investment group business plan

Investment Company Business Plan Template

Written by Dave Lavinsky

Investment Company Business Plan

You’ve come to the right place to create your Investment Company business plan.

We have helped over 1,000 entrepreneurs and business owners create business plans and many have used them to start or grow their Investment Companies.

Below is a template to help you create each section of your Investment Company business plan.

Executive Summary

Business overview.

NovaGrowth Investments is a startup investment company located in Aurora, Colorado. The company is founded by Thom Anderson, an investment broker from Colorado Springs, Colorado, who has amassed millions of dollars for his clients over ten years while working at Clear River Investments. Because Thom has gained an extensive following of clients who have already indicated they will follow him to his new investment company, he has made the initial steps into forming NovaGrowth Investments. Thom plans on recruiting a team of highly-qualified professionals to help manage the day-to-day operations of a premier investment company in every aspect of marketing and advising in the land acquisition investment company.

NovaGrowth Investments will provide a wide array of services for investors, in particular those related to the optimal attention and time needed to secure valuable investments on their behalf. Investors can feel confident and secure, knowing that Thom and his team are looking out for their interests in every aspect of the land acquisition process. What’s more, NovaGrowth offers customized guarantees of investment performance that are singular within the investment company industry.

Product Offering

The following are the services that NovaGrowth Investments will provide:

• Analysis and expansive vetting of land acquisition opportunities up to 5M acres
• Extensive market research that secures in-depth findings
• Consistent and competitive returns while managing risk effectively
• Full spectrum wealth management
• Comprehensive array of software tools/programs to capture critical intelligence
• Unique strategies tailored for each individual client
• “New investor” welcome package with goal-setting seminar included
• “Boots on the Ground” team of investment analysts who visit each location under consideration and offer a full report plus video capture of the land
• Oversight and management of each portfolio and customized suggestions

Customer Focus

NovaGrowth Investments will target individual investors. They will also target corporate investors who are seeking land acquisitions. They will target fast-growing companies known to be seeking additional tracts of land. NovaGrowth Investments will target industry partners (cattle ranchers, horse breeders, etc) that could benefit from land acquisition as an investment.

Management Team

NovaGrowth Investments will be owned and operated by Thom Anderson. He recruited Jackson Byers and Kylie Carlson to manage the day-to-day operations of the investment company and oversee human resources.

Thom Anderson is a graduate of Cambridge University in the U.K., where he graduated with an International Business bachelor’s degree. He spent five years in the U.K. sourcing land for a large investment firm as an entry-level investment advisor.

Upon his return to the U.S.,Thom obtained his investment broker’s license and was employed by Clear River Investments in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Within one year, Thom secured over 5M in investments for his clients and, within five years, he amassed over 25M in land acquisition investments on behalf of his clients.

Jackson Byers is a graduate of the University of Illinois, where he graduated with a master’s degree in Accounting. His former role at Clear River Investments was as the Associate Accountant, where he managed the normal business accounting processes for the firm. He will serve as the Staff Accountant in the startup company and will assist in overseeing the day-to-day operations of the firm.

Kylie Carlson was hired by Thom Anderson as his Assistant and worked for him at Clear River Investments for over ten years. Her new role will be the Human Resources Manager, overseeing personnel and the processes that are regulated and required by Colorado.

Success Factors

NovaGrowth Investments will be able to achieve success by offering the following competitive advantages:

• Friendly, knowledgeable, and highly-qualified team of NovaGrowth Investments
• “Boots on the Ground” team of investment analysts who visit each location under consideration and offer a full report plus video capture of the land.
• NovaGrowth Investments offers outstanding value for each client in both their management fees and land acquisition percentages. Their pricing denotes quality and value and their results continually substantiate it.

Financial Highlights

NovaGrowth Investments is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its NovaGrowth Investments. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the marketing costs. The breakout of the funding is below:

• Office space build-out: $20,000
• Office equipment, supplies, and materials: $10,000
• Three months of overhead expenses (payroll, rent, utilities): $150,000
• Marketing costs: $10,000
• Working capital: $10,000

The following graph outlines the financial projections for NovaGrowth Investments.

Company Overview

Who is novagrowth investments.

NovaGrowth Investments is a newly established, full-service investment company in Aurora, Colorado. NovaGrowth Investments will be the most reliable, effective and value-driven choice for private and commercial investors in Aurora and the surrounding communities. NovaGrowth Investments will provide a comprehensive menu of portfolio and land acquisition services for any potential investor to utilize. Their full-service approach includes a comprehensive seminar and helpful introductory information for first-time investors.

  NovaGrowth Investments will be able to manage the investments and acquire new investments for their clients. The team of professionals are highly qualified and experienced in investment brokerage and land acquisitions. NovaGrowth Investments removes all headaches and issues of trying to locate safe and secure investments and ensures all issues are taken care of expeditiously while delivering the best customer service.

NovaGrowth Investments History

Thom Anderson is a graduate of Cambridge University in the U.K., where he graduated with an International Business bachelor’s degree. He spent five years in the U.K. sourcing land for a large investment firm as an entry-level investment advisor. Upon his return to the U.S.,Thom obtained his investment broker’s license and was employed by Clear River Investments in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Within one year, Thom secured over 5M in investments for his clients and, within five years, he amassed over 25M in land acquisition investments on behalf of his clients.

Since incorporation, NovaGrowth Investments has achieved the following milestones:

• Registered NovaGrowth Investments, LLC to transact business in the state of Colorado.
• Has a contract in place for a 10,000 square foot office at one of the midtown buildings
• Reached out to numerous contacts to sign on with NovaGrowth Investments.
• Began recruiting a staff of seven and four office personnel to work at NovaGrowth Investments

NovaGrowth Investments Services

The following will be the services NovaGrowth Investments will provide:

Industry Analysis

The investment company industry is expected to grow over the next five years to over $1.3 trillion. The growth will be driven by ongoing vast opportunities for individuals and organizations seeking to grow their wealth The growth will be driven by new technology that navigating the complexities of the financial markets The growth will be driven by an increase in the interest of individuals in “making their own way” in the world The growth will be driven by the stability of land ownership as an on-going and important element in investment portfolios.

Costs will likely be reduced as technology continues to advance, allowing better-informed acquisition interest and supplemental risk mitigation Costs will likely be reduced as younger investors, such as Gen Z and millennials, continue to express an interest and desire for land acquisition investments, which indicates an increased number of sellers will enter the market due to favorable conditions.

Customer Analysis

Demographic profile of target market.

NovaGrowth Investments will target those potential individual investors in Aurora, Colorado. They will target businesses with a track record of land investments or a need for land due to company growth. NovaGrowth Investments will target industry partners (cattle ranchers, horse breeders, etc) that could benefit from land acquisition as an investment.

Customer Segmentation

NovaGrowth Investments will primarily target the following customer profiles:

• Individual investors
• Businesses with a record of land investments or those seeking land due to internal growth
• Industry partners seeking additional land for livestock or farming purposes

Competitive Analysis

Direct and indirect competitors.

NovaGrowth Investments will face competition from other companies with similar business profiles. A description of each competitor company is below.

CapitalMax Advisors

CapitalMax Advisors is a startup investment company in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The owner, Barry Jackson, is a graduate of Purdue University and has been an investment advisor for over ten years. He recently launched Capital Max Advisors to meet what he coined, “The Great Asset Allocation” investment opportunities within the city of Colorado Springs. Barry has hired ten associates from his former employer’s company to seek investors who are primarily interested in asset allocation investments and the company is promising reduced portfolio management rates for the first six months of business.

CapitalMax Advisors is a full-service investment company with a strong following of investors who were delighted by Barry’s performance on their behalf at his former employer. The expectation is that CapitalMax Advisors will live up to their primary purpose, which is to oversee and direct asset allocation to maximize returns in substantial numbers.

WealthWise Investments

Owned by Tamara and Loren Downs, WealthWise Investments is known for it’s assertive actions on behalf of clients. The company was founded in 2010 and currently offers a diverse range of investment products and services. They specialize in ETFs, mutual funds, and alternative investments. WealthWise Investments is known for its expertise in risk management, technology-driven investment strategies, and statewide reach beyond it’s home city of Colorado Springs.

WealthWise Investments offers excellent services to clients; however, clients have noted publicly that the fees and service charges are high in tandem with the asset allocation gains. There have been two complaints noted with the state regulatory agencies. Meanwhile, Tamara and Loren Downs continue to employ efforts to bring technology-driven tools into the investment company that will trim staff and distribute higher rates on behalf of investors.

FinTech Capital Management

FinTech Capital Management is a five-year-old company located in Denver, Colorado. The focus of the company is on financial technology investments on behalf of their client investors. Currently, the company has recorded stable and growing levels of profitability and has been tagged as an investment management firm known for its expertise in mutual funds and retirement planning They offer a sizable range of investment strategies, including equity, fixed income, and asset allocation funds. They are tech-driven and focus on research-driven investment decisions to fulfill the goals of their clients in long-term wealth creation.

In addition to tech acquisitions, FinTech Capital Management is also directed toward senior investors, with brokerage, retirement planning, wealth management, and mutual funds in their services offered. They provide a range of investment options, from individual stocks and bonds to managed portfolios and retirement accounts, many of which are perfect for those investors who have amassed a sizable portfolio, but are becoming risk-averse as they age. FinTech Capital Management is owned by The Thurgood Family Trust with the Thurgood brothers, Jonathan and Regis, responsible for day-to-day management. It has been recently suggested that the firm may be sold if the right buyers were to approach.

Competitive Advantage

NovaGrowth Investments will be able to offer the following advantages over their competition:

Marketing Plan

Brand & value proposition.

NovaGrowth Investments will offer the unique value proposition to its clientele:

• Unique investment strategies tailored for each individual client

Promotions Strategy

The promotions strategy for NovaGrowth Investments is as follows:

Word of Mouth/Referrals

Thom Anderson has built up an extensive list of contacts over the years by providing exceptional service and expertise to former clients and potential investors. The contacts and clients will follow him to his new company and help spread the word of NovaGrowth Investments.

Professional Associations and Networking

The executives within NovaGrowth Investments will begin networking in professional associations and at events within the city-wide industry groups. This will bring the new startup into focus for other companies, providing a path to increased clients and strategic partnerships within the city.

Social Media Marketing

NovaGrowth Investments will target their primary and secondary audiences with a series of text announcements via social media. The announcements will be invitations to the opening of the company, with a champagne reception and information regarding the services available at NovaGrowth Investments. The social media announcements will continue for the three weeks prior to the launch of the company.

Website/SEO Marketing

NovaGrowth Investments will fully utilize their website. The website will be well organized, informative, and list the services that NovaGrowth Investments provides. The website will also list their contact information and biographies of the executive group. The website will engage in SEO marketing tactics so that anytime someone types in the Google or Bing search engine “Investment company” or “Investment opportunities near me,” NovaGrowth Investments will be listed at the top of the search results.

The pricing of NovaGrowth Investments will be moderate and on par with competitors so customers feel they receive excellent value when purchasing their services.

Operations Plan

The following will be the operations plan for NovaGrowth Investments. Operation Functions:

• Thom Anderson will be the owner and President of the company. He will oversee all staff and manage client relations. Thom has spent the past year recruiting the following staff:
• Jackson Byers will provide all client accounting, tax payments and monthly financial reporting. His title will be Staff Accountant.
• Kylie Carlson will provide all employee onboarding and oversight as she assumes the role of Human Resources Manager.

Milestones:

NovaGrowth Investments will have the following milestones completed in the next six months.

• 5/1/202X – Finalize contract to lease office space
• 5/15/202X – Finalize personnel and staff employment contracts for NovaGrowth Investments
• 6/1/202X – Finalize contracts for NovaGrowth Investments clients
• 6/15/202X – Begin networking at industry events
• 6/22/202X – Begin moving into NovaGrowth Investments office
• 7/1/202X – NovaGrowth Investments opens its doors for business

Financial Plan

Key revenue & costs.

The revenue drivers for NovaGrowth Investments are the fees they will charge to clients for their investment acquisition and portfolio management services.

The cost drivers will be the overhead costs required in order to staff NovaGrowth Investments. The expenses will be the payroll cost, rent, utilities, office supplies, and marketing materials.

Funding Requirements and Use of Funds

NovaGrowth Investments is seeking $200,000 in debt financing to launch its investment company. The funding will be dedicated toward securing the office space and purchasing office equipment and supplies. Funding will also be dedicated toward three months of overhead costs to include payroll of the staff, rent, and marketing costs for the print ads and association memberships. The breakout of the funding is below:

Key Assumptions

The following outlines the key assumptions required in order to achieve the revenue and cost numbers in the financials and in order to pay off the startup business loan.

• Number of Clients Per Month: 175
• Average Revenue per Month: $437,500
• Office Lease per Year: $100,000

Financial Projections

Income statement.

Balance Sheet

Cash Flow Statement

Investment Company Business Plan FAQs

What is an investment company business plan.

An investment company business plan is a plan to start and/or grow your investment company business. Among other things, it outlines your business concept, identifies your target customers, presents your marketing plan and details your financial projections.

You can easily complete your Investment Company business plan using our Investment Company Business Plan Template here .

What are the Main Types of Investment Company Businesses? 

There are a number of different kinds of investment company businesses , some examples include: Closed-End Funds Investment Company, Mutual Funds (Open-End Funds) Investment Company, and Unit Investment Trusts (UITs) Investment Company.

How Do You Get Funding for Your Investment Company Business Plan?

Investment Company businesses are often funded through small business loans. Personal savings, credit card financing and angel investors are also popular forms of funding.

What are the Steps To Start an Investment Company Business?

Starting an investment company business can be an exciting endeavor. Having a clear roadmap of the steps to start a business will help you stay focused on your goals and get started faster.

1. Develop An Investment Company Business Plan - The first step in starting a business is to create a detailed investment company business plan that outlines all aspects of the venture. This should include potential market size and target customers, the services or products you will offer, pricing strategies and a detailed financial forecast. 

2. Choose Your Legal Structure - It's important to select an appropriate legal entity for your investment company business. This could be a limited liability company (LLC), corporation, partnership, or sole proprietorship. Each type has its own benefits and drawbacks so it’s important to do research and choose wisely so that your investment company business is in compliance with local laws.

3. Register Your Investment Company Business - Once you have chosen a legal structure, the next step is to register your investment company business with the government or state where you’re operating from. This includes obtaining licenses and permits as required by federal, state, and local laws.

4. Identify Financing Options - It’s likely that you’ll need some capital to start your investment company business, so take some time to identify what financing options are available such as bank loans, investor funding, grants, or crowdfunding platforms.

5. Choose a Location - Whether you plan on operating out of a physical location or not, you should always have an idea of where you’ll be based should it become necessary in the future as well as what kind of space would be suitable for your operations.

6. Hire Employees - There are several ways to find qualified employees including job boards like LinkedIn or Indeed as well as hiring agencies if needed – depending on what type of employees you need it might also be more effective to reach out directly through networking events.

7. Acquire Necessary Investment Company Equipment & Supplies - In order to start your investment company business, you'll need to purchase all of the necessary equipment and supplies to run a successful operation.

8. Market & Promote Your Business - Once you have all the necessary pieces in place, it’s time to start promoting and marketing your investment company business. This includes creating a website, utilizing social media platforms like Facebook or Twitter, and having an effective Search Engine Optimization (SEO) strategy. You should also consider traditional marketing techniques such as radio or print advertising. 

Learn more about how to start a successful investment company business:

• How to Start an Investment Company

How to Write a Successful Investment Company Business Plan + Template

Creating a business plan is essential for any business, but it can be especially helpful for investment businesses who want to improve their strategy and/or raise funding.

A well-crafted business plan not only outlines the vision for your company, but also documents a step-by-step roadmap of how you are going to accomplish it. In order to create an effective business plan, you must first understand the components that are essential to its success.

This article provides an overview of the key elements that every investment company business owner should include in their business plan.

Download the Ultimate Business Plan Template

What is an Investment Company Business Plan?

An investment business plan is a formal written document that describes your company’s business strategy and its feasibility. It documents the reasons you will be successful, your areas of competitive advantage, and it includes information about your team members. Your business plan is a key document that will convince investors and lenders (if needed) that you are positioned to become a successful venture.

Why Write an Investment Company Business Plan?

An investment business plan is required for banks and investors. The document is a clear and concise guide of your business idea and the steps you will take to make it profitable.

Entrepreneurs can also use this as a roadmap when starting their new company or venture, especially if they are inexperienced in starting a business.

Writing an Effective Investment Company Business Plan

The following are the key components of a successful investment company business plan:

Executive Summary

The executive summary of an investment company business plan is a one to two page overview of your entire business plan. It should summarize the main points, which will be presented in full in the rest of your business plan.

• Start with a one-line description of your investment company
• Provide a short summary of the key points in each section of your business plan, which includes information about your company’s management team, industry analysis, competitive analysis, and financial forecast among others.

Company Description

This section should include a brief history of your company. Include a short description of how your company started, and provide a timeline of milestones your company has achieved.

If you are just starting your investment business, you may not have a long company history. Instead, you can include information about your professional experience in this industry and how and why you conceived your new venture. If you have worked for a similar company before or have been involved in an entrepreneurial venture before starting your investment firm, mention this.

You will also include information about your chosen investment company business model and how, if applicable, it is different from other companies in your industry.

Industry Analysis

The industry or market analysis is an important component of an investment company business plan. Conduct thorough market research to determine industry trends and document the size of your market. 

Questions to answer include:

• What part of the investment industry are you targeting?
• How big is the market?
• What trends are happening in the industry right now (and if applicable, how do these trends support the success of your company)?

You should also include sources for the information you provide, such as published research reports and expert opinions.

Customer Analysis

This section should include a list of your target audience(s) with demographic and psychographic profiles (e.g., age, gender, income level, profession, job titles, interests). You will need to provide a profile of each customer segment separately, including their needs and wants.

For example, the customers of an investment business may include: 

• Individuals
• small businesses
• other investment firms

You can include information about how your customers make the decision to buy from you as well as what keeps them buying from you.

Develop a strategy for targeting those customers who are most likely to buy from you, as well as those that might be influenced to buy your products or investment services with the right marketing .

Competitive Analysis

The competitive analysis helps you determine how your product or service will be different from competitors, and what your unique selling proposition (USP) might be that will set you apart in this industry.

For each competitor, list their strengths and weaknesses. Next, determine your areas of competitive differentiation and/or advantage; that is, in what ways are you different from and ideally better than your competitors.

Below are sample competitive advantages your investment business may have:

• You have a team of experienced investment professionals.
• You offer a wide range of investment products and services.
• You have a proven track record of successful investments.
• You use cutting-edge technology to support your investment decisions.

Marketing Plan

This part of the business plan is where you determine and document your marketing plan. . Your plan should be clearly laid out, including the following 4 Ps.

• Product/Service: Detail your product/service offerings here. Document their features and benefits.
• Price: Document your pricing strategy here. In addition to stating the prices for your products/services, mention how your pricing compares to your competition.
• Place: Where will your customers find you? What channels of distribution (e.g., partnerships) will you use to reach them if applicable?
• Promotion: How will you reach your target customers? For example, you may use social media, write blog posts, create an email marketing campaign, use pay-per-click advertising, launch a direct mail campaign. Or, you may promote your investment business via speaking engagements, trade shows, or networking events.

Operations Plan

This part of your investment company business plan should include the following information:

• How will you deliver your product/service to customers? For example, will you do it in person or over the phone only?
• What infrastructure, equipment, and resources are needed to operate successfully? How can you meet those requirements within budget constraints?

The operations plan is where you also need to include your company’s business policies. You will want to establish policies related to everything from customer service to pricing, to the overall brand image you are trying to present.

Finally, and most importantly, in your Operations Plan, you will lay out the milestones your company hopes to achieve within the next five years. Create a chart that shows the key milestone(s) you hope to achieve each quarter for the next four quarters, and then each year for the following four years. Examples of milestones for an investment business include reaching $X in sales. Other examples include adding X number of new clients or launching a new investment product line.

Management Team

List your team members here including their names and titles, as well as their expertise and experience relevant to your specific investment industry. Include brief biography sketches for each team member.

Particularly if you are seeking funding, the goal of this section is to convince investors and lenders that your team has the expertise and experience to execute on your plan. If you are missing key team members, document the roles and responsibilities you plan to hire for in the future.

Financial Plan

Here you will include a summary of your complete and detailed financial plan (your full financial projections go in the Appendix). 

This includes the following three financial statements:

Income Statement

Your income statement should include:

• Revenue: how much revenue you generate.
• Cost of Goods Sold: These are your direct costs associated with generating revenue. This includes labor costs, as well as the cost of any equipment and supplies used to deliver the product/service offering.
• Net Income (or loss): Once expenses and revenue are totaled and deducted from each other, this is the net income or loss.

Sample Income Statement for a Startup Investment Company

Balance Sheet

Include a balance sheet that shows your assets, liabilities, and equity. Your balance sheet should include:

• Assets : All of the things you own (including cash).
• Liabilities : This is what you owe against your company’s assets, such as accounts payable or loans.
• Equity : The worth of your business after all liabilities and assets are totaled and deducted from each other.

Sample Balance Sheet for a Startup Investment Company

Cash Flow Statement

Include a cash flow statement showing how much cash comes in, how much cash goes out and a net cash flow for each year. The cash flow statement should include:

• Cash Flow From Operations
• Cash Flow From Investments
• Cash Flow From Financing

Below is a sample of a projected cash flow statement for a startup investment business.

Sample Cash Flow Statement for a Startup Investment Company

You will also want to include an appendix section which will include:

• Your complete financial projections
• A complete list of your company’s business policies and procedures related to the rest of the business plan (marketing, operations, etc.)
• Any other documentation which supports what you included in the body of your business plan.

Writing a good business plan gives you the advantage of being fully prepared to launch and/or grow your investment company. It not only outlines your business vision but also provides a step-by-step process of how you are going to accomplish it.

In addition, a well-crafted business plan can help you secure funding from investors and lenders.

Despite all the advantages that come with writing a business plan, it doesn’t have to be a daunting task. You can start by using a template (like the one included in this article) and then customize it to fit your specific investment company.  

Finish Your Investment Company Business Plan in 1 Day!

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Business Plan for an Investment Company

Published Dec.20, 2022

Updated Apr.19, 2024

By: Jakub Babkins

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Table of Content

1. Investment company Business Plan For Starting Your Own Business

The sample business plan for an investment company outlines the creation of an investment company. The company’s mission is to provide clients with access to a wide range of investment opportunities, including stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and alternative investments. The company will also provide financial planning and wealth management services, including portfolio design, asset allocation, and risk management strategies.

The Investment Company’s business plan includes strategies for marketing and advertising, financial projections, and a detailed description of the company’s services and fees. This is the business Plan for Investors who want to invest in a company with a significant probability of success.

2. Sources Of Financing For Investment Firms

In writing a business plan for an investment company, the sources of financing for investment firms typically include private investors, venture capital firms, angel investors, crowdfunding, and debt capital. Private investors are individuals or groups who invest in the company in exchange for equity or a portion of the profits. Venture capital firms provide financing and advice to companies in exchange for equity. Angel investors are wealthy individuals or groups who invest in companies in exchange for equity. Crowdfunding involves the collection of small amounts of money from a large group of people. Debt capital is a loan secured by the company’s assets and must be repaid with interest.

The most common sources of financing for investment firms are debt financing, equity financing, and derivatives. Debt financing involves loans from banks, other lending institutions, or private investors. Equity financing involves the issuance of stock to raise capital. Derivatives are contracts between two parties that derive their value from an underlying asset or benchmark.

The most important source of financing for an investment company in the business plan investment company is the capital that the company brings in from its own operations.

3. Executive Summary Of Investment Company Business Plan

The business.

The new investment company business plan for an Investment Company is designed to provide an overview of our company’s mission and objectives. We are a full-service investment firm that specializes in providing comprehensive financial advice and services to individuals, families, and business owners. We aim to maximize investment returns and increase our clients’ net worth.

We plan to provide a wide range of services, including portfolio management, asset allocation, retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, and general financial planning.

Management Of Investment Company

The investment company business plan outlines the management team of experienced financial and legal professionals committed to providing the highest quality of investment management services. Our goal is to create a fully integrated, world-class investment company that provides our clients with a range of innovative and tailored investment solutions.

Customers Of Investment Company

In the investment company business plan template, the customers of our investment company will be individuals, small businesses, and institutions that are looking for a trusted financial partner to help them manage and grow their wealth. We will offer our clients a wide range of services, including portfolio management, retirement planning, estate planning, tax planning, and philanthropic planning. Our goal is to provide our clients with the best advice, products, and services to help them meet their financial goals.

Business Target

The business target for our investment company is to create long-term capital appreciation and wealth for our investors by making prudent investments in start-up and established businesses. Our goal is to be a reliable and trusted partner for our investors and maximize their investment return.

4. Investment Company Summary

Company owner.

Our investment company, JS Investment Group, is owned and operated by John Smith. John Smith is a highly experienced investor and entrepreneur who has successfully founded and managed several small investment company business plans. He deeply understands the investment industry and is passionate about helping others achieve success through strategic investments.

Why The Investment Company Is Being Started

The primary reason for starting an investment company in an investment company business plan sample is to provide clients with a safe and secure place to invest their money. With a wide range of investment options available, our team of experienced financial professionals can help clients make informed decisions about their investments. We also plan to provide clients with up-to-date market analysis and research.

How The Investment Company Will Be Started

The company will seek to raise capital through debt and equity financing. Equity financing will come from the founders and outside investors. The company will also seek to raise capital through debt financing, which will be used to fund the startup costs and ongoing operations of the company. In the business plan for the investment holding company, the company will focus on providing quality investment advice and services to its clients.

