a simple single business plan

Simple Business Plan Template (2024)

Updated: May 4, 2024, 4:37pm

Table of Contents

Why business plans are vital, get your free simple business plan template, how to write an effective business plan in 6 steps, frequently asked questions.

While taking many forms and serving many purposes, they all have one thing in common: business plans help you establish your goals and define the means for achieving them. Our simple business plan template covers everything you need to consider when launching a side gig, solo operation or small business. By following this step-by-step process, you might even uncover a few alternate routes to success.

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Whether you’re a first-time solopreneur or a seasoned business owner, the planning process challenges you to examine the costs and tasks involved in bringing a product or service to market. The process can also help you spot new income opportunities and hone in on the most profitable business models.

Though vital, business planning doesn’t have to be a chore. Business plans for lean startups and solopreneurs can simply outline the business concept, sales proposition, target customers and sketch out a plan of action to bring the product or service to market. However, if you’re seeking startup funding or partnership opportunities, you’ll need a write a business plan that details market research, operating costs and revenue forecasting. Whichever startup category you fall into, if you’re at square one, our simple business plan template will point you down the right path.

Copy our free simple business plan template so you can fill in the blanks as we explore each element of your business plan. Need help getting your ideas flowing? You’ll also find several startup scenario examples below.

Download free template as .docx

Whether you need a quick-launch overview or an in-depth plan for investors, any business plan should cover the six key elements outlined in our free template and explained below. The main difference in starting a small business versus an investor-funded business is the market research and operational and financial details needed to support the concept.

1. Your Mission or Vision

Start by declaring a “dream statement” for your business. You can call this your executive summary, vision statement or mission. Whatever the name, the first part of your business plan summarizes your idea by answering five questions. Keep it brief, such as an elevator pitch. You’ll expand these answers in the following sections of the simple business plan template.

• What does your business do? Are you selling products, services, information or a combination?
• Where does this happen? Will you conduct business online, in-store, via mobile means or in a specific location or environment?
• Who does your business benefit? Who is your target market and ideal customer for your concept?
• Why would potential customers care? What would make your ideal customers take notice of your business?
• How do your products and/or services outshine the competition? What would make your ideal customers choose you over a competitor?

These answers come easily if you have a solid concept for your business, but don’t worry if you get stuck. Use the rest of your plan template to brainstorm ideas and tactics. You’ll quickly find these answers and possibly new directions as you explore your ideas and options.

2. Offer and Value Proposition

This is where you detail your offer, such as selling products, providing services or both, and why anyone would care. That’s the value proposition. Specifically, you’ll expand on your answers to the first and fourth bullets from your mission/vision.

As you complete this section, you might find that exploring value propositions uncovers marketable business opportunities that you hadn’t yet considered. So spend some time brainstorming the possibilities in this section.

For example, a cottage baker startup specializing in gluten-free or keto-friendly products might be a value proposition that certain audiences care deeply about. Plus, you could expand on that value proposition by offering wedding and other special-occasion cakes that incorporate gluten-free, keto-friendly and traditional cake elements that all guests can enjoy.

3. Audience and Ideal Customer

Here is where you explore bullet point number three, who your business will benefit. Identifying your ideal customer and exploring a broader audience for your goods or services is essential in defining your sales and marketing strategies, plus it helps fine-tune what you offer.

There are many ways to research potential audiences, but a shortcut is to simply identify a problem that people have that your product or service can solve. If you start from the position of being a problem solver, it’s easy to define your audience and describe the wants and needs of your ideal customer for marketing efforts.

Using the cottage baker startup example, a problem people might have is finding fresh-baked gluten-free or keto-friendly sweets. Examining the wants and needs of these people might reveal a target audience that is health-conscious or possibly dealing with health issues and willing to spend more for hard-to-find items.

However, it’s essential to have a customer base that can support your business. You can be too specialized. For example, our baker startup can attract a broader audience and boost revenue by offering a wider selection of traditional baked goods alongside its gluten-free and keto-focused specialties.

4. Revenue Streams, Sales Channels and Marketing

Thanks to our internet-driven economy, startups have many revenue opportunities and can connect with target audiences through various channels. Revenue streams and sales channels also serve as marketing vehicles, so you can cover all three in this section.

Revenue Streams

Revenue streams are the many ways you can make money in your business. In your plan template, list how you’ll make money upon launch, plus include ideas for future expansion. The income possibilities just might surprise you.

For example, our cottage baker startup might consider these revenue streams:

• Product sales : Online, pop-up shops , wholesale and (future) in-store sales
• Affiliate income : Monetize blog and social media posts with affiliate links
• Advertising income : Reserve website space for advertising
• E-book sales : (future) Publish recipe e-books targeting gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Video income : (future) Monetize a YouTube channel featuring how-to videos for the gluten-free and keto-friendly dessert niches
• Webinars and online classes : (future) Monetize coaching-style webinars and online classes covering specialty baking tips and techniques
• Members-only content : (future) Monetize a members-only section of the website for specialty content to complement webinars and online classes
• Franchise : (future) Monetize a specialty cottage bakery concept and sell to franchise entrepreneurs

Sales Channels

Sales channels put your revenue streams into action. This section also answers the “where will this happen” question in the second bullet of your vision.

The product sales channels for our cottage bakery example can include:

• Mobile point-of-sale (POS) : A mobile platform such as Shopify or Square POS for managing in-person sales at local farmers’ markets, fairs and festivals
• E-commerce platform : An online store such as Shopify, Square or WooCommerce for online retail sales and wholesale sales orders
• Social media channels : Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest shoppable posts and pins for online sales via social media channels
• Brick-and-mortar location : For in-store sales , once the business has grown to a point that it can support a physical location

Channels that support other income streams might include:

• Affiliate income : Blog section on the e-commerce website and affiliate partner accounts
• Advertising income : Reserved advertising spaces on the e-commerce website
• E-book sales : Amazon e-book sales via Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing
• Video income : YouTube channel with ad monetization
• Webinars and online classes : Online class and webinar platforms that support member accounts, recordings and playback
• Members-only content : Password-protected website content using membership apps such as MemberPress

Nowadays, the line between marketing and sales channels is blurred. Social media outlets, e-books, websites, blogs and videos serve as both marketing tools and income opportunities. Since most are free and those with advertising options are extremely economical, these are ideal marketing outlets for lean startups.

However, many businesses still find value in traditional advertising such as local radio, television, direct mail, newspapers and magazines. You can include these advertising costs in your simple business plan template to help build a marketing plan and budget.

5. Structure, Suppliers and Operations

This section of your simple business plan template explores how to structure and operate your business. Details include the type of business organization your startup will take, roles and responsibilities, supplier logistics and day-to-day operations. Also, include any certifications or permits needed to launch your enterprise in this section.

Our cottage baker example might use a structure and startup plan such as this:

• Business structure : Sole proprietorship with a “doing business as” (DBA) .
• Permits and certifications : County-issued food handling permit and state cottage food certification for home-based food production. Option, check into certified commercial kitchen rentals.
• Roles and responsibilities : Solopreneur, all roles and responsibilities with the owner.
• Supply chain : Bulk ingredients and food packaging via Sam’s Club, Costco, Amazon Prime with annual membership costs. Uline for shipping supplies; no membership needed.
• Day-to-day operations : Source ingredients and bake three days per week to fulfill local and online orders. Reserve time for specialty sales, wholesale partner orders and market events as needed. Ship online orders on alternating days. Update website and create marketing and affiliate blog posts on non-shipping days.

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6. Financial Forecasts

Your final task is to list forecasted business startup and ongoing costs and profit projections in your simple business plan template. Thanks to free business tools such as Square and free marketing on social media, lean startups can launch with few upfront costs. In many cases, cost of goods, shipping and packaging, business permits and printing for business cards are your only out-of-pocket expenses.

Cost Forecast

Our cottage baker’s forecasted lean startup costs might include:

Gross Profit Projections

This helps you determine the retail prices and sales volume required to keep your business running and, hopefully, earn income for yourself. Use product research to spot target retail prices for your goods, then subtract your cost of goods, such as hourly rate, raw goods and supplier costs. The total amount is your gross profit per item or service.

Here are some examples of projected gross profits for our cottage baker:

Bottom Line

Putting careful thought and detail in a business plan is always beneficial, but don’t get so bogged down in planning that you never hit the start button to launch your business . Also, remember that business plans aren’t set in stone. Markets, audiences and technologies change, and so will your goals and means of achieving them. Think of your business plan as a living document and regularly revisit, expand and restructure it as market opportunities and business growth demand.

Is there a template for a business plan?

You can copy our free business plan template and fill in the blanks or customize it in Google Docs, Microsoft Word or another word processing app. This free business plan template includes the six key elements that any entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a new business.

What does a simple business plan include?

A simple business plan is a one- to two-page overview covering six key elements that any budding entrepreneur needs to consider when launching a startup. These include your vision or mission, product or service offering, target audience, revenue streams and sales channels, structure and operations, and financial forecasts.

How can I create a free business plan template?

Start with our free business plan template that covers the six essential elements of a startup. Once downloaded, you can edit this document in Google Docs or another word processing app and add new sections or subsections to your plan template to meet your specific business plan needs.

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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Krista Fabregas is a seasoned eCommerce and online content pro sharing more than 20 years of hands-on know-how with those looking to launch and grow tech-forward businesses. Her expertise includes eCommerce startups and growth, SMB operations and logistics, website platforms, payment systems, side-gig and affiliate income, and multichannel marketing. Krista holds a bachelor's degree in English from The University of Texas at Austin and held senior positions at NASA, a Fortune 100 company, and several online startups.

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

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

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

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

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

What Is a Business Plan?

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

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

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

Get a Business Idea

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

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

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

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

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

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

Conduct Market Analysis

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

Product and Service Demand

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

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

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

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

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

Identify Demographics of Target Market

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

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

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan

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

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

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

SWOT Analysis

• Competitor Data
• Competitive Analysis
• Marketing Expenses Strategy 

Pricing Strategy

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mike told us,

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

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

It consists of three basic parts:

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

Example of an informal executive summary 

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

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

What should I include in an executive summary for investors?

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

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

Successful business plan examples

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

Here’s the interview with the owner of Urbanity:

When to write an executive summary?

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

What mistakes do people make when writing an executive summary?

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

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan Step 4. Company Description

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

• Mission statement
• Philosophy and vision
• Company goals

Target market

• Legal structure

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

Mission Statement

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

Company Philosophy and Vision

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

What makes your company different?

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

Examples of core values

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

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

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

What is a vision statement?

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

Example vision statements

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

A world without Alzheimer’s Disease and other dementia.

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

Business Goals

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

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

How far in advance should a business plan?

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

Example of great business goals

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

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

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

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

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

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

Industry resources

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

• Trade Associations
• Federal Reserve
• Bureau of Labor Statistics

Legal Structure

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

• Sole proprietorships
• Limited Liability Companies (LLC)

Partnerships

Corporations.

• Franchises.

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

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

Sole Proprietorship

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

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

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Questions to answer about your products and services

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

SWOT Examples

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

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

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

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

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

Include Competitor Data in Your Business Plan

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

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

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

Marketing Strategy

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

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

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

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

Advertising Strategy

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

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

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

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

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

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

Some common pricing strategies are:

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

HubSpot has a great calculator and blog on pricing strategies.

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

Distribution Plan

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

Supply Chain Examples

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

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

Examples of Supply Chains

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Quality Control

• Legal environment

Let’s look at each for some insight.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Legal Environment

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan Step 8. Financial Statements 

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

Provide All Financial Income from an Existing Business

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

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

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

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

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

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

Financial Projections For A Startup Business Plan

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

Mike gave the following advice in his interview:

Financial Forecasting Mistakes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ways to get funding for a small business

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

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

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

How funding will be used

When asking for business financing make sure to include:

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan Resources

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

• Sample plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How to create a business plan: examples & free template.

Whether you’re a seasoned entrepreneur or launching your very first startup, the guide will give you the insights, tools, and confidence you need to create a solid foundation for your business.

Table of Contents

How to Write a Business Plan

Executive summary.

It’s crucial to include a clear mission statement, a brief description of your primary products or services, an overview of your target market, and key financial projections or achievements.

Our target market includes environmentally conscious consumers and businesses seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. We project a 200% increase in revenue within the first three years of operation.

Overview and Business Objectives

Example: EcoTech’s primary objective is to become a market leader in sustainable technology products within the next five years. Our key objectives include:

Company Description

Example: EcoTech is committed to developing cutting-edge sustainable technology products that benefit both the environment and our customers. Our unique combination of innovative solutions and eco-friendly design sets us apart from the competition. We envision a future where technology and sustainability go hand in hand, leading to a greener planet.

Define Your Target Market

Market analysis.

The Market Analysis section requires thorough research and a keen understanding of the industry. It involves examining the current trends within your industry, understanding the needs and preferences of your customers, and analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors.

Our research indicates a gap in the market for high-quality, innovative eco-friendly technology products that cater to both individual and business clients.

SWOT Analysis

Including a SWOT analysis demonstrates to stakeholders that you have a balanced and realistic understanding of your business in its operational context.

Competitive Analysis

Organization and management team.

Provide an overview of your company’s organizational structure, including key roles and responsibilities. Introduce your management team, highlighting their expertise and experience to demonstrate that your team is capable of executing the business plan successfully.

Products and Services Offered

This section should emphasize the value you provide to customers, demonstrating that your business has a deep understanding of customer needs and is well-positioned to deliver innovative solutions that address those needs and set your company apart from competitors.

Marketing and Sales Strategy

Discuss how these marketing and sales efforts will work together to attract and retain customers, generate leads, and ultimately contribute to achieving your business’s revenue goals.

Logistics and Operations Plan

Inventory control is another crucial aspect, where you explain strategies for inventory management to ensure efficiency and reduce wastage. The section should also describe your production processes, emphasizing scalability and adaptability to meet changing market demands.

We also prioritize efficient distribution through various channels, including online platforms and retail partners, to deliver products to our customers in a timely manner.

Financial Projections Plan

This forward-looking financial plan is crucial for demonstrating that you have a firm grasp of the financial nuances of your business and are prepared to manage its financial health effectively.

Income Statement

Cash flow statement.

A cash flow statement is a crucial part of a financial business plan that shows the inflows and outflows of cash within your business. It helps you monitor your company’s liquidity, ensuring you have enough cash on hand to cover operating expenses, pay debts, and invest in growth opportunities.

Tips on Writing a Business Plan

4. Focus on your unique selling proposition (USP): Clearly articulate what sets your business apart from the competition. Emphasize your USP throughout your business plan to showcase your company’s value and potential for success.

FREE Business Plan Template

To help you get started on your business plan, we have created a template that includes all the essential components discussed in the “How to Write a Business Plan” section. This easy-to-use template will guide you through each step of the process, ensuring you don’t miss any critical details.

What is a Business Plan?

Why you should write a business plan.

Understanding the importance of a business plan in today’s competitive environment is crucial for entrepreneurs and business owners. Here are five compelling reasons to write a business plan:

What are the Different Types of Business Plans?

Using Business Plan Software

Upmetrics provides a simple and intuitive platform for creating a well-structured business plan. It features customizable templates, financial forecasting tools, and collaboration capabilities, allowing you to work with team members and advisors. Upmetrics also offers a library of resources to guide you through the business planning process.

Business Plan FAQs

What is a good business plan.

A good business plan is a well-researched, clear, and concise document that outlines a company’s goals, strategies, target market, competitive advantages, and financial projections. It should be adaptable to change and provide a roadmap for achieving success.

What are the 3 main purposes of a business plan?

Can i write a business plan by myself, is it possible to create a one-page business plan.

Yes, a one-page business plan is a condensed version that highlights the most essential elements, including the company’s mission, target market, unique selling proposition, and financial goals.

How long should a business plan be?

