Business Plan Outline
Traditional plan — sections as listed by the US Small Business Administration
Word Budget
Tip: A planning convention, not a standard. If your competition or course sets its own sections or page limit, follow that and use these shares only to balance the length.
| Section | Share |
|---|---|
| Executive Summary | 5% |
| Company Description | 10% |
| Market Analysis | 22% |
| Organization and Management | 10% |
| Service or Product Line | 14% |
| Marketing and Sales | 18% |
| Funding Request | 6% |
| Financial Projections | 15% |
| Total | 100% |
Executive Summary
Tip: About 5% of the plan. Write this last. It tells a reader who will only read one page what the business is and why it will succeed.
- •
[To write: What is the business, in one sentence?]
- •
[To write: Who are the customers, and what problem do you solve for them?]
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[To write: Why will it succeed — what is your advantage, and what is already proven?]
- •
[To write: What do you need, and what will it achieve?]
Company Description
Tip: About 10% of the plan. State what the company is, who owns it, and where it stands today.
- •
[To write: What is the legal structure, and where is the business based?]
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[To write: What is the mission, and what are the goals for year one and year three?]
- •
[To write: What stage is it at — idea, prototype, first sales?]
Market Analysis
Tip: About 22% of the plan. This is where most plans are judged. Back every figure with a source and name your competitors.
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[To write: How big is the market, and is it growing? Cite a source for each figure.]
- •
[To write: Who exactly is the target customer — who, where, and how many?]
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[To write: Who are the competitors, and what do customers use instead?]
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[To write: What gap in the market are you filling?]
Organization and Management
Tip: About 10% of the plan. Show that the people can deliver and who is in charge.
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[To write: Who are the founders and key people, and what have they done that fits this business?]
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[To write: Who owns what, and who decides?]
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[To write: Which roles are missing, and how will you fill them?]
Service or Product Line
Tip: About 14% of the plan. Describe what you sell in terms of what it does for the customer, not its features.
- •
[To write: What exactly are you selling, and what does it do for the customer?]
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[To write: What stage is it at, and what is left to build or test?]
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[To write: What makes it hard to copy, if anything?]
Marketing and Sales
Tip: About 18% of the plan. Show how you will win customers, and what it will cost.
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[To write: How will customers hear about you, and what will that cost?]
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[To write: How will you price it, and why that price?]
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[To write: How will you sell it and keep customers coming back?]
Funding Request
Tip: About 6% of the plan. Skip this section if you are not asking for money, or say what you need instead.
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[To write: How much do you need, and over what period?]
- •
[To write: What will the money be spent on?]
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[To write: What will the business have achieved when it is spent?]
Financial Projections
Tip: About 15% of the plan. Put tables here and keep the words for assumptions. Every number should trace to a stated assumption.
- •
[To write: What are the sales forecasts, and the assumptions behind each?]
- •
[To write: What are the start-up and running costs?]
- •
[To write: When does the business break even, and when does it need cash most?]
Appendix
Tip: Supporting material that would clog the main text: résumés, permits, product images, detailed tables, and full source lists. It does not count towards the word target.
Before You Submit
- The executive summary was written last and stands on its own
- Every market figure has a source
- Financial assumptions are stated, and the numbers agree between sections
- The plan follows the competition's or course's own headings and length limit
- A reader who has never heard of the business could follow it