (10), San Francisco (8), and Houston (7)	(4.9 stars, 63 reviews), , , ,
India	New Delhi (7), Bengaluru (5), Surat (4), Mumbai (4), and Noida (3)	, , , ,
United Kingdom	London (20), Manchester (2), Edinburgh (2), Birmingham (2), and West London (1)	(5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 2 reviews), (5 stars, 1 reviews), ,
Canada	Toronto (9), Vancouver (2), Surrey (1), Oakville (1), and Montreal (1)	(5 stars, 2 reviews), (4.8 stars, 2 reviews), , ,
Pakistan	Lahore (6), Karachi (6), Faisalabad (3), Islamabad (2), and Taunsa (1)	, , , ,
Bangladesh	Dhaka (10), ঢাকা (1), Changrachhari (1), and Bogura (1)	, , , ,

Market Segments & Clients Served

Market Segment	Top Business Plan Writing Providers
(Clients with <$10M in Revenue)	Our Content Writing Services providers have served 195 Small Business level clients including ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), and many more.
(Clients with $10M to $1B in Revenue)	Our Content Writing Services providers have served 103 MidMarket level clients including ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), and many more.
(Clients with >$1B in Revenue)	Our Content Writing Services providers have served 5 Enterprise level clients including ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), ( ), and many more.

Business Plan Writing FAQs

Browse the most commonly asked questions when it comes to hiring business plan writing support.

What are business plan writing services? Business plan writing agencies are composed of writers, consultants, and industry experts who know how to research, plan, and formulate strategic business plans to guide companies. These professionals assess every detail of your ideas and articulate them into actionable business plans.

How much does it cost to hire a business plan writing agency hiring a business plan writing agency can cost you anywhere from as low as $50 to as high as $300 per hour. the figure will vary depending on several factors, including the scale of your business, the experience of the agency, and the complexity of your strategy. explore our writing services pricing guide ., where can i find an experienced and reliable business plan agency when looking for an experienced and reliable business plan writing agency, it can be helpful to search online reviews from previous clients and ask for referrals from people who have worked with the company. additionally, you can check out professional directories such as clutch or the manifest, which offer reviews on various business plan writing firms across the globe., what skills to look for when evaluating a business plan writing agency look for: research and analytical skills, solution and goal-oriented approaches, knowledge of marketing and business strategies, understanding of finances and key business funnel, and strong written and verbal communication skills..

Clutch features 404 Content Writing Services companies specializing in Business Plan Writing. These companies have been thoroughly reviewed and rated by verified clients, providing valuable insights for those seeking specific expertise.

Business Plan Writing-focused providers commonly offer services like Content Marketing , Search Engine Optimization , Social Media Marketing , Web Design , Web Development .

Apart from Business Plan Writing work, these providers also focus on areas such as Editing and Proofreading Services (269 companies), Product Description Writing (231 companies), and Case Study Writing (206 companies). Ratings for these companies vary, with some considered the best, having between 4.0 and 4.9 stars, or having 3.9 stars or less.

This company specializes in Business Plan Writing, maintains high ratings and substantial client reviews, and caters to diverse industries:

UPQODE (4.9 stars)

The minimum spend requirement of the company above is generally $5,000.00. They specialize in industries like Dental, eCommerce, and Advertising & marketing, focusing on services like Business Plan Writing , Case Study Writing , Editing and Proofreading Services , Speech writing , and Product Description Writing .

The following ratings reflect exceptional customer satisfaction and the quality of their work. The top five Content Writing Services companies specializing in Business Plan Writing are:

Stablli (5-stars and 8 reviews)
Seal Media (5-stars and 6 reviews)
Meredith Corning PR (5-stars and 5 reviews)
Slingfly (5-stars and 4 reviews)
Reilly Connect (5-stars and 4 reviews)

Some companies offering Business Plan Writing within the Content Writing Services category have lower ratings. It's essential to consider these ratings when making decisions. The lowest-rated but still high-performing providers are:

Wiki Proficiency : (1 stars and 1 reviews)
Content Flip : (4.7 stars and 7 reviews)
Re:word Content Co. : (4.8 stars and 2 reviews)
Link Publishers : (4.8 stars and 2 reviews)
Rainmaker Content Marketing LLC : (4.8 stars and 3 reviews)

Clutch encourages users to provide reviews for companies to enhance the platform's information. Below are some Business Plan Writing Content Writing Services companies that are not yet rated:

eBook Ghostwriting Services
Creative ALÓ Media LLC
USA Writings
Creative Connect

For those with a lower budget, there are some Content Writing Services companies with Business Plan Writing expertise available. Companies like Prooffice Assist (5 stars), Contaid Soft Solutions with an average 5 star rating and Aim2Tech with an average 5 star rating have minimum spend levels under $5,000. Additionally, some providers offer competitive rates between $25 and $49 per hour.

The best rated Business Plan Writing providers with the lowest hourly rates are:

Aim2Tech (5 stars, 1 reviews) - < $25/hr
Contaid Soft Solutions (5 stars, 1 reviews) - < $25/hr
Prooffice Assist (5 stars, 1 reviews) - < $25/hr

IMAEC, Intel, Labellissimo, Maa Ranjanadevi, Nasa are just some of the clients utilizing the Business Plan Writing firms on Clutch.

Business Plan Writing companies on Clutch offer their services in 55 languages besides English, including Arabic, Albanian, Awadhi, Azerbaijani, Bengali, Bhojpuri, Bulgarian, and more.

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How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 11:59am

How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Brainstorm an executive summary, create a company description, brainstorm your business goals, describe your services or products, conduct market research, create financial plans, bottom line, frequently asked questions.

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and long-term goals, budget and whatever else you might need to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a business plan that you can stick to and help guide your operations as you get started.

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Drafting the Summary

An executive summary is an extremely important first step in your business. You have to be able to put the basic facts of your business in an elevator pitch-style sentence to grab investors’ attention and keep their interest. This should communicate your business’s name, what the products or services you’re selling are and what marketplace you’re entering.

Ask for Help

When drafting the executive summary, you should have a few different options. Enlist a few thought partners to review your executive summary possibilities to determine which one is best.

After you have the executive summary in place, you can work on the company description, which contains more specific information. In the description, you’ll need to include your business’s registered name , your business address and any key employees involved in the business.

The business description should also include the structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship , limited liability company (LLC) , partnership or corporation. This is the time to specify how much of an ownership stake everyone has in the company. Finally, include a section that outlines the history of the company and how it has evolved over time.

Wherever you are on the business journey, you return to your goals and assess where you are in meeting your in-progress targets and setting new goals to work toward.

Numbers-based Goals

Goals can cover a variety of sections of your business. Financial and profit goals are a given for when you’re establishing your business, but there are other goals to take into account as well with regard to brand awareness and growth. For example, you might want to hit a certain number of followers across social channels or raise your engagement rates.

Another goal could be to attract new investors or find grants if you’re a nonprofit business. If you’re looking to grow, you’ll want to set revenue targets to make that happen as well.

Intangible Goals

Goals unrelated to traceable numbers are important as well. These can include seeing your business’s advertisement reach the general public or receiving a terrific client review. These goals are important for the direction you take your business and the direction you want it to go in the future.

The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you’re offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit in the current market or are providing something necessary or entirely new. If you have any patents or trademarks, this is where you can include those too.

If you have any visual aids, they should be included here as well. This would also be a good place to include pricing strategy and explain your materials.

This is the part of the business plan where you can explain your expertise and different approach in greater depth. Show how what you’re offering is vital to the market and fills an important gap.

You can also situate your business in your industry and compare it to other ones and how you have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Other than financial goals, you want to have a budget and set your planned weekly, monthly and annual spending. There are several different costs to consider, such as operational costs.

Business Operations Costs

Rent for your business is the first big cost to factor into your budget. If your business is remote, the cost that replaces rent will be the software that maintains your virtual operations.

Marketing and sales costs should be next on your list. Devoting money to making sure people know about your business is as important as making sure it functions.

Other Costs

Although you can’t anticipate disasters, there are likely to be unanticipated costs that come up at some point in your business’s existence. It’s important to factor these possible costs into your financial plans so you’re not caught totally unaware.

Business plans are important for businesses of all sizes so that you can define where your business is and where you want it to go. Growing your business requires a vision, and giving yourself a roadmap in the form of a business plan will set you up for success.

How do I write a simple business plan?

When you’re working on a business plan, make sure you have as much information as possible so that you can simplify it to the most relevant information. A simple business plan still needs all of the parts included in this article, but you can be very clear and direct.

What are some common mistakes in a business plan?

The most common mistakes in a business plan are common writing issues like grammar errors or misspellings. It’s important to be clear in your sentence structure and proofread your business plan before sending it to any investors or partners.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business, an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry.

Business Plan Consultants
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Hire the Top 3% of Freelance Business Plan Writers

Toptal is a marketplace for top professional Business Plan Writers. Top companies and startups hire Business Plan Writing freelancers from Toptal for their mission-critical projects.

No-Risk Trial, Pay Only If Satisfied.

Trusted by leading brands and startups

Hire Freelance Business Plan Writers

Stephen Kelly

With 20 years of experience working with family offices, institutional and entrepreneurial private equity funds, and consulting Big Four accounting firms, Stephen brings unique insights into the variety of investor mindsets. He freelances to help startups and established investors determine ideal investment, asset management, and fundraising strategies. As a senior executive, he has advised on multi-billion mergers, equity raises exceeding $2 billion, and transactions totaling over $5 billion.

Tanya Dymytrashchuk

Tanya is a finance expert serving investors and entrepreneurs in M&A, fundraising, buy and build, growth strategies, creating financial transparency, and defining business optimization potentials. She's executed €50 million in debt, equity, and M&A transactions in PE/VC and headed finance at a shared mobility startup, preparing the company for the financing round. Tanya enjoys freelancing due to the opportunities to create value and get to know exciting people and businesses.

Nick Fookes

Nick is a CFA with a 28-year track record spanning 40+ countries in M&A, finance, strategy, and policy. He's supported executive decisions in 60 high-stake projects, including M&A transactions ($46 billion), radio-spectrum auctions and trades ($3.5 billion), public policy advocacy, government contract bids (worth $1 billion), go-to-market strategies, and raises for small caps and tech startups. Independent since 2001, Nick has enjoyed working in diverse markets, sectors, and cultures.

Dhruv Tandan

Dhruv has worked on successful finance and consulting projects worth over $1 billion, focusing on tech, energy, and life science companies across the US, Asia, and Africa. He currently serves as a fractional CFO for multiple startups, is a partner at AND Business Consulting, and has more than 15 years of experience in FP&A, fundraising, startup consulting, M&A, and project finance. With an MBA in finance, Dhruv enjoys the exposure and sheer variety of assignments that come with freelancing.

