Forgot password?
New to Digital Leadership? Create your account
Your e-mail address: * Your first name: *
Help us better understand the UNITE community
Our 35-page comprehensive innovation guide covers the key areas why innovation fails. While it cannot cover all the solutions (that would take books to fill), it provides you with a convenient starting point for your analysis and provides further resources and links to the corresponding UNITE models, ultimately allowing you to work towards a doubling and tripling your chances of success.
Discover the largest library of innovation & transformation tools on the internet!
Choose Your Password *
Confirm Your Password *
Already have an account? Log in
Country * Please Select Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin (Dahomey) Bolivia Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Brunswick and Lüneburg Bhutan Bulgaria Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) Burundi Cabo Verde Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cayman Islands Central African Republic Central American Federation Chad Chile China Colombia Comoros Congo Free State Costa Rica Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czechia Democratic Republic of the Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Eswatini Ethiopia Fiji Finland France Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Grand Duchy of Tuscany Greece Grenada Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Holy See Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Korea Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nassau Nauru Nepal Netherlands New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria North Macedonia Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papal States Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Piedmont-Sardinia Poland Portugal Qatar Republic of Congo Republic of Korea (South Korea) Republic of the Congo Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Schaumburg-Lippe Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South Sudan Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland State of Palestine Syria Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United States United Arab Emirates United Kingdom Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Vietnam Württemberg Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe Industry * Please Select Automotive, mobilty & transport Financial Services Chemical & agriculture Construction & Real Estate Consulting Education Energy Banking, insurance & FS FMCG Food Gov / Public Industry Health & lifestyle Logistics, Aero & Shipping Media & Entertainment Natural resources & mining Pharma & Biotech Retail & trade Tech & E-Commerce Telco Tourism design Information technology & services Management consulting Retail Pharmaceuticals International trade & development Professional training & coaching luxury goods & jewelry Automotive Insurance Mechanical or industrial engineering Company Size * XS - 1-10 S - 10-100 M - 100-1000 L - 1000-5000 XL - > 5000
Most of our models and canvases are designed to be applied!
To help you personalize them to your exact business requirements, you can download fully editable versions of the UNITE models available (PowerPoint format)!
They are straightforward to work with, and you can directly incorporate them into your presentations as you need…thus saving countless hours of replication!
PS: did you know that you are also getting hi-res print-ready versions for your workshops?
Each month we host our exclusive, invitation-only webinar series where one of our industry-leading experts updates our members on the latest news, progress and concepts around business strategy, innovation and digital transformation, as well as other related topics.
You will receive the book in PDF and EPUB formats, ideal for your computer, Kindle, Tablet or other eReading device.
These sessions are your opportunity to bring any questions or challenges you’re facing and receive expert guidance on the spot.
Come and be a part of engaging discussions where your unique concerns are heard and addressed.
If you are occasionally looking for a sparring partner or you need limited support, then this option will be ideal for you. Coaching sessions are 1-2 hours where we can discuss any challenge or opportunity you are currently facing.
If you need a few more hours outside of this provision, then these could be billed transparently.
We believe support shouldn’t be limited. Because we typically find that the occasional hour just doesn’t cut it – particularly if you and your team are in the midst of a large and complex project.
Your time with Stefan is therefore unlimited (fair usage applies) – in his function as coach and sparring partner. That does mean that you will still have to do the work – we cannot take that off you, unless you hire us as consultants. But you will get valuable strategic insight and direction to make sure you are always focusing your efforts where they will lead to the best results.
We believe support shouldn’t be limited. If you generally know what you are doing but want a sparring partner to frequently raise questions to, this is the perfect choice!
In addition to your monthly 1-1 live coaching sessions with Stefan, you will also get unlimited support from him via email and WhatsApp messaging (fair usage applies). This not only allows you to get valuable strategic direction in your calls, but also gives you instant access to expert help as you work through your plans each month.
The fact that support is text-based means that we can speed up our responses to you while keeping the overall cost of support down.
As a welcome gift, you will receive the both the digital and physical version of our book “How to Create Innovation”, which covers numerous relevant resources and provides additional deep dives into our UNITE models and concepts.
The print version will be shipped out to you on sign-up. The digital version will be emailed to you, and comes in PDF and EPUB formats, ideal for your computer, Kindle, Tablet or other eReading device.
1x major or 2x smaller workshops based on the UNITE models.
All of our Professional plans offer full access to the following:
We are currently in the process of launching our brand new community., we are designing our community to specifically help you:.
Cancelling your plan will deactivate your plan after the current billing period ends. You will not be charged further, but also won’t be able to access [exclusive features/services].
Simply fill out the below form and book in a time for our initial session that works for you. This initial session is free, no strings attached, and is where we can discuss your Blueprint needs more in-depth before moving forward.
Founder of digital leadership.
Partner for it strategy & business alignment.
Speak to our team today to find the best solution for your business to grow and scale.
We are here to support you across the entire lifecycle in all topics related to #digital, #innovation, #transformation and #marketing!
Stefan F. Dieffenbacher Founder of Digital Leadership
Contact form, contact details, book a call.
Title, first name & last name * Email address * Phone number Please let us know how we can best support you! *
By clicking “Send”, I agree to Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
“Please be invited to reach out! We are happy to help and look forward to a first meeting!”
+41 (0) 44 562 42 24
Find a time on our calender that best suits you !
Founder and CEO of Digital Leadership
SCHEDULE YOUR INITIAL CALL
What is the main challenge you're currently facing in your business?
Let’s find the best solution for your business to grow and scale sustainably!
We will uncover your current business situation and goals and provide you with a bespoke solution that helps you drastically grow your business working with us.
Read the reviews and make sure that this is not a waste of time, but a super effective tool.
Schedule your free business assessment call with our founder.
On this call, we will uncover your current business situation and goals and talk about how to drive change and solve your need.
Choose the meeting type that applies to your needs and schedule a time to meet with someone from our team. We look forward to speaking with you soon!
Welcome to our scheduling page.
In a uniquely designed 60 or 90 minute session* , we will …
Based on the Blueprinting session, you will receive a tailored blueprint that aligns with your objectives, vision and goals, ensuring that your initiative is a success from start to finish.
In this session, you will be working together with Patrick Zimmermann, Associate Partner for Customer Experience
In this session, you will be working together with Dr. Andreas Rein, Partner at Digital Leadership for Culture & Org Change
In this session, you will be working together with Sascha Martini, Partner at Digital Leadership for Innovation and Digital Transformation
In this session, you will be working together with Stefan F. Dieffenbacher, Founder of Digital Leadership Stefan is a global thought leader in the innovation space
In this session, you will be working together with Adam D. Wisniewski, Partner for IT Strategy & Business Alignment
Write a personalized review! Log in
It appears your web browser is not using JavaScript. Without it, some pages won't work properly. Please adjust the settings in your browser to make sure JavaScript is turned on.
Building a great business plan helps you plan, strategize and succeed. Presented by Chase for Business .
Making the decision to create a new business is an exciting yet stressful experience. Starting a business involves many tasks and obstacles, so it’s important to focus before you take action. A solid business plan can provide direction, help you attract investors and ensure you maintain momentum.
No matter what industry you plan on going into, a business plan is the first step for any successful enterprise. Building your business plan helps you figure out where you want your business to go and identify the necessary steps to get you there. This is a key document for your company to both guide your actions and track your progress.
Think of a business plan like a roadmap. It enables you to solve problems and make key business decisions, such as marketing and competitive analysis, customer and market analysis and logistics and operations plans.
It can also help you organize your thoughts and goals, as well as give you a better idea of how your company will work. Good planning is often the difference between success and failure.
Here are nine reasons your company needs a business plan.
Through the process of writing a business plan, you can assess whether your company will be successful. Understanding market dynamics, as well as competitors, will help determine if your idea is viable.
