quick business plan template

.css-s5s6ko{margin-right:42px;color:#F5F4F3;}@media (max-width: 1120px){.css-s5s6ko{margin-right:12px;}} Join us: Learn how to build a trusted AI strategy to support your company's intelligent transformation, featuring Forrester .css-1ixh9fn{display:inline-block;}@media (max-width: 480px){.css-1ixh9fn{display:block;margin-top:12px;}} .css-1uaoevr-heading-6{font-size:14px;line-height:24px;font-weight:500;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;color:#F5F4F3;}.css-1uaoevr-heading-6:hover{color:#F5F4F3;} .css-ora5nu-heading-6{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;color:#0D0E10;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s;transition:all 0.3s;position:relative;font-size:16px;line-height:28px;padding:0;font-size:14px;line-height:24px;font-weight:500;-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;color:#F5F4F3;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:hover{border-bottom:0;color:#CD4848;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:hover path{fill:#CD4848;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:hover div{border-color:#CD4848;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:hover div:before{border-left-color:#CD4848;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:active{border-bottom:0;background-color:#EBE8E8;color:#0D0E10;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:active path{fill:#0D0E10;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:active div{border-color:#0D0E10;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:active div:before{border-left-color:#0D0E10;}.css-ora5nu-heading-6:hover{color:#F5F4F3;} Register now .css-1k6cidy{width:11px;height:11px;margin-left:8px;}.css-1k6cidy path{fill:currentColor;}

• Strategic planning |
• Business plan

Business plan template

If you’re looking for a way to start your business off on the right foot, a business plan template can help you establish the foundation for your strategy. Get started in a few clicks with Asana’s free business plan template.

Sign up to use this template.

INTEGRATED FEATURES

Recommended apps.

You’re pumped—you just thought of the greatest business idea ever. You want to get started, but you don’t have a plan laid out. You need a loan to get your idea off the ground, and the bank wants to see an in-depth business plan. We’re here to help.

What is a business plan template?

A business plan template is a framework that helps you solidify your ideas in an organized format. Our free business plan template walks you through how to create a new business from scratch, or re-imagine your existing business in a new market.

What components are included in a business plan template?

Our business plan template covers what an organization wants to achieve within three to five years. By using our template, you’ll have a place to capture all of the major information you need in order to complete your business plan. That includes:

Company description : Information like your executive summary , your company’s mission statement and vision, and your founder’s bio. 

Product and services: A high-level overview of what your company provides, including core products or services. This may also include how your product is developed, any potential screenshots or prototypes of your product, and pricing plans.

Marketing plan: How you plan to bring your product into market at a high level. You can add information like a SWOT analysis , target market research, and brand positioning in this section.

Financial plan: Important financial information such as balance sheets, a break-even analysis, and your cash flow projections. 

Management and organization information: Information on your company’s founders, executive team, and the board of directors.

How to use our free business plan template

Using Asana’s free business plan template is simple. Start by creating a new project with our free template. From there, add relevant information for your specific business plan in the sections provided in our template. If there’s more information you want to include in your business plan, you’re free to add sections, custom fields, or additional tasks to make this template fit your needs.

Integrated features

Goals . Goals in Asana directly connect to the work you’re doing to hit them, making it easy for team members to see what they’re working towards. More often than not, our goals live separate from the work that goes into achieving them. By connecting your team and company goals to the work that supports them, team members have real-time insight and clarity into how their work directly contributes to your team—and company—success. As a result, team members can make better decisions. If necessary, they can identify the projects that support the company’s strategy and prioritize work that delivers measurable results. 

Reporting . Reporting in Asana translates project data into visual charts and digestible graphs. By reporting on work where work lives, you can reduce duplicative work and cut down on unnecessary app switching. And, because all of your team’s work is already in Asana, you can pull data from any project or team to get an accurate picture of what’s happening in one place.

Milestones . Milestones represent important project checkpoints. By setting milestones throughout your project, you can let your team members and project stakeholders know how you’re pacing towards your goal. Use milestones as a chance to celebrate the little wins on the path towards the big project goal. 

Project Overview . Project Overview is your one-stop-shop for all important project context. Give your team a bird’s-eye view of the what, why, and how of your project work. Add a project description to set the tone for how you’ll work together in Asana. Then, share any important resources and context—like meeting details, communication channels, and project briefs—in one place.

Microsoft Teams . With the Microsoft Teams + Asana integration, you can search for and share the information you need without leaving Teams. Easily connect your Teams conversations to actionable items in Asana. Plus, create, assign, and view tasks during a Teams Meeting without needing to switch to your browser.

Slack . Turn ideas, work requests, and action items from Slack into trackable tasks and comments in Asana. Go from quick questions and action items to tasks with assignees and due dates. Easily capture work so requests and to-dos don’t get lost in Slack. 

Google Workplace . Attach files directly to tasks in Asana with the Google Workplace file chooser, which is built into the Asana task pane. Easily attach any My Drive file with just a few clicks.