David Fulep

David is an M&A expert who has worked with the owners of 100+ businesses to raise capital, exit their investments at premium valuations, or execute successful acquisitions and IPOs. With 15+ years of experience, including six years at PwC, he has worked in many industries and extensively in the TMT and renewable energy sectors. David joined Toptal to advise clients on complex M&A and capital-raising transactions across the world.

Sandeep Mathur

Sandeep has analyzed 1,000+ corporates and closed debt, equity, and M&A transactions of over $15 billion as a finance professional. After working for 20+ years in top-tier banks like Barclays, HSBC, and Standard Chartered, he now advises growth companies, leveraging his expertise in modeling, fundamental analysis valuation, and fundraising. As a seasoned problem solver, Sandeep has worked as a fractional CFO for startups, advised on early-stage funding rounds, and designed pricing models.

Julio C. Ortiz

Julio has diversified experience as a finance VP for multinationals based in the US and Latin America in the financing, pharmaceutical, luxury goods, and personal care sectors and distribution channels, such as retail, wholesale, and travel retail. Julio's expertise includes financial planning and modeling, investment banking, commercial real estate, fundraising, business plan development, logistics, company valuation, and strategic and visionary leadership based on innovation and creativity.

Carlo Palmieri

A Wharton MBA graduate, Carlo has led transactions on $10 billion worth of LBO and growth capital deals. He's worked in investment banking, M&A (Deutsche Bank), management consulting (Bain & Company, Oliver Wyman), and corporate development (Lehman Brothers). Carlo leverages his skills in corporate finance, business strategy, and international business development to help companies scale and deliver value for their investors.

Wen Hu, Senior Business Plan Writing Consultant.

Wen helped a French multimillion-euro food startup build its equity story and manage potential acquirers (Danone). She has project experience with private equity funds, venture capital, and industrial groups in France, Belgium, China, Africa, and the US. She is skilled in financial analysis and modeling, investor deck, and market research. Wen freelances to help advise startups and corporates on business strategy, investor relations, and fundraising projects.

Bertrand Deleuse

Bertrand is a 25-year finance veteran with a true 360 experience, honed as an investment banker, venture advisor, project developer, CFO, and expert witness consultant in international arbitrations. He has advised and partnered on over 100 transactions and investment initiatives totaling over $16 billion. Bertrand is a seasoned problem solver and decision-maker with expert facilitation skills. Bertrand advises on M&A, corporate development, venture growth, project development, and financing.

Discover More Business Plan Writers in the Toptal Network

98% of Toptal clients choose to hire our talent after a risk-free trial.

Toptal's screening and matching process ensures exceptional talent are matched to your precise needs.

Get Additional Expertise

Our clients frequently pair these additional services with our freelance Business Plan Writers.

... allows corporations to quickly assemble teams that have the right skills for specific projects.

Despite accelerating demand for coders, Toptal prides itself on almost Ivy League-level vetting.

Pete Pellizzari

Romy Parzick

Doug MacKay

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Chris Pozek

How to Hire Business Plan Writers Through Toptal

Talk to one of our industry experts, work with hand-selected talent, the right fit, guaranteed, find experts with related skills.

Access a vast pool of skilled finance experts in our talent network and hire the top 3% within just 48 hours.

How quickly can you hire with Toptal?

Typically, you can hire a Business Plan Writer with Toptal in about 48 hours. For larger teams of talent or Managed Delivery , timelines may vary. Our talent matchers are highly skilled in the same fields they’re matching in—they’re not recruiters or HR reps. They’ll work with you to understand your goals, technical needs, and team dynamics, and match you with ideal candidates from our vetted global talent network.

Once you select your Business Plan Writer, you’ll have a no-risk trial period to ensure they’re the perfect fit. Our matching process has a 98% trial-to-hire rate, so you can rest assured that you’re getting the best fit every time.

How do I hire a Business Plan Writer?

To hire the right Business Plan Writer, it’s important to evaluate a candidate’s experience, technical skills, and communication skills. You’ll also want to consider the fit with your particular industry, company, and project. Toptal’s rigorous screening process ensures that every member of our network has excellent experience and skills, and our team will match you with the perfect Business Plan Writers for your project.

How are Toptal Business Plan Writers different?

At Toptal, we thoroughly screen our Business Plan Writers to ensure we only match you with the highest caliber of talent. Of the more than 200,000 people who apply to join the Toptal network each year, fewer than 3% make the cut.

In addition to screening for industry-leading expertise, we also assess candidates’ language and interpersonal skills to ensure that you have a smooth working relationship.

When you hire with Toptal, you’ll always work with world-class, custom-matched Business Plan Writers ready to help you achieve your goals.

Can you hire Business Plan Writers on an hourly basis or for project-based tasks?

You can hire Business Plan Writers on an hourly, part-time, or full-time basis. Toptal can also manage the entire project from end-to-end with our Managed Delivery offering. Whether you hire an expert for a full- or part-time position, you’ll have the control and flexibility to scale your team up or down as your needs evolve. Our Business Plan Writers can fully integrate into your existing team for a seamless working experience.

What is the no-risk trial period for Toptal Business Plan Writers?

We make sure that each engagement between you and your Business Plan Writer begins with a trial period of up to two weeks. This means that you have time to confirm the engagement will be successful. If you’re completely satisfied with the results, we’ll bill you for the time and continue the engagement for as long as you’d like. If you’re not completely satisfied, you won’t be billed. From there, we can either part ways, or we can provide you with another expert who may be a better fit and with whom we will begin a second, no-risk trial.

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We have a knack for matching you with the right fit. Start working with your new hire on a no-risk trial period, paying only if satisfied.

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Hire talent within 48 hours and scale your team up or down as needed, no strings attached.

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We handle all aspects of billing, payments, and NDA’s. Let us take care of the overhead while you focus on building great products.

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Choose the engagement type that suits your needs — hourly, part-time, or full-time — with the ability to change anytime.

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Focus on your project and enjoy support from your dedicated account executive and expert talent matcher.

Featured Toptal Business Plan Writing Publications

Creating a Narrative from Numbers

The Undeniable Importance of a Business Plan

Building the Next Big Thing: A Guide to Business Idea Development

Top Business Plan Writers Are in High Demand.

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What you can expect working with our Team:

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You’ll work with a professional plan writer who will build a custom business plan for your unique industry

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A winning format

Our unique business plan format has helped over 1 million businesses

Expert business plan writers for any type of business

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Business plans for startups

Establish milestones to achieve success.
Outline accurate startup costs.
Fully establish the vision for your business.

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Pitching to investors

Plans are formatted to meet lenders' expectations.
Ensures your projected financials are realistic.
Be prepared with a strong plan to back up your pitch.

Retail, eCommerce, restaurants and other popular industries

Plan writers with experience and expertise in your industry.
Insights into what details are vital to succeed in your industry.
Develop a strong value proposition to stand out from the competition.

What makes our business plan writing services different?

Our business plan format has helped companies raise millions.

Our writers use a business plan structure that has been tested and refined over the past 20 years. So when you hire a LivePlan business plan writer, you'll be maximizing your chances of securing a loan or investment.

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Business plan writers trusted by top business schools across the U.S.

Since 1988, Palo Alto Software—the creator of LivePlan—has helped over a million entrepreneurs achieve success. Our business plan structure is even taught at top universities, such as Princeton and Rice.

Get matched with a business plan writer who knows your industry

Our business plan writers are experienced professionals who have written hundreds of business plans. That means there will most likely be someone on our team who has experience in your specific industry.

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The best decision I could have made to launch my business in the right direction. I definitely recommend these services to entrepreneurs and future small business owners.

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Elite Liason Consulting

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How the process works:

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Research and discovery

We first gain an in-depth understanding of your business. Then, we begin market research and examine your growth drivers.

Plan Writing

Once our research is complete, we'll write the body of your business plan and provide you with a draft to review.

Financial modeling

We'll turn your financial assumptions into forecasts that include everything lenders and investors need to see.

Design and review

You'll get a polished business plan with a design that matches your brand from our business plan writers. You can then print the plan or share it online with a unique and private link.

Thanks for your interest in business plan writing services offered by LivePlan.

At this time, we are only accepting requests from the united states and canada..

My plan writer was responsive, and understood my vision from our first communication. I now have a living document that I can use and manipulate as needed going forward.

Marcus Flowers

TimeOut Sports Bar & Grill

Frequently Asked Questions

Business plan writing services and consulting for hire, will you review my plan and make changes.

Our review-only service just includes feedback, but if you decide you'd like to engage in our full professional business plan writing services after participating in a review, we'll give you a discount.

What if I already started writing my plan?

If you have a partially completed plan, we can work with that. In fact, it helps the plan writing process go faster because we'll have to ask fewer questions, but you'll want to choose the full business plan writing service.

Do you do market research? What does that include?

Yes, we do market research. We have access to industry reports for most industries and our business plan writers will use them to lend more credibility to your plan and validate the assumptions we are making in your financials.

What is included with the full business plan writing service?

When it's all said and done, you'll have a full, lender or investor ready business plan, a one page pitch, and a free year of LivePlan so you can make changes to your plan as well as use our cash flow and business management tools to stay on track.

Can you guarantee that my business will get funded?

There are a lot of factors that go into the decision making process for lending that are beyond our control, like your personal credit. What we can say is that it is very difficult to get funding without a solid business plan and we make solid plans with our professional business plan writing services.

Will you share my information?

We take your privacy very seriously and will not share your information.

How long will it take to finish my plan? / Do you offer an expedited service?

The average business plan completes in 3-6 weeks, depending on your responsiveness to your writer and our work load. We offer expedited business plan writing services if you are in a rush.

Yes, we can deliver an expedited plan in as little as two weeks for an additional $1,000.

Does my business plan include financials?

What formats do you deliver in.

We deliver in PDF format, Word and we also give you access to edit your plan in a free LivePlan account.

How many pages is the average business plan?

We subscribe to the lean business planning method so we try to keep your plan short and to the point. Depending on the complexity of your business, your finished plan can end up being anywhere from 25-50 pages.

Pricing and Options

How much does this business plan writing service cost.

The cost of our full professional business plan writing services can vary depending on your needs. Book a call with us to request a quote. We also offer a lower cost business plan review service and a forecasting service.

Do you offer a la carte services?

We offer a review service (feedback only, no edits), forecast only service or full business plan writing service. If you have a partially completed plan, we can work with that, but you'll want to choose the full professional business plan writing service.

Do you offer a review service?

Yes. One of our business planning experts can review your plan and financials line by line and give you critical and constructive feedback to help improve your plan and increase your confidence when it comes time to deliver.

Do you offer an expedited business plan writing service?

What if i don't like my plan.