What is a business plan outline, what are the 5 most common business plan mistakes, what questions should be asked in a business plan.

A business plan should address questions such as: What problem does the business solve? Who is the specific target market ? What is the unique selling proposition? What are the company’s objectives? How will it achieve those objectives?

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

How is business planning for a nonprofit different.

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

By Joe Weller | October 11, 2021

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

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

What Is a Business Plan?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Business Plan Steps

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

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

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

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

Do I Need a Simple or Detailed Plan?

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

How to Choose the Right Plan for Your Business

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

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

Is the Order of Your Business Plan Important?

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

The Difference Between Traditional and Lean Business Plans

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan Step by Step

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

Step 1: Executive Summary

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

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

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

Step 2: Description of Business

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

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

Step 3: Market Analysis

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

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

Step 4: Competitive Analysis

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

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

Step 5: Description of Organizational Management

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

Step 6: Description of Products or Services

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

Questions to answer in this section are as follows:

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

Step 7: Marketing Plan

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

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

Step 8: Sales Plan

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

Start by answering the following questions:

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

Step 9: Funding Details (or Request for Funding)

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

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

Step 10: Financial Projections

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

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

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

Business Plan Template

Download Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel | Smartsheet

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

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

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

How to Write a Simple Business Plan

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

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

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

Simple Business Plan Template

Download Simple Business Plan Template

Microsoft Excel |  Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF  | Smartsheet

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan for a Lean Startup

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

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

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

Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Download Lean Business Plan Template for Startups

Microsoft Word | Adobe PDF

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

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

How to Write a Business Plan for a Loan

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

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

Download free financial templates to support your business plan.

Tips for Writing a Business Plan

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

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

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

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

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

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

Resources for Writing a Business Plan

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

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

How a Business Plan Helps to Grow Your Business

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

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

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Simple business plan template for startup founders

Most new businesses that fail do so for one of two reasons: (1) lack of market need and/or (2) no more cash.

These two reasons account for more than 70% of new businesses not making it. However, both causes can often be avoided if founders invest upfront time in developing a carefully researched business plan.

A simple business plan template provides a proven framework to start from, concisely helps structure ideas, and shows potential investors what an organized and professional team looks like — one that can bring this business idea to market.

This article will share our custom-developed, simple business plan template, cover what should be included, and more.

Get the template

What is a simple business plan template?

A business plan is a written document outlining how a company intends to achieve its primary objectives — obtaining a particular market share, growing revenue, or reaching the next round of funding.

Download Excel template

While companies of all stages and sizes use business plans, they are beneficial for startups, as they can be the key to attaining funding.

A business plan template is a customizable document that provides all the crucial and necessary elements of a great business plan, allowing company leaders to start from a solid and established foundation rather than from scratch.

A simple business plan template typically includes:

• table of contents
• executive summary
• company description
• analysis of the target market
• description of the management team
• details of the product or service
• financial forecasts
• funding requirements
• appendices such as legal documents, permits, patents, and licenses

Business plans can quickly become huge, cumbersome documents, requiring a significant time investment from the creator. The U.S. Small Business Administration recommends business plans be between 30 and 50 pages long.

While there is some benefit to spending this time developing a comprehensive business plan, agility is often more critical in the startup business world. That’s the main reason why simple business plan templates exist.

Simple business plan templates typically follow a structure outlining goals, teams, and financials.

• Company description : What does the business do? What problems does it solve?
• Team : Who is involved? What key hires have been made? What expertise do they bring to the table? Why are they the right team to get the job done?
• Industry and competitive analysis: Who are the company’s competitors? What are they doing well and not so well? What opportunities exist to differentiate and be successful in this industry?
• Target market: Who are the customers being targeted? What are their interests? What are their everyday challenges and goals?
• Timeline : What are the critical dates for tasks/goals?
• Marketing plan : How will the plan attract new customers?
• Financial plan : What do current revenue streams, cash on hand, revenue structure, required funding or funding already received, etc., look like.

Why use a simple business plan template?

We highly recommend founders use a simple business plan template, mainly for the speed and agility they offer.

Creating a business plan takes time and effort, no matter how many times it’s been done. Even a simple, one-page business plan designed for small businesses requires a fair bit of research.

Each section of the business needs to be analyzed. First, it’s essential to understand the market conditions and have a step-by-step plan. Then finally, it’s necessary to determine the plan’s structure.

Templates are even more crucial for first-time startup founders. 

It’s understandable not to be super-confident in the first (or 2nd or 3rd) business plan writing process. A proven framework will help all — even seasoned veterans, ensure they:

• Don’t miss any critical elements.
• Structure ideas neatly and concisely.
• Foster a sense of professionalism, improving the confidence of potential investors

What are some examples of simple business plan templates?

These sample business plan templates serve as a great jumping-off point. Use them as inspiration. Take note of the similarities across the different examples.

1. One-page business plan template

A one-page business plan template is perfect for creating a plan to bring to the next startup pitch. But of course, supplementing the template with appendices for financial reports like balance sheets or income statements is important.

Summarizing the entire business into a single page is a great exercise. It ensures a robust and concise knowledge of each area of operation, creating more confidence to discuss each point with potential investors.

( Image Source )

2. Simple business plan template in Excel

While Excel does not have all the bells and whistles, it’s still a popular and widely-used platform — one that many founders choose to use to create simple business plans. This template can be used for any type of business, though it’s built for early-stage startups to plan out the first few months in business.

Notice how the template breaks overall costs down into smaller, more detailed items. This is useful to understand better the costs associated with starting a new business. Noting when those costs are owed also helps business owners monitor cash flow.

3. Startup business plan template

Here’s another excellent example of a business plan template built for startups.

What’s great about this template is rather than providing simple headers for each section, it includes questions and prompts to help guide the necessary information.

4. Lean business plan template

Lean business is a style of startup operation that focuses on minimizing waste, moving fast, and keeping costs low. It’s a popular methodology for companies wanting to get off the ground quickly and build revenue without raising significant funding.

This business plan template supports startups based on the lean concept, allowing for a simple, single-page business plan with minimal time investment.

monday.com’s simple business plan template

Most free business plan templates come in PDF, Google Docs, or Microsoft Word formats. Unfortunately, while these are popular formats and tools, they don’t tend to be particularly collaborative.

Have a distributed team? The monday.com simple business plan template will be your best friend.

Customize it to include all the fields necessary for a stellar business plan plus any additional ones unique to your business. But the most significant benefit of the template is the platform it’s built on .

The monday.com Work OS means building apps and workflows is simple. Customizing fields and columns to fit what the company is already doing, not the other way around. For example, once a business plan has been created using the monday.com simple template, it’s super-easy to set up a collaborative board to manage the marketing plan , assign tasks and due dates to employees and freelancers, and turn that business plan into reality.

Simple business plan template tips & tricks

Here are a few tips to make the most of this template and create a business plan that works.

1. Use simple, approachable language.

The goal is for people to read the business plan, right? Using everyday language over complex jargon and corporate terminology is an excellent place to start. Then, ensuring anyone who comes across the plan will have no issue understanding its meaning.

2. Write the executive summary last.

The executive summary is a short section that summarizes every aspect of the business plan. So, first, write the entire plan. THEN write the executive summary.

3. Supplement the business plan with supporting documents

While simple business plans are fast and effective, they leave out a lot of information by nature. Consider supplementing the plan with appendices such as financial statements , data sets, and market analyses.

4. Be conservative with financial estimates.

Where possible, financial projections should be based on real-life data. But even with the most accurate and up-to-date information out there, there’s always room for interpretation. So it’s best to give a range where possible, and if not, stay conservative with financial estimates.

5. Include thorough research and analysis

Invest the time early on and capture accurate, comprehensive data to support all claims. Interview customers and prospects to get a realistic picture of the target audience. Consider hiring a professional firm to provide a market research report.

FAQs about simple business plan templates

How do i write a simple business plan.

Simple business plans can be as little as one page with concise writing. Include information for each of these sections:

• Company description : What does the company do and sell? What problems does it solve?
• Team : Who works for the company, and what value do they provide?
• Industry : What competitors or other options exist?
• Target market : What does the ideal customer look like?
• Marketing strategy and plan : What is the plan to bring in new customers?
• Financial plan : What do the revenue streams look like?

What are the 7 parts of a business plan?

A 7-part business plan starts with the executive summary, moves on to describe the company, and finishes with financials.

• Executive summary
• Company description
• Organization and management team
• Products and services
• Market analysis
• Strategy and implementation timeline
• Financial plan and projections

What are common mistakes in a business plan?

Typical business plan mistakes include:

• not being research-driven
• unrealistic financial estimates
• providing too much information
• not using data to back up claims
• not offering an analysis of the competitive landscape
• only outlining vague goals and priorities

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Simple Business Plan Template for Entrepreneurs

Follow This Business Plan Outline to Write Your Own

Susan Ward wrote about small businesses for The Balance for 18 years. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

Pros and Cons of Using a Business Plan Template

Do i need a simple or detailed business plan, how to use this business plan template, table of contents, section 1: executive summary, section 2: business/industry overview.

• Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition

Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan

Section 5: ownership and management plan, section 6: operating plan, section 7: financial plan.

• Section 8: Appendices and Exhibits

Ariel Skelley / Getty Images

Think you have a great idea for a business? The best way to find out whether your idea is feasible is to create a business plan .

A solid, well-researched business plan provides a practical overview of your vision. It can be used to ground your ideas into workable actions and to help pitch your idea to financial institutions or potential investors when looking for funding.

The standard business plan consists of a single document divided into several sections for distinct elements, such as a description of the organization, market research, competitive analysis, sales strategies, capital and labor requirements, and financial data. Your plan may include more or fewer sections to best represent your business.

The template presented here will get you well on your way toward your simple business plan.

Ready-made layouts

Free downloads

Generic, not customized

No financial guidance

Additional skills needed

• Ready-made layouts : Templates offer general guidance about what information is needed and how to organize it, so you’re not stuck looking at a blank page when getting started. Especially detailed templates may offer instructions or helpful text prompts along the way.
• Variations : If you know what type of business plan you need—traditional, lean, industry-specific—chances are you can find a specialized template.
• Free downloads : There are many free business plan templates available online, which can be useful for comparing formats and features, or refining your own.
• Generic, not customized : Templates typically contain just the basics, and there will still be a lot of work involved to tailor the template to your business. For instance, you'll have to reformat, refine copy, and populate tables.
• No financial guidance : You’ll need enough industry knowledge to apply financial models to your specific business, and the math skills to generate formulas and calculate figures.
• Additional skills needed : Some degree of tech savvy is required to integrate charts and graphs, merge data from spreadsheets, and keep it all up-to-date.

A corporate business plan for a large organization can be hundreds of pages long. However, for a small business, it's best to keep the plan short and concise, especially if you're submitting it to bankers or investors . Around 35 to 50 pages should be sufficient, and more allowed for extras, such as photos of products, equipment, logos, or business premises or site plans.  Your audience will likely prefer solid research and analysis over long, wordy descriptions.

An entrepreneur who creates a business plan is nearly twice as likely to secure financing and grow their business compared with those who do not have a plan.

The business plan template below is divided into sections as described in the table of contents. Each section can be copied into a document of your own; you may need to add or delete sections or make adjustments to fit your specific needs.

Once complete, be sure to format it attractively and get it professionally printed and bound. You want your business plan to convey the best possible impression. Make it engaging, something people will to want to pick up and peruse.

Enter your business information, including the legal name and address. If you already have a business logo, you can add it at the top or bottom of the title page.

• Business Plan for "Business Name"
• Business address
• Website URL

If you're addressing it to a company or individual, include:

• Presented to "Name"
• At "Company"
• Executive Summary................................................Page #
• Business/Industry Overview.................................Page #
• Market Analysis and Competition.........................Page #
• Sales and Marketing Plan.......................................Page #
• Ownership and Management Plan.......................Page #
• Operating Plan..........................................................Page #
• Financial Plan............................................................Page #
• Appendices and Exhibits........................................Page #

The  executive summary introduces the plan, but it is written last. It provides a concise and optimistic overview of your business and should capture the reader's attention and create a desire to learn more. The executive summary should be no more than two pages long, with highlights or brief summaries of other sections of the plan.

• Describe your  mission —what is the need for your new business? Sell your vision.
• Introduce your company briefly, sticking to vital details such as size, location, management, and ownership.
• Describe your main product(s) and/or service(s).
• Identify the customer base you plan to target and how your business will serve those customers.
• Summarize the competition and how you will get market share. What is your competitive advantage?
• Outline your financial projections for the first few years of operation.
• State your startup financing requirements.

This section provides an overview of the industry and explains in detail what makes your business stand out.

• Describe the overall nature of the industry, including sales and other statistics. Note trends and demographics, as well as economic, cultural, and governmental influences.
• Explain your business and how it fits into the industry.
• Mention the existing competition, which you'll expand upon in the following section.
• Identify what area(s) of the market you will target and what unique, improved, or lower-cost products and/or services you will offer.

Many business plans cover their products/services in a standalone section to add more detail or emphasize unique aspects.

Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition

This section focuses on the competitive factor of your business and justifies it with financial models and statistics. You need to demonstrate that you have thoroughly analyzed the target market, assessed the competition, and concluded that there is enough demand for your products/services to make your business viable.

• Define the target market(s) for your products/services in your geographic locale.
• Explain the need for your products/services.
• Estimate the overall size of the market and the units of your products/services that the target market might buy. Include forecasts of potential repeat-purchase volume and how the market might be affected by economic or demographic changes.
• Estimate the volume and value of your sales in comparison with any existing competitors. Highlight any key strengths over the competition in easily digestible charts and tables.
• Describe any helpful barriers to entry that may protect your business from competition, such as access to capital, technology, regulations, employee skill sets, or location.  

You may opt to split the target market description and competitive analysis into two separate sections, if either (or both) portray your business especially favorably.

Here's where you dive into profits, giving detailed strategic view of how you intend to entice customers to buy your products and/or services, including advertising or promotion, pricing, sales, distribution, and post-sales support.

Product or Service Offerings

If your products and/or services don't take up a standalone section earlier in the plan, here is where you can answer the question: What is your unique selling proposition? Describe your products and/or services, how they benefit the customer and what sets them apart from competitor offerings.

Pricing Strategy

How will you price your products/services? Pricing must be low enough to attract customers, yet high enough to cover costs and generate a profit. You can base pricing decisions on a number of financial models, such as markup from cost or value to the buyer, or in comparison with similar products and/or services in the marketplace.  

Sales and Distribution

For products, describe how you plan to distribute to the customer. Will you be selling wholesale or retail? What type of packaging will be required? How will products be shipped? If you offer a service, how will it be delivered to the customer? What methods will be used for payment?

Advertising and Promotion

List the various forms of media you will use to get your message to customers (e.g., website, email, social media, or newspapers). Will you use sales promotional methods such as free samples and product demonstrations? What about product launches and trade shows? Don't forget more everyday marketing materials such as business cards, flyers, or brochures. Include an approximate budget.

This section describes the legal structure, ownership, and (if applicable) management and staffing requirements of your business.

• Ownership structure : Describe the legal structure of your company (e.g., corporation, partnership, LLC, or  sole proprietorship ). List ownership percentages, if applicable. If the business is a sole proprietorship, this is the only section required.
• Management team : Describe managers and their roles, key employee positions, and how each will be compensated. Include brief résumés.
• External resources and services : List any external professional resources required, such as accountants, lawyers, or consultants.
• Human resources : List the type and number of employees or contractors you will need, and estimate the salary and benefit costs of each.
• Advisory board : Include an advisory board as a supplemental management resource, if applicable.

The operating plan outlines the physical requirements of your business, such as office, warehouse, or retail space; equipment; supplies; or labor. This section will vary greatly by industry; a large manufacturer, for instance, should provide full details about supply chain or specialty equipment, while a therapist's office can get by with a much shorter list.

