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Simple Business Plan Template for Word, PDF

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• Ten sections: Company description, Opportunity, Industry Analysis, Target Market, Management Team, Marketing Strategy, Timeline, Financial Plan, Conclusion. Bonus Appendices section, if you want to get fancy
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Simple business plan template.

Business Plan Template

Executive Summary

Begin with a brief description of your company to give background and context. Tell the reader why you have embarked on this new venture.

Then, move into a description of the opportunity. Explain your project from the broadest to most narrow context. Tell readers what product or service you plan to offer, how it fits into the industry you’ll operate within, who your target customers are, and what you expect from the market in the future. Explain your value proposition, and give an overview of the market.

Briefly describe your management team to help potential investors understand the skills and experience your company brings to the table. Next, move into a description of how your business will operate on a day-to-day basis.

Then, describe how you will promote your new product/service. You don’t need to go into detail here, but you should provide enough information to illustrate the marketing methods you will use and how you will attract new customers.

Describe the cost structure and financial aspects of the business. You’ll need to explain the kind and amount of investment that you need, what you will use the money for, and how you envision your business becoming profitable.

Next, you should move into a description of how you will implement your business plan. How will you roll out your new business? What is the expected timeline?

Finally, close this section with a clear, pithy explanation of your project, why it is needed, and how it will benefit future customers and investors.

HubSpot Tip: Write this section last, after you have written all of the other sections. It should summarize your entire business plan in a page or two (at most).

Company Description

Provide a description of your organization. Include the company’s name, what type of entity it is, who owns it, and note any significant assets.

This is a good place to talk about why you do what you do. What is your company’s mission statement? What are your goals and objectives?

What product or service do you provide? Who are your customers? Do you have a geographic focus? If so, where?

Briefly describe the industry, the opportunities it offers, and the growth it is experiencing.

Note some of your company’s main strengths and briefly explain where you fit into the industry. You will delve more deeply into this later.

HubSpot Tip: Keep this section brief. You will have plenty of time to talk about the details of your company and the business opportunity later in the document.

The Opportunity

Describe the need in the market that your business idea will fill. How did this need arise and why has it not been filled yet?

Explain how you identified the need and how your product/service will meet it.

Describe your products/services here. You can include diagrams or pictures to help illustrate your offering.

You should also include a description of the features and benefits of your product/service to your customer. Consider capturing this in a simple table like the one below.

Product/Service Feature

Benefit to the Customer

HubSpot Tip: Be sure to include your value proposition in this section – describe how your service/product is attractive to customers.

Industry Analysis

In this section, you’ll want to talk about the key environmental trends in your industry. What are the barriers to entry (e.g., high production or marketing costs, tariff barriers, regulatory challenges, extensive training)? How is the industry progressing? What is changing?

Then think about your business’ competitive advantage. Are there other companies providing the same good/service that you will be offering? If so, are customers likely to switch to your product/service? How do you compare with your competitors?

HubSpot Tip: Note the key factors for success in this industry, and show that your company has them.

Target Market Research and Definition

Based on the market research that you previously conducted, provide an explanation of the market in which your business will reside. How big is the market? How fast is it growing? Will your product/service be a major factor in the market?

Define your target customers. Who do you expect to buy your product/service?

You should identify and describe your major competitors in this section, as well.

Identify what defines your product/service in the marketplace. What distinctive competencies or offerings do you offer that other companies do not?

HubSpot Tip: Though you want to mention some competitors, make sure the focus is on your business and how it will serve your target customers.

Management Team & Organization

Your readers will want to know that your team has the skills and qualifications to implement what you have outlined in the business plan. Include brief biographical sketches of your leadership, including the board of directors (if you have one) and any high-level external advisors that your company uses.

Include their educational credentials and a description of the relevant work they have done and accomplishments they have achieved. You can also personalize this section with headshots of your staff to help put faces to the names.

If you have a complicated management structure, consider including an organizational chart like the one shown below. Tailor it to include the names and roles of your leadership team.

HubSpot Tip: You don’t need to include descriptions of every position in the company, just high-level management.

Operations Plan

In this section, describe how you will manage your business and what daily operations will look like. You should cover at least the following topics, and any other relevant information that might be unique to your industry:

• Staffing – How many employees will you have? Where will they be located? What kinds of skills and certifications do they need?

• Infrastructure – What kind of physical space will your company occupy? Describe your business locations. What kinds of technologies will you require?

• Legal Structure – Legal issues are important in every industry. Describe the unique aspects of yours and how you will address them.

• Regulatory – Regulations also play a key role in most businesses. Include a discussion of the regulatory issues faced in your industry and how you will handle them.

