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Stay focused, organized, and give potential investors a coherent vision of your new business with a well-written business plan. A clear and concise business plan is a fundamental roadmap for the growth of any business. The documentation provides valuable intel on business goals, strategies, and outlines the required steps to achieve them.
Learn how to write a business plan without any experience using professional templates and examples in Microsoft Word.
10 key components of a business plan
From nonprofit business plans and startups to retail businesses and restaurants, a business plan is the blueprint for brand development. Explore the most important elements of a business plan and how to format your document effectively to include all the required details and sections.
1. Executive summary
The first step to creating a successful business plan is to write a professional executive summary. This one page or less summary pitches vital information about the new company: what the business does, its products or services, mission, and vision. This section’s role provides a high-level overview of the business plan with the aim to inform potential investors on the brand's purpose. It’s also important to share the pain points or problem your business will solve for potential customers, as well as outlining the details as to why your solution is better than the competitor’s.
If you’re still not too sure how to start an executive summary, use a fully customizable executive summary template in Word. All executive summary templates are created in the recommended format and structure to suit industry standards.
See it in action: executive summary template
Looking for more examples? Ask Copilot to share a well-written example for you. Chat with Copilot like ‘generate a business plan executive summary example’ and let AI build a personalized example for you to use as inspiration.
2. Company description
A company description should present three main elements: the business mission statement, company history, and objectives. This section of a business plan provides readers context of the bigger picture of your brand. Easily outline business objectives using the specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound (SMART) method to help make connections between goals and key results to inspire potential investors and stakeholders.
3. Market research and target audience
Once the foundations of the business have been established, it’s time to identify the target customer and persona. This section of the document should determine the potential target audience and the size of target market you’re looking to interest.
4. Competitive analysis
It’s likely your new business has established competitors currently occupying the target market that you’re trying to enter. Compare the market leaders and local competition achieving success to gauge a deeper understanding into your target audience. Ensure the competitive analysis includes where they advertise, customer service ratings, sales and pricing strategies, and reviews from third party platforms or websites.
5. Products and services
The product and services section of a business plan is the space to capture your prospect’s attention and really showcase your proposal. Describe the benefits of your business, potential production process, and how the business model will outweigh the competition. This section should focus on the key and unique benefits of the business, emotional or practical customer impact, and how the business product or service can also be copyright protected.
6. Marketing and sales
After you have clearly identified the business’s offering, address the identified target market and customer segments. Specifically outline how the business intends to attract new and retain existing customers, including growth opportunities and advertising platforms.
7. Business financials
A business financial plan should always include budget preparation and running costs to guide decision making, sustain growth, and set financial goals. Include key financials like profit margins and debt levels within this section, so that potential investors or lenders can have a clear understanding of the financial health of the business and easily identify risks involved.
8. Management and leadership
Turn business plans into a reality by suggesting lead team members with outlined reasoning. Propose a potential team with relevant expertise and qualifications, as well as a detailed outline of each position that requires filling. Make sure to also include any associated hiring or onboarding costs within this section of the business plan.
9. Funding requests
This segment outlines to readers how much money the new business will need to fulfil its objectives. Make sure to provide a full financial forecasting to the best of your knowledge and any potential returns investors will receive. Don’t be afraid to include the best-case and worst-case financial scenarios within the forecast to provide full transparency to investors.
10. Appendix
Just like a presentation or other proposal documentation, an appendix with internal or external links should be written into the business plan. The appendix can include any information like certificates, professional licences, registrations, patents, trademarks, and intellectual properties. You can also include customer contracts and purchase orders into the appendix for extra knowledge and understanding.
Business plan formatting guidelines
When developing a business plan, it’s useful to follow these best formatting guidelines.
Draft business plans in a professional font and size: when creating a business plan, choose an easy-to-read font like Aptos, Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman. Select an appropriate font size for the body of your text, like size 11 or 12, and create headings in no larger than size 14 or 16 font sizes.
Format documents with the right spacing and margins: keep business plans professional and consistent throughout the document with a 1.15 or 1.5 line spacing. Keep all text to the left side margin of the Word document.
Keep to an appropriate length: on average, a business plan should be between 10 to 20 pages long. Make sure to keep business plans brief but concise, covering all essentials in an orderly manner.
Proofread before saving: don’t forget to double-check your business plan for any spelling and grammatical errors. Use the AI-powered tool Microsoft Editor inside Word to easily improve and find any corrections, refinements, and similarities in your document.
Use correct naming convention: save the document in a format that’s easy to find, share, and read. For example, we recommend using the following formula, ‘[business full name] - [business plan] - [month and year]’.
Export business plans in the right file format: export and share business plans hassle-free as a PDF or DOCX from Word. These versatile file formats are easy to send via email and the web. There are also link-based sharing options if you would like to share a link instead of downloading a document.
Business plan template examples
Minimalistic business plan design template
Draft the best business plan with this professional and simplistic design template. The business plan formatting is ready-to-go, so all you need to do is update with your business details.
Use this template: business plan design template
Tactical business marketing plan template
Develop an effective marketing plan for your business with an accessible template. Each business letter template is filled with helpful prompts and examples for sections like objectives, target market, message summary, call to action, and more.
Use this template: tactical business marketing plan
Home business plan template
Use this home-based business plan template that includes step-by-step instructions on how to create and complete a business plan. The sophisticated example includes business plan key elements like an executive summary, company overview, market analysis, financial plan, and more.
Use this template: home business plan template
Business services proposal template
If you’re wanting to draft a comprehensive business plan or services proposal, use this modern template for free. The business document example outlines company objectives, approach, deliveries, and provides the foundations for accurately executing pricing, scheduling, and more.
Use this template: business services proposal
Updating and revising a business plan
A business plan should always be kept up to date and relevant with the latest business details. See the breakdown on business plan reviews to determine when to update documentation and what actions need to be taken.
Annual: review financials, market analysis, long-term goals, product or service lineup, and SWOT analysis.
Quarterly: review short-term goals, milestones, marketing, and customer feedback.
Monthly: review business key performance indicators (KPIs), cashflow, and inventory levels where required.
How to write a business plan in Word
Follow the steps below to create a business plan for free using a template in Word.
In your browser, explore Word business plan templates.
Double click on the free business plan template you want to use.
Replace the text with your personal information.
Save, print, and send your business plan as a PDF or shareable link.
Create and execute your strategic vision by generating a comprehensive business plan with a template from Word.
Frequently asked questions
What are different types of business plans?
There are many different types of business plans, all with different purposes, including traditional, lean startup, internal, strategic, operational, feasibility, growth, and exit strategy business plans.
What is the difference between a business plan and a strategic plan?
A business plan’s main priority is to educate and grow a business, while a strategic plan is a long-term direction and vision strategy. The main difference between a business plan and strategic plan is the timeframe. A business plan focuses on the short-term 1-3 years, whereas a strategic plan focuses on the long-term 3-5 years or more.
Should you wite a business plan in the first person?
It is acceptable to write a business plan in the first person, for example, “we will”, “I plan to”, or “our goals are.” Make sure to maintain a professional tone throughout your business plan, even though it is written in the first person.
