bilan personnel business plan

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Comment faire un bilan personnel pour préparer son projet professionnel ?

Le bilan personnel constitue la première étape indispensable à échafauder, par le demandeur d’emploi, dans la construction de son planning d’entrée dans la vie active. Il fait partie intégrante  du projet professionnel qui aide le candidat à se projeter dans sa carrière.

Dans cet article, nous allons nous attarder sur le bilan personnel en vue d’en éclaircir toutes les composantes. Nous verrons concrètement comment le construire en 2 étapes.

Le bilan personnel : c’est quoi, au juste ?

D’ordinaire, c’est soi-même, que l’on vend comme capital précieux apte à s’acquitter, merveilleusement, des tâches et responsabilités désirées.

Faire un bilan personnel c'est se livrer, en profondeur, à l’analyse de sa personnalité, à l’évaluation de ses traits de caractère, à l’identification de son image de soi et celle perçue par autrui…

En réalité, cela consiste à répondre aux questions suivantes :

• Le candidat, c’est qui, exactement ?
• Quelle est son histoire personnelle ?
• Quelles sont ses valeurs et principes ? Qu’est-ce qui est important, pour lui ?
• Quels sont ses objectifs et priorités ?
• Quelles sont ses aptitudes personnelles, attributs, qualités et talents ?
• A quoi s’intéresse-t-il, principalement ?
• Qu’est-ce qui le motive : argent, statut social, satisfaction personnelle, développement personnel, réalisations, reconnaissance des autres, sécurité, autonomie… ?
• Quels sont ses goûts, passions, aspirations et tendances ?
• Quel est son mode de pensée : rationnel, émotionnel, créatif… ?
• En fonction de quoi se décide-t-il ?
• Comment traite-t-il l’information ?
• Comment, il se comporte avec les autres ? Introverti ? Extraverti ?
• Qu’est ce qui le met à l’aise ou hors de lui ?
• Quelles sont ses faiblesses et imperfections ?
• Quelles sont ses peurs et limites ?
• Quelles sont ses caractéristiques personnelles qui sont en adéquation avec l’environnement du travail désiré ?
• Quelles sont les activités inhérentes au métier futur qui concordent le mieux avec ses caractéristiques personnelles ?
• Quelles sont les composantes du métier convoité qui le motiveraient davantage et lui procureraient plus de bien-être, confort et satisfaction ?

Prenons un exemple :

Une personne qui dit : « Je n’aime pas les chiffres, calculs et objectifs. C’est très stressant pour moi, ça me met hors de moi ! » 

Il est bien évident que cette personne ne sera pas performante dans le métier de commercial.

Une autre qui confie : « Trop réfléchir sur quelque chose me donne des céphalées et vertiges ! ».

Celle-ci ne peut, aucunement, donner satisfaction dans un département de recherches et développement.

Pourquoi faire son bilan personnel ?

Faire un bilan de sa personnalité permet, au détenteur du projet, de mieux se connaitre, mieux discerner ses points forts et les points à améliorer. 

Ce qui l’amènera ensuite à mettre en place, à l’instar d’un marketer, un plan d’action approprié, en vue de faire aboutir activement son projet professionnel.

Quels avantages pour le candidat ?

Le bilan personnel constitue, pour le porteur du projet, un vrai guide à la fois pertinent et efficace dans le choix final de sa carrière professionnelle.

Voici les 5 avantages qu'il confère au candidat :

1) Gain de confiance en soi

Il permet, au candidat à l’emploi, de  gagner en confiance en soi et en estime de ses valeurs, atouts et attributs personnels.

2) Concordance entre les exigences du métier et sa personnalité

En plus, le bilan personnel fait prendre conscience, au candidat à l’emploi, de l’importance de prendre en considération la synergie qui existe entre ce qu’il est, en vérité, et les exigences de l’activité professionnelle vers laquelle il s’oriente.

De ce fait, le projet professionnel gagnera en concordance avec les traits de personnalité du candidat.

3) Discerner le métier le mieux adapté, du moins adapté à son profil

En outre, le bilan personnel permet, au demandeur d’emploi, de mettre le doigt sur les métiers qu’il peut bien mener et réussir et ceux dans lesquels il affichera clairement des difficultés et échecs.

4) Identifier ses domaines d'imperfections pour les améliorer

D’un autre côté, le bilan personnel aide le porteur de projet à identifier ses domaines d’imperfection pour lesquels un plan d’amélioration voire de développement s’impose.

Ce qui signifie qu’il peut s’orienter vers des formations précises ou des séances adéquates de conseil et de coaching…

5) Répondre aux questions les plus "délicates" d'un entretien d'embauche

Autre avantage, le bilan personnel, élaboré au préalable d’un entretien d’embauche , permet au demandeur d’emploi de répondre efficacement à certaines questions très courantes dans ces situations :

« Pourriez-vous vous présenter brièvement, en 2 minutes ? »,

« Quelles sont vos trois qualités prédominantes ? »,

« Qu’est-ce qui vous mettrait à l’aise dans cette situation professionnelle ? »,

« Quelles sont vos motivations personnelles pour ce métier ? »,

« Vous vous attendez à être où, exactement, dans 5, 10, 20 ans ? » …

Podcast - Faire une carrière à l'international

Ecoutez ce podcast sur les défis et les bonnes pratiques pour internationaliser sa carrière :

Qui est concerné par le bilan personnel ?

Sont concernées par le bilan personnel :

• Les jeunes, fraichement diplômés, qui sont à la recherche d’une carrière ou emploi
• Les jeunes étudiants ayant, malheureusement, arrêté leurs études
• Les employés qui sont à la quête d’une reconversion professionnelle
• Les personnes à la recherche d'emploi
• Les porteurs de projet cherchant la  création ou la reprise d’une entreprise
• Les personnes souhaitant suivre une formation ou des séances de conseil ou de coaching…

Comment préparer son bilan personnel en 2 étapes ?

1) avis et consultations.

Il s’agit, en vérité, de répondre à des questions bien réfléchies et astucieusement construites par des experts en ressources humaines, coachs de vie et conseillers au recrutement.

Il est recommandé de :

• Répondre, en toute honnêteté, à ces questions
• Aller  en débattre avec des proches, amis, collègues et pourquoi pas avec des coachs et conseillers…
• Il est conseillé de se mettre dans un lieu calme où on ne sera pas dérangé, calpin et stylo à la main , pour le déroulement de la prochaine phase

N’oublions pas que le bilan personnel constitue en quelque sorte un aller-retour entre ce que l’on pense de soi et la manière dont les autres nous perçoivent

Voici, en image, un exemple de canvas de préparation du bilan personnel , pour identifier la nature de son relationnel avec autrui :

2) Préparation des questions cruciales

Prendre tout le temps nécessaire pour aller, en long et en large, en termes de réflexion sur sa personne et aussi pour mener toutes les enquêtes et recherches possibles au sein du marché d’emploi afin d’avoir les idées claires sur bon nombre de métiers et entreprises pouvant être en phase avec sa personnalité.

Posez-vous les bonnes questions

Nous vous rapportons, ci-dessous, un certain nombre de ces interrogations, des plus pertinentes, à notre avis, qui portent sur :

• Votre identité : qui êtes-vous
• Votre perception de vous-même en termes d’habillement, de gestuelle, de démarche…
• La nature de votre regard, posture, sourire, poignée de main…
• Le type de votre adaptation en groupe : introverti ou extraverti
• La nature de votre prise de décisions : rapide, moyennent rapide ou lente
• Votre niveau de maitrise émotionnelle, résistance à l’échec, aux critiques…
• Vos niveaux : d’optimisme, enthousiasme, esprit positif 
• La nature la plus prédominante de votre manière penser : rationnelle, émotionnelle ou créative… 
• Vos 3 qualités fondamentales, les plus appréciées, par vous-même et/ou par les autres ?
• Pourriez-vous mesurer leur impact sur votre projet professionnel ? (Élevé, moyen, bas) ?
• Qu’est-ce qui vous motive le plus dans le métier futur : argent, statut social, évolution, la reconnaissance des autres, les réalisations à effectuer, la réputation…
• Le niveau de situation de votre confiance en vous-même, par rapport aux autres : élevé, moyen ou bas
• Le degré d’influence que vous avez sur les autres : élevé, moyen ou bas
• La fondation de vos choix, se fait-elle par rapport, plutôt, à vous-même, aux gens ou à la situation ?
• Goût de contrôle des autres, et votre aptitude d’écoute (Élevé, moyen, bas)
• Vos critères principaux de décision
• Votre degré d’aisance à parler en public, la nature de votre élocution, et le niveau de votre stress ?
• Votre niveau d’affirmation : comment et quand dites-vous non à autrui
• Votre degré d’autonomie et de partage
• Vos niveaux : de désir de réussir, détermination, et esprit d’initiative
• Vos 3 imperfections principales supposées avoir un impact négatif sur votre projet professionnel ?
• Les 3 caractéristiques de votre personnalité, en phase avec les activités, et les conditions exigées par le métier désiré 

Pour terminer on procède à la synthèse de ses réponses.

On ne retient, ensuite, rien que les éléments, de son bilan personnel, notés très satisfaisants ou assez satisfaisants (niveau élevé ou assez élevé).

Il s’agit alors des activités, des motivateurs et des éléments de l’environnement du travail les plus propices à rechercher au niveau du métier futur et des postes à pourvoir sur le marché d’emploi.

Découvrez ici comment trouver votre   épanouissement professionnel à l'aide de l'outil IKIGAI .

Quand faire le bilan personnel ?

Entre la phase de recherche et de recueil des consultations, et la phase de préparation des entretiens d'embauche, nous pourrions aller plus loin pour construire un bilan solide.

La réalisation de votre bilan personnel fait partie de la première phase de l'élaboration du projet professionnel. Elle vient après l'étape de la recherche et la collecte des avis et consultations comme montré dans l'image ci-après :

En conclusion

Nous avons maintenant saisi l’importance de bien réfléchir sur sa personnalité et d’instaurer son bilan personnel comme étape préliminaire à l’édification et à la réussite de son projet professionnel.

Mohamed El Allame

A propos de l'auteur

De formation scientifique et médicale, j’ai su jeter mon dévolu, professionnellement parlant, sur le marketing, le management et les ressources humaines. Ce qui m’a permis, d’une part, de contribuer, merveilleusement, à la réussite de moult projets professionnels et, d’autre part, d’aider des milliers de personnes à accomplir progrès, développement et épanouissement professionnel.

Les autres articles du dossier 

Comment reprendre confiance en soi : 10 stratégies gagnantes, comment rédiger un projet professionnel : exemple à adapter, comment prévenir les risques psychosociaux (rps) en gestion de projet , trouver un équilibre entre vie professionnelle et vie personnelle d’entrepreneur, comment sortir de sa zone de confort et passer à l’action (+exemple de spotify), motivation au travail : comment concilier bien-être et efficacité en milieu professionnel , comment faire un swot personnel , comment mieux s’organiser pour être plus productif .

Guide GRATUIT du chef de projet

25 points clés que la plupart des chefs de projet négligent dans la gestion de leurs projets (+ concepts et notions clés).

La session a expiré

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• Commencez ici
• Coaching reconversion professionnelle
• Bilan de compétences cadres, managers, dirigeants
• Coaching professionnel intelligence émotionnelle
• Coaching création entreprise
• Formation à la création et gestion d’une micro-entreprise dans le milieu du mieux-être
• Appel Clarté
• Qui suis-je ?
• Témoignages
• Presse et Médias

Bilan personnel et professionnel : les étapes et les questions clés pour le réaliser

Photo by Estée Janssens on Unsplash

Qu’est-ce qu’ un bilan personnel et professionnel ? Pourquoi réaliser un bilan personnel et professionnel est-il important que l’on soit cadre, manager, dirigeant·e ou entrepreneur·e ?

Dans ce nouvel épisode de podcast, je te partage ma propre méthode ( les étapes et les questions clés ) pour te guider dans la réalisation de ton propre bilan de fin d’année.

Un moment à planifier avant la fin d’année pour la clôturer et s’ouvrir sur une nouvelle année.

Car le bilan personnel et professionnel est une formidable occasion pour toi d’être dans une constante évolution, dans une amélioration continue. C’est ce qui nous permet d’identifier les faibles mais également nos propres recettes pour atteindre la réussite.

Spotify – Anchor –  Google Podcast – Youtube

Pourquoi réaliser un bilan personnel et professionnel en fin d'année ?

Que l’on soit manager, cadre, dirigeant ou entrepreneur, lorsque sonne la fin de l’année et les projections pour l’année en venir, il est essentiel de se poser pour faire le bilan. A mon sens, le meilleur moment pour le faire est fin novembre, début décembre. Car c’est sur ce travail d’analyse et de rewind que l’on va pouvoir poser les jalons de la nouvelle année et ainsi se fixer des objectifs et planifier notre nouvelle année.

Notre carrière n’est pas là juste pour payer nos factures. Si vous pensez cela, vous êtes au mauvais endroit si vous m’écoutez et si vous me lisez.

Une carrière est un formidable moyen d’expression de SOI et d’impact.

Ce qui m’anime profondément, c’est d’accompagner des femmes et des hommes qui ont cette conscience… Celle d’exprimer leur véritable nature tout en étant une contribution pour le monde. Des leaders qui vont d’abord se révéler à eux-même et qui vont oeuvrer à créer et développer des entreprises qui auront pour vocation d’avoir un impact dans le monde, que ce soit sur le plan sociétal ou environnemental.

Ce travail passe indéniablement par un travail sur soi, pour révéler le cadeau caché que chaque individu est.

Si aujourd’hui, tu te sens perdue dans ta carrière, dans ta propre entreprise, réaliser le bilan de l’année peut t’aider à obtenir la clarté dont tu as besoin pour réaliser les bons ajustements.

Les étapes clés du bilan personnel et professionnel

Alors faire un bilan n’est pas forcément une étape agréable car il nous impose de revenir sur nos échecs et nos difficultés. Mais c’est ce qui nous permet, indéniablement, d’être une dynamique d’évolution continue.

Il suffit donc de se poser et de répondre simplement à cette question « qu’est-ce qui n’a pas fonctionné cette année ? »… aussi bien sur le plan personnel que professionnel. C’est-à-dire que je t’invite à faire un bilan aussi bien sur ta carrière, ta situation globale dans ta propre entreprise que sur ton bien-être, ta santé, tes relations, tes finances etc…

Ensuite, il s’agit de se demander ce que l’on ferait différemment, qu’est-ce qui fait que tel ou tel projet n’a pas eu les effets, les résultats ou les bénéfices escomptés ?

Dans ce processus, il est essentiel de s’attarder également sur nos réussites. Ceci nous permet de mettre le doigt sur notre propre recette de la réussite, du succès.

Car il n’y a pas de recettes toute faite, duplicable à l’infini.

Nous sommes tous et toutes des êtres singuliers. A ce titre, nous avons notre propre chemin de la réussite à construire, nos propres stratégies. C’est en faisant ce travail d’analyse que l’on est davantage en capacité de poser les bonnes stratégies marketing pour nous, c’est-à-dire celles qui nous correspondent à 100%.

Une fois que ce premier travail d’analyse est fait, je t’invite à poser tes nouveaux standards pour la nouvelle année qui arrive. Il s’agit notamment de se demander à nouveau ce que l’on désire vraiment pour notre vie (d’identifier précisément ses désirs profonds), d’identifier ce qui nous procure du plaisir (tu sais à quel point cette notion de plaisir au travail, dans nos entreprises est essentiel à mes yeux… C’est ce qui nous permet de nous sentir vivante et d’être dans l’action… Il n’y rien de pire que l’immobilisme et l’inaction).

Et pour te projeter dans la nouvelle année, je t’invite à établir une définition personnelle du succès, de la réussite . Qu’est-ce que pour toi le succès ? ESt-ce que c’est d’atteindre un certain niveau de CA ? D’avoir créer une entreprise alignée avec qui tu es ? Est-ce que c’est de déployer ton entreprise sur plusieurs régions ou à l’international ? Est-ce que c’est de créer une franchise ? Est-ce que c’est d’avoir du temps pour toi et ceux que tu aimes ? Etc.

C’est quoi pour toi une année qui sera une réussite ?

Lorsque je fais ce travail de bilan, j’aime le ritualiser. Ayant la porte 5 activée dans  mon design humain , la porte du rythme, des rituels, de routine, c’est un peu comme une seconde nature chez moi.

C’est un processus qui invite à clôturer une année, à tirer des leçons, à couper des liens aussi avec des situations et des personnes (j’entends par là, couper des liens énergétiques). Je m’aide pour cela de la méthode Succès Infini . Je clôture ainsi l’année en faisant un travail sur moi et un travail sur mon entreprise, qui est une entité à part entière. Je viens ainsi identifier ce qui peut nous retenir en arrière, nous faire, mon entreprise et moi, restées dans le passé pour le transformer et nous en libérer.

La nouvelle année est donc une nouvelle page au cours de laquelle TOUT EST POSSIBLE.

Lorsque ce travail est fait, je peux me tourner vers la nouvelle année.

Préparer la nouvelle année : fixation des objectifs et planification

J’aime bien écouter une méditation pour trouver un plusieurs mots qui vont donner la tonalité de la nouvelle année.

