Your first step in creating a business plan is to create an Executive Summary, which is a few paragraphs that give a simple overview of your business. You want to start by introducing the idea, how it was conceived and by whom. The goal is to create a storytelling narrative that you can adapt to your very own business journey.
[Sender.Company] was created by [Sender.FirstName] [Sender.LastName] in (creation year). The business will open in [Sender.City] , [Sender.State] , with a plan to become profitable by (year).
Here you can also describe your company in more detail — what industry you’re in, what your mission is, what will your products be, etc.
To fulfill our vision, we will require (amount) in capital, which will be allocated roughly according to the following table:
If we are fully capitalized, we hope to be profitable by (MM / DD / YYYY).
A basic five-year plan may help you to describe, in reasonable detail, the assumptions you are making to conclude that you will be profitable in the timeframe you’re describing. This can be further expanded in the financial plan below.
The company overview provides detailed information about the business, staff, and products. Highlight any important or unique selling points — think of it as a future autobiography for your business.
[Sender.Company] is a startup business, established in (year). It is located in [Sender.City] , [Company.State] , but we are planning to eventually launch a branch in [Sender.City] , [Company.State] . Our staff will include (include main staff roles and titles).
[Sender.Company] specializes in providing customers with (include feature products).
Our mission is to help solve our customer's problems by providing high-quality products and exceptional customer service that satisfy each individual need.
An industry analysis is an important part of any business plan template because it gives the investors an overview of your understanding of the industry your company will be stepping into. So, it’s extremely important to provide information on industry trends, the market, and relevant statistics. Briefly mention the competitors here, as you will need to provide an in-depth analysis in the competitive analysis section.
To fully analyze the industry, we have prepared a PEST analysis table that highlights political, economic, social, and technological threats and opportunities facing the industry.
Be as specific as possible when it comes to declaring your target market. You should include all possible segmentation for marketing, including:
Demographic details, Geographic details, Socio-economic details, Psychographic details, Behavioral details.
For example, if your company is B2C-oriented (business to customers) it may focus on a different audience than a B2B-oriented (business to business) company.
We have included a thorough analysis of our customers, presented in the table below
For your competitive analysis, you will need to identify your main competitors. You will need to examine each competitor as closely as possible by analyzing their product, quality, benefits, pricing, brand marketing, and audience. This can be done in a simple table or through a Feature Comparison Matrix.
You will also need to provide the investors with a SWOT analysis of top competitors to show your understanding of the industry. A SWOT analysis is a 2×2 grid that analyzes strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. You can also do the same for your own business to conclude what will make your company and its products stand out from the rest. You should frequently analyze the market using the SWOT technique to make sure your business stays on top of the competition.
The marketing plan should include the marketing mix, which addresses seven main strategies: product, promotion, price, place, people, process, and physical evidence. Physical evidence focuses on how you will reassure your investors and clients that your startup is lucrative enough, what unique selling points you will bring, how you will ensure that your staff is well-trained, etc.
We strongly suggest you keep this section brief and include a full marketing plan in the appendix.
To analyze our target market, we have taken into consideration every part of the marketing mix. This includes: