Free Business Plan Template

A business plan is a formal written document that describes your business in great detail. Specifically, a business plan outlines your business’s goals and objectives, overarching strategy, and how you plan on implementing the strategy and achieving those goals. 

Entrepreneurs and startups create business plans to help secure investment for their businesses. 

A business plan is designed to provide you and potential investors with a clear understanding of how you intend to generate money and make your business a success. Your business plan isn’t just for investors however, it is something that you can regularly refer back to, to help you establish and grow your business. For example, having a solid business plan in place can help you to convince potential employees, customers, and suppliers to support your business.

A comprehensive business plan is key to attaining support and funding, whether it be from angel investors or venture capitalists. In fact, according to research, those who finished their business plans were about twice as likely to successfully grow their business, get investment, or land a loan than those who didn’t. That is why we’re here to help you create a bullet-proof plan with our free business plan template for startups.

A business plan should cover every aspect of your business, from objectives and marketing strategies to financial forecasts. While the format and content of business plans can vary, there are core sections and features that investors will expect to see within your business plan. 

Our free business plan template includes ten key sections along with detailed instructions about how to write and complete each section to help you build a solid plan. 

Our downloadable business plan template includes the following essential sections: 

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Products and Services
• Target Market
• Market Research
• Marketing Strategy
• Operations and Logistics
• Management and Organisation
• Start-up Expenses
• Financial Plan

As well as helping you to attain investor support and funding, a great business plan for investment can help you in a variety of ways. It can help you to:

• Clarify your business idea in a structured manner, and test the validity and strength of your idea
• Set out your goals and objectives, and detail how to achieve them
• Follow a clear strategy 
• Identify any potential problems
• Measure your progress
• Secure external finance for your business (eg. loans)
• Ensure your team are aligned and working toward the same goals and objectives
• Better understand your target market and competitors
• Attract business partners, employees and suppliers
• Plan for the next phase and beyond!

Writing a business plan takes a lot of time, thought and energy. To help you create the perfect business plan, here are a few insightful tips: 

1. Keep the plan clear and concise

While detail is important, you don’t want to go into too much depth. No fluff or waffle here, please! Include the most essential things that investors need to know to get them engaged and excited about your idea. Provide enough information in a clear and concise manner to give investors confidence that you have a solid plan in place.

2. Make the plan presentable

Having blocks of text can sometimes overwhelm the reader, so make sure you find other ways to present the information. For example, consider using bullet points to highlight any key points, and tables, graphs and charts to visualise data. You should also use clear headings and sub-headings, and make sure the structure, style and formatting are consistent (eg. font types and sizes).

3. Check your spelling!

Spelling and grammatical errors happen, especially when you’re so immersed in a project such as this. But if the investor picks up on any mistakes, it may give the impression that you haven’t taken enough care with your business plan. To ensure your plan is spelling-error free and grammatically correct, always get a second pair of eyes to proofread and sense-check your plan to pick up on anything you might have missed.

4. Always refer back to your goals

Your goals and objectives should be at the very heart of your plan which is why it’s essential to tie everything back to your goals. When writing each section, always keep your goals in mind. For example, “how does this marketing strategy help to achieve my goal?”. This shows the investor that you are constantly thinking about how you can achieve your objectives and gives them confidence that you have been thorough and diligent.

5. Interrogate and refine

Once you’ve written your plan and had someone else review it, it’s time to interrogate and refine your business plan. Try approaching it from an investor’s point of view to make sure you’ve answered any questions they may pose to you. You should also ensure that any goals and objectives you’ve set are realistic and achievable based on your strategy and the evidence you’ve provided.

Finally, share your plan with those around you, whether that be close friends or trusted experts within your industry. Which parts did they find the most/least convincing? Are there parts they didn’t understand? Getting genuine feedback before sharing your plan with investors can be very valuable.