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Business Plan Review

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A business plan review is an in-depth examination of your business plan and its viability. It can be conducted by a single expert, a panel of experts, or you and your colleagues.

What Is a Business Plan?

A business plan is essential for any company wishing to start or expand its operations. It provides a framework for decision-making and helps to make sure that all sections of the organization are working together towards common goals. A good business plan can also help attract investors or obtain loans from banks or other lending institutions.

The main purpose of a business plan is to provide investors with information about the opportunities and challenges facing your company so they can make informed decisions about whether or not they want to invest in it. If they decide to invest, they'll know how much money they are likely to make and what risks might arise during their investment term (usually between five years and ten years).

Of course, not all startups need a full-blown business plan — but if you seek outside funding or investment, it's best to start developing yours as early as possible. And even if you don't seek outside funding, it's still smart to develop a comprehensive plan for your business to clearly define what success looks like and how you'll get there.

What Is a Business Plan Review?

A business plan review should be conducted before you begin your venture, at least once during its life cycle (preferably after you have experienced some success), and when it comes time for you to close up shop. The objective is to identify strengths and weaknesses in your plan so that you can take steps toward improving those areas.

The purpose of a business plan review is not to evaluate the likelihood of success for a given project or company but rather to determine whether the project has been adequately researched and whether the information presented is accurate and comprehensive enough for investors or other stakeholders to make an informed decision about investing in it.

Why Should You Have Your Business Plan Reviewed?

Your business plan is a living document. Over time, it will change as you grow and learn more about your business, market and competition.

But even when the plan isn't changing, it's important to review it regularly to ensure that you're still on track. Here are seven reasons why:

A good review will give you an unbiased look at your plan, highlighting areas where more information is required or gaps in your thinking. This can help ensure that your plan contains everything it needs to, which makes it easier to manage and gives investors confidence in your business.

A business plan is a blueprint for reaching your long-term goals. But a good review will help you see how well your current strategy aligns with those goals and whether there are any holes in the plan. If there are gaps, the reviewer can help you identify what needs to be changed and where resources must be allocated to achieve those goals.

Having someone look over your plan from an objective point of view can help you see potential problems before they become major issues. You might find that something is missing from your strategy or that too many steps are involved in achieving your goals. It could also reveal other important information that will help improve the overall quality of your plan.

Business plans don't just cover what's happened so far — they also forecast what's going to happen next year, six months from now and beyond. So if things change along the way, they may not be reflected in the plan written today. A review can help keep your focus on where you want to go in the future by reviewing your progress each month and adjusting accordingly if needed.

A good consultant will give you constructive feedback about areas where your business plan falls short. This is invaluable when it comes time to revise your plan to more accurately reflect the reality of what's happening in your company, whether due to external factors or internal mistakes. A comprehensive review will also show you where there are holes in your strategy and suggest how they can be filled to strengthen your company's position in its marketplace.

Looking at how your business has performed over time, you can identify areas of concern before they become serious problems.

For example, if sales are declining or profits are shrinking, these trends might be due to temporary factors that can be corrected with better marketing or product development. If sales continue to fall despite these efforts, however, there could be deeper-rooted problems that need addressing.

A good business plan will give you an idea of what your company can accomplish in the short term and over time.

A good business plan also helps potential investors understand what your business is about and why it has the potential for success. This means that if they invest in your company, they can be more confident that they're making a smart choice that will make them money.

• Business Strategy: Planning a company's strategic direction and goals. The business strategy consists of setting a business's vision and mission, identifying its strengths and weaknesses, and evaluating growth opportunities.
• Business Forecast: A business forecast predicts how well the company's revenue and expenses will fare for the next few years. It typically includes financial statements for the current year, estimates for the following year, and projections for two or three subsequent years.
• Bank-Ready Business Plan: A business plan that has been carefully prepared to meet all criteria set by banks when applying for a loan. The bank will want financial projections showing how your business can repay the loan and reasonable evidence that you have identified all costs associated with starting and operating your new business.

Hire the best lawyers for a business plan review through Contracts Counsel where you can find many qualified and vetted lawyers to help you go over your business plan.

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Skilled in the details of complex corporate transactions, I have 15 years experience working with entrepreneurs and businesses to plan and grow for the future. Clients trust me because of the practical guided advice I provide. No deal is too small or complex for me to handle.

Steven Stark has more than 35 years of experience in business and commercial law representing start-ups as well as large and small companies spanning a wide variety of industries. Steven has provided winning strategies, valuable advice, and highly effective counsel on legal issues in the areas of Business Entity Formation and Organization, Drafting Key Business Contracts, Trademark and Copyright Registration, Independent Contractor Relationships, and Website Compliance, including Terms and Privacy Policies. Steven has also served as General Counsel for companies providing software development, financial services, digital marketing, and eCommerce platforms. Steven’s tactical business and client focused approach to drafting contracts, polices and corporate documents results in favorable outcomes at a fraction of the typical legal cost to his clients. Steven received his Juris Doctor degree at New York Law School and his Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Hofstra University.

Advised startups and established corporations on a wide range of commercial and corporate matters, including VC funding, technology law, and M&A. Commercial and Corporate Matters • Advised companies on commercial and corporate matters and drafted corporate documents and commercial agreements—including but not limited to —Convertible Note, SAFE, Promissory Note, Terms and Conditions, SaaS Agreement, Employment Agreement, Contractor Agreement, Joint Venture Agreement, Stock Purchase Agreement, Asset Purchase Agreement, Shareholders Agreement, Partnership Agreement, Franchise Agreement, License Agreement, and Financing Agreement. • Drafted and revised internal regulations of joint venture companies (board of directors, employment, office organization, discretional duty, internal control, accounting, fund management, etc.) • Advised JVs on corporate structuring and other legal matters • Advised startups on VC funding Employment Matters • Drafted a wide range of employment agreements, including dental associate agreements, physician employment agreements, startup employment agreements, and executive employment agreements. • Advised clients on complex employment law matters and drafted employment agreements, dispute settlement agreements, and severance agreements. General Counsel • As outside general counsel, I advised startups on ICOs, securities law, business licenses, regulatory compliance, and other commercial and corporate matters. • Drafted or analyzed coin or token sale agreements for global ICOs. • Assisted clients with corporate formations, including filing incorporation documents and foreign corporation registrations, drafting operating and partnership agreements, and creating articles of incorporation and bylaws. Dispute Resolution • Conducted legal research, and document review, and drafted pleadings, motions, and other trial documents. • Advised the client on strategic approaches to discovery proceedings and settlement negotiation. • Advised clients on employment dispute settlements.

The Castro Law Firm, located in Royal Palm Beach, Florida, provides a range of legal services to clients that focus on probate, estate plannnig and business matters. Our staff is fluent in Spanish. We offer free consultations and virtual appointments.

Artem (Art) V.

Art is an attorney licensed to practice in New York, specializing in business and corporate law. His expertise encompasses a wide range of services, including corporate governance, finance transactions, contractual issues, non-disclosure agreements, intellectual property, and privacy matters. Art's professional experience also includes advising institutional lenders in the commercial real estate sector on financing, restructuring, and workout projects. Passionate about supporting the growth and development of start-ups, as well as small and mid-sized corporations, Art offers customized legal solutions for a broad spectrum of concerns related to corporate matters, contracts, and general business affairs. His approach is tailored to meet the unique needs of each client, ensuring comprehensive support in navigating the complexities of the legal landscape.

