15+ Best Business Plan Examples for Entrepreneurs & Startups

Not having a solid plan makes it unlikely for you to achieve the goals you seek, whether it’s getting your to-do list done or launching a successful organization.

In the early stages of a company, that means developing things like pitch decks, business plans, one-sheeters and more. With Venngage’s Business Plan Builder, you can easily organize your business plan into a visually appealing format that can help you win over investors, lenders or partners.

Learn more about how to create a business plan so you can hit the ground running after reading through this list for inspirational business plan templates.

15+ Best business plan examples for entrepreneurs and startups

• Simple business plan example
• Startup business plan example
• Small business plan example
• Nonprofit business plan example
• Strategic business plan example
• Market analysis business plan example
• Sales business plan example
• Organization and management business plan example
• Marketing and sales strategy business plan example
• Apple business plan example
• Airbnb business plan example
• Sequoia Capital business plan example

Simple business plan example

While your business plan should be supported by thorough and exhaustive research into your market and competitors, the resulting document does not have to be overwhelming for the reader. In fact, if you can boil your business plan down to a few key pages, all the better.

Simple business plan outline:

• Table of contents: List all sections and sub-sections within the business plan.
• Business review: Include an overview of the business’s purpose, history, and key objectives.
• The market: Analyze the target market, including customer demographics and market needs.
• The competition: Evaluate the main competitors and their strengths and weaknesses in the market.

The simple, bold visual aesthetic of this business plan template pairs well with the straightforward approach to the content and various elements of the business plan itself.

Use Venngage’s My Brand Kit to automatically add your brand colors and fonts to your business plan with just a few clicks.

Startup business plan example

An essential startup business plan should include a clear and compelling value proposition, market analysis, competitive analysis, target audience identification, financial projections, and a well-defined marketing and operational strategy.

For a typical startup, the need to appear disruptive in the industry is important. After all, if you’re not offering anything truly new, why would an investor turn their attention toward your organization. That means establishing a problem and the ways in which you solve it right away.

Startup business plan outline:

• The problem: Identify the specific issue or pain point your startup aims to solve.
• Target market & opportunity: Define your customers and the potential market size.
• The solution: Describe the product or service that addresses the identified problem.
• Traction and validation/roadmap: Outline the progress made so far and the future milestones and goals.

Whether it’s a full-scale business plan or, in this case, a pitch deck, the ideal way for a startup to make a splash with its plans is to be bold. This successful business plan example is memorable and aspirational.

In the Venngage editor, you can upload images of your business. Add these images to your plans and reports to make them uniquely your own.

Small business plan example

All businesses start out small at first, but that doesn’t mean their communications have to be small. One of the best ways to get investors, lenders and talent on board is to show that you’ve done your due diligence.

Small business plan outline:

• Table of contents: List down of all the sections and sub-sections in the business plan.
• Business overview: Include a quick overview of what your business is all about, including your mission and goals.
• The market: Analyzes who your customers are, what they need, and how big the market is.
• The competition: Look into your main competitors and what they’re good at (and not so good at).
• Sales and marketing plan: Lay out your game plan for attracting and keeping customers.
• Operating plan: Explain how you’ll run the day-to-day operations and manage the business.

In this small business plan example, the content is spread over many pages, which is useful in making lengthy, in-depth research feel less like a chore than packing everyone on as few pages as possible.

Nonprofit business plan example

Organizations that set out to solve problems rather than earning profits also benefit from creating compelling business plans that stir an emotional response in potential donors, benefactors, potential staff members or even media.

Nonprofit business plan outline:

• Table of contents: Lists all sections and sub-sections of your nonprofit business plan.
• Introduction: Provide an overview of your mission and purpose.
• Goal: State the specific objectives your nonprofit organization aims to achieve.
• Impact & strategy: Explain how you plan to create positive change and the methods you will use.

Simplicity is the goal for nonprofits when it comes to business plans, particularly in their early days. Explain the crisis at hand and exactly how your organization will make a difference, which will help donors visualize how their money will be used to help.

Strategic business plan example

Business plans are also helpful for companies that have been around for a while. Whether they’re considering new products to launch or looking for new opportunities, companies can approach business plans from the strategy side of the equation as well.

Strategic business plan outline:

• The problem, issue, or job at hand: Define the specific challenge or task the strategic plan addresses.
• Approach & methodology: Describe the methods and strategies that will be used to tackle the problem or achieve the objective.

Strategic business plans or strategy infographics should be highly focused on a single area or problem to be solved rather than taking a holistic approach to the entire business. Expanding scope too much can make a strategy seem too difficult to implement.

Easily share your business plan with Venngage’s multiple download options, including PNG, PNG HD, and as an interactive PDF.