Gmail . With the Asana for Gmail integration, you can create Asana tasks directly from your Gmail inbox. Any tasks you create from Gmail will automatically include the context from your email, so you never miss a beat. Need to refer to an Asana task while composing an email? Instead of opening Asana, use the Asana for Gmail add-on to simply search for that task directly from your Gmail inbox. 

How do I create a business plan template?

Instead of taking the time to create a business plan from scratch, start the process off with Asana’s free template.To further customize your template, add evergreen information about your specific business, such as your business model, company name, address, mission statement, value proposition, or target audience. Adding these details to your template lets you avoid documenting this information from scratch every time you create a new business plan.

What components should I include in a business plan template?

Business plan templates typically contain five main sections: a company description, products and services, a marketing plan, basic management and organization information, and your current financial plan.

How long should my business plan be?

Short answer—as long as you need it to be. The long answer is that your business plan should have the answers to specific questions on how your business is run, from the perspective of an investor. The goal of a business plan is to highlight your business strategy for the next three to five years. This means any important operational, financial, and strategic information should be included. 

Related templates

Marketing strategy

A marketing strategy template is a useful tool that helps your marketing team achieve their goals. Learn how to create your marketing strategy with Asana.

PEST analysis

A PEST analysis template helps compile info on the external environment affecting your business. Learn how to prevent risk with a PEST analysis template.

Action plan template

Taking action has never been easier. Learn how to create a reusable action plan template in Asana to take the guesswork out of strategic planning.

Objectives and key results (OKR) template

Learn how to create an OKR template in Asana so you can standardize the goal-setting process for everyone.

Cost benefit analysis template

Digital cost benefit analysis templates are a useful framework to see if a new project or idea is viable. Learn how to create your own in a few simple steps, with Asana.

Nonprofit business plan template

Success doesn’t just happen—it’s planned. Stay focused on your most crucial work with a custom nonprofit business plan template.

Contingency plan

Using a contingency plan template will help you create well-developed strategies to help you protect your business from potential risk. Learn how Asana can help.

Requirements traceability matrix

A requirements traceability matrix template is a tool to help organize project requirements in a concise manner. Learn how to create one for your team.

Creating a digital punch list template can help streamline the final bits of a project for your team. Here’s how to create one.

Go-to-market strategy template

Simplify your GTM strategy with a go-to-market strategy template that aligns teams and keeps work on track. Learn how in Asana.

Project closure template

Endings are important. Create a project closure template to help your team tie up loose ends and finish their projects with confidence.

Project reporting

Stay on top of your project’s performance. Keep everyone on the same page about what’s been completed and where your project is headed.

Product roadmap

What if you could create, share, and update your product roadmap in one place? Everyone could see you’re tackling the right priorities. Start planning your product roadmap with this template.

Program roadmap

Create a program roadmap template and know the exact structure of each program, how they operate, and their future plans—company-wide.

Operational plan template

Learn how Asana’s operations team uses standardized processes to streamline strategic planning—no matter how many stakeholders are involved.

Strategic planning template

When you’re launching a new product, team, or even a new business, strategic planning templates keep you laser-focused and on task.

Annual planning template

Set clear goals and streamline your planning process—so every level of your company is aligned on what’s important.

Competitive analysis template

The more you know about your competitors, the better your strategy will be. Competitive analysis templates use a data-driven approach to see exactly how your business, products, and features compare to your competition.

Crisis management plan

Does your team know what to do during a crisis? Using a crisis management plan template can help keep all your employees on the same page.

SIPOC template

Use your SIPOC template to ensure that the processes outlined in your SIPOC diagrams are consistent and up to your standards.

Small business, big goals

Coming up with your business strategy can be daunting, but Asana helps businesses of all sizes track and hit their goals. See how with a free trial.

Business Plan Template

Collaborate with your team, craft your business plan, and present your ideas visually with the Business Plan Template.

Trusted by 65M+ users and leading companies

About the Business Plan Template

A solid business plan is the key to the success of any project. That's why we have designed a comprehensive business plan template that makes organizing and outlining your business objectives a breeze. This template will help you streamline your process and visualize your goals, creating a roadmap for your business journey.

What's a business plan template?

A business plan template is a pre-structured framework that outlines the core aspects of a business plan. It helps organize and detail key components, providing a clear picture of what the business aims to achieve. Miro's business plan template includes:

Problem: Identify the core problem that the business plans to solve.

Solution: Outline the solution to address the problem.

Resources: Detail the resources required, including time, workforce, and materials.

Benefit: Define the benefits of implementing the proposed solution.

Risks: Analyze potential risks and how they will be mitigated.

Scope: Describe the extent and limitations of the project.

Stakeholders: List the parties involved and their interests.

Costs: Estimate the financial aspects of the project.

Metrics: Identify the key performance indicators to measure success.

How to use the business plan template in Miro

Using Miro's business plan template is an effortless and effective way to craft your business strategy. Here's a step-by-step guide to making the most of this template:

Choose the template: Select the business plan template from Miro's Template Library, tailored to fit any business type.

