market description in business plan pdf

Market Analysis Business Plan

At first, you may think that a market analysis business plan is complex and formal. However, if you are already aware of the basics of its development and execution, then you can easily understand how easy it is to create this document.

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Market analysis can be done in an efficient manner as long as you have all the firsthand details that you need, the equipment and tools that can help you within the entire market analysis, and the knowledge about the proper integration of analysis processes and results to your business plan.

Do not feel dissuaded in creating a market analysis business plan just because you think it is a critical document that you cannot create on your own or from scratch. If you are already planning to execute the steps that will help you draft a marketing analysis for your business, there are actually guidelines that will allow you to be more prepared in developing the document.

Do not worry on how to find these guides and other help that you need as we got you covered. Make sure to download the examples of market analysis business plans available in this post for references.

Market Analysis and Business Development Strategy Planning Example

Business Plan Template with Marketing Analysis Example

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What Makes a Market Analysis Business Plan an Important Part of Your General Business Plan?

It is already evident that customers play a vital role when it comes to the successes of the business. Hence, it is of utmost importance for you to continuously provide what they need and meet their expectations as well. However, this will not be possible if you do not know anything about them. This is where the benefits of planning, developing, and implementing a marketing analysis business plan come in. You may also see marketing plan examples .

A comparative market analysis , or any other kinds of market analysis business plan for this matter, is an essential process and document that will help you achieve efficiency and sustainability within the implementation of your marketing efforts, operational action plans, and business development strategies .

Listed below are a few of the reasons why it is recommended for you to include a market analysis business plan in your general business plan are as follows:

1. A market analysis business plan can help provide a thorough explanation of the market segmentation that you have considered as well as the focus that you allotted both for your current market and potential sales leads. With this, you can be more aware of the threats and opportunities that you can face in the future through a valuable market forecast. You may also like marketing strategy plan examples .

2. A market analysis business plan presents the needs, demands, and expectations of your target market. This helps a lot in terms of providing information that will guide you in the development of action plans that can meet the requirements for business sustainability and market relevance.

3. A market analysis business plan can showcase a more in-depth description of your audience. With the help of this document, you can specifically point out your target market, their locations, the things that are relevant and beneficial to their daily activities, and the factors that can affect their purchasing or buying decisions. You might be interested in define marketing plan and its purpose ?

4. A market analysis business plan can show not only the reaction of the market to your offers but also to those coming from the competitors. With this, you can analyze the difference of your products, services, and offers from that of your competition. This can help you a lot when there is a need to plot new market strategies, which can effectively get the attention and trust of your desired audience. You may also see business marketing plan examples .

Business Plan: Market Research and Analysis Example

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Supply Market Analyis and Business Plan Example

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How to Develop an Impressive Market Analysis Business Plan

Are you aware of what a market analysis – demand and supply is? Simply put, it presents the concept that there should be balance with regards the demands of the market and the supply that you provide them with. It is essential for you to know the market that you are catering to so you can successfully use your resources and present your offers. This can result to the improvement of your marketplace standing and operational efficiency.

Developing a market analysis business plan can be very helpful as this document can make it easier and faster for you to organize the call-to-actions that you need to execute and the tactics that you need to incorporate in your efforts and movements to achieve maximum results. You may also see strategic marketing plan examples .

Some of the guidelines that you can follow if you want to develop an impressive market analysis business plan include the following:

1. Know the market segments that you have a hold of and define the kinds or types of customers that are present in each segment. It is essential for you to know the groupings of your target customers so that you can point out the specific key factors that can affect their decisions when buying an item or acquiring services. You always have to be reminded that different market segments have different qualities and characteristics. You may also like apartment marketing plan examples .

Hence, there is a need for your market analysis business plan to provide particular strategies and tactics.

2. Be aware of the factors that can affect the implementation of your market analysis business plan. This includes the nature of the activities of your market segment, the description of the forces that can affect your competitive advantage, the communication and distribution channels that you will use, and the required simple action plans that you need to execute in a timely manner to achieve your goals and objectives.

3. Know the ways on how you can effectively get information of your market. Aside from surveys and questionnaires , there are still different tools and equipment that you can use to have a hand on the details that you need to analyze to come up with the strategies and general action plans that fit your business operations and marketing efforts.

Marketing Business Plan Example

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Market Analysis to Support Business Planning Example

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Business Plan: Market Research Report for Advanced Product Example

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Elements to Consider When Developing a Market Analysis Business Plan

Not all elements of a comparative market analysis are the same with that of a market analysis business plan. There are also differences when you compare the functions of each elements in both documents. Before you create a market analysis business plan, you have to make sure that you will make yourself knowledgeable of the things that you will work on so that you can achieve your desired final document.

Some of the most important elements that you need to consider if you have already decided to start the processes of developing a market analysis business plan are as follows:

1. Geographical and demographic conditions.

How many of your desired audience are within a particular market segment? Is the location of the marketplace convenient to your business and your operations? You have to know the number of people that you can reach through your marketing efforts as well as the areas in which specific activities are needed to be done. You may also see restaurant marketing plan examples .

In this manner, your market analysis business plan can present whether it is really reasonable to tap the particular market specified in the document.

2. Sales leads and potential customers.

Do not just focus on the current customers who provide you with their purchasing power. You always have to be innovative when creating a market analysis business plan as not all customers will forever be there to execute repeat business. Know how to analyze market segments that can be your next target. Doing this can give you a higher possibility of bigger sales and wider market reach. You may also like event marketing plan examples .

3. Market movement, purchasing power and buying habits.

The financial and sales aspect of the business should be prioritized when making a market analysis business plan. Analyzing a market whose activities does not align to the business offers will only waste your time, efforts, and resources. This is the reason why you first need to have an initial findings about your target or desired audience. With this, you can assess how they match your business operations and needs. You may also check out digital marketing plan examples .

4. Direct competition and their activities.

A market analysis business plan does not only rely on the evaluation and assessment of the consumers, customers, and/or clients. You also have to look into the activities of your direct competitors.

Doing this can help you become more aware on how their processes affect or impact their operations and brand. Hence, you can veer away from activities that can produce negative results and you can also give more focus on the strategies that can provide you with the most benefits. You might be interested in personal marketing plan examples .

Market Research and Analysis for a Business Plan Example

Transmedia Marketing Plan and Analysis for a Business Example

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Market Analysis and Business Plan Example

In Need of Tips for Creating a Market Analysis Business Plan?

Having the best products and/or services is not enough. If you cannot carry out the exact marketing message that you would like to disseminate in the marketplace, then you cannot expect the best returns from your audience. You may also see annual marketing plan examples .

More so, not knowing how you can connect to your audience or how you can incorporate the usage and benefits of your offers to their needs and activities will most likely lessen the potential successes of your business.

Developing a market analysis business plan is very important as it helps you focus on the environment rather than just internal functions and abilities. With this, you can thoroughly align and use your resources based on the expected results and reactions of your market. All the useful tips that can help you create an outstanding market analysis business plan are listed below. You may also like marketing strategy business plan examples .

1. You should have enough knowledge on how to do the market analysis for a business plan . Aside from the discussions and examples in this post, it will be best if you will still research and find resources that will help you understand the full concept of market analysis. The more you know about the development of this document, the easier it will be for you to put together necessary and relevant information.

2. Make sure that you will come up with a concise and well-defined industry description. You have to know the size and growth forecast of the marketplace where your business belongs. In this manner, you can point out the life cycle of market processes as well as the changes in trends that can affect the decision-making processes of your target audience. You may also check out importance of business plan .

3. Focus not only on your desired market size and the characteristics of your target market segment. You also have to look into the competition and other external factors that you cannot control. This can help you be prepared when facing threats and risks from elements that you do not have a hold of. You might be interested in simple marketing plan examples .

4. Present the market analysis business plan accordingly. Use clauses that can group all the discussion areas or parts that are intended to be together. Using proper headings and subheadings is also a great way to make the document more organized and presentable. If you need help in formatting the document, do not hesitate to use market analysis business plan template examples .

Do not skip the evaluation, review, and assessment of your market when making a business plan document. Knowing the quality standards that you incorporate in your operations and offers is one thing. Knowing how the market will react to your marketing message is another. For you to ensure that your practices and activities are relevant, you have to perform market analysis. Try developing your own market analysis business plan now.

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How to Write a Market Analysis for a Business Plan

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A lot of preparation goes into starting a business before you can open your doors to the public or launch your online store. One of your first steps should be to write a business plan . A business plan will serve as your roadmap when building your business.

Within your business plan, there’s an important section you should pay careful attention to: your market analysis. Your market analysis helps you understand your target market and how you can thrive within it.

Simply put, your market analysis shows that you’ve done your research. It also contributes to your marketing strategy by defining your target customer and researching their buying habits. Overall, a market analysis will yield invaluable data if you have limited knowledge about your market, the market has fierce competition, and if you require a business loan. In this guide, we'll explore how to conduct your own market analysis.

How to conduct a market analysis: A step-by-step guide

In your market analysis, you can expect to cover the following:

Industry outlook

Target market

Market value

Competition

Barriers to entry

Let’s dive into an in-depth look into each section:

Step 1: Define your objective

Before you begin your market analysis, it’s important to define your objective for writing a market analysis. Are you writing it for internal purposes or for external purposes?

If you were doing a market analysis for internal purposes, you might be brainstorming new products to launch or adjusting your marketing tactics. An example of an external purpose might be that you need a market analysis to get approved for a business loan .

The comprehensiveness of your market analysis will depend on your objective. If you’re preparing for a new product launch, you might focus more heavily on researching the competition. A market analysis for a loan approval would require heavy data and research into market size and growth, share potential, and pricing.

Step 2: Provide an industry outlook

An industry outlook is a general direction of where your industry is heading. Lenders want to know whether you’re targeting a growing industry or declining industry. For example, if you’re looking to sell VCRs in 2020, it’s unlikely that your business will succeed.

Starting your market analysis with an industry outlook offers a preliminary view of the market and what to expect in your market analysis. When writing this section, you'll want to include:

Market size

Are you chasing big markets or are you targeting very niche markets? If you’re targeting a niche market, are there enough customers to support your business and buy your product?

Product life cycle

If you develop a product, what will its life cycle look like? Lenders want an overview of how your product will come into fruition after it’s developed and launched. In this section, you can discuss your product’s:

Research and development

Projected growth

How do you see your company performing over time? Calculating your year-over-year growth will help you and lenders see how your business has grown thus far. Calculating your projected growth shows how your business will fare in future projected market conditions.

Step 3: Determine your target market

This section of your market analysis is dedicated to your potential customer. Who is your ideal target customer? How can you cater your product to serve them specifically?

Don’t make the mistake of wanting to sell your product to everybody. Your target customer should be specific. For example, if you’re selling mittens, you wouldn’t want to market to warmer climates like Hawaii. You should target customers who live in colder regions. The more nuanced your target market is, the more information you’ll have to inform your business and marketing strategy.

With that in mind, your target market section should include the following points:

Demographics

This is where you leave nothing to mystery about your ideal customer. You want to know every aspect of your customer so you can best serve them. Dedicate time to researching the following demographics:

Income level

Create a customer persona

Creating a customer persona can help you better understand your customer. It can be easier to market to a person than data on paper. You can give this persona a name, background, and job. Mold this persona into your target customer.

What are your customer’s pain points? How do these pain points influence how they buy products? What matters most to them? Why do they choose one brand over another?

Research and supporting material

Information without data are just claims. To add credibility to your market analysis, you need to include data. Some methods for collecting data include:

Target group surveys

Focus groups

Reading reviews

Feedback surveys

You can also consult resources online. For example, the U.S. Census Bureau can help you find demographics in calculating your market share. The U.S. Department of Commerce and the U.S. Small Business Administration also offer general data that can help you research your target industry.

Step 4: Calculate market value

You can use either top-down analysis or bottom-up analysis to calculate an estimate of your market value.

A top-down analysis tends to be the easier option of the two. It requires for you to calculate the entire market and then estimate how much of a share you expect your business to get. For example, let’s assume your target market consists of 100,000 people. If you’re optimistic and manage to get 1% of that market, you can expect to make 1,000 sales.

A bottom-up analysis is more data-driven and requires more research. You calculate the individual factors of your business and then estimate how high you can scale them to arrive at a projected market share. Some factors to consider when doing a bottom-up analysis include:

Where products are sold

Who your competition is

The price per unit

How many consumers you expect to reach

The average amount a customer would buy over time

While a bottom-up analysis requires more data than a top-down analysis, you can usually arrive at a more accurate calculation.

Step 5: Get to know your competition

Before you start a business, you need to research the level of competition within your market. Are there certain companies getting the lion’s share of the market? How can you position yourself to stand out from the competition?

There are two types of competitors that you should be aware of: direct competitors and indirect competitors.

Direct competitors are other businesses who sell the same product as you. If you and the company across town both sell apples, you are direct competitors.

An indirect competitor sells a different but similar product to yours. If that company across town sells oranges instead, they are an indirect competitor. Apples and oranges are different but they still target a similar market: people who eat fruits.

Also, here are some questions you want to answer when writing this section of your market analysis:

What are your competitor’s strengths?

What are your competitor’s weaknesses?

How can you cover your competitor’s weaknesses in your own business?

How can you solve the same problems better or differently than your competitors?

How can you leverage technology to better serve your customers?

How big of a threat are your competitors if you open your business?

Step 6: Identify your barriers

Writing a market analysis can help you identify some glaring barriers to starting your business. Researching these barriers will help you avoid any costly legal or business mistakes down the line. Some entry barriers to address in your marketing analysis include:

Technology: How rapid is technology advancing and can it render your product obsolete within the next five years?

Branding: You need to establish your brand identity to stand out in a saturated market.

Cost of entry: Startup costs, like renting a space and hiring employees, are expensive. Also, specialty equipment often comes with hefty price tags. (Consider researching equipment financing to help finance these purchases.)

Location: You need to secure a prime location if you’re opening a physical store.

Competition: A market with fierce competition can be a steep uphill battle (like attempting to go toe-to-toe with Apple or Amazon).

Step 7: Know the regulations

When starting a business, it’s your responsibility to research governmental and state business regulations within your market. Some regulations to keep in mind include (but aren’t limited to):

Employment and labor laws

Advertising

Environmental regulations

If you’re a newer entrepreneur and this is your first business, this part can be daunting so you might want to consult with a business attorney. A legal professional will help you identify the legal requirements specific to your business. You can also check online legal help sites like LegalZoom or Rocket Lawyer.

Tips when writing your market analysis

We wouldn’t be surprised if you feel overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information needed in a market analysis. Keep in mind, though, this research is key to launching a successful business. You don’t want to cut corners, but here are a few tips to help you out when writing your market analysis:

Use visual aids

Nobody likes 30 pages of nothing but text. Using visual aids can break up those text blocks, making your market analysis more visually appealing. When discussing statistics and metrics, charts and graphs will help you better communicate your data.

Include a summary

If you’ve ever read an article from an academic journal, you’ll notice that writers include an abstract that offers the reader a preview.

Use this same tactic when writing your market analysis. It will prime the reader of your market highlights before they dive into the hard data.

Get to the point

It’s better to keep your market analysis concise than to stuff it with fluff and repetition. You’ll want to present your data, analyze it, and then tie it back into how your business can thrive within your target market.

Revisit your market analysis regularly

Markets are always changing and it's important that your business changes with your target market. Revisiting your market analysis ensures that your business operations align with changing market conditions. The best businesses are the ones that can adapt.

Why should you write a market analysis?

Your market analysis helps you look at factors within your market to determine if it’s a good fit for your business model. A market analysis will help you:

1. Learn how to analyze the market need

Markets are always shifting and it’s a good idea to identify current and projected market conditions. These trends will help you understand the size of your market and whether there are paying customers waiting for you. Doing a market analysis helps you confirm that your target market is a lucrative market.

2. Learn about your customers

The best way to serve your customer is to understand them. A market analysis will examine your customer’s buying habits, pain points, and desires. This information will aid you in developing a business that addresses those points.

3. Get approved for a business loan

Starting a business, especially if it’s your first one, requires startup funding. A good first step is to apply for a business loan with your bank or other financial institution.

A thorough market analysis shows that you’re professional, prepared, and worth the investment from lenders. This preparation inspires confidence within the lender that you can build a business and repay the loan.

4. Beat the competition

Your research will offer valuable insight and certain advantages that the competition might not have. For example, thoroughly understanding your customer’s pain points and desires will help you develop a superior product or service than your competitors. If your business is already up and running, an updated market analysis can upgrade your marketing strategy or help you launch a new product.

Final thoughts

There is a saying that the first step to cutting down a tree is to sharpen an axe. In other words, preparation is the key to success. In business, preparation increases the chances that your business will succeed, even in a competitive market.

The market analysis section of your business plan separates the entrepreneurs who have done their homework from those who haven’t. Now that you’ve learned how to write a market analysis, it’s time for you to sharpen your axe and grow a successful business. And keep in mind, if you need help crafting your business plan, you can always turn to business plan software or a free template to help you stay organized.

This article originally appeared on JustBusiness, a subsidiary of NerdWallet.

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How to Write a Market Analysis: Guidelines & Templates

Written by: Unenabasi Ekeruke

Whether you're starting a new business or improving existing business processes, you’ll need a detailed market analysis. Not having a proper assessment of your market will make it difficult, if not impossible, to achieve your business goals.

On top of that, you'll end up leaving money, customers and growth opportunities on the table. And your competitors will grasp it.

A market analysis tells you everything you need to know about your industry, competitors, customers that directly affect the growth of your business.

According to Think with Google , 40% of marketers leverage consumer research to make decisions. Getting it right with market analysis helps you make sound decisions, putting you a step ahead of your competitors.

Conducting a market analysis might appear daunting and complex. We've created this guide to discuss what a market analysis is, the components of market analysis and templates to help you create your own.

Let's get to it.

Here’s a short selection of 8 easy-to-edit market analysis templates you can edit, share and download with Visme. View more templates below:

Table of Contents

What is a market analysis.

• Benefits of a Market Analysis

What Are the Components of a Market Analysis?

9 market analysis templates, how to conduct a market analysis.

• Get to Work: Create Market Analysis with Visme
• A market analysis is a detailed assessment of the market for a product, service or business.
• Market analysis are vital for making informed decisions, staying up to date with emerging trends, developing the right offerings for your market, forecasting potential revenue and gauging business performance.
• A market analysis is composed of an industry description and outlook, a market description, market trends, a competitive analysis, key success factors, market projections and environmental factors.
• To conduct an analysis of the market, you must define your objective, identify your target market, gather competitor data, assess market trends, do a SWOT analysis and summarize the findings into a market analysis document.
• Take advantage of all the business features available in the editor to create your market analysis.
• Access an extensive library of templates , integrated analytics, collaboration and workflow features, plus millions of design assets right at your fingertips to streamline your business process.

A market analysis is an assessment of the industry or market for a product, service, or business. This analysis gives you an overview of all the elements that affect your specific market. Analyzing your market or industry helps you:

• Assess the attractiveness of the market
• Uncover opportunities for growth
• Develop strategies to overcome obstacles and edge out the competition
• Better position your business to serve customers right

A market analysis isn't just for writing business plans or marketing plans . It can be conducted as part of activities for launching new products or services, diversifying into new industries, or revamping your current business strategy.

For example, let's say you're looking for a gap in the market to create a new product or service. A thorough market analysis can point you in the right direction of what's most in demand.

A market analysis isn't a one-time event. If you want your efforts to be successful, keep your market knowledge up-to-date using a marketing dashboard .

You can use a marketing analysis at different stages of your business. It can be helpful to conduct it once or twice a year to keep up to date with major changes in the market.

With a detailed marketing analysis, you can gather valuable insights into:

• The size of the market in terms of value and volume
• Potential customer segments
• Demand for products or services and buying patterns
• The purchasing habits of customers
• Barriers to entry
• Regulations
• Competition (including their strengths and weaknesses)
• The overall market dynamics that influence the prices of products
• Forces affecting the behaviors of industry players and customers

5 Benefits of a Market Analysis

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A market analysis is valuable to your marketing deck . It provides a core understanding of your market and puts your business in the driving seat for success.

Here are some of the other reasons you need a market analysis for your business.

1. Make Informed Decisions

A market analysis gives you insight into market trends, competitors and key success factors. You're able to spot risks, threats and opportunities for growth. This information helps you develop a targeted business strategy and make the right decisions to drive growth.

2. Stay Up to Date With Emerging Trends

By conducting market analysis, you can stay on top of industry trends and see what your competitors aren't seeing. Taking advantage of this information puts you a step ahead of other players in your industry.

3. Develop the Right Offerings for Your Market

Market research and analysis involve listening to the market and communicating with customers. While conducting market analysis, you want to identify these things.

• Who or what influences their purchase decisions?
• What do they expect from brands?
• Why do customers choose your products over those of your competition?
• How do your customers use your products and how do they meet their needs?
• Does your product have the right product-market fit ?

You are better positioned to provide targeted solutions when you have a firm grasp of what customers want. Plus, you can use that information to tailor your business's offerings to your customers' needs.

While building your market analysis, use Google Analytics to assess how your website visitors are reacting to your product and service offerings. Analyze data like where they’re finding your products, how long they’re spending on your pages and where they’re dropping off. Visualize the Google Analytics data in your market analysis report with the help of Visme's integration with Google Analytics .

4. Forecast Potential Revenue and Future Earnings

A market forecast is a critical component of marketing analysis. It predicts the trends, financial projections and characteristics of your target market.

This forecast gives you an idea of what revenue, cost and profit margins to expect. You can tweak your business plan and budget accordingly.

5. Gauge Business Performance

Without metrics, it can be challenging to gauge your business performance. This is where a market analysis comes in handy. It provides benchmarks for measuring your business performance against other companies in your niche.

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A market analysis framework gives you a holistic view of the industries you’re interested in or currently operating in. The components of your market analysis should include:

• Industry description and outlook
• A description of your target market and trends
• Analysis of key competitors
• Key success factors in your industry
• Projections
• Environmental Factors

Let’s look at each of these components in more detail.

1. Industry Description and Outlook

When preparing your market analysis, you want to conduct an in-depth analysis of your industry to determine the current state and your industry's future. This section should have the following information:

• What the industry offers
• Size of your industry
• Emerging trends in the industry
• Rate of growth and the potential for growth
• Sustainability of the industry

These measures give a broad overview of your industry. For example, let’s say your business is operating in the software industry. You'll want to describe how large the industry is, the current growth rate and the projected growth rate over the next few years.

To gather statistics, reports and studies about your industry, leverage credible sources like:

• Government agencies
• Trade associations
• Local chamber of commerce

2. Market Description

In this section, you want to narrow down your data to focus on the specific market you're operating in. This is very important when you're crafting a market analysis in business plans. 

From the software example above, the target market could be a specific niche within the software industry, like the finance or productivity software market.

By digging into the specifics of your target population, you're able to forecast how viable the market is and how profitable it will be to sell your solution to these customers. You'll also decide the best strategy to get value from this specific market.

Notice how the infographic template below provides detailed market analysis data about the virtual reality (VR) market.

3. Market Trends

Once you grasp your market description, double down on the occurrences that impact your industry over time. These trends could be short-term, intermediate and long-term.

Here you want to hone in to see how your market started, how it has evolved and where it's headed.

Why is this important? Monitoring the trends that affect your business ensures you aren't caught off-guard. Plus, it keeps you a step ahead of your competitors.

Here are some of the trends you'll have to keep an eye on:

• Changes in consumer preferences
• Change in market demographics
• Technological advancements
• Demand for specific products or services
• The supplier's influence over prices
• Price fluctuations and sensitivity

Not sure how to monitor trends unique to your target market? Here are some ideas:

• Read industry publications. Browse websites like Think with Google , Google Trends , Pew Research Center and US Census Business Data . They can provide a bigger picture of your market, consumer behavior and how it relates to the economy.
• Leverage industry trends analytics. You'll find a huge repository of data about past and current trends in your markets.
• Observe your competitors. If your major competitors are going in a particular direction in the market, they probably have access to insights that you don't have. Observing them can help you make more informed decisions.
• Attend industry events. Network with industry leaders and other relevant people and subscribe to newsletters.

Identifying market trends is mostly about keeping your ears to the ground and listening out for approaching shifts in your industry. As you explore these trends, you should track how your offerings align, fit in, or operate counter to the trends. You can use free market research tools to gain insights into industry trends and customer preferences without incurring costs.

4. Competitive Analysis

Analyzing your competitive landscape involves identifying who your competitors are and where they stack up against you.

The competitive analysis gives a bird's eye view of:

• Who your direct and indirect competitors are
• Their products' quality and pricing
• Their marketing strategy and overall business strategy
• What makes your competitors stand out
• What your competitors' strengths and weaknesses are
• What enables you to outperform your competitors?

The beauty of competitive analysis is that it gives you a clearer idea of what you're up against. You can identify aspects of your business that need improvement to enable you to measure up or stay competitive in your industry.

Here's an excellent example of competitive data for your market analysis.

Much like market trends, the competitive landscapes for various markets change over time. And depending on what metrics you're looking at, you may get different results. Hence the need to make your competitive analysis an ongoing process.

Let's look at the various ways you can analyze the competitive environment.

Investigate Your Competitors

You can check out your competitors, websites, social media pages, news, press releases and other marketing content. You can even shop from them, read testimonials and reviews and conduct surveys . You're sure to have a clearer idea of why customers buy from them or what makes them stand out.

Using Porter’s Five Forces

Porter's Five Forces analyzes five major competitive forces that shape every market. They include:

• The bargaining power of suppliers
• The bargaining power of buyers
• The competitive rivalry
• The threat of substitute products
• The threat of new entrants

Bargaining power of suppliers analyses the number of suppliers in your industry and how easy it is to raise their prices. Suppliers have more power when they are fewer and raising prices can impact your profitability.

Bargaining power of buyers examines the influence that buyers have on prices and quality. Consumers have control when they are fewer. And because there are multiple sellers, they can easily switch to your rivals.

Competitive rivalry describes how intense the competition is in your market. Here you want to find out the following:

• How many competitors exist in the market?
• What is the quality and quantity of their offering compared to yours?

The threat of substitute products examines how easy it is for customers to switch to competing products. Customers will often find cheaper substitutes that cut their expenses, which may, in turn, affect your profitability.

The threat of new entrants examines how easy or difficult it is for new businesses to join your market. The easier it is for new firms to enter your market, the greater the number of competitors and the smaller your market share.

SWOT Analysis

A SWOT analysis is an excellent framework for evaluating your competitive position and making strategic decisions. This framework organizes your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to your business into a simple two-by-two grid.

Strengths and weaknesses are internal to your company. They include things you can change or have some control over. Examples include your team, intellectual property, patents, location and other resources.

Opportunities and threats are external. These are things that happen in the larger market. Essentially, you have no control over them. Examples include customer shopping trends, competitors, increasing demand for certain products, prices of raw materials and economic growth or decline.

Use the SWOT analysis template below as a guide to build on your strengths, address your weaknesses, seize new opportunities and minimize threats or risks.

Strategic Group Analysis

This tool also effectively analyzes the rivalry among competitors within your industry. It groups companies and analyzes their competitive positions based on common characteristics such as:

• Company size
• Product quality and features
• Number of market segments served
• Distribution channels
• Product and service diversity
• Price policy
• Technological position
• Vertical integration
• Financial or operating leverage

5. Key Success Factors

The key success factors in any industry include those competitive factors that impact the ability of businesses to thrive in the marketplace. These factors may include:

• Competitive capabilities
• Product and service attributes
• Operational strategies
• Marketing strategies
• People and processes

By evaluating key success factors, you can:

• Grasp the key elements you need to compete in your target market and become sustainable.
• Identify your areas of strength and where you need improvement.
• Identify pathways to achieve your business goals and objectives.
• Ensure the success and continued growth of your business.

If you're starting your business, find out what the top players in your industry are doing right. Check out their business model and how they structure their business in response to changing business environments.

6. Market Projections

This section should project financial forecasts, future numbers and trends in your target market. Here you want to hone in on significant numbers like:

• Market segments
• Market size and value
• Projected sales volume
• Average purchase value per customer
• Market share
• Pricing structure
• Gross and net margin within the industry

To get a near-accurate projection, you'll have to combine information from multiple sources including:

• Market trends
• Competitor analysis
• Customer descriptions and
• Purchase behavior

While forecasting your market, avoid making educated guesses that don't add up. Rather collect data from reliable sourcres.

Tools like Statista and Euromonitor provide detailed forecasts and market information relevant to different industries.

Check out how this graphic highlights key market data and projections.

7. Environmental Factors

These are outside factors that exert an external influence on your business. They include economic, social, political, legal and technological factors.

Although you have limited control of these factors, you must study and include them in your market analysis.

Why's that? They can improve or disrupt your business processes.

Having a bird's eye view of these factors from different angles lets you identify and resolve the problems they can cause.

One of the most popular ways to measure environmental factors is the PESTLE analysis model . Here are some things to consider when carrying out a PESTLE analysis.

• Social factors in your business environment. They include lifestyle trends, demographic considerations, socio-economic status, location, consumer beliefs and values.
• The political climate. These include government policies, free trade disputes, taxation, laws, competition regulations, import restrictions, fiscal policy initiatives .
• Economic factors. They include interest rates, foreign exchange rates and economic policies.
• Technological innovations and trends likely to affect the market, such as automation, cybersecurity, 5G and the internet of things (IoT).
• Legal factors include employment laws, intellectual property laws, safety standards and consumer protection laws.
• Environmental considerations like carbon footprint, climate change impacts, extreme weather events.

Now you know the components that go into detailed market analysis. The next step is to create it for your next marketing presentation .

Let's look at some of our editable templates for creating your market analysis. If you're short on time you can use Visme's AI Document Generator to create a market analysis template suited to your needs. Simply answer a few questions from the AI chatbot and then sit back and watch your personalized document be designed.

1. Market Analysis

Whether you're starting a new business or switching up your business strategy, this market analysis presentation template is an excellent starting point. It provides a perfect structure for uncovering, analyzing and reporting trends in your target market.

The template features an overview page that enables you to summarize key information. The following page uses unique data widgets like pie charts , bar charts , maps and line graphs to summarize important data like:

• Global trends
• Survey results
• Survey results by country
• Trends over time
• Key takeaways

This market analysis example is fully editable, making it a perfect fit for businesses in any industry. Simply plug in your data, figures and statistics and other important market data.

Visme has a rich library of built-in shapes , icons , stock photos , videos and animations. Feel free to make this template your own by adding your logo and changing the fonts , colors , images and videos. You have everything to ignite your creative spark and make a solid impression on your audience.

2. SWOT Analysis

This beautiful SWOT analysis template gives investors and other key stakeholders a detailed view of your business' competitive landscape.

The 4-page presentation captures your company's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. At a glance, you'll have a clearer view of where your brand sits within the wider market and identify potential growth opportunities.

A SWOT analysis is a company-wide activity and requires collaborative efforts. You want to consider your SWOT from many angles and ensure nothing is left out. Our software makes it super-easy for you to collaborate with your team to conduct your SWOT analysis.

You can set up a workspace for your organization and invite team members to collaborate and manage roles from your dashboard.

Team members can make changes, drop comments and more.

What's more, your SWOT analysis doesn't have to be some boring document staring at your audience. Spice it up with interactivity by adding animations, videos, images and graphics.

You can share that document with your audience via a link that automatically updates when you change the design or content.

3. Competitive Analysis

To capture a sizable share of your market, you must determine how you stack up against your competitors in your market. Whether you're analyzing a competitor's business-level strategy, market share, target market, or competitive advantage, this market research template offers side-by-side comparison in an infographic layout. It also centralizes your market analysis in a single location, making it accessible to your team for decision making.

The data illustrations and beautiful icons, pictures and graphics make the template visually appealing. You can engage your readers and quickly grab their attention with this colorful competitive analysis template.

Feel free to tweak fonts and colors and add logos to showcase your brand image.

When creating with the Visme editor, take advantage of all the features that Visme AI has to offer. Create complete documents from a text prompt with the AI Document Generator , get help writing headers and text with the AI Writer.

Craft unique visuals with the AI Image Generator , remove backgrounds to create cutouts from photos with the AI Background Remover , and edit your images with the integrated AI Edit Tools .

4. Marketing SWOT Analysis

With this professional SWOT analysis infographic, you can visualize that information in an immersive and engaging way. Visme's intuitive drag-and-drop editor lets you whip up beautiful documents using your design ideas.

This marketing analysis template lets you easily swap the existing fonts, images, icons and texts and opt for more vibrant colors for your document.

Work on this SWOT analysis together with your team using Visme’s workflow feature . Assign each section to one team member at a time and see what ideas they come up with. Then, assign the others until several people have added their input to the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Then, check it together to see what stands out the most and finalize the graphic.

5. Market Segmentation

Market segmentation lets you identify different groups within your target market. You can maximize your efforts by delivering more targeted offerings to them. Use this attractive market assessment template to share information about the characteristics of your market segments.

The template showcases these key elements of your market analysis.

• Short induction of your product, service, or solution
• Company profile
• The problem statement and what you're looking to achieve with the market segment
• Demographic, geographic, psychographic and behavioral segmentation
• Value proposition statement

The template is fully customizable. So you can edit this marketing presentation deck to match your business. Tweak the design, typefaces, visuals and other elements to suit your taste.

6. Industry Trends

Explore the events that will change the trajectory of your industry with this striking industry trends infographic template. Using this template, you can present a brand infographic on patterns relating to price, sales, consumption, buying behavior, marketing and other areas in your industry.

You don't need professional design experience to tweak this template into an informative marketing deck. Visme's professional online editor and customizable templates give you a creative edge. You can personalize this template to reflect your company's branding by adding logos, icons, colors and fonts relevant to your messaging.

Using Visme's brand kit feature, you can save your corporate brand and apply it to any project with a few clicks. Upload your logos, color palettes, fonts and other design assets and your brand kit will be set up within seconds.

7. Competitor Analysis Worksheet

This marketing deck worksheet is a huge time saver. It has everything you need to organize and communicate the details of your competitive research.

While the SWOT we discussed earlier focuses on your brand, this one is different. This SWOT analysis sheds light on your competitors' strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and strengths.

The template has a minimalist design and a simplistic layout. However, Visme gives you the creative freedom to cut, copy and paste anything you like until you are satisfied with the final version.

Once done, you can easily share your competitor analysis worksheet with relevant stakeholders using a link that automatically updates when you change your design. You can also embed your content on your website or blog using a code or download it in PDF, PNG, PowerPoint and HTML5 file formats.

8. Market Share

Build your market analysis and share relevant information about market segments, market share, size and opportunities using this beautiful template.

The template will help inform your business plan and strategy and communicate the size of the opportunity to potential investors.

Visme has thousands of designs, fonts, stock images, themes and assets to make your infographic pop. Make this template your own by adding new text and images and bold headings to emphasize titles. Customize your color scheme, icons and fonts and watch your infographic transform into a compelling graphic.

Not convinced? Take a look at what small business owner Jessica L. has to say;

Small Business Owner

9. SWOT Analysis Infographics

Break down competitor information with this customizable SWOT analysis that leaves an impression on your audience.

This SWOT marketing infographic is fully editable. You can spice up your infographics by adding your brand colors, typefaces and high-quality icons and images, all sourced from Visme's extensive collections of design assets.

If you want to present facts and data, Visme has your back. Our software has a wide variety of interactive tools and data widgets, including graphs, maps, charts, pictograms and much more. You can also make your infographic dynamic by adding animated characters, illustrations and clickable icons with customizable repetitions, speed and colors.

Step 1: Define your objective

Clearly outline what you aim to achieve with the market analysis, whether it’s launching a new product or entering a different demographic.

Step 2: Identify your target market

Pinpoint the specific group of customers you intend to serve, considering demographics, psychographics and buying behavior. Use Visme feedback forms to assess how your product or service is helping your current clients and pinpoint issues early on.

Step 3: Gather relevant data on competitors

Research competitors and conduct a market share analysis of their pricing strategies, market positioning, and key strengths and weaknesses.

Step 4: Assess market trends and dynamics

Stay informed about current and emerging trends, economic factors, and industry changes that may impact your market. Use a marketing dashboard that includes all the vital metrics your team wants to track.

Step 5: Do a SWOT analysis

Evaluate your internal strengths and weaknesses as well as external opportunities and threats to develop a comprehensive understanding of your position in the market. Anticipate challenges that may arise, allowing for proactive planning.

Step 6: Summarize findings to inform strategic decisions

Consolidate your analysis into actionable insights to guide business strategies and decision-making. Use Visme to help you create a market analysis document that’s impactful and easy to follow. Then, share it with your team using Visme’s different sharing and publishing options like PDF, HTML5 or a digital flipbook.

Create Your Market Analysis with Visme

One of the biggest setbacks you'll face in business is lacking an understanding of your industry or target market. That's where a market analysis becomes useful and having a detailed one will save you the heartache.

It gives you a bird's eye view of market conditions, competitors, consumer behavior and other factors that impact your business.

Without detailed market analysis, you'll miss out on growth opportunities, make poor business decisions and lose out to your competitors.

A market analysis isn't a one-off activity. You need to make it an ongoing process. We recommend using Visme's market analysis template to collect and share detailed information about your market. Best of all, you don't need to be a professional designer to know how to use our tool.

Effortlessly create insightful marketing reports and more with Visme.

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About the Author

Unenabasi is a content expert with many years of experience in digital marketing, business development, and strategy. He loves to help brands tell stories that drive engagement, growth, and competitive advantage. He’s adept at creating compelling content on lifestyle, marketing, business, e-commerce, and technology. When he’s not taking the content world by storm, Unenabasi enjoys playing or watching soccer.

Free PDF Business Plan Templates and Samples

By Joe Weller | September 9, 2020

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We’ve gathered the most useful collection of business plan PDF templates and samples, including options for organizations of any size and type.

On this page, you’ll find free PDF templates for a simple business plan , small business plan , startup business plan , and more.

Simple Business Plan PDF Templates

These simple business plan PDF templates are ready to use and customizable to fit the needs of any organization.

Simple Business Plan Template PDF

This template contains a traditional business plan layout to help you map out each aspect, from a company overview to sales projections and a marketing strategy. This template includes a table of contents, as well as space for financing details that startups looking for funding may need to provide. 

Download Simple Business Plan Template - PDF

Lean Business Plan Template PDF

This scannable business plan template allows you to easily identify the most important elements of your plan. Use this template to outline key details pertaining to your business and industry, product or service offerings, target customer segments (and channels to reach them), and to identify sources of revenue. There is also space to include key performance metrics and a timeline of activities. 

Download Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

Simple 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template PDF

This template is designed to help you develop and implement a 90-day business plan by breaking it down into manageable chunks of time. Use the space provided to detail your main goals and deliverables for each timeframe, and then add the steps necessary to achieve your objectives. Assign task ownership and enter deadlines to ensure your plan stays on track every step of the way.

Download Simple 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

PDF | Smartsheet

One-Page Business Plan PDF Templates

The following single page business plan templates are designed to help you download your key ideas on paper, and can be used to create a pitch document to gain buy-in from partners, investors, and stakeholders.

One-Page Business Plan Template PDF

Use this one-page template to summarize each aspect of your business concept in a clear and concise manner. Define the who, what, why, and how of your idea, and use the space at the bottom to create a SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) for your business. 

Download One-Page Business Plan Template

If you’re looking for a specific type of analysis, check out our collection of SWOT templates .

One-Page Lean Business Plan PDF

This one-page business plan template employs the Lean management concept, and encourages you to focus on the key assumptions of your business idea. A Lean plan is not stagnant, so update it as goals and objectives change — the visual timeline at the bottom is ideal for detailing milestones. 

Download One-Page Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

Use this business plan template to identify main goals and outline the necessary activities to achieve those goals in 30, 60, and 90-day increments. Easily customize this template to fit your needs while you track the status of each task and goal to keep your business plan on target. 

Download One-Page 30-60-90 Day Business Plan Template

For additional single page plans, including an example of a one-page business plan , visit " One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide ."

Small Business Plan PDF Templates

These business plan templates are useful for small businesses that want to map out a way to meet organizational objectives, including how to structure, operate, and expand their business.

Simple Small Business Plan Template PDF

A small business can use this template to outline each critical component of a business plan. There is space to provide details about product or service offerings, target audience, customer reach strategy, competitive advantage, and more. Plus, there is space at the bottom of the document to include a SWOT analysis. Once complete, you can use the template as a basis to build out a more elaborate plan. 

Download Simple Small Business Plan Template

Fill-In-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template PDF

This fill-in-the-blank template walks you through each section of a business plan. Build upon the fill-in-the-blank content provided in each section to add information about your company, business idea, market analysis, implementation plan, timeline of milestones, and much more.

Download Fill-In-the-Blank Small Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page Small Business Plan Template PDF

Use this one-page template to create a scannable business plan that highlights the most essential parts of your organization’s strategy. Provide your business overview and management team details at the top, and then outline the target market, market size, competitive offerings, key objectives and success metrics, financial plan, and more.

Download One-Page Business Plan for Small Business - PDF

Startup Business Plan PDF Templates

Startups can use these business plan templates to check the feasibility of their idea, and articulate their vision to potential investors.

Startup Business Plan Template

Use this business plan template to organize and prepare each essential component of your startup plan. Outline key details relevant to your concept and organization, including your mission and vision statement, product or services offered, pricing structure, marketing strategy, financial plan, and more.

‌Download Startup Business Plan Template

Sample 30-60-90 Day Business Plan for Startup

Startups can use this sample 30-60-90 day plan to establish main goals and deliverables spanning a 90-day period. Customize the sample goals, deliverables, and activities provided on this template according to the needs of your business. Then, assign task owners and set due dates to help ensure your 90-day plan stays on track.

‌Download Sample 30-60-90 Day Business Plan for Startup Template 

For additional resources to create your plan, visit “ Free Startup Business Plan Templates and Examples .”

Nonprofit Business Plan PDF Templates

Use these business plan PDF templates to outline your organization’s mission, your plan to make a positive impact in your community, and the steps you will take to achieve your nonprofit’s goals.

Nonprofit Business Plan Template PDF

Use this customizable PDF template to develop a plan that details your organization’s purpose, objectives, and strategy. This template features a table of contents, with room to include your nonprofit’s mission and vision, key team and board members, program offerings, a market and industry analysis, promotional plan, financial plan, and more. This template also contains a visual timeline to display historic and future milestones.

Download Nonprofit Business Plan Template - PDF

One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization PDF 

This one-page plan serves as a good starting point for established and startup nonprofit organizations to jot down their fundamental goals and objectives. This template contains all the essential aspects of a business plan in a concise and scannable format, including the organizational overview, purpose, promotional plan, key objectives and success metrics, fundraising goals, and more.

Download One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization Template - PDF

Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF Templates

Use these fill-in-the-blank templates as a foundation for creating a comprehensive roadmap that aligns your business strategy with your marketing, sales, and financial goals.

Simple Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF

The fill-in-the-blank template contains all the vital parts of a business plan, with sample content that you can customize to fit your needs. There is room to include an executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing plan, operations plan, financial statements, and more. 

Download Simple Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Template - PDF

Lean Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan PDF

This business plan is designed with a Lean approach that encourages you to clarify and communicate your business idea in a clear and concise manner. This single page fill-in-the-blank template includes space to provide details about your management team, the problem you're solving, the solution, target customers, cost structure, and revenue streams. Use the timeline at the bottom to produce a visual illustration of key milestones. 

Download Fill-In-the-Blank Lean Business Plan Template - PDF

For additional resources, take a look at " Free Fill-In-the-Blank Business Plan Templates ."

Sample Business Plan PDF Templates

These sample business plan PDF templates can help you to develop an organized, thorough, and professional business plan.

Business Plan Sample 

This business plan example demonstrates a plan for a fictional food truck company. The sample includes all of the elements in a traditional business plan, which makes it a useful starting point for developing a plan specific to your business needs.

Download Basic Business Plan Sample - PDF

Sample Business Plan Outline Template

Use this sample outline as a starting point for your business plan. Shorten or expand the outline depending on your organization’s needs, and use it to develop a table of contents for your finalized plan.

Download Sample Business Plan Outline Template - PDF

Sample Business Financial Plan Template

Use this sample template to develop the financial portion of your business plan. The template provides space to include a financial overview, key assumptions, financial indicators, and business ratios. Complete the break-even analysis and add your financial statements to help prove the viability of your organization’s business plan.

Download Business Financial Plan Template

PDF  | Smartsheet

For more free, downloadable templates for all aspects of your business, check out “ Free Business Templates for Organizations of All Sizes .”

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Write your business plan

Business plans help you run your business.

A good business plan guides you through each stage of starting and managing your business. You’ll use your business plan as a roadmap for how to structure, run, and grow your new business. It’s a way to think through the key elements of your business.

Business plans can help you get funding or bring on new business partners. Investors want to feel confident they’ll see a return on their investment. Your business plan is the tool you’ll use to convince people that working with you — or investing in your company — is a smart choice.

Pick a business plan format that works for you

There’s no right or wrong way to write a business plan. What’s important is that your plan meets your needs.

Most business plans fall into one of two common categories: traditional or lean startup.

Traditional business plans are more common, use a standard structure, and encourage you to go into detail in each section. They tend to require more work upfront and can be dozens of pages long.

Lean startup business plans are less common but still use a standard structure. They focus on summarizing only the most important points of the key elements of your plan. They can take as little as one hour to make and are typically only one page.

Traditional business plan

Lean startup plan

Traditional business plan format

You might prefer a traditional business plan format if you’re very detail-oriented, want a comprehensive plan, or plan to request financing from traditional sources.

When you write your business plan, you don’t have to stick to the exact business plan outline. Instead, use the sections that make the most sense for your business and your needs. Traditional business plans use some combination of these nine sections.

Executive summary

Briefly tell your reader what your company is and why it will be successful. Include your mission statement, your product or service, and basic information about your company’s leadership team, employees, and location. You should also include financial information and high-level growth plans if you plan to ask for financing.

Company description

Use your company description to provide detailed information about your company. Go into detail about the problems your business solves. Be specific, and list out the consumers, organization, or businesses your company plans to serve.

Explain the competitive advantages that will make your business a success. Are there experts on your team? Have you found the perfect location for your store? Your company description is the place to boast about your strengths.

Market analysis

You'll need a good understanding of your industry outlook and target market. Competitive research will show you what other businesses are doing and what their strengths are. In your market research, look for trends and themes. What do successful competitors do? Why does it work? Can you do it better? Now's the time to answer these questions.

Organization and management

Tell your reader how your company will be structured and who will run it.

Describe the  legal structure  of your business. State whether you have or intend to incorporate your business as a C or an S corporation, form a general or limited partnership, or if you're a sole proprietor or limited liability company (LLC).

Use an organizational chart to lay out who's in charge of what in your company. Show how each person's unique experience will contribute to the success of your venture. Consider including resumes and CVs of key members of your team.

Service or product line

Describe what you sell or what service you offer. Explain how it benefits your customers and what the product lifecycle looks like. Share your plans for intellectual property, like copyright or patent filings. If you're doing  research and development  for your service or product, explain it in detail.

Marketing and sales

There's no single way to approach a marketing strategy. Your strategy should evolve and change to fit your unique needs.

Your goal in this section is to describe how you'll attract and retain customers. You'll also describe how a sale will actually happen. You'll refer to this section later when you make financial projections, so make sure to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales strategies.

Funding request

If you're asking for funding, this is where you'll outline your funding requirements. Your goal is to clearly explain how much funding you’ll need over the next five years and what you'll use it for.

Specify whether you want debt or equity, the terms you'd like applied, and the length of time your request will cover. Give a detailed description of how you'll use your funds. Specify if you need funds to buy equipment or materials, pay salaries, or cover specific bills until revenue increases. Always include a description of your future strategic financial plans, like paying off debt or selling your business.

Financial projections

Supplement your funding request with financial projections. Your goal is to convince the reader that your business is stable and will be a financial success.

If your business is already established, include income statements, balance sheets, and cash flow statements for the last three to five years. If you have other collateral you could put against a loan, make sure to list it now.

Provide a prospective financial outlook for the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements, and capital expenditure budgets. For the first year, be even more specific and use quarterly — or even monthly — projections. Make sure to clearly explain your projections, and match them to your funding requests.

This is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business.  

Use your appendix to provide supporting documents or other materials were specially requested. Common items to include are credit histories, resumes, product pictures, letters of reference, licenses, permits, patents, legal documents, and other contracts.

Example traditional business plans

Before you write your business plan, read the following example business plans written by fictional business owners. Rebecca owns a consulting firm, and Andrew owns a toy company.

Lean startup format

You might prefer a lean startup format if you want to explain or start your business quickly, your business is relatively simple, or you plan to regularly change and refine your business plan.

Lean startup formats are charts that use only a handful of elements to describe your company’s value proposition, infrastructure, customers, and finances. They’re useful for visualizing tradeoffs and fundamental facts about your company.

There are different ways to develop a lean startup template. You can search the web to find free templates to build your business plan. We discuss nine components of a model business plan here:

Key partnerships

Note the other businesses or services you’ll work with to run your business. Think about suppliers, manufacturers, subcontractors, and similar strategic partners.

Key activities

List the ways your business will gain a competitive advantage. Highlight things like selling direct to consumers, or using technology to tap into the sharing economy.

Key resources

List any resource you’ll leverage to create value for your customer. Your most important assets could include staff, capital, or intellectual property. Don’t forget to leverage business resources that might be available to  women ,  veterans ,  Native Americans , and  HUBZone businesses .

Value proposition

Make a clear and compelling statement about the unique value your company brings to the market.

Customer relationships

Describe how customers will interact with your business. Is it automated or personal? In person or online? Think through the customer experience from start to finish.

Customer segments

Be specific when you name your target market. Your business won’t be for everybody, so it’s important to have a clear sense of whom your business will serve.

List the most important ways you’ll talk to your customers. Most businesses use a mix of channels and optimize them over time.

Cost structure

Will your company focus on reducing cost or maximizing value? Define your strategy, then list the most significant costs you’ll face pursuing it.

Revenue streams

Explain how your company will actually make money. Some examples are direct sales, memberships fees, and selling advertising space. If your company has multiple revenue streams, list them all.

Example lean business plan

Before you write your business plan, read this example business plan written by a fictional business owner, Andrew, who owns a toy company.

Need help? Get free business counseling

Business Plan Section 5: Market Analysis

Find out the 9 components to include in the market analysis portion of your business plan, plus 6 sources for market analysis information.

This is the part of your business plan where you really get to shine and show off that awesome idea you have. Of course, your product or service is the best! Now, let’s talk about how you know it’s a hit. Be prepared to show you know your market AND that it’s big enough for you to build a sustainable, successful business .

In writing up your market analysis, you’ll get to demonstrate the knowledge you’ve gained about the industry, the target market you’re planning to sell to, your competition, and how you plan to make yourself stand out.

A market analysis is just that: a look at what the relevant business environment is and where you fit in. It should give a potential lender, investor, or employee no doubt that there is a solid niche for what you’re offering, and you are definitely the person to fill it. It’s both quantitative, spelling out sales projections and other pertinent figures, and qualitative, giving a thoughtful overview of how you fit in with the competition. It needs to look into the potential size of the market, the possible customers you’ll target, and what kind of difficulties you might face as you try to become successful. Let’s break down how to do that.

What Goes Into A Business Plan Market Analysis?

Industry description and outlook.

Describe the industry with enough background so that someone who isn’t familiar with it can understand what it’s like, what the challenges are, and what the outlook is. Talk about its size, how it’s growing, and what the outlook is for the future.

Target Market

Who have you identified as your ideal client or customer ? Include demographic information on the group you’re targeting, including age, gender and income level. This is the place to talk about the size of your potential market, how much it might spend, and how you’ll reach potential customers. For example, if women aged 18 to 54 are your target market, you need to know how many of them there are in your market. Are there 500 or 500,000? It’s imperative to know. Similarly, if your product or service is geared toward a high-end clientele, you need to make sure you’re located in an area that can support it.

Market Need

What factors influence the need for your product or service? Did the need exist before or are you trying to create it? Why will customers want to do business with you, possibly choosing you over someone else? This is where you can briefly introduce the competitive edge you have, although you’ll get into that in more depth in following sections. Focus on how the product or service you’re offering satisfies what’s needed in the market.

Market Growth

While no one can predict the future, it’s important to get a possible idea of what business may be like down the road and make sales projections. Have the number of people in your target market been increasing or decreasing over the last several years? By how much per year? To make an intelligent forecast, you have to start with current conditions, then project changes over the next three to five years.

Market Trends

You need to take a look at trends the same way you look at population and demographics. Is there a shift to more natural or organic ingredients that might impact your business? How might energy prices figure in? The easy availability of the internet and smartphone technology? The questions will be different for every type of business, but it’s important to think about the types of changes that could affect your specific market. In this section, you can cite experts from the research you’ve done-a market expert, market research firm, trade association, or credible journalist.

Market Research Testing

Talk about what kind of testing and information gathering you’ve done to figure out where you stand in the market. Who have you spoken to about the viability of your product? Why are you confident of its success? Again, if you can, cite experts to back up your information.

Competitive Analysis

There’s no way to succeed unless you’ve examined your competition. It might be helpful to try analyzing your position in the market by performing a SWOT analysis. You need to figure out their strengths and the weaknesses you can exploit as you work to build your own business. You do need to be brutally honest here, and also look at what the potential roadblocks are-anything that might potentially stand in your way as you try to meet your goals and grow your business.

Barriers to Entry

Lenders and investors need to have a reasonable assurance they’ll be paid back, so they’ll want to know what would stop someone else from swooping in, doing what you do, and grabbing half the available business. Do you have technical knowledge that’s difficult to get? A specialized product no one else can manufacture? A service that takes years to perfect? It’s possible your industry has strict regulations and licensing requirements. All of these help protect you from new competition, and they’re all selling points for you.

Regulations

As we touched on above, you should cover regulations as a barrier to entry. If your field is covered by regulations, you do need to talk about how they apply to your business and how you’ll comply with them.

Six Sources for Market Analysis Information

The Market Analysis section of your business plan is far more than a theoretical exercise. Doing an analysis of the market really gives YOU the information you need to figure out whether your plans are viable, and tweak them in the early stages before you go wrong.

So, where do you start? Research is the key here, and there are several sources available.

1. The Internet

Some of the first information you need is about population and demographics: who your potential customers are, how many there are, and where they live or work. The U.S. Census Bureau has an impressive amount of these statistics available. USA.gov’s small business site is another good source for links to the U.S. Departments of Labor and Commerce, among others.

2. Local Chamber of Commerce

A lot of local information can be gotten from the chamber of commerce in the area where you plan to operate. Often, they can provide details into what the general business climate is like, and get even more specific about how many and what type of businesses are operating in their jurisdiction.

3. Other Resources

When actual statistical information isn’t available, you’ll often be able to put together a good picture of the market from a variety of other sources. Real estate agents can be a source of information on demographics and population trends in an area. Catalogs and marketing materials from your competition are useful. Many industry associations have a great amount of relevant information to use in putting your analysis together. Trade publications and annual reports from public corporations in your industry also contain a wealth of relevant information.

4. Customer Mindset

Take yourself out of the equation as the owner and stand in your customer’s shoes when you look at the business. As a customer, what problems do you have that need to be solved? What would you like to be able to do better, faster, or cheaper that you can’t do now? How does the competition work to solve those issues? How could this business solve them better?

5. the Competition

If you have a clothing store, visit others in your area. If you’d like to open a pizzeria, try pies from surrounding restaurants. If you’re a salon owner, park across the street and see what the store traffic is like and how customers look when they come out. Check out websites for pricing and other marketing information. Follow their Facebook pages. If you can’t be a customer of the competition, ask your customers and suppliers about them. Always be aware of what’s going on in the market.

6. Traditional Market Research

While you can gather a lot of data online, your best information will come from potential customers themselves. Send out surveys, ask for input and feedback, and conduct focus groups. You can do this yourself or hire a market research firm to do it for you.

What to Do With All That Data

Now that you’ve gathered the statistics and information and you’ve done the math to know there’s a need and customer base for your product or service, you have to show it off to your best advantage. You can start the market analysis section with a simple summary that describes your target customers and explains why you have chosen this as your market. You can also summarize how you see the market growing, and highlight one or two projections for the future.

If your information is dense with numbers and statistics, someone who reads your business plan will probably find it easier to understand if you present it as a chart or graph. You can generate them fairly easily with tools built into Google docs and free infographic apps and software .

Don’t assume that your readers have an understanding of your market, but don’t belabor simple points, either. You want to include pertinent, important information, but you don’t want to drown the reader in facts. Be concise and compelling with the market analysis, and remember that a good graphic can cover a lot of text, and help you make your point. It’s great to say you project sales to increase by 250% over the next five years, but it makes an even bigger wow when you show it in a graphic.

Always relate the data back to your business. Statistics about the market don’t mean much unless you describe how and where you fit in. As you talk about the needs of your target market, remember to focus on how you are uniquely positioned to fill them.

Don’t hesitate to break down your target market into smaller segments, especially if each is likely to respond to a different message about your product or service. You may have one market that consists of homes and another of small businesses. Perhaps you sell to both wholesale and retail customers. Talk about this in the market analysis, and describe briefly how you’ll approach each. (You will have more of an opportunity to do this in detail later in the plan.) Segmentation can help you target specific messages to specific areas, focusing in on the existing needs and how you fill them.

Remember to tailor your information to the purpose at hand. If your business plan is for internal use, you may not have to go into as much detail about the market since you and your team may already know it well. Remember, however, that the very act of doing the research may help you learn things you didn’t know, so don’t skimp on doing the work. This is a great opportunity to get information from outside that might affect your business.

It’s not about your ability to do professional-level market research; a plan intended for a bank or other lender needs to show your understanding of where your business fits into the grand scheme of things. Yes, you need to detail the information, but your main goal is to show how you’ve incorporated that knowledge into making solid decisions about the direction of your company. Use this section of your business plan to explain your understanding of your industry, your market and your individual business so that lenders and investors feel comfortable with your possibility for success.

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A business plan is the blueprint for your business. It takes an idea for a product or service and turns it into a commercially viable reality. The market analysis section of your plan provides evidence that there is a niche in the market that your company can exploit. This analysis also provides the foundation on which your marketing and sales plan will rest.

What is a market analysis?

A market analysis provides insights into potential customers and your competition.

The core components of the market analysis are:

• Industry analysis: Assesses the general industry environment in which you compete
• Target market analysis: Identifies and quantifies the customers that you will be targeting for sales
• Competitive analysis: Identifies your competitors and analyzes their strengths and weaknesses

The exact way in which you choose to organize this information is up to you. As long as you include all the basic facts, there are a number of outline forms that can work well. Just keep the purpose of your plan in mind and highlight or expand the sections that have the greatest application to what you're trying to accomplish.

It's also important to realize that, as you go about planning a business startup or expansion, you should be doing a lot of research and learning an enormous amount about the marketing environment of your business.

Your business plan is not intended to include everything you've learned. It will just summarize the highlights in a way that shows the reader that you understand your industry, the place in which goods and services are sold, and how you will be a successful business.

Industry analysis

The industry analysis is the section of your business plan where you demonstrate your knowledge about the general characteristics of the type of business you're in.

You should be able to present statistics about the size of the industry, such as total U.S. sales in the last year and industry growth rate over the last few years. Is the industry expanding, contracting, or holding steady? Why? Who are the major industry participants?

While you might not compete directly against these companies (they are likely to be large national or international corporations), it's important that you can identify them, and have a good understanding of their market share and why they are or aren't successful.

You should also be able to discuss the important trends that may affect your industry. For example, significant changes in the target market, in technology, or in other related industries may affect the market's perception of your product or your profitability.

This kind of information is often available for free from the following sources:

• Trade associations and industry publications
• Government databases: e.g., Census Bureau , Bureau of Economic Analysis , Bureau of Labor Statistics , state trade measurements
• Data and analysts' opinions about the largest players in the industry (e.g., Standard & Poor's reports, quotes from reputable news sources)
• Industry reports from such publishers or from aggregators such as Marketresearch.com
• Research company filings: Look at your competitors’ filings with the Securities & Exchange Commission and other regulators

Target market analysis

How do you determine if there are enough people in your market who are willing to purchase what you have to offer and at the price you need to charge to make a profit? The best way is to conduct a methodical analysis of the market you plan to reach.

Understand your customers

You need to know precisely who your customers are or will be.

For example, if you sell to consumers, do you have demographic and other information that paints a picture of who they are?

• Age, generation/life stage, gender
• Average income ranges
• Typical education and occupations
• Geographic location
• Family makeup
• Lifestyle information (e.g., hobbies, interests, recreational/entertainment activities, political beliefs, cultural practices, etc.)

Additionally, consider the market size and your target consumers’ motivations and purchasing potential.

You may very well sell to several types of customers. For example, you may sell at both retail and wholesale, and you may have some government or nonprofit customers as well. If so, you'll want to describe the most important characteristics of each group separately.

It’s likely that your product has appeal outside your target demographic, but a market analysis can help you focus your sales and marketing efforts on the audience segments that matter most so that you earn a higher return.

Use industry data

Directly surveying your current customers can be expensive. For planning purposes, it's acceptable to substitute published industry-wide information; for example, "the average U.S. electric vehicle owner is between the ages of 40 and 55, has graduated from college, and earns more than $100,000 per year".

Once obtained, this type of information can help you in two very important ways. It can help you develop or make changes to your product or service to better match what your customers are likely to want. It can also tell you how to reach your customers through advertising, promotions, etc.

Competitive analysis

Gathering competitive intelligence is the practice of discovering and analyzing useful information about your competitor’s business. Competitive intelligence is important because it helps businesses understand their competitive environment and the opportunities and challenges it presents.

Basic information every company should know about their competitors includes

• Each competitor's size and market share, as compared to your own
• How target buyers perceive or judge your competitors’ products and services
• Your competitors' financial strength, which affects their ability to spend money on advertising and promotions, among other things
• Each competitor's ability and speed of innovation for new products and services

There may be a wealth of other facts that you need to know, depending on the type of business you have. For example, if you're in ecommerce, you'll want to know how fast your competitors can fulfill a typical customer's order, what they charge for shipping and handling, and so on.

Company data from competitors may be available by interviewing competitor company executives, attending industry trade shows, and asking the right questions from industry "experts". They may be unaffordable as consultants, but willing to direct you to free databases that you would not ordinarily know of or have access to.