You'll have the opportunity to review and leave feedback after each draft. We recommend taking the time to be thorough and thoughtful in your feedback as that is your chance to help mold your plan into something that really resonates with you.

Expert Business Plan Writers and Consultants

Who writes my business plan.

You will be paired with one dedicated individual from our small team of highly trained and experienced business planning professionals. Each one is a uniquely qualified business planning expert who can translate your ideas into a business plan that will appeal to your audience.

Is my business plan writer an expert in my industry?

Our business plan writers are experts specifically in business plan writing. We've worked with every industry imaginable so the likelihood that they have some familiarity with your industry is high, but if you are looking for a business consultant this may not be a good fit.

What kind of background will my business plan writer have? Are they outsourced from other countries? Have they been writing business plans for very long?

We are a small team of well educated business planning experts. Each writer's background varies but they all have financial or business education as well as years, small business management or consulting and business plan writing experience. They are all well vetted and really good at what they do, which is write plans that help you get funded.

Small Business Definitions

What is a business plan.

In its simplest form, a business plan is a guide —a roadmap for your business that outlines goals and details how you plan to achieve those goals. At its heart, a business plan is just a plan for how your business is going to work, and how you're going to make it succeed.

What is in a business plan?

To write a detailed business plan you need to include the following sections:

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. Most people write it last, though.

The opportunity section answers these questions: What are you actually selling and how are you solving a problem (or "need") for your market? Who is your target market and competition?

In the execution chapter of your business plan, you'll answer the question: how are you going to take your opportunity and turn it into a business? This section will cover your marketing and sales plan, operations, and your milestones and metrics for success.

Investors look for great teams in addition to great ideas. Use the company and management chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire. You will also provide a quick overview of your legal structure, location, and history if you're already up and running.

Your business plan isn't complete without a financial forecast . We'll tell you what to include in your financial plan, but you'll definitely want to start with a sales forecast, cash flow statement, income statement (also called profit and loss), and your balance sheet.

If you need more space for product images or additional information, use the appendix for those details.

Why is a business plan important?

There are many reasons why it is important to have a business plan . A business plan is essential if you're seeking a loan or investment, can help you make big spending decisions with confidence and is a solid foundation for ongoing strategic planning and prioritization.

What is a business plan writer/consultant?

A business plan writer/consultant is a business and financial expert who can help guide you through the process of creating a business plan and do much of the labor involved in creating it. They will work with you to understand your business model, do market research, create financial projections and offer guidance as all of those pieces are brought together in a full business plan document.

How to pick a business plan writer/consultant?

Picking a business plan writer or business plan consultant is an important decision — you'll want to find someone dedicated to your success, with experience in your industry or field and that is in it for the long haul.

Why should you pay someone to write your business plan?

You don't have time. Starting a business is time consuming. Oftentimes people have to juggle a regular 9-5 job while working on starting their business. That doesn't leave a lot of time for a big writing project. Hiring a professional business plan writer can help you give you time to focus on the tasks that are critical to getting your business off the ground.

You want to make sure it is done right, the first time. You only get one chance to make a first impression. Hiring a professional to write your business plan for you can give you the peace of mind that your plan is the best it can be when you present it to potential lenders or investors.

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Blog Business 15+ Best Business Plan Examples for Entrepreneurs & Startups

15+ Best Business Plan Examples for Entrepreneurs & Startups

Written by: Jennifer Gaskin Jun 09, 2021

15+ Business Plan Examples to Win Your Next Round of Funding Blog Header

Not having a solid plan makes it unlikely for you to achieve the goals you seek, whether it’s getting your to-do list done or launching a successful organization.

In the early stages of a company, that means developing things like pitch decks, business plans, one-sheeters and more. With Venngage’s Business Plan Builder , you can easily organize your business plan into a visually appealing format that can help you win over investors, lenders or partners.

Learn more about how to create a business plan so you can hit the ground running after reading through this list for inspirational business plan templates .

15+ Best business plan examples for entrepreneurs and startups

Simple business plan example, startup business plan example, small business plan example, nonprofit business plan example, strategic business plan example, market analysis business plan example, sales business plan example, organization and management business plan example, marketing and sales strategy business plan example, apple business plan example, airbnb business plan example, sequoia capital business plan example.

While your business plan should be supported by thorough and exhaustive research into your market and competitors, the resulting document does not have to be overwhelming for the reader. In fact, if you can boil your business plan down to a few key pages, all the better.

Simple business plan outline:

Table of contents : List all sections and sub-sections within the business plan.
Business review : Include an overview of the business’s purpose, history, and key objectives.
The market : Analyze the target market, including customer demographics and market needs.
The competition : Evaluate the main competitors and their strengths and weaknesses in the market.

The simple, bold visual aesthetic of this business plan template pairs well with the straightforward approach to the content and various elements of the business plan itself.

Use Venngage’s My Brand Kit to automatically add your brand colors and fonts to your business plan with just a few clicks.

An essential startup business plan should include a clear and compelling value proposition, market analysis, competitive analysis, target audience identification, financial projections, and a well-defined marketing and operational strategy.

For a typical startup, the need to appear disruptive in the industry is important. After all, if you’re not offering anything truly new, why would an investor turn their attention toward your organization. That means establishing a problem and the ways in which you solve it right away.

Startup business plan outline:

The problem : Identify the specific issue or pain point your startup aims to solve.
Target market & opportunity : Define your customers and the potential market size.
The solution : Describe the product or service that addresses the identified problem.
Traction and validation/roadmap : Outline the progress made so far and the future milestones and goals.

Whether it’s a full-scale business plan or, in this case, a pitch deck, the ideal way for a startup to make a splash with its plans is to be bold. This successful business plan example is memorable and aspirational.

In the Venngage editor, you can upload images of your business. Add these images to your plans and reports to make them uniquely your own.

All businesses start out small at first, but that doesn’t mean their communications have to be small. One of the best ways to get investors, lenders and talent on board is to show that you’ve done your due diligence.

Small business plan outline:

Table of contents : List down of all the sections and sub-sections in the business plan.
Business overview : Include a quick overview of what your business is all about, including your mission and goals.
The market : Analyzes who your customers are, what they need, and how big the market is.
The competition : Look into your main competitors and what they’re good at (and not so good at).
Sales and marketing plan : Lay out your game plan for attracting and keeping customers.
Operating plan : Explain how you’ll run the day-to-day operations and manage the business.

In this small business plan example, the content is spread over many pages, which is useful in making lengthy, in-depth research feel less like a chore than packing everyone on as few pages as possible.

Organizations that set out to solve problems rather than earning profits also benefit from creating compelling business plans that stir an emotional response in potential donors, benefactors, potential staff members or even media.

Nonprofit business plan outline:

Table of contents : Lists all sections and sub-sections of your nonprofit business plan.
Introduction : Provide an overview of your mission and purpose.
Goal : State the specific objectives your nonprofit organization aims to achieve.
Impact & strategy : Explain how you plan to create positive change and the methods you will use.

Simplicity is the goal for nonprofits when it comes to business plans, particularly in their early days. Explain the crisis at hand and exactly how your organization will make a difference, which will help donors visualize how their money will be used to help.

Business plans are also helpful for companies that have been around for a while. Whether they’re considering new products to launch or looking for new opportunities, companies can approach business plans from the strategy side of the equation as well.

Strategic business plan outline:

The problem, issue, or job at hand : Define the specific challenge or task the strategic plan addresses.
Approach & methodology : Describe the methods and strategies that will be used to tackle the problem or achieve the objective.

Strategic business plans or strategy infographics should be highly focused on a single area or problem to be solved rather than taking a holistic approach to the entire business. Expanding scope too much can make a strategy seem too difficult to implement.

Easily share your business plan with Venngage’s multiple download options, including PNG, PNG HD, and as an interactive PDF.

One-page business plan example

For organizations with a simple business model, often a one-page business plan is all that’s needed. This is possible in any industry, but the most common are traditional ones like retail, where few complex concepts need to be explained.

This one-page strategic business plan example could be easily replicated for an organization that offers goods or services across multiple channels or one with three core business areas. It’s a good business plan example for companies whose plans can be easily boiled down to a few bullet points per area.

Especially when entering a saturated market, understanding the landscape and players is crucial to understanding how your organization can fit it—and stand out. That’s why centering your business plan around a market analysis is often a good idea.

Market analysis business plan outline:

Table of contents : Lists all sections and sub-sections of the market analysis business plan.
Executive summary : Provide a brief overview of the key points of the market analysis.
Business overview : Summarize your business’s mission, vision and core activities.
The market : Analyze the target market, including customer demographics and market trends.
The competition : Review the main competitors and their market positioning.
Sales & marketing plan : Outline strategies for reaching and engaging customers.
Operating plan : Details the day-to-day operations and management structure.

In this example, the majority of the content and about half the pages are focused on the market analysis, including competitors, trends, pricing, demographics and more. This successful business plan example ensures the artwork and style used perfectly matches the company’s aesthetic, which further reinforces its position in the market.

You can find more memorable business plan templates to customize in the Venngage editor. Browse Venngage’s business plan templates to find plans that work for you and start editing.

Company description business plan example

Depending on the market, focusing on your company story and what makes you different can drive your narrative home with potential investors. By focusing your business plan on a company description, you center yourself and your organization in the minds of your audience.

Company description business plan outline:

Executive summary : Briefly summarize the key components and objectives of the company description section.
Approach & direction : Outline the company’s strategy, goals and the direction it intends to take in achieving them.

This abbreviated plan is a good business plan example. It uses most of the content to tell the organization’s story. In addition to background about the company, potential investors or clients can see how this design firm’s process is different from their rivals.

With Venngage Business , you can collaborate with team members in real-time to create a business plan that will be effective when presenting to investors.

Five-year business plan example

For most startups or young companies, showing potential investors or partners exactly how and when the company will become profitable is a key aspect of presenting a business plan. Whether it’s woven into a larger presentation or stands alone, you should be sure to include your five-year business plan so investors know you’re looking far beyond the present.

With Venngage’s Business Plan Builder , you can customize a schedule like this to quickly illustrate for investors or partners what your revenue targets are for the first three to five years your company is in operation.

The lifeblood of any company is the sales team. These are the energetic folks who bring in new business, develop leads and turn prospects into customers. Focusing your energy on creating a sales business plan would prove to investors that you understand what will make your company money.

Sales business plan outline:

Table of contents : List all sections and subsections within the sales business plan.
Target market : Identify the specific segment or segments of customers the sales efforts will focus on.
Customer profile : Provide detailed descriptions of the ideal customers, including demographics, preferences and needs.
Action plan : Outline the specific steps and strategies to be taken to reach and engage the target market and achieve sales objectives.

In this example sales business plan, several facets of ideal buyers are detailed. These include a perfect customer profile that helps to convey to your audience that customer relationships will be at the heart of your operation.