Tayane M. Oliveira is a founding partner at Vannucci Oliveira. With a concentration in family law, Tayane is renowned for her commitment to providing compassionate yet powerful representation to her clients. Her experience as an associate attorney at Brodzki Jacobs & Brook, coupled with her unwavering dedication to her clients' welfare, prepared her for her current role at Vannucci Oliveira. Tayane's academic achievements are a testament to her rigorous intellectual curiosity and dedication to her profession. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminal Justice, supplemented by a minor in Psychology, from Florida Atlantic University in 2013. The culmination of her academic pursuit came in 2017, when she earned her Juris Doctor degree, cum laude, from the esteemed Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad College of Law. Before co-founding Vannucci Oliveira, Tayane honed her skills in the heat of the courtroom, representing clients in an array of general civil litigation matters. This diversified exposure instilled in her an ability to tackle complex legal challenges, a skill she employs to benefit her clients in family law. Originally from Brazil, Tayane brings an international perspective to her practice. When not delving into legal briefs or advocating for her clients, she indulges in travelling, reading, spoiling her puppies, and exercising, activities that not only rejuvenate her but also provide her with a broader perspective on the world and her practice. *Supreme Court Certified Portuguese Speaking Mediator

P. McCoy Smith is the Founding Attorney at Lex Pan Law LLC, a full-service technology and intellectual property law firm based in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A and Opsequio LLC, an open source compliance consultancy. Prior to his current position, he spent 20 years in the legal department of a Fortune 50 multinational technology company as a business unit intellectual property specialist; among his duties was setting up the free & open source legal function and policies for that company. He preceded his in-house experience with 8 years in private practice in a large New York City-based boutique intellectual property law firm, working simultaneously as a U.S. patent litigator and U.S. patent prosecutor. He was also a patent examiner at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office prior to attending law school. He is licensed to practice law in Oregon, California & New York and to prosecute patent applications in the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office; he is also a registered Trademark and Patent Agent with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office. He has degrees from Colorado State University (Bachelor of Science, Mechanical Engineering, with honors), Johns Hopkins University (Masters of Liberal Arts) and the University of Virginia (Juris Doctor). While in private practice, and continuing into his in-house career, he taught portions of the U.S. patent bar exam for a long-standing and well-known patent bar exam preparation course, and from 2014-2020 was on the editorial board of the Journal of Open Law, Technology & Society (JOLTS), and starting in 2023 will be on the editorial board of the American Intellectual Property Law Quarterly Journal (AIPLAQJ). He is the author or co-author of chapters on open source and copyright and patents in “Open Source Law, Policy & Practice” (2022, Oxford University Press). He lectures frequently around the world on free and open source issues as well as other intellectual property topics.

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Small Business BC

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5 Reasons Why You Should Get a Business Plan Review

As an entrepreneur, you understand the value of a well-crafted business plan. It’s the essential roadmap for launching your business and something you’ll use to impress banks and investors. Writing your plan yourself is the perfect opportunity to think critically about every aspect of your business. But it’s easy to get caught up in the process. Here are five reasons you should get a business plan review from a professional.

1. Get Validation

A business plan review is the perfect opportunity to discuss your strategies, plans, and goals with an experienced professional. They’ll give you objective feedback on your idea, flag any potential challenges, ensure you include key information, and present ideas you may have yet to consider.

2. Test Your Pitch

The ability to pitch your business is a necessary skill for any aspiring entrepreneur. At its core, a business plan is essentially an in-depth pitch. Knowing your plan inside and out will foster confidence among all investors you meet. So, having it undergo a review is like a “stress test” for your business. 

3. Know Your Business Model is Viable

No matter how fantastic your business is, you’ll need money to sustain it. Can you demonstrate how your business will generate cash over the next six to 12 months? A business plan reviewer will ensure this is covered. They’ll be able to identify gaps in your numbers, how to adjust, and any minor details you may have missed.

4. Discover What to Tackle First

Getting a second set of eyes on your document will help you identify issues you must tackle before sharing it with investors. An experienced reviewer can clearly identify what to fix first so you can make it presentable as quickly as possible.

5. Gain Clarity in Your Decisions

Entrepreneurship can feel like a lot of pressure. Reviewing your business plan lets you share and discuss your plans and options with an expert. They can help you weigh the pros and cons of your choices and evaluate your decisions objectively. Once you’ve considered their recommendations, you can make an informed decision.

Where to Get A Business Plan Review

There are many more benefits to conducting a business plan review, and Small Business BC’s consulting and review service can help at every step of the way. Work with our expert business plan advisors and get the professional advice you need to turn your business ideas into reality. Download SBBC’s Business Plan Template and Cash Flow Forecasting Tool to get started on your business plan.

Small Business BC is Here to Help

SBBC is a non-profit resource centre for BC-based small businesses. Whatever your idea of success is, we’re here to provide holistic support and resources at every step of the journey. Check out our range of business webinars , on-demand E-Learning Education , our Talk to an Expert Advisories , or browse our business articles .

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Mid-Year Business Review: A Company’s Path to Success

Deciding whether or not to administer a mid-year business review can make or break the path of your company. Even if you’re busy, tired, or have other things to do, carving out a chunk of time to hold a review can significantly improve your chance of achieving financial goals.

A quality, comprehensive business review serves as a business status update and plan for the remainder of the year. The frequency of business reviews typically varies by company size as larger businesses tend to conduct them more frequently than smaller firms. While business advisors often, and perhaps accurately, recommend a quarterly business review, my observations among the most successful companies show only a mid-year review is necessary. The purpose of the mid-year business review is to monitor business performance, create solutions to make more money, and provide guidance for leadership via communication with, and for, your team.

Since management encompasses planning, organizing, leading, and controlling, a quality business plan review integrates each of those disciplines together. Let’s explore if a mid-year business review will benefit your company.

The purpose of a mid-year review

• Evaluate performance.
• Reallocate resources to better achieve goals.
• Make more money than you would have otherwise.
• Take stronger corrective actions than you would have without a mid-year review.
• Provide leadership for your team—too much silence taxes milestone goals.
• Offer focus for your team.

Reasons a mid-year review might be unnecessary

• Clearly meeting financial goals.
• Your team has knowledge of their duties and expectations of them for the rest of the year.
• Regular and sufficient monitoring of business performances.
• A full sales/marketing pipeline.
• Presence of all of the above.

There’s nothing quite like an abundance of cash in the checking account and a full sales and marketing pipeline to make a business owner comfortable and, consequently, ignore the need for business reviews. The goal of quality planning, however, is to prepare for the inevitable downturn while enjoying plentiful resources.

Types of business reviews and when to conduct them

While there are many different types of business reviews, these three fundamental types persist because they’re simple and effective. The following chart provides key elements for each fundamental business review, allowing you to determine which is right for your company:

Knowing how often to conduct the reviews stems from the successes your company has experienced.

• Never: Unfortunately, most small firms never conduct a review of their business, even if they need it.
• Annually: Conduct a review each year especially when successes remain high.
• Semi-annual: The best-in-class business planning processes occur in private industry when comprehensive reviews take place mid-year.
• Quarterly: Suggested as ideal in empirical business literature and by publicly traded companies due to quarterly SEC filing requirements, but often not practiced in smaller firms unless required by law.
• Monthly: Perform a monthly review when it seems that problems prevent goal attainment.
• Bi-Monthly: These reviews should be applied in the case of emergency situations.
• Weekly: The execution of a weekly review exists when facing bankruptcy, workouts, or the demands of obsessive-compulsive micro-managers.

Tips for a quality mid-year business review

Completing a mid-year business review makes updating your business plan easier. A review brings energy and action to the business planning process. To ensure a quality and comprehensive plan, employ the following tips:

• Planning and preparation by you must precede the meeting.
• Create and show your written agenda to your team.
• Allow sufficient time to complete the review.
• State the type of meeting, protocol, and expectations of the review.
• Discuss money matters last, or at least late, within the meeting(s).
• Meet your team where they are, as opposed to where you want them to be.
• Discuss first the successes and accomplishments to fertilize minds on necessary areas of improvement.
• Complete quality control check for communications with key players and organizations.

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Business Plan Evaluation

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What is Business Plan Evaluation?

A business plan evaluation is a critical process that involves the assessment of a business plan to determine its feasibility, viability, and potential for success. This process is crucial for entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders as it helps them make informed decisions about the business. The evaluation process involves analyzing various aspects of the business plan, including the business model, market analysis, financial projections, and management team.

The purpose of a business plan evaluation is to identify strengths and weaknesses in the plan, assess the feasibility of the business idea, evaluate the potential for profitability, and determine the likelihood of achieving the business objectives. The evaluation process also helps identify areas where improvements can be made to enhance the chances of success. This process is particularly important for solopreneurs who are solely responsible for the success or failure of their business.