If your business is a small operation (like a one-person, home-based consulting firm), you might choose to eliminate the operating plan section altogether and include the operating essentials in the business overview.

• Development : Explain what you have done to date to identify possible locations, sources of equipment, supply chains, and other relevant relationships. Describe your production workflow.
• Production : For manufacturing, explain how long it takes to produce a unit and when you'll be ready to start production. Include factors that may affect the time frame of production and how you'll deal with potential problems, such as rush orders.
• Facilities : Describe the physical location of the business. Include geographical or building requirements; square footage estimates (with room for expansion if expected); mortgage or leasing costs; and estimates of maintenance, utilities, and related  overhead costs . Include zoning approvals and other permissions that are necessary in order to operate.
• Staffing : Outline expected staffing needs and the main duties of staff members, especially the key employees. Describe how the employees will be sourced and the employment relationship (i.e., contract, full-time, part-time) as well as any training needs and how these will be provided.
• Equipment : Include a list of any specialized equipment needed, along with cost, whether it will be leased or purchased, and sources.
• Supplies : If your business is, for example, manufacturing, retail, or food services, include a description of the materials needed, reliable sources, major suppliers, and how you will manage inventory.

The financial plan is the most important section for lenders or investors. The goal is to demonstrate that your business will grow and be profitable. To do this, you will need to create realistic predictions or forecasts.

To avoid inflated expectations, a prudent financial plan underestimates revenues and overestimates expenses.

• Income statements : The income statement displays projected revenues, expenses, and profit. Do this on a monthly basis for at least the first year for a startup business.
• Cash-flow projections : The cash-flow projection shows your monthly anticipated cash revenues and disbursements for expenses. To be considered a good credit risk, it is important to demonstrate that you can manage your cash flow.
• Balance sheet : The  balance sheet  is a snapshot summary of the assets, liabilities, and equity of your business at a particular point in time. For a startup, this would be on the day the business opens.
• Breakeven analysis : Including a breakeven analysis will demonstrate to lenders or investors what level of sales you need to achieve to make a profit.

Section 8: Appendices and Exhibits

The appendices and exhibits section contains any detailed information needed to support other sections of the plan.  

Possible Appendix or Exhibit items include:

• Credit histories for the business owners
• Detailed market research and analysis of competitors
• Résumés of the owners and key employees
• Diagrams and/or research about your products and/or services
• Site, building, or office plans
• Copies of mortgage documents or equipment leases (or quotes)
• Marketing brochures and other materials
• References from business colleagues
• Links to your business website
• Any other material that may impress potential lenders or investors

SCORE. " Business Plan Template for a Startup Business ." Accessed April 28, 2021.

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write your business plan ." Accessed April 28, 2021.

U.S. Small Business Administration. " SBA Recommended Business Plans and Length ." Accessed April 28, 2021.

Bplans. " Why Plan Your Business? Look at This Data ." Accessed April 28, 2021.

Marketing MO. " Pricing Strategy ." Accessed April 28, 2021.

Incorporate.com. " Write a Business Plan, a Step-by-Step Guide ." Accessed April 29, 2021.

Startup Nation. " The Five Costs You're Most Likely to Underestimate in Your Business Plan ." Accessed April 28, 2021.

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15+ Business Plan Examples to Help You Write Your Own

Written by: Caleb Bruski

Having a clear business plan and sharing your goals with investors and stakeholders is an important first step to starting a successful business. It's like Utibe Samuel Mbom said, “Those who work hard, work alone. Those who work smart, work as a team.”

Whether you’re at a startup creating a pitch deck for investors or an established corporation with a team to work with, it's crucial to write a solid business plan to help everyone grasp the goals and ultimate vision of your company.

Creating a business plan from scratch can take a lot of time and effort. Get a head start by using professionally designed business plan templates. You can find some amazing, ready-made business plan templates in Visme — complete with financial, overview and other important pages.

In this article, we'll show you 15+ business examples to help inspire your own.

Ready to create your own business plan? Build a solid document to bring your ideas to life using our business plan maker . Access pre-made templates, drag-and-drop design tools, free images, interactivity and more.

Table of Contents

• Simple Business Plan Example
• Creative Business Plan Example
• Modern Business Plan Example
• Ecommerce Business Plan Example
• Salon Business Plan Example
• Startup Business Plan Example
• Nonprofit Business Plan Example
• Coffee Shop Business Plan Example
• Consulting Business Plan
• Fashion Business Plan Example
• One-Page Business Plan Example
• SaaS Business Plan Example
• Photography Business Plan Example
• Real Estate Business Plan Example
• Small Business Plan Example
• Day Care Business Plan Example

1 Simple Business Plan Example

When a business plan is called simple, it does not mean it lacks details. A good business plan should cover the most important details of your core idea and present them in a way that's easy for your audience to understand and remember.

The simple business plan template gives you access to 10 customizable pages for your next business plan complete with stock images and a professionally designed layout that is fully customizable.

These pages can be used to explain your business goals and deadlines to your shareholders, potential investors or employees. Use this simple business plan example and template to effortlessly share your timeline and scheduled launches with others.

2 Creative Business Plan Example

Making your company stand out from the crowd is essential to running a successful business. Use this creative business plan example and template to showcase how your ideas and plans for the future are unique, and why they're worth investing in.

While creativity is what makes our world diverse, your creativity here needs to follow your company’s branding. A key aspect of any successful brand strategy is consistency. Your business plan and any other document should follow the tone and style guide of your brand identity.

To learn more about the importance of branding and style guides, check out our complete guide to branding.

3 Modern Business Plan Example

Show your team what the future looks like with a modern business template.

One of the undeniable characteristics of modern style is the lack of clutter. While not all modern styles go so far as to be called minimalistic, they do share a common theme of being clean and clutter-free.

This modern business plan example takes those characteristics and applies them to a business plan. By being clean and organized, this business plan template shows how clear and solid the future plans of your company are.

Utilize this template to reinforce a culture of excellence among your work colleagues or impress potential investors with a clean and clear business plan outline for the future.

4 Ecommerce Business Plan Example

Ecommerce stores have become an important part of our society. According to a study from Statista, nearly 15% of all US retail sales were ecommerce sales in the first quarter of 2020.

For your online business to succeed and stay up to date with all the online sales, holidays and trends, a clear business plan is needed.

The ecommerce business plan template is a great template for anyone looking to launch or maintain an ecommerce store. Use this example to help you create goals for upcoming sales and deadlines to launch new features in your store.

5 Salon Business Plan Example

This salon business plan is a perfect way to establish and share plans for your salon. With the help of this glamorous business plan template, you will be able to share with investors what your vision is for your salon or any other small business.

Our incredible selection of crystal-clear images takes your content to the next level, giving your sophisticated design some extra flair.

Create and share future plans, sales and ideas for your business with those around you. Cast your vision for what the future looks like and invite others to get behind your ambitions.

6 Startup Business Plan Example

Creating a startup can be a difficult task.

Having a great idea is one thing, but creating tangible goals, sharing mission statements and creating a culture that stands behind your original vision is a whole separate challenge.

Customize this template and make it your own! Edit and Download  

The startup business plan template is a great example of how a business plan should look for a successful startup. The example includes customizable portions to help you share your objectives, values, market analysis and business model.

Creating a successful business plan that is captivating and informative may seem like a daunting task, but it’s actually a perfect opportunity to share your hopes, dreams and goals for your business.

7 Nonprofit Business Plan Example

There are over 10 million nonprofits in the world, and over 25% of Americans volunteer to work with a nonprofit or charity.

If you have a great cause and are looking for a way to bring other people on board, consider making a nonprofit business plan. While technically a nonprofit is “not a business”, a nonprofit or charity requires similar structure and planning.

The nonprofit business plan example and template above is a great starting place to get your nonprofit's plan sketched out on paper.

Creating a business philosophy, creating goals and setting deadlines are shared values for both nonprofits and businesses. If you make a great plan, you will be able to compel others to give, volunteer or support your idea.

If you do not form a solid business plan that is easy to share with others, you will have a difficult time building your nonprofit, even if you are working for a good cause.

8 Coffee Shop Business Plan Example

If you’re looking to really spice up your coffee business, take a look at Visme’s business plan template. With an earth-toned color swatch, all of the pages on your business plan will match the overall vibe of your cafe or coffee shop.

With the ability to customize your font and colors and find something that will grab your customers’ attention, it's hard to go wrong with the coffee shop business plan. From hiring strategies to operational costs, this template covers all the basic topics you would expect out of a business plan.

Investors and employees alike will be able to see the creativity and art that goes into coffee making with the high-quality stock photos, while also seeing that your business plan is structured and clearly laid out.

A business plan should be detailed and go over market evaluations and your company's marketing strategy. Every page of this particular theme reminds your team or investors that this is a business plan centered around coffee.

9 Consulting Business Plan

Consulting is an eclectic business. A consultant can help in nearly any industry where a person has the expertise and teaching capabilities.

As such, a business plan template for a consultant agency must be versatile and easily customizable. This consulting business plan example is an extremely flexible template to fit nearly any need.

While most business plans are directed towards investors or employees, consulting business plans must also be tailored towards potential customers.

A great consulting business plan template will include a summary, objectives, market strategies, services and price listings for customers.

This template makes great use of large, high quality images. With Visme, you can simply drag and drop images onto the template to replace the existing images with your own.

10 Fashion Business Plan Example

Fashion can be a difficult business to get into due to the fact that most of your competitors are larger and more established brands.

One of the best ways to get the business off the ground is to show investors and customers that you’ve done your research into the market and have a strategy for success.

A detailed plan that shows how your product and business plans outshine the competition is exactly what you need to land your net pitch and get seed money for your business.

The fashion business plan example and template above gives you multiple pages to explain in detail how your business model will work and what your target dates are for particular tasks.

11 One-Page Business Plan Example

Having an outlined plan for your business is an absolute must to have a prosperous business.

As the old proverb goes, “a goal without a plan is just a wish.”

While it is good to know as many details as possible, not every business plan or pitch needs to cover every excruciating detail. When pressed for time or dealing with a simple subject matter, consider using a one-page business plan.

The benefit of a one-page business plan is the amount of information retained by your audience. If you can simplify your subject matter to only contain a few main points, the likelihood of your audience engaging with and remembering your presentation increases.

A one-page business plan should cover the core essentials of your business plan and be used as an invitation for further discussion. It may be a good idea to have an extended version of your business plan on standby for when an investor wants more details on a specific subject.

12 SaaS Business Plan Example

A SaaS (software as a service) company is a company that hosts a web application and offers access to the application over the internet.

If you want your SaaS company to be the next big thing in tech, you need a business plan that explains what solutions your application provides, how your research and development financial goals will be met and how your app will be scalable.

Most applications can collect data with a monitoring tool and give crucial insight to you, your team and your shareholders.

Be sure to utilize these assets and include relevant data into your business plan presentation. This establishes trust with your supporters and helps them know what to expect in the future.

If you would like to know more about how to present your big data points, check out this article on how to use data visualization techniques in your documents and presentations.

13 Photography Business Plan Example

Freelancing can be a profoundly rewarding way of doing business. The freedom to work at your own pace and set your own rules can be a dream come true. However, freelancing also comes with the pressure of always finding the next job or project.

By creating a great customer experience, you increase the chances of drawing people back into your business for repeat purchases and even attract potential investors.

This well-structured photography business plan can help create a better customer experience as your client knows exactly what they are getting and how it compares to the rest of the market.

Create a business plan for your photography, design or any other freelance business complete with market analysis, pricing, target audience and plans to scale.

14 Real Estate Business Plan Example

Large-scale real estate investments are rarely done by a single individual. Typically, real estate investments are done by a group of friends, family, shareholders or companies.

Regardless of which category you find yourself in, writing out a plan and projection for your real estate investment is an absolute must to raise investments for a potential project.

Explaining the market condition for the specific region is one of the main pieces of information necessary for a real estate investment. Knowing the market value, potential obstacles and return on investment are all important parts of your business’s plan that need to be presented.

The real estate business plan example goes into detail regarding the market conditions and financial analysis. Within the editor, you are able to import your own data to customize the charts and graphs for your specific situation.

15 Small Business Plan Example

Even small businesses need big plans.

The size of a business does not negate the need for a solid and thoroughly outlined business plan. The tendency amongst small businesses is to keep track and plan things in their heads.

If a small business wants to scale and be successful, plans and goals for growth need to be outlined and presented. Start by creating a strategic business plan that includes your methodology for reaching your target audience.

From these big ideas, break the plan down into smaller and more achievable goals. Writing these goals out in a plan helps you and your team remember the established goals and creates a great way to invite potential investors into your business.

Take a look at this helpful article to learn how to create a timeline for your business.

16 Day Care Business Plan Example

The daycare business plan example will give you a great idea of what an operating plan should look like. Operating plans are detailed plans that show how a particular person or team contributes to the overall business goals.

Operating plans do not need to cover every minute of every day, but should give an overarching plan for the day to day operations. An operation plan's purpose is to give a good insight into how and where the basic operations of a business will run in the everyday course of life and set milestones for success.

With this comprehensive business plan template, you can show off your childcare business's outstanding services and plans for the future. Customize each page to suit your context and needs.

Create a Solid Business Plan With Visme

The old saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” remains true. Whether you are a new start up company or an established corporation with hundreds of employees, you need to have a business plan that is up-to-date and displays your current goals.

Visme offers tons of high-quality business plan templates that you can easily edit using a drag-and-drop editor in your browser — no downloads or design experience needed.

Or, learn more about how to create a compelling business plan presentation and turn your ideas into reality by impressing investors and stakeholders.

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Simple business plan: 7-step guide to starting a business

How to start a business with a simple plan

In order to start a business that thrives, you need a simple business plan that will set you up for success.

Do you want to start a business that is financially stable and gives you the freedom to live on your own terms?

Do you lack a clear business purpose or process — or are self-limiting habits stopping you from making progress?

If so, then you need to streamline your efforts with a simple business plan.

Read on plus learn how to access the free business plan template.

Simple business plan process

Preparation and intention: developing a growth mindset, persona and focus area: attracting your perfect customers, positioning: creating a unique value proposition (usp), product strategy: creating high value products and services, pricing strategy: pricing your products and services, presence and presentation: branding your business, promotional plan: marketing your business.

• Bonus : Access the entire series plus free business plan template

Simplify Your Life Course

Take the 13-step course to learn intentional living by focusing on what is truly important in life while getting rid of the rest.

At the core of any successful business is a clear vision about what exactly you want:

• what you want to create
• the compensation you desire in return for the value you add, and
• how exactly you will make it all happen

For independent business owners this is especially important because there’s likely no clean divide between your personal life and business life.

In fact, your personal goals, ideas, and talents likely inspired you to start a business in the first place. 

Personal growth and business growth go hand-in-hand and starting a successful business requires developing the right mindset — a growth mindset. 

A growth mindset is an underlying system of positive beliefs about your ability to develop and succeed.

This type of mindset puts you in the best position to create a clear business vision or purpose, chart a set path or process to achieving it, and overcome any obstacles that stunt your progress.

Entrepreneurs should be very specific about who they are and who they want to serve with their work.

This clarity will draw you to your perfect customer and them to you. 

Your perfect customer is the one whose needs and wants are aligned with your purpose, what you want to create, and the value you want to add — the one who you know your business can deliver outstanding results for. 

With a perfect customer in mind you’ll be able to build a persona — a detailed representation of this person that will help you get better at attracting and adding the most value to them.

If you are spending a disproportionate amount of time and effort trying to find customers for your business to no avail, it is likely because you’ve missed this key step. 

Clarifying who is the best fit for you and luring them in is a more effortless way to grow a thriving business than desperately running after ill-fitted customers who won’t be loyal to you or evolve your business over the long run.

