project business plan

How to Write a Winning Project Plan with Templates & Examples

By Kate Eby | May 25, 2022 (updated October 11, 2024)

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Creating a project plan can be overwhelming, but that doesn’t always have to be the case. We provide the basic steps, tools, and expert tips for how to write a project plan. Included in this article, you’ll find the following:

• Project planning steps
• A project plan starter kit
• Create a project plan step-by-step using a template
• Pros share best practices for crafting a project plan

What to Include in a Project Plan

A  project plan , also called a work plan , outlines the tasks, resources, and timelines for achieving a goal. It defines project scope, outlines deliverables, identifies stakeholders, assigns roles, identifies success metrics, determines the framework, and manages resources, quality, and change. 

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A simple, best practice approach for managing the work required to initiate, plan, and launch your project.

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Project Planning Steps

Project planning is fundamentally about balancing the goals, schedule, and resources to demonstrate control of the project’s scope. Part of writing a project plan includes creating an overview and a scope statement, determining the deliverables schedule, and defining a budget. You’ll want to gather a risk management strategy, a communication plan, and any other documents the project needs. 1. Set SMART Goals Every successful project plan starts with setting a project goal: the expected outcome. The goal will become part of the project plan’s executive summary. A specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goal aligns everyone involved, establishes focus, and provides direction. Meet with stakeholders to ensure the goal aligns with business objectives and gain a thorough understanding of their expectations. Examples of SMART goals for a project include the following:

• Launch two major product features by the end of the year. Measure progress using milestone completion.
• Reduce employee turnover rate by 20 percent within one year. Measure turnover rate and conduct exit interviews to identify reasons for leaving.
• Build two office locations in the metro area within the next four years. Measure progress using milestone completion.  

Download the SMART Goals Worksheet forMicrosoft Word

  Download the SMART Goals Worksheet for Microsoft Word

Use this SMART goals worksheet to detail the five characteristics of effective goal setting, specific to your project. Once complete, it provides a clear direction of what your project will achieve, how you will measure its progress, and the time it will take to complete. Learn  how to write SMART goals and see examples to get started. 2. Define the Project Scope Your  project scope sets the project’s parameters (the size) and safeguards against unrealistic expectations and conflicting interests throughout the project's lifecycle. It also prevents  scope creep , such as doing unnecessary work, overspending, or missing deliverable due dates.

Download a Project Scope Statement Template for Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF

Use this project scope statement template to list project deliverables and tasks, along with the project stakeholders and their roles. The template serves as a resource for stakeholders and team members, particularly in the event of change requests. A project scope generally includes the reason for the project, the goals, deliverables, tasks, a work breakdown structure (WBS), assumptions, constraints, and costs. Here are a list of actions to consider when defining the project scope:

• Outline the Deliverables and Tasks:  Deliverables are the tangible results of individual tasks. They can include reports, prototypes, proposals, meetings, and designs. Collaborate with managers and department leads to ensure deliverables are achievable within specific timeframes and the proper resources are notated.
• Include a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS):  A WBS breaks down deliverables into smaller tasks, making the project more manageable. Use it to visualize the entire project in hierarchical steps. List the tasks and assign responsibility for each one. This creates accountability and ensures every task is completed. Read this  guide on work breakdown structures to learn more.
• Estimate Costs:  Allocate costs to each task based on research, data, and past experiences. This information will support budget decisions. Create a project budget to show how funds will be allocated, and include room for unforeseen circumstances or emergencies. Share the budget with stakeholders so they have a clear understanding of the project’s financial details.
• Identify Key Stakeholders and Assign Roles: Stakeholders include anyone involved in the project, such as sponsors, investors, executives, managers, contractors, vendors, consultants, project managers, and team members. It’s important to identify stakeholders, their roles, and their responsibilities, because they are a resource for questions, approvals, change management, and anything that impacts the project’s scope.
• Project Governance Structure:  A project governance structure establishes a structured path for project supervision, delineating hierarchical responsibilities for project oversight. For example, in the event of a financial change request, consulting the governance structure provides clarity on who is responsible for approving or denying the request.

3. Define the Success Metrics Success metrics gauge progress to help determine if a project is on track to meet its goal. You can measure success by looking at cost performance, resource utilization, or the progress of tasks against the project schedule. Here is a list of common project planning success metrics:

• Cost Performance Index: Indicates if the project is staying within budget.
• Cost Variance: Indicates how much the project is over or under budget.
• Customer Satisfaction: Looks at the customer’s level of satisfaction with a product or service by using surveys and online reviews.
• Earned Value:  Evaluates the amount of work that’s completed compared to what was planned to be completed at any specific time.
• Quality Metrics:  Indicates whether the project is meeting quality standards.
• Risk Metrics:  Lists the number of risks identified, risk response effectiveness, or risk impact assessment.
• Schedule Variance: Indicates whether the project is ahead of or behind schedule at a specific point in time.
• Team Satisfaction:  Evaluates the team’s level of satisfaction working on the project, as measured by engagement, efficiency, and well-being.

4. Determine the Project’s Methodology The methodology is the process framework of your project. It can look different depending on the project’s flexibility, timeframe, type of work, and complexity. Learn more about  project frameworks . 

Popular Project Frameworks

5. Gather and Manage Project Resources Secure resources you need to complete your project in advance to avoid scrambling midway. Resources include people, finances, technology, tools, equipment, and knowledge. Gather input from your team about the resources they require for executing their assigned tasks.  

  Download the Project Resource Planning Template for Excel

Use a project resource planning template to list resources, their cost, and where they are needed in the project’s lifecycle. Enter the hours and cost of each resource. The template will auto-populate the totals.

6. Create a Project Schedule A project schedule organizes tasks, sets expectations, and tracks progress. When you create the schedule, plan for unexpected delays, team members’ time off, holidays, and more. Include a timeline for each deliverable to keep the project moving forward. Adding milestones will help with building momentum, motivating the team, and monitoring progress. Store the schedule in a central location so that everyone involved can view the project’s status at any given time.  

Download a Project Schedule Template for Excel  |  PowerPoint  | Google Sheets

Use this customizable project schedule template to create a visual map of your project’s tasks and phases. The template will use any dates you add to the matrix to create a color-coded Gantt chart.

7. Implement Risk Management Every project will encounter risks. Risk management is a proactive approach for keeping your project on track and mitigating the impact of risks. Learn more about  project risk management and the importance of being prepared rather than ignoring the potential disruptions.

Download the Simple Business Risk Register Template for Excel

Use a risk register template to identify risks, their impact, probability, impact, and mitigation notes.

