How to Create a Business Plan

Whether you are starting a new business, evaluating the status of your current business, or shifting your business goals, creating or reworking your Business Plan is what you need to do in order to define who you are now, and what your future goals are.

Why do you need a business plan?

Simply put, a business plan is the essential foundation of the product, service,  or career you are so passionate about. 

Having a thorough outline of everything from your high-level business goals to your daily business routine will guide your business execution and help you to determine the success, growth, and learning opportunities you experience along the way. 

Does your current business plan need to change?

You may need to change your business plan if you are facing one of these three problems:

1. Your company’s growth has become stagnant.
   If you’ve looked at your company’s business goals and reporting over the last quarter, and you’ve realized there hasn’t been much growth, it may be time for a change.

2. Your product, service, or ideal customer has evolved.
   It may be hard to give up the countless hours you and your team have spent on your initial business plan and execution, but if your customer, product, or service has pivoted, your business plan needs to pivot as well.

3. The evolving landscape from physical workplace environments to digital. 
   The entire world has undergone a huge workplace shift, and temporarily or not, it may give you and your business the need to permanently transition to remote or distributed work environments with your team. 

What should I include in my business plan?

Your business plan should include only the main components that are relevant to your business. Too many business plans are overly complex and would overwhelm even the most business-savvy individual. 

Your plan should include an executive summary, concise information about the company, market, and product/service, a business model, marketing and operations plan, and a review of opportunities, threats, and the competition. 

Stormboard’s Business Plan Template has sections that walk you through everything you need to cover in order to write a detailed and concise plan. 

How to fill out Stormboard’s Business Plan template

The template has 15 sections to help you gather all the information needed to develop your plan: Executive Summary, Company, Market, Product/Service, Business Model, Competition, Marketing Plan, Operations Plan, Team, Legal/Social, Financials, Opportunities, Threats, and Appendix.

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Stormboard’s Business Plan Template

Each section allows you to break down the specific aspects of your business to get a clearer picture of everything involved.

Executive Summary
The executive summary is a high-level overview of your business. This is usually only one or two sentences.  

Company
The Company section is where you want to include everything your company does (or will do) and what you stand for. What do you want people to associate with you? This is an in-depth look at what the business will achieve.

Market
In the market section, outline the market or industry that your business will fit into. How big is the market? What makes you competitive in the market? 

Product/Service
This section is where you dig into what your product or service is. What will you provide for your customers? What are your key differentiators? 

Business Model
Identify the business model that you are planning on using, or are currently using, to help grow your business. Basically, this is a description of how your business is going to make money. Learn more about the different types of business models here. 

Competition
Use this section to identify who your competition is, and how they are similar and different to what you are planning to do with your business. 

Marketing Plan
Include an overview of the marketing strategies you will use to draw customers to your product or service. This might include social media, print advertisements, etc.

Operations Plan
Use this section to give an overview of the tangible operations of your business.

Team
List all of the people who are currently on your team (or who you plan on adding to your team), including their titles and responsibilities. 

Legal/Social
Use this section to include any legal considerations surrounding your business.

Financials
Document anything related to the finances of your business, including goals and who you are planning on having help you with any financial issues.  

Opportunities
Use this section to brainstorm all of the opportunities you have for your business. Is there a gap in the market? Has a competitor made a mistake? Have you gotten great reviews recently? 

Threats
Be brutally honest about any threats that your business might be under. Did a competitor recently announce a new feature? Are your investors getting cold feet? 

Appendix
The appendix section is where you can add any supporting documentation or details to reinforce the information in the other sections.

Get started!

Are you interested in using Stormboard’s Business Plan Template? Sign up for a 30-day free trial here! 

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