business plan resume template

Business Plan Template for Resume

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Looking to start a business in the resume writing industry? Look no further than ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Resume! This comprehensive template is specifically designed for individuals like you who want to provide top-notch resume writing services to clients.

With ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Resume, you can:

• Outline your goals and objectives for your resume writing business
• Identify and target your ideal market to attract potential clients
• Develop pricing strategies that maximize your profits while remaining competitive
• Create a solid marketing plan to increase your visibility and attract clients
• Determine the operational requirements needed to run your business efficiently

Don't let the lack of a business plan hold you back from starting your dream venture. Get started with ClickUp's Business Plan Template for Resume today and pave the way for your success!

Business Plan Template for Resume Benefits

A business plan template for resume writing services can provide numerous benefits to individuals looking to start their own business, including:

• Streamlining the process of creating a comprehensive business plan
• Providing a clear structure and format to outline business goals and objectives
• Helping to identify and analyze the target market for resume writing services
• Assisting in determining pricing strategies and competitive positioning
• Guiding the development of effective marketing plans and strategies
• Ensuring a thorough understanding of the operational requirements and resources needed for the business venture

Main Elements of Resume Business Plan Template

ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Resume provides the structure you need to create a comprehensive business plan for your resume writing services. Here are the main elements of this template:

• Custom Statuses: Keep track of the progress of different sections of your business plan using statuses such as Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do.
• Custom Fields: Use custom fields like Reference, Approved, and Section to add specific details and organize your business plan effectively.
• Custom Views: Access different views to gain a holistic understanding of your business plan. Explore the Topics view to dive deep into different areas, monitor progress through the Status view, visualize your timeline in the Timeline view, review the entire business plan in the Business Plan view, and get started quickly with the help of the Getting Started Guide.

How To Use Business Plan Template for Resume

Crafting a business plan for your resume can be a game-changer in your job search. With the Business Plan Template in ClickUp, you can create a comprehensive and strategic plan to land your dream job. Follow these five steps to make your resume stand out from the crowd:

1. Define your career goals and target audience

Before diving into the details, take some time to identify your career goals and the specific audience you're targeting. Do you want to pivot industries or advance within your current field? Understanding your goals will help you tailor your resume to showcase your relevant skills and experience.

Use the Goals feature in ClickUp to outline your career objectives and target audience.

2. Research and analyze the job market

To create an effective business plan for your resume, you need to have a deep understanding of the job market and industry trends. Research the skills, qualifications, and keywords that employers are looking for in your desired field. Analyze job postings and industry reports to identify the key requirements and preferences.

Utilize the Table view in ClickUp to organize and analyze your research findings.

3. Outline your resume sections and content

Based on your research, outline the different sections you want to include in your resume, such as summary, experience, education, skills, and achievements. Determine the most relevant content for each section and strategize how to highlight your strengths and accomplishments.

Create tasks in ClickUp to outline each resume section and assign the content you want to include.

4. Customize and optimize your resume

Now it's time to bring your resume to life. Tailor each section to align with the job requirements and showcase your unique value proposition. Use action verbs and quantifiable achievements to demonstrate your impact. Optimize your resume by incorporating relevant keywords and formatting it in a visually appealing way.

Take advantage of the Board view in ClickUp to track the customization and optimization process for each resume section.

5. Review, edit, and refine

Once you have completed your initial draft, it's crucial to review, edit, and refine your resume. Check for any grammatical errors, typos, or inconsistencies. Seek feedback from trusted colleagues or mentors to ensure your resume effectively communicates your skills and experiences.

Set a recurring task in ClickUp to regularly review and refine your resume to keep it up to date and tailored for each job opportunity.

By following these five steps and using the Business Plan Template in ClickUp, you can create a powerful resume that grabs the attention of employers and helps you land your dream job. Good luck!

Get Started with ClickUp’s Business Plan Template for Resume

Entrepreneurs looking to start a resume writing business can use the Business Plan Template for Resume in ClickUp to help them outline their goals and strategies.

First, hit “Add Template” to sign up for ClickUp and add the template to your Workspace. Make sure you designate which Space or location in your Workspace you’d like this template applied.

Next, invite relevant members or guests to your Workspace to start collaborating.

Now you can take advantage of the full potential of this template to create a comprehensive business plan:

• Use the Topics View to organize your business plan into different sections such as goals, target market, pricing strategies, and marketing plans
• The Status View will help you track the progress of each section, with statuses like Complete, In Progress, Needs Revision, and To Do
• The Timeline View will give you a visual representation of your business plan's timeline, allowing you to set deadlines and milestones
• The Business Plan View will provide an overview of your entire plan, allowing you to see the big picture
• The Getting Started Guide View will provide step-by-step instructions on how to use the template effectively
• Utilize the custom fields Reference, Approved, and Section to add additional information and categorize your plan
• Update statuses and custom fields as you work on each section to keep track of progress
• Monitor and analyze your business plan to ensure it aligns with your goals and objectives
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• • Led team in meticulous market analysis resulting in a 20% increase in market share within two years through targeted branding initiatives.
• • Implemented data-driven sales strategies boosting annual sales growth by 25%, exceeding the corporate target by 5% for 3 consecutive years.
• • Directed cross-functional teams to align product planning with consumer trends, contributing to a 30% reduction in inventory carrying costs.
• • Managed a multi-million dollar marketing budget, creating high-impact campaigns that elevated brand presence in digital and traditional media.
• • Negotiated with brand ambassadors, securing endorsement deals that increased brand loyalty and customer engagement by 40%.
• • Coordinated with R&D and sales teams for product presentations, enhancing product knowledge and sales skills among staff leading to a 15% uptick in sales volume.
• • Developed and executed a comprehensive marketing plan that resulted in a 10% year-over-year revenue increase.
• • Delivered innovative e-commerce strategies that capitalized on emerging trends and consumer behaviors, increasing online sales by 20%.
• • Managed the clearance of seasonal inventories through effective closeout strategies, reducing overstock by 35%.
• • Established pricing models for new product ranges that optimized profit margins while remaining competitive in the marketplace.
• • Conducted in-depth sales analysis to identify and capitalize on growth opportunities within different market segments.
• • Administered comprehensive sales reports enabling the management team to adjust sales forecasts accurately, improving forecasting accuracy by 20%.
• • Orchestrated effective sales promotions aligning with inventory targets, spearheading a 15% increase in quarterly revenue.
• • Assisted in developing and implementing sales structures that optimized territory coverage and sales rep productivity.
• • Played a pivotal role in the analysis and recommendation of custom offerings, leading to a 12% growth in bespoke orders.

5 Business Planning Manager Resume Examples & Guide for 2024

As a business planning manager, it is essential to highlight your strategic planning expertise on your resume. Showcase your ability to develop and implement business strategies that align with company goals. Demonstrate your proficiency in financial modeling and analysis, which are critical components of the role. Your resume should also reflect your competence in leading cross-functional teams to drive business growth and operational improvements.

All resume examples in this guide

Traditional

Resume Guide

Resume Format Tips

Resume Experience

Skills on Resume

Education & Certifications

Resume Summary Tips

Additional Resume Sections

Key Takeaways

As a business planning manager, articulating your ability to synthesize complex data and drive strategic decisions can be a daunting resume challenge. Our guide provides targeted advice and examples that will help you effectively highlight these skills, ensuring your resume stands out to potential employers.

• Incorporate business planning manager job advert keywords into key sections of your resume, such as the summary, header, and experience sections;
• Quantify your experience using achievements, certificates, and more in various business planning manager resume sections;
• Apply practical insights from real-life business planning manager resume examples to enhance your own profile;
• Choose the most effective business planning manager resume format to succeed in any evaluation process.
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Is there a correct way to format your business planning manager resume?

This is a tricky question. While skimming over your resume, recruiters will be looking at your experience and the message your profile conveys. That's why your resume format needs to be clear and concise, serving to supplement and organize your experience. Professional best practices point that the best business planning manager resumes:

• Follow the reverse chronological order, where the most recent experience items are presented first . This is to keep your expertise succinct and to show recruiters your career growth over the years;
• Have a clearly defined header that includes all relevant contact information and a portfolio or a LinkedIn link. In some countries, it is acceptable to include a professional photo , so that your application is more memorable;
• Feature the most important business planning manager resume sections towards the top, e.g. summary, skills, and experience. That way, recruiters can immediately find information that is relevant to the role;
• Take up no more than two pages - and two pages are the exception for more experienced professionals. Keep your expertise to the point and use your business planning manager resume real estate wisely .
• Selecting modern, yet simple fonts, e.g. Rubik, Lato, etc., would help your application stand out;
• Many candidates stick with the tried-and-tested Arial or Times New Roman, but you'd want your business planning manager resume to be a bit more unique;
• The ATS can read all serif and sans-serif fonts, so you should avoid fancy, formal script (or cursive) fonts.

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Mention specific courses or projects that are pertinent to the job you're applying for.

Ensure your business planning manager resume stands out with these mandatory sections:

• Header - the section recruiters look to find your contact details, portfolio, and potentially, your current role
• Summary or objective - where your achievements could meet your career goals
• Experience - showcasing you have the technical (and personal) know-how for the role
• Skills - further highlighting capabilities that matter most to the business planning manager advert and your application
• Certifications/Education - staying up-to-date with industry trends

What recruiters want to see on your resume:

• Demonstrated experience in strategic planning and business model design.
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills, including proficiency with data analysis tools and methodologies.
• Proven track record in project management and cross-functional team leadership.
• Advanced understanding of financial modeling, budgeting, and forecasting.
• Excellent communication and presentation skills to effectively articulate strategies and business plans to stakeholders.

Quick formula for writing your business planning manager resume experience section

Have you ever wondered why recruiters care about your business planning manager expertise?

For starters, your past roles show that you've obtained the relevant on-the job training and expertise that'd be useful for the role.

What is more, the resume work experience section isn't just your work history , but:

• shows what you're capable of achieving based on your past success;
• proves your skills with (oftentimes, tangible) achievements;
• highlights the unique value of what it's like to work with you.

To ensure your resume work experience section is as effective as possible, follow this formula:

• start each bullet with a powerful, action verb , followed up by your responsibilities, and your workplace success.

The more details you can include - that are relevant to the job and linked with your skill set - the more likely you are to catch recruiters' attention.

Additionally, you can also scan the job advert for key requirements or buzzwords , which you can quantify across your experience section.

Not sure what we mean by this? Take inspiration from the business planning manager resume experience sections below:

• Led development of a 3-year strategic business plan, aligning with market trends and forecasts, driving a 25% increase in market share.
• Managed cross-departmental teams to implement operational improvements, which boosted overall efficiency by 15%.
• Oversaw a portfolio of projects valued at over $5M, ensuring alignment with strategic objectives and on-time, under-budget delivery.
• Coordinated with senior management to define KPIs, optimizing resource allocation across projects and resulting in a 20% cost reduction.
• Spearheaded market analysis for new product development, contributing to a launch that captured a 10% market share within the first year.
• Initiated and maintained partnerships with key stakeholders, enhancing brand reputation and leading to a 30% increase in B2B leads.
• Drove the financial analysis for a major merger, which improved the company's profitability by 18% within the first year post-merger.
• Implemented a continuous improvement program that identified inefficiencies and improved operational workflow by 20%.
• Facilitated training programs for junior planning analysts, improving team productivity and data analysis skills within the department.
• Streamlined the business planning process using advanced analytics tools, reducing time-to-market for new initiatives by 25%.
• Collaborated on a sustainability project that cut down material costs by 15%, while improving environmental and social governance metrics.
• Crafted competitive analysis reports that guided decision-making on entering new markets, effectively growing the customer base by 50,000+ within two years.
• Orchestrated the launch of a new service line that grew to generate $2M in annual revenue.
• Managed a team of analysts to oversee a diversified portfolio, optimizing investment strategies that led to a 12% rise in annual returns.
• Directed the market entry strategy for three new geographic regions, achieving a consistent year-over-year growth rate of 8%.
• Introduced a data-driven decision-making framework that helped prioritize investment projects, delivering an increase of 16% in ROIC.
• Negotiated with external suppliers to lower costs by 10%, positively impacting the overall profit margin.
• Developed a risk management strategy that reduced potential financial losses by 22%, enhancing company stability during market volatility.
• Implemented an agile project management methodology, which shortened the planning cycle times by 30% and increased team agility.
• Oversaw a strategic pivot that opened up a new revenue stream, contributing to an increment of $1M in profits within the first year.
• Led the development and execution of a cost optimization plan that saved the company $500K annually.
• Masterminded a new subscription-based pricing model that improved customer lifetime value by 40% over two years.
• Coordinated with IT to deploy a business intelligence platform, enhancing data accessibility and supporting revenue growth by 20%.
• Conducted in-depth industry research that helped reposition the company's core products, leading to a 15% increase in sales.

Quantifying impact on your resume

• Include the size of the budgets you have managed to demonstrate your financial accountability and responsibility.
• Detail the percentage increase in revenue your strategies contributed to, showing your direct impact on growth.
• List the number of projects you have led and their scale to prove your experience with managing complex initiatives.
• Mention the exact number of team members you've supervised to underscore your leadership and management skills.
• Quantify the amount of cost savings you've achieved through various initiatives to show your ability to drive efficiencies.
• Present the number of strategic partnerships you've developed to highlight your networking and collaboration skills.
• Specify the growth in market share your projects have resulted in to demonstrate your competitive acumen.
• Report on the percentage reduction in process times your improvements have achieved to evidence your productivity enhancements.

Action verbs for your business planning manager resume

How to shift the focus from your business planning manager resume experience section to your professional profile

If you're at the start of your career journey or transitioning industries, you might be concerned about the lack of professional experience while crafting your business planning manager resume.

How can you effectively present your business planning manager resume experience section under these circumstances?

Rather than a traditional, extensive experience section, demonstrate your expertise through:

• Emphasizing your education. Your academic background might impress recruiters, especially if it includes recent, industry-relevant knowledge;
• Creating a compelling objective statement. The first few sentences of your resume should map out your motivations and career aspirations, offering insight into your goals;
• Highlighting your transferable skills. For example, if you've honed communication skills through volunteering, illustrate on your business planning manager resume how these can benefit a potential employer;
• Detailing your technical background in certifications and skills sections. As a recent graduate, your technological foundations might be particularly attractive to employers looking to develop these skills further.

It's important to remember that employers sometimes prefer candidates with less experience but who are a better cultural fit for their organization.

Recommended reads:

• How to List Expected Graduation Date on Your Resume
• How to List Continuing Education on Your Resume

If you're in the process of obtaining your certificate or degree, list the expected date you're supposed to graduate or be certified.

Popular business planning manager hard skills and soft skills for your resume

Apart from assessing your professional expertise, recruiters are on the lookout for whether your skills align with the job.

Your profile would thus be assessed in regard to your:

• Hard or technical skills - your ability to perform on the job using particular technologies or software
• Soft skills - how you adapt, communicate, and thrive in different environments.

Both types of skills - hard and soft skills - are important for your resume, so make sure to create a dedicated skills section that:

• Lists up to five or six skills that align with the job advert.
• Integrates vital keywords for the industry, but also reflects on your personal strengths.
• Builds up further your skills with an achievements section within which you explain what you've achieved thanks to using the particular skill.
• Aims to always quantify in some way how you've used the skill, as it's not enough to just list it.

What are the most sought out hard and soft skills for business planning manager roles?

Check out the industry's top choices with our two dedicated lists below:

Top skills for your business planning manager resume:

Strategic Planning

Financial Analysis

Budget Management

Market Research

Risk Management

Data Analysis

Business Intelligence

Project Management

Process Improvement

Regulatory Compliance

Communication

Critical Thinking

Problem Solving

Decision Making

Adaptability

Negotiation

Time Management

Stakeholder Engagement

Showcase any ongoing or recent educational efforts to stay updated in your field.

Maximizing your business planning manager resume: education and certification sections

To effectively showcase your industry knowledge in your business planning manager resume, it's important to properly list your education and certifications.

For the education section , ensure you include:

• Higher education degrees pertinent to the industry or those at a postgraduate level;
• The start and end dates of your education, along with the name of the institution you graduated from;
• Your GPA and relevant coursework, but only if they are impressive and applicable to the role.

Additionally, create a separate certifications section to spotlight your most notable recognitions. Another excellent place to feature a leading industry certificate is in your resume header, right after your name.

Below is a list of key industry certifications that are often sought after by recruiters

The top 5 certifications for your business planning manager resume:

• Project Management Professional (PMP) - Project Management Institute (PMI)
• Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) - Scrum Alliance
• Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP) - Disaster Recovery Institute International (DRII)
• Certified Business Analysis Professional (CBAP) - International Institute of Business Analysis (IIBA)
• Strategic Management Professional (SMP) - Strategy Management Group (SMG)

Listing your relevant degrees or certificates on your business planning manager resume is a win-win situation. Not only does it hint at your technical capabilities in the industry, but an array of soft skills, like perseverance, adaptability, and motivation.

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Which one to use: a resume summary or a resume objective?

The business planning manager resume summary or objective serves as a good introduction to your experience for recruiters.

Have you ever wondered which one (the summary or objective) will be more appropriate for your business planning manager resume?

• If you are a less experienced professional, write a resume objective statement. The objective is about three sentences long and provides recruiters with information about your career goals, strengths, and achievements . It should basically denote how you see yourself in this particular role, and what is your relevant experience and/or know-how;
• If you happen to have plenty of relevant experience, select your most impressive achievements for your resume summary. The summary is no longer than five sentences and serves as a storytelling instrument - highlighting your greatest career wins . Don't forget to align your summary with the job requirements to ensure your resume stays relevant to the role.

Read on for more information and examples of resume summaries and objectives from real world professionals.

Resume summaries for a business planning manager job

• With over a decade of experience in strategic business planning and implementation, I have successfully led cross-functional teams in the technology sector to exceed profitability targets. I possess a profound expertise in market analysis and an ability to integrate emerging trends into actionable growth strategies. My crowning achievement includes orchestrating a turnaround initiative that resulted in a 20% revenue increase within a single fiscal year.
• Experienced marketing strategist transitioning into business planning management, I bring 8 years of expertise in consumer behavior analysis and campaign management. Having contributed to a startup's growth by 150% through innovative market penetration tactics, my goal is to leverage data-driven insights and strategic planning skills to drive sustainable business growth in a new industry.
• Former military officer with a strong background in operations, logistics, and team leadership, looking to apply over 12 years of disciplined work ethic and strategic project management to the business planning sector. I am eager to utilize analytical skills and a results-oriented approach to contribute to the successful planning and execution of complex business operations.
• Aspiring to harness my recent MBA education and enthusiasm for strategic planning, I am keen on joining a forward-thinking organization where I can apply my academic knowledge and fresh perspective. I am excited to learn and grow, aiming to build a foundation in business planning with an emphasis on sustainable growth, financial analysis, and operational efficiency.
• Enthusiastic newcomer with a strong foundation in business analytics and a passion for strategic thinking. Having excelled in academic coursework focused on strategic management and operational planning, I am eager to translate theoretical knowledge into practical skills by contributing to the development and execution of comprehensive business plans.
• Adept at recognizing and analyzing business trends, I have 15 years of experience crafting strategic roadmaps for multinational corporations in the finance industry. Notably, I spearheaded a resource optimization project that resulted in a 30% cost reduction without impacting service quality. My proficiency in financial modeling and stakeholder management are essential assets in driving corporate objectives.

Recruiters' favorite additional business planning manager resume sections

When writing your business planning manager resume, you may be thinking to yourself, " Is there anything more I can add on to stand out? ".

Include any of the below four sections you deem relevant, to ensure your business planning manager resume further builds up your professional and personal profile:

• Books - your favorite books can showcase that you have an excellent level of reading comprehension, creativity, and outside the box thinking;
• Languages - make sure you've included your proficiency level alongside a relevant certificate or a form of self-assessment;
• Website link - ensure you've curated your most relevant and recent projects in your professional portfolio (and that the link is a part of your resume header) to support your application;
• Passions - showing recruiters how you spend your time outside of work and what activities or causes you're invested in.