And don't overlook your competitor's suppliers. They can be excellent sources of information to aid your research.

Be very focused in your competitive research

In the industry overview section of your business plan, you may have identified the largest players in your industry. Not all these businesses will be directly competing with you, however. Some may be in geographically distant locations, and others may have pricing or distribution systems that are very different from those of a small business.

Therefore, in your competition analysis, focus on those businesses that directly compete with you for sales — the specific companies or brands that are solving the same problem as you and targeting the same customer base.

You may also want to include in your analysis some competitors who offer similar products in a different business category or who are more geographically remote. Study their ads, brochures, and promotional materials. Drive past their location. And if it's a retail business, make some purchases there, incognito if necessary.

Analyze your competitors' online presence

What type of content do they publish online and on social media?

Also, check out their online reviews — both product reviews on their website and independent reviews on Google, Yelp, Bing, and other online review listings.

Continuously monitor your competitors

Keeping an eye on how your competitors adapt to market conditions, develop their products, and evolve their brand can help you stay competitive.

Putting it all together: Tips for writing your market analysis

• Include a summary.
• Add graphics. Charts and graphs are great ways to show metrics and statistics.
• Be concise. Get to the point early, and avoid repetition and fluff. Plan several rounds of edits or have someone else review it.
• Keep everything in the context of your business. Make sure all the statistics and data you use in your market analysis relate back to your business. Your focus should be on how you are uniquely positioned to meet the needs of the target market.

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How to Write and Conduct a Market Analysis

3 min. read

Updated January 3, 2024

A market is the total sum of prospective buyers, individuals, or organizations that are willing and able to purchase a business’s potential offering. A market analysis is a detailed assessment of the market you intend to enter. It provides insight into the size and value of the market, potential customer segments, and their buying patterns.

In this section, we’ll be covering what information to include in your business plan after completing your research. If you’re struggling with the research itself, you should check out our market research resources for step-by-step guidance.

• How to write your market analysis

The information featured in your market analysis should focus on firmly defining who your customers are. Here are the two steps you need to take:

Define your target market

Finding your target market requires segmentation based on demographic and psychographic information until you reach the ideal customer. You need to address who they are and how you identified them.

Target market examples

A target market analysis is a key part of any business plan. Let’s walk you through some examples.

Determine your market size

Identifying your potential customers isn’t enough. You also need to prove that the size of the market can support your business. To do this, it’s helpful to define what’s available, serviceable, and can be obtained.

Optional information to include

The main purpose of the market analysis is to show who your customers are. While defining your target market may be enough, it can be helpful to include some of the following supporting details.

Show that you know your industry

Before starting a business, you should know the state of your industry and where it’s headed. This includes industry metrics you’ve collected, any barriers to entry, emerging trends, or common success factors.

Write a customer analysis

Conducting a customer analysis provides additional depth to your target audience. You’ll know them better and go beyond just segmentation.

Use a customer persona to describe your customers

It can be difficult for you, your employees, and potential investors to visualize who your customers are based solely on data. Creating a customer persona can bring them to life and support your target market choice.

• Why conduct a market analysis?

Conducting any sort of in-depth research can be a time-intensive process. However, the benefits far outweigh the investment—so much so that it’s recommended that you revisit your market analysis at least once a year in order to stay on top of emerging trends or changes in the market.

As part of your business plan, it demonstrates that you have a firm understanding of your customers. Here are the other benefits gained by completing a market analysis:

Reduce risk

If you really understand your potential customers and market conditions, you’ll have a better chance of developing a viable product or service. It also helps you explore if your idea will work or not. If you determine that the market size can’t sustain your business, there are too many barriers, high starting costs, intense competition, or some other factor that would lead to a higher chance of failure—you can pivot and avoid wasting your hard-earned time and money.

Better position your business

Researching the market landscape will help you strategically position your business. This may be done through pricing, specific features, production/distribution, or any other method to differentiate your business and make it more attractive to your target audience.

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Verify product/market fit

Part of positioning your business is determining if there is a sustainable market for your business. This starts with segmenting and identifying your ideal customers. It then involves a process of gathering feedback, gauging interest, and finding any sort of demonstrable traction. To learn more about finding product market fit, check out the market research section of our Starting a Business Guide.

Inform investors

Research is not only valuable for informing you as a business owner but in convincing investors and lenders that your idea is worth funding. In many ways, the fact that you spent time pulling together viable information is just as important as the information itself. It shows that you care about finding success as a business owner and are willing to put in the work, even at this early stage.

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

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Blog Business How to Write a Business Plan Outline [Examples + Templates] 

How to Write a Business Plan Outline [Examples + Templates] 

Written by: Letícia Fonseca Aug 11, 2023

When starting a business plan, the first hurdle is often getting started. And how do you avoid spending hours staring at a blank page? Start with a business plan outline. An outline helps provide clarity and direction, especially for important documents like a business plan.

I get that the idea of outlining a business plan can feel overwhelming, which is why I’ve gathered all the information you need to make it easier. Don’t worry, you’ve got this!

And if you’re seeking further assistance, a business plan maker and readily available business plan templates can offer valuable support in shaping your comprehensive plan.

Read on for answers to all your business plan outline questions or jump ahead for some handy templates. 

Click to jump ahead:

What is a business plan outline?

7 steps to writing a business plan outline, business plan outline examples.

• Writing tips to ace your outline 

What format should you choose for your business plan outline?

A business plan outline is the backbone of your business plan. It contains all the most important information you’ll want to expand on in your full-length plan. 

Think of it this way: your outline is a frame for your plan. It provides a high-level idea of what the final plan should look like, what it will include and how all the information will be organized. 

Why would you do this extra step? Beyond saving you from blank page syndrome, an outline ensures you don’t leave any essential information out of your plan — you can see all the most important points at a glance and quickly identify any content gaps. 

It also serves as a writing guide. Once you know all the sections you want in your plan, you just need to expand on them. Suddenly, you’re “filling in the blanks” as opposed to writing a plan from scratch!

Incidentally, using a business plan template like this one gives you a running head start, too: 

Perhaps most importantly, a business plan outline keeps you focused on the essential parts of your document. (Not to mention what matters most to stakeholders and investors.)  With an outline, you’ll spend less time worrying about structure or organization and more time perfecting the actual content of your document. 

If you’re looking for more general advice, you can read about  how to create a business plan here . But if you’re working on outlining your plan, stick with me.

Your business plan outline should include all the following sections. The level of detail you choose to go into will depend on your intentions for your plan (sharing with stakeholders vs. internal use), but you’ll want every section to be clear and to the point. 

1. Executive summary

The executive summary gives a high-level description of your company, product or service. This section should include a mission statement, your company description, your business’s primary goal, and the problem it aims to solve. You’ll want to state how your business can solve the problem and briefly explain what makes you stand out (your competitive advantage).

Having an executive summary is essential to selling your business to stakeholders , so it should be as clear and concise as possible. Summarize your business in a few sentences in a way that will hook the reader (or audience) and get them invested in what you have to say next. In other words, this is your elevator pitch.

2. Product and services description

This is where you should go into more detail about your product or service. Your product is the heart of your business, so it’s essential this section is easy to grasp. After all, if people don’t know what you’re selling, you’ll have a hard time keeping them engaged!

Expand on your description in the executive summary, going into detail about the problem your customers face and how your product/service will solve it. If you have various products or services, go through all of them in equal detail. 

3. Target market and/or Market analysis

A market analysis is crucial for placing your business in a larger context and showing investors you know your industry. This section should include market research on your prospective customer demographic including location, age range, goals and motivations. 

You can even  include detailed customer personas  as a visual aid — these are especially useful if you have several target demographics. You want to showcase your knowledge of your customer, who exactly you’re selling to and how you can fulfill their needs.

Be sure to include information on the overall target market for your product, including direct and indirect competitors and how your industry is performing. If your competitors have strengths you want to mimic or weaknesses you want to exploit, this is the place to record that information. 

4. Organization and management

You can think of this as a “meet the team” section — this is where you should go into depth on your business’s structure from management to legal and HR. If there are people bringing unique skills or experience to the table (I’m sure there are!), you should highlight them in this section. 

The goal here is to showcase why your team is the best to run your business. Investors want to know you’re unified, organized and reliable. This is also a potential opportunity to bring more humanity to your business plan and showcase the faces behind the ideas and product. 

5. Marketing and sales

Now that you’ve introduced your product and team, you need to explain how you’re going to sell it. Give a detailed explanation of your sales and marketing strategy, including pricing, timelines for launching your product and advertising.

This is a major section of your plan and can even live as a separate document for your marketing and sales teams. Here are some  marketing plan templates to help you get started .

Make sure you have research or analysis to back up your decisions — if you want to do paid ads on LinkedIn to advertise your product, include a brief explanation as to why that is the best channel for your business. 

6. Financial projections and funding request

The end of your plan is where you’ll look to the future and how you think your business will perform financially. Your financial plan should include results from your income statement, balance sheet and cash flow projections. 

State your funding requirements and what you need to realize the business. Be extremely clear about how you plan to use the funding and when you expect investors will see returns.

If you aren’t presenting to potential investors, you can skip this part, but it’s something to keep in mind should you seek funding in the future. Covering financial projections and the previous five components is essential at the stage of business formation to ensure everything goes smoothly moving forward.

7. Appendix

Any extra visual aids, receipts, paperwork or charts will live here. Anything that may be relevant to your plan should be included as reference e.g. your cash flow statement (or other financial statements). You can format your appendix in whatever way you think is best — as long as it’s easy for readers to find what they’re looking for, you’ve done your job!

Typically, the best way to start your outline is to list all these high-level sections. Then, you can add bullet points outlining what will go in each section and the resources you’ll need to write them. This should give you a solid starting point for your full-length plan.

Looking for a shortcut? Our  business plan templates  are basically outlines in a box! 

While your outline likely won’t go into as much detail, these templates are great examples of how to organize your sections.

Traditional format examples

A strong template can turn your long, dense business plan into an engaging, easy-to-read document. There are lots to choose from, but here are just a few ideas to inspire you… 

You can duplicate pages and use these styles for a traditional outline, or start with a lean outline as you build your business plan out over time:

Lean format examples

For lean format outlines, a simpler ‘ mind map ’ style is a good bet. With this style, you can get ideas down fast and quickly turn them into one or two-page plans. Plus, because they’re shorter, they’re easy to share with your team.

Writing tips to ace your business plan outline

Business plans are complex documents, so if you’re still not sure how to write your outline, don’t worry! Here are some helpful tips to keep in mind when drafting your business plan outline:

• Ask yourself why you’re writing an outline. Having a clear goal for your outline can help keep you on track as you write. Everything you include in your plan should contribute to your goal. If it doesn’t, it probably doesn’t need to be in there.
• Keep it clear and concise. Whether you’re writing a traditional or lean format business plan, your outline should be easy to understand. Choose your words wisely and avoid unnecessary preambles or padding language. The faster you get to the point, the easier your plan will be to read.
• Add visual aids. No one likes reading huge walls of text! Make room in your outline for visuals, data and charts. This keeps your audience engaged and helps those who are more visual learners. Psst,  infographics  are great for this.
• Make it collaborative. Have someone (or several someones) look it over before finalizing your outline. If you have an established marketing / sales / finance team, have them look it over too. Getting feedback at the outline stage can help you avoid rewrites and wasted time down the line.

If this is your first time writing a business plan outline, don’t be too hard on yourself. You might not get it 100% right on the first try, but with these tips and the key components listed above, you’ll have a strong foundation. Remember, done is better than perfect. 

Most business plans fit into one of two formats. 

The format you choose largely depends on three factors: (1) the stage of your business, (2) if you’re presenting the plan to investors and (3) what you want to achieve with your business plan. 

Let’s have a closer look at these two formats and why you might choose one over the other.

Traditional format

Traditional business plans  are typically long, detailed documents. In many cases, they take up to 50-60 pages, but it’s not uncommon to see plans spanning 100+ pages. 

Traditional plans are long because they cover  every aspect  of your business. They leave nothing out. You’ll find a traditional business plan template with sections like executive summary, company description, target market, market analysis, marketing plan, financial plan, and more. Basically: the more information the merrier.

This business plan template isn’t of a traditional format, but you could expand it into one by duplicating pages:

Due to their high level of detail, traditional formats are the best way to sell your business. They show you’re reliable and have a clear vision for your business’s future. 

If you’re planning on presenting your plan to investors and stakeholders, you’ll want to go with a traditional plan format. The more information you include, the fewer doubts and questions you’ll get when you present your plan, so don’t hold back. 

Traditional business plans require more detailed outlines before drafting since there’s a lot of information to cover. You’ll want to list all the sections and include bullet points describing what each section should cover. 

It’s also a good idea to include all external resources and visuals in your outline, so you don’t have to gather them later. 

Lean format

Lean business plan formats are high level and quick to write. They’re often only one or two pages. Similar to a  business plan infographic , they’re scannable and quick to digest, like this template: 

This format is often referred to as a “startup” format due to (you guessed it!) many startups using it. 

Lean business plans require less detailed outlines. You can include high-level sections and a few lines in each section covering the basics. Since the final plan will only be a page or two, you don’t need to over prepare. Nor will you need a ton of external resources. 

Lean plans don’t answer all the questions investors and stakeholders may ask, so if you go this route, make sure it’s the right choice for your business . Companies not yet ready to present to investors will typically use a lean/startup business plan format to get their rough plan on paper and share it internally with their management team. 

Here’s another example of a lean business plan format in the form of a financial plan: 

Create a winning business plan by starting with a detailed, actionable outline

The best way to learn is by doing. So go ahead, get started on your business plan outline. As you develop your plan, you’ll no doubt learn more about your business and what’s important for success along the way. 

A clean, compelling template is a great way to get a head start on your outline. After all, the sections are already separated and defined for you! 

Explore Venngage’s business plan templates  for one that suits your needs. Many are free to use and there are premium templates available for a small monthly fee. Happy outlining!

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Business Plan Example and Template

Learn how to create a business plan

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that contains the operational and financial plan of a business, and details how its objectives will be achieved. It serves as a road map for the business and can be used when pitching investors or financial institutions for debt or equity financing .

A business plan should follow a standard format and contain all the important business plan elements. Typically, it should present whatever information an investor or financial institution expects to see before providing financing to a business.

Contents of a Business Plan

A business plan should be structured in a way that it contains all the important information that investors are looking for. Here are the main sections of a business plan:

1. Title Page

The title page captures the legal information of the business, which includes the registered business name, physical address, phone number, email address, date, and the company logo.

2. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the most important section because it is the first section that investors and bankers see when they open the business plan. It provides a summary of the entire business plan. It should be written last to ensure that you don’t leave any details out. It must be short and to the point, and it should capture the reader’s attention. The executive summary should not exceed two pages.

3. Industry Overview

The industry overview section provides information about the specific industry that the business operates in. Some of the information provided in this section includes major competitors, industry trends, and estimated revenues. It also shows the company’s position in the industry and how it will compete in the market against other major players.

4. Market Analysis and Competition

The market analysis section details the target market for the company’s product offerings. This section confirms that the company understands the market and that it has already analyzed the existing market to determine that there is adequate demand to support its proposed business model.

Market analysis includes information about the target market’s demographics , geographical location, consumer behavior, and market needs. The company can present numbers and sources to give an overview of the target market size.

A business can choose to consolidate the market analysis and competition analysis into one section or present them as two separate sections.

5. Sales and Marketing Plan

The sales and marketing plan details how the company plans to sell its products to the target market. It attempts to present the business’s unique selling proposition and the channels it will use to sell its goods and services. It details the company’s advertising and promotion activities, pricing strategy, sales and distribution methods, and after-sales support.