You can include business infographics in your plan to visualize your goals. And with Venngage’s gallery of images and icons, you can customize the template to better reflect your business ethos.

Company mergers and shakeups are also major reasons for organizations to require strong business planning. Creating new departments, deciding which staff to retain and charting a course forward can be even more complex than starting a business from scratch.

Organization and management business plan outline:

Table of contents : List all sections and subsections within the organization and management business plan.
About us : Provide an overview of the organization, its mission, vision and values.
Project summary : Summarize the key details and objectives of the project.
Project timeline : Outline the milestones and schedule for completing the project.

This organization and management business plan focuses on how the company can optimize operations through a few key organizational projects.

Executive summary for business plan example

Executive summaries give your business plan a strong human touch, and they set the tone for what’s to follow. That could mean having your executive leadership team write a personal note or singling out some huge achievements of which you’re particularly proud in a business plan infographic .

Executive summary business plan outline:

Table of contents : Lists all sections and subsections within the executive summary business plan.
Executive summary : Provide a concise overview of the entire business plan, highlighting key points and objectives.
Statement of problem : Clearly define the specific issue or challenge the business aims to address.
Approach & methodology : Outline the methods and strategies that will be employed to solve the stated problem or achieve the desired goals.

In this executive summary for a business plan, a brief note is accompanied by a few notable achievements that signal the organization and leadership team’s authority in the industry.

Marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin, and clever companies know how they play off each other. That’s why centering your business plan around your marketing and sales strategy can pay dividends when it comes time to find investors and potential partners.

Marketing and sales strategy business plan outline:

Table of contents : List all sections and subsections within the marketing and sales strategy business plan.
Positioning : Describe how the business intends to position its products or services in the market to stand out from competitors.
Value prop : Highlight the unique value proposition that the business offers to its target customers, including its benefits and advantages.
Marketing strategy : Outline the overall approach and tactics that will be used to promote the products or services and attract customers.

This marketing and sales business plan example is the picture of a sleek, modern aesthetic, which is appropriate across many industries and will speak volumes to numbers-obsesses sales and marketing leaders.

Do business plans really help? Well, here’s some math for you; in 1981, Apple had just gone public and was in the midst of marketing an absolute flop , the Apple III computer. The company’s market cap, or total estimated market value, could hit $3 trillion this year.

Did this Apple business plan make the difference? No, it’s not possible to attribute the success of Apple entirely to this business plan from July 1981, but this ancient artifact goes to show that even the most groundbreaking companies need to take an honest stock of their situation.

Apple’s 1981 business plan example pdf covers everything from the market landscape for computing to the products that founder Steve Jobs expects to roll out over the next few years, and the advanced analysis contained in the document shows how strategic Jobs and other Apple executives were in those early days.

Inviting strangers to stay in your house for the weekend seemed like a crazy concept before Airbnb became one of the world’s biggest companies. Like all disruptive startups, Airbnb had to create a robust, active system from nothing.

Airbnb business plan outline:

Problem : Identify the specific challenge or need in the accommodation industry that the Airbnb business aims to address.
Solution : Describe how Airbnb’s platform provides a solution to the identified problem by connecting hosts with guests.
Market validation : Demonstrate through research or evidence that there is demand for Airbnb’s services.
Market size : Estimate the total addressable market for Airbnb’s accommodation services.
Product : Detail the features and functionalities of the Airbnb platform for both hosts and guests.
Business model : Explain how Airbnb generates revenue and sustains its operations.
Market adoption : Discuss the rate at which Airbnb’s services are being embraced by hosts and guests.
Competition : Identify other players in the accommodation industry offering similar services to Airbnb.
Competitive advantages : Highlight the unique strengths or advantages that set Airbnb apart from its competitors.

As this Airbnb business plan pitch deck example shows, for companies that are introducing entirely new concepts, it’s helpful not to get too into the weeds. Explain the problem simply and boil down the essence of your solution into a few words; in this case, “A web platform where users can rent out their space” perfectly sums up this popular company.

Sequoia Capital is one of the most successful venture capital firms in the world, backing startups that now have a combined stock market value of more than $1 trillion, according to a Forbes analysis .

For young companies and startups that want to play in the big leagues, tailoring your pitch to something that would appeal to a company like Sequoia Capital is a good idea. That’s why the company has a standard business plan format it recommends .

Sequoia capital business plan outline:

Company purpose : Clarify the core reason for the business and its overarching goals.
Problems : Identify specific challenges or pain points that the business aims to solve.
Solution : Describe how the business addresses the identified problems with its products or services.
Market potential : Assess the size and growth opportunities within the target market for the business.
Competition : Analyze existing competitors and their strengths and weaknesses in the market.
Business model : Outline how the business plans to generate revenue and sustain its operations.
Our team : Introduce the key members of the team and their relevant expertise and experience.
Financials : Provide projections and forecasts for the financial performance of the business.
Vision : Articulate the long-term aspirations and goals that the business seeks to achieve.

Using Sequoia Capital’s business plan example means being simple and clear with your content, like the above deck. Note how no slide contains much copy, and even when all slides appear on the screen at once, the text is legible.

Use Venngage to design business plans that will impress investors

Not every business plan, pitch deck or one-sheeter will net you billions in investment dollars, but every entrepreneur should be adept at crafting impressive, authoritative and informative business plans.

Whether you use one of the inspirational templates shared here or you want to go old school and mimic Apple’s 1981 business plan, using Venngage’s Business Plan Builder helps you bring your company’s vision to life.

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How to Write a Business Plan for a Small Business

Determined female African-American entrepreneur scaling a mountain while wearing a large backpack. Represents the journey to starting and growing a business and needi

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated September 2, 2024

Download Now: Free Business Plan Template →

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

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

The basics of writing a business plan

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

You understand that writing a business plan helps you:

Raise money
Grow strategically
Keep your business on the right track

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

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

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

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

Your executive summary should include:

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

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

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

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

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

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

Market analysis

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

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

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

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

Related: Target market examples

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

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

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

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

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

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

Marketing and sales plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business operations

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

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

Supply chain management
Manufacturing processes
Equipment and technology
Distribution

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

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

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

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

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

Key milestones and metrics

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

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

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

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

Possible milestones might be:

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

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

Conversion rates
Customer acquisition costs
Profit per customer
Repeat purchases

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

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

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

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

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

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

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

Sole proprietor
Partnership

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

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

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

Financial plan

The last section of your business plan is your financial plan and forecasts.

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

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

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

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

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

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

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

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

Your cover page should be simple and include:

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

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

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

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

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

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

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

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

Writing tips and strategies

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

Determine why you are writing a business plan

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

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

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

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

Keep things concise

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

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

Have someone review your business plan

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

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

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

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

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

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses.

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

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

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Use your business plan to manage your business

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

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

What are the benefits of writing a business plan?

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

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

What are the 7 steps of writing a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

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

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

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

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

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

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

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

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

How long should a business plan be?

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

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

What are the different types of business plans?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Table of Contents

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Common planning mistakes
Manage with your business plan

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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.

Four Steps to Create a Competitive Marketing Analysis

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.

Create Management Team For Business Plan

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.

Choosing the right social media platform

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.

Exit Strategy Section of Business Plan Infographic

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.

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Businessplan-Software: Die 6 besten Anbieter:innen (2024)

Eine Businessplan-Software kann dir bei der Erstellung deines Businessplans eine wichtige Stütze bieten. Wir stellen dir die besten Plattformen im Vergleich vor.

Das Bild zeigt den Text "Businessplan Software" neben einer Grafik eines Computerfensters mit einem kleinen Geschäftssymbol.

Jedes erfolgreiche E-Commerce-Unternehmen basiert auf einer soliden Geschäftsplanung. Ein professioneller Businessplan bildet die Grundlage für dein neues Unternehmen und dient als interner und externer Fahrplan für Markenidentität , Finanzplanung, Projektmanagement und vieles mehr.

Das Schreiben eines Businessplans ist eine wichtige, aber oft schwierige Aufgabe für jede:n Unternehmer:in oder Geschäftsinhaber:in. Wenn du Schwierigkeiten hast, eine Businessplan-Vorlage zu verstehen, kann eine Businessplan-Software helfen.

Wenn es dir zu entmutigend erscheint, einen Businessplan von Grund auf selbst zu erstellen, bieten Businessplan-Software alles, was du für die Erstellung eines Businessplans benötigst, einschließlich Finanzberichte, Muster-Businesspläne, Anleitungen und vieles mehr.

Lies weiter, um eine Liste der besten Businessplan-Software-Plattformen zu entdecken, sowie Ratschläge, wie du die richtige Businessplan-Software für deine Bedürfnisse auswählst.

Lohnt sich eine Businessplan-Software?

Ja, denn eine Businessplan-Software bietet eine große Unterstützung bei der Erstellung deines Businessplans, was über den Erfolg deines Unternehmens entscheiden kann. Ein Businessplan ist nicht nur wichtig, wenn du gerade ein Unternehmen gründest, sondern kann dir auch bei der Erweiterung deiner Geschäfte helfen, da er dich bei der Finanzierungsplanung unterstützen kann.

Erschwingliche Software mit Businessplan-Vorlagen und -Mustern LivePlan Businessplan-Software

Gezeigt ist die Website der Businessplan-Software LivePlan.

Preis: Standardplan kostet $15/Monat; Premium $30/Monat; jährliche Rabatte verfügbar.
Geld-zurück-Garantie: 60 Tage.
Capterra-Bewertung: 4.5/5.
G2-Bewertung: 4.1/5.
Integrationen: QuickBooks, Xero, Open API.

LivePlan ist eine der erschwinglichsten Businessplan-Softwares auf dieser Liste. Sie ermöglicht Nutzer:innen, unbegrenzt viele Businesspläne zu erstellen, und bietet mehr als 500 Muster-Businesspläne und Vorlagen, um den Einstieg zu erleichtern. Mit Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitungen, wie man einen Plan schreibt, und Vorlagen für verschiedene Arten von Businessplänen kannst du deinen Plan leicht an deine Bedürfnisse anpassen.

LivePlan bietet außerdem ein robustes Set an Finanzprognose-Tools, das dir hilft, Finanzdaten wie Cashflow-Rechnungen in leicht verständliche Diagramme und Grafiken umzuwandeln.

Lesetipp: Unser Businessplan-Beispiel bietet dir eine zusätzliche Hilfestellung bei der Erstellung deines Businessplans.

Businessplan-Software für Unternehmer:innen, die Schwierigkeiten beim Schreiben haben

Gezeigt ist die Website des Businessplan-Software-Anbieters Enloop.