Key takeaways

• The layout of your resume should take into consideration your professional background while integrating vital sections and design elements;
• Highlight your most pertinent achievements for the role all through different sections;
• Be very specific when selecting your certifications, hard skills, and soft skills to showcase the best of your talents;
• Include within the top one-third of your business planning manager resume a header and summary to help recruiters understand your experience and allocate your contact details. A skills box is optional, but it will help you align your expertise with the role;
• Detail the full extent of your professional experience with specific bullets that focus on tasks, actions, and outcomes.

Looking to build your own Business Planning Manager resume?

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Click here to directly go to the complete business resume sample.

If you are looking for business resume samples as a reference to build your business resume in 2022, you are on the right platform.

We are trying to help every business professional grow better this year with our career-building assistance.

Every year, millions of college graduates earn their degrees and diplomas in respective niches across the USA .

After graduation, most students search for jobs to kickstart their careers. If you are a recent business graduate looking for a job this year, we are helping you bag one with a professional business resume.

Irrespective of your graduation year and work experience, we are helping all business graduates build an impactful business resume by answering the following questions:

• How to make ATS-optimized business resumes from scratch?
• How to perfect each section of your business administration resume?
• How to correctly endorse your business resume skills in your resume?
• Whether to write a business resume objective or a business resume summary?
• How much a business development manager makes in the United States?

What Is a Business Resume & Why Do You Need It?

A business resume is a profile-specific resume for business professionals.

It is a document consisting of important information such as your employment details, internship history, educational background, etc. This information put together paints a complete picture of your professional existence.

If recruiters like what they see in your business development resume, you get shortlisted. And if your resume does not convey what the recruiter looks for in a resume, you don't get shortlisted.

It all boils down to one thing:

Your business development resume should be industry-relevant. Additionally, it should also be ATS-compliant.

Writing an ATS-compliant business development resume is the need of the hour because of the increasing use of the ATS (applicant tracking system) software to simplify their shortlist requirements.

So your goal here is to write an ATS-compliant business development resume , and we are here to help you do it.

How to Write Your Business Resume

Most people complain that writing a business administration resume is too stressful. It takes too much time, yet it fails to meet the perfection standards that a shortlist-worthy resume needs.

Hence, following the right approach to resume-writing helps. It holds the power of helping you write a resume without needing to revisit each section all over again.

Given below is a list of the 3 stages to resume writing that you should follow:

• Stage 1: Master Business Resume
• Stage 2: First Draft of Business Resume
• Stage 2: Final Draft of Business Resume

Master Business Resume

Making a master business resume is the first stage of resume writing.

In this stage, your only job is to compile all your information. Be it your work experience details, educational information, internships, or volunteering experience - collect all your data and dump it in one place.

Doing this helps you in two ways:

Resume writing in the present : The best thing about a master business resume is that it eliminates the need to look for information explicitly. It will help you use all your personal, professional, and educational details effectively without any confusion.

Resume update in the future : The next utility of making a master business resume lies in its capacity to help you in the future as well. Not looking for information means that you don't miss out on any information. Moreover, this ensures that none of your work experience or past activities is overlooked. Your only job is to objectively streamline the information that you need and update your resume - must the need arise.

First Draft of Business Resume

In this stage, you have to add the suitable resume sections that we have mentioned below:

• Personal Information
• Profile Title
• Professional Experience
• Certifications (if any)
• Awards & Recognition (if any)
• Additional Information (if any)

Final Draft of Business Resume

The final draft stage marks the conclusion of your business development resume. In this stage, wrap up your resume by composing the sections we have mentioned below:

• Key Skills Section: To be framed second-last, right before the summary/objective.
• Summary / Objective Section: To be crafted at the end.

Before you compose your business resume summary/business resume objective, conclude the key skills section. The key skills section lists all your specific business resume skills that mark your professional caliber.

After concluding the key skills section, draft a business summary or a business resume objective. Either way, make sure that they sufficiently sum up your entire resume in a 3-5 line paragraph.

Business Resume Sample

Take a look at the below-given business resume sample to know all the essential points of a business resume building process:

• Executed business deals successfully by undertaking in-depth market analysis
• Reported directly to the Manager and successfully closed 10+ deals to accomplish stipulated monthly targets
• Conceptualized & implemented aggressive sales initiatives for effectively diversifying revenue streams & boosting growth
• Directed business promotion /marketing initiatives and efficiently processed customer queries & complaints
• Delivered intricate marketing/sales presentations to key stakeholders & interfaced with senior-level decision-makers
• Analyzed & forged strategic relationships , alliances & partnerships to leverage significant long-term business opportunities
• Rendered Independently secured high-worth & high-profitability accounts with 90% retention & client loyalty levels
• Ensured excellent customer care and efficiently directed resolution of major issues to achieve 100% positive reviews
• Appointed in-charge of maintaining all statistical/financial records & documentation for complying with client specifications
• Fulfilled client requirements & networked with 30+ potential clients demonstrating an interest in company products
• Created and maintained relationships with 100+ clients & key stakeholders to effectively achieve pre-established targets
• Boosted revenues by coordinating with field executives, tracing non-contactable customers & conducting field visits
• Administered ~50 follow up calls daily, in addition to convening and attending meetings for reviewing sales performance
• Discerned & implemented product enhancements , in addition to directing initiatives for New Product Development
• Conducted competition analysis & deployed in-depth knowledge of latest industry-based trends & marketing developments
• Identified business opportunities by examining & analyzing prospects and evaluated their position in the industry
• Spearheaded research initiatives to scrutinize sales options & liaised with channel partners for resolving sale queries
• Bolstered the quality of advances / deposit portfolio by optimizing deliverables as per customer requirements
• Forged robust business relationships with key customers to enhance market position & achieve 100% targets
• Top 3 percentile of the class
• Top 10 percentile of the class
• Digital Marketing | PACE Digital Marketing | New York, NY | Jun ‘17
• Languages : English, Spanish, German
• Hobbies: Human Psychology and reading entrepreneurship books

Business Resume Sections

The rule of ATS compliance demands that your business development resume is impeccably organized and spaced out.

The resume sections helps you categorize your information and allow you systematically communicate information.

We have mentioned a list of the must-have sections for your business development resume:

• Summary/Objective

These sections are the pre-requisites of all resumes. Your business development resume should organize information under these sections.

Make sure that your resume has all this information at a minimum.

You can also use the following sections if you have more information to add to your resume:

Business Resume: Professional Experience

The professional experience section is the star of your business development manager resume.

Being the foundation of extremely crucial work details, this section holds a lot of importance. Having the suitable qualification and the right experience won't make a difference if this information is not presented correctly.

Here are some things you can do to get this section closest to perfection:

• Frame points
• Use the STAR format
• Use Grouping & Highlighting

Framing Points

We will begin with the importance of framing points.

Communicating information using one-liner points makes a world of difference to the readability of your business resumes vis-a-vis paragraphs.

A commonly held consensus is that paragraphs are not suitable for your resume and thus, should not be used.

Mentioned below are two business resume examples to demonstrate this argument:

Business Resume Example 1

"As part of my roles & responsibilities as a business development executive at company X, I was responsible for the critical task of researching the market and studying the competition to analyze potential gaps in our business and come up with relevant solutions. As a result, I was able to come up with meaningful solutions to improve our company's market positioning and suggest changes in our products & services to meet the market standards & beat the competition. By working alongside channel partners, I could find meaningful resolutions to impending sales queries and further scrutinize our sales options. Additionally, I examined prospects and evaluated their industry status and position to identify new business opportunities for the company."

Business Resume Example 2

• Forged business relationships with key customers to improve market position
• Liaised with channel partners to resolve sale queries and scrutinized further sales options
• Identified gaps in our products and services to enhance their overall functionality and effectiveness
• Analyzed the market and studied the competition to determine subsequent step actions
• Examined prospects and evaluated their position in the industry to identify new business opportunities

Framing Points: Analysis

The above-mentioned business resume examples present us with the following observations:

• Business Resume Example 1 uses one lengthy paragraph to communicate the same message as Business Resume Example 2, which uses crisp one-liner points.
• While Business Resume Example 1 is hard to read and comprehend, Business Resume Example 2 succeeds in the readability aspect. It is reader-friendly and easy to understand.
• Moreover, Business Resume Example 2 also uses action verbs to begin each point. The action verbs used here include 'forged', 'liaised', 'identified', 'analyzed', and 'examined.
• Doing this gives your business development manager resume a tone of confidence and professionalism, which makes your roles & responsibilities more attractive to a recruiter inspecting it.
• Our advice? Use one-liner points instead of paragraphs to communicate your roles & responsibilities.

STAR Format

Using one-liner points makes your resume more readable. But just because it is readable doesn't mean that it is effective.

Focusing on the effectiveness of your resume is an excellent resume writing tip.

Using the STAR format creates the desired results and helps enhance the effectiveness of your resume.

If you're curious, the STAR format stands for this:

• S stands for situation : The situation/backdrop/context of your contributions
• T stands for task : The actual job that was assigned to you
• A stands for action : The strategy you used to execute the assigned task
• R stands for result : The result/outcome of your action in the form of an achievement figure

Using the STAR format optimizes each point as it helps you show the reasons behind your actions and the corresponding result/outcome.

By using numbers, you're also able to draw the recruiter's attention to the utility of your professional expertise, thereby enhancing your shortlist chances.

Thus, use one-liner-points and optimize them by using the STAR format.

Grouping & Highlighting

Next up is grouping & highlighting.

Congratulations on coming this far.

Now that you have made your resume more readable, your next task is to enhance its visibility by employing simple tricks. This is where grouping & highlighting can help.

Here are two business resume examples to showcase this point.

• Handled ~50 follow-up calls daily to educate the customers and boost sales
• Conceptualized & implemented workable sales initiatives to boost growth by 60%
• Collaborated with ~3 business executives to close 10+ deals every month
• Coordinated with field executives and led field visits to attain sales targets
• Networked with 30+ potential clients leading to 50% improvement in client acquisition
• Conducted in-depth market analysis to understand the market and launch marketing campaigns
• Forged relationships with potential clients and maintained relations with key stakeholders to ensure business optimization

Sales & Business Development

Networking & Relationship Cultivation

Grouping & Highlighting: Analysis

The business resume examples illustrated above present us with the following conclusions:

• Business Resume Example 1 uses one-liner points, but it doesn't do enough to ensure that the topics are getting read . This gap is covered by Business Resume Example 2, which uses grouping & highlighting to organize these points.
• Grouping is the practice of grouping similar points under unique subheadings, whereas highlighting is the practice of marking your career highlights using bold.
• The combined effort of grouping & highlighting diverts the recruiter's attention to the applicant's essential responsibilities and career highlights without looking for them explicitly.
• Thus, you should use grouping & highlighting alongside one-liner points to showcase your roles & responsibilities in the most impactful manner.

Resume Sample for Professional Experience

Given below is a sample business resume showcasing the ideal professional experience section .

It uses one-liner points, grouping & highlighting, and the STAR format in each moment to enhance the effectiveness of your business development manager resume .

Business Resume: Key Skills

Here's what you can do to optimize the key skills section of your business resume:

Pick your core business resume skills from the professional experience section : Doing this helps you identify your core skills as a business professional and helps you articulate them in your business management resume with perfection. As a rule of thumb, avoid using phrases such as 'experienced in' in this section. Keep it crisp and to the point. Eg: 'Sales & Business Development', 'Key Account Management', and 'Stakeholder'.

Organically incorporate keywords to make this section ATS-optimized : Your business resume skills won't help you if you don't have the skills that a hiring body needs in a new hiree. In other words, you need to optimize this section and give the recruiters what they're looking for. You need to show that you have the right skills to qualify for the job in question. A great way to do this is by identifying the keywords posted in your target job advertisement and replicating the relevant keywords in your resume.

Here's a business development resume sample showcasing the perfect key skills section. In addition, it demonstrates what this section would ideally look like once you incorporate your business resume skills into it.

Business Resume Summary or Business Resume Objective?

A much-heated debate is whether you should use a business resume summary or a business resume objective .

To better understand this, we will first discuss the summary and then move on to the objective.

You should write a business resume summary only if:

• You have over 3 years of work experience.

On the contrary, you should write a business resume objective if:

• You have no work experience.
• You don't have a minimum of 3 years of work experience.

Now that you know what to write, we will now discuss what you should optimize your resume summary/objective:

• The goal of a business resume summary and business resume objective is the same. It needs to communicate your suitability and idealness for the job you're targeting.
• Whether you have enough work experience or not, make sure that you articulate the points that make you the best candidate for your target job.
• To write these sections with objectivity, compose them at the end: Doing this saves you the unnecessary trouble of writing a business resume summary or objective in the beginning to revisit it at the end.
• Moreover, it ensures that you haven't overlooked an important aspect of your qualifications and professional prowess that must feature in this section.
• Make sure that your resume or objective does not exceed 5 lines for maximum effectiveness. Ideally, keep it confined to 3-5 lines.

Attached below is a sample business resume showcasing the ideal resume summary for your resume.

Also Read: How to build a Business Analyst resume in 2022?

Business Resume: Header

Most people make the blunder of writing a "CV" or "Resume" at the extreme top part of their business administration resume . If you're doing this too, it's high time to stop.

Follow the steps that we have mentioned below to give your resume header the much-needed touch of perfection that it fittingly deserves:

• Your full name is the de-facto resume header of your business administration resume. This should feature at the top-most part of your resume.
• Write it in the largest font size of 16-20 font points to guarantee that it's the first thing a recruiter notices when evaluating your resume.
• Doing this tells the recruiter that the resume belongs to you. It also keeps your resume from getting mixed up in a sea full of business resumes that bombards a recruiter's email.
• If you have a middle name, write your first name, followed by the first initial of your middle name in capital letters, followed by your last name. Eg: If your name is Catherine Margaret Scott, your resume header should be "Catherine M. Scott".

Here's a business resume sample illustrating the ideal resume header for your resume.

Business Resume: Personal Information

This section of your business administration resume should communicate contact-centric information about you, such as:

• Updated mobile number
• Professional email ID

Current Location

This section of your resume is the most overlooked section of your business administration resume. However, it is just as important.

Being the hotspot of your contact information , this section should be correctly composed as the smallest of blunders would keep an interested recruiter from getting in touch.

In other words, it can practically cost you a potential job offer!

So make sure that all the components in this section are perfected. We will now dive into each section to tell you the key pointers you should remember while drafting this section:

Updated Mobile Number

Follow the below-listed guidelines:

• Provide only one functional mobile number in this section.
• Use your country’s ISD code as a prefix before your phone number.
• Put a plus sign (+) before the ISD code.
• Eg: +1 37648 21511.

Professional E-mail Address

Follow the guidelines below to write a perfectly composed email ID:

• Make sure that your email looks professional.
• Avoid using childish email IDs such as '[email protected]'.

Here is a list of guidelines you should follow for a perfect location:

• Your location should use the city/state code format for job applications in your country of residence and the city/country code format for job applications in outside countries.
• Avoid putting irrelevant information such as your house number, street number, and your locality as it is unnecessary.

Business Resume Sample for Personal Information

To know what an ideal personal information section should look like, take a look at the business resume example we have mentioned below.

Business Resume: Profile Title

Profile titles are important to your job application process. It communicates the following career-centric information to the recruiter:

• Your current designation, a.k.a job title.
• Your functional industry (finance, tech, fashion, marketing, sales, etc.)
• Your level of seniority.

The information mentioned above dictates if you would be suitable for a given job position and what your compensation should be if selected.

Given its importance, your profile title should be sufficiently highlighted. Here's what you can do to enhance its visibility:

• Write your profile title in the second-largest text in your resume.
• Use the font size of 14-16 points to endorse your profile title.

Meanwhile, get your hands on our AI-powered Resume Review Service to get an in-depth and constructive analysis of your resume within minutes of uploading it on our tool.

Keep an eye out on the bottom-left corner of this page and click on the AI-review button to avail of this service.

Given below is a business resume example showcasing what an ideal profile title should look like:

Business Resume: Education

The education section of your resume is the breeding ground for important education-centric information such as:

• Name of the school/university you have attended.
• Name of the courses you have pursued.
• The location of your school/university.
• Enrolment and graduation dates in month & year format .

Here's a sample business resume showcasing what this section should ideally look like once filled with the above-illustrated points.

Also Read: How to build IT Business Analyst resume in 2022?

Business Resume: Certifications

As a business developer or a business executive, what can you do to project your qualifications for the job?

The answer lies in holding relevant certifications .

So if you have done any relevant certifications, put them down in this section of your business professional resume.

Make sure that this section communicates the following points:

• Certification course name.
• Name of the institute of affiliation.
• Location of the institute of affiliation.
• Enrolment and completion date of the course in month & year format .

Arrange these points in the below format:

{Name of Certification} | {Affiliating Institution} | {Location} | {Date} (month & year format)

Here's a sample business resume showcasing what an ideal certifications section looks like when listed in your business professional resume.

Business Resume: Additional Information

Do you have additional communication points that do not fit into other sections of your resume?

Do you speak multiple languages?

Or have relevant hobbies that might give your job application a much-needed boost?

If you do, compile this information and illustrate them in a separate 'Additional Information' section of your professional business resume.

The sample business resume that we have attached below illustrates this:

Business Development Manager Salary

The average business development manager salary in the United States is $72,553 . However, you will see salary fluctuations in different parts of the country based on various factors, including:

• Size of company
• Location of company
• Work experience
• Educational qualifications

Business Development Manager Salary Difference in Different US Cities

Have a look at the highest paying cities for business development managers in the United States:

Key Takeaways

Building a business resume can consume time and puzzle you up as everyone want to appear better than others in recruitment processes. You can follow these guidelines to create a job-winning business resume in 2022.

• Use the month & year format for all the dates in your business resume.
• Use the city/state code format to showcase the location in your resume for job applications in the country of your residence and the city/country code format for job applications in outside countries.
• Make a separate 'key skills' section to endorse your business resume skills. This will distinguish your skills and help them stand out like fireworks on the fourth of July.
• Make a 'Key Achievements' group at the end of your respective work profile to endorse an outstanding achievement in that specific organization. Doing this will help you show how you proved to be a pivotal part & parcel of the organization you worked with due to your professional expertise.
• Use numbers to quantify your achievements. Doing this helps you pinpoint your professional contributions and how they benefitted the organizations you worked with in the past. This is important as it shows a promise of efficiency.
• Use one-liner points to endorse your roles & responsibilities and begin each point with an action verb. Eg: "directed", 'organized", "boosted", "administered", etc.
• Use action verbs in the past tense for past profiles and present continuous tense for current profiles.
• Write a business resume summary only if your work experience transcends 3 years. If it doesn't, write a business resume objective.

Whether you're writing a business student resume , a business administration resume, or a business development resume, this blog will help you write a stellar resume irrespective of the career stage you are in.

Go to Hiration resume builder where you can get 24/7 professional assistance with all your job & career-related queries and create a professional resume for yourself.

Additionally, reach out to us at [email protected] .

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14 Business Development Resume Examples for 2024

• Business Development Resume
• Business Development Resumes by Experience
• Business Development Resumes by Role

Writing Your Business Development Resume

Erwin Stevens felt a spark of enthusiasm at advancing to a new business development role: Ideally another managerial position like he’d worked since 2018, but with opportunities for fresh connections and networking within the industry. He sat at his laptop, realizing he’d need to update his resume.

Erwin knew good cover letter writing was essential to a lasting impression, too—especially at at managerial level. But he also knew some added research would pay off, and it definitely did once he found our time-tested resume tips ! He felt accomplished as he updated his experience section with more recent achievements and checked out our business development resume examples, looking forward to his next job already.

If you want to make waves of your own as a business development professional—whether you have managerial experience or you’re entry-level—try our resources yourself to find success like Erwin!

