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What is a business plan.

The written plan of goals you want to achieve with your business, and how you want to achieve them, is called a business plan. It is a decision-making tool used when beginning or extending a venture.

Any new business requires a business plan to ensure that the business can make a profit. Fund-seeking entrepreneurs use a formal business plan to convince investors to contribute towards the capital of the business.

Existing businesses – looking to expand or change the business – also use business plans to prospect for new business, attract key employees or deal with suppliers. By revising their business plan regularly, existing companies can devise strategies to manage their companies better.

Most commonly, a business plan is used to apply for a bank loan to fund a business. To learn how to create a business plan for a bank in South Africa, see FNB and Standard Bank’s business plan guidelines. You can also download Standard Bank’s free business plan template in Word or PDF format.

A business plan consists of three primary parts:

The business concept – details about the industry, the structure of the business, the product or service and the strategy for the success of the business.
The marketplace section – an analytical description of potential customers and the strategy for achieving success against competitors.
The financial section – the income and cash flow statement, balance sheet and other financial information.

The length of a business plan varies depending on the nature of the business and the purpose of the business plan. Typically, a business plan is 15 to 20 pages long. It usually details the goals for the business for the next three to five years.

An important part of compiling a business plan is in-depth research into the market and industry. Try to gain as much insight into the market you are targeting by talking to business owners, suppliers, potential customers, existing customers, staff members, business experts, etc. Also, research the industry online.

Business plan format

Although there are several types, the key components of all business plans are essentially the same. The format varies based on who the intended reader of the business plan is. Here is an example of a standard business plan format:

1. Table of Contents (1 page)

The table of contents page should include the correct page numbers of the sections of the business plan. Therefore, it is best to write this page last. In addition to the table of contents page, the plan must also have a cover and a title page.

2. Executive Summary (2 pages)

The purpose of the executive summary of a business plan is to entice the reader to read the rest of the plan. The executive summary is an overview of the key aspects of the plan. It should be compelling but also concise.

The executive summary should include:

the business concept (a description of the business, product, market and target market);
key financial aspects (sales, profits, cash flows, investment returns and capital requirements); and
a short company overview (type of company, date formed, owners and key personnel and achievements).

3. Company Overview (1 – 2 pages)

This section is a high-level overview of the company and the industry in which it operates. It is a description of the business, the product and the industry.

The following should be included in the company overview:

The name of the company and the type of ownership and registration;
Details about the business location (address, zoning, reason for choosing location, monthly rentals, etc.)
Significant assets and financial contributions to the business;
The mission statement of the business;
Company objectives and goals;
The main features of the industry in which the business will operate;
The most important company strengths and core competencies;
An explanation of the product, target market and profitability of the plan.

4. The Opportunity, Industry and Market Description (2 – 3 pages)

The research you conducted will come into play in this section. This section offers a detailed explanation of the market and industry and the business’ position therein.

They key is to determine who your target market is through a market analysis. Then clearly explain how your products/services will fulfil the needs of your target market. A market analysis also helps to determine pricing, distribution strategies and growth potential within the industry.

Describe the following:

The opportunity – the gap in the market;
The industry – the forces affecting the industry (i.e. obstacles to entry, customers, suppliers, substitute products and competition); and
The market – insights into the target market (i.e. size, growth and trends).

5. Strategy (1-2 pages)

Detail your positioning strategy and how the business will compete in the chosen market. In other words, what is unique about your product/service and how will the target market benefit from what you have to offer.

6. Business Model Explanation (1 page)

The business model depicts how the business will make money/profit. A business model covers the following aspects:

Sources of revenue;
Costs involved in generating the revenue;
The profitability of the business (revenue minus costs);
The investment required to get the business up and running; and
Success factors and assumptions for making the profit model work.

7. Management and Organisation (2 pages)

The biographies of the members of your management team and their roles in the business. Who will be responsible for running the business and why are they well-suited to the task?

This section should include:

The founders of the company and their qualifications and experience;
The day-to-day management team and their individual competencies and responsibilities;
The type of support staff needed to run the business; and
An organisational chart to show the management hierarchy.

8. Marketing Plan (2 – 3 pages)

The marketing plan is a comprehensive explanation of your marketing strategy. In other words, how will you sell your service/product to your target market?

Your marketing plan should include:

The value of your product/service to customers;
A detailed description of the target market;
How you want your target market to perceive your product/service;
The pricing strategy for the product/service;
Sales and distribution channels that will be used to get the product/service to the customer; and
The promotion strategy (budget, public relations activities, promotions, advertising, etc.).

9. Operational Plan (2 pages)

The operational plan is a description of how the business will function. Include a description of the following:

The operating cycle – how the business will deliver the service or create and sell the product;
How skills and materials will be sourced;
Which tasks will be outsourced and how business relationships will be managed; and
The cash payment cycle of the business.

10. Financial Plan (3 – 5 pages)

A very important part of any business plan is the financial plan. It is a reasonable projection of the company’s financial future.

A good financial plan will determine how much capital the business needs to launch and/or grow. This section is especially important to potential investors and banks – who will determine the odds for the continued survival of the company based on this information.

A financial plan should include:

Start-up expenses and capital: What it would cost to start/grow the company and how the money will be generated.
Profit and loss projections/income statement : Financial sales and expenses projections (i.e. income, cost of goods, gross profit margin, net profit, total expenses, etc.).
Cash flow projection: Reflects how much cash will be needed to cover expenses and when it will be needed. The cash flow projection amounts to a profit or loss at the end of each month or year.
A balance sheet: A summary of the business’ equity, assets and liabilities.
A break-even calculation

Income statements and cash flow projections must be generated for every month of the first year, every quarter of the second year and annually for every year thereafter. The balance sheet is only generated on an annual basis.

Short summaries of the analyses of the income statement, cash flow projection and balance sheet must also be included. Do not include too much detail in this section. Additional projections, charts and calculations must be added to the Appendix.

11. Appendix

Additional reference documents are included in the appendix. This could include:

Brochures and advertising materials;
Industry studies and market research;
Plans and blueprints;
Photos and maps of location;
Magazine or other articles;
Detailed lists of equipment owned or to be purchased;
Copies of leases and contracts;
Letters of support from future customers;
List of assets available as collateral for a loan; and/or
Detailed financial calculations and projections.

Find more business plan examples and templates from Entrepreneur Magazine .

Download a Business Plan Template

Business Plan Template by Being Boss and FreshBooks

So, you’re ready to take the first steps in starting your business – congratulations!

Though you have a lot of work ahead of you, starting and growing a company from the ground up is a bold endeavor. And, if set up correctly it will deliver many things you want out of your professional career, as well as help you achieve some life goals.

Freedom, creativity, control, impact… all of these things are possible with a small business. But only if you start with a clear understanding of yourself, your offering, and the customers you serve.

So, how do you make sure that the business you start will be everything you want it to be? To put you on the right path towards the business you’ve always dreamed of, you need to start with a business plan.

To many, building a business plan sounds like a daunting task, but with big ideas and even bigger goals, it’s an important step to ensure you have a clear picture of what kind of company you’re building. A business plan helps you lay a foundation and iron out the details so you have a succinct short-term and long-term idea of what you’re building. If you’re not sure where to start business plan template documents can help.

What Is a Business Plan Template and How Can It Help You?

A business plan template is a basic framework for building a powerful business plan document for your new company. With a business plan template, you get a head start on identifying key elements of your business. By identifying these key elements, your path becomes clear and easier to navigate. A business planning template can take many forms, from a series of questions about your skills, offering, customers, and goals to a sample document where you can store information for the kind of company you wish to build.

Whatever the format, a business planner template guides your business planning to keep you focused, help you get clear, and creates a structure for bringing your new ideas into a concise document to guide your actions, as well as present your plans to people you might approach for help, such as investors.

Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

To begin, simply writing a business plan is a wonderful way to find clarity, purpose, and a path for your new company, because if we know anything about entrepreneurs, it’s this: you have a gazillion ideas and goals for your new venture. A business plan helps you hone in on the most important and relevant ideas for your new company, and helps you organize those thoughts into a usable plan.

Beyond finding clarity and organizing your ideas, your business plan is a place where you set goals for yourself and your business, as well as predict any struggles you may face to reach those goals. Additionally, business plans lay out a clear strategy for reaching those goals, setting you on the right path from the very beginning.

Also, there are several key elements you must understand about your new business before you begin. You need to have a clear understanding of the products and services you offer, who your dream customers are (aka your target market), and who your competitors are (through doing a market analysis). You also need to see if your business idea is even viable by doing financial projections, which will determine if the product or service you offer is actually capable of creating enough income (aka revenue) to cover expenses (aka cost).

Because an offering that doesn’t make money isn’t a business, it’s a hobby. With all of this information laid out, business plans act as a concise rundown of all the major parts of your business, which you’ll use to go from idea to small business and beyond. This detailed summary of the business you’re starting includes a plan for actually making it happen. Trust us: there’s a bit of magic that comes from getting clear on these aspects of your new business because from clarity comes power, and with power… nothing will stand in your way.

How to Structure a Business Plan

A business plan that you’re using for your own clarity and purposes can look like anything you want – include the elements that are important to you, write it on a series of napkins if you want to, or add as much creative flair as you need to inspire you to get it done. Then get started with your business. The important thing is that you simply get it down “on paper” so that you have the information you need to effectively provide the product or service of your business to those in your target market so that you can begin reaching your goals.

But, if you’re wishing to seek funding for your new business, whether that’s from a bank, from an investor, or even from your family, it’s very important that you have a plan with a clear structure and with key elements presented. That way not only you will find clarity in the direction and purpose of your new business, but others can see it as well.

A traditional business plan begins with a broad overview of your new company, including your business mission and goals, and moves into being more detailed, with your first steps of action, along with plenty of information in between. Your plan is a product of lots of research about your industry, your ideal customer, and your offerings. It also represents in-depth planning, by outlining your skills and how you’ll grow them, how much it’s going to cost to get started, and financial projections for your first years. This plan will come together in a single document with clear organization that you can access anytime to keep you focused on taking just the right next step on your path.

What Goes Into a Business Plan?

There are several key elements that go into a complete and thorough business plan. With these elements, you have a complete picture of the company you’re here to start, which will become an invaluable resource as you begin taking your first steps, as well as when you begin checking-in in the coming months and even years. These elements include:

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Think of your executive summary as your birds-eye view of your company. It’s a summary of all other elements included in your business plan, and is the first (and sometimes only) element looked at by investors.