8. Implement Quality Management Quality management guarantees adherence to standards, consistency, and continual improvement, which is essential for meeting stakeholder and client expectations.

Download a Project Quality Management Plan Template for Excel  |  Google Sheets

Use this template to document quality issues that could arise within the project. Enter quality descriptions, expected and actual results, who tested them, and whether the issues pass quality controls. Collecting and documenting this information helps regulate the project’s quality standards.

9. Develop a Communication Plan Meet with your stakeholders to learn what information they want to receive and how often. Then,  create a communication plan to establish how and when to share updates with stakeholders. The plan includes a list of key stakeholders and team members, their contact details, and when to send project updates. Not all stakeholders require the same level of engagement. For example, an investor won’t require details about every project deliverable, but they will want to be informed about budget or cost changes.

Download a Project Communication Plan Template for Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF  |  Google Docs

Use this project communication plan template to document your key stakeholders’ details and preferred contact style and frequency. Enter your communication goals and customize the plan to fit your needs and be sure to communicate with them regularly.

10. Write and Share a Project Summary Anyone should be able to understand the project plan through a well-crafted project summary. The one-page document explains the purpose of the project plan, the goals, schedule, budget, resources, risks, expected outcomes, and any recommendations.  Write your project summary at the end of your project planning to guarantee all relevant information is included. Once complete, share it with the team and key stakeholders.

Download a Project Summary Template for Excel  |  Microsoft Word  |  Adobe PDF

Download and complete this project summary template to provide a project overview to team members and stakeholders. Enter project milestones, budget information, schedule, and more. Customize the sections to fit your project needs.

Project Plan Starter Kit

Download Project Plan Starter Kit

In this free starter kit, you’ll find customizable templates for every project planning step. Together, these documents form the foundation of a solid project plan and will help get your project off the ground.

In this kit, you’ll find the following:

• A  project plan outline template for Microsoft Word  for one complete document that includes all elements of a project plan.
• A  SMART goals worksheet for Microsoft Word  to help you define the project goals.
• A  project scope statement template for Microsoft Word  to help you control the project’s boundaries.
• A  WBS tree diagram template for Excel  to organize the project deliverables and their tasks in a hierarchical format. 
• A  project budget template for Excel  to organize and track project costs.
• A  RACI matrix template for Excel  to list whether stakeholders are responsible, accountable, consulted, or informed.
• A  project governance structure template for Microsoft Word  to define a clear line of authority over project decision-making.
• A  project resource planning template for Exce  to identify, secure, and manage resources.
• A  project schedule template for Excel  to track and manage the project’s progress.
• A  business risk register template for Excel  to plan for risks that could negatively impact the project’s scope.
• A  quality management plan template for Excel  to ensure the project adheres to standards.
• A  project communication plan template for Microsoft Word  to document your key stakeholders’ contact details and their preferred contact style and frequency.
• A  project summary template for Microsoft Word  to provide a project overview to team members and stakeholders.

How to Create a Project Plan Step-by-Step

Creating a project plan helps you set a schedule that you can monitor to ensure a project is on track. Use a template and fill in key details, tasks, start and end dates, and status.

Looking for a different template format? Check out one of these  free project plan templates .

Examples of Effective Project Plans

Project plans serve as a project’s blueprint. Reviewing examples of project plans from other organizations can provide guidance and inspiration.

Program Project Plan for Learning Programs Example

Beyond the Bell is a nonprofit organization that provides family resources such as childcare assistance, credit counseling services, and afterschool programs. The group uses a program plan template to develop, implement, evaluate, and improve its programs. This  program plan template from Beyond the Bell provides a thorough checklist to ensure all project plan elements are covered. It also includes a goal-setting worksheet and a logic model planning tool for documenting inputs, outputs, and expected outcomes.

Project Plan Redevelopment Example

This real-world example from the city of  Boston’s redevelopment of Dudley Square demonstrates a thorough work plan, including project tasks and deliverables. You’ll also find a meeting schedule and a project governance structure that demonstrates the importance of streamlined communication when planning a large-scale project.

Project Management Plan Example

In 2019, the Oregon Public Utility Commission embarked on a project to replace its outdated and unsupported docketing system. The commission used elements from an  Oregon Public Utility Commission's project management plan , such as project overview, WBS, resource management plan, communication management plan, risk assessment, and more.

Simple Project Plan Example

Download the Sample Simple Project Plan Template for PowerPoint

When to Use This Template:  This easy-to-use template is ideal for project managers to organize and present their project deliverables and timelines. Download this template with sample copy as an example of what to include in your project plan template. Notable Template Features: This template features a one-year timeline with colored duration bars to represent how long each deliverable will take. The  Today  indicator makes it easy to see the status of tasks (complete, in progress, or upcoming) at a glance. 

Project Management Plan Outline Example for a New Product Launch

Download the Sample Project Management Plan Outline Template for Microsoft Word

When to Use This Template:  Use this template if you are a project manager who needs to detail all areas of a project plan. Notable Template Features:  This comprehensive outline template features a narrative-style format providing space to enter details for each element of a project plan. Use the table of contents for easy navigation to specific sections.

Best Practices for Writing a Good Project Plan

Writing a good project plan begins with good organization and involving the people needed to complete the work. Experts recommend getting buy-in from your team, communicating with them clearly and often, and being adaptable so you can handle challenges as they arise.

Follow these best practices for writing a great project plan:

• Reference the Project Charter:  The project charter is a document that introduces the project to stakeholders. It explains the project’s purpose, its goals, and how you plan to achieve them. Use the project charter as a reference to ensure the plan stays true to the project’s purpose. Learn more about  project charters and why you need them .
• Recruit the Right Team Members Early:  Identifying stakeholders and key players for the project upfront will mitigate risk and delays. Do a deep dive of who to involve for every phase, deliverable, and task. You do not want to be halfway through a project and realize you need a team member who is unavailable or a vendor who is not within your budget.

• Expect Change and Be Adaptable: Anticipating changes in a project, such as overspending or missing a deadline, will help you prepare for when a project gets off track. Being adaptable also means you’re prepared to make adjustments. Though not traditionally part of a project plan, completing a  change management template  that outlines how to process, assess, manage, and track changes before a project starts is a good idea. It’s impossible to plan for every project adjustment, so a project’s success often relies on your team’s adaptability to change.

Use Smartsheet Project Management Tools to Create and Implement Your Project Plan

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The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

Project Management Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Project Management Business Plan

Over the past 20+ years, we have helped over 500 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans to start and grow their project management companies.

