Business plans build a solid foundation for successful businesses. However, getting started is the most challenging aspect.
Most of us spend hours and days staring at a blank document without knowing where or how to start writing.
Well, that ends today! All you need is a business plan outline.
An outline that defines everything, like what to write, how much to write, and what flow to follow.
However, creating an outline is a difficult task in itself. But don’t sweat!
This blog post will provide a detailed business plan outline as a reference point to help you get started. Let’s start by defining the term.
What is a business plan outline?
A business plan outline is like a blueprint offering a granular understanding of how your business plan would look. It tells you what to write and how to organize the information within each business plan section for a logical flow.
It’s similar to a business plan template. But more detailed in terms of content. An outline gives you a headstart when you don’t know where to begin. It also offers a writing roadmap so you cover all the essential information without content gaps.
Let’s head to understanding different business plan outline formats and how they differ.
Business plan outline formats to consider
Everyone writing a business plan has a purpose. While securing funds is the most fundamental reason, it’s not always the case.
Depending on your business stage and the objective behind your business plan, here are two formats for you to consider.
1. Traditional Business Plan
Traditional business plans offer a detailed overview of a business idea, covering every component in minute detail. Such business plans are 40-100 pages long and act as a guidebook for your business.
A traditional plan is a roadmap guiding you to achieve your business objective efficiently. Investors and banks most often require it to test the viability and feasibility of your business idea before making an investment decision.
While writing a traditional business plan requires time and thorough research, online business planning tools are often used to simplify the process.
2. One-Page Business Plan
The other format is a one-page business plan. It’s lean and short, offering a macro overview of your business idea. Startups mostly use it to get an initial direction.
Like traditional plans, these business plans also include all the components of a business plan. However, they don’t dive into much detail, offering just enough information to enable action.
Following our discussion of business plan outline formats, here is the standard outline for a business plan.
(we’ve provided the outline for each section with a brief description)
Key components of a standard business plan outline
A business plan outline briefly explains what different sections should entail before you create your first draft. You can, however, modify a section’s flow and contents depending on your business requirements.
1. Executive Summary
An executive summary is the first section of your business plan that briefly summarizes the key context of your business idea in about a page or two.
It offers an engaging narrative, highlighting the problems your business intends to solve, its market opportunity, business objectives, competitive advantage, business strategies, key financials, and your funding request.
Since this section summarizes your entire plan, write it only after you finish it. However, keep it crisp, short, and extremely informative.
Executive Summary Outline
Mission Objectives
A brief description of the company’s purpose and its value proposition.
Problem and the solution
A problem you’re targeting and the solution you’re offering. Show that there’s a definite need for your solution in the market to help customers.
Target Market
A description of your customer base, including those willing to pay for your product and service.
Competitors and Market Size
A quick overview of the competitive landscape and your USPs, market size, and emerging trends.
Team
Introduce the key members and people who would run your business.
Financial Summary
Financials and figures showing ROI, profit margins, growth, and revenue.
Traction*
If you are an existing business or have made some entry-level achievements, include details like the number of sales made, revenue collected, key personnel hired, etc.
Funding Needed*
This is crucial if you want to secure funding through a business plan. Establish your capital requirement and reveal how you’ll utilize the funds
Say goodbye to boring templates
Build your business plan faster and easier with AI
Plans starting from $7/month
2. Company Overview
A company overview includes everything a reader must know about your business. This includes a brief company description highlighting details about your business structure, mission statement, company history, milestones, and business objectives.
You can make this section direct and engaging by including numeric metrics wherever possible.
Company Overview Outline
Business Overview
Provide information, such as the business name, what it does, the problem it solves, and the solution it offers.
Location
Briefly describe your business location, i.e., the region and the exact location, the type of facilities you’re leasing, and its structure and dimensions.
Business History
Include details like business incorporation, the brains behind the business, milestones achieved, and goals moving forward.
Business structure
Highlight details relating to the ownership and business’s legal structure, i.e., sole proprietorship, LLC, partnership, etc.
Mission statement and objectives
Summarize what your business aims to achieve and what its objectives are, and set goals.
Legal and Regulatory Considerations
Brief understanding of the industry regulations and compliance requirements surrounding your business.
3. Market Analysis
This is the section where you’ll compile your detailed market research for a compelling analysis.
This will include details about the target market, market trends, and your share of business in the entire marketplace.
Another important aspect of this section is competitive analysis. You can make it informative by highlighting the competitive landscape of your business and its competitive edge.
Market Analysis Outline
Industry Overview
A detailed overview of your industry highlighting industry size, growth rate, and market share.
Target Market
Define your target market and talk about its size and growth potential. Analyze your customers. Highlight the psychographic and demographic details of your ideal customers.
Market Need
Specific needs your business will address and the gap in current market offerings.
Key Market Trends
Emerging industry trends and their effect on your business.
Competitive Analysis
Identify your direct and indirect competitors and analyze their strengths and weaknesses. Highlight your competitive advantage and define your USPs.
Entry barriers
Mention the obstacles and potential risks you’d face to enter this market and an analysis of how you’ll overcome them.
4. Products and Services
This section is your chance to provide more details about the products and services you’ll be selling. Simply list everything that’ll bring you revenue and complete this section.
However, for a comprehensive and detailed business plan, briefly describe each product and service and their pricing plans. Also, the secondary services and add-ons should be included along with their prices.
This is also the best time to introduce your products’ prototype, beta version, or MVP as traction. You can also tell the readers about patents or trademarks secured by the company.
Products and Services Outline
Products and Services Description
List down all your products and services strategically, along with their brief description, and highlight the USPs.
Traction
Prove the traction by including the prototype, MVP, or any practical proofs.
Pricing Strategy
Define the pricing for each product and service, or explain your revenue model.
