- 3-minute read
- 26th June 2025
How to Write a Business Plan
Your business’s success starts with a clear roadmap in the form of a well-crafted business plan.
What Is a Business Plan?
A business plan is a strategic document that outlines your company’s objectives, the tactics you’ll use to achieve them, and the timeline for hitting key milestones. It serves as both your growth blueprint and your pitch for investors, lenders, or internal stakeholders. Therefore, it’s important that your business plan strikes a professional tone and includes all critical details.
Key Components of an Effective Business Plan
1. Executive Summary
Consider this your elevator pitch on paper. It distills your mission, objectives, and a snapshot of financial projections into one concise overview.
Since many readers will jump straight here, you should make it stick, even if it’s the only section they read.
Tip: Write this last, once the rest of the plan is drafted.
2. Business Description
Describe your company’s mission, legal structure (e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC, or corporation), location, and background.
Detail your products or services, pricing strategy, unique selling points, and team roles.
If you have co-owners or partners, specify their ownership stakes and responsibilities.
3. Objectives and KPIs
Define what you plan to accomplish, both short-term and long-term, and the timeline for each.
Include measurable indicators (KPIs) such as revenue targets, customer acquisition cost, or churn rate to track your progress.
Find this useful?
Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.
4. Marketing Plan
Outline your go-to-market strategy, including target customers, pricing, distribution channels, and promotional tactics.
Summarize market research and competitive analysis, emphasizing how you differentiate and fill market gaps.
5. Financial Projections
Present key financial statements, such as your income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow forecasts, for the next three to five years.
If you’re in the early stage, anchor your projections in realistic assumptions and industry benchmarks.
6. Funding Requests
If you’re seeking investment or loans, state the exact amount required and explain how you’ll allocate those funds, along with your current financial status.
7. Appendix
Attach supporting documents such as contracts, market studies, licenses, patents, resumes, or product specs to reinforce your plan’s assumptions and projections.
How to Write a Memorable Executive Summary
To create a standalone summary that sells:
- Know Your Audience
Tailor the tone to investors, bankers, or internal execs – each wants different details. - Be Fully Self-Contained
Write so that someone who never opens the full plan will still grasp your strategy, value proposition, and funding request. - Format for Scanability
Use headings, bullet points, bold text, and call-out boxes for your biggest stats. - Keep It Tight
One page or 10% of the plan’s length – every sentence must pull its weight. - Speak Plainly
Avoid jargon. Define acronyms. Clarity builds credibility. - Proofread and Edit
An error-free summary is non-negotiable. Typos here derail trust.
Conclusion
By defining your plan’s purpose, covering each key section, and crafting an executive summary that stands out, you’ll create a document that guides growth and secures buy-in from your audience. Looking to reinforce your credibility? A carefully polished business plan inspires confidence in potential investors or lenders.
If you’d like an expert proofreader to ensure your business plan makes an impact, your first 500 words are edited for free with our online proofreading platform.