Importance of Business Plan Evaluation

The evaluation of a business plan is an essential step in the business planning process. It provides an opportunity for the entrepreneur to critically examine their business idea and identify potential challenges and opportunities . The evaluation process also provides valuable insights that can help improve the business plan and increase the chances of success.

For investors, a business plan evaluation is a crucial tool for risk assessment. It allows them to assess the viability of the business idea, the competence of the management team, and the potential for return on investment. This information is vital in making investment decisions.

For Solopreneurs

For solopreneurs, the evaluation of a business plan is particularly important. As they are solely responsible for the success or failure of their business, it is crucial that they thoroughly evaluate their business plan to ensure that it is feasible, viable, and has the potential to be profitable.

The evaluation process can help solopreneurs identify potential challenges and opportunities, assess the feasibility of their business idea, and determine the likelihood of achieving their business objectives. This information can be invaluable in helping them make informed decisions about their business.

For Investors

Investors use the evaluation process to determine whether or not to invest in a business. They look at various aspects of the business plan, including the business model, market analysis, financial projections, and management team, to assess the potential for success. If the evaluation reveals that the business plan is solid and has a high potential for success, the investor may decide to invest in the business.

Components of a Business Plan Evaluation

A business plan evaluation involves the analysis of various components of the business plan. These components include the executive summary, business description, market analysis, organization and management, product line or service, marketing and sales, and financial projections.

Each of these components plays a crucial role in the overall success of the business, and therefore, they must be thoroughly evaluated to ensure that they are realistic, achievable, and aligned with the business objectives.

Executive Summary

The executive summary is the first section of a business plan and provides a brief overview of the business. It includes information about the business concept, the business model, the target market, the competitive advantage, and the financial projections. The executive summary is often the first thing that investors read, and therefore, it must be compelling and persuasive.

In the evaluation process, the executive summary is assessed to determine whether it clearly and concisely presents the business idea and the plan for achieving the business objectives. The evaluator also assesses whether the executive summary is compelling and persuasive enough to attract the attention of investors.

Business Description

The business description provides detailed information about the business. It includes information about the nature of the business, the industry, the business model, the products or services, and the target market. The business description also provides information about the business's competitive advantage and how it plans to achieve its objectives.

In the evaluation process, the business description is assessed to determine whether it provides a clear and comprehensive description of the business. The evaluator also assesses whether the business description clearly outlines the business's competitive advantage and how it plans to achieve its objectives.

Methods of Business Plan Evaluation

There are several methods that can be used to evaluate a business plan. These methods include the SWOT analysis, the feasibility analysis, the competitive analysis, and the financial analysis. Each of these methods provides a different perspective on the business plan and can provide valuable insights into the potential for success.

It's important to note that no single method can provide a complete evaluation of a business plan. Therefore, it's recommended to use a combination of these methods to get a comprehensive understanding of the business plan.

SWOT Analysis

SWOT analysis is a strategic planning tool that is used to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to a business. This method involves examining the internal and external factors that can affect the success of the business.

In the evaluation process, a SWOT analysis can provide valuable insights into the potential for success of the business. It can help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the business plan, as well as the opportunities and threats in the market.

Feasibility Analysis

A feasibility analysis is a process that is used to determine whether a business idea is viable. This method involves assessing the practicality of the business idea and whether it can be successfully implemented.

In the evaluation process, a feasibility analysis can provide valuable insights into the feasibility of the business plan. It can help determine whether the business idea is practical and whether it can be successfully implemented.

In conclusion, a business plan evaluation is a critical process that involves the assessment of a business plan to determine its feasibility, viability, and potential for success. This process is crucial for entrepreneurs, investors, and other stakeholders as it helps them make informed decisions about the business.

The evaluation process involves analyzing various aspects of the business plan, including the business model, market analysis, financial projections, and management team. The purpose of a business plan evaluation is to identify strengths and weaknesses in the plan, assess the feasibility of the business idea, evaluate the potential for profitability, and determine the likelihood of achieving the business objectives.

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How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated April 17, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

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• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information to include in a business plan is sometimes not quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

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

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

See why 1.2 million entrepreneurs have written their business plans with LivePlan

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

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If you have written a business plan for your business, how often do you look at it?

A business plan’s first purpose is to act as a road map for your business .

It acts as a framework through which you can express your thoughts on what should be achieved in your business and how you intend to achieve it. However, as your business grows and changes significantly, it is important to adjust your plan accordingly. It should be used as a checklist for all your objectives and goals, both short term and long term, and regularly reviewed as a way of noting your progress—particularly with regards to what strategies are working and which are not.

The review is a good practice for the beginning of each financial year in order to get your priorities straight and your head in the right mindset, and especially to reiterate your mission, vision and your goals for the year ahead.

You can look at what has changed within your business. Perhaps your business model changed, or you have new products and services (or have removed some). Maybe your costing models need to be altered, or you have an entirely new target market and need an updated customer profile. You might be looking to implement an offbeat marketing campaign or a different set of strategies. There could be a new competitor in your segment of the marketplace, or it could be as simple as a decline in figures. Basically, after any major changes, you need to dig up your business plan and reassess so your business can move forward and continue to grow.   This article is based on an extract from the MentorNet mentoring program session on Business Planning, which was presented by Wendy Fogarty. For more information about the HerBusiness’s mentoring services, see the Mentoring section of this website. For details of the next Business Plans Made Easy, visit the Upcoming Events section of this website.   This article was co-authored by Elizabeth Rowe. Elizabeth graduated with a Bachelor of Arts (English Literature) at the ANU and a Masters of Media Practice at the University of Sydney. She is currently completing an internship with the HerBusiness.

About the Author

HerBusiness (formerly Australian Businesswomen’s Network) is a membership community that provides education, training, resources, mentoring and support for women business owners.

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What Is a Business Plan? Definition and Planning Essentials Explained

Posted february 21, 2022 by kody wirth.

What is a business plan? It’s the roadmap for your business. The outline of your goals, objectives, and the steps you’ll take to get there. It describes the structure of your organization, how it operates, as well as the financial expectations and actual performance. 

A business plan can help you explore ideas, successfully start a business, manage operations, and pursue growth. In short, a business plan is a lot of different things. It’s more than just a stack of paper and can be one of your most effective tools as a business owner. 

Let’s explore the basics of business planning, the structure of a traditional plan, your planning options, and how you can use your plan to succeed. 

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a document that explains how your business operates. It summarizes your business structure, objectives, milestones, and financial performance. Again, it’s a guide that helps you, and anyone else, better understand how your business will succeed.  

Why do you need a business plan?

The primary purpose of a business plan is to help you understand the direction of your business and the steps it will take to get there. Having a solid business plan can help you grow up to 30% faster and according to our own 2021 Small Business research working on a business plan increases confidence regarding business health—even in the midst of a crisis. 

These benefits are directly connected to how writing a business plan makes you more informed and better prepares you for entrepreneurship. It helps you reduce risk and avoid pursuing potentially poor ideas. You’ll also be able to more easily uncover your business’s potential. By regularly returning to your plan you can understand what parts of your strategy are working and those that are not.

That just scratches the surface for why having a plan is valuable. Check out our full write-up for fifteen more reasons why you need a business plan .  

What can you do with your plan?

So what can you do with a business plan once you’ve created it? It can be all too easy to write a plan and just let it be. Here are just a few ways you can leverage your plan to benefit your business.

Test an idea

Writing a plan isn’t just for those that are ready to start a business. It’s just as valuable for those that have an idea and want to determine if it’s actually possible or not. By writing a plan to explore the validity of an idea, you are working through the process of understanding what it would take to be successful. 

The market and competitive research alone can tell you a lot about your idea. Is the marketplace too crowded? Is the solution you have in mind not really needed? Add in the exploration of milestones, potential expenses, and the sales needed to attain profitability and you can paint a pretty clear picture of the potential of your business.

Document your strategy and goals

For those starting or managing a business understanding where you’re going and how you’re going to get there are vital. Writing your plan helps you do that. It ensures that you are considering all aspects of your business, know what milestones you need to hit, and can effectively make adjustments if that doesn’t happen. 