If you’re unfamiliar with creating a project management business plan, you may think creating one will be a time-consuming and frustrating process. For most entrepreneurs it is, but for you, it won’t be since we’re here to help. We have the experience, resources, and knowledge to help you create a great business plan.

In this article, you will learn some background information on why business planning is important. Then, you will learn how to write a project management business plan step-by-step so you can create your plan today.

Download our Ultimate Business Plan Template here >

What is a Project Management Business Plan?

A business plan provides a snapshot of your project management business as it stands today, and lays out your growth plan for the next five years. It explains your business goals and your strategies for reaching them. It also includes market research to support your plans.

Why You Need a Business Plan for a Project Management Company

If you’re looking to start a project management business or grow your existing project management company, you need a business plan. A business plan will help you raise funding, if needed, and plan out the growth of your project management business to improve your chances of success. Your project management business plan is a living document that should be updated annually as your company grows and changes.

Sources of Funding for Project Management Businesses

With regards to funding, the main sources of funding for a project management business are personal savings, credit cards, bank loans, and angel investors. When it comes to bank loans, banks will want to review your business plan and gain confidence that you will be able to repay your loan and interest. To acquire this confidence, the loan officer will not only want to ensure that your financials are reasonable, but they will also want to see a professional plan. Such a plan will give them the confidence that you can successfully and professionally operate a business. Personal savings and bank loans are the most common funding paths for project management companies.

Finish Your Business Plan Today!

How to write a business plan for a project management business.

If you want to start a project management business or expand your current one, you need a business plan. The guide below details the necessary information for how to write each essential component of your project management business plan.

Executive Summary

Your executive summary provides an introduction to your business plan, but it is normally the last section you write because it provides a summary of each key section of your plan.

The goal of your executive summary is to quickly engage the reader. Explain to them the kind of project management business you are running and the status. For example, are you a startup, do you have a project management business that you would like to grow, or are you operating a chain of project management businesses?

Next, provide an overview of each of the subsequent sections of your plan.

• Give a brief overview of the project management industry.
• Discuss the type of project management business you are operating.
• Detail your direct competitors. Give an overview of your target customers.
• Provide a snapshot of your marketing strategy. Identify the key members of your team.
• Offer an overview of your financial plan.

Company Overview

In your company overview, you will detail the type of project management business you are operating.

For example, you might specialize in one of the following types of project management businesses:

• Marketing project management : this type of project management involves overseeing projects related to marketing and advertising.
• Construction project management: this type of project management involves overseeing responsibilities related to planning and the logistics of a construction project.
• Engineering project management: this type of project management is responsible for overseeing engineering projects to ensure they’re completed appropriately.
• IT project management: this type of project management involves overseeing job duties such as establishing IT goals, overseeing the IT team’s processes and ensuring all project-related employees have the necessary resources to complete the project.

In addition to explaining the type of project management business you will operate, the company overview needs to provide background on the business.

Include answers to questions such as:

• When and why did you start the business?
• What milestones have you achieved to date? Milestones could include the number of clients served, the number of clients with positive outcomes, reaching X number of clients served, etc.
• Your legal business Are you incorporated as an S-Corp? An LLC? A sole proprietorship? Explain your legal structure here.

Industry Analysis

In your industry or market analysis, you need to provide an overview of the project management industry.

While this may seem unnecessary, it serves multiple purposes.

First, researching the project management industry educates you. It helps you understand the market in which you are operating.

Secondly, market research can improve your marketing strategy, particularly if your analysis identifies market trends.

The third reason is to prove to readers that you are an expert in your industry. By conducting the research and presenting it in your plan, you achieve just that.

The following questions should be answered in the industry analysis section of your project management business plan:

• How big is the project management industry (in dollars)?
• Is the market declining or increasing?
• Who are the key competitors in the market?
• Who are the key suppliers in the market?
• What trends are affecting the industry?
• What is the industry’s growth forecast over the next 5 – 10 years?
• What is the relevant market size? That is, how big is the potential target market for your project management business? You can extrapolate such a figure by assessing the size of the market in the entire country and then applying that figure to your local population.

Customer Analysis

The customer analysis section of your project management business plan must detail the customers you serve and/or expect to serve.

The following are examples of customer segments: small businesses, midsize companies and corporations.

As you can imagine, the customer segment(s) you choose will have a great impact on the type of project management business you operate. Clearly, corporations would respond to different marketing promotions than small businesses, for example.

Try to break out your target customers in terms of their demographic and psychographic profiles. With regards to demographics, including a discussion of the ages, genders, locations, and income levels of the potential customers you seek to serve.

Psychographic profiles explain the wants and needs of your target customers. The more you can recognize and define these needs, the better you will do in attracting and retaining your customers.

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Competitive Analysis

Your competitive analysis should identify the indirect and direct competitors your business faces and then focus on the latter.

Direct competitors are other project management businesses.

Indirect competitors are other options that customers have to purchase from that aren’t directly competing with your product or service. This includes in-house employees, online programs, or software. You need to mention such competition as well.

For each such competitor, provide an overview of their business and document their strengths and weaknesses. Unless you once worked at your competitors’ businesses, it will be impossible to know everything about them. But you should be able to find out key things about them such as

• What types of clients do they serve?
• What type of project management business are they?
• What is their pricing (premium, low, etc.)?
• What are they good at?
• What are their weaknesses?

With regards to the last two questions, think about your answers from the customers’ perspective. And don’t be afraid to ask your competitors’ customers what they like most and least about them.

The final part of your competitive analysis section is to document your areas of competitive advantage. For example:

• Will you provide your own staff?
• Will you offer products or services that your competition doesn’t?
• Will you provide better customer service?
• Will you offer better pricing?

Think about ways you will outperform your competition and document them in this section of your plan.  

Marketing Plan

Traditionally, a marketing plan includes the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. For a project management business plan, your marketing strategy should include the following:

Product : In the product section, you should reiterate the type of project management company that you documented in your company overview. Then, detail the specific products or services you will be offering. For example, will you provide consulting, scheduling, budgeting, or staffing?

Price : Document the prices you will offer and how they compare to your competitors. Essentially in the product and price sub-sections of your plan, you are presenting the products and/or services you offer and their prices.

Place : Place refers to the site of your project management company. Document where your company is situated and mention how the site will impact your success. For example, is your project management business located in a business district, a standalone office, or purely online? Discuss how your site might be the ideal location for your customers.