With a clear understanding of your perfect customer, you can start to refine your approach and flush out how you can uniquely add value.

At this stage in the business plan you are ready to define your USP (unique selling proposition).

The key here is to develop a laser sharp vision of who you are, what you offer, and how it differentiates from other peers in your field.

In other words you need to answer for yourself what every customer will be thinking before they decide to support you: why you?

This is why it’s so important to have a persona — you simply can’t be everything to everyone.

The USP forces you to take a stance and will result in succinct messaging that resonates with your target.

So now you know what value you add and to whom. What’s next?

You can begin to think about about the best way to deliver that value for maximum affect.

This is your business model and the key to your ability to make money. 

In this step of the plan you should refine your model and carefully craft your products or services accordingly. 

Having a few options available in terms of how you deliver value also helps diversify your income.

Options give your customers choice and help you extend your resources. 

Most important is that you figure out what types of products and services work best in solving your customers’ needs so they deeply value your work and keep coming back for more.  

With your products and services in place you can walk through a pricing exercise to determine your rates.

There are a few elements that go into pricing but the three most important to consider are:

• your personal income needs and goals
• what the market is for comparable products and services
• what your perfect customers are able and willing to pay

You may have to do a bit of research and surveying but it shouldn’t be difficult coming up with baseline figures that support your business model (i.e. the ability to cover your expenses and be profitable). 

On top of those baseline figures you should think long and hard about the value you are adding to ensure you do don’t underestimate your worth.

From many entrepreneurs, the big issue isn’t overpricing but devaluing your offering and making it available for much lower than what it could actually demand. 

You can’t serve your customers if you can’t support yourself which is one of the reasons why correct pricing is so important.

You should determine an exact figure for what you need to survive and thrive as a business owner and create and price your work accordingly.  

Depending on your market, branding ms be one of the most important contributors to your success as an entrepreneur.

No matter if you are an entrepreneur, freelancer, small business owner or coach, branding will help you:

• build your digital presence and online reputation
• establish credibility and thought leadership in your field
• be the face and voice of your business
• and much more

Oddly, there is no consensus when it comes to what branding is, why it’s important, and how to do it right.

Some perceive branding as a nice-to-have exercise but not really something you need to devote much time or energy to in the grand scheme of things.

Others deem it as important but place it squarely in the “design” category and completely disregard the need for strategy.   

There are many misunderstandings and misconceptions that prevail as it pertains to branding.

It’s important to dispel these myths and gain a complete picture of how you want your perfect customers to perceive so you don’t downplay or mismanage a process that can catapult your business to success.

With almost all the important elements of your business in place, last but certainly not least is your marketing plan.

You can’t just build and expect people to come. You’ve got to put a mechanism in place that helps you lure your perfect customers.

There are no shortage of marketing tactics but not all of them are right for you and your effort is best spent focusing on only one or two at a time. 

For brand new entrepreneurs tapping into your existing network is a great way to start getting business, while more established entrepreneurs can amplify word of mouth through a referral program.

However, for all entrepreneurs — new and established — you must have a sales funnels.

This is one of the most powerful promotional methods for capturing and nurturing leads.

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Single Page Business Plan

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A single page business plan is just as it sounds: a summary of business objectives displayed on a single page. Single page business plans are typically used to pitch ideas before writing longer, more detailed business plans for potential investors and partners. Instead of starting from scratch, use our free Single Page Business Plan PDF Template to outline company goals in a professional, accessible PDF document. Once you’ve filled out a simple form with details regarding your company’s overview, objectives, challenges, and strategies, this Single Page Business Plan Template will automatically convert that information into a professional PDF that can be read at a glance. With your single page business plan saved as a PDF, you can easily download it for your records, email the file to coworkers, or print out copies for company meetings.

This Single Page Business Plan Template already has a stunning design, but you can quickly customize it to meet your business needs with our drag-and-drop PDF Editor. Easily add fields for additional information such as milestones, market or competitive analysis, and financial summary. Don’t forget to represent your business by adding your logo and changing the fonts and colors to match your branding. No matter what modifications you make, your custom Single Page Business Plan Template will create an impressive, brief breakdown of business objectives to help steer your company in the right direction.

More templates like this

Strategic Plan Template

Focus on the future and keep your company moving forward with Jotform’s Strategic Plan Template. Simply fill in the attached form with your company overview, delve deeper with a SWOT analysis, and finish off by determining your strategic goals, actions, and financial plans. Our fully-customizable template converts submitted information into polished PDFs, which you can download, print, or share instantly.You don’t need a degree in design to build a professional strategic plan. Change fonts, update colors, and add your company’s logo in an instant — with Jotform’s drag-and-drop PDF Editor, customization is a breeze! Establish goals, set your priorities, and draw up solid action plans as polished PDFs with our Strategic Plan Template. By clearly defining your goals and the steps you’ll take to achieve them, you can keep your company on track and grow your business faster.

Operational Plan Template

A Business Operational Plan PDF Template encompasses critical details of a company or an organization. To put it simply, it is what the organization or company wants to achieve, such as financials, budget planning, etc. Accountants and managers in an institution or company often take so much time to create an operational plan template that they end up procrastinating other significant organizational events. This operational plan sample is structured with important details for your organization. It comes ready to print, but since most organizational details and structures are different, you can simply edit the fields by putting your own organization information. Also, using the Jotform PDF editor template, you can quickly add and delete fields, choose your own color options, etc. Finally, you can share your draft with your team members via email.

Marketing Brief Template

A marketing brief can make or break your campaign. But writing a brief for every new campaign eats up time you simply can’t afford to lose. With this free Marketing Brief Template, you can quickly and easily draft marketing briefs without ever having to start from scratch. Simply fill out this simple online form with client information and project details such as objectives, budget, and materials, and the template automatically creates overviews as PDFs — easy to download, print, and share with the rest of the marketing team. Since each marketing campaign is unique, why not make your marketing brief unique as well? Luckily for you, customizing your Marketing Brief Template is a breeze with our drag-and-drop PDF Editor. You’ll be able to change the text or any graphic element in just a few clicks. Feel free to get creative — change the fonts and colors, upload your own background image, or add your company logo for a professional touch. Each time you submit details about your new marketing campaign, your custom Marketing Brief Template will display those plans in easily-accessible PDFs. With PDF marketing briefs in hand, your marketing team can get right to work promoting your products and building your brand.

Single Page Business Plan FAQs

1) what is a single-page business plan.

A single-page business plan is a compressed version of a traditional business plan that is designed to fit on one page. It gives a succinct overview of your business concept to potential investors or partners so that they can quickly understand your key goals, strategies, and mission in a format that’s easily accessible.

2) Why should I use a single-page business plan?

Consider using a single-page business plan to pitch your business to investors, partners, or stakeholders more effectively by communicating your goals succinctly. The single-page business plan requires you to clarify and condense the key elements of your business so you can better articulate your vision, mission, and core values to important players — which helps you streamline your goals. While this short version can’t fully replace a long-form business plan, it’s useful for introductory meetings.

3) What are the key components of a single page business plan?

Every single-page business business plan should include these key components:

Mission and vision statement

Start your plan with a brief statement that describes the purpose and core values of your proposed business. This section typically also includes a comprehensive description that outlines exactly what your business will do and the target market it will reach.

Value proposition

This section outlines the problem that your business is trying to solve, its unique selling points, and its customer benefits. Be specific about the value that your business will provide.

Objectives overview

Lay out the specific short-term and long-term goals of your business. These goals should be reasonable based on the resources currently available to you. This section also includes key metrics, timelines, and cost structures.

Strategies and action plan

This area outlines your market analysis and marketing approach, as well as the key activities that will drive operations. The action plan may also include an overview of how your business will generate revenue.

4) How do I create a single-page business plan using a template?

Creating a single-page business plan with Jotform’s free template is beyond easy! Simply click Use Template , and fill out the form with your own information to populate the document. You can then add or edit sections, change fonts and colors, and add your own logo with our intuitive drag-and-drop form builder. Once you’ve adjusted the template to your liking, you can forward it via email or link, or save it as a PDF.

5) Can a single-page business plan template be used for any type of business?

The beauty of the single-page business plan template is that you can customize it to any type of business or industry. Whether you’re in technology, retail, entertainment, healthcare, or marketing, the single page business plan template will help you succinctly communicate your business to the world.

6) Is a single-page business plan template suitable for startups?

The single-page business plan template is perfect for startups. Companies that are in the early stages of development constantly need to pitch their concept to potential investors and venture capitalists — which is where the single-page business plan template comes in. Investors are busy people, and our template is useful for presenting your startup’s value proposition, market opportunity, and growth potential to these individuals.

Additionally, constantly recreating lengthy business plans for different audiences can be resource-intensive, especially for startups with few employees. But you can easily adapt the single-page business plan template to address feedback, changes in the market, or other circumstances.

7) How often should I update my single-page business plan?

You should update your single-page business plan any time there are changes to your mission, vision, goals, strategies, or market. The single-page business plan should accurately reflect the trajectory of your business, so consider doing periodic reviews, such as whenever you reach milestones.

8) What are the advantages of using a single-page business plan over a traditional business plan?

Ultimately, the single-page business plan is a time-saving tool for businesses that need to pitch their concept thoroughly and quickly. On top of that, the plan helps identify and distill the key elements of the business. The single-page business plan can be easily adapted to reflect changes in the market or feedback from periodic assessments. Lastly, because it’s only one page, the plan is easy to share and digest.

These templates are suggested forms only. If you're using a form as a contract, or to gather personal (or personal health) info, or for some other purpose with legal implications, we recommend that you do your homework to ensure you are complying with applicable laws and that you consult an attorney before relying on any particular form.

• PDF Templates /

Simple Business Plan Templates

Focus on the future and keep your company moving forward with Jotform’s Strategic Plan Template. Simply fill in the attached form with your company overview, delve deeper with a SWOT analysis, and finish off by determining your strategic goals, actions, and financial plans. Our fully-customizable template converts submitted information into polished PDFs, which you can download, print, or share instantly.

Get down to business with a customizable Single-Page Business Plan template from Jotform. Customize your plan in minutes. No coding. Drag and drop to build.

This Operational Plan Sample is structured with important details for your organization. It comes ready to print, but you can simply edit the fields by putting your own organization information.

Managing a marketing campaign or promotion is a challenging task. You need to have a marketing plan in order to execute the campaign smoothly with the time and budget provided. Creating a Marketing Brief is very beneficial because it summarizes the marketing strategy for a specific campaign.If you are in the advertising agency or part of the marketing department, then this Marketing Creative Brief Template is for you. This well-designed template contains the client information, project information, and the marketing materials that will be used. The project details explain the project title, description, objectives, target audience, budget overview, advertising guidelines, and competitors.

Glamping Business Plan Template

Grab the attention of the investors by using this Glamping Business Plan Template. This business plan is simple yet effective because it contains all the necessary details when building a successful business.

SOP Template

Create a process to organize your employees in managing specific cases or scenarios by using this SOP Template. This template is commonly used in any organization whether it is a small, medium, or large group.

Lean Business Model Canvas Template

See your business from a new perspective with Jotform’s Lean Business Model Canvas Template. Simply fill in a short form with problems your business could solve, how they are currently being solved in the market, and how your company can uniquely work to solve these problems. Our template instantly converts the information into polished PDFs you can download or print for your next big meeting.Our Lean Business Model Canvas Template already looks professional, but you can personalize it further to match your business. Jotform PDF Editor lets you rearrange form fields or add your company logo at the touch of a button! By instantly converting your business model into an accessible PDF format, our Lean Business Model Canvas Template can help you see the bigger picture and determine how to take your business to the next level.

Creative Brief Template

A Creative Brief is used in advertising, branding, and marketing industries. In order to have a strong and outstanding creative campaign, you need to have a game plan to follow. This serves as a guideline that will help in making decisions related to the campaign.This Creative Brief Template PDF discusses the project details like the project name, due date, and project description. The marketing materials that will be used are listed in the document which includes its specifications like the dimension size, the medium that will be used, and the quantity. This is the best Creative Brief Template you can use for your next creative marketing campaign.

Business Model Canvas Template

Our Business Model Canvas Template includes nine segments which are key partners, key activities, value proposition, customer relations, customer segments, key resources, channels, cost structure, and pricing model.

Blog Post Outline Template

Use this Blog Post Outline Template for your blog content in order to get more visitors, followers, shares, and impressions. This template will definitely help your ranking in search engines.

Gym Business Plan Template

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Meeting Minutes Template

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Pressure Washing Estimate Template

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Memorandum of Understanding Template

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Business Hours Template

Announce and let the customers know if your business is open and not by using this Business Hours Template. This PDF template can be customized and personalized by using the PDF Editor.

Scope of Work Template

Establish the responsibilities of the service provider by using this Scope of Work Template. This document will show the list of work and tasks that should be performed by the service provider.

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Curriculum Vitae

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Preliminary Notice Template

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About Simple Business Plan Templates

Plans, strategies, roadmaps – Businesses rely on these things to gain perspective on what’s about to happen. Milestones laid down in strategic and careful planning for growth and expansion, visions of where the company’s headed 10 years from now, goals that should meet timelines, all these require a smart, prudent and calculated planning.

Whether you’re a startup, an SMB, or close to a Fortune 500, a solid business plan is crucial. And of course, writing business plans is a huge task. But, what if you needed something that requires input from others though? Say, an online form or a PDF template where responses from your colleagues and managers matter? Well, here’s a collection of PDF templates for business planning.

These are beautifully designed templates, specifically tailored for businesses and companies who don’t know where to start. The hard part was already done and that’s designing the template. These will serve as boilerplates for whatever milestone your business needs. You won’t need to worry on building something from scratch, you just need to focus on the content. Some of these templates will contain or collect executive summaries, opportunities, expectations, execution, financial plans, forecasts, the whole nine yards.

Business plan templates help give a clear vision of what lies ahead. They help you get things organized, planned out, and help you check off items from your to-do list more efficiently.

Frequently Asked Questions

1) what are the seven parts of a business plan.

• Executive summary. This is an overview of your business plan. The executive summary should include your company’s offerings, mission, goals, and projections. Think of it as the elevator pitch for your business plan. If you can’t get investors interested here, it’s unlikely they’ll want to keep reading.
• Company description and history. Describe your business’s legal structure and history in addition to what you do. If you just started this business, you may replace company history with your leadership team’s experience. The purpose of this section is to explain the company structure and build confidence in the people running the company.
• Products and services. Talk about what your company offers, whether that’s products, services, or a combination of the two. Describe your products and services in detail. Explain what makes your offering unique, what your profit margins are, what kind of demand you’re seeing for it, etc.
• Market and competitor research. Investors want to know if there’s demand for your offering. Describe the target market and how your product or service benefits potential customers. Include projections of where the industry is headed over the next few years. Additionally, detail your competitors and how saturated the market is.
• Sales and marketing strategy. This part of the business plan explains how you’ll promote your product. Outline elements such as your ideal customer profile (ICP) as well as your marketing channels, budget, and methods.
• Operations and logistics. Explain how you’ll source materials if you sell products as well as the technology you need to deliver such products and services. Also, provide details about your team, like how many people you’ll need and how you’ll manage employees.
• Financial plan and projections. It’s crucial to prove that your business will be financially viable. For this, you’ll need revenue and expense projections. Many investors want to see sample account statements, balance sheets, and cash flow projections.

2) How do you write a business plan?

Your business plan should be a realistic roadmap that helps you build a successful company. When writing it, take a balanced approach so that you’re not blind to the potential pitfalls and risks. You’ll draft each of the seven sections previously discussed.

Tackling these sections can be overwhelming, so some people like to start with a one-page business plan that includes short paragraphs for each element. Another way to give yourself a head start is by working from a business plan template. Once you have a good start, you can expand each section to make a compelling case for your business.

3) Can I write a business plan myself?