With a plan in place, you’ll have an idea of where you want your business to go as well as how you’ve performed in the past. This alone better prepares you to take on challenges, review what you’ve done before, and make the right adjustments.

Pursue funding

Even if you do not intend to pursue funding right away, having a business plan will prepare you for it. It will ensure that you have all of the information necessary to submit a loan application and pitch to investors. So, rather than scrambling to gather documentation and write a cohesive plan once it’s relevant, you can instead keep your plan up-to-date and attempt to attain funding. Just add a use of funds report to your financial plan and you’ll be ready to go.

The benefits of having a plan don’t stop there. You can then use your business plan to help you manage the funding you receive. You’ll not only be able to easily track and forecast how you’ll use your funds but easily report on how it’s been used. 

Better manage your business

A solid business plan isn’t meant to be something you do once and forget about. Instead, it should be a useful tool that you can regularly use to analyze performance, make strategic decisions, and anticipate future scenarios. It’s a document that you should regularly update and adjust as you go to better fit the actual state of your business.

Doing so makes it easier to understand what’s working and what’s not. It helps you understand if you’re truly reaching your goals or if you need to make further adjustments. Having your plan in place makes that process quicker, more informative, and leaves you with far more time to actually spend running your business.

What should your business plan include?

The content and structure of your business plan should include anything that will help you use it effectively. That being said, there are some key elements that you should cover and that investors will expect to see. 

Executive summary

The executive summary is a simple overview of your business and your overall plan. It should serve as a standalone document that provides enough detail for anyone—including yourself, team members, or investors—to fully understand your business strategy. Make sure to cover the problem you’re solving, a description of your product or service, your target market, organizational structure, a financial summary, and any necessary funding requirements.

This will be the first part of your plan but it’s easiest to write it after you’ve created your full plan.

Products & Services

When describing your products or services, you need to start by outlining the problem you’re solving and why what you offer is valuable. This is where you’ll also address current competition in the market and any competitive advantages your products or services bring to the table. Lastly, be sure to outline the steps or milestones that you’ll need to hit to successfully launch your business. If you’ve already hit some initial milestones, like taking pre-orders or early funding, be sure to include it here to further prove the validity of your business. 

Market analysis

A market analysis is a qualitative and quantitative assessment of the current market you’re entering or competing in. It helps you understand the overall state and potential of the industry, who your ideal customers are, the positioning of your competition, and how you intend to position your own business. This helps you better explore the long-term trends of the market, what challenges to expect, and how you will need to initially introduce and even price your products or services.

Check out our full guide for how to conduct a market analysis in just four easy steps .  

Marketing & sales

Here you detail how you intend to reach your target market. This includes your sales activities, general pricing plan, and the beginnings of your marketing strategy. If you have any branding elements, sample marketing campaigns, or messaging available—this is the place to add it. 

Additionally, it may be wise to include a SWOT analysis that demonstrates your business or specific product/service position. This will showcase how you intend to leverage sales and marketing channels to deal with competitive threats and take advantage of any opportunities.

Check out our full write-up to learn how to create a cohesive marketing strategy for your business. 

Organization & management

This section addresses the legal structure of your business, your current team, and any gaps that need to be filled. Depending on your business type and longevity, you’ll also need to include your location, ownership information, and business history. Basically, add any information that helps explain your organizational structure and how you operate. This section is particularly important for pitching to investors but should be included even if attempted funding is not in your immediate future.

Financial projections

Possibly the most important piece of your plan, your financials section is vital for showcasing the viability of your business. It also helps you establish a baseline to measure against and makes it easier to make ongoing strategic decisions as your business grows. This may seem complex on the surface, but it can be far easier than you think. 

Focus on building solid forecasts, keep your categories simple, and lean on assumptions. You can always return to this section to add more details and refine your financial statements as you operate. 

Here are the statements you should include in your financial plan:

• Sales and revenue projections
• Profit and loss statement
• Cash flow statement
• Balance sheet

The appendix is where you add additional detail, documentation, or extended notes that support the other sections of your plan. Don’t worry about adding this section at first and only add documentation that you think will be beneficial for anyone reading your plan.

Types of business plans explained

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

Traditional business plan

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

This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix. We recommend only starting with this business plan format if you plan to immediately pursue funding and already have a solid handle on your business information. 

Business model canvas

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

The structure ditches a linear structure in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It’s faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations. This is really best for those exploring their business idea for the first time, but keep in mind that it can be difficult to actually validate your idea this way as well as adapt it into a full plan.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan. This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. It basically serves as a beefed-up pitch document and can be finished as quickly as the business model canvas.

By starting with a one-page plan, you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan. This plan type is useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Now, the option that we here at LivePlan recommend is the Lean Plan . This is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance.

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

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

Try the LivePlan Method for Lean Business Planning

Now that you know the basics of business planning, it’s time to get started. Again we recommend leveraging a Lean Plan for a faster, easier, and far more useful planning process. 

To get familiar with the Lean Plan format, you can download our free Lean Plan template . However, if you want to elevate your ability to create and use your lean plan even further, you may want to explore LivePlan. 

It features step-by-step guidance that ensures you cover everything necessary while reducing the time spent on formatting and presenting. You’ll also gain access to financial forecasting tools that propel you through the process. Finally, it will transform your plan into a management tool that will help you easily compare your forecasts to your actual results. 

Check out how LivePlan streamlines Lean Planning by downloading our Kickstart Your Business ebook .

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How to make a business plan

Table of Contents

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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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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Strategy Review: How To Run It & What To Include

If you want to hit business targets before the year or quarter ends, you need to run effective strategy reviews. 

These reviews are an important part of strategy governance, equipping the leadership team with a comprehensive view of the organization’s performance and the data required for confident decision-making. 

Effective strategy reviews also help operational leaders and their teams improve operational efficiency by focusing on initiatives that drive business objectives without getting lost in daily tasks. 

With this in mind, here’s our detailed guide on how to conduct different types of strategy reviews.

What Is A Strategy Review?

A strategy review is a systematic evaluation and assessment of the organization's plans, initiatives , and goals. It’s a regular strategy meeting involving key stakeholders to determine the progress of the company’s strategic direction and check if everyone is still aligned with the business roadmap . 

When doing a strategy review, you must answer the following critical questions:

• How are activities in the strategic plan performing?
• Are we getting the expected results?
• Do we need to revisit the strategy due to some unforeseen issues?
• Are there factors that require us to change the strategic plan?

A strategic review ensures your short-term strategies align with the organization’s long-term strategic objectives and priorities. It also ensures you remain responsive to changes in the external market and that the current strategy is still the best approach to get your desired results.

How Often Should A Strategy Be Reviewed?

Typically, companies revisit their strategic plans once a year or occasionally as needed. Annual or irregular reviews put your organization at risk of missing opportunities, escalating preventable crises, and becoming too slow to adapt to market shifts . 

Strategy Execution Experts at Cascade recommend a different, more dynamic approach. 

They advise businesses to exercise ongoing strategic governance through systematic, bite-sized reviews .

With a more regular approach, you can identify and respond to any changes quickly, as well as reallocate and reprioritize resources depending on your organization’s needs.

They propose performing strategy reviews at two levels:

Dynamic performance & strategy review 

This includes business leaders and department heads . It’s a comprehensive high-level assessment of ongoing initiatives. Doing it quarterly ensures you can make strategic adjustments quickly and remain responsive to shifting market dynamics.

Operational health check 

This one is done more frequently and involves department heads, team leads, and program managers. This monthly review focuses on day-to-day operations and helps detect issues on time. It also ensures strategic alignment at the lower levels of the organization. 

How To Run A Strategy Review?

To effectively run a strategy review meeting, you need a structured process. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

Step 1: Prepare the data before the strategy review meeting

One of the crucial steps prior to the strategy review meeting is having all the required data within your reach—to ensure you’ll have the necessary data the day of the meeting. Using data-backed reports will help you and your management team properly evaluate the business performance and refine your short-term strategies. 