Business Development Manager Resume

or download as PDF

Why this resume works

• Once you have several years of experience, use a reverse-chronological format. That way, hiring managers can see your most recent experience first.
• You can make your resume easier to read by using numbers. Luckily, as a biz dev professional, you can point to a whole host of different metrics to demonstrate your impact (sales, up-sells, conversion rate, and retention).
• We’d also recommend striking a balance between hard skills (Salesforce, Excel, LinkedIn) and soft skills (strategic planning, negotiation, communication).

Business Development Intern Resume

• What does it tell the potential employer, you ask? It could point to a proactive candidate who strives for continuous learning and is able to immerse themselves in the sector to understand intricate market trends—all invaluable skills that can stir up a storm in business development.

Entry-Level Business Development Resume

• Typically we recommend including three to six bullet points per work experience (with two to four total work experiences listed). Still, it’s okay to use eight to ten bullet points when you have only one job or internship. 
• You can title this section “hobbies” or “activities,” and be sure to include things that will impress the hiring manager. For example, if you founded a club or played a sport for many years, that will indicate dedication and good collaboration abilities.

Senior Business Development Manager Resume

• If you want to include four or more work experience entries, make sure you’re concentrating the bulk of your bullet points on your most recent/relevant jobs. 
• You can also try using a different  resume template ; you’d be surprised at the difference a template can make when it comes to fitting content on your page. 
• Try to make each bullet point no more than 200 characters.  If you go over the character count, consider breaking it down into multiple points. 

VP Business Development Resume

• Take note of how Stella lights up her piece with anecdotes of boosting sales by $1.2m at AWeber by penetrating three international markets and driving a total of $870K in new business at Wawa Inc., thanks to her prospecting prowess.

Business Development Assistant Resume

• In this case, working as a coffee barista ties in nicely with the hospitality industry for which you’re applying. Make the connection for recruiters in a career objective statement at the top of your resume.

Business Development Analyst Resume

• Highlighting that you’re a Certified Business Development Professional (CBDP) can be the qualification that bumps your name over the edge to land an interview.

Director of Business Development Resume

• How exactly do you do that? By  formatting your resume  in reverse-chronological format! It shows your career journey, starting with your most recent experience, and showcases how you’ve taken on more responsibilities in your recent years.
• Again, numbers speak louder than words here. Did your team improve their performance as a result of coaching? Did your team allow for expansion into new territories? Try to quantify this impact on your director of business development resume .

Business Development Representative Resume

• Objectives are only two to three sentences long, so you might need some practice making yours concise. We’d recommend looking at objective examples to help
• For example, if you worked in retail, you’ve likely had to help customers find the best product for their needs. This is directly applicable to business development, so include it somehow on your business development representative resume.

Business Development Associate Resume

• Try including numbers like your ROI, reviews, client base, client retention, reduction of client attrition, and other KPI metrics. 
• So, before you hit submit, put yourself in their shoes: set a six-second timer and scan your business development associate resume .
• Take a moment and analyze what stood out to you. Was there anything you’d do differently to get their attention? Take this time to make last-minute changes; you’ll be glad you did!

Business Development Strategist Resume

• Adding some style and creative flair will actually ease readability, provided you don’t go overboard.
• Use at least two contrasting fonts for your headers and body text, and don’t be afraid to experiment with a little bit of color at the top of your page.
• We recommend taking a day or two away from your resume so you can come back with fresh eyes. A cup of coffee before your final review couldn’t hurt, either!

Digital Coordinator Business Development Resume

• We’d recommend using reverse-chronological order to put your most recent experience at the top of the page. That way, hiring managers immediately see what’s important!
• Including an activity like a foreign language demonstrates your drive and dedication to self-improvement. Mentorship activities highlight your interpersonal skills, leadership, and team-building skills. 

Business Development Executive Resume

• The layout of your resume can make or break the flow of your recruiter’s reading experience. So when you’re  formatting your resume , try out a variety of  resume templates  until you find one that spotlights your greatest selling points.
• Include impressive numerical metrics such as team headcounts, portfolio sizes, and client lead generation percentages whenever possible.

International Business Development Manager Resume

• In addition to having metrics in your work experience, let your talents shine in the  skills section of your resume . Include mostly technical skills to really ‘wow’ the recruiter or hiring manager.
• For example, how many accounts did you manage? How many new customers did you bring on within a certain time frame? Did you win any awards? Your achievements are likely more numerous and impressive than you think!

Related resume guides

• Program Manager
• Business Owner
• Account Executive

Formatting your business development resume correctly is more important than you might think. Good formatting ensures your resume is readable, logical, and complete. When your resume isn’t formatted well, it can be difficult for hiring managers to read, hard for ATS to understand, and just not visually appealing. Let’s start by reviewing the key elements of resume formatting, including: 

• Your resume formatting options

Your contact header information

How to ensure the ats and recruiters read your resume.

Your resume format options

Applicants’ preferences for formatting change over time. in 2024, the most popular  resume formats  are reverse-chronological, functional, and combination/hybrid.  

Specific pros and cons for each type of format:

• Reverse-chronological format:  This format highlights your career growth by placing your most recent work experience at the top, leaving your oldest work experience (and likely, least relevant) at the bottom.
• Functional format:  This format is all about highlighting your skills. It’s typically chosen by applicants with employment history gaps.
• Combination/Hybrid format:  This format includes a reverse-chronological structure with equal weight between work experience and skills. 

For business development resumes, we always recommend the use of reverse-chronological formatting. Although the combination format might seem like the best choice, it’s not common, so it can become confusing. Reverse-chronological is the preferred format for hiring managers due to its popularity, readability, and logical flow. 

You should list your name at the top of your resume in the header. Make sure to center it, and use the largest font (around 24-point). Right below your header, include the job title you’re seeking in a slightly smaller font (around 20-point font). Your header is also a great place to have some color, whether it’s for your font or as a pretty background. 

On the right or left side of your resume, somewhere just below the header, you’ll want to include the following in a list using standard font size: 

• Phone number
• City/state (optional)
• Professional links, such as LinkedIn (optional)

It can be hard to visualize what this will look like on your resume, so check out the visual below, or check out other  resume examples  for inspiration on achieving a professional yet visually appealing header. 

It’s not uncommon for a single business developer job posting to receive more than 200 applicants. Hiring teams couldn’t possibly give each applicant careful consideration, so they use ATS, aka applicant tracking systems. This software was created to help hiring teams during the explosion of online job applications.

Hiring managers use ATS to track keywords in your resume and match them to pre-selected words that the hiring team is seeking. If ATS doesn’t think an applicant is a good fit for the job, their resume can be thrown out before any person has a chance to read it.  

Use the following techniques to ensure both ATS and recruiters can read your resume:

• Margins : Use standard one-half to one-inch margins. 
• Fonts:  Keep to the basic professional fonts; no cursive or hard-to-read script! 
• Font size:  Use about 24-point font for your name, 20-point font for your job title, and 10-12 point font everywhere else on your resume. 
• Header names : Keep your font size the same for section headers and body text, but use bold lettering to make your headers stand out. You can also try using all caps to make your section headers easier to see. 
• Skills:  Ensure your skills are highly specialized to the business development job you’re seeking. Always check the  business development job description  to ensure you’ll have enough matching keywords (but never plagiarize). 
• Logical order:  Use reverse-chronological order because it’s the format ATS operates best with, and hiring managers tend to prefer it. 
• One page:  Ensure your resume is exactly one page.

Make the changes above while you’re  building your resume  to help you format your resume correctly for the ATS!

How to Write an Effective Business Developer Resume

We know that  writing an effective resume  can feel like a daunting task. However, it’s not that bad if you go section by section, which is what we’ll help you with in this guide.

We’d recommend having this article open in one tab and your resume in another, so you can go back and forth while making revisions. Now, let’s get into the bulk of actually writing your resume: 

• Using a resume objective or summary statement

How to include your work experience

• Choosing the right skills
• Education and certificates 
• Customizations
• Proofreading your resume

Clearing the confusion: an objective or summary?

Many prospective business developers are rightfully confused by the resume objective and summary . What are they, why are they important, and when should you use one?

This section will answer all of those questions and give you some examples of both resume objectives and summary statements. 

An  objective  is essentially an opening paragraph for your resume. It includes the job title you’re seeking, your years of experience, specific skills that make you a good candidate, and which company you’re applying for. Although objectives aren’t required, it’s a good idea to include an objective if you have limited work experience or are going through a significant career change. 

On the other hand, a summary is a short synopsis of your work experience. The summary emphasizes your skills and how they were used at previous jobs successfully (using metrics). A summary is best-suited for applicants with at least 10+ years of experience in business development. 

Let’s review a few examples of both strong and weak objectives and summaries:

• Analysis: This objective does include years of experience, which is good, but it’s entirely too vague. Make sure you mention a specific job title, several particular skills, and the company’s name. 
• Analysis: This objective is pretty good! It contains a specific job title, years of experience, job-specific skills, and a company name. Hiring managers would be instantly intrigued by this job candidate. 
• Analysis: If your summary is this vague, leave it out entirely and add more work experience instead. 
• Analysis: This summary is specific and demonstrates the applicant’s value through relevant metrics and skills. 

Focus on including two to four job experiences on your business developer resume. We know it can be tempting to include every work experience you’ve ever had. Still, including irrelevant jobs from your teenage years isn’t useful when you have many years of relevant work experience. When you’ve held several job titles,  be choosy about which two to four you include on your resume . 

How to write your work experience descriptions

Make your work experience examples professional, interesting, and impressive. Use action verbs such as “spearheaded,” “orchestrated,” or “developed” to start each of your bullet points, and use active voice throughout (rather than passive). This will ensure that you take ownership of your resume and display confidence. 

You also want to avoid personal pronouns, such as “me” or “I,” in your work experience. The hiring manager knows you’re writing about yourself, so avoid taking up the extra space and dooming your resume to the “unprofessional” pile. You’ll also need to decide on punctuation. You can either end all of your bullet points with periods or leave them off. It’s up to you; just be consistent. Finally, pay special attention to using consistent verb tenses. All of your past experience needs to be in the past tense, and you can choose whether you want to include your current experience in the past or present tense. 

Here are some examples of good business developer resume bullet points that incorporate all of the above advice: 

• Prospected and qualified potential customers with targeted advertising, improving conversion rate by over 20%
• Conducted multi-channel outreach to prospects by leveraging 3 forms of CRM management tools
• Developed marketing campaign featuring educational business material, resulting in $200K net profit

How to quantify your impact as a business developer

One of the most important things you include on your business development resume is metrics. Numbers showcase your job impact in a way that words alone cannot.

Aim to have metrics on at least 50 percent of your bullet points, but don’t be afraid to add more if you can. Here are some of the best ways to leverage metrics when you’re discussing your previous business development roles: 

• Increased revenue:  Arguably, increased revenue is the most important job of a business developer. Highlight how much you’ve increased gross company revenue during your tenure. 
• Conversion rates:  Have customer conversion rates gone up as you’ve adopted new systems for reaching customers? Did you use targeted advertising, answer questions within minutes or hours, or did you use multi-channel outreach to increase conversion rates? 
• Leads:  It’s not just important to tell hiring managers that you increased revenue. Tell them  how  you did it. Perhaps you reached 25 percent more leads through the CRM processes you’ve developed? Maybe you initiated a successful referral program? Or perhaps you’ve collaborated on building social media campaigns? 
• Data analysis:  It’s important to discuss how you’ve utilized data from CRM and related software to get results. Make sure you don’t neglect to mention how your data analysis has improved the ROI for acquisition at your company. 

Using these types of metrics, we created work experience bullet points that could fit any strong business development resume: 

• Crafted a holistic paid acquisition strategy, leading to a 38% ROI for every dollar spent 
• Initiated data analysis processes that enabled a deeper understanding of consumer trends, contributing to the creation of 3 unique metrics to track consumer habits 
• Launched Requests for Proposals (RFPs), collaborating with 19 contractors while meeting 97% of profitability targets and ROIs

How to choose skills for your business developer resume

You must choose the right  skills on your resume  if you want it to be seen by a hiring manager. A successful business development skills section provides insight into your areas of expertise and ensures ATS can find matching keywords on your resume. 

Here are some of the best skills to include on your business development resume:

• ROI and Data Analysis 
• Lead Conversion
• Sales Pitches
• Presentations
• Lead Qualification
• Relationship Building
• Tactful Communication
• Campaigns 
• CRM Salesforce

We’d recommend mostly including hard skills, like “CRM” and “Sales Pitches,” because they’re job-specific, easy to quantify, and focus more on learned abilities. These are the types of skills that demonstrate a clear understanding of the job, and hiring managers actively seek these applicants. These resume skills are some of the best, most sought-after in the business development industry.

Soft skills, such as “time management,” “organization,” and “collaboration,” can play a supporting role in your skills section. They’re important, but harder to quantify and demonstrate, so you should include a few (but not too many) soft skills on your business development resume.

What to know about education, certs, and more

In the field of business development, there are no standardized job qualifications. However, many hiring managers will expect you to have a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field, such as business, management, or marketing. Some jobs may require applicants to hold an MBA or other graduate degrees, but that’s not the norm. 

On the other hand, certifications are incredible inclusions on your resume. Though they’re often not required, Certified Marketing Professional, Blockchain and Digital Marketing Professional, Digital Marketing Specialist, and other credentials as shown in the example below can give you an extra edge with hiring managers. 

We typically don’t advise business developers to include  interests and hobbies on their resumes , but there are some times when it may be appropriate.

A few pointers for when interests and hobbies may be appropriate for your resume:

• Consider including this section if you have minimal work experience. Interests, hobbies, and projects can stand in for work experience! 
• Include unique interests and hobbies if your potential employer values individuality. (For example, a creative company like Nintendo would value knowing you like to sketch in your free time.
• Think about whether your interests, hobbies, or activities demonstrate a high level of commitment and focus. For example, hobbies such as Olympic Powerlifting prove that you’re a results-driven, focused, and dedicated person. 

This candidate hints at soft skills with spot-on activities.

Make your business development resume unique to the job

Remember to tailor your business development resume for every job to which you apply.  It will help ATS recognize keywords and show the employer that you’re genuinely interested in the job. Pay special attention to customizing your resume objective or summary with a specific job title and company name.

Your skills section should also be customized, which you can do by carefully reading the job description. Finally, every bullet point you include should be carefully edited to highlight the most important skills and job duties listed in the job posting. Hopefully, you won’t have to make too many edits, but even if that is the case, this step is essential!

Edit and proofread your resume

You may be tempted to submit your business development resume the second you finish writing it, but stop for a second!

Give yourself a day or two to rest your eyes and brain so that you can proofread your resume with fresh eyes. Send it off to friends and family for edits before  checking your resume  for one final time. You may be surprised to realize you misspelled a few words or used inconsistent punctuation! 

Well on Your Way to Your Next Business Development Job

You should be proud of yourself for reading through this entire resume guide! The hardest part of working on your resume is getting started, and now you’re ready to put in the work and  get your dream business development job in 2024 . Use our  resume checker  to upload your completed resume and check it against our AI-powered tips. On the other hand, if you haven’t started on your resume or want to begin from scratch, use our  resume builder,  which has built-in AI-powered tips and proper formatting to help set you in the right direction. 

• Sources of Business Finance
• Small Business Loans
• Small Business Grants
• Crowdfunding Sites
• How to Get a Business Loan
• Small Business Insurance Providers
• Best Factoring Companies
• Types of Bank Accounts
• Best Banks for Small Business
• Best Business Bank Accounts
• Open a Business Bank Account
• Bank Accounts for Small Businesses
• Free Business Checking Accounts
• Best Business Credit Cards
• Get a Business Credit Card
• Business Credit Cards for Bad Credit
• Build Business Credit Fast
• Business Loan Eligibility Criteria
• Small-Business Bookkeeping Basics
• How to Set Financial Goals
• Business Loan Calculators
• How to Calculate ROI
• Calculate Net Income
• Calculate Working Capital
• Calculate Operating Income
• Calculate Net Present Value (NPV)
• Calculate Payroll Tax

How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)

Every successful business has one thing in common, a good and well-executed business plan. A business plan is more than a document, it is a complete guide that outlines the goals your business wants to achieve, including its financial goals . It helps you analyze results, make strategic decisions, show your business operations and growth.

If you want to start a business or already have one and need to pitch it to investors for funding, writing a good business plan improves your chances of attracting financiers. As a startup, if you want to secure loans from financial institutions, part of the requirements involve submitting your business plan.

Writing a business plan does not have to be a complicated or time-consuming process. In this article, you will learn the step-by-step process for writing a successful business plan.

You will also learn what you need a business plan for, tips and strategies for writing a convincing business plan, business plan examples and templates that will save you tons of time, and the alternatives to the traditional business plan.

Let’s get started.

What Do You Need A Business Plan For?

Businesses create business plans for different purposes such as to secure funds, monitor business growth, measure your marketing strategies, and measure your business success.

1. Secure Funds

One of the primary reasons for writing a business plan is to secure funds, either from financial institutions/agencies or investors.

For you to effectively acquire funds, your business plan must contain the key elements of your business plan . For example, your business plan should include your growth plans, goals you want to achieve, and milestones you have recorded.

A business plan can also attract new business partners that are willing to contribute financially and intellectually. If you are writing a business plan to a bank, your project must show your traction , that is, the proof that you can pay back any loan borrowed.

Also, if you are writing to an investor, your plan must contain evidence that you can effectively utilize the funds you want them to invest in your business. Here, you are using your business plan to persuade a group or an individual that your business is a source of a good investment.

2. Monitor Business Growth

A business plan can help you track cash flows in your business. It steers your business to greater heights. A business plan capable of tracking business growth should contain:

• The business goals
• Methods to achieve the goals
• Time-frame for attaining those goals

A good business plan should guide you through every step in achieving your goals. It can also track the allocation of assets to every aspect of the business. You can tell when you are spending more than you should on a project.

You can compare a business plan to a written GPS. It helps you manage your business and hints at the right time to expand your business.

3. Measure Business Success

A business plan can help you measure your business success rate. Some small-scale businesses are thriving better than more prominent companies because of their track record of success.

Right from the onset of your business operation, set goals and work towards them. Write a plan to guide you through your procedures. Use your plan to measure how much you have achieved and how much is left to attain.

You can also weigh your success by monitoring the position of your brand relative to competitors. On the other hand, a business plan can also show you why you have not achieved a goal. It can tell if you have elapsed the time frame you set to attain a goal.

4. Document Your Marketing Strategies

You can use a business plan to document your marketing plans. Every business should have an effective marketing plan.

Competition mandates every business owner to go the extraordinary mile to remain relevant in the market. Your business plan should contain your marketing strategies that work. You can measure the success rate of your marketing plans.

In your business plan, your marketing strategy must answer the questions:

• How do you want to reach your target audience?
• How do you plan to retain your customers?
• What is/are your pricing plans?
• What is your budget for marketing?

How to Write a Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. create your executive summary.

The executive summary is a snapshot of your business or a high-level overview of your business purposes and plans . Although the executive summary is the first section in your business plan, most people write it last. The length of the executive summary is not more than two pages.

Generally, there are nine sections in a business plan, the executive summary should condense essential ideas from the other eight sections.

A good executive summary should do the following:

• A Snapshot of Growth Potential. Briefly inform the reader about your company and why it will be successful)
• Contain your Mission Statement which explains what the main objective or focus of your business is.
• Product Description and Differentiation. Brief description of your products or services and why it is different from other solutions in the market.
• The Team. Basic information about your company’s leadership team and employees
• Business Concept. A solid description of what your business does.
• Target Market. The customers you plan to sell to.
• Marketing Strategy. Your plans on reaching and selling to your customers
• Current Financial State. Brief information about what revenue your business currently generates.
• Projected Financial State. Brief information about what you foresee your business revenue to be in the future.