Yes, you can. However, depending on your writing experience and goals, you may want outside help. If the business plan is for internal use with the purpose of improving business functions, you’ll likely be OK tackling it alone. But if you’re trying to secure funding from a bank or investors, a professional business plan writer can give you a leg up.

Even if you decide to do it yourself, have a trusted friend or business mentor review your plan and provide feedback. An objective point of view will help you refine your work.

4) What are the four types of business plans?

• One-page or mini business plan. The one-page option is a great way to improve the focus of your business plan and highlight the essential elements. It can be an effective way to workshop your company’s plan or quickly give others a rundown of your entire business.
• Traditional business plan. The traditional business plan is more in-depth than its one-page counterpart and will be more thorough in each section (often, plans exceed 40 pages). For example, it may contain detailed financials, branding samples, and competitive research documents.
• Business model canvas (BMC). The business model canvas is a more visual representation of your business architecture. It includes sections for infrastructure, offering, customers, finances, etc. Many businesses find the BMC appealing since it can be summarized in a single page.
• Strategic business plan. The strategic business plan can have different purposes, like proving feasibility, discussing planning operations, or projecting growth. It will outline the company’s goals, its strategy for reaching them, and the company structure. The main difference between this and the traditional plan is its focus on specific strategic initiatives.

5) What are the common mistakes in business plans?

• Poor writing. Sloppy writing may suggest that you’re not serious about your business or you lack the needed professionalism.
• Unrealistic expectations. While you should be optimistic about your business, if your financial projections reflect your hopes more than reality, people may hesitate to back your business.
• Lack of supporting documentation. People reviewing your business plan want to see how you back up your claims. You can include research docs, sample financials, and estimates to make your case.
• Failing to define the target audience. For a successful marketing plan, you need to define your target audience. Investors and financial institutions need to see if you’re confident about who you’re selling to.
• Unbalanced. It’s important to lay out the risks and potential upsides. This analysis shows investors that you’re considering the whole picture regarding your business.

550+ Business Plan Examples to Launch Your Business

Need help writing your business plan? Explore over 550 industry-specific business plan examples for inspiration.

Find your business plan example

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Business plan template: There's an easier way to get your business plan done.

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Example business plan format

Before you start exploring our library of business plan examples, it's worth taking the time to understand the traditional business plan format . You'll find that the business plan samples in this library and most investor-approved business plans will include the following sections:

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your business plan and is ideally only one to two pages. You should also plan to write this section last after you've written your full business plan.

Your executive summary should include a summary of the problem you are solving, a description of your product or service, an overview of your target market, a brief description of your team, a summary of your financials, and your funding requirements (if you are raising money).

Products & services

The products & services chapter of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives. It includes information about the problem that you're solving, your solution, and any traction that proves that it truly meets the need you identified.

This is your chance to explain why you're in business and that people care about what you offer. It needs to go beyond a simple product or service description and get to the heart of why your business works and benefits your customers.

Market analysis

Conducting a market analysis ensures that you fully understand the market that you're entering and who you'll be selling to. This section is where you will showcase all of the information about your potential customers. You'll cover your target market as well as information about the growth of your market and your industry. Focus on outlining why the market you're entering is viable and creating a realistic persona for your ideal customer base.

Competition

Part of defining your opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage may be. To do this effectively you need to get to know your competitors just as well as your target customers. Every business will have competition, if you don't then you're either in a very young industry or there's a good reason no one is pursuing this specific venture.

To succeed, you want to be sure you know who your competitors are, how they operate, necessary financial benchmarks, and how your business will be positioned. Start by identifying who your competitors are or will be during your market research. Then leverage competitive analysis tools like the competitive matrix and positioning map to solidify where your business stands in relation to the competition.

Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments. You'll address how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success.

The operations section in our business plan examples covers the day-to-day workflows for your business to deliver your product or service. What's included here fully depends on the type of business. Typically you can expect to add details on your business location, sourcing and fulfillment, use of technology, and any partnerships or agreements that are in place.

Milestones & metrics

The milestones section is where you lay out strategic milestones to reach your business goals.

A good milestone clearly lays out the parameters of the task at hand and sets expectations for its execution. You'll want to include a description of the task, a proposed due date, who is responsible, and eventually a budget that's attached. You don't need extensive project planning in this section, just key milestones that you want to hit and when you plan to hit them.

You should also discuss key metrics, which are the numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common data points worth tracking include conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, profit, etc.

Company & team

Use this section of your business plan to describe your current team and who you need to hire. If you intend to pursue funding, you'll need to highlight the relevant experience of your team members. Basically, this is where you prove that this is the right team to successfully start and grow the business. You will also need to provide a quick overview of your legal structure and history if you're already up and running.

Financial projections

Your financial plan should include a sales and revenue forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and a balance sheet. You may not have established financials of any kind at this stage. Not to worry, rather than getting all of the details ironed out, focus on making projections and strategic forecasts for your business. You can always update your financial statements as you begin operations and start bringing in actual accounting data.

Now, if you intend to pitch to investors or submit a loan application, you'll also need a "use of funds" report in this business plan section. This outlines how you intend to leverage any funding for your business and how much you're looking to acquire. Like the rest of your financials, this can always be updated later on.

The appendix isn't a required element of your business plan. However, it is a useful place to add any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that supports your business plan. These are often lengthier or out-of-place information that simply didn't work naturally into the structure of your plan. You'll notice that in these business plan examples, the appendix mainly includes extended financial statements.

Types of business plans explained

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

Traditional business plan

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

Business model canvas

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

The structure ditches a linear format in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It's faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan . This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business.

By starting with a one-page plan , you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You'll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan.

Growth planning

Growth planning is more than a specific type of business plan. It's a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, forecast, review, and refine based on your performance.

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

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

Download a free sample business plan template

Ready to start writing your own business plan but aren't sure where to start? Download our free business plan template that's been updated for 2024.

This simple, modern, investor-approved business plan sample is designed to make planning easy. It's a proven format that has helped over 1 million businesses write business plans for bank loans, funding pitches, business expansion, and even business sales. It includes additional instructions for how to write each section and is formatted to be SBA-lender approved. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

How to use an example business plan to help you write your own

How do you know what elements need to be included in your business plan, especially if you've never written one before? Looking at business plan examples can help you visualize what a full, traditional plan looks like, so you know what you're aiming for before you get started. Here's how to get the most out of a business plan sample.

Choose a business plan example from a similar type of company

You don't need to find an example of a business plan that's an exact fit for your business. Your business location, target market, and even your particular product or service may not match up exactly with the business plans in our gallery. But, you don't need an exact match for it to be helpful. Instead, look for a business plan sample that's related to the type of business you're starting.

For example, if you want to start a vegetarian restaurant, a plan for a steakhouse can be a great match. While the specifics of your actual startup will differ, the elements you'd want to include in your restaurant's business plan are likely to be very similar.

Use a business plan example as a guide

Every startup and small business is unique, so you'll want to avoid copying an example of a business plan word for word. It just won't be as helpful, since each business is unique. You want your business plan to be a useful tool for starting a business —and getting funding if you need it.

One of the key benefits of writing a business plan is simply going through the process. When you sit down to write, you'll naturally think through important pieces, like your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you'll need to do to be successful.

You'll also look at where you stand among your competition (and everyone has competition), and lay out your goals and the milestones you'll need to meet. Looking at an example of a business plan's financials section can be helpful because you can see what should be included, but take them with a grain of salt. Don't assume that financial projections for a sample company will fit your own small business.

If you're looking for more resources to help you get started, our business planning guide is a good place to start. You can also download our free business plan template .

Think of business planning as a process, instead of a document

Think about business planning as something you do often , rather than a document you create once and never look at again. If you take the time to write a plan that really fits your own company, it will be a better, more useful tool to grow your business. It should also make it easier to share your vision and strategy so everyone on your team is on the same page.

Adjust your business plan regularly to use it as a business management tool

Keep in mind that businesses that use their business plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30 percent faster than those businesses that don't. For that to be true for your company, you'll think of a part of your business planning process as tracking your actual results against your financial forecast on a regular basis.

If things are going well, your business plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. If you find that you're not meeting goals, you might need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan can help you adjust quickly when you identify challenges and opportunities—it's one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

Prepare to pitch your business

If you're planning to pitch your business to investors or seek out any funding, you'll need a pitch deck to accompany your business plan. A pitch deck is designed to inform people about your business. You want your pitch deck to be short and easy to follow, so it's best to keep your presentation under 20 slides.

Your pitch deck and pitch presentation are likely some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. So, you need to be informative and pique their interest. Luckily we have a round-up of real-world pitch deck examples used by successful startups that you can review and reference as you build your pitch.

For more resources, check out our full Business Pitch Guide .

Ready to get started?

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

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

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How to Format a Business Plan in 10 Easy Steps

Business Plan Template

• July 5, 2024

So you have every information you need to write a business plan. But uh-oh! You don’t know how to present it. Is there a specific format? Do you need visuals? Is there a font that appeals to readers?

Stop. Don’t hit the panic button yet.

We have all the answers to your formatting needs so your business plan isn’t just a boring text for your readers.

And honestly, an investor goes through a hundred business plans in his life. So, you need to stand out from the crowd and present your business idea well to win their attention.

That’s why we’ve come up with these 10 easy steps on how to format a business plan that will grab readers’ attention. So, let’s start with it and make your business plan clutter-free and crisp as it should be with these tips.

What is business plan formatting?

Business plan formatting refers to the arrangement and presentation of the content within a business plan document to ensure it’s professional, clear, and easy to read. This includes the layout, style, structure of the text, visual elements, and consistent design choices that enhance readability and effectiveness.

How to format a business plan in 10 easy steps

So, now that we know formatting a business plan is necessary to present your business idea clearly and professionally, let’s see how to do it:

1. Create an engaging executive summary layout

The executive summary is the overview of the whole plan. So, ensure that you’re including everything necessary such as:

• Vision and mission statement
• The problem
• The solution your business is providing
• Target market
• Business model
• Competitive advantage
• Management team
• Financial forecasts
• Funding requirements (if necessary)
• Call to action

Keep all the executive summary paragraphs small and use bullet points to highlight the important things. Include visuals where necessary.

Most importantly, keep in mind, that the average length of the summary is around 1-2 pages only. Therefore, be wise when using up the space.

It should also be capable of standing alone and independent of the rest of your plan. So, if your audience reads it alone, then they should get the crux of the whole plan.

Also, readers of your executive summary might not have any knowledge about your business. Therefore, it’s crucial to explain everything clearly and simply, ensuring that anyone can understand your executive summary.

2. Keep all the sections to the point

It’s great that after reading the executive summary, your readers are moving ahead to the whole plan.

Though there’s no defined length of a business plan —remember to keep all the sections focused. On average the plan should be 15-30 pages long.

While formatting the plan, do not simply put the information but highlight the necessary points. Use simple language, small paragraphs, and bullet points to enhance readability. Also, try not to repeat things in the different sections.

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3. Use visuals

Including images and charts in your business plan is a wise move. It ensures that a reader stays engaged and all the key information is highlighted.

Text-heavy documents make it harder for readers to remember the content. Research also shows that people tend to remember images and charts better than text alone. Thus, to portray complex information clearly and concisely use visuals.

That said, don’t overdo it. As images take up too much physical space, so plan your document accordingly.

4. Keep the writing style uniform

To create a uniform writing style you need to decide on a tone. It should be professional with a balance of formal and personalized tone.

A consistent tone enhances credibility, making your business appear reliable to potential investors and partners.

Conduct multiple rounds of proofreading and editing before you submit the plan. This way you will be able to correct if there are any inconsistencies or grammatical errors.

5. Customize the plan according to your audience

Not all investors or readers know about the technical terms of your industry. This way you need to customize the plan with the information that’s relevant to the particular reader.

This involves understanding who will be reading the business plan and adjusting the tone, depth of information, and focus areas accordingly. In short, you should portray your business idea efficiently.

For example: If you’re starting a new joint replacement center and your reader is from a commerce background, then he would be interested in knowing the number of surgeons, patients, return on investment, etc, not how exactly you will perform joint replacement surgery.

6. Ensure the logical flow of your plan

A well-structured business plan guides the reader from start to finish in one flow. Your plan should maintain a logical flow that gives the reader information about your business step-by-step.

The plan should start with the executive summary and then move forward with a detailed company description which includes mission, vision, history, and business structure, giving clear information about the business.

Next, include other components like market analysis, marketing and sales strategies, operational plan, and then financial plan. Smartly introduce your target market, expected revenues, funding requirements, and more in the plan.

7. Complete your plan with all the supporting documents

You should back your plan with evidence and supporting documents to build trust amongst your readers.

These documents can be financial forecasts (income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement), budgets, portfolios of key members of the company, and necessary other contracts, permits, or regulations.

Make sure to include only important documents and not make it unnecessarily lengthy which is hard to read.

8. Keep the formatting simple and consistent

Having consistent formatting throughout the whole plan is necessary for readability and professionalism.

Use a clean font such as Arial, Times New Roman, Montserrat, or any other professional font. Set rules for headings and subheadings with bold text or a slightly larger font.

Also, the use of bullet points or numbered lists can make key information stand out and improve the overall readability.

Margins should be uniform on all sides, typically set to one inch, and line spacing should be single or 1.15 lines to keep the text from appearing cramped.

For a professional print format, use high-quality paper, high-resolution printing, consistent margins, and spacing. Opt for durable covers and binding if possible.

Finally, avoid “widows” and “orphans” in the printed document. A “widow” occurs when the last line of a paragraph appears alone at the top of a page, while an “orphan” is a single word left at the bottom of a paragraph.

9. An attractive cover page is a must

The cover page of business plan is going to be the first thing your readers will see. So, it should be simple and elegant. It also sets the tone for the whole business plan.

A cover page should include the company’s name in large font size so that it can be highlighted. Then it should also have the tagline of the business, its logo, date, and contact details.

Use high-quality graphics or subtle design elements to enhance the visual appeal. Stick to a clean layout with balanced spacing, making sure it looks polished and professional.

10. Take feedback and reviews

Trust me, grammatical errors or spelling mistakes can hamper the image of your professional plan. Thus, to overcome it, get your business plan reviewed by other people to get a fresh perspective on your plan.

Sometimes, the writer overlooks basic mistakes that others can detect. So, either go to a friend, relative, or a professional editor and give it the last polishing it needs.

Also, they will figure out if something needs to be added to the plan or if there are any factual errors.

You may have a billion-dollar business idea, but the presentation and formatting of your plan helps you move past the screening stage. You sure you’ll get past?

Don’t worry. Upmetrics can help turn your cluttered and unorganized plan into a compelling and organized one. It’s pretty simple. Get into the Upmetrics editor, import your existing business plan, and start formatting.

Upmetrics’ guided and AI-powered builder helps you easily format and structure your plan with 400+ sample templates to refer to, follow, and use. AI writing assistant is there to help you refine sentences, fix tone, and correct grammar.

Whether it’s about writing a plan from scratch or updating or formatting it, Upmetrics is just the tool. It’s time to let Upmetrics take control and say bye to your formatting troubles. Try Upmetrics today!

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Frequently Asked Questions

What font and size should be used.

For a business plan, use a professional, easy-to-read font such as Times New Roman, Arial, or Calibri. The font size should typically be 11 or 12 points for the main text, with larger sizes (14 to 16 points) for headings and subheadings to ensure clear differentiation and readability.

How should I structure the headings and subheadings in a business plan?

Make headings in business plans with bold and larger fonts (16 points) and use slightly smaller fonts (14 points) for subheadings. Maintain consistent fonts and styles, add whitespace, and align headings for a professional look.

Should I include page numbers in my business plan?

Yes, you should include page numbers in your plan. Page numbers help readers navigate the document easily when they want to jump to some section directly. Typically, page numbers are placed in the footer, aligned to the right, or centered.

