steps in building a business plan

“Do not be afraid of competition. Their very existence validates that there is demand for the problem you’re trying to solve or for a solution to it.” – Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific

Ask your target audience what they want to learn

If you have access to your target audience, whether online or offline, the best way to find out what they want to learn (and would be willing to pay to learn) is to ask them directly!

Here are a few ways you can ask your audience what they want to learn:

With each of these options, you can send people a link to a survey, ask them open-ended questions directly, or ask them to have a quick call with you.

Another way is direct outreach (aka cold calling) to your target audience by phone, email or social media. Do this in a polite, non-spammy way of course.

See how many people are searching for your course idea on google

Engaging in keyword research is a great way to identify a course topic that can possibly sell like hotcakes, without directly asking your audience., keyword research essentially helps you to understand what people are looking for online by keying in terms on google or other search engines. , to conduct keyword research on topics that may interest your audience, you can use specialised tools such as semrush or ahrefs . , irrespective of the tool you choose to use, here is the basic framework to engage in keyword research:, identify your seed term, which would be an umbrella term for your course topic. , type in “course” + your seed term., get specific and find a niche area that has not been covered by other course creators but has a high search volume. check out this tool to identify search volume, continue to search and eliminate topics that are not feasible or interesting. , for example, if you wish to start an online course on gardening, type “gardening course” in the keyword search tool. you will see multiple results with different search volumes. these results will help you get more specific. for example, you may find that “gardening courses in semi-arid regions” is a possible course topic with a decent search volume. , alternatively, you can also use our search volume too l to discover popular course topic ideas. .

Remember: If you can’t find anyone that wants to learn the topic that you’re thinking of teaching, you should probably move on to another topic.

If you can’t find buyers before you create your course, you probably won’t find any after either!

The ideal scenario is you choose a topic that there is obviously a demand for (proven by competing products and services about that topic), but nothing that is for your specific target audience.

Facebook marketing , for example, is a broad topic with strong market demand (proven by all of the blogs, books, courses, consultants, seminars, etc. about this topic).

Now, assuming we want to create a course about Facebook marketing, let’s see what topics we come up with as we hone in on a specific target audience:

If you are a real estate agent and you want to learn how to use Facebook to get more listings, which course topic is going to appeal to you the most? Which topic would you pay the most money for? Probably #5, because it is the most specific. It is exactly what you want to learn.

“The easiest way to know what to do is listen to what people are asking for and then give that to them.” – JJ Virgin , Celebrity Nutritionist & Fitness Expert

Once you’ve decided on a specific topic to teach, it’s time to start building your brand.

Don’t jump straight to getting your logo, website, and business cards designed. Those things do play a role in representing your brand, but they are not the starting point.

The starting point to creating a compelling and unique brand is making a conscious decision about how you want to be positioned in your industry. Branding is about positioning .

Your brand should position you as the go-to expert on your topic. Unless you’re positioned as an expert and a trusted authority on your topic, it will be hard to convince someone to buy a course (or any product or service) from you.

Even though we’re told not to, we do judge a book by its cover. Think of your brand as the “book cover” for your business.

Be strategic with your positioning

The biggest mistake that people (and organizations) make with their branding is trying to appeal to everyone. Don’t do that. Be strategic with your positioning.

Build a brand that appeals to your specific target audience. Don’t try to appeal to everyone, because everyone is not your ideal customer/client.

Here are some questions to consider as you create your brand:

How do you want to be positioned and perceived in your marketplace? What do you want people to think of when they think of you? Who do you want to attract? Who do you NOT want to attract? What do you stand for? What do you stand against? Why do you do what you do?

When your target audience is searching for information about your topic, you want them to find you and immediately feel like they’ve come to the right place. They should feel like they’ve found the exact person (or company) that can help them overcome a specific problem or achieve a specific outcome.

“A great brand starts with understanding who you are, what you stand for, understanding your marketplace and understanding your positioning.” – Re Perez, CEO of Branding For The People

Identify your Unique Value Proposition

An exercise that we recommend all course creators complete is creating a Unique Value Proposition (UVP). Your UVP is what will help you differentiate yourself from your competition.

To create your UVP, answer these questions:

Once you have the answers to these questions, tie them together in a single sentence.

To give you an example, one of our customers Ellie Diop aka Ellie Talks Money , is a business coach with a proven track record that helps you scale your business and have financial success. Pretty good UVP right?

Here is a screenshot of her website’s homepage:

As you can see, anyone who visits her website will be able to instantly figure out who she is, what she does, and who her target audience is. She has a clear and compelling personal brand . If you’re someone who wants to improve your business and reach financial success, it’s obvious you’ve come to the right place.

Good branding makes your target audience feel like they’ve come to the right place.

Once you’ve decided how you want to be positioned in your market, it’s time to start building your audience.

Your audience is the sum total of all the people that you have the ability to communicate with through various distribution channels (your blog, social media, email list , personal network, etc.).

Why is it important to build an audience?

Without an audience that knows, likes, and trusts you, it will be very difficult to sell your course for the simple reason that you don’t have anyone to sell it to!

