how to make business plan graph

How to make a business plan

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How to make a good business plan: step-by-step guide.

A business plan is a strategic roadmap used to navigate the challenging journey of entrepreneurship. It's the foundation upon which you build a successful business.

A well-crafted business plan can help you define your vision, clarify your goals, and identify potential problems before they arise.

But where do you start? How do you create a business plan that sets you up for success?

This article will explore the step-by-step process of creating a comprehensive business plan.

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a formal document that outlines a business's objectives, strategies, and operational procedures. It typically includes the following information about a company:

Products or services

Target market

Competitors

Marketing and sales strategies

Financial plan

Management team

A business plan serves as a roadmap for a company's success and provides a blueprint for its growth and development. It helps entrepreneurs and business owners organize their ideas, evaluate the feasibility, and identify potential challenges and opportunities.

As well as serving as a guide for business owners, a business plan can attract investors and secure funding. It demonstrates the company's understanding of the market, its ability to generate revenue and profits, and its strategy for managing risks and achieving success.

Business plan vs. business model canvas

A business plan may seem similar to a business model canvas, but each document serves a different purpose.

A business model canvas is a high-level overview that helps entrepreneurs and business owners quickly test and iterate their ideas. It is often a one-page document that briefly outlines the following:

Key partnerships

Key activities

Key propositions

Customer relationships

Customer segments

Key resources

Cost structure

Revenue streams

On the other hand, a Business Plan Template provides a more in-depth analysis of a company's strategy and operations. It is typically a lengthy document and requires significant time and effort to develop.

A business model shouldn’t replace a business plan, and vice versa. Business owners should lay the foundations and visually capture the most important information with a Business Model Canvas Template . Because this is a fast and efficient way to communicate a business idea, a business model canvas is a good starting point before developing a more comprehensive business plan.

A business plan can aim to secure funding from investors or lenders, while a business model canvas communicates a business idea to potential customers or partners.

Why is a business plan important?

A business plan is crucial for any entrepreneur or business owner wanting to increase their chances of success.

Here are some of the many benefits of having a thorough business plan.

Helps to define the business goals and objectives

A business plan encourages you to think critically about your goals and objectives. Doing so lets you clearly understand what you want to achieve and how you plan to get there.

A well-defined set of goals, objectives, and key results also provides a sense of direction and purpose, which helps keep business owners focused and motivated.

Guides decision-making

A business plan requires you to consider different scenarios and potential problems that may arise in your business. This awareness allows you to devise strategies to deal with these issues and avoid pitfalls.

With a clear plan, entrepreneurs can make informed decisions aligning with their overall business goals and objectives. This helps reduce the risk of making costly mistakes and ensures they make decisions with long-term success in mind.

Attracts investors and secures funding

Investors and lenders often require a business plan before considering investing in your business. A document that outlines the company's goals, objectives, and financial forecasts can help instill confidence in potential investors and lenders.

A well-written business plan demonstrates that you have thoroughly thought through your business idea and have a solid plan for success.

Identifies potential challenges and risks

A business plan requires entrepreneurs to consider potential challenges and risks that could impact their business. For example:

Is there enough demand for my product or service?

Will I have enough capital to start my business?

Is the market oversaturated with too many competitors?

What will happen if my marketing strategy is ineffective?

By identifying these potential challenges, entrepreneurs can develop strategies to mitigate risks and overcome challenges. This can reduce the likelihood of costly mistakes and ensure the business is well-positioned to take on any challenges.

Provides a basis for measuring success

A business plan serves as a framework for measuring success by providing clear goals and financial projections . Entrepreneurs can regularly refer to the original business plan as a benchmark to measure progress. By comparing the current business position to initial forecasts, business owners can answer questions such as:

Are we where we want to be at this point?

Did we achieve our goals?

If not, why not, and what do we need to do?

After assessing whether the business is meeting its objectives or falling short, business owners can adjust their strategies as needed.

How to make a business plan step by step

The steps below will guide you through the process of creating a business plan and what key components you need to include.

1. Create an executive summary

Start with a brief overview of your entire plan. The executive summary should cover your business plan's main points and key takeaways.

Keep your executive summary concise and clear with the Executive Summary Template . The simple design helps readers understand the crux of your business plan without reading the entire document.

2. Write your company description

Provide a detailed explanation of your company. Include information on what your company does, the mission statement, and your vision for the future.

Provide additional background information on the history of your company, the founders, and any notable achievements or milestones.

3. Conduct a market analysis

Conduct an in-depth analysis of your industry, competitors, and target market. This is best done with a SWOT analysis to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Next, identify your target market's needs, demographics, and behaviors.

Use the Competitive Analysis Template to brainstorm answers to simple questions like:

What does the current market look like?

Who are your competitors?

What are they offering?

What will give you a competitive advantage?

Who is your target market?

What are they looking for and why?

How will your product or service satisfy a need?

These questions should give you valuable insights into the current market and where your business stands.

4. Describe your products and services

Provide detailed information about your products and services. This includes pricing information, product features, and any unique selling points.

Use the Product/Market Fit Template to explain how your products meet the needs of your target market. Describe what sets them apart from the competition.

5. Design a marketing and sales strategy

Outline how you plan to promote and sell your products. Your marketing strategy and sales strategy should include information about your:

Pricing strategy

Advertising and promotional tactics

Sales channels

The Go to Market Strategy Template is a great way to visually map how you plan to launch your product or service in a new or existing market.

6. Determine budget and financial projections

Document detailed information on your business’ finances. Describe the current financial position of the company and how you expect the finances to play out.

Some details to include in this section are:

Startup costs

Revenue projections

Profit and loss statement

Funding you have received or plan to receive

Strategy for raising funds

7. Set the organization and management structure

Define how your company is structured and who will be responsible for each aspect of the business. Use the Business Organizational Chart Template to visually map the company’s teams, roles, and hierarchy.

As well as the organization and management structure, discuss the legal structure of your business. Clarify whether your business is a corporation, partnership, sole proprietorship, or LLC.

8. Make an action plan

At this point in your business plan, you’ve described what you’re aiming for. But how are you going to get there? The Action Plan Template describes the following steps to move your business plan forward. Outline the next steps you plan to take to bring your business plan to fruition.

Types of business plans

Several types of business plans cater to different purposes and stages of a company's lifecycle. Here are some of the most common types of business plans.

Startup business plan

A startup business plan is typically an entrepreneur's first business plan. This document helps entrepreneurs articulate their business idea when starting a new business.

Not sure how to make a business plan for a startup? It’s pretty similar to a regular business plan, except the primary purpose of a startup business plan is to convince investors to provide funding for the business. A startup business plan also outlines the potential target market, product/service offering, marketing plan, and financial projections.

Strategic business plan

A strategic business plan is a long-term plan that outlines a company's overall strategy, objectives, and tactics. This type of strategic plan focuses on the big picture and helps business owners set goals and priorities and measure progress.

The primary purpose of a strategic business plan is to provide direction and guidance to the company's management team and stakeholders. The plan typically covers a period of three to five years.

Operational business plan

An operational business plan is a detailed document that outlines the day-to-day operations of a business. It focuses on the specific activities and processes required to run the business, such as:

Organizational structure

Staffing plan

Production plan

Quality control

Inventory management

Supply chain

The primary purpose of an operational business plan is to ensure that the business runs efficiently and effectively. It helps business owners manage their resources, track their performance, and identify areas for improvement.

Growth-business plan

A growth-business plan is a strategic plan that outlines how a company plans to expand its business. It helps business owners identify new market opportunities and increase revenue and profitability. The primary purpose of a growth-business plan is to provide a roadmap for the company's expansion and growth.

The 3 Horizons of Growth Template is a great tool to identify new areas of growth. This framework categorizes growth opportunities into three categories: Horizon 1 (core business), Horizon 2 (emerging business), and Horizon 3 (potential business).

One-page business plan

A one-page business plan is a condensed version of a full business plan that focuses on the most critical aspects of a business. It’s a great tool for entrepreneurs who want to quickly communicate their business idea to potential investors, partners, or employees.

A one-page business plan typically includes sections such as business concept, value proposition, revenue streams, and cost structure.

Best practices for how to make a good business plan

Here are some additional tips for creating a business plan:

Use a template

A template can help you organize your thoughts and effectively communicate your business ideas and strategies. Starting with a template can also save you time and effort when formatting your plan.

Miro’s extensive library of customizable templates includes all the necessary sections for a comprehensive business plan. With our templates, you can confidently present your business plans to stakeholders and investors.

Be practical

Avoid overestimating revenue projections or underestimating expenses. Your business plan should be grounded in practical realities like your budget, resources, and capabilities.

Be specific

Provide as much detail as possible in your business plan. A specific plan is easier to execute because it provides clear guidance on what needs to be done and how. Without specific details, your plan may be too broad or vague, making it difficult to know where to start or how to measure success.

Be thorough with your research

Conduct thorough research to fully understand the market, your competitors, and your target audience . By conducting thorough research, you can identify potential risks and challenges your business may face and develop strategies to mitigate them.

Get input from others

It can be easy to become overly focused on your vision and ideas, leading to tunnel vision and a lack of objectivity. By seeking input from others, you can identify potential opportunities you may have overlooked.

Review and revise regularly

A business plan is a living document. You should update it regularly to reflect market, industry, and business changes. Set aside time for regular reviews and revisions to ensure your plan remains relevant and effective.

Create a winning business plan to chart your path to success

Starting or growing a business can be challenging, but it doesn't have to be. Whether you're a seasoned entrepreneur or just starting, a well-written business plan can make or break your business’ success.