The Investment company owner John Smith estimates startup costs based on assets, investments, loans, and expenses in collaboration with financial experts.

JS Investment Group’s start-up requirements include total startup expenses, total assets, total start-up funding, total funding requirements, total assets, total liabilities, total planned investment, total capital, total liabilities, and total funding.

5. Services of Investment Company

The product description section in a business plan for an investment banking company includes services. However, below are the all services offered by our investment company include:

• Investment Advisory: Providing tailored advice and strategies to meet individual, business, and corporate clients’ investment goals.
• Investment Management: The business plan for an investment banking company provides services of designing, constructing, and managing bespoke portfolios for clients, as well as providing ongoing monitoring and rebalancing services.
• Mutual Fund Management: The business plan for an investment management company offers selecting and monitoring mutual funds for clients, as well as providing risk management and portfolio diversification services.
• Estate Planning: Developing strategies for both tax and non-tax-related estate planning objectives.
• Retirement Planning: Assisting clients with the creation of retirement plans and investments to meet their retirement income needs.
• Financial Planning: Helping clients to prepare for their financial future by creating strategies that integrate their investment, tax, insurance, and estate planning goals.
• Risk Management: Identifying and managing investment risks to help clients reach their financial goals.
• Portfolio Analysis: Examining and evaluating portfolios to ensure they are in line with the client’s investment objectives.
• Tax Planning: Developing strategies to minimize the client’s tax liability and maximize after-tax returns.
• Asset Allocation: Designing and implementing asset allocation strategies to help clients meet their long-term financial goals.

6. Marketing Analysis

A marketing analysis is an important part of a sample business plan for an investment company. This analysis provides information on the market in which the company operates, including the size and growth of the market, the competition, and potential growth opportunities.

The investment company market is highly competitive, as investors have a wide range of options when it comes to deciding where to invest their money.

The company will face competition from both traditional and online investment companies. Traditional investment companies offer services such as portfolio management and financial planning. Online investment companies offer services such as stock trading and portfolio management.

In addition to traditional investment companies, investors can choose from online brokers, mutual funds, and other alternative investments. As a result, it is important for an investment company to differentiate itself from the competition and to create a strong value proposition for its customers.

The investment industry is expected to continue to grow as people become more aware of the need for financial planning and the importance of investing.

Market Trends

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In order to compete effectively in the investment company market, it is important to understand the current market trends and identify areas of opportunity.

In the investment company business plan example, one of the most important trends to consider is the shift towards more technology-driven investment strategies. This trend is driven by advancements in technology and increased access to data, which has enabled more sophisticated portfolio management techniques.

Additionally, many investors are increasingly looking to alternative investments such as cryptocurrency, venture capital, and private equity as a way of diversifying their portfolios. Furthermore, an increasing number of investors are turning to online trading platforms as a way of managing their investments. Finally, it is important to consider the potential impact of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investing on the industry, as ESG-focused investments are gaining traction in the financial markets.

Marketing Segmentation

In the private investment company business plan, the company will target a wide range of potential customers, including individual investors, high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and institutional investors. Each of these customer segments will require different strategies and services, so the company will tailor its marketing and services accordingly.

For individual investors, the company will focus on providing personalized services that are tailored to the specific needs and investment goals of each client. The company will also provide educational resources and tools to help clients make informed decisions about their investments.

For high-net-worth individuals, the company will focus on providing personalized portfolio construction and asset management services.

We plan to target high-net-worth, individuals and institutional clients who are looking for a more personalized approach to investing. We will use a combination of traditional and alternative investment strategies to provide our clients with the best return on their investments. We plan to use our extensive network of banks and other financial institutions to secure the most attractive terms for our clients.

We have identified three key areas of focus when it comes to our business plan. First, we plan to build a strong customer base by offering superior customer service and customer education. Second, we plan to develop our own proprietary financial products and services to offer our clients. Finally, we plan to focus on developing relationships with banks and other financial institutions to ensure that we can offer the best terms for our clients.

Product Pricing

JS Investment Group will use a combination of fixed fees and performance-based fees for our services. For our portfolio management and asset allocation services, we will charge a flat fee of 1% of the total assets under management. For our investment research and risk management services, we will charge a fixed fee of $250 per hour.

For our performance-based fees, we will charge a 20% fee on any profits earned by our clients. This fee will be applied on a quarterly basis and will be calculated based on the performance of the portfolio during that period.

7. Marketing Strategy Of Investment Company

Competitive analysis.

The business plan for an investment company covers the company analysis in which the company’s competitive landscape is large and diverse. There are a number of large and well-established firms that have been in the industry for many years. Additionally, there is a large number of small, independent firms that have emerged in recent years.

Sales Strategy

Our sales strategy is to target potential customers through a variety of outlets, including direct mail, email marketing, social media campaigns, and online advertising. We will focus our efforts on targeting potential customers who are likely to be interested in our services, such as high-net-worth individuals, small business owners, and those with an interest in investing. We will also work to build relationships with local financial advisors and other industry professionals in order to develop a strong referral network.

Sales Monthly

The company’s primary source of revenue will be from the sales of investment products, with a focus on monthly sales. The company will also offer financial advice and portfolio management services, for which it will charge a fee. Experts predict the following sales each month for our company.

Sales Yearly

The JS Investment Group will generate revenue by selling various services. Experts predict the following sales yearly for our company.

Sales Forecast

Our sales forecast for the next three years predicts a steady increase in revenue. Below is a forecast of sales for our company:

8. Personnel Plan Of Investment Company

Company staff.

The Company Staff will be responsible for the overall management and operation of the investment company. They will be responsible for recruiting and managing a team of qualified and experienced professionals to ensure the success of the business.  The JS Investment Group operations will require the following employees:

The management staff includes:

• Marketing Manager
• Operation Manager
• Investment Manager

The operational team includes:

• Front Desk Coordinator
• Investment Advisor
• Security Guards

Other Staff includes:

• Administrative Assistant
• Tax Planner
• Receptionist

Average Salary of Employees

The investment holding company business plan includes the average salary of employees, which varies according to the role of employees and services. We will offer competitive salaries to all our employees to ensure we attract and retain the best talent. The average salary of our employees will be approximately $40,000 per year.

9. Financial Plan For Investment Company

In collaboration with financial experts, John Smith assessed the company’s financial needs and developed a financial plan for sample of investment company business plan. A three-year financial plan outlines the company’s development.

Important Assumptions

The following are important assumptions for the financial plan of the investment company:

Deviations, however, are expected to be limited to levels that do not impact the investment company’s major financial goals.

Brake-even Analysis

The following is a breakdown of the investment company’s fixed and variable costs:

The following table shows an analysis of monthly break-evens of an investment company

Projected Profit and Loss

The following is the projected profit and loss for an investment company.

Profit Monthly

Profit Yearly

Gross Margin Monthly

Gross Margin Yearly

Projected Cash Flow

The following column diagram shows cash flow projections.

The following table shows the pro forma cash flow of an private equity firm business plan . The cash flow statement includes cash received from operations, cash received from operations, and general assumptions.

Projected Balance Sheet

Below is a projected balance sheet of an investment holding Company Business Plan that shows data about the pro forma balance sheet, total current assets, total long-term assets, total assets, current subtotal liabilities, total liabilities, total capital, and total liabilities.

Business Ratios

The following table shows business ratios, ratio analysis, and total assets.

10. Get the Expertise to Create a Winning Business Plan!

“Start Your Investment Company with Professional Assistance: Get the Support of OGS Capital’s Expert Team!”

At OGS Capital, our experienced consultants provide professional assistance to help you start and grow your investment company. Our team has in-depth knowledge and expertise in launching businesses, and we understand the complexities of the investment industry. We can provide expert advice and guidance to help you create and execute a custom sample business plan for investment holding company that will ensure your investment company’s success.

We can help you with the entire process of developing your business, from crafting a comprehensive financial plan to finding appropriate funding sources. With our knowledge and resources, we can help you create a detailed business plan that will serve as a roadmap for your business.

• What is the main business of an investment company? The main business of an investment company is to manage investments and provide financial advice and solutions to their clients. They may provide services such as portfolio management, asset allocation, retirement planning and financial planning. They may also offer a variety of other services such as stock and bond trading, insurance, estate planning and tax planning.
• Can I create my own investment company? Yes, you can create your own investment company. The process involves registering the company with the SEC, registering with the state in which you will be doing business, setting up the necessary accounts and paperwork, and finding clients. You should also consult a qualified accountant, lawyer, and financial adviser to ensure you have all the appropriate information and documents in place.
• How much does it cost to start an investment firm? The cost of starting an investment firm will vary depending on the type of firm you are looking to establish and the services you plan to provide. Typically, startup costs can range from $5,000 to $50,000, depending on the complexity of the business. Costs may include office equipment, legal and accounting fees, licensing fees, technology costs, marketing costs, and other miscellaneous costs.

Download Investment Company Business Plan Sample in pdf

OGSCapital’s team has assisted thousands of entrepreneurs with top-rate business plan development, consultancy and analysis. They’ve helped thousands of SME owners secure more than $1.5 billion in funding, and they can do the same for you.

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What Is a Business Plan?

Understanding business plans, how to write a business plan, common elements of a business plan, how often should a business plan be updated, the bottom line, business plan: what it is, what's included, and how to write one.

Adam Hayes, Ph.D., CFA, is a financial writer with 15+ years Wall Street experience as a derivatives trader. Besides his extensive derivative trading expertise, Adam is an expert in economics and behavioral finance. Adam received his master's in economics from The New School for Social Research and his Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in sociology. He is a CFA charterholder as well as holding FINRA Series 7, 55 & 63 licenses. He currently researches and teaches economic sociology and the social studies of finance at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

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A business plan is a document that details a company's goals and how it intends to achieve them. Business plans can be of benefit to both startups and well-established companies. For startups, a business plan can be essential for winning over potential lenders and investors. Established businesses can find one useful for staying on track and not losing sight of their goals. This article explains what an effective business plan needs to include and how to write one.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan is a document describing a company's business activities and how it plans to achieve its goals.
• Startup companies use business plans to get off the ground and attract outside investors.
• For established companies, a business plan can help keep the executive team focused on and working toward the company's short- and long-term objectives.
• There is no single format that a business plan must follow, but there are certain key elements that most companies will want to include.

Investopedia / Ryan Oakley

Any new business should have a business plan in place prior to beginning operations. In fact, banks and venture capital firms often want to see a business plan before they'll consider making a loan or providing capital to new businesses.

Even if a business isn't looking to raise additional money, a business plan can help it focus on its goals. A 2017 Harvard Business Review article reported that, "Entrepreneurs who write formal plans are 16% more likely to achieve viability than the otherwise identical nonplanning entrepreneurs."

Ideally, a business plan should be reviewed and updated periodically to reflect any goals that have been achieved or that may have changed. An established business that has decided to move in a new direction might create an entirely new business plan for itself.

There are numerous benefits to creating (and sticking to) a well-conceived business plan. These include being able to think through ideas before investing too much money in them and highlighting any potential obstacles to success. A company might also share its business plan with trusted outsiders to get their objective feedback. In addition, a business plan can help keep a company's executive team on the same page about strategic action items and priorities.

Business plans, even among competitors in the same industry, are rarely identical. However, they often have some of the same basic elements, as we describe below.

While it's a good idea to provide as much detail as necessary, it's also important that a business plan be concise enough to hold a reader's attention to the end.

While there are any number of templates that you can use to write a business plan, it's best to try to avoid producing a generic-looking one. Let your plan reflect the unique personality of your business.

Many business plans use some combination of the sections below, with varying levels of detail, depending on the company.

The length of a business plan can vary greatly from business to business. Regardless, it's best to fit the basic information into a 15- to 25-page document. Other crucial elements that take up a lot of space—such as applications for patents—can be referenced in the main document and attached as appendices.

These are some of the most common elements in many business plans:

• Executive summary: This section introduces the company and includes its mission statement along with relevant information about the company's leadership, employees, operations, and locations.
• Products and services: Here, the company should describe the products and services it offers or plans to introduce. That might include details on pricing, product lifespan, and unique benefits to the consumer. Other factors that could go into this section include production and manufacturing processes, any relevant patents the company may have, as well as proprietary technology . Information about research and development (R&D) can also be included here.
• Market analysis: A company needs to have a good handle on the current state of its industry and the existing competition. This section should explain where the company fits in, what types of customers it plans to target, and how easy or difficult it may be to take market share from incumbents.
• Marketing strategy: This section can describe how the company plans to attract and keep customers, including any anticipated advertising and marketing campaigns. It should also describe the distribution channel or channels it will use to get its products or services to consumers.
• Financial plans and projections: Established businesses can include financial statements, balance sheets, and other relevant financial information. New businesses can provide financial targets and estimates for the first few years. Your plan might also include any funding requests you're making.

The best business plans aren't generic ones created from easily accessed templates. A company should aim to entice readers with a plan that demonstrates its uniqueness and potential for success.

2 Types of Business Plans

Business plans can take many forms, but they are sometimes divided into two basic categories: traditional and lean startup. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) , the traditional business plan is the more common of the two.

• Traditional business plans : These plans tend to be much longer than lean startup plans and contain considerably more detail. As a result they require more work on the part of the business, but they can also be more persuasive (and reassuring) to potential investors.
• Lean startup business plans : These use an abbreviated structure that highlights key elements. These business plans are short—as short as one page—and provide only the most basic detail. If a company wants to use this kind of plan, it should be prepared to provide more detail if an investor or a lender requests it.

Why Do Business Plans Fail?

A business plan is not a surefire recipe for success. The plan may have been unrealistic in its assumptions and projections to begin with. Markets and the overall economy might change in ways that couldn't have been foreseen. A competitor might introduce a revolutionary new product or service. All of this calls for building some flexibility into your plan, so you can pivot to a new course if needed.

How frequently a business plan needs to be revised will depend on the nature of the business. A well-established business might want to review its plan once a year and make changes if necessary. A new or fast-growing business in a fiercely competitive market might want to revise it more often, such as quarterly.

What Does a Lean Startup Business Plan Include?

The lean startup business plan is an option when a company prefers to give a quick explanation of its business. For example, a brand-new company may feel that it doesn't have a lot of information to provide yet.

Sections can include: a value proposition ; the company's major activities and advantages; resources such as staff, intellectual property, and capital; a list of partnerships; customer segments; and revenue sources.

A business plan can be useful to companies of all kinds. But as a company grows and the world around it changes, so too should its business plan. So don't think of your business plan as carved in granite but as a living document designed to evolve with your business.

Harvard Business Review. " Research: Writing a Business Plan Makes Your Startup More Likely to Succeed ."

U.S. Small Business Administration. " Write Your Business Plan ."

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How to Start an Investment Group: 6 Common Pitfalls to Avoid

You’ve heard the benefits of investment groups: Spreading risk, pooling capital, growing your investment brain trust, and more. Now, you’re ready to learn how to start an investment group of your own. 

About a decade ago, my brothers and I decided to start our own investment group while on a fishing trip together. We ended up coming out on top, investing in several real estate opportunities and even a prize-winning racehorse , but our path was bumpy, to say the least.

Thankfully, we went through that pain, so you don’t have to! And we’ve since helped over 1000 tribes avoid the biggest pitfalls that we had to overcome.

This post will outline the six top mistakes new investment groups make . Armed with this information, you’ll be ready to start an investment group the right way. 

How to Start an Investment Group: Essential Steps 

Before we dive into the things you shouldn’t do, let’s first establish a few essential steps you should take to start an investment group.

The first step to building a successful investment group is to choose the right partners. It’s just as easy to overthink this part of the process as underthink it. You don’t want to choose just any friends or family members to join your Tribe, but as long as you’re teaming up with like-minded people with similar investing interests and goals, you’re on the right track. 

Related Read: The Beginner's Guide to Group Investing: How to Build Wealth with Friends

Your next step is to align on the purpose and goals of your group. Are you looking to make one investment and then get out, or are you planning on pursuing multiple investments together for years to come? Your goal can grow and change as your group members grow and change , but you should begin your journey aligned and on the same page. 

Step three is to file your LLC and create a business entity. Once your paperwork is in order, you’ll be ready to launch your investment group with the perfect investment opportunity! 

Tribevest knows a thing or two about successful investment groups —we’ve also seen the reasons why some groups fall apart. Let’s cover the top five mistakes we’ve seen new investment groups make. 

1. Neglecting to Establish Rules 

When you start an investment group with friends or family , it can be tempting just to keep things casual—don’t fall into that trap. 

Starting an investment group comes with a number of questions. How much is each member willing to invest? How can you purchase an asset as a group? And these questions are just the beginning of an avalanche of “what-ifs” and “then whats” that will follow. 

Establishing rules and formal voting procedures upfront will help with decision-making processes and help you keep the business (your investment group) separate from your personal relationships with group members. 

Decide on rules and voting procedures early in your group formation process, establishing expectations and formal processes right from the get-go: Trust me, it will save you headaches. 

2. Poor Communication 

Another common pitfall you’ll want to avoid when starting your investment group is the pitfall of poor communication. To operate successfully as an investing group, you and your Tribe will need to start—and stay—on the same page.

The first step to combating this issue is to get aligned early and often. Some key moments of the process in which you’ll want to take a step back and realign include:

• Before forming your entity
• Before making any investment
• Before making key decisions
• Before calling a formal group vote

Aligning at all of these checkpoints will help you avoid conflict within your group. However, you should also keep lines of communication open and transparent outside of these major decision points. And when I say “open and transparent,” I mean for all group members. That means no sidebars . Segmenting your investment group into multiple sidebars is one of the quickest ways to destroy group trust, which can spell disaster for your investment group—and your personal relationships with its members. 

3. Noncompliance Issues 

I’ve already stressed the importance of formalizing your investment group for the sake of your relationships. Now it’s time to examine the other side of the coin: Formalizing your investment group for the sake of legal compliance.

Your investment group is a business, and you will need to treat it as such . File an LLC to formalize your business entity. Ensure that you file your LLC appropriately and take steps to keep your paperwork up-to-date.

As the group founder, you will need to take compliance into your own hands. Take responsibility for distributing annual tax forms to all group members and maintaining your LLC paperwork. 

Maintaining the paperwork for your investment group can feel overwhelming. When you invest through Tribevest , we file your LLC for you and help you maintain all communication and compliance information in our tool. In short, if you decide to invest through Tribevest, this step gets a whole lot easier. 

4. Unequal Participation 

If you want your investment group to run smoothly, everyone in your group will need to feel like a valued, equal participant in the group’s activities. To be clear, this doesn’t mean that everyone in the group needs to invest the same dollar amount . As long as you lay out each party’s investment percentages in the beginning of your group formation process, things should still run smoothly.

When I say everyone needs to be an equal participant, I mean with regard to two things: Decision-making and enthusiasm . Is every group member an equal participant in voting processes, or are sidebar conversations taking place that cut some group members out of the decision-making process? 

Related Read: Buying a House with a Friend: 3 Costly Mistakes to Avoid

Are all group members equally enthusiastic about the investment you’re pursuing as a group? Some compromise may be necessary, but if a member of your group is not invested emotionally in the group’s success, it may drag down the enthusiasm of the entire group. Ensure that you have exit clauses built into your group rules . These clauses will allow any unengaged group members to remove themselves from the opportunity without causing harm to the group’s success—or your relationships. 

5. Giving In To Frustration 

Starting an investment group comes with a lot of frustrating elements. Avoiding the pitfalls I’ve listed above can help you overcome most of these, but there is one frustration that you’ll likely encounter no matter how prepared you are: The frustration of finding the right deal.

When I started my investment group with my brothers, we had trouble finding the right opportunity for our group. We were irritated that deals weren’t always obvious, or served up on a silver platter for us to snap up and invest in. If we’d given up then, we never would have learned that the most rewarding part of the group investing process lies past that frustration! 

Related Read: 6 High-Return Investing Ideas to Diversify your Portfolio

After a few false starts, we began to learn and grow together, gaining experience in how to find and analyze deals to choose the right investment opportunities for our group. 

Don’t give up if you’re getting frustrated trying to find the right deal early on in your investment journey. Your group will level up together and uncover the best ways to find the best deals.

6. Skipping the Mission Statement 

The last pitfall you’ll want to avoid when starting an investment group is skipping the mission statement. Making a mission statement might feel stuffy or overly formal, After all, you know your group members have come together to build wealth—maybe you’re even banding together with a specific investment in mind. A mission statement can seem silly in these cases, but it is essential.

Your mission statement helps shape your group’s decision-making processes and communicates the overarching goals of your group to all group members. It’s another way to ensure everyone is aligned, and it provides a touchstone for you to realign with one another down the road. 

Essentially, it boils down to this: You know your mission, but do you really know the mission of the rest of your group members? Unless you get that information down in writing for everyone to see, the answer is no. 

Here are a few examples of real Tribevest Tribe mission statements to get you started! 

“Together, Double Play Investments will diversify our asset allocation into alternative assets such as multi-family real estate. The group will build wealth and collaborate together to identify top tier investment strategies.” -Double Play Investments mission statement

“To empower investors to fund their real estate investment deals and learn along the way.” -REI Freedom Fund mission statement

How to Start an Investment Group: Align Early and Often 

Starting an investment group can feel like a daunting task, but transparency and communication are key. Ensure that all group members feel comfortable with the direction of the group and included in decision-making processes. 

It’s also important to remember that your investment group is a business . That means you need to treat it as such. Handshake agreements, casual decision-making procedures, and messy text chains have no place here. You’ll need the proper paperwork and processes in place for your investment group to succeed.

Want to know a secret for how to start an investment group without breaking a sweat? Check out Tribevest’s group investing platform. You can use our platform to create your mission statement, operating agreement, and more. You’ll also be able to pool capital in a business bank account, manage group communications, and vote on key decisions all in the same convenient dashboard. What’s more: We’ll file your LLC for you !

What are you waiting for? Register your Tribe today to get started! 

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How to Write a Business Plan in 9 Steps (+ Template and Examples)

Every successful business has one thing in common, a good and well-executed business plan. A business plan is more than a document, it is a complete guide that outlines the goals your business wants to achieve, including its financial goals . It helps you analyze results, make strategic decisions, show your business operations and growth.

If you want to start a business or already have one and need to pitch it to investors for funding, writing a good business plan improves your chances of attracting financiers. As a startup, if you want to secure loans from financial institutions, part of the requirements involve submitting your business plan.

Writing a business plan does not have to be a complicated or time-consuming process. In this article, you will learn the step-by-step process for writing a successful business plan.

You will also learn what you need a business plan for, tips and strategies for writing a convincing business plan, business plan examples and templates that will save you tons of time, and the alternatives to the traditional business plan.

Let’s get started.

What Do You Need A Business Plan For?

Businesses create business plans for different purposes such as to secure funds, monitor business growth, measure your marketing strategies, and measure your business success.

1. Secure Funds

One of the primary reasons for writing a business plan is to secure funds, either from financial institutions/agencies or investors.

For you to effectively acquire funds, your business plan must contain the key elements of your business plan . For example, your business plan should include your growth plans, goals you want to achieve, and milestones you have recorded.

A business plan can also attract new business partners that are willing to contribute financially and intellectually. If you are writing a business plan to a bank, your project must show your traction , that is, the proof that you can pay back any loan borrowed.

Also, if you are writing to an investor, your plan must contain evidence that you can effectively utilize the funds you want them to invest in your business. Here, you are using your business plan to persuade a group or an individual that your business is a source of a good investment.

2. Monitor Business Growth

A business plan can help you track cash flows in your business. It steers your business to greater heights. A business plan capable of tracking business growth should contain:

• The business goals
• Methods to achieve the goals
• Time-frame for attaining those goals

A good business plan should guide you through every step in achieving your goals. It can also track the allocation of assets to every aspect of the business. You can tell when you are spending more than you should on a project.

You can compare a business plan to a written GPS. It helps you manage your business and hints at the right time to expand your business.

3. Measure Business Success

A business plan can help you measure your business success rate. Some small-scale businesses are thriving better than more prominent companies because of their track record of success.

Right from the onset of your business operation, set goals and work towards them. Write a plan to guide you through your procedures. Use your plan to measure how much you have achieved and how much is left to attain.

You can also weigh your success by monitoring the position of your brand relative to competitors. On the other hand, a business plan can also show you why you have not achieved a goal. It can tell if you have elapsed the time frame you set to attain a goal.

4. Document Your Marketing Strategies

You can use a business plan to document your marketing plans. Every business should have an effective marketing plan.

Competition mandates every business owner to go the extraordinary mile to remain relevant in the market. Your business plan should contain your marketing strategies that work. You can measure the success rate of your marketing plans.

In your business plan, your marketing strategy must answer the questions:

• How do you want to reach your target audience?
• How do you plan to retain your customers?
• What is/are your pricing plans?
• What is your budget for marketing?

How to Write a Business Plan Step-by-Step

1. create your executive summary.

The executive summary is a snapshot of your business or a high-level overview of your business purposes and plans . Although the executive summary is the first section in your business plan, most people write it last. The length of the executive summary is not more than two pages.

Generally, there are nine sections in a business plan, the executive summary should condense essential ideas from the other eight sections.

A good executive summary should do the following:

• A Snapshot of Growth Potential. Briefly inform the reader about your company and why it will be successful)
• Contain your Mission Statement which explains what the main objective or focus of your business is.
• Product Description and Differentiation. Brief description of your products or services and why it is different from other solutions in the market.
• The Team. Basic information about your company’s leadership team and employees
• Business Concept. A solid description of what your business does.
• Target Market. The customers you plan to sell to.
• Marketing Strategy. Your plans on reaching and selling to your customers
• Current Financial State. Brief information about what revenue your business currently generates.
• Projected Financial State. Brief information about what you foresee your business revenue to be in the future.