So the sooner you start building your audience, the better.

“Online courses are the wave of the future. They can help expand my content and message into places and countries that I have yet to physically visit. Online courses have boosted my income and helped me share my message with a much larger audience.” – Andrea Beaman , Health Educator & Author

How to define your target audience

It helps if you follow a systematic framework to define your target audience . Some useful steps to that end include:

Download our detailed step-by-step guide for audience research

Size is important (but not the most important)

The size of your audience is important, but not as important as you might think. The obvious benefit of having a large audience is the ability to reach more people. If you have 10,000 fans on Facebook, for example, your posts will probably be seen by more people than if you had 1,000 fans (all else being equal).

But the size of your audience is not as important as the relationship you build with your audience.

It’s more valuable to have 100 people on your email list that open and read every email you send them than it is to have 1,000 followers on Twitter who rarely see your Tweets or engage with you in any way.

When it comes to building an audience, loyalty and engagement are the most important.

Here are some of the most common ways that online course creators are building their audience:

Social media

Set up profiles and/or pages on the social network networks that your target audience spends time on. You don’t need a presence on every social media network. Choose the top 2-3 that make the most sense for you and focus your efforts there. Share your content, join relevant groups, start your own Facebook group , and engage in conversations. The goal here is to build real relationships with other people that are interested in your course topic.

Content marketing

Publish free content about your course topic as often as you can. Free content helps you build trust and authority in your industry. Common types of content that you can create are articles, videos, podcast episodes, images, and infographics. All of these help to increase traffic to your website and exposure for your business.

The more content you publish on your website and other platforms (like YouTube ), the more likely your target audience will find you as they are searching for information about your topic.

One of the quickest ways to build your audience is to get in front of existing audiences. Writing articles for popular publications in your industry, getting interviewed on podcasts , and getting featured in traditional media (TV, radio, newspapers, print magazines, etc.) are all great ways to increase your exposure and build authority in your industry.

Networking & joint ventures

Build relationships with other experts and influencers in your industry. It doesn’t happen overnight, but building mutually beneficial relationships with others can lead to a number of opportunities including guest blogging, interviews, joint ventures , partnerships, and customer referrals.

Public speaking

Reach out to event hosts and organizers of conferences and seminars that your target audience attends. Offer to give a presentation on your topic. Some events will even let you sell your course directly to their audience, in exchange for a percentage of your sales. A major advantage of public speaking is you have the undivided attention of everyone in the room during your presentation, and that can be very hard to get online.

Email marketing

When it comes to marketing your online course (or any product or service online for that matter), email marketing is hands down the most effective way to generate sales. An email list of people that have expressed interest in your course topic and have given you permission to communicate with them will likely be your most valuable asset as an online course creator.

Start building your email list as soon as possible. Stay in touch with your subscribers by sending them helpful emails and links to your content on a regular basis. This is a great way to earn their trust before you ask them to buy from you.

Paid advertising

Even with a modest budget, paid advertising can be a great way to grow your audience. By utilizing advertising platforms such as Facebook, Google, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn, you can target people based on specific criteria including demographics, interests, search terms, job titles, and more. In fact, many of Thinkific’s most successful customers have been using Facebook ads to grow their audience and generate consistent leads and sales for their online courses.

“Consistency is what did it for us. Doing something every week, at least once a week, helped us get better really, really fast because we were putting in the time and putting in the practice.”

– Jordan Harbinger , Author & Podcast Host

Creating an online course is definitely one of the more exciting steps in this entire process, but it can also be the most time consuming one if you’re not careful.

Most people spend several weeks (or months, depending on the course) creating their online course. Other, more experienced course creators have perfected this process and can create an entire online course in one weekend .

But regardless of how long it takes you to create your course, the process that you go through will most likely look a lot like this:

Instead of going through each of these steps in more detail right here in this article (which would make it way longer than it already is!), I’m going to share a few of the most important lessons we’ve learned about course creation from the experts we interviewed.

Want to create an online course business, but unsure of where to start? Use Thinkific for free and get free training !

Or sign up for our free mini series that will teach you how to profitably create and sell an online course in just a week.

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Create a “Minimum Viable Course”

A concept that has been popularized by American writer and entrepreneur Eric Ries in his book Lean Startup is the concept of a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) .

An MVP is a development technique used by organizations (especially startups) in which a new product is developed with sufficient features to satisfy early adopters. The final, complete set of features is only designed and developed after considering feedback from the product’s initial users.

Applying this concept to creating online courses, that means that you should not try to create the perfect course the first time. Instead, create a Minimum Viable Course (MVC).

Here’s why…

The problem with trying to create the “perfect” course before you show it or sell it to anyone is that “perfect” is a very subjective term. What you think is perfect is probably not the same as what your customers/students think is perfect. Even if it is, your course does not have to be perfect in order to be valuable .

Perfectionism has stopped more people from creating and launching their online courses than anything else. Don’t let this happen to you. If your course (imperfect as it may be) is good enough to help someone, then it is good enough to publish. Done is better than perfect.