The purpose of a business plan is more than just to secure funding and attract investors. It also serves as a roadmap for achieving your business goals and realizing your vision. With the right mindset, tools, and strategies, you can develop a visually appealing, persuasive business plan.

Ready to make an effective business plan that works for you? Check out our library of ready-made strategy and planning templates and chart your path to success.

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Home Blog Business Plan Formatting Tips for Business Plans: Use of Charts and Graphs

Formatting Tips for Business Plans: Use of Charts and Graphs

Home » Formatting Tips for Business Plans: Use of Charts and Graphs

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People usually ask how many charts or graphs should be put in business plans. It really depends. There are key factors that determine the number of charts and graphs needed in every business plan.

To start, the essential point to think about in creating your business plan is the time constraints of your target audience. If he or she is a retired angel investor, he might have other duties but could spend an hour reviewing your business plan. The more probable situation is a venture capitalist, loan officer or corporate buyer reviewing your business plan on his or her desk topped with numerous other business plans. Therefore, it is crucial that your business plan conveys the important key points easily and quickly. This is where charts or graphs come into picture.

In deciding whether to use a chart or graph, think about the old saying, “a picture is worth a thousand words” The purpose here is that the image should save a thousand words. In other words, the chart or graph must supplement the text; it should not be discussed in the text, or that defeats its purpose. Likewise, the chart or graph should be relevant and should support the text rather than veer away from it.

Apart from respecting the time restraints of the targeted audience in the business plan, there must also be respect given to the audience’s level of energy. In other words, after reviewing several business plans, the investor will most probably skip pages with 400 or more words of straight text. Even though no charts would be applicable to supplement the page, business plan consultants highly suggest using the appropriate spacing and callout boxes to make pages more readable.

Certainly, operational designs and technical drawings must be visually and adequately presented in business plans. Without them, enormous volumes of text are usually needed to describe relatively simple procedures. Significantly, once the text references the graphs, the graphs should be readily accessible. In other words, the graph should be on the exact same page as the text, instead of forcing the reader to turn to the appendix. If the graph is referenced on multiple pages, every page must demonstrate the piece of the graph that reflects the text, together with the entire graph appearing just once in the business plan.

Lastly, when the business plan is being reported to one or more investors, then the number of charts and graphs should reflect the needs, wants and sophistication of the few readers. As an example, if the readers are strategic investors, who know and understand the industry, the business plan should be presented with more charts to convey the message which these strategic investors have knowledge on.

Always remember that the business plan is not a PowerPoint presentation. Too many charts and graphs may give the impression that the business is too lazy to finish formulating a formal business plan.

In summary, the number of graphs and charts used in business plans should reflect important points of the business plan for an audience that is usually energy and time constrained. The graphs and charts must supplement the text and allow the audience to easily and readily digest the data, and influence the audience in progressing to the next step (e.g., scheduling a personal meeting) in the investment process.

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Create a Great Visual Business Plan

Writing a business plan isn't something to be taken lightly. A survey by the University of Oregon's Department of Economics found that companies that complete a business plan are twice as likely to grow and secure investment capital as those that don't.

This may seem like an insurmountable task. But it doesn't need to be.

We've boiled the important elements down to a few diagrams. Complete these and you'll have a great, visual business plan that will take a fraction of the time to complete than a traditional narrative one. It will also be appreciated by readers, who can see and understand the key elements of your plan quickly, without wasting a lot of time.

Step 1. Mission: Explain Why the Business Exists

Too many businesses fail because the entrepreneur(s) weren't in business for the right reason. All too often, the drive is a desire to get rich or leave a job one doesn't like. Unfortunately, emotional motives usually doom a new enterprise.

Focus on the "why" of your business—its purpose for existing. Richard Branson believes that a sense of frustration is the key to business success. His first venture, Virgin Records, was launched because he didn't like how a few high-priced London record outlets controlled the market. His company's mission was to ease this frustration by making it easier and cheaper for people to buy music.

A good way to summarize your mission is with a process list diagram. It has five key questions about what your business is, who your customers are, and why it will succeed within its market space. Each answer needs to be brief—no more than a couple of sentences. Keep your thinking very "high level" in this exercise.

Step 2. Objectives: Create Milestones for Important Events

What are your primary objectives over a specific time period? How long a time period? For most businesses, this timeframe should be long enough to get the business to at least its first major milestone—profitability, an equity event, etc. It should not be less than a year nor should it be longer than five years.

A timeline diagram is a good way to present this.

Step 3. Team: Show Them You're the Right People for the Job

Lenders, angel investors, and venture capital firms want to know who comprises the team. Do your backgrounds, qualifications, and experiences fit the mission?

An organizational chart should be included, along with a brief bio of each key individual. Make it clear why each person is the right "fit" for the mission.

Step 4. Marketing: Show How Your Price, Product, and Promotions will Differ

Getting your product into your customers' hands requires a clear and concise strategy. In today's world, having a well-thought-out marketing plan is essential.

A good starting place for this is a 4Ps diagram. It looks at your product, who the potential buyers are, how to reach them, and at what price point they will buy.

Step 5. Tactics: Show Off Your Process

Here's where you want to show you can deliver on your promises. This means getting the product from concept to customers' hands within a timeframe that meets or exceeds their expectations.

There are a number of ways to present this. For most businesses, a basic flowchart, such as a workflow diagram or business process map will work well.

For manufacturing companies, a value stream map is an excellent tool. It not only explains a potentially complicated process succinctly, it also helps your management and production teams to evaluate and streamline operational efficiency.

Step 6. Finances: Presenting the Right Numbers the Right Way is Crucial

What numbers should you present in your business plan? There are many possible answers to this question. It really depends on the purpose of your business plan and who will be receiving it.

For example, say you are writing a business plan for the internal purposes of management. You may not need to document historical data or validate projections to the degree you should, say, for a bank loan.

If you're seeking investment capital, then you need to make sure your forecasts are extremely well thought out, and they show the investor(s) a clear plan for how and when they will be compensated.

Regardless of your intended audience, there are a few financial documents you should include in your business plan.

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Charts & Graph For Data Visualization

Charts have a huge role to play in businesses, especially if you have to generate piles of data from your daily operations. It gives business stakeholders a solid foundation that they can use to build up ideas and enhance the success of their respective brands. Also, it’s a better format to use when you want to communicate with the members of your market audience, especially if you do not understand how to deliver technical concepts.

When communicating to your audience, it’s essential to take most of your time to ensure that your readers get to understand and remember your point. The best way to make this happen is by using compelling charts which communicate data insights in a simple way that individuals can keep in mind for a long time. The funny part is that there are many different types of charts available, and many business stakeholders find it difficult to choose the best chart type that suits them.

This blog post breaks down all the technical charts and graph types to help business owners make reliable choices when processing their data. Let’s get in!

Different charts are familiar to different people compared to others. This is why it’s essential to ensure that you have a basic understanding of different chart types and how to apply them in different cases to give better results depending on the data you are processing. When you understand how to apply different chart types in different scenarios, you will get it easier to process your business data regardless of its level of complexity.

What is a Chart?

A chart is a final output that comes out after you have converted basic data into a visual format. On other occasions, charts are usually based on numeric data, while others are established on conceptual models. Regardless of the basis on which your chart is built, the visual part of the chart is meant to make it easy for your target readers to understand the points you are articulating in the data.

Also, charts are incredible and easy to remember compared to any other format you can use to communicate essential data insights. Given that the data is presented using a visual approach, readers can easily grasp and remember the points in the long run. In addition, graphs and charts can also motivate your readers’ behavior on other occasions.

It’s advisable to be extremely mindful when choosing different charts and graphs you intend to use when conveying critical information to your audience. Choosing the wrong chart type is likely to affect your message delivery methodology affecting the context of the message you intended to deliver to your market audience.

What is the difference between Charts and Graphs?

If you have ever processed data, you have heard about bar charts and graphs. This is not the only thing since there are also line graphs and line charts. But, what identifies the reason between a chart and a graph? The one thing you need to understand and always remember is that the term chart a d graph are all used when referring to the visual presentation of data sets.

In most cases, graphs are used in a more mathematical-oriented environment. They are mainly plotted on two axes; the horizontal and the vertical. Graphs are mainly used when you want to press large sets of complex data or when you want to display long-term data trends. On the other hand, charts can also be numeric and also be used as graphs.

Let’s get back to our main area of interest and analyze different types of business graphs and charts. Different charts and graphs are used in different scenarios depending on the needs of the company stakeholders. Below is a detailed discussion about different types of charts and graphs that you can use to process and analyze business data. Read on to find out more!

Column Chart

The column chart, also known as a bar chart, is one of the most common chart options many people use in their daily activities. The chart is easy to read and understand, and it does not have any technical elements. A bar chart is the best option, especially when working with numeric or quantitative data. When you want to compare the difference in your business values, this is the best chart you can use to facilitate your activities.

It’s an awesome choice to use when you want to elaborate on the number of customers who have visited your business within a particular time frame, the revenues collected, and sales recorded, among other crucial elements. In addition, this chart type may seem to be extremely versatile, and sometimes they look like vertical columns, thus introducing the name column chart.

On other occasions, they look like horizontal bars introducing the name bar graph. This is the best chart to use in a business when you want to display different comparisons simultaneously so that people can understand and get your desired point. Also, it can showcase distribution across a wide range of data you can use to get her business insights.

A pie chart is another incredible option to use when analyzing your business data. Before using a pie chart, it’s important to ensure that you have a basic understanding of how to use it and you understand the kind of data you can use it to process. Even though they work better, pie charts are good when comparing different percentages of a whole.

