business plan chapter 1 and 2

Business Plan Development Guide

(6 reviews)

Lee Swanson, University of Saskatchewan

Copyright Year: 2017

Publisher: OPENPRESS.USASK.CA

Language: English

Formats Available

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Reviewed by Kevin Heupel, Affiliate Faculty, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 3/4/20

The text does a good job of providing a general outline about writing and developing a written business plan. All of the important steps and components are included. However, the text is light on details, examples, and rationale for each element... read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 3 see less

The text does a good job of providing a general outline about writing and developing a written business plan. All of the important steps and components are included. However, the text is light on details, examples, and rationale for each element of the business plan. Some examples from actual business plans would be helpful.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

For the most part, the content is accurate. The content covers all important aspects of drafting a business plan. I thought the industry analysis could use more information about collecting primary and secondary sources; instead, this information was referenced in the marketing plan section.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Most of the content relies on cites as far back as 2006; however, when it comes to developing and writing a business plan nothing has changed. Thus, the content is current and there is no concern about it becoming obsolete in the near future.

Clarity rating: 4

The text is clear. There are no difficult terms used and the writing is simple. The text uses a lot of bullet points though, which gets tedious to read for a few pages.

Consistency rating: 5

The text does a good job of maintaining consistency in terms of framework and terminology. The text is organized where it's easy to find the information you want in a quick manner.

Modularity rating: 3

The text has a lot of bullet points and the paragraphs are dense. However, the use of subheading is excellent.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The book is organized as if you're writing a business plan from start to finish, which is helpful as a practical guide.

Interface rating: 5

There are no navigation problems, distortion of images/charts, or any other display features that may distract or confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

The text is free of grammatical errors. The sentence structure is simple with many bullet points, which helps to avoid any grammatical issues.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This book was written by a Canadian professor and provides references to Canadian sources. However, the information in this text can be used for U.S. schools.

This book is very short and provides a good, general overview about the process of creating and writing a business plan. It won't help a reader if he/she is confused about a certain part of the business plan. The reader will have to find another source, such as "Preparing Effective Business Plans" by Bruce Barringer, Ph.D. The book provides links to good resources and a finished business plan that the reader can reference. I would recommend the book for undergraduate courses.

Reviewed by Kenneth Lacho, Professor of Management, The University of New Orleans on 6/19/18

1. Text is relevant to Canada. Not the United States 2. Needs to cover resources available to entrepreneur, e.g., federal government agencies, trade associations, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies. 3. Discuss local economy or... read more

1. Text is relevant to Canada. Not the United States 2. Needs to cover resources available to entrepreneur, e.g., federal government agencies, trade associations, chambers of commerce, economic development agencies. 3. Discuss local economy or economic area relevant to this proposed business. 4. Business model ok as a guide. 5. Suggested mission statement to cover: product/business, target customer, geographical area covered. 6. Need detailed promotion plan, e.g., personal selling, advertising, sales promotion, networking publicity, and social media. 7. How do you find the target market? 8. Chapter 6 too much detail on debt and equity financing. 9. Discuss how to find sources of financing, e.g., angels. 10. Expand coverage of bootstring, crowdfunding. 11. Chapter 4 – good checklist. 12. Chapter 3 - overlaps. 13. Chapter 7 – 3 pages of executive summary – double or single spaced typing. Number all tables, graphs. 14. Some references out-of-date, mostly academic. Bring in trade magazines such as Entrepreneur.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

In my opinion, the content is accurate and error free.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The material is relevant to writing a business plan. I wonder if the Porter, SWOT VRIO, etc. material is too high level for students who may not be seniors or have non-business degrees (e.g., liberal arts). Porter has been around for a while and does have longevity. The author has to be more alert to changes in promotion, e.g., social media and sources of financing, e.g., crowdfunding.

Clarity rating: 3

As noted in No. 9, the tone of the writing is too academic, thus making the material difficult to understand. Paragraphs are too long. Need to define: Porter, TOWS Matrix, VRIO, PESTEL. A student less from a senior or a non-business major would not be familiar with these terms.

Consistency rating: 4

The text is internally consistent. The model approach helps keep the process consistent.

Modularity rating: 4

The process of developing a business plan is divided into blocks which are parts of the business plan. Paragraphs tend to be too long in some spots.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 4

The topics are presented in a logical step-wise flow. The language style is too academic in parts, paragraphs too long. Leaves out the citations. Provides excellent check lists.

There are no display features which confuse the reader.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

The text has no grammatical errors. On the other hand, I found the writing to be too academic in nature. Some paragraphs are too long. The material is more like an academic conference paper or journal submission. Academic citations references are not needed. The material is not exciting to read.

The text is culturally neutral. There are no examples which are inclusive of a variety of races, ethnicities, and backgrounds.

This book best for a graduate class.

Reviewed by Louis Bruneau, Part Time Faculty, Portland Community College on 6/19/18

The text provides appropriate discussion and illustration of all major concepts and useful references to source and resource materials. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

The text provides appropriate discussion and illustration of all major concepts and useful references to source and resource materials.

Contents of the book were accurate, although it could have benefited from editing/proofreading; there was no evidence of bias. As to editing/proofreading, a couple of examples: A. “Figure 1 – Business Plan… “ is shown at the top of the page following the diagram vs. the bottom of the page the diagram is on. (There are other problems with what is placed on each page.) B. First paragraph under heading “Essential Initial Research” there is reference to pages 21 to 30 though page numbering is missing from the book. (Page numbers are used in the Table of Contents.)

The book is current in that business planning has been stable for sometime. The references and resources will age in time, but are limited and look easy to update.

Clarity rating: 5

The book is written in a straightforward way, technical terms that needed explanations got them, jargon was avoided and generally it was an easy read.

The text is internally consistent in terms of terminology and framework.

Modularity rating: 5

The book lends itself to a multi-week course. A chapter could be presented and students could work on that stage of Plan development. It could also be pre-meeting reading for a workshop presentation. Reorganizing the book would be inappropriate.

The topics in the text are presented in a logical, clear fashion.

Generally, the book is free of interface problems. The financial tables in the Sample Plan were turned 90° to maintain legibility. One potential problem was with Figure 6 – Business Model Canvas. The print within the cells was too small to read; the author mitigated the problem by presenting the information, following Figure 6, in the type font of the text.

I found no grammatical errors.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive in any way.

I require a business plan in a course I teach; for most of the students the assignment is a course project that they do not intend to pursue in real life. I shared the book with five students that intended to develop an actual start-up business; three of them found it helpful while the other two decided not to do that much work on their plans. If I were planning a start-up, I would use/follow the book.

Reviewed by Todd Johnson, Faculty of Business, North Hennepin Community College on 5/21/18

The text is a thorough overview of all elements of a business plan. read more

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

The text is a thorough overview of all elements of a business plan.

The content is accurate and seems to lack bias.

Content seems relevant and useful . It does not help an entrepreneur generate ideas, and is very light on crowdfunding and other novel funding source content. It is more traditional. This can be easily updated in future versions, however. "Social Media" appears once in the book, as does "Crowd Funding".

The book is comprehensive, but perhaps not written in the most lucid, accessible prose. I am not sure any college student could pick this up and just read and learn. It would be best used as a "teach along guide" for students to process with an instructor.

The text seems consistent. The author does a nice job of consistently staying on task and using bullets and brevity.

Here I am not so certain. The table of contents is not a good guide for this book. It does make the book look nicely laid out, but there is a lot of complexity within these sections. I read it uncertain that it was well organized. Yes there are many good bits of information, however it is not as if I could spend time on one swathe of text at a time. I would need to go back and forth throughout the text.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 2

Similar to the above. I did not like the flow and organization of this. An editor would help things be in a more logical order.

Interface rating: 2

The interface is just OK. It is not an attractice interface, as it presents text in a very dense manner. The images and charts are hard to follow.

I did not find any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

I a not certain of the origins of Saskatchewan, but I do feel this is a different read. It is more formal and dense than it has to be. This would be a difficult read for my students. I do not feel it is insensitive in any way, or offensive in any way.

I would not adopt this book if given the chance. It is too dense, and not organized very well, even though the information is very good. The density and lack of modularity are barriers to understanding what is obviously very good information.

Reviewed by Mariana Mitova, Lecturer, Bowling Green State University on 2/1/18

Though this textbook has a prescriptive nature, it is quite comprehensive. The author strikes a good balance between presenting concepts in a concise way and providing enough information to explain them. Many every-day examples and live links to... read more

Though this textbook has a prescriptive nature, it is quite comprehensive. The author strikes a good balance between presenting concepts in a concise way and providing enough information to explain them. Many every-day examples and live links to other resources add to the completeness of the textbook.

Content seems accurate.

Since the content is somewhat conceptual, the text will not become obsolete quickly. In addition, the author seems to be updating and editing content often hence the relevance to current developments is on target.

The text is very clear, written in clear and straight-to-the point language.

The organization of content is consistent throughout the entire text.

The textbook is organized by chapters, beginning with overview of the model used and followed by chapters for each concept within the model. Nicely done.

The flow is clear, logical and easy to follow.

Overall, images, links, and text are well organized. Some headlines were misaligned but still easy to follow.

No concerns for grammar.

No concerns for cultural irrelevance.

Reviewed by Darlene Weibye, Cosmetology Instructor, Minnesota State Community and Technical College on 2/1/18

The text is comprehensive and covers the information needed to develop a business plan. The book provides all the means necessary in business planning. read more

The text is comprehensive and covers the information needed to develop a business plan. The book provides all the means necessary in business planning.

The text was accurate, and error-free. I did not find the book to be biased.

The content is up-to-date. I am reviewing the book in 2017, the same year the book was published.

The content was very clear. A business plan sample included operation timelines, start up costs, and all relevant material in starting a business.

The book is very consistent and is well organized.

The book has a table of contents and is broken down into specific chapters. The chapters are not divided into sub topics. I do not feel it is necessary for sub topics because the chapters are brief and to the point.

There is a great flow from chapter to chapter. One topic clearly leads into the next without repeating.

The table of contents has direct links to each chapter. The appearance of the chapters are easy to read and the charts are very beneficial.

Does not appear to have any grammatical errors.

The text is not culturally insensitive or offensive.

I am incorporating some of the text into the salon business course. Very well written book.

Table of Contents

Introduction

• Chapter 1 – Developing a Business Plan
• Chapter 2 – Essential Initial Research
• Chapter 3 – Business Models
• Chapter 4 – Initial Business Plan Draft
• Chapter 5 – Making the Business Plan Realistic
• Chapter 6 – Making the Plan Appeal to Stakeholders and Desirable to the Entrepreneur
• Chapter 7 – Finishing the Business Plan
• Chapter 8 – Business Plan Pitches

References Appendix A – Business Plan Development Checklist and Project Planner Appendix B – Fashion Importers Inc. Business Plan Business Plan Excel Template

Ancillary Material

About the book.

This textbook and its accompanying spreadsheet templates were designed with and for students wanting a practical and easy-to-follow guide for developing a business plan. It follows a unique format that both explains what to do and demonstrates how to do it.

About the Contributors

Dr. Lee Swanson is an Associate Professor of Management and Marketing at the Edwards School of Business at the University of Saskatchewan. His research focuses on entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, Aboriginal entrepreneurship, community capacity-building through entrepreneurship, and institutional-stakeholder engagement. Dr. Swanson’s current research is funded through a Social Sciences Humanities Research Council grant and focuses on social and economic capacity building in Northern Saskatchewan and Northern Scandinavia. He is also actively studying Aboriginal community partnerships with resource based companies, entrepreneurship centres at universities, community-based entrepreneurship, and entrepreneurial attitudes and intentions. He teaches upper-year and MBA entrepreneurship classes and conducts seminars on business planning and business development.

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How to Write a Business Plan: Step-by-Step Guide + Examples

Noah Parsons

24 min. read

Updated May 7, 2024

Writing a business plan doesn’t have to be complicated. 

In this step-by-step guide, you’ll learn how to write a business plan that’s detailed enough to impress bankers and potential investors, while giving you the tools to start, run, and grow a successful business.

• The basics of business planning

If you’re reading this guide, then you already know why you need a business plan . 

You understand that planning helps you: 

• Raise money
• Grow strategically
• Keep your business on the right track 

As you start to write your plan, it’s useful to zoom out and remember what a business plan is .

At its core, a business plan is an overview of the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy: how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

Most business plans also include financial forecasts for the future. These set sales goals, budget for expenses, and predict profits and cash flow. 

A good business plan is much more than just a document that you write once and forget about. It’s also a guide that helps you outline and achieve your goals. 

After completing your plan, you can use it as a management tool to track your progress toward your goals. Updating and adjusting your forecasts and budgets as you go is one of the most important steps you can take to run a healthier, smarter business. 

We’ll dive into how to use your plan later in this article.

There are many different types of plans , but we’ll go over the most common type here, which includes everything you need for an investor-ready plan. However, if you’re just starting out and are looking for something simpler—I recommend starting with a one-page business plan . It’s faster and easier to create. 

It’s also the perfect place to start if you’re just figuring out your idea, or need a simple strategic plan to use inside your business.

Dig deeper : How to write a one-page business plan

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• What to include in your business plan

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally just one to two pages. Most people write it last because it’s a summary of the complete business plan.

Ideally, the executive summary can act as a stand-alone document that covers the highlights of your detailed plan. 

In fact, it’s common for investors to ask only for the executive summary when evaluating your business. If they like what they see in the executive summary, they’ll often follow up with a request for a complete plan, a pitch presentation , or more in-depth financial forecasts .

Your executive summary should include:

• A summary of the problem you are solving
• A description of your product or service
• An overview of your target market
• A brief description of your team
• A summary of your financials
• Your funding requirements (if you are raising money)

Dig Deeper: How to write an effective executive summary

Products and services description

This is where you describe exactly what you’re selling, and how it solves a problem for your target market. The best way to organize this part of your plan is to start by describing the problem that exists for your customers. After that, you can describe how you plan to solve that problem with your product or service. 

This is usually called a problem and solution statement .

To truly showcase the value of your products and services, you need to craft a compelling narrative around your offerings. How will your product or service transform your customers’ lives or jobs? A strong narrative will draw in your readers.

This is also the part of the business plan to discuss any competitive advantages you may have, like specific intellectual property or patents that protect your product. If you have any initial sales, contracts, or other evidence that your product or service is likely to sell, include that information as well. It will show that your idea has traction , which can help convince readers that your plan has a high chance of success.

Market analysis

Your target market is a description of the type of people that you plan to sell to. You might even have multiple target markets, depending on your business. 

A market analysis is the part of your plan where you bring together all of the information you know about your target market. Basically, it’s a thorough description of who your customers are and why they need what you’re selling. You’ll also include information about the growth of your market and your industry .

Try to be as specific as possible when you describe your market. 

Include information such as age, income level, and location—these are what’s called “demographics.” If you can, also describe your market’s interests and habits as they relate to your business—these are “psychographics.” 

Related: Target market examples

Essentially, you want to include any knowledge you have about your customers that is relevant to how your product or service is right for them. With a solid target market, it will be easier to create a sales and marketing plan that will reach your customers. That’s because you know who they are, what they like to do, and the best ways to reach them.

Next, provide any additional information you have about your market. 

What is the size of your market ? Is the market growing or shrinking? Ideally, you’ll want to demonstrate that your market is growing over time, and also explain how your business is positioned to take advantage of any expected changes in your industry.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write a market analysis

Competitive analysis

Part of defining your business opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage is. To do this effectively, you need to know as much about your competitors as your target customers. 

Every business has some form of competition. If you don’t think you have competitors, then explore what alternatives there are in the market for your product or service. 

For example: In the early years of cars, their main competition was horses. For social media, the early competition was reading books, watching TV, and talking on the phone.

A good competitive analysis fully lays out the competitive landscape and then explains how your business is different. Maybe your products are better made, or cheaper, or your customer service is superior. Maybe your competitive advantage is your location – a wide variety of factors can ultimately give you an advantage.

Dig Deeper: How to write a competitive analysis for your business plan

Marketing and sales plan

The marketing and sales plan covers how you will position your product or service in the market, the marketing channels and messaging you will use, and your sales tactics. 

The best place to start with a marketing plan is with a positioning statement . 

This explains how your business fits into the overall market, and how you will explain the advantages of your product or service to customers. You’ll use the information from your competitive analysis to help you with your positioning. 

For example: You might position your company as the premium, most expensive but the highest quality option in the market. Or your positioning might focus on being locally owned and that shoppers support the local economy by buying your products.

Once you understand your positioning, you’ll bring this together with the information about your target market to create your marketing strategy . 

This is how you plan to communicate your message to potential customers. Depending on who your customers are and how they purchase products like yours, you might use many different strategies, from social media advertising to creating a podcast. Your marketing plan is all about how your customers discover who you are and why they should consider your products and services. 

While your marketing plan is about reaching your customers—your sales plan will describe the actual sales process once a customer has decided that they’re interested in what you have to offer. 

If your business requires salespeople and a long sales process, describe that in this section. If your customers can “self-serve” and just make purchases quickly on your website, describe that process. 

A good sales plan picks up where your marketing plan leaves off. The marketing plan brings customers in the door and the sales plan is how you close the deal.

Together, these specific plans paint a picture of how you will connect with your target audience, and how you will turn them into paying customers.

Dig deeper: What to include in your sales and marketing plan

Business operations

The operations section describes the necessary requirements for your business to run smoothly. It’s where you talk about how your business works and what day-to-day operations look like. 

Depending on how your business is structured, your operations plan may include elements of the business like:

• Supply chain management
• Manufacturing processes
• Equipment and technology
• Distribution

Some businesses distribute their products and reach their customers through large retailers like Amazon.com, Walmart, Target, and grocery store chains. 

These businesses should review how this part of their business works. The plan should discuss the logistics and costs of getting products onto store shelves and any potential hurdles the business may have to overcome.

If your business is much simpler than this, that’s OK. This section of your business plan can be either extremely short or more detailed, depending on the type of business you are building.

For businesses selling services, such as physical therapy or online software, you can use this section to describe the technology you’ll leverage, what goes into your service, and who you will partner with to deliver your services.

Dig Deeper: Learn how to write the operations chapter of your plan

Key milestones and metrics

Although it’s not required to complete your business plan, mapping out key business milestones and the metrics can be incredibly useful for measuring your success.

Good milestones clearly lay out the parameters of the task and set expectations for their execution. You’ll want to include:

• A description of each task
• The proposed due date
• Who is responsible for each task

If you have a budget, you can include projected costs to hit each milestone. You don’t need extensive project planning in this section—just list key milestones you want to hit and when you plan to hit them. This is your overall business roadmap. 

Possible milestones might be:

• Website launch date
• Store or office opening date
• First significant sales
• Break even date
• Business licenses and approvals

You should also discuss the key numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common metrics worth tracking include:

• Conversion rates
• Customer acquisition costs
• Profit per customer
• Repeat purchases

It’s perfectly fine to start with just a few metrics and grow the number you are tracking over time. You also may find that some metrics simply aren’t relevant to your business and can narrow down what you’re tracking.

Dig Deeper: How to use milestones in your business plan

Organization and management team

Investors don’t just look for great ideas—they want to find great teams. Use this chapter to describe your current team and who you need to hire . You should also provide a quick overview of your location and history if you’re already up and running.