Fixer ses objectifs :

Ensuite, je me projette et je me fixe 3, 4 et même 5 grands objectifs en répondant simplement à cette question : Qu’est-ce que je souhaite accomplir pour moi et mon entreprise au cours de cette nouvelle année ?

Cette année, exceptionnellement, j’ai eu besoin d’aller plus loin, plus en profondeur en faisant un travail d’alignement sur moi et sur mon entreprise. Encore une fois, nous sommes deux entités distinctes !

Pour mon entreprise, j’ai ainsi remis à plat ma vision, mon message, la raison d’être de Vanessa Rémignon Coaching, les valeurs de mon entreprise, la stratégie marketing et la stratégie de communication.

Ce travail m’a permise d’avoir beaucoup de clarté, ce qui m’a beaucoup aidé dans la fixation de mes nouveaux objectifs et dans la fixation des nouvelles orientations que je vais prendre l’année prochaine.  

Comment atteindre ses objectifs ?

Place maintenant au plan d’action.

Je sais que l’atteinte de ces objectifs est un savant mélange de travail sur soi, sur ses émotions, ses croyances limitantes ET de stratégies.

Pour cette partie là, je reste donc dans les grandes lignes car je sais que les résultats dépendront principalement de ma propre capacité à me diriger dans les moments de doute ou de difficultés.  

Parmi les actions que je compte mettre en place, il y aura un allègement de mon temps de travail. Ma priorité sera la préservation de mon énergie, c’est mon atout majeur pour peaufiner mon art de la maïeutique et être une coach encore plus pertinente et efficace.

Je compte planifier davantage mon travail.

Malgré le planning de ma semaine idéale et le fait de travailler en équipe, je sens que j’ai besoin d’aller un cran plus loin dans l’organisation et la planification de mes tâches.  

Donc allègement et structuration seront les deux axes sur lesquels je vais porter mon attention pour atteindre mes objectifs.

Mais dans ce travail d’analyse, de réflexion, de questionnement et d’introspection, on peut, malgré tout, se sentir bloquée et manquer de clarté.

C’est pourquoi, il est indispensable de se faire aider le cas échéant.

Toute cette année, j’ai été accompagnée par des coachs dans le cadre d’un incubateur (j’ai rejoint en janvier 2021, l’incubateur 56 créé par Romain Collignon) et j’ai également été accompagnée par une autre coach pour travailler sur mes blocages…. J’ai allié la structure, le stratégique ET le spirituel . Car c’est moi, tout simplement. J’ai besoin de ces piliers dans ma vie pour me sentir complète. Et c’est exactement ce que je propose à mes clientes.

De la structure, du pragmatisme mais aussi des outils moins conventionnels, davantage liés au monde de l’invisible.

Ta vie professionnelle ne te convient plus et tu aspires à aligner ta vie professionnelle sur ta raison d’être ? Tu désires devenir un·e entrepreneur·e du changement en créant ton entreprise pour plus de sens, de plaisir et d’équilibre dans ta vie  ?

Si tu es déterminé·e à révéler ton plein potentiel et être une contribution pour le monde, je t’invite à r éserver dès maintenant ta séance clarté offerte afin que nous puissions :

• clarifier ta situation,
• définir les toutes premières actions pour concrétiser ton rêve,
• et voir si je suis la bonne personne pour te guider et te soutenir dans tes ambitions.

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Je suis Vanessa, ancienne Juriste et Responsable des Ressources Humaines et désormais entrepreneure et coach professionnelle épanouie.

Je guide celles et ceux qui ressentent mal-être, frustration et épuisement à retrouver leur alignement pour plus de sens, d’impact, de plaisir et d’abondance dans leur vie.

L’Humain (et même le Vivant) a toujours été au coeur de mes préoccupations.

Ici, tu trouveras de l’inspirations, des pistes à explorer, des astuces et conseils pour découvrir ta raison d’être et créer une entreprise à impact (si tel est ta voie).

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How Do You Draft the Personnel Section of the Business Plan? The Personnel Section of a Business Plan Explained.

One of the key sections of a Business Plan is the section that describes the plan to grow or scale the business.  This often involves hiring staff and staff often represent the single largest ongoing expense that a company will have.  As such, it is important to plan exactly who will be hired, how much they will be paid and when staff will join the team.

What Should a Personnel Plan Look Like?

The personnel section of a Business Plan should contain the following components.

• Job Descriptions – The job descriptions should provide the reader with enough detail so that they understand the job function of prospective hires
• Organizational Chart – An organizational chart show who will work for who and allows a reader to get an overview of the overall management and staffing structure of the company.
• Type of Hire – Staff can either be salaried employees or independent contractors. It is important to distinguish between these two types of workers for tax and other labor compliance issues.
• Salary Amount – Details of either yearly or hourly pay should be included.
• Salary Assumptions – common assumptions include an estimate of raises over time (eg. 5%) and a burden rate assigned to cover company benefits like health insurance (eg. 20% of salary costs)
• When Hires Will Take Place – Staff are usually hired over a period of time and staggered. As such, it is helpful to include detail surrounding when a particular employee will start. If you will have temporary staff of contractors, you should also specify when the employment will end.

What Do the Numbers Look Like?

The sample chart below is an example of the financial section of a business plan. It is for illustrative purposes only and each plan is unique and requires tailoring to meet the specific needs of the company.

What Should the Explanation of a Personnel Plan Look Like?

The detail below is a summary of some of the possible explanation that could be included in a Personnel Plan for the above data.  The description is an excerpt of possible language that could be used.

The company will start out utilizing the three founders and salaries have been allocated for each founder at $100,000 per year. Founder 1 will start taking a salary in FY2015 while the other two founders will start taking a salary in FY2016.    Founders will also take dividends as issued by the Board of Directors.

The budget contemplates hiring 2 employees in the sales area in fiscal 2016 and one software engineer . Until that time, one of the founders who specializes in application development (Hellen Bussiere), will work on developing the tech side of the business.  In addition, the plan includes hiring 1 sales person a year after that. Sales people will make approx.. $25,000 per year.  In year 4, the application will be completed and we will hire a marketing head to promote the product. The marketing head will make $24,000 a year and will be a part time position.  In year 5, a distribution manager will be hired and he/she will also be part time and make $24,000 per year. 

Full job descriptions are included in Section A.2 of the plan. 

The total number of employees at the end of year 5 is 9 people (including the founders).  This is a modest estimate and may increase significantly if more users sign up.

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Le bilan personnel : une étape fondamentale dans la démarche de création

En quoi consiste cette étape .

L'établissement du bilan personnel est une étape souvent négligée, mais pourtant très importante dans le processus de création ou de reprise d'une entreprise. Cela consiste pour le porteur de projet : - à faire le point sur ses talents ou qualités, son "savoir-faire" bien sûr, mais aussi son "savoir-être" ; - à identifier ses motivations profondes. Pour quelles raisons veut-il créer une entreprise ? Que vise-t-il à travers cet objectif ? - à déterminer ses besoins dans chaque domaine de vie, familial, couple, social, personnel et professionnel ; - dans le respect de ses valeurs.  Son projet répond-il bien à ses besoins, à ses valeurs ? Pourra-t-il s'épanouir dans son travail ? Quel parcours souhaite-t-il mettre en place ? - à prendre conscience de ses contraintes personnelles ; - et à vérifier que tous ces éléments sont compatible avec son projet d'entreprise. A la fin de cette étape le futur chef d'entreprise connaît son potentiel. Si l'analyse de ces différents critères fait apparaître une cohérence totale entre son projet et ses piliers de vie (intégrité, besoins, valeurs), il peut démarrer la construction de son projet dans de bonnes conditions. Les fondations sont solides !

Pourquoi est-ce important d'y consacrer du temps ?

Trop de créateurs se lancent, une fois leur idée définie, dans l'établissement de leur business plan, sans prendre le temps de se poser ces questions essentielles, sans être "au clair" avec leurs motivations et avec leurs valeurs. La réussite d'une entreprise ne dépend pas uniquement de sa faisabilité économique et juridique, mais également d'éléments beaucoup plus personnels. On peut reprendre une entreprise familiale, se lancer dans un nouveau créneau porteur, avoir un véritable "coup de foudre" pour une boutique, un endroit, une activité... mais on réfléchit rarement à ce que l'on veut faire de sa vie, à ce que l'on a réellement envie d'être. Cela peut engendrer plus tard des déséquilibres, des désillusions voire des frustrations susceptibles de mettre en péril l'entreprise. Etablir son bilan personnel, c'est prendre conscience : - de ses forces et faiblesses, - de menaces et d'opportunités, - de ses besoins et motivations profondes, afin d'être en mesure de déterminer les apprentissages à mettre en place pour réussir son projet. Car nous savons bien que "nous ne changeons pas ce dont nous n'avons pas conscience !"

D'où l'intérêt du coaching ?

D'où l'intérêt du coaching ! Le coaching peut s'avérer très utile pour un porteur de projet qui rencontre des difficultés à franchir seul cette étape. La démarche stratégique conduite par le coach est, à mon sens, complémentaire de l'action des réseaux d'accompagnement de porteurs de projet. Elle est très bénéfique pour l'entrepreneur, tant au moment de l'élaboration de son projet, qu'une fois l'activité lancée. Le coach travaille sur la prise de conscience : le futur chef d'entreprise formule, en conscience, son objectif et le coach donne l'impulsion ! Ses qualités d'écoute sont fondamentales. Il questionne, reformule, cadre. Il reste vigilant à la concordance entre le verbal et le non verbal. Il pousse son interlocuteur dans ses retranchements (positifs) en lui permettant ainsi d'explorer des alternatives qu'il n'avait pas envisagées. Peu à peu les questions lui permettent d'avancer. En création d'entreprise, l'équipe "porteur de projet et coach" créent ensemble les conditions du succès par : - la mise en place d'un plan d'action avec des critères d'évaluation, - l'identification des obstacles à franchir, des freins qui pourraient empêcher la réalisation du projet, - la planification de la progression avec la mise en place de briefing et debriefing, - la reconnaissance des progrès. La réussite d'un projet nécessite organisation et préparation. Il est important aussi d'apprendre à relâcher la pression. Nous trouvons le même basic dans le sport de haut niveau. "La pression d'enjeu fabrique la défaite là où le plaisir du jeu fournir l'énergie de la victoire". C'est pour cette raison que la préparation prime l'action.

Quelles sont ces questions que doit impérativement se poser tout porteur de projet ?

Comme je l'indiquais au début de cet entretien, le créateur doit tout d'abord réaliser un bilan professionnel. - Où en est-il professionnellement ? - Quel est son savoir-faire technique ? - Dispose-t-il de compétences d'acheteur, de vendeur, de gestionnaire ? - Possède-t-il des capacités d'organisation, des capacités managériales ? - Pourra-t-il former ses collaborateurs (breafing, debreafing, recadrage) ? Ce bilan ne doit naturellement pas se limiter à son "savoir-faire", mais également prendre en compte des éléments liés à son "savoir-être" : - A-t-il des capacités d'adaptabilité, de résistance au stress, de force mentale, d'autonomie ? - Dispose-t-il d'une qualité d'écoute suffisante, d'une capacité à prendre des risques ? - A-t-il le sens des responsabilités ? - Est-il créatif, convainquant, courageux (les 35 heures se font souvent en 3 jours...) ? - A-t-il facilement confiance en lui, en les autres ? - Saura-t-il se remettre en question, accepter de se former en permanence ?

Cela n'est-il pas de nature à déstabiliser le plus vaillant des porteurs de projets ?

L'objectif recherché n'est naturellement pas de répondre positivement à toutes ces questions, mais de faire prendre conscience au porteur de projet de ses talents, de ses qualités et d'autres paramètres. Ainsi, le coaching de créateur d'entreprises met l'accent sur la meilleure manière d'atteindre le résultat désiré et non sur les problèmes. On va traduire ensemble les problèmes en objectifs. Le coach est là pour accompagner le futur dirigeant dans son présent pour mieux réussir son futur. Par exemple, si le créateur est un bon technicien, ayant très peu d'expérience en matière de vente, il devra prévoir, dès le démarrage, les moyens à mettre en place pour recourir à des commerciaux, salariés ou indépendants ou envisager, le cas échéant, une association. Si son bilan personnel révèle un goût prononcé pour le travail en équipe, il vivra peut-être mal une situation nouvelle dans laquelle il se retrouvera totalement isolé. Il lui faudra alors envisager de travailler en réseau, de se rapprocher de clubs d'entrepreneurs ou encore d'intégrer une structure organisée de type pépinière d'entreprise, dans laquelle il pourra côtoyer d'autres entrepreneurs. A chaque difficulté sa solution. Là encore un regard extérieur peut être très utile. L'un des premiers devoirs d'un coach est d'équilibrer la personne et la rendre plus harmonieuse avant de la rendre plus performante.

Vous attachez beaucoup d'importance aux motivations. Y a-t-il des bonnes et des mauvaises motivations ?

Ce qui est important pour le futur chef d'entreprise, c'est de prendre conscience, avant de construire cette entreprise, de ses motivations profondes. En effet, il ne devra jamais perdre de vue ses motivations de départ, qui seront plus tard des leviers pour passer les caps difficiles. Au cours de l'entretien le coach doit ressentir la passion intérieure du futur dirigeant (vibre-t-il pour son projet ?). L'objectif doit être mobilisant. Les yeux doivent pétiller ! C'est à ce moment là qu'intervient la notion de "valeur", ces valeurs qui nous motivent, ces valeurs qui donnent un sens à notre vie. En vivant en accord avec nos valeurs nous parvenons à une cohérence interne. Ces valeurs guident notre vie. Le non respect de nos valeurs suscite honte, colère et culpabilité. C'est pour cette raison qu'il est fondamental que le projet de création d'entreprise soit cohérent avec les valeurs du futur dirigeant. Cette étape est très importante en coaching. Si vous avez par exemple l'opportunité de reprendre un point presse, et que votre seule motivation est de sortir d'une situation difficile, vous aurez sans doute du mal à accepter les nombreuses contraintes liées à cette activité et leurs conséquences sur votre vie de famille. Par contre si vous êtes passionné par la presse, si vous recherchez les contacts humains, si vous avez la totale adhésion de votre entourage familial, si cette activité vous permet de vivre dans une région qui vous plaît... vous mettrez toutes les chances de votre côté pour convaincre le banquier de vous faire confiance et pour vous épanouir dans votre nouvelle activité. Respecter ses valeurs est provocateur d'énergie, de confiance en soi et de réussite.

Quelle différence faites-vous entre motivations et objectifs personnels ?

Les motivations, c'est ce qui permet d'agir, de se lever le matin en ayant "la pêche", de "vibrer" pour son projet, et ainsi d'atteindre ses objectifs personnels à plus ou moins long terme. Les objectifs, en revanche, c'est ce que l'on peut atteindre grâce à la motivation. Atteindre un objectif implique la mise en place d'une action. Cet objectif peut être de différentes natures : - manager une équipe, - travailler chez soi, dans son cadre familial, - s'épanouir dans son travail, - développer puis céder son entreprise à un grand groupe, - développer une affaire pour la transmettre à ses enfants, - gagner beaucoup d'argent, etc. Un objectif est donc un but concret à atteindre. En coaching les critères d'un objectif sont les suivants : spécifique, mesurable, atteignable, réalisable et fixé dans le temps (SMART). Une fois l'entreprise créée, il est important de ne pas perdre ses motivations profondes de départ, afin de pouvoir s'y raccrocher lorsqu'il y aura des caps difficiles à passer, des moments de lassitude, de fatigue. Le créateur peut passer par des phases de stress, de doute, de découragement, de peur. Cette phase de confusion entraîne souvent un phénomène de procrastination. Recourir au coaching pendant cette période, permet au créateur d'écouter ses émotions, de les exprimer et de les accepter. Il est fondamental que le futur chef d'entreprise apprenne à gérer ses émotions, ses croyances. Une émotion est un signal d'alarme. Ce travail permettra de maintenir la motivation et d'augmenter la confiance en soi. Tant que le coaché résistera, le malaise persistera. En effet, l'individu à un moment donné a peur de lâcher quelque chose. Il est nécessaire de répondre à cette question : à quoi êtes-vous prêt à renoncer aujourd'hui pour atteindre votre objectif ?

Quels sont les autres points à étudier dans le cadre du bilan personnel ?

A ce stade, il est important d'identifier l'ensemble de ses besoins, touchant aux différents domaines de sa vie : famille, couple, social, personnel, travail. Ces besoins engendrent des contraintes, qu'il faudra ensuite confronter avec les exigences du projet. Les questions à se poser sont les suivantes : - Quels sont mes besoins en termes de revenus, pour assurer mes charges de famille ? Ai-je des prêts personnels en cours, des pensions alimentaires à verser ? - Quels sont mes besoins en termes de temps à consacrer à ma famille ? Mon conjoint est-il suffisamment disponible pour assurer seul la charge des enfants pendant la phase de lancement et de développement de mon entreprise ? En aura-t-il envie ? Comprend-il ma démarche ? - Quels sont mes besoins en termes de statut social, de standing ? Ma future activité sera-t-elle en adéquation avec ces derniers ? - Quels sont mes besoins en termes de valorisation, de reconnaissance professionnelle ? - Mon conjoint adhère-t-il réellement à ce projet ? Souhaite-t-il être impliqué dans l'entreprise ? Sera-t-il prêt à accepter une baisse momentanée de niveau de vie ? Sera-t-il prêt, le cas échéant, à renoncer à des week-ends, à des vacances ? - Ma condition physique est-elle compatible avec l'activité envisagée ? Pourrai-je faire face à des périodes de surcroît d'activité ? Ai-je réellement conscience du temps que je devrai consacrer à mon entreprise ? - Comment est-ce que je me vois dans 5 ans, dans 10 ans ? - etc. Tous ces éléments doivent être en cohérence avec le projet.

