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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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What is a Business Plan? Definition, Tips, and Templates

Published: June 28, 2024

Years ago, I had an idea to launch a line of region-specific board games. I knew there was a market for games that celebrated local culture and heritage. I was so excited about the concept and couldn't wait to get started.

But my idea never took off. Why? Because I didn‘t have a plan. I lacked direction, missed opportunities, and ultimately, the venture never got off the ground.

And that’s exactly why a business plan is important. It cements your vision, gives you clarity, and outlines your next step.

In this post, I‘ll explain what a business plan is, the reasons why you’d need one, identify different types of business plans, and what you should include in yours.

Table of Contents

What is a business plan?

What is a business plan used for.

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Purposes of a Business Plan

What does a business plan need to include, types of business plans.

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A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines a company's goals, strategies, and financial projections. It provides a detailed description of the business, including its products or services, target market, competitive landscape, and marketing and sales strategies. The plan also includes a financial section that forecasts revenue, expenses, and cash flow, as well as a funding request if the business is seeking investment.

The business plan is an undeniably critical component to getting any company off the ground. It's key to securing financing, documenting your business model, outlining your financial projections, and turning that nugget of a business idea into a reality.

The purpose of a business plan is three-fold: It summarizes the organization’s strategy in order to execute it long term, secures financing from investors, and helps forecast future business demands.

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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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What is a Business Plan? Definition and Resources

9 min. read

Updated July 29, 2024

If you’ve ever jotted down a business idea on a napkin with a few tasks you need to accomplish, you’ve written a business plan — or at least the very basic components of one.

The origin of formal business plans is murky. But they certainly go back centuries. And when you consider that 20% of new businesses fail in year 1 , and half fail within 5 years, the importance of thorough planning and research should be clear.

But just what is a business plan? And what’s required to move from a series of ideas to a formal plan? Here we’ll answer that question and explain why you need one to be a successful business owner.

• What is a business plan?

A business plan lays out a strategic roadmap for any new or growing business.

Any entrepreneur with a great idea for a business needs to conduct market research , analyze their competitors , validate their idea by talking to potential customers, and define their unique value proposition .

The business plan captures that opportunity you see for your company: it describes your product or service and business model , and the target market you’ll serve. 

It also includes details on how you’ll execute your plan: how you’ll price and market your solution and your financial projections .

Reasons for writing a business plan

If you’re asking yourself, ‘Do I really need to write a business plan?’ consider this fact: 

Companies that commit to planning grow 30% faster than those that don’t.

Creating a business plan is crucial for businesses of any size or stage. It helps you develop a working business and avoid consequences that could stop you before you ever start.

If you plan to raise funds for your business through a traditional bank loan or SBA loan , none of them will want to move forward without seeing your business plan. Venture capital firms may or may not ask for one, but you’ll still need to do thorough planning to create a pitch that makes them want to invest.

But it’s more than just a means of getting your business funded . The plan is also your roadmap to identify and address potential risks. 

It’s not a one-time document. Your business plan is a living guide to ensure your business stays on course.

Related: 14 of the top reasons why you need a business plan

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What research shows about business plans

Numerous studies have established that planning improves business performance:

• 71% of fast-growing companies have business plans that include budgets, sales goals, and marketing and sales strategies.
• Companies that clearly define their value proposition are more successful than those that can’t.
• Companies or startups with a business plan are more likely to get funding than those without one.
• Starting the business planning process before investing in marketing reduces the likelihood of business failure.

The planning process significantly impacts business growth for existing companies and startups alike.

Read More: Research-backed reasons why writing a business plan matters

When should you write a business plan?

No two business plans are alike. 

Yet there are similar questions for anyone considering writing a plan to answer. One basic but important question is when to start writing it.

A Harvard Business Review study found that the ideal time to write a business plan is between 6 and 12 months after deciding to start a business. 

But the reality can be more nuanced – it depends on the stage a business is in, or the type of business plan being written.

Ideal times to write a business plan include:

• When you have an idea for a business
• When you’re starting a business
• When you’re preparing to buy (or sell)
• When you’re trying to get funding
• When business conditions change
• When you’re growing or scaling your business

Read More: The best times to write or update your business plan

How often should you update your business plan?

As is often the case, how often a business plan should be updated depends on your circumstances.

A business plan isn’t a homework assignment to complete and forget about. At the same time, no one wants to get so bogged down in the details that they lose sight of day-to-day goals. 

But it should cover new opportunities and threats that a business owner surfaces, and incorporate feedback they get from customers. So it can’t be a static document.

Related Reading: 5 fundamental principles of business planning

For an entrepreneur at the ideation stage, writing and checking back on their business plan will help them determine if they can turn that idea into a profitable business .

And for owners of up-and-running businesses, updating the plan (or rewriting it) will help them respond to market shifts they wouldn’t be prepared for otherwise. 

It also lets them compare their forecasts and budgets to actual financial results. This invaluable process surfaces where a business might be out-performing expectations and where weak performance may require a prompt strategy change. 

The planning process is what uncovers those insights.

Related Reading: 10 prompts to help you write a business plan with AI

• How long should your business plan be?

Thinking about a business plan strictly in terms of page length can risk overlooking more important factors, like the level of detail or clarity in the plan. 

Not all of the plan consists of writing – there are also financial tables, graphs, and product illustrations to include.

But there are a few general rules to consider about a plan’s length:

• Your business plan shouldn’t take more than 15 minutes to skim.
• Business plans for internal use (not for a bank loan or outside investment) can be as short as 5 to 10 pages.

A good practice is to write your business plan to match the expectations of your audience. 

If you’re walking into a bank looking for a loan, your plan should match the formal, professional style that a loan officer would expect . But if you’re writing it for stakeholders on your own team—shorter and less formal (even just a few pages) could be the better way to go.

The length of your plan may also depend on the stage your business is in. 

For instance, a startup plan won’t have nearly as much financial information to include as a plan written for an established company will.

Read More: How long should your business plan be?  

What information is included in a business plan?

The contents of a plan business plan will vary depending on the industry the business is in. 

After all, someone opening a new restaurant will have different customers, inventory needs, and marketing tactics to consider than someone bringing a new medical device to the market. 

But there are some common elements that most business plans include:

• Executive summary: An overview of the business operation, strategy, and goals. The executive summary should be written last, despite being the first thing anyone will read.
• Products and services: A description of the solution that a business is bringing to the market, emphasizing how it solves the problem customers are facing.
• Market analysis: An examination of the demographic and psychographic attributes of likely customers, resulting in the profile of an ideal customer for the business.
• Competitive analysis: Documenting the competitors a business will face in the market, and their strengths and weaknesses relative to those competitors.
• Marketing and sales plan: Summarizing a business’s tactics to position their product or service favorably in the market, attract customers, and generate revenue.
• Operational plan: Detailing the requirements to run the business day-to-day, including staffing, equipment, inventory, and facility needs.
• Organization and management structure: A listing of the departments and position breakdown of the business, as well as descriptions of the backgrounds and qualifications of the leadership team.
• Key milestones: Laying out the key dates that a business is projected to reach certain milestones , such as revenue, break-even, or customer acquisition goals.
• Financial plan: Balance sheets, cash flow forecast , and sales and expense forecasts with forward-looking financial projections, listing assumptions and potential risks that could affect the accuracy of the plan.
• Appendix: All of the supporting information that doesn’t fit into specific sections of the business plan, such as data and charts.

Read More: Use this business plan outline to organize your plan

• Different types of business plans

A business plan isn’t a one-size-fits-all document. There are numerous ways to create an effective business plan that fits entrepreneurs’ or established business owners’ needs. 

Here are a few of the most common types of business plans for small businesses:

• One-page plan : Outlining all of the most important information about a business into an adaptable one-page plan.
• Growth plan : An ongoing business management plan that ensures business tactics and strategies are aligned as a business scales up.
• Internal plan : A shorter version of a full business plan to be shared with internal stakeholders – ideal for established companies considering strategic shifts.

Business plan vs. operational plan vs. strategic plan

• What questions are you trying to answer? 
• Are you trying to lay out a plan for the actual running of your business?
• Is your focus on how you will meet short or long-term goals? 

Since your objective will ultimately inform your plan, you need to know what you’re trying to accomplish before you start writing.

While a business plan provides the foundation for a business, other types of plans support this guiding document.

An operational plan sets short-term goals for the business by laying out where it plans to focus energy and investments and when it plans to hit key milestones.

Then there is the strategic plan , which examines longer-range opportunities for the business, and how to meet those larger goals over time.

Read More: How to use a business plan for strategic development and operations

• Business plan vs. business model

If a business plan describes the tactics an entrepreneur will use to succeed in the market, then the business model represents how they will make money. 

The difference may seem subtle, but it’s important. 

Think of a business plan as the roadmap for how to exploit market opportunities and reach a state of sustainable growth. By contrast, the business model lays out how a business will operate and what it will look like once it has reached that growth phase.

Learn More: The differences between a business model and business plan

• Moving from idea to business plan

Now that you understand what a business plan is, the next step is to start writing your business plan . 

The best way to start is by reviewing examples and downloading a business plan template . These resources will provide you with guidance and inspiration to help you write a plan.