2. MISSION + VISION

Why are you starting your business? What do you imagine it being in 5 years? In this section of your business plan you share the reasons behind your business and where you see it going in the near and distant future.

Laying out clear goals for your business will give you context for all the work ahead. Think about business and life goals, and create goals for the short-term (6-12 months), mid-term (12-24 months), and long-term (24 months +).

4. SKILLS + EXPERIENCE

Think of this section as a personal resume; what skills and experience do you have that will be relevant for this venture, but also what skills do you need to grow or gain to make you a valuable asset to your new business?

5. PRODUCTS/SERVICES

Now we begin getting to the meat of business plans: a clear description of your products and/or services, including what they are and how you will be delivering them to your clients or customers. This should include description, deliverables, benefits for your customers, and price.

6. TARGET MARKET

You know what you’re doing, but who are you doing it for? Getting very clear on your dream customers, the group or groups of people you will be serving with your business is an important element for shaping your product or service correctly, as well as marketing effectively.

7. INDUSTRY/COMPETITION

An understanding of your industry (24-hour gyms, or bakeries, or web developers) and your competition is important to crafting the right product or service, and making sure your idea is viable.

8. OPERATIONAL PLANS

In order to get your business off the ground, what do you need? Perhaps it’s a few hires, or sourcing some information or products; whatever you need, this is where you lay it out.

9. MARKETING PLAN

With a full layout of what you’re selling and who you’re selling it to, it’s time to get an understanding of how you’ll get your offering in front of the right people with a clear marketing plan.

10. SALES FORECAST/FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

How effectively do you think your marketing will be? How long will it take for you to meet your goals? Through financial projects, you’re able to see the work you have to do to meet your version of success.

11. START-UP EXPENSES

Finally, what do you need to get the ball rolling? A clear understanding of your start-up expenses is imperative for jumpstarting your business towards success.

Find Your Community

You’re on your way! Being the boss of a business you built for yourself is highly gratifying, especially when your actions align with your values, which is what this business plan template will help you do. And if you need help fleshing it out, let me walk you through it step-by-step in this special episode of the Being Boss podcast.

You’re almost there, complete the form below.

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A Free Business Plan Example to Launch Your South African Business This free Business Plan example provides you with a sample business plan as well as guidance on how to write a business plan and important sections to include in your plan.

By Catherine Bristow Scott May 28, 2019

You're reading Entrepreneur South Africa, an international franchise of Entrepreneur Media.

It pays to plan.

Research conducted by Harvard Business Review found that "entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical non-planning entrepreneurs."

Simply put, writing a business plan could make the difference between business success and failure – which is why planning now could pay dividends as your business gets off the ground.

But where do you start when writing a business plan? In this comprehensive business plan example, we provide you with what to include in your business plan and a sample business plan to help you to create a compelling plan for your start-up.

1. Executive Summary

If you have seven seconds to make a strong first impression in person, an Executive Summary will be the make-or-break section of your business plan – so make this section count.

As a brief outline of your company's purpose and goals, the Executive Summary should generally take up 1 to 2 pages of your business plan. Some key components to include in your business plan are:

A company description
A brief summary of your products or services
The company objectives
A short but thorough overview of the market
A justification for viability, particularly "why now?"
A snapshot of your business's growth potential
A short description of the organisation team
Your marketing plan
Financial projections

Importantly, your Executive Summary must clearly depict the Problem, the Solution, and carry a sense of timeliness – why now should your business be considered as the solution to solve this problem.

NOTE: The following Business Plan Example is based on a fictional company. Figures will not reflect the exact financials of a similar company.

Example of a Business Plan Executive Summary

Snug Sneakers is a sneaker shoe range based in Cape Town that currently focuses exclusively on selling locally produced men's and women's custom sneakers.

The business was founded by David Smith and Stewart Bruce, who have both been working within the retail industry for over 20 years, David Smith, a serial entrepreneur has also founded successful brands – Creative Caps and women's cycling brand Pedal Power.

The brand is currently selling online, however has also recently diversified to selling in independent shoe shops.

The company is projecting to sell R2 million in year 1 and R8 million in three years' time. Additionally, there are expansion plans within year 2 to set up distribution networks in Johannesburg, and Durban in the early part of year 3.

Both David and Stewart are social entrepreneurs at heart and believe in providing sustainable jobs for impoverished communities.

As such, the company has started a recycling and training academy in Khayelitsha, where consumers can return old sneakers that are then repaired by Khayelitsha residents and donated to those in need of shoes. This also provides learners within the academy with shoe-making and recycling trade skills.

Industry research has shown that, on average SA consumers own 4 pairs of sneakers, with 4 in 4 consumers indicating that shoe fit and sizes vary across brands.

3 in 4 consumers indicated that their number one concern when purchasing is having to "settle' for the best fitting shoe, despite the fit not being 100% correct.

Based on these and additional industry research statistics, the company's sneaker products are driven to provide the best shoe fit, with the tagline of "shoes that fit so good, you'll never go barefoot again.'

The main competition to Snug Sneakers comes from 1 local brand, SuperStars, and 2 overseas brands Sassy Sneakers and Rock Your Sneakers.

Although SuperStars supports sustainable use of local manufacturers, the competitor does not provide custom fit sneakers. Sassy Sneakers and Rock Your Sneakers both offer custom fit sneakers, both brands are manufactured in China and do not promote sustainable, social conscious value propositions.

The primary means of marketing will mainly be focused on digital marketing, through evidence-based approaches, including search engine optimisation, Google Ads, Facebook Advertising as well as utilising social media channels that have proven very popular for the company, including Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

The locally sourced raw materials, which include cotton, rubber and leather, will be supplied from a sustainable cotton mill and tannery in the Limpopo Province.

Funding for the company was derived through the 2 founders, as well as private investment.

2. Business Overview and Objectives

Creating an overview of your business when you are already established makes it easier, but it may be a little harder when you're either just starting out or haven't even kicked off your operations yet.

When you're just starting out, think about your products and services as your starting point.

What will you be providing your market with?
How will you be sourcing/ producing these items?
What do you need to have in place before you can start selling your products?
Who will be distributing/ manufacturing your products?
Importantly, who will your target market or customer be?

In our example business plan, Snug Sneakers serves both retail and online customers, although the bulk of the business is through their online clientele.

This means that Snug Sneakers will need a secure e-commerce platform and a website that has carefully considered the user journey when buying custom sneakers.

The company will also need employees to assist with technical challenges, customer support, and warehouse staff for the packing and distribution of their products.

Similarly, you would need to consider the following when identifying their business objectives:

What industry will you operate in?
Who will be your customer?
What is the problem that you will be solving?
How will you solve this problem?
Where will my business be located?
What equipment and resources will I need within my business?
What type of employees do I need?
How will I differentiate my offering from my competitors?

After answering these questions, you will have a better understanding of what it is that you will be offering and what you need to make it happen. A summary of these points will make up your Business Overview and Objectives for your Business Plan.

Example of a Business Overview and Objectives

Snug Sneakers, based in Cape Town South Africa, is focused on providing sustainable, locally produced custom footwear to South Africa, and internationally through its e-commerce platform and local distributor network.

Founded by entrepreneurs David Smith and Stewart Bruce in December 2017, from Stewart's garage, Snug Sneakers grew exponentially within 1 year from 5 online purchases a month to an average of 200 per month within 12 months.

From the company's rapid growth, it became very clear to the founders that there is a gap in the South African market for locally produced, quality sneakers.

The founders' vision for Snug Sneakers is to become a socially conscious, sustainable brand that supports the South African economy by buying 80% locally produced raw materials.

Additionally, the duo noticed a gap in the market where consumers were looking for custom-fitted shoes and remain loyal to the brand that fit them best. To this end, Snug Sneakers offers a wide range of shoe sizes including quarter and half sizes to ensure that all customers find the right snug fit for their feet.

The overarching philosophy and ethos for the company are:

"Soul sneakers' that allow customers to purchase sneakers that promote social consciousness.
"South African sourced' sourcing locally produced raw materials that provide job sustainability.
Superior sneakers' ensuring that customers still get a high-quality product that outmatches popular brands in workmanship and quality.

Company Status

Snug Sneakers was registered as a PTY (Ltd) on 1 December 2017. The main directors are David Peter Smith and Stewart Owen Bruce. Company shares are held by the founders.

The company currently operates out of rented commercial property in Blackheath, Cape Town.

Company Objectives

Snug Sneakers is currently selling custom sneakers primarily through its online store https://www.snugsneakers.co.za , with market penetration nationally, and highest market penetration in Johannesburg and Cape Town. Sporadic orders have also been received from the USA and the United Kingdom.

The company has also partnered with 3 independent shoe and clothing retailers focused on selling locally-sourced South African apparel.

The company has identified a 2 phased upscaling approach for growing sales and operations:

Increase online sales by 40% within a 6-month period of 2019
Increase brick-and-mortar retail partnerships from 2 stores in Cape Town to an additional 4 stores in Johannesburg by year end.
Increase online sales by 50% by end of year 2020
Explore opening up a brick-and-mortar store in the Canal Walk Shopping Centre, Cape Town
Increase brick-and-mortar retail partnerships to include 1 store in Durban.

3. Products and Services

In this section, you will be unpacking your product and services offering, especially your key product differentiation from your competitors. Importantly, in this section you will also need to validate why your product is needed by your customers.

If you have applied for any patents, copyrights, or trademarks, you would also include these in this section.

Products and services that already exist may not need a deep analysis of what they are within your business plan.

However, if you're creating a completely new product or service (if you were the first Uber of the world), carefully detail in this section what your product is about, it's uses and the value it brings to the market so your readers will be able to evaluate the value of your product and services.

Some important aspects to cover include:

The anticipated timeline to bring your new product to the market.
What differentiates your product or service from those already available in the market.
What will your operating costs be and profit margins.
How will you source/ manufacture your product.
How will the product be distributed to customers.

Example of Products and Services

Snug Sneakers will provide a line of custom sneakers for both men and women. The main product lines include:

Casual Range: Everyday sneaker footwear
Active Range: Active gym range of sneakers
Fashion Forward Range: Formal but funky range of sneakers

Current pricing of the sneakers as follows:

Casual Range: R550
Active Range: R950
Fashion Forward Range: R850

Competition

There are three main competitors that have been identified within the market. These include:

Local competitor:

1. SuperStars 40% locally made raw materials, with 60% of the raw materials originating from China. The brand however does not provide custom-fit sneakers.