Define the problem: Identify the core problem your business intends to solve. Use Miro's tagging feature to add relevant tags for easy reference.

Outline the solution: Describe how your product or service addresses the problem. Use Miro's automated diagramming to create flow diagrams or charts illustrating the solution process.

List the resources: Detail all necessary resources, including time, workforce, and materials. Create categories and use color coding to organize them effectively.

Highlight the benefit: Define the benefits and why your solution is preferable. Incorporate visual aids like icons to emphasize key points.

Analyze the risks: List potential risks and their mitigation strategies. Use sticky notes to jot down thoughts and ideas collaboratively.

Describe the scope: Clarify the project's limitations and extent.

Identify stakeholders: List the parties involved using symbols or avatars to represent various stakeholders.

Estimate costs: Break down the financial aspects using tables or charts to present the information clearly.

Determine metrics: Set key performance indicators and use Miro's graphs to visualize the success measures.

Customize your plan: Add, remove, or change any fields to suit your specific project. You can expand the quadrants, adding data or other artifacts as needed.

Collaborate and share: Invite team members to collaborate in real time, adding comments and feedback. Miro's collaboration features support seamless teamwork.

To finish, prepare a presentation. With features like frames and the Presentation Mode , you can visually guide stakeholders through your strategy. And remember, ensure that all details are accurate and aligned with your goals.

With this quick guide and Miro's various sets of features, creating a business plan becomes a collaborative and creative process. The ability to visualize, tag, and present your plan ensures a rich and engaging experience for everyone involved. Whether you're a startup or an established business, Miro's business plan template offers the flexibility and robustness needed to succeed in today's competitive landscape.

Can I customize the business plan template in Miro?

Yes, add, remove, or change any fields to fit the specific needs of your project.

How can I share the business plan template with my team?

Miro's collaboration tools make it easy to share your template with team members, either through a direct link or by inviting them to your workspace.

Is the business plan template suitable for small businesses and startups?

Yes, the template is designed to be flexible and can be adapted to businesses of any size, including startups and small enterprises.

Get started with this template right now.

Business Case Template

Works best for:.

Leadership, Marketing, Market Research

Impress stakeholders and get buy-in with this complete Business Case Template. Cover all key elements of a business case and ensure your pitch is successful.

DevOps Roadmap Template

Documentation, Product Management, Software Development

DevOps teams are constantly creating code, iterating, and pushing it live. Against this backdrop of continuous development, it can be hard to stay abreast of your projects. Use this DevOps Roadmap template to get a granular view of the product development process and how it fits into your organization's product strategy. The DevOps Roadmap lays out the development and operations initiatives you have planned in the short term, including milestones and dependencies. This easy-to-use format is easily digestible for audiences such as product, development, and IT ops.

Meeting Minutes Template

With Miro's Meeting Minutes Template, capturing the essence of your meetings has never been more efficient and engaging. Stay on top of your projects, foster collaboration, and drive action with this user-friendly tool.

Weekly Planner Template

Business Management, Project Planning

A weekly planner is a schedule that outlines your plans and activities for the week ahead. It helps you manage your time, keep track of your tasks, and organize your team on a day-to-day basis. Unlike traditional planners, which are often non-customizable, this weekly planner can be modified to suit your specific needs.

Market Segmentation Matrix Template

Marketing, Strategic Planning, Product Management

Successful, compelling marketing begins and ends with knowing your audience — who they are, where they are, and what they want and expect. A market segmentation matrix will help you understand them on a deeper level. This business tool divides your target market into subsets based on demographics, geography, needs, interests, psychographics, or behavioral characteristics. You can then use these insights and data to hit it out of the park, by building better product, sales, and marketing strategies. Our template lets you set up and populate a Market Segmentation Matrix with ease.

SIPOC Template

Agile Methodology, Strategic Planning, Mapping

A SIPOC diagram maps a process at a high level by identifying the potential gaps between suppliers and input specifications and between customers and output specifications. SIPOC identifies feedback and feed-forward loops between customers, suppliers, and the processes and jump-starts the team to think in terms of cause and effect.

• Search Search Please fill out this field.
• Building Your Business
• Becoming an Owner
• Business Plans

One-Page Business Plan Templates

One-Page Business Plan Templates for Entrepreneurs

Susan Ward wrote about small businesses for The Balance for 18 years. She has run an IT consulting firm and designed and presented courses on how to promote small businesses.

Having a business plan is a must , whether your goal is to start a one-person freelancing business or a multi-million dollar enterprise. However, if you are looking to start a simple product or service business as a sole proprietor or one-person corporation you don't need a 50-page business plan . A shorter plan will suffice. A quick and easy one-page business plan templates can get you started. 