We recommend starting with a simple one-page plan ; it streamlines the planning process and helps you organize your ideas. However, if one page doesn’t fit your needs, there are plenty of other great templates available that will put you well on your way to writing a useful business plan.

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.

Table of Contents

• Reasons to write a business plan
• Business planning research
• When to write a business plan
• When to update a business plan
• Information to include
• Business vs. operational vs. strategic plans

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What is a business plan? Definition, Purpose, and Types

In the world of business, a well-thought-out plan is often the key to success. This plan, known as a business plan, is a comprehensive document that outlines a company’s goals, strategies , and financial projections. Whether you’re starting a new business or looking to expand an existing one, a business plan is an essential tool.

As a business plan writer and consultant , I’ve crafted over 15,000 plans for a diverse range of businesses. In this article, I’ll be sharing my wealth of experience about what a business plan is, its purpose, and the step-by-step process of creating one. By the end, you’ll have a thorough understanding of how to develop a robust business plan that can drive your business to success.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a roadmap for your business. It outlines your goals, strategies, and how you plan to achieve them. It’s a living document that you can update as your business grows and changes.

Looking for someone to write a business plan?

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Purposes of a Business Plan

These are the following purpose of business plan:

• Attract investors and lenders: If you’re seeking funding for your business , a business plan is a must-have. Investors and lenders want to see that you have a clear plan for how you’ll use their money to grow your business and generate revenue.
• Get organized and stay on track: Writing a business plan forces you to think through all aspects of your business, from your target market to your marketing strategy. This can help you identify any potential challenges and opportunities early on, so you can develop a plan to address them.
• Make better decisions: A business plan can help you make better decisions about your business by providing you with a framework to evaluate different options. For example, if you’re considering launching a new product, your business plan can help you assess the potential market demand, costs, and profitability.

What are the essential components of a business plan?

Executive summary

The executive summary is the most important part of your business plan, even though it’s the last one you’ll write. It’s the first section that potential investors or lenders will read, and it may be the only one they read. The executive summary sets the stage for the rest of the document by introducing your company’s mission or vision statement, value proposition, and long-term goals.

Business description or overview

The business description section of your business plan should introduce your business to the reader in a compelling and concise way. It should include your business name, years in operation, key offerings, positioning statement, and core values (if applicable). You may also want to include a short history of your company.

Product and price

In this section, the company should describe its products or services , including pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other relevant information could include production and manufacturing processes, patents, and proprietary technology.

Competitive analysis

Every industry has competitors, even if your business is the first of its kind or has the majority of the market share. In the competitive analysis section of your business plan, you’ll objectively assess the industry landscape to understand your business’s competitive position. A SWOT analysis is a structured way to organize this section.

Target market

Your target market section explains the core customers of your business and why they are your ideal customers. It should include demographic, psychographic, behavioral, and geographic information about your target market.

Marketing plan

Marketing plan describes how the company will attract and retain customers, including any planned advertising and marketing campaigns . It also describes how the company will distribute its products or services to consumers.

After outlining your goals, validating your business opportunity, and assessing the industry landscape, the team section of your business plan identifies who will be responsible for achieving your goals. Even if you don’t have your full team in place yet, investors will be impressed by your clear understanding of the roles that need to be filled.

Financial plan

In the financial plan section,established businesses should provide financial statements , balance sheets , and other financial data. New businesses should provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years, and may also request funding.

Funding requirements

Since one goal of a business plan is to secure funding from investors , you should include the amount of funding you need, why you need it, and how long you need it for.

• Tip: Use bullet points and numbered lists to make your plan easy to read and scannable.

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Types of business plan.

Business plans can come in many different formats, but they are often divided into two main types: traditional and lean startup. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) says that the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

Lean startup business plans

Lean startup business plans are short (as short as one page) and focus on the most important elements. They are easy to create, but companies may need to provide more information if requested by investors or lenders.

Traditional business plans

Traditional business plans are longer and more detailed than lean startup business plans, which makes them more time-consuming to create but more persuasive to potential investors. Lean startup business plans are shorter and less detailed, but companies should be prepared to provide more information if requested.

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How often should a business plan be reviewed and revised?

A business plan should be reviewed and revised at least annually, or more often if the business is experiencing significant changes. This is because the business landscape is constantly changing, and your business plan needs to reflect those changes in order to remain relevant and effective.

Here are some specific situations in which you should review and revise your business plan:

• You have launched a new product or service line.
• You have entered a new market.
• You have experienced significant changes in your customer base or competitive landscape.
• You have made changes to your management team or organizational structure.
• You have raised new funding.

What are the key elements of a lean startup business plan?

A lean startup business plan is a short and simple way for a company to explain its business, especially if it is new and does not have a lot of information yet. It can include sections on the company’s value proposition, major activities and advantages, resources, partnerships, customer segments, and revenue sources.

What are some of the reasons why business plans don't succeed?

• Unrealistic assumptions: Business plans are often based on assumptions about the market, the competition, and the company’s own capabilities. If these assumptions are unrealistic, the plan is doomed to fail.
• Lack of focus: A good business plan should be focused on a specific goal and how the company will achieve it. If the plan is too broad or tries to do too much, it is unlikely to be successful.
• Poor execution: Even the best business plan is useless if it is not executed properly. This means having the right team in place, the necessary resources, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances.
• Unforeseen challenges:  Every business faces challenges that could not be predicted or planned for. These challenges can be anything from a natural disaster to a new competitor to a change in government regulations.

What are the benefits of having a business plan?

• It helps you to clarify your business goals and strategies.
• It can help you to attract investors and lenders.
• It can serve as a roadmap for your business as it grows and changes.
• It can help you to make better business decisions.

How to write a business plan?

There are many different ways to write a business plan, but most follow the same basic structure. Here is a step-by-step guide:

• Executive summary.
• Company description.
• Management and organization description.
• Financial projections.

How to write a business plan step by step?

Start with an executive summary, then describe your business, analyze the market, outline your products or services, detail your marketing and sales strategies, introduce your team, and provide financial projections.

Why do I need a business plan for my startup?

A business plan helps define your startup’s direction, attract investors, secure funding, and make informed decisions crucial for success.

What are the key components of a business plan?

Key components include an executive summary, business description, market analysis, products or services, marketing and sales strategy, management and team, financial projections, and funding requirements.

Can a business plan help secure funding for my business?

Yes, a well-crafted business plan demonstrates your business’s viability, the use of investment, and potential returns, making it a valuable tool for attracting investors and lenders.

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How To Write a Business Plan

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Starting a business is a wild ride, and a solid business plan can be the key to keeping you on track. A business plan is essentially a roadmap for your business — outlining your goals, strategies, market analysis and financial projections. Not only will it guide your decision-making, a business plan can help you secure funding with a loan or from investors .

Writing a business plan can seem like a huge task, but taking it one step at a time can break the plan down into manageable milestones. Here is our step-by-step guide on how to write a business plan.

Table of contents

• Write your executive summary
• Do your market research homework
• Set your business goals and objectives
• Plan your business strategy
• Describe your product or service
• Crunch the numbers
• Finalize your business plan

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Step 1: Write your executive summary

Though this will be the first page of your business plan , we recommend you actually write the executive summary last. That’s because an executive summary highlights what’s to come in the business plan but in a more condensed fashion.

An executive summary gives stakeholders who are reading your business plan the key points quickly without having to comb through pages and pages. Be sure to cover each successive point in a concise manner, and include as much data as necessary to support your claims.

You’ll cover other things too, but answer these basic questions in your executive summary:

• Idea: What’s your business concept? What problem does your business solve? What are your business goals?
• Product: What’s your product/service and how is it different?
• Market: Who’s your audience? How will you reach customers?
• Finance: How much will your idea cost? And if you’re seeking funding, how much money do you need? How much do you expect to earn? If you’ve already started, where is your revenue at now?

Step 2: Do your market research homework

The next step in writing a business plan is to conduct market research . This involves gathering information about your target market (or customer persona), your competition, and the industry as a whole. You can use a variety of research methods such as surveys, focus groups, and online research to gather this information. Your method may be formal or more casual, just make sure that you’re getting good data back.

This research will help you to understand the needs of your target market and the potential demand for your product or service—essential aspects of starting and growing a successful business.

Step 3: Set your business goals and objectives

Once you’ve completed your market research, you can begin to define your business goals and objectives. What is the problem you want to solve? What’s your vision for the future? Where do you want to be in a year from now?

Use this step to decide what you want to achieve with your business, both in the short and long term. Try to set SMART goals—specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound benchmarks—that will help you to stay focused and motivated as you build your business.

Step 4: Plan your business strategy

Your business strategy is how you plan to reach your goals and objectives. This includes details on positioning your product or service, marketing and sales strategies, operational plans, and the organizational structure of your small business.

Make sure to include key roles and responsibilities for each team member if you’re in a business entity with multiple people.

Step 5: Describe your product or service

In this section, get into the nitty-gritty of your product or service. Go into depth regarding the features, benefits, target market, and any patents or proprietary tech you have. Make sure to paint a clear picture of what sets your product apart from the competition—and don’t forget to highlight any customer benefits.

Step 6: Crunch the numbers

Financial analysis is an essential part of your business plan. If you’re already in business that includes your profit and loss statement , cash flow statement and balance sheet .