6. Management Plan

The management plan provides an outline of the company’s legal structure, its management team, and internal and external human resource requirements. It should list the number of employees that will be needed and the remuneration to be paid to each of the employees.

Any external professionals, such as lawyers, valuers, architects, and consultants, that the company will need should also be included. If the company intends to use the business plan to source funding from investors, it should list the members of the executive team, as well as the members of the advisory board.

7. Operating Plan

The operating plan provides an overview of the company’s physical requirements, such as office space, machinery, labor, supplies, and inventory . For a business that requires custom warehouses and specialized equipment, the operating plan will be more detailed, as compared to, say, a home-based consulting business. If the business plan is for a manufacturing company, it will include information on raw material requirements and the supply chain.

8. Financial Plan

The financial plan is an important section that will often determine whether the business will obtain required financing from financial institutions, investors, or venture capitalists. It should demonstrate that the proposed business is viable and will return enough revenues to be able to meet its financial obligations. Some of the information contained in the financial plan includes a projected income statement , balance sheet, and cash flow.

9. Appendices and Exhibits

The appendices and exhibits part is the last section of a business plan. It includes any additional information that banks and investors may be interested in or that adds credibility to the business. Some of the information that may be included in the appendices section includes office/building plans, detailed market research , products/services offering information, marketing brochures, and credit histories of the promoters.

Business Plan Template

Here is a basic template that any business can use when developing its business plan:

Section 1: Executive Summary

• Present the company’s mission.
• Describe the company’s product and/or service offerings.
• Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
• Summarize the industry competition and how the company will capture a share of the available market.
• Give a summary of the operational plan, such as inventory, office and labor, and equipment requirements.

Section 2: Industry Overview

• Describe the company’s position in the industry.
• Describe the existing competition and the major players in the industry.
• Provide information about the industry that the business will operate in, estimated revenues, industry trends, government influences, as well as the demographics of the target market.

Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition

• Define your target market, their needs, and their geographical location.
• Describe the size of the market, the units of the company’s products that potential customers may buy, and the market changes that may occur due to overall economic changes.
• Give an overview of the estimated sales volume vis-à-vis what competitors sell.
• Give a plan on how the company plans to combat the existing competition to gain and retain market share.

Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan

• Describe the products that the company will offer for sale and its unique selling proposition.
• List the different advertising platforms that the business will use to get its message to customers.
• Describe how the business plans to price its products in a way that allows it to make a profit.
• Give details on how the company’s products will be distributed to the target market and the shipping method.

Section 5: Management Plan

• Describe the organizational structure of the company.
• List the owners of the company and their ownership percentages.
• List the key executives, their roles, and remuneration.
• List any internal and external professionals that the company plans to hire, and how they will be compensated.
• Include a list of the members of the advisory board, if available.

Section 6: Operating Plan

• Describe the location of the business, including office and warehouse requirements.
• Describe the labor requirement of the company. Outline the number of staff that the company needs, their roles, skills training needed, and employee tenures (full-time or part-time).
• Describe the manufacturing process, and the time it will take to produce one unit of a product.
• Describe the equipment and machinery requirements, and if the company will lease or purchase equipment and machinery, and the related costs that the company estimates it will incur.
• Provide a list of raw material requirements, how they will be sourced, and the main suppliers that will supply the required inputs.

Section 7: Financial Plan

• Describe the financial projections of the company, by including the projected income statement, projected cash flow statement, and the balance sheet projection.

Section 8: Appendices and Exhibits

• Quotes of building and machinery leases
• Proposed office and warehouse plan
• Market research and a summary of the target market
• Credit information of the owners
• List of product and/or services

Related Readings

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to Business Plans. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following CFI resources will be helpful:

• Corporate Structure
• Three Financial Statements
• Business Model Canvas Examples
• See all management & strategy resources
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14 Professional Business Plan Samples [Downloadable pdf]

Looking for business plan examples for inspiration? Download or view 14 business plans examples/samples, vetted by our MBA business plan writers. Download in PDF format or read like a book. These real business plan samples would help in writing your own business plan.

View Real Business Plan Examples/Samples

As an entrepreneur, effectively pitching your idea to attract investors and secure funding can be a challenge. Moreover, when launching a business, creating a comprehensive business plan is paramount.

To aid you in these crucial tasks, we offer a collection of real-world and sample business plan examples across diverse industries. A well-structured business plan is indispensable in the fast-paced entrepreneurial landscape, as it delineates your goals, strategies, and financial projections, providing a clear roadmap for your venture.

Our aim is to facilitate the creation of an effective business plan by integrating real-life examples to elucidate the key elements involved. Below, you’ll find a range of 14 detailed business plan examples available for download and use.

Important Sections to Include in Business Plan

To create a robust business plan, ensure inclusion of the following key sections:

• Executive Summary: A brief snapshot of your business and the key highlights of your business plan. Read more
• Product and Services: An elaborate description of the offerings you will provide to your customers. Read more
• Marketing and Sales Plan: A strategic roadmap outlining how you intend to promote and market your business before, during, and after its launch. Read more
• Operating Planning: An explanation of the systems, processes, and tools necessary to efficiently run your business behind the scenes. Read more
• Organization and Management: Organization and management in a business plan outline the structure and leadership of the company. Read more
• Financial Plan: A comprehensive plan mapping out your short-term and long-term financial goals and the associated costs of running your business. If you require funding, this section is where you can outline your request and financial needs. Read more
• Key External Drivers: External drivers encompass factors like outsourcing, economic changes, industry competition, and business legislation complexity. Read more
• Startup Summary: The startup summary offers a comprehensive financial overview of , detailing expenses, asset value, and total requirements, crucial for transparency with entrepreneurs and investors. Read more
• Projected Industry Growth : Projected industry growth forecasts the sector’s expansion, offering a 10-year perspective and average annual growth rate, providing clarity to investors. Read more
• Break-even analysis: The break-even analysis visually presents key metrics and a 12-month revenue forecast to help stakeholders grasp the point where the business covers costs and starts generating profit . Read more
• Management Summary: The management summary provides a concise overview of organizational structure, key personnel, their roles, and financial commitments, ensuring stakeholders understand the business’s operational strength and leadership capability. Read more
• Financial Indicators: The financial indicators section evaluates organizational fiscal health, focusing on year-over-year profitability metrics, leverage ratios, liquidity ratios, and additional metrics, providing a comprehensive understanding of the business’s financial performance and efficiency in revenue generation from equity investments. Read more

Practical Business Plan Examples Illustrating Strategies for Startup Success

1. E-commerce Plan Sample or Example

Something Borrowed Something New is a burgeoning e-commerce enterprise specializing in wedding accessories and personalized gifts. Operating on a drop-shipping model, this business has the capability to make a significant impact in the market.

Moreover, leveraging social networking and blogging can be instrumental in generating awareness and capturing interest, thereby creating a robust online marketing strategy for Something Old and Something New.

To enhance their business operations, they are contemplating the integration of a WhatsApp CRM system. This initiative aims to optimize communication with potential customers, ensuring prompt responses to inquiries and fostering a seamless interaction process.

2. Online Marketplace Business Plan Example or Sample

EPlace Solutions will be an innovative online marketplace business portal offering a variety of products to consumers throughout the globe. Founded by Mr. John Jones, a seasoned business visionary with an eye toward profit and achievement, the organization is set to enter the market in 2023.

Online shopping is at an all-time high with new consumer mindsets calling for them to shop for the types of deals and bargains that will be so much a part of the online marketplace business model.

3. Snack Bar Business Plan Sample / Business Plan Example

There is an increasing demand for snack-type fast food to be consumed while window shopping and walking around inside a shopping mall.

Do you plan to start a snack bar business? Then here’s a complete snack bar startup business plan template and feasibility report you can use FREE of charge. It sounds easy to open a snack bar, but in reality, you need well-planned strategies to ensure that your business stands the test of time. 

Our snack bar business plan sample includes a detailed description of the products and services offered, as well as a market a nalysis  and competitive analysis.

It also includes a financial plan that outlines the startup costs, revenue projections, and break-even analysis. We like this sample plan because it demonstrates how to build a profitable snack bar business by creating a unique menu and offering healthy, high-quality snac ks that meet custome r demand.

Your snack shop business plan can look as polished and professional as the sample plan. It’s fun and easy, with Wise Business Plan. Let’s review the  snack shop business plan sample  and adjust them according to your audience for the best results.

4. Coffee Shop Business Plan Sample/Business Plan Example PDF

A coffee shop business plan is a document that outlines what your business idea is and how it will be implemented. Its purpose is to answer questions such as what it costs to start a coffee shop, how these costs will be financed, and how much money you can expect to earn from your cafe.

Are you looking for the right business plan for your cafe? Let’s review the  Coffee shop business plan sample  to find out how cloud-based software can make your day-to-day work more efficient.

Our coffee shop business plan sample includes a detailed description of the products and services offered, as well as a market analysis and competitive analysis.

It also includes a financial plan that outlines the startup costs, revenue projections, and break-even analysis. We like this sample plan because it demonstrates how to build a profitable coffee shop business by creating a unique brand and offering high-quality products a nd customer service.

5. Food Hall Business Plan Sample/Business Plan Example PDF

In the food industry, there is fierce competition. To ensure success, you need to hit the ground running with the right pitch. Our food house business plan is the ideal solution with an attractive design highlighting key information and conveying the right message.

This food business plan example features food images intended to tantalize the taste buds. It captures the theme perfectly and will convey the ultimate message to investors, clients and customers.

It is important to remember that the business plan template can be customized to meet your company’s specific needs and requirements. It will help showcase your business as a leader in the modern industry.

This food business plan template provides key slides to showcase everything from finances to marketing and key competitors. If you prefer, you can alter the content displayed to meet your specific needs, but this is a good starting point.

Ultimately, this  food house business plan  will be suitable for any business operating in the food industry and keen to get interested from key individuals. It will ensure that you can build up the rep of your company.

We provide a one-of-a-kind sales pitch deck designed to appeal to your prospective audience, as well as a custom presentation tailored to their information requirements.

6. Printing Shop Business Plan Sample/Business Plan Example Plan

When establishing a think tank, you will need to develop a business plan and document it properly. As a mass think tank, you need a special strategy to legalize the think tank as a non-profit organization and to raise funds for your project successfully.

Copy and print businesses offer a variety of services to both businesses and consumers. A copy and print shop can handle everything from single-page printing to large-volume jobs using several types of media.

Our printing shop business plan sample includes a detailed description of the products and services offered, as well as a market analysis and competitive analysis. It also includes a financial plan that outlines the startup costs, revenue projections, and break-even analysis. We like this sample plan because it demonstrates how to build a profitable printing shop business by offering high-quality, customized printing services with a focus on customer s ervice and efficient operations.

Let’s take a look at Printing and Photocopy Business Plan Sample that you can use to inspire your own and easily create one.

7. Acquisition Business Plan Sample/ Example PDF

The acquisition business plan sample is intended for businesses seeking to acquire another company or merge with a competitor. This plan includes an analysis of the target company, a valuation, and a strategy for integrating the acquired business into the existing operations. We like this sample plan because it provides a clear roadmap for the acquisition process and demonstrates the potential benefits of the deal.

8. L-1 Visa Business Plan Example with Sample PDF

At Wisebusinessplans, we understand that obtaining an L1 visa for an executive or manager requires a thorough and compelling business plan.

Our L1 business plan sample includes all the necessary components to satisfy USCIS requirements and demonstrate your qualifications and your company’s viability in the US market.

The L1 business plan sample is a comprehensive plan for a new business seeking L1 visa approval for an executive or manager. This plan focuses on demonstrating the applicant’s qualifications and the company’s viability in the US market.

We like this sample plan because it is specific to the L1 visa process and includes all the necessary components to satisfy USCIS requirements.

9. E-2 Visa Business Plan Sample/ Example PDF

If you’re an entrepreneur seeking E-2 visa approval, Wise Business Plans can help you create a persuasive business plan.

Our E-2 business plan sample outlines your investment, business operations, and financial projections, providing a clear and compelling case for your ability to successfully run a business and make a significant economic impact.

The E-2 business plan sample is designed for entrepreneurs seeking E-2 visa approval, which allows individuals to invest in and manage a business in the United States. This plan outlines the applicant’s investment, business operations, and financial projections. We like this sample plan because it provides a clear and compelling case for the applicant’s ability to successfully run a business and make a significant economic impact.

10. EB-5 Business Plan Sample/ Example PDF

If you’re looking to obtain an EB-5 visa by investing in a new commercial enterprise in the United States, Wise Business Plans can help you create a compelling business plan.

Our EB-5 business plan sample includes a description of your business, a market analysis, and financial projections, providing a detailed and persuasive case for the potential success of your venture.

The EB-5 business plan sample is designed for individuals seeking to obtain an EB-5 visa by investing in a new commercial enterprise in the United States. This plan includes a description of the business, a market analysis, and financial projections. We like this sample plan because it provides a detailed and persuasive case for the potential success of the business, which is crucial for obtaining EB-5 visa approval.

11. Investor Business Plan Sample/ Example PDF

If you’re seeking investment from angel investors, venture capitalists, or other private equity firms, Wise Business Plans can help you create a compelling pitch.

Our investor business plan sample includes a pitch deck, financial projections, and a detailed analysis of the market the potential return on investment and the scalability of your business.

The investor business plan sample is intended for businesses seeking to attract investment from angel investors, venture capitalists, or other private equity firms. This plan includes a pitch deck, financial projections, and a detailed analysis of the market opportunity. We like this sample plan because it emphasizes the potential return on investment and the scalability of the business.

12. Nonprofit Business Plan Sample/ Example PDF

At Wisebusinessplans, we’re committed to helping non-profit organizations achieve their social impact goals.

Our non-profit business plan sample includes a mission statement, programs and services, marketing and outreach strategies, and a financial analysis, providing a clear roadmap for establishing or expanding your organization.

The non-profit business plan sample is designed for organizations seeking to establish or expand a non-profit entity. This plan includes a mission statement, programs and services, marketing and outreach strategies, and a financial analysis. We like this sample plan because it demonstrates a strong commitment to social impact and outlines a clear strategy for achieving the organization’s goals.

13. Bank Business Plan Sample/ Example PDF

Whether you’re seeking financing from a bank or other financial institution, Wise Business Plans can help you create a detailed and persuasive business plan.

Our bank business plan sample includes a thorough financial analysis, market research, and a strategy for achieving profitability, highlighting the key factors that banks consider when evaluating loan applications.

The bank business plan sample is tailored for businesses seeking financing from a bank or other financial institution. This plan includes a detailed financial analysis, market research, and a strategy for achieving profitability. We like this sample plan because it highlights the key factors that banks consider when evaluating loan applications, and provides a strong case for the borrower’s ability to repay the loan.

14. Cannabis Business Plan Sample/ Example PDF

The cannabis industry is rapidly growing, and Wise Business Plans can help you enter it with confidence.

Our cannabis business plan sample includes a market analysis, operational strategy, and regulatory compliance a comprehensive overview of the unique challenges and opportunities in the industry and offering a clear roadmap for success.

The cannabis business plan sample is tailored for entrepreneurs seeking to enter the rapidly growing cannabis industry. This plan includes a market analysis, operational strategy, and regulatory compliance plan. We like this sample plan because it provides a comprehensive overview of the unique challenges and opportunities in the cannabis industry, and offers a clear roadmap for success.

Detailed Overview of Key Components of a Business Plan

1. executive summary.

The executive summary is a concise overview of your business plan, highlighting the key points of each section. It should capture the essence of your business, its mission, and the purpose of the business plan. This section should be written last, but it’s placed at the beginning of the business plan. Here is an example executive summary from our professional business plan written for Eplace Solution , an innovative e-commerce portal.