If your business is a partnership  or requires multiple employees, you may need a more robust business plan. Similarly, a one-page plan will not be sufficient if you are in need of  debt  or  equity financing  and wish to impress financial institutions or potential investors. Lenders and investors will require you to provide more in-depth information in the plan such as:

• Your relevant industry background, business, and management experience 
• A more thorough description of your target market , proof of sufficient demand for your products or services, and how you will meet that demand and turn a profit
• Thorough analysis of the competition and how you will compete in the marketplace
• Detailed, realistic financial projections , including projected income statements, cash flow projections, and  breakeven analysis
• An in-depth operating section with details on facilities, leases, equipment, and staffing.

Step-by-step guidance on how to write a business plan  can lead you through each section of a full-sized plan.

Keep in mind that a business plan is a living document and you can always start with a one-page plan and enlarge it with additional detail as required. You may be able to articulate the business overview, vision , objectives, and concise action items in a single page, but you might want more detail in the financial and marketing sections. For example, you might want to add an extra page to your pricing strategy section for income and  cash flow statements and another for breakeven analysis in advertising and promotion.

Structure of a Business Plan

A one-page business plan needs to provide concise answers to several basic questions that must be addressed such as:

• What is the need for your product or service?
• What is your competition and how will you differentiate yourself in the marketplace ?
• How will you make money, for example, in terms of sales versus expenses?
• How will you market your business?
• How will you get started? What are your  capital  requirements?

How to Use the Templates

The sample templates can be copied into a Word, Excel or similar office document by selecting the text and using copy/paste—using Windows, outline the text to be selected with the mouse, and hit CTRL-C to copy and CTRL-V to paste. 

One-Page Business Plan Template for a Service Business

This template is suitable for freelance businesses that provide services, such as consultants, graphic designers, landscapers, and delivery services. For a one-page plan, the answers to questions should be one or two sentences.

One-Page Business Plan Template for a Product Business

This template is suitable for businesses that sell products, such as food services, beauty products, and bike shops. For a one-page plan, the answers to questions should be one or two sentences.

One-Page Business Plan Templates with a Quick How-To Guide

By Joe Weller | April 6, 2020

• Share on Facebook
• Share on LinkedIn

Link copied

In this article, we’ve gathered a variety of free, one-page business plan templates for you to download in Excel, Word, and PDF formats. 

Included on this page, you’ll find a one-page business plan template for a service business , business plan template for a product business , business plan for a real estate agent , a Lean business plan template , and more. To help get you started, we’ve also included an example of a one-page business plan , and  a quick guide on how to create your one-page business plan .

One-Page Business Plan Template

Download One-Page Business Plan Template

Excel  | Word  |  PDF | Smartsheet

Use this one-page business plan template — designed to be simple, organized, and easy to use — to immediately get started on your plan. Write down your thoughts and key ideas as you decide if your business concept is viable, and adjust it as circumstances change. You can also use this template as a basis to build a more detailed and elaborate plan.

One-Page Business Plan for a Service Business Template

Download One-Page Business Plan for a Service Business Template

Excel | Word | PDF

This business plan template is designed specifically for businesses that provide a service. The one-page plan provides space to list the essential information about your strategy, including the service you offer, the problem you are solving for customers, your mission and vision statements, target audience, staffing requirements, key objectives, and much more. This template also includes a timeline at the bottom for you to add key milestones.

One-Page Business Plan for a Product Business Template

Download One-Page Business Plan for a Product Business Template

Use this one-page template to develop a strategic roadmap for your organization’s product offerings. This template provides space for you to include a business overview, a description of your target market, your competitive advantage, a list of marketing channels and materials you plan to utilize, as well as your pricing strategy, distribution channels, and success metrics. You can also use the visual timeline of milestones at the bottom to enter key dates and events.

One-Page Business Plan for Real Estate Agents Template

Download One-Page Business Plan for Real Estate Agents Template

This one-page business plan template is created for real estate agents to set objectives and put together an action plan. Enter your overarching goal at the top of the template, and establish three high-level activities you need to complete to achieve the goal. The template also includes a strategic action plan that breaks down each high-level activity into tasks and deadlines, with an accompanying visual timeline to ensure you stay on track.

One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization Template

Download One-Page Business Plan for Nonprofit Organization Template

This one-page business plan is designed for a nonprofit organization, with space to detail your mission, vision, and purpose statements, as well as who you serve, the problem(s) you solve, and programs and resources you offer. Additionally, the template includes space to detail your financial plan, marketing activities, costs, and more.

One-Page Business Plan for Startup Template

Download One-Page Business Plan for Startup Template

This one-page business plan template is intended for an entrepreneur or a small startup business to document a plan as they determine if an idea is feasible. This template provides space to describe the problem and solution, the product or service, the target customer, existing alternatives, the unique value proposition, a marketing and sales plan, success metrics, and other information. You’ll also find room to detail sources of funding and how the funds will be used.

One-Page Business Plan for Small Business Template

Download One-Page Business Plan for Small Business

Use this one-page small business plan template to outline the essential aspects of your business strategy. Provide details on your organization’s vision, mission, product or service offering, and management team. Then identify the target audience, market size, competitor offerings, and your competitive advantage. This plan also includes room to detail your marketing and sales strategy, key objectives, and financial plan.