📌 If you’re conducting a quarterly dynamic performance review , you need to collect the following reports:

• Financial performance report that includes department revenue and expenditure forecast
• Resource utilization and availability report that includes the budget vs. actual performance
• Business-level operational key performance indicators (KPIs) , which include competitive & market analysis, and CSAT & customer retention

📌 If you’re doing a monthly operational health check , you must have the following reports:

• Resource utilization and availability report that cover budget utilization to target, and employee availability and resourcing constraints
• Department and team-level operational KPIs , citing the progress to target
• Project and initiative tracking report , which includes risk & dependency tracking and initiative-relationship mapping

These reports must be prepared in advance by the respective business leaders, department heads, team leads, and project managers expected to attend the strategy meeting .

👉 Do it in Cascade: 

Use Cascade’s reports to collect data, show progress, and add business context to all the information. This enables you to communicate clear insights that support better decision-making.

📚 Explore this informative article explaining when to use dashboards versus reports.

Step 2: Review objectives and past performance

This is the step when you get everyone together in a physical or virtual room. Start with recapping the purpose of the strategy meeting and ensure everyone is aligned from the outset. Give attendees enough time to present the reports they put together, including their KPIs and other achievements since the last session. 

Review significant milestones and examine everyone’s performance thoroughly. This detailed evaluation of historical performance will help you identify patterns and trends to help you achieve future goals.

Step 3: Open the floor for a strategic discussion

After the reports have been presented, encourage the attendees to share their observations and insights. 

Explore the “why” behind the reported information. Why did some activities yield these kinds of results, and why didn't others? Determine if there were any missed opportunities that should’ve been taken or best practices that drove success. 

This is also a great opportunity for leaders to gain valuable insights about what’s happening in other departments and business units. You or a designated facilitator should ensure there’s a balanced discussion and everyone gets to speak. 

Step 4: Discuss new strategies and changes

Next, lay down the rules for how you'll decide which new strategies to pursue, focusing on what will help your organization hit its targets. 

Look at the upsides and downsides of each idea. Facilitate structured discussions and debates to deliberate on the merits of each strategy, ensuring every aspect is thoroughly examined. Use decision-making tools like SWOT analysis that can turn tough strategic decisions into a clear-cut process. 

Final decisions can be achieved through consensus or voting, depending on the organization's culture. 

💡For high-risk strategies , consider pilot testing and have contingency plans in place. 

Step 5: Assign new initiatives and responsibilities

For each new strategy or strategic objective, assign owners and set deadlines.  This will help you create accountability and eliminate ambiguity on who is responsible for what. Deadlines also create a sense of urgency and prevent procrastination. 

Defining clear roles before you end the current review process will ensure that employees will remain committed to the strategy and a more efficient review session next time.

💡Different companies have their own way of doing things—some assign owners during the review meeting, some do it after (check out step 6 below). Pick the method that's best for your organization, but remember assigning owners is a must for accountability.

👉 Do it in Cascade:

Using Cascade, you can directly link each action item to its owner and set a specific deadline. A nice progress bar will show the percentage completion of an item. There’s also an indicator of whether an item is on track, behind, or delayed.

Step 6: Keep everyone in the loop post-meeting

When rolling out new strategies and changes post-review, clarity is key to keep the momentum going. Department heads and team leads must effectively interpret meeting outcomes into actionable departmental plans and relay them to their teams.

For example, if a new sales strategy is in place, the sales manager should outline the action plan, assign responsibilities to team members, and share timelines during a kick-off meeting.

Follow this up with weekly check-ins for progress reports and space for team members to share insights or hurdles they're facing.

Cascade alerts your team whenever changes are made to the plan. Tag owners/contributors, and they'll be notified in real-time. This will help you keep everyone in sync and focused on new priorities. 

Cascade Strategy Execution Platform boosts operational efficiency by cutting duplication and aligning teams toward common goals. It helps to eliminate waste stemming from misalignment, promoting smoother operations and improved performance.

What Are The Benefits Of A Strategy Review?

Breaking away from conventional practice and implementing a more frequent strategy review has several advantages:

Stay flexible and quick on your feet

By keeping an eye on how your strategy is doing, you can spot new market trends, what your customers want, and what your competitors are up to. 

This means you can quickly tweak your plans and reallocate resources to grab new chances or dodge potential setbacks. Being agile in business today means you're always ahead of the game, ready to outpace your rivals.

Make decisions based on data

When you review your strategy, you're guided by hard data—evaluating KPIs and various business metrics . This data-centric approach grants you a clear lens to assess performance and direct key choices that propel your business ahead. You base your decisions on hard evidence, not just guesses or stories. 

This know-how empowers you to distribute resources where they're most effective and double down on strategies that truly deliver. Regular strategy reviews will also lead to better annual plans rooted in data.

Spot potential problems early on 

By looking at performance metrics and how things are going, you can catch small issues before they turn into big headaches. Mitigating risks proactively means you can sidestep major troubles that might hurt your company's good name.

Keep the company's operations aligned with its business strategy

With regular strategic reviews, teams, and departments across the organization can coordinate their efforts to match the company's main objectives. This coordination helps break down silos between different business units and improves cross-functional collaboration , which is crucial for achieving overall success.

Use Cascade To Hit Your Business Targets  🚀

In strategy meetings, it's not just about reviewing numbers; it's about understanding the "why" behind the data, which is essential for informed decision-making. With Cascade, you can go beyond the numbers and get the full strategic context every time you review the progress of your strategy. 

Cascade simplifies strategy reviews by:

• Consolidating your data in one place. With Cascade’s 1,000+ integrations with various data sources, you can automate data collection and eliminate the need for manual entry. This ensures information presented during strategy meetings is accurate and up-to-date.
• Using real-time dashboards . Cascade consolidates diverse business metrics into real-time dashboards, giving you a comprehensive view of the organization’s performance. These dashboards provide an instant visualization of key business metrics, making it easier for teams to assess progress and identify trends at a glance.
• Offering pre-built report templates. Building reports for frequent strategic meetings can be time-consuming. Cascade provides pre-built templates that simplify the reporting process, saving you time and ensuring report consistency. 
• Adding strategic context. Cascade’s reports include actionable narratives that can be tailor-made and ready for regular reviews at any time. These narratives reflect the organization’s progress and can be easily presented or shared with stakeholders. 

Support your organization’s resilience by doing frequent bite-sized strategic reviews. Let Cascade handle the grunt work so you can focus on the execution. 

Sign up today for free or book a 1:1 product tour with Cascade’s strategy expert.

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The Essential Guide to Quarterly Business Reviews (QBRs)

Quarterly business reviews (QBRs) are one of the most precise tools you can have to enhance partnerships, engage executives, and see the value of your product recognized by customers.

Creating Your QBR Template? Start Here.

If you learn to launch them in the right way, they can help provide the fuel to push your customer success team past its goals..

Structuring and running QBRs that keep the customer at the center while also growing your product can be tricky. But, we’re here to give you the best practices and things to remember while you think about how to run yours. In this guide, we dig into the most essential parts of a stellar quarterly business review and lay out ways for you to craft QBRs that drive your whole company forward.

What is a Quarterly Business Review?

Simply put, a quarterly business review, or executive business review, is a once-per-quarter meeting with your customer. The focus is value rather than status or technical questions. It’s a chance to show off ROI and connect with customers on a deeper level, forwarding your company’s mission at the same time. These face-to-face meetings are some of the most effective tools in a customer success manager’s (CSM) toolbox. But they’re also extremely delicate. That’s what makes mastering QBRs so important.

To be successful, QBRs must be strategic. They provide a chance to grab a deeper understanding of the customer’s business and future plans. And they provide the raw materials to fuel strategies that deliver more value. All the while, QBRs position you as a trustworthy adviser rather than a self-interested vendor. This helps build trust, which, in turn, solidifies your relationship with the customer.

Why Should Your Company Conduct Quarterly Business Reviews?

Keeping in touch with customers may seem easy in the early stages of your company’s growth. Because you likely have fewer customers than larger, more established companies, it’s easier to maintain individual relationships with each one.