Et s'il n'y a pas de cohérence totale, faut-il renoncer au projet ?

Pas nécessairement, mais il faudra sans doute le retarder ou le différer de manière à y apporter des modifications, plus ou moins importantes, et/ou mettre en place les apprentissages nécessaires à sa réussite. En effet, à la fin de cette étape, le futur chef d'entreprise connaît ses forces et ses faiblesses. Il connaît son potentiel mais celui-ci n'est pas figé dans le temps. Il peut se développer et être optimisé.  

Propos recueillis en mai 2013 par Laurence Piganeau

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How to Create a Personnel Plan for Investors

What is a personnel plan?

A personnel plan is a document that outlines an organization’s staffing needs, goals, and strategies for managing its workforce. Whether taken upon yourself or delegated to a trusted manager, this is essential for business.

It is a key component of human resource management and provides a roadmap for the recruitment, selection, training, development, retention, and management of employees.

A personnel plan is critical within the business plan you would have created as a start-up or entrepreneur. It will help you in your financial forecasting, anticipating the right times to hire and expand.

What to include in the personnel section of your business plan

The personnel section of a business plan should include information about the management team and staff that will be involved in operating the business. The people who do the work are the most important asset, which of course comes with a cost. Understanding when to hire, when to think about human resources, and when to grow your business at the right time can be enormously important in meeting business objectives, setting yourself up for success with great personal benchmarks.

Building out a personnel plan within your business plan is going to be essential in planning for the long term success of your business. Forecasting this data can be the best way to ensure longevity.

Who is your management team?

This should include a brief introduction to the key members of the management team, including their backgrounds, experience, and relevant skills. It’s important to highlight their qualifications and how they will contribute to the success of the business.

This can be brief and doesn’t require a full resume for each member of the team. A simple explanation detailing qualifications and relevant experience applicable within the company is all that’s required.

What is the organizational structure?

This section should provide an overview of the organizational structure of the company, including who will be in charge of each department or functional area, as well as any outside consultants or advisors who will be involved.

In line with forecasting, you will want to illustrate the future of your company and who will be included. As you develop, you can anticipate your team growing from a just few employees into staff across multiple sectors, such as customer service, marketing, and support.

What are your staffing needs?

Outline the staffing needs of the business, including the number and types of employees needed to run the business successfully. This should also include the qualifications and skills required for each position.

Here you can identify the weaknesses and risks across your team, ensuring that you have a capable understanding of the roles and responsibilities that are important to the business in the future – though they may not be in place right now. Investors are quick to highlight “perfect” personnel plans, so you will want to embrace that you have identified risks in staffing.

As an example, your head of customer support may also be your head of sales, but in time these two roles will need to be separated.

What will recruitment and training look like?

This section should detail how the company plans to recruit and train employees, including any training programs or on-the-job training that will be provided.

What will the compensations and benefits be?

Outline the compensation and benefits packages that will be offered to employees, including salaries, bonuses, health benefits, retirement plans, and any other perks or incentives.

Outline the Human Resources policies

Detail the company’s policies on issues such as employee performance reviews , disciplinary procedures, and termination policies.

Does a business plan need personnel planning if I have no staff?

Even if you don’t have any employees right now, having a personnel plan is beneficial for your business in the long term.

Without a personnel plan, you may find it challenging to scale your business or adapt to changes in your industry or market. For example, if you suddenly need to hire someone to fill a critical role, you may not know where to start or what qualifications you should look for.

Creating a personnel plan can also help you to clarify your business goals and objectives. By determining the roles and responsibilities required to meet those goals, you can better prioritize and focus on the essential tasks that need to be done.

Therefore, even if you don’t have any employees currently, it’s still a good idea to develop a personnel plan to help you prepare for future growth and ensure that you have the right team in place to support your business objectives.

Is there an easy way to forecast a personnel plan?

Personnel planning is a long process as it requires dedicated thought as to what needs to happen in your business and where you want to take it. Typically, this require a lengthy process of spreadsheets and equations to figure out exactly who needs to be working with you, and at what cost.

Business planning software can ensure that this part of your business plan, alongside other key components, is created with ease – simply needing a few data entries to be entered throughout the software.

Related articles

• SWOT Analysis For Startups
• How to Start Your Business Plan Online for Free
• A quick guide to setting up and running your business
• How to easily forecast your startup’s cash flow

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Bilan : comment le présenter dans son business plan ?

Le bilan est un tableau financier important du business plan. Et comme tous les éléments qui composent la partie financière de ce document, il se présente d’une façon particulière. Le bilan fait référence à celui figurant dans les états comptables. Cela peut, à priori, faire peur. Toutefois, le bilan du business plan peut adopter une présentation simplifiée . Voici  comment présenter un bilan dans un business plan .

Informations à présenter dans un bilan de business plan

Le bilan permet, de façon générale, de donner une photographie du patrimoine d’une entreprise, à un instant donné. En ce qui vous concerne, vous l’établirez au titre de chaque année que comprend votre business plan . Le plus souvent, on effectue des projections sur 3 années.

Cela dit, le patrimoine d’une entreprise comprend des emplois (actifs) qu’elle finance à l’aide de ressources spécifiques (passifs) . Ce sont les deux éléments importants qui forme un bilan. Au sein de chacune d’entre elles, on distingue des sous-catégories.

Les actifs du bilan d’un business plan

L’ actif du bilan d’un business plan comprend deux types de postes importants : les biens durables et les actifs circulant .

La première catégorie englobe essentiellement tous les biens ayant une valeur significative et qui vous permettront d’exercer votre activité. Il peut s’agir, par exemple, de matériels (informatique, de transport, industriels…), de mobiliers, d’agencements, d’outillages… On les appelle des immobilisations . Le montant qui doit figurer dans votre business plan est « net » d’amortissements , ce qui signifie que vous devez les déduire.

Biens durables = Immobilisations corporelles, incorporelles et financières – Amortissements

La seconde catégorie regroupe des actifs réalisables à court terme. Les postes qui composent l’actif circulant sont très rapidement convertis en argent. Il s’agit principalement des stocks de marchandises, matières et fournitures et des créances clients . Le dernier éléments qui y figure est la trésorerie (argent présent sur les comptes bancaires de l’entreprise).

Actifs circulants = Stocks de matières, marchandises, fournitures + Créances clients + Disponibilités

Les passifs du bilan d’un business plan

Le passif du bilan d’un business plan se compose de deux masses : les ressources stables et le passif circulant .

Les ressources stables comprennent le capital social de l’entreprise, le résultat dégagé chaque année (positif ou négatif), les reports à nouveau (accumulation de bénéfices non-distribués) et les dettes financières à moyen et/ou long terme (capital restant dû au titre des prêts).

Ressources stables = Capital social + Report à nouveau + / – Résultat net + Dettes financières

Le passif circulant regroupe le financement à plus court terme : dettes fournisseurs , dettes fiscales , dettes sociales . Les apports en compte courant des associés peuvent y figurer, lorsque les comptes ne sont pas bloqués et l’argent demeurent remboursable à tout moment.

Passifs circulants = Dettes fournisseurs, fiscales, sociales + Apports en comptes courants

Présentation des actifs et passifs dans le bilan d’un business plan

Un bilan se présente généralement sous la forme d’un tableau à deux volets dans un business plan. Le côté gauche reprend tous les actifs et le côté droit les passifs . La somme des montants figurant dans chaque colonne doit être égale.

Tous les éléments doivent être classés par ordre décroissant de liquidité . Cela signifie que les postes les moins mobilisables (ceux qui demandent un certain temps avant d’être convertis en argent) figurent en haut de chaque colonne.

Voici un modèle dont vous pouvez vous servir pour présenter le bilan de votre projet de création/reprise d’entreprise :

A lire également sur le thème du business plan :

• Présentation du compte de résultat dans le business plan
• Présentation du plan de financement dans le business plan
• Guide pour faire son business plan en ligne
• Comparatif des logiciels de business plan en ligne

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The Secrets of a Great Personnel Plan

Investing in human resources (HR) is a key element of healthy personnel planning and strategy. A hallmark of effective leadership is efficient HR which means hiring employees in a cost-effective manner and mostly when needed. Your business plan should always include an informative and up-to-date personnel plan section to provide direction for the company and help entrepreneurs stay focused.

At the heart of every business owner is the desire to excel. The best way to excel is to define your plans and proceed with purpose. Your business plan comprises a business description , a competition analysis, a marketing plan, a personnel section, the HR section and key financial information.

The personnel plan is designed to help company owners put their plans into action. It helps to clarify objectives for the current and forthcoming year. Thus, a good understanding of personnel plan and how to implement it in your business is vital.

What is a personnel plan?

A personnel plan is a vital part of every company plan and financial forecast, which aids future and current budgeting and defines the type of employee to hire and when to hire such employees.

When you are seeking funding, venture capitalists and angel investors will want a breakdown of your team. Who are they? What talents and skills do they bring to the table? What is your hiring plan for the first year, second year, and so on? How will your team drive business growth and success?

All this information will include the positions you will need employees for, the period in which the management intends to fill the plan, and the financial implications of the implementation of the plan. Just as you would assess if your business is financially feasible , you’ll need to apply this same sentiment when hiring employees.

The personnel plan represents a consolidated strategy for hiring the best people for all company positions, while keeping an eye on future expansion.

Michael E. Gerber, the author of The E-Myth Revisited, posited that an effective personnel plan designed as an efficient workplace game will help employers prime employees for organizational goals while creating job satisfaction. This means that an effective hiring process is vital to an efficient process of personnel planning.

The majority of employers find personnel planning difficult especially those whose staff work in shifts. Organizational challenges like these can easily be taken care of with TimeTrack Duty Roster which helps employers create a suitable overview of their workforce and personalize shifts according to any number of criteria, including their location and skills.

Features of the TimeTrack Duty Roster

Key elements of a personnel plan

Each company’s needs may differ, but in general, these are common elements that should form part of every personnel plan.

Job description

• Clearly explained requirements of the various job functions. Use easy-to-understand language and phrases.

Organizational chart and type of hiring

• The chart of the organization should show who works for whom and provide a good overview of the overall management and employee structure of the company.
• The plan should be clear on whether employees are independent contractors or receive salaries. This is essential for labor compliance issues and the workers’ tax.

Remuneration (salary amount and assumptions)

• Details of hourly or yearly payments are defined, including relevant assumptions that comprise estimates of salary increases over time. You also need to account for company benefits, including health insurance. This may be a percentage of salary costs employers pay to staff.

Time of recruitment

• The hiring of employees is often done over time and staggered. Thus, your plan must include details about when an employee will start and the end date for temporary staff.

Incorporate key personnel into the business plan

Employees are the most valuable assets any company can have. This means that hiring the right person should always be a key priority for every company. Your staff will have a significant impact on revenue, customer experience/satisfaction and the success of the company.

Incorporating the personnel section into your business plan is an important part of strategic planning for long-term viability. The information below serves as guide on how to implement a personnel plan in your business.

Team dynamics

This presents an overview of all the key positions in your business and the backgrounds of staff in their critical roles and departments. Add the total number of staff and their experiences. Emphasize the strengths of individuals and how to upskill where necessary. A great team is typically the fulcrum of business success because they have the responsibility of and possess the ability to translate policies into business success.

Organizational structure

The structure of your company is represented in the company’s organizational chart, which shows the hierarchy of duties and management. Is authority finely distributed and are the various company teams properly mentioned? This includes customer service, product development, marketing, manufacturing and sales.

When planning the company’s organizational details, you will need a strategy to manage absences and leave. TimeTrack Leave Management feature helps you to finetune these details so you can easily (and quickly!) oversee employee absences, vacation time and keep track of working hours for compliance management.

TimeTrack Leave Management

Gaps and stumbling blocks

While it may be difficult to identify gaps in your team, chances are that if you look closely, you will observe a section of your company in need of quality talent. You need to figure out how to fill this gap. Don’t hide the weakness of your team from potential investors. Always remember that specialization will evolve as the company grows.

Where advisors, board members and consultants are applicable to your company, list them. Where they will fill key positions as the business grows, you need to list them and provide background on the value they provide.

The fine print

Every personnel plan needs to include a section addressing employment benefits , rights and conditions, especially for managers. Design your company’s management personnel plan and include a table of staff expenses, including both direct and indirect labor expenses, a burden rate and employee-related expenses, while adding payroll tax, workers’ compensation, salaries and health insurance.

Checklist for personnel planning

Personnel improvement

Improving conditions for personnel involve the identification of gaps, developing and implementing action plans  and taking follow-up actions. Managers should develop a performance improvement plan before taking disciplinary action against employees.

Identify skills or performance gaps

A gap analysis is designed to help you identify potential and current issues and is an essential part of the personnel process. Incorporate characteristics of human resource planning into your business planning.

Provide proof of a skills gap or underperformance of the workforce using a consistent format across all employment cadres. Design your format, including employee information and a description of performance discrepancies using expected and actual performance criteria.

Have a face-to-face meeting with your employees to share observed issues or concerns and gain insights into causal factors of underperformance. Use your documentation to share insights on performance challenges. Let the affected employees know they have committed specific policy infractions. Focus only on the outcomes of behaviors to help affected staff understand how their behaviors affect company success.

Develop action plans

Establish specific and measurable improvement goals for your workforce. Avoid generalizations and focus on key goals. Setting bit-sized goals is an effective way of working while monitoring task on time .

Provide detailed resources, including advanced tools that can help employees improve. This also means providing the management with essential tools that will help with the efficient oversight of the workforce.

Create a timeline for achieving performance improvement goals. This will help keep the staff on track towards achieving expectations. Don’t forget to identify metrics for measuring progress. Be specific about what you want employees to achieve and define the intended consequences in the event of failure to complete performance improvement plan. Be specific about actions you will take whether or not targets are met.

Schedule regular appointments to review the performance improvement plan with your employees and implement their feedback.

Incorporating a personnel plan into your business strategy is a key factor for efficient planning. To maximize the opportunity presented by personnel planning, use any of the effective and reliable TimeTrack planning and absence management software tools.

I am a researcher, writer, and self-published author. Over the last 9 years, I have dedicated my time to delivering unique content to startups and non-governmental organizations and have covered several topics, including wellness, technology, and entrepreneurship. I am now passionate about how time efficiency affects productivity, business performance, and profitability.

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How to Create an Investor-Ready Personnel Plan and Forecast Employee Costs

Posted march 22, 2021 by noah parsons.

A personnel plan is a critical part of your business plan and financial forecast . In addition to helping you budget for current and future employees, your personnel plan enables you to think through who you should hire and when you should hire them.

If you’re pitching to angel investors or venture capitalists for funding, they will want to see why your team is uniquely suited to grow and scale your business, as well as your hiring plan.

Investors will want to know:

• What positions do you need to fill?
• When you plan on filling them?
• How much it’s going to cost to build the team you need??

What to include in the personnel section of your business plan

For many startups and small businesses, the people who do the work—your team—are both the most costly and most valuable asset. It makes sense that hiring the right person at the right time can have a significant impact on your ability to meet your company’s milestones and goals , not to mention your cash flow .

Thinking strategically about human resources — when to add positions, compensation levels, and whether to hire full-time or on a contract basis are all pieces of a healthy personnel plan.

So, whether you’re seeking investment or not, building a personnel plan and forecast is an essential part of business planning and strategic planning for the long-term viability of your company. Let’s dive right in and look at the five key steps to build an investor-ready personnel plan.

1. Describe your team

In the “team” section of your business plan, you will typically include an overview of the key positions in your company and the background of the people who will be in those critical roles. Usually, you’ll highlight each of the management positions in your company and then speak more generally about other departments and teams.

You don’t need to include full resumes for each team member—a quick summary of why each person is qualified to do the job is enough. Describe each person’s skills and experience and what they will be doing for the company.

Emphasize your team’s strengths. How do they make your team stronger? What specific expertise and experience do they have in your (or a related) industry? Assuming your market research identified a great opportunity, why are you the right team to capitalize on it? 

For potential investors, this section helps qualify why each team member is necessary for the success of the business. It acts as a justification for their salary and equity share if they are part owners of the company.

2. Describe your organizational structure

The organizational structure of your company is frequently represented as an “org chart” that shows who reports to whom and who is responsible for what.

You don’t have to create a visual org chart, though—describing your organization in the text is just fine. Just make sure to show that you have a clear structure for your company.

Is authority adequately distributed among the team? Do you have the resources to get everything done that you need to grow your company?

You’ll also want to mention the various teams your company is going to have in the future. These might include sales, customer service, product development, marketing, manufacturing, and so on.

You don’t need to plan on hiring all of these people right away. Think of this section as an outline of what you plan to do in the future with your company.

3. Explain the gaps

It’s alright to have gaps on your team, especially if you’re a startup. You may not have identified all the “right” team members yet, or you may not have the funds available yet to hire for essential roles . That’s okay.