Is it necessary to include a table of contents?

Yes, a table of contents helps people see all the sections of the plan at one glance. It also helps people directly jump to a particular section with the help of the page numbers.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

Reach Your Goals with Accurate Planning

70 Small Business Ideas for Anyone Who Wants to Run Their Own Business

Published: March 19, 2024

A good business idea may seem hard to come by, but with some planning and preparation, you can easily launch a small business to supplement your income — or become your own full-time boss.

Maybe you already have an idea of the business you’d like to start. But while you might feel ready for a new venture and passionate about your idea, you might be looking for some direction.

To help get you started, here's a list of small business ideas separated into a few sections:

• What makes a good small business?

Best Small Business Ideas

Best businesses to start with little money, home business ideas.

• Online Businesses Ideas

Easy Businesses to Start

Business ideas for students, creative small business ideas, how to start a small business at home, starting a small business: faq.

The first step to becoming a successful entrepreneur is finding a business idea that works for you. In this article, you’ll find dozens of small business ideas you can start from home and scale up as your clientele grows. Let’s get started.

What makes a good small business idea?

Not all small business ideas are made equal: Some require more effort and funding than others, while some can be launched with few resources — or resources you already have. As a potential small business owner, you’ll want to save as much money as possible on training, rent, supplies, and other necessities.

Let’s go over what makes a good business idea:

• Requires little to no training . A good small business idea will ideally leverage your existing field of expertise and require little to no training. That will not only shorten your time-to-launch, but also lessen your expenses, since training courses can cost a significant amount of money. Plus, you’ll be more confident offering services that you feel prepared to deliver.
• Requires low setup costs. Your business should be cheap to start. Maybe you only need to purchase a website domain or buy a desk for your garage.
• Requires little hands-on inventory or supply management . A great business idea needs few supplies and little inventory management. If you want to sell physical goods, you can either try drop-shipping and manually make goods in small batches.
• Is based online . The best small business ideas are based online and can be carried out from your personal computer. This will automatically lower your commuting costs and give you greater flexibility over your personal and work life.
• Can sustainably be managed by few people . As a small business owner, you won’t have the funds to hire other people to help you run your business — at least not at first. A good business idea should give you the ability to run your business on your own.

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Airbnb Co-founder, Brian Chesky, said, “If we tried to think of a good idea, we wouldn’t have been able to think of a good idea. You just have to find the solution for a problem in your own life.”

If you’re like Brian and you’ve already thought about a solution for a problem you encounter in your life — or you’re on the path to doing so — then starting a small business may be in your future. It may also be for you if you dream of clocking out of your nine-to-five job for the last time and becoming your own boss.

Below, we include the best ideas for you to start your small business — with resources and examples to help you get started.

1. Handyman

8. Life/Career Coach

If you have experience navigating career, personal, and social transitions successfully, put it to good use as a life or career coach. Many of us are looking for guidance in our careers — and finding someone with the time to mentor us can be tough.

Life/career coaches don’t come cheap, but they are able to offer clients the intense and hands-on training and advice they need to make serious moves in their personal and professional lives. After all, everyone needs some uplifting advice from time to time.

To start your life/career coaching business with confidence, you can look for a certification program (like the Life Coach School’s or Diane Hudson’s ), then apply your skills as you acquire new clients.

A resume writing business is economical, has few overhead costs, and has few educational requirements. We still recommend having an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree and a few resume samples on hand. If you still feel that you need to brush up on your resume writing skills, you can take a course like Coursera’s or LinkedIn Learning’s .

Once you’ve gotten resume writing down, you can expand your business to include cover letter writing and even offer career coaching services in conjunction with these services.

10. Freelance Writer

If you have writing skills , there’s someone out there willing to pay you for them. Write blog posts, magazine articles, and website copy galore — just make sure you have a body of work built up to share with potential clients. Even if you create a few sample pieces to have on hand, they’ll help exhibit your work and attract new business.

To become a freelance writer, it’s essential to choose a specialty. For instance, you might choose to only write for publications in the healthcare industry (maybe because you were previously a healthcare worker) or focus on lifestyle publications. Whatever the case, specializing will help you find your niche market and gain confidence as a new freelancer writer.

There are no educational requirements for freelance writing, but you do need strong writing skills. It also helps to enjoy writing. While certification may be beneficial, getting practice and writing every day is more important. Try these writing prompts to start.

11. Landscaper

Mowing, tree-trimming, and seasonal decor are all neighborhood needs. If you have or can acquire the equipment, a landscaping business can be a lucrative affair. It’s also a great choice if you enjoy doing it for your own home and have a good eye for landscape design.

The good news is that you can start small. For instance, you could offer your neighbors seasonal planting services and start with a few perennial plants, or simply offer mulching services.

To grow your landscaping business, you should consider taking some formal training. The following organizations offer courses:

• New York Botanical Gardens

After completing a course and getting enough experience, you can apply for a certificate from a landscaping organization. While a certificate isn’t necessary to work in the field, it can build your credentials and help you make industry connections to take your landscaping business to the next level. The Association of Professional Landscape Designers offers one potential certificate you could pursue.

Some states require licensure, especially if you’ll be using pesticides and fertilizers. Be sure to review the requirements for your state.

Learn some of the basics now with this video on landscape design from Lowe’s:

12. Videographer

Video production requires you to have invested in the equipment up front, which can be quite expensive. But that’s also what makes your services so valuable. Make sure you have a reel of your work to share or create a website with several selections of your work available for interested viewers.

There are no educational or licensure requirements for starting a video production business. As with writing and other creative arts, though, it pays to specialize. Real estate videos differ radically from wedding videos, and wedding videos differ radically from in-studio interviews and testimonials. By specializing, you target a highly specific customer who’ll benefit the most from your services, and you can also skill-up more effectively in one shooting style.

While you can find general classes on videography, you should consider taking a class in the type of videography you’d like to do. For instance, you could take The Complete Wedding Videography Course .

Hot tip: If you’re interested in specializing in video marketing, check out The Ultimate Guide to Video Marketing and download our starter pack below.

13. Photographer

Start by conducting photo shoots for your family and friends. As you build a body of work, ask for referrals and reviews. Photography businesses often grow by word of mouth, so create a Facebook page where you can tag recent clients. Photos where you tag those clients will show up in their friends’ newsfeeds, where they can view your work. You can also ask them to leave reviews on your Facebook business page.

Like with a video production small business, you’ll want to specialize. Will you do product shoots or portraits? How about wedding or fashion photo shoots? Once you specialize, you’ll be able to create a body of work that most accurately represents your strengths.

There are no educational or licensure requirements for starting a small photography business. Still, we recommend investing in a few photography courses, especially if you haven’t used your camera in a while. Some courses you might start with include:

• Cornell’s Digital Photography Certificate Program
• New York Institute of Photography’s Course

From there, seek courses that help you build skills in your chosen specialty.

If you’re not sure where to start with freelance photography, take a look at Erica Clayton’s journey into the business below. Her advice? Give yourself a firm deadline to turn a profit.

14. Bed and Breakfast Owner

Some consulting industries are more competitive than others, so be sure to complete your research before starting a small consulting business. One way to find out how competitive a consulting niche is by doing keyword search . If your target niche is highly searched or is already dominated by big companies, you may have a harder time breaking in. You can use keyword research tools to uncover keyword volume and local demand.

If there’s room for you to enter the market, the next step is to land your first clients. Be sure to participate in local networking events covering your niche and reach out to potential prospects through cold calling and emailing. Investing in dedicated sales software can also help measure and improve your emailing strategy, as well as keep track of worthwhile leads.  

12. Event Planner

An event planning business is an excellent choice if you have great organizational and interpersonal skills, and it’s relatively cheap to start. You might choose to specialize in a specific type of event — like weddings or company meetings — or set yourself up as an event planner of all trades.

The good news is that event planners are always in demand. It’s not an easily automated job, so this small business idea is set to thrive regardless of the digital landscape. To start, you’ll want to look for a platform that will easily allow you to advertise your availability, such as event planner directories like Eventective and WeddingWire .

If you’re highly organized, detail-oriented, and have experience planning large events, it might be time for others to benefit from your skills.

13. Personal Assistant

Personal assistants help business owners and executives take care of administrative tasks. To launch a freelance personal assistant business, you should leverage networking opportunities on LinkedIn and attend small business events at local chambers of commerce. Most local business owners might not even know they need a personal assistant until you market your services to them.

If you’re an organized, highly-detailed person, the life of a personal assistant might be for you. Don’t want to be tied to one office or person all day, every day? Consider becoming a virtual assistant, which allows you a more flexible work environment.

To become an assistant, choose a niche — will you be helping women business owners specifically? Do you have a specific field of expertise, like bookkeeping? A website can also go a long way, and be sure to print business cards for you to hand out during networking events.

14. Consignment Shop Owner

If you have an eye for style but don’t want to invest in the inventory of a brand-new boutique, consider starting a consignment shop. It will allow you to curate a collection of clothing that matches your goals and aesthetic without the overhead of a boutique selling entirely new garments.

The beauty of a small consignment business is that you can now start one online. You can sign up on a platform such as Poshmark , Depop , and even Etsy , then easily start selling your own used fashion from home.

Once you’ve defined your niche — such as vintage clothing, unique locally made art, or colorful shoes — you can begin sourcing new products from your local stores and thrift shops.

15. Caterer

If the personal chef gig is too restrictive for your schedule, consider catering instead. Pick your projects, work on fewer but larger events, and hone in on your time management skills.

Becoming a caterer is a natural step for those who are used to cooking for large events — for instance, you may have already catered your friend’s wedding or brought a 20-person meal to a potluck (that counts, too!).

It’s essential that you have enough temperature-regulated storage for the meals prior to each event, and that you arrange for reliable, temperature-controlled transportation to and from your home kitchen. Alternatively, you can lower your costs by inviting customers to pick up their order at your home.

16. Gym Owner

Kickboxing gyms, yoga studios, CrossFit, oh my! Turn your passion for fitness into a community for others by creating your own gym — start one from the ground up, become an affiliate, or open a franchise location.

Available franchise opportunities include Anytime Fitness, Orangetheory Fitness, Pure Barre, Planet Fitness, Crunch Fitness, and more. Be prepared to take out a loan to finance your franchise — most agreements start with fees upward of $20,000. But the payoff can be tremendous due to brand recognition. You’ll have no trouble recruiting new members as long as you use local marketing strategies .

Alternatively, you can create a local studio, but ideally, it should be for a specific activity instead of general fitness. Yoga, pilates, bootcamp-style gyms, and martial arts perform well as independent fitness studios.

17. Boutique Agency Owner

What’s your specialty? Whether it’s marketing, social media, or PR, it might be time to start your own agency. Many other small businesses need this type of help but don’t have the resources or volume to necessitate a full-time position.

To start an agency, you would ideally have worked in your specialty for a number of years. You should also be prepared to interface directly with clients, fulfill their requirements, and temper their expectations (if they want results in an unreasonably short amount of time).

Consider building a small team and learn from other entrepreneurs who’ve successfully started their own agencies, like Duane Brown of Take Some Risk .

18. Coffee Shop Owner

Turn your caffeine addiction into something a little more lucrative. Opening a franchise or buying an existing shop are lower-risk entry points to the coffee game, but they usually require a little more cash upfront. Starting a shop from scratch requires more planning and work — but it also maximizes your earning potential in the future.

A coffee shop is an excellent fit if you already have a full-time remote job and wish to supplement your income with a small business. You can manage the coffee shop as you work at one of the tables, but be sure to have the budget to hire an experienced barista who can pick up the slack.

If you would like to open a coffee shop and run it full-time on your own, you’ll need to undertake barista training, understand worldwide coffee sources, and have excellent customer service skills.

19. Moving Company

A truck, moving equipment, manpower, and the correct permits and insurance are the building blocks of starting your own moving company . Before you buy your first fleet of trucks, however, start small with a moving van and keep your costs low.

Still sound like too much of an initial investment? Consider offering packing services only, which have a much lower financial barrier to entry. You can partner with moving companies and offer to do their packing, or have them refer clients to you.

You could even take a niche approach to the industry as Astro International has by offering international moving services.

2. Vending Machine Owner

Since 2015, the growth rate for vending machine businesses has increased 1.4%. Even as social distancing restrictions are still in place, this business can still be lucrative if you choose the right locations. High-traffic is key — places like hospitals, schools, and community centers are smart places to start placing your machines to generate enough revenue to cover cost and turn a profit.

3. Social Media Manager

Do you have a knack for social media? As a social media manager, you can use your skills to manage the social media accounts for companies and even individual people. Influencer marketing has become more common and many influencers rely on marketing agencies or employees to help them run their social channels.

Online Business Ideas

If you want a business idea that you can run entirely online, check out the ones below. These ideas are ideal for those looking for a passive income stream. In other words, you shouldn’t need to do too much manual work to launch these businesses from your home or preferred business location.

1. Become an online reseller.

To become an online reseller, all you need is some business savvy and some funds to invest in product stock from manufacturers — or, of course,the willingness to sell your own used items. Generally, this is a low-touch but high-performance way of creating a passive income online business.

Online resellers usually use a platform, such as Facebook Marketplace or Amazon Sellers, to sell either their own or manufacturers’ stock. The benefit of using Facebook Marketplace is that you can begin today with your own Facebook account, and simply list items that you already own.

Interested buyers typically drive directly to your home for pick-up — but if you’re not interested in human interaction, you can leave it outside and have the buyer pay via an online platform.

Blogging is one of the most accessible small businesses to start, and there are countless niches to choose from. That said, because there are many blogs online, you’ll need to learn blog SEO and keyword research to ensure your audience finds you. That way, you actually make money out of your blogging efforts.

The great news is that a small blogging business has a ridiculously low overhead. All you need is a custom domain and your time for writing blog posts. Although finding the right topic ideas and outlining your posts may seem challenging at first, especially if you’re new to writing, you can let a blog ideas generator do most of the grunt work for you.

These tools leverage Artificial Intelligence to help you brainstorm ideas and set up your content structure. That way, you can kickstart your creative juices and begin writing about what you love right away. 

5. Home-Baked Goods Seller

Warehouse-made, store-bought chocolate chip cookies will never compare to a batch made with love in someone’s home. Simple desserts can be easily baked and packaged to sell at local events or around your neighborhood. Use custom labels and watch the word spread about your goods!

You can begin a baked goods business easily by opening a Facebook and Instagram profile. Facebook and Instagram are both excellent platforms to market your goods, show pictures of your previous baked products, and even showcase happy clients.

Build a loyal following slowly, and save on costs by asking clients to drive to your home to pick up their order. Choosing a niche can be helpful here, or baking in a specific style that can’t be found at grocery store bakeries. The overhead can be especially low if you already have most essential baking supplies.

6. Ecommerce Store Owner

Do you create, collect, or curate anything special? Consider starting an ecommerce store and turning your hobby into a full-time job. Whether you need somewhere to sell all that pottery you’ve been making, or an excuse to search for the sports memorabilia you love tracking down, an ecommerce store can make it financially viable for you to pursue your passion.

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Starting an ecommerce store is simple and easy. You can set up a shop using an ecommerce website builder , all of which start at a minimal monthly subscription (some even start at free). Be sure to take good photos of your products and write descriptive product pages .

If you don’t have inventory, you can always own an ecommerce store by using dropshipping . Instead of creating and shipping your products yourself, you’ll instead partner with a dropshipping website and have them mail out the orders directly to your client.

7. House Cleaner

With a low barrier to entry, house cleaning can be a great way to start doing what you love — soon. Consider advertising to homes in your neighborhood and get more bang for your buck by earning a few small businesses as clients as well. They’ll usually bring in a higher paycheck for a similar amount of work.