One-Page Lean Business Plan Template

Download One-Page Lean Business Plan Template

This one-page template uses a Lean approach to develop your business plan. Use this customizable template to detail the crucial elements of your strategy, including a brief business and industry overview, your product or service offering, options from your competitors, and your competitive advantage. Plus, this template includes room to detail your marketing plan, success metrics, financial plan, and a visual timeline of milestones.

One-Page Business Planning Template with Timeline

Download One-Page Business Planning Template with Timeline

Excel | Smartsheet

Use this business planning template to organize and schedule key activities for your business. Fill in the cells according to the due dates, and color-code the cells by phase, owner, or category to provide a visual timeline of progress.

One-Page Business Plan Example

This one-page business plan covers all the essential elements and offers a visually appealing presentation. Information for each aspect of the plan is concise, with details about the business mission, management team, product offerings, key marketing activities, competitors, and financial projections. This plan also provides links to additional resources so that stakeholders can easily find information to support the specifics of the plan.

How to Write a One-Page Business Plan (with Sample Outline)

A one-page business plan takes a standard business plan and extracts the fundamental aspects, then condenses the essential information down to one page. To determine the key elements to emphasize in your one-page plan, consider the type of business you operate, as well as the financial (and other resources) needs of your business.

To streamline your business plan into a one-page document, follow the steps below.

• Create a simple outline for your plan using bullet points. Below, you’ll find an example of an outline for a one-page business plan. You can add or remove sections according to the needs of your business. 
• Business mission
• Problem you are solving
• Funds needed (if applicable)
• Product or service positioning statement
• Unique value proposition
• Target customers
• Market size
• SWOT analysis
• Direct competitors
• Existing alternatives
• Competitive advantage
• Key marketing strategy (e.g., channel or method that will yield the best results)
• Key sales strategy
• Specialized equipment or facilities
• Staffing requirements (e.g., key personnel, skills, and training needs)
• Distribution method
• Sales projection
• Profit and loss projection 
• Gather all your findings on your business and industry.

Compile all the current information you have gleaned from market research, interviews, surveys, and various teams in your business (e.g., the marketing and finance teams). Comb through each document and extract the information that is fundamental to your business’s operation and relevant to the bullet points on your outline.

• Write two to three brief sentences for each main bullet point.

Once you create your outline and gather information, write two to three sentences for each main bullet point that expands on and summarizes the sub-bullet points for that section. For example, the plan summary section could say the following:

Donny’s Food Truck will offer a variety of fresh food at an affordable price in a convenient location. Increased traffic in the Hungry Town area, combined with severely limited dining options, provides an opportunity to offer customers a quick, nutritious meal at a competitive price. A food truck with the necessary equipment has already been acquired, so we are seeking $200,000 to cover wages, emergency repairs, and licenses needed to fund our first year of operations.

• Ensure you are able to support all the information provided in your plan.

Since a one-page plan omits many of the details provided in a traditional business plan, be sure you have market research and other supporting documentation on hand to show stakeholders in case they have questions as they review your plan. In addition, make sure you thoroughly understand the supporting information and know how to restate it in your own words before you disburse the plan. 

• Ensure your plan answers all the vital questions .

At a minimum, an effective one-page business plan should answer the following questions:

• What product or service do we offer?
• Who will use the product or service?
• What problem does our offering solve?
• How will the product or service get to our customers?
• What alternatives do our customers use, and why are we superior?
• What is our unique value proposition?
• What strengths and opportunities can we use to our advantage?
• What resources do we need to get up and running?
• What will our sales look like for the first few years?
• When do we expect to be profitable?

In addition to the steps provided above, you can save time and get started on your plan by downloading one of the templates provided on this page. You can also check out “ Free Executive Summary Templates ,” which can serve the same purpose as a one-page business plan.

Benefits of a One-Page Business Plan

Organizations and stakeholders can unite behind a strategic direction when they have a business plan in place. Developing a traditional business plan can be a daunting task, so many entrepreneurs, small startups, graphic designers, freelancers, and consultants find a one-page business plan a less intimidating place to start. 

Creating a one-page business plan benefits your organization in the following ways:

• Push you to prioritize and focus on key ideas.
• Enable your audience to quickly scan and grasp the core concepts of your plan.
• Allow you to easily share and pitch your business idea to prospective investors and stakeholders (e.g., email attachment, single piece of paper).
• Accelerate business setup, especially businesses that don’t need a loan or investment to get going.
• Provide a solid starting point to expand upon at a later time.
• Enable you to document your thoughts and ideas to see if you have a feasible plan.

Tips for Creating a One-Page Business Plan

Now that you know how to create a one-page plan and the benefits in doing so, here are some tips to get you started:

• Set a time limit (up to one hour) to focus and work on your plan.
• Use a one-page business plan template (you can choose from the options above), or refer to the sample outline provided on this page.
• Ensure your plan details only the core aspects that are fundamental to running and operating your business. 
• Remember that this is a living document — continue to revisit and adjust it as strategies and objectives change.
• Expand on your plan as your business size and needs grow. 