Foreign competitors:

2. Sassy Sneakers are based in Australia, with the product line produced in China. The company offers custom fit sizes, however customers have to pay extra for the custom fit and product quality is low.

3. Rock Your Sneakers is a US based company, with the product line produced in China. The company offers some custom fit sizes, however the sizes are limited and the product is only available to South African's online and with a long lead time to delivery.

Snug Sneakers products have a unique differentiator within the market:

A greater range of custom fit sizes ranging from ¼ - to half sizes as well as broad and narrow width ranges.
The company will be the only brand within South Africa to offer 80% locally manufactured sneakers.
Quality of the products is superior to the current locally-made competitor, due to locally sourced high-quality raw materials.

Future Products

The company has also been looking into introducing a line of sneaker care products to assist customers in increasing the longevity of their purchases.

4. Competitive and Market Analysis

Providing evidence that there is demand for your product or service is one of the most critical components of your business plan. Key to this is understanding your market and your competition within that market.

Embarking on market research requires you to have a deep understanding of what your market is and the opportunities inherent within it. You should be able to define:

Target Market. The types of customers you will be targeting with your product or service.
Market Need. If there is demand for your products and services and whether this is increasing or declining.
Competition. The positioning of your competitors in the market and how you will differentiate your offering from them.
Barriers to Entry. What will prevent someone else from providing the same offering or better.
Regulation. Regulations that will be applicable to the industry that your business will be operating in.

Example of a Market Analysis

Target market.

With our initial line of casual, active and fashion forward sneakers, we're looking to target the following consumer segment:

Age: 16 -36
Digital Savvy: Researching and shopping online is part of this customer's DNA. The target market is also very active on social media platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.
On Trend: Fashion forward and looking to illustrate their unique personalities, the target market is always looking for fashion to express their uniqueness.
Social Consciousness: The target market is proudly South African and are highly conscious of the socio-economic issues and have a keen desire to take part in improving the SA economy, uplifting communities and supporting local initiatives.

Market Need

According to a Global View Research Marketing Report, the global athletic and leisure footwear market size was valued at USD 67.8 billion in 2017. The report found that this value is expected to expand at a CAGR of over 8.0% from 2018 to 2025.

The ever-growing awareness with regards to the health benefits of sports and fitness activities, as well as an expanding retail e-commerce sector globally, including increasing levels of disposable income amongst millennials are estimated to be the key reasons for increasing market growth in this market.

Additionally, the Global Sneaker Market 2018 Industry Trends and Sales report found that although the global brands reported increased profit margins in 2017, these have decreased by 1.5% from 2016.

On the other hand, independent Sneaker retailers have reported a 15% increase in sales, particularly online, in 2017, indicating that consumers are moving away from global brands to pursue lesser known boutique footwear retailers.

SuperStars is based in Johannesburg and provides sneakers with 40% locally made raw materials, with 60% of the raw materials originating from China. The brand however does not provide custom-fit sneakers.
Sassy Sneakers are based in Australia, with the product line produced in China. The company offers custom fit sizes, however customers have to pay extra for the custom fit and product quality is low.
Rock Your Sneakers is a US based company, with the product line produced in China. The company offers some custom fit sizes, however the sizes are limited and the product is only available to South African's online and with a long lead time to delivery. (Repeated above)

5. Marketing/Sales Strategy

You're on the right track when you have established that there's a market for your product and service and you have identified who your target market is quantifiably, but how will your market segments know to look out for or even buy your product and services?

This is where your marketing and sales strategy comes into play.

A well-defined marketing strategy goes beyond simply advertising your product and service – it includes a deeper understanding of how your customers will view your brand, what is the best way to reach your customers, the benefits that your customer will receive from using your service or buying your product.

Your marketing strategy must also include the budget for your marketing and sales efforts, whether you will require sales staff to sell your products and offer post-sales support, as well as how you will measure your marketing and sales efforts to evaluate their effectiveness.

Example of a Marketing Strategy

Marketing plan.

Search Engine Optimisation : Our website pages will be optimised for search engine rankings, with the objective to rank within the top 3 search positions for keywords "custom sneakers", "custom size sneakers" and "custom made sneakers".
Paid Search : Snug Sneakers will be investing in Google Ads and Facebook Advertising and well as Programmatic Advertising to increase landing page conversion rates.
Social Media : We will be establishing a targeted social media strategy to increase followers across the social media platforms that have shown the highest engagement with the target market. High frequency posts will be created target at highest engagement times to increase engagement and brand awareness.
Business Network : We will partner with independent apparel and footwear retailers to drive link building and link sharing both on website and on social media.

Customer Value Proposition and Value Differentiator

Although there is one locally produced sneaker competitor within the market, the founders believe that the customer value proposition being brought to the market is a unique offering and therefore a strong differentiator within the market.

The founders are cognisant that without this differentiator, the only differentiator will be price, which will ultimately have a negative impact on profit margins.

As a unique differentiator and value proposition, Snug Sneakers provides customers with Sneakers with South African Sole, leveraging the Proudly South African heritage and support for local initiatives to help grow South Africa's job economy and promote community upskilling and learnership programmes.

Additionally, Snug Sneakers will ensure that the quality of the products far outweighs those of global brands manufacturing in China. The most important differentiator, however is the ability to custom size shoes to each individual's unique size requirements.

6. Staffing and Operations

Strategy is irrelevant without execution – which is where your Operations Plan comes into play in your business plan. How will you serve your customers, while keeping your operating costs low enough to make sufficient profitability?

Your Operations Plan will detail how you will manufacture, staff, fulfil and stock your products, including your day-to-day operational requirements. Ultimately, this section describes how you will run your business.

Some questions to answer in this section include:

Where will your operations be based?
What is your management structure?
What are your staffing requirements?
What equipment, facilities and supplies will you need?
How will you establish your suppliers?
What will be the operational changes required should your company grow?
What will your production methods entail?
How will you service/ deliver goods to customers?
What regulatory requirements must be in place? (Licences, permits etc.)
How will you manage your inventory levels?

Example of Staffing and Operations

Management team.

David Smith is a serial entrepreneur who founded successful and well-known brands Creative Caps and women's cycling apparel Pedal Power.

David graduated from Stellenbosch University with a B Comm in Economics and went on to study an MBA at GIBS Business School. David heads up Snug Sneakers as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

Stewart Bruce has worked in the retail industry as a Senior Designer for well-known retail brands, including Puma and Sketchers.

With over 20 years' experience in designing active and casual footwear, as well as sourcing and overseeing materials for the product range, Stewart brings excellent experience to the management mix as Chief Design Officer.

7. Financial Projections

The bottom line counts the most when it comes to writing your business plan.

Without the numbers to prove whether your business will be profitable or not, potential investors or lenders will have a difficult time objectively deciding if your business will be a sound investment.

Aside from persuading potential investors, crucially, the numbers that you have crunched will also indicate whether you have a viable business.

There are five basic reports or cash projections to include in your business plan:

Income Statement
Balance Sheet
Cash Flow Statement
Operating Budget
Break-Even Analysis

It's important to come up with credible financial projections for your business to illustrate that it is feasible.

One way to tackle this section is to break down the figures into various components, such as by sales channel or target market segment.

At this stage, you won't be able to supply exact figures, because you're still estimating your future financials, but by breaking down your guesses into components you will be able to determine a more realistic figure for each component, rather than hazarding guesses as a whole.

The business plan should be an ongoing, living document that can be used as your guide for running your business. It requires continuous adjustment as your business changes and grows.

Entrepreneur Staff

Sales Enablement - Content Division Manager

Catherine Bristow Scott is the Content Division Manager for Entrepreneur South Africa. With specialist expertise in developing SEO content, effective sales enablement content to drive lead generation, as well as digital strategy, Catherine brings an in-depth understanding of developing both written and video content to assist businesses in remaining competitive and growing their revenue.

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Business Plan Template for Small Businesses

This Business Plan template can help you with the following – formulate a clear statement of your business mission and vision, put together a roadmap and timetable for achieving your goals and objectives and clear description of your marketing strategies. (Courtesy: New Discovery Business Solutions)

Your business plan is the blue-print of your business and provides a roadmap for future development. Your business plan holds a clear statement of your business mission and vision and provides a roadmap and timetable for achieving your goals and objectives

Download the Business Plan template to:

Test out a new idea to see if it holds real promise of success
Help you obtain financing and attract potential investors
Identify and arrange strategic alliances

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How to write a business plan in south africa [ free template].

It is never too early to start planning for your business! This blog post is all about writing a business plan in South Africa.

We will discuss the various sections of the plan, and how to fill them out. There are also plenty of resources at the end that will help you get started on this important process.

Table of Contents

What is a business plan?

A business plan is a written, formal strategy that outlines your goals and how to achieve them.

Even the smallest companies need some kind of plan for their future success.

It is like prepping before you go on vacation: you are not guaranteed any problems will happen, but it helps if you know where all the closest gas stations are just in case there’s an issue with getting more fuel.

The same principle applies here: writing a business plan in South Africa gives you time to think through everything and make sure nothing slips between the cracks.

Why do you need a business plan?

Business plans give you a chance to assess your company’s strengths and weaknesses.

When it comes down to the nitty-gritty, business planning is all about making sure that you are prepared for anything in this unpredictable world of entrepreneurship.

What should I include?

There isn’t one standard format for every company; however, most plans follow these general guidelines:

Executive Summary
Company Description
Mission & Goals Strategies
Financials Appendix

If sounds intimidating or confusing don’t worry! We’ll go over each section in detail.

How To Write a Business Plan in South Africa

What is an executive summary .

The executive summary is a high-level overview of your business plan, and it’s one of the first things people will see when they are reading through your business plan in South Africa.

This section needs to be short (about two or three pages) but comprehensive; that means you should include all the critical information here while still keeping it interesting for readers.

It should do four important jobs:

Introduce yourself and your company
Give background on why you started this project
Describe what you want to accomplish with this document
Highlight any challenges ahead

Remember, if someone were deciding whether or not to read further, would their decision change based on what they learned from the executive summary alone?

What goes in the company description?

The company description is a little more detailed than an overview, but not quite as long or involved as the rest of your business plan in South Africa.

In this section, you will want to state what industry you are in and why it is important (how does this help customers?).