Briefly highlight the relevant experiences of each key team member in the company. It’s important to make the case for why yours is the right team to turn an idea into a reality. 

Do they have the right industry experience and background? Have members of the team had entrepreneurial successes before? 

If you still need to hire key team members, that’s OK. Just note those gaps in this section.

Your company overview should also include a summary of your company’s current business structure . The most common business structures include:

• Sole proprietor
• Partnership

Be sure to provide an overview of how the business is owned as well. Does each business partner own an equal portion of the business? How is ownership divided? 

Potential lenders and investors will want to know the structure of the business before they will consider a loan or investment.

Dig Deeper: How to write about your company structure and team

Financial plan

Last, but certainly not least, is your financial plan chapter. 

Entrepreneurs often find this section the most daunting. But, business financials for most startups are less complicated than you think, and a business degree is certainly not required to build a solid financial forecast. 

A typical financial forecast in a business plan includes the following:

• Sales forecast : An estimate of the sales expected over a given period. You’ll break down your forecast into the key revenue streams that you expect to have.
• Expense budget : Your planned spending such as personnel costs , marketing expenses, and taxes.
• Profit & Loss : Brings together your sales and expenses and helps you calculate planned profits.
• Cash Flow : Shows how cash moves into and out of your business. It can predict how much cash you’ll have on hand at any given point in the future.
• Balance Sheet : A list of the assets, liabilities, and equity in your company. In short, it provides an overview of the financial health of your business. 

A strong business plan will include a description of assumptions about the future, and potential risks that could impact the financial plan. Including those will be especially important if you’re writing a business plan to pursue a loan or other investment.

Dig Deeper: How to create financial forecasts and budgets

This is the place for additional data, charts, or other information that supports your plan.

Including an appendix can significantly enhance the credibility of your plan by showing readers that you’ve thoroughly considered the details of your business idea, and are backing your ideas up with solid data.

Just remember that the information in the appendix is meant to be supplementary. Your business plan should stand on its own, even if the reader skips this section.

Dig Deeper : What to include in your business plan appendix

Optional: Business plan cover page

Adding a business plan cover page can make your plan, and by extension your business, seem more professional in the eyes of potential investors, lenders, and partners. It serves as the introduction to your document and provides necessary contact information for stakeholders to reference.

Your cover page should be simple and include:

• Company logo
• Business name
• Value proposition (optional)
• Business plan title
• Completion and/or update date
• Address and contact information
• Confidentiality statement

Just remember, the cover page is optional. If you decide to include it, keep it very simple and only spend a short amount of time putting it together.

Dig Deeper: How to create a business plan cover page

How to use AI to help write your business plan

Generative AI tools such as ChatGPT can speed up the business plan writing process and help you think through concepts like market segmentation and competition. These tools are especially useful for taking ideas that you provide and converting them into polished text for your business plan.

The best way to use AI for your business plan is to leverage it as a collaborator , not a replacement for human creative thinking and ingenuity. 

AI can come up with lots of ideas and act as a brainstorming partner. It’s up to you to filter through those ideas and figure out which ones are realistic enough to resonate with your customers. 

There are pros and cons of using AI to help with your business plan . So, spend some time understanding how it can be most helpful before just outsourcing the job to AI.

Learn more: 10 AI prompts you need to write a business plan

• Writing tips and strategies

To help streamline the business plan writing process, here are a few tips and key questions to answer to make sure you get the most out of your plan and avoid common mistakes .  

Determine why you are writing a business plan

Knowing why you are writing a business plan will determine your approach to your planning project. 

For example: If you are writing a business plan for yourself, or just to use inside your own business , you can probably skip the section about your team and organizational structure. 

If you’re raising money, you’ll want to spend more time explaining why you’re looking to raise the funds and exactly how you will use them.

Regardless of how you intend to use your business plan , think about why you are writing and what you’re trying to get out of the process before you begin.

Keep things concise

Probably the most important tip is to keep your business plan short and simple. There are no prizes for long business plans . The longer your plan is, the less likely people are to read it. 

So focus on trimming things down to the essentials your readers need to know. Skip the extended, wordy descriptions and instead focus on creating a plan that is easy to read —using bullets and short sentences whenever possible.

Have someone review your business plan

Writing a business plan in a vacuum is never a good idea. Sometimes it’s helpful to zoom out and check if your plan makes sense to someone else. You also want to make sure that it’s easy to read and understand.

Don’t wait until your plan is “done” to get a second look. Start sharing your plan early, and find out from readers what questions your plan leaves unanswered. This early review cycle will help you spot shortcomings in your plan and address them quickly, rather than finding out about them right before you present your plan to a lender or investor.

If you need a more detailed review, you may want to explore hiring a professional plan writer to thoroughly examine it.

Use a free business plan template and business plan examples to get started

Knowing what information to include in a business plan is sometimes not quite enough. If you’re struggling to get started or need additional guidance, it may be worth using a business plan template. 

There are plenty of great options available (we’ve rounded up our 8 favorites to streamline your search).

But, if you’re looking for a free downloadable business plan template , you can get one right now; download the template used by more than 1 million businesses. 

Or, if you just want to see what a completed business plan looks like, check out our library of over 550 free business plan examples . 

We even have a growing list of industry business planning guides with tips for what to focus on depending on your business type.

Common pitfalls and how to avoid them

It’s easy to make mistakes when you’re writing your business plan. Some entrepreneurs get sucked into the writing and research process, and don’t focus enough on actually getting their business started. 

Here are a few common mistakes and how to avoid them:

Not talking to your customers : This is one of the most common mistakes. It’s easy to assume that your product or service is something that people want. Before you invest too much in your business and too much in the planning process, make sure you talk to your prospective customers and have a good understanding of their needs.

• Overly optimistic sales and profit forecasts: By nature, entrepreneurs are optimistic about the future. But it’s good to temper that optimism a little when you’re planning, and make sure your forecasts are grounded in reality. 
• Spending too much time planning: Yes, planning is crucial. But you also need to get out and talk to customers, build prototypes of your product and figure out if there’s a market for your idea. Make sure to balance planning with building.
• Not revising the plan: Planning is useful, but nothing ever goes exactly as planned. As you learn more about what’s working and what’s not—revise your plan, your budgets, and your revenue forecast. Doing so will provide a more realistic picture of where your business is going, and what your financial needs will be moving forward.
• Not using the plan to manage your business: A good business plan is a management tool. Don’t just write it and put it on the shelf to collect dust – use it to track your progress and help you reach your goals.
• Presenting your business plan

The planning process forces you to think through every aspect of your business and answer questions that you may not have thought of. That’s the real benefit of writing a business plan – the knowledge you gain about your business that you may not have been able to discover otherwise.

With all of this knowledge, you’re well prepared to convert your business plan into a pitch presentation to present your ideas. 

A pitch presentation is a summary of your plan, just hitting the highlights and key points. It’s the best way to present your business plan to investors and team members.

Dig Deeper: Learn what key slides should be included in your pitch deck

Use your business plan to manage your business

One of the biggest benefits of planning is that it gives you a tool to manage your business better. With a revenue forecast, expense budget, and projected cash flow, you know your targets and where you are headed.

And yet, nothing ever goes exactly as planned – it’s the nature of business.

That’s where using your plan as a management tool comes in. The key to leveraging it for your business is to review it periodically and compare your forecasts and projections to your actual results.

Start by setting up a regular time to review the plan – a monthly review is a good starting point. During this review, answer questions like:

• Did you meet your sales goals?
• Is spending following your budget?
• Has anything gone differently than what you expected?

Now that you see whether you’re meeting your goals or are off track, you can make adjustments and set new targets. 

Maybe you’re exceeding your sales goals and should set new, more aggressive goals. In that case, maybe you should also explore more spending or hiring more employees. 

Or maybe expenses are rising faster than you projected. If that’s the case, you would need to look at where you can cut costs.

A plan, and a method for comparing your plan to your actual results , is the tool you need to steer your business toward success.

Learn More: How to run a regular plan review

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How to write a business plan FAQ

What is a business plan?

A document that describes your business , the products and services you sell, and the customers that you sell to. It explains your business strategy, how you’re going to build and grow your business, what your marketing strategy is, and who your competitors are.

What are the benefits of a business plan?

A business plan helps you understand where you want to go with your business and what it will take to get there. It reduces your overall risk, helps you uncover your business’s potential, attracts investors, and identifies areas for growth.

Having a business plan ultimately makes you more confident as a business owner and more likely to succeed for a longer period of time.

What are the 7 steps of a business plan?

The seven steps to writing a business plan include:

• Write a brief executive summary
• Describe your products and services.
• Conduct market research and compile data into a cohesive market analysis.
• Describe your marketing and sales strategy.
• Outline your organizational structure and management team.
• Develop financial projections for sales, revenue, and cash flow.
• Add any additional documents to your appendix.

What are the 5 most common business plan mistakes?

There are plenty of mistakes that can be made when writing a business plan. However, these are the 5 most common that you should do your best to avoid:

• 1. Not taking the planning process seriously.
• Having unrealistic financial projections or incomplete financial information.
• Inconsistent information or simple mistakes.
• Failing to establish a sound business model.
• Not having a defined purpose for your business plan.

What questions should be answered in a business plan?

Writing a business plan is all about asking yourself questions about your business and being able to answer them through the planning process. You’ll likely be asking dozens and dozens of questions for each section of your plan.

However, these are the key questions you should ask and answer with your business plan:

• How will your business make money?
• Is there a need for your product or service?
• Who are your customers?
• How are you different from the competition?
• How will you reach your customers?
• How will you measure success?

How long should a business plan be?

