People often start their own business with new, unique and most importantly, highly viable business ideas. However, in order to realize a business idea, it is necessary to have a methodical business plan. A structured, highly actionable business plan will help take your business to the next level and unleash your creativity without worrying about straying from your original core goals and focus – the reason you started a business.

Business Plan Concept

A business plan is a document that describes a business, its products or services, how the business makes (or will earn) money, its leadership and staff, finances, operating model and many other details necessary for the success of the business.

Why do you need a business plan?

Investors and banks are usually rely on a business plan to assess the viability of a business prior to funding. That is why business plans are often associated with calling for investments or loans.

What should be included in a business plan?

Starting a business plan often confuses many people because they don’t know where to start and what to put in. So, whether you’ve ever created a failed business plan or just started making it, you need to keep the following in mind:

1. The more detailed the business plan, the easier it is to execute those plans without flaws. While writing a business plan should focus on business growth
2. A business plan doesn’t have any limits on how many words it can put into it, but let’s face it, no one wants to read a novel based on your business.
3. If you are looking for investors, a long business plan will make them “afraid” rather than interested. While it needs to be detailed, it should be comprehensive. Twenty to thirty pages is the ideal length for a business plan

Business Plan Outline

Here is the most popular outline for a business plan

1. Executive Summary
   • Opportunity
     • Problem
     • Solution
     • Market
     • Why us
     • Company history
   • Expectations
     • Forecast
     • Financial Highlights
     • Financing Needed
2. Opportunity
   • Problem & Solutions
     • Problem worth solving
     • Solutions
   • Target Market
     • Market Size
     • Segments
   • Competition
     • Current alternatives
     • Our Advantages
3. Execution
   • Marketing & Sales
     • Marketing Plan
     • Sales Plan
   • Operations
     • Locations & Facilities
     • Technology
     • Equipments & Tools
   • Milestones & Metrics
     • Milestones Table
     • Key metrics
4. Company
   • Overview
   • Team
5. Financial Plan
   • Forecast
   • Financing
   • Financial Statements

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