To become a house cleaner, you should be prepared to invest in cleaning supplies and accessories, or be willing to use your own. If you plan to serve small businesses, you should buy industrial janitorial supplies so you can get work done more effectively.

Need some inspiration? This small business cleaning service grew virtually overnight on Instagram after their content went viral during the pandemic.

Get HubSpot's Free CRM Software

4. create a business plan..

No business plan? No business. Particularly if your small business idea requires investors, you'll need to draft up a business plan to provide an overview of your market positioning, your financial projections, and your unique competitive advantages. You can download HubSpot's free business plan templates for free to get started.

Learn more about choosing the right structure for your business from the Small Business Administration.

6. Create a business bank account.

Once you have a legally formed business and have been issued an Employer Identification Number (EIN), open a bank account specifically for your business. Having a business bank account is essential for keeping your personal and business finances separate which can help you gain an accurate picture of your business’s cash flow and financial health.

Additionally, keeping your personal and business finances separate makes bookkeeping and tax preparation easier.

Many banks offer business checking and savings accounts. Business checking accounts typically do not have a limit on the number of transactions that can take place, and issue a debit card that can be used for making business purchases. However, these checking accounts do not accrue interest.

Business savings accounts typically earn interest over time but have a limited number of transactions that can occur each month. When you’re just starting out, look for a business bank account that does not have a minimum balance requirement so you are not penalized for having low funds as you work to build your business.

7. Determine if your business idea works well from home.

Ask yourself whether your business idea will work well from home. Some businesses simply aren’t suited to be based from home. If you want to run a dog boarding center but live in an apartment without a backyard, you might want to consider a dog walking business instead.

8. Set up an office.

If your business idea is well-suited for being run from home, it’s still important you have a designated workspace. While a home office might not be possible, consider setting aside a corner in your living room or putting a desk in your bedroom for a space that inspires you and creates the conditions for success.

Need a more professional space? If you conduct client-facing work requiring you to be on video calls, no one wants to see your rumpled sheets in the background. Check out local coworking spaces for memberships that earn you access to conference rooms, desk space, and more.

9. Get to work!

You’ve put in the hard work, but I’ve got bad news — it’s only going to get harder. But most entrepreneurs will agree that the payoff of being your own boss, making your own hours, and working on projects that you’re passionate about will pay dividends for the rest of your life.

What are the types of small businesses?

The types of small business structures are sole proprietorships, partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs), and corporations.

• Sole Proprietorship — The simplest type of business structure is a sole proprietorship, which is also the easiest to start. As a sole proprietor, you are personally responsible for the business's liabilities and profits, and you have complete control over your business. If you are a solopreneur, you are automatically considered a sole proprietor.
• Partnership — A partnership is a business model involving two or more individuals who agree to share the business‘s profits and liabilities. Each partner contributes to the business and shares the risks and rewards. It’s essential to have a partnership agreement that defines each partner's roles and responsibilities to ensure clarity and prevent potential misunderstandings.
• Limited Liability Company (LLC) — An LLC, or limited liability company, is a common option for small businesses because it protects its owners by separating personal assets from the company's liabilities. To form an LLC, the business owner must file the required paperwork with the state.
• Corporation — A corporation is an independent legal entity distinct from its owners. It provides limited liability protection to its shareholders, who are not held personally accountable for the company's debts. Corporations have formal requirements and often raise capital by issuing stocks or shares.

Which business type is best?

The best business type is a limited liability company (LLC). Operating as an LLC means that your personal assets are separate from your business assets. If your business goes bankrupt, your personal holdings won’t be affected. That said, it’s also one of the costlier types, requiring a fee paid to the state.

The easiest business type to start is a sole proprietorship. The main downside is that there’s no differentiation between you and your business.

It's crucial to seek advice from legal or accounting professionals to determine the best business structure based on your unique needs and objectives. Each structure has advantages, legal requirements, tax implications, and flexibility considerations.

How do I create a business idea?

To create a business idea, determine your skill set, work preferences, startup budget, and available resources. It’s important to strike the right balance between what you can feasibly offer and what you can feasibly afford in the short and long term.

We recommend starting with your skill set so that you can easily determine the niche in which you can effectively compete. For instance, if you have ample experience as a writer, you might consider starting a freelance writing business. But if you know you’d prefer to work with clients face-to-face, you might choose to start a ghostwriting business instead. That’s why it’s so important to take your work preferences into account, as well.

After that, take a look at your budget and determine the type of business you can start based on the resources at your disposal. For instance, you might not be able to afford a physical office or location, so a location-based business will likely not be a good fit. In that case, starting an online business is your best option.

What resources or tools can I use to refine and validate my business ideas during the brainstorming process?

Online market research tools like Google Trends, Keyword Planner, and SEMrush can provide insights into market demand, competition, and keyword trends related to your business niche. Industry reports and market analyses from reputable sources such as IBISWorld, Gartner, Statista, and industry-specific publications can offer valuable data and trends to inform your decision-making. Ensure you know the industry risk before embarking on your small business venture.

→ Download Now: Market Research Kit [Free Download]

Additionally, joining entrepreneurial communities, forums, and social media groups can provide opportunities to seek feedback, network with like-minded people, and gain insights from experienced entrepreneurs. Finally, consider conducting surveys or interviews with potential customers to gather feedback and validate your business concept before investing significant time and resources.

What are some of the most successful small businesses?

Every small business has the potential to be successful and profitable, provided it’s backed by a strong product-market fit and a robust business plan . These two elements are essential. Maybe postnatal services are one of the most successful small businesses to launch, but if you live in an area with declining population or a large elderly population, then that small business idea won’t yield a high return on investment.

Think carefully about the market where you’re launching your business, and you’ll be more than likely to see lasting success.

What are the top growing small businesses?

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• Small Business

The Single Best Business to Start Right Now

Published on June 20, 2024

By: Chris Neiger

• Technology is one of the fastest-growing industries.
• E-commerce, AI, and software development could be good bets.
• Most entrepreneurs are happy running their own business.

If you have an idea for a small business, it pays to do some research before you launch. And it can be especially helpful to learn which industries are most in demand.

Technology businesses are one of the fastest growing

Aside from the healthcare industry, "computer and mathematical" is the fastest-growing occupational group. That means, for most people, tech is the best bet. Or, you could spend over 10 years becoming a doctor and launch your own practice -- your choice!

Tech jobs are estimated to grow 15.2% between 2022 and 2032. But where should you start in the vast tech industry? Here are a few industry segments that could make great businesses.

1. Artificial intelligence

There's a lot of hype around AI right now, but many legitimate businesses can be started using this technology. Earlier this year, 22% of software jobs were AI-related. Many companies will need guidance on implementing AI into their business, so if you have some experience with artificial intelligence, then starting an AI consulting business could be worth exploring.

2. E-commerce

Business credit card comparison.

Consider these business credit cards that offer a convenient and efficient way to separate personal and business expenses, simplifying accounting and tax reporting.

Additionally, business cards can provide valuable perks such as rewards points, cashback, and expense tracking tools, enhancing financial management and the potential to help save money in the long run.

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3. Software development

I know several people who've either started their own software development businesses or done freelancing work, both of which kept them very busy. And AI is helping some developers improve their efficiency. I talked to a guy at a coffee shop recently who has his own software development businesses and he and his team use AI to speed up their work.

How to get started

Before you launch your business, you should have a plan to give yourself the best chance of success. Here are a few general suggestions for getting started:

• Create a business plan
• Research the market
• Decide if this will be a side hustle first

This isn't an exhaustive list. But doing market research will help you know if there's a need for your product or services, and creating a solid business plan will help you figure out which steps to take to launch your business. So spend some time thinking through the details, like how you'll manage your money in a business checking account or how much you'll need to earn to transition from a side hustle to a full-time business.

Many small business owners also overlook the finer points of managing taxes and accounting. While it's not as exciting as thinking about ideas for businesses, choosing the right accounting software upfront can help you more easily manage your money at every stage of your business.

Starting a small business in tech or any other industry is nothing to rush into, but the good thing is that those who start their own business are generally very happy they did so. A recent American Express survey shows that 95% of small business owners are "overwhelmingly happy" as owners.

Compare that with just over half of workers who are highly satisfied in their jobs, and it's clear why so many people are willing to take on the extra work of launching and running their own businesses.

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Our Research Expert

Chris Neiger is a full-time freelance writer with more than 10 years' experience covering personal finance and investing-related topics. He was also a writer for the BBC for three years and marketing manager for two non-profits.

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Drawing A Simple Single Business Plan

Back to: BUSINESS STUDIES JSS3

Welcome to Class !!

We are eager to have you join us !!

In today’s Business Studies class, We will be learning about Drawing a smile Business Plan.  We hope you enjoy the class!

A business plan is a written document which describes the objectives of a business and the strategies of achieving the objectives. A business plan is like a road map giving the direction of a business. The business plan contains background information about a business venture.

  CHARACTERISTICS OF A BUSINESS PLAN

• A good business plan must be clear in its objectives to be achieved.
• A good business plan must be reasonable and achievable.
• It must be measurable and easy to determine if the business is growing or not.
• It must be time-bound and state how long the objective will be achieved.
• It must be in written form so that it will be easy to refer to.

USES OF A BUSINESS PLAN

• It acts as a guide to the business and its operations.
• It helps the entrepreneur to research into the business they want to pursue
• It helps the employees to know the objectives of the business thereby enabling them to work towards these objectives
• It helps develop the policy or rules for the business
• It helps the investors to know and see how accountable the management is and the structure put into place.

PROCEDURES FOR DRAWING A SIMPLE SINGLE BUSINESS PLAN

• Background/preamble—It has the product/service, its name, logo, vision and goals.
• Market Research—–Find out customers’ want and needs, pricing and competitors in the market.
• Marketing—-Creating awareness for the goods.
• Production—method of production and quality control.
• Organization/management—showing the number of people that will be employed and their duties.
• Finance—-estimating amount to start a business, its source and how it is to be expended.
• Action plan.
• What is a business plan?
• State two uses of a business plan.

READING ASSIGNMENT

WABP Business Studies book 3 Pages54 to 63

GENERAL EVALUATION

• What is an office?
• Mention the types of office that you know and give an example for each.
• State seven functions of an office.
• Give seven components of Business Studies.
• What is trade by barter?

  WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

• The written form of a business’ objectives and their strategies is called business ___ (a) product   (b) service   (c) plan   (d)  management
• The external factors of a business environment that can have a negative effect on the goals of a business are termed as ___  (a) objectives(b) strengths  (c) threats   (d) weaknesses
• The business plan should describe the business objectives and the ___ of achieving it. (a) layout (b) components    (c) strategies     (d) plan.
• Which one of the following is not a characteristic of a business plan? (a)Achievable (b)Measurable  (c)   Cheap and easy   (d)In written form.
• Which is the first procedure in drawing the business plan? (a)Action plan (b) Market research (c)Background preamble   (d)Production
• Define a business plan.
• State three uses of a business plan to an entrepreneur.

We have come to the end of this class. We do hope you enjoyed the class?

Should you have any further question, feel free to ask in the comment section below and trust us to respond as soon as possible.

In our next class, we will be talking about Consumer Protection Agencies.  We are very much eager to meet you there.

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Money blog: What will happen to tax and interest rates under Labour – and how will benefits change? | Join our live Q&A

Business presenter Ian King answered your questions on what a Labour government means for your personal finances, here in the Money blog.

Monday 8 July 2024 18:35, UK

• Ian King answered your questions on what a Labour government means for your personal finances in a live Q&A earlier - scroll through his answers below
• Publicans hit out at Co-op for 'disgraceful' TV advert
• 'Price war well and truly on' as two major lenders announce mortgage rate cuts
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• Best of the Money blog - an archive

Ask a question or make a comment

Thanks for all your questions  - and for following Ian King's responses on the likely changes we can expect under the new Labour government.

If you could not join us in time, do not worry - you can scroll through the answers below at your leisure.

Dad of Swifties:

Why don't the government remove VAT on concert tickets like in other countries and announce stronger regulation on sites like Ticketmaster? Prices are a joke

Here's what  Ian King , our business presenter, says on this one...

Labour promised not to increase the rate of VAT during the election campaign. 

That is very different from cutting it or making some products and services tax free. 

I'd be surprised if it happened. The government needs to raise money, not give it away. 

That said, I note that US Congress has recently been talking about tougher regulation of businesses like Ticketmaster, so doubtless parliamentarians on this side of the Atlantic will be watching closely.

May I ask who is likely to be eligible for the proposed new housing as outlined today? I have a son of 43 and his wife living with us as they can't afford a mortgage, and aren't eligible for social housing. Not everyone in Britain wants the responsibility of owning a house.

Ian King , Sky News business presenter, says...

Labour is aiming for increasing housing availability across the board with a mix of both public/social housing and also private sector accommodation – while also looking to stimulate the "build to rent" sector. 

It's not a case of eligibility, as such. 

They're seeking to increase supply in the first instance – get that right and demand will be met.

Haven't we heard all this before with housebuilding targets - what's different this time?

Good question – which reminds me that one of the most dangerous phrases in investment and business is "it's different this time". 

What genuinely appears to be different is that Labour seem totally committed to sweeping away the planning rules and regulations that stand in the way of more homes being built. 

If they can pull this off then, all other things being equal, they will have a fighting chance of completing 1.5 million new homes over the life of this parliament.

The other thing I would say is that this is a hugely ambitious target and so Labour, by making it public, have confidence it can be done. 

You can rest assured that Labour will be asked about it a lot towards the next general election. 

The political graveyards are littered with those politicians – Harold Macmillan, Conservative prime minister from 1957-1963, is a good example – who made promises on housebuilding they failed to keep.

The last government promised an end to no-fault evictions... is this legislation still alive?

Another short answer from our business presenter  Ian King ...

The legislation died with the last government but, yes, the expectation is that Labour will abolish no-fault evictions.

What will Labour do with dividend tax? And what about corporation tax?

Rachel Reeves is already committed to keeping corporation tax unchanged for the life of this parliament. 

But no such commitments have been forthcoming on the taxation of dividends. 

And some people fear the worst because Labour has form here - Gordon Brown took away tax relief on the dividends that pension funds received on their investments in 1997 - which contributed to the near extinction of gold-plated "defined benefit" or "final salary" pension schemes in the private sector.

In fairness, Labour can point out that the Conservatives also stripped away protections enjoyed by savers on their dividends. 

You can now only receive dividends of £500 on shares or investment funds held outside an ISA. The allowance stood at 10 times that just seven years ago.

The moral of the story is clear – if you hold shares or investment funds which pay dividends, protect them in an ISA, which ensures the payouts will be tax-free.

If memory serves me correctly weren't the railways an unmitigated disaster last time they were in public ownership? How is renationalising meant to help anyone?

Here's what  Ian King , our business presenter, says to this...

Labour argues that, in state ownership, the rail network can be more coherent with one "fat controller" type figure in charge to oversee timetables and ticketing. 

Bear in mind most of the railways more or less have been renationalised already – the exception being the rolling stock companies, which will remain privately owned. 

You are right to point out the shortcomings of the nationalised model – as I did in this article for Sky News back in 2017 .

The nationalised model is not a silver bullet – as English and Scottish football supporters to have used Germany's nationalised rail service during the Euros will testify.

We heard nothing in the campaign about how growth would be achieved - how much convincing detail did we get from Reeves?

The UK's sclerotic planning rules have been a major drag on growth over the last decade. 

If Labour has found a way of obviating those rules then it should generate growth. But bear in mind this is going to cause huge rows as Whitehall orders local planning managers what to do and rides roughshod over them when they don't co-operate. 

Not everyone will like it and especially those who find their views interrupted by, for example, new homes. The same applies to tearing up the rules banning more onshore wind farms. 

All other things being equal, it should also be positive for growth, but those who have views of open countryside blighted by new wind turbines may disagree.