Also, a pie chart is an awesome choice when you only have an average amount of data you want to process. Besides, doughnut charts are also used to serve the same purpose as pie charts, but they are only useful when dealing with a limited amount of data. They are mainly applied when you have a few data sets you intend to compare.

You should avoid using a pie chart when you have multiple data slices since you will get inaccurate results.

A pictogram is an awesome chart that displays percentages in your data. The pictograph is good at showcasing the data ratio, making it a good choice compared to displaying percentages. This is a good choice when you want to compare the number of visitors who entered your business within a given time frame. They are easy to read and understand since they do not incorporate any technical elements your readers may want to interpret.

When you have the business data, you want your readers to depict the difference between the percentages; you can use a pictogram to spell out the major differences. You don’t need to accompany your data with any interpretation since every element is spelled out clearly in a way you can easily understand.

When mentioning some of the common chart types, you cannot leave the line chart behind. However, the line chart is only applied under specific circumstances! It’s the best chart choice when you want to understand how the change occurring in one number is closely related to the changes that occur in the other.

The line chart is the best option when you want to communicate to your audience how numbers have changed within a particular duration in a business. You can use the line chart to depict the revenue changes from one quarter to the next, depending on the performance of your business.

Conclusion:

Businesses deal with numbers! The numbers ought to be presented in a way that the audience can read and understand. The best way to present business data is by using charts and graphs, which offers you a wide room to analyze, process, and present your data without the fear of contradiction. By choosing the best chart type to use, you increase the accuracy of your data and make it easy to read and digestible. The goal is to ensure that you have collected accurate data values within different corners of your business and present them accordingly using any of the charts and graphs outlined in this article.

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Gantt chart for business plans

Whether you’re in the first steps of launching a startup or you want to expand your existing business, a well-thought-out business plan is important. In fact, simply writing a business plan can increase your chances of success by more than 15% . Creating a Gantt chart for business plan purposes makes it easier for you to visualize the steps required to turn your idea into a reality.

In this article, we’ll look at what a Gantt chart is and how you can use it to plan for your business. We’ll also provide some tips for using monday.com as a business planning and management tool and highlight some templates you can use right away to bring everything and everyone together for increased success.

What is a Gantt chart?

A Gantt chart is a horizontal bar chart that provides a visual representation of tasks across planned time periods.

Gantt chart tools are traditionally used to help team members manage project schedules, but you can customize them to help manage any series of tasks you need to accomplish over a set period of time.

Can you use a Gantt chart for business planning?

, You can use a Gantt chart for business planning purposes, whether you’re working on project plans for an existing business or want a way to better manage tasks when launching a startup. Here are some ways you can use Gantt chart software for business planning:

• Create an action plan for a business launch:  Gantt chart templates let you turn the narrative format of an actual business plan into a visual action plan, with start and end dates, milestones, and dependencies that help you know what you need to do first to start working on your business dream.
• Plan for a specific business-related project:  At any phase of your business, you can create simple Gantt charts to manage project tasks that help you work toward success. For example, you might want to open a new location. Customize your Gantt charts to lay out the task list for getting that done, so you can stay organized along the way.
• Create a work breakdown structure for a specific department:  Established businesses can use project management tools like Gantt charts to manage time-dependent efforts for specific departments. For example, your marketing department may need to scale up their efforts during the holiday season.

You  can use a project Gantt chart for a variety of business plan and management purposes, but should you? Digging into the benefits of Gantt charts for business planning can help you make a good choice for your situation.

Benefits of a Gantt chart for business planning

Some benefits of a Gantt chart for business planning include:

• Ability to view the big picture:  When you can visualize the overall picture of your business plan, you can avoid getting bogged down in the details. You can also make proactive decisions that are best for your business goals.
• Better task tracking:  Gantt charts help you keep track of tasks in real-time, ensuring you or your team can work through the right assignments quickly.
• Full transparency of dependencies:  Gantt charts make it easy to indicate and understand which tasks are dependent on others — i.e. if you have to complete one task before moving to another. It also helps you understand when teams can tackle tasks simultaneously, so they can get more done.
• Increased insight for delegation:  If you see tasks that can run simultaneously, you know you can’t do both yourself. This can be a clue that it’s time to delegate some work to others.
• Creation of realistic timelines:  Gantt charts force you to apply start and end dates to the entire project or effort, as well as all tasks that are part of it. Forcing you to think about how long each task might take helps ensure you understand how long the overall process might take.

monday.com’s robust Work OS includes a designated Gantt View — as one of 8+ views —, Gantt chart templates, and plenty of other project management functions for business planning.

Gantt charts and other features for business planning on monday.com

Whether you’re collaborating on a business plan document with others, are ready to market your business idea on social media, or want to integrate other software to manage business processes, monday.com can help. Here are some monday.com features you might use for business planning and management:

• monday workdocs : Draft and co-edit documents in real-time, and discuss changes via comments with team members.
• Automations : Save time and avoid unnecessary meetings with custom workflow automations that help drive seamless handoffs and ensure tasks never get lost in the shuffle.
• Files Column: Keep all your files in one location to make it easy for teams to reference policies, brainstorming notes, and other information as they implement a business plan.
• Integrations: Seamlessly integrate your favorite tools withmonday.com —Dropbox, Slack, Microsoft Teams, Outlook, Google, Excel, and Zoom are just a few of the many available options.

We’ve also got plenty of curated templates to help you specifically work on business plans and get started faster

Related templates

Besides a Gantt chart example for projects, here are just a few free templates available exclusively on monday.com that can help you plan and manage business efforts more efficiently.

• Simple Business Plan Template : Start with our Simple Business Plan Template if you’re working with a team to launch a new startup or service line. Collaborate with others easily on one intuitive and customizable board as you define vision and goals, customer needs, market size and scope, and everything in between for business success.
• One-Page Business Plan Template : Quickly collaborate or capture your own ideas on our One-Page Business Plan Template. This simple template is customizable, and you can use it to document plans for each business idea and then ask for feedback or compare your options before choosing one to act on.

Still not sure if a Gantt chart is right for your business planning needs? We’ve got a couple of FAQ answers that might help.

FAQs about Gantt charts

What three things are included in a gantt chart.

Gantt charts are made of a variety of elements, but the three main items you’ll find on any Gantt chart are:

• The overall timeline, which shows when a project or effort starts and ends
• Tasks, which show up on the horizontal bars of the chart
• Dependencies, which indicate which tasks are required before other tasks can begin

How do you create a Gantt chart in Excel?

You can download a Gantt chart template from Microsoft that helps you create a Gantt chart in Excel. You can also set up your own when you create a project by creating a horizontal axis that acts as a dated timeline and including color-coded tasks in cells on each row.

What makes a good Gantt chart?

A good Gantt chart requires planning project management, tasks, or efforts that can be tracked over time. The time period should be short enough that you can successfully capture it in a visual, and the project should have enough tasks to track to support the effort of making a Gantt chart to begin with.

Powerup your business plans with monday.com

Whether you want to collaborate on a Gantt chart for a business plan or automate activities to ensure the right people get things done, monday.com’s powerful Work OS can help.

Get started today with drag-and-drop capabilities that make it super easy to build a business plan, Gantt chart, and many other process tools. Then communicate in real-time over the life of your project or effort to ensure seamless collaboration and success.

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ChartExpo Survey

Top 5 Business Graphs and Charts Examples

Hunting for insights into raw and bulky data is tedious and mentally exhausting.

This is where business graphs and charts come into play.

The visualization designs can help you distill business data into meaningful insights. And this can save tons of hours, which you can use to relax or execute other tasks.

We recommend charts that communicate insights with clarity, especially when creating business stories for investors and stockholders.

Some of the tested and proven business graphs and charts include:

Waterfall Chart

• Progress Bar Chart
• Stacked Bar Chart
• Funnel Chart

Google Sheets is one of the go-to popular data visualization tools among professionals and business owners worldwide.

But the visualization tool has very basic Treemaps, Area, Progress, Stacked Bar, and Funnel Charts. And this implies you’ve got to invest extra effort and time to edit the charts to align with your needs.

You can download and install a specific add-on in your Google Sheets to access ready-to-use creative data visualization examples (highlighted above).

Table of Content:

What are business graphs and charts, importance of graphs and charts in business, types of graphs and charts in business, how to create business graphs and charts.

In most business meetings, you’ll see charts and graphs incorporated into data stories.

It could be a chart showing the team’s progress on a big project.  Or a graph showing the sales revenue versus competition or industry average.

Business graphs and charts examples make the information much easier to digest and understand. Some of the tested and proven business charts include:

Data visualization graphs are powerful because they simplify business data by making it understandable & readable at the same time.

Besides, they make data stories compelling and irresistible to target audiences. Keep reading because we’ll cover the following in the coming section: the importance of graphs and charts in business.

Predict Changes in Tastes and Preferences

In today’s world, customers have a broader range of choices.

If your business is aligned with the customer’s desires and expectations, you can easily find yourself in a downward spiral. Customers change their minds as they are continuously exposed to new information in their purchasing journey.

With the vast amount of data, it’s practically impossible for you to make sense of all the changes in the market.

The different types of charts for representing data (which we’ll talk about in a few) provide you with answers about the changing behavior of the market. You can easily point out significant shifts in tastes and preferences by using charts.

Timely awareness of customer behavior changes can be the decisive factor in the current competitive landscape.

Create Targeted Offers

Gone are the days when you could easily sell a standard set of products and services to customers.

Today’s market craves products and services that can meet their individual needs.