The key is to know that you do have gaps on your team—this is how you figure out who you need to hire and when you need to hire them. Also, it’s much better to define and identify weaknesses in your team than to pretend that you have all the key roles that you need. In your business plan , explain where your organization is weak and what your plans are to correct the problem as you grow.

It might be tempting to hide your potential weaknesses from investors, but they’ll see through that right away. It’s much better to be open and honest about where you have management gaps and your plans to solve those problems. You want them to know you have identified and made plans to mitigate risks .

You also need to keep in mind that employees might wear a lot of hats in the early days of a company, but that specialization will happen as the company grows.

For example, initially, the CEO might also be the VP of Sales. But, eventually, the VP of Sales role should be filled by a specialist to take on that responsibility. Include these types of changes in your personnel plan to explain to investors that you understand how your company is going to grow and scale.

4. List your advisors, consultants, and board members

For some companies, external advisors, board members , and even consultants can play a crucial role in setting business strategy. These people might even fill key positions temporarily as your company grows. If this is the case, you’ll want to list these people in your business plan. Like your management team, provide a brief background on each principal advisor that explains the value they provide.

If your advisors don’t hold key roles or are not critical to your success, you don’t necessarily have to list them. But, do list anyone that is adding substantial value to the company by providing advice, connections, or operational expertise.

5. Forecast your personnel costs

Most business plans should include a personnel table to forecast the expense of your employees. Here are the expenses you’ll need to be aware of when forecasting.

Direct and indirect labor expenses

You’ll want to include both direct expenses , which usually comprise salaries, as well as indirect expenses which include: 

• Paid time off
• Healthcare and insurance
• Payroll costs

 As well as any other costs you incur for each employee beyond their salary. Here’s an example of what a personnel forecast can look like using LivePlan .

Burden rate and employee-related expenses

There are different names for the indirect expenses of personnel. Still, I like to call it “burden rate” or “employee-related expenses,” which is an expense over and above the direct wages and salaries. These expenses typically include payroll taxes, worker’s compensation insurance, health insurance, and other benefits and taxes.

For business planning purposes, don’t stress about coming up with the exact figure for the burden rate. Instead, estimate it using a percentage of total monthly salaries. Somewhere between 15 percent and 25 percent usually makes sense, but it depends on what kind of benefits you plan on offering.

In your personnel plan, you can list both individual people as well as groups of people. You’ll probably want to list out key people and other highly paid employees, but group together other departments or groups of people. For example, you might list out your management team, but then group together departments like Marketing, Customer Service, and Manufacturing.

Then, add in your personnel burden to cover benefits and insurance. In the example personnel table above, this is called “Employee-Related Expenses.”

You’ll then take the total number of your salaries plus personnel burden and include this in your profit and loss forecast as an expense. Suppose you’re using LivePlan to build your personnel forecast. In that case, this how-to article on entering personnel shows where you’ll see personnel costs appear on your cash flow statement, profit and loss (income statement), and your balance sheet.

Do you need a personnel plan if you have no employees?

If you are a sole proprietor and don’t have employees, you should still include your own salary as part of the business plan. Make sure to include your salary as an expense in your Profit & Loss Statement . Even if you, the business owner, don’t take the salary, so you can keep the cash in your business, you’ll want to record what you should have been paid.

In the case of a sole proprietor, you probably don’t need a full table for the personnel plan, like in the example above. But, when you do start planning to hire a team, you should use the format I’ve described here.

Personnel planning is a valuable part of the business planning process because it forces you to think about what needs to get done in your business and who’s going to do it. Take the time to work through this part of your financial forecast, and you’ll have a much better sense of what it’s going to take to make your business successful.

*Editors Note: This article was initially written in 2019 and updated for 2021.

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• Atteindre ses objectifs

10 questions pour faire de son bilan de fin d’année une opportunité de croissance

Dans cet article, nous explorerons l’importance de prendre le temps de faire le point sur notre situation personnelle. Nous découvrirons comment prendre du recul et évaluer nos étapes de vie à travers un bilan personnel.

Nous aborderons les nombreux avantages qu’un bilan personnel peut apporter. De la clarté sur nos valeurs et nos aspirations, à l’amélioration de notre bien-être émotionnel et de notre satisfaction globale dans la vie, nous verrons comment cet exercice peut être un puissant outil de croissance personnelle et de développement.

De la réflexion sur nos accomplissements passés à l’identification des domaines à améliorer, en passant par la mise en place d’un plan d’action concret, nous fournirons un guide pratique pour réussir cette démarche introspective.

L'importance méconnue du bilan personnel dans notre évolution

Tout d’abord, un constant  :

En début de chaque année, il est de coutume (pour un certain nombre d’entre nous) de faire des résolutions dites « de bonne année », et beaucoup moins un bilan des 12 derniers mois écoulés.

Or le bilan est en fait un merveilleux outil d’introspection, il participe à notre évolution personnelle, à notre cheminement… S’il est bien dirigé…

Ce n’est pas donc pas vraiment étonnant que ceux qui ne font pas de bilan, sont justement ceux qui n’ont en général pas d’objectifs précis, car pour savoir où aller, il faut savoir d’où l’on vient…

Une vie heureuse se nourrit de la concrétisation de ce qui nous tient à cœur !

Comment rendre votre bilan personnel véritablement utile et enrichissant

Fermement convaincu de ce que peut apporter un bilan (et ce depuis 2004), les premiers temps je m’y attelais donc et répondais principalement à trois questions :

• Qu’est-ce que j’ai bien réussi cette année, ou sa variante, qu’est-ce qui s’est bien passé pour moi ?
• Qu’est-ce que je n’ai pas bien réussi, pas commencé, ou abandonné ?
• Qu’est-ce que j’ai appris ?

Je reprenais donc tous mes objectifs que j’avais listés en début d’année, et un par un, pour chaque domaine (finance, santé, relationnel…), je les analysais. J’avais ainsi une liste d’OK, OK#, et de KO pour résumer…  

Le premier mérite de cet exercice est de voir ce que j’avais pu accomplir sur l’année, de me remémorer toutes les réussites, même les plus petites… Le deuxième avantage est qu’il me permettait de définir « la suite », les prochaines actions pour l’année suivante…

Naturellement, je repartais avec la ferme intention que les KO de cette année reviennent des OK. Néanmoins, j’en ressortais avec une contrariété. OK, j’ai fait des trucs, mais mon ego trouvait toujours que je n’en avais pas fait assez, ou alors pas assez bien. Bref, j’en avais une image un peu contrastée .

Sauf que ce que je n’avais pas compris, si pendant l’année écoulée je n’avais pas réussi un objectif, il y avait de fortes chances qu’à conditions identiques, j’obtienne les mêmes résultats, à savoir échouer de nouveau.

Oui pour un bilan, mais pour un bilan utile ! 

D’autre part, quelque chose d’autre me frustrait dans ce bilan plutôt comptable. Même si cela m’aidait à définir mieux mes priorités pour l’année suivante, j’avais l’intuition de passer à côté de quelque chose d’essentiel. Il me manquait la clé du coffre pour accéder à une vraie richesse de contenu…

Comment 10 questions peuvent changer votre vie grâce au bilan personnel

Un bon bilan est un bilan qui nous aide à avancer sur notre chemin, notamment. 

Les bilans que je faisais auparavant, tels qu’ils ont été brossés dans le paragraphe suivant, étaient axés sur le faire, la performance… Et, très rapidement vient se mêler mon ego, qui me disait tu n’en as pas assez fait, pas suffisamment, pas assez bien, pas assez rapidement, trop lentement…

J’ai changé cette approche radicalement, je garde le principe du rendez-vous annuel, mais je m’en sers comme source d’inspiration, de qualité, d’évolution.

Un questionnement et non un questionnaire

La clé de ce changement a été dans le choix des questions. De la qualité de vos questions va dépendre la qualité de votre vie.

Écrire pour mieux formuler sa pensée : la clé d'un bilan personnel réussi

Avant toute chose, je vous suggère de vous réserver 30 à 45 minutes pour cet exercice,  d’indiquer vos réponses par écrit. 

De nombreuses études montrent qu’écrire nous aide à mieux formuler notre pensée, à lui donner corps, maturation. Et, comme  the pen is mightier than the keyboard »(1) , ma préférence va d’abord à utiliser un simple crayon et des feuilles papier. Quitte ensuite à actualiser le tout sur un format numérique. 

Une fois cet exercice terminé, vous verrez que quelques jours plus tard, d’autres réponses, suggestions vous viendront, pour compléter, affiner votre réflexion.

Cet exercice peut être difficile la première fois. Si c’est le cas, je vous suggère de ne faire qu’une ou deux questions, puis de le poursuivre (ou pas) selon votre propre rythme dans un prochain temps. 

L’important n’est pas de terminer pour terminer, mais l’intention et la bienveillance que vous y mettrez.  

#1 : à qui, à quoi suis-je le plus reconnaissant ?

La gratitude nous fait voir les choses différemment, et apporte de la joie dans notre vie. Nous pouvons par exemple être simplement reconnaissants d’être en bonne santé, de pouvoir se déplacer librement sans aide, d’entendre, de voir, de sentir, de bien dormir…

Nous pouvons être reconnaissants envers les personnes que nous aimons, et qui nous aiment, toutes celles qui nous aidaient directement ou indirectement cette année.

Avez-vous remarqué que nous ne pouvons en même temps ressentir de la gratitude et avoir peur ? Je vous renvoie à l’article sur  l’importance de la gratitude dans notre épanouissement.

Des  études et des recherches  ont montré à quel point l’ effet des exercices de gratitude est positif sur la vie.

Le psychologue californien Robert Emmons a découvert cet aspect au cours d’une recherche(2) en 2003. Les sujets d’un groupe qui avait fait des exercices de gratitude écrits pendant 10 semaines étaient plus optimistes que les participants d’autres groupes qui n’avaient écrit que ce qui s’était mal passé lors de leurs semaines écoulées.

#2 : Quelles ont été mes principales réussites ? Pourquoi s'agit-il de réussites ?

Nous avons trop tendance à nous focaliser sur ce qui n’a pas été (Cf. le chapitre précédent). Non seulement il est important de prendre conscience de nos réussites, mais en se posant la question du pourquoi, vous verrez ce qui est pour vous le plus important, et pourquoi c’est essentiel !

Comment ces réussites ont contribué à  mes valeurs personnelles ?

#3 : Quels sont mes miracles que j'ai déjà accomplis sur le long terme ?

C’est l’une de mes questions préférées :  qu’est-ce qui a, sur le long terme, fonctionné pour moi, quand je regarde sur les 5, 10 années en arrière   ?

La difficulté du bilan classique, est qu’il nous fige dans un temps court, isolé, comme une photo à un instant t. Prendre du recul, temporel, nous permet de mieux voir ce que nous sommes en train d’accomplir, de devenir.

Cette question me permet d’éviter le syndrome de la to-do liste (j’aurai l’occasion d’en reparler dans un prochain article). Le principal défaut de la to-do liste est de nous rendre myopes, attaché au résultat, en nous focalisant sur le court terme, au détriment de ce que nous voulons vraiment, vraiment…

Cette question renvoie également à notre plan de vie : quel est mon plan de vie ?

La formule est connue, mais j’aime à me la répéter : nous surestimons toujours ce que nous pouvons faire sur une année, nous sous-estimons ce que nous pouvons faire sur 5, 10 ans.

#4 : Quelle personne suis-je en train de devenir ? Quelle personne je veux devenir ?

Cette question me permet de sortir du faire, de dépasser le simple cadre de compétence à acquérir (exemple : parler couramment chinois, acquérir une certification WordPress).

Quelle est la   personne que je veux devenir, celle que je ne m’autorise pas à être ?  Être plus serein, plus courageux, plus riche ? Plus audacieux ? Plus libre ?

Je prends un simple exemple personnel. Je  me suis lancé un défi d’apprendre 2500 caractères chinois en 100 jours (c’est le vocabulaire du HSK 6 pour « les initiés »). 

Au-delà de la compétence, de l’avoir (avoir plus de vocabulaires, avoir plus de mémoire), je suis devenu une personne avec une plus grande volonté, plus imaginative, plus joyeuse ! Oui, vous avez bien lu plus joyeuse ! Ce fut un effet secondaire non prévu.

Comment ça ? Quel rapport avec la joie et la mémorisation ? Tout simplement parce que la clé de la mémorisation est d’inventer des histoires.  J’avais fini par inventer des histoires à Tex Avery…

#5 : Quels ont été mes vrais moments de repos ? Qu'est ce qui m'a permis de me ressourcer ? ​

Notre repos est aussi essentiel que l’activité. Malheureusement, nous avons tendance à privilégier une nouvelle fois le faire, et non l’être : juste être, sans avoir le besoin de faire quelque chose. Comme la loi du Yin/Yang le rappelle, l’un a besoin de l’autre, et vice versa : passer une bonne nuit, est nécessaire pour passer une belle journée, et pour passer une bonne nuit. Il vaut mieux avoir eu une belle journée…

Je vous invite donc à prendre en compte toute l’importance du repos, d’identifier les activités qui vous ont ressourcés, quelque que soient ces activités. Pour ma part, un rendez-vous incontournable est pour moi, de pratiquer 20 minutes de yoga chez moi, juste après ma journée de travail.

Je vous invite dès maintenant à d’abord planifier vos moments de repos, de congé, dans l’année.  Ensuite et seulement ensuite de regarder, planifier vos objectifs principaux de l’année.

#6 : Mon rythme de vie me convient-il ?

Travail, transport, obligations familiales, enfants à déposer à l’école… Nous avons tous des journées chargées en fonction de notre situation…

Bref, est-ce que votre vie déborde ? Comment pouvez-vous dégager du temps pour vous ? Cette question est en lien avec la suivante…

#7 : Pour me sentir plus libre, qu'est-ce que je peux lâcher, abandonner dès maintenant ?

On se sent parfois prisonnier de nos choix, de nos engagements, de nos promesses, du regard des autres, de la peur de dire non… Tous ses engagements, ces « il faut que », « je ne me vois pas », « je me dois », « je ne peux pas »… finissent par nous fatiguer, nous épuiser sans que l’on en prenne conscience. Le corps finit par se rebeller…

Qu’est-ce qui m’empêche de me sentir plus libre, plus léger, moins contraint ? Qu’est-ce que je peux abandonner, dès maintenant, pour y arriver ?

Cette question peut paraître difficile, mais la réponse est ô combien libératrice… Expérimentez, essayez, et vous verrez.

#8 : De quoi ai-je pris conscience cette année ? Quelle est la leçon de vie de cette année écoulée ?

S’il y avait un enseignement que cette année m’a transmis, quel est-il ? Comment va-t-il me permettre de rester sur le chemin de ce qui est important pour moi ? Qu’est-ce que qu’il va me permettre de lâcher, de devenir ?

#09 : Suite à toutes ces questions, quel leitmotiv va me guider par la suite ?

Faites-en un mantra, mais un mantra « mis en pratique ». À savoir, écrivez-le quelque part, afin de les avoir toujours sur les yeux. Pour ma part, je les ai en fond d’écran, et sur mon paperboard.  Faites-en sorte que vos mantras deviennent  chaque jour des réalisations  concrètes.

#10 : Quelle est la question qui m'a le plus dérangé, perturbé, agacé, étonné ? Pourquoi ?

Qu’est-ce que cette réaction dit de moi ? Quelle est la croyance derrière ? 

Un modèle de bilan personnel PDF à télécharger

Vous pouvez télécharger gratuitement ces questions au format pdf ou sous forme de tableau

Téléchargez  gratuitement ce modèle au format pdf et l ‘imprimer pour votre propre bilan.

Vous pouvez également  télécharger sous ce bilan sous forme de  tableau .

Conclusion : comment un bilan personnel peut améliorer votre vie

Prendre le temps de faire un point sur notre situation personnelle et professionnelle ainsi que sur nos projets permet de prendre conscience de nos réussites, de nos échecs, de nos forces et de nos faiblesses. Cela peut nous aider à mieux nous connaître, à identifier ce qui est important pour nous et à définir des objectifs clairs pour l’avenir. Un bilan personnel régulier peut également nous permettre de réajuster notre trajectoire en fonction des changements de notre vie et de rester aligné sur nos valeurs et nos aspirations.

 Un dernier mot

Je me suis volontairement limité à ces 10 questions. Ces 10 questions sont adaptées pour un bilan à mi-année, ou en fin d’année.

J’utilise pareillement ce principe de questionnement pour des périodes plus courtes (semaine, mois, et trimestre), ou plus longue (5 ans, 10 ans). Chaque période a ses questions dédiées. Ces questions me permettent à chaque fois de garder le cap, pour aller vers ce qui compte le plus pour moi.

• https://blog.tabletpc.com.au/2021/02/23/the-pen-is-mightier-than-the-keyboard-write-your-notes-and-remember-them/
• https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/why_gratitude_is_good

Mise en pratique !

Qu’est-ce qui est ressorti de ces questions pour vous ? Y a-t-il eu des surprises, des étonnements, des confirmations ?

N’hésitez pas à nous faire part de vos réflexions à travers un commentaire.

À vos réussites – à votre vie.