These financial projections will give investors and lenders an understanding of the financial health of your business and the potential return on investment.

You may want to work with a financial professional to ensure your financial projections are realistic and accurate.

Step 7: Finalize your business plan

Once you’ve completed everything, it's time to finalize your business plan. This involves reviewing and editing your plan to ensure that it is clear, concise, and easy to understand.

You should also have someone else review your plan to get a fresh perspective and identify any areas that may need improvement. You could even work with a free SCORE mentor on your business plan or use a SCORE business plan template for more detailed guidance.

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The takeaway

Writing a business plan is an essential process for any forward-thinking entrepreneur or business owner. A business plan requires a lot of up-front research, planning, and attention to detail, but it’s worthwhile. Creating a comprehensive business plan can help you achieve your business goals and secure the funding you need.

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What Is A Business Plan (& Do I Really Need One?)

The term "business plan" is a familiar one, often bandied about in entrepreneurial circles. Yet, despite its ubiquity, it's remarkable how much mystery and confusion can surround this essential business tool.

What exactly is a business plan? What purpose does it serve? How is it structured? This article aims to lift the veil, demystifying the business plan and revealing its multifaceted nature.

Business Plan Definition

A business plan is a document that describes a company's objectives and its marketing, financial, and operational strategies for achieving them. It's more than a mere document; it's a structured communication tool designed to articulate the vision of the business, allowing stakeholders to easily find the information they seek.

The business plan is a tangible reflection of the strategic planning that has gone into the business's future. While the plan is a static document, the planning is a dynamic process, capturing the strategic thinking and decision-making that shape the business's direction.

Purposes of a Business Plan

1. attracting funding opportunities.

A well-crafted business plan illustrates the company's potential for growth and profitability. It outlines the company's vision, mission, and strategies, providing a clear roadmap for success. A potential investor, whether venture capitalists or angel investors, can see how capital will be utilized, fostering trust and confidence in the business venture. A bank or financial institution can assess your company's ability to meet debt service obligations and compliance with strict financial accounting to meet underwriting requirements.

2. Aligning Organizational Objectives

A business plan acts as a unifying document that aligns the team with the company's goals and strategies. It ensures that everyone is on the same page, working towards common objectives. This alignment fosters collaboration and efficiency, driving the business towards its targets.

3. Validating the Business Concept

Before launching, a business plan helps in validating the feasibility of the business idea. It's a rigorous process that tests the concept against real-world scenarios, ensuring that the idea is not only innovative but also practical and sustainable. This validation builds credibility and prepares the business for the challenges ahead. For an existing business, a business plan can help address a possible merger and acquisition (M&A), rolling out a new business product or location, or expanding the target market.

4. Facilitating Legal and Regulatory Compliance

Whether it's securing a visa for international operations or meeting other regulatory requirements, a business plan can be an essential tool. It provides the necessary information in a structured format, demonstrating compliance with legal and regulatory standards. This can streamline processes and prevent potential legal hurdles.

5. Articulating and Formalizing the Business Vision

The business plan is more than a set of numbers and projections; it's the embodiment of the business vision. It communicates the essence of the business to stakeholders, turning abstract ideas into a concrete operational plan. It's a vital tool for leadership to articulate and formalize the vision, setting the stage for strategic execution.

Identifying the Right Type of Business Plan

Once you understand who your business plan is for and what specific needs it must address, you can identify the type of plan that best suits your situation. Business plans can be categorized into two main types: traditional and lean, each serveing its own unique purpose.

Traditional Business Plan

The Traditional Business Plan is a detailed and comprehensive document, often used by a new business, especially those seeking significant funding. It provides a complete picture of the company's vision, strategies, and operations. A traditional business plan leaves no stone unturned, offering a robust tool that communicates the business's entire vision and plan to stakeholders.

Lean Business Plan

In contrast, the Lean Business Plan is an abbreviated structure that still emphasizes the key elements of a Traditional Business Plan, but in less detail. It's suitable for early-stage startups, small businesses, or situations where agility and speed are essential. The Lean Business Plan focuses on the essentials, providing a quick overview without overwhelming details. It's a flexible and adaptable tool that can evolve with the business. One of the primary distinctions between it and a Traditional Business Plan is that a Lean Business Plan does not typically include financial planning, or if it does, it's a simple financial forecast or cash burn.

Components of a Business Plan

There are many places online where you can buy a business plan template. Often, those documents are just an outline of the sections of the business plan and what is included in each. If that's what you're looking for, here's a good business plan outline:

Executive Summary

The Executive Summary is the first section read but often the last written, as it encapsulates the entire plan. If the company has a mission statement, it's typically included here. When used for funding, it includes the ask or uses of funds, and for investment, it may contain an investor proposition. It's a concise overview that sets the tone, summarizing each section that follows.

Company Overview

The Company Overview is the foundation of the business, articulating how it operates, generates revenue, and delivers unique value to its customers. This section defines products and/or service the business sells, as well as the company’s business model and unique value proposition. It covers key partners, pricing strategy, revenue model, and other essential business activities. 

Market Analysis Summary

The Market Analysis is the business intelligence portion of the plan. It comprises an industry analysis, market segments, target customers, competitive analysis, competitive advantage. This section provides insights into the market landscape, identifying opportunities, challenges, and how the business positions itself uniquely within the industry.

Strategy & Implementation Summary

Here, the business plan should outline the short-term and long-term objectives, marketing strategy and sales approach. It's a roadmap that details how the business will achieve its goals, including tactical steps, timelines, and resources. In a business plan for investors, the inclusion of an exit strategy can provide a vision for the future, considering various potential outcomes.

Management Summary

The Management Summary offers profiles of key personnel, their qualifications, roles, and plans to fill talent gaps. It's a snapshot of the leadership team, providing assurance that the right people are in place to execute the business plan successfully.

Financial Projections

This section includes standard financial statements like the profit & loss statement (P&L), the balance sheet, and the cash flow statement. It offers a detailed financial blueprint, illustrating the company’s revenue drivers and unit assumptions, income statement, a break-even analysis, and a sensitivity analysis to examine how changes in variables affect outcomes. For businesses with complex structures, framing the revenue in terms of market share can offer additional insight into the viability and feasibility of the financial projections.

The Appendices often include year 1 and year 2 monthly financial statements, intellectual property like patents and trademarks, construction blueprints, and other essential documentation. It's a repository for supporting information that adds depth and context to the main sections of the plan.

Do I Need a Business Plan?

The question "Do I need a business plan?" is one that many entrepreneurs and business leaders grapple with. The answer, however, is not as straightforward as it might seem. While not every business requires a traditional business plan, the strategic planning process is essential for all. 

In some cases, a traditional business plan is required. Applying for a Small Business Administration (SBA) loan , obtaining a entrepreneurship visa , or meeting specific investor requirements may mandate a comprehensive business plan.

However a traditional business plan isn’t always necessary. For example, in early-stage investor funding, particularly in industries like SaaS, a lean business plan accompanied by a pitch deck presentation will often suffice. The focus here is on agility and essential information rather than exhaustive detail.

Every Business Needs Business Planning

Unlike the traditional business plan, which may or may not be required depending on the situation, business planning as a process is indispensable for every business, regardless of size or stage.

Business planning is a dynamic, continuous process. It's not confined to a single document but evolves with the business, adapting to changes, challenges, and opportunities. Effective strategic planning ensures internal alignment with both long-term vision and short-term objectives. It's a holistic approach that guides business goal-setting decision-making, resource allocation, and strategic direction. It often serves as the basis for a fully developed marketing plan.

Every business, from a small startup to a large corporation, benefits from strategic planning. It's a practice that fosters growth, innovation, and resilience, providing a roadmap for success.

Not every business needs a traditional business plan as a document, but all businesses need to engage in business planning as a process. While the traditional business plan serves specific purposes and audiences, business planning is a universal practice that guides and grows the business.

Entrepreneurs and business leaders must assess their specific needs, recognizing that the traditional business plan is just one tool among many. The true value of the business plan lies in continuous planning, adapting, and aligning with the unique vision and goals of the business.

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Business Plan

By Entrepreneur Staff

Business Plan Definition:

A written document describing the nature of the business, the sales and marketing strategy, and the financial background, and containing a projected profit and loss statement

A business plan is also a road map that provides directions so a business can plan its future and helps it avoid bumps in the road. The time you spend making your business plan thorough and accurate, and keeping it up-to-date, is an investment that pays big dividends in the long term.

Your business plan should conform to generally accepted guidelines regarding form and content. Each section should include specific elements and address relevant questions that the people who read your plan will most likely ask. Generally, a business plan has the following components:

Title Page and Contents A business plan should be presented in a binder with a cover listing the name of the business, the name(s) of the principal(s), address, phone number, e-mail and website addresses, and the date. You don't have to spend a lot of money on a fancy binder or cover. Your readers want a plan that looks professional, is easy to read and is well-put-together.

Include the same information on the title page. If you have a logo, you can use it, too. A table of contents follows the executive summary or statement of purpose, so that readers can quickly find the information or financial data they need.

