6+ FREE Business Plan Samples, Examples, and Templates

Why is a business plan called the “foundation” of a business?

When starting a business, you determine a roadmap for yourself, sketch all the steps that you will have to take, and assemble the key elements of your business. You sit down and brainstorm the basic structure that you need to build for running your business and the tools you will have to acquire.

A business plan helps stakeholders get involved in the process and understand the thorough structure of your business. It is a document that provides information on the mission, ambitions, objectives, products and services, financial and market plans, and future endeavors. It is specially designed before a business’ inception and can be considered a cornerstone of a company’s growth.

Download Business Plan Templates in MS Word Format

On this page, you can download professionally designed, multi-page Business Plan Templates in Microsoft Word format. Each of these is designed with a beautiful cover page to make it look more professional and aesthetically great. Each page of these documents is laid out with sample data and images. All you have to do is to replace the sample and placeholder data with your own, change the images if needed, and your Business Plan is ready in no time.

#1 – General Business Plan Format for any type of Business

Download

3.33 MB

#2 – Business Plan Template with Sample Data

Download

3.91 MB

#3 – Nonprofit Business Plan

Download

5.39 MB

#4 – Small Business Plan

Download

5.51 MB

#5 – Startup Business Plan

#6 – Business Continuity Plan

Download

3.91 MB

How does a business plan help you start and manage your business?

You might have prepared a grocery long list of tasks that you need to carry out before and during the business inception stage. Having your trademark name registered, paying taxes, procuring manufacturing materials, recruiting the right manpower, etc. while all of these are integral steps for your business, a business plan is no less important either.

Here are the top 5 reasons why you need a business plan to start with:

1.     Serves as your light in the tunnel:

Setting up a business isn’t as easy a job as it seems. It might take tons of tons of hard work and a long time to finally be able to stand on its own. A business plan will serve as your guidebook that will help you establish, grow, and expand as you go. It will save you from feeling lost, most of the time.

2.     Earns you triple the outcomes:

Money making, growth, development, profit maximization, marketing, and growing revenue are all the areas where a business plan will help you get better output and efficiency for a long period of time. It keeps you ahead of time and breaks down a bigger plan of action into smaller chunks making those seem less overwhelming.

3.     Helps you in proving your efficacy:

Why would people be attracted to your business when there are a gazillion others? What makes it possible for you to begin with just the right impression? What proves that the ideas you have thrown in the market are one of their kind? Well, the answer to many of these is your “rightly-prepared” business plan! It sets the right goals, determines vulnerabilities, estimates costs, and predicts profit and loss.

4.     Helps you in securing investments and funding:

You might have researched well on which investors you want, which loans to apply for, and which funding to procure. However, all of these would want to know your worth and measure the credibility of your business through the lens of your business plan. It will help them weigh your plan and judge it accordingly.

5.     Brings the right team on board:

A business plan is your tool to help your team members and potential investors understand your vision and mission. With all of the individuals being aware of the direction to strive for and the objective to pursue it becomes easier to employ the top-notch talent in town. This automatically paves way for your utmost growth and better development. When every team member has a shared vision and collective idea, the goals are achieved quickly. A business plan is that vision guide.

How does one jump into the process of business plan designing?

A business plan starts with its backbone 3C’s:

1. The Concept and idea behind your business
2. Identifying your potential Clients or Customers
3. Carving the Cashflow trails that can be expected

These three will let you begin with the process, kickstart the strategy and clarify the nature of your work.

While you are all set for the business what might overwhelm you is where to start and what primary steps to take. This is where a business plan comes in helpful for aiding the daunting task of the business opening. Just like one business varies from another, one business plan might be completely different from the others too.

How do we organize a business plan for maximum efficiency?

A business plan that works best for you will be the one that has been designed by you. It can have a number of sections and sub-headings easily put together, like this:

1. Executive summary – company’s goals (short-term as well as long-term), missions, and objectives
2. Company and business description – the structure, nature, history, mission, goals, and strategies. Answer what the business would do and what industry would it be a part of
3. Products/services – What would you sell?
4. Market Analysis – targeted customer base, industry knowledge, marketing data, competitors’ knowledge
5. SWOT analysis – analyzing your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of your business to fine-tune the business
6. Strategy and Implementation – sales and marketing strategy, business promotion, market-entry, production and delivery, employees
7. Legal notes – handling the legal matters and legitimization of the company
8. Financial plans and projections – profit and funding generation, sales maximation, cash flow, and income statement
9. Timeline
10. Appendix

How to choose the most appropriate plan for one’s business?

You can choose to follow a strategic, traditional, or lean business plan based on what meets your needs.

• A strategic plan can be chosen when you specifically want to focus on the organization’s vision and properties.
• A traditional plan can be selected when you wish to stick to the basic, standard template
• A lean plan can be your out-of-the-box thinking, helping you formulate a document based on new ideas. It takes lesser time to be formulated and is a summarized document.

After you’ve walked through all the necessary steps and still can’t get a hang of how to design the best business plan for your upcoming business, it is time for you to get assistance from our online templates. These are customizable, easy to download, and comprehensively designed to help you not miss out on the basic and integral components.

Helpful Video Tutorial

Watch the video below to learn How to Design Printable Business Report in MS Word with Cover Page in a Booklet Style