This is also the time to develop financial projections for your business plan, like estimated startup costs, a profit and loss forecast, a break-even analysis and a cash flow statement . By taking time to investigate the viability of your idea, you can build goals and strategies to support your path to success.
A proper business plan proves to all interested parties—including potential investors, customers, employees, partners and most importantly yourself — that you are serious about your business.
As a business owner, the bulk of your time will mostly likely be spent managing day-to-day tasks. As a result, it might be hard to find time after you launch your business to set goals and milestones. Writing a business plan allows you to lay out significant goals for yourself ahead of time for three or even five years down the road. Create both short- and long-term business goals.
Prevent your business from falling victim to unexpected dangers by researching before you break ground. A business plan opens your eyes to potential risks that your business could face. Don’t be afraid to ask yourself the hard questions that may need research and analysis to answer. This is also good practice in how your business would actually manage issues when they arise. Incorporate a contingency plan that identifies risks and how you would respond to them effectively.
The most common reasons businesses fail include:
Lack of capital is the most prevalent reason why businesses fail. To best alleviate this problem, take time to determine how your business will generate revenue. Build a comprehensive model to help mitigate future risks and long-term pain points. This can be turned into a tool to manage growth and expansion.
Whether you’re planning to apply for an SBA loan , build a relationship with angel investors or seek venture capital funding, you need more than just an elevator pitch to get funding. All credible investors will want to review your business plan. Although investors will focus on the financial aspects of the plan, they will also want to see if you’ve spent time researching your industry, developed a viable product or service and created a strong marketing strategy.
While building your business plan, think about how much raised capital you need to get your idea off the ground. Determine exactly how much funding you’ll need and what you will use it for. This is essential for raising and employing capital.
You will have many investments to make at the launch of your business, such as product and services development, new technology, hiring, operations, sales and marketing. Resource planning is an important part of your business plan. It gives you an idea of how much you’ll need to spend on resources and it ensures your business will manage those resources effectively.
A business plan provides clarity about necessary assets and investment for each item. A good business plan can also determine when it is feasible to expand to a larger store or workspace.
In your plan, include research on new products and services, where you can buy reliable equipment and what technologies you may need. Allocate capital and plan how you’ll fund major purchases, such as with a Chase small business checking account or business credit card .
From seasoned executives to skilled labor, a compelling business plan can help you attract top-tier talent, ideally inspiring management and employees long after hiring. Business plans include an overview of your executive team as well as the different roles you need filled immediately and further down the line.
Small businesses often employ specialized consultants, contractors and freelancers for individual tasks such as marketing, accounting and legal assistance. Sharing a business plan helps the larger team work collectively in the same direction.
This will also come into play when you begin working with any new partners. As a new business, a potential partner may ask to see your business plan. Building partnerships takes time and money, and with a solid business plan you have the opportunity to attract and work with the type of partners your new business needs.
When you start a business, it's easy to assume you'll be available to guide your team. A business plan helps your team and investors understand your vision for the company. Your plan will outline your goals and can help your team make decisions or take action on your behalf. Share your business plan with employees to align your full staff toward a collective goal or objective for the company. Consider employee and stakeholder ownership as a compelling and motivating force.
A marketing strategy details how you will reach your customers and build brand awareness. The clearer your brand positioning is to investors, customers, partners and employees, the more successful your business will be.
Important questions to consider as you build your marketing strategy include:
With a thoughtful marketing strategy integrated into your business plan, your company goals are significantly more in reach.
Your business plan determines which areas of your business to focus on while also avoiding possible distractions. It provides a roadmap for critical tradeoffs and resource allocation.
As a business owner, you will feel the urge to solve all of your internal and customers’ problems, but it is important to maintain focus. Keep your priorities at the top of your mind as you set off to build your company.
As a small business owner, writing a business plan should be one of your first priorities. Read our checklist for starting a business, and learn how to take your business from a plan to reality. When you’re ready to get started, talk with a Chase business banker to open a Chase business checking or savings account today.
For Informational/Educational Purposes Only: The views expressed in this article may differ from other employees and departments of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Views and strategies described may not be appropriate for everyone and are not intended as specific advice/recommendation for any individual. You should carefully consider your needs and objectives before making any decisions and consult the appropriate professional(s). Outlooks and past performance are not guarantees of future results.
JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. Member FDIC. Equal Opportunity Lender, ©2023 JPMorgan Chase & Co
Manage your business how to help protect your business from check fraud.
Think writing checks is a safe way to pay vendors? Think again. Learn about five common scams and how to help prevent them.
Thinking about starting a business? Check these 10 items off your list.
Inventory can eat up a lot of cash. Here are a few ways to manage inventory with cash flow in mind.
Learn how to keep your cash business safe, secure and compliant.
Lucid Content
Reading time: about 7 min
When was the last time you updated your business plan?
Consistency is an important part of executing a strategy successfully. However, if you aren’t regularly evaluating and updating your business plans and goals to adapt to the changing needs of your business, you risk falling behind and missing key opportunities.
Circumstances and plans change. Whether you’re experiencing rapid growth, undergoing an acquisition, or transitioning to remote work, your plans and goals need to evolve to address a changing business environment.
Use the following tips and strategies for effectively re-evaluating plans and communicating change amid disruption.
Evaluating your business plan isn’t like an annual review. You can evaluate your business plans and goals as often as you want, whenever you want. The most important thing is to make sure you examine your plans whenever there is significant change in your business.
Change can come in many forms, including:
Change may come intentionally as you grow your business or through forces that are out of your control. The key is to adapt your plans strategically.
Pro tip: Evaluate your business goals regularly. Pick a cadence that makes sense for you and your business—whether that is monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. You can always add more evaluations as needs arise. But checking your plans periodically helps you stay on track with your strategy and identify any goals that are no longer serving your business.
Business plans and goals help you steer your business. A good business plan acts as a roadmap for decision-making and informs your strategy for setting and achieving key milestones and goals.
However, business plans are not static benchmarks. They should be a living document that you refer to and update regularly.
Re-evaluate your plans and goals often (especially during change or disruption) so you can:
If your plans and goals don’t match the current business reality, your strategies will be ineffective and irrelevant—and your business will suffer.
Follow these tips and best practices for re-examining and updating your plans successfully.
If your business plans aren’t serving your target audience—your customers—then they’re not serving you either.
Consider who your consumers are and what they need. Have those needs changed? Don’t make assumptions. Use data and feedback to inform your customer profiles and help you identify areas you need to revise.
Are you targeting the right goals? If your organization is targeting goals that are no longer relevant or don’t align with your mission, you will waste valuable time, money, and resources.
Examine your current goals and consider how they align with your strategy and current business environment. Don’t be afraid to revise or eliminate goals that no longer make sense with your overall plans. Be specific when outlining your goals and make a plan to achieve your new objectives.
What worked in the past may not work in the future. To successfully move forward amidst change, you need to let go of what no longer works and adopt new strategies for progress.
Consider your original plans and compare them to the actual results you saw. Identify key differences between what you planned versus what happened. Why didn’t those plans work? How have the circumstances changed now? What could you do differently going forward?
Answering these questions will help you identify where your plans need to shift and what strategies may still work for you.
Learn how you can better understand your current state and adapt processes to fit your new goals in Lucidchart.
Re-evaluating your plans isn’t just about looking back—it’s about looking forward. Change brings both disruption and opportunities. What opportunities are there now that didn’t exist before?
For example, if you are transitioning to a remote workforce, you may have new opportunities to hire top talent from a more diverse pool of applicants. This can be a significant growth opportunity for companies who struggle to fill talent gaps or are looking for ways to improve their company culture and employee engagement.
Remember to be flexible. Organizational changes to strategic plans and goals takes time.
While change can be good, adapting to change is difficult—especially for employees, who are often the ones most impacted by evolving goals and business processes. So it’s important you communicate changes clearly.
Good communication will help keep everyone on the same page, reduce friction, increase adoption, and streamline the transition.
Communicating change effectively should result in:
In other words, employees should recognize the need for change and feel empowered to make it happen.
Here are a few ways to communicate change effectively to your employees.
The first step to any communication on change is to explain what the changes are and why they are necessary. How will these changes improve the business? What are the benefits to the employees? What are the consequences if you don’t change?
When people know the why, they are more likely to support the change.
How will these changes impact your employees? What are they expected to do?
Changes may affect people directly or indirectly in your organization. The key is to communicate clearly to each group what the expectations are for implementing and supporting those changes.
For example, if you are introducing a new technology to the workflow, when are employees expected to adopt it? Who is responsible for training and onboarding? When will training occur? How can employees provide feedback on the process?
Empower your employees by outlining clear expectations. Visuals, such as process flowcharts or timelines, can help you delineate roles and responsibilities and clarify when each task should be completed.
Once you make changes, how will you know they worked? What does success look like? Explain how you plan to measure the success of the changes.
This step is especially important for employees whose goals or processes may have shifted. If they don’t know if their efforts are working and can’t confidently measure progress, it will be difficult to:
Outline exactly what the new changes, goals, and performance metrics will be so everyone can track their progress effectively.
Need help getting employees to accept change? Consider these change management models.
For any change to be successful, you need the support of your employees. Make it easier for them to buy in by highlighting how the changes will positively affect them. For example, will the changes make their job easier? Will they land more clients or close more sales? Are there any incentives you’re willing to offer to make this transition easier?
Recognizing the need for change and adapting your plans is crucial for businesses to remain relevant and competitive.
Regularly re-evaluate the plans you made and assess whether those plans are still relevant and effective. As you re-examine your goals and adapt your strategies to change, your business will be more resilient and better equipped to meet and exceed your goals.
Set goals that match your new business strategy and easily track your progress.
Lucidchart, a cloud-based intelligent diagramming application, is a core component of Lucid Software's Visual Collaboration Suite. This intuitive, cloud-based solution empowers teams to collaborate in real-time to build flowcharts, mockups, UML diagrams, customer journey maps, and more. Lucidchart propels teams forward to build the future faster. Lucid is proud to serve top businesses around the world, including customers such as Google, GE, and NBC Universal, and 99% of the Fortune 500. Lucid partners with industry leaders, including Google, Atlassian, and Microsoft. Since its founding, Lucid has received numerous awards for its products, business, and workplace culture. For more information, visit lucidchart.com.
or continue with
By registering, you agree to our Terms of Service and you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy .
Identifying the resources you need to grow your business
How to start resource planning, the bottom line, frequently asked questions (faqs).
Maskot / Getty Images
A business plan helps you organize your goals and growth plans for your business. Identifying business resources you'll be starting your business with already, and accounting for the resources you'll need to acquire after launching the business, is a crucial step in business planning.
Resource planning help you account for resources you have, plan for resources you need and ways to optimize their use. Among other things, even the most simple business plans are designed to walk you through the activity of describing every source and the exact dollar amount of your initial equity capital, as well as account for the equipment necessary to produce your products or services.
It can be difficult to accurately estimate your future resource needs, which is why this startup mistake is one of the most frequent contributors to young businesses running out of cash early on.
A very important section in your business plan is about the finances of your business, and that includes how much you hope to spend on resources you need to acquire and maintenance expenses on assets you own. Your plans for obtaining the necessary personnel, equipment, and cash to meet your capital expenses will need to be detailed throughout your business plan.
You may need financing from a bank or investors or will invest your personal savings in the business, and resource planning will come in handy for that too.
Resource allocation plans are what your potential investors and business partners are going to need to see before jumping on board with your new company.
There are different types of resources and you need to budget and plan for them accordingly. In describing each of the resources that you have and need for your business to reach profitability, position each of them in terms of the value it will bring to the company, both in the near term and down the road.
To figure out exactly which resources your business is going to need, and account for those in your business planning process, ask yourself these two crucial questions:
Depending on the nature of your business, you may have varying need for physical assets. However, in all likelihood you'd need some sort of office furniture and definitely some computers. Physical assets could also include office space, storefronts, manufacturing facilities and equipment necessary for your business. For example, if you own a baked good business, baking equipment like mixers and ovens would be physical assets you'd need to plan for.
There are different types of people that can be a part of your business. People you hire, for example, can be employees or independent contractors and there are different cost implications for your business depending on whether you hire the former or the latter.
Investing in skills and capacities for people in your business is also an important part of resource planning.
How about mentors, key advisors, supplier connections, and other intangible resources for your business? These types of relationships whose value to your business can be immense, also need to be accounted for within your business plan as they'll have a very large impact on the future growth of your company.
Think of the massively positive effect your company would experience if you had a friend or family member that was a decision-maker at a large company who'd be your perfect first customer. It would undoubtedly be one of your key strategies for driving the early growth of your company. So, as you're planning your resource allocation, you'd naturally be spending in areas that make your young business more appealing to the target customers you want to serve.
It is a good time to evaluate your technical resources and requirements as well. Some businesses rely more heavily on technology or intellectual property than others. Technology-dependent companies will need a strong IT network to get started. If building your own website won't be any trouble, then that's one major cost you'll be able to avoid as you get started with your company. Otherwise, you may need to allocate for web design, development, and other website-related expenses.
Regardless of your situation, don't be intimidated by the upfront costs of starting a business. Instead, keep in mind that in today's age, your product or service will only be as good as the technology that supports it, and if you buy or build low-grade gear, you’ll probably have to replace it in a few years anyway.
Clearly, there are a lot of different expenses to take into account as you allocate the resources for your new business. However, forcing yourself to go through this activity in extreme detail while building your business plan will save you a lot of headaches and potential failures in the future.
Resources can be anything that helps you operate or run your business. Assets are a type of resources that help you achieve you business. Assets can be cash, or physical assets such as equipment or intangible assets such as the brand of your business. In a business plan, you talk about the resources you have and the resources you need to acquire to help your business grow. You also account for your assets on your balance sheet. A strong balance sheet presented in your business plan can be appealing to potential investors.
Each section of a business plan is important to potential investors. An executive summary gives your investors an elevator pitch to your business. Company description explains to them how your business is solving a market need, while market analysis shows investors you understand your industry and competition. Sections on organization, product details and marketing plans dig deeper into your vision for your business and how its organized. And the financial information component helps them see if you idea is worth putting their money into.
Small Business Administration. " Write your business plan ."
Planview. " Resource Planning: How To Build a Resource Plan ."
Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders map out their vision for their organization’s growth and how they’re going to get there. In this article, we'll guide you through the strategic planning process, including why it's important, the benefits and best practices, and five steps to get you from beginning to end.
Strategic planning is a process through which business leaders map out their vision for their organization’s growth and how they’re going to get there. The strategic planning process informs your organization’s decisions, growth, and goals.
Strategic planning helps you clearly define your company’s long-term objectives—and maps how your short-term goals and work will help you achieve them. This, in turn, gives you a clear sense of where your organization is going and allows you to ensure your teams are working on projects that make the most impact. Think of it this way—if your goals and objectives are your destination on a map, your strategic plan is your navigation system.
In this article, we walk you through the 5-step strategic planning process and show you how to get started developing your own strategic plan.
Get our free ebook and learn how to bridge the gap between mission, strategic goals, and work at your organization.
Strategic planning is a business process that helps you define and share the direction your company will take in the next three to five years. During the strategic planning process, stakeholders review and define the organization’s mission and goals, conduct competitive assessments, and identify company goals and objectives. The product of the planning cycle is a strategic plan, which is shared throughout the company.