Les personnes ayant lu cet article ont également lu :

• Comment identifier ses valeurs personnelles (test de niveau 1)
• Les 7 obstacles qui vous empêchent d’atteindre vos objectifs (et comment les surmonter)
• Faire le point sur sa vie personnelle : un guide complet
• Le pouvoir des citations

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How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)

Every successful business has one thing in common, a good and well-executed business plan. A business plan is more than a document, it is a complete guide that outlines the goals your business wants to achieve, including its financial goals . It helps you analyze results, make strategic decisions, show your business operations and growth.

If you want to start a business or already have one and need to pitch it to investors for funding, writing a good business plan improves your chances of attracting financiers. As a startup, if you want to secure loans from financial institutions, part of the requirements involve submitting your business plan.

Writing a business plan does not have to be a complicated or time-consuming process. In this article, you will learn the step-by-step process for writing a successful business plan.

You will also learn what you need a business plan for, tips and strategies for writing a convincing business plan, business plan examples and templates that will save you tons of time, and the alternatives to the traditional business plan.

Let’s get started.

What Do You Need A Business Plan For?

Businesses create business plans for different purposes such as to secure funds, monitor business growth, measure your marketing strategies, and measure your business success.

1. Secure Funds

One of the primary reasons for writing a business plan is to secure funds, either from financial institutions/agencies or investors.

For you to effectively acquire funds, your business plan must contain the key elements of your business plan . For example, your business plan should include your growth plans, goals you want to achieve, and milestones you have recorded.

A business plan can also attract new business partners that are willing to contribute financially and intellectually. If you are writing a business plan to a bank, your project must show your traction , that is, the proof that you can pay back any loan borrowed.

Also, if you are writing to an investor, your plan must contain evidence that you can effectively utilize the funds you want them to invest in your business. Here, you are using your business plan to persuade a group or an individual that your business is a source of a good investment.

2. Monitor Business Growth

A business plan can help you track cash flows in your business. It steers your business to greater heights. A business plan capable of tracking business growth should contain:

• The business goals
• Methods to achieve the goals
• Time-frame for attaining those goals

A good business plan should guide you through every step in achieving your goals. It can also track the allocation of assets to every aspect of the business. You can tell when you are spending more than you should on a project.

You can compare a business plan to a written GPS. It helps you manage your business and hints at the right time to expand your business.

3. Measure Business Success

A business plan can help you measure your business success rate. Some small-scale businesses are thriving better than more prominent companies because of their track record of success.

Right from the onset of your business operation, set goals and work towards them. Write a plan to guide you through your procedures. Use your plan to measure how much you have achieved and how much is left to attain.

You can also weigh your success by monitoring the position of your brand relative to competitors. On the other hand, a business plan can also show you why you have not achieved a goal. It can tell if you have elapsed the time frame you set to attain a goal.

4. Document Your Marketing Strategies

You can use a business plan to document your marketing plans. Every business should have an effective marketing plan.

Competition mandates every business owner to go the extraordinary mile to remain relevant in the market. Your business plan should contain your marketing strategies that work. You can measure the success rate of your marketing plans.

In your business plan, your marketing strategy must answer the questions:

• How do you want to reach your target audience?
• How do you plan to retain your customers?
• What is/are your pricing plans?
• What is your budget for marketing?

How to Write a Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. create your executive summary.

The executive summary is a snapshot of your business or a high-level overview of your business purposes and plans . Although the executive summary is the first section in your business plan, most people write it last. The length of the executive summary is not more than two pages.

Generally, there are nine sections in a business plan, the executive summary should condense essential ideas from the other eight sections.

A good executive summary should do the following:

• A Snapshot of Growth Potential. Briefly inform the reader about your company and why it will be successful)
• Contain your Mission Statement which explains what the main objective or focus of your business is.
• Product Description and Differentiation. Brief description of your products or services and why it is different from other solutions in the market.
• The Team. Basic information about your company’s leadership team and employees
• Business Concept. A solid description of what your business does.
• Target Market. The customers you plan to sell to.
• Marketing Strategy. Your plans on reaching and selling to your customers
• Current Financial State. Brief information about what revenue your business currently generates.
• Projected Financial State. Brief information about what you foresee your business revenue to be in the future.

The executive summary is the make-or-break section of your business plan. If your summary cannot in less than two pages cannot clearly describe how your business will solve a particular problem of your target audience and make a profit, your business plan is set on a faulty foundation.

Avoid using the executive summary to hype your business, instead, focus on helping the reader understand the what and how of your plan.

View the executive summary as an opportunity to introduce your vision for your company. You know your executive summary is powerful when it can answer these key questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What sector or industry are you in?
• What are your products and services?
• What is the future of your industry?
• Is your company scaleable?
• Who are the owners and leaders of your company? What are their backgrounds and experience levels?
• What is the motivation for starting your company?
• What are the next steps?

Writing the executive summary last although it is the most important section of your business plan is an excellent idea. The reason why is because it is a high-level overview of your business plan. It is the section that determines whether potential investors and lenders will read further or not.

The executive summary can be a stand-alone document that covers everything in your business plan. It is not uncommon for investors to request only the executive summary when evaluating your business. If the information in the executive summary impresses them, they will ask for the complete business plan.

If you are writing your business plan for your planning purposes, you do not need to write the executive summary.

2. Add Your Company Overview

The company overview or description is the next section in your business plan after the executive summary. It describes what your business does.

Adding your company overview can be tricky especially when your business is still in the planning stages. Existing businesses can easily summarize their current operations but may encounter difficulties trying to explain what they plan to become.

Your company overview should contain the following:

• What products and services you will provide
• Geographical markets and locations your company have a presence
• What you need to run your business
• Who your target audience or customers are
• Who will service your customers
• Your company’s purpose, mission, and vision
• Information about your company’s founders
• Who the founders are
• Notable achievements of your company so far

When creating a company overview, you have to focus on three basics: identifying your industry, identifying your customer, and explaining the problem you solve.

If you are stuck when creating your company overview, try to answer some of these questions that pertain to you.

• Who are you targeting? (The answer is not everyone)
• What pain point does your product or service solve for your customers that they will be willing to spend money on resolving?
• How does your product or service overcome that pain point?
• Where is the location of your business?
• What products, equipment, and services do you need to run your business?
• How is your company’s product or service different from your competition in the eyes of your customers?
• How many employees do you need and what skills do you require them to have?

After answering some or all of these questions, you will get more than enough information you need to write your company overview or description section. When writing this section, describe what your company does for your customers.

The company description or overview section contains three elements: mission statement, history, and objectives.

• Mission Statement

The mission statement refers to the reason why your business or company is existing. It goes beyond what you do or sell, it is about the ‘why’. A good mission statement should be emotional and inspirational.

Your mission statement should follow the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid). For example, Shopify’s mission statement is “Make commerce better for everyone.”

When describing your company’s history, make it simple and avoid the temptation of tying it to a defensive narrative. Write it in the manner you would a profile. Your company’s history should include the following information:

• Founding Date
• Major Milestones
• Location(s)
• Flagship Products or Services
• Number of Employees
• Executive Leadership Roles

When you fill in this information, you use it to write one or two paragraphs about your company’s history.

Business Objectives

Your business objective must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.) Failure to clearly identify your business objectives does not inspire confidence and makes it hard for your team members to work towards a common purpose.

3. Perform Market and Competitive Analyses to Proof a Big Enough Business Opportunity

The third step in writing a business plan is the market and competitive analysis section. Every business, no matter the size, needs to perform comprehensive market and competitive analyses before it enters into a market.

Performing market and competitive analyses are critical for the success of your business. It helps you avoid entering the right market with the wrong product, or vice versa. Anyone reading your business plans, especially financiers and financial institutions will want to see proof that there is a big enough business opportunity you are targeting.

This section is where you describe the market and industry you want to operate in and show the big opportunities in the market that your business can leverage to make a profit. If you noticed any unique trends when doing your research, show them in this section.

Market analysis alone is not enough, you have to add competitive analysis to strengthen this section. There are already businesses in the industry or market, how do you plan to take a share of the market from them?

You have to clearly illustrate the competitive landscape in your business plan. Are there areas your competitors are doing well? Are there areas where they are not doing so well? Show it.

Make it clear in this section why you are moving into the industry and what weaknesses are present there that you plan to explain. How are your competitors going to react to your market entry? How do you plan to get customers? Do you plan on taking your competitors' competitors, tap into other sources for customers, or both?

Illustrate the competitive landscape as well. What are your competitors doing well and not so well?

Answering these questions and thoughts will aid your market and competitive analysis of the opportunities in your space. Depending on how sophisticated your industry is, or the expectations of your financiers, you may need to carry out a more comprehensive market and competitive analysis to prove that big business opportunity.

Instead of looking at the market and competitive analyses as one entity, separating them will make the research even more comprehensive.

Market Analysis

Market analysis, boarding speaking, refers to research a business carried out on its industry, market, and competitors. It helps businesses gain a good understanding of their target market and the outlook of their industry. Before starting a company, it is vital to carry out market research to find out if the market is viable.

The market analysis section is a key part of the business plan. It is the section where you identify who your best clients or customers are. You cannot omit this section, without it your business plan is incomplete.

A good market analysis will tell your readers how you fit into the existing market and what makes you stand out. This section requires in-depth research, it will probably be the most time-consuming part of the business plan to write.

• Market Research

To create a compelling market analysis that will win over investors and financial institutions, you have to carry out thorough market research . Your market research should be targeted at your primary target market for your products or services. Here is what you want to find out about your target market.

• Your target market’s needs or pain points
• The existing solutions for their pain points
• Geographic Location
• Demographics

The purpose of carrying out a marketing analysis is to get all the information you need to show that you have a solid and thorough understanding of your target audience.

Only after you have fully understood the people you plan to sell your products or services to, can you evaluate correctly if your target market will be interested in your products or services.

You can easily convince interested parties to invest in your business if you can show them you thoroughly understand the market and show them that there is a market for your products or services.

How to Quantify Your Target Market

One of the goals of your marketing research is to understand who your ideal customers are and their purchasing power. To quantify your target market, you have to determine the following:

• Your Potential Customers: They are the people you plan to target. For example, if you sell accounting software for small businesses , then anyone who runs an enterprise or large business is unlikely to be your customers. Also, individuals who do not have a business will most likely not be interested in your product.
• Total Households: If you are selling household products such as heating and air conditioning systems, determining the number of total households is more important than finding out the total population in the area you want to sell to. The logic is simple, people buy the product but it is the household that uses it.
• Median Income: You need to know the median income of your target market. If you target a market that cannot afford to buy your products and services, your business will not last long.
• Income by Demographics: If your potential customers belong to a certain age group or gender, determining income levels by demographics is necessary. For example, if you sell men's clothes, your target audience is men.

What Does a Good Market Analysis Entail?

Your business does not exist on its own, it can only flourish within an industry and alongside competitors. Market analysis takes into consideration your industry, target market, and competitors. Understanding these three entities will drastically improve your company’s chances of success.

You can view your market analysis as an examination of the market you want to break into and an education on the emerging trends and themes in that market. Good market analyses include the following:

• Industry Description. You find out about the history of your industry, the current and future market size, and who the largest players/companies are in your industry.
• Overview of Target Market. You research your target market and its characteristics. Who are you targeting? Note, it cannot be everyone, it has to be a specific group. You also have to find out all information possible about your customers that can help you understand how and why they make buying decisions.
• Size of Target Market: You need to know the size of your target market, how frequently they buy, and the expected quantity they buy so you do not risk overproducing and having lots of bad inventory. Researching the size of your target market will help you determine if it is big enough for sustained business or not.
• Growth Potential: Before picking a target market, you want to be sure there are lots of potential for future growth. You want to avoid going for an industry that is declining slowly or rapidly with almost zero growth potential.
• Market Share Potential: Does your business stand a good chance of taking a good share of the market?
• Market Pricing and Promotional Strategies: Your market analysis should give you an idea of the price point you can expect to charge for your products and services. Researching your target market will also give you ideas of pricing strategies you can implement to break into the market or to enjoy maximum profits.
• Potential Barriers to Entry: One of the biggest benefits of conducting market analysis is that it shows you every potential barrier to entry your business will likely encounter. It is a good idea to discuss potential barriers to entry such as changing technology. It informs readers of your business plan that you understand the market.
• Research on Competitors: You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you can exploit them for the benefit of your business. Find patterns and trends among your competitors that make them successful, discover what works and what doesn’t, and see what you can do better.

The market analysis section is not just for talking about your target market, industry, and competitors. You also have to explain how your company can fill the hole you have identified in the market.

Here are some questions you can answer that can help you position your product or service in a positive light to your readers.

• Is your product or service of superior quality?
• What additional features do you offer that your competitors do not offer?
• Are you targeting a ‘new’ market?

Basically, your market analysis should include an analysis of what already exists in the market and an explanation of how your company fits into the market.

Competitive Analysis

In the competitive analysis section, y ou have to understand who your direct and indirect competitions are, and how successful they are in the marketplace. It is the section where you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, the advantage(s) they possess in the market and show the unique features or qualities that make you different from your competitors.

Many businesses do market analysis and competitive analysis together. However, to fully understand what the competitive analysis entails, it is essential to separate it from the market analysis.

Competitive analysis for your business can also include analysis on how to overcome barriers to entry in your target market.

The primary goal of conducting a competitive analysis is to distinguish your business from your competitors. A strong competitive analysis is essential if you want to convince potential funding sources to invest in your business. You have to show potential investors and lenders that your business has what it takes to compete in the marketplace successfully.

Competitive analysis will s how you what the strengths of your competition are and what they are doing to maintain that advantage.

When doing your competitive research, you first have to identify your competitor and then get all the information you can about them. The idea of spending time to identify your competitor and learn everything about them may seem daunting but it is well worth it.

Find answers to the following questions after you have identified who your competitors are.

• What are your successful competitors doing?
• Why is what they are doing working?
• Can your business do it better?
• What are the weaknesses of your successful competitors?
• What are they not doing well?
• Can your business turn its weaknesses into strengths?
• How good is your competitors’ customer service?
• Where do your competitors invest in advertising?
• What sales and pricing strategies are they using?
• What marketing strategies are they using?
• What kind of press coverage do they get?
• What are their customers saying about your competitors (both the positive and negative)?

If your competitors have a website, it is a good idea to visit their websites for more competitors’ research. Check their “About Us” page for more information.

If you are presenting your business plan to investors, you need to clearly distinguish yourself from your competitors. Investors can easily tell when you have not properly researched your competitors.

Take time to think about what unique qualities or features set you apart from your competitors. If you do not have any direct competition offering your product to the market, it does not mean you leave out the competitor analysis section blank. Instead research on other companies that are providing a similar product, or whose product is solving the problem your product solves.

The next step is to create a table listing the top competitors you want to include in your business plan. Ensure you list your business as the last and on the right. What you just created is known as the competitor analysis table.

Direct vs Indirect Competition

You cannot know if your product or service will be a fit for your target market if you have not understood your business and the competitive landscape.

There is no market you want to target where you will not encounter competition, even if your product is innovative. Including competitive analysis in your business plan is essential.

If you are entering an established market, you need to explain how you plan to differentiate your products from the available options in the market. Also, include a list of few companies that you view as your direct competitors The competition you face in an established market is your direct competition.

In situations where you are entering a market with no direct competition, it does not mean there is no competition there. Consider your indirect competition that offers substitutes for the products or services you offer.

For example, if you sell an innovative SaaS product, let us say a project management software , a company offering time management software is your indirect competition.

There is an easy way to find out who your indirect competitors are in the absence of no direct competitors. You simply have to research how your potential customers are solving the problems that your product or service seeks to solve. That is your direct competition.

Factors that Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

There are three main factors that any business can use to differentiate itself from its competition. They are cost leadership, product differentiation, and market segmentation.

1. Cost Leadership

A strategy you can impose to maximize your profits and gain an edge over your competitors. It involves offering lower prices than what the majority of your competitors are offering.

A common practice among businesses looking to enter into a market where there are dominant players is to use free trials or pricing to attract as many customers as possible to their offer.

2. Product Differentiation

Your product or service should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that your competitors do not have or do not stress in their marketing.

Part of the marketing strategy should involve making your products unique and different from your competitors. It does not have to be different from your competitors, it can be the addition to a feature or benefit that your competitors do not currently have.

3. Market Segmentation

As a new business seeking to break into an industry, you will gain more success from focusing on a specific niche or target market, and not the whole industry.

If your competitors are focused on a general need or target market, you can differentiate yourself from them by having a small and hyper-targeted audience. For example, if your competitors are selling men’s clothes in their online stores , you can sell hoodies for men.

4. Define Your Business and Management Structure

The next step in your business plan is your business and management structure. It is the section where you describe the legal structure of your business and the team running it.

Your business is only as good as the management team that runs it, while the management team can only strive when there is a proper business and management structure in place.

If your company is a sole proprietor or a limited liability company (LLC), a general or limited partnership, or a C or an S corporation, state it clearly in this section.

Use an organizational chart to show the management structure in your business. Clearly show who is in charge of what area in your company. It is where you show how each key manager or team leader’s unique experience can contribute immensely to the success of your company. You can also opt to add the resumes and CVs of the key players in your company.

The business and management structure section should show who the owner is, and other owners of the businesses (if the business has other owners). For businesses or companies with multiple owners, include the percent ownership of the various owners and clearly show the extent of each others’ involvement in the company.