You should also describe how big your market is , where your competition lies, and who will be buying from you.

What do I put in my mission statement?

Your mission statement highlights your goals for expanding into new markets/products/services.

It includes details on why exactly yours is a worthwhile venture.

Think about the reason behind setting up shop: if someone approached you with funding tomorrow would that have anything to do with why you started doing whatever it is you do?

If not, then your mission statement might need some work.

What are strategies and how should I use them?

Strategies detail the steps you’re taking to accomplish your goals!

These can range from building a team to developing new products.

You don’t want to get too specific here; that is what the financial section is for–strategies are more about giving yourself time management tools so you know when milestones will be reached!

It also helps if these plans have an element of flexibility in case something unexpected happens along the way.

How much does it cost?

The final sections of your business plan in South Africa involve numbers: revenue projections, expenses, etc.

There isn’t one standard format or formula but there are plenty of resources available on how to calculate them.

Basically, you want your financial section to show how the business will make money and what it will cost to run it!

What else do I need?

Your business plan in South Africa should also include a cover page (with all of these details on there as well) and an appendix for additional information such as market research or employee resumes.

With so much involved in creating a successful business plan in South Africa, don’t be afraid if this stage takes a while–just remember that once you have got everything together you are really one step closer to making your dreams come true.

When do you need a business plan?

You need a business plan if you are;
Seeking funding, investments, or loans
Searching for a new partner or co-founder
Attracting, hiring, and retaining top talent
Experiencing slow growth and need a change

Tips to write a business plan in South Africa that will stand out

A). easy to read.

Make sure your business plan is easy to read and the sections flow together.

Showcase lots of visuals and charts – these will keep readers’ attention !

The goal here isn’t just about getting people interested in what you’re doing, it’s about convincing them that they should invest or buy into your idea too.

b). Keep it brief

Don’t go overboard with the length of your business plan!

A page a day doesn’t seem like much but by month’s end, you’ll have a sixty-page document that will turn off all but the most dedicated readers.

Just give enough information to paint a picture and then let it shine through the action

c). Be smart about what you include

The financial section is going to be one of, if not THE most important part of your business plan–don’t forget that!

It needs concise explanations as well as relevant numbers; don’t just write down random expenses or revenue projections (unless this is how you actually work) because these things need context in order for someone reading this document now to understand them later on when they’re doing their own calculations.

Remember that a business plan in South Africa isn’t just about making your idea look great, it is also about getting you closer to achieving the goals YOU set out for yourself.

Be confident in what you’ve written and make sure any feedback from readers is constructive rather than telling them they should have done something differently if there wasn’t a reason why they did it this way instead.

d). Proofread!

Nothing is worse than typos or grammatical errors in a business plan–it makes you look unprofessional and careless.

Make sure everything has been double-checked before submitting!

Remember that this document should be your guiding light throughout the entire process so take care of it as best you can to ensure it’s always working for YOU rather than against you.

Business plan template in South Africa

Even if you don’t plan to seek investments, it is good to write a business plan. There are other reasons for this, use this business plan template in South Africa:

Writing out your goals helps you see what you want to accomplish. You can make more of a plan for what to do next.
It is a chance to better understand your market (e.g., demographics, behaviors)
You can make sure that everyone on your team is doing their job. Set up the roles for each person and tell them how to do these jobs. Make sure you set goals for each person.
Team members can also refer to the document to stay on track
Catching errors before they happen is important. It helps you make sure financial projections are accurate.
You’ll be able to see the problems that could come up in the future.

Final thoughts on how to write a business plan in South Africa

Writing a business plan can be tough, but it’s also one of the most important steps in starting your own company.

Remember to take care of every aspect and don’t let anyone tell you that their way is the only way.

It doesn’t matter if this is your first time writing or your fiftieth–just make sure everything comes together as soon as possible so you can actually get started on building YOUR empire!

How to create the perfect business plan in 10 steps

Every business needs a plan. But how do you write one? Here are 10 steps to help you get it right.

A business plan written up in a notebook

What is a business plan?

A business plan is the roadmap for a business and shows the overall strategy, goals and vision for success. It shows how a business operates and how it will make money.

It’s different from a business proposal which is a pitch to sell a product or service to a prospective customer.

Why do you need a business plan?

You may be wondering why you need a plan in the first place. After all, you have a clear idea in your mind about what you want to achieve. You know the market, you have the necessary skills. So why do you need a plan?

There are many good reasons. Here are just a few of them:

To clarify your ideas: Writing something down gives it structure and substance. Your ideas will be clearer on paper than in your head.
To discover and solve problems: The business idea you have in mind may have some holes – you might not have covered everything. This will become much more apparent when your words are on the page.
To get feedback from others: A properly written business plan can be shared with trusted people to get their advice.
As a formal document: Banks, investors, accountants and lawyers will want proof that you’re serious about your business. A written plan will provide that proof.
To guide you as your business grows: A good business plan will keep you on track and focused, even as day-to-day work becomes a distraction.

If you’ve never written a business plan before, it can be a daunting prospect. But these 10 steps will help you create the perfect business plan.

1. The executive summary

This is where you describe your company and the product or service that it will sell. This must be brief, to catch and hold people’s attention.

Try to describe the goal and mission of your business in just a couple of sentences. Work hard at this and try to make it memorable.

Treat this section as an elevator pitch document – it should be succinct and easy to remember.

You can read more about how to create the executive summary in our guide What is an Executive Summary in a Business Plan?

2. Who are your customers?

Do you have a clear idea of the type of people (or businesses) who will buy your product or service? If not, think carefully until you do.

This is one of the first questions any investor will ask you about your business plan. Have your answers ready.

Know whether your customers will be consumers or businesses. If they are businesses, who will you target within those companies? Maybe it’s the salesperson, or perhaps it’s the CEO?
Determine whether you'll have regular clients or one-off buyers.
Make sure you’ve actually spoken to some of your potential customers.

3. Evaluate the target audience

There’s no room for guessing here. You need to identify the people or businesses who will buy from you. Think about the following:

Demographics – such as age, gender and social status
Firmographics – includes size of the company, revenue of the company and services or products of the company
Location – perhaps a specific area, town, or even country
Profession – maybe you’re targeting accountants, police or lawyers, for example
Groups – such as people with shared interests or habits

The better you evaluate your target audience, the more comprehensive your business plan will be.

4. What are your opportunities?

Successful businesses think big. You might be starting small, but you don’t have to stay that way. So write down the possible opportunities for your business as it grows.

For example, perhaps you’re planning to start by selling over the internet. That’s great, but how will you get traffic to your site? How will people find you online? Will you need salespeople? If not, how will you convince people to buy from you?

As the business grows, is there scope for a bricks-and-mortar retail outlet? What other opportunities will you have if your business grows as planned?

5. Understand the competition

Every business has competition. If you don’t mention yours, investors will think you’re unprofessional – or just plain naive. Be thorough, and list all your existing and potential competitors:

Who are your direct competitors – those selling the same products as you?
Who are your indirect competitors – those whose market overlaps yours?
What will prevent other companies competing with you – what are the barriers to entry?
What is your USP (unique selling proposition)? In other words, what’s your point of difference that makes you different from your competitors?

That last point is important. You need to explain how your business will differentiate itself from all the others. That might be based on price, service, quality, range or value. Make sure you spell it out.

6. Build a simple financial plan

All business plans should contain some financial information. This should include the overall costs of setting up your business. For example:

Cost to make or buy products
Costs for labour and manufacture, including raw materials
Employee costs, especially for service businesses
Distribution and marketing costs
Fixed and variable overheads

Good accounting software will help you create a draft financial model. We’ll look into this in more detail in a future guide. For now, talk to your accountant or bookkeeper for help and advice.

7. Include an outline marketing plan

For this section of your business plan, you need to think about the five ‘Ps’:

Pricing – how will you price the end product?
Positioning – how does your product or service fit into the market?
Promotion – what channels will you use to attract and communicate with customers?
Profit – how much do you expect to make per item sold?
Place – what are your sales outlets?

8. Plan your operations

Put your vision to one side for a moment. What are the daily tasks that need to be done when running the business? Include all business processes such as manufacturing and packaging. Try to cover all departments too, including sales and customer service.

9. Get the right people

This is one of the most important factors. Think about who you want to hire . How will you find people whose skills complement yours? And how will you convince them to work for you?

Also think about who you want as your business advisors. You'll need people you can trust, to guide and mentor you at times when you need it.

10. Simplicity is the key

Keep it simple. Complex and long documents won’t be read – either by you or by potential investors. A business plan should be brief, relevant and focused (you can use our free business plan template ).

If you find yourself getting carried away while writing, stop and take a break. Then go back and edit what you’ve written. Shorter is better. The core of a good business plan should be just a few pages long.

Plan your business around your strengths

As you write your business plan , keep in mind your strengths – and also any areas for improvement. This will help you construct a plan that makes the most of your abilities, while still being realistic. That's more likely to convince investors that you're serious.

Your business plan is a roadmap for your business – but it's not set in stone. Review it at least once a year and make changes if necessary.

Above all, keep getting feedback from your advisors – official and unofficial ones. With their help, you'll create the perfect business plan that takes you where you want to go.

Xero does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This guide has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult your own professional advisors for advice directly relating to your business or before taking action in relation to any of the content provided.

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Fill out the form for a downloadable business plan template. Your business plan doc is available as an editable pdf to use again and again.

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Business Plan Template

Create an accurate business plan with Hola Business’ business plan walkthrough.

What is a business plan template?

A business plan template is an editable business plan document that a prospective business owner must populate in order to develop their own business plan. In some instances, the template is pre-populated in an effort to assist the entrepreneur with the process, however the risks associated with this are numerous (we’ll deal with some of those later in this article).

Business plan templates should provide a standardised format and layout for a business plan and also provide the necessary information that is required in each section of a business plan. The template is put together to serve as your basic business plan that can be amended and adapted as your business grows, changes direction or hits unexpected snags. Ideally it needs to allow the business owner to make changes to their business plan without having to rewrite it – an unnecessary and time-consuming process.

Your business is unique. With this in mind, it is important to remember that your business plan should reflect that your business is, in fact, unique. Always ensure that you pick a business plan format that works for you. It must meet your specific business needs and this means that there is no right or wrong way. That said, there are obviously some do’s and some don’ts to remember when creating the plan for your business, most of which are covered in this article.