The executive summary is the make-or-break section of your business plan. If your summary cannot in less than two pages cannot clearly describe how your business will solve a particular problem of your target audience and make a profit, your business plan is set on a faulty foundation.

Avoid using the executive summary to hype your business, instead, focus on helping the reader understand the what and how of your plan.

View the executive summary as an opportunity to introduce your vision for your company. You know your executive summary is powerful when it can answer these key questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What sector or industry are you in?
• What are your products and services?
• What is the future of your industry?
• Is your company scaleable?
• Who are the owners and leaders of your company? What are their backgrounds and experience levels?
• What is the motivation for starting your company?
• What are the next steps?

Writing the executive summary last although it is the most important section of your business plan is an excellent idea. The reason why is because it is a high-level overview of your business plan. It is the section that determines whether potential investors and lenders will read further or not.

The executive summary can be a stand-alone document that covers everything in your business plan. It is not uncommon for investors to request only the executive summary when evaluating your business. If the information in the executive summary impresses them, they will ask for the complete business plan.

If you are writing your business plan for your planning purposes, you do not need to write the executive summary.

2. Add Your Company Overview

The company overview or description is the next section in your business plan after the executive summary. It describes what your business does.

Adding your company overview can be tricky especially when your business is still in the planning stages. Existing businesses can easily summarize their current operations but may encounter difficulties trying to explain what they plan to become.

Your company overview should contain the following:

• What products and services you will provide
• Geographical markets and locations your company have a presence
• What you need to run your business
• Who your target audience or customers are
• Who will service your customers
• Your company’s purpose, mission, and vision
• Information about your company’s founders
• Who the founders are
• Notable achievements of your company so far

When creating a company overview, you have to focus on three basics: identifying your industry, identifying your customer, and explaining the problem you solve.

If you are stuck when creating your company overview, try to answer some of these questions that pertain to you.

• Who are you targeting? (The answer is not everyone)
• What pain point does your product or service solve for your customers that they will be willing to spend money on resolving?
• How does your product or service overcome that pain point?
• Where is the location of your business?
• What products, equipment, and services do you need to run your business?
• How is your company’s product or service different from your competition in the eyes of your customers?
• How many employees do you need and what skills do you require them to have?

After answering some or all of these questions, you will get more than enough information you need to write your company overview or description section. When writing this section, describe what your company does for your customers.

The company description or overview section contains three elements: mission statement, history, and objectives.

• Mission Statement

The mission statement refers to the reason why your business or company is existing. It goes beyond what you do or sell, it is about the ‘why’. A good mission statement should be emotional and inspirational.

Your mission statement should follow the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid). For example, Shopify’s mission statement is “Make commerce better for everyone.”

When describing your company’s history, make it simple and avoid the temptation of tying it to a defensive narrative. Write it in the manner you would a profile. Your company’s history should include the following information:

• Founding Date
• Major Milestones
• Location(s)
• Flagship Products or Services
• Number of Employees
• Executive Leadership Roles

When you fill in this information, you use it to write one or two paragraphs about your company’s history.

Business Objectives

Your business objective must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.) Failure to clearly identify your business objectives does not inspire confidence and makes it hard for your team members to work towards a common purpose.

3. Perform Market and Competitive Analyses to Proof a Big Enough Business Opportunity

The third step in writing a business plan is the market and competitive analysis section. Every business, no matter the size, needs to perform comprehensive market and competitive analyses before it enters into a market.

Performing market and competitive analyses are critical for the success of your business. It helps you avoid entering the right market with the wrong product, or vice versa. Anyone reading your business plans, especially financiers and financial institutions will want to see proof that there is a big enough business opportunity you are targeting.

This section is where you describe the market and industry you want to operate in and show the big opportunities in the market that your business can leverage to make a profit. If you noticed any unique trends when doing your research, show them in this section.

Market analysis alone is not enough, you have to add competitive analysis to strengthen this section. There are already businesses in the industry or market, how do you plan to take a share of the market from them?

You have to clearly illustrate the competitive landscape in your business plan. Are there areas your competitors are doing well? Are there areas where they are not doing so well? Show it.

Make it clear in this section why you are moving into the industry and what weaknesses are present there that you plan to explain. How are your competitors going to react to your market entry? How do you plan to get customers? Do you plan on taking your competitors' competitors, tap into other sources for customers, or both?

Illustrate the competitive landscape as well. What are your competitors doing well and not so well?

Answering these questions and thoughts will aid your market and competitive analysis of the opportunities in your space. Depending on how sophisticated your industry is, or the expectations of your financiers, you may need to carry out a more comprehensive market and competitive analysis to prove that big business opportunity.

Instead of looking at the market and competitive analyses as one entity, separating them will make the research even more comprehensive.

Market Analysis

Market analysis, boarding speaking, refers to research a business carried out on its industry, market, and competitors. It helps businesses gain a good understanding of their target market and the outlook of their industry. Before starting a company, it is vital to carry out market research to find out if the market is viable.

The market analysis section is a key part of the business plan. It is the section where you identify who your best clients or customers are. You cannot omit this section, without it your business plan is incomplete.

A good market analysis will tell your readers how you fit into the existing market and what makes you stand out. This section requires in-depth research, it will probably be the most time-consuming part of the business plan to write.

• Market Research

To create a compelling market analysis that will win over investors and financial institutions, you have to carry out thorough market research . Your market research should be targeted at your primary target market for your products or services. Here is what you want to find out about your target market.

• Your target market’s needs or pain points
• The existing solutions for their pain points
• Geographic Location
• Demographics

The purpose of carrying out a marketing analysis is to get all the information you need to show that you have a solid and thorough understanding of your target audience.

Only after you have fully understood the people you plan to sell your products or services to, can you evaluate correctly if your target market will be interested in your products or services.

You can easily convince interested parties to invest in your business if you can show them you thoroughly understand the market and show them that there is a market for your products or services.

How to Quantify Your Target Market

One of the goals of your marketing research is to understand who your ideal customers are and their purchasing power. To quantify your target market, you have to determine the following:

• Your Potential Customers: They are the people you plan to target. For example, if you sell accounting software for small businesses , then anyone who runs an enterprise or large business is unlikely to be your customers. Also, individuals who do not have a business will most likely not be interested in your product.
• Total Households: If you are selling household products such as heating and air conditioning systems, determining the number of total households is more important than finding out the total population in the area you want to sell to. The logic is simple, people buy the product but it is the household that uses it.
• Median Income: You need to know the median income of your target market. If you target a market that cannot afford to buy your products and services, your business will not last long.
• Income by Demographics: If your potential customers belong to a certain age group or gender, determining income levels by demographics is necessary. For example, if you sell men's clothes, your target audience is men.

What Does a Good Market Analysis Entail?

Your business does not exist on its own, it can only flourish within an industry and alongside competitors. Market analysis takes into consideration your industry, target market, and competitors. Understanding these three entities will drastically improve your company’s chances of success.

You can view your market analysis as an examination of the market you want to break into and an education on the emerging trends and themes in that market. Good market analyses include the following:

• Industry Description. You find out about the history of your industry, the current and future market size, and who the largest players/companies are in your industry.
• Overview of Target Market. You research your target market and its characteristics. Who are you targeting? Note, it cannot be everyone, it has to be a specific group. You also have to find out all information possible about your customers that can help you understand how and why they make buying decisions.
• Size of Target Market: You need to know the size of your target market, how frequently they buy, and the expected quantity they buy so you do not risk overproducing and having lots of bad inventory. Researching the size of your target market will help you determine if it is big enough for sustained business or not.
• Growth Potential: Before picking a target market, you want to be sure there are lots of potential for future growth. You want to avoid going for an industry that is declining slowly or rapidly with almost zero growth potential.
• Market Share Potential: Does your business stand a good chance of taking a good share of the market?
• Market Pricing and Promotional Strategies: Your market analysis should give you an idea of the price point you can expect to charge for your products and services. Researching your target market will also give you ideas of pricing strategies you can implement to break into the market or to enjoy maximum profits.
• Potential Barriers to Entry: One of the biggest benefits of conducting market analysis is that it shows you every potential barrier to entry your business will likely encounter. It is a good idea to discuss potential barriers to entry such as changing technology. It informs readers of your business plan that you understand the market.
• Research on Competitors: You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you can exploit them for the benefit of your business. Find patterns and trends among your competitors that make them successful, discover what works and what doesn’t, and see what you can do better.

The market analysis section is not just for talking about your target market, industry, and competitors. You also have to explain how your company can fill the hole you have identified in the market.

Here are some questions you can answer that can help you position your product or service in a positive light to your readers.

• Is your product or service of superior quality?
• What additional features do you offer that your competitors do not offer?
• Are you targeting a ‘new’ market?

Basically, your market analysis should include an analysis of what already exists in the market and an explanation of how your company fits into the market.

Competitive Analysis

In the competitive analysis section, y ou have to understand who your direct and indirect competitions are, and how successful they are in the marketplace. It is the section where you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, the advantage(s) they possess in the market and show the unique features or qualities that make you different from your competitors.

Many businesses do market analysis and competitive analysis together. However, to fully understand what the competitive analysis entails, it is essential to separate it from the market analysis.

Competitive analysis for your business can also include analysis on how to overcome barriers to entry in your target market.

The primary goal of conducting a competitive analysis is to distinguish your business from your competitors. A strong competitive analysis is essential if you want to convince potential funding sources to invest in your business. You have to show potential investors and lenders that your business has what it takes to compete in the marketplace successfully.

Competitive analysis will s how you what the strengths of your competition are and what they are doing to maintain that advantage.

When doing your competitive research, you first have to identify your competitor and then get all the information you can about them. The idea of spending time to identify your competitor and learn everything about them may seem daunting but it is well worth it.

Find answers to the following questions after you have identified who your competitors are.

• What are your successful competitors doing?
• Why is what they are doing working?
• Can your business do it better?
• What are the weaknesses of your successful competitors?
• What are they not doing well?
• Can your business turn its weaknesses into strengths?
• How good is your competitors’ customer service?
• Where do your competitors invest in advertising?
• What sales and pricing strategies are they using?
• What marketing strategies are they using?
• What kind of press coverage do they get?
• What are their customers saying about your competitors (both the positive and negative)?

If your competitors have a website, it is a good idea to visit their websites for more competitors’ research. Check their “About Us” page for more information.

If you are presenting your business plan to investors, you need to clearly distinguish yourself from your competitors. Investors can easily tell when you have not properly researched your competitors.

Take time to think about what unique qualities or features set you apart from your competitors. If you do not have any direct competition offering your product to the market, it does not mean you leave out the competitor analysis section blank. Instead research on other companies that are providing a similar product, or whose product is solving the problem your product solves.

The next step is to create a table listing the top competitors you want to include in your business plan. Ensure you list your business as the last and on the right. What you just created is known as the competitor analysis table.

Direct vs Indirect Competition

You cannot know if your product or service will be a fit for your target market if you have not understood your business and the competitive landscape.

There is no market you want to target where you will not encounter competition, even if your product is innovative. Including competitive analysis in your business plan is essential.

If you are entering an established market, you need to explain how you plan to differentiate your products from the available options in the market. Also, include a list of few companies that you view as your direct competitors The competition you face in an established market is your direct competition.

In situations where you are entering a market with no direct competition, it does not mean there is no competition there. Consider your indirect competition that offers substitutes for the products or services you offer.

For example, if you sell an innovative SaaS product, let us say a project management software , a company offering time management software is your indirect competition.

There is an easy way to find out who your indirect competitors are in the absence of no direct competitors. You simply have to research how your potential customers are solving the problems that your product or service seeks to solve. That is your direct competition.

Factors that Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

There are three main factors that any business can use to differentiate itself from its competition. They are cost leadership, product differentiation, and market segmentation.

1. Cost Leadership

A strategy you can impose to maximize your profits and gain an edge over your competitors. It involves offering lower prices than what the majority of your competitors are offering.

A common practice among businesses looking to enter into a market where there are dominant players is to use free trials or pricing to attract as many customers as possible to their offer.

2. Product Differentiation

Your product or service should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that your competitors do not have or do not stress in their marketing.

Part of the marketing strategy should involve making your products unique and different from your competitors. It does not have to be different from your competitors, it can be the addition to a feature or benefit that your competitors do not currently have.

3. Market Segmentation

As a new business seeking to break into an industry, you will gain more success from focusing on a specific niche or target market, and not the whole industry.

If your competitors are focused on a general need or target market, you can differentiate yourself from them by having a small and hyper-targeted audience. For example, if your competitors are selling men’s clothes in their online stores , you can sell hoodies for men.

4. Define Your Business and Management Structure

The next step in your business plan is your business and management structure. It is the section where you describe the legal structure of your business and the team running it.

Your business is only as good as the management team that runs it, while the management team can only strive when there is a proper business and management structure in place.

If your company is a sole proprietor or a limited liability company (LLC), a general or limited partnership, or a C or an S corporation, state it clearly in this section.

Use an organizational chart to show the management structure in your business. Clearly show who is in charge of what area in your company. It is where you show how each key manager or team leader’s unique experience can contribute immensely to the success of your company. You can also opt to add the resumes and CVs of the key players in your company.

The business and management structure section should show who the owner is, and other owners of the businesses (if the business has other owners). For businesses or companies with multiple owners, include the percent ownership of the various owners and clearly show the extent of each others’ involvement in the company.

Investors want to know who is behind the company and the team running it to determine if it has the right management to achieve its set goals.

Management Team

The management team section is where you show that you have the right team in place to successfully execute the business operations and ideas. Take time to create the management structure for your business. Think about all the important roles and responsibilities that you need managers for to grow your business.

Include brief bios of each key team member and ensure you highlight only the relevant information that is needed. If your team members have background industry experience or have held top positions for other companies and achieved success while filling that role, highlight it in this section.

A common mistake that many startups make is assigning C-level titles such as (CMO and CEO) to everyone on their team. It is unrealistic for a small business to have those titles. While it may look good on paper for the ego of your team members, it can prevent investors from investing in your business.

Instead of building an unrealistic management structure that does not fit your business reality, it is best to allow business titles to grow as the business grows. Starting everyone at the top leaves no room for future change or growth, which is bad for productivity.

Your management team does not have to be complete before you start writing your business plan. You can have a complete business plan even when there are managerial positions that are empty and need filling.

If you have management gaps in your team, simply show the gaps and indicate you are searching for the right candidates for the role(s). Investors do not expect you to have a full management team when you are just starting your business.

Key Questions to Answer When Structuring Your Management Team

• Who are the key leaders?
• What experiences, skills, and educational backgrounds do you expect your key leaders to have?
• Do your key leaders have industry experience?
• What positions will they fill and what duties will they perform in those positions?
• What level of authority do the key leaders have and what are their responsibilities?
• What is the salary for the various management positions that will attract the ideal candidates?

Additional Tips for Writing the Management Structure Section

1. Avoid Adding ‘Ghost’ Names to Your Management Team

There is always that temptation to include a ‘ghost’ name to your management team to attract and influence investors to invest in your business. Although the presence of these celebrity management team members may attract the attention of investors, it can cause your business to lose any credibility if you get found out.

Seasoned investors will investigate further the members of your management team before committing fully to your business If they find out that the celebrity name used does not play any actual role in your business, they will not invest and may write you off as dishonest.

2. Focus on Credentials But Pay Extra Attention to the Roles

Investors want to know the experience that your key team members have to determine if they can successfully reach the company’s growth and financial goals.

While it is an excellent boost for your key management team to have the right credentials, you also want to pay extra attention to the roles they will play in your company.

Organizational Chart

Adding an organizational chart in this section of your business plan is not necessary, you can do it in your business plan’s appendix.

If you are exploring funding options, it is not uncommon to get asked for your organizational chart. The function of an organizational chart goes beyond raising money, you can also use it as a useful planning tool for your business.

An organizational chart can help you identify how best to structure your management team for maximum productivity and point you towards key roles you need to fill in the future.

You can use the organizational chart to show your company’s internal management structure such as the roles and responsibilities of your management team, and relationships that exist between them.

5. Describe Your Product and Service Offering

In your business plan, you have to describe what you sell or the service you plan to offer. It is the next step after defining your business and management structure. The products and services section is where you sell the benefits of your business.

Here you have to explain how your product or service will benefit your customers and describe your product lifecycle. It is also the section where you write down your plans for intellectual property like patent filings and copyrighting.

The research and development that you are undertaking for your product or service need to be explained in detail in this section. However, do not get too technical, sell the general idea and its benefits.

If you have any diagrams or intricate designs of your product or service, do not include them in the products and services section. Instead, leave them for the addendum page. Also, if you are leaving out diagrams or designs for the addendum, ensure you add this phrase “For more detail, visit the addendum Page #.”

Your product and service section in your business plan should include the following:

• A detailed explanation that clearly shows how your product or service works.
• The pricing model for your product or service.
• Your business’ sales and distribution strategy.
• The ideal customers that want your product or service.
• The benefits of your products and services.
• Reason(s) why your product or service is a better alternative to what your competitors are currently offering in the market.
• Plans for filling the orders you receive
• If you have current or pending patents, copyrights, and trademarks for your product or service, you can also discuss them in this section.

What to Focus On When Describing the Benefits, Lifecycle, and Production Process of Your Products or Services

In the products and services section, you have to distill the benefits, lifecycle, and production process of your products and services.

When describing the benefits of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Unique features
• Translating the unique features into benefits
• The emotional, psychological, and practical payoffs to attract customers
• Intellectual property rights or any patents

When describing the product life cycle of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Upsells, cross-sells, and down-sells
• Time between purchases
• Plans for research and development.

When describing the production process for your products or services, you need to think about the following:

• The creation of new or existing products and services.
• The sources for the raw materials or components you need for production.
• Assembling the products
• Maintaining quality control
• Supply-chain logistics (receiving the raw materials and delivering the finished products)
• The day-to-day management of the production processes, bookkeeping, and inventory.

Tips for Writing the Products or Services Section of Your Business Plan

1. Avoid Technical Descriptions and Industry Buzzwords

The products and services section of your business plan should clearly describe the products and services that your company provides. However, it is not a section to include technical jargons that anyone outside your industry will not understand.

A good practice is to remove highly detailed or technical descriptions in favor of simple terms. Industry buzzwords are not necessary, if there are simpler terms you can use, then use them. If you plan to use your business plan to source funds, making the product or service section so technical will do you no favors.

2. Describe How Your Products or Services Differ from Your Competitors

When potential investors look at your business plan, they want to know how the products and services you are offering differ from that of your competition. Differentiating your products or services from your competition in a way that makes your solution more attractive is critical.

If you are going the innovative path and there is no market currently for your product or service, you need to describe in this section why the market needs your product or service.

For example, overnight delivery was a niche business that only a few companies were participating in. Federal Express (FedEx) had to show in its business plan that there was a large opportunity for that service and they justified why the market needed that service.

3. Long or Short Products or Services Section

Should your products or services section be short? Does the long products or services section attract more investors?

There are no straightforward answers to these questions. Whether your products or services section should be long or relatively short depends on the nature of your business.

If your business is product-focused, then automatically you need to use more space to describe the details of your products. However, if the product your business sells is a commodity item that relies on competitive pricing or other pricing strategies, you do not have to use up so much space to provide significant details about the product.

Likewise, if you are selling a commodity that is available in numerous outlets, then you do not have to spend time on writing a long products or services section.

The key to the success of your business is most likely the effectiveness of your marketing strategies compared to your competitors. Use more space to address that section.

If you are creating a new product or service that the market does not know about, your products or services section can be lengthy. The reason why is because you need to explain everything about the product or service such as the nature of the product, its use case, and values.

A short products or services section for an innovative product or service will not give the readers enough information to properly evaluate your business.

4. Describe Your Relationships with Vendors or Suppliers

Your business will rely on vendors or suppliers to supply raw materials or the components needed to make your products. In your products and services section, describe your relationships with your vendors and suppliers fully.