The executive summary is the make-or-break section of your business plan. If your summary cannot in less than two pages cannot clearly describe how your business will solve a particular problem of your target audience and make a profit, your business plan is set on a faulty foundation.

Avoid using the executive summary to hype your business, instead, focus on helping the reader understand the what and how of your plan.

View the executive summary as an opportunity to introduce your vision for your company. You know your executive summary is powerful when it can answer these key questions:

• Who is your target audience?
• What sector or industry are you in?
• What are your products and services?
• What is the future of your industry?
• Is your company scaleable?
• Who are the owners and leaders of your company? What are their backgrounds and experience levels?
• What is the motivation for starting your company?
• What are the next steps?

Writing the executive summary last although it is the most important section of your business plan is an excellent idea. The reason why is because it is a high-level overview of your business plan. It is the section that determines whether potential investors and lenders will read further or not.

The executive summary can be a stand-alone document that covers everything in your business plan. It is not uncommon for investors to request only the executive summary when evaluating your business. If the information in the executive summary impresses them, they will ask for the complete business plan.

If you are writing your business plan for your planning purposes, you do not need to write the executive summary.

2. Add Your Company Overview

The company overview or description is the next section in your business plan after the executive summary. It describes what your business does.

Adding your company overview can be tricky especially when your business is still in the planning stages. Existing businesses can easily summarize their current operations but may encounter difficulties trying to explain what they plan to become.

Your company overview should contain the following:

• What products and services you will provide
• Geographical markets and locations your company have a presence
• What you need to run your business
• Who your target audience or customers are
• Who will service your customers
• Your company’s purpose, mission, and vision
• Information about your company’s founders
• Who the founders are
• Notable achievements of your company so far

When creating a company overview, you have to focus on three basics: identifying your industry, identifying your customer, and explaining the problem you solve.

If you are stuck when creating your company overview, try to answer some of these questions that pertain to you.

• Who are you targeting? (The answer is not everyone)
• What pain point does your product or service solve for your customers that they will be willing to spend money on resolving?
• How does your product or service overcome that pain point?
• Where is the location of your business?
• What products, equipment, and services do you need to run your business?
• How is your company’s product or service different from your competition in the eyes of your customers?
• How many employees do you need and what skills do you require them to have?

After answering some or all of these questions, you will get more than enough information you need to write your company overview or description section. When writing this section, describe what your company does for your customers.

The company description or overview section contains three elements: mission statement, history, and objectives.

• Mission Statement

The mission statement refers to the reason why your business or company is existing. It goes beyond what you do or sell, it is about the ‘why’. A good mission statement should be emotional and inspirational.

Your mission statement should follow the KISS rule (Keep It Simple, Stupid). For example, Shopify’s mission statement is “Make commerce better for everyone.”

When describing your company’s history, make it simple and avoid the temptation of tying it to a defensive narrative. Write it in the manner you would a profile. Your company’s history should include the following information:

• Founding Date
• Major Milestones
• Location(s)
• Flagship Products or Services
• Number of Employees
• Executive Leadership Roles

When you fill in this information, you use it to write one or two paragraphs about your company’s history.

Business Objectives

Your business objective must be SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.) Failure to clearly identify your business objectives does not inspire confidence and makes it hard for your team members to work towards a common purpose.

3. Perform Market and Competitive Analyses to Proof a Big Enough Business Opportunity

The third step in writing a business plan is the market and competitive analysis section. Every business, no matter the size, needs to perform comprehensive market and competitive analyses before it enters into a market.

Performing market and competitive analyses are critical for the success of your business. It helps you avoid entering the right market with the wrong product, or vice versa. Anyone reading your business plans, especially financiers and financial institutions will want to see proof that there is a big enough business opportunity you are targeting.

This section is where you describe the market and industry you want to operate in and show the big opportunities in the market that your business can leverage to make a profit. If you noticed any unique trends when doing your research, show them in this section.

Market analysis alone is not enough, you have to add competitive analysis to strengthen this section. There are already businesses in the industry or market, how do you plan to take a share of the market from them?

You have to clearly illustrate the competitive landscape in your business plan. Are there areas your competitors are doing well? Are there areas where they are not doing so well? Show it.

Make it clear in this section why you are moving into the industry and what weaknesses are present there that you plan to explain. How are your competitors going to react to your market entry? How do you plan to get customers? Do you plan on taking your competitors' competitors, tap into other sources for customers, or both?

Illustrate the competitive landscape as well. What are your competitors doing well and not so well?

Answering these questions and thoughts will aid your market and competitive analysis of the opportunities in your space. Depending on how sophisticated your industry is, or the expectations of your financiers, you may need to carry out a more comprehensive market and competitive analysis to prove that big business opportunity.

Instead of looking at the market and competitive analyses as one entity, separating them will make the research even more comprehensive.

Market Analysis

Market analysis, boarding speaking, refers to research a business carried out on its industry, market, and competitors. It helps businesses gain a good understanding of their target market and the outlook of their industry. Before starting a company, it is vital to carry out market research to find out if the market is viable.

The market analysis section is a key part of the business plan. It is the section where you identify who your best clients or customers are. You cannot omit this section, without it your business plan is incomplete.

A good market analysis will tell your readers how you fit into the existing market and what makes you stand out. This section requires in-depth research, it will probably be the most time-consuming part of the business plan to write.

• Market Research

To create a compelling market analysis that will win over investors and financial institutions, you have to carry out thorough market research . Your market research should be targeted at your primary target market for your products or services. Here is what you want to find out about your target market.

• Your target market’s needs or pain points
• The existing solutions for their pain points
• Geographic Location
• Demographics

The purpose of carrying out a marketing analysis is to get all the information you need to show that you have a solid and thorough understanding of your target audience.

Only after you have fully understood the people you plan to sell your products or services to, can you evaluate correctly if your target market will be interested in your products or services.

You can easily convince interested parties to invest in your business if you can show them you thoroughly understand the market and show them that there is a market for your products or services.

How to Quantify Your Target Market

One of the goals of your marketing research is to understand who your ideal customers are and their purchasing power. To quantify your target market, you have to determine the following:

• Your Potential Customers: They are the people you plan to target. For example, if you sell accounting software for small businesses , then anyone who runs an enterprise or large business is unlikely to be your customers. Also, individuals who do not have a business will most likely not be interested in your product.
• Total Households: If you are selling household products such as heating and air conditioning systems, determining the number of total households is more important than finding out the total population in the area you want to sell to. The logic is simple, people buy the product but it is the household that uses it.
• Median Income: You need to know the median income of your target market. If you target a market that cannot afford to buy your products and services, your business will not last long.
• Income by Demographics: If your potential customers belong to a certain age group or gender, determining income levels by demographics is necessary. For example, if you sell men's clothes, your target audience is men.

What Does a Good Market Analysis Entail?

Your business does not exist on its own, it can only flourish within an industry and alongside competitors. Market analysis takes into consideration your industry, target market, and competitors. Understanding these three entities will drastically improve your company’s chances of success.

You can view your market analysis as an examination of the market you want to break into and an education on the emerging trends and themes in that market. Good market analyses include the following:

• Industry Description. You find out about the history of your industry, the current and future market size, and who the largest players/companies are in your industry.
• Overview of Target Market. You research your target market and its characteristics. Who are you targeting? Note, it cannot be everyone, it has to be a specific group. You also have to find out all information possible about your customers that can help you understand how and why they make buying decisions.
• Size of Target Market: You need to know the size of your target market, how frequently they buy, and the expected quantity they buy so you do not risk overproducing and having lots of bad inventory. Researching the size of your target market will help you determine if it is big enough for sustained business or not.
• Growth Potential: Before picking a target market, you want to be sure there are lots of potential for future growth. You want to avoid going for an industry that is declining slowly or rapidly with almost zero growth potential.
• Market Share Potential: Does your business stand a good chance of taking a good share of the market?
• Market Pricing and Promotional Strategies: Your market analysis should give you an idea of the price point you can expect to charge for your products and services. Researching your target market will also give you ideas of pricing strategies you can implement to break into the market or to enjoy maximum profits.
• Potential Barriers to Entry: One of the biggest benefits of conducting market analysis is that it shows you every potential barrier to entry your business will likely encounter. It is a good idea to discuss potential barriers to entry such as changing technology. It informs readers of your business plan that you understand the market.
• Research on Competitors: You need to know the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors and how you can exploit them for the benefit of your business. Find patterns and trends among your competitors that make them successful, discover what works and what doesn’t, and see what you can do better.

The market analysis section is not just for talking about your target market, industry, and competitors. You also have to explain how your company can fill the hole you have identified in the market.

Here are some questions you can answer that can help you position your product or service in a positive light to your readers.

• Is your product or service of superior quality?
• What additional features do you offer that your competitors do not offer?
• Are you targeting a ‘new’ market?

Basically, your market analysis should include an analysis of what already exists in the market and an explanation of how your company fits into the market.

Competitive Analysis

In the competitive analysis section, y ou have to understand who your direct and indirect competitions are, and how successful they are in the marketplace. It is the section where you assess the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors, the advantage(s) they possess in the market and show the unique features or qualities that make you different from your competitors.

Many businesses do market analysis and competitive analysis together. However, to fully understand what the competitive analysis entails, it is essential to separate it from the market analysis.

Competitive analysis for your business can also include analysis on how to overcome barriers to entry in your target market.

The primary goal of conducting a competitive analysis is to distinguish your business from your competitors. A strong competitive analysis is essential if you want to convince potential funding sources to invest in your business. You have to show potential investors and lenders that your business has what it takes to compete in the marketplace successfully.

Competitive analysis will s how you what the strengths of your competition are and what they are doing to maintain that advantage.

When doing your competitive research, you first have to identify your competitor and then get all the information you can about them. The idea of spending time to identify your competitor and learn everything about them may seem daunting but it is well worth it.

Find answers to the following questions after you have identified who your competitors are.

• What are your successful competitors doing?
• Why is what they are doing working?
• Can your business do it better?
• What are the weaknesses of your successful competitors?
• What are they not doing well?
• Can your business turn its weaknesses into strengths?
• How good is your competitors’ customer service?
• Where do your competitors invest in advertising?
• What sales and pricing strategies are they using?
• What marketing strategies are they using?
• What kind of press coverage do they get?
• What are their customers saying about your competitors (both the positive and negative)?

If your competitors have a website, it is a good idea to visit their websites for more competitors’ research. Check their “About Us” page for more information.

If you are presenting your business plan to investors, you need to clearly distinguish yourself from your competitors. Investors can easily tell when you have not properly researched your competitors.

Take time to think about what unique qualities or features set you apart from your competitors. If you do not have any direct competition offering your product to the market, it does not mean you leave out the competitor analysis section blank. Instead research on other companies that are providing a similar product, or whose product is solving the problem your product solves.

The next step is to create a table listing the top competitors you want to include in your business plan. Ensure you list your business as the last and on the right. What you just created is known as the competitor analysis table.

Direct vs Indirect Competition

You cannot know if your product or service will be a fit for your target market if you have not understood your business and the competitive landscape.

There is no market you want to target where you will not encounter competition, even if your product is innovative. Including competitive analysis in your business plan is essential.

If you are entering an established market, you need to explain how you plan to differentiate your products from the available options in the market. Also, include a list of few companies that you view as your direct competitors The competition you face in an established market is your direct competition.

In situations where you are entering a market with no direct competition, it does not mean there is no competition there. Consider your indirect competition that offers substitutes for the products or services you offer.

For example, if you sell an innovative SaaS product, let us say a project management software , a company offering time management software is your indirect competition.

There is an easy way to find out who your indirect competitors are in the absence of no direct competitors. You simply have to research how your potential customers are solving the problems that your product or service seeks to solve. That is your direct competition.

Factors that Differentiate Your Business from the Competition

There are three main factors that any business can use to differentiate itself from its competition. They are cost leadership, product differentiation, and market segmentation.

1. Cost Leadership

A strategy you can impose to maximize your profits and gain an edge over your competitors. It involves offering lower prices than what the majority of your competitors are offering.

A common practice among businesses looking to enter into a market where there are dominant players is to use free trials or pricing to attract as many customers as possible to their offer.

2. Product Differentiation

Your product or service should have a unique selling proposition (USP) that your competitors do not have or do not stress in their marketing.

Part of the marketing strategy should involve making your products unique and different from your competitors. It does not have to be different from your competitors, it can be the addition to a feature or benefit that your competitors do not currently have.

3. Market Segmentation

As a new business seeking to break into an industry, you will gain more success from focusing on a specific niche or target market, and not the whole industry.

If your competitors are focused on a general need or target market, you can differentiate yourself from them by having a small and hyper-targeted audience. For example, if your competitors are selling men’s clothes in their online stores , you can sell hoodies for men.

4. Define Your Business and Management Structure

The next step in your business plan is your business and management structure. It is the section where you describe the legal structure of your business and the team running it.

Your business is only as good as the management team that runs it, while the management team can only strive when there is a proper business and management structure in place.

If your company is a sole proprietor or a limited liability company (LLC), a general or limited partnership, or a C or an S corporation, state it clearly in this section.

Use an organizational chart to show the management structure in your business. Clearly show who is in charge of what area in your company. It is where you show how each key manager or team leader’s unique experience can contribute immensely to the success of your company. You can also opt to add the resumes and CVs of the key players in your company.

The business and management structure section should show who the owner is, and other owners of the businesses (if the business has other owners). For businesses or companies with multiple owners, include the percent ownership of the various owners and clearly show the extent of each others’ involvement in the company.

Investors want to know who is behind the company and the team running it to determine if it has the right management to achieve its set goals.

Management Team

The management team section is where you show that you have the right team in place to successfully execute the business operations and ideas. Take time to create the management structure for your business. Think about all the important roles and responsibilities that you need managers for to grow your business.

Include brief bios of each key team member and ensure you highlight only the relevant information that is needed. If your team members have background industry experience or have held top positions for other companies and achieved success while filling that role, highlight it in this section.

A common mistake that many startups make is assigning C-level titles such as (CMO and CEO) to everyone on their team. It is unrealistic for a small business to have those titles. While it may look good on paper for the ego of your team members, it can prevent investors from investing in your business.

Instead of building an unrealistic management structure that does not fit your business reality, it is best to allow business titles to grow as the business grows. Starting everyone at the top leaves no room for future change or growth, which is bad for productivity.

Your management team does not have to be complete before you start writing your business plan. You can have a complete business plan even when there are managerial positions that are empty and need filling.

If you have management gaps in your team, simply show the gaps and indicate you are searching for the right candidates for the role(s). Investors do not expect you to have a full management team when you are just starting your business.

Key Questions to Answer When Structuring Your Management Team

• Who are the key leaders?
• What experiences, skills, and educational backgrounds do you expect your key leaders to have?
• Do your key leaders have industry experience?
• What positions will they fill and what duties will they perform in those positions?
• What level of authority do the key leaders have and what are their responsibilities?
• What is the salary for the various management positions that will attract the ideal candidates?

Additional Tips for Writing the Management Structure Section

1. Avoid Adding ‘Ghost’ Names to Your Management Team

There is always that temptation to include a ‘ghost’ name to your management team to attract and influence investors to invest in your business. Although the presence of these celebrity management team members may attract the attention of investors, it can cause your business to lose any credibility if you get found out.

Seasoned investors will investigate further the members of your management team before committing fully to your business If they find out that the celebrity name used does not play any actual role in your business, they will not invest and may write you off as dishonest.

2. Focus on Credentials But Pay Extra Attention to the Roles

Investors want to know the experience that your key team members have to determine if they can successfully reach the company’s growth and financial goals.

While it is an excellent boost for your key management team to have the right credentials, you also want to pay extra attention to the roles they will play in your company.

Organizational Chart

Adding an organizational chart in this section of your business plan is not necessary, you can do it in your business plan’s appendix.

If you are exploring funding options, it is not uncommon to get asked for your organizational chart. The function of an organizational chart goes beyond raising money, you can also use it as a useful planning tool for your business.

An organizational chart can help you identify how best to structure your management team for maximum productivity and point you towards key roles you need to fill in the future.

You can use the organizational chart to show your company’s internal management structure such as the roles and responsibilities of your management team, and relationships that exist between them.

5. Describe Your Product and Service Offering

In your business plan, you have to describe what you sell or the service you plan to offer. It is the next step after defining your business and management structure. The products and services section is where you sell the benefits of your business.

Here you have to explain how your product or service will benefit your customers and describe your product lifecycle. It is also the section where you write down your plans for intellectual property like patent filings and copyrighting.

The research and development that you are undertaking for your product or service need to be explained in detail in this section. However, do not get too technical, sell the general idea and its benefits.

If you have any diagrams or intricate designs of your product or service, do not include them in the products and services section. Instead, leave them for the addendum page. Also, if you are leaving out diagrams or designs for the addendum, ensure you add this phrase “For more detail, visit the addendum Page #.”

Your product and service section in your business plan should include the following:

• A detailed explanation that clearly shows how your product or service works.
• The pricing model for your product or service.
• Your business’ sales and distribution strategy.
• The ideal customers that want your product or service.
• The benefits of your products and services.
• Reason(s) why your product or service is a better alternative to what your competitors are currently offering in the market.
• Plans for filling the orders you receive
• If you have current or pending patents, copyrights, and trademarks for your product or service, you can also discuss them in this section.

What to Focus On When Describing the Benefits, Lifecycle, and Production Process of Your Products or Services

In the products and services section, you have to distill the benefits, lifecycle, and production process of your products and services.

When describing the benefits of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Unique features
• Translating the unique features into benefits
• The emotional, psychological, and practical payoffs to attract customers
• Intellectual property rights or any patents

When describing the product life cycle of your products or services, here are some key factors to focus on.

• Upsells, cross-sells, and down-sells
• Time between purchases
• Plans for research and development.

When describing the production process for your products or services, you need to think about the following:

• The creation of new or existing products and services.
• The sources for the raw materials or components you need for production.
• Assembling the products
• Maintaining quality control
• Supply-chain logistics (receiving the raw materials and delivering the finished products)
• The day-to-day management of the production processes, bookkeeping, and inventory.

Tips for Writing the Products or Services Section of Your Business Plan

1. Avoid Technical Descriptions and Industry Buzzwords

The products and services section of your business plan should clearly describe the products and services that your company provides. However, it is not a section to include technical jargons that anyone outside your industry will not understand.

A good practice is to remove highly detailed or technical descriptions in favor of simple terms. Industry buzzwords are not necessary, if there are simpler terms you can use, then use them. If you plan to use your business plan to source funds, making the product or service section so technical will do you no favors.

2. Describe How Your Products or Services Differ from Your Competitors

When potential investors look at your business plan, they want to know how the products and services you are offering differ from that of your competition. Differentiating your products or services from your competition in a way that makes your solution more attractive is critical.

If you are going the innovative path and there is no market currently for your product or service, you need to describe in this section why the market needs your product or service.

For example, overnight delivery was a niche business that only a few companies were participating in. Federal Express (FedEx) had to show in its business plan that there was a large opportunity for that service and they justified why the market needed that service.

3. Long or Short Products or Services Section

Should your products or services section be short? Does the long products or services section attract more investors?

There are no straightforward answers to these questions. Whether your products or services section should be long or relatively short depends on the nature of your business.

If your business is product-focused, then automatically you need to use more space to describe the details of your products. However, if the product your business sells is a commodity item that relies on competitive pricing or other pricing strategies, you do not have to use up so much space to provide significant details about the product.

Likewise, if you are selling a commodity that is available in numerous outlets, then you do not have to spend time on writing a long products or services section.

The key to the success of your business is most likely the effectiveness of your marketing strategies compared to your competitors. Use more space to address that section.

If you are creating a new product or service that the market does not know about, your products or services section can be lengthy. The reason why is because you need to explain everything about the product or service such as the nature of the product, its use case, and values.

A short products or services section for an innovative product or service will not give the readers enough information to properly evaluate your business.

4. Describe Your Relationships with Vendors or Suppliers

Your business will rely on vendors or suppliers to supply raw materials or the components needed to make your products. In your products and services section, describe your relationships with your vendors and suppliers fully.

Avoid the mistake of relying on only one supplier or vendor. If that supplier or vendor fails to supply or goes out of business, you can easily face supply problems and struggle to meet your demands. Plan to set up multiple vendor or supplier relationships for better business stability.

5. Your Primary Goal Is to Convince Your Readers

The primary goal of your business plan is to convince your readers that your business is viable and to create a guide for your business to follow. It applies to the products and services section.

When drafting this section, think like the reader. See your reader as someone who has no idea about your products and services. You are using the products and services section to provide the needed information to help your reader understand your products and services. As a result, you have to be clear and to the point.

While you want to educate your readers about your products or services, you also do not want to bore them with lots of technical details. Show your products and services and not your fancy choice of words.

Your products and services section should provide the answer to the “what” question for your business. You and your management team may run the business, but it is your products and services that are the lifeblood of the business.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing your Products and Services Section

Answering these questions can help you write your products and services section quickly and in a way that will appeal to your readers.

• Are your products existing on the market or are they still in the development stage?
• What is your timeline for adding new products and services to the market?
• What are the positives that make your products and services different from your competitors?
• Do your products and services have any competitive advantage that your competitors’ products and services do not currently have?
• Do your products or services have any competitive disadvantages that you need to overcome to compete with your competitors? If your answer is yes, state how you plan to overcome them,
• How much does it cost to produce your products or services? How much do you plan to sell it for?
• What is the price for your products and services compared to your competitors? Is pricing an issue?
• What are your operating costs and will it be low enough for you to compete with your competitors and still take home a reasonable profit margin?
• What is your plan for acquiring your products? Are you involved in the production of your products or services?
• Are you the manufacturer and produce all the components you need to create your products? Do you assemble your products by using components supplied by other manufacturers? Do you purchase your products directly from suppliers or wholesalers?
• Do you have a steady supply of products that you need to start your business? (If your business is yet to kick-off)
• How do you plan to distribute your products or services to the market?

You can also hint at the marketing or promotion plans you have for your products or services such as how you plan to build awareness or retain customers. The next section is where you can go fully into details about your business’s marketing and sales plan.

6. Show and Explain Your Marketing and Sales Plan

Providing great products and services is wonderful, but it means nothing if you do not have a marketing and sales plan to inform your customers about them. Your marketing and sales plan is critical to the success of your business.

The sales and marketing section is where you show and offer a detailed explanation of your marketing and sales plan and how you plan to execute it. It covers your pricing plan, proposed advertising and promotion activities, activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success, and the benefits of your products and services.

There are several ways you can approach your marketing and sales strategy. Ideally, your marketing and sales strategy has to fit the unique needs of your business.

In this section, you describe how the plans your business has for attracting and retaining customers, and the exact process for making a sale happen. It is essential to thoroughly describe your complete marketing and sales plans because you are still going to reference this section when you are making financial projections for your business.

Outline Your Business’ Unique Selling Proposition (USP)

The sales and marketing section is where you outline your business’s unique selling proposition (USP). When you are developing your unique selling proposition, think about the strongest reasons why people should buy from you over your competition. That reason(s) is most likely a good fit to serve as your unique selling proposition (USP).

Target Market and Target Audience

Plans on how to get your products or services to your target market and how to get your target audience to buy them go into this section. You also highlight the strengths of your business here, particularly what sets them apart from your competition.

Before you start writing your marketing and sales plan, you need to have properly defined your target audience and fleshed out your buyer persona. If you do not first understand the individual you are marketing to, your marketing and sales plan will lack any substance and easily fall.

Creating a Smart Marketing and Sales Plan

Marketing your products and services is an investment that requires you to spend money. Like any other investment, you have to generate a good return on investment (ROI) to justify using that marketing and sales plan. Good marketing and sales plans bring in high sales and profits to your company.

Avoid spending money on unproductive marketing channels. Do your research and find out the best marketing and sales plan that works best for your company.

Your marketing and sales plan can be broken into different parts: your positioning statement, pricing, promotion, packaging, advertising, public relations, content marketing, social media, and strategic alliances.

Your Positioning Statement

Your positioning statement is the first part of your marketing and sales plan. It refers to the way you present your company to your customers.

Are you the premium solution, the low-price solution, or are you the intermediary between the two extremes in the market? What do you offer that your competitors do not that can give you leverage in the market?

Before you start writing your positioning statement, you need to spend some time evaluating the current market conditions. Here are some questions that can help you to evaluate the market

• What are the unique features or benefits that you offer that your competitors lack?
• What are your customers’ primary needs and wants?
• Why should a customer choose you over your competition? How do you plan to differentiate yourself from the competition?
• How does your company’s solution compare with other solutions in the market?

After answering these questions, then you can start writing your positioning statement. Your positioning statement does not have to be in-depth or too long.

All you need to explain with your positioning statement are two focus areas. The first is the position of your company within the competitive landscape. The other focus area is the core value proposition that sets your company apart from other alternatives that your ideal customer might consider.

Here is a simple template you can use to develop a positioning statement.

For [description of target market] who [need of target market], [product or service] [how it meets the need]. Unlike [top competition], it [most essential distinguishing feature].

For example, let’s create the positioning statement for fictional accounting software and QuickBooks alternative , TBooks.

“For small business owners who need accounting services, TBooks is an accounting software that helps small businesses handle their small business bookkeeping basics quickly and easily. Unlike Wave, TBooks gives small businesses access to live sessions with top accountants.”

You can edit this positioning statement sample and fill it with your business details.

After writing your positioning statement, the next step is the pricing of your offerings. The overall positioning strategy you set in your positioning statement will often determine how you price your products or services.