Tips for Writing Executive Summary

• Keep it brief and focused on key points.
• Clearly define the problem and your solution.
• Highlight market opportunities and growth potential.
• Showcase your team’s qualifications.
• Include financial projections.
• End with a clear call to action.
• Tailor it to your audience.
• Review and update regularly.

2. Company Overview or Description

In this section, provide a detailed description of your company, including its history, legal structure, location, and vision. Explain your mission statement and core values that guide your business decisions. Use real-life examples of successful companies and how their strong company descriptions have contributed to their growth. In addition, you can reuse your company description on your About page, Instagram page, or other properties that ask for a boilerplate description of your business.

This section also allows you to describe how you register your business . Here you must choose whether your business is a corporation, sole proprietorship, LLC , or another type of business .

Tips for Writing Company Description

• Describe your company’s mission and vision.
• Explain what your business does and the problems it solves.
• Mention your target market and customer base.
• Highlight your unique selling points.
• Provide a brief history and background.

3. Market Analysis

A market analysis analyzes how you are positioned in the market, who your target customers are, what your product or service will offer them, and industry trends. It might be useful to do a SWOT analysis to discover your strengths and weaknesses to identify market gaps that you may be able to exploit to build your business.

As part of your market research, you’ll also need to perform a competitive analysis. It will give you an idea of who your competition is and how to differentiate your brand. Here’s an example of a competitive analysis we did for a food business.

Tips for Writing Market Analysis

• Research and understand your industry thoroughly.
• Identify market trends and growth opportunities.
• Analyze your competitors and their strengths and weaknesses.
• Define your target audience and their needs.
• Include data and statistics to support your analysis.

4. Product and Services

Adding products and services to a business plan involves more than listing your company’s offerings. If you intend to gain funding or partner with another business, your products, and services section needs to demonstrate your company’s quality, value, and benefits.

Here’s an example of a product and service section in the business plan we wrote for an e-commerce business that offers wedding accessories.

Tips for Writing Product and Services

• Clearly describe your offerings and their features.
• Explain how your products/services address customer needs.
• Highlight any unique qualities or advantages.
• Discuss your pricing strategy.
• Mention any future product/service development plans.

Here is example of services section of a bank.

5. Marketing and Sales Plan

It is always a good idea to have a marketing plan before launching your business. A potential investor will want to know how you will advertise your business. Therefore, you should create a marketing plan that explains your planned promotion and customer acquisition strategies.

Discuss how you will make a sale. How will you attract customers and maximize their lifetime value? Ensure your marketing and sales forecasts align with your financial forecasts Marketing plans are usually based on the four Ps : product, price, place, and promotion. Breaking it down by marketing channels makes it easier. Discuss how you intend to market your business via blogs, email, social media, and word-of-mouth. Here is an example of marketing strategies we develop for a restaurant business.

Tips for Writing Marketing and Sales Plan

• Define your marketing goals and objectives.
• Outline your marketing strategies, including channels and tactics.
• Explain your sales strategy and target sales goals.
• Include a budget for marketing and sales activities.
• Discuss your sales team and their roles.
• Detail your customer acquisition and retention strategies.
• Mention any partnerships or collaborations for marketing and sales.

Example of marketing and sales plan section of a bank

6. Operation Planning

The operation plan should include all the steps needed to run the business in the long run. The plan should include details about logistics, duties for each department of the company, and responsibilities for the team.

The main aspect of running a business is its costs. Whether it’s machinery or services, each requires capital.

how to write an operation plan in a business plan

Tips for Writing Operational Planning

• Describe your day-to-day business operations.
• Explain your supply chain and production processes.
• Outline your facility and equipment requirements.
• Discuss your quality control and efficiency measures.
• Mention any legal and regulatory compliance considerations.
• Detail your staffing and management structure.
• Include contingency plans for potential disruptions.

7. Organization and Management

In this section, you can describe your current team and the people you need to hire. You will need to highlight your team’s relevant experience if you intend to seek funding. Basically, this is where you demonstrate that this team can be successful in starting and growing the business.

Tips for Writing Organization and Management Summary

• Introduce your leadership team and their roles.
• Highlight their relevant experience and qualifications.
• Explain your organizational structure and hierarchy.
• Discuss key personnel responsibilities and functions.
• Mention any plans for team growth or development.
• Address any advisory boards or external support.

Management summary of coffee shoppe business.

8. Financial Plan

A financial plan should include sales and revenue forecasts, profit and loss statements , cash flow statements , and balance sheets .

Now, if you plan to pitch investors or submit a loan application, you’ll also need a “use of funds” report. Here you outline how you plan to leverage any funding you might acquire for your business.

With our business templates , you can create your own income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.

Tips for Writing Financial Plan

• Include detailed financial projections (income statement, cash flow, balance sheet).
• Explain your funding requirements and sources.
• Discuss your pricing and revenue model.
• Describe your expense management and cost controls.
• Mention any financial risks and mitigation strategies.
• Highlight key financial milestones and goals.

Financial highlights of foodShack business.

9. Key External Drivers

External drivers refer to the external factors or influences that significantly impact the activity and growth of an industry. These drivers include outsourcing of non-core activities, changes in economic activity, competition from other industries, and the complexity of business legislation.

Additionally, external drivers encompass the effects of changes in new business formation, especially among small businesses, which directly affect the demand for services within the industry.

Tips for writing key external drivers

• Identify and analyze current and emerging market trends in your industry.
• Assess potential positive or negative impacts these trends may have on your business.
• Evaluate broader economic conditions, including inflation rates, interest rates, and GDP growth.
• Elucidate how changes in economic conditions could influence consumer behavior, product demand, and overall cost structure.
• Outline key industry regulations and compliance requirements, discussing potential impacts on operations, costs, and market access.
• Highlight relevant technological advancements and explain their potential effects on your product or service offerings, operations, and competitiveness.
• Analyze current and potential future competitors, emphasizing the evolving competitive landscape’s impact on market share, pricing strategy, and overall business strategy.
• Consider social and cultural factors influencing consumer preferences and behaviors, exploring how societal changes can affect product demand.
• Evaluate environmental trends and regulations, discussing potential impacts on operations, supply chain, and customer perceptions.
• Assess political stability, government policies, and geopolitical factors, exploring potential risks and opportunities from political changes.
• Discuss global market conditions, analyzing how global economic trends, trade policies, and currency fluctuations may affect operations and expansion plans.
• Identify and discuss potential risks in the supply chain, such as disruptions, shortages, or geopolitical issues.
• Consider demographic shifts affecting your target market and discuss how changes may impact your customer base and marketing strategies.
• Highlight key legal and regulatory factors affecting the business, discussing potential legal challenges, compliance costs, and regulatory changes.
• Outline comprehensive risk management strategies, including contingency plans and risk mitigation strategies.
• Explain how you will monitor external drivers and emphasize the importance of staying agile and responsive to changes in the external environment.

10. Startup Summary

The startup summary serves as a comprehensive overview of essential financial aspects, encompassing total startup expenses, the overall value of startup assets, and the total requirements, which is the cumulative sum of all expenses and startup investments.

It provides a clear financial snapshot, outlining the costs involved in launching the business, the value of assets acquired, and the overall financial needs for the startup.

This section is crucial for entrepreneurs and potential investors, offering a transparent understanding of the financial foundation required to initiate and sustain the business successfully.

This roadmap ensures a realistic evaluation of the business idea, identifying potential challenges and offering solutions.To write an effective plan, focus on what sets your venture apart from competitors, maintain conciseness, and embrace flexibility as a living document.

Answer fundamental questions about your business, create actionable checklists, execute the plan, and continually revise and update based on experiences and feedback.This iterative process fosters continuous improvement, helping entrepreneurs stay adaptable and enhance their business strategies over time.

Tips for writing Startup Summary

• Clearly state the startup’s name and provide a concise description of its activities.
• Include a succinct mission statement capturing the startup’s purpose and goals, reflecting its core values.
• Specify the founding date and offer brief bios of key founders, highlighting relevant experience.
• Summarize the startup’s concept, explaining offered products or services and key distinguishing features.
• Clearly articulate the problem or need in the market that the startup addresses, defining the target audience.
• State what makes the startup unique, whether it’s a special feature, market gap, or competitive advantage.
• Provide a brief description of the market opportunity, covering target market size, trends, and growth prospects.
• Outline how the startup plans to generate revenue, detailing streams, pricing strategy, and potential partnerships.
• Offer a snapshot of the startup’s current status, highlighting key achievements such as product development or partnerships.
• If seeking funding, clearly state the amount sought and its allocation, covering areas like product development and marketing.
• Include a high-level financial summary with key projections for revenue, expenses, and profitability.
• Briefly outline future aspirations and plans, encompassing areas like expansion, product development, or strategic partnerships.

11. Projected Industry Growth

The projected industry growth is a pivotal aspect that forecasts the expansion of a specific sector over a defined timeframe.

For instance, it could provide an estimate of where that particular business will be standing in the next 10 years, and what will be the average annual growth rate of that industry.

This information provides prospective investors and stakeholders with a clear understanding of the industry’s potential and positions the startup within a dynamic and flourishing market.

Tips for writing Projected Industry Growth

• Emphasize the importance of industry trends and growth to your business.
• Provide a concise overview, including market size, major players, and recent trends.
• Briefly explain how you gathered data on industry growth projections (e.g., market research reports, expert interviews).
• Identify and discuss prevailing trends, such as technological advancements, changes in consumer behavior, and regulatory shifts.
• Summarize the industry’s historical growth, highlighting growth rates, market expansion, and notable milestones.
• Highlight key factors expected to drive industry growth, such as emerging markets, technological innovations, and demographic shifts.
• Discuss specific opportunities within the industry, including gaps in the market, underserved segments, or areas of competitive advantage.
• Acknowledge potential challenges or risks that could impact industry growth, demonstrating a realistic understanding.
• Present projections for future growth rates based on historical data, expert opinions, and your analysis. Include short-term and long-term projections.
• Discuss how key competitors are positioned to leverage industry growth, emphasizing your business’s differentiation strategies.
• Consider the regulatory landscape impacting growth, discussing anticipated changes and their potential effects on the industry.
• Explore international trends and their implications for industry growth, including factors like global economic conditions and geopolitical influences.

Here is example of market analysis section of a bank.

12. Break-even Analysis

The break-even analysis serves as a vital financial tool, offering a detailed estimation of key metrics such as Sales Revenue, Cost of Sales, Gross Profit, Fixed Expenses, and Income Before Tax.

These critical components are visually presented through a bar graph, providing a clear and concise overview of the financial dynamics.

Additionally, the break-even analysis delves into a 12-month forecast, outlining the projected amount of revenue generated and the corresponding fixed costs.

This section is instrumental in helping stakeholders understand the financial threshold at which the business covers its costs and begins to generate profit.

Tips for writing Break-even Analysis

• Define break-even analysis as a financial calculation where total revenue equals total costs.
• Identify constant costs regardless of production or sales levels.
• Enumerate and explain costs changing with production or sales.
• Present the break-even analysis formula, indicating the units needed to cover costs.
• Perform a practical break-even calculation using business-specific fixed costs, selling price, and variable cost per unit.
• Include a break-even chart or graph for a visual understanding of cost-revenue dynamics.
• Conduct a proactive sensitivity analysis to explore how changes in variables impact the break-even point.
• Specify the anticipated timeframe to reach the break-even point in terms of months or units sold.
• Clearly outline assumptions made in the analysis and provide justifications for transparency and credibility.
• Acknowledge potential risks or challenges that may affect the accuracy of the break-even analysis.
• Briefly mention contingency plans for difficulties in reaching the break-even point within the projected timeframe.

13. Management Summary

The management summary within the business plan provides a concise overview of the organizational structure and key personnel.

This includes a count of individuals, specifying the number of founders and operational team members integral to the organization.

The summary delves into the roles and responsibilities of each key figure, offering insights into the leadership dynamics driving the business.

Furthermore, the management summary sheds light on the financial aspect by presenting details about personal wages and payroll allocations for both founders and operational staff.

This comprehensive section ensures a clear understanding of the human resource framework and the financial commitments associated with the management team, crucial for stakeholders evaluating the business’s operational strength and leadership capability.

Tips for Writing Management Summary

• Highlighting the critical role the management team plays in the business’s success, the introduction emphasizes their significance.
• Listing each key member with names, positions, and brief role summaries introduces the core of the management team.
• Providing brief biographies for each team member underscores their relevant experience, skills, achievements, and industry-specific expertise.
• Clearly outlining roles and responsibilities emphasizes how each team member’s skills contribute to the overall success of the business.
• Sharing the team’s vision and strategy involves discussing key strategic goals and outlining the plans to achieve them.
• Highlighting notable achievements or milestones showcases the team members’ successful ventures, industry recognition, or career accomplishments.
• Discussing team dynamics emphasizes collaboration and the complementary nature of their skills in driving the business forward.
• Introducing advisory board members, if applicable, underscores the additional guidance and expertise they bring to the business.
• Discussing how the team plans to contribute to future growth and development includes strategies for talent acquisition, leadership development, and succession planning.
• Touching on the team’s culture and values emphasizes their role in shaping the overall ethos of the business.
• If seeking investment, briefly mentioning how the management team plans to use funding for business growth and development provides insight into their financial strategy.

Here is example of marketing and sales plan section of a bank.

14. Financial Indicators

The financial indicators section within the business plan helps in evaluating the fiscal health and performance of the organization.

Year-after-year profitability estimates take center stage, encompassing key metrics such as gross margin, net profit margin, and EBITDA to revenue.

These indicators provide a comprehensive understanding of the business’s ability to generate profit relative to its revenue.

Furthermore, the financial indicators extend to leverage ratios, including the critical Debt to Equity ratio, Debt to Assets ratio, and Interest Coverage ratio.

These metrics illuminate the organization’s capital structure, debt management, and its capacity to meet interest obligations.

Liquidity ratios includes the Current Ratio and Current Debt to Total Asset Ratio.

These ratios provide insights into the company’s short-term financial health and its ability to meet immediate obligations.

The financial indicator toolbox is enriched with additional metrics, notably the Revenue to Equity ratio, which sheds light on the efficiency of generating revenue from equity investments.

Tips For Writing Financial Indicators

• Detailed revenue forecasts for the next 3-5 years. Breakdown by product/service and geographical regions.
• Detailed breakdown of anticipated expenses. Include fixed and variable costs, operational expenses, and other relevant expenditures.
• Historical P&L statements if available. Projected future profits and losses based on revenue and expense projections.
• Outline of expected cash inflows and outflows. Emphasis on the ability to meet short-term obligations.
• Snapshot of the company’s financial position. Includes assets, liabilities, and equity.
• Calculation and presentation of key financial ratios (liquidity, solvency, profitability). Discussion on the significance of these ratios.
• Identification and explanation of relevant KPIs. Highlighting alignment with the overall business strategy.
• Discussion of potential financial risks. Mitigation strategies and addressing uncertainties.
• Clear statement of the amount and purpose of funds required.
• Outline of key assumptions underlying financial projections. Rationale for these assumptions.
• Summary of industry financial trends and business positioning. Outlook on future financial prospects considering market dynamics.

Discover Business Plan Formats and Free Templates

Looking For The Right Business Plan Format?

These sample business plans will provide you with a complete structure and format for your business plan, which will give you a head start on developing your document, so you won’t be stuck seeing an empty page and wondering what to write.

Simply going through the process of writing a business plan is one of its key benefits. If you sit down to write, you’ll naturally think about your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you’ll need to conduct. In addition to defining your position among your competitors, you will establish your goals and milestones.

You can see what should be included in a sample financial plan, but It is wrong to assume that a sample company’s financial projections will fit your own. If you need more resources to get you started, we recommend this guide on how to write a business plan .

In addition, you can download our 40+ free business plan templates covering a range of industries.

Business Plan Examples For Students PDF

Common types of business plan, 1. one page business plan.