Avoid the mistake of relying on only one supplier or vendor. If that supplier or vendor fails to supply or goes out of business, you can easily face supply problems and struggle to meet your demands. Plan to set up multiple vendor or supplier relationships for better business stability.

5. Your Primary Goal Is to Convince Your Readers

The primary goal of your business plan is to convince your readers that your business is viable and to create a guide for your business to follow. It applies to the products and services section.

When drafting this section, think like the reader. See your reader as someone who has no idea about your products and services. You are using the products and services section to provide the needed information to help your reader understand your products and services. As a result, you have to be clear and to the point.

While you want to educate your readers about your products or services, you also do not want to bore them with lots of technical details. Show your products and services and not your fancy choice of words.

Your products and services section should provide the answer to the “what” question for your business. You and your management team may run the business, but it is your products and services that are the lifeblood of the business.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing your Products and Services Section

Answering these questions can help you write your products and services section quickly and in a way that will appeal to your readers.

• Are your products existing on the market or are they still in the development stage?
• What is your timeline for adding new products and services to the market?
• What are the positives that make your products and services different from your competitors?
• Do your products and services have any competitive advantage that your competitors’ products and services do not currently have?
• Do your products or services have any competitive disadvantages that you need to overcome to compete with your competitors? If your answer is yes, state how you plan to overcome them,
• How much does it cost to produce your products or services? How much do you plan to sell it for?
• What is the price for your products and services compared to your competitors? Is pricing an issue?
• What are your operating costs and will it be low enough for you to compete with your competitors and still take home a reasonable profit margin?
• What is your plan for acquiring your products? Are you involved in the production of your products or services?
• Are you the manufacturer and produce all the components you need to create your products? Do you assemble your products by using components supplied by other manufacturers? Do you purchase your products directly from suppliers or wholesalers?
• Do you have a steady supply of products that you need to start your business? (If your business is yet to kick-off)
• How do you plan to distribute your products or services to the market?

You can also hint at the marketing or promotion plans you have for your products or services such as how you plan to build awareness or retain customers. The next section is where you can go fully into details about your business’s marketing and sales plan.

6. Show and Explain Your Marketing and Sales Plan

Providing great products and services is wonderful, but it means nothing if you do not have a marketing and sales plan to inform your customers about them. Your marketing and sales plan is critical to the success of your business.

The sales and marketing section is where you show and offer a detailed explanation of your marketing and sales plan and how you plan to execute it. It covers your pricing plan, proposed advertising and promotion activities, activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success, and the benefits of your products and services.

There are several ways you can approach your marketing and sales strategy. Ideally, your marketing and sales strategy has to fit the unique needs of your business.

In this section, you describe how the plans your business has for attracting and retaining customers, and the exact process for making a sale happen. It is essential to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales plans because you are still going to reference this section when you are making financial projections for your business.

Outline Your Business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The sales and marketing section is where you outline your business’s unique selling proposition (USP). When you are developing your unique selling proposition, think about the strongest reasons why people should buy from you over your competition. That reason(s) is most likely a good fit to serve as your unique selling proposition (USP).

Target Market and Target Audience

Plans on how to get your products or services to your target market and how to get your target audience to buy them go into this section. You also highlight the strengths of your business here, particularly what sets them apart from your competition.

Before you start writing your marketing and sales plan, you need to have properly defined your target audience and fleshed out your buyer persona. If you do not first understand the individual you are marketing to, your marketing and sales plan will lack any substance and easily fall.

Creating a Smart Marketing and Sales Plan

Marketing your products and services is an investment that requires you to spend money. Like any other investment, you have to generate a good return on investment (ROI) to justify using that marketing and sales plan. Good marketing and sales plans bring in high sales and profits to your company.

Avoid spending money on unproductive marketing channels. Do your research and find out the best marketing and sales plan that works best for your company.

Your marketing and sales plan can be broken into different parts: your positioning statement, pricing, promotion, packaging, advertising, public relations, content marketing, social media, and strategic alliances.

Your Positioning Statement

Your positioning statement is the first part of your marketing and sales plan. It refers to the way you present your company to your customers.

Are you the premium solution, the low-price solution, or are you the intermediary between the two extremes in the market? What do you offer that your competitors do not that can give you leverage in the market?

Before you start writing your positioning statement, you need to spend some time evaluating the current market conditions. Here are some questions that can help you to evaluate the market

• What are the unique features or benefits that you offer that your competitors lack?
• What are your customers’ primary needs and wants?
• Why should a customer choose you over your competition? How do you plan to differentiate yourself from the competition?
• How does your company’s solution compare with other solutions in the market?

After answering these questions, then you can start writing your positioning statement. Your positioning statement does not have to be in-depth or too long.

All you need to explain with your positioning statement are two focus areas. The first is the position of your company within the competitive landscape. The other focus area is the core value proposition that sets your company apart from other alternatives that your ideal customer might consider.

Here is a simple template you can use to develop a positioning statement.

For [description of target market] who [need of target market], [product or service] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [top competition], it [most essential distinguishing feature].

For example, let’s create the positioning statement for fictional accounting software and QuickBooks alternative , TBooks.

“For small business owners who need accounting services, TBooks is an accounting software that helps small businesses handle their small business bookkeeping basics quickly and easily. Unlike Wave, TBooks gives small businesses access to live sessions with top accountants.”

You can edit this positioning statement sample and fill it with your business details.

After writing your positioning statement, the next step is the pricing of your offerings. The overall positioning strategy you set in your positioning statement will often determine how you price your products or services.

Pricing is a powerful tool that sends a strong message to your customers. Failure to get your pricing strategy right can make or mar your business. If you are targeting a low-income audience, setting a premium price can result in low sales.

You can use pricing to communicate your positioning to your customers. For example, if you are offering a product at a premium price, you are sending a message to your customers that the product belongs to the premium category.

Basic Rules to Follow When Pricing Your Offering

Setting a price for your offering involves more than just putting a price tag on it. Deciding on the right pricing for your offering requires following some basic rules. They include covering your costs, primary and secondary profit center pricing, and matching the market rate.

• Covering Your Costs: The price you set for your products or service should be more than it costs you to produce and deliver them. Every business has the same goal, to make a profit. Depending on the strategy you want to use, there are exceptions to this rule. However, the vast majority of businesses follow this rule.
• Primary and Secondary Profit Center Pricing: When a company sets its price above the cost of production, it is making that product its primary profit center. A company can also decide not to make its initial price its primary profit center by selling below or at even with its production cost. It rather depends on the support product or even maintenance that is associated with the initial purchase to make its profit. The initial price thus became its secondary profit center.
• Matching the Market Rate: A good rule to follow when pricing your products or services is to match your pricing with consumer demand and expectations. If you price your products or services beyond the price your customer perceives as the ideal price range, you may end up with no customers. Pricing your products too low below what your customer perceives as the ideal price range may lead to them undervaluing your offering.

Pricing Strategy

Your pricing strategy influences the price of your offering. There are several pricing strategies available for you to choose from when examining the right pricing strategy for your business. They include cost-plus pricing, market-based pricing, value pricing, and more.

• Cost-plus Pricing: This strategy is one of the simplest and oldest pricing strategies. Here you consider the cost of producing a unit of your product and then add a profit to it to arrive at your market price. It is an effective pricing strategy for manufacturers because it helps them cover their initial costs. Another name for the cost-plus pricing strategy is the markup pricing strategy.
• Market-based Pricing: This pricing strategy analyses the market including competitors’ pricing and then sets a price based on what the market is expecting. With this pricing strategy, you can either set your price at the low-end or high-end of the market.
• Value Pricing: This pricing strategy involves setting a price based on the value you are providing to your customer. When adopting a value-based pricing strategy, you have to set a price that your customers are willing to pay. Service-based businesses such as small business insurance providers , luxury goods sellers, and the fashion industry use this pricing strategy.

After carefully sorting out your positioning statement and pricing, the next item to look at is your promotional strategy. Your promotional strategy explains how you plan on communicating with your customers and prospects.

As a business, you must measure all your costs, including the cost of your promotions. You also want to measure how much sales your promotions bring for your business to determine its usefulness. Promotional strategies or programs that do not lead to profit need to be removed.

There are different types of promotional strategies you can adopt for your business, they include advertising, public relations, and content marketing.

Advertising

Your business plan should include your advertising plan which can be found in the marketing and sales plan section. You need to include an overview of your advertising plans such as the areas you plan to spend money on to advertise your business and offers.

Ensure that you make it clear in this section if your business will be advertising online or using the more traditional offline media, or the combination of both online and offline media. You can also include the advertising medium you want to use to raise awareness about your business and offers.

Some common online advertising mediums you can use include social media ads, landing pages, sales pages, SEO, Pay-Per-Click, emails, Google Ads, and others. Some common traditional and offline advertising mediums include word of mouth, radios, direct mail, televisions, flyers, billboards, posters, and others.

A key component of your advertising strategy is how you plan to measure the effectiveness and success of your advertising campaign. There is no point in sticking with an advertising plan or medium that does not produce results for your business in the long run.

Public Relations

A great way to reach your customers is to get the media to cover your business or product. Publicity, especially good ones, should be a part of your marketing and sales plan. In this section, show your plans for getting prominent reviews of your product from reputable publications and sources.

Your business needs that exposure to grow. If public relations is a crucial part of your promotional strategy, provide details about your public relations plan here.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a popular promotional strategy used by businesses to inform and attract their customers. It is about teaching and educating your prospects on various topics of interest in your niche, it does not just involve informing them about the benefits and features of the products and services you have,

Businesses publish content usually for free where they provide useful information, tips, and advice so that their target market can be made aware of the importance of their products and services. Content marketing strategies seek to nurture prospects into buyers over time by simply providing value.

Your company can create a blog where it will be publishing content for its target market. You will need to use the best website builder such as Wix and Squarespace and the best web hosting services such as Bluehost, Hostinger, and other Bluehost alternatives to create a functional blog or website.

If content marketing is a crucial part of your promotional strategy (as it should be), detail your plans under promotions.

Including high-quality images of the packaging of your product in your business plan is a lovely idea. You can add the images of the packaging of that product in the marketing and sales plan section. If you are not selling a product, then you do not need to include any worry about the physical packaging of your product.

When organizing the packaging section of your business plan, you can answer the following questions to make maximum use of this section.

• Is your choice of packaging consistent with your positioning strategy?
• What key value proposition does your packaging communicate? (It should reflect the key value proposition of your business)
• How does your packaging compare to that of your competitors?

Social Media

Your 21st-century business needs to have a good social media presence. Not having one is leaving out opportunities for growth and reaching out to your prospect.

You do not have to join the thousands of social media platforms out there. What you need to do is join the ones that your customers are active on and be active there.

Businesses use social media to provide information about their products such as promotions, discounts, the benefits of their products, and content on their blogs.

Social media is also a platform for engaging with your customers and getting feedback about your products or services. Make no mistake, more and more of your prospects are using social media channels to find more information about companies.

You need to consider the social media channels you want to prioritize your business (prioritize the ones your customers are active in) and your branding plans in this section.

Strategic Alliances

If your company plans to work closely with other companies as part of your sales and marketing plan, include it in this section. Prove details about those partnerships in your business plan if you have already established them.

Strategic alliances can be beneficial for all parties involved including your company. Working closely with another company in the form of a partnership can provide access to a different target market segment for your company.

The company you are partnering with may also gain access to your target market or simply offer a new product or service (that of your company) to its customers.

Mutually beneficial partnerships can cover the weaknesses of one company with the strength of another. You should consider strategic alliances with companies that sell complimentary products to yours. For example, if you provide printers, you can partner with a company that produces ink since the customers that buy printers from you will also need inks for printing.

Steps Involved in Creating a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Focus on Your Target Market

Identify who your customers are, the market you want to target. Then determine the best ways to get your products or services to your potential customers.

2. Evaluate Your Competition

One of the goals of having a marketing plan is to distinguish yourself from your competition. You cannot stand out from them without first knowing them in and out.

You can know your competitors by gathering information about their products, pricing, service, and advertising campaigns.

These questions can help you know your competition.

• What makes your competition successful?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What are customers saying about your competition?

3. Consider Your Brand

Customers' perception of your brand has a strong impact on your sales. Your marketing and sales plan should seek to bolster the image of your brand. Before you start marketing your business, think about the message you want to pass across about your business and your products and services.

4. Focus on Benefits

The majority of your customers do not view your product in terms of features, what they want to know is the benefits and solutions your product offers. Think about the problems your product solves and the benefits it delivers, and use it to create the right sales and marketing message.

Your marketing plan should focus on what you want your customer to get instead of what you provide. Identify those benefits in your marketing and sales plan.

5. Focus on Differentiation

Your marketing and sales plan should look for a unique angle they can take that differentiates your business from the competition, even if the products offered are similar. Some good areas of differentiation you can use are your benefits, pricing, and features.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing Your Marketing and Sales Plan

• What is your company’s budget for sales and marketing campaigns?
• What key metrics will you use to determine if your marketing plans are successful?
• What are your alternatives if your initial marketing efforts do not succeed?
• Who are the sales representatives you need to promote your products or services?
• What are the marketing and sales channels you plan to use? How do you plan to get your products in front of your ideal customers?
• Where will you sell your products?

You may want to include samples of marketing materials you plan to use such as print ads, website descriptions, and social media ads. While it is not compulsory to include these samples, it can help you better communicate your marketing and sales plan and objectives.

The purpose of the marketing and sales section is to answer this question “How will you reach your customers?” If you cannot convincingly provide an answer to this question, you need to rework your marketing and sales section.

7. Clearly Show Your Funding Request

If you are writing your business plan to ask for funding from investors or financial institutions, the funding request section is where you will outline your funding requirements. The funding request section should answer the question ‘How much money will your business need in the near future (3 to 5 years)?’

A good funding request section will clearly outline and explain the amount of funding your business needs over the next five years. You need to know the amount of money your business needs to make an accurate funding request.

Also, when writing your funding request, provide details of how the funds will be used over the period. Specify if you want to use the funds to buy raw materials or machinery, pay salaries, pay for advertisements, and cover specific bills such as rent and electricity.

In addition to explaining what you want to use the funds requested for, you need to clearly state the projected return on investment (ROI) . Investors and creditors want to know if your business can generate profit for them if they put funds into it.

Ensure you do not inflate the figures and stay as realistic as possible. Investors and financial institutions you are seeking funds from will do their research before investing money in your business.

If you are not sure of an exact number to request from, you can use some range of numbers as rough estimates. Add a best-case scenario and a work-case scenario to your funding request. Also, include a description of your strategic future financial plans such as selling your business or paying off debts.

Funding Request: Debt or Equity?

When making your funding request, specify the type of funding you want. Do you want debt or equity? Draw out the terms that will be applicable for the funding, and the length of time the funding request will cover.

Case for Equity

If your new business has not yet started generating profits, you are most likely preparing to sell equity in your business to raise capital at the early stage. Equity here refers to ownership. In this case, you are selling a portion of your company to raise capital.

Although this method of raising capital for your business does not put your business in debt, keep in mind that an equity owner may expect to play a key role in company decisions even if he does not hold a major stake in the company.

Most equity sales for startups are usually private transactions . If you are making a funding request by offering equity in exchange for funding, let the investor know that they will be paid a dividend (a share of the company’s profit). Also, let the investor know the process for selling their equity in your business.

Case for Debt

You may decide not to offer equity in exchange for funds, instead, you make a funding request with the promise to pay back the money borrowed at the agreed time frame.

When making a funding request with an agreement to pay back, note that you will have to repay your creditors both the principal amount borrowed and the interest on it. Financial institutions offer this type of funding for businesses.

Large companies combine both equity and debt in their capital structure. When drafting your business plan, decide if you want to offer both or one over the other.

Before you sell equity in exchange for funding in your business, consider if you are willing to accept not being in total control of your business. Also, before you seek loans in your funding request section, ensure that the terms of repayment are favorable.

You should set a clear timeline in your funding request so that potential investors and creditors can know what you are expecting. Some investors and creditors may agree to your funding request and then delay payment for longer than 30 days, meanwhile, your business needs an immediate cash injection to operate efficiently.

Additional Tips for Writing the Funding Request Section of your Business Plan

The funding request section is not necessary for every business, it is only needed by businesses who plan to use their business plan to secure funding.

If you are adding the funding request section to your business plan, provide an itemized summary of how you plan to use the funds requested. Hiring a lawyer, accountant, or other professionals may be necessary for the proper development of this section.

You should also gather and use financial statements that add credibility and support to your funding requests. Ensure that the financial statements you use should include your projected financial data such as projected cash flows, forecast statements, and expenditure budgets.

If you are an existing business, include all historical financial statements such as cash flow statements, balance sheets and income statements .

Provide monthly and quarterly financial statements for a year. If your business has records that date back beyond the one-year mark, add the yearly statements of those years. These documents are for the appendix section of your business plan.

8. Detail Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projections

If you used the funding request section in your business plan, supplement it with a financial plan, metrics, and projections. This section paints a picture of the past performance of your business and then goes ahead to make an informed projection about its future.

The goal of this section is to convince readers that your business is going to be a financial success. It outlines your business plan to generate enough profit to repay the loan (with interest if applicable) and to generate a decent return on investment for investors.

If you have an existing business already in operation, use this section to demonstrate stability through finance. This section should include your cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements covering the last three to five years. If your business has some acceptable collateral that you can use to acquire loans, list it in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

Apart from current financial statements, this section should also contain a prospective financial outlook that spans the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and capital expenditure budget.

If your business is new and is not yet generating profit, use clear and realistic projections to show the potentials of your business.

When drafting this section, research industry norms and the performance of comparable businesses. Your financial projections should cover at least five years. State the logic behind your financial projections. Remember you can always make adjustments to this section as the variables change.

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section create a baseline which your business can either exceed or fail to reach. If your business fails to reach your projections in this section, you need to understand why it failed.

Investors and loan managers spend a lot of time going through the financial plan, metrics, and projection section compared to other parts of the business plan. Ensure you spend time creating credible financial analyses for your business in this section.

Many entrepreneurs find this section daunting to write. You do not need a business degree to create a solid financial forecast for your business. Business finances, especially for startups, are not as complicated as they seem. There are several online tools and templates that make writing this section so much easier.

Use Graphs and Charts

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business. Charts and images make it easier to communicate your finances.

Accuracy in this section is key, ensure you carefully analyze your past financial statements properly before making financial projects.

Address the Risk Factors and Show Realistic Financial Projections

Keep your financial plan, metrics, and projection realistic. It is okay to be optimistic in your financial projection, however, you have to justify it.

You should also address the various risk factors associated with your business in this section. Investors want to know the potential risks involved, show them. You should also show your plans for mitigating those risks.

What You Should In The Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection Section of Your Business Plan

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section of your business plan should have monthly sales and revenue forecasts for the first year. It should also include annual projections that cover 3 to 5 years.

A three-year projection is a basic requirement to have in your business plan. However, some investors may request a five-year forecast.

Your business plan should include the following financial statements: sales forecast, personnel plan, income statement, income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and an exit strategy.

1. Sales Forecast

Sales forecast refers to your projections about the number of sales your business is going to record over the next few years. It is typically broken into several rows, with each row assigned to a core product or service that your business is offering.

One common mistake people make in their business plan is to break down the sales forecast section into long details. A sales forecast should forecast the high-level details.

For example, if you are forecasting sales for a payroll software provider, you could break down your forecast into target market segments or subscription categories.

Your sales forecast section should also have a corresponding row for each sales row to cover the direct cost or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The objective of these rows is to show the expenses that your business incurs in making and delivering your product or service.

Note that your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) should only cover those direct costs incurred when making your products. Other indirect expenses such as insurance, salaries, payroll tax, and rent should not be included.

For example, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a restaurant is the cost of ingredients while for a consulting company it will be the cost of paper and other presentation materials.

2. Personnel Plan

The personnel plan section is where you provide details about the payment plan for your employees. For a small business, you can easily list every position in your company and how much you plan to pay in the personnel plan.