One of the benefits of business charts is that they help you keep track of your target market’s tastes, preferences, and needs. You can leverage data from various attributions, such as social media and websites, to create a reliable persona for the market.

Empower Data-driven Decision-Making

Most small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are still betting on gut feel rather than facts and data. 

One of the key reasons for this could be a lack of access to quality data to back up decision-making processes.

Business graphs and chart examples can help you distill signals from noise in your raw data. This can save massive amounts of time. Just imagine the competitive advantage you would enjoy by relying on data to make strategic decisions.

Eases Interpretation of Data

Thanks to creative data visualization examples, such as the Progress Bar Chart, you can interpret vast quantities of data clearly and cohesively to draw conclusions  and see perspectives.

You can easily create and rapidly consume key metrics associated with your business or workplace.

If any of the aforementioned metrics have anomalies, such as a dramatic decline in sales, you can easily dig into the data.

In the coming section, we’ll address the following: types of graphs and charts in business.

A waterfall chart visually illustrates how an initial value is affected by a series of positive and negative changes over time or through a process.

These steps can represent various factors such as revenues, expenses, gains, losses, or any other relevant metrics.

The chart helps users understand the overall trend by visually breaking down the contributions of each component to the outcome. It’s commonly used in financial analysis, project management, and performance evaluation to highlight the sequential impact of different factors on a particular outcome.

Treemaps (one of the business graphs and charts examples) are ideal for displaying large amounts of hierarchically structured (tree-structured) data.

The space in the visualization is split up into rectangles sized and ordered based on key data points.

The levels in the hierarchy of the Treemap are visualized as rectangles nested in other rectangles. To generate ready-made charts, we suggest you use an intuitive Treemap creator (which we’ll talk about).

Each category in your data is assigned a rectangle area with smaller boxes nested inside of it. A metric in your data is assigned to a category based on its proportion relative to the whole. Also, the area size of the overall Treemap Chart is the total of its subcategories.

The chart is a more compact and space-efficient option for displaying hierarchical insights into your data.

The Area visualization design (one of the business graphs and charts examples) uses a combination of color and lines to display trends and patterns insights over time. The visualization design is best suited for displaying patterns and trends of key data points.

Check out more benefits of the chart below:

Analyzing Annual Sales

The Area Chart Google Sheets is ideal for displaying insights into the yearly sales data of a business.

Gauge Performance

One of the best charts to use to track performance in a specified time is the Area Chart. As we said, the chart is ideal for tracking trends and patterns in a specified period.

Conduct Comparison Analysis

Area Charts are effective, especially when comparing two or more metrics in your data.

A Progress Bar Chart is a visualization design that displays the progress made in a task or project. You can use the chart to monitor and prioritize your objectives, providing critical data for strategic decision-making.

Besides, it uses filled bars to display how much of the planned activity or goal has been completed.

The chart is significant, especially in tasks that require continuous monitoring and evaluation. More so, it uses green and red bars to show the growth and decline of a variable under study.

A Stacked Bar Chart is a variant of the bar graphs you can use to compare individual data points relative to aggregate values.

A standard Bar Graph compares individual data points. Conversely, in a Stacked Bar Visualization (one of the business graphs and charts examples), each bar is divided into several sub-bars stacked end-to-end. More so, each subsection in the bars has the same color. And this is to make formatting easier, especially during data storytelling.

The chart takes its name from its shape, which starts with a broad head and ends with a narrow neck. The funnel’s width indicates the number of users at each stage of the process as it narrows.

Funnel charts have a wider variety of uses, especially within the business or sales contexts.

Maximizing sales revenue is one of the common strategic goals businesses pursue. This means you need to track how a starting set of visitors or users drop out or convert in a sales pipeline.

To get a clear picture of how a sales funnel is performing about revenue generation, you need to visualize data. This will guide you during the optimization stage.

Here’s an interesting fact.

Funnel Chart can be best deployed for high-level insights, especially before diving into an in-depth investigation.

In the coming section, we’ll cover the following: how to create business graphs and charts.

Google Sheets is one of the most-used visualization tools among businesses and professionals worldwide.

However, this cloud-hosted spreadsheet tool comes with very basic business graphs and charts examples, such as Treemaps, which require a lot of extra work in editing.

We’re not recommending you do away with the spreadsheet app.

You can turn Google Sheets into a data visualization tool loaded with ready-made and visually stunning business graphs and charts by installing third-party apps, such as ChartExpo.

Why ChartExpo?

ChartExpo is an add-on you can easily install in your Google Sheets.

With a large number of ready-made and visually stunning visualizations, ChartExpo turns your complex, raw data into  compelling, easy-to-digest visual renderings that tell the story of your data.

The easy-to-use data visualization tool produces simple and clear visualization designs with just a few clicks. Yes, ChartExpo generates Google Sheets charts that are amazingly easy to interpret, even for non-technical audiences.

We’ll use the Progress Bar Chart to display insights into the table below in this section.

Install the ChartExpo add-on for Google Sheets  from this link and then follow the simple and easy steps below.

• Open your Google Sheets application and paste the table above.
• Open the worksheet and click the  Extensions menu.
• Then go to Charts, Graphs & Visualization by ChartExpo .
• Finally, click the Open button in the dropdown.

• Click the Add New Chart button to access your fully stocked library of charts.

• Once ChartExpo is loaded, you will see a list of charts.
• Look for “ Progress Bar Chart, ” as shown below.

• Select the sheet holding your data and select the Metrics option. Fill in the numerical numbers (in our case, we’ll use previous and current sales ).
• Select the Dimension button and fill in the dimensional data (in our example, we’ll use company ), as shown below.
• Finish the simple process by clicking the Create Chart button.

• Check out the final chart below.

• All products are best-moving products expect Sony.
• On the other hand, the declining products in terms of sales in Sony.

Which charts are commonly used in business?

The aforementioned data visualization designs are straightforward to interpret, even for non-technical audiences.

What is a business chart?

A business chart is a visual rending you can use to display insights into your data. It’s powerful because it simplifies business data by making it understandable & readable at the same time.

Besides, it makes data stories compelling and irresistible to target audiences.

Fishing for insights into raw and bulky data is tedious and mentally exhausting.

This is where business graphs and charts examples come into play.

These charts can help you distill business data into meaningful insights. And this can save tons of hours, which you can use to relax or execute other tasks.

But the visualization tool has very basic Treemaps, Area, Progress, Stacked Bar, and Funnel Charts . And this implies you’ve got to invest extra effort and time to edit the charts to align with your needs.

So, what’s the solution?

Download and install third-party apps, such as ChartExpo, to access ready-to-go business graphs and charts, such as Treemaps.

ChartExpo is an easy-to-use application you can easily download and install in your Google Sheets app. Besides, this tool comes loaded with insightful and ready-made business graphs and charts.

You don’t need programming or coding skills to visualize your data using ChartExpo.

Sign up for a 7-day free trial today to access easy-to-interpret and visually appealing business charts and graphs.

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Don't bother with copy and paste.

Get this complete sample business plan as a free text document.

Graphic Design Business Plan

Start your own graphic design business plan

The Metolius Agency

Executive summary executive summary is a brief introduction to your business plan. it describes your business, the problem that it solves, your target market, and financial highlights.">.

The Metolius Agency is a Eugene, Ore. based graphic design and visual communications firm.  Metolius will be concentrating on corporate identity of established companies.  The targeted customer is a small- to medium-size company that has been established for five to 15 years.  The company has done well with the business so far, but they are in need of a new corporate identity to allow them to move to the next level.

Metolius will operate out of a small office in the downtown area.  For months one through seven, Kiev Lartiste will be the sole employee.  By month seven, Kiev will be hiring an assistant to help with design work as well as administrative details.

Metolius will offer companies a fresh perspective regarding corporate identity and visual communication.  Kiev has a unique background where he has business skills and creative skills.  Most firms come solely from creative backgrounds.  While this is useful for the crafting of logos and other devices of visual communication, it lacks the intuitive business mindset that Kiev brings to the firm.  This competitive edge allows Kiev to bring both an aesthetic design focus as well as a practical, quantitative mindset that adds value to the service offerings by creating solutions that have both creative elements combined with rational, business ideas.  This is useful since the clients are more business oriented.

Metolius will grow their customer base by providing clients with well-priced projects due to reasonably low overhead, creative, practical designs that add more value than competing graphical art firms, and superior customer attention.  The Metolius Agency will reach profitability by month nine and generate $27,347 in profits by year three. 

1.1 Objectives

The objectives for the first three years of operation include:

• To develop a start-up graphics agency that will grow to profitability within year two.
• To create a company whose primary goal is to exceed customer’s expectations.
• To create a firm that provides the target customers with valuable services and provides the owner with a flexible, creative, fun, and profitable business opportunity.

1.2 Mission

The Metolius Agency’s mission is to provide the customer with creative and practical graphic design work and visual communication services.  We exist to attract and maintain customers.  When we adhere to this maxim, everything else will fall into place.  Our services will exceed the expectations of our customers.

1.3 Keys to Success

The keys to success are:

• Professionalism
• Practical insight
• Enjoyment of the experience

Company Summary company overview ) is an overview of the most important points about your company—your history, management team, location, mission statement and legal structure.">

The Metolius Agency is a start-up graphics firm that serves small- to medium-sized companies.  The firm will be based in Eugene, Ore. and will operate from a small, downtown office.

2.1 Company Ownership

The Metolius Agency is a sole proprietorship owned and operated by Kiev Lartiste.

