Writing a business plan: 5 steps and templates

When you want to set up a business, you should always think about your business plan. Although widely feared, this step is mandatory for anyone wanting to get into entrepreneurship.

This document should be the materialization of the vision you have for your project. Properly written, a business plan will have no trouble reassuring your various investors about the reliability of your project.

On the other hand, if it is poorly written, you cannot expect people to invest. As you can see, the business plan is very important for every entrepreneur. That is why we wrote this article, which will show you step by step how to write a perfect business plan no matter your project.

As you might expect, we cannot present the methodology for writing a business plan without first telling you what it is.

What is a business plan?

Simply put, the business plan is a document that brings together all the financial and commercial strategy necessary for carrying out your project.

Its main function is to convince investors so that they provide you with the funds necessary to carry out your project.

As we said above, this document is very important for anyone wanting to start a business.

It is therefore essential to be able to write it correctly; to do so you must already know the structure of a business plan.

Structure of a business plan

Like all official documents, the business plan also has a structure of its own.

To properly understand the structure of a business plan, you must keep in mind that its objective is to convince investors of the project's profitability.

So when you write your business plan, always start by stating that your project will generate profits.

The project will generate profits

To show that your project is profitable, you must highlight the existence of a need that your project addresses.

You must always make an effort to emphasize that your project is attractive enough to prompt a customer purchase.

Next, you must also demonstrate that the need your project addresses concerns a significant number of people.

This will reassure investors that your project will generate substantial revenue. You must then specify the project's assets in your business plan.

Project achievements

You must specify in your business plan what you already possess that will be useful for carrying out your project, whether technical, commercial, or even financial skills.

Even contacts in the market where you plan to sell your products are valuable assets.

Finally, you must specify the place your future company will occupy in the market.

Your company's position

Indeed, in your business plan you must specify the position of your future company among the competitors already present in the market.

You will need to identify potential competitors as well as established competitors.

You should also specify the company's advantages compared to its competitors.

Now that you know the structure of the business plan, we will present the steps needed to complete it.

Steps to create your business plan

When you want to write your business plan, there are several steps you must follow to be confident of the result. The first step is asking questions.

1. Questions

This step simply involves asking yourself the right questions. You must first ask yourself "Is it necessary for me to write a business plan?"

Because although some will tell you otherwise, the business plan is primarily a document needed to raise funds to launch your company.

So if you don’t need to raise funds to launch your business or project, it will be pointless to waste time and energy drafting this document. Instead, focus on completing your project.

However, if you absolutely need to raise funds to carry out your project, you should ask yourself the following questions in this order:

Once you have the answers to all these questions, you can move on to the next step, which is themarket study.

2. Market research

This step is one of the most important in preparing the business plan.

It should be carried out at the start of your project while it is still in the planning phase, because it will allow you to know your project’s profitability level.

This study is simply an analysis of the market in the sector where you plan to launch your project.

In this analysis you must take into account the market size, the various competitors and their positions in the market, and the potential impact of your project on that market.

This study will entirely shape your financial and communication strategies. The next step is simply to create a financial model for your project

3. Financial modeling

Modeling is also an important step of the business plan, because it will influence many parts of it.

That is also why it is important not to model it at the end of your business plan.

To create your financial modeling, you will need to use the information collected during your market study.

Thanks to this information, you will be able, for example, to determine your project’s seasonal profitability.

Market research will also allow you to determine market size, the budget specific to your communication, your financial strategies, and, above all, the business model that fits your project.

All this information will allow you to build a better financial model. Next, you should proceed to the actual writing of your business plan.

4. Writing your business plan

Once you have your market study and a financial model for your project, you can begin writing your business plan.

For this step, you have two options. The first is a 20- to 30-page Word document and the second is a PowerPoint of around twenty slides.

You should choose your business plan format based on your objectives and the investors you are targeting for your project.

Also know that all members of your team should take part in drafting your business plan.

Keep in mind that investors are busy people, so they will focus on the presentation rather than the content.

So pay close attention to the visual aspect of your business plan to make it as appealing as possible.

You must also pay attention to the Executive Summary, which is a kind of summary of your business plan; it must be attractive and should not exceed two pages.

In this section you should highlight the most important points of your business plan.

For example, it should include items such as the needs your project addresses, your financial strategy, your company’s achievements, your financial forecasts, and the resources required to carry out the project.

This section must be attractive and easy to read because it is one of the parts investors look at most.

If you write or present it carelessly, investors won’t want to learn more about you.

Finally, once you have finished writing your business plan in full, it is time to proofread it.

This review should ensure that your document is sufficiently impactful, with clear and justified assumptions.

You should also make sure the presentation of your document is as polished as possible.

Finally, this proofreading should be done to eliminate the remaining grammatical or spelling errors present in your document.

We have finished the steps for creating your business plan; now we will present a business plan template.

So that you know what it should look like.

A business plan template

Every project is unique, so there is no fixed business plan template. However, all business plans have a number of chapters they should include.

These chapters are generally the same, and the first of them is the presentation of the team.

1. Team presentation

At the start of your business plan you should always present the founder and the key project members with a brief summary of their CVs.

In this presentation, you should show that the profiles of your team members are complementary.

Next, you should present the product or service your company will offer.

2. Product presentation

In this section you should clearly explain which needs the product(s) you offer address.

You should also present the existing offering and explain how your product will differ from it (advantages and disadvantages).

You should also describe the context and explain why the market is ready to adopt your product. Then you should describe the market.

3. Describe the market

In this part, you should clearly explain who the customers are and how what you offer is a solution to their problem.

You should also present the results of a survey conducted among customers and prospects that demonstrate the existence of demand.

You should also, in this section, clearly identify your different customer types and the geographic areas targeted.

You will also need to assess the size and potential development of the market before presenting your market study. Next comes the business model.

4. The business model

This section aims to demonstrate your company's ability to generate value.

You should explain the company's sources of revenue, distribution channels, pricing policy, and also the sales strategy. Then you should discuss the Competition.

5. Competition

In this section you should present direct and indirect competitors as well as the barriers that could potentially prevent new entrants from entering this market.

Finally, the last section is The company.

6. The company

In this section, you should discuss your company's legal status, its date of incorporation, and its start of operations.

You should also provide in this section your capital, the nature of your financial contributions, and the shareholders, if any.

Our advice

Finally, always keep in mind that writing your business plan follows a very specific logic.

It is therefore important to follow this logic throughout your document.

So do things in order and take the time to think things through carefully in order to follow the steps we have presented.

Because writing a business plan is often more important than the content of the business plan itself. For careful and appealing writing, entrust the drafting of your business plan to our professional writers at Redacteur.com.