The length of your business plan fully depends on what you intend to do with it. From the SBA and traditional lender point of view, a business plan needs to be whatever length necessary to fully explain your business. This means that you prove the viability of your business, show that you understand the market, and have a detailed strategy in place.

If you intend to use your business plan for internal management purposes, you don’t necessarily need a full 25-50 page business plan. Instead, you can start with a one-page plan to get all of the necessary information in place.

What are the different types of business plans?

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. Here are a few common business plan types worth considering.

Traditional business plan: The tried-and-true traditional business plan is a formal document meant to be used when applying for funding or pitching to investors. This type of business plan follows the outline above and can be anywhere from 10-50 pages depending on the amount of detail included, the complexity of your business, and what you include in your appendix.

Business model canvas: The business model canvas is a one-page template designed to demystify the business planning process. It removes the need for a traditional, copy-heavy business plan, in favor of a single-page outline that can help you and outside parties better explore your business idea.

One-page business plan: This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business. You’ll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences. It’s most useful for those exploring ideas, needing to validate their business model, or who need an internal plan to help them run and manage their business.

Lean Plan: The Lean Plan is less of a specific document type and more of a methodology. It takes the simplicity and styling of the one-page business plan and turns it into a process for you to continuously plan, test, review, refine, and take action based on performance. It’s faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

What’s the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?

A business plan covers the “who” and “what” of your business. It explains what your business is doing right now and how it functions. The strategic plan explores long-term goals and explains “how” the business will get there. It encourages you to look more intently toward the future and how you will achieve your vision.

However, when approached correctly, your business plan can actually function as a strategic plan as well. If kept lean, you can define your business, outline strategic steps, and track ongoing operations all with a single plan.

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Table of Contents

• Use AI to help write your plan
• Common planning mistakes
• Manage with your business plan
• Templates and examples

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How to Write a Business Plan: The Ultimate Guide in 2024

• By Luisa Zhou
• Building a Business
• Updated: April 14, 2024

On this page

In this ultimate guide, you learn how to write a business plan you’ll actually use. 

You’ll learn:

• A simple process to create a stand-out business plan.
• The most important elements of a business plan.
• How to research your business plan. 
• How to write your business plan.
• Templates, examples, and much more. 

If you want to make sure that you write a great business plan, this guide will give you a lot of value. Read on!

Chapter 1: Business plan fundamentals

Let’s start by establishing what a business plan is. 

In this chapter, you get a business plan outline. 

You also learn how to write a great business plan, and much more. 

Let’s dive in.

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Business plan outline

Introduction.

• Executive Summary
• Company Description
• Product/Service Description 

Value Proposition

• Market Analysis 

Business Model 

• Sales Strategy 
• Growth Plan
• Management & Staffing
• Financial Summary 

What is a business plan? 

A business plan is a written document that outlines your business goals. It explains your business and how you’re going to reach those goals. 

You might need a business plan for obtaining a loan, receiving funding, or applying for a grant. 

But other than that, a business plan is mainly something you create as a roadmap for yourself. It gives you clarity, but no one else will probably see or use it. 

The thing is: 

You can use your business plan to crystallize your thinking and confirm your idea. Basically, to get started in the best way possible. 

That’s why I recommend that you keep it short. It is important to plan for your business. But it’s much more important to get out there and start building your business. 

This guide helps to make writing a business plan a simple process.

Steps to writing a good business plan

A great business plan consists of a few things:

• The language is clear and concise. If you’re writing your business plan for yourself, a few pages (2-5) is more than enough. If you’re writing it for a more official purpose, 15-20 pages will usually do. 
• Your audience’s needs and wants . Your business is built to address your customers’ problems, so your business plan should be written from your audience’s perspective. 
• Research. Your business plan should build on research and not your own assumptions. 

Chapter 2: How to do market research for your business

In this chapter, we’ll look at the research you need for your business plan.

You see, you need to understand your market to write a great business plan.

And for this, you need to do market research. 

Let’s find out how you do it. 

Why do you need market research? 

A lot of failed businesses have one thing in common.

They didn’t research their market. 

Market research essentially means that you research your audience of potential buyers. You get to understand why they want your product or service. 

Plus, if you’re just starting your business, market research can quickly help you get your first clients. That’s because during your research, people might get interested in working with you.

Most importantly: It helps make your business plan incredibly valuable, so that you’re one step closer to a successful business.

How to do market research

There are a few ways to do market research.

The first one is online research.

Look for information on your service or product and audience. 

First, look for information on pricing and positioning.

What are similar products or services priced at? Who is their target audience? How do they speak about their product?

And look at what potential audiences are saying about those products and services. 

For example, Amazon is a great resource because there are so many books and products with reviews by people who might be in your target audience.

Another site with plenty of reviews is the software review site Capterra . 

Also social media groups like Reddit and Facebook groups include a lot of information on what products and services people want to pay for. 

For example, I started my first online business, an advertising consulting business because I noticed that business owners were talking about this need in Facebook groups.

The next step is to interview people.

For example, you can ask people in social media groups to jump on a quick call with you. In exchange, you offer a free consulting call or similar. 

But what should you ask your interview subjects? 

Check out this video where I talk through what you should be looking for:

Other than that, the questions you need to ask are:

• “What is your biggest challenge related to ___?” 
• “What is your goal for ___?”
• “Would you be willing to pay for ___? How much would you be willing to pay to make this problem go away?”

When you’ve talked to 3-5 people, you’re ready to start writing your business plan.

Chapter 3: How to write a business plan

In this chapter, we’ll look at how to write a business plan.

Again, your business plan shouldn’t be too complicated. (That’s unless you need it for a specific reason, like getting funding. In that case, your business plan should follow the funding source’s requirements.)

Here’s how to write a simple business plan.

Executive summary

An executive summary is a summary of the rest of your plan. That’s why you can leave writing it to the end. Your executive summary should be one page, at most. It includes a high-level overview of:

• Your business concept. What does your business do?
• Product or service. What do you sell? 
• Business goals. What are your long-term goals? 
• Market. What does your market look like? Your competitors? 
• Customers. Who do you sell to? 
• Value proposition. How is your business different from what already exists?
• Scope of business. How big can your business get? 
• Business model. What does your marketing look like? Your revenue model? 

Company description

This section is all about understanding what your business is.

These elements should be included in your company description: 

• Your business structure (Sole proprietorship, limited partnership, incorporates company, or general partnership) 
• Your industry 
• What you’re selling
• Your long-term plan (Do you plan to keep your business or sell it?)
• Your vision, mission, and values (Why does your business operate?) 
• Short-term goals (the next year) and long-term goals (the next 1-5 years) 

Product or service description

Is your product or service ready for the market now? For example, if you sell products in an online store, you first need to develop your product and build an inventory. 

But if your business is service-based, your service is ready now. This includes coaching and consulting businesses. 

Also, explain your pricing strategy. How much will your products or services cost? What pricing model do you use (monthly billing, per-product price, or something else)? 

In this video, I give my best pricing recommendations:

And finally, does your product or service come with any intellectual property considerations? Is there a risk that you might be infringing on someone’s IP rights?

A physical product might come with these types of considerations. 

On the other hand, a service-based business doesn’t come with many potential IP rights violations because you’re selling a more generic service. 

(That’s not to say coaching program names and similar can’t be protected, even if the service, like health coaching, can’t. Note that I’m not a lawyer and these tips aren’t meant as legal advice.)

Market Analysis

Your market is crucial for your business success. By choosing a market with plenty of customers who need your product or service, you’re setting yourself up for success.

Remember how we talked about research in the last chapter? 

This is where you’ll use that research to understand why you customers want to buy from you.

Target market

Your customers are at the core of your business. 

Most customer persona guides tell you to list your customers’ demographics:

• Where they live
• Income 
• Interests 

But by now, you know that customer research is so much more than that. Use your customer research (which we looked at in Chapter 3) to dive deeper and understand the psychographics of your target audience. 

What language do they use to describe their needs and goals? For example, a 60-year old executive will talk very differently about her health goals compared to a 25-year old. 

Ask yourself (and answer these questions with your market research):

• What is the problem my customer wants to solve? 
• Why can’t my customer solve this today? 
• What’s the measurable outcome my customer wants to achieve? 

Industry 

How big is your potential market? Check for trends and trajectories in your industry. 

For example, as the boomer generation continues to retire, industries for retirees will continue to grow. If you serve that market, you should mention this in your business plan so you can take that into account when thinking about your business’s long-term goals.

You can get this information from:

• News outlets.
• Governmental statistics offices.
• Academic research.

SWOT analysis

With a SWOT analysis, you analyze your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. 

Most importantly, remember that you never have perfect information. You will need to operate with some assumptions. So ask yourself what assumptions you have that, if proven wrong, would cause this business to fail.

Take these into consideration in your SWOT analysis.

Competition

The next step is to look more closely at your competition.

Research your competition with Harvard professor Michael Porter’s Five Forces Framework in mind. This model builds on five forces to determine the competitive intensity and the attractiveness of an industry in terms of profitability. 

An industry with intense competition won’t have incredibly profitable businesses. But industries with mild competition (most coaching and consulting industries) have room for high returns. 

The five forces are:

• Threat of new entry. How likely is it that new businesses will enter your market? For example, airlines don’t see a huge number of competitors because airlines need money and infrastructure to get started. But people will start online businesses (physical products, coaching, or consulting) much more easily. 
• Buyer power. What buying power do your customers have? If you sell coaching to executives, you will likely have customers with better buying power than if you sell coaching to unemployed people.
• Supplier power. How many suppliers are there on the market? If there aren’t that many, you might face high prices, which eat up your profitability. 
• Threat of substitution. How likely is it that your product or service will get substituted by a low-cost, better alternative? Generic products will easily get substituted, but businesses that build a strong brand won’t. For example, think Apple iPhones. 
• Competitive rivalry. How can you distinguish yourself from your competition, so that you don’t have to directly compete with anyone? You can do this by serving a specific group of customers, distinguishing yourself from the competition with marketing, or establishing technological leadership.