Preis: 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion; detaillierter Plan kostet $19.95/Monat; Performance-Plan kostet $39.95/Monat; jährliche Rabatte verfügbar.
Geld-zurück-Garantie: Keine, aber es sind keine Verträge erforderlich.
Capterra: 4/5.
G2: Nicht verfügbar.
Integrationen: Keine.

Enloop bietet viele der gleichen Funktionen wie andere Businessplan-Software. Es synchronisiert automatisch Finanzdaten und erstellt Finanzkennzahlen. Beim Schreiben deines Plans bewertet Enloop diesen und gibt dir eine Leistungsbewertung, sodass du gegebenenfalls Verbesserungen vornehmen kannst. Außerdem kannst du Benutzer:innen hinzufügen, um die Zusammenarbeit und das Teilen zu erleichtern. Enloop ist besonders nützlich, wenn Schreiben nicht deine Stärke ist, da du deine Kennzahlen eingeben kannst und die Software den „Schreibprozess“ für dich übernimmt.

In diesem Video (auf Englisch) zeigen wir dir, wie du in 10 Schritten einen Businesslplan erstellen kannst:

Businessplan-Software für Startups, die Investitionen suchen

Gezeigt ist die Website des Businessplan-Software-Anbieters BizPlan..

Preis: $29/Monat; $349 für lebenslangen Zugang; jährliche Rabatte verfügbar.
Geld-zurück-Garantie: 3 Tage.
Capterra: 4.4/5.
Integrationen: Xero, QuickBooks.

Bizplan ist eine Businessplan-Software, die sich an kleine Unternehmen und Startups richtet, die externe Investitionen suchen. Die Plattform erleichtert die Verbindung mit potenziellen Investor:innen und ermöglicht es den Nutzer:innen, ihren Businessplan einfach auf Fundable, einer beliebten Crowdfunding-Plattform, zu veröffentlichen.

Weitere herausragende Funktionen umfassen Drag-and-Drop-Tools zur Erstellung von Businessplan-Vorlagen , Zugang zu Kursen von Startups.com und Finanztools, die bei der Festlegung von Gehältern, der Umsatzprognose und der Ausgabenverfolgung helfen

Lesetipp: Investor:innen können dir dabei helfen, dein Unternehmen weiter auszubauen. Wir zeigen dir, wie du Investor:innen finden kannst.

Beste Businessplan-Software für Planung, Prognosen und Szenarioanalyse

Gezeigt ist die Website der Businessplan-Software-Plattform PlanGuru.

Preis: 3-tägige kostenlose Testversion verfügbar; App und Desktop erfordern separate Abonnements zu je $99/Monat, plus $29/Monat pro zusätzlichem Benutzer:innen; Rabatte für jährliche Abrechnung verfügbar.
Geld-zurück-Garantie: 30 Tage.
Capterra: 4.2/5.
Integrationen: Xero, QuickBooks, Microsoft Excel.

Wenn der Schwerpunkt deines Businessplans auf der finanziellen Situation und den Zukunftsaussichten deines Unternehmens liegt, ist PlanGuru eine hervorragende Option. Neben den grundlegenden Funktionen, die man von einer Businessplan-Software erwartet, bietet PlanGuru Tools für Budgetierung, Finanzprognosen und -berichte, strategische Planung und Szenarioanalyse.

PlanGuru unterstützt zusätzliche Benutzer:innen, wobei jeder zusätzliche Benutzer bzw. jede zusätzliche Benutzerin mit einem monatlichen Aufpreis von $29 verbunden ist.

Beste Vertrag-freie Businessplan-Software für neue Unternehmen

Preis: Pläne beginnen bei $15/Monat; Go Service-Plan für $199/Jahr; Guide Service-Plan für $49/Monat; Grow Service-Plan für $39/Monat; zusätzliche einmalige Dienste und wiederkehrende Abonnements verfügbar.
Capterra: Nicht verfügbar.
Integrationen: MailChimp.

Obwohl GoSmallBiz möglicherweise nicht die umfangreichste Liste an Businessplan-Funktionen bietet, ist es Teil einer umfassenderen Plattform für Geschäftskontinuitätsplanung, die Tools für alles von Personalmanagement bis zu Steuerzahlungen umfasst. GoBizPlan bietet auch branchenspezifische Businessplan-Vorlagen, die dir beim Start deines Businessplans helfen können, insbesondere wenn deine Geschäftsidee auf einen bestimmten Marktzweig abzielt.

Nutzer:innen von GoSmallBiz können Finanzberichte und -prognosen für mehrere Jahre erstellen, einschließlich Gewinn- und Verlustrechnungen, Cashflow-Rechnungen und Bilanzen. Schließlich bietet GoSmallBiz Schritt-für-Schritt-Anleitungen, Hinweise und Tutorials, um den Nutzer:innen zu helfen, das Beste aus der Plattform herauszuholen.

Lesetipp: Auch ein KI-Wesite-Builder kann dir bei der Weiterentwicklung deines Business helfen. Wir zeigen dir, wie’s geht!

Businessplan-Software mit der Option, professionelle Hilfe zu erhalten

Zu sehen ist die Website des Businessplan-Software-Anbieters PlanBuildr.

Preis: Kostenlose Testversion verfügbar; Jahresabonnements erhältlich; PlanBuildr verwendet ein individuelles Preismodell; die Preise sind nicht direkt auf der Website verfügbar, aber eine Landingpage nennt $3.500 für die Businessplan-Software.
Geld-zurück-Garantie: Keine, aber das Abonnement kann innerhalb der ersten 30 Tage jederzeit gekündigt werden.
Integrationen: Verschiedene Integrationen in Buchhaltungs-, CRM- und Marketing-Tools.

PlanBuildr ist eine benutzerfreundliche Businessplan-Software, die sich besonders für Personen eignet, die beim Schreiben des Plans weniger sicher sind. Diese Software verwendet einen ausfüllbaren Businessplan-Generator, der dir hilft, schnell einen einfachen, aber soliden Businessplan zu erstellen. PlanBuildr bietet auch umfangreiche Finanzberichte und -funktionen, einschließlich Diagrammen und Grafiken sowie der Möglichkeit, verschiedene Finanzprognosen zu erstellen.

PlanBuildr bietet 10 Businessplan-Designs zur Auswahl und du kannst auch zusätzliche Businessplan-Schreibdienste bei PlanBuildr in Anspruch nehmen.

Warum Businessplan-Software verwenden?

Unternehmer:innen nutzen Businessplan-Software, um den Prozess der Umwandlung einer Geschäftsidee in ein vollständiges Geschäftsmodell zu unterstützen. Nur eine kleine Gruppe von Kleinunternehmer:innen geht speziell ins Geschäft für das Schreiben – die meisten haben andere, stärkere Fähigkeiten. Eine Businessplan-Software bietet die genaue Unterstützung, die du benötigst, um Formulierung, Struktur und Präsentation perfekt hinzubekommen.

Ebenso sind nicht alle Unternehmer:innen besonders zahlenaffin. Businessplan-Software kann bei der Finanzprognose helfen, indem sie deine Cashflows und andere Finanzdaten verständlich macht. Einige Softwarelösungen erstellen sogar automatisch Finanzberichte für dich, was es dir und deinem Publikum erleichtert, die Zahlen nachzuvollziehen.

Viele Businessplan-Tools bieten auch eine Vielzahl von Businessplan-Vorlagen. Es ist fast immer einfacher, einer Vorlage oder einem Beispiel zu folgen, als bei einem leeren Blatt zu beginnen. Das Schreiben eines Businessplans wird auf diese Weise weniger einschüchternd. Zudem können Businessplan-Vorlagen als Checkliste fungieren, um sicherzustellen, dass keine wichtigen Abschnitte oder Informationen fehlen.

Lesetipp: Was du bei der Gründung eines Kleinunternehmens alles beachten solltest, zeigen wir dir in unserem Beitrag.

Wie wählt man die richtige Businessplan-Software aus

Obwohl die meisten Businessplan-Softwarelösungen dasselbe Endziel erreichen können, hat jede ihre eigenen Vor- und Nachteile, je nach deinen Bedürfnissen. Die beste Businessplan-Software für dich kann sich von der besten Option für andere Geschäftsinhaber unterscheiden. Beim Einkauf von Businessplan-Software solltest du Folgendes berücksichtigen:

Budget: Offensichtlich muss die von dir gewählte Businessplan-Software in dein Budget passen. Grundlegende Businessplan-Tools haben möglicherweise nicht alle Funktionen, die du benötigst, aber fortschrittlichere Funktionen bedeuten in der Regel einen höheren Preis.
Zusammenarbeit: Wenn du deinen Businessplan mit Mitgründer:innen, Buchhalter:innen oder Rechtsberater:innen zusammen erstellst, solltest du eine Software wählen, die mehrere Teammitglieder unterstützt. Einige Softwarelösungen ermöglichen es dir auch, Benutzer:innen als Zuschauer:innen hinzuzufügen, was hilfreich sein kann, um den Plan an Anteilseigner:innen, Kreditgeber:innen oder potenzielle Investor:innen weiterzugeben.
Finanzberichte: Wenn dir die Finanzen und Berichterstattung wichtig sind, wähle eine Businessplan-Software, die in diesem Bereich herausragt. Suche nach Tools, die Finanzprognosen bieten, die über grundlegende Datenberichte hinausgehen, einschließlich Marketing - und Leistungsberichte sowie Datenvisualisierungen durch Diagramme und Grafiken. Wenn du umfassendere Finanztools benötigst, könnte auch eine Investition in Buchhaltungssoftware sinnvoll sein.
Benutzeroberfläche: Jede Software, die du in deinem Geschäft nutzt, sollte eine benutzerfreundliche Oberfläche haben. Die Wahl einer Businessplan-Software mit einer steilen Lernkurve oder einer schwer navigierbaren Oberfläche kann den Prozess der Erstellung eines Businessplans frustrierender machen als nötig.
Vorlagen: Einer der größten Vorteile der Nutzung von Businessplan-Software ist der Zugang zu Vorlagen und Beispielen. Die besten Optionen bieten eine Vielzahl von Vorlagen, mit denen du Businesspläne für unterschiedliche Zielgruppen und Kontexte erstellen kannst.
Software-Integrationen: Wenn du ein eng verknüpftes Tech-Stack hast, ist es sinnvoll, eine Businessplan-Software zu wählen, die sich nahtlos mit anderen beliebten Geschäftstools integrieren lässt, einschließlich Microsoft Office und gängigen Plattformen für Marketing und Buchhaltung.
Support: Falls du auf Probleme mit deiner Businessplan-Software stößt, kann ein exzellenter Support oder eine Bibliothek von Geschäftsressourcen dir helfen, wieder auf Kurs zu kommen. Viele Anbieter:innen von Businessplan-Software bieten auch Online-Tools, wie Video-Tutorials und integrierte Beratungsmodule, um dir zu helfen, die besten Ergebnisse zu erzielen.