2.2 Start-up Summary

The Metolius Agency will incur the following start-up costs:

• Assorted office furniture including two filing cabinets, two work desks, a couch and two chairs for the waiting area, a round table with chairs, and assorted fixtures for the office.
• Two computers, each with 21″ monitors, graphic tablet, black and white laser printer, inkjet color printer, scanner, CD-RW, and the following software: Illustrator, Freehand, Quark, Photoshop, Font Management Utilities, Traffic Office Manager (a scheduling and billing software), and Microsoft Project.
• Development of the website which will include design time by Kiev and implementation from a University of Oregon computer science graduate student.
• A current library of requisite magazines and journals.
• A DSL connection.
• Assorted office supplies.
• Stationary and brochures.
• Legal fees regarding business formation, creation of standard client contracts, and other general advice.

Please note that the following items which are considered assets to be used for more than a year will be labeled long-term assets and will be depreciated using G.A.A.P. approved straight-line depreciation method.

The Metolius Agency provides graphic design and visual communication services to established, primarily Eugene-based, companies.  Some of the services offered are corporate identity, marquees, logos, branding, and packaging. 

The pricing of the projects are typically estimated as a project-based cost.  The project cost will be estimated by the approximate number of hours needed to complete the project.  Generally, Kiev will be charging $75 an hour for his services.

The majority of services will be provided at The Metolius Agency’s office space.  This office will be modern, practical, and sleek.  This is very important because the office of a graphic designer is to a large degree a piece of their portfolio and reflects their work product.  Therefore, a decent amount of money will be used to develop a proper appearing business office.

Market Analysis Summary how to do a market analysis for your business plan.">

The Metolius Agency will be targeting small- to medium-sized companies.  What these companies have in common is they have started as a small company with a good idea and have grown into a larger, more mature company that must now decide if they are going to maintain the current business strategy, or reinvigorate the company, employ professional service providers, and move to the next level.

4.1 Market Segmentation

The Metolius Agency has two distinct customer groups which they will concentrate on:

• Small-size companies: typically five to 15 employees
• Medium-size companies: 15 to 40 employees

These companies started with a valuable concept and leveraged their original grassroots visual communication elements. Now that they have matured into a larger company, they can no longer rely on the original grassroots corporate identity. These companies are in need of a professional firm like The Metolius Agency to expand their identify and take them to that same level as their competitors and be able to compete.

4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy

The market segments will be targeted in a number of different ways.  It must be noted that graphics firms generate visibility and sales not through advertising, but through networking and client referrals.  The methods used for the target market segment strategy will be:

• Networking. The networking will be based on leveraging Kiev’s personal and professional relationships that he has developed after spending years in the industry.  Ways of networking include sending out notecards to all acquaintances announcing the opening of The Metolius Agency, periodically meeting with people to catch up–as well to continue to network which means to find out who this person knows within the target companies that Metolius will try to turn into customers. 
• Client referral. A lot of business is derived through referrals.  Some of the referrals will come through the Chamber of Commerce, some of the referrals will come from customers.  Recognizing that referrals will be a good source of new customers, Kiev will be in constant contact with the Chamber.  In addition to being in contact with them, Kiev will investigate the possibility of doing a small project pro bono for the Chamber.  This will be done to let the Chamber view an example of The Metolius Agency’s work.  It will also provide a reason for the Chamber to recommend The Metolius Agency.  Kiev will work very hard to satisfy all of his customers.  By making sure that he exceeds their expectations, he will increase the likelihood that he will receive referrals from satisfied customers.
• Targeted customer acquisition. This is the researching and strategic formulation to attract a chosen company to become a customer.  Kiev will put together a list of 20-30 companies that would be excellent customers.  Once these companies have been identified, Kiev will devise a strategy to target these companies as customers by initially determining what value Metolius can offer them. Eventually, the goal is to be able to meet with the decision maker of the company and present them with a portfolio of Kiev’s past work as well as the proposed value Kiev can offer them.

4.3 Service Business Analysis

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Within the last seven to 10 years, there has been a trend in the industry for the general advertising agencies, that previously only worked with advertising, to act as a full-service agency that not only prepares advertisements, but also does a lot of the creative work in-house instead of outsourcing it.  This trend toward full-service agencies has continued.  To a large degree it is occurring due to higher profit margins for the service providers.  The Metolius Agency will be bucking this trend and concentrating on their specific skill set.

4.3.1 Competition and Buying Patterns

The following are examples of the different types of competitors:

• Large advertising agencies: over the years these firms have increased their number of service offerings from selling media forms of advertising, to a full-service company that develops creative work in-house, working with companies to develop corporate identity, etc.
• Freelance designers: these competitors are similar to Kiev because they are typically a one-man operation, often operating out of their own home.  Often the freelance designers are just getting into the business and are trying to get experience, or they have left a firm in search of a more flexible lifestyle.  Some freelance designers are well experienced and can offer the same professional level of quality the large agencies offer.
• Kinko’s: while Kinko’s is not a true competitor, it is a substitute competitor that should be mentioned. Kinko’s stores do not have a true creative department, but for some of the larger accounts, it offers free creative services as a value-added feature to the larger customer.  These services are typically provided by an employee who has introductory or intermediate skills using graphic design software such as Quark or Freehand, and in a small amount of time can generate creative images for the client.  These services are typically not billed but used as a value-added benefit.  While the price is quite good, the customer must recognize the fact that these services are not on par with a professional agency.

Strategy and Implementation Summary

The Metolius Agency’s marketing and sales strategy will utilize networking and referrals to develop visibility for the company.  Prospective customers will be turned into qualified sales through a professional showing that displays Kiev’s portfolio of past work.  The portfolio is key for making a positive impression regarding Kiev which illustrates his skill set and capacity as a creative designer.

5.1 Marketing Strategy

As noted previously in the target market segment strategy, The Metolius Agency will rely on three activities in their marketing efforts.  These include:

• Networking: leveraging relationships to build more relationships within Eugene’s relatively intimate community.
• Client referral: by providing outstanding customer attention, current customers are more likely to become a long-term customer and are more likely to refer their friends.
• Targeted customer acquisition: the first step of this process is to target who the ideal customer is, determine how Metolius can offer them value, and then network to come into contact with the decision maker at that company.

5.2 Sales Strategy

The sales strategy will be to utilize Kiev’s portfolio of past work to qualify a sales lead.  Using a portfolio is very common within the industry to show past examples of work.  Kiev’s strategy will be the development of several different portfolios, each one customized to a specific type of work.  By having different portfolios, Kiev is able to better illustrate his proficiency with that specific skill set.  In addition to the use of the portfolio, Kiev will do research on the prospective company and their industry so that he has specific knowledge of the needs the company may have and solutions that he can offer.

5.2.1 Sales Forecast

The first month of operation will be used to get the office set up and ready for business.  Some of the time will be working with the interior designers to create a modern looking office space.

Months two through four will be somewhat slow as Kiev is developing clients. He is forecasted to take on some smaller projects.  By month five Metolius will have developed larger projects and will continue to grow steadily.

5.3 Milestones

The Metolius Agency will have several milestones early on:

• Business plan completion
• Office set up
• Establishment of the first major account
• Profitability

5.4 Competitive Edge

The Metolius Agency’s competitive edge is based on Kiev’s diverse background of business and creativity.  Typically, most creative agencies are staffed by right-brain creative types.  These people are extremely aesthetically oriented.  While this is certainly an asset in the field of graphic design, it can be limiting because while their work might be extremely creative, it might not “hit home” with non-creative types which make up a large portion in the business world.

Kiev’s background is based both in aesthetics and business.  While Kiev always had a creative streak that he would use, his education was business oriented. This competitive edge allows The Metolius Agency to offer similar creative services other firms can offer, but also provide a unique business perspective.

Web Plan Summary

The website will be used as a way to disseminate information regarding the firm, show past examples of work, provide the interested party will several ways of contacting The Metolius Agency.  In today’s day and age, a website is almost a given, a standard source of information regarding the company.

6.1 Website Marketing Strategy

The marketing strategy for the website will be based on inclusion of the Internet address in all materials that The Metolius Agency releases, as well as submission to popular websites.  Submission to search engines is an art in itself as different search engines work in different ways so a customized submission is most effective.

6.2 Development Requirements

A graduate student from the University of Oregon’s computer science department will be used for the development (writing the code, Kiev will be responsible for the creative work) of the website as well as the periodic maintenance of the site.  A graduate student will be used because of their expertise and typical below market rate.

Management Summary management summary will include information about who's on your team and why they're the right people for the job, as well as your future hiring plans.">

Upon graduation, Kiev went to work for Wieden & Kennedy in Portland.  This was a wonderful experience as Kiev was surrounded by very bright, creative people.  Kiev was given small projects, usually components of larger projects.  While this was a good experience, he was unable to leverage his business skills under these circumstances.

After three years Kiev moved to Eugene and took a position with (name omitted), a large full-service advertising agency.  The firm gave Kiev more management responsibility for his projects. After the third year, Kiev felt confident enough to entertain the idea of going out on his own and opening his own firm.  After market research and writing a business plan, Kiev gave notice and opened up The Metolius Agency.

7.1 Personnel Plan

Kiev will be the sole employee through month seven at which time he will hire an assistant to help out with design execution, as well as some of the administrative details.

Financial Plan investor-ready personnel plan .">

The following sections will outline important financial information.

8.1 Important Assumptions

The following table details important financial assumptions.

8.2 Break-even Analysis

The Break-even Analysis indicates that approximately $7,000 will be needed in monthly revenue to reach the break-even point.

8.3 Projected Profit and Loss

The following table will indicate projected profit and loss.

8.4 Projected Cash Flow

The following chart and table will indicate projected cash flow.

8.5 Projected Balance Sheet

The following table will indicate the projected balance sheet.