Executive Summary The executive summary, or statement of purpose, succinctly encapsulates your reason for writing the business plan. It tells the reader what you want and why, right up front. Are you looking for a $10,000 loan to remodel and refurbish your factory? A loan of $25,000 to expand your product line or buy new equipment? How will you repay your loan, and over what term? Would you like to find a partner to whom you'd sell 25 percent of the business? What's in it for him or her? The questions that pertain to your situation should be addressed here clearly and succinctly.

The summary or statement should be no more than half a page in length and should touch on the following key elements:

• Business concept describes the business, its product, the market it serves and the business' competitive advantage.
• Financial features include financial highlights, such as sales and profits.
• Financial requirements state how much capital is needed for startup or expansion, how it will be used and what collateral is available.
• Current business position furnishes relevant information about the company, its legal form of operation, when it was founded, the principal owners and key personnel.
• Major achievements points out anything noteworthy, such as patents, prototypes, important contracts regarding product development, or results from test marketing that have been conducted.

Description of the Business The business description usually begins with a short explanation of the industry. When describing the industry, discuss what's going on now as well as the outlook for the future. Do the necessary research so you can provide information on all the various markets within the industry, including references to new products or developments that could benefit or hinder your business. Base your observations on reliable data and be sure to footnote and cite your sources of information when necessary. Remember that bankers and investors want to know hard facts--they won't risk money on assumptions or conjecture.

When describing your business, say which sector it falls into (wholesale, retail, food service, manufacturing, hospitality and so on), and whether the business is new or established. Then say whether the business is a sole proprietorship, partnership, C or Sub chapter S corporation. Next, list the business' principals and state what they bring to the business. Continue with information on who the business' customers are, how big the market is, and how the product or service is distributed and marketed.

Description of the Product or Service The business description can be a few paragraphs to a few pages in length, depending on the complexity of your plan. If your plan isn't too complicated, keep your business description short, describing the industry in one paragraph, the product in another, and the business and its success factors in two or three more paragraphs.

When you describe your product or service, make sure your reader has a clear idea of what you're talking about. Explain how people use your product or service and talk about what makes your product or service different from others available in the market. Be specific about what sets your business apart from those of your competitors.

Then explain how your business will gain a competitive edge and why your business will be profitable. Describe the factors you think will make it successful. If your business plan will be used as a financing proposal, explain why the additional equity or debt will make your business more profitable. Give hard facts, such as "new equipment will create an income stream of $10,000 per year" and briefly describe how.

Other information to address here is a description of the experience of the other key people in the business. Whoever reads your business plan will want to know what suppliers or experts you've spoken to about your business and their response to your idea. They may even ask you to clarify your choice of location or reasons for selling this particular product.

Market Analysis A thorough market analysis will help you define your prospects as well as help you establish pricing, distribution, and promotional strategies that will allow your company to be successful vis-à-vis your competition, both in the short and long term.

Begin your market analysis by defining the market in terms of size, demographics, structure, growth prospects, trends, and sales potential. Next, determine how often your product or service will be purchased by your target market. Then figure out the potential annual purchase. Then figure out what percentage of this annual sum you either have or can attain. Keep in mind that no one gets 100 percent market share, and that a something as small as 25 percent is considered a dominant share. Your market share will be a benchmark that tells you how well you're doing in light of your market-planning projections.

You'll also have to describe your positioning strategy. How you differentiate your product or service from that of your competitors and then determine which market niche to fill is called "positioning." Positioning helps establish your product or service's identity within the eyes of the purchaser. A positioning statement for a business plan doesn't have to be long or elaborate, but it does need to point out who your target market is, how you'll reach them, what they're really buying from you, who your competitors are, and what your USP (unique selling proposition) is.

How you price your product or service is perhaps your most important marketing decision. It's also one of the most difficult to make for most small business owners, because there are no instant formulas. Many methods of establishing prices are available to you, but these are among the most common.

• Cost-plus pricing is used mainly by manufacturers to assure that all costs, both fixed and variable, are covered and the desired profit percentage is attained.
• Demand pricing is used by companies that sell their products through a variety of sources at differing prices based on demand.
• Competitive pricing is used by companies that are entering a market where there's already an established price and it's difficult to differentiate one product from another.
• Markup pricing is used mainly by retailers and is calculated by adding your desired profit to the cost of the product.

You'll also have to determine distribution, which includes the entire process of moving the product from the factory to the end user. Make sure to analyze your competitors' distribution channels before deciding whether to use the same type of channel or an alternative that may provide you with a strategic advantage.

Finally, your promotion strategy should include all the ways you communicate with your markets to make them aware of your products or services. To be successful, your promotion strategy should address advertising, packaging, public relations, sales promotions and personal sales.

Competitive Analysis The purpose of the competitive analysis is to determine:

• the strengths and weaknesses of the competitors within your market.
• strategies that will provide you with a distinct advantage.
• barriers that can be developed to prevent competition from entering your market.
• any weaknesses that can be exploited in the product development cycle.

The first step in a competitor analysis is to identify both direct and indirect competition for your business, both now and in the future. Once you've grouped your competitors, start analyzing their marketing strategies and identifying their vulnerable areas by examining their strengths and weaknesses. This will help you determine your distinct competitive advantage.

Whoever reads your business plan should be very clear on who your target market is, what your market niche is, exactly how you'll stand apart from your competitors, and why you'll be successful doing so.

Operations and Management The operations and management component of your plan is designed to describe how the business functions on a continuing basis. The operations plan highlights the logistics of the organization, such as the responsibilities of the management team, the tasks assigned to each division within the company, and capital and expense requirements related to the operations of the business.

Financial Components of Your Business Plan After defining the product, market and operations, the next area to turn your attention to are the three financial statements that form the backbone of your business plan: the income statement, cash flow statement, and balance sheet.

The income statement is a simple and straightforward report on the business' cash-generating ability. It is a scorecard on the financial performance of your business that reflects when sales are made and when expenses are incurred. It draws information from the various financial models developed earlier such as revenue, expenses, capital (in the form of depreciation), and cost of goods. By combining these elements, the income statement illustrates just how much your company makes or loses during the year by subtracting cost of goods and expenses from revenue to arrive at a net result, which is either a profit or loss. In addition to the income statements, include a note analyzing the results. The analysis should be very short, emphasizing the key points of the income statement. Your CPA can help you craft this.

The cash flow statement is one of the most critical information tools for your business, since it shows how much cash you'll need to meet obligations, when you'll require it and where it will come from. The result is the profit or loss at the end of each month and year. The cash flow statement carries both profits and losses over to the next month to also show the cumulative amount. Running a loss on your cash flow statement is a major red flag that indicates not having enough cash to meet expenses-something that demands immediate attention and action.

The cash flow statement should be prepared on a monthly basis during the first year, on a quarterly basis for the second year, and annually for the third year. The following 17 items are listed in the order they need to appear on your cash flow statement. As with the income statement, you'll need to analyze the cash flow statement in a short summary in the business plan. Once again, the analysis doesn't have to be long and should cover highlights only. Ask your CPA for help.

The last financial statement you'll need is a balance sheet. Unlike the previous financial statements, the balance sheet is generated annually for the business plan and is, more or less, a summary of all the preceding financial information broken down into three areas: assets, liabilities and equity.

Balance sheets are used to calculate the net worth of a business or individual by measuring assets against liabilities. If your business plan is for an existing business, the balance sheet from your last reporting period should be included. If the business plan is for a new business, try to project what your assets and liabilities will be over the course of the business plan to determine what equity you may accumulate in the business. To obtain financing for a new business, you'll need to include a personal financial statement or balance sheet.

In the business plan, you'll need to create an analysis for the balance sheet just as you need to do for the income and cash flow statements. The analysis of the balance sheet should be kept short and cover key points.

Supporting Documents In this section, include any other documents that are of interest to your reader, such as your resume; contracts with suppliers, customers, or clients, letters of reference, letters of intent, copy of your lease and any other legal documents, tax returns for the previous three years, and anything else relevant to your business plan.

Some people think you don't need a business plan unless you're trying to borrow money. Of course, it's true that you do need a good plan if you intend to approach a lender--whether a banker, a venture capitalist or any number of other sources--for startup capital. But a business plan is more than a pitch for financing; it's a guide to help you define and meet your business goals.

Just as you wouldn't start off on a cross-country drive without a road map, you should not embark on your new business without a business plan to guide you. A business plan won't automatically make you a success, but it will help you avoid some common causes of business failure, such as under-capitalization or lack of an adequate market.

As you research and prepare your business plan, you'll find weak spots in your business idea that you'll be able to repair. You'll also discover areas with potential you may not have thought about before--and ways to profit from them. Only by putting together a business plan can you decide whether your great idea is really worth your time and investment.

More from Business Plans

Financial projections.

Estimates of the future financial performance of a business

Financial Statement

A written report of the financial condition of a firm. Financial statements include the balance sheet, income statement, statement of changes in net worth and statement of cash flow.

Executive Summary

A nontechnical summary statement at the beginning of a business plan that's designed to encapsulate your reason for writing the plan

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What Is a Work Plan? How to Make a Work Plan In 7 Steps

Before you can accomplish your project goals, you need to plan how to reach them. A work plan creates a clear path project teams can follow to reach their desired goals and objectives. Along that path will be resources, constraints and other work management elements that need to be described in your work plan.

What Is a Work Plan?