• Certifications or Accreditations - Does your company require any special documentation to do business? If so, describe how you’ll attain the required certification or accreditation.

• Product/Service Delivery Process – Describe your business processes. These might include inventory, supply chain, and accounts payable and receivable.

HubSpot Tip: This list is not exhaustive, so be sure to include enough information to help potential investors understand how your business will operate.

Marketing Strategy

Marketing is a crucial to the success of any business. Building on what you described in the Target Market Research and Definition section, define the components of your strategy to market your product/service.

Describe any challenges, including barriers to entering the market. What potential problems do you foresee? How will you address them?

Explain why you have chosen to operate your business in the selected location. Are there cost savings involved in choosing this location? Does it bring you closer to your customer base?

What is your pricing strategy? Explain and provide clear evidence for why the pricing structure you selected will lead customers to buy your products/services and will, at the same time, result in a profit for your business and investors.

Describe your plan for promoting your new business, product, or service. Will you use print, radio, television, or social media? Will you hire a marketing manager?

Be sure to indicate the budget for your marketing strategy and where you will obtain the funding for this important aspect of your business. You may need to employ consultants or an advertising agency – be sure to include these costs.

HubSpot Tip: Consider including a few mockups of your logos, packaging, and even advertisements to give potential investors a preview of your company’s marketing materials.

Implementation Plan And Timeline

Describe the phases in which your business will be rolled out. Indicate which phase you are in currently, and how long it will take to bring your product/service to market.

Consider including a timeline like the one below to illustrate the steps in the process. Customize it with your dates and the specific steps for your business.

HubSpot Tip: While aiming to please potential investors, be sure to set reasonable deadlines that you are able to meet.

Financial Plan

Tell your potential investors the amount of funds you have received thus far and who provided them. How much more funding do you require?

Describe how you will use each part of the funding you are requesting. Investors often feel more comfortable if they know exactly how their money will be used.

Give readers a peek into your company’s projected financial future. Include the following as appendices, but describe them in this section:

• Cash flow projection – An estimate of how much money you expect to flow in and out of your business.

• Capitalization plan – Lists the sources and uses of capital that your business plans to amass.

• Break-even analysis – A determination of what you need to sell in order to cover the costs of doing business.

In addition to the above, you’ll need to include an income statement and balance sheet. Since these could be long and were likely developed in Excel or an accounting software, you should reference them here and include them in an appendix.

You will also want to explain any assumptions that you have made that affect your financial information. Later you will be able to point to these to explain why something may have turned out differently than expected.

HubSpot Tip: This is one of the most important sections of your business proposal. If you are not an expert in finance, be sure to seek assistance from someone who is.

In a few sentences, summarize the main point that you would like the reader to understand about your business. Aim to convince them that they should invest!

Describe the next steps, and give detailed contact information so that they can get in touch with you easily.

HubSpot Tip: This section should incite the reader to act. Make it easy for your potential investors by including in this section all of the information they need to move forward.

Include any supporting documents for the previous sections here. You can reference them in the text and use them to provide additional detail without breaking up the flow of your business plan text.

HubSpot Tip: Some items you could include are: marketing materials, maps of the business location, background research, articles that have been written about the company, and financial documents.

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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Business Plan Template for Small Businesses

Business planning can feel complicated. it doesn't have to be. start putting pen to paper today with your free business plan template download..

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Why you need a business plan

Writing a business plan can seem like a big task, especially if you’re starting a business for the first time and don’t have a financial background. After all, business plans have changed over the years, and what lenders and investors expect now is different than it was even just 10 years ago.

What hasn’t changed is that writing a business plan will help you:

• Develop a strategy for success
• Reduce the risk of starting a business
• Explore new business ideas
• Attract investors and get funding

Learn more about how you can get value out of your business plan .

What is included in this business plan template?

This template includes definitions, guidance, and examples for every business plan component needed to start, fund, and grow your business.

After downloading the full template, you’ll receive instructions on how to fill out each of the following sections.

Executive summary

The brief summary of your business plan introduces everyone to your business, the problem you solve, and what you’re asking from your readers. It’s the first chapter of your business plan and the last thing you write once you have the details from your full plan.

Problem & solution

More than a simple description of your products and services – here you define the problem you’re solving and the value you provide. It’s also your chance to showcase any initial traction that shows you’re on the right track.

Market analysis and target market

A detailed assessment of the market you intend to enter, including the size and value of the market, potential customer segments, and their buying patterns.

Competition

Show that you know who your competitors are, what advantages you have, and how you’re positioning your business to be competitive.

Marketing & sales

Describe how you’ll reach and sell to potential customers with a detailed sales plan and chosen marketing channels.