However, for larger businesses, you have to break the personnel plan into functional groups such as sales and marketing.

The personnel plan will also include the cost of an employee beyond salary, commonly referred to as the employee burden. These costs include insurance, payroll taxes , and other essential costs incurred monthly as a result of having employees on your payroll.

3. Income Statement

The income statement section shows if your business is making a profit or taking a loss. Another name for the income statement is the profit and loss (P&L). It takes data from your sales forecast and personnel plan and adds other ongoing expenses you incur while running your business.

Every business plan should have an income statement. It subtracts your business expenses from its earnings to show if your business is generating profit or incurring losses.

The income statement has the following items: sales, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), gross margin, operating expenses, total operating expenses, operating income , total expenses, and net profit.

• Sales refer to the revenue your business generates from selling its products or services. Other names for sales are income or revenue.
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) refers to the total cost of selling your products. Other names for COGS are direct costs or cost of sales. Manufacturing businesses use the Costs of Goods Manufactured (COGM) .
• Gross Margin is the figure you get when you subtract your COGS from your sales. In your income statement, you can express it as a percentage of total sales (Gross margin / Sales = Gross Margin Percent).
• Operating Expenses refer to all the expenses you incur from running your business. It exempts the COGS because it stands alone as a core part of your income statement. You also have to exclude taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Your operating expenses include salaries, marketing expenses, research and development (R&D) expenses, and other expenses.
• Total Operating Expenses refers to the sum of all your operating expenses including those exemptions named above under operating expenses.
• Operating Income refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is simply known as the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Calculating your operating income is simple, all you need to do is to subtract your COGS and total operating expenses from your sales.
• Total Expenses refer to the sum of your operating expenses and your business’ interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
• Net profit shows whether your business has made a profit or taken a loss during a given timeframe.

4. Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement tracks the money you have in the bank at any given point. It is often confused with the income statement or the profit and loss statement. They are both different types of financial statements. The income statement calculates your profits and losses while the cash flow statement shows you how much you have in the bank.

5. Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a financial statement that provides an overview of the financial health of your business. It contains information about the assets and liabilities of your company, and owner’s or shareholders’ equity.

You can get the net worth of your company by subtracting your company’s liabilities from its assets.

6. Exit Strategy

The exit strategy refers to a probable plan for selling your business either to the public in an IPO or to another company. It is the last thing you include in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

You can choose to omit the exit strategy from your business plan if you plan to maintain full ownership of your business and do not plan on seeking angel investment or virtual capitalist (VC) funding.

Investors may want to know what your exit plan is. They invest in your business to get a good return on investment.

Your exit strategy does not have to include long and boring details. Ensure you identify some interested parties who may be interested in buying the company if it becomes a success.

Key Questions to Answer with Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection

Your financial plan, metrics, and projection section helps investors, creditors, or your internal managers to understand what your expenses are, the amount of cash you need, and what it takes to make your company profitable. It also shows what you will be doing with any funding.

You do not need to show actual financial data if you do not have one. Adding forecasts and projections to your financial statements is added proof that your strategy is feasible and shows investors you have planned properly.

Here are some key questions to answer to help you develop this section.

• What is your sales forecast for the next year?
• When will your company achieve a positive cash flow?
• What are the core expenses you need to operate?
• How much money do you need upfront to operate or grow your company?
• How will you use the loans or investments?

9. Add an Appendix to Your Business Plan

Adding an appendix to your business plan is optional. It is a useful place to put any charts, tables, legal notes, definitions, permits, résumés, and other critical information that do not fit into other sections of your business plan.

The appendix section is where you would want to include details of a patent or patent-pending if you have one. You can always add illustrations or images of your products here. It is the last section of your business plan.

When writing your business plan, there are details you cut short or remove to prevent the entire section from becoming too lengthy. There are also details you want to include in the business plan but are not a good fit for any of the previous sections. You can add that additional information to the appendix section.

Businesses also use the appendix section to include supporting documents or other materials specially requested by investors or lenders.

You can include just about any information that supports the assumptions and statements you made in the business plan under the appendix. It is the one place in the business plan where unrelated data and information can coexist amicably.

If your appendix section is lengthy, try organizing it by adding a table of contents at the beginning of the appendix section. It is also advisable to group similar information to make it easier for the reader to access them.

A well-organized appendix section makes it easier to share your information clearly and concisely. Add footnotes throughout the rest of the business plan or make references in the plan to the documents in the appendix.

The appendix section is usually only necessary if you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, or hoping to attract partners.

People reading business plans do not want to spend time going through a heap of backup information, numbers, and charts. Keep these documents or information in the Appendix section in case the reader wants to dig deeper.

Common Items to Include in the Appendix Section of Your Business Plan

The appendix section includes documents that supplement or support the information or claims given in other sections of the business plans. Common items you can include in the appendix section include:

• Additional data about the process of manufacturing or creation
• Additional description of products or services such as product schematics
• Additional financial documents or projections
• Articles of incorporation and status
• Backup for market research or competitive analysis
• Bank statements
• Business registries
• Client testimonials (if your business is already running)
• Copies of insurances
• Credit histories (personal or/and business)
• Deeds and permits
• Equipment leases
• Examples of marketing and advertising collateral
• Industry associations and memberships
• Images of product
• Intellectual property
• Key customer contracts
• Legal documents and other contracts
• Letters of reference
• Links to references
• Market research data
• Organizational charts
• Photographs of potential facilities
• Professional licenses pertaining to your legal structure or type of business
• Purchase orders
• Resumes of the founder(s) and key managers
• State and federal identification numbers or codes
• Trademarks or patents’ registrations

Avoid using the appendix section as a place to dump any document or information you feel like adding. Only add documents or information that you support or increase the credibility of your business plan.

Tips and Strategies for Writing a Convincing Business Plan

To achieve a perfect business plan, you need to consider some key tips and strategies. These tips will raise the efficiency of your business plan above average.

1. Know Your Audience

When writing a business plan, you need to know your audience . Business owners write business plans for different reasons. Your business plan has to be specific. For example, you can write business plans to potential investors, banks, and even fellow board members of the company.

The audience you are writing to determines the structure of the business plan. As a business owner, you have to know your audience. Not everyone will be your audience. Knowing your audience will help you to narrow the scope of your business plan.

Consider what your audience wants to see in your projects, the likely questions they might ask, and what interests them.

• A business plan used to address a company's board members will center on its employment schemes, internal affairs, projects, stakeholders, etc.
• A business plan for financial institutions will talk about the size of your market and the chances for you to pay back any loans you demand.
• A business plan for investors will show proof that you can return the investment capital within a specific time. In addition, it discusses your financial projections, tractions, and market size.

2. Get Inspiration from People

Writing a business plan from scratch as an entrepreneur can be daunting. That is why you need the right inspiration to push you to write one. You can gain inspiration from the successful business plans of other businesses. Look at their business plans, the style they use, the structure of the project, etc.

To make your business plan easier to create, search companies related to your business to get an exact copy of what you need to create an effective business plan. You can also make references while citing examples in your business plans.

When drafting your business plan, get as much help from others as you possibly can. By getting inspiration from people, you can create something better than what they have.

3. Avoid Being Over Optimistic

Many business owners make use of strong adjectives to qualify their content. One of the big mistakes entrepreneurs make when preparing a business plan is promising too much.

The use of superlatives and over-optimistic claims can prepare the audience for more than you can offer. In the end, you disappoint the confidence they have in you.

In most cases, the best option is to be realistic with your claims and statistics. Most of the investors can sense a bit of incompetency from the overuse of superlatives. As a new entrepreneur, do not be tempted to over-promise to get the interests of investors.

The concept of entrepreneurship centers on risks, nothing is certain when you make future analyses. What separates the best is the ability to do careful research and work towards achieving that, not promising more than you can achieve.

To make an excellent first impression as an entrepreneur, replace superlatives with compelling data-driven content. In this way, you are more specific than someone promising a huge ROI from an investment.

4. Keep it Simple and Short

When writing business plans, ensure you keep them simple throughout. Irrespective of the purpose of the business plan, your goal is to convince the audience.

One way to achieve this goal is to make them understand your proposal. Therefore, it would be best if you avoid the use of complex grammar to express yourself. It would be a huge turn-off if the people you want to convince are not familiar with your use of words.

Another thing to note is the length of your business plan. It would be best if you made it as brief as possible.

You hardly see investors or agencies that read through an extremely long document. In that case, if your first few pages can’t convince them, then you have lost it. The more pages you write, the higher the chances of you derailing from the essential contents.

To ensure your business plan has a high conversion rate, you need to dispose of every unnecessary information. For example, if you have a strategy that you are not sure of, it would be best to leave it out of the plan.

5. Make an Outline and Follow Through

A perfect business plan must have touched every part needed to convince the audience. Business owners get easily tempted to concentrate more on their products than on other sections. Doing this can be detrimental to the efficiency of the business plan.

For example, imagine you talking about a product but omitting or providing very little information about the target audience. You will leave your clients confused.

To ensure that your business plan communicates your full business model to readers, you have to input all the necessary information in it. One of the best ways to achieve this is to design a structure and stick to it.

This structure is what guides you throughout the writing. To make your work easier, you can assign an estimated word count or page limit to every section to avoid making it too bulky for easy reading. As a guide, the necessary things your business plan must contain are:

• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Product or service description
• Target audience
• Market size
• Competition analysis
• Financial projections

Some specific businesses can include some other essential sections, but these are the key sections that must be in every business plan.

6. Ask a Professional to Proofread

When writing a business plan, you must tie all loose ends to get a perfect result. When you are done with writing, call a professional to go through the document for you. You are bound to make mistakes, and the way to correct them is to get external help.

You should get a professional in your field who can relate to every section of your business plan. It would be easier for the professional to notice the inner flaws in the document than an editor with no knowledge of your business.

In addition to getting a professional to proofread, get an editor to proofread and edit your document. The editor will help you identify grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inappropriate writing styles.

Writing a business plan can be daunting, but you can surmount that obstacle and get the best out of it with these tips.

Business Plan Examples and Templates That’ll Save You Tons of Time

1. hubspot's one-page business plan.

The one-page business plan template by HubSpot is the perfect guide for businesses of any size, irrespective of their business strategy. Although the template is condensed into a page, your final business plan should not be a page long! The template is designed to ask helpful questions that can help you develop your business plan.

Hubspot’s one-page business plan template is divided into nine fields:

• Business opportunity
• Company description
• Industry analysis
• Target market
• Implementation timeline
• Marketing plan
• Financial summary
• Funding required

2. Bplan’s Free Business Plan Template

Bplans' free business plan template is investor-approved. It is a rich template used by prestigious educational institutions such as Babson College and Princeton University to teach entrepreneurs how to create a business plan.

The template has six sections: the executive summary, opportunity, execution, company, financial plan, and appendix. There is a step-by-step guide for writing every little detail in the business plan. Follow the instructions each step of the way and you will create a business plan that impresses investors or lenders easily.

3. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

HubSpot’s downloadable business plan template is a more comprehensive option compared to the one-page business template by HubSpot. This free and downloadable business plan template is designed for entrepreneurs.

The template is a comprehensive guide and checklist for business owners just starting their businesses. It tells you everything you need to fill in each section of the business plan and how to do it.

There are nine sections in this business plan template: an executive summary, company and business description, product and services line, market analysis, marketing plan, sales plan, legal notes, financial considerations, and appendix.

4. Business Plan by My Own Business Institute

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) which is a part of Santa Clara University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers a free business plan template. You can either copy the free business template from the link provided above or download it as a Word document.

The comprehensive template consists of a whopping 15 sections.

• The Business Profile
• The Vision and the People
• Home-Based Business and Freelance Business Opportunities
• Organization
• Licenses and Permits
• Business Insurance
• Communication Tools
• Acquisitions
• Location and Leasing
• Accounting and Cash Flow
• Opening and Marketing
• Managing Employees
• Expanding and Handling Problems

There are lots of helpful tips on how to fill each section in the free business plan template by MOBI.

5. Score's Business Plan Template for Startups

Score is an American nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs build successful companies. This business plan template for startups by Score is available for free download. The business plan template asks a whooping 150 generic questions that help entrepreneurs from different fields to set up the perfect business plan.

The business plan template for startups contains clear instructions and worksheets, all you have to do is answer the questions and fill the worksheets.

There are nine sections in the business plan template: executive summary, company description, products and services, marketing plan, operational plan, management and organization, startup expenses and capitalization, financial plan, and appendices.

The ‘refining the plan’ resource contains instructions that help you modify your business plan to suit your specific needs, industry, and target audience. After you have completed Score’s business plan template, you can work with a SCORE mentor for expert advice in business planning.

6. Minimalist Architecture Business Plan Template by Venngage

The minimalist architecture business plan template is a simple template by Venngage that you can customize to suit your business needs .

There are five sections in the template: an executive summary, statement of problem, approach and methodology, qualifications, and schedule and benchmark. The business plan template has instructions that guide users on what to fill in each section.

7. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers two free business plan templates, filled with practical real-life examples that you can model to create your business plan. Both free business plan templates are written by fictional business owners: Rebecca who owns a consulting firm, and Andrew who owns a toy company.

There are five sections in the two SBA’s free business plan templates.

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Service Line
• Marketing and Sales

8. The $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan

The one-page business plan by the $100 startup is a simple business plan template for entrepreneurs who do not want to create a long and complicated plan . You can include more details in the appendices for funders who want more information beyond what you can put in the one-page business plan.

There are five sections in the one-page business plan such as overview, ka-ching, hustling, success, and obstacles or challenges or open questions. You can answer all the questions using one or two sentences.

9. PandaDoc’s Free Business Plan Template

The free business plan template by PandaDoc is a comprehensive 15-page document that describes the information you should include in every section.

There are 11 sections in PandaDoc’s free business plan template.

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Products and services
• Operations plan
• Management organization
• Financial plan
• Conclusion / Call to action
• Confidentiality statement

You have to sign up for its 14-day free trial to access the template. You will find different business plan templates on PandaDoc once you sign up (including templates for general businesses and specific businesses such as bakeries, startups, restaurants, salons, hotels, and coffee shops)

PandaDoc allows you to customize its business plan templates to fit the needs of your business. After editing the template, you can send it to interested parties and track opens and views through PandaDoc.

10. Invoiceberry Templates for Word, Open Office, Excel, or PPT

InvoiceBerry is a U.K based online invoicing and tracking platform that offers free business plan templates in .docx, .odt, .xlsx, and .pptx formats for freelancers and small businesses.

Before you can download the free business plan template, it will ask you to give it your email address. After you complete the little task, it will send the download link to your inbox for you to download. It also provides a business plan checklist in .xlsx file format that ensures you add the right information to the business plan.

Alternatives to the Traditional Business Plan

A business plan is very important in mapping out how one expects their business to grow over a set number of years, particularly when they need external investment in their business. However, many investors do not have the time to watch you present your business plan. It is a long and boring read.

Luckily, there are three alternatives to the traditional business plan (the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck). These alternatives are less laborious and easier and quicker to present to investors.

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

The business model canvas is a business tool used to present all the important components of setting up a business, such as customers, route to market, value proposition, and finance in a single sheet. It provides a very focused blueprint that defines your business initially which you can later expand on if needed.

The sheet is divided mainly into company, industry, and consumer models that are interconnected in how they find problems and proffer solutions.

Segments of the Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas was developed by founder Alexander Osterwalder to answer important business questions. It contains nine segments.

• Key Partners: Who will be occupying important executive positions in your business? What do they bring to the table? Will there be a third party involved with the company?
• Key Activities: What important activities will production entail? What activities will be carried out to ensure the smooth running of the company?
• The Product’s Value Propositions: What does your product do? How will it be different from other products?
• Customer Segments: What demography of consumers are you targeting? What are the habits of these consumers? Who are the MVPs of your target consumers?
• Customer Relationships: How will the team support and work with its customer base? How do you intend to build and maintain trust with the customer?
• Key Resources: What type of personnel and tools will be needed? What size of the budget will they need access to?
• Channels: How do you plan to create awareness of your products? How do you intend to transport your product to the customer?
• Cost Structure: What is the estimated cost of production? How much will distribution cost?
• Revenue Streams: For what value are customers willing to pay? How do they prefer to pay for the product? Are there any external revenues attached apart from the main source? How do the revenue streams contribute to the overall revenue?

Lean Canvas

The lean canvas is a problem-oriented alternative to the standard business model canvas. It was proposed by Ash Maurya, creator of Lean Stack as a development of the business model generation. It uses a more problem-focused approach and it majorly targets entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Lean Canvas uses the same 9 blocks concept as the business model canvas, however, they have been modified slightly to suit the needs and purpose of a small startup. The key partners, key activities, customer relationships, and key resources are replaced by new segments which are:

• Problem: Simple and straightforward number of problems you have identified, ideally three.
• Solution: The solutions to each problem.
• Unfair Advantage: Something you possess that can't be easily bought or replicated.
• Key Metrics: Important numbers that will tell how your business is doing.

Startup Pitch Deck

While the business model canvas compresses into a factual sheet, startup pitch decks expand flamboyantly.

Pitch decks, through slides, convey your business plan, often through graphs and images used to emphasize estimations and observations in your presentation. Entrepreneurs often use pitch decks to fully convince their target audience of their plans before discussing funding arrangements.

Considering the likelihood of it being used in a small time frame, a good startup pitch deck should ideally contain 20 slides or less to have enough time to answer questions from the audience.

Unlike the standard and lean business model canvases, a pitch deck doesn't have a set template on how to present your business plan but there are still important components to it. These components often mirror those of the business model canvas except that they are in slide form and contain more details.

Using Airbnb (one of the most successful start-ups in recent history) for reference, the important components of a good slide are listed below.

• Cover/Introduction Slide: Here, you should include your company's name and mission statement. Your mission statement should be a very catchy tagline. Also, include personal information and contact details to provide an easy link for potential investors.
• Problem Slide: This slide requires you to create a connection with the audience or the investor that you are pitching. For example in their pitch, Airbnb summarized the most important problems it would solve in three brief points – pricing of hotels, disconnection from city culture, and connection problems for local bookings.
• Solution Slide: This slide includes your core value proposition. List simple and direct solutions to the problems you have mentioned
• Customer Analysis: Here you will provide information on the customers you will be offering your service to. The identity of your customers plays an important part in fundraising as well as the long-run viability of the business.
• Market Validation: Use competitive analysis to show numbers that prove the presence of a market for your product, industry behavior in the present and the long run, as well as the percentage of the market you aim to attract. It shows that you understand your competitors and customers and convinces investors of the opportunities presented in the market.
• Business Model: Your business model is the hook of your presentation. It may vary in complexity but it should generally include a pricing system informed by your market analysis. The goal of the slide is to confirm your business model is easy to implement.
• Marketing Strategy: This slide should summarize a few customer acquisition methods that you plan to use to grow the business.
• Competitive Advantage: What this slide will do is provide information on what will set you apart and make you a more attractive option to customers. It could be the possession of technology that is not widely known in the market.
• Team Slide: Here you will give a brief description of your team. Include your key management personnel here and their specific roles in the company. Include their educational background, job history, and skillsets. Also, talk about their accomplishments in their careers so far to build investors' confidence in members of your team.
• Traction Slide: This validates the company’s business model by showing growth through early sales and support. The slide aims to reduce any lingering fears in potential investors by showing realistic periodic milestones and profit margins. It can include current sales, growth, valuable customers, pre-orders, or data from surveys outlining current consumer interest.
• Funding Slide: This slide is popularly referred to as ‘the ask'. Here you will include important details like how much is needed to get your business off the ground and how the funding will be spent to help the company reach its goals.
• Appendix Slides: Your pitch deck appendix should always be included alongside a standard pitch presentation. It consists of additional slides you could not show in the pitch deck but you need to complement your presentation.