Pricing is a powerful tool that sends a strong message to your customers. Failure to get your pricing strategy right can make or mar your business. If you are targeting a low-income audience, setting a premium price can result in low sales.

You can use pricing to communicate your positioning to your customers. For example, if you are offering a product at a premium price, you are sending a message to your customers that the product belongs to the premium category.

Basic Rules to Follow When Pricing Your Offering

Setting a price for your offering involves more than just putting a price tag on it. Deciding on the right pricing for your offering requires following some basic rules. They include covering your costs, primary and secondary profit center pricing, and matching the market rate.

• Covering Your Costs: The price you set for your products or service should be more than it costs you to produce and deliver them. Every business has the same goal, to make a profit. Depending on the strategy you want to use, there are exceptions to this rule. However, the vast majority of businesses follow this rule.
• Primary and Secondary Profit Center Pricing: When a company sets its price above the cost of production, it is making that product its primary profit center. A company can also decide not to make its initial price its primary profit center by selling below or at even with its production cost. It rather depends on the support product or even maintenance that is associated with the initial purchase to make its profit. The initial price thus became its secondary profit center.
• Matching the Market Rate: A good rule to follow when pricing your products or services is to match your pricing with consumer demand and expectations. If you price your products or services beyond the price your customer perceives as the ideal price range, you may end up with no customers. Pricing your products too low below what your customer perceives as the ideal price range may lead to them undervaluing your offering.

Pricing Strategy

Your pricing strategy influences the price of your offering. There are several pricing strategies available for you to choose from when examining the right pricing strategy for your business. They include cost-plus pricing, market-based pricing, value pricing, and more.

• Cost-plus Pricing: This strategy is one of the simplest and oldest pricing strategies. Here you consider the cost of producing a unit of your product and then add a profit to it to arrive at your market price. It is an effective pricing strategy for manufacturers because it helps them cover their initial costs. Another name for the cost-plus pricing strategy is the markup pricing strategy.
• Market-based Pricing: This pricing strategy analyses the market including competitors’ pricing and then sets a price based on what the market is expecting. With this pricing strategy, you can either set your price at the low-end or high-end of the market.
• Value Pricing: This pricing strategy involves setting a price based on the value you are providing to your customer. When adopting a value-based pricing strategy, you have to set a price that your customers are willing to pay. Service-based businesses such as small business insurance providers , luxury goods sellers, and the fashion industry use this pricing strategy.

After carefully sorting out your positioning statement and pricing, the next item to look at is your promotional strategy. Your promotional strategy explains how you plan on communicating with your customers and prospects.

As a business, you must measure all your costs, including the cost of your promotions. You also want to measure how much sales your promotions bring for your business to determine its usefulness. Promotional strategies or programs that do not lead to profit need to be removed.

There are different types of promotional strategies you can adopt for your business, they include advertising, public relations, and content marketing.

Advertising

Your business plan should include your advertising plan which can be found in the marketing and sales plan section. You need to include an overview of your advertising plans such as the areas you plan to spend money on to advertise your business and offers.

Ensure that you make it clear in this section if your business will be advertising online or using the more traditional offline media, or the combination of both online and offline media. You can also include the advertising medium you want to use to raise awareness about your business and offers.

Some common online advertising mediums you can use include social media ads, landing pages, sales pages, SEO, Pay-Per-Click, emails, Google Ads, and others. Some common traditional and offline advertising mediums include word of mouth, radios, direct mail, televisions, flyers, billboards, posters, and others.

A key component of your advertising strategy is how you plan to measure the effectiveness and success of your advertising campaign. There is no point in sticking with an advertising plan or medium that does not produce results for your business in the long run.

Public Relations

A great way to reach your customers is to get the media to cover your business or product. Publicity, especially good ones, should be a part of your marketing and sales plan. In this section, show your plans for getting prominent reviews of your product from reputable publications and sources.

Your business needs that exposure to grow. If public relations is a crucial part of your promotional strategy, provide details about your public relations plan here.

Content Marketing

Content marketing is a popular promotional strategy used by businesses to inform and attract their customers. It is about teaching and educating your prospects on various topics of interest in your niche, it does not just involve informing them about the benefits and features of the products and services you have,

Businesses publish content usually for free where they provide useful information, tips, and advice so that their target market can be made aware of the importance of their products and services. Content marketing strategies seek to nurture prospects into buyers over time by simply providing value.

Your company can create a blog where it will be publishing content for its target market. You will need to use the best website builder such as Wix and Squarespace and the best web hosting services such as Bluehost, Hostinger, and other Bluehost alternatives to create a functional blog or website.

If content marketing is a crucial part of your promotional strategy (as it should be), detail your plans under promotions.

Including high-quality images of the packaging of your product in your business plan is a lovely idea. You can add the images of the packaging of that product in the marketing and sales plan section. If you are not selling a product, then you do not need to include any worry about the physical packaging of your product.

When organizing the packaging section of your business plan, you can answer the following questions to make maximum use of this section.

• Is your choice of packaging consistent with your positioning strategy?
• What key value proposition does your packaging communicate? (It should reflect the key value proposition of your business)
• How does your packaging compare to that of your competitors?

Social Media

Your 21st-century business needs to have a good social media presence. Not having one is leaving out opportunities for growth and reaching out to your prospect.

You do not have to join the thousands of social media platforms out there. What you need to do is join the ones that your customers are active on and be active there.

Businesses use social media to provide information about their products such as promotions, discounts, the benefits of their products, and content on their blogs.

Social media is also a platform for engaging with your customers and getting feedback about your products or services. Make no mistake, more and more of your prospects are using social media channels to find more information about companies.

You need to consider the social media channels you want to prioritize your business (prioritize the ones your customers are active in) and your branding plans in this section.

Strategic Alliances

If your company plans to work closely with other companies as part of your sales and marketing plan, include it in this section. Prove details about those partnerships in your business plan if you have already established them.

Strategic alliances can be beneficial for all parties involved including your company. Working closely with another company in the form of a partnership can provide access to a different target market segment for your company.

The company you are partnering with may also gain access to your target market or simply offer a new product or service (that of your company) to its customers.

Mutually beneficial partnerships can cover the weaknesses of one company with the strength of another. You should consider strategic alliances with companies that sell complimentary products to yours. For example, if you provide printers, you can partner with a company that produces ink since the customers that buy printers from you will also need inks for printing.

Steps Involved in Creating a Marketing and Sales Plan

1. Focus on Your Target Market

Identify who your customers are, the market you want to target. Then determine the best ways to get your products or services to your potential customers.

2. Evaluate Your Competition

One of the goals of having a marketing plan is to distinguish yourself from your competition. You cannot stand out from them without first knowing them in and out.

You can know your competitors by gathering information about their products, pricing, service, and advertising campaigns.

These questions can help you know your competition.

• What makes your competition successful?
• What are their weaknesses?
• What are customers saying about your competition?

3. Consider Your Brand

Customers' perception of your brand has a strong impact on your sales. Your marketing and sales plan should seek to bolster the image of your brand. Before you start marketing your business, think about the message you want to pass across about your business and your products and services.

4. Focus on Benefits

The majority of your customers do not view your product in terms of features, what they want to know is the benefits and solutions your product offers. Think about the problems your product solves and the benefits it delivers, and use it to create the right sales and marketing message.

Your marketing plan should focus on what you want your customer to get instead of what you provide. Identify those benefits in your marketing and sales plan.

5. Focus on Differentiation

Your marketing and sales plan should look for a unique angle they can take that differentiates your business from the competition, even if the products offered are similar. Some good areas of differentiation you can use are your benefits, pricing, and features.

Key Questions to Answer When Writing Your Marketing and Sales Plan

• What is your company’s budget for sales and marketing campaigns?
• What key metrics will you use to determine if your marketing plans are successful?
• What are your alternatives if your initial marketing efforts do not succeed?
• Who are the sales representatives you need to promote your products or services?
• What are the marketing and sales channels you plan to use? How do you plan to get your products in front of your ideal customers?
• Where will you sell your products?

You may want to include samples of marketing materials you plan to use such as print ads, website descriptions, and social media ads. While it is not compulsory to include these samples, it can help you better communicate your marketing and sales plan and objectives.

The purpose of the marketing and sales section is to answer this question “How will you reach your customers?” If you cannot convincingly provide an answer to this question, you need to rework your marketing and sales section.

7. Clearly Show Your Funding Request

If you are writing your business plan to ask for funding from investors or financial institutions, the funding request section is where you will outline your funding requirements. The funding request section should answer the question ‘How much money will your business need in the near future (3 to 5 years)?’

A good funding request section will clearly outline and explain the amount of funding your business needs over the next five years. You need to know the amount of money your business needs to make an accurate funding request.

Also, when writing your funding request, provide details of how the funds will be used over the period. Specify if you want to use the funds to buy raw materials or machinery, pay salaries, pay for advertisements, and cover specific bills such as rent and electricity.

In addition to explaining what you want to use the funds requested for, you need to clearly state the projected return on investment (ROI) . Investors and creditors want to know if your business can generate profit for them if they put funds into it.

Ensure you do not inflate the figures and stay as realistic as possible. Investors and financial institutions you are seeking funds from will do their research before investing money in your business.

If you are not sure of an exact number to request from, you can use some range of numbers as rough estimates. Add a best-case scenario and a work-case scenario to your funding request. Also, include a description of your strategic future financial plans such as selling your business or paying off debts.

Funding Request: Debt or Equity?

When making your funding request, specify the type of funding you want. Do you want debt or equity? Draw out the terms that will be applicable for the funding, and the length of time the funding request will cover.

Case for Equity

If your new business has not yet started generating profits, you are most likely preparing to sell equity in your business to raise capital at the early stage. Equity here refers to ownership. In this case, you are selling a portion of your company to raise capital.

Although this method of raising capital for your business does not put your business in debt, keep in mind that an equity owner may expect to play a key role in company decisions even if he does not hold a major stake in the company.

Most equity sales for startups are usually private transactions . If you are making a funding request by offering equity in exchange for funding, let the investor know that they will be paid a dividend (a share of the company’s profit). Also, let the investor know the process for selling their equity in your business.

Case for Debt

You may decide not to offer equity in exchange for funds, instead, you make a funding request with the promise to pay back the money borrowed at the agreed time frame.

When making a funding request with an agreement to pay back, note that you will have to repay your creditors both the principal amount borrowed and the interest on it. Financial institutions offer this type of funding for businesses.

Large companies combine both equity and debt in their capital structure. When drafting your business plan, decide if you want to offer both or one over the other.

Before you sell equity in exchange for funding in your business, consider if you are willing to accept not being in total control of your business. Also, before you seek loans in your funding request section, ensure that the terms of repayment are favorable.

You should set a clear timeline in your funding request so that potential investors and creditors can know what you are expecting. Some investors and creditors may agree to your funding request and then delay payment for longer than 30 days, meanwhile, your business needs an immediate cash injection to operate efficiently.

Additional Tips for Writing the Funding Request Section of your Business Plan

The funding request section is not necessary for every business, it is only needed by businesses who plan to use their business plan to secure funding.

If you are adding the funding request section to your business plan, provide an itemized summary of how you plan to use the funds requested. Hiring a lawyer, accountant, or other professionals may be necessary for the proper development of this section.

You should also gather and use financial statements that add credibility and support to your funding requests. Ensure that the financial statements you use should include your projected financial data such as projected cash flows, forecast statements, and expenditure budgets.

If you are an existing business, include all historical financial statements such as cash flow statements, balance sheets and income statements .

Provide monthly and quarterly financial statements for a year. If your business has records that date back beyond the one-year mark, add the yearly statements of those years. These documents are for the appendix section of your business plan.

8. Detail Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projections

If you used the funding request section in your business plan, supplement it with a financial plan, metrics, and projections. This section paints a picture of the past performance of your business and then goes ahead to make an informed projection about its future.

The goal of this section is to convince readers that your business is going to be a financial success. It outlines your business plan to generate enough profit to repay the loan (with interest if applicable) and to generate a decent return on investment for investors.

If you have an existing business already in operation, use this section to demonstrate stability through finance. This section should include your cash flow statements, balance sheets, and income statements covering the last three to five years. If your business has some acceptable collateral that you can use to acquire loans, list it in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

Apart from current financial statements, this section should also contain a prospective financial outlook that spans the next five years. Include forecasted income statements, cash flow statements, balance sheets, and capital expenditure budget.

If your business is new and is not yet generating profit, use clear and realistic projections to show the potentials of your business.

When drafting this section, research industry norms and the performance of comparable businesses. Your financial projections should cover at least five years. State the logic behind your financial projections. Remember you can always make adjustments to this section as the variables change.

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section create a baseline which your business can either exceed or fail to reach. If your business fails to reach your projections in this section, you need to understand why it failed.

Investors and loan managers spend a lot of time going through the financial plan, metrics, and projection section compared to other parts of the business plan. Ensure you spend time creating credible financial analyses for your business in this section.

Many entrepreneurs find this section daunting to write. You do not need a business degree to create a solid financial forecast for your business. Business finances, especially for startups, are not as complicated as they seem. There are several online tools and templates that make writing this section so much easier.

Use Graphs and Charts

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section is a great place to use graphs and charts to tell the financial story of your business. Charts and images make it easier to communicate your finances.

Accuracy in this section is key, ensure you carefully analyze your past financial statements properly before making financial projects.

Address the Risk Factors and Show Realistic Financial Projections

Keep your financial plan, metrics, and projection realistic. It is okay to be optimistic in your financial projection, however, you have to justify it.

You should also address the various risk factors associated with your business in this section. Investors want to know the potential risks involved, show them. You should also show your plans for mitigating those risks.

What You Should In The Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection Section of Your Business Plan

The financial plan, metrics, and projection section of your business plan should have monthly sales and revenue forecasts for the first year. It should also include annual projections that cover 3 to 5 years.

A three-year projection is a basic requirement to have in your business plan. However, some investors may request a five-year forecast.

Your business plan should include the following financial statements: sales forecast, personnel plan, income statement, income statement, cash flow statement, balance sheet, and an exit strategy.

1. Sales Forecast

Sales forecast refers to your projections about the number of sales your business is going to record over the next few years. It is typically broken into several rows, with each row assigned to a core product or service that your business is offering.

One common mistake people make in their business plan is to break down the sales forecast section into long details. A sales forecast should forecast the high-level details.

For example, if you are forecasting sales for a payroll software provider, you could break down your forecast into target market segments or subscription categories.

Your sales forecast section should also have a corresponding row for each sales row to cover the direct cost or Cost of Goods Sold (COGS). The objective of these rows is to show the expenses that your business incurs in making and delivering your product or service.

Note that your Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) should only cover those direct costs incurred when making your products. Other indirect expenses such as insurance, salaries, payroll tax, and rent should not be included.

For example, the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) for a restaurant is the cost of ingredients while for a consulting company it will be the cost of paper and other presentation materials.

2. Personnel Plan

The personnel plan section is where you provide details about the payment plan for your employees. For a small business, you can easily list every position in your company and how much you plan to pay in the personnel plan.

However, for larger businesses, you have to break the personnel plan into functional groups such as sales and marketing.

The personnel plan will also include the cost of an employee beyond salary, commonly referred to as the employee burden. These costs include insurance, payroll taxes , and other essential costs incurred monthly as a result of having employees on your payroll.

3. Income Statement

The income statement section shows if your business is making a profit or taking a loss. Another name for the income statement is the profit and loss (P&L). It takes data from your sales forecast and personnel plan and adds other ongoing expenses you incur while running your business.

Every business plan should have an income statement. It subtracts your business expenses from its earnings to show if your business is generating profit or incurring losses.

The income statement has the following items: sales, Cost of Goods Sold (COGS), gross margin, operating expenses, total operating expenses, operating income , total expenses, and net profit.

• Sales refer to the revenue your business generates from selling its products or services. Other names for sales are income or revenue.
• Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) refers to the total cost of selling your products. Other names for COGS are direct costs or cost of sales. Manufacturing businesses use the Costs of Goods Manufactured (COGM) .
• Gross Margin is the figure you get when you subtract your COGS from your sales. In your income statement, you can express it as a percentage of total sales (Gross margin / Sales = Gross Margin Percent).
• Operating Expenses refer to all the expenses you incur from running your business. It exempts the COGS because it stands alone as a core part of your income statement. You also have to exclude taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Your operating expenses include salaries, marketing expenses, research and development (R&D) expenses, and other expenses.
• Total Operating Expenses refers to the sum of all your operating expenses including those exemptions named above under operating expenses.
• Operating Income refers to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It is simply known as the acronym EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization). Calculating your operating income is simple, all you need to do is to subtract your COGS and total operating expenses from your sales.
• Total Expenses refer to the sum of your operating expenses and your business’ interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization.
• Net profit shows whether your business has made a profit or taken a loss during a given timeframe.

4. Cash Flow Statement

The cash flow statement tracks the money you have in the bank at any given point. It is often confused with the income statement or the profit and loss statement. They are both different types of financial statements. The income statement calculates your profits and losses while the cash flow statement shows you how much you have in the bank.

5. Balance Sheet

The balance sheet is a financial statement that provides an overview of the financial health of your business. It contains information about the assets and liabilities of your company, and owner’s or shareholders’ equity.

You can get the net worth of your company by subtracting your company’s liabilities from its assets.

6. Exit Strategy

The exit strategy refers to a probable plan for selling your business either to the public in an IPO or to another company. It is the last thing you include in the financial plan, metrics, and projection section.

You can choose to omit the exit strategy from your business plan if you plan to maintain full ownership of your business and do not plan on seeking angel investment or virtual capitalist (VC) funding.

Investors may want to know what your exit plan is. They invest in your business to get a good return on investment.

Your exit strategy does not have to include long and boring details. Ensure you identify some interested parties who may be interested in buying the company if it becomes a success.

Key Questions to Answer with Your Financial Plan, Metrics, and Projection

Your financial plan, metrics, and projection section helps investors, creditors, or your internal managers to understand what your expenses are, the amount of cash you need, and what it takes to make your company profitable. It also shows what you will be doing with any funding.

You do not need to show actual financial data if you do not have one. Adding forecasts and projections to your financial statements is added proof that your strategy is feasible and shows investors you have planned properly.

Here are some key questions to answer to help you develop this section.

• What is your sales forecast for the next year?
• When will your company achieve a positive cash flow?
• What are the core expenses you need to operate?
• How much money do you need upfront to operate or grow your company?
• How will you use the loans or investments?

9. Add an Appendix to Your Business Plan

Adding an appendix to your business plan is optional. It is a useful place to put any charts, tables, legal notes, definitions, permits, résumés, and other critical information that do not fit into other sections of your business plan.

The appendix section is where you would want to include details of a patent or patent-pending if you have one. You can always add illustrations or images of your products here. It is the last section of your business plan.

When writing your business plan, there are details you cut short or remove to prevent the entire section from becoming too lengthy. There are also details you want to include in the business plan but are not a good fit for any of the previous sections. You can add that additional information to the appendix section.

Businesses also use the appendix section to include supporting documents or other materials specially requested by investors or lenders.

You can include just about any information that supports the assumptions and statements you made in the business plan under the appendix. It is the one place in the business plan where unrelated data and information can coexist amicably.

If your appendix section is lengthy, try organizing it by adding a table of contents at the beginning of the appendix section. It is also advisable to group similar information to make it easier for the reader to access them.

A well-organized appendix section makes it easier to share your information clearly and concisely. Add footnotes throughout the rest of the business plan or make references in the plan to the documents in the appendix.

The appendix section is usually only necessary if you are seeking funding from investors or lenders, or hoping to attract partners.

People reading business plans do not want to spend time going through a heap of backup information, numbers, and charts. Keep these documents or information in the Appendix section in case the reader wants to dig deeper.

Common Items to Include in the Appendix Section of Your Business Plan

The appendix section includes documents that supplement or support the information or claims given in other sections of the business plans. Common items you can include in the appendix section include:

• Additional data about the process of manufacturing or creation
• Additional description of products or services such as product schematics
• Additional financial documents or projections
• Articles of incorporation and status
• Backup for market research or competitive analysis
• Bank statements
• Business registries
• Client testimonials (if your business is already running)
• Copies of insurances
• Credit histories (personal or/and business)
• Deeds and permits
• Equipment leases
• Examples of marketing and advertising collateral
• Industry associations and memberships
• Images of product
• Intellectual property
• Key customer contracts
• Legal documents and other contracts
• Letters of reference
• Links to references
• Market research data
• Organizational charts
• Photographs of potential facilities
• Professional licenses pertaining to your legal structure or type of business
• Purchase orders
• Resumes of the founder(s) and key managers
• State and federal identification numbers or codes
• Trademarks or patents’ registrations

Avoid using the appendix section as a place to dump any document or information you feel like adding. Only add documents or information that you support or increase the credibility of your business plan.

Tips and Strategies for Writing a Convincing Business Plan

To achieve a perfect business plan, you need to consider some key tips and strategies. These tips will raise the efficiency of your business plan above average.

1. Know Your Audience

When writing a business plan, you need to know your audience . Business owners write business plans for different reasons. Your business plan has to be specific. For example, you can write business plans to potential investors, banks, and even fellow board members of the company.

The audience you are writing to determines the structure of the business plan. As a business owner, you have to know your audience. Not everyone will be your audience. Knowing your audience will help you to narrow the scope of your business plan.

Consider what your audience wants to see in your projects, the likely questions they might ask, and what interests them.

• A business plan used to address a company's board members will center on its employment schemes, internal affairs, projects, stakeholders, etc.
• A business plan for financial institutions will talk about the size of your market and the chances for you to pay back any loans you demand.
• A business plan for investors will show proof that you can return the investment capital within a specific time. In addition, it discusses your financial projections, tractions, and market size.

2. Get Inspiration from People

Writing a business plan from scratch as an entrepreneur can be daunting. That is why you need the right inspiration to push you to write one. You can gain inspiration from the successful business plans of other businesses. Look at their business plans, the style they use, the structure of the project, etc.

To make your business plan easier to create, search companies related to your business to get an exact copy of what you need to create an effective business plan. You can also make references while citing examples in your business plans.

When drafting your business plan, get as much help from others as you possibly can. By getting inspiration from people, you can create something better than what they have.

3. Avoid Being Over Optimistic

Many business owners make use of strong adjectives to qualify their content. One of the big mistakes entrepreneurs make when preparing a business plan is promising too much.

The use of superlatives and over-optimistic claims can prepare the audience for more than you can offer. In the end, you disappoint the confidence they have in you.

In most cases, the best option is to be realistic with your claims and statistics. Most of the investors can sense a bit of incompetency from the overuse of superlatives. As a new entrepreneur, do not be tempted to over-promise to get the interests of investors.

The concept of entrepreneurship centers on risks, nothing is certain when you make future analyses. What separates the best is the ability to do careful research and work towards achieving that, not promising more than you can achieve.

To make an excellent first impression as an entrepreneur, replace superlatives with compelling data-driven content. In this way, you are more specific than someone promising a huge ROI from an investment.

4. Keep it Simple and Short

When writing business plans, ensure you keep them simple throughout. Irrespective of the purpose of the business plan, your goal is to convince the audience.

One way to achieve this goal is to make them understand your proposal. Therefore, it would be best if you avoid the use of complex grammar to express yourself. It would be a huge turn-off if the people you want to convince are not familiar with your use of words.

Another thing to note is the length of your business plan. It would be best if you made it as brief as possible.

You hardly see investors or agencies that read through an extremely long document. In that case, if your first few pages can’t convince them, then you have lost it. The more pages you write, the higher the chances of you derailing from the essential contents.

To ensure your business plan has a high conversion rate, you need to dispose of every unnecessary information. For example, if you have a strategy that you are not sure of, it would be best to leave it out of the plan.

5. Make an Outline and Follow Through

A perfect business plan must have touched every part needed to convince the audience. Business owners get easily tempted to concentrate more on their products than on other sections. Doing this can be detrimental to the efficiency of the business plan.

For example, imagine you talking about a product but omitting or providing very little information about the target audience. You will leave your clients confused.

To ensure that your business plan communicates your full business model to readers, you have to input all the necessary information in it. One of the best ways to achieve this is to design a structure and stick to it.

This structure is what guides you throughout the writing. To make your work easier, you can assign an estimated word count or page limit to every section to avoid making it too bulky for easy reading. As a guide, the necessary things your business plan must contain are:

• Table of contents
• Introduction
• Product or service description
• Target audience
• Market size
• Competition analysis
• Financial projections

Some specific businesses can include some other essential sections, but these are the key sections that must be in every business plan.

6. Ask a Professional to Proofread

When writing a business plan, you must tie all loose ends to get a perfect result. When you are done with writing, call a professional to go through the document for you. You are bound to make mistakes, and the way to correct them is to get external help.

You should get a professional in your field who can relate to every section of your business plan. It would be easier for the professional to notice the inner flaws in the document than an editor with no knowledge of your business.

In addition to getting a professional to proofread, get an editor to proofread and edit your document. The editor will help you identify grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and inappropriate writing styles.

Writing a business plan can be daunting, but you can surmount that obstacle and get the best out of it with these tips.

Business Plan Examples and Templates That’ll Save You Tons of Time

1. hubspot's one-page business plan.

The one-page business plan template by HubSpot is the perfect guide for businesses of any size, irrespective of their business strategy. Although the template is condensed into a page, your final business plan should not be a page long! The template is designed to ask helpful questions that can help you develop your business plan.

Hubspot’s one-page business plan template is divided into nine fields:

• Business opportunity
• Company description
• Industry analysis
• Target market
• Implementation timeline
• Marketing plan
• Financial summary
• Funding required

2. Bplan’s Free Business Plan Template

Bplans' free business plan template is investor-approved. It is a rich template used by prestigious educational institutions such as Babson College and Princeton University to teach entrepreneurs how to create a business plan.

