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This business plan template and guide is the result of 20 years of research into the types of business plans that help entrepreneurs and executives raise funding and build thriving companies.

It’s primarily for those who have never created a business plan, but there’s plenty of advice for those who have written one or many plans before.

I wrote this guide because — even in 2019 — much of the online advice on business planning is misleading or flat-out wrong. I can’t blame bloggers for it, because many of the facts herein are not widely known. It required me and my company to spend 20 years writing thousands of business plans to really know what works.

Below you’ll learn how to develop the best business plan with information including:

• What the keys to a great business plan are
• How to create your financial projections
• What to do if you’re writing a business plan for funding

You’ll also be able to download multiple business plan templates and see sample business plans.

Inspired? Good. Keep reading below and soon enough, you’ll be printing out a professional business plan for your company!

Business Plan Frequently Asked Questions

As you may recall, we have written thousands of business plans for clients for over 20 years. I say this not to brag, but to assure you that much information online about business plans is false.

Below you will find correct answers to the most common business plan questions.

Why do you need a business plan?

A business plan is important in that it serves two core purposes; it provides:

1. financial validation and
2. serves as a roadmap.

Financial Validation: With regards to financial validation, your business plan gives a strong indication, to both you and outside funding sources, as to whether your venture will be financially successful. Your financial projections, if completed properly (more on this below), allow financing sources to calculate whether you’ll be able to repay your loan or provide an appropriate Return on Investment.

Importantly, the written sections of your business plan support your financial projections. For instance, the Industry Analysis section must prove that your market size is large enough to support your success. And your Marketing Plan section must show that you’ll be employing promotional tactics that allow you to attract customers at a reasonable cost.

Serves as a Roadmap: In particular, the Operations Plan section of your business plan lays out your action plan. It details the key accomplishments and milestones you have established and when you expect to complete this.

The roadmap gives you and your team a clear path to follow. It keeps you focused and improves your odds of reaching the goals you’ve set.

When do you need to create your business plan?

When you are conceiving a new business or new product or service, you should at least create a basic business plan (see our simple business plan template below). This plan should cover the basics of your plan. For instance, it should include the reasons you think the business, product or service will be successful. It should prove that the market is big enough to support your business. And it must validate that financially it makes sense. For example, while you might be able to get a million people to pay you $20 for a new computer, but if you can’t manufacture the computers for significantly less than $20, the business isn’t viable.

If you are seeking outside funding or are looking to grow your business to the next level, it is also time to create a business plan.

What are the types of business plans?

There are several types of business plans, but they are all similar.

For example, there are 3 types of business plans depending on the goal of your plan. These three types are for funding, for strategy, and for both.

A plan for strategy focuses on ensuring you have the right strategy (marketing strategy, operations strategy, HR strategy, etc.) to grow a successful company. When you add the need for funding to this, you must also spend time convincing funding sources why your company will succeed.

There are also 2 types of business plans based on the level of comprehensiveness. One is a simple business plan, as previously mentioned, that covers just the basic items to give a preliminary assessment regarding whether or not the company is viable. On the other hand, a full or standard business plan includes all of the key 10 business planning sections.

There are also 2 types of business plans based on the company’s stage of growth. There are startup business plans for companies that are just forming, and there are established plans for those who are already operating.

In addition, there are 2 business plan types based on the company’s size. There are small business plans that generally cover companies up to 50 employees. Medium and large company plans are usually for companies with 51-250 employees and 250+ employees respectively.