Create your MVC as quickly as possible so you can publish it and get real feedback from real students. Based on their feedback and other important data (such as course completion and engagement rates ) you can remove training, add training, and make revisions to your course to make it better.

“Don’t be a perfectionist because the world can’t wait for perfect. Get it done, get it out and get it sold. It’s not a book so you can always revisit it periodically but your number one priority is creating a transformation in your clients, so keep your focus there.” – Shazzie Love , Business Strategist

Course length ≠ course value

Another big mistake to avoid is trying to teach everything that you know about your topic in a single course. Doing this will most likely result in a super long course that your students won’t complete and that takes a ridiculous amount of time to create in the first place. Wrong approach!!

Your online course is the shortcut

The purpose of your course is to teach your student how to get from Point A to Point B as quickly and as efficiently as possible. It’s the shortcut.

Your online course is the shortcut. Help your students get from A to B as quickly as possible.

You absolutely should not overwhelm your students by brain-dumping everything that you know about your topic into your course. Your course should be as short as possible without sacrificing the key concepts in your training.

Don’t create 8 hours of training if you can teach your students what they need to know with 3 hours of training. As long as they learn what you promised to teach them, they won’t complain that your course was “too short”. Instead, they’ll probably thank you for not wasting their time with fluff or filler content.

Launch to a small test group first

Another important lesson we learned from the experts we interviewed is not to launch the first version of your course (your MVC!) to your entire audience.

Instead, you should promote your course to a small segment of your audience at a lower price than what you eventually want to charge for your course. If you do promote your course to your entire audience, consider imposing a limit on the number of students that can enroll in it. Once you hit your goal, you temporarily close enrollment for your course.

This strategy is often called a beta launch (similar to pre-selling ). The goal of this type of launch is to get your course into the hands of a small number of students who will “test” your course. In exchange for accessing your course at a reduced price, you ask your students to provide you with feedback to help you improve the course and testimonials to use in your future marketing.

Based on the feedback from your students, you can make changes to improve your course. When you have a revised version of your course that is better than the first and positive student testimonials to use in your marketing, you re-open enrollment for your course and sell it a higher price.

If you’re ready to start marketing your course, check out these 55 online course marketing ideas here .

Okay, let’s pretend that you’ve already completed Steps 1 to 5.

Even though it is a HUGE accomplishment to get this far (and yes, you deserve to celebrate at this point!), there is still work to be done.

Acquiring customers is just the beginning. Now your job is to deliver on the promise you made to your customers.

Think of any local business you are a customer of. A restaurant. A nail salon. A coffee shop. A convenience store.

These businesses don’t stay in business because they are constantly attracting new customers. They stay in business because their existing customers come back more than once, often bringing their friends and family with them. This same rule applies to your online course business.

“We’re not in this business just to get people to buy our stuff. We want them to see the change and the impact and create the success stories.” – Nick Unsworth, CEO of Life on Fire

It’s a lot cheaper to keep a customer than acquire a new one

If you are constantly investing in marketing and promotion to attract new customers, but you’re doing nothing to ensure the success of those customers, it will be very difficult (and expensive!) for you to build a profitable and sustainable business.

When a customer purchases your online course, this should not be the end of your relationship with them. This should be the beginning.

Your customers should be so thrilled with the training and overall experience that you provide to them that they purchase additional courses from you in the future, and they tell others about your courses too.

Here are a few ways you can increase your student engagement and retention rates:

Gamify the learning experience

Create incentives and offer rewards to your students for achieving specific milestones in your course.

Help your students be accountable

Pair them up with an accountability partner, offer 1-on-1 or group coaching calls with your students, or create a private group or discussion board for them to interact with each other.

Appeal to different learning styles

Don’t create training that appeals to just one learning style. Utilize different media types to deliver your content (text, video, audio, worksheets, quizzes, etc.).

Create small, bite-sized lessons

Shorter lessons are more likely to be completed by students than longer ones. If it takes you a while to teach a specific concept, try breaking up the concept into several shorter lessons.

If you notice that a student isn’t accessing or completing the training in your course, send them a polite reminder email to re-engage them. Show them that you care.

The final step in building a successful online course business is to scale your business by creating systems and/or hiring people to ensure that it continues to grow.

According to Greg Smith, CEO of Thinkific , you should only scale something that works.

The 76 steps that came before this one are your chance to do just that. To prove that your online course business works. Once you have a business that works, it’s time to shift from spending the majority of your time working in your business to working on it.

This is accomplished by creating systems and hiring people to handle the repetitive, day-to-day tasks involved in running your business. The goal is to free yourself up to focus the majority of your time on activities that move your business forward, such as:

Here are a few of the key lessons we learned about scaling an online course business from the expert we interviewed:

1. Automate repetitive tasks

Identify the tasks in your business that are highly repetitive and not the best use of your time as an entrepreneur. Document the process for those tasks and delegate them to someone else, or use technology/software to automate that task for you. Every repetitive task that you automate today buys you more time to focus on other activities tomorrow.