The template has six sections: the executive summary, opportunity, execution, company, financial plan, and appendix. There is a step-by-step guide for writing every little detail in the business plan. Follow the instructions each step of the way and you will create a business plan that impresses investors or lenders easily.

3. HubSpot's Downloadable Business Plan Template

HubSpot’s downloadable business plan template is a more comprehensive option compared to the one-page business template by HubSpot. This free and downloadable business plan template is designed for entrepreneurs.

The template is a comprehensive guide and checklist for business owners just starting their businesses. It tells you everything you need to fill in each section of the business plan and how to do it.

There are nine sections in this business plan template: an executive summary, company and business description, product and services line, market analysis, marketing plan, sales plan, legal notes, financial considerations, and appendix.

4. Business Plan by My Own Business Institute

My Own Business Institute (MOBI) which is a part of Santa Clara University's Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship offers a free business plan template. You can either copy the free business template from the link provided above or download it as a Word document.

The comprehensive template consists of a whopping 15 sections.

• The Business Profile
• The Vision and the People
• Home-Based Business and Freelance Business Opportunities
• Organization
• Licenses and Permits
• Business Insurance
• Communication Tools
• Acquisitions
• Location and Leasing
• Accounting and Cash Flow
• Opening and Marketing
• Managing Employees
• Expanding and Handling Problems

There are lots of helpful tips on how to fill each section in the free business plan template by MOBI.

5. Score's Business Plan Template for Startups

Score is an American nonprofit organization that helps entrepreneurs build successful companies. This business plan template for startups by Score is available for free download. The business plan template asks a whooping 150 generic questions that help entrepreneurs from different fields to set up the perfect business plan.

The business plan template for startups contains clear instructions and worksheets, all you have to do is answer the questions and fill the worksheets.

There are nine sections in the business plan template: executive summary, company description, products and services, marketing plan, operational plan, management and organization, startup expenses and capitalization, financial plan, and appendices.

The ‘refining the plan’ resource contains instructions that help you modify your business plan to suit your specific needs, industry, and target audience. After you have completed Score’s business plan template, you can work with a SCORE mentor for expert advice in business planning.

6. Minimalist Architecture Business Plan Template by Venngage

The minimalist architecture business plan template is a simple template by Venngage that you can customize to suit your business needs .

There are five sections in the template: an executive summary, statement of problem, approach and methodology, qualifications, and schedule and benchmark. The business plan template has instructions that guide users on what to fill in each section.

7. Small Business Administration Free Business Plan Template

The Small Business Administration (SBA) offers two free business plan templates, filled with practical real-life examples that you can model to create your business plan. Both free business plan templates are written by fictional business owners: Rebecca who owns a consulting firm, and Andrew who owns a toy company.

There are five sections in the two SBA’s free business plan templates.

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Service Line
• Marketing and Sales

8. The $100 Startup's One-Page Business Plan

The one-page business plan by the $100 startup is a simple business plan template for entrepreneurs who do not want to create a long and complicated plan . You can include more details in the appendices for funders who want more information beyond what you can put in the one-page business plan.

There are five sections in the one-page business plan such as overview, ka-ching, hustling, success, and obstacles or challenges or open questions. You can answer all the questions using one or two sentences.

9. PandaDoc’s Free Business Plan Template

The free business plan template by PandaDoc is a comprehensive 15-page document that describes the information you should include in every section.

There are 11 sections in PandaDoc’s free business plan template.

• Executive summary
• Business description
• Products and services
• Operations plan
• Management organization
• Financial plan
• Conclusion / Call to action
• Confidentiality statement

You have to sign up for its 14-day free trial to access the template. You will find different business plan templates on PandaDoc once you sign up (including templates for general businesses and specific businesses such as bakeries, startups, restaurants, salons, hotels, and coffee shops)

PandaDoc allows you to customize its business plan templates to fit the needs of your business. After editing the template, you can send it to interested parties and track opens and views through PandaDoc.

10. Invoiceberry Templates for Word, Open Office, Excel, or PPT

InvoiceBerry is a U.K based online invoicing and tracking platform that offers free business plan templates in .docx, .odt, .xlsx, and .pptx formats for freelancers and small businesses.

Before you can download the free business plan template, it will ask you to give it your email address. After you complete the little task, it will send the download link to your inbox for you to download. It also provides a business plan checklist in .xlsx file format that ensures you add the right information to the business plan.

Alternatives to the Traditional Business Plan

A business plan is very important in mapping out how one expects their business to grow over a set number of years, particularly when they need external investment in their business. However, many investors do not have the time to watch you present your business plan. It is a long and boring read.

Luckily, there are three alternatives to the traditional business plan (the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck). These alternatives are less laborious and easier and quicker to present to investors.

Business Model Canvas (BMC)

The business model canvas is a business tool used to present all the important components of setting up a business, such as customers, route to market, value proposition, and finance in a single sheet. It provides a very focused blueprint that defines your business initially which you can later expand on if needed.

The sheet is divided mainly into company, industry, and consumer models that are interconnected in how they find problems and proffer solutions.

Segments of the Business Model Canvas

The business model canvas was developed by founder Alexander Osterwalder to answer important business questions. It contains nine segments.

• Key Partners: Who will be occupying important executive positions in your business? What do they bring to the table? Will there be a third party involved with the company?
• Key Activities: What important activities will production entail? What activities will be carried out to ensure the smooth running of the company?
• The Product’s Value Propositions: What does your product do? How will it be different from other products?
• Customer Segments: What demography of consumers are you targeting? What are the habits of these consumers? Who are the MVPs of your target consumers?
• Customer Relationships: How will the team support and work with its customer base? How do you intend to build and maintain trust with the customer?
• Key Resources: What type of personnel and tools will be needed? What size of the budget will they need access to?
• Channels: How do you plan to create awareness of your products? How do you intend to transport your product to the customer?
• Cost Structure: What is the estimated cost of production? How much will distribution cost?
• Revenue Streams: For what value are customers willing to pay? How do they prefer to pay for the product? Are there any external revenues attached apart from the main source? How do the revenue streams contribute to the overall revenue?

Lean Canvas

The lean canvas is a problem-oriented alternative to the standard business model canvas. It was proposed by Ash Maurya, creator of Lean Stack as a development of the business model generation. It uses a more problem-focused approach and it majorly targets entrepreneurs and startup businesses.

Lean Canvas uses the same 9 blocks concept as the business model canvas, however, they have been modified slightly to suit the needs and purpose of a small startup. The key partners, key activities, customer relationships, and key resources are replaced by new segments which are:

• Problem: Simple and straightforward number of problems you have identified, ideally three.
• Solution: The solutions to each problem.
• Unfair Advantage: Something you possess that can't be easily bought or replicated.
• Key Metrics: Important numbers that will tell how your business is doing.

Startup Pitch Deck

While the business model canvas compresses into a factual sheet, startup pitch decks expand flamboyantly.

Pitch decks, through slides, convey your business plan, often through graphs and images used to emphasize estimations and observations in your presentation. Entrepreneurs often use pitch decks to fully convince their target audience of their plans before discussing funding arrangements.

Considering the likelihood of it being used in a small time frame, a good startup pitch deck should ideally contain 20 slides or less to have enough time to answer questions from the audience.

Unlike the standard and lean business model canvases, a pitch deck doesn't have a set template on how to present your business plan but there are still important components to it. These components often mirror those of the business model canvas except that they are in slide form and contain more details.

Using Airbnb (one of the most successful start-ups in recent history) for reference, the important components of a good slide are listed below.

• Cover/Introduction Slide: Here, you should include your company's name and mission statement. Your mission statement should be a very catchy tagline. Also, include personal information and contact details to provide an easy link for potential investors.
• Problem Slide: This slide requires you to create a connection with the audience or the investor that you are pitching. For example in their pitch, Airbnb summarized the most important problems it would solve in three brief points – pricing of hotels, disconnection from city culture, and connection problems for local bookings.
• Solution Slide: This slide includes your core value proposition. List simple and direct solutions to the problems you have mentioned
• Customer Analysis: Here you will provide information on the customers you will be offering your service to. The identity of your customers plays an important part in fundraising as well as the long-run viability of the business.
• Market Validation: Use competitive analysis to show numbers that prove the presence of a market for your product, industry behavior in the present and the long run, as well as the percentage of the market you aim to attract. It shows that you understand your competitors and customers and convinces investors of the opportunities presented in the market.
• Business Model: Your business model is the hook of your presentation. It may vary in complexity but it should generally include a pricing system informed by your market analysis. The goal of the slide is to confirm your business model is easy to implement.
• Marketing Strategy: This slide should summarize a few customer acquisition methods that you plan to use to grow the business.
• Competitive Advantage: What this slide will do is provide information on what will set you apart and make you a more attractive option to customers. It could be the possession of technology that is not widely known in the market.
• Team Slide: Here you will give a brief description of your team. Include your key management personnel here and their specific roles in the company. Include their educational background, job history, and skillsets. Also, talk about their accomplishments in their careers so far to build investors' confidence in members of your team.
• Traction Slide: This validates the company’s business model by showing growth through early sales and support. The slide aims to reduce any lingering fears in potential investors by showing realistic periodic milestones and profit margins. It can include current sales, growth, valuable customers, pre-orders, or data from surveys outlining current consumer interest.
• Funding Slide: This slide is popularly referred to as ‘the ask'. Here you will include important details like how much is needed to get your business off the ground and how the funding will be spent to help the company reach its goals.
• Appendix Slides: Your pitch deck appendix should always be included alongside a standard pitch presentation. It consists of additional slides you could not show in the pitch deck but you need to complement your presentation.

It is important to support your calculations with pictorial renditions. Infographics, such as pie charts or bar graphs, will be more effective in presenting the information than just listing numbers. For example, a six-month graph that shows rising profit margins will easily look more impressive than merely writing it.

Lastly, since a pitch deck is primarily used to secure meetings and you may be sharing your pitch with several investors, it is advisable to keep a separate public version that doesn't include financials. Only disclose the one with projections once you have secured a link with an investor.

Advantages of the Business Model Canvas, Lean Canvas, and Startup Pitch Deck over the Traditional Business Plan

• Time-Saving: Writing a detailed traditional business plan could take weeks or months. On the other hand, all three alternatives can be done in a few days or even one night of brainstorming if you have a comprehensive understanding of your business.
• Easier to Understand: Since the information presented is almost entirely factual, it puts focus on what is most important in running the business. They cut away the excess pages of fillers in a traditional business plan and allow investors to see what is driving the business and what is getting in the way.
• Easy to Update: Businesses typically present their business plans to many potential investors before they secure funding. What this means is that you may regularly have to amend your presentation to update statistics or adjust to audience-specific needs. For a traditional business plan, this could mean rewriting a whole section of your plan. For the three alternatives, updating is much easier because they are not voluminous.
• Guide for a More In-depth Business Plan: All three alternatives have the added benefit of being able to double as a sketch of your business plan if the need to create one arises in the future.

Business Plan FAQ

Business plans are important for any entrepreneur who is looking for a framework to run their company over some time or seeking external support. Although they are essential for new businesses, every company should ideally have a business plan to track their growth from time to time.  They can be used by startups seeking investments or loans to convey their business ideas or an employee to convince his boss of the feasibility of starting a new project. They can also be used by companies seeking to recruit high-profile employee targets into key positions or trying to secure partnerships with other firms.

Business plans often vary depending on your target audience, the scope, and the goals for the plan. Startup plans are the most common among the different types of business plans.  A start-up plan is used by a new business to present all the necessary information to help get the business up and running. They are usually used by entrepreneurs who are seeking funding from investors or bank loans. The established company alternative to a start-up plan is a feasibility plan. A feasibility plan is often used by an established company looking for new business opportunities. They are used to show the upsides of creating a new product for a consumer base. Because the audience is usually company people, it requires less company analysis. The third type of business plan is the lean business plan. A lean business plan is a brief, straight-to-the-point breakdown of your ideas and analysis for your business. It does not contain details of your proposal and can be written on one page. Finally, you have the what-if plan. As it implies, a what-if plan is a preparation for the worst-case scenario. You must always be prepared for the possibility of your original plan being rejected. A good what-if plan will serve as a good plan B to the original.

A good business plan has 10 key components. They include an executive plan, product analysis, desired customer base, company analysis, industry analysis, marketing strategy, sales strategy, financial projection, funding, and appendix. Executive Plan Your business should begin with your executive plan. An executive plan will provide early insight into what you are planning to achieve with your business. It should include your mission statement and highlight some of the important points which you will explain later. Product Analysis The next component of your business plan is your product analysis. A key part of this section is explaining the type of item or service you are going to offer as well as the market problems your product will solve. Desired Consumer Base Your product analysis should be supplemented with a detailed breakdown of your desired consumer base. Investors are always interested in knowing the economic power of your market as well as potential MVP customers. Company Analysis The next component of your business plan is your company analysis. Here, you explain how you want to run your business. It will include your operational strategy, an insight into the workforce needed to keep the company running, and important executive positions. It will also provide a calculation of expected operational costs.  Industry Analysis A good business plan should also contain well laid out industry analysis. It is important to convince potential investors you know the companies you will be competing with, as well as your plans to gain an edge on the competition. Marketing Strategy Your business plan should also include your marketing strategy. This is how you intend to spread awareness of your product. It should include a detailed explanation of the company brand as well as your advertising methods. Sales Strategy Your sales strategy comes after the market strategy. Here you give an overview of your company's pricing strategy and how you aim to maximize profits. You can also explain how your prices will adapt to market behaviors. Financial Projection The financial projection is the next component of your business plan. It explains your company's expected running cost and revenue earned during the tenure of the business plan. Financial projection gives a clear idea of how your company will develop in the future. Funding The next component of your business plan is funding. You have to detail how much external investment you need to get your business idea off the ground here. Appendix The last component of your plan is the appendix. This is where you put licenses, graphs, or key information that does not fit in any of the other components.

The business model canvas is a business management tool used to quickly define your business idea and model. It is often used when investors need you to pitch your business idea during a brief window.

A pitch deck is similar to a business model canvas except that it makes use of slides in its presentation. A pitch is not primarily used to secure funding, rather its main purpose is to entice potential investors by selling a very optimistic outlook on the business.

Business plan competitions help you evaluate the strength of your business plan. By participating in business plan competitions, you are improving your experience. The experience provides you with a degree of validation while practicing important skills. The main motivation for entering into the competitions is often to secure funding by finishing in podium positions. There is also the chance that you may catch the eye of a casual observer outside of the competition. These competitions also provide good networking opportunities. You could meet mentors who will take a keen interest in guiding you in your business journey. You also have the opportunity to meet other entrepreneurs whose ideas can complement yours.

Exlore Further

• 12 Key Elements of a Business Plan (Top Components Explained)
• 13 Sources of Business Finance For Companies & Sole Traders
• 5 Common Types of Business Structures (+ Pros & Cons)
• How to Buy a Business in 8 Steps (+ Due Diligence Checklist)

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Martin luenendonk.

Martin loves entrepreneurship and has helped dozens of entrepreneurs by validating the business idea, finding scalable customer acquisition channels, and building a data-driven organization. During his time working in investment banking, tech startups, and industry-leading companies he gained extensive knowledge in using different software tools to optimize business processes.

This insights and his love for researching SaaS products enables him to provide in-depth, fact-based software reviews to enable software buyers make better decisions.

Investment Company Business Plan Template

Download this Investment Company Business Plan Template Design in Word, Google Docs, Apple Pages Format. Easily Editable, Printable, Downloadable.

Are you planning to start-up an investment company? Formulate a business plan to get more investments and convince clients to do business with you by using our Investment Company Business Plan template. An investment company is primarily engaged in investing in securities or pooling money from the investors. It’s crucial to develop an effective business plan before taking that big step to be successful, as well as being prepared for things that may happen along the way. Strategize your move through market analysis and customer research with the aid of this template. Don’t pass up this amazing opportunity and experience convenience now with this versatile Investment Company Business Plan template!

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Your 10 Step Guide to Building a Real Estate Investing Business Plan

Real estate empires grow from a blueprint, not last-minute hunches. This guide outlines how to create a real estate investing business plan to help you navigate market dynamics, seek funding, and add to your team so that you can successfully grow your business.

Let’s be honest, the idea of drafting a formal real estate investing business plan probably doesn’t excite you. After all, you got into real estate investing to scout deals and transform properties, not write novels full of financial projections.

But experienced investors know a solid plan spells the difference between profitability and major headaches. It forces clarity on direction and feasibility before you sink hundreds of thousands into property purchases and rehabs.

Think of your business plan as a blueprint for success tailored to your unique investment goals and market conditions. Whether you currently own a few rentals or are launching a full-fledged development firm, a plan guides decisions, aligns partners, and demonstrates viability to secure financing.

So how do you build one effectively without needless complexity? What key strategy areas require your focus? Let’s explore components that set you up for growth while avoiding common first-timer pitfalls. With realistic planning as your foundation, your investing journey can start smooth and stay the course.

What is a real estate investing business plan?

At its core, a real estate investment business plan is simply a strategic guide outlining your intended real estate approach. It defines target markets, preferred project types based on expertise, capital sources, growth strategy, key operational procedures, and other investment specifics tailored to your situation.

View your plan as an evolving document rather than a rigid static rulebook collecting dust. It should provide goalposts and guardrails as markets shift over time and new opportunities appear. You'll be able to refer back to the plan to confirm that these new opportunities align with proven tactics that yield predictable returns.

Detailed upfront planning provides a sound foundation for confident direction. It protects stakeholders by identifying potential pitfalls and mitigation strategies before costly surprises trip up the stability of your real estate business.

So, it's worth it to take the time and develop a customized plan aligned to your niche, resources, and risk tolerance. While initially tedious, the practice of putting together your strategic real estate business plan ultimately provides clarity and confidence moving forward.

Importance of having a business plan

Now that we’ve defined what a business plan is, let’s explore why having one matters — especially if you want to grow a successful real estate investment company.

Have you considered what originally attracted you to investing in properties? Whether it was rehabbing flips, acquiring rentals, or simply a lucrative hobby, your motivations and ideal path can get lost in the daily distractions of life. That’s where an intentional business plan provides clarity and conviction moving forward.

Reasons every real estate investor should prioritize planning are:

• Goals and vision : You might be wanting to quit your day job and focus on real estate full time, or you might simply want to generate some extra income on the side. Either way, a business plan forces you to define what success looks like for you.
• Due diligence : Creating a plan forces you to research the real estate markets you want to invest in — analyzing sales, rents, permits, zoning, demographics, and growth projections. This helps you objectively identify high-potential neighborhoods and properties rather than relying on hearsay or intuition.
• Funding and financing : Lenders and potential investors will want to review your business plan to evaluate the viability and profitability of your real estate investment business before offering any financing . A complete plan builds credibility and confidence with stakeholders.
• Guide decision-making : It's easy to get distracted by the latest real estate seminar or shiny new construction techniques. But sticking to the parameters and strategies laid out in your plan prevents you from making hasty changes or going down rabbit holes.
• Identify potential risks : There are always things that can unexpectedly go wrong: what if interest rates spike and make your loans unaffordable, or your best tenants move out and unreliable folks move in? Brainstorming these scenarios in advance allows you to minimize risks and have contingency plans.
• Systemize operations : As you grow, how will you scale operations? A business plan helps you identify areas that will require attention as your business evolves, like creating maintenance checklists for rentals, standardizing lease agreements , or automating accounting procedures.
• Build the right team : Your business plan provides guidance on the team you'll need for your business. Know if you require a real estate agent to help you find deals or a property manager to handle tenant complaints at 2 AM.
• Track progress : Your plan helps you compare things like actual rehab costs, rental occupancy rates, cash flow, etc. to your initial projections and determine whether you're on track.  You can then make adjustments as needed.
• Maintain strategy : As you scale your operations with new hires or partnerships, you'll want to maintain direction in alignment with your original business plan. For example, if you are considering new verticals like commercial real estate, does evaluation criteria match your proven risk metrics and return hurdles? A real estate business plan keeps everyone focused on the same goals as your business grows.

What to include in a real estate investment business plan

A good real estate investing business plan covers everything from business goals to financing strategy. Here are the ten key elements you should include:

1. Executive summary

The executive summary provides a high-level overview of your real estate investment business plan. It briefly describes your company mission, objectives, competitive advantages, growth strategies, team strengths, and financial outlook.

Think of it as the elevator pitch for your business plan, and write it last after you have completed the full plan. Limit it to 1-2 pages at most.

Make your executive summary compelling and motivate investors or lenders to learn more. Be sure to also summarize your past successes and experiences to build credibility.

2. Company description

The company description section provides background details on your real estate investment company. Keep this section brief, but use it to legitimize your business and team.

• Business model : Explain your core business model and investment strategies. Will you primarily flip properties, buy and hold rentals, conduct wholesale deals, or use another approach?
• Company history and achievements : Provide a brief timeline of your company's history, including its formation, past projects, key milestones, and achievements.
• Legal business structure : Identify your corporate structure, such as LLC , S-Corp , C-Corp, or sole proprietorship.
• Office location : Provide your company's office address, which lends you credibility. If you are initially working from home, consider establishing a local PO Box or virtual address.
• Founders and key team members : Introduce your founders and key team members. Highlight relevant real estate, finance, management expertise, and credentials.
• Past projects : Provide an overview of any successful prior real estate projects your company or founders have executed.
• Competitive advantages : Explain unique resources, systems, or other strengths that give your company an edge over competitors. These could be proprietary analytic models, contractor relationships, deal access, or specialized expertise.
• Technologies and tools : Discuss technologies, software programs, or tools your company uses to streamline processes and optimize operations.

3. Market analysis

The market analysis section validates whether your real estate investment strategy makes sense in a given area.

Conduct detailed research from multiple sources to create realistic real estate investment market projections and identify potentially profitable opportunities.

Outline why certain neighborhoods, property types, or price points pique your interest more than others.

Your market analysis should dig deep into factors like:

• Local sales and rental price trends : Analyze pricing history and current trends for both sales and rents. Look at different property types, sizes, and neighborhoods.
• Housing inventory and demand analysis : Research the balance of supply and demand and how that impacts prices. Is the market undersupplied or oversupplied?
• Market growth projections : Review forecasts from real estate analysts on expected market growth or decline in coming years. Incorporate these projections into your analysis.
• Competitor analysis : Identify other real estate investors actively acquiring or managing properties in your target areas. Look at their business models and strategies.
• Target neighborhood and property analysis : Provide an in-depth analysis of your chosen neighborhoods and target property types. Outline positive attributes, risks, and opportunities.
• Demographic analysis : Analyze the demographics of potential tenants or homebuyers for your target properties. Factors like income, age, and family size impact demand.
• Local construction and renovation costs : Research materials and labor costs for accurate budgets and understand the permitting process and timelines.
• Regional economic outlook : Factor in projections for job growth, new employers, infrastructure projects, and how they may impact the real estate market.

4. SWOT analysis

SWOT stands for strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Conducting a SWOT analysis means stepping back from day-to-day business to assess your broader position and path from a strategic lens.

Internal strengths for your real estate investment business may include an experienced team skilled in major rehab projects, strong contractor relationships, or access to private lending capital. Weaknesses might be limited staff for handling tenant maintenance issues across a growing rental portfolio or only having a small number of referral partners for deal flow.

External opportunities can come from accelerating population growth and development in your target market, new zoning favorable to multifamily housing, or record-low mortgage interest rates. Threats could be rising material prices that hurt your flip margins, laws imposing restrictions on non-primary residence owners, or an oversupply of new luxury rentals, allowing tenants to be choosy.

The SWOT analysis highlights strengths to double down on and risks to mitigate in the real estate market.

5. Financial projections

The financial plan helps for both internal preparation and attracting investors. For real estate companies, the financial plan section should cover:

• Startup costs : Include the expected startup costs involved to start your investment project, such as getting licenses and permits or paying for legal fees.
• Profit and loss forecasts : Create projected profit and loss statements that outline what you think your revenues and expenses will be over the next 3-5 years.
• Cash flow projections : Put together projected cash flow statements that show expected cash flow for each month.
• Return on investment projections : Project your company's expected ROI over time under the different investment scenarios.
• Funding requirements : Based on your forecasts, detail exactly how much capital you will need to start and operate your business until it is profitable. Specify whether you plan to use debt or equity financing.

6. Investment strategy

The investment strategy outlines your niche — will you focus on flipping, buying rentals, commercial properties, or a blend? Define any geographic targets like certain cities or zip codes backed by your research on growth potential.

Specify your criteria for ideal investment properties based on your goals. Decide which factors — age, size, layout, condition, or price point — matter most to you.

You can also use this section to explain how you plan to find deals, whether that's by scouting listed properties, attending foreclosure auctions, or networking to create off-market opportunities.

Clearly conveying your approach allows lenders and potential private investors to grasp your niche, planned pursuits, and process for finding deals. Having a strong strategy that summarizes how you locate, evaluate and capture deals matching your investing thesis can increase lender and private investor confidence in your ability to execute.

7. Marketing plan

Real estate marketing can’t just be an afterthought; it helps attract profitable deals, financing, and tenants to your business, making it a necessary component of your business plan to prioritize.

Components of your marketing plan can include:

• Networking: Actively networking at local real estate meetups puts you directly in front of promising off-market opportunities and partnerships with motivated sellers, lenders and contractors in your community.
• Social media: Consistently nurturing your social media presence can also pay off to help you find opportunities or potential investors.
• Direct marketing: Never underestimate old school direct marketing — sending postcards to addresses with outdated “We Buy Houses” signs or calling the For Sale by Owners numbers from public listings can help you reach motivated sellers.
• Listings management: Note that marketing does not end once you own property. To keep rental vacancies filled, leverage listing sites that can publish your units to a wide audience of prospective tenants.