Investors want to know who is behind the company and the team running it to determine if it has the right management to achieve its set goals.

Management Team

The management team section is where you show that you have the right team in place to successfully execute the business operations and ideas. Take time to create the management structure for your business. Think about all the important roles and responsibilities that you need managers for to grow your business.

Include brief bios of each key team member and ensure you highlight only the relevant information that is needed. If your team members have background industry experience or have held top positions for other companies and achieved success while filling that role, highlight it in this section.

A common mistake that many startups make is assigning C-level titles such as (CMO and CEO) to everyone on their team. It is unrealistic for a small business to have those titles. While it may look good on paper for the ego of your team members, it can prevent investors from investing in your business.

Instead of building an unrealistic management structure that does not fit your business reality, it is best to allow business titles to grow as the business grows. Starting everyone at the top leaves no room for future change or growth, which is bad for productivity.

Your management team does not have to be complete before you start writing your business plan. You can have a complete business plan even when there are managerial positions that are empty and need filling.

If you have management gaps in your team, simply show the gaps and indicate you are searching for the right candidates for the role(s). Investors do not expect you to have a full management team when you are just starting your business.

Key Questions to Answer When Structuring Your Management Team

• Who are the key leaders?
• What experiences, skills, and educational backgrounds do you expect your key leaders to have?
• Do your key leaders have industry experience?
• What positions will they fill and what duties will they perform in those positions?
• What level of authority do the key leaders have and what are their responsibilities?
• What is the salary for the various management positions that will attract the ideal candidates?

Additional Tips for Writing the Management Structure Section

1. Avoid Adding ‘Ghost’ Names to Your Management Team

There is always that temptation to include a ‘ghost’ name to your management team to attract and influence investors to invest in your business. Although the presence of these celebrity management team members may attract the attention of investors, it can cause your business to lose any credibility if you get found out.

Seasoned investors will investigate further the members of your management team before committing fully to your business If they find out that the celebrity name used does not play any actual role in your business, they will not invest and may write you off as dishonest.

2. Focus on Credentials But Pay Extra Attention to the Roles

Investors want to know the experience that your key team members have to determine if they can successfully reach the company’s growth and financial goals.

While it is an excellent boost for your key management team to have the right credentials, you also want to pay extra attention to the roles they will play in your company.

Organizational Chart

Adding an organizational chart in this section of your business plan is not necessary, you can do it in your business plan’s appendix.

If you are exploring funding options, it is not uncommon to get asked for your organizational chart. The function of an organizational chart goes beyond raising money, you can also use it as a useful planning tool for your business.

An organizational chart can help you identify how best to structure your management team for maximum productivity and point you towards key roles you need to fill in the future.

You can use the organizational chart to show your company’s internal management structure such as the roles and responsibilities of your management team, and relationships that exist between them.

5. Describe Your Product and Service Offering

In your business plan, you have to describe what you sell or the service you plan to offer. It is the next step after defining your business and management structure. The products and services section is where you sell the benefits of your business.

Here you have to explain how your product or service will benefit your customers and describe your product lifecycle. It is also the section where you write down your plans for intellectual property like patent filings and copyrighting.

The research and development that you are undertaking for your product or service need to be explained in detail in this section. However, do not get too technical, sell the general idea and its benefits.

If you have any diagrams or intricate designs of your product or service, do not include them in the products and services section. Instead, leave them for the addendum page. Also, if you are leaving out diagrams or designs for the addendum, ensure you add this phrase “For more detail, visit the addendum Page #.”

Your product and service section in your business plan should include the following:

• A detailed explanation that clearly shows how your product or service works.
• The pricing model for your product or service.
• Your business’ sales and distribution strategy.
• The ideal customers that want your product or service.
• The benefits of your products and services.
• Reason(s) why your product or service is a better alternative to what your competitors are currently offering in the market.
• Plans for filling the orders you receive
• If you have current or pending patents, copyrights, and trademarks for your product or service, you can also discuss them in this section.

What to Focus On When Describing the Benefits, Lifecycle, and Production Process of Your Products or Services

In the products and services section, you have to distill the benefits, lifecycle, and production process of your products and services.

When describing the benefits of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Unique features
• Translating the unique features into benefits
• The emotional, psychological, and practical payoffs to attract customers
• Intellectual property rights or any patents

When describing the product life cycle of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Upsells, cross-sells, and down-sells
• Time between purchases
• Plans for research and development.

When describing the production process for your products or services, you need to think about the following:

• The creation of new or existing products and services.
• The sources for the raw materials or components you need for production.
• Assembling the products
• Maintaining quality control
• Supply-chain logistics (receiving the raw materials and delivering the finished products)
• The day-to-day management of the production processes, bookkeeping, and inventory.

Tips for Writing the Products or Services Section of Your Business Plan

1. Avoid Technical Descriptions and Industry Buzzwords

The products and services section of your business plan should clearly describe the products and services that your company provides. However, it is not a section to include technical jargons that anyone outside your industry will not understand.

A good practice is to remove highly detailed or technical descriptions in favor of simple terms. Industry buzzwords are not necessary, if there are simpler terms you can use, then use them. If you plan to use your business plan to source funds, making the product or service section so technical will do you no favors.

2. Describe How Your Products or Services Differ from Your Competitors

When potential investors look at your business plan, they want to know how the products and services you are offering differ from that of your competition. Differentiating your products or services from your competition in a way that makes your solution more attractive is critical.

If you are going the innovative path and there is no market currently for your product or service, you need to describe in this section why the market needs your product or service.

For example, overnight delivery was a niche business that only a few companies were participating in. Federal Express (FedEx) had to show in its business plan that there was a large opportunity for that service and they justified why the market needed that service.

3. Long or Short Products or Services Section

Should your products or services section be short? Does the long products or services section attract more investors?

There are no straightforward answers to these questions. Whether your products or services section should be long or relatively short depends on the nature of your business.

If your business is product-focused, then automatically you need to use more space to describe the details of your products. However, if the product your business sells is a commodity item that relies on competitive pricing or other pricing strategies, you do not have to use up so much space to provide significant details about the product.

Likewise, if you are selling a commodity that is available in numerous outlets, then you do not have to spend time on writing a long products or services section.

The key to the success of your business is most likely the effectiveness of your marketing strategies compared to your competitors. Use more space to address that section.

If you are creating a new product or service that the market does not know about, your products or services section can be lengthy. The reason why is because you need to explain everything about the product or service such as the nature of the product, its use case, and values.

A short products or services section for an innovative product or service will not give the readers enough information to properly evaluate your business.

4. Describe Your Relationships with Vendors or Suppliers

Your business will rely on vendors or suppliers to supply raw materials or the components needed to make your products. In your products and services section, describe your relationships with your vendors and suppliers fully.

Avoid the mistake of relying on only one supplier or vendor. If that supplier or vendor fails to supply or goes out of business, you can easily face supply problems and struggle to meet your demands. Plan to set up multiple vendor or supplier relationships for better business stability.

5. Your Primary Goal Is to Convince Your Readers

The primary goal of your business plan is to convince your readers that your business is viable and to create a guide for your business to follow. It applies to the products and services section.

When drafting this section, think like the reader. See your reader as someone who has no idea about your products and services. You are using the products and services section to provide the needed information to help your reader understand your products and services. As a result, you have to be clear and to the point.

While you want to educate your readers about your products or services, you also do not want to bore them with lots of technical details. Show your products and services and not your fancy choice of words.

Your products and services section should provide the answer to the “what” question for your business. You and your management team may run the business, but it is your products and services that are the lifeblood of the business.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing your Products and Services Section

Answering these questions can help you write your products and services section quickly and in a way that will appeal to your readers.

• Are your products existing on the market or are they still in the development stage?
• What is your timeline for adding new products and services to the market?
• What are the positives that make your products and services different from your competitors?
• Do your products and services have any competitive advantage that your competitors’ products and services do not currently have?
• Do your products or services have any competitive disadvantages that you need to overcome to compete with your competitors? If your answer is yes, state how you plan to overcome them,
• How much does it cost to produce your products or services? How much do you plan to sell it for?
• What is the price for your products and services compared to your competitors? Is pricing an issue?
• What are your operating costs and will it be low enough for you to compete with your competitors and still take home a reasonable profit margin?
• What is your plan for acquiring your products? Are you involved in the production of your products or services?
• Are you the manufacturer and produce all the components you need to create your products? Do you assemble your products by using components supplied by other manufacturers? Do you purchase your products directly from suppliers or wholesalers?
• Do you have a steady supply of products that you need to start your business? (If your business is yet to kick-off)
• How do you plan to distribute your products or services to the market?

You can also hint at the marketing or promotion plans you have for your products or services such as how you plan to build awareness or retain customers. The next section is where you can go fully into details about your business’s marketing and sales plan.

6. Show and Explain Your Marketing and Sales Plan

Providing great products and services is wonderful, but it means nothing if you do not have a marketing and sales plan to inform your customers about them. Your marketing and sales plan is critical to the success of your business.

The sales and marketing section is where you show and offer a detailed explanation of your marketing and sales plan and how you plan to execute it. It covers your pricing plan, proposed advertising and promotion activities, activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success, and the benefits of your products and services.

There are several ways you can approach your marketing and sales strategy. Ideally, your marketing and sales strategy has to fit the unique needs of your business.

In this section, you describe how the plans your business has for attracting and retaining customers, and the exact process for making a sale happen. It is essential to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales plans because you are still going to reference this section when you are making financial projections for your business.

Outline Your Business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The sales and marketing section is where you outline your business’s unique selling proposition (USP). When you are developing your unique selling proposition, think about the strongest reasons why people should buy from you over your competition. That reason(s) is most likely a good fit to serve as your unique selling proposition (USP).

Target Market and Target Audience

Plans on how to get your products or services to your target market and how to get your target audience to buy them go into this section. You also highlight the strengths of your business here, particularly what sets them apart from your competition.

Before you start writing your marketing and sales plan, you need to have properly defined your target audience and fleshed out your buyer persona. If you do not first understand the individual you are marketing to, your marketing and sales plan will lack any substance and easily fall.

Creating a Smart Marketing and Sales Plan

Marketing your products and services is an investment that requires you to spend money. Like any other investment, you have to generate a good return on investment (ROI) to justify using that marketing and sales plan. Good marketing and sales plans bring in high sales and profits to your company.

Avoid spending money on unproductive marketing channels. Do your research and find out the best marketing and sales plan that works best for your company.

Your marketing and sales plan can be broken into different parts: your positioning statement, pricing, promotion, packaging, advertising, public relations, content marketing, social media, and strategic alliances.

Your Positioning Statement

Your positioning statement is the first part of your marketing and sales plan. It refers to the way you present your company to your customers.

Are you the premium solution, the low-price solution, or are you the intermediary between the two extremes in the market? What do you offer that your competitors do not that can give you leverage in the market?

Before you start writing your positioning statement, you need to spend some time evaluating the current market conditions. Here are some questions that can help you to evaluate the market

• What are the unique features or benefits that you offer that your competitors lack?
• What are your customers’ primary needs and wants?
• Why should a customer choose you over your competition? How do you plan to differentiate yourself from the competition?
• How does your company’s solution compare with other solutions in the market?

After answering these questions, then you can start writing your positioning statement. Your positioning statement does not have to be in-depth or too long.

All you need to explain with your positioning statement are two focus areas. The first is the position of your company within the competitive landscape. The other focus area is the core value proposition that sets your company apart from other alternatives that your ideal customer might consider.

Here is a simple template you can use to develop a positioning statement.

For [description of target market] who [need of target market], [product or service] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [top competition], it [most essential distinguishing feature].

For example, let’s create the positioning statement for fictional accounting software and QuickBooks alternative , TBooks.

“For small business owners who need accounting services, TBooks is an accounting software that helps small businesses handle their small business bookkeeping basics quickly and easily. Unlike Wave, TBooks gives small businesses access to live sessions with top accountants.”

You can edit this positioning statement sample and fill it with your business details.

After writing your positioning statement, the next step is the pricing of your offerings. The overall positioning strategy you set in your positioning statement will often determine how you price your products or services.

Pricing is a powerful tool that sends a strong message to your customers. Failure to get your pricing strategy right can make or mar your business. If you are targeting a low-income audience, setting a premium price can result in low sales.

You can use pricing to communicate your positioning to your customers. For example, if you are offering a product at a premium price, you are sending a message to your customers that the product belongs to the premium category.

Basic Rules to Follow When Pricing Your Offering

Setting a price for your offering involves more than just putting a price tag on it. Deciding on the right pricing for your offering requires following some basic rules. They include covering your costs, primary and secondary profit center pricing, and matching the market rate.

• Covering Your Costs: The price you set for your products or service should be more than it costs you to produce and deliver them. Every business has the same goal, to make a profit. Depending on the strategy you want to use, there are exceptions to this rule. However, the vast majority of businesses follow this rule.
• Primary and Secondary Profit Center Pricing: When a company sets its price above the cost of production, it is making that product its primary profit center. A company can also decide not to make its initial price its primary profit center by selling below or at even with its production cost. It rather depends on the support product or even maintenance that is associated with the initial purchase to make its profit. The initial price thus became its secondary profit center.
• Matching the Market Rate: A good rule to follow when pricing your products or services is to match your pricing with consumer demand and expectations. If you price your products or services beyond the price your customer perceives as the ideal price range, you may end up with no customers. Pricing your products too low below what your customer perceives as the ideal price range may lead to them undervaluing your offering.

Pricing Strategy

Your pricing strategy influences the price of your offering. There are several pricing strategies available for you to choose from when examining the right pricing strategy for your business. They include cost-plus pricing, market-based pricing, value pricing, and more.

• Cost-plus Pricing: This strategy is one of the simplest and oldest pricing strategies. Here you consider the cost of producing a unit of your product and then add a profit to it to arrive at your market price. It is an effective pricing strategy for manufacturers because it helps them cover their initial costs. Another name for the cost-plus pricing strategy is the markup pricing strategy.
• Market-based Pricing: This pricing strategy analyses the market including competitors’ pricing and then sets a price based on what the market is expecting. With this pricing strategy, you can either set your price at the low-end or high-end of the market.
• Value Pricing: This pricing strategy involves setting a price based on the value you are providing to your customer. When adopting a value-based pricing strategy, you have to set a price that your customers are willing to pay. Service-based businesses such as small business insurance providers , luxury goods sellers, and the fashion industry use this pricing strategy.

After carefully sorting out your positioning statement and pricing, the next item to look at is your promotional strategy. Your promotional strategy explains how you plan on communicating with your customers and prospects.

As a business, you must measure all your costs, including the cost of your promotions. You also want to measure how much sales your promotions bring for your business to determine its usefulness. Promotional strategies or programs that do not lead to profit need to be removed.

There are different types of promotional strategies you can adopt for your business, they include advertising, public relations, and content marketing.

Advertising

Your business plan should include your advertising plan which can be found in the marketing and sales plan section. You need to include an overview of your advertising plans such as the areas you plan to spend money on to advertise your business and offers.

Ensure that you make it clear in this section if your business will be advertising online or using the more traditional offline media, or the combination of both online and offline media. You can also include the advertising medium you want to use to raise awareness about your business and offers.

Some common online advertising mediums you can use include social media ads, landing pages, sales pages, SEO, Pay-Per-Click, emails, Google Ads, and others. Some common traditional and offline advertising mediums include word of mouth, radios, direct mail, televisions, flyers, billboards, posters, and others.

A key component of your advertising strategy is how you plan to measure the effectiveness and success of your advertising campaign. There is no point in sticking with an advertising plan or medium that does not produce results for your business in the long run.

Public Relations

A great way to reach your customers is to get the media to cover your business or product. Publicity, especially good ones, should be a part of your marketing and sales plan. In this section, show your plans for getting prominent reviews of your product from reputable publications and sources.

Your business needs that exposure to grow. If public relations is a crucial part of your promotional strategy, provide details about your public relations plan here.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a popular promotional strategy used by businesses to inform and attract their customers. It is about teaching and educating your prospects on various topics of interest in your niche, it does not just involve informing them about the benefits and features of the products and services you have,

Businesses publish content usually for free where they provide useful information, tips, and advice so that their target market can be made aware of the importance of their products and services. Content marketing strategies seek to nurture prospects into buyers over time by simply providing value.

Your company can create a blog where it will be publishing content for its target market. You will need to use the best website builder such as Wix and Squarespace and the best web hosting services such as Bluehost, Hostinger, and other Bluehost alternatives to create a functional blog or website.

If content marketing is a crucial part of your promotional strategy (as it should be), detail your plans under promotions.

Including high-quality images of the packaging of your product in your business plan is a lovely idea. You can add the images of the packaging of that product in the marketing and sales plan section. If you are not selling a product, then you do not need to include any worry about the physical packaging of your product.

When organizing the packaging section of your business plan, you can answer the following questions to make maximum use of this section.

• Is your choice of packaging consistent with your positioning strategy?
• What key value proposition does your packaging communicate? (It should reflect the key value proposition of your business)
• How does your packaging compare to that of your competitors?

Social Media

Your 21st-century business needs to have a good social media presence. Not having one is leaving out opportunities for growth and reaching out to your prospect.

You do not have to join the thousands of social media platforms out there. What you need to do is join the ones that your customers are active on and be active there.