Don't be fooled by the myth that only start-up businesses need a business plan. Regardless of whether you plan to grow your company or maintain its current success level, a good, well thought out business plan will keep you grounded and on the trajectory you seek. It is important to remember that your business plan is a living document, so, make sure your business plan is an easy-to-use and easily understood template, allowing for the evolution of the business plan. That way you need never create this type of plan afresh, you can review your template and amend it accordingly. This will save you much needed time, time that could be put into getting new customers or another growth opportunity. The cliché, ‘time is money’, certainly rings true when it comes to your business.

Updating and referring to your plan on a regular basis can drive better decision-making. It can also help keep your focus clear. Clear focus is critical as the demands of growth, customers, staff and investors may threaten to cloud your company's vision.

Your business plan is the blueprint of your business’ success.

Learn and build your plan at the same time

Hola Business is an online training programme that provides the framework for you to write your business plan effectively and professionally. Its easy-to-use interface is designed to help you develop your complete business plan while learning some of the most important skills needed to become a successful entrepreneur.

Get up to speed quickly with what you need to know in our 12-module online course, which will give you significant insight into the following:

Knowing Your Competition

Find out who they are & analyse their offering, location, target markets & disadvantages. This insight is key to understanding your target market.

Determining Market Size & Potential Customers

Establish the size of your market & identify potential customers. Aids in developing strategies to penetrate the market and hook customers.

Getting to grips with Strengths & Weaknesses

Get to grips with your strengths & weaknesses. This is achieved via a SWOT analysis and will help you position yourself against competitors.

Developing a Business Plan Overview

What is your business, who are your competitors and your customers, what are your strengths & weaknesses and what is the potential market size?

Defining Vision & Mission

Where do you want to be in 5 to 10 years? What products and services are you delivering, to whom and where?

Developing Your Scorecard

Present a clear snapshot of your business and its goals. Used for staff and outside agencies like banks, potential investors or partners.

Setting Business Goals

Be SMART: Goals must be Specific, Measurable & Achievable, as well as Realistic and achieved in a specified Time.

Doing Proper Financial Planning

Determine and populate your financial plan, including forecasts to avoid nasty surprises.

Let Hola Business guide you through your business plan. Sign up today.

Things you’ll learn from this article

The main purposes of a business plan

Why is a financial plan needed in my business plan template?

What should you include in a business plan template, how do you write a business plan, what is the best business plan template, what should i include in my business plan template executive summary / overview.

Should I incorporate market analyses within the business plan template

Business plan template check list

Wrapping up, looking for a business plan template click here, what are the main purposes of a business plan.

A business plan has 2 primary purposes.

Firstly, it should be used to help run your company in line with a consistent vision. It becomes a roadmap (to success) by setting goals and actions for the perspectives that constitute most businesses: customers, growth, operations and finance. Implementing your business plan effectively should greatly improve your chances for success.
The second purpose is acquiring finance. A lender or investor will not finance or participate in your company unless you can prove your roadmap to success. You need to be able to provide a realistic forecast as to when creditors could, realistically, expect a return on investment.

A business plan can be described as the blueprint to explain how you will operate your business. While it is a necessary document used to secure funding, the plan is actually for your benefit. A good plan will provide a systematic guide when starting a new business or when expanding your existing company. Ideally, it should provide direction for every decision you make as your company moves forward.

Essentially, a business plan should fulfil a dual function: It should be both a management tool and a planning tool.

Management tool

A business plan as a management tool should provide financial projections and enhance the monitoring and control of the enterprise through analysing management indicators and results.

This information can also be used for a financial projections template.

Planning Tool

As a planning tool, a business plan is used to show that the company assumes responsibility for the definition of its objectives. It aids by including results orientated actions and planning for the fulfilment of the company’s economic commitment.

Additionally, as a tool, it helps orientate the decision-making process and provides both quantitative and qualitative information.

Looking to start a business? Hola Business shows you how.

The following tips can be implemented when considering your bus. plan template:

Get organised

Putting your business idea into writing helps you clarify and simplify your thoughts. It also aids in organising any steps that must be taken in order to drive your business to success. Look at it as a jigsaw puzzle – there are numerous individual pieces that all need to fit together for your business to become profitable. Skipping important steps – even just one – may disrupt some or all of your efforts within your business further down the line. So, you will need to be very specific, even if the plan is only for you.

You should use measurable milestones and tools that can track your performance expectations. When you have everything in writing, it is easier to see the bigger picture. This may aid you in identifying any potential challenges before you inadvertently make errors that could impact your business in one way or another.

Stay on track

To maintain a long-range view of your business while making daily decisions, referring back to your business plan intermittently will help. Doing this makes it easier to keep track of each business development step, which means you won’t miss important elements.

A well-written business plan template provides a starting point and a skeleton timetable that will help drive your business activities. It will keep you grounded and help you focus on your target market.

Clarify and focus your goals

A business plan is a fantastic aid in defining your goals as well as the steps required to reach these goals.

A business plan should spell out your purpose and vision, as well as defining your goals and the steps needed to reach them. Clearly focused goals in your business plan also serve to explain objectives to interested parties like investors, partners, creditors, etc.

This plan should state the amount of capital you need and from where the investment will be sourced. It will clarify the repayment means and timeline, and include Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Cash Flow forecasts.

Prepare for the Future

The information described above – outlining your goals and the strategy of reaching them – will help you prepare for the future. The market research contained in your business plan template should include any projections that are based on consumer needs, as well as your ability to fulfil them.

A well-developed business plan should include scenarios that identify potential obstacles so the company is prepared to make operational decisions in line with the overall business strategy. Nothing is cast in stone, and potential obstacles may well include possible market changes.

Hola Business is brought to you by instructors with over 50 years’ experience business experience.

The purpose of a financial plan in your business plan template is to help you evaluate the profitability and economic feasibility of the business. That sounds complex but isn’t really, what it effectively means is that you need to look at the goals and actions of the business plan in terms of their financial outcome.

This then helps the entrepreneur to analyse how the decisions he or she makes will impact the financial position of the business. The elements contained in the financial plan template will typically include:

Income projections
Expenditure projections
An Income Statement forecast
A Balance Sheet forecast
A Cash Flow forecast

Income Projection

Before drawing up the Income Statement forecast, it’s useful to project the income and expenditure according to the goals and actions in the business plan template.

Income projections should be done for each product line if you have more than one, and for each income generating item, use as many different variables that will affect your income as possible to get realistic projections. Examples of these can include: competition, market size, growth of the potential market, sales volume and market share, etc.

Expenditure Projection

The expenditure projection looks at the flow of resources (mainly money) used when acquiring the product or service supplied by the company.

When projecting expenses, try to get as much information as possible about the kinds of expenses the business will incur. Each item should be looked at and captured independently onto the financial plan template. Special attention should also be given to the potential future increases in expense item, as these can cause nasty surprises if not identified in the planning stages.

Income Statement forecast

The basis for evaluating the economic potential of the business comes from the Income Statement forecast, which enables business owners and potential investors to assess the expected performance of the business in terms of income, gross profit, expenses and of course the all-important variable net profit.

Ideally, the Income Statement forecast should comprise of monthly data for the current year and annualised forecasts for the following 2 years.

Balance Sheet forecast

The Balance Sheet forecast is designed to reflect the net worth of your company, comprising the elements of Assets, Liabilities and Shareholder’s Equity.

The Balance Sheet forecast is compiled by making a list of all the expected assets, liabilities, and equity of your business after the end of the first year.

You may need to consider things like short-term and long-term financing of the company, and certain information will come from the other forecasts that make up the financial plan, such as the expected cash position from the Cash Flow forecast.

Cash Flow forecast

Cash flow measures exactly that: the inflows and outflows of actual cash through the business within a specified time. Cash flow projections help the entrepreneur to determine whether they have sufficient cash for the operations of the business or if more is required.

Cash flow differs from the Income Statement in that it is only concerned with when cash is coming in and when it is going out. This is vitally important from a planning point of view as it helps to assess the business’ ability to meet its obligations, as well as to identify the funding gaps that may exist.

Transform your idea into a successful business model with Hola Business.

While your specific plan is unique, most consultants and business schools agree, that there is fairly standard, but vital, information that should be included in most of these plans. Whilst it may seem to be a good idea to have a comprehensive template covering every single microscopic aspect or detail, these kinds of plans become unwieldy and more importantly unlikely to be implemented. Hola Business’ planning methodology looks to provide your entire, implementable business plan template in a few concise pages. Let’s look at what can be included to suit the necessary requirements for the next step of your business.

Suggested information to include in your business plan

Business Overview | Goals and Actions | Financial Plan

Business Overview

This refers to providing more detail about the problem that your business is solving. You can explain what it is that your customers need and why you think your business is the one they may want to purchase from. This involves describing, succinctly, the problem that is worth solving and then moving on to the solution. You can go into detail about what sets your company apart from you current or potential competition. Describe your business’ unique or special qualities as well. This area in the business plan template also provides the opportunity for you to speak about your target market and your competition in a little more detail. When discussing your target market, include the market size and segments. Describe who your key customers are and what their attributes are. If you target market includes various segments – or multiple customer groups – then also describe each group. Include the number of potential people or customers in each segment and also combine them so you can give an idea of the actual size of the total target market. When you describe your competition, it is important to include the alternatives to your solution. In other words, what are the products and / or services that your potential customers are using? Then move on to describe your businesses advantages or – more specifically – why your service or product is better than theirs as well as any competitive advantages you may have. This could include unique components to your business, or a patented product that could significantly boost your market share.

Hola Business will provide you with the business knowledge you need to succeed.

Goals and Actions

Executing your business plan template is going to depend heavily on your ability to set realistic, attainable goals, that can be translated into clearly defined actions. The business plan template should consist of objectives around customers, growth, operations and finance, as well as contain information around the measurement of milestones.