What makes your business run? Outline the day-to-day workflows and what needs to be set up for your business to deliver a product or service.

Milestones & metrics

Set goals for your business that include the dates and people responsible for accomplishing them. This is what you’ll use to manage responsibilities, track growth, and execute your larger strategy.

Company overview and team

Provide a brief rundown of the legal and structural components of your company, including your history, current team, and gaps you need to fill.

Financial plan

Create well-structured and accurate financial statements to help you pitch to investors, land funding, and achieve long-term success. All without the help of a financial advisor or a degree in accounting.

While not required, this last section of your business plan is a great place to drop in additional documents that support and strengthen the rest of your plan.

How do you write a simple business plan?

If you’re exploring a business idea and don’t plan to pursue funding, then you actually don’t need to write a traditional business plan. Instead, opt for a one-page plan , which is far easier to create but just as effective.

To write a simple one-page business plan, follow the same core sections as a traditional plan. But instead of lengthy paragraphs and multiple pages covering each area of your business, stick with single sentences and bulleted lists.

If a one-page plan sounds like a better option, download our free simple business plan template to get started.

Start your business plan today

Whether you're writing a business plan to validate your business idea, secure funding, or grow your existing business – our template will help you achieve your goals.

Business plan template FAQ

What file formats are available for this business plan template?

You can download and use this business plan template as a Google Doc, .docx (Microsoft Word), or PDF.

Can you print out this template?

This is a printable business plan template that can be downloaded and printed no matter which format you choose.

Why should you start with a business plan template?

Starting with a good business plan template (like this one) includes everything you need to get started. It helps you organize your thoughts, and provides guidance, instructions, and examples to create an investor-ready and SBA-approved business plan format. It really speeds up the planning process. Oh, and it's 100% free!

Is writing a business plan easy?

Using a business plan template can make writing a business plan easier. Additionally, if you focus on just getting your information down quickly, with the expectation that you'll revisit and revise your plan, you can speed up and simplify the process .

Can someone write your business plan for you?

If you're still struggling to write your business plan even when using a template, you can look into hiring a professional business plan writer. We even have a free resource to help you ask just the right questions  to make sure you find the right plan writer.

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Business Plan in a Day: Get It Done Right, Get It Done Fast! Paperback – September 1, 2005

There is a newer edition of this item:.

Purchase options and add-ons

• Print length 183 pages
• Language English
• Publisher Planning Shop
• Publication date September 1, 2005
• Dimensions 7.5 x 0.52 x 8.9 inches
• ISBN-10 0974080128
• ISBN-13 978-0974080123
• See all details

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Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Planning Shop (September 1, 2005)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 183 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0974080128
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0974080123
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.5 x 0.52 x 8.9 inches
• #1,941 in Management Science
• #5,376 in Strategic Business Planning
• #7,335 in Systems & Planning

About the author

Rhonda abrams.

Rhonda Abrams has helped millions of people launch and grow successful businesses. Her first book, Successful Business Plan: Secrets & Strategies is the bestselling business plan guide of all time and is considered the definitive guide to business planning. It was acclaimed by Forbes magazine as one of the two best books for small business and by Inc. magazine as one of the six best books for startups.

She has authored 19 books, which have sold more than 2 million copies and been translated into 30 languages, including the popular Six-Week Startup, Business Plan in a Day, and Entrepreneurship: A Real-World Approach. She has a deep knowledge of the small business market and a passion for entrepreneurship. Her books, written with the express purpose of enabling people make their business vision a reality, are clear, concise, actionable, and practical.

Rhonda is also an entrepreneurship/small business columnist for USA Today but she not only writes about entrepreneurship—she lives it! She has started four businesses and is currently the founder/President of PlanningShop. She knows what it takes to meet payroll, pay vendors, reach and keep customers, find and impress investors, and get products out the door.

You can find out more about Rhonda at www.RhondaAbrams.com.

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Health Plans Must Cover Transgender Care, Fourth Cir. Says (2)

By Mary Anne Pazanowski

Two states’ health plans’ blanket coverage exclusions for gender-affirming care are unconstitutional, the full Fourth Circuit said Monday.

A North Carolina state employee health plan violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause by refusing to pay for medically necessary gender-dysphoria treatments, a slim majority of the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit said.

And West Virginia’s Medicaid program is unconstitutional to the extent that it pays for some gender-affirming care, but not for surgeries that are typically covered for non-transgender patients, the court also said. The exclusion violates the Affordable Care Act and the Medicaid Act, it said.

The decision affirmed lower federal courts in North Carolina and West Virginia, and addressed an issue that’s bedeviling other courts that are considering transgender rights issues—including the validity of state laws banning gender-affirming car for minors and school bathroom-use policies.