Lesetipp: Du weißt nicht, wie du dein Kleinunternehmen finanzieren sollst? Wir zeigen dir alles, was du über Kredite für Kleinunternehmer:innen wissen solltest.

Die passende Business-Software kann dir also eine große Unterstützung bei der Gründung oder der Weiterentwicklung deines Unternehmens bieten. Du solltest dir vorab genau überlegen, an welchem Punkt du dich mit deinem Unternehmen befindest und welche Ziele du mit einem Businessplan verfolgen möchtest. Möchtest du ein Unternehmen gründen und Finanzierungen ermöglichen oder womöglich eine Erweiterung deines Unternehmens planen? Je nachdem, welche Ziele und Vorstellungen du hast, gibt es unterschiedliche Plattformen, die dich bei der Umsetzung unterstützen können.

Dieser Beitrag erschien ursprünglich im Shopify.com-Blog und wurde übersetzt.

Häufig gestellte Fragen zum Thema Businessplan-Software

Was ist die beste software zum schreiben eines businessplans, welche 4 arten von businessplänen gibt es.

Startup-Businessplan
One-page-Businessplan
Interner Businessplan
Strategischer Businessplan

Gibt es eine Vorlage für einen Businessplan?

Brauche ich einen businessplan, um ein kleines unternehmen zu gründen.

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THG Drops Again as Weak Earnings Dampen Spinoff Plan

(Bloomberg) -- THG Plc’s plans to demerge its technology platform and switch the listing of its core beauty and nutrition business were not enough to prevent its share price falling further as the e-commerce company’s earnings missed estimates.

The technology division known as Ingenuity provides online commerce services to other retailers. If spun off, it would leave THG with its beauty and nutrition arms, which it described as profitable and cash-generative in a statement Tuesday morning.

It follows a deal in June to sell luxury brands, which include Coggles, to Mike Ashley’s Frasers Group Plc.

Shares in THG, previously known as The Hut Group, fell more than 10% in London on Tuesday as it separately issued earnings and guidance that disappointed investors. The company has endured a bruising time on the stock market, falling about 90% since a listing in 2020 that valued THG at more than £5 billion ($6.6 billion).

Adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization rose 3.6% to £48.8 million in the first six months of 2024 from a year earlier, but were below analysts’ expectations. THG also said earnings for the year will be at the lower end of estimates.

Analysts from Panmure Liberum said the results were disappointing, “with nutrition profitability much softer than expected and beauty growth slowing despite a favorable market backdrop.” The spinoff is potentially good news, but it’s unclear how the Ingenuity division, “which loses significant cash every year,” would be funded under the plans, the analysts added.

Vocal Critic

THG, which owns brands such as Lookfantastic, plans to transfer its listing to a category that would allow it to be included in FTSE benchmarks. The stock is currently part of a “transition” category following the introduction of new rules from the Financial Conduct Authority that came into effect in July.

The FCA is changing the UK’s listing rules in an attempt to boost the attractiveness of the City of London, amid fears of its dwindling status among global public companies.

THG wants to move to the equity shares (commercial companies) category, which would allow it to be considered for inclusion in the FTSE UK Index Series, raising its visibility.

Chief Executive Officer Matt Moulding has been a vocal critic of the London market, including coverage from journalists, and has said he regrets listing THG. Last year, the company bought free newspaper City A.M. in a deal that surprised investors.

--With assistance from Lisa Pham.

(Updates with share price and additional detail.)

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Intel’s big turnaround plan includes spinning off its chipmaking business

Intel ceo pat gelsinger plans to ‘establish intel foundry as an independent subsidiary.’.

By Emma Roth , a news writer who covers the streaming wars, consumer tech, crypto, social media, and much more. Previously, she was a writer and editor at MUO.

Share this story

Intel is spinning off its chipmaking business as part of its plans to reverse billions in losses and a tumbling stock price. In an announcement on Monday , Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger said the Intel Foundry will become an independent subsidiary with “clearer separation and independence” from Intel.

With the change, the Intel Foundry will have its own operating board and report its financial earnings separately from Intel. Intel will also stop work on the factories it’s building in Poland and Germany for two years “based on anticipated market demand.” The company is still moving forward with its plants in Arizona, Oregon, New Mexico, and Ohio, however.

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Additionally, Intel plans on selling part of its stake in Altera, the programmable chip company it acquired in 2015. It will also cut around two-thirds of its global real estate footprint. As part of this announcement, Intel revealed that the Biden administration awarded the company up to $3 billion in funding to make chips for the US military.

These changes will likely be crucial in getting Intel back on track as a leading chipmaker. On top of widespread issues affecting 13th and 14th Gen CPUs, the company reported $1.6 billion in the first quarter of 2024, with its chipmaking business alone racking up $7 billion in operating losses in 2023. In August, Intel announced layoffs affecting 15,000 workers , and now it says it is “more than halfway” to this goal.

“As I’ve said before, this is the most significant transformation of Intel in over four decades. Not since the memory to microprocessor transition have we attempted something so essential,” Gelsinger says. “We succeeded then — and we will meet this moment and build a stronger Intel for decades to come.”

Even though Intel is betting that its new 18A chipmaking process will help stem some of its losses, a recent report from Reuters suggests that early tests have failed when creating Broadcom’s silicon wafers. Starting next year, Intel is planning to produce chips with the 18A process for partners like Microsoft — and now Amazon .

iOS 18 is a smart upgrade, even without the AI

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More from this stream Chip race: Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Nvidia battle it out for AI chip supremacy

Tiktok’s parent company reportedly gets closer to making its own ai chips., amd is turning its back on flagship gaming gpus to chase ai first, the nvidia ai antitrust investigation is ‘escalating,’ reports bloomberg.

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Russia’s Kursk Counteroffensive Fully Underway

More than a month after Ukraine first invaded Russia’s Kursk Oblast , Moscow’s forces have mounted a counteroffensive to try and take back the hundreds of square miles they lost.

Just how effective it has been so far is not quite clear, but indications are that Russia is making a serious bid to kick Ukraine out.

The Russian Defense Ministry (MoD) claims its “Units of the North” forces had reclaimed 10 settlements in two days in the area around Snagost, according to the BBC . That town is on the western flank of Ukraine’s salient.

That is roughly in line with the dynamic control map produced by the Ukrainian DeepState open-source intelligence group . The map shows Russian forces have knifed through the salient, moving about six kilometers south from Korenevo to Snagost.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has acknowledged that Russian forces have launched a “rapid” counterattack but “haven’t achieved serious success,” according to the Kyiv Independent .

“In the Kursk direction, the Russians have started their rapid offensive, and they want to use about 60,000-70,000 people there,” Zelensky said, according to the publication. He also said the counteroffensive “is going in line with our Ukrainian plan,” the BBC noted.

One Ukrainian officer told the BBC that the “fighting is very tough and the situation is not in our favor as of now.” An indication of the ferocity of battle can be seen in the video below shot from the Russian perspective.

Russians are fighting a battle in Sergeevka, Kursk, against Ukrainian troops Yesterday, I published photos and videos corroborating an attempt to flank Russian counterattack in Kursk by Ukraine across the border. See the village of Kubalki, which is east from Sergeevka… https://t.co/rdLBqop4uf pic.twitter.com/TeeCgmfq1R — PS01 △ (@PStyle0ne1) September 12, 2024

Initially, Kursk was lightly defended, allowing Ukraine to capture about 500 square miles of territory. However, Russia began moving more troops and equipment into the region. The units included the 56th Air Assault Regiment to the west, the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade to the north, the 11th Separate Assault Brigade to the east, and the 488th Motor Rifle Regiment and 155th Separate Brigade of Marines to the southeast, according to DeepState. Russia also increased its airstrikes. The fighting grew more fierce and has turned into a full-blown counteroffensive.

Ukraine is not entirely on its heels, according to the Institute for The Study of War ( ISW ) and at least one of its military units fighting there.

“Russian forces continued counterattacking throughout the Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast on September 12 but made only marginal gains, likely due to continued Ukrainian offensive operations and defensive counterattacks in the area,” ISW reported in its latest assessment.

Ukrainian special forces @SOF_UKR conducted a successful ambush in Russia’s #Kurskregion . This video filmed in Kursk region is one of the few opportunities to see from the inside how Ukrainian combat teams work on the Russian territory. #StandWithUkraine pic.twitter.com/B9yIpePbWk — Iuliia Mendel (@IuliiaMendel) September 13, 2024

In addition to mounting local attacks on advancing Russian troops, Ukraine has opened up a new front, pushing across the border into the Russian town of Tetkino, ISW stated. As we noted nearly a month ago , Ukraine wants to move east through Tetkino and thousands of Russian troops are estimated to be stuck south of the Seim River thanks to a campaign of attacks on bridges.

Those strikes continue as Russia attempts to build pontoon bridges across the River.

HIMARS covers with ATACMS cluster missiles hit the f Russian infantry and equipment at the moment of crossing the Seim River in Kursk region – Ai upscaled 150% + dehalo + compression reverse + 30 to 60 FPS + Stabilization https://t.co/r5xIfbrFsF pic.twitter.com/rZ8TqThxwb — Dariusz Zawadzki (@Military_oO) September 12, 2024

Russian sources reported that a small unit of Ukrainian troops and armor was also pushing west toward that pocket of troops.

“The operational and combat situation remains difficult,” the Russian Senior Border Guard Telegram channel claimed on Friday. “Yesterday, the enemy managed to consolidate its position in the area of the village of Novy Put. After which the enemy made a dash towards the settlement of Veselove consisting of a tank and two armored fighting vehicles, the first attack was repelled. By evening, the enemy began to dig in near Veseloye, continuing the attacks. The enemy is actively destroying our UAVs, which complicates the reconnaissance and adjustment of our artillery. Border guards, together with units of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, are repelling enemy attacks. Heavy fighting is underway.”

The Ukrainian presence in Veseloe, almost 12 miles west of Ukrainian-held territory in Kursk, was geolocated by an attack on one of its armored vehicles there.

https://t.co/1YU05xpQho pic.twitter.com/9Xfc7EYx1E — imi (m) (@moklasen) September 13, 2024

Ukraine’s Khorne Group military unit said it is on the offensive in Kursk.

“We penetrated into a new place for kilometers into Russia….. a group of Russian conscripts of more than one thousand people under the threat of encirclement,” Khorne Group claimed on Telegram .

Khorne group published footage of the Ukrainian breach of the Russian border 20 miles from the Kursk salient, which they say is more impactful than described by Western media: "Any media nonsense, especially German experts and Forbes, are either hysterics who lack information or… pic.twitter.com/tA1Vwqkltr — WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) September 13, 2024

The War Zone cannot independently verify any of these claims, but it was inevitable that Russia would hit back hard against an invasion of its territory.