It is important to support your calculations with pictorial renditions. Infographics, such as pie charts or bar graphs, will be more effective in presenting the information than just listing numbers. For example, a six-month graph that shows rising profit margins will easily look more impressive than merely writing it.

Lastly, since a pitch deck is primarily used to secure meetings and you may be sharing your pitch with several investors, it is advisable to keep a separate public version that doesn't include financials. Only disclose the one with projections once you have secured a link with an investor.

Advantages of the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck over the Traditional Business Plan

• Time-Saving: Writing a detailed traditional business plan could take weeks or months. On the other hand, all three alternatives can be done in a few days or even one night of brainstorming if you have a comprehensive understanding of your business.
• Easier to Understand: Since the information presented is almost entirely factual, it puts focus on what is most important in running the business. They cut away the excess pages of fillers in a traditional business plan and allow investors to see what is driving the business and what is getting in the way.
• Easy to Update: Businesses typically present their business plans to many potential investors before they secure funding. What this means is that you may regularly have to amend your presentation to update statistics or adjust to audience-specific needs. For a traditional business plan, this could mean rewriting a whole section of your plan. For the three alternatives, updating is much easier because they are not voluminous.
• Guide for a More In-depth Business Plan: All three alternatives have the added benefit of being able to double as a sketch of your business plan if the need to create one arises in the future.

Business Plan FAQ

Business plans are important for any entrepreneur who is looking for a framework to run their company over some time or seeking external support. Although they are essential for new businesses, every company should ideally have a business plan to track their growth from time to time.  They can be used by startups seeking investments or loans to convey their business ideas or an employee to convince his boss of the feasibility of starting a new project. They can also be used by companies seeking to recruit high-profile employee targets into key positions or trying to secure partnerships with other firms.

Business plans often vary depending on your target audience, the scope, and the goals for the plan. Startup plans are the most common among the different types of business plans.  A start-up plan is used by a new business to present all the necessary information to help get the business up and running. They are usually used by entrepreneurs who are seeking funding from investors or bank loans. The established company alternative to a start-up plan is a feasibility plan. A feasibility plan is often used by an established company looking for new business opportunities. They are used to show the upsides of creating a new product for a consumer base. Because the audience is usually company people, it requires less company analysis. The third type of business plan is the lean business plan. A lean business plan is a brief, straight-to-the-point breakdown of your ideas and analysis for your business. It does not contain details of your proposal and can be written on one page. Finally, you have the what-if plan. As it implies, a what-if plan is a preparation for the worst-case scenario. You must always be prepared for the possibility of your original plan being rejected. A good what-if plan will serve as a good plan B to the original.

A good business plan has 10 key components. They include an executive plan, product analysis, desired customer base, company analysis, industry analysis, marketing strategy, sales strategy, financial projection, funding, and appendix. Executive Plan Your business should begin with your executive plan. An executive plan will provide early insight into what you are planning to achieve with your business. It should include your mission statement and highlight some of the important points which you will explain later. Product Analysis The next component of your business plan is your product analysis. A key part of this section is explaining the type of item or service you are going to offer as well as the market problems your product will solve. Desired Consumer Base Your product analysis should be supplemented with a detailed breakdown of your desired consumer base. Investors are always interested in knowing the economic power of your market as well as potential MVP customers. Company Analysis The next component of your business plan is your company analysis. Here, you explain how you want to run your business. It will include your operational strategy, an insight into the workforce needed to keep the company running, and important executive positions. It will also provide a calculation of expected operational costs.  Industry Analysis A good business plan should also contain well laid out industry analysis. It is important to convince potential investors you know the companies you will be competing with, as well as your plans to gain an edge on the competition. Marketing Strategy Your business plan should also include your marketing strategy. This is how you intend to spread awareness of your product. It should include a detailed explanation of the company brand as well as your advertising methods. Sales Strategy Your sales strategy comes after the market strategy. Here you give an overview of your company's pricing strategy and how you aim to maximize profits. You can also explain how your prices will adapt to market behaviors. Financial Projection The financial projection is the next component of your business plan. It explains your company's expected running cost and revenue earned during the tenure of the business plan. Financial projection gives a clear idea of how your company will develop in the future. Funding The next component of your business plan is funding. You have to detail how much external investment you need to get your business idea off the ground here. Appendix The last component of your plan is the appendix. This is where you put licenses, graphs, or key information that does not fit in any of the other components.

The business model canvas is a business management tool used to quickly define your business idea and model. It is often used when investors need you to pitch your business idea during a brief window.

A pitch deck is similar to a business model canvas except that it makes use of slides in its presentation. A pitch is not primarily used to secure funding, rather its main purpose is to entice potential investors by selling a very optimistic outlook on the business.

Business plan competitions help you evaluate the strength of your business plan. By participating in business plan competitions, you are improving your experience. The experience provides you with a degree of validation while practicing important skills. The main motivation for entering into the competitions is often to secure funding by finishing in podium positions. There is also the chance that you may catch the eye of a casual observer outside of the competition. These competitions also provide good networking opportunities. You could meet mentors who will take a keen interest in guiding you in your business journey. You also have the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs whose ideas can complement yours.

Exlore Further

• 12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)
• 13 Sources of Business Finance For Companies & Sole Traders
• 5 Common Types of Business Structures (+ Pros & Cons)
• How to Buy a Business in 8 Steps (+ Due Diligence Checklist)

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Martin luenendonk.

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.

Resume Writing Business Plan Template & Guidebook

For those looking to start their own resume writing business, the #1 Resume Writing Business Plan Template & Guidebook is the ultimate resource. Jam-packed with actionable advice, this comprehensive guide will help you map out the right business plan, hone your craft, market yourself effectively, and grow your client base. With clear steps, useful templates and helpful sample resumes, this comprehensive guidebook is the perfect starting point for anyone ready to launch their own resume writing business.

Get worry-free services and support to launch your business starting at $0 plus state fees.

• How to Start a Profitable Resume Writing Business [11 Steps]

How to Write a Resume Writing Business Plan in 7 Steps:

1. describe the purpose of your resume writing business..

The first step to writing your business plan is to describe the purpose of your resume writing business. This includes describing why you are starting this type of business, and what problems it will solve for customers. This is a quick way to get your mind thinking about the customers’ problems. It also helps you identify what makes your business different from others in its industry.

It also helps to include a vision statement so that readers can understand what type of company you want to build.

Here is an example of a purpose mission statement for a resume writing business:

Our mission at [business name] is to provide personalized and high-quality resume writing services that enable our clients to achieve their career aspirations. We strive to create professional resumes that accurately portray each individual’s unique qualifications, accomplishments, and value proposition. We are committed to delivering the best service and results to all of our clients, while maintaining an unparalleled level of customer satisfaction.

2. Products & Services Offered by Your Resume Writing Business.

The next step is to outline your products and services for your resume writing business. 

When you think about the products and services that you offer, it's helpful to ask yourself the following questions:

• What is my business?
• What are the products and/or services that I offer?
• Why am I offering these particular products and/or services?
• How do I differentiate myself from competitors with similar offerings?
• How will I market my products and services?

You may want to do a comparison of your business plan against those of other competitors in the area, or even with online reviews. This way, you can find out what people like about them and what they don’t like, so that you can either improve upon their offerings or avoid doing so altogether.

3. Build a Creative Marketing Stratgey.

If you don't have a marketing plan for your resume writing business, it's time to write one. Your marketing plan should be part of your business plan and be a roadmap to your goals. 

A good marketing plan for your resume writing business includes the following elements:

Target market

• Who is your target market?
• What do these customers have in common?
• How many of them are there?
• How can you best reach them with your message or product?

Customer base 

• Who are your current customers? 
• Where did they come from (i.e., referrals)?
• How can their experience with your resume writing business help make them repeat customers, consumers, visitors, subscribers, or advocates for other people in their network or industry who might also benefit from using this service, product, or brand?

Product or service description

• How does it work, what features does it have, and what are its benefits?
• Can anyone use this product or service regardless of age or gender?
• Can anyone visually see themselves using this product or service?
• How will they feel when they do so? If so, how long will the feeling last after purchasing (or trying) the product/service for the first time?

Competitive analysis

• Which companies are competing with yours today (and why)? 
• Which ones may enter into competition with yours tomorrow if they find out about it now through word-of-mouth advertising; social media networks; friends' recommendations; etc.)
• What specific advantages does each competitor offer over yours currently?

Marketing channels

• Which marketing channel do you intend to leverage to attract new customers?
• What is your estimated marketing budget needed?
• What is the projected cost to acquire a new customer?
• How many of your customers do you instead will return?

Form an LLC in your state!

4. Write Your Operational Plan.

Next, you'll need to build your operational plan. This section describes the type of business you'll be running, and includes the steps involved in your operations. 

In it, you should list:

• The equipment and facilities needed
• Who will be involved in the business (employees, contractors)
• Financial requirements for each step
• Milestones & KPIs
• Location of your business
• Zoning & permits required for the business

What equipment, supplies, or permits are needed to run a resume writing business?

To run a resume writing business, you will need the following equipment, supplies, and permits:

• Computer and printer
• Internet access
• Office space
• Resume writing software program
• Business license
• Tax ID number
• General Liability Insurance coverage

5. Management & Organization of Your Resume Writing Business.

The second part of your resume writing business plan is to develop a management and organization section.

This section will cover all of the following:

• How many employees you need in order to run your resume writing business. This should include the roles they will play (for example, one person may be responsible for managing administrative duties while another might be in charge of customer service).
• The structure of your management team. The higher-ups like yourself should be able to delegate tasks through lower-level managers who are directly responsible for their given department (inventory and sales, etc.).
• How you’re going to make sure that everyone on board is doing their job well. You’ll want check-ins with employees regularly so they have time to ask questions or voice concerns if needed; this also gives you time to offer support where necessary while staying informed on how things are going within individual departments too!

6. Resume Writing Business Startup Expenses & Captial Needed.

This section should be broken down by month and year. If you are still in the planning stage of your business, it may be helpful to estimate how much money will be needed each month until you reach profitability.

Typically, expenses for your business can be broken into a few basic categories:

Startup Costs

Startup costs are typically the first expenses you will incur when beginning an enterprise. These include legal fees, accounting expenses, and other costs associated with getting your business off the ground. The amount of money needed to start a resume writing business varies based on many different variables, but below are a few different types of startup costs for a resume writing business.

Running & Operating Costs

Running costs refer to ongoing expenses related directly with operating your business over time like electricity bills or salaries paid out each month. These types of expenses will vary greatly depending on multiple variables such as location, team size, utility costs, etc.

Marketing & Sales Expenses

You should include any costs associated with marketing and sales, such as advertising and promotions, website design or maintenance. Also, consider any additional expenses that may be incurred if you decide to launch a new product or service line. For example, if your resume writing business has an existing website that needs an upgrade in order to sell more products or services, then this should be listed here.

7. Financial Plan & Projections

A financial plan is an important part of any business plan, as it outlines how the business will generate revenue and profit, and how it will use that profit to grow and sustain itself. To devise a financial plan for your resume writing business, you will need to consider a number of factors, including your start-up costs, operating costs, projected revenue, and expenses. 

Here are some steps you can follow to devise a financial plan for your resume writing business plan:

• Determine your start-up costs: This will include the cost of purchasing or leasing the space where you will operate your business, as well as the cost of buying or leasing any equipment or supplies that you need to start the business.
• Estimate your operating costs: Operating costs will include utilities, such as electricity, gas, and water, as well as labor costs for employees, if any, and the cost of purchasing any materials or supplies that you will need to run your business.
• Project your revenue: To project your revenue, you will need to consider the number of customers you expect to have and the average amount they will spend on each visit. You can use this information to estimate how much money you will make from selling your products or services.
• Estimate your expenses: In addition to your operating costs, you will need to consider other expenses, such as insurance, marketing, and maintenance. You will also need to set aside money for taxes and other fees.
• Create a budget: Once you have estimated your start-up costs, operating costs, revenue, and expenses, you can use this information to create a budget for your business. This will help you to see how much money you will need to start the business, and how much profit you can expect to make.
• Develop a plan for using your profit: Finally, you will need to decide how you will use your profit to grow and sustain your business. This might include investing in new equipment, expanding the business, or saving for a rainy day.

Frequently Asked Questions About Resume Writing Business Plans:

Why do you need a business plan for a resume writing business.

A business plan for a resume writing business is important to help the business owners plan their strategy and set achievable goals. It can also be used to communicate their proposed business goals and objectives, provide financial information and aid in obtaining financing. Additionally, a business plan can be used to help secure investors and attract potential clients.

Who should you ask for help with your resume writing business plan?

It is a good idea to consult a business advisor or a professional in the field for help with your resume writing business plan. You can also seek advice from industry colleagues, peer groups, or professional organizations. Additionally, online resources such as business plan templates and documents from organizations like the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) can be helpful.

Can you write a resume writing business plan yourself?

Yes, you can write a resume writing business plan yourself if you have the necessary knowledge and skills. Depending on the size and scope of your business, a business plan could include sections outlining your target market, services provided, marketing plan, pricing structure, staffing needs and financial projections. You should also do in-depth research into the resume writing industry to better understand the current market conditions. Additionally, you should consult with relevant experts or professionals to ensure that you are covering all the necessary aspects of creating a successful business plan.

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I'm Nick, co-founder of newfoundr.com, dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs succeed. As a small business owner with over five years of experience, I have garnered valuable knowledge and insights across a diverse range of industries. My passion for entrepreneurship drives me to share my expertise with aspiring entrepreneurs, empowering them to turn their business dreams into reality.

Through meticulous research and firsthand experience, I uncover the essential steps, software, tools, and costs associated with launching and maintaining a successful business. By demystifying the complexities of entrepreneurship, I provide the guidance and support needed for others to embark on their journey with confidence.

From assessing market viability and formulating business plans to selecting the right technology and navigating the financial landscape, I am dedicated to helping fellow entrepreneurs overcome challenges and unlock their full potential. As a steadfast advocate for small business success, my mission is to pave the way for a new generation of innovative and driven entrepreneurs who are ready to make their mark on the world.

Resume Writing Service Business Plan [Sample Template]

By: Author Tony Martins Ajaero

Home » Business ideas » Service Industry » Resume Writing Business

Are you about starting a resume writing service ? If YES, here is a complete sample resume writing business plan template & feasibility report you can use for FREE .

As a human resource professional who is looking towards becoming your own boss and earning good money from the human resource consulting industry, one of the low start – up capital but profitable business that you can successfully start is to start a resume writing agency.

This type of business is indeed a viable business- especially if you are able to position the business in location with the right demographic composition. A place with the right demographic composition for this type of business are locations where you have loads of fresh graduates, locations with loads of job applicants and any other location in and around a recruitment hub in your city.

Factors that encourage entrepreneurs to start their own resume writing agencies or Human Resource related consulting firms could be that the business is easy to set up and the start – capital is indeed affordable; you can actually start your own resume writing consulting business from the comfort of your house.

All you need to do is to create an office somewhere in your house. People usually pay you for helping them write standard and compelling CV and you can communicate with your client from start to finish via email and telephone calls without seeing them physically.

If you have made up your mind to start your own resume writing agency business, then you would need to undertake a thorough market survey and feasibility studies to be sure you would have market for your services in the location you intend launching the business.

Apart from a thorough market survey and feasibility studies, you would also need a workable business plan document. The sample resume writing agency business plan template below will guide you towards writing yours.

A Sample Resume Writing Service Business Plan Template

1. industry overview.

The human resource consulting industry in the united states of America is indeed a big and thriving industry and resume writing agency is a subset of the industry and can be safely classified under the Document Preparation Services Industry.

Those who run resume writing agencies are classified as Human Resources consultant. Resume writing agencies are responsible for helping individuals (applicants) and even corporate organization write standard and winning resume. They are involved in letter or resume writing; document editing or proofreading; word processing or desktop publishing; transcription or dictation; and other secretarial services.

When it comes to getting paid, some resume writing agencies charge their clients; applicant administrative fees so as to help draft a compelling CV that will suit the job they are applying for and in some cases they also help them processes their applications.

Processing the application of an applicant includes helping them restructure their CVs and cover letters so as to fit into the expectation of the recruiter (the organization they want to work for). The Document Preparation Services Industry is indeed a thriving and viable business in most countries of the world (United States of America, Italy, France, United Kingdom, China, Nigeria and India et al).

Statistics has it that in the United States of America alone, the Document Preparation Services industry generates a whooping sum of well over $5 billion annually from more than 87,859 registered and licensed document preparation services cum resume writing agency scattered all around the United States of America.

The industry is responsible for the employment of well over 130,576 people. Experts project the document preparation services cum resume writing industry to grow at a 0.3 percent annual rate. The establishment in this industry that has a dominant market share in the United States of America is Nuance.

The Document Preparation Services industry cum resume writing agency line of business will continue to blossom because more and more fresh graduates and other job applicants are beginning to realize that somehow they need the services of resume writing firms to help them take away the stress of writing CVs that may not meet with the expected standard of the recruiting agencies or organizations.

From all available statistics, it is safer to say the document preparation services industry is growing steadily despite the competitive nature of the industry.

One thing is certain if you are well positioned, and have the required business skills, network and good testimonial from your clients, you may likely not have to struggle to compete favorable in the document preparation services industry cum resume writing line of business.

Lastly, one good thing about resume writing agencies is that there are readily available markets for their services. This is simply because schools will continue to churn out graduates who would want to apply and work for corporate organization hence the need to write a professional and compelling CV.

2. Executive Summary

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is a is a standard and registered HR consulting services company with strong bias for resume writing and document preparation services that will be located in the heart of Albany–New York; in an ideal location highly suitable for the kind of HR consulting business we want to establish. We have been able to lease a small but standard office facility in a strategic business location in the heart of town.

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC will offer a wide range of document preparation cum resume writing related services.

We will be involved in desktop publishing services, medical transcription, dictation services, audio or documental transcription services, editing and proofreading services, and letter and Resume writing services, word processing services and other document preparation and secretarial related services.

We are set to services a wide range of clientele not just in the Albany – New York, but also in all parts of the United States and the globe at large since we will have a very strong online presence.

We are aware that there are several large and small document preparations cum resume writing agencies all around the United States of America, which is why we spent time and resources to conduct a thorough feasibility studies and market survey so as to be well positioned to favorably compete with all our competitors.

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is a client-focused and result driven resume writing agency that provides broad-based experience at an affordable fee that won’t in any way put a hole in the pocket of our clients. 

We will offer a complete range of document preparation cum resume writing services to our local, state, national, and multi-national clients and we will ensure that we work hard to provide the required consulting services and resume writing solutions needed by our clients to accomplish their goals and objectives.

At The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC, our client’s best interest come first, and everything we do is guided by our values and professional ethics. We will ensure that we hire consultants cum resume writers and editors who are well experienced in a wide variety of human resources consulting.

\We will at all times demonstrate her commitment to sustainability, both individually and as a firm, by actively participating in our communities and integrating sustainable business practices wherever possible.

We will ensure that we hold ourselves accountable to the highest standards by meeting our client’s needs precisely and completely. We will cultivate a working environment that provides a human, sustainable approach to earning a living, and living in our world, for our partners, employees and for our clients.

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is a private registered business that is owned by Matt Daytona and his immediate family members. The organization will be managed by Matt Daytona, he graduated from University of California – Berkley (First Degree in Personnel Management), and Brock School of Business at Stamford University (MBA).

Matt Daytona is a Certified Recruiting Specialist (CRS), a Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC) amongst other certifications in Human Resources. He has well over 10 years of hands on experience working for some of the leading HR consulting firm in the United States prior to starting The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC.

3. Our Products and Services

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is going to offer varieties of related document preparation cum resume writing related services within the scope of the HR consulting services industry in the United States of America. Our intention of starting our resume writing agency is to make profits from the industry and we will do all that is permitted by the law in the US to achieve our aim and ambition.