Promotions : The final part of your project management marketing plan is where you will document how you will drive potential customers to your location(s). The following are some promotional methods you might consider:

• Advertise in local papers, radio stations and/or magazines
• Attend industry events and trade shows
• Reach out to websites
• Distribute flyers
• Engage in email marketing
• Advertise on social media platforms
• Improve the SEO (search engine optimization) on your website for targeted keywords

Operations Plan

While the earlier sections of your business plan explained your goals, your operations plan describes how you will meet them. Your operations plan should have two distinct sections as follows.

Everyday short-term processes include all of the tasks involved in running your project management business, including answering calls, planning and providing project services, client interaction,  billing clients and/or vendors, etc.

Long-term goals are the milestones you hope to achieve. These could include the dates when you expect to book your Xth client, or when you hope to reach $X in revenue. It could also be when you expect to expand your project management business to a new city.  

Management Team

To demonstrate your project management business’ potential to succeed, a strong management team is essential. Highlight your key players’ backgrounds, emphasizing those skills and experiences that prove their ability to grow a company.

Ideally, you and/or your team members have direct experience in managing project management businesses. If so, highlight this experience and expertise. But also highlight any experience that you think will help your business succeed.

If your team is lacking, consider assembling an advisory board. An advisory board would include 2 to 8 individuals who would act as mentors to your business. They would help answer questions and provide strategic guidance. If needed, look for advisory board members with experience in managing a project management business or successfully running a small consulting firm.

Financial Plan

Your financial plan should include your 5-year financial statement broken out both monthly or quarterly for the first year and then annually. Your financial statements include your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statements.

Income Statement

An income statement is more commonly called a Profit and Loss statement or P&L. It shows your revenue and then subtracts your costs to show whether you turned a profit or not.

In developing your income statement, you need to devise assumptions. For example, will you manage 5 clients per day, and/or offer consulting services? And will sales grow by 2% or 10% per year? As you can imagine, your choice of assumptions will greatly impact the financial forecasts for your business. As much as possible, conduct research to try to root your assumptions in reality.

Balance Sheets

Balance sheets show your assets and liabilities. While balance sheets can include much information, try to simplify them to the key items you need to know about. For instance, if you spend $50,000 on building out your project management business, this will not give you immediate profits. Rather it is an asset that will hopefully help you generate profits for years to come. Likewise, if a lender writes you a check for $50,000, you don’t need to pay it back immediately. Rather, that is a liability you will pay back over time.

Cash Flow Statement

Your cash flow statement will help determine how much money you need to start or grow your business, and ensure you never run out of money. What most entrepreneurs and business owners don’t realize is that you can turn a profit but run out of money and go bankrupt.

When creating your Income Statement and Balance Sheets be sure to include several of the key costs needed in starting or growing a project management business:

• Cost of equipment and office supplies
• Payroll or salaries paid to staff
• Business insurance
• Other start-up expenses (if you’re a new business) like legal expenses, permits, computer software, and equipment

Attach your full financial projections in the appendix of your plan along with any supporting documents that make your plan more compelling. For example, you might include your office location lease or a list of project management services you plan to offer.

Writing a business plan for your project management business is a worthwhile endeavor. If you follow the template above, by the time you are done, you will truly be an expert. You will understand the project management industry, your competition, and your customers. You will develop a marketing strategy and will understand what it takes to launch and grow a successful project management business.

Don’t you wish there was a faster, easier way to finish your Project Management business plan?

OR, Let Us Develop Your Plan For You

Since 1999, Growthink has developed business plans for thousands of companies who have gone on to achieve tremendous success.   Click here to see how a Growthink business planning advisor can create your business plan for you.

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Example business plan format

Before you start exploring our library of business plan examples, it's worth taking the time to understand the traditional business plan format . You'll find that the business plan samples in this library and most investor-approved business plans will include the following sections:

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your business plan and is ideally only one to two pages. You should also plan to write this section last after you've written your full business plan.

Your executive summary should include a summary of the problem you are solving, a description of your product or service, an overview of your target market, a brief description of your team, a summary of your financials, and your funding requirements (if you are raising money).

Products & services

The products & services chapter of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives. It includes information about the problem that you're solving, your solution, and any traction that proves that it truly meets the need you identified.

This is your chance to explain why you're in business and that people care about what you offer. It needs to go beyond a simple product or service description and get to the heart of why your business works and benefits your customers.

Market analysis

Conducting a market analysis ensures that you fully understand the market that you're entering and who you'll be selling to. This section is where you will showcase all of the information about your potential customers. You'll cover your target market as well as information about the growth of your market and your industry. Focus on outlining why the market you're entering is viable and creating a realistic persona for your ideal customer base.

Competition

Part of defining your opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage may be. To do this effectively you need to get to know your competitors just as well as your target customers. Every business will have competition, if you don't then you're either in a very young industry or there's a good reason no one is pursuing this specific venture.

To succeed, you want to be sure you know who your competitors are, how they operate, necessary financial benchmarks, and how your business will be positioned. Start by identifying who your competitors are or will be during your market research. Then leverage competitive analysis tools like the competitive matrix and positioning map to solidify where your business stands in relation to the competition.

Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments. You'll address how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success.

The operations section in our business plan examples covers the day-to-day workflows for your business to deliver your product or service. What's included here fully depends on the type of business. Typically you can expect to add details on your business location, sourcing and fulfillment, use of technology, and any partnerships or agreements that are in place.

Milestones & metrics

The milestones section is where you lay out strategic milestones to reach your business goals.

A good milestone clearly lays out the parameters of the task at hand and sets expectations for its execution. You'll want to include a description of the task, a proposed due date, who is responsible, and eventually a budget that's attached. You don't need extensive project planning in this section, just key milestones that you want to hit and when you plan to hit them.

You should also discuss key metrics, which are the numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common data points worth tracking include conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, profit, etc.

Company & team

Use this section of your business plan to describe your current team and who you need to hire. If you intend to pursue funding, you'll need to highlight the relevant experience of your team members. Basically, this is where you prove that this is the right team to successfully start and grow the business. You will also need to provide a quick overview of your legal structure and history if you're already up and running.

Financial projections

Your financial plan should include a sales and revenue forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and a balance sheet. You may not have established financials of any kind at this stage. Not to worry, rather than getting all of the details ironed out, focus on making projections and strategic forecasts for your business. You can always update your financial statements as you begin operations and start bringing in actual accounting data.

Now, if you intend to pitch to investors or submit a loan application, you'll also need a "use of funds" report in this business plan section. This outlines how you intend to leverage any funding for your business and how much you're looking to acquire. Like the rest of your financials, this can always be updated later on.