A strategic plan is the end result of the strategic planning process. At its most basic, it’s a tool used to define your organization’s goals and what actions you’ll take to achieve them.
Typically, your strategic plan should include:
Your company’s mission statement
Your organizational goals, including your long-term goals and short-term, yearly objectives
Any plan of action, tactics, or approaches you plan to take to meet those goals
Strategic planning can help with goal setting and decision-making by allowing you to map out how your company will move toward your organization’s vision and mission statements in the next three to five years. Let’s circle back to our map metaphor. If you think of your company trajectory as a line on a map, a strategic plan can help you better quantify how you’ll get from point A (where you are now) to point B (where you want to be in a few years).
When you create and share a clear strategic plan with your team, you can:
Build a strong organizational culture by clearly defining and aligning on your organization’s mission, vision, and goals.
Align everyone around a shared purpose and ensure all departments and teams are working toward a common objective.
Proactively set objectives to help you get where you want to go and achieve desired outcomes.
Promote a long-term vision for your company rather than focusing primarily on short-term gains.
Ensure resources are allocated around the most high-impact priorities.
Define long-term goals and set shorter-term goals to support them.
Assess your current situation and identify any opportunities—or threats—allowing your organization to mitigate potential risks.
Create a proactive business culture that enables your organization to respond more swiftly to emerging market changes and opportunities.
The strategic planning process involves a structured methodology that guides the organization from vision to implementation. The strategic planning process starts with assembling a small, dedicated team of key strategic planners—typically five to 10 members—who will form the strategic planning, or management, committee. This team is responsible for gathering crucial information, guiding the development of the plan, and overseeing strategy execution.
Once you’ve established your management committee, you can get to work on the planning process.
Before you can define where you’re going, you first need to define where you are. Understanding the external environment, including market trends and competitive landscape, is crucial in the initial assessment phase of strategic planning.
To do this, your management committee should collect a variety of information from additional stakeholders, like employees and customers. In particular, plan to gather:
Relevant industry and market data to inform any market opportunities, as well as any potential upcoming threats in the near future.
Customer insights to understand what your customers want from your company—like product improvements or additional services.
Employee feedback that needs to be addressed—whether about the product, business practices, or the day-to-day company culture.
Consider different types of strategic planning tools and analytical techniques to gather this information, such as:
A balanced scorecard to help you evaluate four major elements of a business: learning and growth, business processes, customer satisfaction, and financial performance.
A SWOT analysis to help you assess both current and future potential for the business (you’ll return to this analysis periodically during the strategic planning process).
To fill out each letter in the SWOT acronym, your management committee will answer a series of questions:
What does your organization currently do well?
What separates you from your competitors?
What are your most valuable internal resources?
What tangible assets do you have?
What is your biggest strength?
Weaknesses:
What does your organization do poorly?
What do you currently lack (whether that’s a product, resource, or process)?
What do your competitors do better than you?
What, if any, limitations are holding your organization back?
What processes or products need improvement?
Opportunities:
What opportunities does your organization have?
How can you leverage your unique company strengths?
Are there any trends that you can take advantage of?
How can you capitalize on marketing or press opportunities?
Is there an emerging need for your product or service?
What emerging competitors should you keep an eye on?
Are there any weaknesses that expose your organization to risk?
Have you or could you experience negative press that could reduce market share?
Is there a chance of changing customer attitudes towards your company?
To begin strategy development, take into account your current position, which is where you are now. Then, draw inspiration from your vision, mission, and current position to identify and define your goals—these are your final destination.
To develop your strategy, you’re essentially pulling out your compass and asking, “Where are we going next?” “What’s the ideal future state of this company?” This can help you figure out which path you need to take to get there.
During this phase of the planning process, take inspiration from important company documents, such as:
Your mission statement, to understand how you can continue moving towards your organization’s core purpose.
Your vision statement, to clarify how your strategic plan fits into your long-term vision.
Your company values, to guide you towards what matters most towards your company.
Your competitive advantages, to understand what unique benefit you offer to the market.
Your long-term goals, to track where you want to be in five or 10 years.
Your financial forecast and projection, to understand where you expect your financials to be in the next three years, what your expected cash flow is, and what new opportunities you will likely be able to invest in.
Now that you understand where you are and where you want to go, it’s time to put pen to paper. Take your current business position and strategy into account, as well as your organization’s goals and objectives, and build out a strategic plan for the next three to five years. Keep in mind that even though you’re creating a long-term plan, parts of your plan should be created or revisited as the quarters and years go on.
As you build your strategic plan, you should define:
Company priorities for the next three to five years, based on your SWOT analysis and strategy.
Yearly objectives for the first year. You don’t need to define your objectives for every year of the strategic plan. As the years go on, create new yearly objectives that connect back to your overall strategic goals .
Related key results and KPIs. Some of these should be set by the management committee, and some should be set by specific teams that are closer to the work. Make sure your key results and KPIs are measurable and actionable. These KPIs will help you track progress and ensure you’re moving in the right direction.
Budget for the next year or few years. This should be based on your financial forecast as well as your direction. Do you need to spend aggressively to develop your product? Build your team? Make a dent with marketing? Clarify your most important initiatives and how you’ll budget for those.
A high-level project roadmap . A project roadmap is a tool in project management that helps you visualize the timeline of a complex initiative, but you can also create a very high-level project roadmap for your strategic plan. Outline what you expect to be working on in certain quarters or years to make the plan more actionable and understandable.
Now it’s time to put your plan into action. Strategy implementation involves clear communication across your entire organization to make sure everyone knows their responsibilities and how to measure the plan’s success.
Make sure your team (especially senior leadership) has access to the strategic plan, so they can understand how their work contributes to company priorities and the overall strategy map. We recommend sharing your plan in the same tool you use to manage and track work, so you can more easily connect high-level objectives to daily work. If you don’t already, consider using a work management platform .
A few tips to make sure your plan will be executed without a hitch:
Communicate clearly to your entire organization throughout the implementation process, to ensure all team members understand the strategic plan and how to implement it effectively.
Define what “success” looks like by mapping your strategic plan to key performance indicators.
Ensure that the actions outlined in the strategic plan are integrated into the daily operations of the organization, so that every team member's daily activities are aligned with the broader strategic objectives.
Utilize tools and software—like a work management platform—that can aid in implementing and tracking the progress of your plan.
Regularly monitor and share the progress of the strategic plan with the entire organization, to keep everyone informed and reinforce the importance of the plan.
Establish regular check-ins to monitor the progress of your strategic plan and make adjustments as needed.
Once you’ve created and implemented your new strategic framework, the final step of the planning process is to monitor and manage your plan.
Remember, your strategic plan isn’t set in stone. You’ll need to revisit and update the plan if your company changes directions or makes new investments. As new market opportunities and threats come up, you’ll likely want to tweak your strategic plan. Make sure to review your plan regularly—meaning quarterly and annually—to ensure it’s still aligned with your organization’s vision and goals.
Keep in mind that your plan won’t last forever, even if you do update it frequently. A successful strategic plan evolves with your company’s long-term goals. When you’ve achieved most of your strategic goals, or if your strategy has evolved significantly since you first made your plan, it might be time to create a new one.
To turn your company strategy into a plan—and ultimately, impact—make sure you’re proactively connecting company objectives to daily work. When you can clarify this connection, you’re giving your team members the context they need to get their best work done.
A work management platform plays a pivotal role in this process. It acts as a central hub for your strategic plan, ensuring that every task and project is directly tied to your broader company goals. This alignment is crucial for visibility and coordination, allowing team members to see how their individual efforts contribute to the company’s success.
By leveraging such a platform, you not only streamline workflow and enhance team productivity but also align every action with your strategic objectives—allowing teams to drive greater impact and helping your company move toward goals more effectively.
Still have questions about strategic planning? We have answers.