“The way you multiply time is by spending time on things today that give you more time tomorrow.” – Rory Vaden, Southwestern Consulting

2. Build a team as early as possible

To grow an online course business to 6 or even 7 figures in annual revenue and beyond, you’re going to need some help. Very few entrepreneurs are able to build successful and sustainable businesses without a team of people to help them make it happen. There is simply too much to learn and do, and not enough hours in the day for one person to do it all.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” – African Proverb

Hiring a virtual assistant or a personal assistant is a great starting point. From there, consider hiring help for other areas of your business including content creation and editing, marketing and advertising, branding, accounting, etc. These do not have to be full-time employees. Many course creators have teams that consist of freelancers and independent contractors from around the world.

3. Tie your business to a greater purpose

Sharing your knowledge by creating online courses is a great way to empower others through education and move humanity forward. But creating online courses is certainly not the only way to make a positive impact in the world.

There are countless organizations that are doing incredible things to make the world a better place. By partnering with other organizations and tying your business to a greater purpose, you ensure that as your business grows, so does the impact you make in the world.

“Whether you’re in the non-profit structure or the for-profit structure, you have a tremendous opportunity to use business as a force for good.” – Adam Braun, Founder of Pencils of Promise

Ready to launch your online course and community with confidence? Sign up for your forever-free Thinkific account today.

This article was originally published May 2018, and refreshed with new information November 2022.

As the Content Marketing Manager at Thinkific (2016-2019), Tyler Basu helped to create, publish, and promote content to help thousands of entrepreneurs learn how to create and sell online courses . Today, he works directly with entrepreneurs to help them create content that attracts and converts their ideal clients.

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Building a Business Plan in Minnesota

A business plan is essential when forming any legal business entity. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS), banks that might give a loan, and commercial property owners all generally look at a company’s business plan.

Business plans are living blueprints that change with your business needs. While these plans are generally not final, they may serve as useful guides for the direction of your venture. If you are looking to start a company, you may need help from a lawyer in building a business plan in Minnesota. Without this essential step and the help of a business formation attorney , your company may never leave the ground.

Traditional Business Plans vs. Lean Startup Plans in Minnesota

If a business plan needs to be drafted quickly or if the business is fairly simple and straightforward, a lean startup plan could be written. If not, a traditional business plan is recommended. The key difference between the two is that a traditional business plan has more detail and protracts at least three to five years into the future. Traditional business plans generally include:

Conversely, a lean startup plan is a quick summary of the business that contains a mission, value proposition, partnerships, customers, resources, activities planned, relationships, and revenue streams. The lean startup model may be useful to some entrepreneurs as it generally requires fewer specifics, but it may also be less helpful as a roadmap for the business’s immediate future.

A traditional business plan is more common than the lean startup model. Although an entrepreneur could have an extremely long and detailed business plan, this is usually not recommended unless there are many investors because it is probably not going to be followed too closely. It is best to keep the business plan brief and to the point. To ensure brevity when building a business plan, it may be useful to work with a lawyer in Bloomington.

How Could an Attorney Help Draft a Business Plan?

A Bloomington business formation lawyer could help with a variety of forms, requirements, and legal documents needed to set up a business entity. Business owners frequently want to focus on the business and not so much on the inner works and the legal documents that are required to get their company where they would like to be. It is always better to have a lawyer involved from the start to create a solid foundation for prosperity and expansion.

Retroactively trying to fix a problem is more difficult and costly than if the business founders had gone to a lawyer at the start to ensure all aspects were handled properly. That goes towards any legal issue. If business-people secure the right kind of lawyer, ask the appropriate questions and get the proper guidance ahead of time, it may be better for the business and their bottom line in the long run.

When other partners or members are involved, an operating agreement, bylaws, and buy-sell agreements are key to building a basis for how this enterprise will work for everybody involved in Bloomington. These structures effectively govern the business entity and spell out how things should be done whether it is making a decision by vote or resolving a dispute. Even with a fully built-out business plan, the IRS, banks, and landlords look for the internal bylaws or operating agreement to ensure they follow certain formalities.

What to Look for in an Attorney When Building a Business Plan in Minnesota

When looking for a business lawyer, the first thing to determine is whether the lawyer is experienced, knows what they are talking about, and are familiar with their specific industry. It is essential to work with an attorney that is ready to work with you and respond to the needs of your business as they arise. A strong business attorney is in some ways similar to another partner in your company.

Your lawyer could stand by your side and could fight for the welfare of your company from building the business plan in Minnesota until you decide to sell or dissolve the venture. To start exploring if our attorneys are the right fit for you and your business, call today . A skilled lawyer could be the ally you need to build a strong foundation for your business to build off of.

BK Law Group

BK Law Group, L.L.C. is a law firm that offers diverse legal services. We take pride in our client-centered approach. Our mission is to even the playing field and fight for our clients to achieve the best possible outcome in every situation.

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How To Build A Business Plan

Linda HelloLeads

September 19, 2022

Dreaming of bootstrapping a business and being your own boss?