8. Operations plan

Without systems, real estate investors struggle through renovations plagued by cost overruns, shoddy contractors who never call back, and frustrating tenants who always pay late . The operations component of your plan should consider aspects like:

• Renovations: Ever lined up a contractor who juggles too many clients and leaves your projects languishing? Create standardized processes for accurate scoping, vetting subs, enforcing deadlines contractually, and maintaining contingency funds.
• Business technologies: As your portfolio grows, tasks like tracking income, expenses , assets, and communicating with tenants can quickly overwhelm. Identify technologies early on that help centralize details to avoid getting swamped. Look into property management platforms that automate listings, tenant screening , digitized lease agreements, maintenance work order flows, and communications.
• Insurance: Tenants or contractors can sometimes damage assets. Discuss landlord insurance policies to protect you against lawsuits, natural disasters, and major property repairs as you scale up.

9. Team structure

If you plan to grow your team beyond just yourself or a few partners, your business plan should outline your organization's key roles and responsibilities. This helps you consider what positions you may need to fill as your company scales.

• Partners or co-founders: These are the main decision-makers and equity holders. Outline their background, skills, and the value they bring.
• Property manager: This person handles day-to-day management of properties, tenants and maintenance issues.
• Bookkeeper: You may need daily help managing bank accounts, invoices, taxes, and financial reporting.
• Contractors and project managers : You'll need trusted renovations, repairs, and landscaping contractors. Dedicated project managers help oversee large jobs.
• Leasing agents : As you grow and add more properties, leasing agents handle showings, applications, and signing new tenants.
• Real estate attorneys : Real estate investing requires proper legal filings and compliance. Attorneys can help you manage this risk.

10. Exit strategies

Every wise investor plans their exit strategy upfront before acquiring a property. Will you aim to flip the asset quickly or retain it as a rental long-term? What factors determine ideal timing and the right profit margin for you to walk away?

Build flexibility into your strategy, as markets move in unpredictable ways. Especially with flips, have contingency plans if your listing gets lowballs or no offers. Be willing to rent short-term, refinance and hold if possible, convert to condos, or just patiently wait until the market changes. Having reserves and backup options allows you to avoid a distress sale.

Also include plans for strategies after a property sale, like a 1031 exchange to defer capital gains taxes and reinvest in another property. You may want to use sale proceeds to reduce or clear outstanding debts, enhancing cash flow and financial standing.

Tips for your real estate business plan 

Now that you know what to include, consider the following four tips to help your real estate investment business plan stand out.

1. Be detailed and specific

Resist the urge to gloss over details as you put together your plan. Drill down on the specifics for parameters like:

• Target purchase and rehab costs.
• Timelines for completing projects.
• Minimum profit margins.
• Maximum allowable vacancy rates .
• Minimum cash reserves.

2. Refine and update regularly

Markets change, so don't create your business plan and file it away. Review your plan regularly to see how market conditions and your actual results compare to projections.

Make adjustments as needed. Tweak your approach if your rehabs are going over budget or your properties aren't selling as quickly as expected.

Aim to update your full plan annually at a minimum. Even if your overall strategy remains consistent, refresh the details around market factors, financials, tactics, risks, and projections.

3. Seek expert feedback

Before implementing your new real estate investment business plan, seek feedback from advisors who can identify potential issues or weaknesses.

Ask experienced real estate investors in your area to review your plan and provide constructive input. It's also a good idea to share your plan and numbers with your CPA and legal counsel as well.

4. Keep it simple

While specificity is good, don't over complicate your business plan to the point where it becomes difficult to follow. You want to inform readers without confusing them.

The goal is for stakeholders, such as co-investors, lenders, and partners, to easily digest your plan and understand it after a quick skim. Make it easy for readers to grasp your reasons behind focusing on a given area or project type based on market conditions and opportunity.

A property investment business plan fit to your goals

After finally finishing your business plan, you’re probably eager to dive into tangible investments rather than tweaking spreadsheets. But in the real estate industry, even experienced investors periodically step back and update strategies.

Approach your business plan as a living document that evolves as the market shifts, as you create new partnerships, or when you need to make changes in strategy. Set reminders to revisit quarterly and confirm your activities of today still align with the vision from day one.

Solid planning is proven to improve outcomes in dynamic industries like real estate investing. Though preparation isn’t glamorous, it pays dividends. Thoughtfully constructing your playbook puts the odds of executing successfully in your favor.

With a solid blueprint backed by your research, you’re now ready to capture the best real estate investment opportunities.

Business plan real estate investor FAQs

How do i stay flexible and adapt my business plan to changes in the market.

To stay flexible, review your real estate investing business plan regularly and update it based on changes in market conditions, trends, and opportunities. If things change in the market, find ways to adapt your strategy. This can include your goals, target market, financing, and even your exit plans.

How do I know if my real estate investing business plan is effective?

You'll know your business plan is effective if you're meeting the key objectives and metrics you outlined. Let's say your plan called for you to purchase a certain number of properties and achieve a specific cash flow or rate of return. If you're falling short, you can use the plan to course-correct.

Are there any specific software or tools for creating a real estate investing business plan?

Azibo is a helpful software tool for creating real estate investing business plans. This comprehensive platform has templates and tools to build out key sections of your plan. Its robust accounting and financial capabilities help construct accurate statements and projections.

Incorporating Azibo's online rent collection allows you to model cash flows. By centralizing lease documents , accounting, and portfolio management, Azibo streamlines the process of putting together a strategically sound real estate business plan.

Important Note: This post is for informational and educational purposes only. It should not be taken as legal, accounting, or tax advice, nor should it be used as a substitute for such services. Always consult your own legal, accounting, or tax counsel before taking any action based on this information.

Nichole co-founded Gateway Private Equity Group, with a history of investments in single-family and multi-family properties, and now a specialization in hotel real estate investments. She is also the creator of NicsGuide.com, a blog dedicated to real estate investing.

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How to Write a Business Plan for Investors?

• June 17, 2024

Need to secure funds for kick starting or growing your business venture?

You’ll require a well-detailed business plan before approaching your investors.

But here’s the thing: Investors go through hundreds and thousands of plans every day. If yours doesn’t capture their attention in one go, you’ll lose the opportunity to win that investor.

To avoid this nightmare, prepare a business plan that checklists everything an investor seeks in a plan.

Wondering how? Read this blog post and learn how to prepare a business plan for investors . Also, understand why investors require a business plan and what they’re looking for.

Ready to dive in? Let’s get started.

Why do investors need a business plan?

While considering an investment opportunity, investors are looking for something other than a fancy business idea.

They’re looking to invest in a business opportunity that demonstrates a clear understanding of the target market and the competition. A business with clearly defined objectives, business strategies, and financials. A business that can prove its viability and financial sustainability in the long run.

That’s everything a business plan does by outlining these aspects in great detail. It answers all the questions an investor might have while considering your funding request, thereby helping them make an informed choice.

What do investors look for in a business plan?

Investors don’t expect a perfect plan. They are mainly interested to see if you have tested the business’s viability, have set goals, and can operate it successfully.

So stop striving for perfection. Simply ensure that a business plan touches on the following key aspects:

Product market fit

Investors want to see if you’re solving a viable problem and if there’s a sizable market of people who want to purchase your products. You can prove this through market share assumptions, competitors and target market analysis, beta testing, as well as traction.

Business vision and milestones

Investors want to know what you aim to achieve with your company through a clear mission and vision statement. They would like insight into the company’s long-term and short-term goals and any milestones you have achieved to date.

People in your organization

An investor wants to know the people who would execute your business idea. They would pay extra attention to this section evaluating the strengths, gaps, and weaknesses in your current team.

Funding demand

A business plan should offer a clear understanding of your funding requirements and offer answers about Return on Investment (ROI). Not only that, you need to justify the funding demands and explain your plans to utilize that funding.

These are the most important things an investor will require an answer to. With that said, let’s understand how to structure such information in your business plan.

How to write a business plan for investors?

An investor plan can be as long as 15-20 pages or as short as 1-2 pages (lean plan). Regardless, here are the key components that your business plan should have.

1. Executive summary

This section offers a quick overview of your entire business plan. Most entrepreneurs use it as a standalone document to offer investors a quick rundown of their business idea.

A well-crafted summary summarizes the key elements of a business plan such as the mission statement, products and services, market opportunity, marketing strategy, and financials in a line or two, individually.

You can even draft an executive summary that weaves all this information together into an engaging narrative. However, focus on brevity and remove all the fluff to make this section informative for investors.

2. Opportunity

The opportunity section of your business plan will define the problem you are solving and the solution you have to offer. It introduces your products and services as well as highlights their key features and Unique Selling Propositions (USPs).

In this section, you’ll prove that your company is chasing a viable problem and you have a segment of customers willing to pay for your products and services.

3. Industry and market analysis

Investors require a section on market research and analysis to see if you thoroughly understand the market you’re entering.

This section talks about the size of your industry and the market share you can capture. It outlines the emerging trends within your industry and also highlights the potential challenges you may face.

Investors also need a clear overview of your target customers. Building clear buyer personas or customer profiles at this stage can help them understand your audience better. Moreover, you can use these details to craft your business strategy and product offerings.

4. Competitors overview

Don’t shy away from talking about your competition and competitive advantage.

In this section, introduce your top competitors and conduct a SWOT analysis to identify their strengths and weaknesses.

Compare your competitors based on products, market share, target audience, revenue generation, location, and other related factors. Draw your competitive advantage and show how despite the competition your business can manage to thrive.

5. Revenue model

An investor absolutely needs an answer to how your business will make money. In your one-page business plan, you will quickly outline your revenue sources and your pricing strategies.

Explain how the chosen revenue model is fit for your business and include any additional models you plan to add in the future. Also, compare your pricing to the competitors and justify how charging less or more will be beneficial for your business.

6. Milestones and traction

Investors need to know that your business is more than just an idea. You need to prove its viability, and traction is the best way to do so.

Traction could be anything from a minimum viable product (MVP) to intellectual properties, such as early acquired customers, generated revenue, press mentions, testimonials, acquired key partnerships, or supplier contracts.

Pay extra focus to this section when you write your business plan for investors. It will instill investors’ confidence in your ability to turn ideas into a reality and build a successful business.

7. Team overview

This is your chance to introduce your team and prove how they’re the best fit for your business.

To write this section, introduce the members with a brief bio. The description should offer an overview of their professional experience, skills, and achievements along with the position they take at your company.

Moreover, don’t forget to define the organizational hierarchy as well as highlight if there are any gaps in your team and how you plan to overcome those.

8. Marketing and sales plan

Detail your strategies to acquire and retain the clients in this section.

Outline the marketing efforts you’ll make to reach your target market. This includes an overview of the marketing channels you’ll use, a marketing plan for each channel, your budget, and the metrics to track your marketing efforts.

Investors don’t expect a fool-proof line down of strategies. They just need a realistic overview of strategies that can bring you sales.

9. Company operations

This is your chance to prove that you have the means and capabilities to execute your business idea.

Define your business processes, establish SOPs, outline your hiring plan, detail your quality control processes, and list down all the equipment, technology, and resources you’ll require.

10. Financials

A brilliant business idea needs convincing financials to persuade the investors’ interest in an investment opportunity.

Investors expect a well-detailed financial plan that includes three quintessential financial statements, i.e. cash flow statement, income statement, and balance sheet.

These statements help them assess the financial health of a business as well as calculate essential future growth, profitability, and break-even ratios.

Make sure that you add the future projections for at least 3-5 years and include realistic justification for your assumptions.

11. Funding demand

Lastly, but most importantly, investors want a clear understanding of how much funding you require and your plan to utilize the same in different business activities.

Clarify what an investor will gain by investing in your business. Also, outline your repayment plan and your exit strategy.

12. Appendix

Investors might need additional documents that support the information in your plan.

Here are a few things you can include in your appendix:

• Intellectual proofs
• Registration and licensing permits
• Product pictures
• Detailed financial statements
• Raw market research
• Competitors research

Although optional, this section is quite useful in offering investors key details and proof related to your organization.

And that’s everything you need to include in your business plan for investors.

Prepare your investors’ plan with Upmetrics

A convincing business plan wins over the investors’ trust in your business and secures you the funding essential to get started.

However, despite the basic understanding, writing a crisp plan that covers all the essential information and makes a professional display takes a lot of work.

What if there was an easier way?

With the Upmetrics , you can create business plans in less than 10 minutes. All you need to do is answer some basic questions and its AI business plan generator will develop investor-ready plans from scratch in no time.

Build your Business Plan Faster

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Frequently Asked Questions

What are investors looking for in a business plan.

An investor looks for a business plan that offers insight into the business vision, mission, product market fit, and management team while clarifying the funding demand.

An overview of competitors and market analysis, business strategies, and your target user are additional details that investors would love to see.

How can I make my business plan stand out to investors?

To make your business plan stand out, ensure that you cover the key elements of your plan and present it in a structured and organized manner. Make your plan concise and crisp, free of non-inessential information.

Additionally demonstrate a strong understanding of the target market, competitors, product, and your business financials to win over the investors’ trust.

Should I seek professional help when creating a business plan for investors?

Yes, if you don’t have any experience in writing a business plan. The professional help can be in the form of plan writing service providers or business planning tools like Upmetrics . Generally, it’s much more affordable and reliable to use business planning software than hiring an agency or a human writer.

Can I use a template for my business plan for investors?

Yes, absolutely. A business plan template offers structure to write a cohesively flowing business plan. Instead of preparing your plan from scratch, a template makes the task much easier. All you have to do is fill in the blanks with the information you have already collected.

About the Author

Upmetrics Team

Upmetrics is the #1 business planning software that helps entrepreneurs and business owners create investment-ready business plans using AI. We regularly share business planning insights on our blog. Check out the Upmetrics blog for such interesting reads. Read more

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Investor business plans approach planning from the eyes of potential investors. These plans emphasize the expected return on investment (ROI), the strength of company leadership, the viability of the company’s concept and product or service offerings, and the expected use of funding. These plans prioritize easy access to information and get straight to the point. Here are some quick facts about investor business plans.

Investor Business Plans are Ideal For

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What Our Investor Business Plan Includes:

Executive summary, marketing strategy, competitive advantages, management & personnel, investment analysis, product & service description, company overview, use of funds, swot analysis, barriers to entry, branding & marketing, pro-forma financials, venture capital business plan for investors.

Venture capital investment firms provide funds to startups with an eye toward the future and get a return on their investment by owning equity in the company being funded.

Venture capitalists are often interested in innovative technologies that have the potential to generate high rates of return at an early stage. A VC business plan will showcase the expected return on investment and the ways your company stands out for a long term.

Pro Tip: Here is a step by step guide on 5 best places to find venture capitalist .

Angel Investor Business Plans

What is an angel investor? Angel investors are usually successful entrepreneurs or wealthy business people who are willing to invest in a good business opportunity. 

Angel investors have a more involved relationship with the companies they invest in, and they typically look to guide an entrepreneur who is building a company in a field the investor is familiar with.

An angel investor is likely to expect more personal interaction with your company leaders and may wish to develop something of a mentorship relationship with them. A business plan intended to create that kind of relationship with an angel investor will emphasize the company’s leadership and their connection to the industry

Private Investors Business Plan

How to find private investors business plan? Private investors are often found within a business owner’s personal creates a tautology circle of influence and can be anyone from family and friends to professional investors and speculators. 

Treating these important business partners with the same level of respect and professionalism that you offer an outside investor is a just good business, and providing a business plan that shows exactly how their funds will be used, and what their return could be, can help create a solid working relationship, even with family and friends.

Regardless of the kind of investor, you hope to approach, asking someone to offer money in support of your vision is a big request. From high-profile investors to family members offering their savings to help you reach your dream, every potential investor deserves to understand the opportunities and risks involved with your company.

The Investor Business Plan offers potential investors an easy-to-follow and concise look at your company. The finished plan is typically about ~35-40 pages in length, including color charts and graphs, and consists of the following components:

Every plan includes our suite of professional services

You’ll receive a document written in Microsoft Word, financials custom-built in Microsoft Excel, and a finished plan laid out in professional graphic programs by skilled designers.

Pitch Deck (Optional)

A Wise Business Pitch Deck helps direct investor attention to the points you most want to emphasize while offering a condensed pitch your presentation to potential funding sources. Each concise, visually appealing M&A Business Plan presentation for investors is carefully written and designed to support your investor business plan perfectly.

Investor Business Plan Audience

Investor plans are perfect for those seeking any kind of investment, from working with venture capitalists or angel investors to approaching friends and family. These plans make a clean, professional impression and base their appeal on hard facts, accurate numbers, and in-depth research and financials.

How to Get Funding for a Small Business

A lot of different kinds of decisions go into identifying and securing small business funding . Having the right kind of Investor business plan is one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of getting funded. 

A Wise custom-crafted Investor Business Plan is tailor-made to showcase your vision. If you’re looking to raise capital through equity funding from venture capitalists (VCs), angel investors, or private investors, the Investor Business Plan from wise business plans is the right choice for you.

How to Write a Winning Business Plan for Investors

When most people begin the process of starting their own business , finding funds to make the dream a reality is one of the biggest things they’ll face.

A lot of different kinds of decisions go into identifying and securing small business funding or applying for a small business loan. Having the right kind of business plan for investors in your business model is one of the best things you can do to increase your chances of getting funded.

A Wise custom-crafted Investor Business Plan written to showcase your long-term concept, and if you’re looking to raise capital through equity funding from venture capitalists (VCs), angel investors, or private investors,  You can hire wise business plans for writing a winning investor business plan. Why ? Because we are professionals who are providing investor business plan writing services in the USA.

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1. Why is utilizing an example business plan a good idea?

Sample business plans can help you quickly and easily write a business plan for your own business. Business plans are an important tool for any business, but they can be challenging to create. A sample business plan will help you understand the business plan format , the benefit of market research, and how to write a compelling executive summary. It can also serve as a guide for creating your own business plan, outlining the key sections and providing examples of successful plans. Utilizing the best business plan template can save you time and ensure that your plan is well-structured and comprehensive.

Business plan examples may even help you with the different sections of a plan, including market analysis, business description, cash flow statements/business financial statements, and more. Business plans can also show you how a quality plan in your exact business plan category is organized and shows you the appropriate business communications style to use when writing your business plan.

2. Who would benefit from using an example business plan?

Any entrepreneur or business owner who has never written a business plan before can benefit from an example or sample plan. New business owners often start with business plan templates , which are helpful but are sometimes more useful after reviewing other sample business plans.

A good sample plan can be a step-by-step guide as you work on your business planning and business idea. Once you have a sense for the flow, specs, and details, etc. that business plans have, utilizing a business plan template will help you pull everything together, helping you create a plan investors and other stakeholders will value. A solid business plan will also help you if you need a bank loan, which may require a startup business plan. Download our free business plan template to help you get started on your own business plan.

Free Download : Free Business Plan Template PDF

3. How do you get started with a sample business plan and maximize its benefit?

First you should read the business plan thoroughly. Study both the type of information provided in key sections like the executive summary, target market analysis, summary, etc., as well as the format and style of the plan. As you read, you may find yourself thinking through things such as improving or evaluating your business planning process, your business idea, or reconsidering who you want to write your business plan for. This is OK and part of the process. In fact, when you start writing a business plan for the first time, it will be much easier because you’ve gone through this process.

After this initial read, outline your business plan and copy in from the sample plan sections that apply to your business. For instance, if the sample plan included public relations in their marketing strategy and sales plan, and you will also use this tactic, you can copy it into your plan and edit it as appropriate. Finally, answer the other questions answered in the sample plan in ways that reflect your unique business and target customers.

Writing a business plan can seem daunting. Starting your business plan writing process by reviewing a plan that’s already been created can remove a lot of mental and emotional barriers while helping you craft the best plan you can.

4. When should you not use a sample business plan?

If your business is unlike any other, using a sample business plan will not be as effective. In this situation, writing a business plan from scratch utilizing a business plan template is probably your best path forward.

As an example, Facebook’s early business plan was unlike others since it was paving a new path and way of doing business. But, groundbreaking new businesses like Facebook are not the norm, and the vast majority of companies will benefit from utilizing sample business plans.

5. How do you choose the right type of business plan for your venture?

Selecting the appropriate type of business plan depends on your business’s stage, needs, and goals. Let’s explore the different types of business plans and how to determine which business plan format is right for you.

• Startup Business Plan : This type of plan is for businesses just starting out and seeking funding or investment. It typically includes a detailed analysis of the market, target audience, competition, and financial projections.
• Traditional Business Plan : Traditional business plans are the most common type of business plan, used by established businesses to outline their goals and strategies. It includes all the key sections such as market analysis, company description, and financial statements.
• Internal Business Plan : Internal business plans are used for internal purposes, to guide the day-to-day operations and decision making of the business. It may not be as detailed as a traditional business plan, but still includes important information such as company mission, objectives, and key performance indicators.
• Feasibility Business Plan : A feasibility business plan is used to assess the viability of a new product or service in the market. It includes detailed research and analysis to determine if the business idea is feasible and profitable.
• One-Page Business Plan : As the name suggests, this type of business plan is condensed into one page and includes the most critical information about the business. It can be a useful tool for pitching to potential investors or partners.
• Strategic Business Plan : A strategic plan looks at the big picture and long-term business goals of a company. It may include the company’s mission statement, core values, and overarching strategies for achieving success.

Ultimately, the type of business plan you choose will depend on your business’s specific needs and goals. It may also be beneficial to combine elements from different types of plans to create a customized plan that best fits your business. Carefully consider your objectives and resources before deciding on the right type of plan for your venture.

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The business plan example below is for Shoutmouth, a company that enjoyed much success in the early 2000’s and which was able to raise funding. While the plan’s premise (social networking) is not as unique now as it was then, the format and structure of this business plan still holds.

I. Executive Summary

Business Overview

Launched in late February 2007, Shoutmouth.com is the most comprehensive music news website on the Internet .

Music is one of the most searched and accessed interests on the Internet. Top music artists like Akon receive over 3 million searches each month. In addition, over 500 music artists each receive over 25,000 searches a month.

However, music fans are largely unsatisfied when it comes to the news and information they seek on the artists they love. This is because most music websites (e.g., RollingStone.com, MTV.com, Billboard.com, etc.) cover only the top eight to ten music stories each day – the stories with mass appeal. This type of generic coverage does not satisfy the needs of serious music fans. Music fans generally listen to many different artists and genres of music. By publishing over 100 music stories each day, Shoutmouth enables these fans to read news on all their favorite artists.

In addition to publishing comprehensive music news on over 1200 music artists, Shoutmouth is a social network that allows fans to meet and communicate with other fans about music, and allows them to:

• Create personal profiles
• Interact with other members
• Provide comments on news stories and music videos
• Submit news stories and videos
• Recommend new music artists to add to the community
• Receive customized news and email alerts on their favorite artists

Success Factors

Shoutmouth is uniquely qualified to succeed due to the following reasons:

• Entrepreneurial track record : Shoutmouth’s CEO and team have helped launch numerous successful ventures.
• Affiliate marketing track record : Online affiliate marketing expertise has been cited as one of MySpace’s key success factors. Over the past two years, Shoutmouth’s founders have run one of the most successful online affiliate marketing programs, having sold products to over 500,000 music customers online.
• Key milestones completed : Shoutmouth’s founders have invested $500,000 to-date to staff the company (we currently have an 11-person full-time team), build the core technology, and launch the site. We have succeeded in gaining initial customer traction with 50,000 unique visitors in March, 100,000 unique visitors in April, and 200,000 unique visitors in May 2007.

Unique Investment Metrics

The Shoutmouth investment opportunity is very exciting due to the metrics of the business.

To begin, over the past two years, over twenty social networks have been acquired. The value in these networks is their relationships with large numbers of customers, which allow acquirers to effectively sell to this audience.

The sales price of these social networks has ranged from $25 to $137 per member. Shoutmouth has the ability to enroll members at less than $1 each, thus providing an extraordinary return on marketing expenditures. In fact, during an April 2007 test, we were able to sign-up 2,000 members to artist-specific Shoutmouth newsletters at a cost of only 43 cents per member.

While we are building Shoutmouth to last, potential acquirers include many types of companies that seek relationships with music fans such as music media/publishing (e.g., MTV, Rolling Stone), ticketing (e.g., Ticketmaster, LiveNation) and digital music sales firms (e.g., iTunes, The Orchard).

Financial Strategy, Needs and Exit Strategy

While Shoutmouth’s technological, marketing and operational infrastructure has been developed, we currently require $3 million to execute on our marketing and technology plan over the next 24 months until we hit profitability.

Shoutmouth will primarily generate revenues from selling advertising space. As technologies evolve that allow us to seamlessly integrate music sampling and purchasing on our site, sales of downloadable music are also expected to become a significant revenue source. To a lesser extent, we may sell other music-related items such as ringtones, concert tickets, and apparel.

Topline projections over the next three years are as follows:

II. Shoutmouth Overview

What is Shoutmouth?

Shoutmouth is an operating company of The Kisco Group Inc. (TKG). Since 2003, TKG has capitalized on web-based marketing opportunities via launching targeted websites and generating web-based leads. TKG revenues in 2005 exceeded $1.3 million and grew to $3.5 million in 2006. Shoutmouth is currently the sole focus of TKG; all other TKG business units have been divested.