Value proposition

One of the main reasons 20% of small businesses fail within their first year is because they don’t understand their value proposition. Make sure you get this right in your business plan. 

The thing is:

Your value proposition helps you understand how you’re going to stand out. 

You can build your value proposition on Michael Porter’s Generic Competitive Strategies .

These include three different factors:

• Cost Leadership. You become the low-cost business in your industry. This usually requires scale, proprietary technology, access to raw material, or something else. For example, think about how Amazon uses technology, infrastructure, and scale to drive down prices. 
• Differentiation. Your business stands out by being unique. You position yourself to meet customers’ needs. This means that you can ask for a premium price for your services. For example, my client David is a health coach who helps people lose weight with the help of herbs, a very unique way to position a health coaching business.
• Cost Focus or Differentiation Focus. Your business focuses on a specific niche and differentiates itself either by serving a specific target market need or a target market cost behavior. 

For example, I started my current business when I realized that there wasn’t a great product for employees who wanted to quit their jobs and become entrepreneurs. I used differentiation focus to target a specific segment within a competitive market (business coaching). 

This chart should help you answer two questions: 

• Who is your target customer? 
• How are you different from the competition? 

Business Model

Your operations plan outlines the workflows you’ll need to implement to make your business work. In terms of a physical product, this includes suppliers, logistics, inventory, and more. You’ll also need a contingency plan in case anything goes wrong.

In terms of a service-based business, you don’t need to put too much energy on your operations because all you need is yourself and your laptop. 

Your marketing plan shows how you’re going to spread the word about your business now and in the future. Focus on where your clients are hanging out, whether that’s on Instagram, Facebook, or somewhere else. 

Your marketing strategy should answer these questions:

• What is the pricing of your product or service? Why did you choose this price?
• How do you promote your business?
• What are you selling and how is that different from other existing products and services?
• Where will you sell your products and services?

Sales strategy

Next, share your sales strategy. This is the process you undergo when you sell to your customers.

It covers all activities that lead up to a sale. Your sales cycle could look something like this:

Facebook ad → Lead subscribes to your email list → Lead reads your emails → Lead buys from you

Growth plan

What will your business growth look like? How will you make it happen? Your growth plan should be specific and realistic. Define the exact steps you’ll take to grow your business.

Management & staffing

What does the management of your business look like? If you’re starting a business on your own, you’re the CEO and you don’t need to include anyone else here.

Will your business employ a team? Or at what point will you start hiring people, if at all? 

If you’re unsure, I share advice on hiring in this video: 

Financial summary

Your financial plan builds on your income statement, balance sheet, and cash-flow statement. 

Income statement: Where do you get your revenue and what are your expenses? With this information, you can make a profit-and-loss calculation. 

If you haven’t made any sales yet, you can work with estimates. Remember that people are less likely to buy in the beginning when you don’t have testimonials and you’re new to sales. That’s why I recommend estimating that one out of every ten sales calls will convert. 

Cash-flow statement: Your cash-flow statement is just like your income statement, but it also takes into account when revenues are collected and expenses paid. If you get more money in than is going out, you have a positive cash-flow statement. 

Balance sheet: List your business assets or what you own (if you have any) and what you owe. By deducting liabilities from assets you get your business’s shareholder equity. 

Also ask yourself: What’s the biggest risk to your financial viability? 

For example, let’s say you’re a health coach who teams up with a local gym to provide their members with health coaching. Your biggest financial risk (assuming this was your only client acquisition strategy) would be that the gym went bankrupt. 

Knowing your risks upfront means that you can prepare for them. And by including these in your business plan, you are clear on your risks and your planning for those risks. 

Need a way to set up your financial plan for your business plan? Copy this simple financial tracker that I created for you and calculate your own business income.

Chapter 4: Business plan template

This chapter is all about using what you’ve learned so far. 

First, you get a fillable business plan template.

And second, we’ll look at a business plan example.

Let’s dive right in.

Business plan template 

The simplest business plan format? A Business Model Canvas.

The Business Model Canvas was first developed by Alexander Osterwalder in 2005. This is a visual chart of your business plan that includes nine ‘building blocks’. You can either use it as your business plan or use it to structure a longer business plan. Either way, use what you’ve learned so far in this guide to fill in the sheet. 

Start by filling in this PDF to answer all the business plan elements we’ve looked at so far. 

Then, use your answers to fill in your own Business Model Canvas. 

Here is a fillable PDF Business Model Canvas you can use, including instructions on how to use it. 

Business plan example

Not sure exactly what your Business Model Canvas should look like?

Here’s a simple business plan example to help you get started. 

Chapter 5: Helpful resources

Starting a business is so much more than creating a business plan.

A business plan will help you put your idea on paper.

But that’s when the real work kicks in.

These resources will help you write your business plan and start your business. 

Let’s take a look.

Start a business resources 

“ How to Start an Online Business ” 

“ Start Your Own Business ” – USAGov

Shopify’s Business Name Generator 

“ Talking to Humans: Success Starts With Understanding Your Customers ” – Giff Constable

“ Your Strategy Should Be a Hypothesis You Constantly Adjust ” – Harvard Business Review

“ The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It ”, Michael E. Gerber

Legal resources to start a business 

“ Register Your Business ” – US Small Business Administration

“ Starting a Business: License and Permit Checklist ” – LegalZoom

“ Business Structures ” – IRS

Funding resources  

“ Fund Your Business ” – US Small Business Administration 

“ Government Small Business Loans ” – SBA.com 

Financial resources

“ Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine ”, Mike Michalowicz

“ Business Planning & Financial Statements Template Gallery ” – SCORE

Marketing and sales resources

“ Business Marketing Strategies ”

“ 5 Tips to Using Social Media for Your Business Without Being Salesy ”

“ How I Learned to Sell (Strategies for Business) ” (YouTube)

What’s next?

There you have it. Now you know how to write a business plan. 

However, there are far more things that go into building a successful online business.

And not just any business, but a business that lets you quit your day job, earn a great income, and build a flexible life.

I teach the exact steps you need to take to build such a business in this PDF on starting a six-figure online business.

Get it here:

About Luisa Zhou

Luisa Zhou has helped thousands of students build and scale their own profitable online Freedom Business. Fun Fact: She used to work as an engineer for the Space Station and holds a B.S.E. from Princeton. Click here to learn more about Luisa.

Hope you enjoy this blog post.

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You don’t have to write an entire plan if you don’t plan to present it to a board of trustees. You can always start with a business model canvas.

Thank you, thank you so much. So simple and easy to understand and work with. I appreciate you so much. Thank you!

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More From Forbes

How To Start A Business Plan: A Step-By-Step Guide

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Creating a business plan is a critical first step for any entrepreneur. Knowing how to start a business plan will help you create a roadmap, guiding your business from startup to growth and beyond. Whether you're looking for investment, trying to set clear goals, or simply organizing your thoughts, a solid business plan can make all the difference.

Here is a guide to help you get started on your business plan:

1. executive summary.

What It Is: This section summarizes your business plan as a whole and outlines your company profile and goals.

What to Include:

• Business name and location
• Products or services offered
• Mission statement
• The purpose of the plan (e.g., seeking funding, guiding the startup process)

Tip: Keep it concise. Although it's the first section, it's often best to write it last, after you’ve detailed everything else.

2. Company Description

What It Is: This section provides detailed information about your company, including who you are, what you do, and what markets you serve.

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• Your business structure (e.g., sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation)
• The industry and marketplace needs your business meets
• Your business’s objectives and how you stand out from competitors

Tip: Use this section to highlight your company’s strengths and what makes you unique.

3. Market Research

What It Is: Market research demonstrates your understanding of the industry and target market.

• Market size and growth potential
• Target customer demographics
• Market trends and outlook
• Competitive analysis, including strengths and weaknesses of competitors

Tip: Include data and statistics to back up your findings and show that you’ve done your homework.

4. Organization and Management

What It Is: This section outlines your business’s organizational structure and management team.

• Organizational chart
• Information about the ownership of the company
• Backgrounds and qualifications of the management team
• Roles and responsibilities within the company

Tip: Highlight the skills and experiences of your team that will help the business succeed.

5. Products or Services Line

What It Is: Here, you detail the products or services you offer or plan to offer.

• A description of each product or service
• The lifecycle of products or services
• Research and development activities, if applicable
• Intellectual property, such as patents or trademarks

Tip: Focus on the benefits your products or services bring to your customers.

6. Marketing and Sales Strategy

What It Is: This section explains how you will attract and retain customers.

• Marketing strategies, including advertising, promotions, and public relations
• Sales strategies, including sales processes, channels, and tactics
• Pricing strategy and how it compares to competitors

Tip: Ensure your marketing and sales strategies are aligned with your market research findings.

7. Funding Request

What It Is: If you’re seeking funding , this section outlines your requirements.

• Your current funding needs
• Future funding requirements over the next five years
• How you intend to use the funds
• Potential future financial plans (e.g., selling the business, repaying debt)

Tip: Be specific and realistic about how much funding you need and how it will be used.

8. Financial Projections

What It Is: Financial projections provide a forecast of your business’s financial future.

• Income statements
• Cash flow statements
• Balance sheets
• Break-even analysis

Tip: Use realistic and conservative estimates. Consider hiring a financial professional to help with this section if needed.

9. Appendix

What It Is: The appendix includes any additional information that supports your business plan.