As its name suggests, a work plan is an action plan that helps project teams achieve their goals. Work plans factor in key project planning elements such as tasks, milestones, deliverables, resources, budgetary requirements and a timeline to weave it all together.

The work plan won’t be written and initiated by a single person and it should be submitted to board members and stakeholders for approval. Once approved, you can continue building out the rest of your work plan.

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Work Plan Template

Use this free Work Plan Template for Word to manage your projects better.

Why Do You Need a Work Plan?

As we mentioned, your work plan acts as your roadmap for the entire project execution. Not only will it keep you and your team organized, but it’ll ensure that you get buy-in from key stakeholders, related departments, relevant accountability/risk leaders and more.

Additionally, it helps manage expectations on both the stakeholder level as well as on the managerial and team member level—everyone that starts off on the right foot has a better chance of landing on the right foot, too.

Work plans guide project teams in a similar way project plans do. However, there’s a big difference between these two important project management documents .

Work Plan vs. Project Plan

Work plans are not as comprehensive as project plans , which have a wider scope and involve more components. The main difference between them is that project plans are created from a high-level view and address every aspect of project management. On the other hand, work plans focus on helping project teams achieve smaller objectives.

If you build your work plan in project management software like ProjectManager , then it’s easy to continue to iterate on your plan and make improvements over time. You can use robust project planning tools such as Gantt charts, kanban boards, project dashboards and much more. Get started today for free.

How to Make a Work Plan in 7 Steps

While work plans might take many forms, here are some simple work planning steps you can follow to make one.

1. Set Goals & Objectives

Before anything, it’s important to write down the goals and objectives that’ll be achieved through your work plan. These will describe the purpose of your plan. It’s important to use SMART goals : create goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-related. This should help you start your plan off on the right foot.

Your goals might sound like your purpose, but they’re more specific in that they’re more long-term oriented — i.e., your team learned more about the process of launching a bug fix or how to respond more directly to customer or market feedback.

Similarly, your project objectives should be measurable. For example, the objective of this project after launch is to create an increase of xx% of active monthly subscribers, or a certain dollar amount in revenue generated.

2. Define the Scope of Your Work Plan

Once you’ve identified your work plan goals, you should use a work breakdown structure (WBS) to identify all the tasks that must be executed to achieve them, which is your project scope. By breaking down your project scope, you can start assembling a team, estimating costs, creating a budget and drafting a project schedule.

3. Estimate What Resources Are Needed

When you break down your project scope using a WBS, you can better estimate what resources are needed for each task in your work plan. Make sure to include different types of project resources, such as human resources, raw materials, machinery, subcontractors or anything else that you might need for the execution of your work plan.

4. Assign Roles & Responsibilities

Now, assemble a project team and clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each member. Communicate with them and make sure they understand what their job is and how they can collaborate with each other.

5. Estimate Costs & Create a Budget

Once you have a clear idea of what resources are needed for your work plan, it’s time to estimate their costs and create a budget . To do so, simply establish a measurement unit for your labor, materials and other resources to then assign a price to them.

6. Create a Project Schedule

There are different tools and techniques you can use to create a project schedule for your work plan. In fact, most project managers use Gantt charts, project calendars, kanban boards.

7. List Any Risks, Constraints and Assumptions

Remember that your work plan is the action plan that’ll guide your project, so the more details you have about constraints and potential risks, the better your team will perform their tasks to produce deliverables and achieve the goals and objectives.

Maybe some of your team members take a few sick days during this period of time; maybe unexpected tasks have to be executed; maybe some of your tools crash that requires more money pulled from the budget. Whatever your project constraints may be, factor in anything that might feel like a risk that can lead to a full-blown constraint, which may affect the completion of deliverables or even the goals and objectives of your project.

Free Work Plan Template

Our work plan template can help you document the steps explained above. Be sure to constantly monitor your template and update it as changes occur in your planning process. Or, if you’re looking for more dynamic project planning tools, you can use Gantt charts.

A work plan template can help you organize your thoughts, but in order to create your action plan and execute it, you’ll need dynamic project management software to help you throughout the planning, execution and monitoring phases.

Work Plan Example

Here’s a basic example to better illustrate how a work plan works. Let’s imagine you’re a business owner who wants to increase your production output by 25 percent by acquiring new machinery and hiring more production employees. While this project doesn’t involve producing tangible deliverables , you’ll still need a work plan.

Goals & Objectives It’s important to define one primary goal and then some smaller, more specific objectives needed for the completion of that goal.

Main Work Plan Goal Increase production output by 25 percent.

Work Plan Objectives

• Improve the company’s production capacity by acquiring new machinery
• Fill skill gaps in the production planning team
• Make sure machinery is well-maintained

Scope of the Work Plan Now, you should list individual activities that must be completed in order to achieve your goal and objectives. Here’s a simple breakdown of activities.

• Inspect the production line
• Perform preventive maintenance
• Optimize plant layout
• Acquire new machinery
• Assess the current team
• Hire new personnel

Resources/Roles & Responsibilities In this case, you’ll need a production manager, HR manager and maintenance team. They’re responsible for executing the tasks listed above.

Work Plan Budget Your budget should cover both the labor costs as well as the cost of the new equipment. Your labor costs will be the salaries of the production manager, HR manager and maintenance team. Make sure you estimate your project costs accurately before creating a budget.

Work Plan Schedule Define a timeframe for the analysis of your production line, the procurement of new machinery, preventive maintenance and hiring.

Risk, Assumptions & Constraints Think about any risks, assumptions or constraints that might affect your work plan. The best place to start is the triple constraint of time, budget and resources.

Creating a Work Plan With Project Management Software

To learn more about how project management tools such as Gantt charts , kanban boards and project dashboards can help you make the perfect work plan, watch the short video below. We’ll quickly show you all the ways that project planning software can improve your planning, execution and reporting—so you can make that work plan with confidence.

ProjectManager Can Help You With Your Work Plan

Getting every detail of a work plan sorted is no easy task—from managing your team to managing your stakeholders. It requires a delicate balance of understanding your project timeline, the tasks that make up the project scope, potential risks , balancing a budget and allocating resources. Not to mention, you’ll have to do this while keeping the customers’ ultimate needs and the project goals and objectives in mind.

With ProjectManager , our online Gantt charts let you schedule your entire project timeline, assign tasks, create dependencies and oversee tracking. Additionally, we have team collaboration features that allow your staff and managers to comment on tasks, attach necessary files, and interact with each other no matter where they’re located.

ProjectManager also features resource management tools that let you balance the hours worked across your team. This helps ensure that your time, tools and resources are balanced no matter what.

Related Work Management Content

• What Is Work Management? Creating a Work Management System
• Best Work Management Software of 2024 for Remote Teams
• What is a Statement of Work? Definition & Examples
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)

Creating a work plan and don’t know where to start? We’ve got you covered. With ProjectManager , you’ll get access to online software that helps you to better track your work plan from milestone to milestone. Start your free 30-day trial with ProjectManager  today.

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• Building Your Business

What Is a Business Plan?

Business Plan Explained in Less Than 5 Minutes

Definition and Examples of a Business Plan

How a business plan works, types of business plans, business plan vs. business model.

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A business plan is a detailed written document that describes your business’s activities, goals, and strategy. A strong plan outlines everything from the products a company sells to the executive summary to the overall management. In essence, a business plan should guide a founder’s actions through each stage of growth

Think of your business plan as a road map. It documents the various stages of starting and running your business, including business activities and objectives. Business plans create the structure you need to make decisions by outlining the financial and operational goals you’re striving toward. 

One of the most common reasons for crafting a business plan is to attract investors—and, in return, receive funding. As an early stage company, for example, you may leverage your business plan to convince investors or banks that your entity is credible and worthy of funding. The business plan should prove that their money will be returned . 

A business plan can also be useful for when a well-developed company goes through a merger or acquisition . As outlined by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA), a merger creates a new entity via the combination of two businesses. An acquisition, on the other hand, is when a company is purchased and absorbed into an existing business. In either case, a business plan helps establish relationships between business entities, making a merger or acquisition more likely.

• Alternate name : Strategic plan

A business plan is a formalized outline of the business operations, finances, and goals you aim to achieve to be a successful company. When designing a business plan, companies have leeway for how long, short, or detailed it can be. So long as it outlines the foundational aspects of the business, in most cases, it will be effective.

The most common type of business plan is a traditional business plan. This style tends to have the following common elements, generally in this order.

• Executive summary : Tells your reader why your company will be successful. Includes the company’s mission statement , product information, and basics regarding the business structure. 
• Company description : Where you brag about your entity’s strengths. Answer the question, what problem is your team solving?
• Market analysis : A deep dive into your industry and the competition. Consider why competitors are successful. How can your offering do it better? If applicable, how can you enhance the experience for the consumer? 
• Management plan : Outlines leadership structure of the company and may be best detailed as a chart. This way, readers can see exactly who is planning to run the company and how they will impact growth. 
• Marketing and sales plan : Details how you’ll attract consumers with your product or service, and how you will retain those customers. All strategies outlined in this section, such as the use of digital marketing , will be referenced in your financial plan. 
• Funding request : For those companies asking for funding, this is where you’ll detail the amount of funding you’ll need to achieve your goals. Clearly explain how much you need and what it will be used for.
• Financial plan : Convinces the reader that your company is financially stable and can turn a profit . You will need to include a balance sheet , an income statement, and the cash flow statement (or cash flow projection, in the case of a new venture). 
• Appendix : Where any supporting documents, such as legal documents, licenses of employees, and pictures of the product will be included. 