The Kursk invasion was launched in large measure to try to draw Russian troops from eastern Ukraine, where they are within a few kilometers of taking several key towns. However, that advance continues, albeit at a much slower pace as Ukrainian forces too have dug in and reinforced their positions. More on that later.

Even before the counterattack, things were getting difficult in Kursk, Ukrainian troops said.

Three days before it was launched, CNN spoke with 14 Ukrainian soldiers from five different units who were deployed to Kursk as part of the incursion.

All 14 said the Kursk invasion “was a difficult operation with casualty rates on par with other parts of the frontlines. They said it was getting tougher, five weeks in, and some even questioned the decision to launch the incursion at a time when Ukraine was struggling to defend key towns and cities in the east of the country.”

“It will get more and more difficult,” one soldier said. “There will be more artillery fire, more soldiers, and there will be very big and difficult battles, but we must do everything we can that improves our position.

Ukraine, said the soldier, “wants peace, but peace when we win, not when we lose. Russia is sending a lot of troops and artillery (to Kursk). We have a lot of guys who have been killed and we have a lot of destroyed hardware.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered his troops to retake territory lost in Kursk by Oct. 1, a deadline that will be challenging to meet. Zelensky, meanwhile, has indicated he has no intention of a rapid withdrawal from Kursk. He has sent some of his best troops and equipment into Russia even as the eastern part of his nation buckled under a withering Russian advance.

The coming days should provide a better indication of whether Ukraine’s push into Russia was a bet worth making at such a critical time in the conflict.

In the heavily contested eastern part of Ukraine, Russian troops are continuing their advance toward Pokrovsk. As we have frequently noted , the city is a key logistics hub for this region. It is nestled by important roads and bisected by a major rail line. Just a little under six miles from the city, Russia is pushing westward toward it, but there are indications that the massive offensive has slowed a bit.

“Over the past 24 hours Russian troops have occupied the village of Lisivka and pushed closer to Pokrovsk, about 10 kilometers distant,” Politico reported .

“As we can see, the Russians put everything in the direction of Pokrovsk,” Ukrainian army spokesman Dmytro Lykhoviy told the news outlet.“They don’t have enough resources to conduct a massive offensive on several fronts at once, and this has been evident for the past few months.”

Still, that town is in trouble and the Donetsk Oblast governor urged the remaining civilians to leave.

“The situation is difficult and will not get better soon,” Vadym Filashkin said on Facebook Thursday . “That’s why I urge you again: evacuate! Evacuation is the only right choice for civilians!”

Russian troops pushing toward Pokrovsk say the offensive force ranges from well-organized modern military units to undertrained troops sent out on assaults with minimal artillery support, no armor or aviation, and are heavily targeted by Ukrainian drones.

Russian serviceman from Pokrovsk direction reports on the duality among the Russian offensive force: some brigades equipped by volunteers are described as well-organised, modern military units with advanced technology. Others are sent to assault with minimal artillery support, no… pic.twitter.com/oSmNF2K7Yn — WarTranslated (Dmitri) (@wartranslated) September 12, 2024

Ukraine’s 46th Airmobile Brigade claimed a new record for Russian equipment destroyed in a single attack in the Kurakhove sector of the Donetsk region, about 20 miles south of Pokrovsk.

“On September 12… Four waves of assaults from 5:45 a.m. to noon on the positions of the battalions of our brigade should, according to the enemy’s plan, break through the defense of the Ukrainian paratroopers,” the unit claimed on Telegram . “Tanks, armored personnel carriers, infantry fighting vehicles, infantry on motorcycles – a total of 46 units of armored and not so armored vehicles fell on us. And the record was set! Such a number of destroyed and damaged enemy equipment in one day in the direction of responsibility of the 46th brigade has never really happened.”

The War Zone cannot independently verify this claim, but the video below, first published by the unit, shows the intensity of that battle.

A massive russian attack failed! 46 russian armored vehicles were advancing at the positions of the 46th Airomobile Brigade. warriors destroyed 26 of them, including 20 IFVs. pic.twitter.com/fdXmeR9f1g — Defense of Ukraine (@DefenceU) September 13, 2024

Though U.S. President Joe Biden and U.K. Prime Minster Keir Starmer met in Washington today to discuss among other topics the granting of permission for Ukraine to use long-range weapons in Russia, the results of that meeting may not be publicly known for a while.

“There is no change to our view on the provision of long-range strike capabilities for Ukraine to use inside Russia, and I wouldn’t expect any sort of major announcement in that regard coming out of the discussions, certainly not from our side,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday. “I also leave it to the Prime Minister to decide what he wants to talk about.”

While there have been increasing indications that the U.S. will allow Ukraine to uses its Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) short-range ballistic missiles inside Russia and the U.K. will do the same with its Storm Shadow air-launched cruise missiles, those permissions have yet to be granted.

In an exclusive interview with CNN , Ukrainian President Volodymry Zelensky continued pushing for the. U.S., the U.K. and allies to allow the use of those long-range fires inside Russia.

“Everybody is looking [for] the decision of the United States, everybody’s waiting for sides’ decisions, after that, they make decisions,” he said. “And so, we wanted very much to use this weapon and just to attack these jets on the military bases, not civilians, infrastructure. Military bases.”

Zelensky said he had meetings with U.S. officials and told them “we waited too long. Now Russia [has begun] to move their jets from 100, 150km, 300 to 500km. After that, I will tell you. And that now we need more permissions. But now you will tell me, maybe we will give you 100 or 200, but for what? To destroy what if they began to move? So we’re again, like with the packages, slow decisions and again, we can’t win in such circumstances.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the United States and its allies not to lift restrictions on the use of these long-range weapons.

“We are not talking about allowing or not allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons,” Putin said Thursday in comments to propagandist Pavel Zarubin, according to NBC News . “We are talking about deciding whether NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict or not.”

Putin said that the use of Western long-range precision weapons against Russia by Ukraine would signal direct NATO involvement in the war in Ukraine. He added that Ukraine uses data and intelligence from NATO countries to coordinate strikes because they don't have such data… pic.twitter.com/CKvkFCd4MT — NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) September 12, 2024

While the U.S. and U.K. are mulling over whether to allow Ukraine to use donated weapons on Russian soil, Poland became the latest nation to say there are no such restrictions.

“We shall continue supplying Ukraine with advanced air defense and antimissile defense systems and lift the ban on using long-range weapons,” Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski said at the joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday.

"We shall continue supplying Ukraine with advanced air defense and antimissiles defense systems and lift the ban on using long-range weapons," – Polish Foreign Minister Radosław @sikorskiradek Sikorski at the joint press conference with U.S. Secretary of State Antony @SecBlinken … pic.twitter.com/4XZUb7fjmk — Anton Gerashchenko (@Gerashchenko_en) September 13, 2024

Without an extension authorized by Congress, the Pentagon has 17 days to spend nearly $6 billion on military equipment for Ukraine before the funds disappear with the change of the Fiscal Year on Sept. 30.

“We have $5.9 billion left in Ukraine Presidential Drawdown Authority (PDA); all but $100 million of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year,” Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement Friday. “The department will continue to provide drawdown packages in the near future and is working with Congress to seek an extension of PDA authorities beyond the end of the fiscal year.”

So far, the U.S. has committed more than $56.6 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since the beginning of the Biden Administration, including approximately $55.9 billion since the beginning of Russia’s all-out invasion on February 24, 2024, according to the Pentagon .

Russian drones attacking Ukraine have frequently landed on or crossed over the airspace of several nations. However, to date, only Russian client state Belarus has shot one down, an irony Zelensky chided NATO allies about.

“Only Belarus has distinguished itself by shooting down Russian drones,” Zelensky complained. “I think it’s simply humiliating for the strong democratic world.”

Zelensky criticized NATO, pointing out that so far only Belarus has managed to shoot down "Shahed" drones. "Only Belarus has distinguished itself by shooting down Russian drones. I think it's simply humiliating for the strong democratic world." pic.twitter.com/9z0toM1t4Z — KyivPost (@KyivPost) September 13, 2024

The U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine lashed out at Russia for attacking a civilian vessel traveling in the Black Sea with a load of grain bound for Egypt.

“We strongly condemn Russia’s attack on a commercial cargo ship in the Black Sea last night,” Bridget A. Brink said on Twitter. “This escalatory attack is a blatant violation of international law that threatens global food security.”

A Kh-22 supersonic cruise missile fired by a Russian Tu-22M3 Backfire bomber “slammed into the port side of the bulk carrier MV Aya on Sept. 11 in a morning strike,” according to the Kiyv Post . “Reportedly, the weapon was one of three launched by a trio of bombers flying over the Black Sea shortly after 11 a.m.”

The Belize-owned, Turkey-operated Aya “was carrying Ukrainian grain loaded in the port Chornomorsk and was en route to Egypt. At the time the Russian missile struck her, the Aya was in international waters some 15-20 nautical miles off shore. She had been travelling in convoy with other cargo vessels.”

It was the first time a missile has struck a civilian vessel transporting grains at sea since the start of Moscow’s invasion in February 2022, according to Reuters . Some vessels have been damaged during Russian attacks on Ukrainian ports where they were moored.

We strongly condemn Russia’s attack on a commercial cargo ship in the Black Sea last night. This escalatory attack is a blatant violation of international law that threatens global food security. pic.twitter.com/yJ2vs77Viz — Ambassador Bridget A. Brink (@USAmbKyiv) September 12, 2024

Ukrainian pilots arrived in Romania “a few days ago” and have already started training to fly F-16 Vipers , according to Euromaidan Press .

Ukraine’s Defense Minister Rustem Umerov previously announced the start of training for Ukrainian pilots on F-16s in Romania after a conversation with his Romanian counterpart Angel Tîlvăr, the publication reported.

It marks the first time Ukrainian pilots will train on Western jets in Romania . The Ukrainians are expected to begin flight training by October 2024.

At the latest count , around 85 F-16AM/BMs have now been committed to Ukraine. These comprise 24 from the Netherlands, 19 from Denmark, and 12 from Norway (with the same country providing 10 more that will be used for spare parts), while Belgium says it will supply 30 . Greece has also since been suggested as a possible source of more of the fighters, of the F-16C/D Block 30 version.

Ukrainian pilots have commenced training on F-16 fighter jets in Romania. The training is taking place at the Feteşti Air Base and the Borcea Air Base in Romania. Ukraine is set to receive a total of approximately 85 F-16 fighter jets from various NATO allies, with a total of… pic.twitter.com/9UiPydWFPm — Clash Report (@clashreport) September 13, 2024

The Pentagon is spending $1.2 billion in a contract modification for a new batch of AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles, or AMRAAM . Those are among the munitions that can be fired by Vipers.