However, as your company grows, those relationships become more difficult to sustain. And it can become impossible to scale that kind of one-to-one touch efficiently. Still, strong relationships are crucial to your continued success at every stage of growth.

Enter QBRs.

QBRs provide a structured plan that ensures your relationship-building efforts don’t fall by the wayside. At the same time, they also reveal important information that you can use to carve out more positive experiences for customers—experiences that deliver more value and fit your broader growth plans.

What Are The Biggest Benefits of QBRs?

QBRs strengthen partnerships between your business and your customers.

They foster relationships between your executives and your customer’s executives.

They give you a chance to highlight the ROI of your product and reinforce your value to your customer.

QBRs open up honest discussions about your customers’ overall health and what you can do to maintain and improve that status.

QBRs help reassure you that your customer will renew their contract or subscription once it expires.

They demonstrate to your customer that you’re serious about providing ROI and that you expect to do so within a 90-day period.

Ultimately, QBRs help you move your customer in the direction most beneficial to them—which naturally will be the direction most beneficial to you as well. After all, if the customer doesn’t experience success with your product, there’s a good chance that customer eventually will churn—and that’s not good for either party.

What To Include in Your QBR

Too often, leaders will treat QBRs as just another box to check off the list, heading into meetings with little strategic vision. That’s a costly mistake. QBRs are a valuable chance to understand the value your product currently delivers to your customers, what they are looking for in the future, and boost your company’s value to key stakeholders throughout the organization. Simply put, the best QBRs follow a clear structure and strategy.

QBR Examples & Tips to Feed Your Company’s Broader Goals

A QBR without a strategy is a waste of everyone’s time. It also puts you at risk of churn. Create an agenda and make sure all attending parties receive it well ahead of the meeting time. A focused agenda will set expectations and make it easier for customers to craft their most important questions or points of discussion ahead of time.

QBRs are a chance to put ROI on display and help your customers realize value. That’s why ROI should be a centerpiece of these meetings. To determine what ROI to focus on, ask yourself, “Why did our customer purchase our product in the first place, and over the last quarter, how well have we fulfilled that need?” Present numbers and data points that demonstrate the value you have delivered in that time period.

This is the perfect opportunity to revisit the mutual success plans that you crafted with your customers at the beginning of the engagement. Track your progress, adjust timelines based on new goals or learnings your customers provide, and consider what else is possible based on the goals you’ve already reached.

Keep the conversation personalized to that specific customer, the goals they’ve outlined, and what is possible for them based on what you know about their product adoption and usage. Spend the most time during this part of the QBR so that you know exactly how to deliver value and guarantee renewals, adoption, and expansion.

Companies love to see how well they’re doing in comparison to their competitors. If you can correlate that success to your product using hard metrics, they’ll be eager to continue doing business with you. Ensure that you’re noting what sticks out to your customers, what questions they ask, what metrics they discuss so that your sales and marketing organizations can use that information to drive expansions and upsells. While this may not be the time to make those upsells, it is important to share the knowledge learned in each one and provide any identified actionable insights.

Lay out important goals for the next quarter. In some cases, this might be a good time to bring up expansion opportunities or new products and add-ons that will help the company achieve its goals. Be sure to confirm the goals with your customers, outline who will be responsible for the various tasks associated with those goals, and any other important details.

Remember, these meetings must be strategic value-adds for your customers. Simultaneously, they must outline to your CSMs where the customer wants to go, how to get there, and any opportunities in the future that they should communicate to the broader team.

Immediately after the QBR, the CSMs should transfer all important notes to that customer’s record and tag all important team members. The new context will update their customer health score, which should also be shared amongst hte larger group. Provide your most insightful data in the form of a customer health index (CHI). Not sure what a CHI is or how can you calculate it? Don’t worry. That’s all covered in the next section.

How To Calculate a Customer Health Index

Customer health index (CHI) is a single score, usually from 1-100, that measures a customer’s relationship with your company. That means that the closer a customer is to 100, the more engaged they are with your product. On the other hand, if a customer has a CHI score that’s closer to 0, they may be in danger of churning or could be having a negative experience.

Of course, there’s no such thing as a perfect customer. So you may be wondering how you set up your customer health index. To start, it’s best to base your CHI on multiple weighted numbers. Remember, most customers are looking for cold, hard numbers—not just abstract, subjective opinions. To make your CHI assessment as impactful as possible, you should be able to explain in detail how you arrived at that figure.

As you start forming your CHI assessment, here are some factors to consider:

Product usage depth describes how much your product a customer uses. If your company offers multiple products, it may also mean how many products your customers use.

To measure the breadth of product usage, dig into how much the customer’s company uses your product. In this case, it can be helpful to determine if the company has multiple departments or functions and if all of those roles use your product. If they don’t, ask yourself if departments that should be using your product aren’t.

Engagement considers how often customers interact with your product and how they use your product. At the same time, you may want to decide if the customer is an advocate for your product. After all, if they are using your product often, they’re probably willing to promote it.

Customer feedback, surveys, and Net Promoter Score (NPS) are excellent tools to gauge your customers’ satisfaction and gather insight into your product experience.

Support usage can reveal red flags in your user’s experience. If the customer has submitted a large number of tickets, they could be growing frustrated with your product. But, if the customer hasn’t submitted any tickets at all, it could be a sign that they aren’t using your product very frequently—and that is a precursor to churn.

If the customer is providing valuable product feedback, it’s a sign that they’re committed to your partnership. It shows that the customer is investing in your product, which means the customer sees a future with your company as a partner.

Your customer’s age represents the length of time the customer has been using your product. If a customer has been with you for a long time, it’s a sign of satisfaction.

Creating and calculating CHI scores may seem like a big job. However, it’s well worth it when you consider how useful scores can be both for you and your customers. It’s also worth noting that software such as Gainsight CS will help you define and calculate your CHI scores instantly. In all cases, these scores help you keep a finger on the pulse of customers, and they can be a powerful asset to bring into your QBRs.

How To Avoid Common QBR Mistakes

Now that you know what you should cover during your QBRs, let’s talk about some general no-nos.

How to Run Productive Business Review Meetings

If possible, steer clear of in-depth discussions about anything negative. Highlight successes rather than dwelling on any shortcomings. That said, you should give the customer the opportunity to provide honest feedback. That way you’ll have the opportunity to assure the customer that you can solve any issues or problems they have experienced.

Resist going on the defensive if the customer brings up any issues or challenges. Again, focus on the positives, and turn conversations about problems into conversations about solutions. Remember that this is an opportunity to find new valuable features to add to your product map to expand your customer base and increase upsells if you start to see themes in these conversations.

By setting a time limit on your QBRs, it motivates you to keep the meeting tight and focused. As a general rule of thumb, try not to let the meeting go longer than an hour.

Don’t leave the meeting without scheduling the next QBR. This shows the customer you intend to follow through on everything discussed and that you will deliver results by the time you meet again.

Pros and Cons of Using a QBR Template

Sometimes it’s easier to have a qbr template to follow as you’re creating meetings..

In some cases, software will even provide access to built-in templates that incorporate data that’s being tracked within your instance. These baked-in templates make it easy to create customized, data-rich slides to guide your QBRs.

However, in all cases, it’s important that you’re delivering the data and not relying too heavily on boilerplate templates. After all, one of the main reasons to conduct these meetings in the first place is to demonstrate your unique value to the customer as well as convey a sense of how important the customer is to you. That means each meeting—and the materials used at the meeting—should be tailored specifically to the customer.

When approached thoughtfully, QBRs can help build bridges between your company and your customers, forming strong connections that will last throughout the customer lifecycle.

…One of the main reasons to conduct these meetings in the first place is to demonstrate your unique value to the customer as well as convey a sense of how important the customer is to you.

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See How Gainsight can help you plan your next QBR meeting.

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Purpose of Business Plan Sample: Everything You Need To Know

The purpose of a business plan sample is to give entrepreneurs a model to follow when they create a blueprint for their business. 3 min read updated on February 01, 2023

The purpose of a business plan sample is to give entrepreneurs a model to follow when they create a blueprint for their business. A good business plan will guide you through each step of starting and growing your business, providing a framework for each decision you make as a business owner.