• Resumes of key management team members
• Permits and leases
• Legal documents
• Detailed market research data
• Product photos

Tip: Only include essential information that adds value to your business plan.

Final Tips for Creating a Business Plan

Creating a business plan requires clarity and precision. First and foremost, keep your business plan clear and concise. Avoid using jargon or complex language that could make the plan difficult to read or understand. Your aim should be to communicate your ideas effectively and efficiently.

Next, be realistic in your approach. Ensure that your goals and financial projections are attainable based on your research and understanding of the market. Overly ambitious projections can undermine your credibility and potentially lead to unrealistic expectations.

It's also essential to remember that a business plan is a dynamic document. As your business grows and market conditions change, you should revisit and revise your plan regularly. This helps you stay aligned with your goals and adapt to new challenges and opportunities.

Finally, seek feedback from experienced business professionals. Having someone with business experience review your plan can provide valuable insights and help identify any potential issues or areas for improvement. Their feedback can enhance the overall quality and effectiveness of your business plan.

By following these tips, you'll be better equipped to create a robust and effective business plan that can guide your business towards success.

The bottom line is that starting a business plan may seem challenging, but with careful planning and attention to detail, you can create a comprehensive guide to steer your business toward success. Use this step-by-step guide to ensure that all essential components are covered, giving your business the best possible start.

Melissa Houston, CPA is the author of Cash Confident: An Entrepreneur’s Guide to Creating a Profitable Business and the founder of She Means Profit . As a Business Strategist for small business owners, Melissa helps women making mid-career shifts, to launch their dream businesses, and I also guide established business owners to grow their businesses to more profitably.

The opinions expressed in this article are not intended to replace any professional or expert accounting and/or tax advice whatsoever.

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Business Plan Example and Template

Learn how to create a business plan

What is a Business Plan?

A business plan is a document that contains the operational and financial plan of a business, and details how its objectives will be achieved. It serves as a road map for the business and can be used when pitching investors or financial institutions for debt or equity financing .

A business plan should follow a standard format and contain all the important business plan elements. Typically, it should present whatever information an investor or financial institution expects to see before providing financing to a business.

Contents of a Business Plan

A business plan should be structured in a way that it contains all the important information that investors are looking for. Here are the main sections of a business plan:

1. Title Page

The title page captures the legal information of the business, which includes the registered business name, physical address, phone number, email address, date, and the company logo.

2. Executive Summary

The executive summary is the most important section because it is the first section that investors and bankers see when they open the business plan. It provides a summary of the entire business plan. It should be written last to ensure that you don’t leave any details out. It must be short and to the point, and it should capture the reader’s attention. The executive summary should not exceed two pages.

3. Industry Overview

The industry overview section provides information about the specific industry that the business operates in. Some of the information provided in this section includes major competitors, industry trends, and estimated revenues. It also shows the company’s position in the industry and how it will compete in the market against other major players.

4. Market Analysis and Competition

The market analysis section details the target market for the company’s product offerings. This section confirms that the company understands the market and that it has already analyzed the existing market to determine that there is adequate demand to support its proposed business model.

Market analysis includes information about the target market’s demographics , geographical location, consumer behavior, and market needs. The company can present numbers and sources to give an overview of the target market size.

A business can choose to consolidate the market analysis and competition analysis into one section or present them as two separate sections.

5. Sales and Marketing Plan

The sales and marketing plan details how the company plans to sell its products to the target market. It attempts to present the business’s unique selling proposition and the channels it will use to sell its goods and services. It details the company’s advertising and promotion activities, pricing strategy, sales and distribution methods, and after-sales support.

6. Management Plan

The management plan provides an outline of the company’s legal structure, its management team, and internal and external human resource requirements. It should list the number of employees that will be needed and the remuneration to be paid to each of the employees.

Any external professionals, such as lawyers, valuers, architects, and consultants, that the company will need should also be included. If the company intends to use the business plan to source funding from investors, it should list the members of the executive team, as well as the members of the advisory board.

7. Operating Plan

The operating plan provides an overview of the company’s physical requirements, such as office space, machinery, labor, supplies, and inventory . For a business that requires custom warehouses and specialized equipment, the operating plan will be more detailed, as compared to, say, a home-based consulting business. If the business plan is for a manufacturing company, it will include information on raw material requirements and the supply chain.

8. Financial Plan

The financial plan is an important section that will often determine whether the business will obtain required financing from financial institutions, investors, or venture capitalists. It should demonstrate that the proposed business is viable and will return enough revenues to be able to meet its financial obligations. Some of the information contained in the financial plan includes a projected income statement , balance sheet, and cash flow.

9. Appendices and Exhibits

The appendices and exhibits part is the last section of a business plan. It includes any additional information that banks and investors may be interested in or that adds credibility to the business. Some of the information that may be included in the appendices section includes office/building plans, detailed market research , products/services offering information, marketing brochures, and credit histories of the promoters.

Business Plan Template

Here is a basic template that any business can use when developing its business plan:

Section 1: Executive Summary

• Present the company’s mission.
• Describe the company’s product and/or service offerings.
• Give a summary of the target market and its demographics.
• Summarize the industry competition and how the company will capture a share of the available market.
• Give a summary of the operational plan, such as inventory, office and labor, and equipment requirements.

Section 2: Industry Overview

• Describe the company’s position in the industry.
• Describe the existing competition and the major players in the industry.
• Provide information about the industry that the business will operate in, estimated revenues, industry trends, government influences, as well as the demographics of the target market.

Section 3: Market Analysis and Competition

• Define your target market, their needs, and their geographical location.
• Describe the size of the market, the units of the company’s products that potential customers may buy, and the market changes that may occur due to overall economic changes.
• Give an overview of the estimated sales volume vis-à-vis what competitors sell.
• Give a plan on how the company plans to combat the existing competition to gain and retain market share.

Section 4: Sales and Marketing Plan

• Describe the products that the company will offer for sale and its unique selling proposition.
• List the different advertising platforms that the business will use to get its message to customers.
• Describe how the business plans to price its products in a way that allows it to make a profit.
• Give details on how the company’s products will be distributed to the target market and the shipping method.

Section 5: Management Plan

• Describe the organizational structure of the company.
• List the owners of the company and their ownership percentages.
• List the key executives, their roles, and remuneration.
• List any internal and external professionals that the company plans to hire, and how they will be compensated.
• Include a list of the members of the advisory board, if available.

Section 6: Operating Plan

• Describe the location of the business, including office and warehouse requirements.
• Describe the labor requirement of the company. Outline the number of staff that the company needs, their roles, skills training needed, and employee tenures (full-time or part-time).
• Describe the manufacturing process, and the time it will take to produce one unit of a product.
• Describe the equipment and machinery requirements, and if the company will lease or purchase equipment and machinery, and the related costs that the company estimates it will incur.
• Provide a list of raw material requirements, how they will be sourced, and the main suppliers that will supply the required inputs.

Section 7: Financial Plan

• Describe the financial projections of the company, by including the projected income statement, projected cash flow statement, and the balance sheet projection.

Section 8: Appendices and Exhibits

• Quotes of building and machinery leases
• Proposed office and warehouse plan
• Market research and a summary of the target market
• Credit information of the owners
• List of product and/or services

Related Readings

Thank you for reading CFI’s guide to Business Plans. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following CFI resources will be helpful:

• Corporate Structure
• Three Financial Statements
• Business Model Canvas Examples
• See all management & strategy resources
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5.6 The Business Plan

Learning objective.

• Discuss the importance of planning for your business, and identify the key sections of a business plan.

If you want to start a business, you must prepare a business plan. This essential document should tell the story of your business concept, provide an overview of the industry in which you will operate, describe the goods or services you will provide, identify your customers and proposed marketing activities, explain the qualifications of your management team, and state your projected income and borrowing needs.

Purpose of a Business Plan

The business plan is a plan or blueprint for the company, and it’s an indispensable tool in attracting investors, obtaining loans, or both. Remember, too, that the value of your business plan isn’t limited to the planning stages of your business and the process of finding start-up money. Once you’ve acquired start-up capital, don’t just stuff your plan in a drawer. Treat it as an ongoing guide to your business and its operations, as well as a yardstick by which you can measure your performance. Keep it handy, update it periodically, and use it to assess your progress.

In developing and writing your business plan, you must make strategic decisions in the areas of management, operations, marketing, accounting, and finance—in short, in all the functional areas of business that we described in Chapter 1 “The Foundations of Business” . Granted, preparing a business plan takes a lot of time and work, but it’s well worth the effort. A business plan forces you to think critically about your proposed business and reduces your risk of failure. It forces you to analyze your business concept and the industry in which you’ll be operating, and it helps you determine how you can grab a percentage of sales in that industry.

The most common use of a business plan is persuading investors, lenders, or both, to provide financing. These two groups look for different things. Investors are particularly interested in the quality of your business concept and the ability of management to make your venture successful. Bankers and other lenders are primarily concerned with your company’s ability to generate cash to repay loans. To persuade investors and lenders to support your business, you need a professional, well-written business plan that paints a clear picture of your proposed business.

Sections of the Business Plan

Though formats can vary, a business plan generally includes the following sections: executive summary, description of proposed business, industry analysis, mission statement and core values, management plan, goods or services and (if applicable) production processes, marketing, global issues, and financial plan. Let’s explore each of these sections in more detail. ( Note : More detailed documents and an Excel template are available for those classes in which the optional business plan project is assigned.)

Executive Summary

The executive summary is a one- to three-page overview of the business plan. It’s actually the most important part of the business plan: it’s what the reader looks at first, and if it doesn’t capture the reader’s attention, it might be the only thing that he or she looks at. It should therefore emphasize the key points of the plan and get the reader excited about the prospects of the business.