The appendix isn't a required element of your business plan. However, it is a useful place to add any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that supports your business plan. These are often lengthier or out-of-place information that simply didn't work naturally into the structure of your plan. You'll notice that in these business plan examples, the appendix mainly includes extended financial statements.

Types of business plans explained

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. To get the most out of your business plan, it's best to find a format that suits your needs. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan

The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used for external purposes. Typically this is the type of plan you'll need when applying for funding or pitching to investors. It can also be used when training or hiring employees, working with vendors, or in any other situation where the full details of your business must be understood by another individual.

Business model canvas

The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

The structure ditches a linear format in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It's faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan . This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business.

By starting with a one-page plan , you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You'll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan.

Growth planning

Growth planning is more than a specific type of business plan. It's a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, forecast, review, and refine based on your performance.

It holds all of the benefits of the single-page plan, including the potential to complete it in as little as 27 minutes . However, it's even easier to convert into a more detailed business plan thanks to how heavily it's tied to your financials. The overall goal of growth planning isn't to just produce documents that you use once and shelve. Instead, the growth planning process helps you build a healthier company that thrives in times of growth and remains stable through times of crisis.

It's faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your business plan is always up-to-date.

Download a free sample business plan template

Ready to start writing your own business plan but aren't sure where to start? Download our free business plan template that's been updated for 2024.

This simple, modern, investor-approved business plan sample is designed to make planning easy. It's a proven format that has helped over 1 million businesses write business plans for bank loans, funding pitches, business expansion, and even business sales. It includes additional instructions for how to write each section and is formatted to be SBA-lender approved. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

How to use an example business plan to help you write your own

How do you know what elements need to be included in your business plan, especially if you've never written one before? Looking at business plan examples can help you visualize what a full, traditional plan looks like, so you know what you're aiming for before you get started. Here's how to get the most out of a business plan sample.

Choose a business plan example from a similar type of company

You don't need to find an example of a business plan that's an exact fit for your business. Your business location, target market, and even your particular product or service may not match up exactly with the business plans in our gallery. But, you don't need an exact match for it to be helpful. Instead, look for a business plan sample that's related to the type of business you're starting.

For example, if you want to start a vegetarian restaurant, a plan for a steakhouse can be a great match. While the specifics of your actual startup will differ, the elements you'd want to include in your restaurant's business plan are likely to be very similar.

Use a business plan example as a guide

Every startup and small business is unique, so you'll want to avoid copying an example of a business plan word for word. It just won't be as helpful, since each business is unique. You want your business plan to be a useful tool for starting a business —and getting funding if you need it.

One of the key benefits of writing a business plan is simply going through the process. When you sit down to write, you'll naturally think through important pieces, like your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you'll need to do to be successful.

You'll also look at where you stand among your competition (and everyone has competition), and lay out your goals and the milestones you'll need to meet. Looking at an example of a business plan's financials section can be helpful because you can see what should be included, but take them with a grain of salt. Don't assume that financial projections for a sample company will fit your own small business.

If you're looking for more resources to help you get started, our business planning guide is a good place to start. You can also download our free business plan template .

Think of business planning as a process, instead of a document

Think about business planning as something you do often , rather than a document you create once and never look at again. If you take the time to write a plan that really fits your own company, it will be a better, more useful tool to grow your business. It should also make it easier to share your vision and strategy so everyone on your team is on the same page.

Adjust your business plan regularly to use it as a business management tool

Keep in mind that businesses that use their business plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30 percent faster than those businesses that don't. For that to be true for your company, you'll think of a part of your business planning process as tracking your actual results against your financial forecast on a regular basis.

If things are going well, your business plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. If you find that you're not meeting goals, you might need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan can help you adjust quickly when you identify challenges and opportunities—it's one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

Prepare to pitch your business

If you're planning to pitch your business to investors or seek out any funding, you'll need a pitch deck to accompany your business plan. A pitch deck is designed to inform people about your business. You want your pitch deck to be short and easy to follow, so it's best to keep your presentation under 20 slides.

Your pitch deck and pitch presentation are likely some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. So, you need to be informative and pique their interest. Luckily we have a round-up of real-world pitch deck examples used by successful startups that you can review and reference as you build your pitch.

For more resources, check out our full Business Pitch Guide .

Ready to get started?

Now that you know how to use an example of a business plan to help you write a plan for your business, it's time to find the right one.

Use the search bar below to get started and find the right business plan example for your business idea.

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How to write an effective project plan in 6 simple steps

Contributing writer

If you’re a Type A personality, project planning might sound like music to your ears. Setting deadlines, organizing tasks, and creating order out of chaos — what’s not to love?

The reality is that project planning isn’t for everyone. In one survey by Association for Project Management, 76% of project professionals said their main project was a source of stress . Poor planning, unclear responsibilities, and overallocation are often the culprits behind the stress. 

An effective project plan helps teams stay within budget, scope, and schedule, while delivering quality work. In short, it gets you to the finish line without the stress.  

What is a project plan?

A project plan, also known as a work plan, is a blueprint of your project lifecycle. It’s like a roadmap — it clearly outlines how to get from where you are now (the beginning of the project) to where you want to go (the successful completion of the project). 

“A project plan is an action plan outlining how…[to] accomplish project goals,” says Jami Yazdani , certified Project Management Professional (PMP), project coach, project management consultant, and founder of Yazdani Consulting and Facilitation . 

A comprehensive project plan includes the project schedule, project scope, due dates, and deliverables. Writing a good project plan is key for any new, complex project in the pipeline.

Why Are Project Plans Important?

Project plans allow you to visualize your entire project, from beginning to end—and develop a clear strategy to get from point A to point B. Project plans steer stakeholders in the right direction and keep team members accountable with a common baseline.  

Project plans help you stay agile

Projects are bound by what is traditionally called the “iron triangle” of project management . It means that project managers have to work within the three constraints of scope, resources (project budget and teams), and schedule. You cannot make changes to one without impacting the other two.    

Modern-day project management has shifted to a more agile approach, with a focus on quality. This means that resources and schedules remain unchanged but a fixed number of iterations (flexible scope) helps teams deliver better quality and more value. 

A project plan puts this “agile triangle” in place by mapping out resources, schedules, and the number of iterations — sprints if you’re using a Scrum framework and work in progress (WIP) limits if you’re using the Kanban methodology . 

As Yazdani points out, “Project plans help us strategize a path to project success, allowing us to consider the factors that will impact our project, from stakeholders to budget to schedule delays, and plan how to maximize or mitigate these factors.” 

