How to Start Writing Your Own Business Plan

The right business plan allows you to write a comprehensive business plan that your management team and investors will love. A business plan outline with instructions will help you write a business plan on your own easily. By following a business plan outline to write a business plan will make you look like an expert. It will also save you thousands of dollars by not having to work with an expert business plan writer.

Read on to find out the sections of a business plan broken down and explain what information is needed in each section.

The Business Plan Outline

The business plan section of a business plan identifies what product or services are sold by the business and who sells it. It identifies who started the business, who runs the business, how the business operates, and what the health of the business industry is.

The following is a business plan outline for the business plan section.

Cover Page – this is the first page of the business plan and should have the name of the business, the years the business plan covers, the mailing or headquarters address of the business, and the contact name, email address and phone number.

Non-Disclosure Notice – a non-disclosure agreement can be inserted into the business plan to ensure that the information is kept private by anyone who reads it.

Tables of Content – an outline of the entire business plan with section titles and page numbers.

Executive Summary – a summary of the entire business plan in short. It should state who started the business and why, the product or service sold, an analysis of the industry, the target market and how they will be reached, the management team and staff, and past performance or sales projections.

Business Goals & Objectives – a list of measurable goals that can be realized in the next three fiscal years. Discuss how each goal will be accomplished.

Mission, Purpose, & Vision – a statement outlining the reason for the company being in business. The mission should state what the team aims to accomplish. The purpose is the reason for doing what you do for your target market. The vision is how the team will accomplish the mission.

Keys to Success – a list of factors that can increase the chances of business success.

Company Summary – a brief description of where the company is located, the products or services offered, the target market, and mission, purpose, and vision statement.

Company Ownership – the owner(s) of the company with the state of registration date for the business. It should also identify the type of business entity it is.

Company History – how and why the company was started. Current milestones or accomplishments reached to show the business growth and potential.

Company Location – the company mailing or physical address should be identified here.

Services Description – detailed description of the company’s products or services. Should be concise.

Future Products & Services – identify the new products or services that will be offered in the future and explain how it will contribute to an increase in sales and growth in business.

Fulfillment & Distribution of Services – a step by step outline of the product or service delivery process. Explain each step that is taken to ensure the customer or client gets what they pay for.

Business Model Description – an outline of the business model.

Operations & Technology – provide a list of all the technology the business needs to use to operate effectively and efficiently.

Industry Trends – an outline of current business opportunities your team can capitalize on, challenges that will be faced and how your team will deal with them.

Industry Risks – risks that can affect the growth of the business.

SWOT Analysis – an overview of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

Target Market Description – identify the target market of the business alone with the characteristics of the target market.

The Bottom Line

By having the information above filled out for your business plan, you will be ready to have people read it.