Customers: Selling is one of the primary objectives of your business, which is boosted with marketing. So, generally, marketing your product / service and business is a part of the sales process and is included in your variable costs in your expense budget. It is about the way you plan to inform the market that you have the solution to their requirement. The customer section needs to contain relevant information around the gaining of new customers and how you plan to satisfy existing customers. Remember that advertising is only one form of spreading the word. You may have unique ideas which you can include. After all, this document is for you and parties interested in helping your business, so don’t be afraid to share your marketing ideas within the appropriate sections of your business plan.
Growth: Identifying how and where the business is expected to grow is important for the long-term success of any business. This area of the business plan template needs to establish what the business must do in order to acquire the know-how required for its development. Value plays an important role in the growth of a business, so you would also want to look at where it can change and grow in order to expand the value that it offers to its customers. This may take the form of new products and services, but also or looking into new geographical locations into which to expand.
Operations: Processes, systems and technology you are using as well as the equipment and tools make up the operations goals in your business plan. The goals and actions set up around this area of the business plan template look fundamentally at how the systems and processes of the business as well as the technology employed in the business can best be used to return value, not only to the business, but to its customers as well.
Finance: This section should look towards outlining the financial aspirations of the business and needs to include high-level objectives around the achievement of financial performance. This provides the blueprint then for how financial performance will also be tracked and measured in the business. These objectives then form an integral part of the development of the financial plan template, as they will guide the forecasting process of building the financial plan.
Actions: In this section you should list your milestones in the form of action plans, especially aimed at the achievement of the goals listed previously. Actions are however insufficient on their own and must be accompanied with the dates you aim to accomplish them. A target without a date is meaningless. Included in your action plans should be actions that the business has already achieved. This is seen as proof that your new business is gaining traction, as well as providing you with a record of achievement. Doing this translates as evidence that your business, products and services are getting enthusiastic attention from customers and potential customers.

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Financial Plan

Your financial plan is the final piece of the business plan template puzzle and should consists of forecasts and notes explaining the rationale behind them. (Remember that with Hola Business, your financial plan is automatically completed as you complete the 12-module online course.) When compiling your forecasts your key assumptions will be a description of the way you came up with the values in your financial forecast. Some things to take into account here would be:

are your revenues projected by past results?
did you conduct market research or is it guess work based on past experience?
What are your monthly expenses and how much profit do you think will be generated over the same period? Your monthly expenses will depict your projected expenses (expenses you expect over the coming year).

You will also need to identify and describe the use of your funds and the sources from which you get funding. The use of funds in your forecast includes financing such as investments loans or any other method. It is important that you elaborate on what it is that you are going to do with the financing that you receive. It is important that you accurately describe your financing plans in this section. Is it your own money that you will be investing, what type of credit will you use – a line of credit or a credit card? Will you make use of personal loans or business loans, and when do you expect to receive the funding? For new enterprises, as yours may be, you may not have the full financing details yet, which is perfectly understandable. What you then need to do is to explain what you know and provide a timeline as to when the details will be sorted out, and how.

Forecast Statements: All the information collected then needs to be populated into the financial plan template in the form of projected financial statements. These should include:

Projected Income Statement: This includes your revenue, costs of sales, gross profit and expenses, which will allow you to provide your expected net profit.
Projected Balance Sheet: In this part of your statement, you include items of cash, accounts receivable, inventory and other current assets, as well as your long-term assets and the accumulated depreciation. You will need to include all information pertaining to your total assets and total current liabilities, the owners’ total equity with the final projection consisting of the total liabilities and equity.
Projected Cash Flow statement: In this section, you need to include the net cash flow from your business operations, culminating in the amount of cash at the end of the period.

Your business plan will be ready to present to potential investors upon course completion.

Business Plan Templates and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

There’s no hard and fast rule on how to go about writing a business plan, but most plans should contain some information about your product, customers, competitors, operations, financial estimates and your plans for the future. As you look to grow your business, you should refer to your business plan. When you decide to make changes to your business, those changes should be reflected in your business plan. When you make updates to your business plan, you get to see how your proposed changes will affect your entire business. Working with Hola Business when starting your new business will guide you through what most people find to be a daunting process, using a simple to understand (let’s avoid business school jargon shall we!), easy-to-use training methodology that allows you to capture your plan as you learn.

Your business plan should remind you of the reasons that you started your business. It is important that you remember your original goals and understand how any business changes may affect your original vision.

Read everything you can about your industry and talk to your audience so that you know everything about the industry that you are entering. Research and analyse your product, your market and your objective expertise. Consider spending twice as much time researching, evaluating and thinking as you spend actually writing the business plan. This may seem like a lot of unnecessary work at first, but always bear in mind that a great business idea is to learn from the professionals. If it has worked for them and for others then there is a good reason, so spend a lot of time researching. Research, research, research and research some more.

Let your research establish exactly what the purpose of your plan should be. It should also be a guideline which provides business direction. This allows a business to plan its future and helps it avoid most bumps in the road.

Investors and creditors need facts. So, if part of your plan is to increase sales in a specific product, for example, you will need to state from where the new business will come, and be specific. Having a strategy to raise prices without the possibility of hurting current sales levels appears to be a great way to increase revenue. However, you need to be 100% certain in your market analysis or it could backfire. It may even be detrimental to your business if you haven’t been extremely careful in your analysis, and are certain that you current customer base will not shrink.

Once you have been in business for some time and have real market feedback on your product, you may find it necessary to refine your offering or your product offering.

Adaptability is also key to any business, and your business plan must be adaptable too. You should be able to adapt it as your business evolves, but importantly you must be able to adapt the plan to your specific target audience. Different groups of people have different interests. So, if your target market is segmented, you need to try ensure that your plan can be adapted to reflect those interests. If you don’t know what those interests are, it probably means you haven’t adequately researched your target market. The solution... return to the first step in this answer – research, research and research some more. Adaptability also refers to the template for your business plan. Remember, this is more of a working document than an actual template. The ‘template’ is specific to your business, and must always reflect the most recent changes, whatever they may be.

Build your own business plan as you learn

The best type of template for your business plan is one that is specifically suited to and tailored for your own business. After doing the course from Hola Business, that is exactly what your business plan will have achieved.

It is important to remember that a business plan template for a small start-up business and a business plan template for corporate may vary. Equally, there are often different templates that look to cater for specific business type such as for commercial vs. industrial vs. retail. The type of template can also depend on whether your business offers products or a service. While all of these factors influence the content of the business plan you need to generate, industry specific business plan templates often add levels of complexity to them that aren’t generally required for a start-up business plan template.

Hola Business provides the solution for you. As part of its online process, your business plan and therefore business plan template is generated as you complete the course. Because you are doing this based on your specific business, product and service as well as target market, it is the most direct route to developing your business plan, and the template to which you will refer.

Although we have mentioned this above, albeit in different wording, your business plan should include:

Your business concept. Tell everyone what you are about, why are you in business, what is your company all about and what methods will you employ to drive success.
Your products or service. Briefly explain the factors that make your company special. What is your competition differentiator (i.e. what makes your company different to your competitor companies? Importantly, use this part to describe the challenges that your service or product solve.
Your primary or central strategy. How are you going to accomplish what it is that you are going to do as explained in the above point? Have you decided on actionable goals and, if so, what are they? Do you know which personnel will be involved? What is your marketing strategy and who are you targeting?
Financial information. Every business requires funds. It is, therefore important, to incorporate the costs, both current costs and anticipated costs. Details of the costings to include have been covered in ‘Financial Plan’ above, which falls in the ‘suggested information to include’.

Conducting an online search for a business plan template yields numerous results. Some of them include: business plan template pdf, simple business plan template and small business plan template. As previously mentioned, spend a lot of time establishing which is the correct one for your business, and bear in mind that template does not mean copy it as it is. Use the templates provided by all means, just be sure that you always remember that no template can be as unique as your own, which is tailored specifically for your business and the industry in which it falls, as well as to the markets to which you are targeting. This is the reason you should make an investment with Hola Business. All of this is done for you! At the end of the course, you will have a detailed business plan you can turn into your business plan template – and easily update it regularly.

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The Vision and Mission statements: It could be a word or 2 only, 2 sentences or a paragraph, but it must clarify the thrust of your business. It needs to leave readers with a clear picture of what your business is all about.

Business description: It doesn’t matter if your business is brand new or been around for several years, this is an important part of your executive summary.

List of major competitors: Regardless of how many or how few you may have, showing an understanding of the competitive environment is a must for any business plan.

Relative strengths and weaknesses of your product: This is just a highlight of the differentiated nature of the product or service that you offer, but be careful not to go into too much detail, as that will come later in the business plan.

Market size and potential customers: Again, the key is not the detail about your market and potential customers - those details come later in the business plan. Rather provide an overall picture of the market and a list of the potential customers.

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Should i incorporate market analyses within the business plan template.

While a market analyses forms part of your plan, people sometimes ask if it is necessary to include this information into your actual template.

The answer is yes, and is usually derived from a SWOT analysis.

Importantly, an investor or lender interested in getting involved in your business from a financial point of view will need to have an understanding of your target market. They will need to know that you are targeting the correct market, if that market can afford your service or product, the age and other demographics, etc. Essentially, those interested parties should know everything there is to know about your target market in as few words as possible.

Your target market may shift as your business grows or changes, and you will always need to refer back to the original markets for a variety of reasons. Having this information in a template means it is exactly where you need it, when you need it.

All successful entrepreneurs plan and research strategies and prepare the business before committing themselves to the chosen course of action. Part of this is conducting a market analysis.

So, what kind of information, typically, should be included in your template for your business plan when incorporating your market analysis?

Who your potential customers are
What their shopping and buying habits are
The size of your target market
The amount of money your potential customers are willing to pay
Who your competitors are
What your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses are

Regardless if you are starting a venture, introducing a new product, or growing your small business, properly done market research can help take you to the next level.

Follow these steps when conducting a market analysis for your business:

Determine the purpose of your study Your analysis is a critical part of your small business plan. It shows lenders and other interested financial parties that you know your industry well and that your business has growth potential.

Before you begin, determine whether your analysis is for internal or external use. Internally will include improving cash flow or business operations, for example. Externally will include trying to convince financial institutions to give you a business loan or for investors to invest in your business.

There are various reasons to conduct market research. These include assessing business risks, reducing issues, or creating opportunities among your target market/s. You should look at previous challenges to decrease future risks and analyse previous successes to ascertain what you need to do in the future.

Make sure you decide whether your study will be external, internal or both before starting your research. The reason is that if it is for internal purposes, you more than likely will not have to collect as much information and statistics as you would with one for external purposes.

Look at your industry’s outlook Outline the state of your industry at the current time. Using metrics like size, projected growth and trends, for example, is necessary. But you must also ensure that you have all necessary data to back up your claims.

This will allow investors or lenders see that you’ve conducted comprehensive research on your business’s industry. It will also give them an idea as to whether or not your industry is worth them investing their time and money.

