The $100 Startup’s One-Page Business Plan This is particularly helpful if your idea isn’t fully fleshed out and you know you have homework to do - it prompts you for information.

Even broken into sections, it’s a long document and a bit of a slog to get through, but it produces a professional-looking and useful business plan. You can go back in and edit it as needed, so don’t worry about having everything ready the first time you sit down to tackle it. The SBA’s template is available to fill out online and then download as a PDF. Small Business Administration Business Plan Engine What type of business financing are you interested in obtaining at this time?Ģ. The Refining the Plan resource that comes with it is helpful, especially if this is your first crack at writing a business plan. Its template, available as a PDF or Word download, asks a whopping 150 questions and is generic enough to customize for most types of businesses. Score is an American nonprofit dedicated to helping entrepreneurs get their companies off the ground. Score’s Business Plan Template for Startups Check out these comprehensive business plan templates you can download for free to get you started: 1. Pretty much everything on it can be customized. A template is great - you probably aren’t doing anything that hasn’t been done before, so it provides a proven structure for your plan.

That doesn’t mean you have to bust out Word and start the plan from scratch. It might even lead you to kill off aspects of your business before investing too much time or money in them. It’s an exploratory process in which you can evaluate your options, test your assumptions about your idea, and even discover new opportunities.

Bad location, a marginal niche, having no specific user in mind, raising too much or too little money - all of these issues can be prevented or at least mitigated with good planning.Ĭreating your business plan is more than just getting your ideas down on paper for potential funders to see. Recently, I shared 18 Mistakes That Kill Startups, an infographic created by Mark Vital over at Funders and Founders.Ī lot of those mistakes (most of them, in fact) are the result of poor planning.

Moreover though, a solid business plan is a living document that will continue to guide your efforts as your business grows. Any funder worth his or her salt wants to see it right off the bat.

Easy business plan template free