A strategic plan is one of many tools you can use to plan and hit your goals. It helps map out strategic objectives and growth metrics that will help your company be successful.
You should aim to create a strategic plan every three to five years, depending on your organization’s growth speed.
Since the point of a strategic plan is to map out your long-term goals and how you’ll get there, you should create a strategic plan when you’ve met most or all of them. You should also create a strategic plan any time you’re going to make a large pivot in your organization’s mission or enter new markets.
A strategic planning template is a tool organizations can use to map out their strategic plan and track progress. Typically, a strategic planning template houses all the components needed to build out a strategic plan, including your company’s vision and mission statements, information from any competitive analyses or SWOT assessments, and relevant KPIs.
A business plan can help you document your strategy as you’re getting started so every team member is on the same page about your core business priorities and goals. This tool can help you document and share your strategy with key investors or stakeholders as you get your business up and running.
You should create a business plan when you’re:
Just starting your business
Significantly restructuring your business
If your business is already established, you should create a strategic plan instead of a business plan. Even if you’re working at a relatively young company, your strategic plan can build on your business plan to help you move in the right direction. During the strategic planning process, you’ll draw from a lot of the fundamental business elements you built early on to establish your strategy for the next three to five years.
Your strategic plan, mission statement, and vision statements are all closely connected. In fact, during the strategic planning process, you will take inspiration from your mission and vision statements in order to build out your strategic plan.
Simply put:
A mission statement summarizes your company’s purpose.
A vision statement broadly explains how you’ll reach your company’s purpose.
A strategic plan pulls in inspiration from your mission and vision statements and outlines what actions you’re going to take to move in the right direction.
For example, if your company produces pet safety equipment, here’s how your mission statement, vision statement, and strategic plan might shake out:
Mission statement: “To ensure the safety of the world’s animals.”
Vision statement: “To create pet safety and tracking products that are effortless to use.”
Your strategic plan would outline the steps you’re going to take in the next few years to bring your company closer to your mission and vision. For example, you develop a new pet tracking smart collar or improve the microchipping experience for pet owners.
Company objectives are broad goals. You should set these on a yearly or quarterly basis (if your organization moves quickly). These objectives give your team a clear sense of what you intend to accomplish for a set period of time.
Your strategic plan is more forward-thinking than your company goals, and it should cover more than one year of work. Think of it this way: your company objectives will move the needle towards your overall strategy—but your strategic plan should be bigger than company objectives because it spans multiple years.
A business case is a document to help you pitch a significant investment or initiative for your company. When you create a business case, you’re outlining why this investment is a good idea, and how this large-scale project will positively impact the business.
You might end up building business cases for things on your strategic plan’s roadmap—but your strategic plan should be bigger than that. This tool should encompass multiple years of your roadmap, across your entire company—not just one initiative.
A strategic plan is a company-wide, multi-year plan of what you want to accomplish in the next three to five years and how you plan to accomplish that. A project plan, on the other hand, outlines how you’re going to accomplish a specific project. This project could be one of many initiatives that contribute to a specific company objective which, in turn, is one of many objectives that contribute to your strategic plan.
A strategic plan is a tool to define where your organization wants to go and what actions you need to take to achieve those goals. Strategic planning is the process of creating a plan in order to hit your strategic objectives.
Strategic management includes the strategic planning process, but also goes beyond it. In addition to planning how you will achieve your big-picture goals, strategic management also helps you organize your resources and figure out the best action plans for success.
6 ways to reevaluate your business plan this month.
A business plan should be a given for companies of all sizes, types, and development stages. A polished, well-defined business plan provides companies with the structure they need to realize their ultimate potential.
Think of a business plan as a road map to getting your organization on the right path. They can help secure buy-in from your team, assist your fundraising efforts, and even connect you with potential partners. While a business plan is a helpful resource to help chart your company’s course, that plan doesn’t necessarily need to be set in stone. You should regularly revisit and reevaluate your business plan.
With December being National Write a Business Plan Month —and the end of the year looming—it’s a great time to check back in on your plan. In my experience, a business plan is only as good as a company’s willingness to modify it when necessary.
A business plan is never finished, and regular status checks allow businesses to see whether their big-picture objectives are still within reach. When reassessing your business blueprint, keep some of these things in mind:
1. Make goals and objectives paramount: Vince Cauvin, founder and CEO of Tabula Rosa
This one might sound obvious, but you’d be surprised. Ideas and endgames are sometimes buried beneath the surface to help companies maintain some kind of competitive edge. But as far as business plans are concerned, the whole strategy is designed to arrive at a destination.
To that end, these goals should be the focal point of your business plan. Each goal should be clearly communicated to ensure everyone is on the same page, a tactic Tabula Rosa CEO and founder Vince Cauvin knows well.
Disney forced to reveal unequal pay on star wars show ‘the acolyte’, ‘time to panic’—sudden $200 billion bitcoin, ethereum, solana, xrp and crypto price crash triggers ‘critical’ alarm.
“If I could impart one tip, it would be not to hesitate in communicating your idea,” Cauvin said. “We got started in 2016, but we were so afraid of someone stealing our idea that we ended up playing it too close to the vest. An idea is only good if you share it and others agree, so get people in the know.”
2. Don’t let customer-centricity falter: Beatriz Winn, co-founder and CEO of MindMatch
When taking stock of your current business plan, MindMatch co-founder and CEO Beatriz Winn argues there’s one element that shouldn’t be taken for granted: the customer.
“Stay close to your customers, listen to understand their challenges, and be willing to adapt your business model as needed,” Winn said. “I highly recommend the book ‘Talking to Humans’ by Giff Constable, which is a great reminder of the importance of identifying the main problems your customers have and how your business can solve them.”
Without customers, there’s no business or need to create any sort of plan. When sifting through your business plan in its current form, don’t let customers get lost in the logistical shuffle. Customers should be a focal point throughout that plan.
3. Make it flexible: Brian Freeman, CEO of Heartbeat
As stated before, business plans aren’t meant to be permanent. The market changes, your customers change, and your capacity to serve both sometimes will change. Construct a business plan that can adapt to the many variables influencing your company.
Heartbeat CEO Brian Freeman notes how adaptability has been a hallmark of the pandemic business landscape. He believes a “go with the flow” mindset is vital for any business plan.
“While the pandemic has decimated sectors like hospitality, it has created unprecedented growth in other sectors, like e-commerce,” Freeman said. “If you can adapt quickly and introduce products that serve the shifting needs of consumers, there are still a lot of opportunities to help your business thrive in this new economy.”
4. Revisit messaging and training: John Sukup, founder and principal consultant of Expected X
Are your brand’s voice, narrative, and objectives still properly hitting their respective preferred notes? Are employees acquiring the skills necessary to stay current and credible with clients? You can ask these questions (and answer them) through an audit of your current business plan.
Training and messaging are paramount to the foundation of any business. The former ensures your team is ready for any task posed by the audience, and the latter informs how services and credibility are communicated. The status of each is something that every business plan must address to ensure all bases are covered.
John Sukup, founder and principal consultant of machine learning and data strategy company Expected X, understands the importance of both.
“The machine learning world develops and changes so rapidly that keeping content fresh and relevant is a constant struggle,” Sukup said. “We’re really trying to refine how we approach prospects and develop relationships—especially since the world requires that to be done virtually these days. Our messaging focuses on how every business today is a technology business regardless of its product or service.”
5. Create an infrastructure that supports nontraditional workplace settings: Brent Morrison, founder and principal of Morrison Co.
As recently as June, 42% of American workers were remote . Although that shift to remote work seemed like it would be temporary at the start of the pandemic, it seems more likely to become the norm for many businesses moving forward.
