In our experience, the process of creating and writing a business plan is as valuable as the end product itself - a document that will provide the priorities, context and sanity you’ll need as you start up your business.
Just remember that the most important audience for a business plan is YOU! You’ll be forced to be accountable to all of the statements, claims, stats and facts inside of it.
You may also use your business plan as a tool to generate interest from financiers, prospective employees and strategic partners.
We focus on 3 aspects of business planning to consider as you write a business plan:
- The "Defining Dozen" questions you must answer
- Key components of a business plan
- Writing a business plan
Sample Business Plans
Use these sample business plans for reference.
* pdf document. Adobe Acrobat Reader required
The "Defining Dozen" questions
To write a good business plan, you have to know the answers to the “Defining Dozen” questions, which we describe in detail in “StartupNation: Open for Business,” our book. Jot down the answers to each of these questions and hang on to them. You might not use every answer in writing your business plan, but they could be helpful when you update your plan as your new business grows.