What to Include in a Startup Business Plan: A Simple Outline
By DigiCools Team ·
A business plan is a short document that explains what your business does, who it serves, how it will make money and what you need to get there. Banks, investors and partners often ask for one — and writing it is one of the best ways to test your own idea.
Here is a simple outline you can follow.
1. Executive summary
One page that summarises everything else: the problem, your solution, your target customers, how you make money, your team and what you are asking for (funding, a loan, a partnership). Write it last, after the other sections are clear.
2. Problem and solution
- What problem do your customers have?
- How do they solve it today, and why is that not good enough?
- What exactly do you offer, and why is it better for them?
Use plain language. If a friend outside your industry cannot understand it, simplify it.
3. Target market
Describe who your customers are as specifically as you can: location, type of business or person, size, and how they buy. Estimate how many such customers exist and explain how you arrived at that number.
4. Competition
List the main alternatives customers have — direct competitors, indirect alternatives, and doing nothing. Be honest about their strengths, then explain what makes your offer different.
5. Business model and pricing
- What do you sell, and at what price?
- How often do customers pay (one-time, monthly, per project)?
- What does it cost you to deliver one sale?
6. Marketing and sales plan
How will customers find out about you, and how will you turn interest into sales? Name the specific channels you will use first and what you will measure.
7. Operations
Explain how the work gets done: suppliers, location, tools, key processes and any licences or registrations needed.
8. Team
Who is involved, what each person does, and the relevant experience they bring. Mention gaps you plan to fill.
9. Financial plan
Most readers turn here first. Include:
- Start-up costs
- A 12-month monthly forecast of sales, costs and cash
- A simple 3-year summary
- The assumptions behind your numbers
- How much funding you need and what it will be used for
Keep assumptions realistic and explain them — a clear, believable forecast is more convincing than an optimistic one.
10. Milestones and risks
List the next key milestones with target dates, and the main risks with how you plan to reduce them.
Start from a template
Our Startup Business Plan template includes an executive summary framework, a market and competitor analysis section and a 3-year financial projection sheet in Excel, so you can focus on your own content instead of formatting.