Development of Shoutmouth began in August 2006 and the site officially launched on February 21, 2007. Shoutmouth (located at www.shoutmouth.com) is the most comprehensive music news community on the Internet. The website covers 1,200 popular bands and music artists and offers more than 100 new music articles each day. In addition to providing news, Shoutmouth is a web community. That is, Shoutmouth members can actively participate on the site, by doing things such as commenting on news stories and submitting their own stories.

The Market Size and Need for Shoutmouth

The music market is clearly vast. According to IFPI, which represents the recording industry worldwide, global music sales were $33.5 billion in 2005, with the U.S. accounting for $12.3 billion of that amount. Importantly, digitally music sales are seeing substantial growth, with IFPI reporting sales of $400 million in 2004, $1.1 billion in 2005 and $2 billion in 2006.

Online, music is the one of the most frequently searched and accessed interests. For example, according to Wordtracker, the music artist Eminem received over 1.7 million web searches in December 2006, while band Green Day received 534,000 searches.

To put these figures in perspective, top celebrities in other entertainment fields receive but a fraction of this search volume. For example, December 2006 search volumes for select sports stars and actors were as follows: Kobe Bryant, 122K; Tiger Woods, 88K; Cameron Diaz, 332K; and Tom Cruise, 82K.

Conversely, 225 music artists received over 100,000 searches in December 2006, and over 500 music artists received over 25,000 searches.

This data is corroborated by Nielsen BuzzMetrics which plots the most popular topics bloggers are posting about. The chart to the right plots September 25, 2006 to March 25, 2007 and shows how music dominates other entertainment sectors online.

When searching for music artists online, fans, which are primarily between the ages of 13 and 35, are looking for news, pictures, lyrics, videos and audio files. In addition, fans enjoy publicly voicing their opinions about music and interacting with other fans.

There is currently no website besides Shoutmouth that provides comprehensive music news. Currently, to get the latest news on their favorite artists, fans must visit the official websites or fan websites of each of the artists they like . Even then, it is unlikely that the fan will get all the news that has occurred. To solve this problem, Shoutmouth scours the web and uncovers news from thousands of web sites.

What Shoutmouth Does and Will Offer

As of May 2007, the site covers the 1,200 most popular music artists (popularity primarily based on the number of web searches over the past 12 months for each artist).

Shoutmouth currently offers members the ability to:

• Read over 500 new music articles each week
• Read special features such as album reviews, interviews, new album release dates, top quotes of the week and other special reports
• Watch and rate music videos
• Listen to select music audio clips
• Comment on news stories and music videos
• Submit news stories that they see/hear of elsewhere
• Suggest new music artists to add to the site
• View articles by music artist or by genre (current genres include Rock, Pop, Rap, R&B, Country, and Electronic)
• Create a user profile that includes their favorite music artists, Shoutmouth friends, news stories submitted to Shoutmouth, and comments made. Members have the ability to find other members based on their favorite artists and via our search functions.
• Receive customized news and email alerts. Members can customize their “My News” page to include only artists they specify. Likewise, they can choose to receive email alerts whenever there is a new story on one of their favorite artists.

While establishing itself as the premier music news community, Shoutmouth will embark on the more aggressive goal of becoming the premier music community online . To accomplish this, Shoutmouth will begin to offer additional content (more videos, audio, pictures, lyrics, etc.) and additional functionality (music compatibility testing (e.g., if you like this, you’ll like this), voting capabilities, member-to-member messaging, etc.). We have already begun mapping out our content and technology growths plans to achieve this goal upon financing.

Importantly, Shoutmouth expects to be able to add massive amounts of relevant content (e.g., lyrics, reviews, pictures, video files, audio files, etc.) via member submissions and moderation. This is the same way that YouTube has been able to quickly add millions of videos and Wikipedia has been able to add millions of articles. Importantly, since established music websites (e.g., MTV, RollingStone.com, Billboard.com, etc.) are not community based, they would have to hire thousands of staff members to rival the content that Shoutmouth will have.

How We Get and Publish Our News

Currently, news stories that appear on Shoutmouth are gathered from numerous online sources. Shoutmouth’s staff writers find these stories by using RSS and News feeds that cover thousands of websites. In addition, Shoutmouth community members have the ability to submit stories they find elsewhere.

Typical stories include factual information plus the insight of the author. Shoutmouth editors ensure that all stories are properly classified by artist and genre, and that duplicate articles are filtered out.

Over the past three months, Shoutmouth has developed a solid infrastructure, which we consider a core competitive advantage, that that allows us to provide comprehensive music news . This infrastructure includes:

• Setting up hundreds of RSS feeds based on comprehensive research regarding sites from which to receive feeds
• Training our editorial team regarding identifying a story and weeding out duplicates
• Assigning music artists among our five-person editorial team to better manage work flow and avoid duplicate articles

We are working on a system to ensure that member-submitted articles are automatically routed to the appropriate member of Shoutmouth’s editorial team to improve our efficiencies further.

Shoutmouth’s Goal to Break News First

The majority (approximately 90%) of Shoutmouth’s articles are currently developed by our in-house editorial team, while the balance is submitted by members. In addition, virtually all of our articles are based on information gleaned from other websites. As such, we are generally not the first to publish news; however we are the first and only site to publish all the news in one easily-accessible place. The one current exception is news which is published on bands’ official MySpace pages; Shoutmouth generally publishes articles on this news 24 to 48 hours before it is reported by other news or music sites (due to our efficiencies in finding news).

Shoutmouth realizes that it will gain a key competitive advantage, and will generate significant market buzz, if it is able to report on music news stories before other media sources . To accomplish this, we have begun contacting publicity departments at record labels to gain direct access to music news. We expect these contacts to enable us to gain immediate and sometimes exclusive access to news which will help further establish Shoutmouth as the canonical source for music news. We also plan to more aggressively solicit member submissions of new, buzzworthy news events and will consider offering rewards for unique substantiated news (much the way paparazzi are compensated).

III. Competition in the Online Music Market

This section of the business plan provides a competitive analysis, which is an overview of the competitive landscape, discusses both indirect and direct competitors and then details Shoutmouth’s competitive advantages.

Because consumer demand for music on the Internet is so great, there are a vast number of music websites. In summary, we consider most sectors of the online music market (which are discussed below) to be indirect competitors and potentially partners, rather than direct competitors, because none of them focus on music news.

The reason we believe that no one focuses on music news is that it is very difficult to do. Because news is very important to music fans, most music websites offer news. However, they primarily get their news from organizations such as CNN, Reuters, the Associated Press and BBC. These large organizations only write about the music stories that have mass appeal, which traditionally amounts to 8-10 music news stories per day. However, since music fans are often zealots when it comes to their favorite artists, they are not merely interested in cover stories. For instance, a U2 fan cares about any U2 news, particularly news that a non-U2 fan might consider insignificant.

In fact, because Shoutmouth is the sole one-stop shop for getting comprehensive music news, there might be an opportunity to license our content to other music websites.

Sectors of the Online Music Market

Shoutmouth specifically comPs in the community-based music news market. While players in this market represent direct competitors, Shoutmouth faces indirect competitors in the following markets:

• Community-Based Sites
• Community-Based News Sites
• Community-Based Music Sites
• Traditional Music Websites
• Official Artist and Fan Sites

Each of these markets is described below.

A. Community-Based Sites

Community-based sites, also known as social networking sites, are websites in which members can create profiles, leave comments throughout the site, and communicate with other members among other features.

A June 2006 report by Piper Jaffray entitled “Silk Road: Social Networking is Here to Stay” effectively sums up the power and longevity of social networking:

“We believe social networking sites have become a permanent part of the fabric of web applications and are rapidly becoming one of the most popular activities online, potentially impacting how other popular services such as email, IM, and maybe even search are accessed.

As a clear indication of the growth rate and scale of social networking, consider this: MySpace monthly page views have now surpassed MSN or AOL in the U.S. and are nearly 75% of the size of Yahoo!. Social networking has filled a gap that was left by all the existing portals and web services and it is fulfilling a very important and basic function for millions of users: allowing them to express themselves and connect with their friends, with the two functions tightly integrated.

The leading sites such as MySpace (News Corp), Facebook, and others are amassing significant power in the new landscape of the Internet and the existing Internet companies are likely to have to work with these newcomers as they may yield material control on the flow of traffic to other applications.”

Social networking sites such as MySpace.com, Facebook.com, Tagged.com, and TagWorld.com have educated consumers regarding the value of these sites and how to use them. Their success has spurred genre-specific social networks such as community-based/social networking news sites and music sites, which are discussed below.

Shoutmouth doesn’t view established social networking sites as competitors since these sites have a general focus. That is, members talk about all aspects of life, from dating to music to movies, etc. Conversely, Shoutmouth is solely focused on music.

B. Community-Based News Sites

Community-based news sites are sites in which members decide what’s newsworthy and what’s not. For instance, on Digg.com, the most prominent community-based news site, members “Digg” stories that they feel are most newsworthy. The stories that the community feels are most important rise to Digg’s homepage, while less important stories get little attention.

Digg’s one million members can submit stories, “digg” stories, and comment on stories. Digg focuses on general news with a slant towards technology, gaming and unique/sensational news. While Digg does have a Music area within its Entertainment section, this receives little focus. In fact, at the time of the writing of this plan, Digg’s music home page only includes one article submitted within the past 48 hours. Furthermore, Digg doesn’t pare down the music category into sub-categories such as Rock and individual music artists. Conversely, these sub-categories are the entire focus of Shoutmouth.

Other sites that are similar to Digg include Newsvine.com, Spotback.com and Gabbr.com. Of most relevance is the Digg-like site for music, Noisetap.com, which was launched by Ticketmaster in January 2007.

Like Digg, Noisetap.com allows members to submit and vote for music stories. Noisetap.com is organized by music genre and not by music artist. This most likely will not satisfy the needs of many music fans since they don’t have the ability to find news on the specific artists they care most about. Likewise, without a full-time staff actively researching and publishing news stories at the artist-level, Noisetap.com will never be able to offer the comprehensive news that Shoutmouth does.

While Shoutmouth is currently similar to community-based news sites in that members can submit stories and comment on the news they find most interesting, no established player in the market provides a comprehensive focus on music. In addition, Shoutmouth sees these sites as marketing partners as we have and will continue to submit our stories on them to increase our readership.

C. Community-Based Music Sites

There are many community-based music websites, although none focuses on music news such as Shoutmouth. Conversely, these sites generally give members the ability to create and listen to song play lists. The community acts to help individual members find new music and new friends based on similarities in their music tastes. Prominent sites in this genre include Last.fm, Finetune, Pandora, RadioBlogClub, MyStrands, iLike[1] and iJigg.

Last.fm is the most prominent community-based music site and is a good model with which to compare Shoutmouth. Likewise, we will benchmark our performance against Last.fm as we reach of goal of becoming the premier music news community and focus on becoming the premier music community.

According to Alexa, Last.fm is the 359th most visited site on the Internet. While Last.fm focuses on allowing members to create customized Internet stations based on their music tastes, the site has much additional content and social networking features. For instance, for each artist, Last.fm includes pictures, a bio, concert dates, discography, fans on Last.fm, and similar artists. Fans are also able to create journals and communicate with other fans. Key features that Last.fm doesn’t currently focus on include news and video.

D. Traditional Music Websites

Traditional music websites such as MTV.com, RollingStone.com, Billboard.com, NME.com, AOL Music, and Yahoo! Music tend to have many features such as news, reviews, pictures, videos and audio. While these sites are generally very well done and extremely popular, they are under-serving visitors in two core areas: music news and community .

These sites’ lack of music news stems from the difficulty in creating this news, specifically that it requires filtering through thousands of articles and websites to find relevant stories. Likewise, as discussed, these firms might wish to license our news content in the future.

Regarding community , none of the top music sites are thriving communities. Rather, either these sites offer no community features or they recently began offering select features (e.g., submitting reviews or commenting on articles). Even when available, the community features on these sites are afterthoughts and are not engrained within the core fabric of the sites.

While they haven’t been able to transform their current sites into communities, top music websites clearly understand the power of online music communities and have an appetite for them. For example, in January 2007, MTV invested in social networking website TagWorld. MTV also acquired RateMyProfessors.com and Quizilla.com (teen social network) in January 2007 and October 2006 respectively.

As mentioned previously, our vision is to build and incorporate additional technologies, and use our “army” of members to publish vast amounts of music content on Shoutmouth, in order to fully satisfy music fans and leapfrog traditional music sites in terms of their music content.

E. Official Artist and Fan Sites

Shoutmouth com’s with official music artist websites and fan websites. These sites often include news about the specific artist as well as pictures, videos and other relevant information.

On one hand, official music artist and fan websites are direct competitors to Shoutmouth. This is because some of these sites offer comprehensive news on the specific artist they cover. In addition, many offer forums, discussion boards or other ways to communicate with other fans.

However, two factors separate Shoutmouth from these types of sites: 1) breadth and 2) sophistication.

• Breadth : Most music fans love more than one artist. As such, in order to get the news they want, they would have to visit/join multiple fan or artist websites rather than getting all of their news from Shoutmouth.
• Sophistication : While some official music artist websites are technologically sophisticated, offering forums, networking and other worthwhile features, the majority of artist and fan websites have limited usability, functionality and networking ability. In fact, this deficiency has lead to the success of MusicToday, which provides front and back-end technology to power artist websites.

Specifically, MusicToday offers web design and hosting, develops sophisticated online stores, builds online fan clubs and offers web ticketing among other services to select top music artists such as Dave Matthews Band, Christina Aguilera, Kenny Chesney, Britney Spears and Usher. While offering sophisticated tools for select music artist websites, MusicToday offers little to no music news nor advanced social networking functions. For instance, the official Dave Matthews Band website offers less than one news story per month.

F. Direct Competitors: Community-Based Music News Sites

Shoutmouth’s direct competitors are other music news websites that have social or community features that allow users to join the site, submit articles, comment on articles, create public profiles and/or communicate with other members. Shoutmouth has identified one significant player who offers this service, AbsolutePunk.net.

AbsolutePunk.net has done a good job of building a user base (the site claims 125,000+ registered members and nearly 500,000 un-registered members). In addition, the user base is very active — the average story on their site receives approximately 20 comments. AbsolutePunk.net offers music news, reviews, pictures and interviews among other features.

On the negative side, AbsolutePunk.net’s articles are generally posted by one staff writer (as opposed to Shoutmouth’s five writers), most articles are simply one sentence posts rather than full articles, and no attempt seems to have been made to cover all news stories. In addition, the site only covers the punk music genre. Although “punk” is broadly defined on the site, the site doesn’t cater to genres such as R&B, rap and country among others, failing to satisfy the broader market.

AbsolutePunk.net is owned by Indieclick, a Los Angeles-based media company. According to the AbsolutePunk.net website, the site:

• Has developed a loyal (72% return rate) reader base
• 5,182,147 Posts
• 163,535 Threads
• 126,448 Members
• 1,711 Artist Profiles
• 20,774 Multimedia Files
• Approx 76,000 visits per day.
• Approx 276,000 pageviews per day.

Shoutmouth’s Competitive Advantage

In addition to being the first to fill the untapped market void for comprehensive music news, Shoutmouth’s competitive advantage in the market primarily includes the following:

Online Marketing Sophistication

Content Development Experience and Expertise

Shoutmouth’s team, primarily team members DL and PF, has operated an affiliate marketing business focusing on music for the past four years. Affiliate marketing is defined as a system of revenue sharing between one site (the affiliate) which features an ad or content designed to drive traffic to another site (the merchant). The affiliate receives a fee based on traffic to the merchant which converts to sales.

Our affiliate business has focused on connecting music fans, primarily aged 13 to 30, with music offers such as iPods and ringtones. Over the past two years, we have successful sold affiliated offers to over 500,000 customers. We have become a significant online advertiser, receiving Google’s “over 1 million leads” award, and are recognized as a major player among the top affiliate networks.

It is important to note that affiliate marketing success has been credited with part of MySpace’s success. This is because effective affiliate marketers understand how to drive and convert on Internet traffic.

Shoutmouth will employ its affiliate marketing techniques to drive traffic to Shoutmouth.com and enroll members. We will utilize technologies and proprietary techniques that allow us to monitor multiple metrics such as the cost per visitor, cost per member sign-up, etc., so that we can set and maintain profitable metrics.

Another venture that Shoutmouth team members, primarily PK and DL, launched was the development of over 3,000 niche websites. To create the content for these websites, we employed a virtual work force of over 90 researchers in India and 30 writers and editors in the US.

This experience taught us how to manage a large workforce, train writers to improve content quality and motivate a large group of people. These skill sets will be critical in allowing Shoutmouth to grow the content of the site, as developed by both staff and members, while maintaining quality standards.

IV. Marketing Plan

Shoutmouth’s marketing plan includes the following:

Online Advertising : Shoutmouth will initiate pay-per-click advertising campaigns on Google and Yahoo! in order to inexpensively drive traffic to the site. Specifically, Shoutmouth believes it can drive qualified traffic to the site for 20 cents per visitor and achieve a 20% member conversion rate, thus generating members at a cost of $1.00 per member.

Keys to Shoutmouth’s success in achieving this metric include:

• Conducting thorough keyword research and advertising on appropriate keywords and keyword groups
• Creating advertising text that maximizes click through rates
• Creating landing pages that maximize conversions while maintaining the highest Google AdWords quality score possible
• Closely monitoring conversions to quickly stop and/or modify unprofitable campaigns
• Getting individuals to enter their email address to join the newsletter is much easier than getting them to join a site where they have to create a username, select a password, etc. As such, step one will be to get visitors to sign up for artist-specific newsletters.
• Once on the newsletter distribution list, members will constantly receive messages (embedded in their daily newsletter) regarding the benefits of participating more on Shoutmouth.
• Active Shoutmouth Membership: the constant reminders regarding Shoutmouth’s value proposition in the daily newsletters will influence members to participate more actively on the site (e.g., customize their profile, visit the site more often, etc.).

Invite-A-Friend : Shoutmouth is in the process of creating an aggressive invite-a-friend/member referral program. In doing so, we are following the lead of social movie community, Flixster, which grew to 5 million members within 10 months. It did this by encouraging members, during their initial registration process, to upload and send an invitation to multiple contacts in their email address books. The technology to develop this process is fairly complex and we expect to be completed with and to rollout this program in June 2007.

Direct Email Marketing : Shoutmouth will directly contact bloggers and prominent music fans we find online to tell them about Shoutmouth, encourage them to join, and encourage them to write about Shoutmouth on their blogs and online journals .

Creating/Distributing Buzzworthy/Viral Content : Shoutmouth plans to have several buzzworthy/viral articles (i.e., content that people would want to email to their friends since it is funny, interesting, etc.) on the site each day. With a single click, visitors will be able to send these articles to social bookmarking sites such as Digg.com or Fark.com, where these articles could receive widespread attention. In addition to our traditional news stories, Shoutmouth will also periodically create special reports/features in order to satisfy our members and visitors and to try to get widespread exposure.

An example of the power of such buzzworthy content, Shoutmouth has already succeeded in having two stories accepted by Fark and Digg, which have brought in over 50,000 unique visitors.

Super Fans/Street Team Development : Shoutmouth also plans to recruit “super fans.” Super fans are individuals who are passionate about a certain music artist/band and actively contribute articles and/or comments on Shoutmouth. We will recruit these fans, reward them with status (e.g., adding a gold Shoutmouth headphones image to their profile page) and encourage them to more aggressively promote the site by:

• Submitting more news to Shoutmouth
• Commenting on more articles on Shoutmouth
• Growing the Shoutmouth community around their favorite artist(s) by actively recruiting new members to join the site (such as actively posting Shoutmouth-related comments on their MySpace pages, on other music forums, etc.)

Public Relations : Upon financing, Shoutmouth will hire a public relations firm to help us get mentions in media sources ranging from magazines, newspapers, radio, television and blogs. To date, we have developed and issued press releases via Billboard Publicity Wire which have been syndicated throughout the web. An effective PR firm will enable Shoutmouth to quickly reach a wide audience.

Widgets : Shoutmouth will create artist-specific and genre-specific music news widgets. For example, our U2 widget (see example on right) would include all of the recent U2 articles published on Shoutmouth. The widget can easily be placed on MySpace pages, blogs, etc. Each story title in the widget links to the full article on Shoutmouth.

Shoutmouth has great expectations for our widget. To begin, no such widget currently exists as there is no one place to get comprehensive news for specific music artists. Secondly, each time someone places a Shoutmouth widget on their blog or social networking page, it will effectively market Shoutmouth to a wide audience at zero cost to us.

V. Technology/Site Development Plan

This section provides a brief roadmap of the initial and future functionality of Shoutmouth.

Initial Site Functionality

The initial Shoutmouth website will include the following features:

• Ability to submit and comment on news stories
• Ability to suggest new music artists to add to the site
• Ability to create user profiles
• Ability to receive customized news and email alerts
• Articles categorized by artist and core genre (e.g., Rock, Rap, Pop, etc.)
• Music artist sections which includes News, Bio and Fans

Future Site Functionality

Shoutmouth will use news and basic functionality as the platform though which we will build a thriving music community. After initial launch, the Shoutmouth technology team will work on incorporating additional features such as:

• Ability to message other members via the site (e.g., members will have an Inbox on the site)
• Event calendars: members will receive online calendars. With the click of a button, the member will be able to add tour dates of their favorite artists/bands to their calendar.
• Articles also categorized by sub-genre (e.g., Alternative Rock, West Coast Rap, etc.)
• Music artist sections to also include videos, audio files, photo galleries, reviews and event calendars to which members can upload files and vote on top content.
• Forums and member blogs
• Music compatibility testing (suggestions on song/artists members might like)
• Trivia quizzes
• Music playlists

VI. Financial Plan

Revenue Model

During the first six months, Shoutmouth will not generate any revenues as it will not sell advertising space nor offer products for sale. This decision has been made to spur the growth of the Shoutmouth community. By initially positioning Shoutmouth more as a non-profit, for-the-people-by-the-people venture, members will be more prone to promote the site and invite their friends than if the site looks too commercial.

Starting in September 2007, Shoutmouth will primarily generate revenues from selling advertising space. As technologies (such as the Snocap music widget) evolve that allow us to seamlessly integrate music sampling and purchasing on our site, sales of downloadable music are also expected to be a significant revenue source. To a lesser extent, we may sell other music-related items such as ringtones, concert tickets, and apparel.

Funding To Date

To date, Shoutmouth’s founders have invested $500,000 in Shoutmouth, with which we have accomplished the following:

• Built the site’s core technology
• Hired and trained our core staff (we currently maintain an 11-person full-time team)
• Populated the website with content (over 10,000 articles and 1,200 artist bios)
• Generated brand awareness among music fans, including driving 50,000 unique visitors in March, 100,000 unique visitors in April, and 200,000 unique visitors in May 2007.

Funding Requirements/Use of Funds

Shoutmouth is currently seeking $3 million to provide funding for the next 24 months. At this point, the site will be profitable and can grow organically, or additional capital may be sought to more aggressively expand our member base.

The capital will be used as follows:

• Execution of Marketing plan : in order for Shoutmouth to grow its visitor and member base, we need to invest dollars in online advertising and public relations. With regards to online advertising, we are confident that we can enroll members at a cost of $1 per member, which is a fraction of the value of the members to an acquirer (minimum $25 per member), thus providing a significant return on our marketing investments.
• Execution of Technology plan : in order to build a thriving community, Shoutmouth needs to offer its visitors a “stickier” website and enhanced features. We currently maintain a vast “wish list” of features, such as members uploading and rating pictures and videos, trivia quizzes, and member-to-member messaging, that will significantly improve the site’s functionality and value proposition.
• Staffing : In order to reach our goals, we will have to hire additional technical and operations personnel.

Financial Projections

Below is an overview of Shoutmouth’s Financial Projections for the next three years. Please see the Appendix for the full financial projections and key assumptions.

Exit Strategy / Valuation Metric

Shoutmouth’s most likely exit strategy is to be acquired by a traditional music website or property (e.g., Viacom/MTV, Ticketmaster, Rolling Stone), an entertainment/media conglomerate (e.g., Yahoo!, IAC/InterActiveCorp, NBC), or a large social networking site (e.g., News Corp/MySpace).

This strategy is supported by the significant M&A activity in the social networking market, which includes the following transactions over the past 24 months:

Regarding valuation, below are the estimated valuations of social networking companies on a per member basis upon exit:

• Del.icio.us: $50 – $100 per member
• MySpace: $25 per member
• Xing (business social network): $137 per member at IPO in 10/06
• Flickr: $56 – $130 per member
• Grouper: $130 per member

Based on this data, not only are social networking sites a promising investment, but sites that can acquire members for less than $25 each (a conservative valuation estimate based on the figures above), should earn a solid return on investment. As discussed above, Shoutmouth’s goal is to acquire members for no more than $1 each.

In addition, per the membership projections above, Shoutmouth’s valuation at the end of 2009, at a $25 valuation per member, is expected to be $239 million. A more conservative, using a 24.4 time EBITDA multiple (the average multiple of tech M&A deals in 2006 according to The M&A Advisor), yields a $121 million valuation in 2009.

Shoutmouth’s founding team includes entrepreneurs and managers with a track record of success and a history of successfully working together.

Management Team

DL, Co-Founder and CEO

D has a history of successfully launching and growing businesses of all sizes. As president and co-founder of an entrepreneurial services firm., D has personally assisted in the launch and development of over 100 ventures.

Over the past three years, D founded and has managed The Kisco Group which includes an affiliate marketing division (2006 revenues exceeded $3 million), a search engine optimization business which includes a network of 3,000 websites (2006 revenues exceeded $500,000) and an e-commerce business (which includes TopPayingKeywords.com and ShowerHeadsEtc.com).