8.6 Business Ratios

The following table compares standard business ratios with the Standard Industry Code #7336, Graphic Design Services.

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• How to create an organizational chart ( ...

How to create an organizational chart (with free examples)

An organizational chart outlines how your company functions in real time. This diagram shows the reporting relationships between job titles and the roles in your organization. We’ll explain the different types of organizational charts and provide free templates for you to customize your own.

You’re having a family dinner when your grandma pulls out the family tree. She uncrinkles the piece of paper and traces her name down the line. As she searches, her finger lands on a name. “See! There he is, right next to your cousin Charles!” She points to the name of your third cousin, proving that this name matches that of a famous poet. 

In this guide, we’ll explain how to make an org chart, the different types of organizational charts, and provide free templates so you can customize and build your own.

How to make an organizational chart

An organizational chart is a way to visualize your company’s structure. To create an org chart, you’ll need to gather team member information and decide how you’d like to build the chart. 

As you consider the reporting relationships in your organization, you can plan your chart from top to bottom. 

1. Define scope

You can treat your organizational chart like any other new project you work on. Defining the scope of your org chart can help ensure it clearly represents your team structure . The scope will determine the overall purpose of your organizational chart.

Consider these questions to get started:

Will your org chart act as a resource for team members to know who’s who within the company? 

Will you share your organizational chart with external stakeholders or partners? 

Will you need multiple charts for different levels of the company? 

Asking these questions from the start can help you gather the right information and map out your chart.

2. Gather information

Gathering information is the most important step of making an organizational chart because without the right information, you won’t be able to proceed.  You can gather information by surveying individual team members through email or working with your HR department. 

You’ll need up-to-date information about the people in your company, including employee names and their latest job titles. You’ll also need to understand reporting relationships throughout your company, such as the hierarchy between managers and direct reports. Consider gathering headshots of your team for added personalization.

3. Decide how to build your chart

Deciding how to build your organizational chart is crucial because different tools can make the process easier. Drawing out your org chart by hand isn’t time efficient and will make your results hard to share, so consider harnessing the power of a tool for this process. 

Using an editable PDF can save you time because the template is pre-built with placeholders. You can then easily share the PDF with the rest of your company. 

4. Plan for updates

After creating your org chart, use a team calendar to plan for regular updates. After all, it’s likely that your company structure and team dynamics will change often. 

People switch in and out of positions, new employees are hired, and reporting relationships change. With a digital org chart, it’s easy to update the structure and redistribute it to team members.

Organizational chart templates

Creating an organizational chart can be easier when building from an org chart template. Most companies follow similar structures, whether it’s a top-down structure or a matrix structure. 

You can use the org chart examples below as jumping-off points. To create your custom org chart, determine which organizational type best represents your company structure. Then, update the template to fit your unique team needs.

Types of organizational charts

There are four common org chart types. Each one of these charts uses a different chart design and represents a different way that a company might function. Since an organizational chart is basically a hierarchy chart—a visual translation of your company’s internal structure—the chart type you use should mirror your organization’s reporting relationships and decision-making procedures.  

1. Functional top-down

A functional top-down org chart is the most common structure, with the company functioning as a hierarchy. At the top of this organizational structure there is one team member, who usually has the title of president or CEO. 

Branching off from that team member are the leaders who are next in charge, like the company vice presidents. The organizational hierarchy extends further into departments and eventually branches into teams. 

2. Matrix organizational chart

The matrix organization is a more complex structure than the traditional top-down design. If your company uses this reporting structure, team members report to multiple managers. 

While employees likely have a primary manager they report to for their department, they may also report to a project manager . These secondary project managers also have department managers they report to, which makes the matrix org chart look rectangular instead of tree-like. 

3. Divisional structure

A divisional organizational structure is a high-level version of the traditional hierarchical structure. Divisional structures make sense for companies that have departments working independently from one another. 

For example, companies with separate product lines may work in divisional structures because each product line has separate IT, marketing, and sales departments.

4. Flat organizational chart

The flat organizational chart is unique because it shows few or no levels of management. This type of organizational structure may be present in a small business or a modern business that’s experimenting with no chain of command. 

With this type of organizational structure, the company promotes wide-spread team member self-management and decision-making. 

How to use an org chart

You can benefit your company by using an organizational structure because it provides a visual representation of different departments and job titles in action. This chart can help team members understand how to collaborate with one another and feel confident in their role and responsibilities. 

Visualize reporting relationships

As a manager, you may use an org chart to show work responsibilities and reporting relationships to new team members. When onboarding new hires, the org chart helps team members get to know their fellow teammates and what they do. It also helps new team members remember who’s who within the company. 

Manage growth and change

Organizational charts can also help the leadership team stay organized and manage growth or change within the company. For example, if a department head notices that one team has become larger than other teams, they can shift or hire new team members to create balance.

See where everyone fits

An org chart creates clarity by showing everyone in the company where they fit in the organizational structure. If a new member joins the team, they can glance at the organizational chart and understand that they have five other members on their team, two assistants below them, and a project manager above them. They can also see that their project manager reports to a department manager.

Improve communication

Having an established organizational structure for your company can improve communication because it makes reporting relationships clear. Without an organizational chart in place, team members may not know who to go to when they have questions. The org chart makes it clear who leads what, so team members can feel empowered to ask questions and collaborate with others.  

Create visual directory

An org chart is essentially a visual directory of your organization. You can  update the chart when team members get promoted or when they leave. Keeping a visual directory up to date keeps everyone informed of who’s working at the company and what their current position is.

Limitations of using an org chart

While organizational charts can increase communication among teams, there are limitations of using them. Knowing these limitations can help you find solutions to any potential issues before they occur.

Can get outdated quickly

Org charts can get outdated quickly as companies restructure and shift team roles. Team members must be mindful and keep the org chart updated with current company structure and staff names. 

Solution: Assign someone to regularly update and redistribute your organizational chart in order to maintain this valuable resource.

Only shows formal relationships

The organizational chart is a one-dimensional document, so it doesn’t offer much explanation beyond the reporting structure it provides. While it’s useful in visualizing the basic company structure, it only shows formal relationships. Many companies function and thrive on various informal reporting relationships that wouldn’t show up on a traditional org chart. 

Solution: Use an org chart as a jumping off point, but keep in mind there may be other working relationships that the org chart doesn’t capture.

Doesn’t display management style

While the org chart shows managers and the team members that report to them, it won’t show what each manager is like. For example, the org chart may show that one manager has two team members and another manager has five team members. Assumptions may be made that the manager with more team members is a stronger leader, but the org chart won’t show that the manager with less team members has a more hands-on management style . 

Solution: Use your org chart as a first point of reference, but be mindful that face to face contact is the best way to understand reporting relationships among internal teams.

Can be difficult to update

Not only can printable org chart worksheets or drawn-out organization charts become outdated quickly, they can also be difficult to update. After all, if your chart is created in a static tool, you’ll have to start from scratch every time your organization’s structure changes.

Solution: Instead of creating your chart in a fixed workspace, opt for a dynamic tool. Platforms like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel are easily updated. Or, take it one step further with org chart software or a project management tool that uses integrations and apps to connect your team to data visualizers that map out workflows, like LucidChart and Miro .

Streamline your organizational structure with a chart

While there are limitations to organizational charts, these charts offer a helpful way to understand your company structure. It can also improve communication with upper management by clarifying roles and responsibilities. To build an organizational chart for your company, use our free editable PDFs and customize them as you see fit. 

Need help streamlining teamwork? Find out how Asana helps teams communicate effectively. 

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How To Create A Revenue-Generating Business Model From Scratch

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Creating a revenue-generating business model is essential because it forms the foundation of a sustainable business. It ensures that your company not only survives but thrives in a competitive market.

By establishing a solid plan for generating income, you secure the necessary funds to cover operational costs, innovate, and expand. Moreover, a profitable model attracts potential investors and partners by demonstrating the business's viability and potential for growth.

Without a revenue-focused approach, a business risks stagnancy or failure, missing opportunities to scale and succeed in its objectives.

Here are some straightforward steps to building a business model that not only sustains itself but also thrives:

1. identify a market need.

The first step in creating a successful business model is to identify a clear market need. Think about what problem you solve and who are you solving it for? Conduct market research, including surveys, focus groups, and competitive analysis to validate your idea and understand your target audience’s pain points and preferences. The key is to find a niche where you can uniquely position your product or service.

2. Develop Your Value Proposition

Now you need to highlight your value proposition. This is the promise of value to be delivered to your customers and a belief from the customer that value will be experienced. Your value proposition should be compelling, differentiating your offering from competitors and making it clear why customers should choose you.

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024

Best 5% interest savings accounts of 2024, 3. design your business model.

Map out how your business will make money. This includes defining your revenue streams, pricing strategy , sales channels, and customer segments. Common revenue models include subscription services, selling physical or digital products, offering services, or a combination of these. Choose a model that aligns with your industry and target market while also considering scalability and sustainability.

4. Build a Minimal Viable Product (MVP)

Before going all in, develop a minimal viable product (MVP) – a version of your product with just enough features to satisfy early customers and provide feedback for future product development. This approach helps minimize upfront costs and market risks by allowing you to test the waters with your concept without fully committing extensive resources.

5. Test and Iterate

Launch your MVP and closely monitor how it performs. Gather feedback from users and be ready to iterate based on what you learn. This phase is critical as it often leads to pivoting or tweaking your model based on real-world insights and customer behaviors. Flexibility and responsiveness to feedback are key components in refining your business model.