Businesses use social media to provide information about their products such as promotions, discounts, the benefits of their products, and content on their blogs.

Social media is also a platform for engaging with your customers and getting feedback about your products or services. Make no mistake, more and more of your prospects are using social media channels to find more information about companies.

You need to consider the social media channels you want to prioritize your business (prioritize the ones your customers are active in) and your branding plans in this section.

Strategic Alliances

If your company plans to work closely with other companies as part of your sales and marketing plan, include it in this section. Prove details about those partnerships in your business plan if you have already established them.

Strategic alliances can be beneficial for all parties involved including your company. Working closely with another company in the form of a partnership can provide access to a different target market segment for your company.

The company you are partnering with may also gain access to your target market or simply offer a new product or service (that of your company) to its customers.

Mutually beneficial partnerships can cover the weaknesses of one company with the strength of another. You should consider strategic alliances with companies that sell complimentary products to yours. For example, if you provide printers, you can partner with a company that produces ink since the customers that buy printers from you will also need inks for printing.

Steps Involved in Creating a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Focus on Your Target Market

Identify who your customers are, the market you want to target. Then determine the best ways to get your products or services to your potential customers.

2. Evaluate Your Competition

One of the goals of having a marketing plan is to distinguish yourself from your competition. You cannot stand out from them without first knowing them in and out.

You can know your competitors by gathering information about their products, pricing, service, and advertising campaigns.

These questions can help you know your competition.

• What makes your competition successful?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What are customers saying about your competition?

3. Consider Your Brand

Customers' perception of your brand has a strong impact on your sales. Your marketing and sales plan should seek to bolster the image of your brand. Before you start marketing your business, think about the message you want to pass across about your business and your products and services.

4. Focus on Benefits

The majority of your customers do not view your product in terms of features, what they want to know is the benefits and solutions your product offers. Think about the problems your product solves and the benefits it delivers, and use it to create the right sales and marketing message.

Your marketing plan should focus on what you want your customer to get instead of what you provide. Identify those benefits in your marketing and sales plan.

5. Focus on Differentiation

Your marketing and sales plan should look for a unique angle they can take that differentiates your business from the competition, even if the products offered are similar. Some good areas of differentiation you can use are your benefits, pricing, and features.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing Your Marketing and Sales Plan

• What is your company’s budget for sales and marketing campaigns?
• What key metrics will you use to determine if your marketing plans are successful?
• What are your alternatives if your initial marketing efforts do not succeed?
• Who are the sales representatives you need to promote your products or services?
• What are the marketing and sales channels you plan to use? How do you plan to get your products in front of your ideal customers?
• Where will you sell your products?

You may want to include samples of marketing materials you plan to use such as print ads, website descriptions, and social media ads. While it is not compulsory to include these samples, it can help you better communicate your marketing and sales plan and objectives.

The purpose of the marketing and sales section is to answer this question “How will you reach your customers?” If you cannot convincingly provide an answer to this question, you need to rework your marketing and sales section.

7. Clearly Show Your Funding Request

If you are writing your business plan to ask for funding from investors or financial institutions, the funding request section is where you will outline your funding requirements. The funding request section should answer the question ‘How much money will your business need in the near future (3 to 5 years)?’

A good funding request section will clearly outline and explain the amount of funding your business needs over the next five years. You need to know the amount of money your business needs to make an accurate funding request.

Also, when writing your funding request, provide details of how the funds will be used over the period. Specify if you want to use the funds to buy raw materials or machinery, pay salaries, pay for advertisements, and cover specific bills such as rent and electricity.

In addition to explaining what you want to use the funds requested for, you need to clearly state the projected return on investment (ROI) . Investors and creditors want to know if your business can generate profit for them if they put funds into it.

Ensure you do not inflate the figures and stay as realistic as possible. Investors and financial institutions you are seeking funds from will do their research before investing money in your business.

If you are not sure of an exact number to request from, you can use some range of numbers as rough estimates. Add a best-case scenario and a work-case scenario to your funding request. Also, include a description of your strategic future financial plans such as selling your business or paying off debts.

Funding Request: Debt or Equity?

When making your funding request, specify the type of funding you want. Do you want debt or equity? Draw out the terms that will be applicable for the funding, and the length of time the funding request will cover.

Case for Equity

If your new business has not yet started generating profits, you are most likely preparing to sell equity in your business to raise capital at the early stage. Equity here refers to ownership. In this case, you are selling a portion of your company to raise capital.

Although this method of raising capital for your business does not put your business in debt, keep in mind that an equity owner may expect to play a key role in company decisions even if he does not hold a major stake in the company.

Most equity sales for startups are usually private transactions . If you are making a funding request by offering equity in exchange for funding, let the investor know that they will be paid a dividend (a share of the company’s profit). Also, let the investor know the process for selling their equity in your business.

Case for Debt

You may decide not to offer equity in exchange for funds, instead, you make a funding request with the promise to pay back the money borrowed at the agreed time frame.

When making a funding request with an agreement to pay back, note that you will have to repay your creditors both the principal amount borrowed and the interest on it. Financial institutions offer this type of funding for businesses.

Large companies combine both equity and debt in their capital structure. When drafting your business plan, decide if you want to offer both or one over the other.

Before you sell equity in exchange for funding in your business, consider if you are willing to accept not being in total control of your business. Also, before you seek loans in your funding request section, ensure that the terms of repayment are favorable.

You should set a clear timeline in your funding request so that potential investors and creditors can know what you are expecting. Some investors and creditors may agree to your funding request and then delay payment for longer than 30 days, meanwhile, your business needs an immediate cash injection to operate efficiently.

Additional Tips for Writing the Funding Request Section of your Business Plan

The funding request section is not necessary for every business, it is only needed by businesses who plan to use their business plan to secure funding.

If you are adding the funding request section to your business plan, provide an itemized summary of how you plan to use the funds requested. Hiring a lawyer, accountant, or other professionals may be necessary for the proper development of this section.

You should also gather and use financial statements that add credibility and support to your funding requests. Ensure that the financial statements you use should include your projected financial data such as projected cash flows, forecast statements, and expenditure budgets.

If you are an existing business, include all historical financial statements such as cash flow statements, balance sheets and income statements .

Provide monthly and quarterly financial statements for a year. If your business has records that date back beyond the one-year mark, add the yearly statements of those years. These documents are for the appendix section of your business plan.

8. Detail Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projections

If you used the funding request section in your business plan, supplement it with a financial plan, metrics, and projections. This section paints a picture of the past performance of your business and then goes ahead to make an informed projection about its future.

The goal of this section is to convince readers that your business is going to be a financial success. It outlines your business plan to generate enough profit to repay the loan (with interest if applicable) and to generate a decent return on investment for investors.

If you have an existing business already in operation, use this section to demonstrate stability through finance. This section should include your cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements covering the last three to five years. If your business has some acceptable collateral that you can use to acquire loans, list it in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

Apart from current financial statements, this section should also contain a prospective financial outlook that spans the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and capital expenditure budget.

If your business is new and is not yet generating profit, use clear and realistic projections to show the potentials of your business.

When drafting this section, research industry norms and the performance of comparable businesses. Your financial projections should cover at least five years. State the logic behind your financial projections. Remember you can always make adjustments to this section as the variables change.

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section create a baseline which your business can either exceed or fail to reach. If your business fails to reach your projections in this section, you need to understand why it failed.

Investors and loan managers spend a lot of time going through the financial plan, metrics, and projection section compared to other parts of the business plan. Ensure you spend time creating credible financial analyses for your business in this section.

Many entrepreneurs find this section daunting to write. You do not need a business degree to create a solid financial forecast for your business. Business finances, especially for startups, are not as complicated as they seem. There are several online tools and templates that make writing this section so much easier.

Use Graphs and Charts

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business. Charts and images make it easier to communicate your finances.

Accuracy in this section is key, ensure you carefully analyze your past financial statements properly before making financial projects.

Address the Risk Factors and Show Realistic Financial Projections

Keep your financial plan, metrics, and projection realistic. It is okay to be optimistic in your financial projection, however, you have to justify it.

You should also address the various risk factors associated with your business in this section. Investors want to know the potential risks involved, show them. You should also show your plans for mitigating those risks.

What You Should In The Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection Section of Your Business Plan

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section of your business plan should have monthly sales and revenue forecasts for the first year. It should also include annual projections that cover 3 to 5 years.

A three-year projection is a basic requirement to have in your business plan. However, some investors may request a five-year forecast.

Your business plan should include the following financial statements: sales forecast, personnel plan, income statement, income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and an exit strategy.

1. Sales Forecast

Sales forecast refers to your projections about the number of sales your business is going to record over the next few years. It is typically broken into several rows, with each row assigned to a core product or service that your business is offering.

One common mistake people make in their business plan is to break down the sales forecast section into long details. A sales forecast should forecast the high-level details.

For example, if you are forecasting sales for a payroll software provider, you could break down your forecast into target market segments or subscription categories.

Your sales forecast section should also have a corresponding row for each sales row to cover the direct cost or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The objective of these rows is to show the expenses that your business incurs in making and delivering your product or service.

Note that your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) should only cover those direct costs incurred when making your products. Other indirect expenses such as insurance, salaries, payroll tax, and rent should not be included.

For example, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a restaurant is the cost of ingredients while for a consulting company it will be the cost of paper and other presentation materials.

2. Personnel Plan

The personnel plan section is where you provide details about the payment plan for your employees. For a small business, you can easily list every position in your company and how much you plan to pay in the personnel plan.

However, for larger businesses, you have to break the personnel plan into functional groups such as sales and marketing.

The personnel plan will also include the cost of an employee beyond salary, commonly referred to as the employee burden. These costs include insurance, payroll taxes , and other essential costs incurred monthly as a result of having employees on your payroll.

3. Income Statement

The income statement section shows if your business is making a profit or taking a loss. Another name for the income statement is the profit and loss (P&L). It takes data from your sales forecast and personnel plan and adds other ongoing expenses you incur while running your business.

Every business plan should have an income statement. It subtracts your business expenses from its earnings to show if your business is generating profit or incurring losses.

The income statement has the following items: sales, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), gross margin, operating expenses, total operating expenses, operating income , total expenses, and net profit.

• Sales refer to the revenue your business generates from selling its products or services. Other names for sales are income or revenue.
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) refers to the total cost of selling your products. Other names for COGS are direct costs or cost of sales. Manufacturing businesses use the Costs of Goods Manufactured (COGM) .
• Gross Margin is the figure you get when you subtract your COGS from your sales. In your income statement, you can express it as a percentage of total sales (Gross margin / Sales = Gross Margin Percent).
• Operating Expenses refer to all the expenses you incur from running your business. It exempts the COGS because it stands alone as a core part of your income statement. You also have to exclude taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Your operating expenses include salaries, marketing expenses, research and development (R&D) expenses, and other expenses.
• Total Operating Expenses refers to the sum of all your operating expenses including those exemptions named above under operating expenses.
• Operating Income refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is simply known as the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Calculating your operating income is simple, all you need to do is to subtract your COGS and total operating expenses from your sales.
• Total Expenses refer to the sum of your operating expenses and your business’ interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
• Net profit shows whether your business has made a profit or taken a loss during a given timeframe.

4. Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement tracks the money you have in the bank at any given point. It is often confused with the income statement or the profit and loss statement. They are both different types of financial statements. The income statement calculates your profits and losses while the cash flow statement shows you how much you have in the bank.

5. Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a financial statement that provides an overview of the financial health of your business. It contains information about the assets and liabilities of your company, and owner’s or shareholders’ equity.

You can get the net worth of your company by subtracting your company’s liabilities from its assets.

6. Exit Strategy

The exit strategy refers to a probable plan for selling your business either to the public in an IPO or to another company. It is the last thing you include in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

You can choose to omit the exit strategy from your business plan if you plan to maintain full ownership of your business and do not plan on seeking angel investment or virtual capitalist (VC) funding.

Investors may want to know what your exit plan is. They invest in your business to get a good return on investment.

Your exit strategy does not have to include long and boring details. Ensure you identify some interested parties who may be interested in buying the company if it becomes a success.

Key Questions to Answer with Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection

Your financial plan, metrics, and projection section helps investors, creditors, or your internal managers to understand what your expenses are, the amount of cash you need, and what it takes to make your company profitable. It also shows what you will be doing with any funding.

You do not need to show actual financial data if you do not have one. Adding forecasts and projections to your financial statements is added proof that your strategy is feasible and shows investors you have planned properly.

Here are some key questions to answer to help you develop this section.

• What is your sales forecast for the next year?
• When will your company achieve a positive cash flow?
• What are the core expenses you need to operate?
• How much money do you need upfront to operate or grow your company?
• How will you use the loans or investments?

9. Add an Appendix to Your Business Plan

Adding an appendix to your business plan is optional. It is a useful place to put any charts, tables, legal notes, definitions, permits, résumés, and other critical information that do not fit into other sections of your business plan.

The appendix section is where you would want to include details of a patent or patent-pending if you have one. You can always add illustrations or images of your products here. It is the last section of your business plan.

When writing your business plan, there are details you cut short or remove to prevent the entire section from becoming too lengthy. There are also details you want to include in the business plan but are not a good fit for any of the previous sections. You can add that additional information to the appendix section.

Businesses also use the appendix section to include supporting documents or other materials specially requested by investors or lenders.

You can include just about any information that supports the assumptions and statements you made in the business plan under the appendix. It is the one place in the business plan where unrelated data and information can coexist amicably.

If your appendix section is lengthy, try organizing it by adding a table of contents at the beginning of the appendix section. It is also advisable to group similar information to make it easier for the reader to access them.

A well-organized appendix section makes it easier to share your information clearly and concisely. Add footnotes throughout the rest of the business plan or make references in the plan to the documents in the appendix.

The appendix section is usually only necessary if you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, or hoping to attract partners.

People reading business plans do not want to spend time going through a heap of backup information, numbers, and charts. Keep these documents or information in the Appendix section in case the reader wants to dig deeper.

Common Items to Include in the Appendix Section of Your Business Plan

The appendix section includes documents that supplement or support the information or claims given in other sections of the business plans. Common items you can include in the appendix section include:

• Additional data about the process of manufacturing or creation
• Additional description of products or services such as product schematics
• Additional financial documents or projections
• Articles of incorporation and status
• Backup for market research or competitive analysis
• Bank statements
• Business registries
• Client testimonials (if your business is already running)
• Copies of insurances
• Credit histories (personal or/and business)
• Deeds and permits
• Equipment leases
• Examples of marketing and advertising collateral
• Industry associations and memberships
• Images of product
• Intellectual property
• Key customer contracts
• Legal documents and other contracts
• Letters of reference
• Links to references
• Market research data
• Organizational charts
• Photographs of potential facilities
• Professional licenses pertaining to your legal structure or type of business
• Purchase orders
• Resumes of the founder(s) and key managers
• State and federal identification numbers or codes
• Trademarks or patents’ registrations

Avoid using the appendix section as a place to dump any document or information you feel like adding. Only add documents or information that you support or increase the credibility of your business plan.

Tips and Strategies for Writing a Convincing Business Plan

To achieve a perfect business plan, you need to consider some key tips and strategies. These tips will raise the efficiency of your business plan above average.

1. Know Your Audience

When writing a business plan, you need to know your audience . Business owners write business plans for different reasons. Your business plan has to be specific. For example, you can write business plans to potential investors, banks, and even fellow board members of the company.

The audience you are writing to determines the structure of the business plan. As a business owner, you have to know your audience. Not everyone will be your audience. Knowing your audience will help you to narrow the scope of your business plan.

Consider what your audience wants to see in your projects, the likely questions they might ask, and what interests them.

• A business plan used to address a company's board members will center on its employment schemes, internal affairs, projects, stakeholders, etc.
• A business plan for financial institutions will talk about the size of your market and the chances for you to pay back any loans you demand.
• A business plan for investors will show proof that you can return the investment capital within a specific time. In addition, it discusses your financial projections, tractions, and market size.

2. Get Inspiration from People

Writing a business plan from scratch as an entrepreneur can be daunting. That is why you need the right inspiration to push you to write one. You can gain inspiration from the successful business plans of other businesses. Look at their business plans, the style they use, the structure of the project, etc.

To make your business plan easier to create, search companies related to your business to get an exact copy of what you need to create an effective business plan. You can also make references while citing examples in your business plans.

When drafting your business plan, get as much help from others as you possibly can. By getting inspiration from people, you can create something better than what they have.

3. Avoid Being Over Optimistic

Many business owners make use of strong adjectives to qualify their content. One of the big mistakes entrepreneurs make when preparing a business plan is promising too much.

The use of superlatives and over-optimistic claims can prepare the audience for more than you can offer. In the end, you disappoint the confidence they have in you.

In most cases, the best option is to be realistic with your claims and statistics. Most of the investors can sense a bit of incompetency from the overuse of superlatives. As a new entrepreneur, do not be tempted to over-promise to get the interests of investors.

The concept of entrepreneurship centers on risks, nothing is certain when you make future analyses. What separates the best is the ability to do careful research and work towards achieving that, not promising more than you can achieve.

To make an excellent first impression as an entrepreneur, replace superlatives with compelling data-driven content. In this way, you are more specific than someone promising a huge ROI from an investment.