Even though the executive summary is the first thing read, it’s written after the other sections of the plan are completed. An effective approach in writing the executive summary is to paraphrase key sentences from each section of the business plan. This process will ensure that the key information of each section is included in the executive summary.

Description of Proposed Business

Here, you present a brief description of the company and tell the reader why you’re starting your business, what benefits it provides, and why it will be successful. Some of the questions to answer in this section include the following:

• What will your proposed company do? Will it be a manufacturer, a retailer, or a service provider?
• What goods or services will it provide?
• Why are your goods or services unique?
• Who will be your main customers?
• How will your goods or services be sold?
• Where will your business be located?

Because later parts of the plan will provide more detailed discussions of many of these issues, this section should provide only an overview of these topics.

Industry Analysis

This section provides a brief introduction to the industry in which you propose to operate. It describes both the current situation and the future possibilities, and it addresses such questions as the following:

• How large is the industry? What are total sales for the industry, in volume and dollars?
• Is the industry mature or are new companies successfully entering it?
• What opportunities exist in the industry? What threats exist?
• What factors will influence future expansion or contraction of the industry?
• What is the overall outlook for the industry?
• Who are your major competitors in the industry?
• How does your product differ from those of your competitors?

Mission Statement and Core Values

This portion of the business plan states the company’s mission statement and core values . The mission statement describes the purpose or mission of your organization—its reason for existence. It tells the reader what the organization is committed to doing. For example, one mission statement reads, “The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication to the highest quality of customer service delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness, individual pride, and company spirit” (Southwest Airline’s, 2011).

Core values are fundamental beliefs about what’s important and what is (and isn’t) appropriate in conducting company activities. Core values are not about profits, but rather about ideals. They should help guide the behavior of individuals in the organization. Coca-Cola, for example, intends that its core values—leadership, passion, integrity, collaboration, diversity, quality, and accountability—will let employees know what behaviors are (and aren’t) acceptable (The Coca-Cola Company, 2011).

Management Plan

Management makes the key decisions for the business, such as its legal form and organizational structure. This section of the business plan should outline these decisions and provide information about the qualifications of the key management personnel.

A. Legal Form of Organization

This section dentifies the chosen legal form of business ownership: sole proprietorship (personal ownership), partnership (ownership shared with one or more partners), or corporation (ownership through shares of stock).

B. Qualifications of Management Team and Compensation Package

It isn’t enough merely to have a good business idea: you need a talented management team that can turn your concept into a profitable venture. This part of the management plan section provides information about the qualifications of each member of the management team. Its purpose is to convince the reader that the company will be run by experienced, well-qualified managers. It describes each individual’s education, experience, and expertise, as well as each person’s responsibilities. It also indicates the estimated annual salary to be paid to each member of the management team.

C. Organizational Structure

This section of the management plan describes the relationships among individuals within the company, listing the major responsibilities of each member of the management team.

Goods, Services, and the Production Process

To succeed in attracting investors and lenders, you must be able to describe your goods or services clearly (and enthusiastically). Here, you describe all the goods and services that you will provide the marketplace. This section explains why your proposed offerings are better than those of competitors and indicates what market needs will be met by your goods or services. In other words, it addresses a key question: What competitive advantage will the company’s goods and services have over similar products on the market?

This section also indicates how you plan to obtain or make your products. Naturally, the write-up will vary, depending on whether you’re proposing a service company, a retailer, or a manufacturer. If it’s a service company, describe the process by which you’ll deliver your services. If it’s a retail company, tell the reader where you’ll purchase products for resale.

If you’re going to be a manufacturer, you must furnish information on product design, development, and production processes. You must address questions such as the following:

• How will products be designed?
• What technology will be needed to design and manufacture products?
• Will the company run its own production facilities, or will its products be manufactured by someone else?
• Where will production facilities be located?
• What type of equipment will be used?
• What are the design and layout of the facilities?
• How many workers will be employed in the production process?
• How many units will be produced?
• How will the company ensure that products are of high quality?

This critical section focuses on four marketing-related areas—target market, pricing, distribution, and promotion:

• Target market . Describe future customers and profile them according to age, gender, income, interests, and so forth. If your company will sell to other companies, describe your typical business customer.
• Pricing . State the proposed price for each product. Compare your pricing strategy to that of competitors.
• Distribution . Explain how your goods or services will be distributed to customers. Indicate whether they’ll be sold directly to customers or through retail outlets.
• Promotion . Explain your promotion strategy, indicating what types of advertising you’ll be using.

In addition, if you intend to use the Internet to promote or sell your products, also provide answers to these questions:

• Will your company have a Web site? Who will visit the site?
• What will the site look like? What information will it supply?
• Will you sell products over the Internet?
• How will you attract customers to your site and entice them to buy from your company?

Global Issues

In this section, indicate whether you’ll be involved in international markets, by either buying or selling in other countries. If you’re going to operate across borders, identify the challenges that you’ll face in your global environment, and explain how you’ll meet them. If you don’t plan initially to be involved in international markets, state what strategies, if any, you’ll use to move into international markets when the time comes.

Financial Plan

In preparing the financial section of your business plan, specify the company’s cash needs and explain how you’ll be able to repay debt. This information is vital in obtaining financing. It reports the amount of cash needed by the company for start-up and initial operations and provides an overview of proposed funding sources. It presents financial projections, including expected sales, costs, and profits (or losses). It refers to a set of financial statements included in an appendix to the business plan.

Here, you furnish supplemental information that may be of interest to the reader. In addition to a set of financial statements, for example, you might attach the résumés of your management team.

Key Takeaways

• A business plan tells the story of your business concept, provides an overview of the industry in which you will operate, describes the goods or services you will provide, identifies your customers and proposed marketing activities, explains the qualifications of your management team, and states your projected income and borrowing needs.
• In your business plan, you make strategic decisions in the areas of management, operations, marketing, accounting, and finance. Developing your business plan forces you to analyze your business concept and the industry in which you’ll be operating. Its most common use is persuading investors and lenders to provide financing.

A business plan generally includes the following sections:

• Executive summary . One- to three-page overview.
• Description of proposed business . Brief description of the company that answers such questions as what your proposed company will do, what goods or services it will provide, and who its main customers will be.
• Industry analysis . Short introduction to the industry in which you propose to operate.
• Mission statement and core values . Declaration of your mission statement , which are fundamental beliefs about what’s important and what is (and isn’t) appropriate in conducting company activities.
• Management plan . Information about management team qualifications and responsibilities, and designation of your proposed legal form of organization.
• Goods, services, and the production process . Description of the goods and services that you’ll provide in the marketplace; explanation of how you plan to obtain or make your products or of the process by which you’ll deliver your services.
• Marketing . Description of your plans in four marketing-related areas: target market, pricing, distribution, and promotion.
• Global issues . Description of your involvement, if any, in international markets.
• Financial plan . Report on the cash you’ll need for start-up and initial operations, proposed funding sources, and means of repaying your debt.
• Appendices . Supplemental information that may be of interest to the reader.

(AACSB) Analysis

Let’s start with three givens: (1) college students love chocolate chip cookies, (2) you have a special talent for baking cookies, and (3) you’re always broke. Given these three conditions, you’ve come up with the idea of starting an on-campus business—selling chocolate chip cookies to fellow students. As a business major, you want to do things right by preparing a business plan. First, you identified a number of specifics about your proposed business. Now, you need to put these various pieces of information into the relevant section of your business plan. Using the business plan format described in this chapter, indicate the section of the business plan into which you’d put each of the following:

• You’ll bake the cookies in the kitchen of a friend’s apartment.
• You’ll charge $1 each or $10 a dozen.
• Your purpose is to make the best cookies on campus and deliver them fresh. You value integrity, consideration of others, and quality.
• Each cookie will have ten chocolate chips and will be superior to those sold in nearby bakeries and other stores.
• You expect sales of $6,000 for the first year.
• Chocolate chip cookies are irresistible to college students. There’s a lot of competition from local bakeries, but your cookies will be superior and popular with college students. You’ll make them close to campus using only fresh ingredients and sell them for $1 each. Your management team is excellent. You expect first-year sales of $6,000 and net income of $1,500. You estimate start-up costs at $600.
• You’ll place ads for your product in the college newspaper.
• You’ll hire a vice president at a salary of $100 a week.
• You can ship cookies anywhere in the United States and in Canada.
• You need $600 in cash to start the business.
• There are six bakeries within walking distance of the college.
• You’ll bake nothing but cookies and sell them to college students. You’ll make them in an apartment near campus and deliver them fresh.

The Coca-Cola Company, “Workplace Culture,” The Coca-Cola Company, http://www.thecoca-colacompany.com/citizenship/workplace_culture.html (accessed August 31, 2011).

Southwest Airline’s company Web site, about SWA section, http://www.southwest.com/about_swa/mission.html (accessed August 31, 2011).

Exploring Business Copyright © 2016 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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Business Planning: A Guide to Business Start-Up by David Butler

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Chapter 2    The structure of Chapter 2    the business Chapter 2    plan

In Chapter 1 we examined the reasons and justification for preparing and using business plans, both for new and established enterprises. This chapter examines the ways in which business plans are presented, and suggests a basic structure which would be acceptable to most potential banks or financiers, in order to give the proposer of the plan plenty of flexibility in its content and presentation. This basic structure will also facilitate an efficient way of meeting the evidence requirements of the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level 3 Business Planning qualification.

What format should the business plan take?

There are a multitude of ‘ideal’ business plans around, ...

