Business Plan PDF Templates

1. What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a formal written document containing business goals, the methods on how these goals can be attained, and the time frame within which these goals need to be achieved. It also describes the nature of the business, background information on the organization, the organization's financial projections, and the strategies it intends to implement to achieve the stated targets. In its entirety, this document serves as a road map that provides direction to the business.

2. What is the purpose of a Business Plan?

A good business plan acts as a dynamic blueprint for running and expanding your business, according to Inc.com. To write a business plan you can use, however, it is necessary for you to understand the main purposes of one.

• To prove that you’re serious about your business.

A formal business plan is necessary to show all interested parties — employees, investors, partners and yourself — that you are committed to building the business.

• To establish business milestones.

The business plan should clearly lay out the long-term milestones that are most important to the success of your business.

• To better understand your competition.

Creating the business plan forces you to analyze the competition. All companies have competition in the form of either direct or indirect competitors, and it is critical to understand your company’s competitive advantages.

• To assess the feasibility of your venture.

How good is this opportunity? The business plan process involves researching your target market, as well as the competitive landscape, and serves as a feasibility study for the success of your venture.

• To document your revenue model.

How exactly will your business make money? This is a critical question to answer in writing, for yourself and your investors. Documenting the revenue model helps to address challenges and assumptions associated with the model.

• To attract investors.

A formal business plan is the basis for financing proposals. The business plan answers investors’ questions such as: Is there a need for this product/service? What are the financial projections? What is the company’s exit strategy?

3. How to prepare a Business Plan?

Writing a business plan may seem intimidating, it doesn’t have to be. As long as you take some time, include essential information, and follow a handful of simple steps, you’ll be on your way to creating the perfect plan. To help you through the process, we’ve developed this guide on how to write a business plan, step by step. We’ll take you through each step and section so that you’ll be able to get yours completed in no time.

• Create your executive summary.
• Add your company overview.
• Perform your market analysis.
• Define your business’s organization.
• Describe your products and services.
• Explain your marketing and sales plan.
• Detail your financial plan and projections.
• Add an appendix.

Although this is one of the most common ways to write a business plan, it’s not the only way. Therefore, as you’re learning how to write a business plan for yourself, you might find it helpful to consult different templates and examples.

4. Free Business Plan Templates and Samples

If you’re searching for business plan templates, you’ll find various options online, including fillable PDFs, Word documents, and software platforms. For a great place to start, you can download our business plan templates for your industry here.