Your company’s business plan should fit your needs, which will often depend on what stage of growth you are in. If you are considering starting a new venture, for example, writing a detailed business plan can help prove if your concept is viable or not. 

If your business is seeking financial capital, though, you will want your business plan to be investor-ready. This will require you to have a funding request section, which would be placed right above your financial plan.

You should avoid using lofty terms or technical jargon that those outside your team won’t understand. A business plan is meant to be shared with those inside and outside your organization. Simple and effective language is best.

Your business’s stage impacts the length and detail of a business plan. As discussed, a traditional plan follows a detailed structure, from the executive summary to the appendix. It is a lengthier document, often amounting to dozens of pages, and is often used when seeking funding to prove business viability. In most cases, crafting a traditional plan will take lots of due diligence work.

The other main type of business plan is a lean startup plan. A lean startup plan is much more high-level and shorter than the traditional version. Companies just starting development will often create a lean startup plan to help them navigate where they should start. These can be as short as one or two pages. 

A lean plan will include the following elements.

• Key partnerships : Notes other services or businesses you will work with, such as manufacturers and suppliers. 
• Key activities and resources : Outlines how your company will gain a competitive advantage and create value for your consumers. Resources you may leverage include capital, staff, or intellectual property.
• Value proposition : Clearly defines the unique value your company offers.
• Customer relationships : Details the customer experience from start to finish. 
• Channels : How will you stay connected with your customers? Detail those methods here.
• Cost structure and revenue streams : Details the most significant costs you will face as well as how your business will actually make money.  

Remember that business plans are meant to change as your company grows or pivots. You should actively review and edit your business plan to keep it up to date with business activities. For example, you may start with a lean plan and move to a traditional plan when you hit the fundraising stage.

A business plan may often be confused with a business model, and it is easy to understand why. Simply put, a business plan is the holistic overview of the business, while a business model is a skeleton for how money will be made.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a comprehensive document that outlines a business’s operations, finances, and goals. It guides the business’s day-to-day decisions.
• A business plan is necessary for your company’s success, as it creates a path to scalability.
• There are two main types of business plans: a traditional business plan and a lean startup plan.
• A traditional business plan will be essential when you begin to seek debt or equity capital for your company.

U.S. Small Business Administration. “ Merge and Acquire Businesses .” Accessed June 8, 2021.

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ." Accessed June 8, 2021.

Result-oriented employee work management - A pathway to get a Productive workforce.

Business Plan

What is a business plan.

A business plan is a written document that details how a company—usually a startup —defines its goals and strategies for achieving them. A business plan lays out a written course for the organization from a marketing, financial, and operational perspective.

Business plans are crucial papers that are used by both the company’s external and internal audiences. A business plan serves three purposes: it describes the organization’s strategy in order to carry it out over time, it secures funding from investors, and it aids in forecasting future company demands.

The work you put into creating a complete and precise business plan, as well as keeping it up to date, is an investment that will pay off well in the long run.

In terms of structure and content, your business plan should adhere to widely accepted guidelines. Each part should contain specific elements and answer pertinent questions that readers of your plan are likely to have. A business strategy typically includes the following elements:

• Title Page and Content 
• Description of Business
• Description of the product/service 
• Market Analysis 
• Competitive Analysis
• Operations Management 
• Financial Components of your Business Plan
• Supporting Documents

Also, See: Change Management

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Definition of a Work Plan

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Five different leadership styles that all work, the importance of project planning in industrial settings.

• Good Examples of Team Development in the Workplace
• Employee Team Building Ideas

A work plan is an important tool that helps a project to assign tasks, manage workflow and track the various components and milestone deadlines. A work plan often has a duration of six to 12 months, but it can be adjusted, based on a specific need within the company. Implementing work plans helps articulate strategies to employees in a way to improve team member focus and drive. Review these key components when developing work plans to ensure you are not overlooking important details.

Define Goals and Objectives

Without clear goals and objectives, team members blindly work on tasks without purpose. The first thing a work plan does is to define the goal of the project and the key objectives that the project will achieve. With these items defined, workers are able to perform work tasks toward goal achievement.

An analogy would be a soccer team that just runs around and kicks the ball; without the objective of making a goal on a specific side of the field, there is just a lot of running and kicking with no goal achieved. In an office project, the goal might be to implement a new IT security system with the objectives being to back-up data before transfer, establish new safety protocol and implement new company training. Defining the work plan's goal is your starting point.

Organize Teams and Leadership

Once the objectives are established, people are then assigned to teams or tasks. There may be different structures involved in the work plan that include hierarchy levels as well as interdependent team levels. For example, building a new factory needs a construction team, an administrative team and an engineering team. Each team has a leader that works with the other team leaders to ensure things move according to schedule and budget. Under each leader might be various other teams. The construction team might have a masonry team, an electrical team and a heavy machinery team.

Establish Project Timelines

An old business adage is "time is money." When it comes to project management, this adage holds true in developing work plans. The longer it takes to finish a project, the more it costs in labor and materials. Additionally, the longer it takes to complete the project, the company suffers from opportunity cost.

If that factory is not built by the end of the summer, the company might have to decline holiday orders because it isn't able to make them. Set timelines with milestones within those timelines that depict progress. If there are problems in meeting milestones, address them to get the project back on track.

Set Project Budget

Setting the budget requires having the teams assigned and the timelines set. Often, businesses using third parties as part of the project, obtain bids for the tasks assigned. Developing the work plan budget uses these bids, internal numbers for labor and materials, as well as any contingency costs such as permits or legal fees. The project budget should break down what each section and team will cost. Review cost efficiency at milestones, to determine if a team is on track to meet, go over or go under budget.

Quality Assurance and Control

With objectives, milestone timelines and budgets set, a project manager is capable of performing quality assurance tests on progress. At milestone deadlines, team leaders should report progress, costs and any concerns or obstacles presented. This helps the project manager build an action plan to attack problems, before they set the project off course, either in budget or time frame.

• Chase: Create a Business Plan

With more than 15 years of small business ownership including owning a State Farm agency in Southern California, Kimberlee understands the needs of business owners first hand. When not writing, Kimberlee enjoys chasing waterfalls with her son in Hawaii.

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business plan

• Katie Terrell Hanna

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a formal document that outlines a company's objectives, strategies and financial forecasts , serving as a comprehensive roadmap for business growth and development.

Business plans are crucial, whether they're for a startup or an offshoot of an existing business. They help in strategizing the launch and growth of a business by providing direction and building a case to attract investment.

For startups, business plans are vital for securing funding from investors, banks or venture capitalists. For established companies, business plans aid in strategic planning , guiding long-term operations and achieving business goals .

Key components of a business plan

A business plan typically includes several standard sections that provide detailed information about different aspects of the business:

• Executive summary. The executive presentation offers a concise overview of the entire business plan, highlighting key points that are detailed in subsequent sections. It includes the business's mission statement, proposed model and basic information about the leadership team.
• Business description. This part elaborates on what the business does, its legal structure, its unique value proposition and the market needs it aims to fulfill.
• Market analysis. The market analysis section provides a detailed look at the industry, market environment, target audience and competitive landscape. This includes demographics , market size, market trends and an analysis of competitors.
• Organizational structure. This section outlines the company's organizational structure, detailing the roles and responsibilities of executives, the management team and departmental structures.
• Products or Services. This area describes the products or services offered by the company, including a thorough description of the product lifecycle, and any intellectual property or research and development activities.
• Marketing and sales strategy. This part of the plan outlines strategies for branding, marketing, sales approaches and customer acquisition . It describes how the product or service will be promoted to the target market.
• Funding request. For startups and businesses seeking funding, this section specifies the amount of funding needed, the proposed use of funds and the preferred financial arrangements.
• Financial projections. The financial section provides projections of the business's financial performance over the next three to five years, including forecasted income statements, balance sheets, cash flow statements and capital expenditure ( Capex ) budgets.
• Appendix. The appendix includes any additional information that supports the data included in the plan, such as resumes of the management team, legal agreements, technical specifications and any other relevant documents.

Creating and using a business plan

Developing a business plan involves conducting extensive market research, understanding the industry, defining clear objectives and setting achievable goals. It is crucial for business owners to regularly update their business plans to reflect the changing market conditions and the business's progress.

Beyond securing funding, a well-crafted business plan also serves as a tool for managing and steering a business toward success. It acts as a framework within which the business operates and a baseline against which its performance can be measured.

Setting detailed business goals that come with deadlines motivates employees and can keep your company on track. See how to set business goals with this step-by-step guide .

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What is a Business Roadmap: Definition and Examples

What is a Business Roadmap?

A business roadmap visually outlines major objectives and strategies for a company, making it clear how different roles, tasks, and responsibilities come together to achieve specific goals. Essentially, it provides a high-level overview of the path your organization intends to follow, breaking down complex plans into manageable phases that everyone can understand.