Our business offering are listed below;

• Letter and Resume writing services
• Desktop publishing services
• Medical transcription
• Dictation services
• Audio or documental transcription services
• Editing and proofreading services
• Word processing services
• Other human resources cum secretarial related services

4. Our Mission and Vision Statement

• Our vision is to be amongst the top 10 document preparation cum resume writing agencies in the United States of America.   Our vision reflects our values: integrity, service, excellence and teamwork.
• Our mission is to provide professional and trusted document preparation cum resume writing consulting services that assist individuals, businesses and non-profit organizations in meeting up with their application need. We provide workable document preparation cum resume writing solutions in combination with our own business backgrounds, and deliver valuable services in a timely and cost-effective way.

Our Business Structure

Ordinarily we would have settled for two or three staff members, but as part of our plans to build a standard document preparation cum resume writing agency business in Albany – New York, we have perfected plans to get it right from the beginning which is why we are going the extra mile to ensure that we have competent, creative, qualified, honest and hardworking employees to occupy all the available positions in our firm.

The picture of the kind of document preparation cum resume writing agency business we intend building and the business goals we want to achieve is what informed the amount we are ready to pay for the best hands available in and around Albany – New York as long as they are willing and ready to work with us to achieve our business goals and objectives.

Below is the business structure that we will build The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC;

• Chief Executive Officer / Lead Consultant
• Resume Writers / Editors / Document Preparation Consultants

Admin and HR Manager

Business Developer (Marketing and Sales Executive)

• Customer Service Executive
• Front Desk Officer

5. Job Roles and Responsibilities

Chief Executive Office / Lead Consultant:

• Increases management’s effectiveness by recruiting, selecting, orienting, training, coaching, counseling, and disciplining managers; communicating values, strategies, and objectives; assigning accountabilities; planning, monitoring, and appraising job results; developing incentives; developing a climate for offering information and opinions; providing educational opportunities.
• Creating, communicating, and implementing the organization’s vision, mission, and overall direction – i.e. leading the development and implementation of the overall organization’s strategy.
• Responsible for fixing prices and signing business deals
• Responsible for providing direction for the business
• Responsible for signing checks and documents on behalf of the company
• Evaluates the success of the organization
• Reports to the board.

Resume Writers / Editors and Document Preparation Consultant

• Handles Letter and Resume writing services
• In charge of Desktop publishing services
• Responsible for handling medical transcription services
• Responsible for handling dictation services
• Responsible for handling audio or documental transcription services
• Responsible for handling editing and proofreading services
• Responsible for handling word processing services
• Produces information by transcribing, formatting, inputting, editing, retrieving, copying, and transmitting text, data, and graphics; coordinating case preparation.
• Provides historical reference by developing and utilizing filing and retrieval systems; recording meeting discussions; maintaining transcripts; documenting and maintaining evidence.
• Responsible for overseeing the smooth running of HR and administrative tasks for the organization
• Responsible for drawing up contracts and other legal documents for the company
• Designs job descriptions with KPI to drive performance management for clients
• Regularly hold meetings with key stakeholders to review the effectiveness of HR Policies, Procedures and Processes
• Maintains office supplies by checking stocks; placing and expediting orders; evaluating new products.
• Ensures operation of equipment by completing preventive maintenance requirements; calling for repairs.
• Defines job positions for recruitment and managing interviewing process
• Carries out staff induction for new team members
• Responsible for training, evaluation and assessment of employees
• Responsible for arranging travel, meetings and appointments
• Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities; reading professional publications; maintaining personal networks; participating in professional organizations.
• Oversees the smooth running of the daily office activities.
• Manages external research and coordinate all the internal sources of information to retain the organizations’ best customers and attract new ones
• Models demographic information and analyze the volumes of transactional data generated by customer purchases
• Identifies, prioritizes, and reaches out to new partners, and business opportunities et al
• Identifies development opportunities; follows up on development leads and contacts; participates in the structuring and financing of projects; assures the completion of development projects.
• Responsible for supervising implementation, advocate for the customer’s needs, and communicate with clients
• Develops, executes and evaluates new plans for expanding increase sales
• Documents all customer contact and information
• Represents the company in strategic meetings
• Helps increase sales and growth for the company
• Responsible for preparing financial reports, budgets, and financial statements for the organization
• Provides managements with financial analyses, development budgets, and accounting reports; analyzes financial feasibility for the most complex proposed projects; conducts market research to forecast trends and business conditions.
• Responsible for financial forecasting and risks analysis.
• Performs cash management, general ledger accounting, and financial reporting for one or more properties.
• Responsible for developing and managing financial systems and policies
• Responsible for administering payrolls
• Ensures compliance with taxation legislation
• Handles all financial transactions for the company
• Serves as internal auditor for the company

Client Service Executive

• Ensures that all contacts with clients (e-mail, walk-In center, SMS or phone) provides the client with a personalized customer service experience of the highest level
• Thorough interaction with clients on the phone, uses every opportunity to build client’s interest in the company’s products and services
• Manages administrative duties assigned by the manager in an effective and timely manner
• Consistently stays abreast of any new information on the company’s products, promotional campaigns etc. to ensure accurate and helpful information is supplied to clients when they make enquiries
• Distributes mails in the organization
• Handles any other duties as assigned my the line manager

6. SWOT Analysis

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC engaged the services of a core professional in the area of business consulting and structuring to assist the firm in building a solid document preparation cum resume writing firm that can favorably compete in the highly competitive HR consulting industry.

Part of what the team of business consultant did was to work with the management of our firm in conducting a SWOT analysis for The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC. Here is a summary from the result of the SWOT analysis that was conducted on behalf of The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC;

Our core strength lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that are considered experts in the industry, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in resume writing and document preparation related services.

Aside from the synergy that exist in our carefully selected workforce and our strong online presence, The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is well positioned in a business district with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of corporate clients from the first day we open our doors for business.

As a new business document preparation cum resume writing firm, it might take some time for our organization to break into the market; that is perhaps our major weakness.

• Opportunities:

No doubt, the opportunities in the document preparation cum resume writing industry is indeed massive and we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way. This is so because resume writing agency line of business will continue to blossom since more and more fresh graduates and other job applicants are beginning to realize that somehow they need the services of resume writing firms to help them take aware the stress of writing CVs that may not meet with the expected standard of the recruiting agencies or organizations.

Every business faces a threat or challenge at any part of the life cycle of the business. These threats can be external or internal. This shows the importance of a business plan, because most threats or challenges are to be anticipated and plans put in place to cushion what effect they might bring to the business.

Some of the threats that we are likely going to face as a document preparation cum resume writing agency operating in the United States are unfavorable government policies, the arrival of a competitor within our location of operations and global economic downturn which usually affects spending / purchasing power. There is hardly anything we could do as regards these threats other than to be optimistic that things will continue to work for our good.

7. MARKET ANALYSIS

• Market Trends

To a certain extent a number of distinct trends have emerged in recent time in the consulting industry of which document preparations cum resume writing services are part of. This is why HR consulting agencies (document preparation cum resume writing agencies) are positioning their organizations to survive the peaks and troughs of an ailing economy.

As a matter of fact, most of these trends aid document preparation cum resume writing services organizations to become more creative, competitive, efficient, and productive in a global market.  Some other trends in the HR consulting industry could be attributed to changing demographics, attitudes and work styles.

Another common trend in the document preparations cum resume writing services line of business is that most players in this industry do not just settle for clients within their immediate environment; they now have strong online presence hence they are able to work for clients in other parts of the world.

Lastly, it is now becoming trendy in the document preparation cum resume writing services industry to have their own customized resume writing software apps that they can comfortably retail to clients. Resume writing apps make it easier for applicants and rookies to write a standard and compelling resume from the scratch.

8. Our Target Market

Although The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC will initially serve fresh graduates and job applicants, but that does not in any way stop us from growing to be able to compete with the leading HR consulting firms and document preparations cum resume writing services agencies in the United States.

We hope to someday merge or acquire other smaller HR consulting firms and expand our document preparation cum resume writing services beyond the shores of the United States of America.

As a full service and standard document preparations cum resume writing services firm, The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC have a variety of practice areas to help fresh graduates and applicants especially as it relates to document preparation and resume writing services.

While we works with a variety of organizations and industries, The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC will also specialize in working with startups, real estate investors, and contractors, manufacturers and distributors et al.

Our target market cuts across people of different class and people from all walks of life, local and international organizations as well. We are coming into the industry with a business concept that will enable us work with the highly placed people and companies in the country and at the same with the lowly placed people and smaller businesses.

In other words, our target market is the whole of the United States of America and subsequently other parts of the world. Below is a list of the people and organizations that we have specifically design our products and services for;

• Fresh graduates
• Job Applicants at all levels
• Contractors
• Traveling Agencies
• Sport Organizations
• Entrepreneurs and Start – Ups

Our Competitive Advantage

The level of competitions in the document preparations cum resume writing industry depends largely on the location of the business and of course the demographic composition of your chosen location. If you can successfully create a unique niche for your document preparations cum resume writing agency, you are likely going to experience little or no competition.

For instance; if you are the only document preparations cum resume writing agency that operates online and also sell resume writing apps in your location, you are sure of monopolizing that aspect of the market.

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC might be a new entrant into the staffing and training consulting industry in the United States of America, but we are able to create an easy to use resume writing apps and also we have a strong online presence that will help us work for clients all across the world.

Our competitive advantage also lies in the power of our team; our workforce. We have a team that are considered experts in the industry, a team with excellent qualifications and experience in resume writing and document preparation related services.

Aside from the synergy that exist in our carefully selected workforce and our strong online presence, The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is well positioned in a business district with the right demography and we know we will attract loads of corporate clients from the first day we open our doors for business. These are part of what will count as a competitive advantage for us.

Lastly, our employees will be well taken care of, and their welfare package will be among the best within our category (startups document preparation cum resume writing agencies) in the industry meaning that they will be more than willing to build the business with us and help deliver our set goals and achieve all our aims and objectives.

9. SALES AND MARKETING STRATEGY

• Sources of Income

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is established with the aim of maximizing profits in the document preparations cum resume writing services industry and we are going to go all the way to ensure that we do all it takes to attract clients on a regular basis and sign ‘ retainer – ship’ contract with most of our clients.

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC will generate income by offering the following document preparations cum resume writing services for individuals and for organizations;

10. Sales Forecast

The opportunities in the document preparation cum resume writing industry is indeed massive and we are ready to take advantage of any opportunity that comes our way. This is so because resume writing agency line of business will continue to blossom since more and more fresh graduates and other job applicants are beginning to realize that somehow they need the services of resume writing firms to help them take aware the stress of writing CVs that may not meet with the expected standard of the recruiting agencies or organizations.

We are well positioned to take on the available market in the U.S. and we are quite optimistic that we will meet our set target of generating enough income / profits from the first six month of operations and grow the business and our clientele base beyond New York City, New York to other states in the U.S. and even the global market.

We have been able to critically examine the document preparations cum resume writing services agency market and we have analyzed our chances in the industry and we have been able to come up with the following sales forecast. The sales projections are based on information gathered on the field and some assumptions that are peculiar to startups in Albany – New York.

Below are the sales projection for The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC, it is based on the location of our business and the wide range of document preparations and resume writing services that we will be offering;

• First Fiscal Year-: $120,000
• Second Fiscal Year-: $300,000
• Third Fiscal Year-: $450,000

N.B : This projection is done based on what is obtainable in the industry and with the assumption that there won’t be any major economic meltdown and there won’t be any major competitor offering same additional services as we do within same location. Please note that the above projection might be lower and at the same time it might be higher.

• Marketing Strategy and Sales Strategy

We are mindful of the fact that there are stiffer competitions amongst document preparations cum resume writing services agencies in the United States of America; hence we have been able to hire some of the best business developer to handle our sales and marketing.

Our sales and marketing team will be recruited base on their vast experience in the industry and they will be trained on a regular basis so as to be well equipped to meet their targets and the overall goal of the organization. We will also ensure that our excellent job deliveries speaks for us in the market place; we want to build a standard document preparation cum resume writing services business that will leverage on word of mouth advertisement from satisfied clients (both individuals and organizations).

Our goal is to grow our document preparations cum resume writing services agency to become one of the top 10 document preparations cum resume writing services agencies in the United States of America which is why we have mapped out strategy that will help us take advantage of the available market and grow to become a major force to reckon with not only in the U.S but in the world stage as well.

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is set to make use of the following marketing and sales strategies to attract clients;

• Introduce our business by sending introductory letters alongside our brochure to organizations and key stake holders in Albany – New York and other parts of the U.S.
• Promptness in bidding for document preparations and resume writing services contracts from the government and other cooperate organizations
• Advertise our business in relevant business magazines, newspapers, TV stations, and radio station.
• List our business on yellow pages ads (local directories)
• Attend relevant international and local expos, seminars, and business fairs et al
• Create different packages for different category of clients in order to work with their budgets and still deliver quality document preparations and resume writing services to them
• Leverage on the internet to promote our business
• Engage in direct marketing approach

Encourage word of mouth marketing from loyal and satisfied clients

11. Publicity and Advertising Strategy

We have been able to work with our in house consultants and other brand and publicity specialist to help us map out publicity and advertising strategies that will help us walk our way into the heart of our target market. We are set to take the document preparations cum resume writing services industry by storm which is why we have made provisions for effective publicity and advertisement of our organization.

Below are the platforms we intend to leverage on to promote and advertise The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC;

• Place adverts on both print (community based newspapers and magazines) and electronic media platforms
• Sponsor relevant community programs
• Leverage on the internet and social media platforms like; Instagram, Facebook , twitter, et al to promote our brand
• Install our Bill Boards on strategic locations all around Albany – New York and major cities in the United States of America
• Engage in road show from time to time in targeted communities
• Distribute our fliers and handbills in target areas
• Position our Flexi Banners at strategic positions in the location where we intend getting clients to start patronizing our services.
• Ensure that all our staff members wear our customized clothes, and all our official cars are customized and well branded.

12. Our Pricing Strategy

Hourly billing for consulting services is a long – time tradition in the industry.  However, for some types of consultancy services especially document preparations and resume writing services, flat fees or per head billings make more sense because they allow clients to better predict consultancy costs.

As a result of this, The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC will charge our clients a flat fee or per head for many basic services such as document preparations and resume writing et al.

At The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC we will keep our fees below the average market rate for all of our clients by keeping our overhead low and by collecting payment in advance.  In addition, we will also offer special discounted rates to fresh graduates, start – ups, nonprofits, cooperatives, and small social enterprises.

We are aware that there are some clients that would need regular access to consultancy and advisory services as it relates to staffing and performance management, we will offer flat rate (commission / percentage) for such services that will be tailored to take care of such clients’ needs.

• Payment Options

The payment policy adopted by The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is all inclusive because we are quite aware that different customers prefer different payment options as it suits them but at the same time, we will ensure that we abide by the financial rules and regulation of the United States of America.

Here are the payment options that The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC will make available to her clients;

• Payment via bank transfer
• Payment with cash
• Payment via Point of Sale Machine (POS)
• Payment via online bank transfer
• Payment via check
• Payment via bank draft

In view of the above, we have chosen banking platforms that will enable our client make payment for farm produces purchase without any stress on their part. Our bank account numbers will be made available on our website and promotional materials to clients who may want to deposit cash or make online transfer for our services.

13. Startup Expenditure (Budget)

In setting up any business, the amount or cost will depend on the approach and scale you want to undertake. If you intend to go big by renting / leasing a big facility, then you would need a good amount of capital as you would need to ensure that your employees are well taken care of, and that your facility is conducive enough for workers to be creative and productive.

This means that the start-up can either be low or high depending on your goals, vision and aspirations for your business. On the average, starting a document preparation cum resume writing services firm can be cost effective; this is so because on the average, you are not expected to acquire expensive machines and equipment.

Basically what you should be concerned about is the amount needed to secure a standard office facility in a good and busy business district, the amount needed to furniture and equip the office, the amount needed to pay bills, promote the business and obtain the appropriate business license and certifications. Basically, these are the area we are looking towards spending our start – up capital on;

• The total fee for incorporating the Business in the United States of America – $750.
• Legal expenses for obtaining licenses and permits as well as the accounting services (software, P.O.S machines and other software) – $3,300.
• The total cost for payment of insurance policy covers (general liability, workers’ compensation and property casualty) coverage at a total premium – $9,400.
• The amount needed to acquire a suitable Office facility in a business district 6 months (Re – Construction of the facility inclusive) – $40,000.
• Marketing promotion expenses for the grand opening of The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC in the amount of $3,500 and as well as flyer printing (2,000 flyers at $0.04 per copy) for the total amount of $3,580.
• The total cost for hiring Business Consultant – $2,500
• The cost for equipping the office (computers, printers, fax machines, furniture, telephones, filing cabins, safety gadgets and electronics et al) – $2,000
• The cost of launching our official Website – $600
• Budget for paying  at least two employees for 3 months and utility bills – $30,000
• Additional expenditure (Business cards, Signage, Adverts and Promotions et al) – $2,500
• Miscellaneous – $1,000

Going by the report from the research and feasibility studies, we will need about $150,000 to set up a small scale but standard document preparation cum resume writing services agency business in the United States of America.

Generating Funds / Startup Capital for the Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is going to start as a private business that will be solely owned by Matt Daytona and his immediate family members. The family will be the sole financial of the firm, but may likely welcome partners later which is why they have decided to restrict the sourcing of his start – up capital to 3 major sources.

These are the areas we intend generating our start – up capital;

• Generate part of the start – up capital from personal savings
• Source for soft loans from family members and friends
• Apply for loan from my Bank

N.B: We have been able to generate about $50,000 (Personal savings $40,000 and soft loan from family members $10,000) and we are at the final stages of obtaining a loan facility of $100,000 from our bank. All the papers and document has been duly signed and submitted, the loan has been approved and any moment from now our account will be credited.

14. Sustainability and Expansion Strategy

The future of a business lies in the numbers of loyal customers that they have the capacity and competence of the employees, their investment strategy and the business structure. If all of these factors are missing from a business (company), then it won’t be too long before the business close shop.

One of our major goals of starting The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC is to build a business that will survive off its own cash flow without the need for injecting finance from external sources once the business is officially running. We know that one of the ways of gaining approval and winning customers over is to offer nothing short of excellent services at highly affordable prices especially for fresh graduates.

The Golden Pen® HR Consulting, LLC will make sure that the right foundation, structures and processes are put in place to ensure that our staff welfare are well taken of. Our company’s corporate culture is designed to drive our business to greater heights and training and re – training of our workforce is at the top burner.

As a matter of fact, profit-sharing arrangement will be made available to all our management staff and it will be based on their performance for a period of ten years or more. We know that if that is put in place, we will be able to successfully hire and retain the best hands we can get in the industry; they will be more committed to help us build the business of our dreams.

Check List / Milestone

• Business Name Availability Check: Completed
• Business Incorporation: Completed
• Opening of Corporate Bank Accounts various banks in the United States: Completed
• Opening Online Payment Platforms: Completed
• Application and Obtaining Tax Payer’s ID: In Progress
• Application for business license and permit: Completed
• Purchase of All form of Insurance for the Business: Completed
• Leasing a standard office facility (renovation of the office facility inclusive): Completed
• Conducting Feasibility Studies: Completed
• Generating part of the start – up capital from the founder: Completed
• Applications for Loan from our Bankers: In Progress
• writing of business plan: Completed
• Drafting of Employee’s Handbook: Completed
• Drafting of Contract Documents: In Progress
• Design of The Company’s Logo: Completed
• Graphic Designs and Printing of Packaging Marketing / Promotional Materials: Completed
• Recruitment of employees: In Progress
• Purchase of the needed furniture, office equipment, electronic appliances and facility facelift: In progress
• Creating Official Website for the Company: In Progress
• Creating Awareness for the business (Business PR): In Progress
• Health and Safety and Fire Safety Arrangement: In Progress
• Establishing business relationship with key players in the industry: In Progress

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