6. Scale Your Operations

Once you’ve validated your business model and started generating consistent revenue, think about scaling . This could involve expanding your product line, exploring new markets, or increasing your marketing efforts. Scaling successfully requires solid operational infrastructure, so make sure your processes, team, and technologies are equipped to handle growth.

7. Foster Customer Relationships

Invest in building relationships through excellent customer service, engaging marketing strategies, and consistent value delivery. Consider loyalty programs, personalized communications, and regular product updates to keep your customers engaged and satisfied.

8. Monitor Your Financial Health

Carefully monitor your financials. Understand your key financial metrics like cash flow, profit margins , and customer acquisition costs. Use this data to make informed decisions and adjust your business model as needed. Regular financial analysis is crucial to ensure the sustainability and profitability of your business.

The bottom line is that building a revenue-generating business model from scratch requires a mix of strategic planning, customer understanding, and continuous improvement. By following these steps and remaining adaptable to market changes, you can create a business model that not only meets the current demands of your target market but also drives long-term profitability. Remember, the most successful businesses are those that evolve with their customers and never stop optimizing their operations.

Melissa Houston, CPA is the author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Profitable Business and the founder of She Means Profit . As a Business Strategist for small business owners, Melissa helps women making mid-career shifts, to launch their dream businesses, and I also guide established business owners to grow their businesses to more profitably.

The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to

replace any professional or expert accounting and/or tax advice whatsoever.

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Starting a Business

When starting a new business, there are many important decisions to make and many rules and procedures that must be addressed. While there is no single source for all filing requirements, the following steps have been developed to assist you in starting your business.

It is helpful to begin with a business plan. A business plan is a blueprint of every aspect of your business. Sales, Marketing, Advertising, Promotion and Location are just some of the categories to consider when creating a plan. Go to the U.S. Small Business Administration website to find a tutorial on how to create a business plan.

If you would like help deciding on a location for your business, contact the California Business Investment Services unit of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GO-Biz) . The California Business Investment Services unit provides tailored site selection services for businesses, real–estate executives, and site selection consultants.

Choose a business structure. A brief overview of the following types of legal business structures available in California can be found on our Entity Types website:

• Corporation
• Limited Liability Company
• Limited Partnership
• General Partnership
• Limited Liability Partnership
• Sole Proprietorship

Your next step will be to file your tax and employer identification documents .

Most businesses require licenses or permits in order to operate. Please click on each of the resources below to determine if your business requires any licenses or permits.

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For additional resources on how to start a business, visit  Starting a Business Checklist webpage and click on the Starting a New Business in California (PDF) brochure.

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Process flow chart: what it is & how to create one

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Keeping your business organized can be a tall order — especially as it grows. Process flow charts are one way to organize business processes by visualizing the steps of a process or workflow . As you dive deeper into the individual steps of a process, you can discover opportunities to improve teamwork and productivity.

Visualizing processes with a flowchart can help you organize important details and improve your operations. As you develop your process flow chart, you can discover non-value-added processes and optimize your workflow.

In this guide, we’ll discuss what a process flow chart is and how you can create one for your business. Keep reading to learn more.

What is a process flow chart?

Process flow charts are a way of visually organizing your workflow. They use different shapes connected by lines, each representing an individual step.

A process flow chart aids in project management by helping you outline and visualize your workflows. An example could be a chart showing how you process and fulfill customer orders from the moment an order is placed to delivery.

Importance of process flow charts

Visualizing your workflow allows you to understand your project scope better so you can plan your project based on your goals and deadlines.

Having a clear visual representation of your processes helps improve teamwork and keep everyone on the same page. This way, everyone can understand your business processes from start to finish and the role they play in those processes.

Creating a flow process chart can improve productivity by weeding out non-value-added activities. You have ample room to grow and improve if you’re not wasting precious time on unnecessary steps.

Types of flow charts

There are several types of flow charts, each serving a different purpose. You can learn more about some of the different flow charts below:

• Basic flow chart: Simple flow charts are ideal for visualizing basic steps without many complexities or details.
• System flow chart: System flow charts show how every part of a system interacts with the other parts.
• Workflow diagram: Workflow diagrams visualize steps or processes required to complete a project, which can help you minimize waste.
• Data flow chart: Data flow charts show how data moves throughout your system and other connected systems.
• Decision flow chart: These flow charts play a vital role in the decision-making process , answering simple questions to arrive at a final decision.
• Swimlane flow chart: Swimlane flow charts allow you to visualize who’s responsible for each part of a process or project, whether that’s an individual or a group.

Components of a process flow chart

Process flow charts have a few key symbols used to contextualize the information in the chart. Different symbols are used for different steps within a process flow chart with connecting lines in between.

Different shapes and symbols—including diamonds and rectangles—are used for each process or step, with lines connecting the symbols. Different types of lines denote the beginning and end of the flow chart, and directional arrows indicate the flow direction of the chart.

Visualizing information with flow charts can play a crucial role in project planning , and it’s easy once you understand what the symbols represent.

Steps to create a process flow chart

Creating a process flow chart isn’t rocket science, but there are some basic guidelines you need to follow. Below is a step-by-step guide to help you create your next process flow chart.

Identify the process

Start by clearly defining the process or workflow you’re going to outline. Choosing which projects to visualize and optimize is critical to strategic planning . Once you have a good idea of what you want your flow chart to represent, you can start building it out.

Define boundaries

When it comes to process flow charts for businesses, you can always add more details or break a process down further by adding more steps. However, when creating a flow chart, you only want to include the necessary details.

Figure out the scope and boundaries of your flow chart before you start fleshing it out. That way, you’ll avoid wasting time adding information that complicates the main objective. Details are good, but you don’t want to go overboard.

Gather information

This is where knowledge sharing comes into play. Now, it’s time to collect detailed information about the steps, inputs, and outputs contributing to the process. Ensure you track the process from start to finish to avoid missing crucial steps.

Identify the sequence of steps

Now that you know the steps involved in the process you’re outlining, you can put them in the correct sequence to start organizing your flow chart. Your flow chart should move in one consistent direction from beginning to end, with each step bringing you closer to completing the process.

Draw the flow chart

With process flow charts, the individual steps only tell part of the story—you need to connect them to tell the whole story. Complete your flow chart by using symbols and connectors to connect individual steps and create an accurate visual representation of the process from start to finish.

Review and revise

Once you’ve organized and drawn everything out, review your flow chart to ensure it’s accurate, complete, and clear. If there are any issues, you can revise your flow chart.

Reviewing and revising is a never-ending battle. Even after completing a flow chart, you must review and update it regularly to ensure accuracy. Make sure to reflect any changes in your flow charts as they occur.

Uses of process flow charts

A good process flow chart can provide several benefits for businesses. Here are some of the common uses of process flow charts:

• Process improvement: Visualizing processes helps you understand how to optimize them, saving you time and money.
• Training and onboarding: When you clearly understand your training and onboarding process, you can streamline it and ensure everyone receives the same training.
• Communication: Flow charts can help you identify communication gaps in different project stages to keep everyone on the same page.
• Documentation: Using visuals helps everyone follow documentation best practices — from project documentation to team documentation.
• Compliance and quality assurance: Creating a step-by-step visual representation of a process helps you identify potential compliance or quality assurance issues before it’s too late.

Best practices for creating effective process flow charts

An effective flow chart can help you optimize business processes and improve productivity and project collaboration . Here are some guidelines to follow to ensure you’re doing it right.

Keep your process flow chart simple. Focus on adding key steps and information only.

Using consistent symbols and connecting lines adds clarity to your process flow charts, making it easier to collaborate with your team and boost productivity. You can even involve stakeholders in the process.

Once your flow chart is complete, there’s still work to do. Updating and maintaining flow charts helps you keep a constant visualization of the processes that your business relies on.

Create process flow charts with Confluence Whiteboards

Process flow charts can offer several benefits for businesses, improving productivity and teamwork while eliminating unnecessary steps. With Confluence Whiteboards, you can visualize and turn ideas into tasks.

Confluence brings everyone together in a connected workspace to move projects forward. Teams can create, edit, and share project plans in a connected workspace so everyone is on the same page.

Confluence flow chart templates make it easy to create effective flow charts quickly, plus you can convert stickies into Jira issues with a few clicks.

Use Confluence Whiteboards to visualize your workflow and optimize your business with process flow charts.

Process flow chart: Frequently Asked Questions

What is an example of a process flow chart.

A great process flow chart example is product delivery. You can use a process flow chart to visualize the delivery of a product from the moment the customer contacts you to the moment you finish the job. The first step may be the customer contacting you (or vice versa), eventually leading to the point where you fulfill the order, and the customer receives an email letting them know their order arrived.

You can use process flow charts for almost anything, including manufacturing, service delivery, product delivery, and project management processes.

What tools can you use to create process flow charts?

Confluence allows you to create process flow charts that visualize your business processes accurately. Confluence is easy to use, and you can start with a flow chart template so you don’t have to do all the work. Once you’ve chosen a template, you can add individual steps and symbols to clarify the chart. Confluence also integrates seamlessly with Jira and various third-party tools.

How often should process flow charts be updated?

If you modify a workflow or process outlined in a flow chart, update the chart accordingly. Flow charts don’t provide much value if they’re inaccurate, and you probably add or remove steps from various processes and workflows more than you think. You should regularly review and update your process flow charts to ensure they continuously add value to your business.