Croydon Ajay:

Can anything be done to scrap the disparities in stamp duty which means young buyers in London have to pay when the same people in the North East don't pay a penny?

Stamp duty is a rotten tax and, if you want to promote growth, scrapping it would certainly be a good way of doing so. But given that Stamp Duty Land Tax brought in £11.6bn in the last financial year, the government is likely to want to keep it in place. 

The differing tax takes to which you refer reflect the fact that house prices are cheaper in the North East than in London. 

SDLT is very much a London tax – the capital accounted for 36% of all SDLT paid in 2021-22, the latest year for which figures are available. 

Homebuyers in the London borough of Westminster alone paid more SDLT than the whole of the North West of England. I doubt those disparities to which you refer will change unless house prices in London collapse and house prices rocket elsewhere. 

You are right to point out the pernicious effects of this. 

In some London boroughs, primary schools are starting to close, because parents find they cannot live in the capital and raise a family. They're moving out – reducing demand for London school places in some areas.

Disgruntled:

Ian can you give us an idea of how much scrapping the two-child benefit cap would cost and why is this not achievable with a windfall tax on oil and gas companies raking it in? Starmer is a Tory with a red rosette

The Resolution Foundation has estimated that the two-child benefit cap will save the government £2.5bn during the current financial year – which would rise to £3.6bn if applied to all families claiming universal credit.

Labour is committed to raising the levy on North Sea oil and gas producers from the current 75% to 78% - and has earmarked the money raised will go towards funding its wider plans for energy and, in particular, decarbonisation. 

It would be ill-advised to raise taxes further. The decisions it has made have already had an impact on investment in the North Sea, as I report here . 

And don't forget, the cap is not just about saving money. It's also about avoiding awkward newspaper headlines and stories about big families being paid a small fortune in benefits of the kind that embarrassed the last Labour government and angered so many of its traditional working-class supporters in particular.

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Best Retirement Plans for Employees

Best retirement plans for self-employed individuals.

• Best Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs)

Other Retirement Savings Options

• Why You Should Trust Us

Best Retirement Plans for 2024: Choosing the Right Path for Your Future

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Why Start Saving for Retirement Now?

Financial experts all agree: The sooner you start saving, the better. Retirement savings accounts offer long-term wealth-building features like compounding, tax advantages, and retirement-focused investment strategies. 

Compound interest allows you to earn interest on your interest. The longer your money grows, the faster it accumulates and the closer you are to achieving a financially secure retirement. Contributing a little here and there is better than not contributing at all. 

Moreover, retirement plans like IRAs and 401(k)s offer tax benefits. You can contribute pre-tax money to lower your taxable income today. Or you can contribute after-tax money for tax-free growth and withdrawals. 

Here are Business Insider's editors' top picks for the best retirement plans in 2024. 

401(k) Plans

401(k)s are popular retirement savings plans offered by for-profit companies. Employees can open a traditional 401(k) or a Roth 401(k). Traditional 401(k)s grow with pre-tax dollars, but Roth 401(k)s rely on after-tax contributions, just like with IRAs.

Employees can contribute up to $23,000 in 2024, and individuals age 50 and older can contribute additional "catch-up" contributions of $7,500. 

Many 401(k)s offer employer-matching contributions. Your employer matches up to a certain limit for every dollar you put into your account. This is generally considered "free money" toward your retirement. For instance, if you make $50,000 annually, and your company matches 50% of your 401(k) contributions up to 5% of your salary, you would need to contribute $2,500 into your account to receive the full match amount. Your employer would then contribute an additional $1,250 a year.

403(b) Plans

403(b)s, or tax-sheltered annuities, are retirement plans for public school employees, tax-exempt organizations, churches, and other nonprofit companies. Similar to a 401(k), 403(b)s may offer the benefit of an employer match. You can contribute pre-tax or after-tax money. 

If you're under 50, you can contribute up to $23,000 in 2024. Employees 50 and up can contribute an additional $7,500. In addition to pre-tax and after-tax contributions, you can contribute to your 403(b) by allowing your employer to withhold money from your paycheck to deposit into the account.

Thrift Savings Plans

Thrift savings plans (TSPs) are retirement accounts for federal and uniformed services employees. Like 401(k)s, these plans let you contribute pre- or after-tax dollars. But, unlike many 401(k) employer matches, most TSPs offer a full 5% contribution match. Your employer will match your contributions up to 5% of your salary.

The annual contribution limit for 2024 is $23,000. The catch-up contribution limit is $7,500. 

457(b) plans are retirement savings accounts offered by certain state and local governments and tax-exempt organizations. Like 403(b)s, you can contribute to your 457(b) plan by asking your employer to withhold a portion of your paycheck and deposit it in your retirement plan. Some employers allow you to make Roth contributions. 

The annual contribution limit for 2024 is $23,000. The catch-up contribution limit is $7,500. Folks 50 and older can contribute up to the annual additions limit, currently $69,000. 

Pension Plans

Pension plans are retirement plans fully funded by your employer, who are required to make regular contributions toward your retirement. However, depending on the plan's terms, you may not have control over how the money is invested. 

There are two main types of pension plans: the defined contribution plan and the defined benefit plan. 401(k)s are technically considered defined-contribution pension plans, and your employer is not responsible if your investments perform poorly.

Traditional pension plans are defined benefit plans (plans with fixed, pre-established benefits). Employers are liable to provide retirement funds for a certain dollar amount, calculated based on employee earnings and employment years.

Solo 401(k)

Solo 401(k)s are an option for business owners who work for themselves and have no employees. They can contribute as both an employer and employee (and spouses of business owners may be able to contribute as well), meaning they can contribute twice as much. You can make pre- or post-tax (Roth) contributions to your account. 

As an employee, you can defer up to $23,000 of your self-employed income in 2024. If you're 50 or older, you can make an additional $7,500 catch-up contribution. As an employer, you can contribute up to $23,000, plus the catch-up contribution if you're 50 or older. The total contribution limit is $76,500. 

Simplified employee pension (SEP) IRAs are retirement vehicles managed by small businesses or self-employed individuals. According to the IRS, employees (including self-employed individuals) are eligible if they are 21 years old, have worked for the employer for at least three of the last five years, and have made a minimum of $750. 

SEP IRAs also require that all contributions to the plan are 100% vested. This means that each employee holds immediate and complete ownership over all contributions to their account, including any employer match. You can contribute up to $69,000 or 25% of your employee's compensation 2024.

Vesting protects employees against financial loss. For instance, according to the IRS, an employer can forfeit amounts of an employee's account balance that isn't fully vested if that employee hasn't worked more than 500 hours in a year for five years.

SIMPLE IRAs are for self-employed individuals or small businesses with 100 employees or less. According to the IRS, these retirement plans require employers to match each employee's contributions on a dollar-for-dollar basis up to 3% of the employee's salary.

To qualify, employees (and self-employed individuals) must have made at least $5,000 in the last two years and expect to receive that amount during the current year. But once you meet this requirement, you'll be 100% vested in all your SIMPLE IRA's earnings, meaning you have immediate ownership over your and your employer's contributions. 

Employees can contribute up to $16,000 in 2024. You can also add a catch-up contribution of $3,500 if you're 50 or older.

Payroll Deduction IRAs

Small businesses and self-employed people can set up employee IRAs even simpler. With payroll deduction IRAs, businesses delegate most of the hard work to banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions.

After determining which institutions their employer has partnered with, employees can set up payroll deductions with those institutions to fund their IRAs. These accounts are generally best for employees who don't have access to other employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s and 457(b)s.

For 2024, you can contribute up to $7,000 in annual contributions and up to $1,000 in annual catch-up contributions for employees aged 50 or older. 

Best Individual Retirement Arrangements (IRAs)

One of the most appealing components of independent retirement plans like IRAs is that you can open one as long as you've got taxable (earned) income. And even if you have an employer-sponsored retirement account, you can usually set up a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, and other independent retirement accounts.

Traditional IRA

Traditional IRAs let you save with pre-tax contributions toward your retirement savings. You'll pay tax when you withdraw during retirement. Traditional IRAs are recommended for higher-income workers who prefer to receive a tax deduction benefit now rather than later.

The 2024 contribution limit is $7,000, with up to $1,000 in catch-up contributions.

Roth IRAs are funded by after-tax dollars, meaning you pay taxes on your contributions now and make tax-free withdrawals later. As long as you're eligible, experts recommend Roth IRAs for early-career workers who expect to be in a higher tax bracket when they withdraw. Traditional and Roth IRAs share the same contribution limits: $7,000 in 2024, with up to $1,000 in catch-up contributions.

If you want to open one of the best Roth IRAs , single filers can only contribute the maximum amount in 2024 if their modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) is less than $146,000. Married couples must earn less than $230,000 annually to contribute the full amount in 2024. You can still contribute less if you earn a little more, though. 

You can find your MAGI by calculating your gross (before tax) income and subtracting any tax deductions from that amount to get your adjusted gross income (AGI), then adding back certain allowable deductions.

Spousal IRAs

There's also an option for married couples where one spouse doesn't earn taxable income. Spousal IRAs allow both spouses to contribute to a separate IRA as long as one spouse is employed and earns taxable income. This account allows the nonworking spouse to fund their own IRA. 

In 2024, each can contribute $7,000 (or $8,000 if they are 50 or older) for up to $16,000 annually.

Rollover IRAs

The best rollover IRAs let you convert your existing employer-sponsored retirement plan into an IRA, something experts generally recommend doing when you leave a job for a few reasons: primarily because you have more control over the investment options in an IRA than in a 401(k), and also because it's easier to consolidate your accounts for record-keeping.

Many online brokerages and financial institutions offer rollover IRAs; some will even pay you to transfer your employer-sponsored plan to an IRA.

Self-Directed IRAs (SDIRAs)

You can fund a self-directed IRA using traditional or Roth contributions ($7,000 and contribution limits in 2024, plus another $1,000 for catch-up contributions). But the difference between these accounts is mainly one of account custody and investment choices.

Unlike traditional and Roth IRAs, the IRS requires that all SDIRAs have a certified custodian or trustee who manages the account. These third parties handle the setup process and administrative duties of the IRA (e.g., executing transactions and assisting with account maintenance).

SDIRAs also give investors access to a wider range of investment options. With traditional and Roth IRAs, you're limited to mutual funds, ETFs, stocks, and other traditional investments. But, SDIRAs allow you to invest in alternative assets like real estate, precious metals, and cryptocurrencies .

Nondeductible IRAs

Nondeductible IRAs are for people who earn too much to get the full tax benefits of an IRA. Contributions for these accounts aren't tax deductible, meaning you'll fund your IRA with post-tax dollars like a Roth IRA. The difference is that you'll still have to pay taxes on any earnings or interest from the account once you withdraw at age 59 1/2.

Annuities are investment vehicles purchased from insurance companies at a premium. You'll receive periodic payouts during retirement once you purchase an annuity using pre-tax or after-tax dollars. Annuities offer a reliable income stream for retirees and reassurance they won't outlive their savings. 

The funds in an annuity can also be invested. Before you start receiving payouts, the investment gains grow tax-free, but you'll still be liable to pay income tax. Plus, annuities have limited liquidity and high fees that may diminish potential gains. 

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs)

Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) are savings accounts designed to cover medical expenses but can double as retirement savings. Once you're 65, you can withdraw the funds from your HSA penalty-free for non-medical expenses. 

While an HSA isn't a great main retirement savings vehicle, it can be a great addition to a different long-term savings account. In addition to penalty-free withdrawals on qualifying expenses, HSAs are funded with pre-tax dollars and grow-tax-free. But you'll still be subject to income tax. 

In 2024, you can contribute up to $4,150 for self-coverage and $8,300 for family coverage. Folks 55 and older can contribute an additional $1,000 catch-up contribution. 

Choosing the Best Retirement Plan for You

If you're not a small-business owner or self-employed, the best retirement plan for you usually depends on your type of employer, marital status, and short- and long-term savings goals. 

However, for most employer-sponsored retirement accounts, you can decide whether to make pre-tax or post-tax (Roth) contributions to your account. Roth contributions are best for those who expect to pay more in taxes as they age, but you should consider pre-tax contributions if you don't mind paying taxes when you withdraw money from your account in retirement.

You can boost your retirement savings even more by opening a separate IRA in addition to your employer-sponsored plan (you can still save toward retirement with an IRA if you're unemployed).

FAQs About Retirement Plans

Your best retirement option depends on your income, employer, financial situation, time horizon, and goals. If you can access a retirement savings account through your employer, especially a pension or 401(k) plan, that is likely your best option. If not, a traditional or Roth IRA offers tax advantages, compounding power, and flexible investment options.

A traditional or Roth IRA may be a better retirement saving account than a 401(k) due to the low fees and flexibility. Although 401(k)s come with great benefits like an employer match, they have high fees that can eat away at gains. An IRA may be a better option if your employer is not covering those fees. 

A Roth IRA may be the better option, depending on your situation. In most cases, a 401(k) is the stronger retirement account due to the convenience of automatic payroll deduction and the additional benefit of an employer match. However, Roth IRAs can double as emergency funds. A Roth IRA may be better if you're looking for increased flexibility and Roth tax benefits. 

Why You Should Trust Us: Our Expert Panel For The Best Retirement Plans

We interviewed the following investing experts to see what they had to say about retirement savings plans. 

• Sandra Cho , RIA, wealth manager, and CEO of Pointwealth Capital Management
• Tessa Campbell , Investment and retirement reporter at Personal Finance Insider

What are the advantages/disadvantages of investing in a retirement plan?

Sandra Cho:

"The main advantage is the tax implications of the account. Depending on the account, taxes will either be deferred or not included at all. For employer-sponsored retirement plans like 401(k)s, contributions to the plan are made with pre-tax funds, and the account grows tax-deferred. Taxes are then owed upon withdrawal.

"Roth IRAs, on the other hand, are contributed to with post-tax funds but grow tax-free. Both should be included in an investor's portfolio. Another advantage is that 401(k)s often have an employer matching component. That is, an employer will match your contributions up to a certain point (usually around 3% of your salary). 

"The disadvantage is that retirement accounts have a max contribution limit. Another disadvantage is that these funds cannot be used until age 59 1/2. For younger investors, that can be a long time wait."

Tessa Campbell: 

"Tax benefits and compound interest are two of the major advantages of contribution to a retirement savings plan like a 401(k) or individual IRA. Depending on the kind of plan you open (traditional or Roth), you can benefit from contributions after- or post-tax dollars. In addition, some 401(k) plans are eligible for employer-sponsored matches, which are essentially free money.

"The disadvantage of a retirement plan is that you won't be able to access the funds in your account penalty-free until you're at least 59 1/2 years old. Unless there are no other options, early withdraws from a retirement savings plan isn't advised."

Who should consider opening a retirement plan?

"Every individual should be investing through a retirement plan if they have the financial capability to. At the minimum, investors should try to contribute up to the matching amount for their 401(k) and the maximum amount for their Roth IRA. The growth in these funds compounds over time, helping to enhance the long-term return."

Tessa Campbell:

"I can't think of a single person that wouldn't benefit from a retirement savings plan, other than maybe someone that is already well into retirement. Although some younger individuals don't feel the need to start contributing quite yet, it's actually better to open an account as soon as possible and take advantage of compound interest growth capabilities."

Is there any advice you'd offer someone who's considering opening a retirement plan?

"I would advise them to work with a financial advisor or trusted professional. This will give them insight into where they should be investing their money, whether that be a 401(k), Roth IRA, or another vehicle. There are plenty of people and sources out there who provide important information and can help you create a strong financial future."

"Don't contribute huge portions of your salary if it doesn't make sense with your budget. While contributing to a retirement savings plan is important, you must still afford your monthly expenses and pay down an existing debt. If you're having trouble establishing a reasonable budget, consult a financial advisor or planner for professional help."

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