One-page business plan example

For organizations with a simple business model, often a one-page business plan is all that’s needed. This is possible in any industry, but the most common are traditional ones like retail, where few complex concepts need to be explained.

EDIT THIS BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE

This one-page strategic business plan example could be easily replicated for an organization that offers goods or services across multiple channels or one with three core business areas. It’s a good business plan example for companies whose plans can be easily boiled down to a few bullet points per area.

Market analysis business plan example

Especially when entering a saturated market, understanding the landscape and players is crucial to understanding how your organization can fit it—and stand out. That’s why centering your business plan around a market analysis is often a good idea.

Market analysis business plan outline:

• Table of contents: Lists all sections and sub-sections of the market analysis business plan.
• Executive summary: Provide a brief overview of the key points of the market analysis.
• Business overview: Summarize your business’s mission, vision and core activities.
• The market: Analyze the target market, including customer demographics and market trends.
• The competition: Review the main competitors and their market positioning.
• Sales & marketing plan: Outline strategies for reaching and engaging customers.
• Operating plan: Details the day-to-day operations and management structure.

In this example, the majority of the content and about half the pages are focused on the market analysis, including competitors, trends, pricing, demographics and more. This successful business plan example ensures the artwork and style used perfectly matches the company’s aesthetic, which further reinforces its position in the market.

You can find more memorable business plan templates to customize in the Venngage editor. Browse Venngage’s business plan templates to find plans that work for you and start editing.

Company description business plan example

Depending on the market, focusing on your company story and what makes you different can drive your narrative home with potential investors. By focusing your business plan on a company description, you center yourself and your organization in the minds of your audience.

Company description business plan outline:

• Executive summary: Briefly summarize the key components and objectives of the company description section.
• Approach & direction: Outline the company’s strategy, goals and the direction it intends to take in achieving them.

This abbreviated plan is a good business plan example. It uses most of the content to tell the organization’s story. In addition to background about the company, potential investors or clients can see how this design firm’s process is different from their rivals.

With Venngage Business, you can collaborate with team members in real-time to create a business plan that will be effective when presenting to investors.

Five-year business plan example

For most startups or young companies, showing potential investors or partners exactly how and when the company will become profitable is a key aspect of presenting a business plan. Whether it’s woven into a larger presentation or stands alone, you should be sure to include your five-year business plan so investors know you’re looking far beyond the present.

EDIT THIS BUSINESS PLAN TEMPLATE

With Venngage’s Business Plan Builder, you can customize a schedule like this to quickly illustrate for investors or partners what your revenue targets are for the first three to five years your company is in operation.

Sales business plan example

The lifeblood of any company is the sales team. These are the energetic folks who bring in new business, develop leads and turn prospects into customers. Focusing your energy on creating a sales business plan would prove to investors that you understand what will make your company money.

Sales business plan outline:

• Table of contents: List all sections and subsections within the sales business plan.
• Target market: Identify the specific segment or segments of customers the sales efforts will focus on.
• Customer profile: Provide detailed descriptions of the ideal customers, including demographics, preferences and needs.
• Action plan: Outline the specific steps and strategies to be taken to reach and engage the target market and achieve sales objectives.

In this example sales business plan, several facets of ideal buyers are detailed. These include a perfect customer profile that helps to convey to your audience that customer relationships will be at the heart of your operation.

You can include business infographics in your plan to visualize your goals. And with Venngage’s gallery of images and icons, you can customize the template to better reflect your business ethos.

Organization and management business plan example

Company mergers and shakeups are also major reasons for organizations to require strong business planning. Creating new departments, deciding which staff to retain and charting a course forward can be even more complex than starting a business from scratch.

Organization and management business plan outline:

• Table of contents: List all sections and subsections within the organization and management business plan.
• About us: Provide an overview of the organization, its mission, vision and values.
• Project summary: Summarize the key details and objectives of the project.
• Project timeline: Outline the milestones and schedule for completing the project.

This organization and management business plan focuses on how the company can optimize operations through a few key organizational projects.

Executive summary for business plan example

Executive summaries give your business plan a strong human touch, and they set the tone for what’s to follow. That could mean having your executive leadership team write a personal note or singling out some huge achievements of which you’re particularly proud in a business plan infographic.

Executive summary business plan outline:

• Table of contents: Lists all sections and subsections within the executive summary business plan.
• Executive summary: Provide a concise overview of the entire business plan, highlighting key points and objectives.
• Statement of problem: Clearly define the specific issue or challenge the business aims to address.
• Approach & methodology: Outline the methods and strategies that will be employed to solve the stated problem or achieve the desired goals.

In this executive summary for a business plan, a brief note is accompanied by a few notable achievements that signal the organization and leadership team’s authority in the industry.

Marketing and sales strategy business plan example

Marketing and sales are two sides of the same coin, and clever companies know how they play off each other. That’s why centering your business plan around your marketing and sales strategy can pay dividends when it comes time to find investors and potential partners.

Marketing and sales strategy business plan outline:

• Table of contents: List all sections and subsections within the marketing and sales strategy business plan.
• Positioning: Describe how the business intends to position its products or services in the market to stand out from competitors.
• Value prop: Highlight the unique value proposition that the business offers to its target customers, including its benefits and advantages.
• Marketing strategy: Outline the overall approach and tactics that will be used to promote the products or services and attract customers.

This marketing and sales business plan example is the picture of a sleek, modern aesthetic, which is appropriate across many industries and will speak volumes to numbers-obsesses sales and marketing leaders.

Apple business plan example

Do business plans really help? Well, here’s some math for you; in 1981, Apple had just gone public and was in the midst of marketing an absolute flop, the Apple III computer. The company’s market cap, or total estimated market value, could hit $3 trillion this year.

Did this Apple business plan make the difference? No, it’s not possible to attribute the success of Apple entirely to this business plan from July 1981, but this ancient artifact goes to show that even the most groundbreaking companies need to take an honest stock of their situation.

Apple’s 1981 business plan example pdf covers everything from the market landscape for computing to the products that founder Steve Jobs expects to roll out over the next few years, and the advanced analysis contained in the document shows how strategic Jobs and other Apple executives were in those early days.

Airbnb business plan example

Inviting strangers to stay in your house for the weekend seemed like a crazy concept before Airbnb became one of the world’s biggest companies. Like all disruptive startups, Airbnb had to create a robust, active system from nothing.

Airbnb business plan outline:

• Problem: Identify the specific challenge or need in the accommodation industry that the Airbnb business aims to address.
• Solution: Describe how Airbnb’s platform provides a solution to the identified problem by connecting hosts with guests.
• Market validation: Demonstrate through research or evidence that there is demand for Airbnb’s services.
• Market size: Estimate the total addressable market for Airbnb’s accommodation services.
• Product: Detail the features and functionalities of the Airbnb platform for both hosts and guests.
• Business model: Explain how Airbnb generates revenue and sustains its operations.
• Market adoption: Discuss the rate at which Airbnb’s services are being embraced by hosts and guests.
• Competition: Identify other players in the accommodation industry offering similar services to Airbnb.
• Competitive advantages: Highlight the unique strengths or advantages that set Airbnb apart from its competitors.

As this Airbnb business plan pitch deck example shows, for companies that are introducing entirely new concepts, it’s helpful not to get too into the weeds. Explain the problem simply and boil down the essence of your solution into a few words; in this case, “A web platform where users can rent out their space” perfectly sums up this popular company.

Sequoia Capital business plan example

Sequoia Capital is one of the most successful venture capital firms in the world, backing startups that now have a combined stock market value of more than $1 trillion, according to a Forbes analysis.

For young companies and startups that want to play in the big leagues, tailoring your pitch to something that would appeal to a company like Sequoia Capital is a good idea. That’s why the company has a standard business plan format it recommends.

Sequoia capital business plan outline:

• Company purpose: Clarify the core reason for the business and its overarching goals.
• Problems: Identify specific challenges or pain points that the business aims to solve.
• Solution: Describe how the business addresses the identified problems with its products or services.
• Market potential: Assess the size and growth opportunities within the target market for the business.
• Competition: Analyze existing competitors and their strengths and weaknesses in the market.
• Business model: Outline how the business plans to generate revenue and sustain its operations.
• Our team: Introduce the key members of the team and their relevant expertise and experience.
• Financials: Provide projections and forecasts for the financial performance of the business.
• Vision: Articulate the long-term aspirations and goals that the business seeks to achieve.

Using Sequoia Capital’s business plan example means being simple and clear with your content, like the above deck. Note how no slide contains much copy, and even when all slides appear on the screen at once, the text is legible.

Use Venngage to design business plans that will impress investors

Not every business plan, pitch deck or one-sheeter will net you billions in investment dollars, but every entrepreneur should be adept at crafting impressive, authoritative and informative business plans.

Whether you use one of the inspirational templates shared here or you want to go old school and mimic Apple’s 1981 business plan, using Venngage’s Business Plan Builder helps you bring your company’s vision to life.

A veteran of newsrooms and agencies, Jennifer Gaskin is a writer, editor and designer who is the only living person not to have strong feelings on the Oxford comma. She's an award-winning practitioner of journalism and information design who spent the better part of a decade as the creative director of a digital marketing shop. As a writer, Jennifer contributes to a variety of publications while working with clients as well as taking on her own projects.

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