Appeals court disagreements on the discrete issue of whether a government action violates the 14th Amendment’s equal protection clause probably require US Supreme Court resolution, experts on LGBTQ+ rights have said . So far, the Sixth and Eleventh circuits have rejected the approach that the Fourth Circuit took, using heightened scrutiny, when deciding that state laws banning gender-affirming care for minors likely pass constitutional muster.

“Decisions like this one, from a court dominated by Obama- and Biden-appointees, cannot stand,” West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R) said. Morrisey vowed to take the case to the US Supreme Court “and win.” The state’s top lawyer added that he’s “confident in the merits of our case: that this is a flawed decision and states have wide discretion to determine what procedures their programs can cover based on cost and other concerns.”

North Carolina Treasuer Dale Folwell, a defendant in the case, said the Fourth Circuit’s decision failed to take account of the plan’s financial situation. The opinion “opens the way for any dissatisfied individual to override the plan’s reasoned and responsible decisions and drive the plan towards collapse,” he said.

The department’s mission is to protect the plan, which is “facing the real risk of looming insolvency,” Folwell said. Providing “coverage that does the most good for the highest number of people” with the limited resources available is the department’s priority, he said.

A majority of the Fourth Circuit’s active judges held that the exclusions discriminate against transgender people on the basis of sex and gender identity. Neither state showed that the exclusions were substantially related to important government interests, the majority said.

Transgender Rights

Lambda Legal Senior Counsel Tara Borelli, the lead lawyer on both lawsuits, praised the decision, saying it will save lives. Co-counsel and Lambda Legal Counsel and Health Care Strategist Omar Gonzalez-Pagan added that the court sent “a clear message that gender-affirming care is critical medical care for transgender people and that denying it is harmful and unlawful.”

“This ruling sets a clear precedent not just for North Carolina and West Virginia but to all jurisdictions within the Fourth Circuit, including South Carolina, where legislators are considering a discriminatory healthcare ban,” Gonzalez-Pagan said.

The split Fourth Circuit rejected the employee health plan’s argument that its refusal to pay for certain care was based on the medical diagnosis for which payment was sought, not the gender of the person requesting it. “In this case, discriminating on the basis of diagnosis is discriminating on the basis of gender identity and sex,” the court said. “The coverage exclusions are therefore subject to intermediate scrutiny,” under which the states were required to show “an exceedingly persuasive justification” for treating transgender people differently, it said,

Neither state could meed the heightened standard, the majority said.

The plan’s decision on whether to cover a claim requires an assessment of a participant’s sex assigned at birth, the majority also said. That’s “textbook” sex-based bias, Judge Roger L. Gregory said. Chief Judge Albert Diaz, Robert B. King, James Andrew Wynn, Stephanie D. Thacker, Pamela A. Harris, Toby J. Heytens, and DeAndrea Gist Benjamin joined.

Private attorneys for North Carolina’s employee health plan didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Dissents Abound

Judge Julius N. Richardson, in a dissent joined by in full by Judges Judges J. Harvie Wilkinson III, Paul V. Niemeyer, and A. Marvin Quattlebaum Jr., and in part by Judges G. Steven Agee and Allison Jones Rushing, said “today’s result oversteps the bounds of the law.

“The Equal Protection Clause does not license judges to strike down any policy we disagree with,” Richardson said. “It instead grants the states leeway to tailor policies to local circumstances, while providing a carefully calibrated remedy for truly illicit discrimination.”

“No such discrimination appears in these cases, he said. The decision was “a defeat for the rule of law,” Richardson said.

In a separate dissent, Wilkinson asked why there is a “rush” to create a substantive 14th Amendment “right to transgender surgery underwritten by the State.”

“This is imperial judging at its least defensible,” Wilkinson said.

Quattlebaum, also in dissent, argued that the majority bent the rules of evidence with respect to proof of medical necessity and efficacy to reach its result.

The court, sitting en banc, heard oral arguments in Richmond on Sept. 21.

These were the first cases to put coverage questions before a full federal appeals court, and the outcomes could influence future decisions affecting trans rights in the health-care arena.

Lambda Legal Defense & Education Fund Inc., Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund Inc., McDermott Will & Emery LLP, and HWG LLP represent the North Carolina plaintiffs. Bell, Davis & Pitt; and John Knepper of Cheyenne, Wyo., represent the defendants.

The case is Kadel v. Folwell , 4th Cir. en banc, No. 22-1721, 4/29/24.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mary Anne Pazanowski in Washington at [email protected]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rob Tricchinelli at [email protected]

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