Project plans provide complete visibility

A project plan, when created with a comprehensive project management software , gives you 360-degree visibility throughout the project lifecycle. 

As a project manager, you need a single source of truth on team members and their project tasks, project scope, project objectives, and project timelines. A detailed project plan gives you this visibility and helps teams stay on track.

Project plans also help to get everyone involved on the same page, setting clear expectations around what needs to be accomplished, when, and by who. 

“Project plans create a framework for measuring project progress and success,” says Yazdani. “Project plans set clear expectations for…stakeholders by outlining exactly what…will [be accomplished] and when it will be delivered.”

Project plans boost engagement and productivity

A well-written project plan clarifies how each individual team member’s contributions play into the larger scope of the project and align with company goals. When employees see how their work directly impacts organizational growth, it generates buy-in and drives engagement , which is critical to a project’s success. 

“Project plans provide…teams with purpose and direction,” says Yazdani. “Transparent project plans show team members how their individual tasks and responsibilities contribute to the overall success of the project, encouraging engagement and collaboration.”

How To Write A Project Plan in 6 Steps

Writing a project plan requires, well, planning. Ideally, the seeds for a project plan need to be sowed before internal project sign-off begins. Before that sign-off, conduct capacity planning to estimate the resources you will need and if they’re available for the duration of the project. After all, you want to set your teams up for success with realistic end dates, buffer time to recharge or catch up in case of unexpected delays, and deliver quality work without experiencing burnout .

Based on organizational capacity, you can lay down project timelines and map out scope as well as success metrics, outline tasks, and build a feedback loop into your project plan. Follow these project planning steps to create a winning plan:      

1. Establish Project Scope And Metrics

Defining your project scope is essential to protecting your iron, or agile, triangle from crumbling. Too often, projects are hit with scope creep , causing delays, budget overruns, and anxiety.

“Clearly define your project’s scope or overall purpose,” says Yazdani. “Confirm any project parameters or constraints, like budget, resource availability, and timeline,” says Yazdani.

A project purpose statement is a high-level brief that defines the what, who, and why of the project along with how and when the goal will be accomplished. But just as important as defining your project scope and purpose is defining what metrics you’re going to use to track progress.

“Establish how you will measure success,” says Yazdani. “Are there metrics, performance criteria, or quality standards you need to meet?”

Clearly defining what your project is, the project’s overall purpose, and how you’re going to measure success lays the foundation for the rest of your project plan—so make sure you take the time to define each of these elements from the get-go.

2. Identify Key Project Stakeholders 

Get clarity on the team members you need to bring the project to life. In other words, identify the key stakeholders of the project. 

“List individuals or groups who will be impacted by the project,” says Yazdani. 

In addition to identifying who needs to be involved in the project, think about how they’ll need to be involved—and at what level. Use a tool like Confluence to run a virtual session to clarify roles and responsibilities, and find gaps that need to be filled. 

Let’s say you’re managing a cross-functional project to launch a new marketing campaign that includes team members from your marketing, design, and sales departments. 

When identifying your key stakeholders, you might create different lists based on the responsibility or level of involvement with the project:

• Decision-makers (who will need to provide input at each step of the project)
• Managers (who will be overseeing employees within their department) 
• Creative talent (who will be actually creating the project deliverables for the campaign) from each department. 

Give your project plan an edge by using a Confluence template like the one below to outline roles and responsibilities.

Define roles, discuss responsibilities, and clarify which tasks fall under each teammate’s purview using this Confluence template. 

Getting clarity on who needs to be involved in the project—and how they’re going to be involved—will help guide the rest of the project plan writing process (particularly when it comes to creating and assigning tasks).

3. Outline Deliverables

Now is the time to get granular.

Each project milestone comprises a series of smaller, tangible tasks that your teams need to produce. While a big-picture view keeps teams aligned, you need signposts along the way to guide them on a day-to-day or weekly basis. Create a list of deliverables that will help you achieve the greater vision of the project. 

“What will you create, build, design, produce, accomplish or deliver?” says Yazdani. “Clearly outline your project’s concrete and tangible deliverables or outcomes.” Centralize these deliverables in a Trello board with designated cards for each one, like in the example below, so you keep work moving forward.

Each card on a board represents tasks and ideas and you can move cards across lists to show progress.

Defining the concrete items you need your project to deliver will help you reverse-engineer the things that need to happen to bring those items to life—which is a must before moving on to the next step.

4. Develop Actionable Tasks

Task management is an important component of any project plan because they help employees see what exactly they need to accomplish. Drill down those deliverables into actionable tasks to assign to your team. 

You can use either Confluence or Jira for different task management needs. If you want to track tasks alongside your work, like action items from a meeting or small team projects, it’s best to use Confluence. But if a project has multiple teams and you need insight into workflows, task history, and reporting, Jira makes it easy.      

“Let your deliverables guide the work of the project,” says Yazdani. “Break down each deliverable into smaller and smaller components until you get to an actionable task.” If a major deliverable is a set of content pieces, the smaller actionable tasks would be to create topic ideas, conduct research, and create outlines for each topic.  

Once you’ve broken down all of your deliverables into manageable, assignable subtasks, analyze how each of those tasks interacts with each other. That way, you can plan, prioritize, assign, and add deadlines accordingly.  

“Highlight any dependencies between tasks, such as tasks that can’t be started until another task is complete,” says Yazdani. “List any resources you will need to accomplish these tasks.”

When a task has multiple assignees, you need to streamline the workflow in your project plan. Say the content pieces you outlined need to be edited or peer-reviewed. A couple of articles may need an interview with a subject matter expert. Lay down a stage-by-stage process of each piece of content and pinpoint when each team member comes into play so you prevent bottlenecks and adjust timeframes.     

5. Assign Tasks And Deadlines

Assign tasks to your team and collaborate with employees to set deadlines for each task. When you involve employees in setting workloads and deadlines , you increase ownership and boost the chances of delivering quality work on time.  

After all, you want to move projects forward at a steady pace, but you also want to make sure your teams stay motivated and engaged. So, when writing your project plan, make sure to “set realistic and achievable deadlines for completing tasks and deliverables,” says Yazdani. “Highlight dates that are inflexible and factor in task dependencies. Add in milestones or checkpoints to monitor progress and celebrate successes .”

Use Jira and Confluence to create tasks that live alongside your project plan or meeting agendas.

Once you map out all of your tasks and deadlines, you should have a clear picture of how and when your project is going to come together—and the initial writing process is just about finished.

