How to create a winning business startup plan

For entrepreneurs, creating a business plan before you launch into your startup enables you to clarify what your strategy is, what you’re selling, who your customers are, and the viability of your idea before you start a business. It enables you to identify any roadblocks and to create a clear plan which will help you as you begin operations.

This comprehensive guide will explain how to create a winning business plan for a startup, why you need one, and all the steps to take as you create this important document.

What is a business plan?

A business plan serves as a strategic roadmap, outlining your business idea, goals and how you’ll achieve them. It provides detail on all aspects of how you’ll launch and continue to run your business, by understanding the market you intend to enter, potential pain points and where your target customers are.

It also outlines a marketing plan, logistics plan, and financial plan. Having these things clear before you begin allows you to see how you’ll sell your products or services, how you’ll get your products and services developed and to the customer, and how you’ll fund it in the beginning.

By having a marketing plan, you’re able to launch more successfully. You won’t need to figure out who your company is or what you’re doing when you should be busy trying to build your brand and ultimately your profit.

Why do you need a business plan for a startup?

A good business plan will guide you through each stage of starting and managing your small business, enabling you to have a clear idea of how you’ll structure it and how it’ll grow.

Taking the time to create a business plan gives you time to think through all the key elements of your business. It also then gives you a strategy document which you can refer back to as you launch.

If you plan to secure funding or investment for your business, the lenders or businesses you target for this will ask to see your business plan to assess whether it’s viable financially. Having this document ready to go, whether you plan to seek investment at the beginning or after a period of time, will allow the potential investor to truly understand your business and its goals.

How to create a startup business plan

A business plan should include various elements which encompass every aspect of the new business. Below, we detail all of these sections for you to put in your own document and spend time thinking about before your startup officially begins trading.

Executive summary

The executive summary is a crucial section, and is one you should complete last. It distils everything that is in your business plan into a small, sharp summary, sitting at the top of the strategic document.

In the executive summary, you should highlight the key points of your business plan. If you’re seeking investment, this summary will allow the reader to understand your business. If you’re not seeking investment, it’s still useful to have an executive summary as it will remind you of your purpose and mission when you review the document after launching.

Things to include in this section:

• The concept of your business and what it does

• Your business goals and visions

• What your products are and why they’re different from what already exists on the target market

• Your target audience and who you’re hoping to sell to

• Marketing strategy and how you intend on reaching your customers

• Current financial state and what you earn

• Projected financial state and what you foresee future earnings to be

• Management and the team working within the business

Company description

In this section, explain who you are, what your business is and what you plan to do. It should outline why you’re in business and why you’re different.

Things to include in this section:

• Your business structure (whether you’re a sole trader, partnership, or limited company)

• Your business model

• The industry you’re in

• Your business’s vision, mission statement, and value proposition

• Background information on your business and its history

• Short-term and long-term business objectives

• Your team, who they are and what they do

Market analysis

Analyse the market you hope to penetrate by researching how big it is, your position in the market, and an overview of your competitors. By completing market research and a competitive analysis, you’ll understand where your product or service can sit in the market, what your competitive advantage is, and what the appetite is for a one which is slightly different to existing options.

In this section you should:

• Seek to understand your ideal customers, how big the market share is, what social media channels they use, how you can target them, and what their shopping habits are

• Research relevant market trends and industry trends and trajectory to ensure you position yourself correctly for growth

• Understand what competitors are currently doing and how you can differentiate yourself from them

Management and the organisation

Create an organisational chart to show your business owners or co-founders, and your company’s internal structure, including the roles, responsibilities, and relationships between stakeholders and the management team.

Within this section, you should also detail how each person will contribute to the success of your startup. This can include their background information and experience in the field.

Having this information ensures you’re recruiting efficiently. Finances may be tight when you launch, so you want to make sure you have a strong and capable team who can drive company success.

Products and services

Be clear on what it is you’re selling by explaining all of the products and services your company offers.

Go into detail about product lines and describe any additional products or services you intend to launch in the future. 

You could also outline what makes your products and services different from those already on the market in this section.

Customer segmentation

Knowing who your potential customers are will make it easier for you to target and sell to them. Create customer personas, understanding these key demographics:

• Where they live

• How old they are

• Their level of education

• How they spend their free time

• Where they work

• What technology they use

• Where they work

• Their values, beliefs, and opinions

Marketing plan

Use the four Ps of marketing to outline your marketing plan in this section. These are:

• Price: How much your product costs and how you decided that cost

• Product: What you’re selling and how you make it stand out in the market

• Promotion: How you’ll get your products in front of your target customers

• Place: Where you’ll sell your products, for example, whether you’ll only have an online marketplace or whether you plan on getting your product into stores

Having a clear marketing plan enables you to create an effective sales strategy, targeting your new customers and converting them into a loyal audience.

Logistics and operations plan

Understanding your logistics and operations will prevent you from hitting any roadblocks when you launch. In this section you should cover:

• Suppliers: Where your products are produced and with what

• Production: How you make or manufacture products and how long it’ll take to have them shipped to you

• Facilities: Where you and your team will work

• Equipment: What equipment you need to operate

• Shipping and fulfilment: Will you ship products yourself or use a third party?

• Inventory: How much of your product you’ll have ready and where it’ll be stored

Financial plan

Having an overview of your financial information allows you to see how much money your business has and your financial projections and how much you can expect to make in profit. In this section, you should include:

• Income statements which detail revenue sources and expenses

• Balance sheets which shows how much equity you have in your business

• Cash flow statements which shows when revenues are collected and when expenses are paid

Learn how to launch a successful business

If you have dreams of entrepreneurship and launching your own business, study an online MBA with Queen Margaret University.

In this degree, you’ll learn the key components of business, from undertaking a SWOT analysis to assessing the competitive landscape of a new product.

Taught part-time and entirely online, you can work on your new venture alongside your studies, applying what you learn in real-time.