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Create images with your words – Bing Image Creator comes to the new Bing

Mar 21, 2023 | Yusuf Mehdi - Corporate Vice President & Consumer Chief Marketing Officer

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Last month we introduced the new AI-powered Bing and Microsoft Edge, your copilot for the web – delivering better search, complete answers, a new chat experience and the ability to create content. Already, we have seen that chat is reinventing how people search with more than 100 million chats to date. We’ve seen people use chat in a variety of ways, from refining answers to complex questions to using it as a form of entertainment or for creative inspiration. Today we’re taking the chat experience to the next level by making the new Bing more visual.

We’re excited to announce we are bringing Bing Image Creator, new AI-powered visual Stories and updated Knowledge Cards to the new Bing and Edge preview. Powered by an advanced version of the DALL∙E model from our partners at OpenAI, Bing Image Creator allows you to create an image simply by using your own words to describe the picture you want to see. Now you can generate both written and visual content in one place, from within chat.

We know from research that the human brain processes visual information about 60,000 times faster than text , making visual tools a critical way people search, create and gain understanding. Based on Bing data, images are one of the most searched categories – second only to general web searches. Historically, search was limited to images that already existed on the web. Now, there are almost no limits to what you can search for and create.

For those in the Bing preview, Bing Image Creator will be fully integrated into the Bing chat experience, rolling out initially in Creative mode. By typing in a description of an image, providing additional context like location or activity, and choosing an art style, Image Creator will generate an image from your own imagination. It’s like your creative copilot. Just type something like “draw an image” or “create an image” as a prompt in chat to get creating a visual for a newsletter to friends or as inspiration for redecorating your living room.

Bing Image Creator preview will also be available in Microsoft Edge, making it the first and only browser with an integrated AI-powered image generator. To use Bing Image Creator in Edge, simply click the Bing Image Creator icon in the sidebar to create your image or invoke from Bing chat in Edge.

At Microsoft, our teams are guided by our Responsible AI principles and the Responsible AI Standard to help them develop and deploy AI systems responsibly. To curb the potential misuse of Image creator, we are working together with our partner OpenAI, who developed DALL∙E, to deliver an experience that encourages responsible use of Image Creator. We have ensured OpenAI’s safeguards, plus additional protections, have been incorporated into Image Creator. For example, we have put controls in place that aim to limit the generation of harmful or unsafe images. When our system detects that a potentially harmful image could be generated by a prompt, it blocks the prompt and warns the user. We also make it clear that Image Creator’s images are generated by AI, and we include a modified Bing icon in the bottom left corner of each image to help indicate that the image was created using Image Creator. We continue to work closely with OpenAI to build, test and review mitigations for our integrations.

Since making the new Bing available in preview, we have been testing it with people to get real-world feedback to learn and improve the experience. People used it in some ways we expected and others we didn’t. In this spirit of learning and continuing to build new capabilities responsibly, we’re rolling out Bing Image Creator in a phased approach by flighting with a set of preview users before expanding more broadly. We will initially only include Image Creator in the Creative mode of Bing chat and our intention is to make it available in Balanced and Precise mode over time. We are also working on some ongoing optimizations for how Image Creator works in multi-turn chats. We continue to believe the best way to bring these technologies to market is to test them carefully, in the open, where everyone can provide feedback.

New AI-Powered Visual Stories and Knowledge Cards

To support the growing demand for more visual search experiences, we are also making Stories and Knowledge Cards 2.0 available to all Bing users. Stories provide a more engaging way to search and interact with content, offering images and short videos. Also new to Bing users today, Knowledge Cards 2.0 is an AI-powered infographic-inspired experience that provides fun facts and key information at a glance. It’s been updated to include interactive, dynamic content like charts, graphs, timelines, visual stories and more. With these updates and more coming, our goal is to deliver more immersive experiences in Bing and Edge that make finding answers and exploring the web more interesting, useful and fun.

Availability

Bing Image Creator integrated into Bing chat will begin to roll out to Bing preview users on both desktop and mobile starting today. For those not in the new Bing preview, the preview experience of Image Creator is now available at bing.com/create for Bing users around the world in English. We will add more language support over time.

Bing Image Creator is also available in Microsoft Edge from the Image Creator icon in sidebar for both desktop and mobile starting today for Edge users around the world in English. We will also soon integrate Image Creator into Edge from the new Bing button in chat mode in the preview version of Edge.

If you’re not yet in the new Bing preview, you can sign up for the waitlist today. We’re adding more people every day. Thanks for your continued feedback and we look forward to sharing more updates soon.

Tags: AI , Bing , Bing Image Creator , Microsoft Edge , search

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Hudson Valley Students Make it to the Final Round of the New York State Business Plan Competition

May 8, 2024

A team of Hudson Valley students made it all the way to the second round of the New York Business Plan statewide finals on April 25.

Out of 140 teams competing in regional events throughout the state this spring, only 60 teams moved on to the statewide finals, and Hudson Valley’s team was the only one in the state competition’s final round from a SUNY community college.

The team - Ameera Aftab, Lukas Donaghue, Ryan Connors and Adam Conklin - presented the idea “Semester at Yours,” an online platform to help facilitate short-term furniture leasing for college students living off-campus. According to the team’s pitch, the Semester at Yours marketplace would foster a sustainable and affordable alternative to students just dumping their used furniture on the curb when their lease is up.

“Being the only community college, out of 60 teams, to make it to the state finals really showed me what was possible if the right support and help is given to students,” said Donaghue. “It also showed me how much space there is for community colleges to take in this competition. Out of 120 teams statewide who made it to the video stage of the state final, only three were community college teams.”

Aftab said the experience they were able to take away from the competition was invaluable.

“Being the only community college team in the state to make it to finals, we got to connect with college students from all over the state and Ivy League schools, too,” she said. “We also met with many mentors who have successful businesses all over the state and they shared their experiences with us.”

The team members are all part of Hudson Valley’s Entrepreneurs Club, which meets weekly with the goal of fostering pride and fellowship within the School of Business and throughout the college community, encouraging interest and activity in the fields of business and related areas.

Entrepreneurs Club advisors, Associate Professor Johanna Mather and Professor Danielle Blesi, said events such as the New York State Business Plan competition provide a great lesson in collaboration and gaining real world business experience.

“We live in a community that is a hub for education and innovation,” said Mather. “Students from all colleges have tremendous resources in the Capital Region, and it was a wonderful opportunity to bring all of these together for them. It was very important for students to see the resources and connections available to them in the Capital Region.”

“As educators, we are very fortunate to provide such an invaluable experience to our students and to all of those across the region,” said Blesi. “We are lucky to be supported by a community that encourages these aspiring entrepreneurs to set high standards and work toward their goals. We are also very grateful to all of the judges and members of our college community that supported the students and provided them with mentorship and a solid foundation for the future.”

For students interested in extracurricular experiences and opportunities such as the Business Plan Competition, Connors encourages them to take advantage of it.

“It’s an amazing opportunity,” said Connors. “Even if you don't feel like you know what you're doing, your idea and passion is enough. There are plenty of mentors out there to guide and assist you along the way and it gives real world experience and is an amazing networking opportunity.”

One other Hudson Valley team advanced out of the regional NYBP competition, which was held in Hudson Valley’s Bulmer Telecommunications Center, April 5. That team included students Austin Shulkin, Brooks Marcus and Ray Guiles.

“The Hudson Valley community is extremely proud of all of our students who created such unique and compelling business ideas for this competition” said President Roger Ramsammy. “Educational experiences and opportunities as such are truly difference makers in students’ educational journey.”

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Biden's new student-loan forgiveness plan has already received over 24,000 comments. There are 2 weeks left to give the administration input.

• There are two weeks left for the public to comment on Biden's new student-debt relief plan.
• Once the public comment period ends, the administration will move toward final implementation.
• Still, legal challenges and the election pose threats to the debt cancellation.

The American people have just two weeks left to give President Joe Biden's administration input on its new student-loan forgiveness plan .

On April 17, the Education Department published its draft rules for a broader version of debt relief to the Federal Register. First unveiled in early April, the new plan is expected to benefit over 30 million borrowers through a range of provisions, including canceling unpaid interest for borrowers and providing debt relief to those who have made at least 20 years of payments.

This new plan is intended to replace Biden's first attempt at relief that the Supreme Court struck down last summer. In contrast to the first plan, this one requires the administration to undergo a process known as negotiated rulemaking, which entails a series of negotiations with stakeholders and an opportunity for the public to comment on the plans before final implementation.

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The plan is now in the public comment period, and there are two weeks left for anyone who wishes to provide input on the administration's proposals. So far, according to the Federal Register , the plan has received 24,532 comments as of Friday morning.

The comments are available to be viewed publicly, and some of them were supportive of Biden's plan. One stated:

"The more student loan debt that can be forgiven the better. My mom's loans were forgiven last month, and it has changed her life. The period of time when my loans were paused allowed me to buy a home. My loans are currently in repayment, and if that burden could be lifted it would be life-changing for me."

Meanwhile, others were more critical:

"No if you borrow money you need to pay it back. why should people who are hard working pay for a lazy person school. student loans needs to be payed back by the borrower not by people who are working for a living."

Once the public comment period ends on May 17, the Education Department can choose to adjust its proposals based on the feedback it received or move ahead toward final implementation. In the coming months, the department also plans to unveil a separate proposal to get relief to borrowers experiencing financial hardship, which will also have a public comment period.

The department has said it plans to move as quickly as possible with the relief this fall, but not only does the presidential election bring uncertainty to the fate of the relief — it's highly likely legal challenges will once again attempt to block it from carrying out.

For example, Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey wrote on X that he would see Biden in court after the release of new details for the debt relief, and he already filed a lawsuit to block the SAVE income-driven repayment plan , arguing it was an overreach of the administration's authority.

Watch: Why student loans aren't canceled, and what Biden's going to do about it

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