To that end, you’ll need to examine your ability to foster effective, flexible work policies. When reimagining your business plan, include principles of a flexible workplace that will enable your team to keep pace from anywhere—something Morrison Co. Founder and Principal Brent Morrison plans to do.
“While we expect some evolution in our service offerings, the main driver will be continuing to offer our services remotely when and where that is preferred, without losing our personal attention,” Morrison said. “This year was not our first experience with Skype and Zoom, but those and other electronic system interfaces with our clients are now a fact of life—and a key part of serving clients well.”
Remote and flexible work are realities that aren’t going away soon. Build a business plan that can evolve with the changing landscape.
6. Emphasize forward momentum: Seth Talbott, founder and CEO of Relief Factor
A business plan should keep the majority of your company’s big-picture and day-to-day responsibilities in focus. At the same time, it offers an opportunity to think of new and creative ways to generate buzz for your company.
In Relief Factor CEO Seth Talbott’s opinion, this task boils down to positioning your company as transformative and showing (instead of telling) consumers why that’s the case.
“If you have to convince someone that your product matters, you’re done,” Talbott said. “Your product needs independent momentum that people can’t live without.”
Business plans are blueprints that help companies build foundations that will ultimately put them on a path toward success. Spend this month taking a thorough look at your company’s game plan to make sure it’s viable for 2021 and beyond.
Table of Contents
2) plan your growth, 3) minimise risk, 4) help guide future decisions, 5) improve as you learn more, 6) secure financing, making informed business decisions.
Sometimes success comes with luck. Otherwise, it comes with hard work and planning. If you’d like to maximise your success as you launch a business, this article is for you.
Learn six reasons you need a business plan before starting a business in this article by Countingup. If you’re new to business, a typical business plan includes research on market trends, competition analyses, customer profiles, marketing goals, logistics and operations plans, cash flow information, and an overall strategy on how they will grow.
Find out how a plan helps your business to:
This article will cover why you should plan and how you can use these elements to build your business more effectively. If you’re ready to write a business plan instead, check out our dedicated article How to write a business plan . There we cover what sort of information is expected and useful in business plans and how to research them.
At Countingup, we want to empower new entrepreneurs to take on new challenges and be financially independent. Read on to find out more.
If you’re to be successful in business, you need to know your market and the value customers are seeking within it. However, this can potentially be a lot of information to gather and manage. Therefore, you need a business plan to centralise and summarise all the important reasons why your business is valuable.
To do this, you need to consider two main perspectives: what your customers want and what your competitors are already offering. This second question is essential as it will allow you to identify how you can be different. If you already have something of a business idea or would like to turn a side-hustle into a full-time job, you should do research to understand if your idea will be a viable business and how. This market research in your business plan should look something like the following:
From your research, you can build a detailed picture of where your business should be positioned as you launch from the market gaps you’ve identified.
As you anticipate what your business might look like in five years, you may have some ideas for milestones to hit. For example: first customer, thousandth customer, break-even financially, first £1,000 in profit, and so on. However, do you know how you’re going to reach each of them?
From the market research you’ve just completed, your business plan allows you to take various steps to use this information. Therefore, you need a business plan to maximise your growth and create specific objectives and strategies to meet this growth.
For example, if you run a craft beer business, you might aim to sell 1,000 units within your first year. Your sales objective could be achieved with a strategy to ‘Attend trade fairs and beer festivals to meet potential retailers and interested customers’. Depending on the direction you choose in providing to retailers or selling directly to customers, you can reach this objective (first 1,000 units) in very different ways.
In contrast, if you run a consultancy business in financial services or marketing, you could aim to grow your client base to 12 full-time contracts across the year. Therefore, you might plan to ‘Use social media and industry contacts to advertise to clients’ or ‘Develop your service to retain clients for longer periods and larger projects’. These goals’ methods are critically different from one another – therefore strategies for your goals will need to be relevant and focused.
Once you’ve taken steps to meet these objectives, you can use your business plan to track your progress and identify where you still need to develop your business. With these formalised goals and methods, you can grow your business faster than entrepreneurs who don’t plan.
Another direction in which to focus market research within your business plan is towards identifying vulnerabilities. Each business has fragile areas where they are threatened. Therefore, you need a business plan to protect weak points and avoid excessive risk sources.
From the SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) included in your business plan, you can highlight areas that may need more proactive management and back-up plans in case something goes wrong. For example, this can be recognising whether your business idea is patentable, if external factors are driving up costs for consumers or if customer interest is a fading trend. Each of these threats and weaknesses presents vastly different problems to your business. Therefore, each will also need suitable methods to address them.
As you’re looking to start, having this awareness can mean you can anticipate problems ahead of time. Depending on the severity of these issues, you can take steps to cushion any damage or preserve your profits entirely. Without this insight, you leave yourself open to threats you were able to anticipate and mitigate but didn’t manage to – a critical oversight for any business owner.
On balance, having this awareness of weaknesses and threats can be more important than your opportunities, as you’ll be aware of steps to avoid and what to look out for. Therefore, outline threats to your business’ future to protect it.
Unfortunately, even the best plans have blindspots and circumstances where they’re of limited use. Therefore, you need a business plan to navigate uncertain futures.
Your market research is a snapshot of the market at one point in time. Therefore, the information, objectives and strategies you create are only useful for a certain period after this. If something changes in the market or some element of your business no longer works, you can still fall back on other parts of your business plan without having to start from scratch.
For example, as you build your business, you can revisit future objectives and decide whether your currently available options can still meet them. If they do, and you’re able to stay on target for your goals, you can grow your business in the direction you initially planned. However, where your plan hasn’t worked out, you’ll need to decide to the best of your ability.
Navigating these future scenarios with updated information is especially important as you balance the short and long-term priorities of growing your business. For example, do you want to take more money to compensate yourself or reinvest a higher proportion of your profits in the hopes of growth later on?
Even if you’ve planned to reinvest every penny for the first 5 years, maybe something in your personal life has meant you need to support yourself.
Some critical information to look out for as your business plan evolves includes:
As the months and years pass by while you trade and grow your business, you can update your plan with more insight. Therefore, you need a business plan to improve your business.
As an example, in some instances, a manufacturing process is harder than anticipated or a planned funding source isn’t available. Here, you can adapt your growth strategies based on this new information and update your plan to be more pragmatic and accurate. Similarly, if you find that certain marketing strategies don’t work, you can rule out certain business strategies in the future to expand your business with more confidence.
There would be little point in planning a course of action for your business, facing difficulties and then not updating your plan with a new direction. This would risk your business being disorganised and ineffective in its growth.
Even if your initial plans and growth strategies go the way you planned, at a certain point, your plan will expire anyway. This is because you can only plan so much on a single market snapshot. Therefore, you can use the experience you gain with time from growing your business to fine-tune your plans. This will make sure your business is always performing at its best within an evolving marketplace.
Finally, investors and lenders want to see entrepreneurs with a good understanding of what they offer to customers and a clear vision of how to grow their business. Therefore, you need a business plan to help convince other people that your business has value and potential.
When seeking funding, having a business plan to share with potential investors and lenders is sometimes a requirement as they’ll want to evaluate your claims more critically. While they may not be familiar with every business plan they come across, they may know more about typical business growth patterns and will be able to spot poor research or naive expectations.
Therefore, having a detailed and realistic business outline can help your plan withstand their criticism and robustly show your growth potential. Similarly, if you’re considering an exit strategy to sell your business in the future, a business plan may be needed to secure a higher valuation.
If you’d like to know more about communicating your business’s value and plan to secure funding, read our dedicated article How to present a business plan to potential investors .
Make your business plan more effective with Countingup.
Countingup is your business current account and accounting software in one app. With it, you can automate your financial admin and save time – so you can get back to doing what you love.
The Countingup app offers real-time profit and loss data so you detect changes in your business’ performance as they happen. So you’ll be able to see success instantly if you change your marketing strategy.