Business roadmaps serve a critical role in aligning diverse departments and stakeholders towards common goals, ensuring everyone is on the same page. They include specific tasks, responsibilities, and timelines to help guide the execution phase of your strategic plan. Through a well-structured business roadmap, your company can easily visualize what needs to be done and when, making it simpler to track progress and adapt as situations evolve.

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Purpose of a Business Roadmap

The primary purpose of a business roadmap is to visualize actions and timelines in transforming a company’s vision into reality. This aids in strategic goal achievement and provides a clear plan of action for different departments and teams.

Who Uses a Business Roadmap

A business roadmap is a strategic planning tool that is used by various stakeholders within an organization to align on business objectives and to visualize the timeline and progress of projects. It is primarily utilized by senior executives and managers to plan and communicate the direction of the business.

Additionally, product managers, marketing teams, and sales departments use roadmaps to synchronize their strategies and initiatives with the overall business goals. Even external stakeholders, such as investors and clients, may refer to the business roadmap to understand the company’s vision, priorities, and growth trajectory. Essentially, anyone involved in the strategic planning and execution of a company’s objectives can benefit from a well-structured business roadmap.

Benefits of a Business Roadmap

A business roadmap is more than just a strategic guide; it is a powerful tool that delivers numerous benefits to an organization. Here are some key advantages:

Facilitates Clear Communication: A business roadmap provides a visual summary of strategic goals, ensuring that all stakeholders have a clear understanding of the direction the company is heading. This clarity helps in aligning efforts across departments.

Visual Summary of Key Initiatives: By laying out major initiatives and their timelines, a business roadmap helps in tracking progress and ensuring that critical milestones are met. It serves as a reference point for all team members, highlighting what needs to be achieved and by when.

Enhances Alignment Across Departments: One of the biggest advantages of a business roadmap is its ability to break down silos within an organization. By making objectives, tasks, and responsibilities visible, it promotes collaboration and ensures that every department is working towards the same overarching goals.

Allows for Real-Time Updates: In a dynamic business environment, strategies and priorities can change rapidly. A business roadmap offers the flexibility to make real-time updates, ensuring that the plan remains aligned with evolving goals and market conditions.

The importance of a business roadmap cannot be overstated. It not only facilitates effective communication and alignment but also allows for adaptive and timely decision-making. By providing a comprehensive visual mapping of strategies and initiatives, it keeps leadership and teams in sync, paving the way for successful execution of strategic goals.

Differences Between a Business Plan and a Business Roadmap

Understanding the difference between a business plan and a business roadmap is crucial for effective strategic planning and execution. While both are essential tools for business growth, they serve distinct purposes.

A business plan is a comprehensive, text-heavy document that outlines the company’s vision, market analysis, financials, and overall strategy. It serves as a foundational document primarily used for securing funding and providing a detailed snapshot of the business’s goals and how it plans to achieve them. Business plans typically include an executive summary, product and service descriptions, market overview, marketing strategies, and financial projections.

In contrast, a business roadmap is a visual tool that highlights specific tasks, responsibilities, and timelines needed to achieve the business plan’s objectives. Unlike the static nature of a business plan, roadmaps are dynamic and focus on the execution phase. They offer a clear, real-time visual representation of ongoing and upcoming initiatives, making them essential for maintaining alignment across different departments and teams.

By understanding these key differences, businesses can better utilize both tools to ensure comprehensive planning and effective execution. For those looking to create detailed and visually engaging roadmaps, leveraging tools like Creately can simplify the process and enhance collaboration.

Components of a Business Roadmap

A comprehensive business roadmap serves as a visual strategy tool that assists in aligning various departments and stakeholders towards common business goals. To create an effective business roadmap, it’s crucial to include certain key elements that guide the organization towards achieving its strategic objectives:

The guiding star of your roadmap, the vision serves as a powerful aspirational statement. It outlines the future state of your organization, encapsulating your long-term goals and ambitions. A clear vision statement serves as a source of inspiration and motivation, uniting your team towards a shared purpose.

Strategic Goals and Initiatives

Translating your vision into actionable terms, goals represent the measurable objectives you strive to achieve. Effective goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound). Clearly defined goals set the stage for strategic planning and focused execution. The goal setting process includes broad strategies and specific initiatives that drive towards these goals.

Milestones serve as checkpoints along the roadmap, signifying significant accomplishments towards your goals. These markers provide a sense of progress and achievement, keeping your team motivated and on track.

The roadmap should articulate the “how” behind achieving your goals. This section outlines the strategic initiatives you’ll undertake, considering factors like market analysis and the competitive landscape. A well-defined strategy translates ambition into actionable steps.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)

KPIs are the metrics you’ll use to gauge progress towards your goals. By tracking relevant KPIs, you can assess the effectiveness of your strategies and identify areas for improvement. Effective KPIs should be quantifiable and aligned with your overall goals.

A successful roadmap considers the resources required to achieve your goals. This includes human resources, financial resources, technological resources, and any other assets necessary to execute your plan. A realistic assessment of resources ensures your roadmap remains grounded in feasibility.

Risk Management Plan

The road to success is rarely without obstacles. A proactive risk management plan anticipates potential challenges and outlines strategies to mitigate them. By addressing risks upfront, you can safeguard your roadmap from unforeseen roadblocks.

Stakeholder Engagement Plan

Successful roadmap execution hinges on effective stakeholder engagement . This plan outlines how you’ll communicate the roadmap to key stakeholders, address their concerns, and secure their buy-in. Regular communication fosters transparency and ensures everyone is aligned with the overall strategy.

A defined timeline sets the timeframe for achieving milestones and goals. Timelines should be realistic and achievable, considering resource constraints and dependencies. A clear timeline keeps everyone accountable and promotes a sense of urgency. Read more about creating timelines .

Task Assignments and Responsibilities

Clearly defined tasks, roles and responsibilities help in the distribution of workload and establish accountability among team members. Additionally, utilizing effective task management practices helps identifying priorities and ensures that work is completed timely.

Dependencies

Highlighting dependencies between tasks indicates how different pieces of the puzzle come together. This helps in understanding the sequence and interrelation of activities.

Review and Update Mechanisms

The business landscape is dynamic, and so should your roadmap. Regular reviews allow you to assess progress, identify adjustments, and ensure the roadmap remains relevant in the face of changing circumstances. Establishing a mechanism for review and updates guarantees your roadmap stays current and continues to guide your organization towards success.

Examples of Different Business Roadmaps

A business roadmap is an essential tool for any organization, adaptable to various strategic needs. Here, we’ll explore several types of business roadmaps with examples to illustrate how they align unique business objectives.

Strategic Roadmap

A strategic roadmap aligns long-term goals with overarching business objectives. It typically includes milestones like fundraising rounds or multi-year revenue targets. This roadmap helps ensure that every department’s initiatives support the company’s big-picture vision.

Startup Roadmap

A startup roadmap is crucial for new businesses. It prioritizes initial activities necessary for establishing a market presence and scaling operations. Given the chaotic environment of startups, this roadmap remains flexible, adapting swiftly to changes while keeping the ultimate vision in focus.

Business Development Roadmap

The business development roadmap focuses on market expansion and revenue growth. It includes plans for entering new markets, enhancing customer engagement, and boosting sales volumes. This type often spans a one-year period, detailing specific tasks for rapid growth.

Data Strategy Roadmap

A data strategy roadmap centers on improving data management and analytics. It lays out initiatives for data collection, storage, and analysis, ensuring that data insights directly inform business decisions. This roadmap helps businesses leverage data for improved efficiency and effectiveness.

Creately features business roadmap templates that can streamline your strategic planning process, saving you valuable time and effort.

How to Create a Business Roadmap

Creating an effective business roadmap entails a thoughtful process that ensures alignment across different departments and teams. Here’s how you can create a comprehensive and adaptive business roadmap:

Set Clear Goals

Start by defining your business’s strategic goals. These should be high-level objectives that you aim to achieve in the long term. For instance, increasing market share or improving customer satisfaction.

Gather Relevant Information from All Departments

Compile data and insights from various departments. This includes market analysis, customer feedback, financial data, and technology assessments. Using tools like Creately’s business roadmap templates can streamline this phase.

Organize Tasks and Objectives into Themes

Group related tasks and objectives into themes to provide better clarity and context. This thematic organization helps in understanding the broader picture and facilitates more targeted planning.

Prioritize Initiatives Based on Importance and Impact

Determine which initiatives have the highest impact on your strategic goals and prioritize them accordingly. This ensures that your efforts are focused on the most critical aspects of your strategy.

Add Specific Time Frames for Each Task

Assign realistic time frames to each task and initiative. This helps in monitoring progress and maintaining momentum toward achieving your goals.

Regularly Review and Revise the Roadmap

A business roadmap should be a living document. Regularly review and update it to reflect any changes in goals, market conditions, or internal priorities. This ensures that your roadmap remains relevant and effective.

Tips to Create Effective Business Roadmaps

Creating a business roadmap isn’t just about plotting out timelines and tasks. It involves strategic foresight and meticulous planning. Here are some best practices to ensure your roadmap is effective:

Ensure Clear and Measurable Outcomes: Every initiative on your roadmap should have a clear and measurable outcome. This helps in tracking progress and demonstrating the roadmap’s value.