Preparing to pitch to investors or trying to get business loan?

Hold on!! before proceeding with your ideas, let us review the secret mantra that our business tycoons have gifted us to follow before starting any business or pitching to an investor. The secret mantra is the “Business Plan”

“A good plan is a success half-done”

In this blog, we will provide you some ideas on how to build and what are the elements to be covered in building a perfect business plan for your dream business!

What is a business plan?

Business plan is a document that describes how your business endeavors and the way that your business will pass through to reach success. It is a fundamental tool that convinces your investors and partners to rely your business idea and also to act as a guiding document that can be referred during your journey.

What are the elements in a business plan?

Breaking down a business plan, below are the 7 key elements that you many need to cover while building your own business plan.

1.Executive summary

It is a key section which summarizes the entire business idea in a nutshell. It should convey the core details of what your business offers to this world, including the mission & vision statements, short description of your products or services and summary of your business’ opportunity in the market.

Executive summary should act as a highlight reel of your entire business plan. Specially to pitch your business idea to an investor, your executive summary should be precise and outstanding, to act as a self-convincing element.

2.Business description

A business description should explain what kind of problem does your product or service solves for a consumer. It may also include the details on pricing, product lifespan and other benefits offered to your customers.

This section should also provide a summary of your business’ position within the industry segment, along with your organizations’ expertise and your competitive advantage. It may also include the overview of the industry that your business is serving for, including the recent trends, key players in that segment.

3.Marketing strategies

Marketing strategies should detail on how your business is intended to reach your target consumer in the whole market and how it will attract them towards your business. It in turn, defines the clear market distribution channel that your business is about to sail through to reach your right customers.

This section should also detail the cost elements that could be incurred in the marketing activities that is to be carried out. Forecasting and compiling all the associated costs with the marketing channels should act as a key element in this section.

4.Competitive analysis

This section should convey a clear comparison of your business idea against the existing direct and indirect competitors in the marketplace. You should convey that you are aware of your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses and how you will stay ahead of them.

It should also explain on how you will overcome any entry barriers in the chosen marketplace. You may also need to distinguish your business idea from the competition, which is truly important in persuading funding sources.

5.Operation plan

Operation plan should give out the information on how your business will actually run.

It should be covering the following areas:

6. Management and Ownership plan

This section should provide an outline of your business’s legal structure and management resources which includes both internal and external management resources and human resources needs. The experience or unique skills possessed by your management team which adds special value to your business can be highlighted in this section.

Details about your business ownership type – a sole proprietorship, partnership or a business with a different ownership structure need to be mentioned in this section.

Note : To specially focus for Investors, you can include the details of your Advisory board members and about their experience notes.

7.Financial factors

The last and the key element in the business plan is about mentioning the planned budgets which includes the costs related to staffing, product development, sales & marketing and any other expenses that could be incurred in running your business.

Also provide a description of your funding need, your detailed financial statements, and financial statement analysis. For a start-up, a well-studied cash flow projection and estimates is a key element as it helps to objectively evaluate a company’s potential for success. Comprehensive financial reports and analysis summary can also add more value.

As each and every organization is different from others your business plan may not be looking as same as other businesses. But understanding each core component of a business plan will help you in compiling up a perfect business plan.

Now that you’re ready to take up the journey, start your launch into the writing process, you can anytime refer back to this article to make these elements specific to your business. We wish you all the very best for your business growth.

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How to write a business plan in 7 steps

With this step-by-step guide, learn how to write a well-written professional business plan that can help you successfully start your business, apply for funding, and grow.

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need to have a business or accounting degree to put together a viable business plan. Business planning can be simple—even fun!

This guide will show you how to get your plan done without any complexity or frustration. By the time you’re done, you’ll be better prepared to start, run, and grow your business. Here are the 7 steps to write a business plan:

Be sure to download our free business plan template to start writing your own business plan as you work through this guide. For a more detailed guide to writing a business plan, download our free ebook : The Easy Way to Write Your Business Plan.

What is a business plan?

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

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. Setting sales goals, expense budgets, and predictions for cash flow.

Now, a business plan can be far more than just a static document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. A management tool to analyze results, make strategic decisions, and showcase how your business will operate and grow. In short, if you’re thinking of starting a business or plan to pitch to investors or venture capitalists, writing a business plan can improve your chances of success.

Why do you need a business plan?

You likely already have a good idea of your business strategy in your head. So you may be wondering, “Why should I spend my time making a business plan?” Here are the top reasons why you should invest in planning:

Businesses that plan grow 30% faster.

A surprising amount of research has been done on business planning and has shown that companies that take the time to write a plan and review it regularly grow 30% faster than those businesses that don’t plan. Not only do these companies grow faster, but they perform better and are less likely to fail in the long run.

Lenders and investors need business plans

If you’re growing your business and plan on getting a business loan or raising money from investors, you’ll need a business plan. Most lenders and investors will ask for a plan, but even if they don’t want to see the actual document, they will ask you questions that only a solid business plan will be able to answer.