When the time comes that you need more space to lay out your goals and strategies, choose from our variety of free simple business plan templates . You can learn how to write a successful simple business plan here . 

Visit this free non-profit business plan template roundup  or download a  fill-in-the-blank business plan template  to make things easy. If you are looking for a business plan template by file type, visit our pages dedicated specifically to  Microsoft Excel ,  Microsoft Word , and  Adobe PDF  business plan templates. Read our articles offering  startup business plan templates  or  free 30-60-90-day business plan templates  to find more tailored options.

Improve Business Planning with Real-Time Work Management in Smartsheet

Empower your people to go above and beyond with a flexible platform designed to match the needs of your team — and adapt as those needs change. 

The Smartsheet platform makes it easy to plan, capture, manage, and report on work from anywhere, helping your team be more effective and get more done. Report on key metrics and get real-time visibility into work as it happens with roll-up reports, dashboards, and automated workflows built to keep your team connected and informed. 

When teams have clarity into the work getting done, there’s no telling how much more they can accomplish in the same amount of time.  Try Smartsheet for free, today.

Discover why over 90% of Fortune 100 companies trust Smartsheet to get work done.

Business Plan Templates

Free Download

2 Essential Templates For Starting Your Business. Available as an interactive PDF or a Google Docs template.

With this business plan template, you'll be able to:

• Write a company description that sells your story
• Plan for the future: lay out goals and metrics for success
• Describe your product line in detail and plan for how to stand out from competitors
• Consider any legal formalities that require attention when starting your business
• Put together necessary financial projections to make a strong start
• Create your buyer persona and determine your product/marketing fit

Build A Business Plan That Works

Available as a one-page interactive PDF and a full template on both Google Docs and Microsoft Word!

Whether you’re starting a business or drafting a formalized document with  your current business goals, it’s important to clearly defi ne the scope of all aspects of the venture — from mission, to target customers, to fi nances, and beyond.

When just starting out, it can be tempting to think of a business plan as simply your company’s name and a description of your product or service. But in reality, planning a business involves thinking through a lot more details.

In this business plan template we’ll guide you through the steps of writing company and product descriptions, setting sales and marketing goals and plans, and thinking through legal and fi nancial logistics. We've included a  plain text, designed , and  completed example version of this template. 

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

How do you write a business plan.

A business plan is a formal written document that you can use to identify the purpose of your company, make important decisions about your future and help grow your company. HubSpot's free business plan templates provides guidance to establishing your company mission, customer research, competition, and a business strategy to profitability.

Why do I need to fill out the information requested?

We will always keep your personal information safe..

We ask for your information in exchange for a valuable resource in order to (a) improve your browsing experience by personalizing the HubSpot site to your needs; (b) send information to you that we think may be of interest to you by email or other means; (c) send you marketing communications that we think may be of value to you. You can read more about our privacy policy here .

Where can I get a free business plan template?

HubSpot's Free Business Plan Templates are the best way to create a professional, thorough business plan. The templates include instructions and everything you need to know about starting your company.

Is this really free?

Absolutely.

Just sharing some free knowledge that we hope you’ll find useful. Keep us in mind next time you have marketing questions!

What are the basic format of a business plan?

A business plan is a written document that outlines the company's goals, strategy and implementation. The format of the plan varies depending on the type of organization (e.g., for-profit or nonprofit) and size, but most plans share some common features such as an overview, executive summary, and financial information.

What is the best business plan template?

A great business plan template clearly defines the scope of the venture -- from mission, to target customers, to finances, and beyond. HubSpot's business plan template will guide you through the steps of writing company and product descriptions, setting sales and marketing goals and plans, and thinking through legal and financial logistics.

What is needed to start a business?

If you're thinking about starting a business, you'll need to do some research first. You can't just start a business without doing any market research. Market research will tell you if there's an opportunity to turn your idea into a successful business. After that, write your business plan so that you know how much money and time it will take for the project to succeed. Use HubSpot's free business plan template today!

Set yourself up for success with this business plan template

Download the free business plan template.

All fields are required.

Easily create great, effective landing pages for free

550+ Business Plan Examples to Launch Your Business

Need help writing your business plan? Explore over 550 industry-specific business plan examples for inspiration.

Find your business plan example

Accounting, Insurance & Compliance Business Plans

• View All 25

Children & Pets Business Plans

• Children's Education & Recreation
• View All 33

Cleaning, Repairs & Maintenance Business Plans

• Auto Detail & Repair
• Cleaning Products
• View All 39

Clothing & Fashion Brand Business Plans

• Clothing & Fashion Design
• View All 26

Construction, Architecture & Engineering Business Plans

• Architecture
• Construction
• View All 46

Consulting, Advertising & Marketing Business Plans

• Advertising
• View All 54

Education Business Plans

• Education Consulting
• Education Products

Business plan template: There's an easier way to get your business plan done.

