There can be little doubt that a great business plan can act as a kind of roadmap that will lead you and your company towards your future goals. Whether you’re launching a tech startup or your dream is to run a traditional brick-and-mortar business, writing a solid business plan will enable you to you reflect on your deepest values and reexamine your ambitions as an entrepreneur. 

What a Business Plan Can and Should Do

 But what are the most important parts of a business plan in 2021? And who is the audience for business plans these days? The answers to these questions are a bit complicated: At present, entrepreneurs write up business plans for a variety of different reasons and for a variety of different readers. 

While a business plan is an essential tool for providing investors and lenders with key information about your company, a business plan will ideally also be a solid source of inspiration both for you and your business partners as you complete goals.

The Business Summary

To start, you’ll want to look at the values that you’d like to bring your company in a general sense. What is the moral purpose of your company and of your work in general? What will your company achieve over the next five years or over the next decade? How will your company’s achievements affect your community or society as a whole? Who will be your primary competitors? 

Taking a wide view of your company’s values and goals from the outset can give the rest of your business plan focus and a sense of purpose. If getting a business off the ground is a kind of marathon, this section will be where you imagine what a finishing line looks like.

Market Research

Secondly, you’ll want to show investors and business partners that you’ve done your research with regard to the market in which your company will compete for clients and customers. Where will your product or service fit into the current marketplace? Do you aim to “disrupt” current market conditions or work within existing traditions? How will your business idea be profitable, and when do you expect to turn a profit? 

However, if you answer these questions, doing your market research will show your readers that you are serious about your company and that you understand what you are up against in the wider world. 

Team Members

A section focusing on the team that your business will use to reach its goals can be a great chance to demonstrate your company’s credibility to investors and partners alike. Perhaps you’ve recruited leading lights in the local business community to your board. Maybe you’re launching your business with the help of a few friends from college. 

However you’re approaching your goals as a group, it is important to summarize how your team will enable your company to expand in the future and one day turn a profit. Writing out a summary of your team’s strengths can be a great chance to reflect on the common vision that you and your business partners share and how your collective vision will enable your company to meet its objectives. 

Above all else, it should be your passion for your business that should shine through in your business plan. Building a company from the ground up will require serious time commitments on your part and an ability to navigate serious hurdles as you launch your products or services in earnest. And a solid business plan can and should provide you with the means for doing just these things!