5. Sales and Marketing Strategies
This section of your business plan outlines your sales and marketing plan and highlights the strategies to achieve them.
It includes a detailed roadmap explaining how you will reach your target audience. To simplify, any means and strategy that will help promote and sell your products.
While writing this section, you will want to cover aspects like sales goals, sales channels, marketing activities, and marketing budget to make it detailed and informative.
Sales and Marketing Strategy Outline
Sales Strategy
Highlight your sales goals and different sales channels for your business. Also, outline your sales process.
Distribution Channels
Outline your physical and digital distribution channels.
Marketing objective
Define specific marketing objectives you want to achieve.
Marketing Strategy
Decide online and offline marketing channels to market your business.
Marketing Budget
Highlight your marketing budget and outline its allocation between different marketing plan activities.
6. Operations Plan
An operations plan includes everything you need to know about running your business.
From everyday business processes to equipment, hiring plans, technologies, distribution, and policies—this section is quite detailed and can serve as a guidebook for internal operations.
This section offers potential investors an insight into your day-to-day operations and proves your capability to run the business.
Operations Plan Outline
Location and Facilities
Describe your business premises, manufacturing facilities, associated costs, and the location’s proximity to your target customers.
Standard Operating Process
Detail your production, supply chain, retail, sales, inventory management, and every other related business process.
Hiring Plan and staffing
Briefly discuss your hiring plan, training requirements, and staff-related costs.
Equipment and technologies
List the equipment, tools, and technologies you need for your business and their sourcing plan, costs, and agreements.
Vendors and suppliers
Reveal key vendors and suppliers for your business and agreements with them.
Quality Control Practices
Mention measures to ensure quality, product handling methods, and if there are any standards the business adheres to.
7. Management Team
The management section of your plan introduces the people who would make your business a shining success.
Here you will offer a descriptive overview of founding members and people in top managerial positions. Additionally, you will also outline the organizational hierarchy in your business and clarify the functions of each role.
Make this section humane and boast if you need to, but prove how people in your team are the best fit for your business.
Management Team Outline
Managerial and Leadership Team
Introduce the people at the top and talk about their experience, expertise, achievements, and milestones.
Roles and Responsibilities
Explain the roles and responsibilities of people in managerial and leadership positions.
Organizational Hierarchy
Draw an easy-to-understand organizational chart depicting the flow of authority and responsibility
8. Financial Plan
A financial section of your business plan covers your financial projections, detailed financial statements, key ratios, and your funding demand.
In this section, you will include details about sales forecasts, revenue assumptions, cash flow projections, gross profits, break-even, and the balance sheet. You will also explain the assumptions made for creating your financial projections.
Additionally, if you are seeking funding, cover details about the funding requirements and explain your company’s plans to utilize that funding.
Financial Plan Outline
Investment Plan
Explain your funding requirement and outline your plan to utilize the same.
Projected cash Flow
Present your cash flow projections and outline your cash position.
Projected Income Statement
Profit and loss, i.e. gross profit and net income after selling your product or service in the market, and your key profitability ratios.
Projected Balance Sheet
Write an overview of your business’s equity, liability, and assets.
Cost projections
Depending on the requirement, include your startup costs table, operational expenses, and a breakdown of fixed and variable expenses.
Financial forecasts
Include tables for sales and revenue forecasts, and explain your assumptions.
Funding request
Explain your funding demand and a strategy to use that funding.
Exit strategy
Explain your exit plan, i.e., get acquired, merge, go public, or liquidate.
Pro-tip
Create a Financial Plan with Upmetrics in no time
Enter your Financial Assumptions, and we’ll calculate your monthly/quarterly and yearly financial projections.
9. Appendix
This is the last part, where you offer supplementary information to support the claims made in different sections of your plan.
The contents of the appendix aren’t fixed. You can determine the contents depending on your audience type and the business needs.
Appendix Outline:
Financial documents
Detailed financial reports, i.e. Income statement, balance sheet, cash flow statement, and tables for startup costs, sales forecasts, and break-even analysis.
Legal documents and persons
Show proof of regulatory approvals and compliance certificates.
Attorneys’, accountants’, and advisors’ contact information
Product proofs
Provide product MVP, testing results, pictures, and 3-D models. Attach manuals, user guides, and process diagrams for technically enhanced products.
Marketing materials
Share logos, flyers, brochures, websites—any marketing material that proves your efforts.
Intellectual property proofs
Include patents, trademarks, copyrights, licenses, and other intellectual properties.
References and Bibliography
Cite the sources for any third-party information included in the plan.
And there you have it—a detailed business plan outline to help you create an actionable and helpful document.
Now, choose your business plan structure or format (if you haven’t already), refer to sample business plans, and modify an outline or sample plan that best satisfies your objective.
Once done, you can move on to…
Appearance and cover page of your business plan
It’s an old saying that you should not judge a book by its cover, but we do; everyone does. So, your business plan’s appearance and cover page are as important as any other section.
The appearance of your business plan doesn’t matter when you do it for personal use or to validate an idea. However, visual appeal remains as important as the content when presenting to investors or other stakeholders.
Good thing—managing appeal is quite easier when you have the right resources with you.
Instead of creating your business plan from scratch, using a business plan example would be the right choice.
Importing the template automatically adds structure, format, and design to your plan. So, you don’t spend long trying to fix the appearance and design of your business plan.
As we said, get the right resources; most of your work will already be done.
Start preparing your business plan with AI
Now that you have a detailed outline, it’s much easier to kickstart your plan writing process.
However, let’s make it even easier for you. With Upmetrics’ AI business plan generator, you can create your entire plan in less than an hour.
Simply enter your business details, answer a few targeted questions, and get your entire business plan prepared by AI. Refine the plan and present it to your investors so they can approve your funding requests.