Why Create a Business Plan?

The plan should define both the goals of your company and the steps you'll need to take to realize these goals. It can be used to express these goals to potential partners, vendors, stakeholders, and employees. It also provides guidelines on allocating business resources.

Your leadership team can refer to the plan to monitor success in achieving your business objectives, ensuring that you effectively manage your priorities to meet important benchmarks. Adopting a regular planning cycle with ongoing meetings can help keep the business plan current and relevant.

Before funding your venture, investors will want to review your business plan and ensure you are effectively meeting its targets.

What Does a Business Plan Include?

Your business plan should be as specific as possible with measurable and trackable milestones and expectations. Spell out each person's roles and responsibilities. This will help you identify potential problems and solve them as soon as possible as well as take a view toward your long-term goals when you make everyday business decisions.

The plan should include:

• Goals and a timetable for reaching them
• Information about your target market
• Details about your main business strategies, including targets and dates
• Financial information including the need for capital investment and how these funds will be raised, how loans will be repaid, how profits will be invested, the budget for spending, a sales forecast , and details about cash flow
• Market research about customer need and a plan for meeting those needs
• Plans to address potential obstacles and market changes that impact the business strategy
• Operational information including facilities, equipment, and suppliers
• The timing and circumstances of your eventual departure from managing the business, such as details about family succession

The initial plan can focus on the first one to two years with an eye to the entire lifespan of the business, and you can update as needed as your business grows. All benchmarks should focus on those first 12 to 24 months so you have measurable goals to attain.

How Often Should a Business Plan Be Updated?

Your business plan should be reviewed frequently to make sure it is on track. This helps you meet objectives and identifies pain points to be corrected. Consider a three to six-month review and update cycle for your business plan.

Having a regular review will help inform conversations with potential investors and lenders. It also shows supplies, customers, and employees your commitment to the business.

When you meet with banks and investors, they will want to see a plan that includes at least three years of your business's financial and trading history and details about your executive and management team's skills and qualifications.

What Questions Can Help Me Get Started on My Business Plan?

If you're stuck, brainstorm answers to the following questions:

• What is the level of my commitment to success in this business?
• How many employees will I eventually have?
• What will be my annual revenue next year? In five years?
• How much of the market share can I attain over the next five years?
• Will I appeal to a broad or niche audience?
• What are my plans for geographic expansion?
• How will I delegate tasks to others?
• Am I willing to work with partners and investors?
• Do I plan to remain privately owned or do I want to go public or be acquired by a larger company?

How Will I Finance My Business?

Before you write a business plan , learn more about different types of available financing. You should also think about how involved you would want a potential investor to be.

• Venture capitalists often want to have input and control and may want to sit on the board of directors.
• Some angel investors are very involved in business operations while others are not.
• Banks remain uninvolved in the business as long as you adhere to the terms of your loan.

If you need help with writing a business plan, you can post your legal need on UpCounsel's marketplace. UpCounsel accepts only the top five percent of lawyers to its site. Lawyers on UpCounsel come from law schools such as Harvard Law and Yale Law and average 14 years of legal experience, including work with or on behalf of companies like Google, Menlo Ventures, and Airbnb.

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

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

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

What is a business plan?

Purposes of a business plan, what are the essential components of a business plan, executive summary, business description or overview, product and price, competitive analysis, target market, marketing plan, financial plan, funding requirements, types of business plan, lean startup business plans, traditional business plans, how often should a business plan be reviewed and revised, what are the key elements of a lean startup business plan.

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

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

Looking for someone to write a business plan?

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These are the following purpose of business plan:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What are the benefits of having a business plan?

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

How to write a business plan?

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

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

How to write a business plan step by step?

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

Why do I need a business plan for my startup?

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

What are the key components of a business plan?

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

Can a business plan help secure funding for my business?

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

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BPlan Experts provides a dedicated business plan review and enhancement services for entrepreneurs who have already written a business plan or have an old business plan of their venture. Our team of consultants scrutinizes the existing business plan thoroughly to understand the business idea. We also engage with our clients to understand the purpose of the business plan, based on which we carry forward our activity to ensure the business plan is drafted specifically to fit the purpose.

Our business plan review and enhancement process are phased into multiple milestones:

Our team does a comprehensive review to understand the vision of the entrepreneur, the nature of the idea, and the effectiveness of the business plan.

Gap Analysis

Based on the review observations our team analyzes gaps in the existing business plan in terms of structure, requirements as per the purpose of the plan, the flow of information, and clarity of the content. We also analyze changes in the research if required in terms of details, relevance, and freshness of the data. We measure the efficacy of the financial projections and note any gaps if discovered.

Business Plan Modification

The business plan modification steps are completely customized as per the findings in the gap analysis. We add, modify, and re-do sections of the business plan as per requirement. We also conduct completely fresh research to substantiate the business case if needed. The financial sections are modified or redone as per need to be in accord with the strategy and research.

Proof Reading

The modified business plan is reviewed by our consultants for business effectiveness and through our content team for any errors that might exist.

Format & Design

The completed business plan is formatted properly and designed if chosen by the client to give an attractive outlook.

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Business Plan Review Process & Pricing

The following illustrates the outline of our business plan review services. It showcases the different modules covered in the review process which will help you to identify the gaps in your business plan and how to rectify them.

Booking the Business Plan Review Services

To initiate a business plan review you would need to book your business plan review services by clicking on the order now button. Please ensure that you have the business plan in place before booking the review.

Business Plan Submission

After the booking, we will send you an email to initiate the process. To initiate a business plan review you would need to send us your business plan through email which you have prepared and book our business plan review services. Ensure that you submit the completed business plan for review. Review on incomplete business plans will be done on the completed sections only.

Initial Discussion and Payments

Our consultant will schedule a call to discuss your requirements and walk you through the process. After the discussion, the team will send you an invoice for the review services. The process of review will start once the payment is completed.

Our consultants will review your business plan based on your requirements and purpose and mark the areas which need improvements, suggest changes and modifications, and also give you a roadmap on how to improve your business plan.

Modifications (Optional Add On)

Based on the feedback you may choose to hire our team to do the modifications. Depending on the efforts required the team will send you the quotation for the work and proceed based on agreement and payment.

Review Pricing

Review Details

Duration: 1 week Scope: Only Review Modifications: Optional Charges: Modifications with additional charges

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Updating a Classic: Writing a Great Business Plan

• A business plan can't be a tightly crafted prediction of the future but rather a depiction of how events might unfold and a road map for change.
• The people making the forecasts are more important than the numbers themselves.
• What matters is having all the required ingredients (or a road map for getting them), not the exact form of communication.
• The best money comes from customers, not external investors.

Sean Silverthorne: " How to Write a Great Business Plan " has been one of the most downloaded articles on Harvard Business Publishing since you wrote it in 1997. Why do you think you hit a nerve?

Bill Sahlman: Writing a business plan is a seminal moment in the life of a new venture. Doing so entails committing to paper a vision of the factors that will affect the success or failure of the enterprise. People take the exercise very seriously and get emotionally invested in what they produce.

In that context, the article was written to give insights into how to think about the role of a business plan and its relation to new venture formation. I tried to explain that a business plan can't be a tightly crafted prediction of the future but rather a depiction of how events might unfold and a road map for change. I emphasized the notion that successful entrepreneurs constantly seek the right mixture of people, opportunity, context, and deal. They anticipate what can go wrong, what can go right, and they try to balance risk and reward.

Over the years, I have received many e-mails from folks trying to craft a business plan. They want feedback. Actually, they really want me to say that they are on the right track. I explain that I would need to get to know them and their opportunity much better than what is possible in an e-mail and that the written document is not as important as the people writing it. It's not science—it's art and craft.

Q: In the decade since the original article came out, business conditions have changed. If you were writing this piece today, would you change it much?

A: I don't think the world has changed materially. Successful ventures still have competent people pursuing sensible opportunities, using resources that help, in a favorable context. Yes, the context is very challenging today. But challenges create opportunities.