Pinpoint target customers By analysing your market, you determine who your potential customers are. Not every person will be your customer, but you expect that, don’t you? Pinpointing your target customers is called target market analysis.

You need to understand everything about your customers. Who they are and where they come from, what do they do and how old they are. Your research should paint a clear picture of your potential customers and include:

Education level
Marital / family status

Once you have narrowed down exactly who your customers are, it is time to discover their demographics, needs, interests and personalities. Experts suggest you consider creating customer personas based on your research.

Many businesses have multiple customer personas. Once you’ve identified your different customers’ characteristics, then build personas to represent each typical customer. Pinpointing your target market in this way can help you cater to future customers better, and to market your service or product much more efficiently.

Revisit your target market from time to time to see if they are still a fit for your business. As your business grows, your potential customers may evolve or change.

Compare your competition Understanding your competition and knowing who they are targeting are necessary to further analyse your target market. Find out what other businesses are in the same space and research them properly. Remember to analyse aspects such as their offering, location target markets and any disadvantages that you can see.

Once this is complete, narrow it down to a list of your key competitors and, one by one determine their strengths and weaknesses.

What does their business have that yours doesn’t?
Why would a customer pick one of their businesses over yours?
Do the competitors pose any threat to your business?

We suggest you use the well-known SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats). Using this method will help you in determining your own business’ advantages and marketing position.

With Hola Business, your business plan is automatically generated as you complete each business exercise.

Gather additional data The more information you gather, the better off your business will be. When it comes to conducting a market analysis, information really is your greatest ally.

It is important that the data you use is unbiased, relevant, and factual. This is necessary for you to: a) back up your research; and b) make decisions that are based on accurate information.

Remember to use credible sources to gather your information. There are numerous resources you can call upon using the internet to find all sorts of information. The Department of Trade and Industry (dti) could be one; SA Statistics may be another. Depending on the type of information you require, there is always a source. In fact, you could analyse your competitors’ strengths and weaknesses, conduct target market surveys or run focus groups with your target market. Additionally, there are a number of trade journals in every industry. These, too, can be used as a source for some interesting market statistics.

Analyse your findings Once you have finished analysing the market, it’s time to study your findings. A good idea is to organise your research into different sections. Ideally, there should be 3 sections. One for your business purpose, another for the target market and a third for the competition.

A few suggestions to include in your findings:

Your industry’s size and growth rate (an overview)
Your projected percentage of market share
Results of your other analyses
Your outlook for the industry
Buying trends
How much customers are prepared to pay
The various prices of your different offerings
Possible discounts you plan on offering
Your cash flow projection
Your business’s forecasted growth

Based on your research, things like your cash flow cycle, gross margin and customers’ buying habits and other things for your business can be forecast with a degree of accuracy.

Put your analysis into action Put your analysis into action rather than letting all of that good research go to waste.

If the research was for internal purposes, consider how you can use the for business improvement. Use your analysis to try create efficiency in your business processes.
If the research was conducted for external purposes, this must be used to speak with lenders and investors about your research and conclusions.

Remember to include a summary of this in your business plan template. This will be a quick reminder to you about the priority points, and you can revisit your in-depth market analysis every now and then.

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Does your business plan template include all of the important elements of an ideal business plan template? Any decent business plan template,should at it's minimum, contain information around: finances, scope of operations, customers and competition.

Financial Plan: Prepared for banks, other lending institutions and investors, the financial outline of your business or new venture is, possibly, the most important part of your business plan. It will outline start-up costs, estimated business expenditure for the first several months, as well as the amount of external financing gained from potential sales. This forecast is generally based on the prevailing economic conditions, as well as the research undertaken into the business' target market.

Scope of operations: This is where the outline of the business is succinctly outlined in terms of what it is, what it plans to do, and how it plans to do it. Elements around the growth of the business, acquisition of knowldedge as well as the use of technology and process improvement should be explored in this section. Total market size, the previous years’ annual growth rate and market segments are useful indicators in this portion of your plan. Whether you will sell goods or services in local, regional, domestic or international markets should also be included as each of them will have specific and distinct characteristics relating to current size and growth.

Customers: The customers are your target market, the better defined your target market is, the better you will be able to plan. A good suggestion is to include information on the current demand for certain goods or services. This information can be tailored to your business operations to specific consumers. If your company is going to operate in different markets, a customer analysis might be necessary for each market.

Competition: In this section, the business owner will describe their competitive advantage and how they created it. Also, it should include how this competitive advantage can help achieve sufficient market share and ultimately a profit in this specific market place. It can also include regulations and potential changes to the environment that may affect the company.

You should now have a better understanding of a business plan and its template, target markets, financial plans, markets, competitors, mission and vision statements and a whole lot more. It should have given you the ability to generate your own business plan template or, at the very least, an understanding of what should be done.

Understand the risks of a using a free business plan template?

Are you looking for a free business plan or free business plan template that you complete without having undertaken all the required research? An accurate and future-orientated business plan depends on the potential entrepreneur’s ability to populate a business plan template competently and accurately.

Have you considered how complicated a legitimate and appropriate business plan really is? Do you honestly know how to complete a business plan template accurately, and in a manner that is truly in the best interest of your company? Will it adequately plan for your business launch and subsequent expansion? Have you even considered the pitfalls – current and future – of an inadequate business plan?

Opting for a free business plan template to save yourself a little bit of cash outlay in the early stage of your business may seem appealing, but you run the risk of getting the basics incorrect. If the basics are incorrect, your business' potential longevity may be at risk. Another option is to opt for professional guidance from the ideal business authority. The choice is yours. We believe that spending a little bit up of cash front could potentially save you thousands, if not hundreds of thousands in the future.

Hola Business is the business starter authority in South Africa. South African business trainers and experts have tailored this course for South African entrepreneurs and business start-ups.

J oining with Hola Business will help you accurately define your business, which will make a lot of difference as to how you plan for your business.

For just R1 499 , your subscription to Hola Business will help you learn exactly what you need to know to make your business successful. It helps you build your own business plan and financial plan as you learn.

12 interactive modules to get your business going

Get to understand the fundamentals of running a business. We’ll help you bring your business to life while solving some practical challenges in running a business. When complete you'll be prepared for the real world of business.

All of this will help you work through a unique Hola Business case study and compare it with your business model. Our training method allows you to develop your business plan as you learn.

Personal Goals

When managing a business, you should put some focus onto yourself. Central to this will be the development of a Wheel of Life, as well as the setting of some personal goals, and action plans to achieve those goals.

Cycles of Your Business

Pre-start-up, development and growth phases. Learn about the early cycles of business, the challenges you’ll face in your business journey and how you can be prepared for the changes the business will go through.

From Idea to Plan

Take that business idea and interrogate it a little more. This module will create the overview of your business plan by defining your business, your market and competitors, as well as doing a SWOT analysis

Business Planning

Develop your Vision, Mission, SMART goals and action plans as you formulate your own Business Plan using a Balanced Scorecard, through an easy to understand step by step process of creating these key planning documents.

Intro to Financial Planning

A quick introduction to the importance of financial forecasting, introducing the three key documents that will make up the Financial Plan.

Understanding Costs

Gain a detailed understanding of the costs of starting and operating your business, your day-to-day costs, and how they impact on the business.

Pricing for Profit

A straightforward guide to setting prices, incorporating pricing strategy, costing principles, breakeven points & guidelines to profitable pricing.

Financial Scorecard

Gaining a clear understanding of the financial scorecards of the business are critical to the long-term health of your business. Be guided through the forecasting process, culminating in the development of your Income Statement forecast.

Managing Working Capital

Learn how to manage your working capital, and understand the flow of money through your business. Be guided through the development of your own Cash Flow and Balance Sheet forecasts, completing your Financial Plan.

Setting up Your Business

All a start-up needs to know about tax, compliance and admin. Take the frustration out of searching the internet to find out what you need to know about in setting up your business.

Getting Finance

Explore the ways you can look to get financing for your business. Examine both traditional and alternative funding options available to you, and what you need to know.

Marketing for Start-Ups

Understand business-appropriate marketing fundamentals and identify the ideal marketing channels for successful promoting of your business to your target audience.

Got a great business idea? Take the next step – sign up to Hola Business today.

Business Plan Template

Download template.

A business plan template is a document that serves as a framework for entrepreneurs to outline their business goals, strategies, and operations. The template typically consists of several sections that cover different aspects of the business, such as the executive summary, market analysis, marketing and sales strategies, financial projections, and organizational structure.

A well-crafted business plan template helps entrepreneurs to establish a clear direction for their business, identify potential risks and opportunities, and secure funding from investors or lenders. It also serves as a reference document for monitoring progress and adjusting strategies as the business evolves.

Overall, a business plan template is a crucial tool for any entrepreneur looking to start or grow their business, as it provides a structured approach to developing a comprehensive and effective business plan.

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Powerful business plan templates

Plan for the future, no matter what your business plans are or the size of your business with these designs and templates. whether it's just one big project or an entire organization's worth of dreams, these templates will keep you and your company on track from ideation to completion..

Put your ideas to work with simple templates for every business plan

Every successful business took a lot of planning to get there, and these templates will be cornerstones of your future success. Whether you're looking to attract new business, pitch your services or reimagine your company, with these simple, customizable templates at your fingertips you can turn complexity into something tangible. These templates can become marketing assets or simply remain internal touchpoints for your team. And as your dreams change, you'll always have this template to refer to – it's easy to change what exists on paper. If you're a small business, focusing on your niche can help you dominate in your field, and you can forge a plan to figure out exactly what that niche might be and how to target your ideal customer . When it's time to share your vision with stakeholders, craft a presentation that outlines your plan succinctly and with style. Let these templates from Microsoft Designer be your partner in business strategy for years to come.

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9 Business Plan Examples to Inspire Your Own (2024)

Need support creating your business plan? Check out these business plan examples for inspiration and guidance.

a stock of books on purple background representing business plan examples

Any aspiring entrepreneur researching how to start a business will likely be advised to write a business plan. But few resources provide business plan examples to really guide you through writing one of your own.

Here are some real-world and illustrative business plan examples to help you craft your business plan .

Business plan format: 9 examples

The business plan examples in this article follow this template:

Executive summary
Company description
Market analysis
Products and services
Marketing plan
Logistics and operations plan
Financial plan
Customer segmentation

1. Executive summary

Your executive summary is a page that gives a high-level overview of the rest of your business plan. While it appears at the beginning, it’s easiest to write this section last, as there are details further in the report you’ll need to include here.