Business plans reduce risk

Starting and running a business is always risky. Instead of flying by the seat of your pants, you can use a plan to forecast potential cash flow issues and get ahead of any potential roadblocks so you aren’t caught off guard. A business plan will help you reduce your risk and help you navigate the future.

Business planning helps you make smart spending decisions

Before you make a big spending decision for your business, you need to know the potential impacts on your finances. With a business plan in place, you can easily explore different scenarios and see what impacts a new hire or an expansion to a second location will have on your business.

Need more reasons for why you need a business plan? Read our full list of reasons why having a business plan is important for small businesses .

How to write a business plan step-by-step

Whether you’re building a business plan to raise money and grow your business or just need to figure out if your idea will work, every business plan needs to cover 6 essential sections. Here’s an overview of each section:

1. Executive summary

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

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. In fact, it’s very common for investors to ask for only the executive summary when they are evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation, and more in-depth financials.

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).

Learn more about writing an effective executive summary .

2. 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 how your product or service fits into the existing competitive landscape.

Start the products & services chapter by describing the problem that you are solving for your customers and what your solution is. This is a description of your product or service.

Next, you should outline your competition . Who else is providing solutions that try to solve your customers’ pain points? What are your competitive advantages over other businesses?

If you happen to have any competitive advantages, such as specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product—this chapter is a great place to talk about those things.

Finally, review your milestones and metrics. This is an overview of the next steps that you need to accomplish to get your product or service ready to sell, with target dates. If you’ve already achieved some key milestones, such as landing a crucial customer or taking on pre-orders, discuss that here.

3. Market analysis

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.

First, describe your target market . Your target market is the group of people that you plan on selling to. Try to be as specific as possible. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers.

Next, provide any market analysis and market research that you have. You’ll want to explain how your market is growing over time and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of expected changes in your industry.

4. Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments, 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.

Some businesses that distribute their products and reach their customers through stores like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, grocery store chains, and other retail outlets should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles that the business may have to overcome.

The marketing & sales chapter of your business plan can also be a good place to include a SWOT analysis . This is purely optional but can be a good way to explain how your products and services are positioned to deal with competitive threats and take advantage of opportunities.

5. Company organization and management team

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

Include brief bios that highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member. It’s important here to make the case for why the team is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before?

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

Be sure to provide a review of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

6. Financial projections

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. This is often what entrepreneurs find most daunting, but it doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it seems. Business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. That said, if you need additional help, there are plenty of tools and resources out there to help you build a solid financial plan.

A typical financial plan will include:

Sales and revenue projections

A monthly sales and revenue forecast for the first 12 months, and then annual projections for the remaining three to five years. Three-year projections are typically adequate, but some investors will request a five-year forecast.

Profit and loss statement

An income statement , also known as the profit and loss (or P&L), is where your numbers all come together and show if you’re making a profit or taking a loss.

Cash flow statement

A cash flow statement . While the income statement calculates your profits and losses, the cash flow statement keeps track of how much cash (money in the bank) you have at any given point.

Balance sheet

A balance sheet lists the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business.

Optional sections to include when seeking funding

If you are raising money from investors, you should include a brief section of your business plan that details exactly how you plan on using your investors’ cash. This is typically just called, “Use of Funds.”

Investors will also want to see a short section on your exit strategy. An exit strategy is your plan for eventually selling your business, either to another company or to the public in an IPO. If you have investors, they will want to know your thoughts on this. If you’re running a business that you plan to maintain ownership of indefinitely, and you’re not seeking angel investment or VC funding, you can skip the exit strategy section.

For more information, read our guide on the different types of exit strategies .

Finally, discuss any assumptions and important risks for your business. Knowing what your assumptions are as you start a business can make the difference between business success and business failure. When you recognize your assumptions, you can set out to prove that your assumptions are correct. The more that you can minimize your assumptions, the more likely it is that your business will succeed.

7. Appendix

An appendix to your business plan isn’t a required chapter by any means. However, it is a useful place to stick any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that either felt too long or too out-of-place to include elsewhere in your business plan. If you have a patent or a patent-pending, or illustrations of your product, this is where you’d want to include the details. For more details, read about what to include in your business plan appendix .

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Business plan writing tips

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

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. For example, if you are writing a business plan for yourself or just for use inside your own business, you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure.

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the money you want and exactly how you’re going to use those funds. So, before you start writing your plan, think about why you are writing a business plan and what you’re trying to get out of the process.

Keep things concise

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

So, focus on trimming things down to the essentials that your readers need to know. Skip the extended descriptions of your target market and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. It’s helpful to zoom out from time to time and make sure that your plan is logical and makes sense. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand. Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look, though.

Start sharing your plan early and find out from your reader what questions the plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help keep you on track. If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to give it a thorough examination.

Use a free business plan template to get started

Knowing what information you need to cover in a business plan sometimes isn’t quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. If you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template to get you started, download the template that’s been used by more than 1 million businesses.

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 500 free sample business plans .

How do I write a simple business plan?