4. Keep it Simple and Short

When writing business plans, ensure you keep them simple throughout. Irrespective of the purpose of the business plan, your goal is to convince the audience.

One way to achieve this goal is to make them understand your proposal. Therefore, it would be best if you avoid the use of complex grammar to express yourself. It would be a huge turn-off if the people you want to convince are not familiar with your use of words.

Another thing to note is the length of your business plan. It would be best if you made it as brief as possible.

You hardly see investors or agencies that read through an extremely long document. In that case, if your first few pages can’t convince them, then you have lost it. The more pages you write, the higher the chances of you derailing from the essential contents.

To ensure your business plan has a high conversion rate, you need to dispose of every unnecessary information. For example, if you have a strategy that you are not sure of, it would be best to leave it out of the plan.

5. Make an Outline and Follow Through

A perfect business plan must have touched every part needed to convince the audience. Business owners get easily tempted to concentrate more on their products than on other sections. Doing this can be detrimental to the efficiency of the business plan.

For example, imagine you talking about a product but omitting or providing very little information about the target audience. You will leave your clients confused.

To ensure that your business plan communicates your full business model to readers, you have to input all the necessary information in it. One of the best ways to achieve this is to design a structure and stick to it.

This structure is what guides you throughout the writing. To make your work easier, you can assign an estimated word count or page limit to every section to avoid making it too bulky for easy reading. As a guide, the necessary things your business plan must contain are:

• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Product or service description
• Target audience
• Market size
• Competition analysis
• Financial projections

Some specific businesses can include some other essential sections, but these are the key sections that must be in every business plan.

6. Ask a Professional to Proofread

When writing a business plan, you must tie all loose ends to get a perfect result. When you are done with writing, call a professional to go through the document for you. You are bound to make mistakes, and the way to correct them is to get external help.

You should get a professional in your field who can relate to every section of your business plan. It would be easier for the professional to notice the inner flaws in the document than an editor with no knowledge of your business.

In addition to getting a professional to proofread, get an editor to proofread and edit your document. The editor will help you identify grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inappropriate writing styles.

Writing a business plan can be daunting, but you can surmount that obstacle and get the best out of it with these tips.

Business Plan Examples and Templates That’ll Save You Tons of Time

1. hubspot's one-page business plan.

The one-page business plan template by HubSpot is the perfect guide for businesses of any size, irrespective of their business strategy. Although the template is condensed into a page, your final business plan should not be a page long! The template is designed to ask helpful questions that can help you develop your business plan.

Hubspot’s one-page business plan template is divided into nine fields:

• Business opportunity
• Company description
• Industry analysis
• Target market
• Implementation timeline
• Marketing plan
• Financial summary
• Funding required

2. Bplan’s Free Business Plan Template

Bplans' free business plan template is investor-approved. It is a rich template used by prestigious educational institutions such as Babson College and Princeton University to teach entrepreneurs how to create a business plan.

The template has six sections: the executive summary, opportunity, execution, company, financial plan, and appendix. There is a step-by-step guide for writing every little detail in the business plan. Follow the instructions each step of the way and you will create a business plan that impresses investors or lenders easily.

3. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

HubSpot’s downloadable business plan template is a more comprehensive option compared to the one-page business template by HubSpot. This free and downloadable business plan template is designed for entrepreneurs.

The template is a comprehensive guide and checklist for business owners just starting their businesses. It tells you everything you need to fill in each section of the business plan and how to do it.

There are nine sections in this business plan template: an executive summary, company and business description, product and services line, market analysis, marketing plan, sales plan, legal notes, financial considerations, and appendix.

4. Business Plan by My Own Business Institute

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) which is a part of Santa Clara University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers a free business plan template. You can either copy the free business template from the link provided above or download it as a Word document.

The comprehensive template consists of a whopping 15 sections.

• The Business Profile
• The Vision and the People
• Home-Based Business and Freelance Business Opportunities
• Organization
• Licenses and Permits
• Business Insurance
• Communication Tools
• Acquisitions
• Location and Leasing
• Accounting and Cash Flow
• Opening and Marketing
• Managing Employees
• Expanding and Handling Problems

There are lots of helpful tips on how to fill each section in the free business plan template by MOBI.

5. Score's Business Plan Template for Startups

Score is an American nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs build successful companies. This business plan template for startups by Score is available for free download. The business plan template asks a whooping 150 generic questions that help entrepreneurs from different fields to set up the perfect business plan.

The business plan template for startups contains clear instructions and worksheets, all you have to do is answer the questions and fill the worksheets.

There are nine sections in the business plan template: executive summary, company description, products and services, marketing plan, operational plan, management and organization, startup expenses and capitalization, financial plan, and appendices.

The ‘refining the plan’ resource contains instructions that help you modify your business plan to suit your specific needs, industry, and target audience. After you have completed Score’s business plan template, you can work with a SCORE mentor for expert advice in business planning.

6. Minimalist Architecture Business Plan Template by Venngage

The minimalist architecture business plan template is a simple template by Venngage that you can customize to suit your business needs .

There are five sections in the template: an executive summary, statement of problem, approach and methodology, qualifications, and schedule and benchmark. The business plan template has instructions that guide users on what to fill in each section.

7. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers two free business plan templates, filled with practical real-life examples that you can model to create your business plan. Both free business plan templates are written by fictional business owners: Rebecca who owns a consulting firm, and Andrew who owns a toy company.

There are five sections in the two SBA’s free business plan templates.

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Service Line
• Marketing and Sales

8. The $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan

The one-page business plan by the $100 startup is a simple business plan template for entrepreneurs who do not want to create a long and complicated plan . You can include more details in the appendices for funders who want more information beyond what you can put in the one-page business plan.

There are five sections in the one-page business plan such as overview, ka-ching, hustling, success, and obstacles or challenges or open questions. You can answer all the questions using one or two sentences.

9. PandaDoc’s Free Business Plan Template

The free business plan template by PandaDoc is a comprehensive 15-page document that describes the information you should include in every section.

There are 11 sections in PandaDoc’s free business plan template.

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Products and services
• Operations plan
• Management organization
• Financial plan
• Conclusion / Call to action
• Confidentiality statement

You have to sign up for its 14-day free trial to access the template. You will find different business plan templates on PandaDoc once you sign up (including templates for general businesses and specific businesses such as bakeries, startups, restaurants, salons, hotels, and coffee shops)

PandaDoc allows you to customize its business plan templates to fit the needs of your business. After editing the template, you can send it to interested parties and track opens and views through PandaDoc.

10. Invoiceberry Templates for Word, Open Office, Excel, or PPT

InvoiceBerry is a U.K based online invoicing and tracking platform that offers free business plan templates in .docx, .odt, .xlsx, and .pptx formats for freelancers and small businesses.

Before you can download the free business plan template, it will ask you to give it your email address. After you complete the little task, it will send the download link to your inbox for you to download. It also provides a business plan checklist in .xlsx file format that ensures you add the right information to the business plan.

Alternatives to the Traditional Business Plan

A business plan is very important in mapping out how one expects their business to grow over a set number of years, particularly when they need external investment in their business. However, many investors do not have the time to watch you present your business plan. It is a long and boring read.

Luckily, there are three alternatives to the traditional business plan (the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck). These alternatives are less laborious and easier and quicker to present to investors.

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

The business model canvas is a business tool used to present all the important components of setting up a business, such as customers, route to market, value proposition, and finance in a single sheet. It provides a very focused blueprint that defines your business initially which you can later expand on if needed.

The sheet is divided mainly into company, industry, and consumer models that are interconnected in how they find problems and proffer solutions.

Segments of the Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas was developed by founder Alexander Osterwalder to answer important business questions. It contains nine segments.

• Key Partners: Who will be occupying important executive positions in your business? What do they bring to the table? Will there be a third party involved with the company?
• Key Activities: What important activities will production entail? What activities will be carried out to ensure the smooth running of the company?
• The Product’s Value Propositions: What does your product do? How will it be different from other products?
• Customer Segments: What demography of consumers are you targeting? What are the habits of these consumers? Who are the MVPs of your target consumers?
• Customer Relationships: How will the team support and work with its customer base? How do you intend to build and maintain trust with the customer?
• Key Resources: What type of personnel and tools will be needed? What size of the budget will they need access to?
• Channels: How do you plan to create awareness of your products? How do you intend to transport your product to the customer?
• Cost Structure: What is the estimated cost of production? How much will distribution cost?
• Revenue Streams: For what value are customers willing to pay? How do they prefer to pay for the product? Are there any external revenues attached apart from the main source? How do the revenue streams contribute to the overall revenue?

Lean Canvas

The lean canvas is a problem-oriented alternative to the standard business model canvas. It was proposed by Ash Maurya, creator of Lean Stack as a development of the business model generation. It uses a more problem-focused approach and it majorly targets entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Lean Canvas uses the same 9 blocks concept as the business model canvas, however, they have been modified slightly to suit the needs and purpose of a small startup. The key partners, key activities, customer relationships, and key resources are replaced by new segments which are:

• Problem: Simple and straightforward number of problems you have identified, ideally three.
• Solution: The solutions to each problem.
• Unfair Advantage: Something you possess that can't be easily bought or replicated.
• Key Metrics: Important numbers that will tell how your business is doing.

Startup Pitch Deck

While the business model canvas compresses into a factual sheet, startup pitch decks expand flamboyantly.

Pitch decks, through slides, convey your business plan, often through graphs and images used to emphasize estimations and observations in your presentation. Entrepreneurs often use pitch decks to fully convince their target audience of their plans before discussing funding arrangements.

Considering the likelihood of it being used in a small time frame, a good startup pitch deck should ideally contain 20 slides or less to have enough time to answer questions from the audience.

Unlike the standard and lean business model canvases, a pitch deck doesn't have a set template on how to present your business plan but there are still important components to it. These components often mirror those of the business model canvas except that they are in slide form and contain more details.

Using Airbnb (one of the most successful start-ups in recent history) for reference, the important components of a good slide are listed below.

• Cover/Introduction Slide: Here, you should include your company's name and mission statement. Your mission statement should be a very catchy tagline. Also, include personal information and contact details to provide an easy link for potential investors.
• Problem Slide: This slide requires you to create a connection with the audience or the investor that you are pitching. For example in their pitch, Airbnb summarized the most important problems it would solve in three brief points – pricing of hotels, disconnection from city culture, and connection problems for local bookings.
• Solution Slide: This slide includes your core value proposition. List simple and direct solutions to the problems you have mentioned
• Customer Analysis: Here you will provide information on the customers you will be offering your service to. The identity of your customers plays an important part in fundraising as well as the long-run viability of the business.
• Market Validation: Use competitive analysis to show numbers that prove the presence of a market for your product, industry behavior in the present and the long run, as well as the percentage of the market you aim to attract. It shows that you understand your competitors and customers and convinces investors of the opportunities presented in the market.
• Business Model: Your business model is the hook of your presentation. It may vary in complexity but it should generally include a pricing system informed by your market analysis. The goal of the slide is to confirm your business model is easy to implement.
• Marketing Strategy: This slide should summarize a few customer acquisition methods that you plan to use to grow the business.
• Competitive Advantage: What this slide will do is provide information on what will set you apart and make you a more attractive option to customers. It could be the possession of technology that is not widely known in the market.
• Team Slide: Here you will give a brief description of your team. Include your key management personnel here and their specific roles in the company. Include their educational background, job history, and skillsets. Also, talk about their accomplishments in their careers so far to build investors' confidence in members of your team.
• Traction Slide: This validates the company’s business model by showing growth through early sales and support. The slide aims to reduce any lingering fears in potential investors by showing realistic periodic milestones and profit margins. It can include current sales, growth, valuable customers, pre-orders, or data from surveys outlining current consumer interest.
• Funding Slide: This slide is popularly referred to as ‘the ask'. Here you will include important details like how much is needed to get your business off the ground and how the funding will be spent to help the company reach its goals.
• Appendix Slides: Your pitch deck appendix should always be included alongside a standard pitch presentation. It consists of additional slides you could not show in the pitch deck but you need to complement your presentation.

It is important to support your calculations with pictorial renditions. Infographics, such as pie charts or bar graphs, will be more effective in presenting the information than just listing numbers. For example, a six-month graph that shows rising profit margins will easily look more impressive than merely writing it.

Lastly, since a pitch deck is primarily used to secure meetings and you may be sharing your pitch with several investors, it is advisable to keep a separate public version that doesn't include financials. Only disclose the one with projections once you have secured a link with an investor.

Advantages of the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck over the Traditional Business Plan

• Time-Saving: Writing a detailed traditional business plan could take weeks or months. On the other hand, all three alternatives can be done in a few days or even one night of brainstorming if you have a comprehensive understanding of your business.
• Easier to Understand: Since the information presented is almost entirely factual, it puts focus on what is most important in running the business. They cut away the excess pages of fillers in a traditional business plan and allow investors to see what is driving the business and what is getting in the way.
• Easy to Update: Businesses typically present their business plans to many potential investors before they secure funding. What this means is that you may regularly have to amend your presentation to update statistics or adjust to audience-specific needs. For a traditional business plan, this could mean rewriting a whole section of your plan. For the three alternatives, updating is much easier because they are not voluminous.
• Guide for a More In-depth Business Plan: All three alternatives have the added benefit of being able to double as a sketch of your business plan if the need to create one arises in the future.

Business Plan FAQ

Business plans are important for any entrepreneur who is looking for a framework to run their company over some time or seeking external support. Although they are essential for new businesses, every company should ideally have a business plan to track their growth from time to time.  They can be used by startups seeking investments or loans to convey their business ideas or an employee to convince his boss of the feasibility of starting a new project. They can also be used by companies seeking to recruit high-profile employee targets into key positions or trying to secure partnerships with other firms.

Business plans often vary depending on your target audience, the scope, and the goals for the plan. Startup plans are the most common among the different types of business plans.  A start-up plan is used by a new business to present all the necessary information to help get the business up and running. They are usually used by entrepreneurs who are seeking funding from investors or bank loans. The established company alternative to a start-up plan is a feasibility plan. A feasibility plan is often used by an established company looking for new business opportunities. They are used to show the upsides of creating a new product for a consumer base. Because the audience is usually company people, it requires less company analysis. The third type of business plan is the lean business plan. A lean business plan is a brief, straight-to-the-point breakdown of your ideas and analysis for your business. It does not contain details of your proposal and can be written on one page. Finally, you have the what-if plan. As it implies, a what-if plan is a preparation for the worst-case scenario. You must always be prepared for the possibility of your original plan being rejected. A good what-if plan will serve as a good plan B to the original.

A good business plan has 10 key components. They include an executive plan, product analysis, desired customer base, company analysis, industry analysis, marketing strategy, sales strategy, financial projection, funding, and appendix. Executive Plan Your business should begin with your executive plan. An executive plan will provide early insight into what you are planning to achieve with your business. It should include your mission statement and highlight some of the important points which you will explain later. Product Analysis The next component of your business plan is your product analysis. A key part of this section is explaining the type of item or service you are going to offer as well as the market problems your product will solve. Desired Consumer Base Your product analysis should be supplemented with a detailed breakdown of your desired consumer base. Investors are always interested in knowing the economic power of your market as well as potential MVP customers. Company Analysis The next component of your business plan is your company analysis. Here, you explain how you want to run your business. It will include your operational strategy, an insight into the workforce needed to keep the company running, and important executive positions. It will also provide a calculation of expected operational costs.  Industry Analysis A good business plan should also contain well laid out industry analysis. It is important to convince potential investors you know the companies you will be competing with, as well as your plans to gain an edge on the competition. Marketing Strategy Your business plan should also include your marketing strategy. This is how you intend to spread awareness of your product. It should include a detailed explanation of the company brand as well as your advertising methods. Sales Strategy Your sales strategy comes after the market strategy. Here you give an overview of your company's pricing strategy and how you aim to maximize profits. You can also explain how your prices will adapt to market behaviors. Financial Projection The financial projection is the next component of your business plan. It explains your company's expected running cost and revenue earned during the tenure of the business plan. Financial projection gives a clear idea of how your company will develop in the future. Funding The next component of your business plan is funding. You have to detail how much external investment you need to get your business idea off the ground here. Appendix The last component of your plan is the appendix. This is where you put licenses, graphs, or key information that does not fit in any of the other components.

The business model canvas is a business management tool used to quickly define your business idea and model. It is often used when investors need you to pitch your business idea during a brief window.

A pitch deck is similar to a business model canvas except that it makes use of slides in its presentation. A pitch is not primarily used to secure funding, rather its main purpose is to entice potential investors by selling a very optimistic outlook on the business.

Business plan competitions help you evaluate the strength of your business plan. By participating in business plan competitions, you are improving your experience. The experience provides you with a degree of validation while practicing important skills. The main motivation for entering into the competitions is often to secure funding by finishing in podium positions. There is also the chance that you may catch the eye of a casual observer outside of the competition. These competitions also provide good networking opportunities. You could meet mentors who will take a keen interest in guiding you in your business journey. You also have the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs whose ideas can complement yours.

Exlore Further

• 12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)
• 13 Sources of Business Finance For Companies & Sole Traders
• 5 Common Types of Business Structures (+ Pros & Cons)
• How to Buy a Business in 8 Steps (+ Due Diligence Checklist)

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Martin luenendonk.

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.

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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