But that doesn’t mean your project plan is complete! There’s one more key step to the process.

6. Share, Gather Feedback, And Adjust The Project Plan As Necessary

While steps 1 through 5 may make up your initial writing process, if you want your project plan to be as strong and complete as it can be, it’s important to share it with your team—and get their input on how they think it can be improved.

“Share the plan with your project team and key stakeholders, gathering feedback to make adjustments and improvements,” says Yazdani. 

A tool like Confluence helps knowledge flow freely within teams and departments, leading to better teamwork, higher collaboration, and a shared understanding of priorities. Coworkers can use comments, mentions, notifications, and co-editing capabilities to provide and discuss feedback. 

After you gather your team’s feedback —and make any necessary adjustments based on that feedback—you can consider your project plan complete. Hooray! 

But as your project progresses, things may change or evolve—so it’s important to stay flexible and make changes and adjustments as needed.

“Expect to update your plan as you gather more information, encounter changing requirements and delays, and learn from feedback and mistakes,” says Yazdani. “By using your project plan to guide your activities and measure progress, you’ll be able to refine and improve your plan as you move through the project, tweaking tasks and deadlines as deliverables are developed.”

Download a  template to create your project plan and customize it based on your needs.

Example of a simple project plan 

A project plan doesn’t have to be a complicated spreadsheet with multiple tabs and drop-down menus. It’s best to use a project planning tool like Confluence — or at least a project plan template — to make sure you cover every aspect of the project. A simple project plan includes these elements:

• Project name, brief summary, and objective.
• Project players or team members who will drive the project, along with their roles and responsibilities.
• Key outcomes and due dates.
• Project elements, ideally divided into must-have, nice-to-have and not-in-scope categories.
• Milestones, milestone owners, and a project end date.
• Reference material relevant to the project.

Best Practices For Writing Effective Project Plans

A project planning process can quickly turn into a mishmash of goals and tasks that end up in chaos but these best practices can give you a framework to create a project plan that leads to success.

Use Other Project Plans For Inspiration

There’s no need to reinvent the wheel for every new project! Instead, look to other successful project plans for inspiration—and use them as a guide when writing the plan for your project.

“Review templates and plans for similar projects, or for other projects within your organization or industry, to get ideas for structuring and drafting your own plan,” says Yazdani.

To get started, use a Trello project management template and customize it for your project plan by creating unique lists and adding cards under each list.

Build your team’s ideal workflow and mark each stage of the project plan as a list, with cards for each task. 

Get Your Team Involved In The Process

You may be in charge of spearheading the project. But that doesn’t mean that you have to—or even that you should—write the project plan alone. 

“Collaborate with your project team and key stakeholders on crafting a project plan,” says Yazdani. “Input into the project plan supports buy-in to project goals and encourages continued engagement throughout the project.”

With Confluence , you can organize project details in a centralized space and build a project plan collaboratively.

Don’t Let Perfect Be The Enemy Of The Good

You may be tempted to write (and rewrite) your project plan until you’ve got every detail mapped out perfectly. But spending too much time trying to get everything “perfect” can actually hold up the project. So don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good—and instead of getting caught up in getting everything perfect from the get-go, stay willing and flexible to adjust your project plan as you move forward.

“Focus on outcomes, not plan perfection,” says Yazdani. “While it would be awesome for the first draft of our plan to require no changes while also inspiring our team and ensuring project success, our goal shouldn’t be a perfect plan. Our goal is a plan that allows us to successfully deliver on project goals. Responsiveness to changing needs and a shifting environment is more important than plan perfection.”

Use the right tools to succeed with your project plan

Writing a project plan, especially if you’re new to the process, can feel overwhelming. But now that you know the exact steps to write one, make sure you have the tools you need to create a strong, cohesive plan from the ground up—and watch your project thrive as a result. 

Atlassian Together can help with project planning and management with a powerful combination of tools that make work flow across teams.

Guide your team to project success with Atlassian Together’s suite of products.

Advice, stories, and expertise about work life today.

Project Management Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Project Management Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Project Management business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Project Management businesses.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Project Management business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

ProPlan Solutions is a startup project management company located in Santa Clara, California. The company is founded by Ron Henderson who has experience in project management, in addition to several years of experience in project management. Now, with the expertise of knowledge and business acumen, Ron has determined he can confidently start and effectively grow a successful ProPlan Solutions company. Ron believes his experience of strategic growth, marketing skills, financial capabilities, and wide and deep knowledge of program management practices will provide everything needed for long-term growth and profitability.

ProPlan Solutions will provide a comprehensive array of services for a wide variety of clients. ProPlan Solutions will be the complete solution, providing services and products to each client while supporting the strategic goals of the company. ProPlan Solutions will be the ultimate choice in project management for clients to ensure that every need of the customer is fully and completely met.

Product Offering

The following are the services that ProPlan Solutions will provide:

• Project planning
• Project initiation and actionable steps
• Streamline project processes
• Build project collaboration
• Guaranteed on-time completion of projects
• Stakeholder engagement
• Stakeholder initiation and communication
• Budgeting and resource allocation
• Risk assessment
• Rick management

Customer Focus

ProPlan Solutions will target all construction companies within the greater Santa Clara region. They will target project managers who work independently. They will target city government planning officials. They will target commercial building owners and stakeholders.

Management Team

ProPlan Solutions will be owned and operated by Don Henderson. He recruited his former administrative manager, Stanley Marshall, to be the administrative director in ProPlan Solutions. In addition, Don recruited Darlene Cooper to be the marketing director, overseeing all forms of marketing, including social media and other channels.

Don Henderson is a graduate of Ohio State University, where he earned a degree in Innovation. He has been instrumental in his former employment in leading a wide and diverse number of projects-in-process by employing his expertise, knowledge and capabilities learned while on the job for more than a decade. He believes his organizational skills and diligence will allow him to grow his clientele base and his team of employees to a long-term strategic goal.

Stanley Marshall is the former administrative manager where Don was formerly employed. Stanley is well-known for his ability to break every project or task into digestible bites to then put them all together with a 99.9% accuracy rate. Stanley will become the new administrative director, overseeing employees, organizational needs and the construction of projects that conform to timelines.

Darlene Cooper is a personal acquaintance of Don Henderson and, after observing her social media and public relations skills, he asked Darlene to join the new company as the marketing director. She will build the pipeline of potential clients by marketing the skills and capabilities of the leaders within ProPlan Solutions and the history of successful projects behind the executive staff.