In this free business plan template , the executive summary is four paragraphs and takes a little over half a page. It clearly and efficiently communicates what the business does and what it plans to do, including its business model and target customers.

Executive summary for Paw Print Post detailing the business model and target customers.

2. Company description

You might repurpose your company description elsewhere, like on your About page , social media profile pages, or other properties that require a boilerplate description of your small business.

Soap brand ORRIS has a blurb on its About page that could easily be repurposed for the company description section of its business plan.

ORRIS homepage promoting cleaner ingredients for skincare with a detailed description.

You can also go more in-depth with your company overview and include the following sections, like in this business plan example for Paw Print Post:

Business structure

This section outlines how you registered your business —as an LLC , sole proprietorship, corporation, or other business type : “Paw Print Post will operate as a sole proprietorship run by the owner, Jane Matthews.”

Nature of the business

“Paw Print Post sells unique, one-of-a-kind digitally printed cards that are customized with a pet’s unique paw prints.”

“Paw Print Post operates primarily in the pet industry and sells goods that could also be categorized as part of the greeting card industry.”

Background information

“Jane Matthews, the founder of Paw Print Post, has a long history in the pet industry and working with animals, and was recently trained as a graphic designer. She’s combining those two loves to capture a niche in the market: unique greeting cards customized with a pet’s paw prints, without needing to resort to the traditional (and messy) options of casting your pet’s prints in plaster or using pet-safe ink to have them stamp their ’signature.’”

Business objectives

“Jane will have Paw Print Post ready to launch at the Big Important Pet Expo in Toronto to get the word out among industry players and consumers alike. After two years in business, Jane aims to drive $150,000 in annual revenue from the sale of Paw Print Post’s signature greeting cards and to have expanded into two new product categories.”

“Jane Matthews is the sole full-time employee of Paw Print Post but hires contractors as needed to support her workflow and fill gaps in her skill set. Notably, Paw Print Post has a standing contract for five hours a week of virtual assistant support with Virtual Assistants Pro.”

Your mission statement may also make an appearance here. Passionfruit shares its mission statement on its company website, and it would also work well in its example business plan.

Passionfruit About page with a person in a "Forever Queer" t-shirt.

3. Market analysis

The market analysis consists of research about supply and demand , your target demographics, industry trends, and the competitive landscape. You might run a SWOT analysis and include that in your business plan.

Here’s an example SWOT analysis for an online tailored-shirt business:

SWOT analysis chart with strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.

You’ll also want to do a competitive analysis as part of the market research component of your business plan. This will tell you which businesses you’re up against and give you ideas on how to differentiate your brand. A broad competitive analysis might include:

Target customers
Unique value proposition , or what sets the products apart
Sales pitch
Price points for products
Shipping policy

4. Products and services

This section of your business plan describes your offerings—which products and services do you sell to your customers? Here’s an example for Paw Print Post that explains its line of custom greeting cards, along with details on what makes its products unique.

Products and services section of Paw Print Post showing customized greeting cards with paw prints.

5. Marketing plan

It’s always a good idea to develop a marketing plan before you launch your business. Your marketing plan shows how you’ll get the word out about your business, and it’s an essential component of your business plan as well.

Business plan sample showing marketing plan for Paw Print Post.

The Paw Print Post focuses on four Ps: price, product, promotion, and place. However, you can take a different approach with your marketing plan. Maybe you can pull from your existing marketing strategy , or maybe you break it down by the different marketing channels. Whatever approach you take, your marketing plan should describe how you intend to promote your business and offerings to potential customers.

6. Logistics and operations plan

The Paw Print Post example considered suppliers, production, facilities, equipment, shipping and fulfillment, and inventory. This includes any raw materials needed to produce the products.

Business plan example with a logistics and operations plan for Paw Print Post.

7. Financial plan

The financial plan provides a breakdown of sales, revenue, profit, expenses, and other relevant financial metrics related to funding and profiting from your business.

Ecommerce brand Nature’s Candy’s financial plan breaks down predicted revenue, expenses, and net profit in graphs.

Bar chart illustrating monthly expenses and direct costs for a business from January to December.

It then dives deeper into the financials to include:

Funding needs
Projected profit-and-loss statement
Projected balance sheet
Projected cash-flow statement

You can use a financial plan spreadsheet to build your own financial statements, including income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement.

Income statement template created by Shopify with sales, cost of sales, gross margin, and expenses.

8. Customer segmentation

Customer segmentation means dividing your target market into groups based on specific characteristics. These characteristics can be demographics, psychographics, behavior, or geography. Your business plan will provide detailed information on each segment, like its size and growth potential, so you can show why they are valuable to your business.

Airsign , an eco-friendly vacuum cleaner company, faced the challenge of building a sustainable business model in the competitive home appliance market. They identified three key customer personas to target:

Design-oriented urban dwellers
Millennials moving to suburbs
Older consumers seeking high-quality appliances

The company utilized Shopify’s customer segmentation tools to gain insights and take action to target them. Airsign created targeted segments for specific marketing initiatives.

Put your customer data to work with Shopify’s customer segmentation

Shopify’s built-in segmentation tools help you discover insights about your customers, build segments as targeted as your marketing plans with filters based on your customers’ demographic and behavioral data, and drive sales with timely and personalized emails.

9. Appendix

The appendix provides in-depth data, research, or documentation that supports the claims and projections made in the main business plan. It includes things like market research, finance, résumés, product specs, and legal documents.

Readers can access detailed info in the appendix, but the main plan stays focused and easy to read. Here’s an example from a fictional clothing brand called Bloom:

Appendix: Bloom Business Plan

Types of business plans, and what to include for each

This lean business plan is meant to be high level and easy to understand at a glance. You’ll want to include all of the same sections in one-page business plan, but make sure they’re truncated and summarized:

Executive summary: truncated
Market analysis: summarized
Products and services: summarized
Marketing plan: summarized
Logistics and operations plan: summarized
Financials: summarized

A startup business plan is for a new business. Typically, these plans are developed and shared to secure funding . As such, there’s a bigger focus on the financials, as well as on other sections that determine viability of your business idea—market research, for example:

Market analysis: in-depth
Financials: in-depth

Your internal business plan is meant to keep your team on the same page and aligned toward the same goal:

A strategic, or growth, business plan is a big-picture, long-term look at your business. As such, the forecasts tend to look further into the future, and growth and revenue goals may be higher. Essentially, you want to use all the sections you would in a normal business plan and build upon each:

Market analysis: comprehensive outlook
Products and services: for launch and expansion
Marketing plan: comprehensive outlook
Logistics and operations plan: comprehensive outlook
Financials: comprehensive outlook

Feasibility

Your feasibility business plan is sort of a pre-business plan—many refer to it as simply a feasibility study. This plan essentially lays the groundwork and validates that it’s worth the effort to make a full business plan for your idea. As such, it’s mostly centered around research:

Nonprofit business plans are used to attract donors, grants, and partnerships. They focus on what their mission is, how they measure success, and how they get funded. You’ll want to include the following sections in addition to a traditional business plan:

Organization description
Need statement
Programs and services
Fundraising plan
Partnerships and collaborations
Impact measurement

Set yourself up for success as a business owner

Building a good business plan serves as a roadmap you can use for your ecommerce business at launch and as you reach each of your business goals. Business plans create accountability for entrepreneurs and synergy among teams, regardless of your business model .

Kickstart your ecommerce business and set yourself up for success with an intentional business planning process—and with the sample business plans above to guide your own path.

Business plan examples FAQ

How do i write a simple business plan.

To write a simple business plan, begin with an executive summary that outlines your business and your plans. Follow this with sections detailing your company description, market analysis, organization and management structure, product or service, marketing and sales strategy, and financial projections. Each section should be concise and clearly illustrate your strategies and goals.

What is the best format to write a business plan?

The best business plan format presents your plan in a clear, organized manner, making it easier for potential investors to understand your business model and goals. Always begin with the executive summary and end with financial information or appendices for any additional data.

What are the 4 key elements of a business plan?

Executive summary: A concise overview of the company’s mission, goals, target audience, and financial objectives.
Business description: A description of the company’s purpose, operations, products and services, target markets, and competitive landscape.
Market analysis: An analysis of the industry, market trends, potential customers, and competitors.
Financial plan: A detailed description of the company’s financial forecasts and strategies.

What are the 3 main points of a business plan?

Concept: Your concept should explain the purpose of your business and provide an overall summary of what you intend to accomplish.
Contents: Your content should include details about the products and services you provide, your target market, and your competition.
Cash flow: Your cash flow section should include information about your expected cash inflows and outflows, such as capital investments, operating costs, and revenue projections.

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Download a Free Business Plan Template

Business plan format

1. Table of Contents (1 page)

2. Executive Summary (2 pages)

3. Company Overview (1 – 2 pages)

4. The Opportunity, Industry and Market Description (2 – 3 pages)

5. Strategy (1-2 pages)

6. Business Model Explanation (1 page)

7. Management and Organisation (2 pages)

8. Marketing Plan (2 – 3 pages)

9. Operational Plan (2 pages)

10. Financial Plan (3 – 5 pages)

11. Appendix

Related Documents

Download a Business Plan Template

Business Plan Template by Being Boss and FreshBooks

What Is a Business Plan Template and How Can It Help You?

Why Do You Need a Business Plan?

How to Structure a Business Plan

What Goes Into a Business Plan?

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

2. MISSION + VISION

4. SKILLS + EXPERIENCE

5. PRODUCTS/SERVICES

6. TARGET MARKET

7. INDUSTRY/COMPETITION

8. OPERATIONAL PLANS

9. MARKETING PLAN

10. SALES FORECAST/FINANCIAL PROJECTIONS

11. START-UP EXPENSES

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A Free Business Plan Example to Launch Your South African Business This free Business Plan example provides you with a sample business plan as well as guidance on how to write a business plan and important sections to include in your plan.

1. Executive Summary

Example of a Business Plan Executive Summary

2. Business Overview and Objectives

Example of a Business Overview and Objectives

Company Status

Company Objectives

3. Products and Services

Example of Products and Services

Competition

4. Competitive and Market Analysis

Example of a Market Analysis

Market Need

5. Marketing/Sales Strategy

Example of a Marketing Strategy

6. Staffing and Operations

Example of Staffing and Operations

7. Financial Projections

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1. The executive summary