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	The business plan presents the entrepreneur's strategy for executing the business concept. It explains to lenders and investors why a new business deserves financial support. Business plans also serve as living guides to the business and as start-up blueprints. Business plans have common features, including management team plan, company description, product and service plan, mission and vision statements, industry overview, marketing analysis, competitive analysis, marketing plan, operational plan, organizational plan, financial plan, growth plan, contingency plan, executive summary, supporting documents, cover page, title page, and table of contents. There are many sources of information for entrepreneurs creating business plans. Fill out the reading organizer as you read the section.

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Screen Rant

Kevin costner’s risky horizon saga plan flipped quentin tarantino’s genius kill bill trick.

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Every Death In Horizon: An American Saga Chapter 1 Explained

This epic with 82% rt audience score shows how kevin costner can save his yellowstone replacement, beetlejuice 2's second big confirmed character death also solves a jenna ortega mystery, quick links, the first chapter of costner's film is all backstory with little action, while tarantino's is the opposite, horizon: an american saga chapter 2 is expected to have all action, just like kill bill: volume 1, the reverse plot allows costner to be original and still work with tarantino's useful method.

• The backstory in Kevin Costner's Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 contrasts with Tarantino's action-packed Kill Bill Volume 1 .
• The placement of action in these films is crucial to shaping their narratives and building anticipation.
• The reverse plot structure in Costner's film series allows for an original approach while honoring Tarantino's method.

Kevin Costner has established a respectable reputation for himself, not just as an actor, but also as a director. After all, he was in Paramount's hit drama Yellowstone and is now releasing his film series Horizon: An American Saga , which he directed and stars in. He has become a household name now. Of course, there have been many well-known directors before Costner, including Quentin Tarantino. Now, he has undoubtedly been a household name for years. Tarantino is notorious for his action-packed films such as Inglourious Basterds , Pulp Fiction , and Kill Bill series.

On an initial viewing of Horizon: An American Saga and the Kill Bill films, audiences may not see their similarities. After all, Kill Bill 's cast and characters are entirely different from those in the Western movie. However, there is a significant parallel in the narrative structure of these series . This is especially apparent with the Horizon: An American Saga chapter one ending . Costner reversed the outline of Kill Bill , putting all the backstory in the first chapter and anticipating all the action in the second.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 kills several significant characters as part of the main storylines. Here's who dies, who kills them, and why.

Horizon: An American Saga Has More In Common With Kill Bill: Volume 2

Movie Title	Release Year
	2003
	2004

Costner's Horizon: An American Saga has minimal action in the first installment. The point of this is to establish all the backstory needed for the action in the film's sequel. There are so many stories that will be fleshed out with classic Western action scenes in chapter two, and if all the action were in the first film, there would be nothing that a sequel could offer. It would not have a chance of becoming one of the best Westerns ever made . If anything, a prequel would have been more necessary to explain all the action. Thus, the backstory is mostly in the chapter.

Tarantino's Kill Bill , on the other hand, primarily features the backstory in Volume 2 . This sequel explains why The Bride wishes to kill Bill. The backstory being in the second half of the series allows the audience to appreciate her more. It would not have worked in the first film. After all, the series is called Kill Bill , not Why The Bride Needs to Kill Bill . The title anticipates action. Of course, a backstory is needed with all the action , but that is why volume two features the backstory and nourishes the action-filled revenge narrative.

The Placement Of Action Is Essential For Each Of These Franchises.

As mentioned, Costner's sequel hits theaters later this year, so it is not officially confirmed if there will be more action. However, the first film's ending does feature some scenes that will be included in this second chapter, and they all seem action-packed. All of this action will then benefit the series. Many Western films are primarily full of action, and including more in Costner's film series will allow it to be part of this genre and show his respect for previous Westerns.

Tarantino's film series is the opposite, as Kill Bill Volume One starts with action and keeps it going for the entire movie. The Bride needed to start killing people who worked for Bill immediately because audiences were anticipating an action-packed film. Action movies are entirely different from Westerns. Does each genre contain features of the other? Very much so, indeed. They have certain aspects to them, though, that require the plotline to go in a specific order. Thus, action series need to start with action, and Westerns need to start with a backstory.

Costner Using A Trick Meant For Action Movies In A Western Is Pretty Neat.

If Costner were to have all the action in the first Horizon: An American Saga , the film would not work in a narrative sense and would have made the backstory useless. Some action is needed in the backstories, like the big villain showdown with Costner . The backstory is still heavily important, though. The films would be more like action movies than Westerns without the backstory aspect. Action movies, on the other hand, require lots of action. They just become elevated action movies when the writers and directors add in more of a backstory, like in the Kill Bill movies.

Movie Title	Release Year
	2024
	TBA

Westerns have the requirements they do because they need to unpack why the American settlers are moving out West and the conflicts they encounter. Costner does the Western genre justice by splitting up Horizon: An American Saga into two films, where the first explains all the backstory and the second features the action. However, many Westerns have both aspects in single films, including the rest of Kevin Costner's Westerns . However, Costner's film includes several storylines. There would be no way for the franchise to be successful if all the action and backstory were in the same movie. They needed to split up.

Although there are not as many stories to flesh out as in Costner's movies, The Bride's story is so complex that, like Horizon: An American Saga , it must be split into two films.

Kill Bill 's complete timeline has just one story to tell: The Bride killing Bill. Although there are not as many stories to flesh out as in Costner's movies, The Bride's story is so complex that, like Horizon: An American Saga , it must be split into two films. Putting all the action scenes in her story first still works better in Kill Bill . There is not as much pressure for the audience to thoroughly understand the narrative as in films with multiple storylines.

With chapter two of Horizon: An American Saga releasing soon, it will be interesting to see if there is actually more action in this film than the first installment's ending anticipates. Perhaps there will be even more action than audiences anticipate. Regardless, reversing Tarantino's narrative structure for Kill Bill has worked well for the Western series. It ultimately shows that despite Westerns and action movies having completely different standards, they could still have more in common than audiences may initially believe.

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1

Horizon: An American Saga - Chapter 1 is a Western film directed by Kevin Costner, and sees him in the starring role. The film explores multiple generations surrounding the expansion of the American West before and after the Civil War. Horizon is the first in a series of four films, all of which were greenlit by Warner Bros. Pictures.

Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill is a classic tale of betrayal and revenge. When the Bride (Uma Thurman) awakens from a four-year coma, she sets out to settle the score with the team of assassins that betrayed her at the behest of her former boss, Bill (David Carradine). Tracking and killing the world-class assassins isn't easy, but the Bride uses all the tools at her disposal in her relentless pursuit of revenge.

Kill Bill: Vol. 2

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This is the sequel to Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. In it, the Bride (Uma Thurman) continues her hunt for Bill (David Carradine) since he attempted to kill her and successfully killed her family.

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Tax preparation company Intuit to lay off 1,800 as part of an AI-focused reorganization plan

FILE - Intuit TurboTax packages are seen on display in a Costco Warehouse, Jan. 26, 2023, in Pittsburgh. Tax preparation and financial software company Intuit announced an AI-focused reorganization plan Wednesday, July 10, 2024, that includes laying off about 10% of its workforce. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Tax preparation and financial software company Intuit announced an AI-focused reorganization plan Wednesday that includes laying off about 10% of its workforce.

The company behind QuickBooks and TurboTax said it was laying off 1,800 employees, but that it expects to hire at least that many in fiscal 2025 as it accelerates its focus on incorporating artificial intelligence into its products and services.

In an email to employees, CEO Sasan Goodarzi said more than 1,000 of the layoffs were employees that were not meeting the company’s elevated expectations.

Another 300 positions are being eliminated “to streamline work and reallocate resources toward key growth areas,” the email said.

Mountain View, California-based Intuit will also close offices in Boise, Idaho and Edmonton in Alberta, Canada where more than 250 employees work. Some of those workers will transfer to new locations, the company said.

“The era of AI is one of the most significant technology shifts of our lifetime,” Goodarzi said in the opening of his email to staff. ”Companies that aren’t prepared to take advantage of this AI revolution will fall behind and, over time, will no longer exist.”

As for severance, Intuit said that all its laid off U.S. employees will get a minimum of 16 weeks of pay, plus two additional weeks for every year of service and “at least” six months of health insurance coverage. U.S. employees received 60 days notice of their termination, with a last day of Sept. 9.

In a regulatory filing, Intuit estimated the reorganization plan will incur between $250 million and $260 million in charges, mostly coming in its fiscal fourth quarter ending July 31.

Intuit shares fell 3.6% in morning trading to $626.29 per share.

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The $25 Trillion System of Retirement Savings Needs Fixing

Fifty years after Congress passed a landmark retirement law, 401(k) and I.R.A. accounts enrich mostly higher-income households. Here are five ways they can be improved.

By Mark Miller

Few Americans today know much about Studebaker or Packard automobiles. Classic car aficionados recall their sleek, innovative designs , but the brands are also a reminder of another bygone era: the traditional defined benefit pension.

Studebaker and Packard merged in 1954 and later went out of business. Their pension plans were terminated, leaving thousands of workers without their expected benefits. That, along with other pension plan failures, prompted efforts to make retirement savings safer, culminating in federal legislation that has shaped much of the current retirement benefit landscape.

The Employee Retirement Income Security Act, or ERISA, which was signed into law in 1974 by President Gerald R. Ford, marks its 50th anniversary this year.

The law protected private sector pensions by imposing funding requirements, rules for employee eligibility and fiduciary standards requiring plan sponsors to act solely in the interest of its participants. It also created the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, a federally sponsored insurance fund that backstops failing pension plans.

But those tighter requirements and costs led many employers to stop offering traditional pensions and to the rise of 401(k) plans and Individual Retirement Accounts and their dominance in the private sector today.

Pensions never covered all U.S. private sector workers — 62 percent were covered in 1983 compared with a mere 18 percent in 2022, according to the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College . But workers who had them benefited from automatic participation, professional investment management and guaranteed lifetime income streams.

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