If you’re not ready to work on a detailed business plan and want to start with something shorter and simpler, we recommend starting with a simple one-page business plan . You’ll be able to put together an initial plan in less than 30 minutes. For many businesses, this is a great way to get started. And, if you’re not raising money from investors, this may be all the plan you need.

Next steps for writing your business plan

Whether you’re writing a plan to explore a new business idea, establishing steps to start a business, looking to raise money from investors, seeking a loan, or just trying to run your business better—a solid business plan will help get you there.

Business planning is a continuous process that can help you validate your idea, set goals, manage, and successfully pitch your business. One of the most helpful things you can do to build a successful business is to jump in and start planning. If you’re looking for a more comprehensive step-by-step walkthrough for writing a business plan, check out our Business Planning Guide .

If you need more than a template, we recommend exploring business planning software, such as LivePlan. It features step-by-step guidance that ensures you include only what you need in your plan and reduces the time you spend on formatting and presenting.

You’ll also get help building solid financial models that you can trust, without having to worry about getting everything right in a spreadsheet. Finally, it will transform your plan into a management tool that will help you easily compare your forecasts to your actual results. This makes it easy to track your progress and make adjustments as you go.

Business plan FAQ

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investor, and identify areas for growth. Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

The seven steps to writing a business plan include: 1. Write a brief executive summary. 2. Describe your products and services. 3. Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis. 4. Describe your marketing and sales strategy. 5. Outline your organizational structure and management team. 6. Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow. 7. Add any additional documents to your appendix.

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid: 1. Not taking the planning process seriously. 2. Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information. 3. Inconsistent information or simple mistakes. 4. Failing to establish a sound business model. 5. Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan. However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan: – How will your business make money? – Is there a need for your product or service? – Who are your customers? – How are you different from the competition? – How will you reach your customers? – How will you measure success?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place. If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan or a 3-10 page Lean Plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering. Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix. Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea. One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business. Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision. However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

The core elements of business planning are the same for nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses. The main difference between the two is that nonprofits are primarily driven by a specific mission or purpose. While a for-profit organization is typically driven by growth and improved performance. Additionally, nonprofit organizations will need to intently focus on their promotional, partnership, and fundraising strategies. While some of this is present in for-profit businesses, the need to thoroughly outline how and who you will continue to receive funding is far more important as a nonprofit.

Noah Parsons

Noah is currently the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. You can follow Noah on Twitter .

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Taking the First Steps, Building a Business Plan

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You’ve made the decision: you want to start your own business. And that means you’ll need to write a business plan. As you consider the steps to starting a business, you might think that writing a business plan comes first. Not so fast.

The better starting point is your personal vision: what do you want to achieve? Then you can draft your business plan, which will serve as the road map to get you to your ultimate destination.

Here’s the thing: writing a business plan isn’t always easy, and that’s largely because it’s daunting. A business plan is, in essence, the guide for how you’ll create, launch and run your company. That means there’s a wealth of information to consider before you create your business plan—and then you’ve got to get it all on paper!

A business plan includes strategic, high-level information and tactical details. It also includes market research and analysis, as well as financial projections. Sitting down to create and compile that breadth of information is undoubtedly challenging, but it can absolutely be done.

If you’re ready to tackle your business plan, read on for some help through the process, including what to include and tips for success. If you prefer a more structured approach, we can help with that, too. Check out Kauffman FastTrac , a series of self-paced, online courses that help prepare you to launch a business—including writing a business plan.

Whichever path you choose, the most important thing is to simply get started!

WHAT’S IN A BUSINESS PLAN?

Before you dive in to creating a business plan, it’s helpful to get a handle on what’s included so you can do some prep work, including making notes and conducting research.

If you ask 10 entrepreneurs what elements should be included in a business plan, chances are good you’ll get 10 different answers. Business plans can absolutely be customized to better fit your particular business, but there are some common pieces to include:

Once you’ve outlined your business plan, then you can begin to fill in each of the sections. Give yourself time to do some research, especially about current and forecasted market conditions, your intended customer base, competitors and costs

As you start drafting your business plan, keep these tips in mind:

FASTTRAC: YOUR CURE FOR BUSINESS PLAN WRITER’S BLOCK

Of course, even with the best of intentions and the most thorough preparation, you may find yourself struggling to create a polished business plan or struggling with a particular section. The good news? There’s a solution!

Business plans are just one of several topics covered in Kauffman FastTrac, an immersive series of online courses designed for aspiring and established entrepreneurs.

The self-paced modules offer a deeper dive into starting and running a business. You’ll start with foundational elements such as your personal vision, market opportunity, financial goals and branding and marketing—in short, the information you’ll need to draft your business plan.

After Liz Forkin Bohannon decided to pursue her entrepreneurial dream of designing, sourcing and marketing handcrafted items made by Ugandan women, she turned to FastTrac to help launch her business.

“FastTrac gave me tools and encouragement that empower me to empower others, and introduced me to valuable tools and relationships that helped get our business off the ground,” Bohannon says.