Get paid faster and improve your cash flow with automated invoicing. Gain complete confidence in your books as they’re always accurate and up to date – even if you’re on the go – with automatic expense categorisation and prompts for receipt capture as you make transactions. Countingup’s tax estimate tool will help you confidently set aside the right amount each year to pay any tax owed. Find out more here and sign up for free today.
Business insurance from superscript.
We’re partnered with insurance experts, Superscript to provide you with small business insurance.
There are over five million companies registered in the UK and 500,000 new
TikTok can be an excellent platform for growing a business, big or small.
Looking to start a new career? Or maybe you’re looking to embrace your
So your business is all set up, what next? A launch party can
Want to make manageable and achievable sales goals for your business? Find out
10 things you need to know before starting a business in the UK
If you’ve just started a business, you’ll likely be faced with the early
Running a small business and considering whether to register as a sole trader?
When starting a new business, one of the first things you need to
Your new company’s business plan is a crucial part of your success, as
Starting a business during a recession may sound like madness, but some big
AI ASSISTANTS
Upmetrics AI Your go-to AI-powered business assistant
AI Writing Assist Write, translate, and refine your text with AI
AI Financial Assist Automated forecasts and AI recommendations
TOP FEATURES
AI Business Plan Generator Create business plans faster with AI
Financial Forecasting Make accurate financial forecasts faster
INTEGRATIONS
Quickbooks (Coming soon...) Sync and compare with your quickbooks data
Strategic Planning Develop actionable strategic plans on-the-go
AI Pitch Deck Generator Use AI to generate your investor deck
Xero Sync and compare with your Xero data
See how easy it is to plan your business with Upmetrics: Take a Tour →
AI-powered business planning software
Very useful business plan software connected to AI. Saved a lot of time, money and energy. Their team is highly skilled and always here to help.
- Julien López
BY USE CASE
Secure Funding, Loans, Grants Create plans that get you funded
Starting & Launching a Business Plan your business for launch and success
Validate Your Business Idea Discover the potential of your business idea
E2 Visa Business Plan Create a business plan to support your E2 - Visa
Business Consultant & Advisors Plan with your team members and clients
Incubators & Accelerators Empowering startups for growth
Business Schools & Educators Simplify business plan education for students
Students & Learners Your e-tutor for business planning
WHY UPMETRICS?
Reviews See why customers love Upmetrics
Customer Success Stories Read our customer success stories
Blogs Latest business planning tips and strategies
Strategic Planning Templates Ready-to-use strategic plan templates
Business Plan Course A step-by-step business planning course
Help Center Help & guides to plan your business
Ebooks & Guides A free resource hub on business planning
Business Tools Free business tools to help you grow
Free Business Plan Template
Find yourself staring at the blank screen while writing your business plan? Well, every entrepreneur feels that once in their business journey. This is where a business plan consultant comes into the picture.
Think of a business plan consultant as your strategic partner who helps you craft the plan and create strategies that help you with funding.
But the tricky part is: How do you choose the right business plan consultant? Because there are a lot of options that will confuse you.
Worry not, here are the tips for choosing the right business plan consultant through which you can examine and select the right one for your business.
But before that let us understand why it’s important to hire a consultant.
A business plan consultant works closely with you and understands your business thoroughly. They help you achieve your goals like expanded market share, cost reduction, enhanced customer experience, and more.
Consultants have experience in various industries and expertise in fields like marketing, strategic planning, and more. So, having a consultant by your side will lead you to a successful business.
So, as we know why we need a business plan consultant, let’s move ahead to the tips.
Are you too facing the issues in choosing the right business plan consultant ? Well, there are many options online and offline for a consultant, so let’s see how to choose “the one” for your business:
First, look into which industries the business plan consultant has experience in. Also, consider their expertise, and see if it is relevant for your business.
Go for industry-specific experience, as this ensures familiarity with the unique problems and opportunities related to the industry.
Also, see if they have any successful track record in similar projects in the same industry. Lastly, review their portfolio for detailed strategic plans customized for a business like yours.
Before finalizing the business plan consultant, ensure they have the qualifications that you’re looking for. Go for a solid educational background, such as degrees in business, finance, or related fields, which is necessary for your industry.
Also, check if the consultants have any additional training and memberships in any professional organizations.
Explore recommendations and reviews of the consultant, before you finalize them. If you have word-of-mouth referrals from other businesses then it is a plus, as they come authentically.
Also, scan online reviews and get to know about the consultant’s methodology. All of these combined act as evidence of the consultant’s past work, process, and credibility.
Look for a consultant who not only has the necessary skills and expertise but communicates effectively. A compatible consultant will be able to offer personalized advice that resonates with your vision, ultimately leading to a more successful output.
Understanding the approach of the consultant is essential to ensure a successful outcome. It’s important to verify that their process includes comprehensive research, data analysis, and a clear strategic plan.
Requesting a detailed outline of the process along with the expected timeline can help you understand their method and set clear expectations.
Discussing fees and contracts before hiring a consultant maintains transparency. You need to clearly understand their fee structure and what it covers.
Apart from that, make sure the contract clearly states what you’ll get, when you’ll get the plan, and how much you’ll have. This clarity helps prevent misunderstandings and potential disputes later on.
Request sample business plans from the consultant to evaluate their work. This will help you know their writing style, attention to detail, and overall professionalism.
By going through their past work, you can consider whether their process syncs with your expectations and requirements.
Here you should get to know about the consultant’s knowledge by asking certain specific questions from the industry like:
Also, look into if they can provide you with in-depth replies to your questions.
That’s it guys! I hope following the above tips will help you choose the right business plan consultant for your business.
But, if you don’t want to go to and for for your business plan, you can write it on your own with the help of a business planning software like Upmetrics .
This tool helps you with business planning, creating financial forecasts, strategic planning, and a lot more.
So, why not write your business plan on your own? Start planning today.
Sample Business Plan Library
Explore over 400 real-world business plan examples from a wide variety of industries.
One Page Business Plan Template
Use this simple one-page business plan template to immediately get started on your plan.
Free Startup Business Plan Template
Use this simple startup business plan template to immediately get started on your plan.
Can a business plan consultant help with funding.
Yes, a business plan consultant helps you with writing engaging business plans which ultimately supports you in attracting investors and banks for funds.
It might take around weeks, months, or even more for a business plan consultant or a writer to create a business plan for your business. However, with the AI-powered business planning tool like Upmetrics, you can write your plan in days.
Paying someone or not depends on your budget and requirements. But you can write your business plan professionally for just as low as $7 with Upmetrics.
You need to provide the history of your business, product or services, target market, competitors, marketing strategies, financial projections, operational details, legal requirements, and more—for them to understand your business.
About the Author
Upmetrics Team
Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more
Reach your goals with accurate planning.
No Risk – Cancel at Any Time – 15 Day Money Back Guarantee
Available today, the all-new Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft Surface – Surface Laptop and Surface Pro – are thin, light and beautiful devices that help you do more of what you love. Whether it’s starting a new creative project, connecting with friends and family or pursuing a new business venture, these devices are designed to support your journey.
The new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro are Copilot+ PCs, which are the fastest, most intelligent Windows PCs on the market. They are available in four color options at an incredible value, beginning at $999 Estimated Retail Price (ERP) USD on Microsoft.com or at a Microsoft Experience Center .
Exclusively on Microsoft.com, customers can purchase Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft Surface with 64GB memory (RAM) configurations which offer more performance and multi-tasking:
Read on for everything you need to know about the new Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft Surface.
Learn how to unlock the best of the new AI-powered features on your Copilot+ PC .
