Page1of31
Business Plan for a Startup Business
Thebusinessplanconsistsofanarrativeandseveralfinancialworksheets.Thenarrative
templateisthebodyofthebusinessplan.Itcontainsmorethan150questionsdivided
intoseveralsections.Workthroughthesectionsinanyorderthatyoulike,exceptfor
theExecutiveSummary,whichshouldbedonelast.Skipanyquestionsthatdonotapply
toyourtypeofbusiness.Whenyouarefinishedwritingyourfirstdraft,you’llhavea
collectionofsmallessaysonthevarioustopicsofthebusinessplan.Thenyou’llwantto
editthemintoasmooth‐flowingnarrative.
Therealvalueofcreatingabusinessplanisnotinhavingthefinishedproductinhand;
rather,thevalueliesintheprocessofresearchingandthinkingaboutyourbusinessina
systematicway.Theactofplanninghelpsyoutothinkthingsthroughthoroughly,
studyandresearchifyouarenotsureofthefacts,andlookatyourideascritically.It
takestimenow,butavoidscostly,perhapsdisastrous,mistakeslater.
Thisbusinessplanisagenericmodelsuitableforalltypesofbusinesses.However,you
shouldmodifyittosuityourparticularcircumstances.Beforeyoubegin,reviewthe
sectiontitledRefiningthePlan,foundattheend.Itsuggestsemphasizingcertainareas
dependinguponyourtypeofbusiness(manufacturing,retail,service,etc.).Italsohas
tipsforfine‐tuningyourplantomakeaneffectivepresentationtoinvestorsorbankers.
Ifthisiswhyyou’recreatingyourplan,payparticularattentiontoyourwritingstyle.
Youwillbejudgedbythequalityandappearanceofyourworkaswellasbyyour
ideas.
Ittypicallytakesseveralweekstocompleteagoodplan.Mostofthattimeisspentin
researchandre‐thinkingyourideasandassumptions.Butthen,that’sthe
valueofthe
process.Somaketimetodothejobproperly.Thosewhodoneverregrettheeffort.And
finally,besuretokeepdetailednotesonyoursourcesofinformationandonthe
assumptionsunderlyingyourfinancialdata.
Ifyouneedassistancewithyourbusinessplan,contactthe
SCOREofficeinyourareato
setupabusinesscounselingappointmentwithaSCOREvolunteerorsendyourplan
forreviewtoaSCOREcounseloratwww.score.org.Call1‐800‐634‐0245togetthe
contactinformationfortheSCOREofficeclosesttoyou.