One-page business plans are short, compact, and to the point and are designed to make the plan easy to read at a glance. Make sure to include all of the sections, but truncate and summarize them

2. Start-up business plan

Start-up business plans are for businesses that are just getting started. They are usually developed to secure outside funding. In this regard, financials are of increased importance, as well as other sections that determine whether your business idea is viable, such as market research.

3. Strategic business plan

A strategic business plan lays out a company’s goals and how it will achieve them at a high level. It is a foundational document for the company as a whole. A strategic business plan allows all levels of the business to see the big picture, inspiring employees to work together to reach the company’s goals.

4. Feasibility business plan

Developing a feasibility plan answers two primary questions about a business venture: who would purchase the service or product the company wants to sell, and if the venture is profitable.

5. Internal business plan

Internal Business plans are geared to a specific audience within a company to keep your team on the same page and focused on the same goals.

Conclusion​

In conclusion, whether you’re venturing into a traditional business or creating an innovative startup, the significance of a well-crafted business plan cannot be overstated. Different types of business plans cater to specific needs, from internal alignment to strategic expansion. Employing a template in MS Word ensures a polished presentation. The process of writing an executive summary, creating a plan, and defining the components of your business plan is essential.

Recognizing the need for a comprehensive and standard business plan can help guide your endeavors. Whether you choose to write a full business plan or opt for a one-page business overview, leveraging templates in MS Word can simplify the process. In essence, understanding the types of business plans and utilizing an executive summary template provides a structured approach to showcase your business overview.

Take inspiration from example business plans to tailor your strategy, ensuring a roadmap for success in the dynamic world of entrepreneurship. Always remember, a meticulously crafted business plan not only communicates your vision effectively but also serves as a valuable resource that can help secure investments and guide your business’s growth trajectory.

Frequently Asked Questions

Begin with an executive summary, delve into market analysis, outline your strategies, create financial projections, and use available business plan examples as templates to guide your writing.

A comprehensive business plan template should encompass key sections such as an executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing strategy, organizational structure, and financial projections. Seek templates online that cover these elements.

Tailor your business plan to the scale of your small business. Define your objectives clearly, outline cost-effective strategies, and emphasize agility in adapting to market changes.

Explore well-crafted business plan examples you can visit our website  wisebusinessplan.

The fundamental components include an executive summary, business description, market analysis, marketing and sales strategy, organizational structure, product/service description, and financial projections.

Investors focus on growth potential, detailed financial projections, market analysis, competition analysis, and the qualifications and experience of your management team when reviewing a business plan.

To find a business plan example for a tech startup,you can visit our visit wisebusinessplan .

A business plan provides a comprehensive overview of your entire business, including strategies, operations, and financials. In contrast, a business proposal typically focuses on a specific project or offer, outlining the details and benefits to a potential client.

Craft an engaging executive summary by summarizing your business’s mission, highlighting the market opportunity, showcasing your product or service, and providing a concise overview of your financial projections.

Seek tailored business plan examples for nonprofit organizations you can visit wisebusinessplan .

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These business plans are written by MBA writers. Real-world use cases were used in these plans.

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, 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.

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A business plan is a document that outlines a company's goals and the strategies to achieve them. It's valuable for both startups and established companies. For startups, a well-crafted business plan is crucial for attracting potential lenders and investors. Established businesses use business plans to stay on track and aligned with their growth objectives. This article will explain the key components of an effective business plan and guidance on how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document detailing a company's business activities and strategies for achieving its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to launch their venture and to attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan helps keep the executive team focused on short- and long-term objectives.
• There's no single required format for a business plan, but certain key elements are essential for most companies.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place before beginning operations. Banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before considering making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a company doesn't need additional funding, having a business plan helps it stay focused on its goals. Research from the University of Oregon shows that businesses with a plan are significantly more likely to secure funding than those without one. Moreover, companies with a business plan grow 30% faster than those that don't plan. According to a Harvard Business Review article, entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than those who don't.

A business plan should ideally be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect achieved goals or changes in direction. An established business moving in a new direction might even create an entirely new plan.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. It allows for careful consideration of ideas before significant investment, highlights potential obstacles to success, and provides a tool for seeking objective feedback from trusted outsiders. A business plan may also help ensure that a company’s executive team remains aligned on strategic action items and priorities.

While business plans vary widely, even among competitors in the same industry, they often share basic elements detailed below.

A well-crafted business plan is essential for attracting investors and guiding a company's strategic growth. It should address market needs and investor requirements and provide clear financial projections.

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, gathering the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document is best. Any additional crucial elements, such as patent applications, can be referenced in the main document and included as appendices.

Common elements in many business plans include:

• 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 : Describe the products and services the company offers or plans to introduce. Include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique consumer benefits. Mention production and manufacturing processes, relevant patents , proprietary technology , and research and development (R&D) information.
• Market analysis : Explain the current state of the industry and the competition. Detail where the company fits in, the types of customers it plans to target, and how it plans to capture market share from competitors.
• Marketing strategy : Outline the company's plans to attract and retain customers, including anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. Describe the distribution channels that will be used to deliver products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections : Established businesses should include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses should provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. This section may also include any funding requests.

Investors want to see a clear exit strategy, expected returns, and a timeline for cashing out. It's likely a good idea to provide five-year profitability forecasts and realistic financial estimates.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can vary in format, often categorized into traditional and lean startup plans. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These are detailed and lengthy, requiring more effort to create but offering comprehensive information that can be persuasive to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These are concise, sometimes just one page, and focus on key elements. While they save time, companies should be ready to provide additional details if requested by investors or lenders.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

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

How Often Should a Business Plan Be Updated?

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on its nature. Updating your business plan is crucial due to changes in external factors (market trends, competition, and regulations) and internal developments (like employee growth and new products). While 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 ideal for quickly explaining a business, especially for new companies that don't have much information yet. Key sections may include a value proposition , major activities and advantages, resources (staff, intellectual property, and capital), partnerships, customer segments, and revenue sources.

A well-crafted business plan is crucial for any company, whether it's a startup looking for investment or an established business wanting to stay on course. It outlines goals and strategies, boosting a company's chances of securing funding and achieving growth.

As your business and the market change, update your business plan regularly. This keeps it relevant and aligned with your current goals and conditions. Think of your business plan as a living document that evolves with your company, not something carved in stone.

University of Oregon Department of Economics. " Evaluation of the Effectiveness of Business Planning Using Palo Alto's Business Plan Pro ." Eason Ding & Tim Hursey.

Bplans. " Do You Need a Business Plan? Scientific Research Says Yes ."

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

Harvard Business Review. " How to Write a Winning Business Plan ."

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

SCORE. " When and Why Should You Review Your Business Plan? "

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How to Write a Market Description

Last Updated: July 25, 2024

This article was co-authored by Michael R. Lewis . Michael R. Lewis is a retired corporate executive, entrepreneur, and investment advisor in Texas. He has over 40 years of experience in business and finance, including as a Vice President for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas. He has a BBA in Industrial Management from the University of Texas at Austin. This article has been viewed 176,570 times.

When starting a company, it is important to determine who your potential customers are and what their needs look like. You must get a handle on the market. Who are your main competitors and what could you do better or differently? Writing a market description is a good way to place your product appropriately. Potential investors and customers will garner a better sense of how your product fits into its target market. Although you may have other instances where you need to write a market description, the most common is as part of a general business plan .

Market Description Template and Example

Doing Market Research

• Before writing a market description, be aware of the “iceberg principle.” The majority of the iceberg is underwater. This represents your research time and spent energy. Only the tip is visible. The small tip is your output, e.g., website, advertising, brochures, and business cards. [1] X Research source
• Your market description forms part of your business plan overall. For tips on writing a thorough business plan, see Write a Business Plan .

• For example, let's say you are starting a high-end laundering service. Your customers could be professional workers with high amounts of disposable income. They are both men and women, some with children and some without children. Your customers like to spend their time with their families and working out or taking cooking lessons. What they lack is free time.
• Your potential customers would probably not include families with low amounts of disposable income, individuals who work at jobs that don’t require high-end laundering of their wardrobe, etc.

• Do some demographic research on your area. The SBA is a good place to start, but chambers of commerce and other offices in your community can also help. How many people matching the description of your target market live in your area? Do they tend to live in one area, or spread out?

• For instance, your competitor could offer laundry services with delivery. Customers are annoyed, though, that they have to drop off their laundry. Could you create a profitable model that combines pick-up and drop-off delivery services?

Writing your Description

• For example, "Petra’s Pick Up and Drop Off Laundry offers a full range of laundry services, e.g., washing, drying, ironing, dry cleaning. Our business prides itself on being the only business in the Luxesville area that offers both pick up and drop off delivery services."

• For example: “Our market research has shown that there are too few laundry services available to Luxesville’s highly professional population. Only two businesses exist for a population of 125,000 people and they are both located in the same neighborhood. We would like to offer our services in the up-and-coming south end of the city where young, busy professionals are flocking. Because of market trends, we anticipate demand for our services will increase by 20% in the next two years."

• For example, you might write: “Because 80% of Luxesville’s residents work over sixty hours per week and thus have limited free time, laundry services are particularly attractive. Additionally, as the median income in Luxesville is $175,000, we ascertain that residents have enough disposable income to afford our services. 60% of those workers earning above the median income are women, meaning that this area has a large number of professional women. In fact, only 14% of households have a stay-at-home spouse. This means the traditional relegation of laundry to an at-home partner is less likely to occur. We plan to target professional households with high disposable income between the ages of 25-55.”

• For example, “Luxesville’s professional population is highly educated, overworked, and extraordinarily stressed. Many of these people value any free moment of time they have to exercise, spend time with their children, or visit restaurants. They do not want to waste time on mundane tasks like grocery shopping or laundry. They are frustrated that the only laundry services available require customers to drop off their laundry during business hours of 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Many of these professionals are not home until 8, 9, or 10 p.m. Thus, having the ability to have their laundry picked up and dropped off and to order such services online is a huge attraction.”

• You can also use surveys to ask your competitors' customers about their perceptions, ask suppliers in your industry about orders, and use online tools to do market research. [6] X Research source Provide any details about your competitors that can make your entry into the market stronger.
• For example, you might write, “Our competing launderers, “Drop and Sop” and “Clarity is Wearity,” are serving their maximum amount of customers. As previously noted, they both operate in the Hedgefund Forest neighborhood. Because they are family-owned enterprises, which is a positive point to some customers, they offer restricted hours and both close at 6 p.m. This does not serve the professional community. Their decision not to offer pick up services also has left many customers disgruntled. Thus, by beginning our business in the south end of the city, we hope to build a strong base and eventually expand towards Hedgefund Forest to pick up the slack of other launders.”

• Examine the larger context of your products or services. You might offer information on pricing, other consumer metrics, or any other information that strengthens your point.

Expert Q&A

You might also like.

• ↑ http://www.dynamicbusinessplan.com/market-description
• ↑ academic.uprm.edu/jacruz/admi3125/Sample_Business_Plan.doc
• ↑ http://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccabagley/2013/10/02/how-to-identify-your-market-size-up-competitors/2/
• ↑ https://www.inc.com/guides/201105/10-tips-on-how-to-research-your-competition.html

About This Article

To write a market description, start by crafting a 1-2 sentence overview of what your business does. Then, in the next 2-3 sentences, explain your reasoning for choosing this market, whether that be lower business taxes, a lack of other businesses in the market, or positive market trends. Next, describe your ideal customer demographic, such as age, income, sex, and marital status, and outline how your product or service will appeal to that demographic. Finally, make sure to review other competitors in the market to assess what they’re doing right or wrong and how your business will provide something they don’t. For advice on how to use the Small Business Association to do market research, read more from our Financial co-author. Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Write A Business Plan (2024 Guide)

Updated: Apr 17, 2024, 11:59am

Table of Contents

Brainstorm an executive summary, create a company description, brainstorm your business goals, describe your services or products, conduct market research, create financial plans, bottom line, frequently asked questions.

Every business starts with a vision, which is distilled and communicated through a business plan. In addition to your high-level hopes and dreams, a strong business plan outlines short-term and long-term goals, budget and whatever else you might need to get started. In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to write a business plan that you can stick to and help guide your operations as you get started.

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Drafting the Summary

An executive summary is an extremely important first step in your business. You have to be able to put the basic facts of your business in an elevator pitch-style sentence to grab investors’ attention and keep their interest. This should communicate your business’s name, what the products or services you’re selling are and what marketplace you’re entering.

Ask for Help

When drafting the executive summary, you should have a few different options. Enlist a few thought partners to review your executive summary possibilities to determine which one is best.

After you have the executive summary in place, you can work on the company description, which contains more specific information. In the description, you’ll need to include your business’s registered name , your business address and any key employees involved in the business. 

The business description should also include the structure of your business, such as sole proprietorship , limited liability company (LLC) , partnership or corporation. This is the time to specify how much of an ownership stake everyone has in the company. Finally, include a section that outlines the history of the company and how it has evolved over time.

Wherever you are on the business journey, you return to your goals and assess where you are in meeting your in-progress targets and setting new goals to work toward.

Numbers-based Goals

Goals can cover a variety of sections of your business. Financial and profit goals are a given for when you’re establishing your business, but there are other goals to take into account as well with regard to brand awareness and growth. For example, you might want to hit a certain number of followers across social channels or raise your engagement rates.

Another goal could be to attract new investors or find grants if you’re a nonprofit business. If you’re looking to grow, you’ll want to set revenue targets to make that happen as well.

Intangible Goals

Goals unrelated to traceable numbers are important as well. These can include seeing your business’s advertisement reach the general public or receiving a terrific client review. These goals are important for the direction you take your business and the direction you want it to go in the future.

The business plan should have a section that explains the services or products that you’re offering. This is the part where you can also describe how they fit in the current market or are providing something necessary or entirely new. If you have any patents or trademarks, this is where you can include those too.

If you have any visual aids, they should be included here as well. This would also be a good place to include pricing strategy and explain your materials.

This is the part of the business plan where you can explain your expertise and different approach in greater depth. Show how what you’re offering is vital to the market and fills an important gap.

You can also situate your business in your industry and compare it to other ones and how you have a competitive advantage in the marketplace.

Other than financial goals, you want to have a budget and set your planned weekly, monthly and annual spending. There are several different costs to consider, such as operational costs.

Business Operations Costs

Rent for your business is the first big cost to factor into your budget. If your business is remote, the cost that replaces rent will be the software that maintains your virtual operations.

Marketing and sales costs should be next on your list. Devoting money to making sure people know about your business is as important as making sure it functions.

Other Costs

Although you can’t anticipate disasters, there are likely to be unanticipated costs that come up at some point in your business’s existence. It’s important to factor these possible costs into your financial plans so you’re not caught totally unaware.

Business plans are important for businesses of all sizes so that you can define where your business is and where you want it to go. Growing your business requires a vision, and giving yourself a roadmap in the form of a business plan will set you up for success.

How do I write a simple business plan?

When you’re working on a business plan, make sure you have as much information as possible so that you can simplify it to the most relevant information. A simple business plan still needs all of the parts included in this article, but you can be very clear and direct.

What are some common mistakes in a business plan?

The most common mistakes in a business plan are common writing issues like grammar errors or misspellings. It’s important to be clear in your sentence structure and proofread your business plan before sending it to any investors or partners.

What basic items should be included in a business plan?

When writing out a business plan, you want to make sure that you cover everything related to your concept for the business,  an analysis of the industry―including potential customers and an overview of the market for your goods or services―how you plan to execute your vision for the business, how you plan to grow the business if it becomes successful and all financial data around the business, including current cash on hand, potential investors and budget plans for the next few years.

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Julia is a writer in New York and started covering tech and business during the pandemic. She also covers books and the publishing industry.