Entertainment & Recreation Business Plans

• Entertainment
• Film & Television
• View All 60

Events Business Plans

• Event Planning
• View All 17

Farm & Agriculture Business Plans

• Agri-tourism
• Agriculture Consulting
• View All 16

Finance & Investing Business Plans

• Financial Planning
• View All 10

Fine Art & Crafts Business Plans

Fitness & Beauty Business Plans

• Salon & Spa
• View All 36

Food and Beverage Business Plans

• Bar & Brewery
• View All 77

Hotel & Lodging Business Plans

• Bed and Breakfast

IT, Staffing & Customer Service Business Plans

• Administrative Services
• Customer Service
• View All 22

Manufacturing & Wholesale Business Plans

• Cleaning & Cosmetics Manufacturing
• View All 68

Medical & Health Business Plans

• Dental Practice
• Health Administration
• View All 41

Nonprofit Business Plans

• Co-op Nonprofit
• Food & Housing Nonprofit
• View All 13

Real Estate & Rentals Business Plans

• Equipment Rental

Retail & Ecommerce Business Plans

• Car Dealership
• View All 116

Technology Business Plans

• Apps & Software
• Communication Technology

Transportation, Travel & Logistics Business Plans

• Airline, Taxi & Shuttle
• View All 62

View all sample business plans

Example business plan format

Before you start exploring our library of business plan examples, it's worth taking the time to understand the traditional business plan format . You'll find that the plans in this library and most investor-approved business plans will include the following sections:

Executive summary

The executive summary is an overview of your business and your plans. It comes first in your plan and is ideally only one to two pages. You should also plan to write this section last after you've written your full business plan.

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, and your funding requirements (if you are raising money).

Products & services

The products & services chapter of your business plan is where the real meat of your plan lives. It includes information about the problem that you're solving, your solution, and any traction that proves that it truly meets the need you identified.

This is your chance to explain why you're in business and that people care about what you offer. It needs to go beyond a simple product or service description and get to the heart of why your business works and benefits your customers.

Market analysis

Conducting a market analysis ensures that you fully understand the market that you're entering and who you'll be selling to. This section is where you will showcase all of the information about your potential customers. You'll cover your target market as well as information about the growth of your market and your industry. Focus on outlining why the market you're entering is viable and creating a realistic persona for your ideal customer base.

Competition

Part of defining your opportunity is determining what your competitive advantage may be. To do this effectively you need to get to know your competitors just as well as your target customers. Every business will have competition, if you don't then you're either in a very young industry or there's a good reason no one is pursuing this specific venture.

To succeed, you want to be sure you know who your competitors are, how they operate, necessary financial benchmarks, and how you're business will be positioned. Start by identifying who your competitors are or will be during your market research. Then leverage competitive analysis tools like the competitive matrix and positioning map to solidify where your business stands in relation to the competition.

Marketing & sales

The marketing and sales plan section of your business plan details how you plan to reach your target market segments. You'll address how you plan on selling to those target markets, what your pricing plan is, and what types of activities and partnerships you need to make your business a success.

The operations section covers the day-to-day workflows for your business to deliver your product or service. What's included here fully depends on the type of business. Typically you can expect to add details on your business location, sourcing and fulfillment, use of technology, and any partnerships or agreements that are in place.

Milestones & metrics

The milestones section is where you lay out strategic milestones to reach your business goals.

A good milestone clearly lays out the parameters of the task at hand and sets expectations for its execution. You'll want to include a description of the task, a proposed due date, who is responsible, and eventually a budget that's attached. You don't need extensive project planning in this section, just key milestones that you want to hit and when you plan to hit them.

You should also discuss key metrics, which are the numbers you will track to determine your success. Some common data points worth tracking include conversion rates, customer acquisition costs, profit, etc.

Company & team

Use this section to describe your current team and who you need to hire. If you intend to pursue funding, you'll need to highlight the relevant experience of your team members. Basically, this is where you prove that this is the right team to successfully start and grow the business. You will also need to provide a quick overview of your legal structure and history if you're already up and running.

Financial projections

Your financial plan should include a sales and revenue forecast, profit and loss statement, cash flow statement, and a balance sheet. You may not have established financials of any kind at this stage. Not to worry, rather than getting all of the details ironed out, focus on making projections and strategic forecasts for your business. You can always update your financial statements as you begin operations and start bringing in actual accounting data.

Now, if you intend to pitch to investors or submit a loan application, you'll also need a "use of funds" report in this section. This outlines how you intend to leverage any funding for your business and how much you're looking to acquire. Like the rest of your financials, this can always be updated later on.

The appendix isn't a required element of your business plan. However, it is a useful place to add any charts, tables, definitions, legal notes, or other critical information that supports your plan. These are often lengthier or out-of-place information that simply didn't work naturally into the structure of your plan. You'll notice that in these business plan examples, the appendix mainly includes extended financial statements.