Success Factors

ProPlan Solutions will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly-qualified team of ProPlan Solutions
• Comprehensive menu of services and products
• Streamlined project processes via proprietary software
• Project collaboration with all players
• ProPlan Solutions offers the best pricing in town. Their pricing structure is the most cost effective compared to the competition.

Financial Highlights

ProPlan Solutions is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its ProPlan Solutions. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $20,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the financial projections for ProPlan Solutions.

Company Overview

Who is proplan solutions.

ProPlan Solutions is a newly established, full-service project management in Santa Clara, California. ProPlan Solutions will be the most reliable, cost-effective, and efficient choice for construction projects of all sizes within the Bay Area region. ProPlan Solutions will provide a comprehensive menu of project planning and completion services for any company or stakeholder to utilize. Their full-service approach includes a comprehensive slate of steps to completion and a guaranteed project completion date.

  ProPlan Solutions will be able to manage large and small projects from start to finish. The team of professionals are highly qualified and experienced in project initiation, processes, and completion with collaboration. ProPlan Solutions removes all headaches and issues of challenging projects and ensures all issues are taken care of expeditiously while delivering the best customer service.

ProPlan Solutions History

ProPlan Solutions is owned and operated by Don Henderson, a former project manager who has a wide and deep level of experience in multiple projects. Don has worked for a major management corporation for over ten years and he has the expertise across a wide variety of projects to effectively lead his teams to success in each project managed. Ron has gained the trust and commitment of three large technology-based companies in Santa Clara and is working to finalize the contracts at this time.

Since incorporation, ProPlan Solutions has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered ProPlan Solutions, LLC to transact business in the state of California.
• Has a contract in place for a 10,000 square foot office at one of the midtown buildings
• Reached out to numerous contacts to include ProPlan Solutions in their project planning.
• Began recruiting an executive staff of three persons and an administrative staff of four to work at ProPlan Solutions.

ProPlan Solutions Services

The following will be the services ProPlan Solutions will provide:

Industry Analysis

The project management industry is expected to grow over the next five years to over $7 billion. The growth will be driven by new technology that drives innovation and new projects that follow. There will be new risk assessments needed and timelines for project management could be more demanding, which would propel growth. This depends on the addition of software and application methods. The growth will also be driven by increasing demand for complex project management, particularly in the technology sector. The growth will be driven by small management projects combined for expediency and collaboration.

Costs will likely be reduced as software reduces the time and personnel needed when new tasks can be managed and completed by robotic or computer-driven technological solutions. Costs will likely be reduced as new constructs become adopted and the point of use becomes widened with many early adopters leading to full market adaptability that will reduce the cost per project.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market, customer segmentation.

ProPlan Solutions will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Construction companies
• Technology-driven companies
• Independent project managers
• City or statewide planning officials
• Commercial building owners
• Collaborators and stakeholders of construction projects

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

ProPlan Solutions will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

The Rodgers Group

The Rodgers Group provides risk analysis and risk management during complex projects while in process. The risk analysis component is determined by Trenton Rogers, a skilled professional with ten years of expertise gained before he started The Rodgers Group. Potential risk assessments and projections will include changes in project scope, unforeseen challenges, and market competition. The Rodgers Group also manages mitigation strategies, preparing multiple “what if” scenarios for their client base.

EX Strategies

Started by London Breed in 2015, EX Strategies is focused on projects that involved exit strategies. In many cases, this requires lengthy and specific client consultations and care as the exit process can be lengthy. EX Strategies handles all potential exit strategies, including mergers, acquisitions, and transiting to a consulting model as needed. The market conditions and business goals of every business owner are determined prior to any constructions or projects get underway.

The Sustainable Assessment Company

The Sustainable Assessment Company specializes in projects that determine sustainability, no matter how large or small the project may be. Founded by Josiah Stein in 2020, the company focuses on the fact that most construction now contains sustainability plans and solutions. Therefore, the Sustainable Assessment Company looks forward and backward at new and existing organizations to determine viability of the initial plans and creates solutions that lead to higher-performing levels of sustainability. As many companies are committed to community engagement, along with social and environmental responsibility, the Sustainable Assessment Company supports and creates new constructs for success in these areas.

Competitive Advantage

ProPlan Solutions will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

ProPlan Solutions will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for ProPlan Solutions is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

ProPlan Solutions has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and expertise to their former clients. The contacts and clients will follow them to the new company and help spread the word of ProPlan Solutions.

Professional Associations and Networking

Industry associations will be joined and networking efforts will become an on-going effort at ProPlan Solutions. Trade associations in the national arena will also be joined. New technology trade associations will also be adopted, as companies seek the newest technology to apply the most effective innovations.

Website/SEO Marketing

ProPlan Solutions will fully utilize their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list all the services that ProPlan Solutions provides. The website will also list their contact information and list a few of their largest projects completed successfully. The website will engage in SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “project management company” or “risk assessments near me,” ProPlan Solutions will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of ProPlan Solutions will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive excellent value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for ProPlan Solutions. Operation Functions:

• Don Henderson will be the owner and president of the company. Don will oversee all staff and manage client relations. Don has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Stanley Marshall will be the new administrative director, overseeing employees, organizational needs and the construction of projects that conform to timelines.
• Darlene Cooper brings social media skills and public relations expertise to ProPlan Solutions. She will become the marketing director, building the pipeline of potential clients within the marketing skills and capabilities she carries.

Milestones:

ProPlan Solutions will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease office space
• 5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for the ProPlan Solutions
• 6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for ProPlan Solutions clients
• 6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
• 6/22/202X – Begin moving into ProPlan Solutions office
• 7/1/202X – ProPlan Solutions opens its doors for business

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for ProPlan Solutions are the fees they will charge to clients for their services. .

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff ProPlan Solutions. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

ProPlan Solutions is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its project management company. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Projects Per Month: 15
• Average Revenue per Month: $25,000
• Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, project management business plan faqs, what is a project management business plan.

A project management business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your project management business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections. You can easily complete your Project Management business plan using our Project Management Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Project Management Businesses?

There are a number of different kinds of project management businesses, some examples include: Marketing project management, Construction project management, Engineering project management, and IT project management.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Project Management Business Plan?

Project Management businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start a Project Management Business?

Starting a project management business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster. 1. Develop A Project Management Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed project management business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your project management business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your project management business is in compliance with local laws. 3. Register Your Project Management Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your project management business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws. 4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your project management business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms. 5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations. 6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events. 7. Acquire Necessary Project Management Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your project management business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation. 8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your project management business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising.