Business Plans & SWOT Analysis: Home

This guide will help you to write a business plan.

A business plan is a picture of your business - and it should reflect the best of your company.

If you have a business idea, you must research your field of business and set your goals.

You must write down all your goals and consider your available resources. 

For a new business, you should use future projections on the basis of real facts, and if you are already running a business, past reports would be included. 

The original form of this guide was created by library intern Mansoor Ahmad, School of Business, Class of 2013.

Do you have an idea for a business?

Do you own a business?

Do you have specific goals for your business?

Write a Business Plan!

A business plan is a written description of your business’ future. It is a document that tells what you plan to do and how you plan to do it. If you jot down a paragraph on the back of an envelope describing your business strategy, you’ve written a plan, or at least the beginning of a plan.

Business plans are inherently strategic. You start here - with certain resources and abilities. You want to get to there - a point in the future (usually three to five years out) at which time your business will have a different set of resources and abilities, as well as greater profitability and increased assets.

Your business plan shows how you will get from here to there.

•  Executive Summary: Write this last. It is just a page or two of your highlights. 

• Company Description: Type of legal establishment (ie. corporation or LLC), history, start-up plans, etc.

• Product or Service: Describe what you are actually selling. Focus on the customer benefits.

• Market Analysis: You need to know your target market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.

• Strategy/Implementation: Be detailed and specific. Include all management responsibilities with both dates and detailed budgets 

• The Management Team: Include backgrounds of key members of the startup team, your overall personnel strategy, etc.

• Financial Plan: Include P&L and Cash flow, Balance sheet, Break-even analysis, Business ratios, etc.