3 – The all-new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard [vi] unlocks new levels of flexibility
Alongside the new Surface Pro, we are introducing the Surface Pro Flex Keyboard , unlocking powerful new levels of flexibility to effortlessly adapt to your work and play routines. Ready to attach to your Pro for the ultimate laptop set-up or detach for more flexibility and to support your creative workflows. It is built with extra carbon fiber layers for stability and has a larger, customizable haptic touchpad. With integrated pen storage, your Slim Pen is secure, charged and ready to go. Accessibility remains core to our approach, so we designed the new Surface Pro Flex Keyboard with a bold keyset option to reduce eye strain and assist people with low vision.
Shopping at Microsoft Store is all about ease and convenience. Whether the new Copilot+ PCs from Microsoft Surface, Copilot Pro, Xbox consoles and games, apps, movies and TV shows, we’ve got you covered. Don’t miss our top deals on your favorite TV shows like Rick & Morty: Seasons 1-7, Buffy The Vampire Slayer Complete Series, Sons of Anarchy: The Complete Box Set and so much more – available for up to 50% off for a limited time .
You can also bet on Microsoft Store offering lots of great deals throughout the upcoming back-to-school season. Be sure to keep an eye on the deals page !
Available alongside Microsoft Surface today, are brand new Copilot+ PCs from the biggest brands: Acer , ASUS , Dell , HP , Lenovo and Samsung . Learn more from major PC manufacturers or visit leading retailers, including Best Buy .
[i] Colors available on selected models only. Available colors, sizes, finishes and processors may vary by store, market and configuration.
[ii] HDR requires HDR content and enabling HDR in device settings.
[iii] Microsoft account required.
[iv] Surface Slim Pen sold separately.
[v] Currently supports translation for video and audio subtitles into English from 40+ languages. See https://aka.ms/copilotpluspcs .
[vi] Surface Pro Flex Keyboard sold separately.
[vii] With approval of Citizens Pay Line of Credit at 0% APR and 12- or 18-month term. Subject to individual credit approval. See the Citizens Pay Line of Credit Agreement for full terms and conditions. Citizens Pay Line of Credit Account offered by Citizens Bank, N.A.
IMAGES
VIDEO
COMMENTS
To outline the importance of business plans and make the process sound less daunting, here are 10 reasons why you need one for your small business. 1. To help you with critical decisions. The primary importance of a business plan is that they help you make better decisions. Entrepreneurship is often an endless exercise in decision making and ...
Build a strategy. 4. Crafts a roadmap to achieve important milestones. A business plan is like a roadmap for your business. It helps you set, track and reach business milestones. For your plan to function in this way, your business plan should first outline your company's short- and long-term goals.
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 ...
Many businesses review their annual business plan every month to make sure they are staying on the path they laid out for the business and to make the necessary adjustments along the way. Apple has their business plans out to the mid-2020, but they update their plans every 90 days. This way they can be adaptable to the market trends, technology ...
Once you have a business idea, use these steps to evaluate it and make sure it's a sustainable idea to help you be successful: 1. Determine a target market. A target market is a group of people who are likely to purchase a company's products or services. They're the consumers you believe can benefit most from your business idea.
Successful businesses have a USP or unique selling point that is used as the cornerstone of the business. The more you blend in the more you directly compete with others. Avoiding the head to head ...
We've already explained the 5 steps in TAB's strategic business leadership process: Vision - Personal and business. SWOT analysis - Strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats. Plan - Personal and business. Make it happen - Communication, review, accountability, planning team. Turn the wheel - continuous review and revision as needed.
6. Financials. The financial section of your business plan is critical, especially if you want to circulate the plan to investors or lenders. The purpose of this section is threefold: to 1) outline your business's financial plan, 2) demonstrate your profit potential, and 3) share your financing needs.
2. Put yourself in the investors' shoes. As you review your plan, think from an investor's perspective. Evaluate if the plan has sufficient information about a business model and financial aspects to aid decision-making. If not, rework and focus on aspects that show the business's potential to make money. 3.
Step 1: Gather and assess data. Before you update your business plan, you need to understand what went well this year and where you have room for improvement. Take a look at the six categories below as you evaluate your challenges and explore opportunities for making the next year your best ever. Each category has three questions that you can ...
A business plan is essential as an entrepreneur. It helps you set clear goals and guidelines for how you will manage your business. A business plan may also be needed to set employee goals, obtain funding or even to sell your business one day. In this article, we discuss the importance of a business plan for entrepreneurs, as well as a few main ...
In your plan, you can examine the nuts and bolts of running a business to exploit your idea. Every business has one thing in common--the owner believes that their product or service is unique to a particular marketplace. No entrepreneur wants to provide a product or service that is indistinguishable from others like it.
Summary. It pays to plan. Entrepreneurs who write business plans are more likely to succeed, according to research. But while this might tempt some entrepreneurs to make writing a plan their very ...
Related: 7 Financial Forecasting Methods to Predict Business Performance. 2. Non-Financial Goals. While financial metrics are critical to assessing short-term profitability, non-financial goals can impact your business's long-term success. Objectives like improving customer satisfaction, boosting employee engagement, and enhancing ethical ...
In today's fast-paced entrepreneurial landscape, a meticulously crafted business plan functions as the guiding star for your venture's journey toward success. Whether you're an experienced entrepreneur or a budding startup creator, possessing a comprehensive business plan is indispensable, serving as the key to securing funding, making well-informed decisions, and effectively navigating ...
Here are nine reasons your company needs a business plan. 1. Prove your idea is viable. Through the process of writing a business plan, you can assess whether your company will be successful. Understanding market dynamics, as well as competitors, will help determine if your idea is viable.
Recognizing the need for change and adapting your plans is crucial for businesses to remain relevant and competitive. Regularly re-evaluate the plans you made and assess whether those plans are still relevant and effective. As you re-examine your goals and adapt your strategies to change, your business will be more resilient and better equipped ...
A business plan helps you organize your goals and growth plans for your business. ... In describing each of the resources that you have and need for your business to reach profitability, position each of them in terms of the value it will bring to the company, both in the near term and down the road. ... It is a good time to evaluate your ...
Step 1: Assess your current business strategy and business environment. Before you can define where you're going, you first need to define where you are. Understanding the external environment, including market trends and competitive landscape, is crucial in the initial assessment phase of strategic planning.
business next and what you may need to do to get there. This guide is the first in a three-part series providing guidance on how to: • assess your business performance • identify your strengths and areas for improvement • implement the improvements you have identified. Evaluating business performance will give you
Build a business plan that can evolve with the changing landscape. 6. Emphasize forward momentum: Seth Talbott, founder and CEO of Relief Factor. A business plan should keep the majority of your ...
3) Minimise risk. Another direction in which to focus market research within your business plan is towards identifying vulnerabilities. Each business has fragile areas where they are threatened. Therefore, you need a business plan to protect weak points and avoid excessive risk sources.
So, having a consultant by your side will lead you to a successful business. So, as we know why we need a business plan consultant, let's move ahead to the tips. 8 Tips for choosing the right business plan consultant. Are you too facing the issues in choosing the right business plan consultant? Well, there are many options online and offline ...
April 18, 2021. Reevaluate your business every 6 to 12 months. First take external factors into account, like trends and market conditions. Next, reevaluate your corporate strategies by assessing your existing business plan and aligning with these external factors. Evaluate processes in key departments like HR, IT, marketing, procurement ...
Here's a little secret they won't tell you狼 You don't need a massive following or influencer status to rake in on social media. Welcome to 2024, where all you need is a phone, Wi-Fi, and two...
2 - Exclusive AI experiences designed to empower creativity and productivity Express your creativity with Cocreator. Whether a seasoned artist or new to design, Cocreator simplifies image creation and photo editing with easy text prompts and natural inking using a Slim Pen on Surface Pro or touch on Surface Laptop. Exclusive to Copilot+ PCs, Cocreator lets you bring your ideas to life, and ...