Even if you’ve already drafted a business plan, FastTrac can ensure you’re on the right path to business success. Whatever stage your business and business plan are in, there’s a FastTrac course for you. Your business plan is a living document, after all, and is likely to evolve just as your company will.

When you’re ready, simply register for FastTrac and start courses anytime. That’s one of the advantages of FastTrac—it happens on your schedule. Let’s get to work.

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5 Steps to Building a Business Continuity Plan eBook

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86% of building management professionals admit they are not prepared for an emergency or disruption from business as usual.

The best way to get prepared for events like this, is to develop a business continuity plan.

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How to Build a Business Plan

Female owner at deli entrance building business plan

If you've been dreaming of starting a business lately, you’re not alone: An August 2021 Northwestern Mutual survey found that the majority of Americans want to become their own boss/become an entrepreneur. After doing market research and making sure you’re financially prepared , you’ll need to create a business plan.

A business plan can act as a roadmap for any burgeoning entrepreneur to follow — but it's also a good reference manual for understanding the vision of your business and how it’s put together. You can use it to hold yourself accountable, and it can also be a tool that helps you attract investors or future employees.

If you're ready to get started, these eight steps will help you get off on the right foot. Here’s how to build a business plan.

STEP 1: CREATE YOUR COMPANY OVERVIEW

First, clearly describe your business so that anyone who picks up your plan can understand it. Potential investors will reference this section of your plan to better understand what it is you do and the value your business provides.

Second, define your market. Give a brief introduction to your industry, how your business fits into it and why you will stand out. What are your strengths and what type of customers are you trying to serve?

STEP 2: PROVIDE A MARKET ANALYSIS

Here you will provide an in-depth analysis of the industry in which your business operates, who your potential competitors are and what makes you stand out. You can use this section to showcase your knowledge and the research you’ve done to prove your competitiveness, and as a reference for yourself when making your marketing plans.

STEP 3: OUTLINE YOUR ORGANIZATION

You may currently be a team of one, but if you have employees or multiple owners, use this section to lay out the structure of workers and ownership. This is also a good place to share your vision for your future, such as hiring, outsourcing plans or whether you’re looking for a business partner.

You should also outline how your company is structured from a tax perspective . Is it a sole proprietorship, S corporation, C corporation or partnership? If you have co-shareholders or partners, list who they are and what role each one plays in the business.

STEP 4: DEFINE YOUR PRODUCTS AND SERVICES

Break down exactly what your products or services are and how much you expect to get paid for them. Cover your sourcing, research and development and fulfillment processes, and break down your production costs and overhead as well as your profit margin projections.

STEP 5: OUTLINE YOUR SALES AND MARKETING PLAN

Your marketing and sales plan needs to define exactly how you plan to get the word out about your products. Will it be through social media? Old-school advertising? Referral programs? You should also include your strategy for retaining customers and how you will actually execute a sale.

STEP 6: SHARE FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

Putting together a financial forecast is not only essential for potential investors but it will also help you understand your business’s potential for success. If your business has barely launched, you will have to make income and budget projections based on market research. If your business has already been operating, you’ll have to include line items such as your profit-and-loss statement, balance sheet and cash flow. Be as realistic as possible when filling out the numbers.

STEP 7: END WITH THE APPENDIX

You’ll end with an appendix, which will include any relevant supplementary materials, from legal documents (licenses, permits or patents) to credit histories, graphics, footnotes and product pictures.

You can also personalize this section. For example, you may want to share why you are passionate about starting your business or give a shout-out to your co-owner.

STEP 8: COMPLETE YOUR EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

This will actually be the first section of your business plan, but you may find it easier to write after you’ve composed the bulk of your plan. That’s because the executive summary essentially recaps sections one through seven. In this nontechnical summary statement, you provide a mission statement, a brief explanation of your services or product line, why you are starting this business and basic details about your company’s team and location.

If you’re planning to ask for financing, include financial information and high-level growth plans. Keep this section brief but compelling. Think of it like the copy on the inside of a book jacket: You want to entice your target audience to read every chapter.

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COMMENTS

How to Build a Restaurant Business Plan
A solid plan addresses details including restaurant startup costs, target market, building a management team, and implementing a marketing plan. It doesn't matter if you just have an idea
Building a Business Plan in Minnesota
If you are looking to start a company, you may need help from a lawyer in building a business plan in Minnesota. If a business plan needs to be drafted quickly or if the business is fairly simple and straightforward
How To Build A Business Plan
Breaking down a business plan, below are the 7 key elements that you many need to cover while building your own business plan. Executive summary should act as a highlight reel of your entire business plan
Taking the First Steps, Building a Business Plan
As you consider the steps to starting a business, you might think that writing a business plan comes first. Here's the thing: writing a business plan isn't always easy, and that's largely because it's daunting
5 Steps to Building a Business Continuity Plan eBook
86% of building management professionals admit they are not prepared for an emergency or disruption from business as usual
Starting a Small Business: How to Build a Business Plan
Creating a business plan will give you a roadmap to follow, a reference guide to consult and a tool for recruiting investors. After doing market research and making sure you're financially prepared