Use Themes to Group Related Tasks: Grouping related tasks under common themes solidifies context, making it easier to communicate and understand the roadmap’s overall structure.

Regularly Update and Communicate Changes: Regular updates are crucial to maintain alignment with evolving goals and strategies. Make sure to communicate these changes to all stakeholders to keep everyone on the same page.

Utilize Visual Tools and Templates: Tools like Creately provide powerful visual aids and templates that enhance engagement and ensure clarity in your business roadmap.

Adopting these practices will transform your business roadmap into a dynamic strategic tool that drives better alignment and execution across your organization. Moreover, leveraging platforms like Creately can streamline the entire process, offering visual strategy mapping and real-time data integration to make adaptive and timely decisions.

Case Studies and Examples

Understanding how different companies successfully implement business roadmaps can provide valuable insights and inspiration. Let’s explore a few practical examples:

Startups Focusing on Initial Market Entry: For startups, business roadmaps often emphasize high-level planning and agility. A startup roadmap might include milestones for product development, initial market deployment, customer acquisition strategies, and funding rounds. This approach helps startups remain flexible and adapt to the fast-paced changes typical in the early stages of a business. Creately can assist by providing visual strategy mapping that allows startups to easily adapt and communicate their plans.

Established Businesses Targeting New Market Expansions: As businesses grow, their roadmaps evolve to focus on market expansion and scaling. For instance, a company might outline steps for launching in new regions, forming strategic partnerships, or diversifying product offerings.

Data-Driven Roadmaps for Improving Business Intelligence and Analytics: Companies aiming to enhance their business intelligence (BI) capabilities can benefit from a dedicated BI roadmap. This type of roadmap might highlight initiatives such as implementing new data analytics tools, improving data quality, and optimizing reporting processes.

Showcasing Successful Implementations and Outcomes: Examining case studies of companies that have successfully used business roadmaps to achieve their goals can be particularly enlightening. For example, a global retailer might have used a comprehensive eCommerce roadmap to coordinate product launches, marketing campaigns, and technology updates around key retail dates.

Understanding the application of a business roadmap is critical for any organization that aims to streamlined execution of business operations and alignment with strategic goals. The advantages of having a well-defined business roadmap are manifold, including enhanced communication, clear visualization of key initiatives, and improved real-time updates and adjustments. These benefits ensure that different departments and stakeholders are on the same page, working cohesively towards shared objectives.

Using a tool like Creately can significantly simplify the process of creating and maintaining effective business roadmaps. With Creately’s features dedicated to visual strategy mapping, real-time data integration, and collaboration, it provides a comprehensive platform for better strategic planning and decision-making.

Business roadmaps are not just about plotting out tasks but also about painting a holistic picture of the company’s future. From startups aiming to hit their initial growth milestones to established enterprises looking to expand their market presence, every business can benefit from a meticulously crafted roadmap. By combining long-term vision with actionable steps, business roadmaps transform strategic goals into tangible results.

Finally, it is essential to realize that creating a business roadmap is not a one-time task. Regularly updating and communicating the roadmap ensures it remains relevant and effective, reflecting any changes in the business environment or strategic goals. With the right tools and practices, businesses can harness the full potential of roadmaps to achieve their desired outcomes.

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

FAQs About Business Roadmaps

How often should you update your business roadmap, can creately help in creating business roadmaps, business roadmap vs. business strategy: what is the difference.

In simpler terms, the strategy is the “what” and the “why,” while the roadmap is the “how” and “when.”

A business roadmap is essentially a visual plan that outlines how a business will achieve its strategic goals. It’s a more tactical document, focusing on specific actions, timelines, and dependencies. Essentially, it’s the “how” to execute the business strategy.

A business strategy is a broader, high-level plan that defines a company’s overall direction. It outlines the company’s vision, mission, and how it plans to compete in the market. A business strategy is often broken down into three key components:

Foundation: The core of the business, including its vision, mission, and business model.

Market: Understanding the target customers and competitive landscape.

Imperatives: The specific actions or initiatives required to achieve the overall strategy.

While the roadmap is a detailed implementation plan, the strategy is the overarching blueprint that guides the roadmap’s creation.

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Hansani has a background in journalism and marketing communications. She loves reading and writing about tech innovations. She enjoys writing poetry, travelling and photography.

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Mike Lynch was a British tech trailblazer who died at sea after US trial acquittal

Mike Lynch, the tech tycoon who died when his luxury yacht sank off Sicily, spent more than a decade building Britain's biggest software company and almost as long again fighting charges he had inflated its value to secure a multi-billion-pound sale.

Wait, what does 'price gouging' mean? How Harris plans to control it in the grocery aisle

Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris is expected to announce plans to fight food inflation with a federal ban on price gouging on groceries , but how much this would help Americans is debatable, economists say.

Over the past few years, President Joe Biden’s administration has blamed corporate greed for the surge in inflation, and Harris is expected to take up that torch in a speech Friday in North Carolina's capital city of Raleigh. Corporations raised prices when snarled supply chains during the pandemic created shortages of nearly everything, and just never stopped or lowered prices again after supply chains stabilized, they argue.

“Some companies are keeping prices high even though input costs are falling, and supply chains are back to normal,” the White House said in a news release in March.

If higher grocery prices are the result of potential mergers between larger supermarkets and food producers and corporate greed, Americans may benefit from Harris' approach. However, many economists have doubts such a policy would be effective for various reasons, including whether price gouging is the root of inflation at all.

Michael Ashton, managing principal at Enduring Investments LLC, who specializes in inflation analysis, questioned the existence of price gouging "in an industry as competitive as grocery."

“Why did the price gouging just start in 2021-22?" he asked. "Did grocers just not realize they had this power before then or did they not get greedy until 2021?”

Profit margins in the food industry already tend to be among the lowest. Net profit margin in 2023 in the grocery industry hit 1.6%, the lowest level since 2019, according to FMI, The Food Industry Association.

What caused food prices to spike?

During the pandemic, economists generally agreed supply chain shortages initially caused price increases.

After supply chains were ironed out, the dispute began. Researchers from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke separately said last year that fast-rising wages when the economy reopened was a major contributor to rising grocery prices.

However, left-leaning government watchdog Accountable.US and former Labor Secretary Robert Reich say companies have been raising prices on Americans to reward stockholders with dividends and stock buybacks.

“Consumers are getting shafted, as corporations tell Wall Street they expect to be able to keep their prices and profits in the stratosphere,” Reich wrote in June .

The Groundwork Collaborative, a nonprofit that earlier this year said "climate change, corporate consolidation, and profiteering" are reasons grocery prices remain high, even quantified in January how much corporate greed contributed to inflation. In the middle of 2023, corporate profit margins accounted for roughly half of inflation and more than a third since the pandemic began, it estimated.

“The industry keeps pushing the envelope to pad profits and bring in enough money for shareholder giveaways, but Americans are fed up,” said Liz Zelnick, director of the economic security & corporate power program at Accountable.US, in a news release.

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Could Harris’ plan work to lower food prices?

Opinions are mixed.

Reich, who sees corporate greed as the root of soaring inflation, advocated for a policy like what Harris is expected to announce.

“Put blame for high prices squarely where it belongs: on big corporations with monopoly power to keep prices high,” he wrote. “And take those corporations on: Condemn them for price gouging. Threaten them with antitrust lawsuits, price-gouging lawsuits, even price controls. Criticize them for making huge profits and giving their top executives record pay while shafting consumers.”

Others, like Sen. Rick Scott , R-Fla . , call the plan “federal price controls,” which he says don’t work.

Harris’ solution to fighting inflation “is big government on steroids – where Washington bureaucrats stick their hands into American businesses and say what they can and can’t sell a product for,” he said in a news release on Thursday. “It never works because it causes companies to make much less of something – destroying supply and causing a mass shortage of goods.”

Such a policy could also be difficult to implement because calculating an appropriate profit margin might be tricky, said James Knightley, Dutch bank ING’s chief international economist.

“It’s critical that we get the economic facts right and avoid political rhetoric," said Sarah Gallo, senior vice president of product policy and federal affairs at the Consumer Brands Association trade group. "The reality is that there are complex economic factors at play."

Is food inflation still even a thing?

Three in 5 Americans said corporate greed was a “major cause” of inflation, according to a poll by left-leaning polling and research group Navigator Research of 1,000 registered voters. However, that was in January when annual inflation was running at a 3.1% pace . Since then, inflation has eased further.

"When looking at the inflation story, it's good now but the perception among consumers is different because prices are still elevated," Knightley said. "We're not returning to 2019 prices," which is what consumers are comparing to.

Since inflation only measures the pace at which prices are changing, actual sticker prices remain high from climbing over the past couple of years. Inflation in the 12 months through July was 2.9%, sharply down from its 40-year high of 9.1% in June 2022 and the lowest since March 2021. Overall, annual food inflation rose a smaller 2.2%, with grocery prices rising at an even slower 1.1% pace.

“Why intervene?” Knightley said. “From an economics perspective, it’s looking like a pretty good place right now. This may be good messaging for the election, but it (inflation) may be falling by the wayside.”

Medora Lee is a money, markets, and personal finance reporter at USA TODAY. You can reach her at [email protected] and  subscribe to our free Daily Money newsletter  for personal finance tips and business news every Monday through Friday morning.