Types of business plans explained

While all business plans cover similar categories, the style and function fully depend on how you intend to use your plan. To get the most out of your plan, it's best to find a format that suits your needs. 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 for external purposes. Typically this is the type of plan you'll need when applying for funding or pitching to investors. It can also be used when training or hiring employees, working with vendors, or in any other situation where the full details of your business must be understood by another individual.

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.

The structure ditches a linear format in favor of a cell-based template. It encourages you to build connections between every element of your business. It's faster to write out and update, and much easier for you, your team, and anyone else to visualize your business operations.

One-page business plan

The true middle ground between the business model canvas and a traditional business plan is the one-page business plan . This format is a simplified version of the traditional plan that focuses on the core aspects of your business.

By starting with a one-page plan , you give yourself a minimal document to build from. You'll typically stick with bullet points and single sentences making it much easier to elaborate or expand sections into a longer-form business plan.

Growth planning

Growth planning is more than a specific type of business plan. It's 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, forecast, review, and refine based on your performance.

It holds all of the benefits of the single-page plan, including the potential to complete it in as little as 27 minutes . However, it's even easier to convert into a more detailed plan thanks to how heavily it's tied to your financials. The overall goal of growth planning isn't to just produce documents that you use once and shelve. Instead, the growth planning process helps you build a healthier company that thrives in times of growth and remain stable through times of crisis.

It's faster, keeps your plan concise, and ensures that your plan is always up-to-date.

Download a free sample business plan template

Ready to start writing your own plan but aren't sure where to start? Download our free business plan template that's been updated for 2024.

This simple, modern, investor-approved business plan template is designed to make planning easy. It's a proven format that has helped over 1 million businesses write business plans for bank loans, funding pitches, business expansion, and even business sales. It includes additional instructions for how to write each section and is formatted to be SBA-lender approved. All you need to do is fill in the blanks.

How to use an example business plan to help you write your own

How do you know what elements need to be included in your business plan, especially if you've never written one before? Looking at examples can help you visualize what a full, traditional plan looks like, so you know what you're aiming for before you get started. Here's how to get the most out of a sample business plan.

Choose a business plan example from a similar type of company

You don't need to find an example business plan that's an exact fit for your business. Your business location, target market, and even your particular product or service may not match up exactly with the plans in our gallery. But, you don't need an exact match for it to be helpful. Instead, look for a plan that's related to the type of business you're starting.

For example, if you want to start a vegetarian restaurant, a plan for a steakhouse can be a great match. While the specifics of your actual startup will differ, the elements you'd want to include in your restaurant's business plan are likely to be very similar.

Use a business plan example as a guide

Every startup and small business is unique, so you'll want to avoid copying an example business plan word for word. It just won't be as helpful, since each business is unique. You want your plan to be a useful tool for starting a business —and getting funding if you need it.

One of the key benefits of writing a business plan is simply going through the process. When you sit down to write, you'll naturally think through important pieces, like your startup costs, your target market , and any market analysis or research you'll need to do to be successful.

You'll also look at where you stand among your competition (and everyone has competition), and lay out your goals and the milestones you'll need to meet. Looking at an example business plan's financials section can be helpful because you can see what should be included, but take them with a grain of salt. Don't assume that financial projections for a sample company will fit your own small business.

If you're looking for more resources to help you get started, our business planning guide is a good place to start. You can also download our free business plan template .

Think of business planning as a process, instead of a document

Think about business planning as something you do often , rather than a document you create once and never look at again. If you take the time to write a plan that really fits your own company, it will be a better, more useful tool to grow your business. It should also make it easier to share your vision and strategy so everyone on your team is on the same page.

Adjust your plan regularly to use it as a business management tool

Keep in mind that businesses that use their plan as a management tool to help run their business grow 30 percent faster than those businesses that don't. For that to be true for your company, you'll think of a part of your business planning process as tracking your actual results against your financial forecast on a regular basis.

If things are going well, your plan will help you think about how you can re-invest in your business. If you find that you're not meeting goals, you might need to adjust your budgets or your sales forecast. Either way, tracking your progress compared to your plan can help you adjust quickly when you identify challenges and opportunities—it's one of the most powerful things you can do to grow your business.

Prepare to pitch your business

If you're planning to pitch your business to investors or seek out any funding, you'll need a pitch deck to accompany your business plan. A pitch deck is designed to inform people about your business. You want your pitch deck to be short and easy to follow, so it's best to keep your presentation under 20 slides.

Your pitch deck and pitch presentation are likely some of the first things that an investor will see to learn more about your company. So, you need to be informative and pique their interest. Luckily, just like you can leverage an example business plan template to write your plan, we also have a gallery of over 50 pitch decks for you to reference.

With this gallery, you have the option to view specific industry pitches or get inspired by real-world pitch deck examples.

Ready to get started?

Now that you know how to use an example business plan to help you write a plan for your business, it's time to find the right one.

Use the search bar below to get started and find the right match for your business idea.

Tax Season Savings

Get 40% off LivePlan

The #1 rated business plan software

Transform Tax Season into Growth Season

Discover the world’s #1 plan building software