D earned his Bachelors degree from the University of South Carolina.

PK, Co-Founder and Vice President of Operations

For the past two years, P has managed The Kisco Group’s search engine optimization business where he hired, trained and managed nearly 100 employees and a dozen outside firms. During this time, P has honed his management skills with regards to content development, marketing and operations.

P has had a passion for music since childhood and has been a semi-professional drummer for the past 15 years.

P earned his Bachelors of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Clemson University.

PF, Co-Founder and Vice President of Technology

For the past year, P has managed The Kisco Group’s affiliate marketing business. In addition to setting up and managing widespread marketing campaigns, P has developed sophisticated analytic techniques to precisely analyze web traffic in order to optimize profitability.

Since August 2006, P has shifted his efforts and leveraged his technology skills in developing the Shoutmouth website. P has been instrumental in selecting the Content Management Platform upon which Shoutmouth is built, and finding and managing the technology team.

P earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Swarthmore College.

AB, Marketing Manager

A’s background in music includes being a singer, songwriter, guitarist and producer. He has also worked on the marketing side of music, having marketed Veritas Records through the development and distribution of promotional materials.

A’s career also includes psychological research and administration, having served as a Research Assistant with the Interpersonal Perception And Communication Laboratory in Cambridge, MA.

A earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Ohio State University.

M, Lead Technology Developer

M is an experienced web programmer with expertise in web design, application development and database development among others.

M’s work experience includes serving as a Senior Developer at Spheres. M has also engaged in multiple, long term freelance projects including serving as a Database Developer Consultant with The Penn Group and a Web Developer Consultant with Volution Media Group and Allied Online Consulting Group.

M earned his Bachelors degree in Computer Science with a minor in Cognitive Science from Rutgers University.

Content Development Team

Shoutmouth’s writing team, managed by PK, includes the following members:

• JS, Editorial Manager: former content manager and copywriter for Scholastic Inc. and Promotions.com.
• TZ: former music intern (Virgin Records and WRRV) and author of the blog, The Tom Z Show .
• ML: former assistant editor for Adventure Publishing; author of the blog Certified Gangsta ; and former editor-in-chief of Fordham University’s newspaper The Paper .
• SB: former staff writer for Paste Magazine , The Clarion Ledger , and Nightclub and Bar Magazine among others.
• CSJ: former editorial intern for Rolling Stone and Editorial Assistant for Psychology Today .

Outsourced Technology Team

Shoutmouth works very closely with 2skies, a technology firm based in Australia with staff in Australia and the United States. 2skies is run by JDN, one of the co-founding developers of XE, the platform upon which Shoutmouth is built.

XE is an extensible, Open Source web application framework written in PHP and licensed under the GNU General Public License. XE delivers the requisite infrastructure and tools to create custom web applications that include fully dynamic multi-platform Content Management Solutions (CMS).

VIII. Appendix: Shoutmouth Financial Projections   3-Year Income Statement

3-Year Balance Sheet

As of December 31

3-Year Cash Flow Statement

How to Write a Real Estate Investment Business Plan + Free Sample Plan PDF

Elon Glucklich

8 min. read

Updated February 19, 2024

Download a free one-page real estate investment sample business plan

With the worst of recent inflation in the rear-view mirror and interest rates projected to start falling in 2024, real estate investors see signs of optimism. 

New apartment construction is rising sharply . These new properties coming onto the market and the prospect of lower borrowing costs point to plenty of long-term opportunities for investors.

However, investing in real estate requires a sharp eye for market trends, as well as significant upfront resources. Investors need to understand the different strategies for securing financing, and how to manage their properties to increase their value before reselling.

A business plan reduces your likelihood of making a bad investment, because it gets you in the habit of organizing your market research, and updating it as conditions evolve. The plan ultimately helps align your investment strategies with your opportunities.

| Looking for a fix and flip , home inspection , or other type of plan? Browse the Bplans library of sample real estate business plans |

• What should you include in a real estate investment business plan?

Here are the most common sections any real estate investor should consider including in their plan:

• Executive summary
• Company overview
• Investment strategy
• Market analysis
• SWOT analysis
• Financial plan and forecasts
• Exit strategy

The length and depth of your business plan will vary depending on your business. For instance, a real estate investment firm with a national portfolio of office and apartment buildings is bound to have a more complex set of financial projections and supporting documents than an investor with single-family houses in a few markets.

Here’s an example of a real estate investment business plan outline.

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• The 8 elements of an effective real estate investment business plan

1. Executive summary

Most business plans start with an executive summary outlining the business opportunity and the core strategies of your business. 

It’s the first section that most readers (including loan officers) will read. You’ll want to highlight any unique value or competitive edge you have, such as a track record of generating positive returns, or knowledge of a specific market. 

You should also give a high-level overview of your financial projections and anticipated returns, which you’ll go into greater detail on in the plan’s financial section. If you’re writing a business plan because you’re seeking bank financing or an investment, this is a good section to state your funding request and how you’ll use those funds.

2. Company overview 

The company overview describes your company’s operational and legal structure . 

List whether you have any partners, and detail your team’s experience, expertise, and roles within the company. Also, outline your portfolio, such as investing in residential properties, commercial buildings, or new development projects. 

3. Investment strategy

There are many ways to invest in real estate — buying homes to rent out, fixing and flipping houses, pooling your resources with partners into a real estate investment group, investing in real estate investment trusts, and more. Describe your strategy and why it will generate the highest returns.You should also describe your criteria for choosing properties to invest in, and whether your primary focus is to invest in a certain geographic region or a type of property, such as apartments or fixer-upper homes.

4. Market analysis

If you have any experience in investment real estate, you know how important market research is. Imagine paying $1 million for an apartment building and adding $100,000 on renovations, only to realize you can’t find tenants to pay the higher rents you want to charge.

That’s where a thorough market analysis comes in. It helps you understand the landscape you’re operating in. 

Use resources like the U.S. Census Bureau to research your target market’s age, income, and population trends. Look online for local data about real estate prices and how they’ve changed over time, or reach out to local realtors to get a feel for the market.

You should also try to determine how much investment activity is taking place in the market and who you’re competing with for opportunities. 

Many cities and larger towns with development departments make their building permit databases available online, since permits are typically public records. Reviewing permit records can show you how much development activity is already occurring where you plan to invest.

5. SWOT analysis

Because of the risks involved in real estate investment, a SWOT analysis can be a helpful exercise. It’s a strategic way of evaluating your company’s internal and external environment (think about your company’s financial health as an internal factor, and interest rates as an external factor).

The SWOT analysis gets you thinking about your company’s:

Strengths: What you do well , and what unique resources you have.

Weaknesses: What you need to improve on, what resources you lack, or what your competitors do better than you.

Opportunities: What are the current opportunities you want to take advantage of?

Threats: What factors could expose your company to risk, or what might competitors do to harm your position?

6. Financial plan and forecasts

Your financial plan should provide a detailed view of the expected financial performance of your real estate investments. Include income statements , cash flow forecasts , and balance sheets projecting the next 3-5 years. 

List the assumptions you used in your projections, such as rental income changes from rent increases or unrealized revenue due to certain amounts of vacant commercial space. 

You should also include a break-even analysis. This calculates when you expect a property’s operating income to exceed the debt taken to buy and maintain it.

7. Exit strategy

If you’re writing your business plan for investors, detailing your exit strategy will clarify their pathways for realizing their returns. It also trains you to think about the long-term timeline for your investments and how to maximize their value. 

Consider strategies that will help you maximize your profits, like refinancing your properties or looking into potential tax-deferral opportunities like a 1031 exchange.

8. Appendix

The appendix is an optional section at the end of your business plan. It’s where you include additional documents that support your business plan but don’t fit in the plan. This might include your detailed market research data, financial tables not covered in the main sections of the plan, legal documents, or permit records.

• Key considerations for writing a real estate investment business plan

To write a business plan that you can use as a guide for your decision making, consider places in the plan to emphasize these key points.

1. Develop a niche

If you’re a small investor or just starting, focus on carving out a specific niche for your investment strategy instead of trying to compete in multiple real estate segments. This could mean concentrating on a particular property type, such as multi-family homes, commercial real estate, or foreclosure properties, and diversifying your portfolio only after you’ve developed some traction. Or, you may decide to focus only on the segment you have the greatest advantage in.

2. Understand your risks

Real estate investment is inherently risky. 

Market dynamics, regulatory changes, and economic fluctuations can all impact the performance of your investments. 

As you compile research for your market analysis, dedicate time to conduct a detailed risk analysis to understand these factors and their potential impact on your investments. This includes assessing location-specific risks, economic cycles, and tenant or occupancy issues. 

Writing these out before they happen will help you think of strategies to mitigate these risks if they actually occur.

3. Network and develop market knowledge

Building a strong network with other real estate professionals, such as brokers and contractors, can provide valuable insights into the markets you hope to operate in. Document in your business plan how you will cultivate these relationships — you can include timelines for developing contacts in the milestones section of your plan.

Also, try to keep up to date on current events in the area, especially news about the regional economy. Look into the tax climate in the area, as well. All of this helps you build a deeper understanding of your market dynamics, and helps validate your investment strategy — or gives you reasons to reconsider.

4. Consider help with your financials

Even if you have the financial background to write financial forecasts, you may want to leave room in your budget for accounting support. 

If you’re starting or investing in an unfamiliar market, a CPA will help you navigate tricky tax issues that could throw off your projections. 

Include the expense of hiring an accountant in your plan if you decide to bring one on, and describe their role, whether it’s helping with budgeting, tax planning, or financial analysis.

• Download your free real estate investment one page sample business plan

Download your free real estate investment sample business plan right now, or explore the Bplans gallery of over 550 sample business plans if you want to see plans for other industries.

You can also see how other real estate businesses have written their plans by checking out our free library of real estate business plans .

There are many reasons why real estate investors should write a business plan . Not only does it demonstrate credibility to the banks or investors you want to fund your acquisitions — it also increases your chances for growth , and gives you a strategy to manage your finances for the long term.

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

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Research houses maintain 'buy' call for AMMB

KUALA LUMPUR (June 20): Hong Leong Investment Bank Bhd (HLIB) has reiterated its ‘buy’ call on AMMB Holdings Bhd’s (KL:AMBANK) shares after the banking group revealed its business plan for the next five years.

It said that AMMB’s strategies are fairly compelling and the group have levers to pull to achieve its financial year 2029 (FY2029) financial aspirations.

“Overall, there are no changes to our forecasts. We still see favourable risk/reward profile for the stock as valuations remained relatively undemanding,” it said.

HLIB also maintained its target price (TP) for AMMB at RM4.60 per share.

In its five-year business plan, the banking group has outlined its strategies, which include its expectation for its business banking division to be a significant earnings growth driver in the near future.

Targets for its business banking unit include a 12% loan growth; improving its small and medium enterprises (SME) market share to 9.1% from the current 7.2% by FY2029; a five-year income compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10% from RM1.62 billion in FY2024 and a five-year net profit CAGR of 13% from RM665 million in FY2024.

Meanwhile, in a separate note, Maybank Investment Bank Bhd (Maybank IB) has also maintained its ‘buy’ call on AMMB, with a TP of RM4.36 per share.

It noted that AMMB’s business banking unit is targeting further geographical expansion into states such as Penang, the Klang Valley and the Southern Region.

“Expansion into East Malaysia is also on the cards, as is its evolution into a one-stop centre for foreign direct investment flows, particularly from China and Korea,” Maybank IB said.

Meanwhile, MIDF Amanah Investment Bank (MIDF) maintained its neutral view on AMMB’s five-year plan, noting that despite its lofty targets, the plan is safe and does not take large risks.

“AMMB’s management has a record of good execution. All eyes are on the new chief financial officer, Shafiq Abdul Jabbar.

“The group’s loan growth target is moderate and realistic and is unlikely to put significant pressure on funding – one aspect that AMMB is weak at,” it added.

However, MIDF said that AMMB’s return on equity target of 12%-13% may be difficult to achieve with a high base Gross Impaired Loan (GIL) ratio of 1.6% and no overseas presence.

“It’s a lofty goal. While AMMB seems solid on an execution front, we think this is difficult to achieve without lowering its GIL ratio to that of its best-performing peers,” it said, maintaining its TP for AMMB’s shares at RM4.75 per unit.

At the same time, Kenanga Investment Bank Bhd retained its ‘outperform’ call on AMMB, with a TP of RM5.20.

“We continue to believe that AMMB is still in a better shape for consolidation. The group may now be in a better position to deliver better dividend payouts of 40% from 35%, which we are anticipating.

“It is also one of the leaders in terms of the SME profile, which is touted as a high-growth segment that could accelerate market share growth for the group should we anticipate better economic prospects in the medium term,” it said.

Echoing the positive sentiment, RHB Bank Bhd has also maintained its ‘buy’ call on AMMB, raising the TP to RM5.50 from RM4.90 previously.

“We raised the banking group’s FY2025-FY2027 net profit projection by 3%-6% as we assume greater net interest margin expansion and loan growth,” it added.

Uploaded by Lam Seng Fatt

Read also: Sunway to replace AMMB on KLCI following mid-year review ANZ exits AMMB with sale of remaining 5.17% stake AMMB posts 9% rise in FY2024 net profit, declares 16.6 sen dividend

• View Original Article

The content is a snapshot from Publisher. Refer to the original content for accurate info. Contact us for any changes.

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The state of AI in 2023: Generative AI’s breakout year

You have reached a page with older survey data. please see our 2024 survey results here ..

The latest annual McKinsey Global Survey  on the current state of AI confirms the explosive growth of generative AI (gen AI) tools . Less than a year after many of these tools debuted, one-third of our survey respondents say their organizations are using gen AI regularly in at least one business function. Amid recent advances, AI has risen from a topic relegated to tech employees to a focus of company leaders: nearly one-quarter of surveyed C-suite executives say they are personally using gen AI tools for work, and more than one-quarter of respondents from companies using AI say gen AI is already on their boards’ agendas. What’s more, 40 percent of respondents say their organizations will increase their investment in AI overall because of advances in gen AI. The findings show that these are still early days for managing gen AI–related risks, with less than half of respondents saying their organizations are mitigating even the risk they consider most relevant: inaccuracy.

The organizations that have already embedded AI capabilities have been the first to explore gen AI’s potential, and those seeing the most value from more traditional AI capabilities—a group we call AI high performers—are already outpacing others in their adoption of gen AI tools. 1 We define AI high performers as organizations that, according to respondents, attribute at least 20 percent of their EBIT to AI adoption.

The expected business disruption from gen AI is significant, and respondents predict meaningful changes to their workforces. They anticipate workforce cuts in certain areas and large reskilling efforts to address shifting talent needs. Yet while the use of gen AI might spur the adoption of other AI tools, we see few meaningful increases in organizations’ adoption of these technologies. The percent of organizations adopting any AI tools has held steady since 2022, and adoption remains concentrated within a small number of business functions.

Table of Contents

• It’s early days still, but use of gen AI is already widespread
• Leading companies are already ahead with gen AI
• AI-related talent needs shift, and AI’s workforce effects are expected to be substantial
• With all eyes on gen AI, AI adoption and impact remain steady

About the research

1. it’s early days still, but use of gen ai is already widespread.

The findings from the survey—which was in the field in mid-April 2023—show that, despite gen AI’s nascent public availability, experimentation with the tools  is already relatively common, and respondents expect the new capabilities to transform their industries. Gen AI has captured interest across the business population: individuals across regions, industries, and seniority levels are using gen AI for work and outside of work. Seventy-nine percent of all respondents say they’ve had at least some exposure to gen AI, either for work or outside of work, and 22 percent say they are regularly using it in their own work. While reported use is quite similar across seniority levels, it is highest among respondents working in the technology sector and those in North America.

Organizations, too, are now commonly using gen AI. One-third of all respondents say their organizations are already regularly using generative AI in at least one function—meaning that 60 percent of organizations with reported AI adoption are using gen AI. What’s more, 40 percent of those reporting AI adoption at their organizations say their companies expect to invest more in AI overall thanks to generative AI, and 28 percent say generative AI use is already on their board’s agenda. The most commonly reported business functions using these newer tools are the same as those in which AI use is most common overall: marketing and sales, product and service development, and service operations, such as customer care and back-office support. This suggests that organizations are pursuing these new tools where the most value is. In our previous research , these three areas, along with software engineering, showed the potential to deliver about 75 percent of the total annual value from generative AI use cases.

In these early days, expectations for gen AI’s impact are high : three-quarters of all respondents expect gen AI to cause significant or disruptive change in the nature of their industry’s competition in the next three years. Survey respondents working in the technology and financial-services industries are the most likely to expect disruptive change from gen AI. Our previous research shows  that, while all industries are indeed likely to see some degree of disruption, the level of impact is likely to vary. 2 “ The economic potential of generative AI: The next productivity frontier ,” McKinsey, June 14, 2023. Industries relying most heavily on knowledge work are likely to see more disruption—and potentially reap more value. While our estimates suggest that tech companies, unsurprisingly, are poised to see the highest impact from gen AI—adding value equivalent to as much as 9 percent of global industry revenue—knowledge-based industries such as banking (up to 5 percent), pharmaceuticals and medical products (also up to 5 percent), and education (up to 4 percent) could experience significant effects as well. By contrast, manufacturing-based industries, such as aerospace, automotives, and advanced electronics, could experience less disruptive effects. This stands in contrast to the impact of previous technology waves that affected manufacturing the most and is due to gen AI’s strengths in language-based activities, as opposed to those requiring physical labor.

Responses show many organizations not yet addressing potential risks from gen AI

According to the survey, few companies seem fully prepared for the widespread use of gen AI—or the business risks these tools may bring. Just 21 percent of respondents reporting AI adoption say their organizations have established policies governing employees’ use of gen AI technologies in their work. And when we asked specifically about the risks of adopting gen AI, few respondents say their companies are mitigating the most commonly cited risk with gen AI: inaccuracy. Respondents cite inaccuracy more frequently than both cybersecurity and regulatory compliance, which were the most common risks from AI overall in previous surveys. Just 32 percent say they’re mitigating inaccuracy, a smaller percentage than the 38 percent who say they mitigate cybersecurity risks. Interestingly, this figure is significantly lower than the percentage of respondents who reported mitigating AI-related cybersecurity last year (51 percent). Overall, much as we’ve seen in previous years, most respondents say their organizations are not addressing AI-related risks.

2. Leading companies are already ahead with gen AI

The survey results show that AI high performers—that is, organizations where respondents say at least 20 percent of EBIT in 2022 was attributable to AI use—are going all in on artificial intelligence, both with gen AI and more traditional AI capabilities. These organizations that achieve significant value from AI are already using gen AI in more business functions than other organizations do, especially in product and service development and risk and supply chain management. When looking at all AI capabilities—including more traditional machine learning capabilities, robotic process automation, and chatbots—AI high performers also are much more likely than others to use AI in product and service development, for uses such as product-development-cycle optimization, adding new features to existing products, and creating new AI-based products. These organizations also are using AI more often than other organizations in risk modeling and for uses within HR such as performance management and organization design and workforce deployment optimization.

AI high performers are much more likely than others to use AI in product and service development.

Another difference from their peers: high performers’ gen AI efforts are less oriented toward cost reduction, which is a top priority at other organizations. Respondents from AI high performers are twice as likely as others to say their organizations’ top objective for gen AI is to create entirely new businesses or sources of revenue—and they’re most likely to cite the increase in the value of existing offerings through new AI-based features.

As we’ve seen in previous years , these high-performing organizations invest much more than others in AI: respondents from AI high performers are more than five times more likely than others to say they spend more than 20 percent of their digital budgets on AI. They also use AI capabilities more broadly throughout the organization. Respondents from high performers are much more likely than others to say that their organizations have adopted AI in four or more business functions and that they have embedded a higher number of AI capabilities. For example, respondents from high performers more often report embedding knowledge graphs in at least one product or business function process, in addition to gen AI and related natural-language capabilities.

While AI high performers are not immune to the challenges of capturing value from AI, the results suggest that the difficulties they face reflect their relative AI maturity, while others struggle with the more foundational, strategic elements of AI adoption. Respondents at AI high performers most often point to models and tools, such as monitoring model performance in production and retraining models as needed over time, as their top challenge. By comparison, other respondents cite strategy issues, such as setting a clearly defined AI vision that is linked with business value or finding sufficient resources.

The findings offer further evidence that even high performers haven’t mastered best practices regarding AI adoption, such as machine-learning-operations (MLOps) approaches, though they are much more likely than others to do so. For example, just 35 percent of respondents at AI high performers report that where possible, their organizations assemble existing components, rather than reinvent them, but that’s a much larger share than the 19 percent of respondents from other organizations who report that practice.

Many specialized MLOps technologies and practices  may be needed to adopt some of the more transformative uses cases that gen AI applications can deliver—and do so as safely as possible. Live-model operations is one such area, where monitoring systems and setting up instant alerts to enable rapid issue resolution can keep gen AI systems in check. High performers stand out in this respect but have room to grow: one-quarter of respondents from these organizations say their entire system is monitored and equipped with instant alerts, compared with just 12 percent of other respondents.

3. AI-related talent needs shift, and AI’s workforce effects are expected to be substantial

Our latest survey results show changes in the roles that organizations are filling to support their AI ambitions. In the past year, organizations using AI most often hired data engineers, machine learning engineers, and Al data scientists—all roles that respondents commonly reported hiring in the previous survey. But a much smaller share of respondents report hiring AI-related-software engineers—the most-hired role last year—than in the previous survey (28 percent in the latest survey, down from 39 percent). Roles in prompt engineering have recently emerged, as the need for that skill set rises alongside gen AI adoption, with 7 percent of respondents whose organizations have adopted AI reporting those hires in the past year.

The findings suggest that hiring for AI-related roles remains a challenge but has become somewhat easier over the past year, which could reflect the spate of layoffs at technology companies from late 2022 through the first half of 2023. Smaller shares of respondents than in the previous survey report difficulty hiring for roles such as AI data scientists, data engineers, and data-visualization specialists, though responses suggest that hiring machine learning engineers and AI product owners remains as much of a challenge as in the previous year.

Looking ahead to the next three years, respondents predict that the adoption of AI will reshape many roles in the workforce. Generally, they expect more employees to be reskilled than to be separated. Nearly four in ten respondents reporting AI adoption expect more than 20 percent of their companies’ workforces will be reskilled, whereas 8 percent of respondents say the size of their workforces will decrease by more than 20 percent.

Looking specifically at gen AI’s predicted impact, service operations is the only function in which most respondents expect to see a decrease in workforce size at their organizations. This finding generally aligns with what our recent research  suggests: while the emergence of gen AI increased our estimate of the percentage of worker activities that could be automated (60 to 70 percent, up from 50 percent), this doesn’t necessarily translate into the automation of an entire role.

AI high performers are expected to conduct much higher levels of reskilling than other companies are. Respondents at these organizations are over three times more likely than others to say their organizations will reskill more than 30 percent of their workforces over the next three years as a result of AI adoption.

4. With all eyes on gen AI, AI adoption and impact remain steady

While the use of gen AI tools is spreading rapidly, the survey data doesn’t show that these newer tools are propelling organizations’ overall AI adoption. The share of organizations that have adopted AI overall remains steady, at least for the moment, with 55 percent of respondents reporting that their organizations have adopted AI. Less than a third of respondents continue to say that their organizations have adopted AI in more than one business function, suggesting that AI use remains limited in scope. Product and service development and service operations continue to be the two business functions in which respondents most often report AI adoption, as was true in the previous four surveys. And overall, just 23 percent of respondents say at least 5 percent of their organizations’ EBIT last year was attributable to their use of AI—essentially flat with the previous survey—suggesting there is much more room to capture value.

Organizations continue to see returns in the business areas in which they are using AI, and they plan to increase investment in the years ahead. We see a majority of respondents reporting AI-related revenue increases within each business function using AI. And looking ahead, more than two-thirds expect their organizations to increase their AI investment over the next three years.

The online survey was in the field April 11 to 21, 2023, and garnered responses from 1,684 participants representing the full range of regions, industries, company sizes, functional specialties, and tenures. Of those respondents, 913 said their organizations had adopted AI in at least one function and were asked questions about their organizations’ AI use. To adjust for differences in response rates, the data are weighted by the contribution of each respondent’s nation to global GDP.

The survey content and analysis were developed by Michael Chui , a partner at the McKinsey Global Institute and a partner in McKinsey’s Bay Area office, where Lareina Yee is a senior partner; Bryce Hall , an associate partner in the Washington, DC, office; and senior partners Alex Singla and Alexander Sukharevsky , global leaders of QuantumBlack, AI by McKinsey, based in the Chicago and London offices, respectively.

They wish to thank Shivani Gupta, Abhisek Jena, Begum Ortaoglu, Barr Seitz, and Li Zhang for their contributions to this work.

This article was edited by Heather Hanselman, an editor in the Atlanta office.

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Elektrostal Weather

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Elektrostal Sunrise and sunset

Find below the times of sunrise and sunset calculated 7 days to Elektrostal.

Elektrostal Hotel

Our team has selected for you a list of hotel in Elektrostal classified by value for money. Book your hotel room at the best price.

Elektrostal Nearby

Below is a list of activities and point of interest in Elektrostal and its surroundings.

Elektrostal Page

• Information /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#info
• Demography /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#demo
• Geography /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#geo
• Distance /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#dist1
• Map /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#map
• Nearby cities and villages /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#dist2
• Weather /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#weather
• Sunrise and sunset /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#sun
• Hotel /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#hotel
• Nearby /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#around
• Page /Russian-Federation--Moscow-Oblast--Elektrostal#page
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