“This modification adds additional production of the AMRAAM missiles, AMRAAM telemetry system, initial and field spares, and other production engineering support hardware and activities,” it states on its website .

This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to Bahrain, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, Ukraine, and United Kingdom.

The U.S. Department of Defense announced that the Pentagon is allocating ~$1.2 billion for the production of medium-range AMRAAM missiles for sales to countries including Ukraine. These advanced missiles have a range of up to 160 km and use inertial guidance with an active radar… pic.twitter.com/pMFUMvBkpd — NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) September 12, 2024

Last year, Russia started producing a new long-range attack drone called the Garpiya-A1 using Chinese engines and parts, Reuters reported . The drones have been used Ukraine the publication said, citing two sources from a European intelligence agency and documents seen by Reuters .

“The intelligence – which included a production contract for the new drone, company correspondence on the manufacturing process and financial documents – indicated that IEMZ Kupol, a subsidiary of Russian state-owned weapons maker Almaz-Antey, produced more than 2,500 Garpiyas from July 2023 to July 2024,” Reuters stated.

"Russia started producing a new long-range attack drone called the Garpiya-A1 last year using Chinese engines and parts, which it has deployed in the war in Ukraine, according to two sources from a European intelligence agency and documents seen by Reuters. The intelligence –… pic.twitter.com/fgjili6eBo — Rob Lee (@RALee85) September 13, 2024

Ukrainian forces struck an ammunition dump in the occupied Azov Sea town of Mariupol, according to an advisor to the city’s mayor.

“Arrival in Mariupol district. The attack has been going on for half an hour, Russian air defense is not capable,” Petro Andriushchenko wrote on Telegram . “Detonation is present immediately after impact.”

Video emerged on social media purporting to show the aftermath of that attack, with several large fires burning and explosives cooking off.

Early this evening, Ukrainian forces successfully struck a Russian ammunition dump outside of Mariupol. Multiple large fires and secondary explosions could be seen from nearby as the dump cooked off. pic.twitter.com/3Kr1nU05r7 — OSINTtechnical (@Osinttechnical) September 11, 2024

Three train cars filled with oil near Chernivhiv in occupied Zaporizhzhia Oblast caught fire after being hit by Ukrainian drones, the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Zaporizhia Region said Friday on Telegram .

Dozens of first responders, using 18 pieces of equipment and a fire train “quickly extinguished the fire and prevented it from spreading to other tanks,” the ministry said. “Fortunately, there were no casualties.”

Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked the temporarily occupied Chernihiv district in Zaporizhzhia region, report local channels. The target was a freight railroad train with fuel tanks. Russian emergency officials reported that 3 fuel tanks were completely burned out. Follow… pic.twitter.com/xM4V9ONdbJ — BLYSKAVKA (@blyskavka_ua) September 13, 2024

There was another attack on Russian rail transport, a key to their logistics. In the video below, you can see an unmanned ground vehicle laden with explosives from Ukraine’s 25th Airborne Brigade trying to blow up train tracks in Novohrodivka in Donetsk Oblast. That area is about seven miles southeast of the embattled city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine .

A kamikaze ground drone from the Ukrainian 25th Airborne Brigade is attempting to destroy a railway north of Novohrodivka. pic.twitter.com/fPDagvek9X — NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) September 12, 2024

In a joint operation, Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence Directorate (GUR) and special operations forces (SSO) blew up a section of railway in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, Ukrinform reported . The publication cited “an informed source in intelligence circles.

“As a result of a successful operation, a freight train that covered the logistical needs of the aggressor state’s army was derailed,” the publication reported. “After the explosion on the railway track, 11 rail cars and the locomotive of the freight train derailed.”

The train in the Belgorod region was derailed due to a joint operation by Ukraine's military intelligence (HUR) and special forces (SSO). On September 10, explosives were planted and detonated on the "Stary Oskol – Valuyki" railway line. The operation successfully derailed a… https://t.co/RDWAkIkSls pic.twitter.com/BPCXlbUkgq — NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) September 12, 2024

Meanwhile, as Russia continues to press forward toward Pokrovsk, it struck a bridge in Myrnohrad over railroad tracks on the key TO-504 highway. That’s a vital supply route in the eastern part of Ukraine between Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka about 30 miles to the east.

Russia struck a bridge between Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, completely destroying it, according to regional authorities. They also disrupted the water supply to Pokrovsk. Officials describe the situation as extremely difficult. pic.twitter.com/OXDeQLVe3h — NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) September 12, 2024

The ubiquity of drones on the battlefield from both sides has made supplying frontline troops a challenge. However, drones are part of the solution, too. With trucks and trains getting hit, Russia has resorted to drones to drop bottles of water to its troops. The following video shows them loading up water bottles encased in polyurethane foam to ensure they survive being dropped.

Ukrainian FPV drones attack every Russian vehicle and every visible soldier within their range, making forward resupply a desperate business. Bottles of water are encased in polyurethane foam to survive dropping by drones to Russian forward positions. https://t.co/K7vYoiCSXn pic.twitter.com/ik9ZLBlejo — Roy (@GrandpaRoy2) September 13, 2024

A Russian attack destroyed a 112-year-old Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) building in Nikopol, Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, the regional diocese reported.

“On September 12, as a result of Russian mortar fire …the UOC church in honor of the icon of the Mother of God ‘Znamenia’ was destroyed,” the Kryvyi Rih Diocese of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) reported on Telegram .

The church was hit around 10 in the morning, during the Divine Liturgy, the diocese said.

“During the singing of the Cherubim Song at the Divine Liturgy, a projectile hit the roof of the church, as a result of which a fire started. Despite the efforts of the fire rescuers who arrived at the scene of the fire, the church roof, the dome part and the internal decoration of the church were completely destroyed.”

The following video shows smoke billowing out of the building and firefighters working to douse the flames.

Russians hit a Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) in Nikopol. The attack damaged the church's roof, dome, and interior, which was built in 1912. Fortunately, no one was injured. pic.twitter.com/YLaxdhBYRh — NOELREPORTS (@NOELreports) September 13, 2024

A Russian soldier is seen tossing a Molotov cocktail at a U.S.-donated M1 Abrams tank , with the motor still running. It is unclear whether it was abandoned and the video cuts out before we can see the results of this attack.

Russian soldier throws molotov at Ukrainian Abrams tank with running engine, likely abandoned. The footage also cuts before the molotov hits. pic.twitter.com/y6IiFRm169 — Clash Report (@clashreport) September 12, 2024

Dmitry Lysakovsky, better known as “Goodwin,” was a well-known Russian drone operator much beloved by his comrades. However, after criticizing his leaders over their conduct of the war, he was sent to the front lines, where he was killed, the Russian Falcoln Telegram channel noted Friday.

“He and several other people who were objectionable to the regiment commander were disbanded from the UAV detachment into an assault detachment and sent to the front lines without support, in fact, simply to die. Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Gritsai, who recorded a dying video, died with him.”

"Legendary" Russian drone operator Dmitry "Goodwin" Lysakovsky was allegedly sent on a high-risk assault mission where he was killed after criticizing the command. — He was a commander of aerial reconnaissance for the self-proclaimed "DNR" (Donetsk People's Republic). —… pic.twitter.com/BuPrEkHMvb — Clash Report (@clashreport) September 13, 2024

“All the information we provided about enemy targets reconnoitered by UAVs was slowed down at the level of the regiment commander and chief of staff and did not go higher – so that the Ukrainian army’s targets would not be destroyed,” Gritsai said in that video, according to Falcon. “So that they would continue to destroy our fighters. So that they would continue to strike at the territory of the Russian Federation.”

“And as soon as it became clear that we had the ability to distribute information higher, the order came: ‘Let’s bury Ernest, Goodwin, and everyone else involved in this.’ And if we don’t come back, this recording will be proof that we were right. If you are fighting for your Motherland, fight for your Motherland, not for your own pocket. And we are going to storm – an oath, a duty.”

An “interesting situation is emerging,” Falcon cautioned. “The regiment commander sends people he doesn’t like to death, taking away all their equipment and depriving them of support in advance. In his video, Goodwin also accused the commander of drug trafficking and sabotage. There are no words to describe the people they are destroying…”

Earlier this year, we wrote about how the Ukrainian military was testing out a new so-called “soft recoil” artillery piece . Now an image has emerged of the system – a soft recoil 105mm, the Hawkeye Mobile Howitzer System (MHS), mounted on an up-armored M1152 two-door cargo truck version of the 4×4 Humvee (sometimes referred to as a “2-CT” type). The weapon could give Ukraine’s forces a useful new shoot-and-scoot artillery capability. How the self-propelled 105mm low-recoil howitzer performs in Ukraine might have impacts beyond the battlefields there, especially for the U.S. Army, which has had an on-again-off-again interest in weapons of this type. You can read more about that in our deep dive here .

A Hawkeye 105 mm self-propelled howitzer undergoing evaluation on a training range in Ukraine earlier this year in alt text. https://t.co/EfGoHzES7N pic.twitter.com/65agpfyZfF — John Ridge (@John_A_Ridge) September 13, 2024

Images have emerged of another Ukrainian decoy, this one designed to look like a U.S.-made HAWK surface-to-air missile system , which you can read more about here . Ukraine has frequently used elaborate mockups to great effect.

Late last year we reported on how a remarkably accurate (non-inflatable) decoy of a Ukrainian Su-25 Frogfoot ground-attack aircraft was destroyed on the ground by a Russian Lancet loitering munition. So accurate was this decoy that Russia claimed it had successfully hit the real thing.

Overall, Ukrainian decoy-makers have revealed themselves to be notably skilled practitioners of this craft, with various mock-ups of armored vehicles, multiple launch rocket systems , air defense systems , and other items of equipment having appeared. On many occasions, these have succeeded in drawing attacks from the Russian side, each of which increases the chances of the real piece of hardware surviving to fight another day.

Ukrainian decoys of HAWK air defense system https://t.co/wlbWJA5AkC pic.twitter.com/lL2EAsyShs — Special Kherson Cat (@bayraktar_1love) September 12, 2024

And finally, a Russian soldier unsuccessfully sought refuge from an FPV drone in an outhouse. The video shows him being spotted and ducking into it. However, he could not hide and the outhouse was blown apart.

Flush Away Your Worries! Experience the ultimate comfort with our state-of-the-art toilet. Designed for elegance and efficiency, it's the perfect addition to any modern bathroom. Say goodbye to ordinary and hello to extraordinary hygiene and style. Upgrade your throne today!… pic.twitter.com/yUvHPsgZeP — Slava (@Heroiam_Slava) September 13, 2024

That’s it for now.

Contact the author: [email protected]

COMMENTS

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