If gaining access to capital is hard, sometimes that means there will be fewer competitors. This period is almost the antithesis of the Internet bubble when everyone could raise money and start a company regardless of how lamebrained the idea. Also, we have difficult factor markets like energy, but that simply means that there are great opportunities for people with ideas for alternative energy.

Were I rewriting the article today, I might emphasize the importance of controlling your destiny by being conservative about access to capital. Many great ventures in the Internet era (pre-1999) ended up failing because they assumed they would have continued access to cheap capital. Many of those businesses failed, though the underlying idea was sensible. Similarly, we have seen a period when capital markets got ugly, which has a negative effect on all ventures, sensible and nonsensical.

I would also reinforce the idea that entrepreneurship is critical around the world. We are confronted with many crises from health care to the environment to global poverty. Solutions are likely to come from talented private sector and social entrepreneurs.

Q: You wrote in the original article that most business plans "waste too much ink on numbers and devote too little to the information that really matters to intelligent investors." Still true today? What really matters to investors?

A: When there is great uncertainty in the market, investors become quite risk averse. They will only back proven entrepreneurs with truly compelling ideas. People make the numbers, not conversely. So, I still think the people making the forecasts are more important than the numbers themselves.

Q: More and more entrepreneurial ventures are "born global": They seek to address a global market and attract funding from global investors. Should a business plan be tailored in some way for a global audience?

A: We live in a world of democratized access to ideas, human capital, and money. There are fabulous global ventures being started in every corner of the globe. These ventures can raise money locally or globally. They can disperse talent in many countries.

Take a company like Skype. When I visited Skype several years ago, it had 125 employees from 23 countries. The development team was in Estonia, and its headquarters in Europe. Skype had raised seed capital in Europe and in the United States. That's the new model.

Q: On the technology front, software applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint have added many charting, graphing, and visualizing capabilities. Some business plans are even written as Web pages. Should entrepreneurs avail themselves of these tools for business plans, or do they clutter the message too much?

A: On the first floor of the Rock Center at HBS there is a copy of the original business plan that Arthur Rock wrote for Intel some 40 years ago. It's only a few pages long, but it describes an outstanding team pursuing a new technology. I have seen compelling business plans in the form of a few PowerPoint slides, a couple of scribbled pages, and a brief video. What matters is having all the required ingredients (or a road map for getting them), not the exact form of communication.

Q: If you were to update your "Glossary of Business Plan Terms" and what they really mean ("We seek a value-added investor" really means "We are looking for a passive, dumb-as-rocks investor"), what current terms would you include?

A: The glossary holds today. I think entrepreneurs, investors, and employees need to be suitably skeptical about what they read in business plans. I have read perhaps 5,000 plans and have only seen three companies really meet their plan. That sounds like a pattern to me. If anyone makes a bet based on the company doing exactly as written, he or she will be sadly disappointed.

At the same time, every player has to be somewhat optimistic about the possibility of overcoming inevitable setbacks. I think of ventures as roller coasters, not rocket ships.

Q: Any general advice to entrepreneurs seeking funding in the uncertain capital markets of today?

A: The best money comes from customers, not external investors. I think entrepreneurs need ideas that are so compelling they can get early money from customers. I also believe that great teams with great ideas can continue to access capital on quite attractive terms from outstanding investors. If the short term looks unsettled, that often means that focusing on the long term has a big potential payoff.

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Strategic Review Process: Benefits and How to conduct?

The Strategic Review process that most of the organization do on a regular basis in order to help it achieve its goals and maintain control of the business environment.

This process is very helpful for organizations to identify areas for improvement and create strategies for achieving organizational goals.

What is Strategic Review?

The Strategic Review is a process that is used to identify and prioritize the most important business objectives. It takes place in an organization at least annually to ensure that the organization has a clear understanding of its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

A lot of businesses, large and small, are using this as part of their strategic planning process. It is very helpful for organizations to establish strategies for addressing the most critical issues facing them today and in the future.

Strategic Reviews can be time-consuming and hard to create. But it provides valuable insights into how an organization should allocate its resources to achieve maximum results. In addition, It also helps organizations identify areas for improvement and create strategies to achieve organizational goals.

Why it is Important:

The Strategic Review Process is an important part of any organization’s strategic planning process. It looks at the current state of a company and creates a plan for what needs to happen in order to achieve the goals. These are use while creating the Strategic Review.

It helps organizations stay relevant and competitive by taking stock including;

• Current market conditions
• Exploring opportunities for growth
• Determining risks in the environment
• Understanding how relevant needs are

This also assesses where you should allocate resources in order to maximize success across all areas.

Strategic reviews are unique because you can do them either annually or continuously throughout an organization. It depends on how often an organization wants to review its progress and evaluate whether there are ways that it can improve.

Steps to conduct a Strategic Review:

The strategic review allows organizations to take stock of the current state of their company. And then create a plan for what needs to happen in order to achieve goals set out while creating Strategic Review.

The steps involved with conducting a Strategic Review include:

Determine the purpose of review:

It will be great if you conduct a strategic review once a year. The Strategic Review process is meant to show the company where they are, and it can also help them choose their direction for two years in advance.

Create goals: What needs to happen before moving forward? Strategic Plans need clear objectives that everyone agrees on as well as attainable goals that will take into account the current state of the company.

During this process, you should focus on high priority Strategic Focus areas that are related to Strategic Goals and objectives, not just every area in the business.

Review the current performance:

Strategic Reviews should be conducted and managed by Strategic Management. Strategic Managers will assess their organization’s current position or status within the industry, as well as future projections.

You should determine how their company has been performing up to this point, including both strengths and weaknesses of existing strategies. This information will be helpful in determining the Strategic Management’s next steps.

Improve the areas of improvement:

Next, you’ve to identify the areas where you need changes, as well as any necessary resources required to achieve these goals. You should determine what changes need to be made, and where your company’s Strategic Capabilities will come into play.

Strategic Capabilities are areas where your company has a Strategic Advantage over others in the industry. This is an opportunity for you to reflect on their company and plan ahead for success!

Communicate with your team:

Strategic Reviews should be conducted and managed by Strategic Managers. They will assess their organization’s current position or status within the industry, as well as future projections. Strategic Managers will communicate their Strategic Perspective to the rest of the organization.

You have to communicate with everyone involved in order to get a clear picture of your company’s. It will help you to determine the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities for improvement.

Create Strategic Direction:

You should need to conduct Strategic Review to determine what needs to change , and then create an action plan that clearly defines how all of this will happen. It can work with its team members who have specific expertise.

Once you’ve set goals, identified areas for improvement and created a plan of action- it’s time to take the next step! Creating an actionable Strategic Plan allows your company to move forward with confidence in its ability to succeed. This is the perfect way to improve every aspect of business performance.

Create a plan for implementation:

Strategic Plans should be reviewed and updated as needed. You can create a Strategic Plan that is flexible enough to adapt to any changes or obstacles that may appear.

Once you’ve determined the Strategic Direction for your company, it’s time to implement what needs changing! Creating an actionable plan allows your company to move forward with confidence in its ability to succeed.

Benefits of Doing a Strategic Review:

There are many Strategic Benefits that arise from conducting Strategic Reviews. Whether you’re just getting started or a veteran in the field of business, Strategic Review can help your company grow and succeed!

Here are some benefits of Strategic Review;

Strategic Reviews take a look at every aspect of your company, including its Strategic Capabilities and Strategic Goals.

It can identify opportunities for improvement in all areas of business performance. This allows companies to improve each department from top to bottom.

A Strategic Review shows you where your strengths are as well as any obstacles that may stand in the way of Strategic Goals.

It shows where your company has been successful in the past. It allows you to take these strengths into account when planning ahead for future success!

Conclusion:

The Strategic Review process is a strategic advantage for any company, no matter the size or industry. It allows companies to identify opportunities for improvement in all areas of business performance.

Strategic reviews are important because they allow each area of business performance to improve from top to bottom. You should have to conduct and manage by Strategic Managers.

It’s time to start planning ahead- Strategic Success starts with Strategic Reviews! Make sure you conduct your own Strategic Review before it’s too late!

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